“Floor”

“Bed.”

“Floor.”

“Bed.”

“Floor.”

“Bed.”

“How about I kick you out into the rain?”

“After all I’ve done? I paid for this room, remember?” Pacey and I have been arguing over sleeping arrangements since we rented this one bedroom…dare I call it cabin. It actually more resembles a tin shed than anything else.
“Please Potter. I swear I won’t steal the covers!”

“That’s not what I’m worried about Pacey.”

“Scared you want be able to control yourself in the same bed as me, eh?”

“Oh yeah…the idea of a night in the same bed as you is really my idea of a thrill!”

“Be honest Potter, you’ve been thinking about it haven’t you?” he winks.

“And you’ve clearly been thinking about the huge aneurism in your brain. You know, the one that will suddenly appear after I smash your head up against that wall?”

“My, aren’t we feisty Potter?”

“My, don’t we have a death wish Witter?”

“You only just figured that out? C’mon! I’m spending time with you!”

“Good night Pacey.” I say, putting an end to this endless back and forth. He sighs and plonks down on the floor obediently as I pull the covers tightly around myself. I can hear him writhing around on the floor, obviously trying to get comfortable. I revel in the warmth of the soft blanket beneath me. He continues to thrash around, only stopping after deciding lying on his back is most comfortable. I lie on my stomach, my face buried in the pillow. His light breathing haunts me. His presence makes me feel uncomfortable, but safe. But most of all…his being on the cold hard floor makes me feel a huge pang of guilt.

I look down at him. He’s still staring up at the ceiling, occasionally wriggling a bit to find a more comfortable position. He shivers and holds back a sneeze. Just watching him makes me cold.

“Witter.” I whisper. He slightly turns his head to face me, his eyes questioning. Without saying a word I pull the covers down, inviting him into the bed along side me. He smiles and jumps up, gratefully accepting my invitation. He climbs into bed, weary about my presence. Making sure he doesn’t touch me, he lies his head down on the spare pillow. He shivers beside me and I can see he’s still cold. Tentatively I put my arms around him, pulling him into an embrace.

I can’t describe the feelings I have, his arms so tight around me. I feel strange, but at ease. I feel right. He sighs into my hair then nestles his face in the crook of my neck. His warm breath on my skin send tingles up and down my spine.

“Jo.” He whispers softly in my ear. I drop my head to make eye contact with him, my eyes asking him to continue. “Thankyou.”

I wake up and feel around beside me. The cold space in the place where Pacey had only just laid startled me. I sat up abruptly and looked around the empty room. As if on cue, Pacey walks through the door, locking it behind him. He carries a paper bag and two steaming cups of coffee.

“Thought you might want breakfast.” He explains, sitting down on the edge of the bed, placing our meal between us. He pulls some muffins out of the back, handing one to me. I take a huge bite, marvelling that he actually remembered blueberry muffins are my favourite.

“So…do we have a destination in mind for today Miss Potter?” he asks me, before taking a large gulp of his coffee.

“How bout home?” I offer, eager to put this trip to an end.

“How bout further away?” he asks. I can’t tell if he’s serious or not.

“Pacey, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you were trying to extend this little road trip. That desperate to be alone with me, eh?”

“Don’t flatter yourself!” he laughs, before his face turns serious, waiting for a real answer from me.

“Does this have something to do with your dad?” I ask, beginning to get concerned about where this is going.

“Yeah.”

“C’mon Pace. Whatever you did can’t be that bad. I’m sure everything will be fine, but running away and stealing your father’s car in the process is not going to help any.”

“I don’t even know what I did Jo. All I know is that I don’t have a home anymore.”

“What are you talking about?” I splutter, not knowing how to process this information.

“The bastard kicked me out. All I have is the backpack and the damn car. That’s it.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“A week.” His answer does more than shock me; it almost kills me.

“A week!? Where have you been sleeping?” I exclaim.

“Well…the first two nights I stayed in the car, the next night I crashed at Dawson’s, then I stayed at your place and now…well…I’m here.”

“What are you planning on doing Pacey? You can’t live like this forever.”

“I haven’t really thought that far ahead to be honest.”

“Typical.” I utter.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” his voice rises in anger.

“Just what I said. You never think about things Pace. I bet when you did whatever it was that caused this, you never once gave one thought to the possible consequences.” He sighs.

“I’m sorry I didn’t factor that in Jo. Gees…I just didn’t think anything could warrant this. I didn’t think I deserved this.” Tears spring to his eyes and my heart just breaks in two.

“I know you don’t…I’m sorry.”

“Look, it doesn’t matter. I mean, the backseat of the car isn’t as uncomfortable as it looks.”

“And I bet you have at least a few females to attest to that.” He grins at me.

“Let’s go home Pace. Maybe Bessie can figure something out.”

“So Bessie said Pacey could stay with you guys?” Dawson asks me, as he puts a mystery video in his VCR. It’s Friday night and this week I somehow managed to get Dawson without his blonde extension, Jen.

“Yep. We’re going to move Alexander into Bessie’s room and I will have his room, and Pacey is taking the couch.”

“Sounds workable. Why didn’t Pacey just ask me? We have a spare room here.”

“He didn’t think it would be a good idea, given all the parent trouble you’re having at the moment.” I told him.

“Yeah, he’s probably right. I don’t even feel right to be here with those two. You don’t have another couch do you?”

“No but…I’m sure you and Pacey could do tops and tails.” I joke. “So it’s that bad huh?”

“They’re just fighting a lot you know? And Dad’s always going out til all hours of the morning. But Jen’s been great. Her and Grams have been letting me stay there when it gets too bad.” I keep silent at this, not liking the idea of him staying over night at Jen’s. “But enough about all our family crisis’…it’s movie night!”

“So what do we have tonight Dawson?”

“The Ghost and Mrs Muir.” He states, pressing play and lying back on the bed.

“Ah, back to our roots, hey? Good old black and White.”

“I thought we could use a little Ghost and Beautiful woman romance tonight.”

“It only makes me want a ghost of my own.” I say.

“You don’t need one now, you have Pacey.” He jokes.

“And he’s just as scary.” I laugh, lying on Dawson’s stomach as I intently watch the screen.

“So, is this alright?” I ask Pacey, gesturing towards his new room…our lounge room.

“Well, it’s not the luxury sweet I had in mind, but it’ll do.” He smirks.

“It’s better than the car I’m sure.” I say. He nods in agreement.

“So what did Bessie end up deciding about the Ice House?”

“She said you could work there on one condition.”

“Condition being?”

“You don’t chat up the customers.” He smiles.

“I think I can restrain myself.”

“Good.”

“So how’s Dawson doing anyway? I haven’t seen him since Thanks Giving.” He asks, taking a seat on the couch. I sit down beside him.

“He’s alright I guess. He says his parents are fighting more. It must be hard on him. Especially with his optimistic view on things. He must feel like his world is falling apart.”

“Yeah. But I still can’t muster up much sympathy for the guy though. Hell, I wish my parents had divorced years ago.”

“But you see things differently from him Pacey. You’ve had different experiences. He’s had this picture perfect life and suddenly it’s not so picture perfect anymore.”

“Yeah, but it was time he was brought down to earth with the rest of us, eh?”

“I don’t know Pace. I think it was nice having this friend who could provide this fairytale land for us. Everything was beautiful, everything was safe…well, except for those horror movies he shows us.” Pacey chuckles.

“I know what you mean. God, everything now’s going to change. No longer can we run over to Dawson’s to escape the harsh real world, because now he’s in it with us.”

“It was bound to happen eventually.” I say.

“Indeed it was.”