happier

his leading lady

Mark sat on Cola's bed, the two reading a book. They had gotten back to the norms of how they were before they started dating. It had been hard, but a good change nonetheless. He would look at her for when he could turn the page, and she would nod. When they got to halfway, Cola let out a long yawn, stretching out her arms.

"Hm, so far it's not that bad. I've never really been a big fan of old books. Pride and Prejudice might be the turning point for that." She said, making him laugh as he stood, going over to his bag.

"It's one of my favourites. Jane Austen is a literary genius. Anyway, I have something to give you. I'm really happy that you agreed to help me edit," He said, taking out a manilla folder filled with different papers. She widens her eyes, scooching over to sit near him. "So, I finished the book last night, with cover and everything. It's just a revised draft, so I wanted you to look through it and make any changes to anything. I'm willing to listen." He says, making her look up and smile, looking down at the stack of papers he handed her.

"Yeah, I can have it for you in like two days. Thank you for letting me edit." She said, looking up as he stares at her face. He clears his throat, getting up and grabbing his bag.

"Of course. L-listen, I've gotta go. I'm really tired." He says, making Cola nod. He gives her a quick hug before walking out of her room. She sighs, looking down at the book. This was going to be difficult.

—

Cola had bought flowers for her room, to liven up the place. Pacey had come over when she had gotten home, panicking about the fact that he found an empty bottle of Xanax in Andie's bathroom. She wasn't that surprised, knowing how anxious she had always been. She just didn't know it was medically diagnosed.

"I mean, maybe I'm just taking this too seriously. It's just anxiety, any normal teen has that." Pacey said, handing her a filled up vase with water. She shakes her head, putting it on her windowsill.

"Yeah, but this isn't just any anxiety medicine. Xanax is for severe anxiety. When my mom died, my dad had to start taking them to prevent anxiety attacks," She said, before looking up at Pacey, who was deep in thought. "So, what are you gonna do, Pacemaker?" He sighs, shaking his head and shrugging.

"I don't know, Colie. Have you noticed if Andie has been more high-strung lately or something?" He asks, making Cola's heart clench. She could really see how much he cared about her.

"She's usually just bouncing off the walls, so I didn't really notice," Cola said, trying to lighten up the mood, but it didn't work. She didn't like seeing Pacey so stressed and sad. She sighs, going over to him, putting her hands on his arms. "Pacey, you could just talk to her. I think she'd prefer that rather than you talking about it behind her back. This stays between us two. Don't go telling Dawson or anyone else." She said, making him sigh.

"But, I don't wanna make the situation any worse. She's under enough stress, as it is, with her family. Y'know, the way I figure it, is that if she wants to open up to me then she will. But, it's also not in my nature to sit around as the girl suffers. I mean, I wanna help her." He said, plopping down on her bed.

"Well, if she's operating under stress, then the best you can do is make sure that the time she spends with you is as stress-free as possible. But, don't close yourself off from her. Make her feel comfortable and vulnerable enough to vent to you about what's going on with her. I don't think she's had that before." Pacey shrugged, agreeing with her. He goes over to the flowers, picking out the baby blue eyes. He goes over to her, handing them to her.

"I think these would look really pretty on the shelf over your bed. They kinda fit you." He says, scanning over her face. She can feel her cheeks start to heat up as she quietly thanks him, doing what he says.