The book huggers kept teasing her about it again for like two minutes. I rolled my eyes at them for probably the gazillionth time that day, and turned my gaze back to the direction Conner went in.

"Alright, let's start boarding now," Mrs. Peters said, getting up.

"But Conner's not back yet." I said.

"Right, Cindy, why don't you go check on–"

"I can go," I pressed before she could finish.

"Oh sure, ask him to hurry," Mrs. Peters said, confused by my sudden outburst.

With the corner of my eye, I could spot Cindy's pissed face. I probably prevented her only chance to have a moment alone with her crush. Oopsie I guess.

I bolted towards the restroom. Something was telling me Conner wasn't exactly fulfilling nature's call over there.

Why? Because I know he shakes his leg whenever he wants to go to the bathroom. And he wasn't doing that before he left. Yup I wonder why the FBI hasn't hired me yet too.

I reached the men's bathroom. I knew this was supposedly the farthest I could go. So I knocked on the door.

"Conner? You in there?" I called.

No one replied. But I heard voices.

I pressed my ear onto the door.

I could hear two voices. And one of them was a female.

I know. Strange, isn't it?

I looked around me to make sure no one saw me, and then I pushed the door to the men's bathroom open and snuck inside.

That was definitely Conner's voice, in one of the stalls. And he was talking on... the phone?

Last I checked, Conner Bailey didn't have a cellphone. Aside from that, who was he talking to?

I looked behind me at the door. If someone came in, I'd be in such awful awkward trouble.

I gulped and slowly walked toward Conner's voice, until I finally found the stall he was in. My adrenaline was rushing, it was almost blocking my hearing. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down to listen properly.

"Mother Goose, if this story is real, then I'm afraid something horrible is about to happen in the Land of Stories and we need to stop it."

Whoa whoa pause.

Mother Goose? Like in that Fairy Tale we know?

And what is the land of stories?

"I'm afraid the story is based on something very real." The woman – or Mother Goose replied in a very stricken tone.

What story?

Wait....

The story! The third story from the readings! The one that was responsible for Conner's behaviour all that time!

Of course it had to be based on something real. And that's why Conner was all worried like that all this time.

"Two hundred years ago in Otherworld time, there was man names Jacques Marquis, a general in the French Empire's Grande Armée," Mother Goose said. "General Marquis was a smart man; he knew the Brothers Grimm stories were more than just fiction. He had them followed and discovered the truth about where their stories came from. He wanted to conquer the magnificent lands he read about, in the name of the French Empire. So, he kidnapped the Brothers Grimm and demanded they provide his army with a portal into the fairy-tale world or he would kill their family."

At the mention of "fairy-tale world" everything slowly started clicking.

"And did they give him one?" Conner asked.

"That's where I come into the story," Mother Goose replied.

"I never gave them a map like the bird in the story did, but I told the Brothers Grimm of a portal they could lead General Marquis and his army of five thousand men to. But I bewitched the portal before his army arrived, so it would take them two hundred Otherworld years to cross through it and into the fairy-tale world."

"And that was two hundred years ago!" Conner exclaimed loudly.  I looked around to make sure no one else entered the bathroom or heard him. Thankfully there was no one.

"So why haven't they crossed to the fairy-tale world yet?" He asked.

"Because after the Enchantress was defeated, your grandmother closed the portal between the two worlds. And just in the nick of time."

I see now. The grandmother that was in Vermont, closed the portal. This must have been where Alex was now as well. Along with her grandmother. In that fairy-tale world. And that was why she never returned until now.

And did Mother Goose just say Enchantress? Like that one in Sleeping Beauty?

Well, I'm guessing yes, since it's the fairy-tale world after all.

You know what was confusing me most out of all this?

It was that I wasn't confused.

I was completely and sanely buying everything being said. In fact, what I was hearing now made much more sense than any lie I've heard Conner Bailey make up.

Conner released a long sigh of relief and sounded more relaxed now. "That's wonderful news. That means the army is still stuck in the portal and will never reach The Land of Stories right?"

There was silence. I could tell Mother Goose wasn't actually about to confirm what he said.

"The portal is closed permanently, isn't it?" He asked again with a tone of worry.

"It was," Mother Goose said. "But there is a chance the portal could be... re-opened."

"How?" Conner asked impatiently.

She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "I can't tell you why, or that it will for certain, all I can tell you is that there is a chance." She repeated. "And the only way we'll know for sure is if we check whether or not the portal is working. If it can be opened from the Otherworld side, that means it can be opened from the Land of Stories side as well, and the Grande Armée may cross into the fairy-tale world after all this time."

"Then tell me where it is!" Conner said eagerly. "I can check it myself!"

"Absolutely not," Mother Goose said in a stern tone. "I still haven't forgiven myself for telling Alex about the Enchantress – I couldn’t live with myself if I sent you off on a dangerous chase as well."

They kept talking more but my mind was somewhere else.

Sending him off on a dangerous chase.

He was about to run away, buy a ticket to an actual journey. An adventure.

One that I had been dreaming about all my life. What's crazier than going off to search for some mythical portal that leads to a mythical place?

Apparently Conner Bailey has been through several magical experiences by now. But what was different this time, was that he's gonna a have a girl in a beanie tag along with him.

I mean come on, imagine going on a cool magical adventure and with Conner; the most interesting person in the world. That was gonna he hella fun.

I could hear the sound of Conner's suitcase zip. He was probably putting back in the magical communicating device he was using. I stepped a little aside so he could come out.

After the count of five, Conner Bailey took a deep breath and exited the stall, only to gasp at the sight of me.

"Bree?" His face was white in shock. "What are you doing in the men's bathroom?"

"They started boarding early," I tried to sound as calm as I could, I didn't want to freak him out more. "Mrs. Peters wanted me to check on you. When I got closer to the bathroom I heard voices. I know you don't have a cellphone, so I came in to see who you were talking to—and now after saying that out loud, I realize how many privacy laws I just broke."

I guess my curiosity really is a hopeless case.

Conner's blue eyes kept scanning my face carefully. I knew I must have looked really shaken up. I mean, it's not every day you find out your classmate is going to save another dimension.

"How much of my conversation did you hear?" Conner asked

"Enough," I replied.

Conner cursed under his breath but I heard him. "Well, thank you for coming to check on me, but I'm not going home."

I nodded. "I gathered." The way he spoke now was a lot different than earlier. Even though he looked a little nervous about his mission, he was definitely more confident now.
Something about that call with Mother Goose gave him a purpose, I suppose.

"Please don't tell Mrs. Peters where I'm going," he said it like his life depended on it. "There is someone in London I really need to meet. It's really important."

I inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to collect all my senses again. Alright, Bree comprehend the situation. Determine the objective and your motive.

I nodded to myself, my head was cleared out of clouds now. "I won't tell anyone," I told him confidently. "Because I'm going with you."

Yup. That's right. I had made my decision. And when I make up my mind about something, there is no turning me back.

Conner started shaking his head, looking at me like I was nuts. "What? You can't go with me— you don't even know what's going on."

Oh really? Don't know what's going on, huh? It's time I put out all my suspicions about him in front of him in the light.

"I've known something was going on since the place ride to Germany." I said crossing my arms. "Your sister disappeared last year almost with no explanation, you knew the plots of fairy-tales that hadn't seen the light of day in two hundred years, and I just caught you somehow communicating with a woman called Mother Goose about an army invading another dimension."

I could tell he was overwhelmed by my roller coaster of words to the point he shut his eyes tight. He knew there was nothing left to hide now.

I went on.

"With all that in mind, my best guess is that you are somehow connected to the fairy-tale world, and now you have to make sure an army from the 1800s isn't going to cross into that world and put your sister and grandmother in jeopardy. Did I miss anything?"

I couldn’t tell if he was scared or impressed, but either way, it resulted in a smug look to appear on my face.

He cleared his throat. "Okay, I guess the dots aren't that hard to connect. But there's no way you're going with me."

Oh, come on!

"Do you know how much trouble you'd get into?"

I grunted and looked at the ceiling. Why was it so hard to convince him? It's not like he's kidnapping me. I'm the one who's choosing to willingly join him.

"I can live with trouble," I said. "I'll tell you what I can't live with—hearing one more conversation between the book huggers about a boy band or a fictitious relationship from a novel."

Conner was trying his best not to cringe. See! I told you I wasn't the only one who thought that.

"I have three younger sisters— I went to Germany to escape all that and to have European adventure. So far it seems you're the only person who can supply that and you could probably use help."

I waited for him to interrupt me but he didn’t. In fact, his mouth was hanging open for some reason. Maybe I was talking a little bit too fast, well can't hide it, I was definitely excited.

"So I'm coming with you, like it or not."

He kept staring at me like that for a couple seconds then he slowly shook his head. "How are you taking all of this so well?" He asked. "Don't you think the idea of another dimension seems insane?"

I paused for a second and looked off in the distance. Well the idea is insane. But that doesn't mean it's not possible. I believe in a world where anything could happen. Saying 'oh my god that's impossible' and 'there's no way that can be true' is a complete waste of time in my opinion. Just live and accept stuff, no matter how crazy they are —well, that is if you didn't want to have a boring life.

I finally looked back at him. "Not at all," I said. "I'm a writer too, Conner, and the reason I write is because I've always believed there's more to life than people are willing to believe. You're just the first person to prove it to me."

Conner fixed his eyes on mine. Those cyan eyes with a dark rings around each iris. A thought made its way to my mind.

Is it really the adventure I'm after, or is it just wanting to spend time with Conner?

Those are some cute freckles by the way.

"Alright you can come."

I couldn’t believe my ears.

I was going on an adventure with Conner Bailey!

I suddenly felt like Bilbo Baggins from the hobbit.

"As long as you promise never to share with another soul anything you've found out or anything you might see."

I couldn’t control my smile. That was it? That was the only condition?

Boy, that's gonna be the easiest thing ever, I barely talk much about normal everyday stuff anyway.

"I promise," I said, nodding.

Conner smiled too, first time in a long time.

"Good, now let's sneak out of the airport."

The way he casually said it gave me chills. We were actually about to run away!

I felt like that adolescent protagonist in novels who esacapes town to save the world. Now ain't this a dream coming true.

We peered out of the men's bathroom and looked at Mrs. Peters and the book huggers who stood there fuming waiting for us to come back. Which was never, obviously.

"We need to wait till she's distracted," I said and Conner nodded.

Then he suddenly smirked and looked at me like a realization just hit him."You really like sneaking into place you're not supposed to, don't you?"

I chuckled. "Well, I guess it's in my blood to break the rules."

"Good. Coz we're about to break a whole lot of 'em."

Mrs. Peters looked down at her watch and we both took that as a cue. We swiftly ran out of the bathroom, Conner holding his suitcase, and me my handbag. We followed the exit signs and went into customs.

I took a deep breath. "We got this—just follow my lead." We got in line, Conner right behind me.

"Keep your head down," Conner whispered over my shoulder. "Just in case she comes looking for us."

I nodded and did as he said. My blood was rushing but I tried to calm it down.

Well, after all, it wasn't my first time sneaking out of somewhere.

"Are you here for business or pleasure?" The officer asked my when my turn came.

"Pleasure," I replied casually, giving him a small smile. "I've come to visit my aunt and see a few shows in the West End."

Yeah well, I could easily come up with lies when in situations like this, it sometimes even comes out naturally. Heck, I didn't even have an aunt to begin with.

The officer suspected nothing and stamped my passport and I went my way. Nice and smooth.

I was putting my passport in my bag when I suddenly heard Conner utter the most bizarre words in the history of Britain and airports.

"I've come for the food."

I turned around and saw the officer watching him like he was an alien infected with chicken pox. "The food?" he asked awkwardly.

I face-palmed. We hadn't even taken out first step yet and this what Conner says to save himself.

Conner glanced at me with a panicked face. I could tell this was about to be a disaster.

"You've never heard of the Food?" Conner asked with an incredibly fake surprised expression trying to save the situation.

"They're only the greatest singing quartet of chefs-turned-tenors on the planet!"

I was praying for Conner to shut up already.

"They have a concert at the Buckinghamshirevelliton Coliseum."

Okay, Conner seriously needed to shut up!

I was about to intrude, saying this was my little brother or something to get him out of this situation, but Conner reached for his suitcase. "Here, let me give you one of their albums."

The officer held up his hand, stopping him. "Please dont." Then he stamped his passport and sent him on his way.

After we took a few safe steps away from the guy, I looked at Conner with wide eyes. "Buckinghamshirevelliton?" I whispered in a scolding tone. "Are you out of your mind? How are you supposed to save another dimension when you can't even get out of an airport?"

His cheeks turned a little pink. "Give me a break—obviously I'm under a lot of pressure!" He whispered back defensively.

I suppressed a laugh but he noticed and gave me a dirty look.

Buckinghamshirevelliton, he said.

Added to the list of weird things Conner says.

We made our way outside the airport and looked around at the swarming vehicles. What now?

I looked at Conner. "How are we going to get to central London? Are we old enough to take a taxi?"

Conner furrowed his eyebrows and kept scanning the area.

"Keep your head down, I've got an idea," he told me.

Without questioning, I did what he asked. I kept following him until he lead us to a bus that was boarding American kids.

The scene was so chaotic and kids were rushing inside carelessly, not giving any attention to the chaperone lady who kept yelling at them. We easily got in line—was it even a line?— and got on the bus without any obstacles.

We made our way to the very back and sat down. Then we both exhaled with relief at the same time. I must admit, that was clever.

"Alright, that was a good one," I said. "Almost makes up for Buckinghamshirevelliton."

I wasn't gonna leave him alone okay?

Conner smiled and rolled his eyes. "Thanks. This should get us into the city without a hitch."

We were quiet for a moment as we observed our atmosphere. Typical high-schoolers, gossiping loudly and taking selfies.

I thought for a moment, then I turned to Conner again. "Alright, I wanna hear the whole story and don't skip any details."

I mean, he literally went to a freaking fairy-tale world! There's gotta be one heck of an amazing adventure behind that.

"About what?" Conner asked.

"Everything, I need to know before venturing out on this adventure with you," I replied. "About you, your sister, that goose lady and this dimension we're about to save."

Conner contemplated for a second. "Okay but it's a long story."

I smiled. "Great. Long stories are my favourite."

Conner smiled too. I noticed that he smiles whenever I smile. Coincidence? Hmm...

I mean, not that I mind.

Conner took a very deep breath.

"It all started with our grandma's book of fairy-tales, 'The Land of Stories'...."