Take A Break | Hasan Piker

Pillow Fights

"Hey dad," Maia greeted as she started her car.

After a deep conversation with Aiden and a nights worth of sleep, Maia needed a way to clear her head.

A late afternoon drive and a call to the one person she knew would listen was the perfect remedy.

"Fucking Spain, Maia!?" Her dad exclaimed.

Maia sighed.

Clearly, Aiden had beaten her to breaking the news to him, having already called him hours prior.

It was undoubtedly something Jordan Phillips was not too keen on hearing at 9 am in the morning.

"Dad, do you know how much they pay overseas?" Maia asked, plugging the car charger into her phone.

It was definitely common for other players to go internationally to play basketball, Maia just never thought she would actually do it.

"I damn know how much they pay, but that's not the fucking problem," her dad mumbled, as the distant sound of cabinets being slammed shut echoed through the phone.

Jordan had already been hesitant about his daughter moving to California, but Spain?

"It's not gonna be easy for me either," Maia said, trying to convince him, "or for anyone else involved, for that matter, but I wanna play somewhere where I'm valued, Dad! You know I don't get that here!"

There was a deafening silence on the other end of the call, as Jordan contemplated his daughters words.
Of course he knew she was right, but there had to be some other way.

"What about that guy, Hasan you told me about? What does he think about it?"

"Don't even get me started on him-

Her father's contagious laughter rang through the speakers of her car, and Maia couldn't help but smile.

"Aiden told me all about him already, you don't gotta say anything."

Just the thought of Hasan stuck a cord deep inside her chest she didn't know existed.

"Look, if this is somethin you really wanna do, then go for it. I'll support you either way," her dad said, though still not happy about at. "As for that guy you've been seeing..."

Let's just say, boy was damn lucky Jordan was 3000 miles away.

"Thank you dad, I really appreciate it," Maia said, trying not to get too emotional, "and yeah...I know, I should probably talk to him."

"No! Don't give that motherfucker an ounce of your time," her dad exclaimed. "If he wants you to stay, he'll stop you himself."

That was exactly what Aiden had told her last night as well. If Hasan was serious about what they had, he would have to fix it himself.

And even though she wouldn't admit it, Maia was praying that he would.

——

"Spain guy said he wants you to fly out in a couple days," Aiden mumbled as Maia flopped down on his bed.

He had just finished being a contestant on Name Your Price, a game show that Austin held on his Twitch channel.

Failing to acknowledge her presence, Aiden was still turned towards his computer, scrolling on twitter.

Ever since she had made up her mind about moving, the atmosphere between Maia and Aiden had been noticeably tense. Though never saying anything, Maia knew Aiden was not taking the situation well.

"Are you gonna be okay?" she asked, leaning back on her elbows.

"Yeah, why?" Aiden asked, still facing the screen.

"Can you at least fucking look at me when I'm talk into to you?" Maia snapped, flinching at the unintentional volume of her voice.

"What more is there to say?" He exclaimed, spinning around in his chair, "my best friend for a longer time than I can remember is leaving me to move across the fucking world, of course I'm not okay!"

"Fuck I know..." Maia said as she wiped her eyes with her hoodie sleeve. Across the room, Aiden was failing to fight back tears of his own.

"Can you believe that we've been living together since we were 18?" He choked out.

"That's fucking crazy," Maia said with a sad smile.

"Can't believe neither of us have lived alone, like ever." Aiden said, grabbing a tissue from his desk before offering one to her.

Taking a tissue, Maia finally realized the gravity of his words.

"Y'know," she said, dabbing at her eyes, "maybe this will be good for us."

Aiden nodded, starting out at the city lights through the window.

"I mean, you're not wrong, it has been 10 fucking years," he said after a pause of silence.

10 years. Ten years of Mario kart games, Trader Joe's runs, and Dance Moms episodes.

And, honestly, Maia wouldn't have chosen to live it any other way.

"Don't make me cry again!" Maia said, throwing a pillow at his head.

The two then indulged in a pillow fight like two second graders at a sleepover.

like a naive time without a worry in the world.

Meanwhile, across the ocean, there was a man boarding the next flight out to try and win back the girl of him dreams.