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“Hey, Phineas!”
Phineas heard the gate creak behind him and couldn’t suppress the small grin that appeared on his face.
“Whatcha doin?”
He resisted the urge to look up from the desk he’d set up under the tree.
(Sure, it was a little chilly out, but he found he worked best outside…and he’d missed working in the backyard during the semester).
“Hey, Isabella!” he called out. “Just some homework.”
“Homework?” Isabella sounded perplexed.
“It’s winter break, what kind of homework do you even have?”
Phineas heard her step a bit closer.
“Oh yikes…that looks pretty complicated…”
Phineas grimaced. Complicated was right.
“Hey, are you alright?” Isabella asked gently.
"Do you want to talk it out with me? Maybe that would help.”
That offer was tempting…but Phineas didn’t want to drag Isabella into this.
“Hold on just a sec, Isabella. I’m fine.”
It wasn’t as if he WANTED to devote all his attention to the assignment in front of him instead of his girlfriend.
He’d practically had to wrestle with the Pavlovian instinct to whirl around and launch into a full spiel about the intricacies of engineering as soon as Isabella asked about it (…since he’d been doing that for practically his entire life).
But he had to focus. Not get distracted. Because the equations he was pondering would eventually evolve into a project worth 35% of his grade next semester and it had to be PERFECT, and he was finally getting into the groove of focusing.
…ok, perhaps he wasn’t quite “in a groove” just yet. To be honest, he was beginning to get frustrated with it all. The equations weren’t quite adding up, and he’d been sitting here for nearly an hour writing out idea after idea, but nothing felt right…. If Ferb had been home, Phineas would’ve asked him for help, but he wouldn’t be arriving back from England for a few more days.
“Phineas.”
Isabella’s tone was less gentle now, more authoritative.
“I’m sorry, Isabella, I really have to focus on this, just give me a minute. You don’t want to have to hear about it.”
“Hey, Phineas.”
Isabella’s voice got even closer. And then she was standing right behind him and leaning against his chair.
Phineas took a deep breath and squinted at the papers in front of him.
He was determined to remain on task…no matter how adorably persistent his girlfriend was.
“Phineas, I need to tell you something.”
Now Isabella was playing with his hair, methodically weaving it into miniature braids and gently curling it around her fingers.
Gooseflesh rose up and down Phineas’s arms.
…at this rate, he’d never be able to remain on task ever again.
“Can it wait?” he managed to ask. “I want to be able to give you my full attention but I REALLY need to focus on this.”
“It’s importaaaant…..” Isabella sang.
She leaned forward, draping her arms around his neck (today she had on a sweater…it was soft) and snugly resting her head atop his. “It can’t wait.”
“…are you SURE?”
Isabella hugged him a little tighter.
“VERY sure.”
The certainty in Isabella’s tone and warmth of her arms around him reminded Phineas why he was working on this assignment in the first place.
He’d chosen to go to college to attain an engineering degree, sure…but he’d chosen to go to Tri State State to spend time with her.
….perhaps the assignment could wait a bit.
Phineas smiled and turned his head around, finally gaining sight of Isabella.
“Alright, alright. You win!” he chuckled. “What is it, Isabella?”
Isabella gazed down at him for a moment with a gentle smile before kissing his cheek and brightly exclaiming, “I love you!”
Phineas’s heart leapt, a lopsided grin unfurling across his face.
(Though he and Isabella had been dating for practically half a year, he still got butterflies in his stomach every time she professed her love to him.)
Her next words, however, sent him back to reality.
“Alright, I’ll leave you alone now so you can focus!”
Isabella patted his shoulder before leaning back and heading away.
“You can text me whenever you’d like to hang out.”
Phineas blinked as Isabella walked away.
After all that, she was just going to leave??
“Hey, wait a minute!” Phineas stood and turned around, just before Isabella could open the gate.
“You can’t just leave!”
“Huh?” Isabella faced him, head tilted inquisitively. “But…I thought you needed to focus. You don’t actually have to tell me about your assignment, I was just trying to get your attention for a sec because it looked like you needed cheering up, that’s all. We can talk about it later.”
“I’ve focused on my assignment long enough,” Phineas replied with a smile, crossing the yard and coming to a stop at her side.
“I’d rather focus on something else now.”
He took her hand in his.
“Oh?” Isabella raised an eyebrow at him and giggled. “And what might that be?”
Phineas leaned a bit closer and gingerly tilted her chin up with his free hand. “You.”
Isabella gasped when Phineas’s lips found hers (which was understandable, considering she’d spent the majority of her life–-save for the past handful of months, of course–-thinking he might never return her feelings at all). But the shock quickly melted away, as it always did, and gave way to joy, bright and exuberant and free, as she wrapped her arms around his middle and kissed him back.
If only the Isabella who used to enter this backyard everyday with the hopes of gaining an oblivious Phineas’s affections could see them now…
When Phineas pulled away, he smiled at her and whispered, “….thanks for giving me something else to focus on…”
Isabella couldn’t help but sigh dreamily at that. “…anytime, Phineas.”
She glanced over his shoulder and the assignment still sprawled out on his desk. “Do you want to talk through your assignment with me now? I really think that would help you.”
“Are you sure you want to hear about it?” Phineas asked hesitantly. “It’s pretty complicated stuff…sort of dense.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “You shouldn’t have to spend your winter break listening to me ramble about equations.”
“Phineas, I just like spending time with you!” Isabella assured him. “If that means talking about equations, I’m all for it!!!”
She chuckled and squeezed his hand. “And, besides, I’m not exactly a novice at math. Let me help you.”
“Alriiiight.” Phineas drew her close and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “But if you get bored, you have to let me know so I can kiss you again.”
Isabella giggled. “Will do.”