Aurora & George | ✓

six

<3 <3 <3

I'm not expecting to see Aurora again until Thursday. So, when I quite literally bump into her on Wednesday, I'm surprised. Really, I should say when she bumps into me. Because that's exactly what happens. Between 2nd and 3rd period, I'm walking leisurely through the halls, in no hurry to get to class.

Her little frame slams right into my chest in the middle on the crowded hall. I recognise her immediately by the dark curls and the intoxicating smell of her perfume. I steady her with firm hands on her shoulders, an easy smile on my lips.

My smile drops the second I get a good look at her face. Her cheeks are tear-stained, eyes red-rimmed. She's clutching the sleeves of her sweater tightly, arms wrapped around herself. Immediately, I crouch a little to be closer to her level, forcing her gaze to meet mine. Her eyes widen when they lock on mine.

She pulls herself from my grip, shaking her head. "George—"

"What's wrong, Aurora?" I ask immediately, trying to keep my voice soft for her.

She sucks in a deep, shaky breath. "I'm fine. I need to go." She tries to go around me, but I step in her way. She narrows her eyes in a glare. "George."

"Aurora." I watch her calmly, trying to determine what has her upset. She doesn't seem to be physically hurt, but then, she could be hiding an injury under her clothes. "Are you hurt?"

She shakes her head. "No. I'm fine. I need to use the bathroom, so—"

"I'll walk you." I say immediately.

"George," She scolds, "Leave me alone. We don't have tutoring until tomorrow. You can go."

"I don't car if we have tutoring or not. You're upset. I don't like it."

She wipes her sleeve roughly against her cheek. I want to dart forward and stop her, urge her to be more gentle with herself. "It's nothing. None of your business. I need to go. Please."

I stare at her for a moment. She stares right back. "I'll walk you to the bathroom."

Her shoulders drop. "Fine."

She starts walking quickly and I follow, keeping up with her easily. Once we reach the girl's bathroom, I brush past her and open the door. A quick glance inside the small restroom tells me it's empty. I turn back to her.

Her mouth is gaping. "That's the girl's bathroom! You can't go in there!"

I raise a brow, "Do I look like the type that regularly follows the rules?"

"Whatever," She grumbles, pushing past me. I step into the bathroom as well, closing the door behind us. With my back to the door, I make it impossible for anyone else to come in and interrupt us.

I watch silently as Aurora marches up to the sink and turns on the water. She pushes her sleeves up and washes her hands thoroughly, scrubbing up her arms roughly. Then she dries them off with paper towels. She sets her bag on the counter next to the sink and gets out some tissues, carefully wiping away her tears. Her quiet sniffles and hiccups almost kill me.

"Stop staring." She grumbles, meeting my eyes in the mirror.

"No," I swallow thickly, watching her, "Please tell me what happened?"

Sighing softly, she shakes her head. "It's really nothing. I'm overreacting."

Tilting my head, I murmur, "If something made you cry, it's not nothing. You're allowed to react, Aurora."

Setting her hands on the edge of the sink, she does a few deep breaths. Then she finally murmurs, "It was just my ex boyfriend. He's... one of the top students at school, like me. So we're in a lot of the same classes and clubs and things. Unfortunately. I was at a student leader meeting and he said some kind of demeaning things to me. I had my sleeves rolled up and he touched my hands and wrists. I hate it when he touches me. Even though I broke up with him months ago, he still acts as though he has a right to touch me." She shakes her head softly, "It's fine. I dealt with it."

My hands are curled into fists. My jaw is clenched tightly. My chest heaves with deep breathes. "Where is he?"

She spins around, setting her eyes on me. They widen. "George, no."

"Aurora," I manage to say her name softly, despite my anger, "Your ex boyfriend harassed you. I just want to talk to him."

"You do not look like the type to settle this kind of thing by talking." She looks pointedly at my fists.

I shrug, "I'll see how I feel when I find him. What's his name?"

Shaking her head, she murmurs, "I can't tell you. You're... a lot bigger than him. And I might not like him, but I don't want him to get hurt."

"I wouldn't hurt him that bad," I scoff.

"He's five foot seven and about 130 pounds. I don't think you'd even have to try." She cracks a little smile then tilts her head at me, "Why do you care anyway? You hardly know me, George."

"You're a good person." I tell her honestly. "I might not have known you long but... that doesn't mean I'll turn a blind eye to you being harassed."

She watches me silently for a moment. Then, her quiet murmur, "You're a good person too."

"Please tell me who he is," I ask again, ignoring the butterflies taking off in my stomach. "If you don't, I'll ask every person in this school until I figure it out."

She quickly steps forward, hands up towards me, "George, don't. I dealt with it, okay?"

"He puts his hands on you. He made you cry," I shake my head, jaw ticking, "You dealing with it isn't good enough for me."

"Please," She whispers, stopping just a foot in front of me. Her hands reach for me then clench into fists, dropping to her sides before they ever touch me. "Next time, I'll let you deal with it. Okay?"

"I don't want there to be a next time," I grit out, leaning down closer to her, "That's my whole point, Aurora."

Her features soften as she regards me. "Alright, how about this?" Carefully, she reaches forward until her fingertips brush my hand. My fist automatically relaxes at her touch, letting her slip her hand into mine. Her other hand does the same to mine until she's gently holding my hands in hers. My eyes are wide, breath shaky. "We don't do anything today. But the next time he comes near me, I'll call you. Then you can deal with it. Okay?"

With her hands in mine, I'll agree to anything she says. She could have just asked me to start a nuclear war and I'd find a way to make it happen. "Okay." Swallowing roughly, I finally understand her words. "You'll need my number to do that, Aurora."

"Oh," Her cheeks flame red. "Yes, I'll— I'll need that." Her hands slip free from mine and she walks back to her bag, digging out her phone. I try to steady my breathing, but it's difficult when I feel as though my heart is about to beat out of my chest. She walks back to me, handing me her unlocked phone. I put my number in her contacts and call my own phone so that I'll have hers too. Then I hand it back to her. "Thanks," She whispers.

A bell rings outside the door and her whole body stiffens. "I'll walk you back to class." I tell her softly.

"We're already late," She grumbles, rushing back to zip up her bag. She looks at herself in the mirror, brushing her hair back from her face. "Do I look like I've been crying?"

She's giving me free reign to stare at her, not that I don't always do it anyway. My eyes study her face and I shake my head. You look beautiful.

"Okay," She slings her bag over her shoulder and faces me with a little smile. "Let's go."

~ Pink Flamingo