Closed Planned Escapes

[Elliot Briar]

Accidentally visiting Lily over the last holidays had been a pleasant surprise and definite improvement to his normal quiet holidays with his dad, but Elliot was still oddly surprised when his dad had also agreed to have Lily and her mom come up for a bit this year instead. His dad wasn't usually the most social, and Elliot would have thought the idea of spending time with even more witches or wizards would have made him extra uncomfortable, but he'd still agreed and now Elliot could barely wait for them to arrive.
It would be a bit of a walk, but Elliot was hoping to convince his dad to let him and Lily head out to one of the inlets and spend the day by the water. His dad's house was far too small for him to find the idea of being cooped up together with him, Lily, and Lily's mom. He was sure Lily's mom was lovely, but parents always made Elliot and little nervous, and he was pretty sure his dad was as awkward around new people as he was anyway, and he'd rather not be witness to all that if he could avoid it. Currently, he was leaning out his attic room window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lily before she arrived and trying to enjoy the faint mention of a breeze drifting in.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily liked that even though her mum was a witch, they still did most things the muggle way. When she asked her mum why they did things that way, Evie had responded with the explanation that it was more satisfying to do things herself than to rely on her magic for every little thing. Lily could understand that. She had to admit that she enjoyed the scenery. She hoped her mother knew where they were going. She leaned out the car window a little, her arms folded on the door frame and her chin resting on her arms. The wind blew through her hair. She studied each house as they passed it, even if she mostly only caught glimpses. She liked the shutters on that house, or that one had a really nice big porch.

After what felt like ages, her mother finally turned started to slow down. Lily sat up, looking around eagerly. Was this where Elliot lived? She spotted Elliot leaning out a window and broke into the biggest grin. She leaned forward as far as she could, waving at him energetically. She hopped out of the car as soon as it started to stop.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot shot up when he saw a car approaching, nearly braining himself on the window. If he was being honest, Elliot hadn't been sure if Lily would be arriving by car or not, but he supposed it made sense. His mom was still working on convincing Dad to connect their house to the floo network and that didn't leave them much choice. He clattered downstairs to meet them, grinning at Lily and giving her a quick hug once she was out of the car. Taking advantage of their parents making their own awkward introductions, he moved to the side a bit with Lily, helping her with any bags they'd brought. "Hey," He said, still a little breathless from running downstairs. "How was the trip? Think you'd be up for a walk already?" Elliot knew from experience the trip between their houses was a bit of a doozy but he didn't really want to hang out in the house if he could avoid it. Now that he'd got the idea in his head, taking Lily out to the beach for the day was far more appealing, he never really had anyone to bring out that way and it was a beautiful spot.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled as Elliot caught her up in a hug. "Hey El," She greeted, snuggling into his neck. She always felt better when her best friend was around. She followed him as they moved to the side. "Of course!" She told him, taking his hand in her own. "The trip was good- really pretty." She smiled brightly. "Was there something you had in mind?" She asked, wondering if she would need anything from her bag. "I know my Mama wanted to cook dinner for us tonight but that isn't for a while yet."

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot felt his ears get hot when Lily returned his hug. It was too warm for long sleeves today so he settled for fidgeting with the bracelet Lily had given him instead as they talked. "It is nice out here, I gotta say," He smiled. Elliot figured he'd probably always be a city kid, but you couldn't ignore how gorgeous New Zealand country was. It was a relief when Lily seemed to be game for heading out for a bit. "I was thinking we could go check out the inlet. I don't think there's a good spot to go swimming, but uh, we could wade around a bit maybe.." Elliot wasn't sure if Lily liked swimming, he was barely sure he liked swimming. It always sounded like a good idea until he was at the beach and suddenly didn't know what to do. Were you just supposed to swim laps until you got bored maybe? Float around? But maybe it would be more interesting with Lily there.
"It'll be a few hours till dinner, let's go," He said, feeling a sudden rush of boldness watching his dad nearby and grabbing Lily's hand to get moving. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Lockwood, Dad we're going for a walk!" He called over his shoulder, hoping their parents wouldn't find their sudden departure too rude.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily nodded along to Elliot's plan to go to the inlet. "That does sound pretty fun." She bit her lip as she thought. "We don't need to go swimming today," She told him. "We can go tomorrow with our parents. Mom and I can make a picnic lunch and we can make a day out of it. My daddy keeps beach stuff in the trunk of the car." She smiled and intertwined her fingers with his as they started moving. She giggled at El's words. "El, you've met my mum more than once. I think 'nice to see you' would be better," She told him. She waved at her mum before they moved away. "So," She started, "How's your holiday going so far?"

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot had been so busy worrying about getting him and Lily away without being stopped, he'd flubbed talking to her mom. He ducked his head as Lily teased him about it, trying to focus on leading them to the track over the road instead of feeling too embarrassed. Leading the way was also a good distraction from having to think too hard about him and Lily holding hands. Was he supposed to let go now that they were on their way? What if his hands got all sweaty while they were walking. He gently untangled their fingers, not wanting Lily to be uncomfortable if she wanted him to let go, using both hands instead to brush a wayward fern out of their way. "It's uh, been alright. Quiet. As usual," He shrugged. Things were still a bit weird with he and his dad these days, they never seemed to know what to talk about anymore now that Elliot had started Hogwarts. "I'm really glad that you're here. It'll be nice to have someone to hang out with for a bit," He'd missed Lily even in the brief break from school, and that wasn't just because of the awkwardness that came with hanging out with his dad. He just liked that he could relax around her. "How's your's been? Rose and Ren doing okay?"

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily smiled, folding her hands behind her back as Elliot led the way. She giggled as he thanked her. "No, thank you for inviting us." She skipped along behind him. "They're good." She told him. "Rose is getting better at her guitar. Ren is getting better at hiding her guitar." She chuckled. "She practices too much. Dad encourages him to hide it because then she has to leave her room to find it." She shook her head. "So," She started, "Do you go to the inlet often?"

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot smiled as Lily spoke about her family, their house always seemed so lively. "No wonder Ren's in Gryffindor, I wouldn't have the guts to mess with Rose," He said, pausing to offer Lily a hand as they stepped over a larger tree root, the track beginning to angle downward as they got closer to the water. "Uh, not that often. It's pretty but a bit boring alone. I tend to read a lot here instead. I think Dad thinks it's a waste of my visit. Maybe that's why he was okay with you guys coming." It wasn't like his dad didn't like him reading, but he did seem happier when Elliot was out 'enjoying the country' a bit more.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily smiled. "You know, I never thought of it that way. You're probably right." She giggled and took his hand as she stepped over the root. Lily's breath caught as she saw where they were going. "Wow!" She breathed. "It's beautiful down here. I would love to curl up in the sand with a good book. It's so relaxing." She smiled brightly at El. "Would he be mad if we both read down here?" She teased him.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot smiled at Lily's reaction when the tree cover finally cleared enough for a sight of the water. It was a nice spot, and Elliot did wonder if he should maybe appreciate coming down here more often. "I always worry about getting books wet or something if I take them any where. Though that does sound nice. Maybe we can do it tomorrow?" He said, picking his way down the last bit of track before it leveled out at the shoreline. He considered Lily's question for a bit. "I don't think Dad ever actually gets mad.. But he'd be disappointed if I lost one of his books probably." Elliot kicked a few stones around with his shoe, looking out at the water. He wasn't sure his dad expressed a lot of emotions beyond bewildered friendliness and awkward silence these days.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled. "That's why you don't sit so close to the water, silly." She told him, hurrying for the break in the trees that lead to the beach. "Let's make it a picnic! We can have lunch, bring some snacks and some drinks, and lay out on a blanket and feel the sun on our backs while we read," She sighed softly. "It sounds wonderful. Can we really? Maybe we can read to each other and talk about the book! What do you think?" She asked, giving him a small smile. She skipped beside him as they made their way to the shoreline. "I can understand that," She told him, bringing her hands up to her hairpins. "Thanks for inviting us, El. This is really nice." She smiled brightly at him. "I'm glad we could come to visit." She giggled. "School is nice, but it's good to see someplace new."