You and me | Pacey Witter

twenty-eight

PACEY TOOK notice of the Benson girl in the hallways. He could tell something was wrong. Her face looked almost tear-stained, Lucas was actually walking with her for longer than usual, and instead of her usual stylish outfit, she wore her baggy jeans and a grey sweatshirt to go along with it. But the one thing he noticed the most about her outfit, was the black bracelet tied around her wrist.

He furrowed his eyebrows before he rushed down the hallway to meet up with her. "Hey, Rory," he spoke up, catching her attention. The two now walked side by side. "Uh, listen, I know we aren't on the best of terms, right now, but are you okay? I'm starting to get a little worried for you now, Benson."

Aurora looked up at the Witter boy as she scoffed out a dry laugh. "There's a lot that isn't right at the moment, Pacey," she informed. "And I'd prefer if I didn't have to explain this all to my ex-boyfriend."

Pacey frowned, "forget about that right now," he exclaimed. "I used to be your best friend, you know, the one that you came to talk about this sort of stuff with. So, right now, don't think of me as your ex-boyfriend, think of me as your best friend."

Aurora frowned as she looked back down. Her arms were wrapped around her body as she now looked straight ahead. "Well, my father is back, and it's been nothing but hell, ever since he's gotten back," she told him. The next thing that came out of her mouth, she wasn't sure that she was ready to tell him yet. "Uh, recently, I've had this life changing experience for me, and it was stressful, but my dad took it terribly. He, um, said some stuff before my uncle kicked him out, and the one person that this is about, we've barely talked, and, I want too, it's just I'm scared that they may hate me."

Pacey was surprised by the sudden news from the girl. He knew her dad was back, but he didn't know it was that bad. The sudden tears that welled up in her eyes didn't go unnoticed by the Witter boy. Aurora groaned as she used the sweatshirt sleeve to wipe away the tears, "I told myself no more crying today."

"It's okay to cry, Rory," Pacey told her, his voice was soft and comforting. "I promise you, once you let it all out, you'll feel so much better not having all of that bottled up inside of you. And I won't judge. If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here, if you need to let your anger out, I'm here. Anything that you need that will help you, I'm here."

Aurora looked down toward the ground. "There's nothing that can help me with this, Pace," she exclaimed. Pacey opened up an empty classroom door and snuck the two of them in there. "And I don't think there would be much you could do about it anyways, because if I tell you, you'll hate me, and things will be awkward with us again, and I'd lose you."

Pacey shook his head, "Aurora, let me tell you this, there is nothing possible in the world that could make me hate you. I promise you that," he stated. "No matter how bad things are between us, I would never hate you."

Aurora took a deep, shaky breath as she sat down in one of the chairs. "I have feelings for someone," she confessed, "for someone that I shouldn't, but I do." Pacey furrowed his eyebrows at the brunette, which only made this more difficult for her to say but being straight up might be her only choice.

"I like Haley," Aurora blurted out as she looked at him. "I like boys and girls."

Pacey was taken back by the unexpected news. He stayed quiet for a while but knew he needed to comfort her right away and let her know that he was there for her. "And that is perfectly okay, Rory. I could never hate you for that. You can't control who you like," he said with a sad smile rested on his face. 

Aurora was surprised to hear his response. "Really?" she questioned as her eyes widened. "You- you don't hate me? You mean, you're fine with me liking someone else, and that someone being a girl?" she rambled.

Pacey chuckled at her rambling, "of course. I'm not going to judge you for someone you like."

Pacey's expression turned serious once again, "but I think if you like Haley, you should go with it," he told her. "I mean, trust me, if you tell her, she won't think any less of you, she'll understand, even if you don't think she will."

"Actually, I think she'll understand pretty well," Aurora cut in. "Uh, a few nights ago, we were out on the docks, and we were dancing, right? All of a sudden, we just stopped, and our eye contact was unbreakable. We almost kissed that night, Pacey, but I stopped it before it happened, because I was confused on why I felt like this."

"But now you know why," Pacey exclaimed. "So, now, you need to talk to her, tell her everything that you just told me. Your feelings, your realization, and trust me, it'll work. You have nothing to be afraid of, the hard part is over with."

Aurora shook her head, "no, the hard part isn't over yet, Pace. Now, I have to go through the public shock and comments when they do find out I'm bi. You know me and Haley are going to receive looks."

Pacey shrugged, "oh well, that's their problem. I can't lie, yes you will get comments and looks from people, but screw their opinion, alright? As long as you are happy, then there is no point of letting the people get to you. And if they do, you let me know all right, I'll hunt them down and give them a little talk, huh?"

Aurora cracked a smile at the boy and nodded, "you'll definitely be the first one I call," she commented. "Uh, thank you, Pace. I really appreciate you helping me, just please, don't tell anyone. You, Jack, and Lucas are the only ones who know about this. I don't want to deal with anymore coming outs, alright?"

"You got it," Pacey replied with a smile. "Good luck, Rory. I hope you and Haley work out."