Chapter Text
After slowly opening her eyes, Isabella glanced at the clock to see the time - 10:16 in the morning. Usually she would get up much earlier than that but some complicated thoughts about Phineas made falling asleep way harder. She quickly stood up, stretching and scanning the room for Pinky.
"I suppose he's already outside." Isabella muttered to herself, since she's used to him disappearing. When she was ready, she went outside.
The weather was mostly the same as every day of the summer, sunny with barely any clouds visible. It greatly contrasted Isabella's mood, she wasn't sure if going for Phineas was the right thing to do. After all, he never showed any romantic interest in her despite all these years they spent together. The thing that annoyed her the most was their flight to Paris. She was so close! And yet, all she got was a simple hug after she gave him a motivational speech to get out of the small island. Speaking of the island, her thoughts wandered to Ferb. He was there to comfort her, without saying a single word. He's truly a man of action. A similar fence snapped her back to reality. There she was, standing before her neighboirs' gate as usual. She hesitated for a moment before opening it. Why couldn't she see anything behind that fence? In addition, she couldn't hear anything as well. Were Phineas and Ferb even there? Suddenly, she heard footsteps right behind her, turning around in the process.
"Ferb! Hey there! You scared me a bit. What'cha doing today?" Ferb was taken back by Isabella's sudden enthusiasm, she looked a bit down seconds before. He quickly recovered and shrugged in response.
"You…don't know? Is there something wrong?" He could ask her the same question but decided not to, at least for now.
"Phineas has a dentist appointment. Should be back in about an hour." Ferb speaking wasn't exactly new to Isabella, in fact he talked a lot more than he used to…well, only in the presence of his closest friends.
"I see." Isabella paused for a second. "Do you mind if we spend some time together? I never really got to hang out with you alone." Ferb looked away, did she really just say that? It was a surprise but a pleasant one. He always enjoyed her company. He gave her a thumbs up and she responded with a smile. They went inside the Flynn-Fletcher's house, slowly making their way towards the living room.
"Hey Isabella! Sorry to disappoint you but Phineas isn't home." Lawrence waved at the two while carrying some small boxes around in one hand.
"It's okay Mr. Fletcher, I heard he's at the dentist."
"Well, if you need anything just ask Candace okay?" He pointed at the stairs and turned around to go into the basement. Ferb sat on the couch and patted the spot next to him. Isabella took the hint and sat as well.
"Are you saying we should watch a movie?"
"Not exactly. It's like a playable movie with multiple choices that affect the story." Ferb grabbed the remote and turned on the modern TV his family bought some time ago. Isabella wasn't the biggest fan of video games but Ferb? He was a video game champion no matter what challenge you gave him. It kind of reminded Isabella of her own determination to achieve her goals…well…besides getting with Phineas. He was too oblivious for that. She let out a sigh, causing Ferb to look at her in concern.
"No worries Ferb, I was just thinking about…something. Let's play!" Ferb knew it was probably about Phineas but decided to play it safe so he just turned the TV on.
After playing a while, Isabella started to actually enjoy the experience, often pointing at the screen and asking about various items. She could even see Ferb's smile from time to time. He loved to explain certain things. Finally, they got into the interesting part - An important decision to make.
"I already completed this stage multiple times and I always chose to help Mike out. I'll leave this up to you. " Ferb put the remote beside Isabella's lap.
"Are you sure?" Isabella glanced at Ferb, awaiting his response.
"I think you have amazing leadership skills. I know you can do the right thing." Isabella looked at the screen, blinking several times. Did he really mean it? Somehow she appreciated the compliment way more than she probably should.
"Um, thank you. Let's…try something else this time. I think helping Jessie could be a breaking point later on." Isabella said before picking the "Help Jessie" option.
They finished a few more levels and decided that it's enough for today. Isabella looked through the window, the sky got a lot darker, probably meaning that it's going to rain soon. That's weird, it was totally sunny just minutes ago.
"Aw, I thought I could go for a walk later today." Ferb looked through the window as well, and suddenly an idea occurred to him.
"Why don't we go for a walk right now?"
"Huh? That's really sweet of you to suggest but I think it's starting to rain." Isabella frowned. Ferb pointed at the pair of umbrellas lying near the kitchen's entrance.
"Now we're talking! Fine, let me just grab my jacket real quick!" She went outside, running with excitement to reach her house. She had no idea why she was so enthusiastic about it, but it sure felt nice. It was like her night thoughts never happened. When she returned, Ferb had his own red jacket on, handing her one of the yellow umbrellas.
"Good thing we have these, it's actually raining now. So, where are we going?" Isabella loved walking in the rain, it's romantic in a way. It's a shame she never got to do it with Phineas. Eh, she should probably move on.
"How about we go to my favorite café? It's about 20 minutes from here."
"Sounds good! Lead the way please." The moment they went outside Isabella couldn't help but enjoy the delicate sounds raindrops made. It felt so refreshing.
"As much as I love sunny days, I wouldn't mind if the rain was a bit more common in our town." Ferb nodded in agreement. When they reached the main street, Isabella was eager for more conversation.
"Sometimes I wonder where Pinky disappears everyday. It's like he has some sort of place he feels safe in. I still feel responsible for him, you know? I want to figure out what he's up to." Ferb looked down. Isabella's words made him feel some sort of Déjà vu. It's like he found out where Perry disappears a long time ago but…he never did…right?
"F-Ferb? E-everything okay?" Isabella quivered, what's up with the weather today? It got a lot colder all of sudden. Ferb responded by reaching into his pocket, taking out a comfy red scarf and putting it around Isabella's neck.
"It is." Just like before, Isabella blinked several times. She never knew Ferb was so kind on the inside.
"Thanks, that was really nice of you!" Ferb looked away, he's not used to receiving compliments, especially from the girl that had a crush on his brother. Still, he appreciated it. After a few minutes, they reached the café and took their seats.
"Have you noticed how the weather quickly changed today? It's like someone built a machine to control it." Isabella looked through the window, tapping her finger on the table.
"That's a possibility, we have no way to find out." Ferb scanned the menu, it was the same as usual.
Isabella checked the menu as well. "How about we order tea? I heard it's a tradition to drink it in London." Ferb nodded and walked up to the cash desk to order. Isabella took her time to think, this day was like no other. There she was, spending time with Ferb in a café. It was different but also pretty exciting. She always loved to try new things out. Before she knew, Ferb was back in his seat.
"So, according to the menu our tea should be ready in about 5 minutes." Isabella closed the menu and sighed. "Anyway, can I ask you something?" Ferb raised his eyebrow. "I was thinking about Phineas last night and…I figured it's useless to keep trying. Don't get me wrong, he's still an amazing person that inspires everyone around him. The question is: Do you mind if we spend more time together? I'd love to get to know you more, you seem like a really kind person. It's a shame we barely talked all these years." She looked him in the eyes, Ferb struggled to look away.
"No, I don't mind." He answered in a calm tone. "I really enjoyed having you around." Isabella couldn't help but chuckle.
After their tea arrived, they had a long conversation in a relaxed mood. Granted, Isabella talked almost all the time but Ferb certainly didn't mind. Their topics ranged from adventures, to Perry and Pinky and even some school stuff.
"Ferb, I had no idea you were so good at playing piano! Can you teach me someday?"
"I don't see why not." Ferb looked through the window, it was…snowing?! Isabella was shocked as well, what's going on?
"I think we should go back." Isabella stood up and took her umbrella, Ferb did the same.
They left the café and headed home. Their jackets couldn't provide much warmth in this situation. The snowfall was getting worse every few minutes.
"Ferb?" Isabella frowned as he turned to her. "This isn't S'Winter v2, right?" He looked down. This couldn't be Phineas' doing. After hesitating for a moment, he took Isabella's hand.
"We have to hurry."