The next morning, I sleep through all of my alarms. I wake up, scheduled to be at work in a half hour.
"No no nonono. How did this happen?" I mutter as I hurriedly throw on clothes and brush my teeth. I throw my hair into a bun, hoping it would hide the fact that I didn't have time to brush it. I grab my shoes and head out the door. Only to immediately return inside, because I forgot my keys. I grab them off the table, pat Pinky on his soft little head, and leave for real.
I manage to make it to work two minutes before my shift. I rush in, throwing my stuff in the back.
"I'm here! I'm here! Totally not late at all." I call, sliding into the kitchen.
"Isa, there you are." Mom waves to me without looking up from her work. "Grab more cilantro from the back for me before you head out on the floor."
"Sure thing." I retrieve it for her before heading out to take over for the one of the other servers. I have the nagging feeling I forgot something, but I don't have the time to figure out what. This restaurant is packed, and I have a lot to do.
***
After my shift winds down, I head back home. My legs are aching from a chaotic shift and I just want to shower. But as I approach home, I notice a yellow fence.
Ferb! That's what I was forgetting. I should have let him know that I wasn't going to drop by this morning. Maybe he's still out and I can apologize. I knock on the gate, not wanting to just barge in.
"It's open." Ferb responds. I open it and slip through. He's sitting under the tree reading again. A large wood crate sits next to him, untouched.
"Hey. Sorry I didn't drop by this morning. I was running super late. I should have texted though." I sit next to him under the tree.
"It's fine. You don't have to come by everyday if you don't want to." He shrugs, not looking up from his book.
"But do you want me to?" I ask impulsively. I don't know why, but I really want him to say yes.
"I always love to see you, Isabella." He glances up at me for a second, pink spreading across his cheeks. He looks back down, and I look away too.
"Really?" My voice squeaks a bit, and I swallow hard to try and fix it. "I'm glad."
I gently rest my head on his shoulder close my eyes. After a moment, I feel him lean his back on me. We sit in companionable silence as he reads his book and I rest after a long shift. This summer is sure shaping up to be a different one. I'm not sure I mind though.
***
I'm awoken by my phone buzzing. I sit up, groggily fumbling to get it out of my pocket.
"Hello?" I grumble, my brain scrambling to figure out what's going on.
"Isa! Thank heaven you're okay! Where have you been? Do you know what time it is?" My mother's voice quickly goes from relieved to angry. "You know you're not supposed to be out past eleven. You need to come right now. I've been so worried!"
"Yeah, mom. Sorry." I hang up the phone and take in my surroundings. Something moves in the dark next to me. I clamp my hands over my mouth to keep from shouting.
"Isabella?" A deep confusing sounding voice comes from it.
"Yeah. Hey Ferb. I guess we must have dozed off." I check the time on my phone. "Oh crap. It's almost 1 am. No wonder my mom's furious."
Ferb swears under his breath and I blush, surprised. I had never heard him swear before.
"I'm so sorry. This is my fault. I can talk to your mom if you need me to." He stood up, offering me a hand.
"Thanks," I let him pull me up. "I don't think that'll be necessary. I'm sure she'll understand."
"Alright. Can I at least walk you home? It is late." I can barely see him in the darkness of the backyard.
"Yeah, of course." We manage to make it to the lit street without tripping in the dark, and head to my house. We reach my doorstep and he shoves his hands in his pockets.
"See you tomorrow?" He asks.
"Yeah. See you tomorrow." I glance up at him, and meet his eyes. A warm feeling grows in my stomach, almost making me dizzy. We both hesitate just a moment too long, and my mom opens the door.
"There you are Isa! And... Ferb?" The last word comes out as a question.
"Goodnight, Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro." He nods respectfully to her before heading home. Mom ushers me inside, her face the picture of confusion. I guess I can't blame her. It's been a strange night.
"Sweetie, we need to talk."
********
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Oh, Brothers (Ferbella)
FanfictionIsabella has lived across the way from the Flynn-Fletcher boys for years. She knows them better than anyone, maybe even better than she knows herself. She also has cared for Phineas for as long as she could remember. But when he moves away sudde...
