"I'll be right over."

Jack grabbed the nearest shirt, thrown carelessly over the back of his chair. Cautiously lifting the fabric up to his nose for examination, Jack sniffed and grunted in satisfaction-it would do. He yanked it over his head in one swift movement and stooped to re-lace his left shoe. Pounding from Andie's room, the cheerful yet deafening pop music made Jack wince.

//Is it possible to have a hangover without drinking a drop of alcohol?//

Walking quickly past his sister's door, Jack held his breath with a silent prayer.

//Just a couple more seconds...a couple more seconds and I'll be outta here...//

"Jack?"

//Damn.//

"Yes..?"

"You know school is starting soon, right?"

Jack sighed impatiently. "I was aware of that, yes... in a couple of weeks. Do you want me to go with you to buy school supplies or something?"

"No...I..." Andie stammered and blushed, one hand twisting at her shirt.

"Jeez, I don't have all day!" Jack winced at the volume and tone of his reply, guilt immediately swamping him. "I'm sorry Andie. You don't deserve to be yelled at. I've just been feeling crappy lately and it's not hard to get on my last nerve. Okay, what did you need?"

"Well...I thought I'd let you know that I'm going to ask Pacey to the..uh.. whatever-its name-is first dance of the year. So... don't get all angry and surprised or anything. Not that I'm saying you would... But I thought you should know beforehand. Since you've got this weird thing for him..."

Jack's mind had hit a brick wall-that was it. It had been whirring along steadily, just happy as you please, and then some jerk had dropped a huge wall in front of it before he could skid to a stop. And damn, that shit hurts.
"Andie...it's not some "weird thing"..."

//It's not, really? Yeah, just keep telling yourself that McPhee. Pacey's your real boyfriend. He's in love with you. He wants you, not your sister or any of the other girls who will be flirting with him when you guys get back to school. He can't keep his hand off you. Yep. That's right. God, when did I turn into such a loser?//

"Whatever." Andie dismissed her brother's dark expression with a bright smile and bounced back towards her room. "I'll see you tonight at dinner. And you'd better be there!" She turned and wagged a finger at him teasingly. "Dad's going to be home for once and we should eat together like a real family."

//Mental note: stay out tonight until at least ten//

Escape once more a viable option, Jack dashed to the front door and slammed it hard behind him. Running sounded good right then... running sounded solid. Jack let his legs go, feeling them move swiftly under him as if with a life of their own. Strong muscles propelled him forward-down the empty street and past picturesque houses of beige, past white picket fences, past delicately trimmed trees. And Jack was there, right there in the instant, his whole being centered on the slaps of his shoes against hard ground.

He nearly passed Doug's apartment, so intent he was on the feel of calves flexing and straining to make him fly. Jack skidded to a stop and, no, that wasn't a good idea at all. Cramping had set in instantly on his sides and his lungs burned. Sweat trickled down his back and Jack's face flushed as he realized how he must appear-jeans and shoes sprinkled with dirt, shirt sticking to his chest.

"Hey, I said to be here ASAP...but I didn't mean to kill yourself." Pacey's voice wavered between confusion and concern.

"No...I'm...fine." Jack gasped for air, hands on his knees.

Everything was fuzzy...a blur...no...Pacey...Pacey was in front of him. He struggled to stand up right and was startled to find himself wrapped in a strong hug. Arms tightened around his middle and then quickly released.
"Damn. I'm sorry. I just worry about you sometimes...and..."

"Wait, why are you sorry?"

"Well, I'm not blind you know..."

"Huh?" Jack felt as if he had just stumbled down a rabbit hole. And yet again he sensed the great divide between them. Words echoed across the chasm, bouncing and refracting, yet all meaning was lost. //Fuck//
Pacey sighed and reluctantly clarified himself. "You don't want me to touch you." The words were acid on his esophagus, and it took all of his strength to maintain a calm exterior. //Now he's going to walk away...leave. And there's nothing I can do about it. I shouldn't have said anything damnit! I should have kept my fucking mouth shut! But...shit, didn't it have to end sometime? We can't go on like this. We can't...//

But Jack *didn't* leave. He didn't budge. Jack simply stood there with his mouth hanging slightly open, frozen stiff. And a scream welled up inside of Pacey. A scream of frustration? Anger at Capeside? Anger at Jack? Anger at himself? Anger at the world? What did it matter? He was *angry*, furious, enraged, pulsing with energy. And when it came down to it, Pacey Witter didn't solve things with words. He solved things with fists.
Before he was consciously aware of his actions, Pacey had Jack's shoulders in his hands. He shook him once, twice, letting the anger snap out of his finger tips and nearly sighing with the release.

"That's not true."

It was so quiet, barely a whisper, but the adrenaline pumping through Pacey's veins had his senses wired. He heard...and now it was his turn to freeze.

"I...I love it when you touch me. But I don't want you to feel like you have to. I don't want it to be an obligation. I understand."

"You understand?" Pacey's voice was drowning in sarcasm. "Why do I get the feeling that understanding is the very *last* thing that's happening right now?"

Jack concentrated on schooling his reflexes, smoothing his face to an indifferent mask. He had to do this. Just come clean. Let it go...

"I know you don't...want to be with me...And it's ok, really. I've just made a big ass of myself once again. No big deal. Look, Andie made it pretty clear to me that you two were going to get back together. And...I want you to be happy."

"What?!? Get back with Andie? Umm...maybe I've been a bit confused about this, but didn't I re-evaluate my entire self-image by becoming your boyfriend? This happened, right? I'm not insane? Why in the world would I get involved with your sister when I'm dating you? 'Cause that's way too kinky for my tastes..."

"I have to agree that your boyfriend there is a few sandwiches short of a picnic..." Doug stood in the entrance of the apartment building, smirking with barely suppressed glee.

"Doug! How did...when...I'm...why are you...I'm really sorry-"

Doug cut his brother off with a wave of his hand. "I'm not blind. Or deaf for that matter. I heard you two yelling your heads off as I was locking the door."

The boys stared at him in silence, abject humiliation wiping away possibility of thought. He simply continued smirking and shook his head, glowing with self-satisfaction.

"Work it out quickly, will you? And keep it down? I doubt the neighbors will talk to us for a couple weeks as it is..." Giving them a good-natured smile to soften the words, Doug sauntered off in the direction of the liquor store.

"So you're not getting back together with Andie?"

Pacey gave him a glare that could melt iron.

"Noted." And Jack felt...well...lighter. A smile actually graced his lips-a real one. Not quite what Pacey was looking for, but close.

"Okay...let me throw out a wild guess here..." Memories had been floating around in Pacey's skull, bouncing off each other and interlocking. The pieces were coming together...and he *really* didn't like what he was seeing. //Of all the stupid...He's an idiot! Okay, I'm an idiot too...//

"You've been pushing me away because you thought I was dumping you?"

"Well, what was I supposed to think?" //Great, now I'm whining?//

"You are so-" Pacey cut himself off and simply slapped one hand over Jack's mouth, and the other onto Jack's arm so he could pull him towards the apartment in silence.

Once inside, Pacey slid his hands around Jack's waist and drew him into a gentle kiss. His lips brushed against Jack softly, barely touching. Just back and forth-once, twice, three times. Then he deepened it slowly, mouth opening as he pressed it against Jack's. And Pacey felt good, he felt real...he felt nice again.

After a few moments Pacey pulled away and laughed out loud, head thrown back in abandon. Jack winced and moved to flee, but the other boy quickly placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and shook his head with a smile to show that the laugh contained no malice.

"I just...I can't believe that I waited so long to, you know, tell you those three little words. I had no problem telling Andie or Joey-just opened my mouth and let my feelings run out. But with you... I mean, I know that actions speak louder than words but everyone needs to hear it. I makes it kinda official." Pacey let a deep breath and then looked Jack straight in the eyes. "I love you. There, I said it. Can we stop acting like psychos now?"

Jack was stunned and speechless. And then the dam broke and happiness flooded him. Giddy, Jack pulled Pacey into a warm hug and squeezed the life out of him.

"Hey, aren't you gonna say it too?"

"Oh, yeah." Jack hesitated for a second, but decided to get it out before fear swamped his body...before he could wake up from this absolutely fabulous dream. "I love you Pacey."

"Good. Now get your ass over here!" Pacey jokingly shoved Jack towards his bedroom as the other boy seemed to slip into shock.

"I know, I know...I'm usually disgustingly romantic. But I think we need this right now."

"Need what?"

"You and me naked."

A comfortable, quiet silence. Not deafening-a slight humming quiet that blanketed the boys as they lay clinging together. Of course they had to move, couldn't lay there forever, but just for a little while...Couldn't they pretend?

The End