Leeway // Joe Mazzello

35|| "When in Rome"

Octavia's guide to the hell that is the English language

ROMANTIC
/rōˈman(t)ik/
(adj.) conducive to or characterized by the expression of love.
⤷see also: Joseph Mazzello

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Octavia was nervous. She didn't want to particularly describe it as that because she was also ecstatic and happy and so totally in love with Joe. But she was nervous.

Joe had hinted, poorly, at their next destination. The show stopper. The main event. Through a series of guessing games, Octavia landed on Italy. She loved Italy, in theory, but it reminded her of some of the most recent hardest times in her life. The first time she lied to Joe.

From the bits and pieces she could recall, the days before the lie were rough, an accidental kiss in front of her accidental boyfriend. She would have hoped to not remember that. Task almost completed successfully?

It didn't matter because a lie was still a lie and even when she did a retelling of the same story days, if not weeks, later, she didn't lie completely that time. She still wasn't sure if Joe had caught on to that, not that he had ever mentioned anything.

Her lie was about Ethan. Of course it was, it always was. Maybe if she didn't think about it right now it would go away forever. But that's just what he would've wanted, for her to be thinking about him, or at the very least frequently reminded. Especially when she was in her dream destination.

"What are you thinking about?" Joe nodded her back to reality.

"Oh umm..." This was kind of super awkward. "Nothing just must've spaced out." She smiled at the man in front of her. The correct man, the right one. This was right.

"Are you excited for Italy?"

"I'm excited to be with you in Italy." She corrected him.

The lie didn't matter. It was eating away at her for nothing, no one would have to know. Everything was going to be just fine. The only thing that mattered was her and joe, joe and her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

📍Rome, Italy

Their first stop was absolutely breakfast. Octavia planned on devouring as many baked goods as possible, which of course had to include a Cornetto from one of the local cafes.

"Is that not just a croissant?" Joe asked as she turned around with the pastry in her hand.

"Excuse you?" She asked offended. "This is not a croissant, it's a cornetto." She took a big bite and nearly melted into it's flavors.

"You made that up."

"If I did I'd be a genius. Here try it." She tore off a bit for him. "It's sweeter."

"Well it is indeed delicious." He said after chewing. "But what could possibly be the difference?" he asked.

Octavia rolled her eyes playfully. "Well, for starters, a cornetto is an Italian pastry that's typically filled with cream or jam, while a croissant is a French pastry that's made with butter and is typically served plain or with a chocolate filling."