Ferb's First Night
A oneshot about 7 year old Ferb spending his first night in the US and meets his brother Phineas for the first time.
It was the year 2000. The hum of the rental car on the highway was the only sound to be heard. It was dark outside with the street lamps giving off a warm orange glow into the night. It was comforting for Ferb after the nine hour flight. He had good headphones but he had never been on a plane so long before. He was too young to even remember the last time, he was only seven years old.
Despite the stress of travel, he felt relieved to be leaving his Mother, the woman he had the utmost displeasure of living with, he might say. She wasn't cruel or anything, but she wasn't exactly fun either. She was strict and always pressured him to use his words. He was content to be as far away from her as possible.
βOnly twenty minutes left,β his Dad Lawrence said with an enthusiastic tone despite the exhaustion they both felt. They had both left at eight pm after supper in Liverpool but Ferb was confused to see time had magically gone backwards. Nine hours had passed and it was only close to midnight. Not only that but his Dad was driving on the opposite side of the road. All the cars had seemingly switched sides. It was all backwards and upside down here. It felt weirdly whimsical from a seven year oldβs point of view. The street signs looked different, the buildings different, and the houses looked nothing like the flats in Liverpool.
Ferb closed his eyes for only a moment. Twenty minutes felt like twenty seconds as he opened his eyes and they were suddenly there!
Ferb grabbed his suitcase. All of his other stuff had been shipped over already. Ferb believed they had teleported it to the new house. When he walked in he flinched slightly at the sound of another young boy screaming. He was greeted by the warm light of the house. It was less dreary than his Mother's flat. There were decorations and colorful pictures on the wall.
βHE'S HERE HE'S HERE!!!β the redheaded boy announced at the top of the lungs, running up to the front door.
βOh my god stop screaming!β a teenage girl yelled back from upstairs, coming down to meet her little brother.
The little boy walked up to Ferb, who had grabbed his Dad's leg and hid himself. He put a gentle hand on Ferb's head.
βDUDE!! We got to stay up past bedtime waiting for you!! It was awesome!β His voice was young and squeaky. His grin displayed a missing tooth that gave him a slight wisp to his words. Their Mom grabbed his shoulder and bent down to his level, speaking to him quietly, βPhineas, remember what I said about Ferb being special?β
βOhhh right,β he said, louder than her hushed tone. He was still wide eyed with a smile.
He turned to his brother with his inside voice, βHey Ferb, my name is Phineas. That's our big sister Candace. And that's our Mom!β His enthusiasm kept him from staying quiet.
βPhineas,β their Mom said firmly. Ferb stepped away from his Dad and got closer to his brother.
βOh right, quiet time,β he said before suddenly grabbing Ferb's hand and walking him further into the house. Ferb silently walked with him and looked around avoiding eye contact.
βThis is the living room,β Phineas pointed to the couch and TV before pulling him towards the kitchen, βthis is the dining room, that's the kitchen.β
He looked around at the kitchen, it was huge. It was a regular old house, but to Ferb he was in a mansion. He noticed the sliding glass door and walked up to it. Was that their grass??
βOh yeah that's the backyard! It's got a tree and everything!β Phineas said bouncy with excitement.
βBoys, it's time for bed,β their Mom reminded him.
βBut I wanna show Ferb the house! He hasnβt even seen the basement yet.β
A basement? He had never heard of that before. He wondered what a basement was.
βYou can show him the rest of the house tomorrow morning,β she said, exasperated.
βBut I'm not even tired!β Phineas whined.
βBedtime. Now,β she ordered calmly.
βI'll show him where the bathroom is,β he said before grabbing Ferb's hand again. He led Ferb up the stairs and opened the bathroom door. Even the bathroom was huge.
βThat's the sink, that's the shower, that's the tub, that's the toilet and here's your toothbrush!β He held up a toothbrush and handed it to Ferb. It was odd to see something familiar in such a different place. They brushed their teeth and got ready for bed together.
When they walked into their bedroom Ferb stared at Phineas's bed. It was a raft.
βYou like my bed? I made it myself!β He crawled in and waved to invite Ferb in. Ferb stared at the floor as he walked slowly to the raftbed and climbed into it. He stared at the blankets, touching the fabric.
βYeah I've had that blanket since I was a baby, but I got these awesome space man covers for my birthday this year,β he took the cover and showed it to Ferb and Ferb felt at it. Phineas let him hold it and pointed at the other bed, βThat purple bed over there is yours. We put the blankets you packed on it, but you can borrow any of mine in the closet if you want.β
Ferb got out and went to his bed, the blankets were familiar, but the bed felt different. Phineas got out of bed and started to get into the pajamas and Ferb copied him.
Their Mom came back minutes later to make sure Phineas was in bed and their Dad came to wish them both goodnight. Ferb hugged him, not letting go.
His Dad spoke softly to him βI know everything is so new and weird but I know you'll adapt just fine. Your new Mother is very understanding, you know.β
Ferb sighed.
βI know it's scary sleeping at a new place but I want you to try your best,β he patted his son on the back. After a minute Ferb let him go.
βI love you,β he said to them both before shutting the door.
An hour had passed, it was only one in the morning, but in England it was six oβclock. Ferb usually woke up around this hour to get ready for Primary school. It made it hard for him to get into sleeping mode. And the room was too different. The temperature was too warm. His flat back in Liverpool was always pretty cool in temperature, it was uncomfortable being in a hot bedroom. There were different night sounds. He wasn't used to the window in his room with its moonlight. He sat there in bed, not sure what to do with himself.
Meanwhile, Phineas had been tossing and turning in bed. He could hear him. It felt weird sleeping in the same room with another person. Soon enough Phineas made a frustrated sound and threw off his blanket. He looked a little embarrassed when he noticed Ferb was awake, sitting in bed. He forgot someone else was sleeping in his room now. His brother stared around at the walls.
βYou can't sleep either?β
Ferb didn't respond.
βI'm way too excited to sleep dude. There's so many awesome things I want to show you. Like my snowglobe collection. My Star Wars action figures. All my toys.β
Ferb reached out to a lamp and touched it, but didn't turn it on.
βYeah go ahead,β Phineas with a smile. With permission, Ferb turned on the light.
He got out of bed and opened up his box, rummaging through it.
βOh, you wanna unpack your stuff?β he said as he got out of bed. He stood there watching Ferb dig through the box for something. He pulled out a snow globe with the London Bridge inside it. He got up and walked up to Phineas, staring down at it.
βDo you need any help?β
Ferb took Phineas' hands and put the snowglobe into them.
βWoah, you collect snowglobes too? β he gently shook it, watching the white stuff float around. Ferb took it back. He turned it upside down, paused, and quickly turned it right side up. The fake snow whirled around the globe like magic.
βOoooh that's how you do it. Dude you're so smart. Is that the London Bridge? It looks so cool. I hope I can visit England with you someday. Then you could show me your house,β Phineas said as he watched the snow fall. Ferb put the snowglobe back into his hands and walked back to the box. Phineas waited for the snow to settle and turned the snowglobe over like Ferb did. He giggled quietly at it, βI think it'd look good over here. Or maybe there?β
Ferb took it back and placed it on a shelf.
βYeah, that's a good spot.β
Ferb ran over to his box and pulled out a vinyl record by a band called The Clash. He excitedly trotted over to Phineas, gave it to him, and ran back to his box.
βOh cool, I think your Dad- I mean- I think our Dad has a record player. I've never heard of this band. Maybe we can listen to it tomorrow.β
Ferb took it away and replaced it with a different vinyl of the band Sex Pistols.
βNeat,β Phineas said with naivety. Ferb showed his brother the rest of his records. The Shins, The Cranberries, X-Ray Spex, and many others. He continued to show Phineas his stuff for an hour. Phineas commented on each item and watched Ferb happily add it to their room.
Phineas yawned at him, β I'm getting tired, but we can continue tomorrow. I've never been up this late before, I'm glad it was with you. You're so cool dude.β
Ferb sat in his bed, happily rocking himself a little. He had never felt this happy before. He connected with someone his age! No comments about his mutism at all. No pressure to speak. He felt so understood.
βWell goodnight Ferb. Good luck getting to sleep.β
Ferb watched Phineas go back to bed and turn off the light. He ended up not being able to get any sleep, because the room was too warm for him after living in Liverpool for seven years. He struggled with being in a new place, he felt exhausted, it was a little overwhelming but he felt like things were gonna be okay.
