Where did we leave off? Oh yeah, Isabella is thinking a little bit too much about Ferb...

I had a massive headache. I mentioned it to Phineas and he went into a paranoid "Mama Bird" mode, and told me to stay at home and relax today. That was fine by me. For some reason, I don't feel like I'm quite my normal self. So I went with this supposed sick day.

I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me. And I couldn't. The one thing that had changed was my new and bizarre arrangement with Isabella. It was wrong, in so many ways. As if we had totally destroyed reality itself. I don't even know what got into me last time.

I was just sitting peacefully on the couch, with the television on mute and some books lying open. I wasn't reading or watching anything though. It would only intensify my headache.

I found my eyes flicking to the telephone, sitting on the table. There was only one person I was desperate to call. I wondered if I should. I never like speaking on the phone. People can't see hand signals or read my face over the phone. But I picked it up and dialed anyway. Please pick up, please pick up…

"Hey there! You've reached… come on baby…"

"I don't wanna."

"Please?"

"Ugh. Vanessa Doofensmirtz,"

"And Monty Monogram. Please leave a message after the beep."

"Whatever."

I slammed the phone back on the receiver. I couldn't take it! This was literally killing me. Now this guy has gone and taken over her answering machine? Her apartment? Her life? Vanessa was always meant for me, and only me! Was this Monty guy going to come in the way of that? He was going to have to be a hell of a fighter to make it out alive. I felt like storming down there right now, except I know no one's home.

I was glowering and steaming and my headache was getting worse when I heard a knock at the door. I got up and opened it to see my long time neighbor again.

"Ferb!" Isabella gasped. I wonder if she's always going to be nervous and embarrassed around me after we have sex. I didn't say anything. I just stepped back to make enough room for her to come inside the apartment.

"Is, umm, Phineas here?" She asked nervously.

"He's at work." I replied.

A half-smile came to her face. "Actually, that's what I wanted to tell him. And you!" She hurriedly added. She smiled a confident little smile. "I got a job."

I smiled back. Good for Isabella. She was doing something entirely on her own.

Isabella continued. "It's just a corporate thing. You know, starting at the bottom of a big company." She walked into the apartment and sat down on the couch. I quickly followed after her. "You know, like busy worker bees in a hive."

I didn't say or do anything. I was just watching her and listening. But my head didn't hurt quite as much anymore. Isabella sat and fiddled with her thumbs. I would break the silence but I had nothing to say.

"Stop staring at me Ferb." Isabella said. "I feel like I'm under a microscope!"

"Sorry." I muttered and looked away from her.

Isabella loudly groaned and tugged at her hair. "Why couldn't Phineas have just been here?"

I tilted my head at her. Something was wrong with Isabella.

She caught me staring at her again. "Stop looking at me Ferb!" She growled.

"What's the matter?" I asked Isabella.

"Love and sex are two very different things, right?" She suddenly said.

I cautiously nodded.

"And you love Vanessa, right? You'd pick her over anybody, you want to be together forever, etc., right?"

I had to think about that. Only recently, I'd stated I didn't know for sure if I was in love with Vanessa. But now, all I could think of was getting her back from the man who had stolen her away. But what was love anyway?

I said nothing. I looked into the girl's pleading big blue eyes and didn't give her whatever answer she wanted to hear. I didn't give her any answer at all.

Isabella waited those few beats for my answer, but then kept talking. "I love Phineas! I love him! I've loved him my whole life!"

I felt like asking her how she knew that. I didn't know if I loved Vanessa. How could Isabella know she was in love with a boy as oblivious as my brother?

"And umm, what we're doing, that's sex. Just raw, primal, emotionless sex. No feelings involved."

I nodded extremely slowly. I didn't like how this conversation was going. Not one bit. She had used way too much unnecessary emphasis when she said she loved Phineas. As if she was desperately trying to convince me of it. Or herself. I'm feeling extremely terrified that Isabella might be in love with me.

"I… I wanna… test something." Isabella said slowly.

And suddenly she grabbed my face and pulled it to hers. And she kissed me. I don't know for how long, but it felt like an eternity. When she finally pulled away, I needed air. But my headache was totally gone. As if it had only occurred because of a lack of Isabella.

"So…" Isabella said. "Did you feel anything?"

I raised one eyebrow up at her.

"You know," She said. "Did you feel tingly? Any sparks? Any emotions at all? Anything unusual? Feelings you wouldn't get just because we're going to have sex?"

"Well," I scratched my head. "No."

"Really?" She asked. I nodded. She smiled in relief. "Me either."

Isabella seemed about a thousand times calmer now. "Yup, no sparks. Because we're just friends." She stood up to go. "Ferb, can we still… you know… our arrangement?"

I nodded. Yup, it looked like I would still be sleeping with Isabella.

She blushed, but smiled softly. "Okay, I'll… I'll text when's the next time you should come. Bye Ferb!" She said, as she shut the door.

I had this awful, scummy feeling. I felt like such a lowly man, who would give in to making arrangements purely for sex. I felt like a psychopath because of the anger I felt when I thought about Monty and Vanessa. I felt like a traitor for doing all this behind Phineas' back. And worst of all, I felt like a fraud. Because when Isabella had candidly asked me if I felt any sparks when I kissed her… I lied.

OMG. Well, now what's gonna happen? Please review!