�We graduated guys! We actually did it!� Jen exclaims as Pacey pops open the champagne.

�I thought graduating high school was a big deal, but now? Now we�re done�forever!� Jack yells, waving his arms about emphatically for emphasis.

�And why am I here again? I sure as hell didn�t waste my time in college.� Pacey says, pouring drinks for everyone.

�Yeah but you live here.� I sigh, insinuating his absence is desired. He merely smirks at me before �accidentally� spilling his champagne on my shirt. �That was uncalled for.�

�Well I certainly didn�t mean it Potter.� He smiles mischievously.

�And who feels like they�re back in second grade?� Jen asks rhetorically.

�What kind of freaky-ass overachievers finish college in second grade?� Pacey asks her seriously, his typically warped humour causing both Jack and I to laugh.

These last five years have been difficult to say the least. I got a job as a register operator at K-Mart to pay my way through college and then spent hours upon hours studying, trying to make Capeside a distant memory. Strangely enough, Pacey, Jen, Jack and I have remained close friends. We made a deal after leaving Capeside that we would have weekly dinners together, and despite our busy schedule and new friends, we never broke that promise. When Grams dies a few months back, and her house was repossessed, Jen needed a place to stay, so she moved into an apartment Jack and Pacey had been renting. My dorm room mate, Audrey, soon drove me so insane that I pleaded with Pacey to let me take the couch. Being as he is, he gave me his room instead, and has claimed the couch his own ever since.

I often regret the way Dawson and I drifted apart however. After leaving high school, we vowed to stay best friends forever, regardless of the geographical distance between us. But soon the visits stopped, followed by the phone calls, and now it�s only a card on birthdays and Christmas. But I guess what�s done is done, and all I want to do now is focus on my future. I now have a degree and I intend on using it to get myself the best job possible. Jack is also looking for a job but he appears less pedantic about what it is. Jen on the other hand is content to keep working at her current job, where she�s been for two years. She serves at the bar where Pacey cooks. They�re both waiting until the owner tires of the place and then they plan on buying it together and being business partners. It sounds like a great idea in theory but given the current owner is only in his mid 40�s and perfectly content with his position; they may be waiting quite some time for his retirement. Pacey often jokes they�d be better �doing him in.�

�What should we toast to?� Jack asks, holding up his glass.

�Graduation.� I reply.

�Figures you�d leave me out of the toast even though I paid for the champagne.� Pacey sneers.

�The future.� Jen correct me, earning Pacey�s winning smile in return.

�The future it is.� Jack says, clinking glasses with each of us in turn.

�You don�t have to tip toe, I�m awake.� Pacey says from his place on the coach. It�s only three in the morning and I�m wide awake, sleep somehow evading me. I came out to get a drink, not expecting Pacey to also be awake. He sits up and pats the space next to him, inviting me to sit.

�Can�t sleep?� he asks, as I snuggle up against him. He takes the blankets and pulls them tight around us.

�No. You?�

�I�m awake ain�t I?�

�Well you asked first.� I remind him, taking one of his hands in mine and absentmindedly playing with his fingers.

�Got work tomorrow?� he asks me.

�Mmm hmm.� I nod, already knowing Pacey�s schedule by heart, so not returning the question.

�Not early I hope. Or God help the poor customers.�

�Poor customers?� I ask incredulously. �You�re aware that most of them are devils spawn, right?� Pacey merely laughs. �Anyway, I�m doing the late shift.�

�Good, I�ll pick you up when you finish.� He tells me, pulling me in closer to him after noticing me shiver from the cold.

While Pacey and I have never particularly gotten along well, this is how we spend most nights, curled up on the couch together, talking endlessly about everything or about absolutely nothing at all. During highschool, we were mortal enemies, only bearing each others company due to our mutual best friend Dawson�s insistence. We fought endlessly and hated each other with a blind passion until one night, after Dawson and I had a fight, Dawson asked Pacey to �look after me�. Pacey rode up to my dock and put his arm around me and suddenly we became inseparable. We still bickered and tormented each other with fury but we became friends, in some strange sort of way. It�s god knows how many years later and I now I shudder to think how I�d live without him.

�You want to sleep here?� he asks, noticing my eyes close slightly, as I suddenly feel myself growing extremely tired.

�Yeah.� I mumble, laying down and gently pulling him down with me. I lay in his embrace and let sleep take over me.