Hardcore Life (Ph1LzA fanfic)

Off To England

Amelia

"It's been all of a month since you and Kristen broke up, and I have already seen so many ship artwork of us. It's absolutely nuts."

"It's getting slightly out of hand, I'll be honest."

"A lot of it is actually cute and well made, but some of it just needs to not exist."

Phil and I were streaming more Skyblock together, mostly because it was going to be a rather quick stream for me before I headed to the airport for my flight. As the conversation continued, my chat was filled with both praise for expressing my emotions and some concerning anger.

"Be as mad as you want about it, Chat. Phil is a very close friend of mine, and I love how our friendship currently is. If anything develops out of it, it's going to be our choice to pursue it. You can't pressure me into doing anything just because you ship us and draw hundreds of things to try and get our attention. That's not how it works." I said, shrugging.

"I'll second that." Phil chuckled.

"Now, I'm sorry to say this, but I have to end stream. It's been a fun four hours, but I've got a flight to catch. I'll be raiding Phil, as usual. I'm sure he'll be going to his hardcore world." I clapped. "Don't leave your redstone running when you leave your base chunks, and I'll catch you on the flip side! Redz out!"

I ended my stream by raiding Phil's, and he laughed as he thanked me for it. I stayed in the call for a few more minutes, keeping my eyes on the clock. Once I was sure I'd have enough time to get to the airport at least an hour early, I bid Phil farewell and left the voice chat. I gathered my luggage, placing it in my roommate's car. I ran through a mental checklist, grabbing one of my many sketchbooks and putting it into a bookbag that I'd be taking as carryon.

"Have everything?" Alicia, a friend I had made while I was in high school and who I had lived with for nearly four years, smiled as she stepped into the garage.

"I think so." I muttered.

"Are you nervous?"

"I'm going to be getting on a plane, going thousands of miles up into the air, and meeting my close friends who I've never seen in person." I hesitated before I pulled the passenger car door open. "I have a lot of things to be nervous about."

"Are you more nervous about meeting Phil than Wilbur?" She raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah. I've confided in Phil a lot, and I've wanted to meet him in person for a while." We both got into the car as I spoke. "I just think it's really unfortunate timing considering he recently broke up with his girlfriend, you know?"

Alicia hummed in understanding, and we were off to the airport. I was on my phone nearly the entire time, ear buds in as I watched Phil's stream. I looked outside as we pulled up to the airport, and I took a long deep breath before I got out and gathered my bags. Alicia gave me a fist bump and waved before I turned and walked inside, making sure to put on my face mask. After checking in and handing over my luggage, I secured my bookbag to my back and took a selfie. I sent it to Phil before posting it to Twitter, tagging both of the men I was going to be visiting. I wandered around the airport, getting food and settling down at the gate for my flight.

I was almost immediately back to bantering in Phil's stream chat, Wilbur chimming in every once and a while. I couldn't help but smile whenever Phil laughed. I sent a quick donation message as my flight was called for. The auto text to speech voice filled my ears seconds before he spoke in response.

I'll be getting on my flight now. Only fifteen hours until I'll be walking onto New Castle ground.

"Be safe during your flight! Message me if you need to. I'm sure I'll still be streaming by the time you're allowed to be on your devices again. My chat also says be safe!" Phil said, knowing I wouldn't be looking at his chat as I hurried to gather my things.

I closed the twitch app on my phone as I boarded the plane, and I settled into my chair after finding it. I took a deep breath as the several strangers all boarded the plane, and I fiddled with my mask out of pure paranoia of having to be close to someone for fifteen hours. I looked out of the plane window as the seats started filling up.

~

My legs felt weak as I stepped off of the plan, and I yawned as I stretched. My bookbag was secured tightly on my back, and I wasted no time heading to the conveyer belt for luggage retrieval. I was looking at my phone when there was a tap on my shoulder, causing me to jump. The auburn haired man standing beside me was wearing a black face mask much like my own, his bluish green eyes being the only thing cluing me into who he was.

"Phil?" I asked.

"Hey, Amelia!" He laughed, his eyes closing as if his smile was wide enough for them to close.

He took my suitcase, and he led the way out of the airport. By the time we reached his car, I was yawning more than I had been after getting off the plane.

"Jet lag?" He chuckled.

"Yeah. I thought I had been smart by changing my sleep pattern to match what it would be here, but I guess I'm still affected by it." I laughed.

"You'll be able to sleep when we get to my place."

We both got in, and I relaxed almost as soon as I put on my seat belt. Phil made sure the music wasn't too loud, and I stared out of the window as we drove through New Castle. I looked at Phil when the car stopped at a redlight. We had both taken our masks off after getting into the car, so I could see his entire face. He was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, following the beat of the song that was playing. I hesitated before I reached out and touched his arm, causing him to look at me.

"What are you staring at?" He chuckled.

"I guess I'm having trouble actually believing I'm here." I immediately looked away from him.

"I honestly didn't believe you would be coming here until you sent that selfie at the airport in California." He scratched his neck as he spoke. "There were chances that all of the airports would shut down before you even had the chance to leave, you know?"

"After all of the work I went through to be cleared to get on a plane in the first place, I would've been upset if I got to the airport and got denied."

"You had to take a Covid test, didn't you?"

"Yeah. It came back negative, but it was nerve wracking considering how long it took to get the results back." I checked my phone for any notifications, very easily replying to all of my friends wondering if I had made it to England safely.

"Well, how about we spend the day at my house so you can get used to the time zone and rest from your flight, and we'll meet up with Wilbur tomorrow or another day?" He smiled at me as he started driving again.

"Sounds like a plan."