A/N: Well after finishing The Disappearance Of Donna Paulsen I decided that I needed to do something less angsty and heavy on the drama I guess. This story will only have 8 chapters and I'm very happy with how it's turned out.
Synopsis just in case you were confused: Teen Donna meets Teen Harvey on train to Paris. They make interesting conversation and you'll see what happens in their week all alone in Paris. Enjoy!
Oh and this story is what I like to call my tribute to Richard Linklater who proved that conversations can become cinematic.
The green valleys and mountains should have been enough to impress Donna on her train ride to Paris as shown by the passengers in front of her that were staring through the windows but it didn't impress her. Some of the passengers were sleeping, reading and a few walked up and down the aisles because they couldn't stay in one place for too long. Donna however is curled up in her seat reading Elmore Leonard's Rum Punch. She continued to read and forget about reality as she began to create a world in her own head with the words she was reading while taking an occasional bite of her Galaxy chocolate bar.
Suddenly a couple, two forty year olds who have been arguing semi quietly in the seat behind Donna, start yelling at each other in Italian.
"Vi prego di mettere il giornale in giù!" The wife asked swiping the newspaper away from her husband.
"Non c'è modo! Questa è l' unica volta che ho la pace!" The husband replied.
"Non posso credere che hai appena detto che ! Attendere fino a quando arriviamo a casa . Sarai dispiaciuto quando torniamo a casa!" The wife shouted back.
"Prendete il vostro minacce a vuoto e spingerlo nel vostro didietro sanguinosa donna!"
Donna who's now annoyed gets up grabbing her book and bag, starts looking for another seat. A few rows back, she finds a seat across the aisle from a teenage boy. Before sitting down, they make brief eye contact and kind of shake their heads and smile at the tension. Just as she settles in and goes back to her book, the wife gets up and storms down the aisle. Donna and the teenager boy follow her with their eyes, and as she passes them, they find they are looking right at each other. He makes a funny "uhoh" face.
"They doing your head in too?" He asked looking up at her from his book.
"Yeah; especially if you understand a little Italian." Donna replied looking through the window.
"That's a nice way to show off. It's sort of like a back handed compliment but less insulting." He said rolling his eyes.
"I never got your name." Donna said looking at him as he placed his book on his lap. She took the time to stare at his chizled chiseled chin and brown eyes.
"I haven't told you my name." He said turning his head to face her and catching her stating at him as she quickly moved her eyes away.
The wife who stormed away suddenly reappeared walking past them as she resumed her argument with the husband.
"Maybe we should go to the lounge car and introduce ourselves? Is your school cool with that?" Donna asked as they both looked at the couple who were now crying.
"Yeah they're cool with that." Donna said waiting for the wife to sit back with the husband.
They get up and walk to the door of their car. He pushes the button, and as the door opens, he extends his hand towards her catching her slightly off guard.
"The name's Specter, Harvey Specter." Harvey said smiling.
"Donna." Donna said smiling shyly.
They proceed through the door and Donna pushes the button to enter the next car. There is some confusion as to who's opening the door for whom before Donna proceeds and Harvey follows her toward the lounge car. Once they settle down they sit across each other waiting for the other to speak.
"So Donna. I heard that Italian guy say your name? They weren't arguing over you, were they?" Harvey asked as Donna laughed lightly.
"My name in Italian, it means woman." Donna said as Harvey nodded his head.
"I know." Harvey said as Donna raised her eyebrow, curious.
"Why do you know something like that? You know; what my name means? I mean it's not everyday you hear someone say what their name means." Donna said curiously.
"Have you heard of the plant Atropa Belladonna?" Harvey asked as Donna shook her head. "My friend who wants to be a Pharmacist was telling me about it. Bella Donna…it means beautiful lady in Italian and I haven't forgotten about it since because of how great it sounded."
"And what does this plant that has the same name as me do? Does it make some sort of drug or poison? " Donna asked curiously.
"All drugs can be poisonous at high doses, even love but we'll leave that for another time if there is another and to answer your question I'm not sure you want to know what that plant makes." Harvey said smirking.
"You gonna tease me? You know I could just google it." Donna said taking out her phone.
"They're used to make eyedrops that were used by prostitutes to dilate their pupils to make them look more attractive. It's the reason why your pupils dilates when you have feelings for someone. I think it's the reason why they say eyes are the windows to the soul. I mean it isn't just a whimsical verse anymore." Harvey said as Donna tilted her head.
"Now that you've told me that, I have to question why my parents called me after a plant Italian prostitutes used." Donna said sighing. "And your pupils are dilating."
"That's because I'm sitting in the shade." Harvey said pointing out of the window.
"You sure about that because-"
"Well I can't control the way my pupils dilate because if I did then I'd forget half the time to dilate them and then I'd be blind." Harvey replied as Donna smiled. "I don't think you should take it personally because your name means woman. I checked what my name in the Urban Dictionary means and you don't want to know what it means." Harvey said as Donna leaned forward a little.
"I don't want to Google it. I'm scared because I've checked other people's name before. Like I have this one Asian friend and his name meant something like getting a blowjob while eating halal chicken or something." Donna whispered as Harvey chuckled.
"Okay my name isn't that graphic which is saying something because it's pretty graphic." Harvey stated as Donna nodded.
"Tell me what your name means Specter. I promise I won't laugh." Donna said teasing him.
"My name's used to describe when you have a visible semi-erection in public." Harvey said as Donna burst out laughing. "See what I mean."
"Oh my god. I'm so sorry semi-erection…I mean Harvey" Donna said as Harvey looked down and shook his head.
"I didn't know you could be childish too." Harvey said trying hard not to smile as Donna leaned her head against the seat trying to stop now.
"I'm so sorry." Donna said wiping her tears away. "Speaking of Urban Dictionary, you wanna know what my name means?"
"Sure." Harvey said smiling.
"A very intelligent, smart, fun to be with, hot, and attractive girl who is very much taken and definitely not available." Donna said as Harvey raised his eyebrow.
"So you're saying you're off limits?" Harvey asked raising his eyebrows.
"Maybe. You 'll just have to wait and see." Donna said teasing as Harvey smiled to himself.
"So how do you understand Italian? Your parents Italian?" Harvey asked getting himself comfortable in his seat.
"I have red head…does it look like I'm Italian?" Donna asked as Harvey looked at her hair.
"I'm just saying maybe your dad is Italian and your mom is Irish or from Boston." Harvey said shrugging. "And for a long time I thought there were a lot of Jews in Italy because of Goodfeelas and all them gangster movies you see. Turns out the Italians hate the Jews because of how much the country is Christian. So is your ma from Boston or is she Irish?"
"I don't call my mom 'Ma' because I'm not from Boston or Ireland. And not everyone from Boston is Irish and Ireland isn't Europe's Boston either." Donna said rolling her eyebrows.
"Okay so you aren't Italian? You just happened to learn Italian because you were interested in speaking Italian?" Harvey asked.
"Yeah something like that. Mom can speak Italian so I learned it too. Dad can speak French so I leaned French too." Donna said shrugging. "You don't speak any other language?"
"You know I tried speaking French. I mean I tried to flirt with this French woman and I ended up saying my family is dead, please have sex with me." Harvey said as Donna's eyes widened.
"No way. No way you said that. You'd have to be pretty crazy not to realise a bit of what you were saying." Donna said shaking her head.
"I swear. She ended up hugging me and was like 'there there'. I mean I could have had sympathy sex but she would have felt sorry for me and you don't want the person you're having sex with do that because it's gonna be slow." Harvey said shaking his head. "So why you headed to Paris?"
"School trip." Donna replied shrugging.
"For what subject?" Harvey asked tilting his head.
"Drama."
"Dost thou mother not know you stealeth her drapes?" Harvey said in his Thor impression.
"Drama as in non-Shakesperean acting or Robert Downey Jr acting." Donna said looking at him.
"I always believed acting is natural. Now don't get me wrong you can get better at it but some people are good at pretending to be other people." Harvey said as Donna stretched her arms a little.
"So why you here?" Donna asked nodding her head.
"School trip." Harvey said simply.
"School got you on a leash?" Donna asked as Harvey shook his head.
"They said we can do whatever the hell we can as long as we report back at our hotel at 7." Harvey said as Donna opened her bag taking out a piece of paper. "I never really got that because we could be in a brothel and they won't know which is pretty inconsiderate of them."
"What hotel you staying at?" Donna asked as Harvey looked at her.
"You tell me first...Bella." Harvey said as Donna looked at him raising her eyebrow.
"Bella?"
"You know from the name of the-"
"I know but we're probably never going to meet each other so-"
"So this is the perfect opportunity to call you beautiful." Harvey said as Donna leaned back a little. "Because you are beautiful I'm not going to just deny it." He said as she looked away trying hard not to blush as she felt his eyes on him.
"Hotel Basfroi. That's where I'm staying at." Donna replied as Harvey nodded his head.
"Well well well. Speak of the devil and it shall arrive." Harvey said as Donna's eyes widened.
"No way." Donna said in shock.
"You don't believe me?" Harvey asked.
"It's not a matter of believing. It's coincidence I guess that's bringing us together." Donna said looking through the window and staring at the trees going past.
"I don't believe in fate or destiny." Harvey said as Donna looked at him briefly. "To me life's nothing but timing. Can I have your opinion on something?"
"That's a first I've heard." Donna said moving away from the window and looking at Harvey.
"These trips we take. One summer me and the guy we got one of those Eurail passes, and you know what's fascinating about traveling around? You spend all this time trying to reach your destination and in your head you've got this image of what you're going to expect based on the photos you see on Instagram where the sun perfectly hits the city centre full of life and when you get there, you look around, it's never exactly what you'd hoped, you head off somewhere else, and hope for something better. It's part of the reason why I want to learn who to lower personal expectations." Harvey commented as Donna tilted her head for a moment thinking about it.
"It's like getting ready for a party, getting there, and falling asleep by the way you're making it sound like and I agree with you. " Donna replied and Harvey clicked his fingers pointing at her.
"That's exactly how it's like." Harvey said.
"I guess you gotta go without any expectation at all and just let the city take you in rather than take in the city." Donna said as Harvey nodded his head.
"Don't get me wrong I've been blown away visiting some places but overall I get disappointed and sometimes it makes me question whether this world is special at all. That's why I prefer the travelling part. You sit down, it's quiet most of the time, get a good book like The Big Short by Michael Lewis and that's a good day. You do that back home and they'd think you're anti-social." Harvey said as Donna laughed a little.
"You know that reminds me of this one time where I was on the Subway and there was this guy who kept staring at my legs and one day I just came up to him and told him why and one thing led to another and-"
"I don't like where this is going." Harvey commented as Donna shook her head.
"It doesn't go there. We just spoke for a good hour and he seemed like a nice guy and when I left for my stop I thought to myself 'I wouldn't mind speaking to him next time'. Next day he's not there and I see the news and I find out he was arrested for sexual assault." Donna said as Harvey's jaw dropped a little.
"He was a sex addict?" Harvey asked.
"Yeah. I mean that was the last straw with me in terms of talking to other people whilst travelling. I know you don't believe in that but still that experience is going to stay with me forever." Donna said as Harvey smiled.
"I can confirm I am neither and never been a sex addict." Harvey said as Donna smiled back. "I'm just putting that out there." He added as Donna looked down smirking.
"Are you working?" Donna asked changing the conversation.
"I have a stupid job like everyone else." Harvey said looking away.
"So you're not happy with it? Or do you not get paid enough?" Donna asked confused.
"No it's a decent job but it's something where I don't do much so the pay is meh." Harvey said shrugging.
"What's the job then?"
"Paper room at a law firm. I just sit down sort out the letters and hand them over to the interns or the lawyers." Harvey said shrugging.
"Doesn't sound that bad." Donna commented.
"People who say that probably have a better job so what's yours?" Harvey asked looking at her.
"Barista." Donna said as Harvey leaned forward for a moment.
"Good luck to you then." Harvey said as Donna smiled and nodded her head.
"It's not that bad. You know you get used the customers. I mean most people end up going for the Donna Paulsen special." Donna said as Harvey raised her eyebrows.
"The Donna Paulsen special? First you had my curiously and now you have my full undivided attention." Harvey said looking at her.
"There's this special beans you get roasted from the French Alps, the milk comes from Geroge Harrison's cows, whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles." Donna said as Harvey tried to process it all in.
"Whipped cream?" Harvey asked crossing his eyebrows.
"That's the special ingredient. It's the thing that makes it the Donna Paulsen special." Donna said as if it was obvious. "How do you prefer your coffee?"
"Black." Harvey said plainly as Donna faceplamed herself.
"Why?" Donna asked.
"I prefer my coffee like I prefer my women." Harvey said shrugging.
"Black?" Donna asked confused.
"No. Cold and bitter." Harvey said seriously for a moment but then ended up laughing together.
"This is Paris. You get off here, right?" Donna asked.
"Damn. I wish I met you earlier, I really like talking to you." Harvey said as Donna smiled.
"It was really nice talking to you, too." Donna said.
The train comes to a final stop. The doors open and soon everyone is unboarding and boarding. With a slight smile, Harvey looks intensely at Donna.
"I have an admittedly insane thought. If I don't ask you this, it'll be one of those things that will haunt me forever." Harvey said as Donna looked confused.
"What is it?" Donna asked seeing her group starting to assemble towards the middle of the station. He just looks at her a little nervously and can't say it. She's intrigued and a little excited at what he's struggling with. "What is it Harvey?"
"I want to keep talking with you. I mean, I have no idea what your situation is in terms of how long you're staying here, but I feel some kind of...connection. I don't know it's fucking weird." Harvey said as Donna nodded her head.
"Yeah, me too." Donna said smiling.
"So how about this. Okay, good...once we go to the hotel I want us to meet in the lobby. I know it'll be late but I just wanna keep you talking and then tomorrow we can check out the town." Harvey said as she smiled at the thought but wasn't totally sure.
"So what would we do?" Donna asked curiously.
"I don't know. I just wanna wander through the town tomorrow with you. If I turn out to be a psycho, you can bail out anytime and I'll never talk to you, right? You can even call the police if you want too, you know, right?" Harvey asked as Donna still thought about it. "Think of it like this. Jump ahead ten, twenty even thirty years maybe even fourty years if you're lucky and your marriage just doesn't have that same energy anymore."
"Yes because all marriages are like that." Donna said rolling her eyes.
"Just listen to this for a moment. You start to blame your husband. You think of all the guys you've met and all the ones you never pursued and how things might have been different if you'd just picked up with one of them guys. Well, yours truly also happens to be one of them. You can consider this traveling back in time, to see what you're missing. See, this is really a big favor to both you and your future husband - it's a chance to see how you really haven't missed anything. That I'm just as boring and unmotivated as he is, hopefully more." Harvey said as Donna smiled a little thinking about the situation.
"Let me get my bag first." Donna said.
He gets off the train with his bags and starts walking, not fully aware she's not right behind him. She hesitated slightly and pauses at the top of the stairs. After glancing back briefly, she looks ahead at him and proceeds with confidence.
"Tonight at the lobby. 8pm sharp." Donna said as Harvey smiled opening up his arms and then quickly putting them back realising it was awkward. "It's so adorable how guys can get embarrassed."
"Oh please I don't do embarrassed." Harvey said as he heard his name being called out. He turned his back behind and saw a blonde boy calling him over as Harvey held out a finger for a moment.
"See you tonight then." Donna said smiling as the both of them shook hands.
