Against Destiny
By: pnaixrose

Disclaimer: I do not own Phil of the Future or any of the characters.

I'm what you call a normal guy.

I'm a regular eighteen-year-old with a normal Mom and Dad, and a normal, annoying sister. Yeah, I have a really normal life...

...I mean...It would be normal if I were back in the 22nd century.

That's right. I'm practically a hundred years older than all these people in the 21st century. I've been here for awhile now...four years or so, I guess? I arrived in the year 2004 and now it's 2008 and believe me, not a lot changes in this century within four years. People of this century still use cellular phones, automobiles, and even cook their own food! I mean, couldn't they at least invent spray food yet? I'm really sick of Mom trying to cook food the traditional way. They always end up tasting bad or looking extremely weird. Anyway, I think all of it is preposterous, but I think I've gotten used to it. I had to get used to it since my family and I are stranded here. I have no choice. I mean, if I were to willingly announce that my family comes from the future I'm pretty sure we'd either be put in the crazy house or get hunted down like animals.

There are a lot of things that get to me in this century. The main thing is that I can't be me, the real me, the real Phil Diffy. It's frustrating, having to hide who I am and always having to fix dangerous situations where my family's lives were on the line. But I can't do anything about it, can I? Until my father fixes the time machine, I'm stuck here, trying to hopelessly fit in with everyone else.

But I guess the 21st century isn't that bad. Even though I'm trying to keep a low profile to avoid suspicions about my family, I've made a really close friend who knows the truth. But I trust her with my secret. I would trust her with my life. I know that Keely would never sell me out.

I've known her since I landed here in 2004. We've become closer over the years. She's the best person to be with especially if you like someone who's clever, funny, and downright gorgeous. Keely's...just perfect. There's simply no other word to describe her.

You say I sound like I'm in love with her? I-I...Well...Y-You can't really blame me! It's kind of hard not to fall in love with her. Keely's just incredible. Through all these years of futuristic weirdness, she hasn't deserted me and instead, we've just gotten closer. She's kept the Diffys' secret and even helped me out in a lot of dire situations. Most of all, Keely's just...Keely. She lends an ear whenever I'm ranting or complaining about this century and she simply puts a smile on my face. I can't thank her enough for all she's done for me. And it's hard for me to pretend she's just a friend when I'm hopelessly in love with her.

Yeah, you heard that right. I'm in love with Keely Teslow.

She doesn't know my feelings though. I can't let her know. If she and I ever had the slightest chance to be together, I'd feel terrible if my dad ever did fix the time machine to get us back to 2121. It would break my heart to leave her. Besides, we're not meant to be. We come from completely different worlds. It's simply impossible.

So I'll just be here, loving her from the sideline. After all, it's against my destiny to ever be with her.

Chapter 1: Graduation Plans

A brown-haired senior walked down the halls of H.G. Wells, mildly engrossed in the book he was currently reading. It was Friday afternoon and classes had just ended. Everyone was scrambling to get out of the school, excited for the weekend. Summer would start soon after all. In fact, the seniors only had a week left until their graduation. Next Friday would be their last day as high school students. Then they'd all be official college students.

But, no one seemed to be worried about college and all the work that was to come. All everyone seemed to be raving about were graduation parties. However Phil Diffy was immune to all the party planning and hustle and bustle. 21st century parties weren't really his thing. Compared to the ones back in the 22nd century, they seemed like childish tea parties. He was just glad that he had gotten through high school without revealing who he really was, a boy from the year 2121. It had been tough. After all, hiding your true self is bound to get frustrating, especially since the curriculum of all four years of high school had practically been his elementary school curriculum. To put it simply, he had barely learned anything new. Yet, he couldn't reveal that he knew all the answers or people were bound to get suspicious. So he had to compromise to be an average student for now.

But enough of that...

Phil took a moment to open his locker and organize all his school books before going back to the book he was reading and leaving for work at the hardware store with his dad. He was sure that when he got there, his father would have a bunch of work for him that would take him forever to finish. But before he could close the locker, he felt arms slip around his neck from behind as someone slightly hugged him. Startled and embarrassed by the contact, he nearly dropped the book in his hands.

"What's that you're reading?" a familiar voice said.

Phil flustered with his words and tried to hide the book. He couldn't let her, out of all people, see what he was reading. She'll laugh at him! "Oh, this? N-Nothing, Keel. Just...nothing important!" Phil stammered as he stuffed the book in his locker, still feeling the warmth of his friend's body on his back. He was pretty sure that she didn't know how her innocent hug was making his heart skip two beats. Gee, after all these years one would've thought Phil Diffy would get used to his best friend's hugs, but nope.

Keely's hugs were different from everyone else's simply because Keely was the one hugging him.

Keely Teslow laughed as she unhooked herself from her best friend and rummaged in his locker to find the book despite Phil's protests. "Aw, c'mon, Phil! You can tell me!" she said playfully.

"N-No, Keely, w-wait!"

"Ah! Here it is!" Keely took the book, flipped through the pages and looked at the title. Right away she knew that it was a book from the future, which was weird because Phil had told her they barely had books in the future. As she stared at the title, she looked at Phil in curiosity. "'Wizard Tricks to Love?'"she read aloud. "Is this one of those advice books on love? Except from the future?"

A tinge of red rose to Phil's cheeks. Reading a book with advice about love wasn't exactly manly and Keely was the last person he'd want to seem lame in front of. "Y-Yeah," he said. "Y-You know...Found it lying around at the house so I-I decided to read it," he lied with his famous nervous tone and glances.

Keely stared at the cover for a moment, her expression saddening a bit. So, she was a bit jealous that Phil was thinking about someone he liked. And she could tell he liked this girl a lot since he was openly walking around reading the book. She knew she shouldn't be jealous, especially since she swore to herself that she and Phil would strictly be friends and nothing more.

But she knew it was hopeless. She was in denial.

Keely really did want to be more than friends with Phil. He was...amazing after all. Charming, extremely intelligent (a genius compared everyone else), funny, adorable, helpful, not to mention he had the cutest grin on the face of the earth. But she could never reveal her feelings. She knew that ever since she started becoming close with him. He was out of her league...way out of her league...literally. After all, Phil Diffy wasn't from this century.

There were probably cute, drop dead gorgeous girls from 2121 that deserved him. It was either that or some pretty, popular girls from this century.

He certainly wouldn't like someone as plain and boring like her.

"Keely? You okay?"

She broke from her trance and feigned a smile, determined not to let Phil know what she had been thinking. "Yup! Sorry about that. Anyway, why didn't you just ask me for advice about girls? That's what best friends do, don't they? You don't need a book to do that for you. Besides, I am a girl. I think I'd know a lot more than a lousy book," she said with a slight smile.

It was so ironic that she had offered to give him advice about relationships...

...the reason he had started reading that girly book in the first place was because of her.

Phil grinned at her and shrugged. "It's not like that. I was just curious, that's all. I didn't know the Wizard had tricks that could help in relationships." It wasn't a total lie. He really hadn't known the Wizard could help relationships.

Keely smiled up at him as she handed the book back. She knew he was lying though. He'd been in Pickford for four years now...of course he'd have a crush! "Gotcha. Anyway, are you excited?"

He glanced around a bit in confusion. "About what?"

"Silly. About graduation? Any wacky plans to celebrate yet? There's only a week left, you know. Then we're officially in college."

Phil laughed. College? How could he be excited about college? It would just be another high school, another place where he had to hide who he truly was. Pretending he hadn't learned the subjects yet, but still passing...gah...so much work. At least he had the summer in between for relaxation and hanging out with Keely.

Hanging out with her was the only high point in this century. Phil couldn't imagine how things would be if he hadn't met her. He probably would've given up all hope.

"Nah, not really," Phil replied, running a hand through his hair. "I'm just glad high school's almost over."

Keely shrugged. "I don't know. I'm going to miss everyone. Plus, I won't be able to surprise you in the halls anymore with my random hugs," she said with a laugh.

Phil frowned a bit. That's right. He wasn't going to the same college as Keely. He wouldn't see her as often. He started to miss high school even though he hadn't left yet.

And those hugs...those hugs were the highlight of his days!

"So what are you planning to do to celebrate graduation, huh? Anything good? A futuristic Diffy party?" Keely asked excitedly. She was always excited to hear things the Diffys would do. They made everything ten times more fun.

Phil chuckled. "I wish! But no, I'm afraid graduation from high school isn't such a great achievement to my family. It's tertiary school where you get all the parties with the party robots and the brand new hover Mustang–" He saw the baffled look on Keely's face and laughed, shaking his head slightly. "Never mind. What are you doing for graduation?"

"Nothing. My mom isn't going to be able to make it. She had to extend her business trip."

Keely tried to hide how hurt she felt with a smile, but Phil saw right through it and he frowned. It must be hard to have a parent who worked a lot. Her mother couldn't even get in a day of vacation for her daughter's graduation?

He hated that frown on her face. A smile suited Keely so much better. Besides...seeing her sad hurt him. "You know what that means, Keel?" he said softly.

She looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"After the graduation ceremony, I'm going to come over with a huge bucket of popcorn and we'll celebrate by watching a marathon of movies in our graduation robes," Phil said with an uplifting grin, "We'll even watch..." He gave a dramatic pause as he faked a look of pain, "...chick flicks."

Keely laughed and he instantly felt his heart flutter. Seeing her smile was worth watching any amount of chick flicks. "Thanks, Phil." She leaned up and gave him a very light kiss on the lips. It wasn't much. In fact, it was more of a brush of lips rather than a kiss.

But it still sent Phil's mind whirling.

Startled, Phil nearly lost his balance. He felt his heart beating so fast he thought he would burst. "Wh-What was that f-for?" he stuttered lamely.

"It was for being sweet and cheering me up. Y-You know...just a friendly kiss," Keely whispered with a heartfelt smile and a bit of blush on her cheeks. "Anyway, I have to go. I promised to meet Via soon. See you!"

Watching her walk away, Phil ran a hand through his tousled hair and leaned against the lockers, feeling as if he was soaring through air. He couldn't believe it. Keely Teslow just...kissed him! On the lips! He knew he was acting like a total sixth grader but he couldn't help it.

Although...that kiss probably meant nothing. It was barely a kiss after all. It was a mere, friendly brush of the lips. That's all. She said it herself.

Phil sighed as he tossed the book inside his locker and slammed it shut. A book wasn't going to help him with his feelings for Keely. Nothing could. It was so hard to hide it from her especially since they hung out practically every day. Phil couldn't help but fall in love with that girl. She was...simply perfect. That's the only word that suited her. Perfect, amazing, gorgeous, clever...she was every single positive adjective in the world.

Yes. Phil Diffy was in love with his best friend.

But it was impossible. They simply weren't meant to be. He couldn't fall in love with a girl in this century. That would break about a hundred time traveling codes. In fact, when time traveling, you're supposed to avoid contact with all living organisms as much as possible to avoid creating havoc with the space-time continuum. You could be arrested and sent to Pluto to serve fifty years of jail time for that.

Anyway, it was too late. His family had already tried to assimilate into the 21st century civilization.

But, if they had followed all the rules to time traveling, he and Keely wouldn't be close friends. So maybe sometimes it was okay to break rules...especially if it meant he could be with Keely, even if only thing he'll be to her was a best friend.

He wanted to be so much more to her. But that friendly kiss they had, those surprise hugs she gives...that was as far as he'll ever get with Keely. He was strictly a best friend. And that was all.

But Phil decided that if a best friend was as close as he'll ever get with Keely, then let it be.

He'll be the best goddamn friend in the world for her.

In the meantime, he'll just have to love her secretly from afar. That was his destiny.

And you can't change destiny.