Whhhaaaatttt?! ANOTHER Ferbella fic from Spazzumtard? Is the world coming to an end?!

No, I just had this on the back burner and figured now is as good a time as any to share it with all of you. :)

(Also, it is twenty-five FREAKING degrees BELOW ZERO (Fahrenheit, in case you were wondering), and I am FREEZING!)

This fic was inspired by the song That Don't Sound Like You by Lee Brice.

Disclaimer: I don't own Phineas and Ferb!

Ferb leaned back against the pillows he had piled up between him and the headboard. He narrowed his eyes, practically glaring at the laptop resting on his extended legs. Clearly it was mocking him. Phineas had sent him these plans over a week ago, and the fact that Ferb couldn't focus enough to effectively proofread the engineering behind them was very much out of the ordinary.

Ferb sighed and dropped his head back against the pillows. He couldn't figure out why he still bothered. The science behind all of Phineas' ideas and plans were, while sometimes quite eccentric, usually quite sound. Plus he had his own team of engineers available to him at that ridiculously named company to do all the safety checks.

"But they're not as good as you, Ferb!" Phineas would respond whenever Ferb pointed that out.

Well, of course they weren't! No one was, really. But especially not anyone working for a company names LOVEMUFFIN. It sounded more like an 80s rock band than an idea hub that created and built inventions. In the past year that Phineas had been working there, he had tried getting Ferb to join in too. That would never happen though. While Phineas would be fine working for a business with a name like that (this is where his naivety and obliviousness came in handy), Ferb could not—at least not while still keeping his dignity intact.

That, and Perry's face when Phineas announced where he had been hired told Ferb a lot. At least the platypus would be able to keep Phineas out of too much trouble. (Honestly, how no one knew still that the pet was a spy of some sort was lost to Ferb. It seemed so obvious. And he was pretty sure Perry knew that he knew, but neither tried to communicate that to the other.)

No, Phineas was just going to deal with LM on his own. Ferb much preferred the freelance engineering. Who knew there was such a profession? He was able to pick and choose the projects he worked on, who he worked with (often no one—preferring the ease of working alone without having to direct people who often did it all wrong anyway), and Ferb's favorite perk; he was able to take days off whenever he wanted. As a child, Phineas' energy was fairly easy to keep up with, not to mention slightly contagious. As an adult, not so much. There were times that Ferb just wanted to sit in bed all day and play video games.

The Brit sat up straight and raised his arms above his head, stretching his shoulders and then his neck afterwards. Another day wouldn't hurt anyone, right? Phineas was getting anxious, but he wasn't quite past the point of being easy to ignore yet. It was cutting a bit close to the deadline, apparently, but heck; maybe Phineas would learn to rely more on his personal engineering crew rather than solely on his step-brother. Not that Ferb wanted Phineas to never ask him for help—but give a guy a break once in awhile! He wasn't even getting paid for it!

He was just about to close the laptop and go get some food when a notification popped up in the corner of the screen.

IZtheWaterSprite: You busy?

Ferb grinned, remembering her response to the questions about her username, and settled back against the pillows to respond.

"Isabel is the best character in that book! It's all because of her that those guys even made it to the sword, let alone them beating the evil wizard!"

FetchinFletcher: Not right now. And never for you.

His own username was actually created by Phineas, who thought it was the funniest thing in the world. "Because you're a ladies man, Ferb!" he had said. Ferb couldn't help keeping it. It reminded him of years past when Phineas wasn't so needy about his projects. And he did have a separate professional account of just his name for clients, so there really was no harm.

He waited for a bit, expecting her to write back, but the composing message icon never appeared. His eyebrows furrowed and he started typing again, asking if everything was alright when instead of a message, a video chat request popped up. He blinked in surprise, and with a sad sigh he accepted.

Almost instantly her face appeared. She looked so different from a few short years ago...

"Hey Ferb," she greeted with a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Ferb forced a smile in return. It hurt him to see her like this. Gone was the sparkle in her eyes, the constant grin on her lips, her beautiful long, naturally wavy hair...

"Hey, how are you?" he asked even knowing that she wouldn't respond with full honesty.

"I'm fine. Long day at work. How are you?"

As they continued with some superfluous conversation, Ferb couldn't help studying her and thinking back to when she first started changing.

It had begun sometime during Freshman year of college. And it was the summer after that Ferb really noticed. In his defense, he had been in England during the school year, but he still felt guilty. If he had stayed near home for college, it probably wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't have let it.

After finally giving up on Phineas, she was an innocent freshman—completely inexperienced in the ways of love. So when she found a guy who was interested in her, she leapt. And she fell—wholeheartedly. Nothing this James could do was wrong. He became her whole world and she did everything she could for him. Including skipping classes, changing her major, not hanging out or talking to old friends... and even cutting her hair.

She had always adored her long hair, except for when it was humid. The first time Ferb had seen the new, chin-length hair, he couldn't comprehend it. She always said that while she could, before she had kids and inevitable cut it so it was easier to manage and there was a less chance of it being pulled by little hands, she was going to keep it long. That she seemingly cut it so easily was a major warning sign in Ferb's eyes that something wasn't quite right.

Her changing her major was another warning sign, but at least she changed back... eventually. She had started out in journalism—something that seemed easy and so obviously her—but soon changed it to nursing at James's coercion. It was an obvious mistake to Ferb. Isabella wasn't cut out for medical. Sure, she could do it—she could do anything—but there were some things she would have had a hard time handling.

It was the cadaver lab. Just one class later; she went back to journalism and she refused to budge. Ferb could still remember having to comfort her over the phone because of the nightmares she had.

After all that, Ferb was pretty sure he wouldn't like James. And when they finally met, it was confirmed. He was arrogant, self-righteous, and demeaning—not at all suitable for the sweet Isabella.

Apparently that feeling was mutual, because after meeting him in person during Isabella's junior year, the frequency of her calls and messages dropped dramatically. At least they didn't stop completely—that showed she still had a tiny spark in her, and as frustrated as he was with her about almost everything else, Ferb was proud of her for that.

"Ferb, are you even listening to me?"

The Brit blinked away the memories and focused back on the screen—her face. "I'm sorry, I got lost in Ferb-land. What were you saying?"

She chuckled a bit when he mentioned Ferb-land, but it was nothing like her old, bright giggle. "I was telling you about my day."

"Yeah, you said it was long."

She gave him a look that nearly broke his heart—all that insecurity in her eyes. When she asked, "That's all you heard? You must be busy. I can call you later..." in that quiet voice, his heart shattered.

Ferb shook his head firmly, dissuading that idea in a flash. "No. I'm not busy—not for you. I was just thinking of some old memories. I am all yours now. I promise," he said giving her an intense look, completely focused on her. That she looked at him with such amazement—like his response was the last thing she expected—hurt him too.

"Oh... um, it was just a long day," she repeated. "Lots of work, not enough tips... that's pretty much it."

He could tell he had confused her by the way she stumbled through that sentence, and he didn't like it. Almost everything about her lately he didn't like. He missed the girl she used to be—the girl he knew to be hiding just under the surface, waiting anxiously to come out again.

After graduating, Isabella had followed James to the small town where he lived. He had a job (working in the family business after graduating with a major in general business studies, of course), but there were no openings at the local newspaper for Isabella. So she ended up waitressing in one of the diners.

Honestly, it was pathetically amazing how far she had fallen while fawning over this guy.

Ferb closed his eyes against the rage that was building up within him. The last thing she needed was him ranting at her about her choices. He had to be careful not to push her further into that crap's arms.

"Bella," he started, using the nickname he had given to her in high school and had stopped calling her (out loud) after... James. "Why are you still there?" he asked.

She shifted on her bed, a little taken back by the question and the tone it was asked in. Ferb deliberately—carefully—made sure there was absolutely no ire in his voice when he asked, making it more a question of curiosity rather than of frustration. "I... I..." she began.

Ferb remembered something that had happened about a week or two previous. Now seemed the perfect time to bring it up. "The editor over at the Daily Danville asked about you the other day." he stated simply.

He could see the yearning peeking through her eyes for a moment before it dimmed again. "Ferb... I-I can't—"

"You can." he interrupted, gazing intently at her image. "You can do anything." Her eyes were so wide and she was hanging on his every word. He wanted to reach through the computer to cup her cheek. (Mental note: idea for a new invention.) "Bella," he said lowly. "You are meant to be so much more than a small town waitress." Or have a worthless and demeaning significant other, he finished to himself. At least they weren't married... yet.

Isabella swallowed thickly—the only movement she made for a long time. How long had it been since she was told of her worth? Since she actually believed there might be a chance that the person speaking spoke honestly? "Ferb... I-I..." she reiterated, but trailed off.

Ferb's eyes closed painfully—she was going to deny it... again! That's it, he thought. I can't allow this to continue. I will go fight for her if I have to. She CANNOT stay! He promised himself with as much determination he could muster. He was already mentally mapping out the quickest way to get to her when he heard it.

"Will you come get me?"

The question was soft—so soft that he first thought he had misheard her. His eyes snapped to hers and—seeing the confirmation in them—he let his face light up with a huge grin.

"I'll be there in 10 minutes."

She looked at him with confusion. "But... it's a six hour drive..."

"Have you forgotten who I am?" Ferb asked cheekily with an eyebrow raised.

Isabella blinked once and then she erupted in giggles—bright airy giggles! It was a sound that was so familiar and yet not heard in so long. He watched her in adoration until she calmed down.

"What?" she asked; eyes bright, and smile shining on her lips.

The answer was so simple, it was almost ridiculous. And cheesy—oh so cheesy.

"You sound like you again."

Review and tell me what you thought! I know some of you will be freaking out over Phineas having been hired by LOVEMUFFIN... So let's hear it!

Also, remember how cold I said it was? Reviews keep me warm! ;D

Also, for those of you who might still be interested in joining us for the fic exchange (Ferbella Valentine's Day Fic Exchange! You get to write a short story for a fellow author and you will get one in return! :D), we are coming to the end of sign ups! PM me and/or review if you are at all interested and I will share the forum link with all of the information!