CHAPTER 2
"That
was so much fun!" Andie squealed as they rode back home. They were all out of breath; ecstatic grins
plastered across their flushed faces.
"Hehehe!
You should have SEEN Potter's face when that front door opened!" Pacey
laughed.
"Shut
up, Pacey!" Joey shouted, rolling her eyes.
"She
woulda’ froze like a deer in headlights had I not been there,"
"Oh, my hero!" She said
sarcastically. Dawson grinned from the
front seat.
"Potter!
If I hadn't of grabbed you…"
"All
you did was grab my ass!"
"What!"
"You
had your hand on my ass the whole time, Pacey!"
"That
was just to keep it still! Every step I took felt like it was going to knock me
off balance!" He grinned at her in the rearview mirror as laughter erupted
from the backseats.
"Pacey!"
Joey screeched, her eyes ablaze.
"Come
on, Pace!" Dawson said. Joey made a face at him, then smiled arrogantly at
Dawson. It was about time he took her side…After
all, they were best friends…
"Her ass is not that big."
"Dawson!" She
shrieked, yanking off her beanie and swatting him with it.
"I'm
kidding! I'm kidding!" He grinned.
“Ugh! You
two!”
Tonight had been a complete
success.
Dawson
giggled as he pulled himself over his window ledge and fell to the floor. Pacey
tumbled in after him.
"Get
out of the way, guys!" Joey said, as she and Jen scrambled through. The
boys lay tangled in a heap on the floor, kicking at each other and laughing
stupidly. "God!" Joey scowled
as she climbed over them, "You guys…" She stopped when she looked up
and found Mitch Leery standing in the doorway watching them.
He did not look happy.
"Uh
oh!" Andie said as she paused just outside the window. Jack leaned in
beside her unsuspectingly.
"What?…OH!
Youch."
"Just
what the hell have you kids been
doing?" Mitch demanded, his arms crossed over his chest.
Dawson and
Pacey looked up, their grins slowly fading.
"Oh! Hi, Dad…" Dawson gulped. "We were, uh-"
He didn't know what to say, and everyone else just stood there. Jen
shrank back behind Joey and looked at the floor. Andie and Jack made no
attempts at coming in; instead they shrunk back from the window. But Mitch
caught them.
"Jack!
Andie! Get in here!" He growled.
"Yes
Mr. Leery." Andie said submissively, pulling herself inside. She held the
curtain aside for Jack. Jack slid through then took a seat on the windowsill.
Both looked guiltily at the floor. Hopefully this would come swift…
"Now
I'm serious! I wanna know where you kids have been…" Mitch looked from one
guilt-ridden face to another.
No one answered.
"Joey?"
He said sternly. She looked up at him. He loomed over her.
"Dad,"
Dawson started, getting to his feet. The look Mitch gave immediately silenced
him. He bowed his head. Mitch focused his icy gaze back on Joey.
"I
gave you a chance to answer, Dawson…Now I'm asking Joey."
Joey
looked from Mitch to Dawson to Mitch again, then to Pacey. She opened her mouth
but nothing came out.
"Mitch,
Mitch, Mitch…" Pacey said suddenly, walking up and putting a hand on his
shoulder. Mr. Leery glared down at his fingers, and Pacey quickly removed them.
"We were out…we admit, taking
part in a few classically-oriented teenage hi-jinks…" Pacey walked back
and forth nervously. "Nothing you'd call illegal exactly,"
"You
T-P'd Principal Green's house didn’t you?"
Pacey
paused, almost gasping. He chuckled and
held up his hands.
"That's amazing! How did you know that! Do you know you have a gift?"
"Cut
the smart-aleck remarks, will ya?"
Mitch shook his head; creases appeared in his forehead as he
frowned. "You kids could get into
serious trouble for this…"
"No
one saw us, Dad," Dawson sighed.
"I
saw you, Dawson…Which means anyone else could've too." He rubbed a hand
over the back of his neck. "This
is so irresponsible, Dawson. You guys are seventeen years old now…You're too
old for this kinda stuff."
They all looked down at the floor
like a bunch of six year olds being scolded for playing ball in the house.
"You don't realize what kinds
of repercussions this could cause…and never mind that Principal Green is my
boss!"
Dawson and Pacey looked at each
other and giggled. Mitch eyed them wearily. Dawson took a deep breath.
"Dad…we're
sorry. We should've thought about it more…"
Mitch
stood back, listening to his son's apology.
"…We
should have invited you along."
The kids
looked around at each other, sputtering out in laughter. Mitch's jaw gaped open as if to scold them
again, but then he laughed too.
"I
wont lie, kids…” He finally said. “I did the same stupid thing when I was your
age…and I know it's a Capeside tradition.
I just hope you were careful." After a moment of silence, he turned
to leave then paused at the door. "Don't think I'm condoning this kind of
behavior,"
"Oh…yeah,
Mr. Leery." Joey nodded.
"That's…" She grinned. "That's not what you're doing at
all."
"Okay,
Joey…" Mitch warned, winking at her. These kids were too much…"That's
enough. You kids get some sleep." He left, pulling the door closed behind
him.
"Whew!"
Dawson and Pacey sighed simultaneously, falling back to the floor.
"Oh
my god!" Andie said slumping down on the bed. "I thought for sure we
were dead!"
"Me
too!" Dawson laughed, pulling her down to the floor with him. He started to tickle her. Joey shook her
head. She couldn't help but smile as she watched them.
Andie and
Dawson had been dating for almost nine months.
"Here
ya go…" Jen said as she walked around to each of them holding out a jar of
some sort of cold cream.
Pacey
looked at her skeptically before digging his fingers in and dabbing it across
his face. While the girls sat comfortably in their white cream masks, the guys
fudged with it, smearing it messily on their faces and dripping it on their
clothes.
"Ah! Men!" Jen sighed.
"How
long do we have to leave this stuff on for?" Jack asked, frowning at the
tingling sensation the cream exuded from his pores.
"A
few minutes…" Jen said. "Just enough time to break through the makeup
and sweat…" She lay out, flat on her stomach across Dawson's bed, her feet
kicked up behind her, and her chin on her hands. Joey sat beside her, removing her boots and tossing them aside.
"Is
it supposed to burn this much?" Pacey asked, suddenly frowning.
"It's
not supposed to burn." Jen said, rising up. They all turned to look at
him. He scratched at his nose, a scowl working its way across his brow.
"Are
you sure? 'Cause it's really starting to get uncomfortable."
Jen
reached forward, rubbing a spot off his cheek.
"Oh,
Pacey!” She gasped. “Quick! Wash it off!"
"Why?"
He asked.
"Your
skins turning all red!" She jumped off the bed. "I think you're
allergic to it!"
"Oh
crap!" Joey said, peering down at him . Dawson and Jack looked at each
other and laughed.
Jen grabbed him by the arm and
rushed him to the bathroom.
"Here!"
She said, turning on the cold water. "Scrub!"
Pacey bent
down over the sink, splashing the water over his face. The cold water was a
relief after the stinging of the cream. Once it was all off, he stood upright
and peered into the mirror. He turned his head from the left to the right as
the water dripping from his chin. No permanent damage done. Jen held out a towel.
"Looks
okay," She said. "Your nose is a little red, but you'll live."
"You
guys trying to kill me?" He said as he turned and smirked at her.
"Unfortunately, no."
Joey said from the doorway. "Now get outta my way…Its my turn to use the
sink."
"Where's everyone going to
sleep?" Dawson asked once they had cleaned up and changed into their
pajamas. He sat back in the middle of his bed, resting on his pillow.
"I'm sleepin' on the bed with you," Pacey said as he rolled out his sleeping bag.
"Good try," Dawson
grinned. "But I don't think there's room." Andie crawled up beside him on his right, and Joey sat down on
the edge of the bed to his left.
"You lucky dog!" Pacey
said when he saw the three of them. "D-man! I don't know how you do
it!"
"Shut
up, Pacey!" Joey yelled hitting him with her pillow.
"Yeah,
don't be jealous." Dawson laughed as he put his arm around Andie. They
snuggled down beneath the covers. Joey pulled her legs up on the bed, glaring
at Pacey. He glanced back at Jen and
Jack.
"Potter's
gettin' a little wild ever since she got that nose ring of hers..."
"Pacey!
I said SHUT UP!"
She flung
her pillow across the room at him but this time he ducked, and it hit Jen right
in the face. Jen froze, her mouth ajar as the pillow fell to the floor. Pacey
looked back at her again.
"I'm
sorry Jen...!" He started, but couldn't help laugh out.
“Ohh!” Jen
gasped, taking up the pillow and batting Joey with it. Joey shrieked and flung
herself back on the bed on top of Dawson and Andie.
“Hey!”
Dawson cried as he was attacked as well.
Andie squealed, diving for cover beneath the blankets. Jack was already
on the move, snatching the covers from the bed, leaving the three of them open
and vulnerable. Everyone grabbed a pillow and started wailing them at each
other, hitting anyone they could reach as their laughter rang out into the dark
and quiet house.
Mitch lay
awake listening to the racket coming from his seventeen year old son’s
bedroom. He sighed at the clock. It was
2:23 am, but he smiled anyway.
‘Let them
have their fun,’ he thought. ‘In a few weeks, they’ll be facing the rest of
their lives; responsibilities, stress, the real world…let them have their fun
now, while they still can.’
Andie
was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Dawson snuggled against her on
their side of the bed and started to doze off.
Joey lay back against the pillow on the edge of the bed, careful not to
get too close to Dawson. Sure they’d shared a bed for years…sleepovers were
nothing new. But it felt a little weird with Andie in the bed. She wouldn’t say
so though…she wouldn’t give anyone the satisfaction of knowing how
uncomfortable she really was with the situation. She was happy for Dawson, she really was. But still, maybe just
for the fact of not having anyone of her own, she resented the fact that he had
settled down with Andie so easily. At least he and Nikki had had turmoil…they
had fought constantly; ego against ego. But with Andie…they never quarreled.
As the
others settled into their sleeping bags on the floor, Joey turned on her side,
her back to Dawson and Andie, trying to ignore the fact of how peacefully they
slept together. She watched through the
darkness as Jen and Jack drifted off to sleep together. It’s funny how much they reminded her of she
and Dawson, before puberty. Jen and
Jack were perfect; they were perfect platonic friends. They had so much
empathy…they were so good at comforting each other. Joey watched them
enviously. She really missed having that. That period was long over with for
her and Dawson…
Then her
eyes drifted over Pacey, still in his sleeping bag with his back to her. She watched him lay there silently, figuring
he was asleep. She nuzzled down in her
pillow watching him absentmindedly. Pacey really was a character all right. As
much as they argued, she knew she was drawn to him…drawn to him like two polar
opposites… Boy, did they get along
well.
She sighed
as she stared at him…her eyes slowly blinking back sleep as her exhaustion hit
her. She closed her eyes as he
breathing slowed. Then at the light
sound of movement, they fluttered open again. Joey’s eyes met Pacey’s as she
found him turned and facing her, his head resting on his pillow, his hand
beneath his chin. They stared at each other silently as light snores ascended
the room around them.
Her eyes
blinked back sleep again, and then she dozed off.
Pacey
watched her drift off into sleep.
That was
Saturday.
Sunday
morning came and Pacey woke to an empty room.
Jen and Jack’s sleeping bags were gone and he assumed they had gone back
home next door. He sat up and looked at
the bed. It was still a mess, but
Dawson, Andie and Joey were MIA. Probably down at breakfast…
He yawned
as he rubbed a hand through his hair. Must be time to get up and go home…His
father would be expecting him home to do chores… The lawn could never wait as
far as his father was concerned. Plus, he needed to get the truck back before
his dad realized it was missing. He
looked at his watch.
He
staggered to his feet and rolled up his sleeping back.
As he
rolled it up, he thought about watching Joey fall asleep.
The
thought held no intentions other then the fact that he had watched her. It
seemed kinda comforting for some reason…though he hadn’t the slightest as of
why. The three of them would probably be downstairs, sitting around the table,
sipping coffee and chewing on toast. He was tempted to join them, but then
thought of his father…No. He’d better get home. He got his stuff together, pulled on his shoes, and climbed out
the window.
He never
left this way, but for some reason, he just didn’t feel like going out the
front door. He clanged down the ladder, and headed towards the Suburban.
…END CHAPTER TWO