Chapter Text
CHAPTER 2
ISABELLA POV
Phineas and I remain silent as we walk toward the museum.
The silence weighs on me enough that I feel the urge to break it.
“You said Candace was coming to visit this week, right?” I ask, looking at Phineas “How is she? How’s college going?”
He glances at me, and I feel his eyes light up.
“Oh, Candace is doing great! I’m really excited for her to come back home! Apparently she’s working on a method to catch criminals, and I can’t wait for her to tell me what it’s about. Plus, she’s coming with Jeremy, whom I haven’t seen in quite a while either. Apparently he’s still playing in the band, but he’s pretty busy with” He suddenly stops and looks at me “Sorry, I got a little carried away.”
I can’t help but smile at him and shake my head.
That enthusiasm is so Phineas.
“It’s okay, Phineas. I’ve always found the affection you have for Candace really sweet. So I’m glad to hear you talk about her and see that it hasn’t changed at all.”
He looks at me for a second and then diverts his gaze, scratching his ear.
That strikes me as odd, because I know he only does that when he’s nervous or uncomfortable.
Did my feelings give me away? Did he realize the way I was looking at him?
Change the subject, Isabella. Let it go.
“And Ferb?”
“Ferb, same as always. He doesn’t talk much. You know, he’s a man of action” Phineas replies, laughing. “And how are you? I can see the activities are keeping you really busy. I haven’t seen you all summer” Then he starts waving his hands frantically. “Not that I’m complaining or anything! I mean! You’re not obligated to come to the backyard if you don’t want to, it’s just, well… I barely see you.”
I feel a knot form in my stomach.
The conversation I was dreading is finally happening. Phineas wants to know why I’ve pulled away. And obviously, I can’t tell him.
“Yeah… it’s just that when I started high school I signed up for a lot of activities, and then with the Fireside Girls and all that… well, it’s been hard to organize myself, but I haven’t forgotten about you guys. The summers I spent in your backyard were amazing” The topic is reaching a dead end, so I try to change the subject “Hey, and what about Perry?”
I think I see Phineas make a brief grimace, as if something had hurt him.
“Perry’s the same as always. He’s a platypus and doesn’t do much.”
“Oh. Okay.”
And the awkward silence returns. Luckily, it doesn’t last long, because we finally reach the museum.
“Hey, Phineas, do you think the machine will still be where we left it?”
“Well, I hope so. Let’s find out.”
When we enter the museum, my first impression is that it hasn’t changed at all over the years. Everything is just as it’s always been, so we know exactly where to go. After a few hallways, a couple of left turns and a few right turns, we finally reach the room where Phineas and Ferb found the machine as kids and repaired it.
“Good, the machine’s still here” Phineas comments with a smile.
I sigh in relief. To be honest, the idea of traveling through time again really excites me.
“Isabella, can you keep an eye out to make sure no one’s coming?” He asks as he approaches one of the machine’s compartments and gently pushes it.
“Oh, yeah, sure” I reply as I peek down the hallway “It’s completely deserted.”
He nods and gestures for me to come closer. When I’m standing beside him, he pulls out a kind of metallic strap with buttons.
“What’s that?” I wonder curiously as I watch Phineas put the object around his wrist.
“This?” He smiles and hands me another strap identical to his “Just a small device Ferb and I created in case we ever traveled through time again.”
“Oh. And how does it work?”
I put the strap on as well, and Phineas smiles even wider. That smile he gets when he’s about to explain something that really excites him, like when he talks about science, his summer plans, or even Perry.
“This, my friend, is a QuantumBand” Phineas pauses dramatically “It uses nanotechnology to do incredible things, like modifying our clothes to adapt them to the era, creating a magnetic field to use as a shield in case of danger, and you can even turn invisible to avoid being seen by people from another time.”
“You guys are as incredible as ever” I comment without thinking.
“Thanks” he replies.
He looks happy, and that gives me a familiar feeling in my chest.
Isabella, no.
“Well”He approaches the machine and sits down, waiting for me to stand beside him “Ready to witness one of the most famous historical events?”
I nod enthusiastically and take my place next to him. At that moment, Phineas pulls the lever, and I feel a strange sensation all over my body, hard to describe. It only lasts an instant, but I feel dizzy. While I wait for the feeling to pass, he jumps out of the machine, but his comment disorients me even more.
“This isn’t France” He frowns and looks at me “This is still Danville. Could the machine be malfunctioning?”
With some difficulty, I climb out of the machine as well and observe our surroundings.
It’s true. We’re still in the Danville museum.
“Do we try again, or…?”
“We’d better leave it for today, Phineas. I’m exhausted, and I want to go home and rest. I’m sorry.”
He looks at me, and I notice he seems sad for a moment, but he quickly replaces it with a kind smile.
“Don’t worry, Isabella. Let’s go home.”
We make our way through the museum in silence. He’s unusually quiet, and I feel disappointed.
It seems like not even the universe wants me to have an adventure with Phineas.
He never understood my hints, I haven’t been able to confess my feelings, or spend time alone with him, and for once that I could have recovered something even remotely close to when we were kids, it wasn’t possible either.
I’m not wrong—trying to be close to him is the worst thing I can do. I only end up feeling worse.
I’m so focused on my spiral of self-sabotage that I don’t realize we’ve already left the museum until Phineas makes a strange sound.
“This isn’t our Danville.”
I look around us and see that he’s right.
There are buildings I’ve never seen before, advertisements for products I’ve never heard of… everything looks a bit more modern.
“Phineas… are we in the future again?”
We look at each other for a brief moment. Neither of us says anything, but we can almost read each other’s minds.
Maybe it’s a good idea, or maybe it’s a very bad one.
“Isabella. I know this isn’t France, but… doesn’t it make you curious to know what happens in the future?”
But the truth is, my explorer instinct is stronger.
“Yes” I reply with a smile.
I’m tired, exhausted both physically and emotionally, but I feel like a child again at the idea of exploring something as exciting and mysterious as the future.
Right now, my feelings for Phineas don’t matter. Nothing matters, because this is so much bigger—and the Isabella who always loved adventures has just awakened.
“And with this button you become visible again”Phineas explains as he presses his device’s button once more “Now it’s best if we stay invisible so no one will be able to see us and we don’t end up causing any anomalies. Although technically we’re in the future, so it wouldn’t affect the past…”
“Yeah. You’re right, but I get your point. Better to stay invisible.”
I look for the button Phineas told me about on my own band, and in that instant I stop seeing my body. When I turn to speak to him, I see that he’s disappeared too.
I worry at once.
“Phineas? Where are you?”
“I’m here. Right next to you” he replies immediately. His voice sounds so close that I instinctively step back, suddenly nervous.
“Well, shall we go? Where should we head?” I ask excitedly.
He answers with the same enthusiasm.
“What do you think about our neighborhood? Maybe we’ll get to see how we’re doing in the future.”
“Sounds great” I say as I start walking.
“Isabella, wait!” he exclaims, startling me.
“Yes?”
“Don’t you think it’s a bit dangerous that we can’t see each other?” his tone drops as he speaks “I…”
Phineas falls silent for a moment, and that confuses me.
“If you don’t mind” I sense him hesitate, as if he’s insecure “…could you stay close? I’m worried something might happen to you… Just close. You don’t need to hold my hand or anything if you don’t want to…”
I detect sadness in his voice, and it throws me off even more.
Does Phineas think I hate him or something? Has my attitude toward him been so awful that he thinks I don’t want to be near him?
It’s true that I try not to get close—but not because I don’t want to, but because I can’t. I can’t let myself get my hopes up again.
I know I can’t, and I shouldn’t, but Phineas’s voice and his words make me feel so guilty that, without being able to help it, I take his hand.
He tenses up instantly, and when I make a move to let go, Phineas tightens his grip.
“Come on” he says firmly.
And then we start walking.
Along the way, I can tell that Danville has changed, but not that much, so it can’t be a very distant future.
Some buildings look exactly the same as in our time. The ice cream shop where Phineas took me for my birthday is still there, as well as the mall, which now looks a bit bigger, as if a few more franchises had been added.
I even think I see Buford for a second, but I immediately dismiss the idea.
Buford with long hair and a scarf?
Impossible.
Phineas still isn’t saying anything.
I figure he’s just as focused as I am, observing everything with that scientific curiosity so typical of him.
We keep walking for a while longer until we finally reach our neighborhood. It hasn’t changed much either. The houses look the same; the neighbors seem to be the same people.
The neighborhood has barely changed.
I’m about to comment on it to Phineas when he suddenly stops.
“Phineas, what?”
“Look ahead” he replies, almost in a whisper.
Confused, I turn my attention forward and see it.
Or rather, I see us.
It’s Phineas and me—only older.
Phineas is taller.
And even more handsome.
I’ve grown a bit too, but while now we’re almost the same height, in the future Phineas is about half a head taller than me.
His way of dressing has changed as well.
As a kid, Phineas always wore his signature striped shirt and dark blue shorts; years later he started wearing a shirt with fewer stripes and long pants. Now, in his future version, he’s wearing a shirt with a single stripe over a white long-sleeved shirt and light blue pants.
And I won’t deny it—it looks really good on him.
My future self isn’t very different either. She’s wearing a pink blouse and white pants; the bow, however, is still adorning our hair in a low ponytail.
The big question is: what is our friendship like in the future?
And the answer appears before I can even process it.
It doesn’t exist.
I watch in disbelief as my future self avoids Phineas when they cross paths on the sidewalk, and he doesn’t do anything to stop it either. Each of them keeps walking and goes into their own house.
I let go of Phineas’s hand abruptly.
This can’t be happening.
“Isabella?”
But I can barely pay attention to him.
It can’t be. It can’t be. It can’t be.
I try to keep my voice from breaking when I speak.
“I have to go talk to myself.”
And without giving Phineas time to react, I run toward my house.
Toward my future house.
PHINEAS POV
Isabella disappears. Literally.
Since I can’t see her, I can only guess where she went based on her own words.
Talk to her future self? Wouldn’t that have consequences?
I’m not sure, but there’s nothing I can do either.
I saw it.
In the future, Isabella doesn’t talk to me, and I don’t think it would be comfortable for her if I showed up at her house, even if it were a younger version of me. Besides, I doubt the Isabella my age would be happy with that idea either.
I stand still on the sidewalk. Hesitating.
I look toward my house, and then I make a decision.
I’m going to talk to my other self too. I need to find out what happened between us. The idea of a future where Isabella doesn’t talk to me is devastating.
I carefully open the garden gate and scan the area, looking for myself, but there’s no one in the yard.
I know I’m invisible, but even so, the thought of another family member seeing me makes me nervous.
What if adult Ferb sees me?
I don’t know why, but I have the feeling that it wouldn’t be a good thing. I didn’t tell Isabella this, but he made it very clear to me that getting involved with the future again wasn’t a good idea.
Then I see him. He’s sitting on the couch, reading on an e-reader.
His eyes never leave the device, so I take the opportunity and, very slowly, enter the house. Then I cross the living room to reach the stairs that lead to my bedroom.
Ferb cleared. Next step: Perry.
My beloved pet is resting, as usual, in the hallway on the second floor. He hasn’t changed at all, and based on Ferb’s appearance, I can tell this really isn’t a very distant future—which means my friendship with Isabella is running out of time…
A shiver runs through my body.
When I finally reach our bedroom, I see my older self lying on the bed, his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling.
It’s something I do when I’m thinking or when something’s worrying me.
Without thinking too much about it, I step into the room and close the door.
“Phineas” I whisper to get his attention as I press the button to become visible again.
He jolts on the bed and stifles a scream, his eyes going wide.
“You just scared me half to death” he exclaims, one hand on his chest “Don’t I even care about giving myself a heart attack?”
“Sorry…” I start to apologize, then frown and narrow my eyes, looking at him suspiciously “Wait a second. Why aren’t you surprised?”
“What are you doing here?” he asks, changing the subject “Didn’t Ferb tell you it was better not to get involved with the future?”
“I didn’t mean to travel to the future, but to the past. I just wanted Isabella to have fun.”
The mention of her name makes my adult self’s expression change instantly. His eyes widen, and he makes a pained grimace.
“Isabella…”
“Yes, Isabella… Can you tell me what happened between us? She’s my best friend. It’s impossible that”
“Please, Phineas” he looks at me and lets out a bitter laugh “You can’t fool me. You don’t even believe it yourself. You know Isabella is pulling away” his expression turns serious “Maybe because she knows what we feel for her, or for other reasons we don’t know, but the truth is, she’s pulling away.”
Hearing those words out loud, and coming from myself—a more grown-up version who is still me—makes it hurt even more.
And still, even though I know he’s right, I refuse to accept it.
“But we can still be friends. I just have to get her to open up to me, and everything will go back to the way it was before.”
“Maybe. We never truly know what the future has in store for us.”
“What?”
He gets up from the bed and walks over to me. When he’s standing in front of me, he places a hand on my shoulder and looks me straight in the eyes.
“Listen to me. And listen carefully, Phineas. You need to go back to your time with Isabella immediately. Knowing too much could have unimaginable consequences” he pauses, as if choosing his next words carefully “Promise me something” When I don’t answer, he continues “Never try to change anything that has to do with the past. What’s done is done, and we can’t do anything to stop it or play at being gods. Alright?”
I nod slightly.
“Good. Where is she?”
I look at him, and his eyes open wide in horror.
“She’s with Isabella, right?”
“Yes.”