Immoral Innocence {H.S}

"Don't do anything I wouldn't"19.

The letters were trash. Even Mr Arrowsmith's. I tossed them aside for them to eventually gather dust and be unearthed by my future self in many years to come. But for now they were irrelevant- I wasn't going to be the sort of person that wallows in the past. It was about now, which happened to be the best time of my life.

I awoke early, well 9am but earlier then usual. As I did have quite the formal invitation to Harry's this day I decided I'd look the part with barely any make up and a head full of matted knots. I was sure it wasn't going to bother him much- he'd seen me worse.

I was ready within a quarter of an hour and off out of the door only until my father caught me last minute- just as I was leaving.

"Be safe my darling for Harry is a dangerous boy." My father chuckled scooping me off of my feet in a bear hug. I laughed with him, waiting for my uncontrollable giggles to die down once he released me.

"Alright paps." I nodded tapping him on the head like a pet.

"Don't patronise me young lady!" My father said in fake fierceness.

"Well, I'll be offfff." I murmured turning my head slowly to continue on my way.

"Not so fast." He grumbled grabbing my shoulder as I was just edging away. I turned to face him again. "Don't do anything I wouldn't." He smirked.

"Yep sure." I reassured him, sliding away without further converse.

Of course, it took me no longer then thirty seconds to reach Harry's doorstep. With a confident strut I eyed Harry threw his lounge window and he was up opening the door without me even having to knock. I smiled at him politely not saying much as I pushed past him slowly, eyeing the lounge in some form of disappointment.

There sat Meridian, Weseley, Heath, Annabelle, Ellen, Peaches, Mustafa, and Susa. I didn't understand my discomfort at all...most of these people were my friends. I guess I felt like alone time with Harry- and also I looked mediocre against the rest of the girls. I said hi and swung my bag on the floor by the door taking myself next to Peaches.

"Hey doll." She whispered.

"Hi, what's going on?" I stage whispered over the noise.

"Not much, just chit chat I guess." She said before turning to talk to Susa, leaving me looking bored and alone. Harry was on the sofa, a look of boredom, alike mine, adorning his face while he fiddled with the knobs at the top of his portable radio. He got it to a station that was quietly playing Clarice Mayne 'I was a good little girl until I met you'.

Most of the people were chatting, especially Wesley and Heath who were belting the lyrics to the song that was supposed to be used as a quiet background noise. But me and Harry sat in mutual mute, about two meters away from each other.

So I had no other choice then to listen to the crackling broadcast from the radio. Although it all seemed like a normal report, a usual one, somehow- one by one- everyone started to gather around the radio, including me, my ears trying to catch the words of who I assumed was no other then Mr Winston Churchill.

I couldn't quite catch what he was saying. The best part of it sounding like mumbles, but everyone else did. Their facial expressions saying it all. I looked around, Ellen almost had a tear in her eye in shock, same with Harry and Susa. The rest of them just sat in disbelief like nothing had quite hit them yet. Then, like I had been able to hear his voice all along, Churchill's voice rang out of the radio with great regret.

"His Majesty's Ambassador in Berlin has received his passport, and His Majesty's Government has declared to the German Government that a state of war exists between Great Britain and Germany as from 11am on August 4th, 1914."

Harry soon turns a few knobs leaving us in a deathly silence, our eyes scanning one another's without a comment between us.

"That's some fucking bull crap." Wesley murmured after a while, lounging on the sofa with a worried smiled on his face.

I take a minute to evaluate the situation, thinking about the possibilities of this newly announced war. Do my parents know? I had to tell them as soon as possible.

Susa had her head held in her hands while Ellen and Harry supportively rubbed her back- a small sob leaving her lips every so often.

"What's up?" I mouthed to Peaches who was still sitting baffled next to me.

"Her dad's a private." She said. "She's worried because he's the lowest of the low when it comes to warfare. He'll probably be front line." She whispered, shortly returning to her look of bewilderment.

Soon though everything started to add up in my mind; Harry's father was promoted Lieutenant General of the navy and his bad mood was probably brought on by the war fears with his new job. I was an idiot not to guess it sooner.

"I'm sorry." I said abruptly. "I've got to leave." I stood to my feet, Peaches tugging the sleeve of my sweater for me to stay. "Bye." I said, turning round and marching to the door which wasn't such a trek.

"Wait Lou-" was the last thing I heard before I'd escaped the house. I pondered outside on Harry's driveway for a minute debating weather to go back and comfort the people that needed it. No. I needed to talk to my family.

I rushed to my doorstep banging hard on the ornate stained glass. A few seconds later my father answered the door, worry adorning his face.

I leaped into his hold, embracing him tightly in a warm cuddle.

"Did you hear the news?" I asked.

"The war? Indeed. We did." My father said regretfully.

Soon, we slowly released eachother, walking into the lounge leisurely- the smell of bacon and eggs hitting us both simultaneously.

We walked into the kitchen, which was quite a walk, to find an absence of Mother, just Favio and Cockza slaving over the stove with three omelets cooking away.

"Favio, Cockza, where's Sandra?" I asked, slyly taking a peek at the meal.

"Oh shi went tu de toileta, wait dwo minutesa." One chef said. Me and father shrugged hauling ourselves into the dinning room to wait patiently in our places.

My mother soon entered, a perfect smile on her face as if the whole ordeal with the war went unbothered by her. She took a seat purposefully closer to father and I- a strange phenomenon. She fanned out her ruby red napkin, along with me and father, and placed it on her lap without saying a single thing.

We waited in awkward censorship- mother looking giddy and fake while me and father were droopy eyed messes. It didn't take long for Favio to interrupt the silence though, while he walked into the room, with Cockza by his side, exclaiming "dis will be perfecto honestly, it haz taken a life timea."

A plate was pushed in front of us all, an ordinary omelet slapped on it.

"It looks like a regular omelet Favio, what's different?" I asked.

"It waz cooked wit love." He said meaningfully, snapping his fingers for Cockza to follow him out of the dinning room.