New Chapter! Just so you know, I did some minor edits to the last chapters—nothing big. Just a little bit of polish, and I removed a lot of the ANs at the starts and ends of each one. Just to make it a little easier for you guys to read.

Also, this story is dedicated to SerenaKo413 for her cool new story faulty connection (seriously, go check it out—it's hilarious!). XD

Prom Problems

[Isabella's Age: 16]

Being a teenager was already hard. But I had no idea how much harder it could become when dating and relationships were introduced to the mix. Not that really anyone in our group had even been in a serious relationship—no matter how often Holly switched between crushes, or the boys half-falling over themselves for Adyson. Because let's face it, we were still just kids! I mean, yeah Baljeet had that whole thing with Ginger from early ages, but I would file that under more of a serious breakup than a serious relationship.

Dating. Overrated.

But then WHY couldn't I stop thinking about dating Ferb freakin' Fletcher?!

I sighed and opened my locker as, once again, that same thought crept into my mind. It had been weeks since the talent show—and my realization—and I still hadn't gathered enough nerve to actually confront him about it. And it only made things worse when—

"Hi Isa!"

Closing my eyes was all I allowed myself to do, rather than the full-on cringe that my body wanted, as a giddy Miranda slid up next to me. She didn't even have the decency to pick the side with my locker door, so I was stuck seeing her in my peripherals even if I didn't look at her.

"Hi Miranda." I greeted her with a strained smile. If I didn't at least pretend to be happy-ish, then she would get all concerned and never leave me alone.

Or maybe not—she seemed a tad preoccupied.

"Prom season!" she cheered, practically dancing in place.

"Prom season?" I looked at her skeptically.

"Yeah!" she grinned, "I was wondering if you would like to join the committee and help me and some of the seniors with decorating, organizing funds for…" I started tuning her out. As much as I liked organizing and planning, I just couldn't bring myself to care about it right now. Also, Miranda was older, smarter, prettier… just so much better than me. I couldn't compare.

"I'll think about it, but I don't think so," I told her when she took a moment to breathe.

She nodded. "Okay, no problem. I just wanted to check with you."

How nice.

She turned to walk away but looked back at me at the last second. "Oh! One more thing. If you see Ferb, could you tell him I was looking for him?" She ended with a wink.

"Ferb?" I echoed faintly.

"Yeah. You're like his best friend. I'm 'looking for him'." She used finger quotes for emphasis, as if it wasn't already obvious why anyone would be looking for another during prom season. "I gotta beat the sheep. Thanks Isa!. Byyyyeee!" And with that, she was off. I didn't even notice which direction she went, too caught up in my thoughts.

Prom season… Right. People were going to start looking and asking for dates. And Miranda wants to either ask Ferb or make it super obvious she wants him to ask her—both would be bad. And she mentioned sheep, which could only mean that stupid fan club! I'm practically fighting off an army! And I don't even know if I should be fighting them!

I sighed and closed my locker door. I miss being ten. Life was so much easier back then.

Seriously, how had I not known about the literal fan club for Ferb? I mean, everyone and their mother (except, you know, their mother) knew that the all-powerful Phineas and Ferb (and crew, heck yeah!) were the most popular kids in school—if not the town—and they definitely had a fan club, due to their ability to spit in the face of the laws of nature… But a Ferb fan club filled with girls all crushing on him? Which may or may not have been founded by Miranda Garcia herself… I'm just saying, she hasn't denied it.

Actually, there was a fan club for Phineas too. That one I'd known about for a while—and it was really entertaining to learn about, considering it was because Irving was ranting about being denied a spot. I mean, I felt for the poor guy—but I also couldn't help laughing.

I couldn't imagine being stalked by a whole bunch of adorers like that… Not that the boys really reacted to them anyway. Ferb likely noticed it—he notices everything—but he never really acknowledged them (which, I gotta admit, I liked a lot). And Phineas… well, he probably didn't even realize they were looking at him and not one of his inventions or a cloud or maybe a butterfly.

Now that it was "prom season", I was sure I was going to have to put up with seeing girls literally throwing themselves at him, and likely a few of the bolder ones asking Ferb to prom. But I didn't want him to, you know, respond to them. It was bad enough now just watching them strut around him, vying for his attention like peacocks during mating—

And I'm cutting that thought off there.

I was torn. I wasn't totally sure if I wanted to date him, but I definitely didn't want someone else to date him. And after the multiple failed (aborted) attempts since Christmas to discuss what exactly was going on between us—attempts that usually ended in either interruptions or very familiar, and very nice, distractions… It was starting to seem like it wasn't meant to happen…

But my feelings can't just switch off like a lamp! And it didn't matter if I was still figuring it out—I'd get there eventually. But they didn't get to date him either!

"Izzy?" A voice cut through the red fog. Holly was giving me a funny look—I hadn't even realized I had joined them as they walked to class. "You kinda look like you're gonna explode."

Yeah, I was pretty sure my eye was twitching.

"How can you guys be so relaxed?!" Adyson was panicking—that was never a good sign. Neither was the fact that she was trying to read a book, write notes, and walk all at the same time. She had never been the most graceful of the group; she was bound to break her leg again doing things like that. "Gretchen gave me a tip that Mr. Friedman was in the office printing a stack of papers—which means another pop quiz!"

Holly raised an eyebrow at the brunette. "Mr. Friedman prints stuff every other week. It doesn't necessarily mean there will be a pop quiz today."

Adyson huffed. "It does when Gretchen saw multiple-choice questions all over the page!"

As Holly descended into panic alongside Adyson, I saw a flash of red out of the corner of my eye.

"Isabella…" Phineas practically sang as he sidled (Phineas sidles?) up to me.

"Phineas…?" I singsonged back at him, bemused.

"Phineas!" The duo to my left jumped to attention when they noticed him.

"Tell us everything you know about biochemical pathways!" Holly demanded.

He blinked a few times, thrown for a moment. "Oh, uh. Well, there's a lot to tell. Can you narrow it down?"

Adyson snapped her book shut, and nearly dropped the notes she had been taking. "Nope. Just tell us all you know."

Phineas frowned, thinking of where to start before he was, quite literally, saved by the bell. He looked up at the ceiling and grinned. "Sorry, gotta get to class. Isabella, Ferb's wants to see you after school! Bye!"

"Um… 'kay?" I said, waving back to him as he skipped down the hall. I looked back at the two girls. "That was weird, right?"

They ignored me, both looking through Adyson's book some more. I rolled my eyes—if they didn't know the info already, I doubt cramming was going to help them much—especially cramming five minutes before the test started. If there was a test, because we still didn't know for sure.

Or maybe we did… Walking into the classroom, it was apparent that Gretchen's info was good. The desks had been rearranged into 'test-taking format', with everyone in a different random spot. I saw my name over by Django, while Holly and Adyson were on opposite sides of the room. I patted Adyson's arm and headed towards my seat, thinking about the oddness that was Phineas today. It was a different oddness than his usual oddness.

Why would Ferb need to ask him to ask me to see him this afternoon? Since when did Ferb and I need to arrange formal appointments to talk? I mean, we were already likely to see each other after school anyway—we did nearly every day. Why did he think he needed to not leave things to… chance…

Oh no.

I felt a sudden chill and my stomach flipped as panic struck me—and it had nothing to do with the pop quiz.

Prom season…

No, nope, no. I could not deal with this right now. I mean, that had to be why he "wanted to see me", right? A paper was set in front of me, but it was like my eyes had stopped working.

Ferb – wanted – to – ask – me – to – prom. What was I supposed to do?! I couldn't say no to a date with Ferb. Not after everything we had been through… Not while I feel… this way… about him. But I couldn't say yes to a date with Ferb either! He was my best friend, my rock; it would totally ruin everything and make everything awkward… And what if we're not a good match?! What if we go Balinger and never talk to each other again and hate each other's guts forever after we break up!? NO, this was NOT happening. I needed an escape route. I needed HELP!

"Five minutes left," Mr. Friedman said from the front of the class.

Oh! Right. The pop quiz.

I looked down at the paper. Ten multiple-choice questions… I could do this…

Well, if my brain hadn't short-circuited, I could.

I tried reading the first question multiple times, but it just wasn't registering. So I ended up circling C for each question. C was the average answer, right? Maybe…

I already knew I failed this test even before the papers were collected. But, you know what? I was having a teenage crisis! That's more important than some test!

As Mr. Friedman prepped the room for the traditional after-test video (which was why he was a well-liked teacher even with all the random pop quizzes), we were allowed to talk quietly amongst ourselves. I glanced around, seeing Holly hitting on the boys she sat near, and Adyson getting hit on by the boys she sat near.

There are times I'm amazed they don't fight, but it doesn't seem to bother either of them that they are basically polar opposites when it comes to boys.

I glanced back at the front of the class and couldn't help the slight eye roll. No matter how often Mr. Friedman used the classroom projector, he still had trouble with the technology every single time. You'd think by now he'd just ask one of the students to set it up for him. I glanced around, hoping for another distraction before the thoughts of you-know-who and the event of you-know-what set in again.

Django sat at the desk next to mine, and while I wouldn't really consider him my friend, he was the guys' friend, so we at least had common ground. "Sup Django," I said as brightly as I could fake.

He didn't even notice it wasn't genuine. His eyes barely left his desk at my greeting and he sighed sadly. "Hi Isabella."

He looked like a kicked puppy, and my empathy immediately went into overtime. "What's wrong?" I asked, this time genuinely.

"Oh, uh… I broke up with my girlfriend," he trailed off with a wince that made it very apparent that the breakup was not mutual.

I was instantly intrigued. I had just been thinking how no one from our little 'gang' hadn't had a relationship. "You had a girlfriend? Who?"

"Missy Miller." His tone was sad, but also bitter. Unfortunately, I had no idea who Missy was, but I guess as Django's friend—or as a friend of Django's friends—I was duty-bound to hate her. "I was getting all ready to ask her to prom too."

"That sucks." I sympathetically nodded. Then a voice came from my throat without my brain getting involved at all. "Why don't you just go with me?" I blinked as I realized that, yes, I really did just say that.

Well, I had been looking for an escape route, right?

"As friends, of course," I added quickly before he could say anything.

He gave me such a confused look that for a moment I thought he was going to say no. "Wha… Are you sure, Isabella?"

Oh right… He was friends with Ferb, after all. Maybe he thought he was stepping to the middle of something he didn't want to step into.

Not that there was anything there to step into…

He shrugged, and for a moment I was reminded of his totally chill older sister Jenny. "Okay. Thanks."

Just then the lights darkened. Mr. Friedman had finally got the projector working. I sent Django a thumbs up, feeling so stupid for doing it even as I did. "We can discuss plans later," I whispered.

He nodded, focusing on the screen and still looking sad.

I turned to watch the screen as well, but something bothered me. He agreed very easily… didn't he? If I had a friend who seemed to have something going on with someone, I would have talked to them before agreeing to a date—even a platonic date—with the certain someone. Why did Django seem so easily agreeable…? Did boys not think that way?

A sudden rush of fear shot through me.

Maybe he didn't bother worrying about Ferb and me because… I'm not the only one? I mean, he does have a fan club—a whole bunch of girls all pursuing him romantically… What if I'm just one of many?

"Why should I date when I have you?"

Was that just a line?!

My fists clenched into my skirt as I tried my hardest to ground myself. I was in full-blown dramatic teenage panic mode and my brain wasn't listening to logic! I knew Ferb. He would not play someone like that! But my thoughts kept running wild.

Why was being a teenager so hard!

I barely noticed as the weeks went by, but I was already livid at the displays that were happening daily as girls kept trying to get a date with Ferb. And I kind of hated myself too, because I really couldn't be against Ferb for going with someone that wasn't me when I had already snagged a date.

A date that really couldn't put in less effort than Django. I want to say it's because he's still sad over breaking up with Missy, but I'm starting to think that this lack of effort had a little something to do with the breakup. I get that this isn't a date-date, but come on! He barely says hi to me.

And Ferb's face, when I told him and Phineas… It was so empty I could barely stand looking at him. And looking at Phineas didn't help either. I had never seen the redhead actually angry with me before. I had never felt more ashamed than I did that day. But it seemed they had gotten over it quick enough. There was a tenseness between us that hadn't been there before, but things were… not quite back to normal, but kind of.

It was more like a sad parody of normal, but oh well.

But now it was like Ferb was free-game! Girls constantly bombarded him with prom invites and, though I didn't know if he had a date or not, they were not letting up! Even as some of them got dates and left him alone, the still free ones didn't let those gaps stay empty for long. It was ridiculous!

I slammed my locker door shut and turned around—fully expecting to see yet another desperate girl trying to get Ferb's attention down the hall.

I was not expecting said girl to be Katie! WHAT?!

I didn't realize my feet could move so fast. I barely heard the words, "Would you like to…" before I interrupted.

"Katie! Hey! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Her face would have been comical if I wasn't seeing red. She looked like she had gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

I looked at Ferb, whose expression had gone completely blank. I hesitated for just a bare moment—he hadn't looked at me like that in a long time… There had always been some emotion in his eyes… But I couldn't stop now. I even covered my face a little with long black hair to avoid him. "Sorry, I need her help with something. Excuse us!" And I pulled her away.

"Isabella! Isabella, stop!" Katie tried wrestling her arm out of my grasp, but I wasn't relenting, so I was practically dragging her down the hall.

Once we were around the corner, I released her and spun around to glare at her. "How dare you?" It was the first response to come out of my mouth, because really, that was what I was thinking when I saw her with Ferb.

Katie stared incredulously at me. "What the heck is wrong with you?"

The anger suddenly rushed out of me and my lungs constricted. I covered my face. "I don't know! I don't know what's wrong with me! I saw you and thought of your crush on him and just reacted! I couldn't stop myself." I was nearly sobbing—too many emotions too fast!

Katie seemed to be slightly affected by my outburst, but she didn't relent. "Crush? That's not what this is about. Besides, I was only going to ask him because—"

The bell rang right then, from directly over our heads causing both of us to cover our ears. When it stopped, I shifted guiltily. "Time for class," I said softly.

She pointed directly at my nose. "You need to stop and think, and figure out what is going on between you and Ferb. Hopefully before everything starts falling apart."

And with that, she was gone.

I sighed and leaned back against the locker wall behind me. I had messed everything up, and I had no idea what to do. With tears threatening to fall, I headed back to my locker for my cell phone and to call my mom. I needed a mental health day.

The mental health day did nothing to help me, by the way. The only thing it did was allow me to bury my thoughts and emotions even deeper than before. At least I didn't feel the epic rage every time a girl came up to Ferb. Just overwhelming sadness that eventually became emptiness. Things weren't great, but I guess it was a little better than before? Either way, we were all back to hanging out together again…

The week before Prom found us all sitting around under the big tree in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard. It was almost like we were kids again. Almost.

Buford grunted. "Nah, I don't have a date. Haven't really had time to ask anyone, ya know."

Adyson raised an eyebrow at him. "And no one's asked you?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, they have. But I'm old fashioned. I'd like to ask a girl myself, not get trapped by someone else."

Adyson looked at him for a moment before humming and casting her gaze around the group. "Who else doesn't have dates?" she asked, though it almost sounded like an accusation.

Phineas and Katie raised their hands almost immediately. "Yeah, I don't have a date either," the blonde mentioned before turning towards me and giving me the stink-eye.

I felt my face redden before I noticed that Gretchen was also tentatively holding her hand up. Concern filled me and I reached over to grasp her forearm. "Gretchen?" I prodded carefully.

She looked at me with some hurt in her eyes before she simply shrugged and moved her gaze back to the ground. Gretchen had been asked earlier on by a guy from the science club. Had he actually bailed on her the week before prom? The scumbag! I shared a look with Adyson and I knew she agreed with me. Someone was going to be in pain tomorrow!

Adyson sighed, pushing those thoughts away and I followed suit. There would be plenty of time to plot against the dipwad later. "Well that's convenient," she started. "Two boys, two girls. You four can go on platonic dates with each other."

I found myself nodding. It was a very good idea! I could see Phineas and Buford sharing a concerned glance and I rolled my eyes. "Not you guys together, you morons."

They have spent too much time together. They gave me the exact same blank look. Buford caught on first and turned to Gretchen, who was watching both of the guys while still playing with the grass next to her knee. "Gretchen, will you go to prom with me."

Her eyes widened—I don't think she expected Buford to ask her—but she recovered and nodded, a small smile forming on her lips. Actually, I wasn't expecting it either. I thought he was going to ask Katie. But, you know. Whatever.

Phineas looked like he had to mentally slap himself, but he eventually did look down at Katie, who was looking at him expectantly, and asked, "Oh, um… You wanna go?"

I could practically see all of us facepalm at his casual question, but Katie agreed even as she rolled her eyes—and that was that.

Then a stray thought crossed my mind and I sat up straight. "What about Ferb?"

"What about Ferb?" an accented voice repeated from behind me and I jumped. I caught the hint of a playful smirk as he sat down in the empty spot to my right, but it was gone before it could fully form—and I could feel another spike of pain as I realized his loss of expression was my fault.

Adyson answered him with another question. "Who are you taking to prom?"

He replied with a single name as he raised his water bottle to his mouth. "Miranda."

My heart stopped. "Miranda?" I squeaked. "M-my cousin Miranda?"

Ferb nodded, his blue eyes boring deep into my soul. Usually, I would have looked away, but I was hoping to find some kind of humor there—some hint that he was joking.

"Why are you going with her?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

Ferb cocked his head. "Why do you care about who I'm going with? You have a date." His tone was casual, but I could see Phineas wincing out of the corner of my eye. Obviously, it wasn't me just imagining the very slight undertone of accusation there.

"I-I don't care." I knew I was lying. He knew I was lying. I bet everyone in the circle knew I was lying. Thankfully no one called me out on it and blessed Phineas changed the subject—to what, I couldn't say.

Miranda Garcia… Perfect Miranda… The girl who was practically obsessive with her crush on Ferb… Was going to prom with him…

Dammit!

I should have just let Katie ask him!

"Yes, you really should have," Katie responded as we chatted over the phone later that day.

"Katie!" I nearly sobbed.

"What? It's your own fault. You grabbed onto Django as soon as you could to avoid Ferb asking you—which I still don't understand why—then you practically sabotage any girl who Ferb might have asked or who would have asked him. I went to ask him knowing that the date would simply be as friends, and you cut me off. What did you expect to happen after that?"

"I don't know!" I sobbed. "I just… I don't know what came over me."

She sighed. "Isabella, I am coming over, and we are going to talk until all of us understand what is going on with you."

Before I could tell her not to, she had already hung up—probably because she knew I would tell her not to.

I did not expect her to show up ten minutes later with Adyson in tow. I groaned as they walked into my bedroom. "Whyyy?" I whined.

Katie smirked. "Because Adyson won't let you beat around the bush."

"Yeah!" the brunette cheered. "We're gonna face this head-on until we figure out what's up with you lately." She rubbed her hands together gleefully. "So, where do we start?"

I frowned, trying to figure that out. But then Katie turned to me, her head tilted curiously. "Actually, we should probably start at the start. When did this whole thing between you guys begin?"

"Yaaass!" Adyson said dramatically. "The origins."

"This whole thing?" I echoed.

Adyson groaned, frustration coloring her face. "Yes!" she exclaimed. "You were going to be Mrs. Phineas Flynn. So why are you ready to kill us now whenever we look at his brother? Why do we catch you two together all the time? Why does the whole school kind of assume Ferb is dating you?"

"I mean… I guess it sort of started… five years ago."

"Five?!" they exclaimed in unison.

"I mean," Adyson started. "I knew something was going on before High School… but I thought it was like right before High School."

Katie shook her head. "So what happened five years ago?"

"He kissed me." I felt my cheek warm and I started picking at the threads on my blanket.

Adyson's jaw dropped. "Wait, you guys have been kissing for five years now?! What?!"

I nodded. "And I still haven't figured out why…" I trailed off, thinking back to all the happy moments between us that, while so very confusing, were better than this.

"Earth to Isabella." Katie waved her hand in front of my face. "Man, he really got to her."

I ended up telling them EVERYTHING. That Addy had been right in all her suspicions the whole time, right from the New Year's kiss. That Ferb was the one who sent all the Valentine presents. That Ferb was my savior from every evil friend, cousin, or even myself every time. All of it finally ending with the makeout backstage at the talent show and all of the failed attempts at actually discussing things with him since.

"Whenever we would get some time to ourselves, he looked at me all intently and stuff and I'd lose my train of thought. Or he'd lean his forehead against mine like he really wants to continue what we started at the talent show, but then Phineas would come around, or the bell for class would ring, or so many other interruptions—and I don't know what to do!" I finally finished with a sob, falling onto my bed and burying my face into the pillows.

Silence filled the room as my friends processed everything I had just dumped on them. Adyson eventually came over and sat on the bed next to me. "Iz… Do you like Ferb?"

I looked up at her. "Um…" I snuck a glance at Katie—who I knew had a crush on the boy. She caught it though.

"Oh no you don't! I already told you my crush on him has more to do with the absolute surety that nothing will come out of it. Don't hold back for my sake."

I sat up. "Yeah," I quietly admitted. "Yeah, I like him a lot." I sighed.

Katie came over and sat on the other side of me, both her and Adyson putting an arm around me in a three-way hug. "Why did you ask Django to the prom instead of asking Ferb? Or waiting to see if he'd ask you?" the blonde asked.

I pulled my legs up and hugged my knees. "I was scared…"

"Of what?" Adyson's voice was calm and almost soothing. I haven't heard her use that tone before.

"He's… he's my friend. What if I'm not actually his type? What if we get together and we end up hating each other? What if he finds someone else and…" I broke off with a sob. "And we can't be as close anymore?" I was full-on crying now. My shoulders hitched "I can't… I can't lose him. But if I don't back off now…" I gasped for air. "I can't see him be close with someone else!" I snatched onto Adyson, crying into her hair. "It would destroy me."

Katie leaned over and cuddled into me again. Neither girl said anything—I don't think they knew what to say. But I took all the comfort they could give me though the hug.

It was going to have to be enough.

And I was going to have to watch Ferb be with someone else.

Prom night was supposed to be special, right? I mean, it was on my long list of 'Perfect Nights', along with my quinceanera, sweet sixteen, wedding, etc. It required a formal dress! Nights like that didn't come around every other weekend. My dress was my dream prom dress—pink and absolutely perfect. I had told Django what color it was weeks ago… and he showed up in a generic black and white tux. No hints to us matching on him at all.

At least it was a tux though, and it wasn't splattered with paint, so… yeah.

My mom insisted on taking lots of pictures, though throughout the whole thing I wished she hadn't. From the very beginning, I was thinking this wasn't a night I would want to remember. If it weren't for Phineas and Katie inviting the whole group plus dates to a big dinner, I think Django and I would have ended up going straight to Prom and then straight home after it was done.

Katie and Phineas matched almost too much. Her dress and Phineas's suit was the exact same color of green. It was like they grabbed the nicest fabric from the craft store and made both outfits at the same time—and actually, considering they agreed to this date barely a week ago, that is very likely what had happened.

Speaking of dates barely a week ago, Buford and Gretchen actually looked good together! Like they were on a real date and everything! He was the only boy not from the Flynn-Fletcher family to buy his date a corsage, and he had the boutonniere to match so his plain tux still looked complimentary to Gretchen's red dress.

Irving had somehow managed to snag Milly as his date, though it was more like Milly agreed to get stuck with him in exchange for a pass to the group. As soon as they arrived, her time was devoted to talking with Katie and Holly, who was going with the French exchange student Marcel who, while good looking, hadn't quite grasped English just yet. He spoke a lot with Buford though—and wasn't that a surprise!

Adyson's date Jonathon wanted to do something special for her, so they would see us at the convention center booked for the event. He seemed to be yet another foolish soul who saw her and thought 'she's cute' and didn't fully realize how intimidating Adyson really was. But, you know, good luck to him.

Ferb and Miranda… they rounded out our group. They looked… just perfect. Like they had stepped fresh from the pages of a magazine. I heard more than one parent who was there to see us all off mutter, "What a lovely couple." Thankfully none from my family…

My mom actually pulled me into a hug and just held on for a moment when she saw them. I had forgotten for a second that she usually knew more than I think she does… I took as much strength from her as I could without breaking down. No words passed between us, but I knew she would be there for me whenever.

My mom rocks.

Anyway, that was our group; we were so cute and large. Phineas got the whole prom limo for us—and yes it was modified. It was Phineas. And though almost everyone seemed to be having fun already, I just couldn't meet anyone's eyes. Not Ferb's, not Miranda's, not Phineas', not the girls' after I spilled my secrets…

When we got to prom, it wasn't particularly… special. But, I mean, that's kind of what I signed up for. It was a platonic date. Dinner was good. Everything looked beautiful. Django was moping over Missy, but who could blame him? Everyone else was having fun and dancing with their dates. I guess there is really only one boy in the world that turns everything into a fairytale.

Darn it! No. No! I couldn't think those thoughts anymore. I had a plan, and that was step one: stop thinking of Ferb in any kind of romantic role. I didn't think it would be so difficult considering that it was only recently that I started accepting him in those roles. But it was really hard. Really really hard.

So yeah, step one was going to be a process. Step two was slowly distancing myself from him. Somehow…

And my plan wasn't helped that I had to watch Ferb and Miranda open the Prom as King and Queen. When they'd been crowned, she practically draped herself over him. And, as far as I could tell, Ferb hadn't even looked over at me at all since I'd arrived. So I guess it was just step one that wasn't getting helped… Step two seemed to be the order of the night—no contact at all.

Fantastic.

"Excuse me, Django," I said, getting up to head to the bathroom. I didn't need to go, I just wanted to get away.

"Uh-huh," he grunted at me, gazing sadly at his ex-girlfriend Missy, barely acknowledging me.

Whatever. I didn't even care that my 'date' was mooning over another girl. Technically, I was mooning over another boy so… fair's fair, right?

I walked my way around the dance floor to the restrooms. I could see Phineas and Katie actively starting a conga line in the middle of it. I giggled into my hand; those weirdos. Gretchen and Buford were also dancing, but together. Like, holding hands and everything. To my surprise, Gretchen was smiling, talking, and laughing with Buford; which is something I never would have expected in my life. I thought the only one he ever clicked with was Baljeet, but… huh. He really upped his game for this dance.

I opened the bathroom door and was suddenly hit with the smell of smoke. I coughed lightly, and I could hear panicked high heels sliding around.

"Oh, it's you." The toilet flushed. She still had some snark in her voice.

"Ginger?" I assumed she swiftly flushed her cigarette to avoid a chaperone. I still coughed a little. She was lighting up another one. "I…" I had a lot of questions but all I said was, "I didn't know you smoked."

She gave me a look that said really? "I don't," she said sarcastically. She took a breath—a drag?—off the stick and blew it out with a sigh. "Well, when your parents are doctors, you tend to 'rebel' sometimes," she admitted in a falsely light voice.

Something about her was off… I tilted my head and really started looking at her. She was wearing a slinky cocktail dress that, while pretty on her, didn't seem as fancy as all the prom dresses out there. It almost seemed like she was faking it. And this was coming from the girl who came with Django!

"Who's your date?" I asked honestly without any harshness, not the way she used to when I never had a date to the dances.

She looked at me out of the side of her eye, as if admitting defeat. "I don't have one."

I could have cawed and crowed right there: my nemesis Ginger Hirano had no date, came to prom anyway, and refused to actually attend the prom because of said-nonexistent date, so had to bitterly smoke and hide in the bathroom. But I didn't. I couldn't.

"Ginger, you wanna come hang out with me and the gang?" I asked instead. Ginger's jaw nearly dropped off. "Milly is. Come on." I said encouragingly.

Ginger Hirano had always been one of my very best friends. We were Lil' Sparks together. I spent countless sleepovers and birthday parties at her house. She practically taught me Japanese. We had play-dates with our stuffed animals and our baby dolls. We helped each other with homework. She listened to me rant and rave about my unattainable crush, and unlike everyone else, completely supported it and wanted us to be together. Yet, I constantly called Ginger goofy and stupid, despite her being smart. I never listened to her talk about Baljeet nor supported them. I forced her to break her date with him on Valentine's Day. I'm the opposite of a supportive friend.

But I could change.

It was like in that one sentence, Ginger had admitted to me that something as stupid as boys and crushes and dates didn't matter, what we had sort of been fighting about all this time didn't matter—and that was fine for an apology if I was ever gonna get one.

"I… maybe another day." Ginger said softly. I actually smiled.

I walked back into the ballroom feeling a little better than when I had left. Ginger and I seemed to be on the road to recovery—or at least to tolerance. Better than what we were, either way. It would probably be a long process, but who knows. It might be worth it—especially if she grows up a little.

Suddenly I felt my body freeze before my brain finally caught up with what my eyes were seeing.

Ferb…

And Miranda…

Were… kissing.

Everything went cold.

I don't know how long I stood there—how long the kiss went on. Adyson appeared at my side and guided me by my arm out of the doors I had just entered through. She murmured something to me, but I couldn't make out the words. It felt like my brain and my emotions had been in a boxing match, and my brain had lost. My emotions were going haywire, but without my brain there to assist, there was no way to release all that I was feeling.

Adyson kept talking, trying to get a reaction out of me other than a blank stare. I still couldn't hear her. She pulled me into a one-sided hug as my arms hung limply at my sides. I had finally started to feel prickling behind my eyes when she stiffened and pulled away. She was looking over my shoulder at something—or someone.

I turned around and everything went red. My ears cleared as he spoke. "Bella, can we talk?"

I finally understood the meaning behind those words. Before, I never quite got it when someone would freak out over someone else saying that on the TV. They were just words then. Now, there was something in them—something that inexplicably flipped a switch between sad and angry in my head.

I nodded, both to him and Adyson. She squeezed my arm and walked away, narrowing her eyes at Ferb as she passed.

Ferb shifted uncomfortably in place before gesturing to the side. "Can we…?"

Oh, he wanted to speak privately. Of course he did—I could see Adyson still peeking out between the doors. Katie and Phineas had shown up as well and were looking at us too. I turned stiffly in the direction Ferb had pointed to and started walking. I didn't know where I was going—I think I probably would have kept walking if he hadn't stopped me.

"Isabella," he started, and my heart ached. He hadn't called me that in years. "I'm sorry. Um, I didn't want you to see that. I didn't want it—"

I cut him off. "That's alright," I said formally. I took a breath, ignoring the desperate plea in his eyes. I didn't even try to interpret what that plea might mean. I was too disconnected from everything to understand his silent communication. "You don't owe me an explanation. If you want to go kiss other girls—kiss Miranda," I spat the name. "That's your business. Not mine."

Rage was building slowly up to that point. Once I had said those words, it spiked and I couldn't help but wonder if there really had been others all along. Somehow, the awkwardness in his normally suave words just pissed me off even more. He didn't want me to see it? What the heck does that mean? Like he wanted to get away with it sneakily!? I couldn't see Ferb doing something like that, but it was like I didn't know anything anymore. Maybe that was a thing with his fan club—they were all in line to get the next smooch from the green-haired brit. Maybe even Katie was hoping she'd be next!

Ferb stepped closer, but I stepped back. His eyes shone with pain, but I didn't—couldn't—react to it. Not now. "There is no one else—"

"Oh, so just Miranda then!" I was almost yelling now.

"No, Isabella!" Honestly, Ferb was almost yelling too. He reached for my hand. "Not Miranda, just you! I-"

I'm not sure why he cut himself off, and at this point, I just didn't care. I was sick of him and his stupid inner monologues. I glared at him. "Go back to your date," I hissed and pulled my hand from his.

In an instant, the confusion on his face was replaced with offense and he scowled. "Maybe you should do the same," he practically sneered.

I chuckled darkly. "Yeah, well, you see—unlike you and your date where you guys are enjoying yourselves, dancing, kissing, getting crowned the freaking king and queen, my date doesn't want me." I crossed my arms in front of my chest. "Seems to be a reoccurrence in my life, though."

I saw his angry face flicker for a moment, like somebody else suddenly upset him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

That inner voice told me again to pay attention to what he was silently saying, but I didn't listen. "It means exactly what I said. Django doesn't want me. You don't want me. Phineas doesn't want me. Seems I'm just meant to be alone." I sighed sarcastically, turning away from him.

I started walking, but he grabbed my arms and pulled me back into his chest—way closer to him than I wanted to be at this point. "I want you," he whispered. "I've always wanted you," he mumbled.

I scoffed. "Oh please! FIVE YEARS!" I almost screamed. I wriggled out of his arms. "Why don't you ever SAY SOMETHING? You could have said something," I whimpered. "Instead you'd rather just string me along and—" My eyes widened as the rage brought another thought to my mind. "Is that what it was?" I accused quietly. "Was this whole thing—was it just to get me away from Phineas?"

It was like I had punched him. "What?"

I wrenched my arm from his grasp and poked him in the chest. "You! It was because of you that I forced myself to get over Phineas! Right? Every time something happened, you were just unnecessarily there. Because you were always around, sticking your big nose in where it doesn't belong! I'm sick of it! I can solve my own problems… love life included! Can't you just, for once in your life, leave me alone?!"

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. But I refused to show weakness in front of him—or anyone. I stood my ground, glaring up at him and almost daring him to retaliate. But he didn't. Instead, he gazed at me with an empty look before glancing down at my neck for a moment. My hand instinctively flew to the chain and blocked it from his view. Then he nodded once and walked away, leaving me standing there. Alone.

As he moved out of sight, the tears finally came. My chest hurt as I tried to breathe through the sobs. Only now had I realized that I had been wearing Ferb's rose to the prom. It was just such a staple of my wardrobe by now, I wore it all the time. What just happened? Why did I bring up Phineas? I really didn't like him anymore… right? No, I didn't. Ferb—I liked Ferb. And he hurt me. I wanted to hurt him back.

A blurry redhead ran past me, following the direction Ferb went, as a blonde and a brunette—also blurry—took hold of my arms and guided me outside. I would later find out that it was Phineas going to comfort Ferb and Katie and Adyson to save my ass. And that since we had sort of dumped our limo owners Phineas and Ferb, I would eventually be driven home by none other than Ginger Hirano.

Because at that moment, all I could see was the tears in my eyes, and my own life falling apart.

Guys, please review. Just take a minute to say that you are enjoying this story (or that this chapter made you sad, because I know it did me) and that you are looking forward to more. I think I speak for most of the authors on this website when I say that good reviews are what helps us stay motivated to keep writing.