"do we need to stop for anything on the way, love"

"no that's okay harry."

"and your parents, how will they react to this."

"well they haven't contacted me for a couple weeks, i don't want to tell them."

"i'm sorry angie," his tired eyes focused on the road, concentrating.

"you don't have anything to apologise for, i'm happier with you."

harry couldn't stop himself from grinning, they were perfect together.

"let's play 20 questions." evangeline decided out of boredom.

"i'm pretty sure you're supposed to play that game when you're trying to get to know someone."

"yeah, but we don't know the little things about each other." she whined.

"okay, okay - what's your favourite colour?" harry asked.

"navy blue, as dark as the night sky." she sighed in awe.

"really?" he was taken aback. "i thought it would be pink."

"why?" she looked up at him.

"because you're very feminine." he teased.

she let out a laugh, "pink doesn't necessarily have to be feminine, boys can like pink too."

"i know, my favourite colour is pink." harry shrugged smiling.

she hummed in approval, "what type of pink?"

"the colour your cheeks turn when you blush."

evangeline's heart fluttered a little in her chest, but she decided to move on from what he just said.

"what's your favourite movie?"

he hummed for a minute, in deep thought. such a simple question but he could think of several movies he would pick.

"probably blue velvet, it's quite a controversial film."

"the david lynch one?" she asked, thinking about how she'd accidentally watched it with cindy a couple weeks ago.

harry looked at her incredulously, "you've watched it? that show is so graphic!"

he shook his head at her, he would've definitely deemed the show as inappropriate for her.

"harry, i'm sixteen not six."

"what else have you done that i don't know about?" harry interrogated her, thoughts now swirling in his mind about how perhaps this girl wasn't as innocent as she appeared.

she rolled her eyes and laughed at him, propping her legs up on the dashboard.

"i guess that's for me to know, and for you to find out." evangeline puts on a mysterious voice and drops her right eye in a wink.

this brings a smile to his lips,

"whatever you say, doll."

"where's your favourite place." she asks him continuing the game.

"verona, undoubtedly." his eyes held a nostalgic look in them.

"tell me about what it's like."

the young girl had strong italian blood in her, but she had never really been there. she dreamt of it all the time, maybe one day harry would take her.

she smiled at the thought, evangeline leant her head back against the head rest, watching the picket fences and identical houses zoom past.

she would miss it here.

"it's quite chilly out, but the rays of sunshine keep you warm. the people are the most friendly, all the locals want to bring you in and have these long conversations about anything and everything, my house is just outside town."

the corners of his lips turn up in contentment, he could not wait to go back.

"romeo and juliet was based in verona wasn't it?"

"yeah, i understand why shakespeare picked such a place for a tale of romance." he spoke.

"however i think romeo and juliet were both stupid, and the whole notion of there love is totally deluded." harry urged.

"and why is that, daddy?"

"they only knew each other for a couple days and then they decided to give up everything for each other."

"but isn't that kind of what i'm doing now, for you." she contemplated out loud.

"well no, you've known me your whole life and besides i can offer you more now." the man reasoned with her.

"that's true." she nodded, placing her hand over his on the gear stick, patting it reassuringly.

however, she couldn't help the seed of doubt he had unintentionally planted in her mind.

despite his consolation, she knew she was leaving just about everything behind.

she looked into the window of the car beside her and harry, a girl only a couple years younger than herself sat in the back seat- what evangeline assumed to be - her parents in front.

the man drove the red mini cooper, at a safe speed along the highway, he checked his mirrors consistently and drove confidently but cautiously.

the woman beside him, tapped her french-tipped nails against the windowsill, her wedding ring glistened in the sunlight and her eyes were following the road but her head bobbed to the same rhythm her fingertips tapped out.

in the backseat, the girl sat tall her mouth making shapes as her shoulders swayed in tune, she was completely focused and while a smile was planted across her cheeks, the light in her eyes was evident.

this girl was happy, and it sure seemed as if her parents were too.

watching the unknown family through her window, evangeline reminisced on how her family was never that way.

she did wish they were, she wish she'd had the novelty of a close family.

some people had no idea of how lucky they were, to grow up with two loving parents, not just one uncaring one.

evangeline was tired, of her mother's yelling and over-the-top religious beliefs. she could've sworn, her mother was the reason people turned away from god and his ways.

her mother and herself were never a closely knit pair, and despite how hard she had tried her mother was always distant.

her mother spent her time, drinking blessed wine and reciting prayers in the most 'fucking monotonous' way.

evangeline had always wondered if before her mother turned to religion, she would've been somewhat relatable.

whether she could've been the young mom with the cool rules and crazy stories to tell her daughter, while they conquered the world together.

yet now her father was home, to a barely recognisable woman he used to call his soulmate, if she had stayed there could've been a chance that they were like the family in the car.

maybe her mother would paint her nails, maybe her father would play his favourite music and evangeline could talk to them.

she missed everything she never had.

she wished her father never left them, she wished he never got her mother pregnant.

a lingering doubt in her mind was that maybe if she had never been born then her parents wouldn't have so many problems.

they could've been happy.

regardless, the saddest part for dear evangeline was that all her life she had known of her father as a devil and when she met him he was lovely. she had spent her entire life thinking she knew about the man but really she knew nothing.

and she couldn't help but wonder what else she thought she knew about her family, but did not.

and now her family was finally together - not in the best state, but still together- she could not help but think that she should've stayed with them.

she should've helped mend bonds and rekindle the love they held for each other deep down.

she could have had a family.

she could have lived the dream, her dream that others seemed to have no trouble finding, but for some reason she just couldn't seem to seek it out.

instead she had chosen to run away with a man too old for her and give up on her old life.

evangeline had always thought of herself as one tough cookie, despite her demure ways. she was hardworking and unafraid of toil.

she had spent so long reading harry potter repetitively when she was little. despite the weak connotations, she knew she was a true hufflepuff at heart.

pity she wasn't a witch and harry wasn't a wizard, and they hadn't met in hogwarts and fallen in love in some sort of adventure.

harry was beautiful, but he was unreal. he could offer her everything but she would never have to work hard for anything.

and despite his temptations, her moral compass taught her that everything is so much more worth it if you work hard for it.

did she even love him?

she rested her head against the headrest, taking a long hard look at the man beside her.

his brows furrowed; concentrating on the road. his jaw was loose, one arm rested against the window while the other gripped the wheel.

his lips were so plump and reddened she couldn't help but ache for them to be pressed against her own, while his fingers did unfathomable things to her body.

she wished for him to ravish her body, to take all of her.

this was not love this was lust.

undoubtedly, the man was kind and caring but did she really know much about him?

would she risk him going to prison, because her selfish desires could not resist his touch?

no. no.

even with his eyes drenched in admiration and want, she could still not be sure she truly loved him.

too young to understand truly.

her mind drifted fully, perhaps that's why laws are put in place to stop these types of relationships.

she'd never considered the dangers of diving headfirst into a relationship with a man so much older.

he loved with all his heart, yet love meant different things to both them.

despite evangeline's need for him, her unsureness was more than enough to outweigh the positives of him.

it was cold in the car, she wished he would turn up the goddamn heater. she rolled her eyes, clueless man.

she kept thinking to herself, she didn't even know him. she didn't know what she was doing.

she was just a kid and this was just a bit fucked up.

evangeline let her eyelids flutter shut slowly, imagining newspaper headlines in her mind;

"

it wasn't looking good for her, nor him.

but maybe, she was jus overthinking it all. her mind was merely a mess of hormones and doubt.

frustration ran through her veins thicker than blood, the girl couldn't seem to wrap her head around all the contradicting thoughts that were somehow only just occurring to her now.

what if she did love him?

but how can you love someone you don't really know, how could she try and pursue him with such a shallow understanding of his character.

"god, i am childish" her conscience chided, she huffed.

"make up your mind now evangeline, before you do something you regret."

her inner voice continued, annoyingly.

and as it continued to torment her, she slowly formulated the words she needed to tell her.

the girl knew not of how he would react but, she knew that her decision was the most important thing to her.

she had no inclination to do anything she did not want to.

evangeline tugged at her lower tip with her second and third digits.

suddenly bursting out of her thought she looked over at the man beside her.

"harry, we need to talk."