Mysterious Forces

Seventh Wheel

I'm sorry for not posting so frequently, I've been crazy busy the last few days. Anyways, this chapter is going to be more of a bridge into the great unknown of the end of the book!! (probably 2-3 more chapters remaining) So, I hope you enjoy this little somewhat fluffy, funny chapter. 

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Isabella woke up the next morning with arms wrapped around her and something poking the back of her neck. She opened her eyes slowly and turned her head, and gasped when she saw Phineas laying down next to her. He looked so cute when he was sleeping! She giggled and turned over so she was facing him, and then laid her head on his chest. She was comforted by his steady breathing and occasional sigh.

Meanwhile, Ferb had just woken up as well, and he and Emma had apparently made a human pretzel overnight. One of her legs was between his legs, one of his arms was under her head and the other was wrapped around her, and her other leg was laying on his feet. He chuckled and watched the sleeping girl as she giggled in her sleep. 

"Ferb, stop it..." she mumbled, and Ferb's eyes furrowed as he tried to figure out what was going through her head. 

Candace and Jeremy were all cuddled up as well, except it was more normal cuddling instead of whatever the heck the others were doing. 

Stacy shot awake and let out a large gasp, which somehow echoed and woke up the rest of the group. 

"What happened?" Phineas asked, jumping up from his sleeping position, which knocked a sleeping Isabella out of her comfortable position and hit the rock wall.

"Ow..." she groaned. 

"Oh, sorry, Izzy! You okay?" Phineas blushed, taking her head in his hands. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Stacy what's wrong?" she asked, rubbing her forehead. 

Stacy smiled nervously. "Oh, I'm fine! Just had a bad dream." 

"MOOOM, Xavier stole my blanket!" Amanda whined. 

"Amanda, you're like, a year younger than me at the moment. What do you want me to do about it?" Candace asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Jeremy laughed and put his arm around Candace. "You're a super supportive mom, aren't ya?" he teased, and Candace rolled her eyes and pushed him away. 

"Says the one that lets his girlfriend get bullied by his little sister!" Candace laughed. 

"What are you talking about? Suzy?" Jeremy scoffed. "You're funny, Candace! What a jokester!" he teased. 

Candace gave him a death stare. "Are you kidding me?" she asked. 

Jeremy lifted up her chin and kissed her. "Well, it all kinda hit me when she stung you with the jellyfish." he admitted. 

Candace's jaw dropped. "IT OCCURED TO YOU THEN AND NOT BEFORE THAT?" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. 

"Sorry! She just acts like a little angel when I'm looking! Only reason I saw that one was because I dropped the bucket so I looked in your direction and saw her push you..." he blushed. 

Candace laughed and kissed him. "Man, I really got beat up these last few days..."

"Yes, yes you did! And WE had to patch you up!" Isabella called, waking Emma up. 

"HUH?" Emma shot awake, scaring the life out of Ferb, who gasped. "Whoops, sorry, Ferb!" she giggled and kissed him on the cheek as she wrapped her arms around him. He blushed red as a tomato. 

Stacy sighed and looked at all of the happy couples, annoyed that she didn't have someone of her own. All of a sudden, a voice came from outside the cave. 

"Hello? Who's in here?" a male voice asked, and peered into the cave. 

"Coltrane? What are you doing here?" Stacy asked, standing up and walking over to him. The others looked at him for a few seconds before going back to their old conversations. 

"Oh, I'm taking a summer job as a park ranger! What are... what are you doing here?" he asked with a slight smile, gesturing to the others. "And... why are there mini versions of them..."

Stacy laughed. "Wanna take a walk with me? I'll explain EVERYTHING!" 

He smiled. "I'd love that, Stacy." he offered her his arm and they walked down the rock. Coltrane slid down and Stacy was about to do the same, but he stopped her. "Hold on! A pretty lady such as yourself shouldn't get your legs all scratched up." he winked and grabbed her by the waist and helped her down.

She blushed as he put her down and they stood awkwardly for a few seconds, staring into each other's eyes, before they snapped out of it and began walking. 

"Yeah, so, it's a long story." Stacy smiled.

"Well, I couldn't think of a better way to spend my morning, so go ahead and make the story as long as you want!" he grinned and took her hand as they walked through the forest. 

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Isabella was busy trying to plan their way out of the forest, with Phineas watching from behind her. 

"We passed the rock tower... the waterfall... the bear cave... WHERE IS THE MUSHROOM PATCH?" she grumbled, throwing her pencil against the cave wall.

"Isabella, it's okay! We'll find our way out." Phineas smiled and knelt down next to her. She looked towards him. 

"How do you know? What if we never get out of here, Phineas?" she sniffled and wiped away a tear. "I miss my family..."

Phineas saw her sadness and hugged her tight. "Aw, Isabella... we'll get out of here. Look, it could be worse! What if we hadn't found you?" he pointed out with a smile. 

She expressed a small smile. "You're right, it could be worse. Well, hopefully we can find a way o- where's Stacy? Did you guys see where she went?" she asked, looking around frantically. 

"No... why would she leave?" Marie asked.

She gasped. "Stacy must have felt like a third... no, fifth... no, seventh wheel!" Isabella exclaimed and put her face in her hands. 

"Actually, I-" Ferb started, but was cut off by his sister.

"Well, are we gonna go look for her?" Candace suggested.

"Yes! Let's get our stuff ready!" Phineas said, starting to pack his bag.

"Wait, g-" Emma started, but was interrupted by Xavier. 

"WOO RESCUE MISSION!"

"SILENCE!" Ferb yelled, getting the attention of everyone. He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "While you bozos were doing your own thing, Emma and I saw her go out with Coltrane." 

Emma giggled. "Yes, yes we did."

"Huh? How did Coltrane get here?" Isabella asked. 

"Were none of you paying attention? He's working a summer job as a park ranger." Emma rolled her eyes. "Man, we're friends with a bunch of dimwits, Ferby!" she told Ferb, who cracked up. 

"Yes, yes we are." he smirked and kissed her on the cheek. 

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One more thing- I want to shoutout a friend that means a lot to me. Not only has he supported my books and the crazy inventions of my PnF obsessed brain, he's been there for me countless times, made me laugh, talked to me when nobody else would, and got me through some rough days. Thank you, S_Ninja01 for everything!!! :)