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"ARGH! THAT'S IT! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" The boy exclaimed at the top of his lungs, before charging into the house.
All the current visitors of their backyard looked on at him in shock, before turning their attention to Ferb, who merely shrugged.
"Is he okay?" Isabella asked.
"I'm not sure. I'll go check on him." Ferb answered, before heading inside himself.
He hurtled his way upstairs and and tiptoed close to his bedroom door.
He listened for a moment, his heart breaking when he heard faint sniffles on the other side.
"Phineas?" He uttered slowly.
"Go away Ferb! Leave me alone!" Ferb held back a gasp. It wasn't often at all where Phineas wanted to be alone. He was a natural born extrovert. Why suddenly did he refuse company?
"Look, I just want to talk to you." Ferb softened his voice a little, in an attempt to sooth him.
"Well I don't want to talk to you, or anyone! So just get lost!" Clearly it hadn't worked.
What else could he try?
He paused to think. How could he help his brother when he didn't want to speak to him?
It normally wasn't a problem. They were experts at silent communication. Whether it was an eye roll, or the subtle upturn of a lip, they always knew what the other was thinking. Admittedly, Phineas was better at it than him. He needed to be, Ferb didn't talk much in front of other people. And Phineas didn't stay silent long enough for Ferb to even need to focus on his facial expressions. Still, he was close enough to him that he could read Phineas like a book if he was required to. Well, apart from when there was a door between them. That obviously made it harder.
He needed some other way to get through to him. He wanted to help Phineas. He blinked.
Of course! Why didn't he think about that sooner?
He rushed back downstairs and grabbed his mother's notebook and pen.
If he didn't want to talk, then he wasn't going to force him to. He was going to pass notes to him.
'Now, you don't have to talk to me. What's up?' He slipped under the door. He audibly heard Phineas sigh.
'Ferb this isn't funny.' He sent back. Ferb smiled. He liked this game, even if Phineas didn't. It was fun having a conversation like this.
'It kind of is. Can I get points for creativity?'
'Fine.'
'Thanks.'
'Now go away.'
'Not before you tell me what's wrong.'
'It doesn't matter.' That stung. Why on earth would he think that?
'Yes it does, you're my brother, everything you're going through matters.' He consoled, taking longer to reply. Phineas took a while to respond too, before sending something even more worrying.
'But you'll just get annoyed at me.'
'When have I ever been annoyed at you?'
'Fine, then you'll be disappointed in me.' Was he crazy?
'Stop being ridiculous. I would never be disappointed in you.'
'You will this time.'
'I promise I won't. Now if you don't tell me what's wrong, I'm coming in.' He threatened.
'I'm not telling you.'
'Would it help if I already knew what it was?'
To his surprise, the door opened. Phineas was letting him inside. He leaped at the opportunity.
"You do?"
"Isn't it obvious? You've been taking requests from people for nearly a month! I knew you were going to snap at some point. They were just taking advantage of you."
"No, they just wanted to-"
"Have you make things for them for nothing in return?" Ferb interrupted. "Look it's all well and good doing projects for people, but if you keep going like you are, you'll burn yourself out, as we've learned today. It's okay to say no to people sometimes."
"No it isn't! What if they hate me?"
"Phineas anyone that hates you for saying no to them once in a while isn't worth your time and certainly isn't a friend."
"But-"
"No buts. You need a break and if people don't understand that, then they don't deserve you. Real friends, are like those who are standing in that backyard right now, worried about you."
"They're not-"
"Don't believe me? Buford is pacing, Baljeet is anxiously solving math problems, and Isabella is nervously playing with her hair. They are worried. And before you ask why, because they care about you and want you to be happy. They don't like you for what you build, they like you for you. And they will allow you however much time you need to recover."
"Ferb ... "
"Enough. Now get your pajamas on and lie down. I know what we're going to do for the rest of the day."
"Fine." Phineas sighed. "But you need to rest too, you've done a lot of talking today." Ferb smiled. Even when Phineas was struggling himself, he still thought about others first.
He was right though, Ferb did need rest now too. He hated talking this much, even if it was only to Phineas.
"I'll just let them know what's going on. You stay here."
And that's exactly what he did. He returned to their bedroom as quickly as possible, to find Phineas snuggled under the duvet.
He patted the space beside him mischievously, forcing Ferb to chuckle slightly.
He pulled on his own pajamas and shuffled beside his brother. He rested his head on Phineas and it wasn't long until they were both fast asleep.