Fantasy 𝒜 𝒯𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝐹𝑜𝓇 𝒰𝓈 [𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓈𝑒𝒹]

[moonrise]

moonrise & vada ​

 

[moonrise]

┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓
𝔏𝔬𝔫𝔡𝔬𝔫
┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛
​

The flight had taken a little over eight hours and the subsequent cab ride was clocking in at nearly half an hour now. In about the same amount of time that it took to get through a day of work at the office, Lynette Caffrey had left the country, trading the concrete jungle of Manhattan and the chaotic New York Stock Exchange for a week of peace in England. Without question, this was her most impulsive decision to date. She definitely hadn't woken up on a Tuesday morning anticipating that her boyfriend of almost two years was going to dump her over brunch. Even more unexpected than that was the fact that she'd canceled the rest of her client meetings for the week, and two days later her bags were packed.

'How's this for 'spontaneous', Adam?,' Lynette couldn't help but think bitterly to herself as she stared out the window, clutching her phone in her lap. It was jarring to see the early pre-noon sun out when her mental clock was stuck in the evening. Jet lag was no joke. A part of her kept expecting her phone to buzz, to get a call or a text message from her now ex-boyfriend asking her about lunch and her day. Little did she know, she wouldn't be getting any messages or calls for a while.

Because she forgot to turn off airplane mode.

Lynette also hadn't gotten around to changing her lock screen picture. Adam was still there, looking at her with that lazy grin because she'd caught him waking up from a nap on her couch. How did people do it? How did they just get rid of all the memories after a breakup? A big part of her life was missing now, and being over three thousand miles away didn't make it hurt any less. Was it sad to think that if it had been completely up to her, she would've spent the whole rest of the week cooped up in the apartment, scarfing down ice cream and watching sitcoms? Heck, she almost started crying when she saw another woman on the plane watching The Notebook.

Lynette knew that she'd be an absolute wreck right now on her own. But she wasn't alone. Sitting beside her was a dark-haired young woman that she loved like a sister, her best friend, and her ticket to London, if only because it had been Meilani's idea in the first place. At the time, it came out of nowhere. Sure, they'd always talked about visiting the place of their nerdy childhood dreams one day, but over the years they'd gotten caught up in all of the...well, adulting stuff.

And despite legally being an adult, Lynette couldn't deny that her inner child was exhilarated. "I can't believe we're actually here in London. I mean, it only took us– what, thirteen years?," gosh she felt old saying that, "excuse me, sir. How long till King's Cross Station?"

It also felt strange to be riding in a car for once, as she'd gotten accustomed to walking and taking the subway over the years. The traffic wasn't much better here, though. Still, the forecast had suggested there would be rain and she Lynette was too unwilling to chance getting lost in the rain. She wasn't prepared to be that spontaneous. Better safe than sorry.

The man driving the black cab looked to be in his forties and wore a grey flat cap. She saw him smile from the rearview mirror and the laugh lines on his face implied he was a man who did that a lot. "In a few moments from now, you won't be able to miss it," he chuckled, having promised to allow a brief stop in their trip to allow the young ladies the chance to see a particular platform at the train station that had been made famous by a work of fiction that his country was known for. Earlier he had informed them that it was best to visit before noon, when the station wouldn't be as busy, otherwise they were better off taking their chances in the late evening.

Thankfully, King's Cross Station wasn't far from the hotel where they'd be staying. Not when Lynette planned for it to be easily accessible to them. Hopefully they would be able to resist the urge to splurge at the gift shop, as the whole point of souvenirs was to bring a piece of their travels back home, rather than fill their hotel room up with them. "You know that J.K. Rowling's parents met at King's Cross Station, right, Mei?," sharing trivia was an indication of her excitement, and she continued with a smile, "apparently she got the stations mixed up. Platforms nine and ten don't actually exist. Crazy, right?"

"Oh, our sweet childhood was nothing but a lie...," Lynette threw in an exaggerative sigh but her smile lingered. It was lost upon her in this moment, the fact that she must have seemed so much more carefree now than she had in weeks; not that 'carefree' was among the first words most would use to describe Lynette Caffrey. The breakup had felt sudden to her, but to anyone watching from the outside, it was probably more like watching a train wreck in slow motion. All the fights and breaks had been leading up to the inevitable.

In the end, Adam gave up on fighting. He gave up on them.

 

[vada]

Spoiler: Meilani Hale

Meilani Hale’s excitement about travelling to London for the first time was equal to that of her lifelong friend, but for very different reasons. Mei wasn’t running from a broken heart. A heart had to be whole to be broken, and Mei’s wasn’t. She dated, sure, but she had never been in love the way Lynette had been. For two years she had watched her friend be sickeningly sweet with that butthead of a man, all the while knowing Lyn was way too good for him. But still, there was enough love and affection, enough eskimo kisses and baby talk in that one relationship for the both of them. Mei was fine without love. Or so she told herself.

No, she came to London to escape in a different way. After her boss had gotten a little too handsy, Mei had taken off her apron and thrown it in his face, storming out of the pizza parlour and not looking back. What was that now, fifteen failed jobs for the year? Mei was frustrated, tired of feeling worthless, and in need of a change of scenery. The woman often looked at her life, the choices she had made up until now, and she wondered if she would ever amount to anything. She had ambition, passion, and pride, but they often got in her way. Instead of leading her toward a stable future, they got her in trouble. How many times had she been tossed aside for being too much to handle? For being too rough around the edges, too sharp, too harsh? She was not soft and sweet the way Lynette was. Not as patient, or gentle, but that was why they were close, wasn’t it? Opposites tended to attract, and Lyn and Mei were certainly opposites.

They were also inseparable. Lyn was Mei’s best friend, the closest thing she had ever had to a sister. Lyn was her compass, her guiding light. When Lyn laughed, Mei laughed. When one hurt, the other hurt. They had sworn long ago that they would always be there for each other, would never give up or let go of their friendship. Mei had also sworn to help bury whatever asshole came along and broke Lyn’s heart, something the gentler of them had refused to allow when the time actually came. Mei detested Adam for what he had done to her friend. She knew if she ever saw him again, she'd strangle his scrawny neck herself. But Lyn’s heart was her first priority, and so she’d whisked them off to London for an escape. One they both needed terribly.

Mei grinned now as Lyn bemoaned certain details of their favourite novel series. “Of all the things that woman has been accused of, I think we can forgive the mixing up of the platforms,” Mei said with a laugh, rolling her eyes playfully as she bumped her friend with her leather clad shoulder. She leaned forward in her seat as, at last, the station came into view. It was even larger than she’d imagined, and her painted lips stretched into a delighted smile. Her hand found Lyn’s, and she squeezed it excitedly, interlocking their fingers. Lynette was right. The two of them had been dreaming of this moment for nearly fourteen years, and it was finally here. Their excitement nearly spilled out onto the street as they pulled up to the station and Meilani couldn’t help but wiggle around in her seat a little as she laughed happily.

“We made it, Lyn!” She practically tugged her friend from the cab as it slowed to a stop, barely giving the car enough time to fully engage the brakes. Unlike Lynette, Meilani didn’t care about the overcast skies or the threats of rain. She lifted her face to the sky and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes as she sighed the air back out of her lungs, a look of peace overcoming her normally tense and worn features. “Can you feel it, Lynnie? It’s like the air is filled with magic.”

 

[moonrise]

If Lynette had known about the complete circumstances surrounding why Meilani was so eager to leave Manhattan, they would've never gone to England. No, she would have been calling up all her legal friends to push for a lawsuit or just any type of disciplinary action to take against her friend's ex-employer. There was a similar situation during their high school junior year. Lynette had tried to convince her family to help Meilani fight back against the abuser who had unfortunately also been Meilani's legal guardian at the time. But best friend didn't want to push it, and so Lynette's parents didn't. Instead, they welcomed Meilani into their home and loved her like their own. The girls had each other, and that had been enough back then.

It was still enough now. They made a promise years ago to never stop being friends, as young children often did, but for them it held true. Night and day paralleled how they contrasted each other, and in some ways, Lynette felt as though looking at Meilani was the same as staring into a mirror. Somehow, they managed to lend their strengths to each other. Meilani, who was troubled, a bit rough around the edges, and a little too prone to violence for Lynette's peace of mind, could also be kind, loving, and more considerate than anyone else Lynette knew. On the other hand, she herself could also be unapologetically bold, protective, and reckless when it came to those she cared about, just like her best friend.

"Must we though?," Lynette protested very weakly, but clearly didn't seek to make an argument about it. Trivial details could so often be the bane of her existence as she'd find herself thinking about typos she found in restaurant menus for hours among many other things. Often it was best for her not to return to those places until after they'd corrected their mistake. It was frustrating, for Lynette and those who knew her, to have to put up with her compulsions. Too many times did she delay replying to text messages when she couldn't catch the word on the tip of her tongue, or when she suspected that auto-correct was setting her up for humiliation. Ironically, she only ever found herself able to consider the big picture when it came to her work. Being a financial advisor often meant that all of the numbers and facts were already right there in front of her.

As their fingers intertwined, Lynette's phone nearly slid out of her lap. She couldn't help it, the way her knees would dance whenever she was excited. Still, she managed to unbuckle her seatbelt and snatch up her phone with her free hand. And not a moment too soon before the two of them hastily exited the car, startling the poor driver. Whatever he said, Lynette hadn't heard it. Now she was too busy squealing, shaking the hand that still held Meilani's in the air, and finally releasing the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Gosh, they must have looked like such tourists right now, which they were. But the unamused expressions she noted from passersby implied this must happen a lot around here. So much for the more the merrier.

"Right, magic," she said with a slight giggle though her face soon contorted a bit once she got a better whiff of the air, "actually, it smells a lot like diesel here. This place could use some Febreeze." What had she been expecting? The sweet and warm aroma of shepherd's pie and pumpkin juice? Boy, did both sound pretty good right now.

The overcast seemed to put something of a damper on people's moods, despite how common rain was supposed to be in this country. A man several years older shoved past Lynette in a hurry despite there being plenty of room on the sidewalk for him to walk around her. She couldn't quite hear exactly what the man had muttered to himself as he stormed away and shook his head in disapproval. It was something along the lines of "lousy tourists."

Apparently, it was too much to hope for all the rude people to stay back in the congested and mean streets of New York. Weren't British people supposedly known for being very polite? Maybe Lynette did need to reconsider what kind of guy to go for next. "Mei, what was that spell again? The one for blasting rude people," she was watching the man from before cross the road, even though she knew it was pointless. Maybe she just had too many pent-up emotions. Screaming into her pillow the other night had helped a bit, but it wasn't enough.

"Blastio? Boom-bang-o?" Neither of those were right. She may be a die-hard fan of the series but memorizing random amalgamations of latin words wasn't her forte.

 

[vada]

“Confringo?” Mei questioned, allowing her eyes to follow the nasty man who had pushed by Lynette and immediately ruined the atmosphere of their arrival. For a split second, she wished magic was real. It wasn’t the first time the thought had occurred to her. Over the years, she had frequently daydreamed about using magic. Usually, those thoughts filled her mind during her loneliest or angriest moments; when she dreamed of a sense of control that she didn’t normally have. She imagined living in a world of cloaks, wands, and spells, hurtling words more dangerous than blades, and for the span of a few heartbeats, she stared daggers into the retreating man’s back, wishing him some sort of retribution for being a jerk.

After a moment, she returned her attention to Lynette, just missing the sight of the man tripping over his feet and falling to his face several feet away from them. Several bystanders rushed to help him, as he, flabbergasted, tried to figure out how he’d randomly fallen on the street he had walked down countless times before. “Do you want to go inside and look around?” She offered. The two of them had a tour of the Harry Potter studio arranged for the next day, but they had the rest of the day to do anything they pleased in the city. "Or should we go to the hotel?"

Looking back, she noticed the cab driver hadn’t left yet. He was struggling to retrieve their luggage from the trunk, so Mei let go of her best friend's hand and motioned for him to hang on for a minute. "In any case, I think we should get out of the rain.” The weather in London was notoriously cloudy and dreary. Meilani didn't mind the overcast weather at all; in fact, she enjoyed it. Back home, the sun shined too brilliantly at times, always trying to draw her out of her mood when she didn't want to be. But she also knew that Lynette, like a flower, needed the warmth and the sunshine to feel better. She was grieving, after all. The poor girl didn’t need to be trekking around London, getting colder and wetter, and more miserable, by the minute.

“I bet the cabbie could tell us where to get a large mug of pumpkin cider,” Mei said with a grin, waggling her dark brows. “And some of those little crumpet things. What do you say?”

 

[moonrise]

"Yes! Confringo!," Lynette replied with an eager nod, a smiling splitting across her face like she'd just invented something dastardly. Unfortunately, fictional spells would do both of them little good here. But it was nice to think for a moment that, maybe in another universe, parallel world– whatever sci-fi thing it was in the movies Adam loved watching– that they actually could blow up rude strangers at will.

Sadly, she didn't notice the man receiving his karmic blessing, but the jerk was easily forgotten as Meilani reminded her of why they were here. One look up at the smokey overcast sky that hadn't changed since the moment they arrived implied that it was probably a good idea to get indoors somewhere soon. The rain was waiting for its moment, but Lynette was waiting no longer. "Mei-Mei, of course we're going inside! The platform's just around the corner!," childlike energy beamed around this grown adult woman of twenty-three as she excitedly signaled to the cabbie that they would be checking out the station first and he could meet them at the hotel. "We shouldn't be too long, sir!," she promised the man.

"I say we get all of that with our afternoon tea and scones with clotted cream. Oh, and with those little cakes, too." Was that the stress speaking out of her stomach? They were in London now. Ice cream did the trick back in New York, but it'd be a waste to not milk this spontaneous trip for all its worth.

She led them through the crowds of everyday London folk, figuring the best way to find the platform was to follow another group of tourists. Once inside, the fabled Platform 9¾ was...admittedly a bit underwhelming. It was clear that the true function of the station was to be exactly that. A means of transportation for the busy bees and local travelers. The only part of it that was dedicated to their favorite childhood book and movie series was a small section containing a gift shop and a trolley that was constructed to look like it was halfway through the wall (and not the pillar, like it was in the movies) beneath a little sign displaying 'Platform 9¾'.

A few other tourists were taking pictures with the trolley, throwing their Hufflepuff scarves in the wind mid-shot to make it look like they were charging through to find the Hogwarts Express on the other side. It was a cute little tourism trap, she had to admit.

And yet Lynette didn't find herself feeling disappointed. It was another feeling that she couldn't quite describe, and she wondered if her best friend might be able to better interpret it for her. "I know this isn't exactly like what they showed us in the movies, the absence of Hagrid and the Weasleys and whatnot, but...," her brow knitted lightly in thought as she hummed, "is it strange that all of this feels familiar to me? Not in a 'Hogwarts is my home' sort of way...just nostalgic somehow."

Either way, they were definitely going to line up to take their pictures next.

 

[vada]

If she were being honest, Meilani was less than impressed with the platform. It wasn’t like she had been expecting an actual invisible portal to an imaginary world, but still. Her brow arched as she put her hands on her hips and scrutinised the cart jutting from the wall, not even in the right place, and a small huff of indignation escaped her lips, her head cocking slightly to one side.

“Nostalgia?” She shook her head slightly, obviously not on the same page as her friend. “More like ‘I’m going to forget about this and keep imagining it the way it is in the movies.’”

Meilani had, of course, read all the Harry Potter books, alongside Lynette, but unlike her friend, she had only read them once. It wasn’t that she preferred the movies, per se, because, really… who did? But between jumping from foster home to foster home, to trying to hold a steady job and actually make something of herself, she simply didn’t have the energy at the end of the day to settle down with a book. Nah, it was a lot easier to simply press Play and watch the same actors play out the same scenes again and again, till she had memorised them all and could recite them in her sleep.

She waited until it was their turn for their photo op, and then took the time to snap a bunch of pictures of Lyn, making sure they also got more selfies than they would ever need. They were laughing and goofing off by the end, making duck faces and silly poses, drawing annoyed stares from passersby, but Mei had no problem staring right back at them until they moved on. It might be a normal day for the locals as they went about their business, but this was a special occasion and she wasn’t going to let their bitterness ruin it for either of them.

As they made to leave, Mei paused long enough to press her palm flat against the actual post that, in another reality, would have transported them away from this realm. Of course, nothing happened, but she gave Lyn a sheepish smile, tucking her hand into the pocket of her leather jacket. “Had to make sure, you know?”

Her smile morphed into a grin as she heard Lyn’s stomach grumble with hunger and her own seemed to respond, growling loudly enough that a small child looked at her with wide eyes as they passed. “Food time, yeah?” Mei asked happily, looping her free arm through Lyn’s. “Let’s find those scones.”

 

[moonrise]

It seemed like Meilani was on an entirely different train of thought, and the subject of nostalgia was quick to dissipate as they moved through the line of excited tourists. Yet it still lingered in Lynette's mind for a few moments. A slight ache grew in her chest, heavy and a bit discomforting, but somehow warm and thought-provoking as well. Momentarily she wondered if she'd lived a past life here, in a time of castles and knights and magic. Not quite the London of the Harry Potter series– which she did know to have canonically taken place in the late 1900s– but a time long before that.

Perhaps it was silly of her, clinging to childish fantasies of hoping to one day grow up and become a princess. Maybe that was all this was. A delayed and resigned acceptance for something she'd learned many years ago. Fairy tales didn't exist and neither did magic. Certainly neither of those things would help her solve the very real and raw dilemmas of heartbreak and feeling lost in life.

When the time for smiles and cheesy photographs came, Lynette happily obliged. Self-control became a thing of their past selves. Well, just the ones that had been standing in line mere minutes ago. But here they were, laughing and making silly faces and poses while impatient and annoyed witnesses lingered. They probably did hold up the line quite a bit, but Lynette couldn't bring herself to care.

This had been a lifelong dream for them, and even though it wasn't quite what they'd hoped it would be, that didn't mean they forfeited their right to make the most of the experience.

The long swipe across the screen of her phone had been a mistake. Lynette cycled too far back into the camera roll and found pictures that she should have deleted.

Adam.

No. This isn't about you anymore.

Lynette covered up with a quick smile, tucking her phone away in her black leather tote bag that matched fabulously with her friend's jacket as she watched said friend spend an extra moment by the trolley prop. Too bad that's all it was. Just a prop.

Her face flushed as their stomachs took turns announcing their inevitable, yet delayed, departure. She didn't know any of these people and they didn't know her, but gosh that was never not going to be embarrassing.

"Yes, of course, milady," she donned a polite smile to pair with a British accent, that, thanks to Harry Potter and Doctor Who, was rather convincing. And maybe a tad bit offensive to the onlookers, but confringo them all!

"Accio scones!"

---

Indeed, the scones were simply delicious. Honestly, Lynette had probably indulged a bit more than she needed to, but Meilani had assured her that all treats here were thoroughly deserved. So she would have all the little cakes she wanted and then some.

The rest of the day went by quickly. They lost track of time at the cafe just reminiscing about what they used to imagine London would be like. And, oh, there was no stopping the debates regarding whether Percy Weasley should have been sorted into Slytherin and many other silly subjects that had earned them some more strange looks. Was it really so strange for two young women to cut loose and discuss some of their favorite books though?

They'd barely made it back to the hotel to leave behind some leftover mini cakes before their untamed excitement had them hurrying out the doors again. In no time flat they'd returned to Platform 9¾, only this time for the gift shop. Typically Lynette liked to wait until the last day or two of the trip before buying souvenirs. Apparently neither of them was willing to be the 'responsible adult' this time. No. There wasn't anything responsible about buying a Slytherin scarf, a Hedwig plush, a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, two boxes of peppermint toads, and a case of bottled butterbeer.

At least that last one was a nice alternative to actual beer though. Everyone knew she was a terrible drunk and she was already enough of an emotional mess as is.

"You know, I regret nothing." Lynette told Meilani as the two of them, once more, had to return to the hotel to drop off their things. "We're adults now. We're allowed to treat ourselves every now and again." Just who exactly was she trying to reassure here? After all, Meilani had always been the bolder one of the pair who certainly had less shame to spare.

And significantly less reservations about badmouthing a certain ex-boyfriend over the dinner they had at a diner several blocks down. They hadn't planned on speaking about him, but it sort of just...came out after the waiter had delivered a most peculiar, yet familiar request to the folks a few tables away. Contrary to all the times before when Lynette would defend Adam's oddities, she found that no part of her was rushing to his defense now. "Okay, I admit the drinking milk with ice and a straw thing was a little weird and bloody hell those sweatpants didn't do him many favors," she fought back a smile and failed as she worked at twirling the last few strands of her spaghetti bolognaise onto her fork, "why are we talking about him again?"

Lynette wasn't sure if it was the exhaustion catching up to her, but she felt a bit indifferent towards the subject at the moment. Detached as though these thousands of miles really had been enough to pry her out of the void Adam left her in. But she knew it could never be that easy. She wasn't going to get over an ex-boyfriend of two years in just a couple of days. Was this the denial stage? Was it natural to feel numb when she knew she should still be hurting?

Once more she found herself feeling both out of place and at home, that strange sense of nostalgia once more seeping into her like the steady raindrops outside the window.