You and me | Pacey Witter

forty-three

"WHAT THE hell happened at that meeting the other night?" Aurora questioned as she walked side by side with Pacey in the hallway. "I mean, Matt Caufield has done way worse stuff than ruin a mural, he deserves to be expelled for the rest of the year," she stated, and then shrugged, "I guess that's because he's not used to daddy not being able to pay his way out of any situation," she rambled.

"I agree with you, 100%," Pacey told the girl, "Which is why you've agreed to help with Joey's protest."

"Yeah, of co-" her eyebrows furrowed as she processed what he had just said, she whipped her head around to the Witter boy with widened eyes. "Wait what? Pace, what did you get me into?" she asked. "Sure, protest is cool, but there's nothing we could really do for Principal Green," she told him.

Pacey shrugged, "I don't know, but I guess we could try," he replied. A small smile creeped onto his face before he leaned down and placed a kiss on her cheek, "thank you for your participation, Benson," he said before he took off down the hallway to go find Lucas, Joey, and Aj, the three of them were hanging up posters.

- - - - - - - - - - -

AURORA LEANED her back against her bed post and scribbled in her journal. She wore a comfortable combination for bed, which consisted of black shorts and an oversized t-shirt to go with it, her hair had also been in a braid that laid on her shoulder. Music played faintly in the background from the radio, and all that was heard was her pencil marking the paper in words that only her chemistry teacher would know. 

A small noise could be heard at her window, her eyebrows furrowed in that direction, but ignored it and went back to her notes. The same noise occurred again, Aurora groaned and set her notebook on the bed beside her before she stood up and headed over toward her window and moved the curtain from out of the way. 

"What the-" Aurora's voice trailed off as she stared down confusingly at the Witter boy. She opened up her window, "how did you get up here, Pace?" she questioned as she held his wrist and helped pull him into the bedroom, soon after shutting her window, and closing her curtains once again.

"It doesn't matter how I got up here, but let me tell you, it was a lot of work," Pacey informed the girl who chuckled at his statement. "But, uh, anyways that's not the point. Do you think I could maybe stay here tonight? I could only take so much of Doug's snoring," he confessed with a small chuckle.

Aurora nodded, "yeah, of course," she told him. "I don't mind at all. You know you could have told me earlier at school, I could've made you a pallet or something," she stated, "uh, we could share a bed, if you're comfortable with that."

Pacey shrugged, "uh, yeah, sure, why not."

Aurora headed back over toward her side of the bed and picked up her notebook and pencil. Pacey took off his shoes and jacket and hesitantly slipped into the bed beside her. He awkwardly fiddled with his thumbs before he looked up at her. He raised an eyebrow at the words on her page, "do you actually know what any of this is?"

"Nope," Aurora scoffed a laugh. "But, uh, I figured if I continued to write the definition of the words a few times, then I'd eventually memorize it," she told him with a slight shrug, before she looked back down at her notebook, and began to write again.

It stayed quiet between the two of them, until Aurora had finally finished writing out the rest of her definitions. She set her notebook on the nightstand, along with the pencil, and laid down, completely. 

A comfortable silence consumed over them as they both looked up at the ceiling with their hands folded and rested on their stomach. Aurora cleared her throat and smiled over at the Witter boy, "well, good night, Pace."

Pacey smiled, "good night, Rory."

- - - - - - - - - - -

THE PROTEST for Principal Green hadn't ended the way they hoped. At one of their meetings in the cafeteria, he had shown up and thanked everyone for their support, before he informed them that he would be leaving the school. It was sad to say the least, he was an amazing guy, and he truly believed in his students, and made them feel they had worth.

His final walk down the hallway had been sadder than the group thought it was going to be. As Principal Green stepped out of his office, his ears were immediately filled with applause from the students lined up and down the hallway by the lockers.

Aurora smiled at the older man as he looked in her direction, he returned the favor with a small nod. Not one single applause had stopped as he walked through the rest of the hallway, his daughter, Nikki at his side. 

After he had left, the students began to leave the building as well. Aurora and Pacey walked together as the rest of the friend group left. "I'm actually going to miss, Principal Green," Pacey confessed. "That man was incredible," he exclaimed. "I think that's the first school administrators I've ever liked."

Aurora smiled up at him, "I agree," she replied. "No one can replace Principal Green. But you know what, knowing our luck, we're probably going to get the shittiest principal in return from all of this."

Pacey smiled, "don't worry. I'll just hang by their office and make them like me, so that way they aren't totally strict with us, because you know, if they could like me, a slacker, then I'm sure they'd love the rest of the kids in the school."

"Look at you, Pace, being our hero," Aurora stated. "And I swear, I will throw you into the creek next time you call yourself a slacker," she threatened. "I don't like to hear you talk about yourself like that, especially if it isn't true."

Pacey's eyes softened at the girl, he nodded, slowly, "I guess you'll have to throw me in the creek then."

Aurora frowned, "that's not funny. Pace, I'm serious," she told him. "I don't care how long it takes for me to convince you that you aren't a slacker, or a terrible person, I'm going to succeed one day. Just, please, as of right now, don't call yourself that."

Pacey was taken back by her sudden seriousness. He threw his hands up in the air as a surrender motion and cleared his throat, "okay, yes ma'am."