You and me | Pacey Witter

thirty-six

"WOW, THE house is a lot quieter," Joshua commented as he looked up at his niece who walked down the staircase. "I mean your brother is off at the college tours with the rest of them, and Haley isn't already over here because she's at the college tours. How come you didn't go?" he questioned.

Aurora sat down on one of the barstools at the kitchen island and shrugged as she reached for the glass of apple juice, he had fixed for her. "I don't know," she replied, truthfully. "I mean I should probably already have this figured out, but I don't know what I want to be yet, so I'm not sure what college to go too yet. And I know the college tour probably would've helped, but I don't want the student I get paired up with to think I'm some dumb highschooler, you know?"

Joshua nodded, understandingly, "I get it, Rora, and you don't have to know what you want to be yet," he told her. "Some people find out what they want to be in college. Usually, your basic classes are your first year at college, and then your second year is when you start finding classes for what you want to be."

Aurora sighed, "I don't even know if college is for me," she replied. "I mean, yeah, it would be nice to get my full education and be able to get a good job, but I don't think I could handle college."

Joshua frowned, "well, I can't force you to go to college," he stated. "It's your decision. And you know if you need help about your decision, I'm here. I mean, what are you interested in?" he asked.

"Uh, music?" Aurora replied with a questioning tone. "I love music, but I'm not a singer, so I don't know what else I could be related in the area."

"What about a producer?" Joshua asked. "I mean a music producer would be pretty cool, and you know a bit about technology, don't you?"

Aurora nodded, "I mean, yeah, I guess."

Joshua shrugged, "it's your choice, and whatever you do decide, I'll support you no matter what, alright?" he assured. 

Aurora smiled, "thank you."

- - - - - - - - - -

AURORA WALKED downtown to the grocery store to pick a couple stuff out for dinner. Tonight, it would be another dinner with Joshua, ever since he got a job, he's been busy, and not at home very much in the nighttime. She walked in and felt the cool air conditioning on her skin, giving her chills, but she ignored it and went straight to the aisle she needed.

Aurora reached up to the top shelf to grab the spaghetti sauce she needed. Her hand was inches apart from touching it, she stood on her tippy toes to give her the extra height, but that didn't work either. Before she could walk off to get a manager she heard a familiar voice, "you need help, Benson?"

Pacey walked down the aisle with a raised eyebrow. Aurora nodded and slowly backed away. He extended his arm and grabbed the jar of sauce from the shelf before he placed it in the tiny basket, she carried on her arm. "Thanks," she mumbled.

The Witter boy watched as she turned around to walk away, a deep sigh left his lips and almost as an impulse, he leaned forward, and gently grabbed a hold of her wrist. "Wait, hold on, Rory," he called out. "Uh, I think we really need to talk about the other night."

Aurora rolled her eyes as she pulled her arm out of his grip and crossed them over her chest. "I don't think there's anything to talk about, Pace. I mean you kissed her, it's as simple as that," she shrugged. "You attempt to kiss me, I reject it, and then you go off the next day and kiss Jen. There's nothing to explain."

Pacey pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a sigh, "but there is something to explain," he stated. "Me and Jen had this small thing going on. We had agreed to be each other's emotional support and give each other the needs that we wanted. No feelings were brought into it, and we couldn't get attached."

Aurora scoffed as she looked down toward the ground. "That kiss that you saw between me, and Jen didn't have any meaning behind it, okay? It happened in the moment, but trust me, that little thing me and Jen had, it's over. I told her I couldn't do it anymore, and she understood. Me and Jen are just friends. That's all we ever were," Pacey explained.

Aurora looked up at him and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond to that. "But now I need you to explain something to me now. Why did you care so much? I mean why were you upset by the fact me, and Jen hooked up?" he questioned.

Aurora's mouth fell slightly a gape as she tried to form any sort of words. "Uh, it's just that, I- I was upset that Jen would break girl code. I mean, she knew you were my ex, and she still hooked up with you, knowing that there was a chance that I could find out."

Pacey shook his head as he stepped closer to the girl. "I don't think that's the only reason, Rory," he whispered, looking down into her eyes. "It may be one, but not the full truth," he informed in a hushed tone.

Aurora got lost into his eyes as she looked up at him. When she finally let his words process into her head, she pushed up away. "Pacey! You can't keep doing this," she exclaimed. "I- I have a girlfriend, okay? I have a girlfriend that I like very much."

Pacey stumbled back but never took his eyes off of her. "It's not my fault, Aurora!" he raised his voice. "I still like you, alright? Actually, no, not even like, I think I love you, and that's not going to change, probably not for a long time," he confessed. "Remember the other night? We almost kissed, and you were about to go for it too, until you remembered you had a girlfriend. Part of you wanted to kiss me that night."

"I know, Pace!" Aurora exclaimed, loudly. Some people stopped and stared at her in the store. She looked around and shut her eyes, tightly. "Look, I know, Pacey, and that's why I was so upset by the fact you hooked up with Jen the night after, alright? You know why? Because part of me still has feelings for you, and I feel like a shitty girlfriend, because if I would've kissed you, I would've hurt Haley."

"Pacey, I don't want to lose her," Aurora informed as she felt tears began to prick in her eyes, she didn't even understand why the tears were there. "I can't lose her. She's helped me so much. I feel comfortable and like myself around her, and if we break up, then she's gone, she's out of my life."

Pacey frowned, "you're not going to lose her, Rory," he said with a soft tone. "I mean, sure, you both are going to hurt for a while, but she'll understand, and if she doesn't, clearly she wasn't someone you should keep around, but" he stated.

Aurora glanced down at the ground as she wiped a tear from underneath her eye. Pacey sighed at the sight before he pulled her into a hug. Her head rested on his chest, and her arms snuck their way around his torso.

So, there it was. The two clearly in love ex-lovers stood in the middle of the grocery aisle in each other's embrace. It didn't matter to either one of them though. Both of them desperately needed each other's touch and when they were together, it didn't feel like anyone else was in the world with them.