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[adoresphineas]

Isabella wasn't usually one to freak out over grades or classes. She left that up to Baljeet during elementary and high school. She sat in the library, raking her fingers through her hair. This essay needed to just write itself. She never thought midterms would be this stressful

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[triangleshaped]

Midterms for Phineas were just about as stressful as any other part of his school year, which was to say "only moderately". He'd finished all his paperwork, and was only having to look forward to the exams. He always was ahead of the class' schedule, even back in high school.

But he was at the library to pick up something to read, when he caught a glimpse of Isabella. He raised a brow at her dressed-down appearance, and made a beeline towards her.

"Hey, Isabella," He whispered, going behind her to rub her shoulders. "Midterms are chewing you up. You look like you need to relax."

[adoresphineas]

Isabella tensed when she felt someone's hands on her shoulders, but immediately relaxed at Phineas' voice. That felt pretty good. She turned her head so her cheek was on the table instead. "Hey, Phineas," she murmured. "I'm just not used to writing so many essays..."

She closed her eyes and smiled slightly. "Whatcha doin?" she added, almost as an afterthought.

[triangleshaped]

"I'll help you with them, I know a great way of making essays that never fails to cut the stress and time in half." Phineas kept rubbing her shoulders, working out whatever kinks he could find in her shoulders. Her back felt to him like she was smuggling stones under her skin, and he tried to get those knots out with a firm, but gentle touch.

"Gettin' a book or two to read just for fun. And I have to admit, Isabella, you look good even when you aren't dressed up." He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek with a small, pleased smile. "Want me to grab you some coffee or something?"

[adoresphineas]

"That would be nice... I'm taking so many classes that require them..." Isabella replied. She really liked this... And it was kind of nice that they could do this without that tension or anything they had before.

She opened one eye and smiled as he kissed her cheek. "Phineas," she giggled. "Thank you." She turned to sneak a peck on his lips. "No thank you... I'm awake enough... Just burned out."

[triangleshaped]

"Sounds like you need a break. I promise you'll get everything done if you just pace yourself. For now, though, let's get out of here. I'll get all the knots out of your back," Phineas said, offering silently to help her with her books. He figured she didn't need coffee, but she definitely could use a break from the books, and the best way to do that is to get out of the environment she was in.

[adoresphineas]

Isabella couldn't really turn down that offer. She had been ready to scrap the essay for the day anyways... What better excuse than to go hang out with him? She sat up and pushed a lock of hair from her face, smiling up at him. "Okay, but only because it's you."

She let him help her with her books, mostly because she wasn't quick enough to get them all together herself, and shoved them in her book bag. "It was starting to get stuffy in here anyways."

[triangleshaped]

"Everyone's going crazy this week over the midterms, I'm surprised nobody has caused an explosion or something, the way it's going," Phineas mused as he waited for her to get situated, before taking her hand and leading the way out the door. "Do you have anywhere you like on campus yet? We can go there and it'll help you relax," Phineas suggested. His mind flashed back to when he and Ferb made a day spa, and he knew he could theoretically do something like that on a smaller scale for Isabella, but that was something he decided could wait until she finished her papers.

[adoresphineas]

"I'm not going as crazy as almost everyone else is... Not yet, at least," Isabella assured him with a smile, lacing her fingers with his. "This is the last essay I have to crank out and I just lost everything I had to say in it."

She followed him, sticking close by. "Not yet, no. I mean, I've been going to different places to try and find the best place..."

She didn't want to say what she was thinking out loud. That as long as he was with her, it didn't matter where they were. That sounded too corny. Like a line from those movies they poked fun at in High School, and then awkwardly never mentioned again.

[triangleshaped]

"Well, we could always head over to that garden area the agriculture class has, it's way over past the music building, though. It's actually pretty quiet. It could definitely help you get things mellowed out in your mind." He squeezed her hand briefly, and grinned. "Or here in the quad's fine, too. Really, anywhere we can sit down and I can give you a backrub," Phineas said with a near verbal shrug. It didn't matter to him either way, either. He was with her and that was really the best part, and the only part that mattered.

He chuckled sheepishly, "We're doing that thing again. It honestly doesn't matter, just as long as we can sit with each other."

[adoresphineas]

"How about over there, then?" Isabella giggled, squeezing his hand back. "Not very many people are out right now... I think most of them are holed up in their dorms or at the library..."

She tugged him over to a clump of trees, already feeling a bit better than before. "I was going to say... I kind of like wherever we are as long as you're around... You know? But... it sounded a little cheesy," she added quietly, wrinkling her nose playfully at him.

[triangleshaped]

"Just a little," Phineas agreed with a lopsided smile, and sat down under a tree, and motioned for her to sit beside her. "Come here with your shoulders, you're too tense. Just remember, it's just a paper. Sure, it's sorta important, but that sort of thing isn't intimidating by itself. You just have to remember that you know all of this stuff, and putting it onto paper isn't hard at all. Just dump everything you know onto that paper, pad it with some filler like bits of research, arrange it around until it looks cohesive, and it's done! I think you can do that, you're capable of doing anything, Isabella." Phineas always thought that Isabella was the most capable girl in the world. She did so much between the Fireside Girls and school, and helping Ferb and himself with their daily projects, that knowing that she was intimidated by something like a little paper made his heart ache a little.
"And you know that if you need any help after that, I'm always right here."

[adoresphineas]

He didn't have to ask her twice. Isabella sat down next to him and let him work on her shoulders a bit. "I know... I should know that, I mean.. You know?"

Wow, she was not making any sense. "But this is a college paper, Phineas. Like, my first college mid-term paper... I just kind of freaked...." She chewed on her lip before glancing over her shoulder at him with a slight smile. "But this is totally helping already."