Carpe Diem
Whyteroze28
Disclaimer: I don't own Phineas, Ferb or their friends. They belong to Dan Povenmire, and Jeff Marsh.
Phineas and Ferb are teenagers, but things haven't been going that well for either of them lately. Will things get better, or are things to far gone to fix? Slash. Don't like, Don't read. And the title of this comes from a song that will be in the musical version of the 'Rollercoaster' episode.
Chapter 5
The boys went into the kitchen to check Perry's food and water, and decided to make themselves a quick sandwich before Isabella returned. After all, there was no telling what kind of food might be at the dance, and they hadn't had much to eat since breakfast.
"So," Phineas said, suddenly, "Buford and Baljeet seem to be moving along rather well."
Ferb nodded. "It seems that way. I think they're just picking up right where they left off." Well, with less bullying and a touch more romance, I hope. Although there had been some very interesting moments between the two even when they were children.
Then he caught the end of Phineas' next comment, about fanboy Irving, and glared at him. "I had almost forgotten that, thank you." Then Phineas laughed, and he growled, "What now?"
"Just remembering the way he was looking at you earlier," Phineas replied, still laughing. "Like you were the newest trailer for a Clive Addison movie."
Ferb sighed. "Actually, I wanted to ask you about that. Was it just me, or did that dance feel a bit more... risqué than it did the last time we did it?"
"Well, a lot of things seem different than they did when we were ten," Phineas said, blushing a little bit. "I mean, can you imagine us singing PFT's song nowadays? Or wearing the clothes we wore when we were in the Baljeatles?"
"Or both," Ferb chuckled, but then he had a sudden mental image of Phineas in the leather jacket, orange shirt, and zebra-striped pants he'd worn at that concert, singing 'Gitchee Gitchee Goo." Strangely enough, it left him feeling rather lightheaded, and he sank into the nearest chair, with a quiet, "Damn."
He saw Phineas glance curiously at him, but before either of them could speak, the front door opened, and Isabella floated in. Both boys smiled in appreciation... she was pretty after all. Although Ferb noticed how well her dress complimented their clothes, and wondered if she'd done that on purpose.
The three teens went outside, and climbed into Candace's old car. When Candace had gotten her license, the Flynn grandparents had bought her a car, which she'd named, oddly enough, the Candace Crusher 2. Yet strangely enough, it was the girliest car the boys had ever known... even though they couldn't quite figure out why. It wasn't pink, it didn't have any type of frills or anything to make it girly, it just was. They drove to the lake where the dance was being held in silence, with the radio as their only real sound.
At the dance, they let Isabella's friend Ginger, who was the photographer, take a picture of the three of them. She promised them all copies, then Ferb wandered over towards the stage, to see what type of music the DJ was planning to play. He passed a few people he vaguely remembered from elementary school, but no-one who really seemed familiar. Then...
"Hey, Ferb."
He turned, and frowned slightly. "Vanessa? What are you doing here?"
"Johnny and I were conned into chaperoning. And you?"
He shrugged. "I got dragged along with Phineas, but it's cool." Then he held out his hand. "Do you think your boyfriend would mind if I asked you to dance?"
She smiled. "Nah, he's pretty cool about stuff like that." As they stepped out, into the dancing area, she added, "You know, I've heard so much from Candace about the stuff you and Phineas used to do when you guys were kids. You guys must be like, geniuses or something."
"Well, I wouldn't go that far," he replied, a little self-consciously. Then he chuckled. "This is so strange. Six years ago, this would have been ideal but..."
"What?" she asked, curiously.
He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "Well, I'm dancing with the only woman I've ever been attracted to, but I can't seem to stop thinking about some unusual things that happened today."
Her eyes widened, and she took in the serious face of the British boy. "Only... Ferb, are you...?"
"Oh, it's worse than that," he said, sighing. Then he leaned in, and whispered something into her ear, and she turned to look at him, stunned. "I told you. I guess you think I've got one hell of a problem."
She shook her head. "It could be worse, believe me. I mean, my dad's in love with a..." Suddenly, there was a loud bang from a nearby street, and they both jumped. "Anyway, I don't see the problem. It's not like there would be anything illegal about it. You just have to decide if you can handle everyone else's reactions."
As the song ended she left to go find Johnny, and Ferb turned to head for the snack table. Before he got there, however, he saw Phineas and Isabella standing near a tree, apparently in a heated argument. He saw her glance towards the dance area, and when she saw him watching them, she glared at him, so he turned away.
He finally made it over to the snack table, and poured himself a glass of punch. As he stood there drinking it, he surveyed the dancers, and watched as Phineas led a still somewhat irate Isabella out among the dancers. Then Vanessa and Johnny walked over to where he was standing. He watched the man toss a lit cigarette to the ground, and step on it, then grab himself a drink.
"Hey, again," Vanessa said, getting her own drink. "Looks like your step-brother's having a rough time of things." She nodded towards the dance floor, where Phineas had an exasperated look on his face.
Johnny snorted. "It's the girl. I heard them arguing when I went for a smoke. She can't stand the fact that he told her he was in love with someone else." As Vanessa and Ferb both stared at him, he continued. "Yeah, he must have said who, but I didn't catch a name. But she was freaking out. So she made him promise he'd spend the rest of the dance with her."
Vanessa leaned in and whispered to her boyfriend for a minute, and he chuckled slightly. "Yeah, sure babe, no problem." Ferb wondered if she was worried about him.
Ferb spent the rest of the dance hanging out with Vanessa and her boyfriend. He danced with Vanessa a few more times, and was beginning to relax a bit. He'd spent his time dancing, and getting to know her and her boyfriend, who was actually very cool. However, every time he caught sight of Phineas and Isabella, he noticed a pained look on the other boy's face. He felt like he should do something, but couldn't help flashing back to that comment Johnny had repeated... that Phineas was in love.
He'd never seen a hint of a possible romance brewing, and he'd always been the detail-oriented one. He felt stunned. And the fact that he was discovering that his crush on Vanessa really wouldn't have made it past the first stage really didn't help. Not that she wasn't a great person, but the things they discussed made it painfully obvious that they were definitely not compatible. It did help him him put the conversation they'd had during their first dance in a better perspective though.
Vanessa was determined to cheer him up though. She told some funny anecdotes about her family, mostly about her father's desperate attempts to win her affections. Strangely, the tales portrayed the man in a more sympathetic light than he would have believed. Some of the stories commented on her father's sad childhood, and Ferb wondered exactly how much of it was real, and how much her father had exaggerated.
Then the lights around the lake dimmed, and Ferb glanced towards the DJ's area. But the DJ wasn't there, and instead, there were instruments up on the stage, that had apparently been set up during the last couple of songs. He stared in amazement as three very familiar people walked onto the stage. Then he saw Phineas grin, and realized that the boy must have planned this.
He smiled as Love Handel launched into one of his favorite songs, "Music Makes Us Better". He'd always identified with that song, because he'd been the one in the family with the most eclectic musical tastes. The whole family was musically inclined, of course, but he was the one who'd always (since he didn't talk much) used his music to communicate for him. And it really did seem to lift his spirit.
They performed a few more songs, and then announced a special finale. Apparently, Phineas had asked to sing with the band. Ferb chuckled as he remembered how well Phineas had sung as a child. Not that it was bad, but his voice had been rather high. He was more suited to pop than rock. Then again, he hadn't really heard the boy sing since his voice broke. As he watched the red-head step out onto the stage, he noticed that he wasn't wearing the same clothes that he'd worn to the dance. He was wearing an almost duplicate outfit to the one Ferb had pictured him in earlier, except he had foregone the zebra-striped pants for a pair of dark jeans. And the image was more striking than it had appeared in his head.
Phineas' voice had definitely gotten better. It was rich and melodious, and flowed out over the audience. But the music wasn't the hard rock that Ferb had expected. Instead, it was almost an acoustic ballad. As Phineas looked up, his eyes locked with the green-haired boy in the audience, and Ferb could only stare as he heard the lyrics and realized exactly what he was hearing.
I remember when we were young
When we had so much fun
In those days when
We spent all our time together
You and me, we have such a history
And sometimes, I really miss those days
Because they meant so much to me
And I could lie and say that everything is fine
But I just wish you'd talk to me again
Cause I wanna know
What you'd say
If I tell you there's
A part of me that can't let go
We didn't have everything
But I can still imagine it
I try to hide it all when you're near
But I can't help wishing that you would hear
The way my heart screams your name
When you're close
Now I'm asking you
Do you ever wonder
About the spell I'm under
Or have confusing
Dreams starring you and me
I've always wondered where things went wrong
Could I have told you in a song?
And I guess this is just my sad little attempt
And I miss that look I see in your eyes
When I've taken you by surprise... and sometimes
The way everything was possible
I miss the way we used to be
Before love came along
Cause I wanna know
What you'd say
If I tell you there's
A part of me that can't let go
We didn't have everything
But I can still imagine it
I try to hide it all when you're near
But I can't help wishing that you would hear
The way my heart screams your name
When you're close
Now I'm asking you
Do you ever wonder
About the spell I'm under
Or have confusing
Dreams starring you and me
Now you probably hate me and I know I'd understand
But just remember every word I've said is true
Cause I wanna know
What you'd say
If I tell you there's
A part of me that can't let go
We didn't have everything
But I can still imagine it
I try to hide it all when you're near
But I can't help wishing that you would hear
The way my heart screams your name
When you're close
Now I'm asking you
Do you ever wonder
About the spell I'm under
Or have confusing
Dreams starring you and me
The stage went dark, and Ferb exhaled shakily. That was intense. He wasn't sure whether to believe it or not. But then, little things he'd noticed all day began flashing through his mind. He felt like he'd been as blind as he'd always assumed Phineas was. He wanted to go find the other boy, but, he still wasn't quite sure that he'd connected all the dots correctly. Then he saw Isabella, except this time, she was smiling at him.
AN: The picture that Ginger took is here: Just Friends
I know my art isn't the greatest, but I hope you like it.
And I hear the song Phineas is singing to the tune of "Introducing Me" by Nick Jonas.