So Far Away

Not Long

Dan had never been more internally excited. After another hour of video games, Phil suggested they unpack their stuff.

"We should unpack out food, I kind of want to see it all." He giggled, turning the console off.

Dan nodded. "I'll probably feel super guilty though."

The two boys ran downstairs to the bags, that still lay in a pile near the door. Dan laughed again.

"I can't believe we did this." Dan felt himself blushing ever so slightly. Platonic, Dan, tonight is platonic.

"Let's get unpacking!" Phil laughed, as he picked up a few bags to take them to the living room. Dan promptly followed with the rest, before sitting crosslegged. Decorating the walls of the room were many rather embarassing photos of Phil and a younger boy who of which Dan assumed was his brother. There were samples and souveneirs of travels, and a dog bed that held a snoring border collie, who seemed to be quite contempt to remain that way.

"Never knew you had a dog?" Dan asked, beginning to unpack the first bag.

"Never came up in conversation, I guess." Phil shrugged. "She's fairly old, 8. She sleeps a lot, too. My little brother Martyn, he's getting a puppy in a few weeks. So that should be fun."

Dan nodded, setting a few items on the carpet. "I love the photos." He smirked. Phil punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Shut up. They're from ages ago, but my Mum refuses to take them down."

Dan laughed, before earning a look from Phil.

"So," Phil asked, "Is Australia how you thought it would be?"

Dan nodded, smiling. "It is everything I wanted and more. I've wanted to come here since I was 12, and for Christmas last year, I got an Australian flag with a card telling me I was going."

"That's amazing! Have you seen all the animals yet?" Phil asked.

"None of the famous ones, no. I've seen those birds that laugh, and the rainbow ones." Dan replied, placing a jar on the carpet.

"Kookaburras and rainbow lorikeets. My mum loves them." Phil smiled.

After about 10 minutes, all the food was set on the carpet in an impressive array. Dan had to suppress a laugh at how ridiculous the amount was.

"Wait, Dan pose in front of the food. This deserves a photo." Phil laughed, grabbing for his phone. After the photo was taken, Phil saved it after Dan's bewildered approval.

"I'm actually excited for Canberra now, with all this food!" Phil smiled.

"It's going to be great, I can tell. How long's the drive?" Dan asked.

"6 hours, give or take. We normally stop along the way." Phil replied.

"6 HOURS!? That's a journey." Dan gasped.

"And we don't even get that far considering the scale of Australia." Phil laughed.

Dan sighed, internally worried for the ride. That is, until an idea popped into his head. 

"Hey Phil, sit next to me on the bus? We can listen to music and eat food!" Dan asked, getting a little too excited.

"Really!? I mean, sure! If you want to! I thought you'd want to sit next to Luke or something." Phil grinned, cheeks red. He really was a blusher.

"Well, I suppose Luke and Jacob would sit behind us together, so yeah, I'd love to sit with you!" Dan smiled.

"Now I'm really keen!" Phil smiled.

Suddenly, Dan's phone buzzed. Pulling it out, he grinned, leaving Phil to nosely wonder what made Dan that way. To Phil's surprise, Dan unlocked the phone, and a rough German voice flowed from the speakers. Phil sat in awe as Dan laughed at some points of the stranger's speech, and muttered some things under his breath, completely oblivious to Phil, sat in wonder only a metre away. As the speech ended, Dan chuckled. Phil was taken aback, but the next action made him breathless. Dan pressed his finger onto the screen, and began to speak German. To anyone, it would've sounded quite normal, but to Phil, it was one of the most beautiful sounds in the world. Dan's rough accent slipped back in, and he sounded more confident. His words flew through the air smoothly. Most think German is an angry language, and Phil half agreed, but Dan made it sound like a beautifully orchestrated speech, his words defined as many sounds slipped from his mouth that made Phil sit in wonder. As Dan finished his recording, he laughed a bit as he noticed Phil's awestruck face.

"Sorry, my friend was telling me about something that's happened at school." He laughed softly, sliding his phone back into his pocket. "Was that weird for you?"

Phil shook his head furiously. "No, that was amazing. I mean, it was awesome! Do it again!"

Dan laughed, taken aback by Phil's reaction. "What would I say?"

"Anything, it just sounds so cool!" Phil gasped. "I wish I could do that!"

Dan chuckled. "That's how I feel about you English. It sounds amazing."

Phil blushed, again. He wasn't entirely sure if Dan was referring to him or the general Australian population. Until Dan clarified in an unusual way.

"I think the Australian accent is amazing. Especially the way you say your words in particular, Phil. The accent compliments you voice." Dan smiled at Phil.

If Phil could blush any harder, he would've appeared sunburnt. "Shoosh you, you're too kind."

"It's true." Dan spoke, before realising they were venturing into awkward and uncharted territory. He quickly diverted the conversation before he had any chance of making Phil even more uncomfortable.

"So, what should we have for dinner?" Dan spoke, a little too fast.

Phil shuffled, clearly still stuck in an air of awkwardness. "Should we just get Macca's? It's down the road."

Dan felt strange taking iniative, he'd clearly stripped Phil of all assertiveness. "Sounds good."

The two stood and packed the food into the cupboards, before Phil grabbed money and some shoes. "Come on then."

Dan was kicking himself slightly. He'd taken for granted all those easy mutual silences, as the one the two were stuck in now was verging on cringeworthy. Nevertheless, they walked outside to the sun peering from the treeline as birds sung in turn to end the day. Or, the beginning of their journey together.