“Close Encounters”

By Rachel

 

 

They drove in silence along the dark highway.  Pacey Witter sat in the driver’s seat watching the dark and winding road ahead of them.  He’d glance at Joey every now and then, reading her face to make sure she was okay.  After a little while, she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the passenger’s side window.  He wasn’t sure but he thought she was asleep.

 

As they pulled into the Potter’s driveway, Joey’s eyes opened.  Her head rose and she peered out the window at the little house she called home.  It was dark and quiet, much like the rest of Capeside at this hour. Her sister, Bessie, and her nephew, Alex, would have gone to sleep long ago. 

 

Joey’s face betrayed her.  Her emotions were getting to her, and he knew it.  Pacey put the car in park and turned off the motor.

 

“You gonna be okay, Jo?”  He asked, leaning over the steering wheel.  She turned her head and faced him for a moment, her eyes somber, her chin stiff.  She looked at the house again, then back at him.  She started to nod her head but then she looked at the floor.

 

“Pacey?”  She started. 

He leaned towards her, resting his arm on the back of her seat.

“Will you come in for a while? I don’t want to be alone right now.”

“Okay,”  He said quietly, unbuckling his seat belt.

They got out of the car and went inside.

 

Joey walked in to her room, flipping on the light and throwing herself on her bed.  Pacey entered, closing the door behind them. 

 

Her room was small, as was the rest of the house, and very typical of a teenage girl.  There were stuffed animals in various places, a pink lamp on the dresser, pictures of friends taped to her mirror.  Pacey walked over to the mirror.  Running his hand though his hair, he noticed most of the pictures included Dawson Leery.  Pacey remembered most of these.  He was in a few of them himself.  There were pictures of the three of them as children, playing outside, and then there were more recent pictures of them, now as teenagers. 

 

He caught Joey’s reflection in the mirror, looking up at him from her bed.  He spun to face her, but said nothing.  He looked around again, then took a seat in a chair across from her.  He leaned forward, folding his hands in his lap, looking down at the carpet.  She felt like crap, he knew.  But what could he say to make her feel better?

 

“Thanks for taking me to see my dad,”  She said, her voice a little shaky.

“Anytime,” 

“Thanks again, I should say.  I remember you drove me last year too.  I’ll never forget that…”  Her voice trailed off.

“Joey,”  He said, with seriousness.  “I’m here for you. You wanna talk? I’m listening.”

“I know,”  She said, smiling now.  She shook her head, and her expression changed to awe.

“Pacey? Why is it that when things get at their worst, you’re the one who’s always there? The one who comes through, out of no where, colors flying?  You always help me.”  She laughed a little.  “Why is that?”

Pacey grinned and shook his head.

“I…don’t know…must be something a wry in the universe…I mean…”  Then he laughed.  “God…you used to hate me!”

Joey’s mouth dropped,  then she grinned. 

“I never hated you!”   She clamored.  Pacey snapped his chin back like he had been hit with something.  He shook his head in disbelief.  Joey smirked.  “Well, I didn’t really hate you!”

“Yeah, I guess you hated me as much as I hated you,”  Pacey leaned back in his chair.  He looked into her eyes, another grin wavered across his mouth.

 

“Well, I didn’t.”  Joey said, convincingly.  “I think mostly I was just jealous-”

“You! Jealous? NO!”  He quipped.

“JEALOUS…”  Joey said, stressing her point as she rose to a sitting position.  “…because of the way you just swooped in and stole my BEST FRIEND!” 

Pacey laughed.

“Oh PLEASE!”

“Well, you did!”

“I DID NOT steal Dawson!”

“YES you did!”

“NO, I didn’t!”

“Pacey,”  Joey said, matter of factly. “Yes you did.”

“How?”

“How!”

“How?”

“Well,”  She tossed her hair back behind her shoulder.  “When you came along, all Dawson ever wanted to do was ‘Hang out with Pacey’.  He always wanted to do whatever you did.  He NEVER wanted to do anything I wanted to do, and he ALWAYS took your side whenever we got into a fight!  It was like I didn’t exist!”

“Oh, and that’s my fault?”  Pacey asked innocently.

“Yes!”

“Well, Ms. Potter, I recall how Dawson used to ditch me every time we had a sleep over because he was so worried that you’d come climbing through his window in the middle of the night after a scary dream and he wouldn’t be there to welcome you.”  Joey’s eyes flickered with harmless fervor, but Pacey went on.  “He’d say, ‘Oh, Pace, I gotta go! Joey might come over and I might not be there!’ and I’d say, ‘So what?’ and he’d go, ‘She’ll get mad at me!’ and that was it!  He’d grab his GI Joe’s and his Papa Smurf slippers and just take off!” 

Joey was rolling with laughter.  Her face was red and tears seeped from beneath her dark lashes.  Pacey’s face turned red, too, as he chuckled harder.

“I remember those stupid slippers!”  Joey squealed, gasping for breath.

 

“Sshh!”  Pacey warned, suddenly remembering the house was not empty.  He didn’t want them waking up the baby or her sister.  Joey covered her mouth, struggling to contain her laughter. Pacey patted her on the back as she rocked back and forth on the edge of the bed in a silent fit.

 

They settled down after that.

 

And they talked for a long time.

 

“Are you ever going to forgive Andie?”  Joey asked.  Pacey shook his head slowly, unsure of what to say. Unsure of what was the truth.

“I don’t know, Jo,”  He said rubbing his hand across his forehead.  He blinked hard.  “It’s like she took a big chunk of my heart when she left…like I wasn’t all there anymore…and then when she came back, I thought, ‘Finally’…”  He shook his head and slumped in his chair. 

“I know what you mean, Pacey,”  Joey sighed.  It got quiet again as each of them thought about the events of the previous months that had led them to this point in their existence.  Joey and Dawson, Pacey and Andie.

 

Pacey stood up abruptly, rubbing his eyes and stretching his arms.

“What time is it?”  He asked as he sat back down to put on his shoes.  Joey looked at her watch.

“Almost 4:30,”  She said, surprised at how much time had passed.

“Shit!”  He said, now rushing to get his shoes on.  “Man, I’m going to be so tired tomorrow!  And I still have to drive home,”  He pulled the laces of his Airwalk’s tighter.

Joey smiled and sat up.

“Why don’t you just stay here?”  She suggested.

Pacey stopped and looked at her.  She shrugged, waiting for an answer.  His first reaction was, ‘I am so tired, Yes!’  His second was, ‘Oh hell, no!’  He was contemplating what Dawson would think, and she must’ve known because she said,

“It’s not a big deal, Pace.  I mean, if you’re really that tired…”  She looked at him.

“Okay.”  He said.

“Okay,”  She said back.  Something suddenly felt very odd about this.

 

Or did it? 

 

She scooted back on the bed against the wall to make room for him.  He sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned down to untie his shoes again. 

Joey looked around.  She took off her denim shirt, and even as she was wearing a tank top underneath, she wondered if she had made a mistake.  Did it make Pacey feel as weird as she did right now?  He didn’t say anything.  In fact he started unbuttoning his shirt, and she thought he was going to take it off.  Much to her relief he left it on, just hanging open.

 

He stood up, shirt unbuttoned and shoeless, staring down at her on the bed.  She looked up at him with wide eyes, and after a quick and alien notion, he  impetuously climbed on to the bed beside her.

 

They laid back against the pillows both staring at the ceiling.  They both kept very still, trying not to make any sort of physical contact, which was almost impossible seeing that her bed was barely big enough for herself. 

The light from the lamp reflected throughout the room, over different objects laying shadows out across the walls.  They stared at those shadows at length until Joey finally said,

“Maybe I should turn out the light.”

“Are you sure you won’t get scared?”  Pacey asked in a tone so subtle and serious that it made her start laughing again.

“Oh, I think I’ll be alright,”  She said raising up and flipping off the lamp on her night stand. 

 

She lay back again.  This time, Pacey put his arm around her to give themselves more room, and yawning, he rested his other arm behind his head.  Joey, deciding to give in and be comfortable with the situation, leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes.

“Joey, thanks for letting me stay.  I’m bushed…”  He said sleepily.

“It’s okay, Pace…”  She said, nodding off.

 

Joey heard the alarm clock buzzing.  She opened her eyes and sat up, stretching.  She felt a slight crook in her neck from sleeping against Pacey’s arm all night.  She looked around and noticed the room was full of sunlight from the open blinds of her window.  How late was it?

She looked at her watch.

“Oh no!”   She looked at Pacey, still sound asleep.  “Pacey!”  She said, shaking him awake.

“W-w-hat-t?”  He whined as he came to.

“It’s ten o’clock.  We’re late for school.”

Pacey’s eyes flew open and he jumped off the bed.  He grabbed his Airwalk’s, and Joey grabbed her shirt from the night stand.

“Don’t you have an alarm clock?”  He grumbled.

“Yeah,”  She said sarcastically.  “It’s only been going off for the past two and a half hours,”  She hit the snooze button to stop the irritating noise of the alarm, as she fiddled with the switch to turn it off completely.

“Man! I had a test in English this morning!” 

“Well, I had an algebra quiz!”

“Man!”  Pacey said, flustered.  Then he stopped.  “You know what? I don’t care. We have the rest of our junior year to make up for it.  One test is not going to break the grades.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Pacey.”  Joey said.  She shrugged.  “One quiz…it really doesn’t matter.”

“And if we leave now, we’ll have just enough time to make it for third period.”

Joey looked down at herself.  She felt like a slob.  She had been wearing these clothes since yesterday. 

“I look like crap.”

“You look beautiful,”

“I look like a slob.”

“You look fine,”

“My breath stinks.”

“Your…“ Pacey smiled. “…well, yeah, it does.”  Joey socked him in the arm.  “But mine does too, I was about to say!”  Joey laughed at Pacey’s expression.  “I was about to say…”  He trailed off, rubbing the spot where she had socked him.  “Ow.”

 

Third period had come and gone. 

 

Joey stood frantically shoving books into her locker in the crowded hall.  It was lunch time and she was starving.  The harder she shoved, the more that fell out of her locker.  Joey stopped, standing back, and exhaling hard.  She looked down at the mess of papers lying on the floor at her feet.

 

“Someone needs maid service,”  Pacey said from behind her.

 

Joey’s frown immediately brightened into a smile, and she turned around to face him. 

“Hey!”

“You on your way to the cafeteria?”  Pacey asked, his backpack strapped to his back and his hands in his pockets.

“Yeah…I’m so hungry, I could eat a whole cow!”  Joey said, finally just slamming the locker door closed.

“Would you like some company?”

“Of course,”  She smiled again, and they made their way down the hallway to the cafeteria.

 

Jen Lindley and Jack Mc Phee sat at one of the tables at the end of the room.  This was the “Cool Kid” area, where they never ever would’ve sat before.  But now Jen was head cheerleader and Jack was a star on the varsity football team.  Still, they kept to themselves within this loud and obnoxious group of  “over achievers”.

 

Jen saw Joey and Pacey first.

 

“Jack, look at that,”  She said, leaning in towards Jack, but keeping her eyes fixed on them.

“Huh? What?”  He said, looking up from his food.

“Look at Pacey and Joey,”  She said, smiling to herself.  Jack followed Jen’s gaze to the lunch line, where to his surprise, he saw Joey and Pacey standing very “close” to one another, laughing and talking, and acting very different from the way they had been yesterday.

“What’s going on?”  Jack murmured out loud, a look of total confusion crossing his face.

“Well, I’m not 100% sure, but I think those two are rebounding ‘together’, if ya’ know what I mean.”

“Pacey and Joey? No way.”  Jack said in disbelief.

“Look at them, Jack,”  Jen said.  “There’s something going on there…”

“They’re just standing there.”  Jack rationalized.

“There’s something more there then what meets the eye…”
“How so?”  Jack asked, frowning.

“Well,”  Jen laughed.  “Take for instance-“  She paused. “-their body language.  Look at how ‘comfy’ they look, all close and ‘touchy’-”

“They are not ‘touchy’,”  Jack said, shaking his head.

“Well, maybe not ‘touchy-feely’ touchy, but definitely touchy…”  Jen smiled in bemusement.  “Also take into consideration that they are wearing the same clothes they had on yesterday.”

A blank look crossed his face.  He swallowed the food he was chewing.  He swallowed it hard.  He was quiet for a moment, and then asked,

“How could he do that to my sister?”

“They’re not exactly together right now, Jack,”  Jen said, now focusing on her lunch instead of on Joey and Pacey.

“Yeah, but they just broke up…and he knows she’s still in love with him.  He knows what he means to her.”

“But Jack,”  Jen said plainly.  “She slept with another guy.  While Pacey was sick to death worrying about her being in that institution all summer long, she slept with another guy.  What’s he supposed to do? Besides…maybe I’m wrong. Maybe nothing is going on,”

“I know…”  Jack said narrowing his gaze.  “well, I’m just glad she’s not here to see it.”

 

Dawson Leery sat at the opposite side of the room, watching his best friend with his ex-girlfriend/ex-bestfriend, wondering what the hell was going on. 

He sat there, with his mouth hanging open, his books untouched, and his homework half-finished. They were forgotten as he sat there staring, as Pacey put the moves on his Joey.

 

His Joey.  Had he really just thought that?

 

Joey and Pacey had sat down by now.  Dawson had seen Pacey carry her tray, then pull out her chair, then sit down right beside her and ‘lean in’ on her, whispering something into her ear.  And he had watched as Joey had smiled and laughed, not shying away from his attempts, but in fact ‘leaning in’ too.

 

What was this?  Were they really carrying on like this, or was he just jumping to conclusions?  He wasn’t sure.

 

Then he heard someone sneak up beside him.

 

“Hey, Dawson,”  It was Eve.

“Eve!”  Dawson said, forgetting about Joey and Pacey for a split second.  “Where did you come from?”

“Oh…I was around…”  She said casually, sticking her finger in the whipped cream on his Jello, then sticking her finger in her mouth.  Dawson watched her, still astonished that she, this sexy, exotic senior-person, was this interested in him.  Him.

“So, I see your little friend is getting a little ‘chummy’ with your ex, huh?”  She said, nodding in Pacey and Joey’s direction.

“Who? Pacey? Oh…NO!’  He gushed.  “I asked him to look after her, so that’s why he’s…he’s trying…well, that’s why he’s sitting with her.”  Dawson grew quiet.

“Oh, really?”  Eve said, not really interested.  She changed the subject.  “So…I was thinking we could take off this afternoon…”

“Take off?”  Dawson asked alittle suspiciously.

“Yeah,”  She said innocently.  “Like…Oh, I don’t know…maybe hit the beach.”

“The beach!”  Dawson exclaimed.  “Eve, I can’t…I really, really can’t,”

“Are you sure?”  She asked, provocatively.  He felt her toe working its way up his pant leg.

“Yes!’  Dawson shrieked, a little too loudly because some of the people sitting around them turned to look at him.  “Yes!”  He whispered, embarrassed now.  “I can’t…I have an important test in sixth period.”

“Aww….too bad.”  She pouted her lips. 

 

‘She has great lips,’  Dawson thought. 

 

“Sorry,”  He said.

“Well, all right then,”  She said, smiling devilishly.  “I’ll see you after school, when you have more ‘free time’…”

“Well, okay,”  Dawson smiled boyishly.  “Where should I meet you?”

“As usual…”

“I’ll find you?”  Dawson finished her sentence.

“Now you got it.”  She said leaning back in her chair.

 

Pacey walked Joey to her fourth period class.

 

“So I’ll see you after school then?”  She asked as he held the door for her.

“Yeah,”  He replied, smiling.  She disappeared into her classroom, and Pacey headed back towards his.

 

“Pacey!” Someone called out from behind him.

Pacey spun to see who was calling him.  It was Dawson, and to Pacey’s surprise, he looked angry.

“Hey Dawson-”

“What the hell is going on?”  Dawson snapped.

“Oh, man!”  Pacey cringed.

“I mean it, Pace.  I want to know what’s going on!”

“Nothing-”

“Nothing!  Are you sure?  Because it sure didn’t look like ‘nothing’ back there in the cafeteria.”

Pacey started to laugh.  He couldn’t help it.  He knew where this conversation was going and it just seemed so ridiculous.

“I don’t think this is funny, Pacey.”

“I’m not laughing at you…”  Pacey had known from the start that this little ‘mission’ Dawson had forced on him would somehow backfire.

“So stop laughing then,”  Dawson said, shoving him.

Although it was a light shove, Pacey’s anger exploded.

“What’s your problem, man!”  Pacey screamed.

“You!  You’re my problem!”  Dawson screamed back.

They stood nose to nose.  Pacey’s gaze was ice cold, and Dawson’s eyes flared with intensity.

The bell rang.  They were late.

 

After a moment, Pacey stepped back, shaking his head.

“What’s with you, Dawson?  I thought we were friends, now you’re mad doggin’ me in the halls?”

“I thought we were friends too,”  Dawson said.  “But I didn’t think that when I asked you ‘as a friend’ to look after Joey, you’d use it to your own advantage.”

“Look, Dawson,”  Pacey said, slumping his shoulders.  “I don’t know what you saw, or what you think you saw, but whatever it was, you’re taking this way, way overboard.”

When Dawson just stood there, Pacey threw up his hands in frustration.

“Look…think what you want to think, I’m going to class.”

 

Joey waited on the front steps of the school.  School had just gotten out and the courtyard was flooded with kids eager to get home.

“Hi, Joey,”  She heard a small voice from behind her.  She turned to find Andie standing there.

“Andie! Hi!”  Joey said, motioning for her to sit down.  Andie slumped down on the step beside her.

“How are you doing?”  Joey asked.

“Um, I’m okay,”  Andie replied.  “You know, making it day to day I guess…”  Her voice trailed off.  Joey nodded her head in understanding.

“Who are you waiting for?”

“Oh,” Joey shifted uncomfortably.  “I was waiting for, um, Pacey.”

“Oh?”  Andie said, her face lighting up.

Joey felt bad.  She didn’t  know why, but she just did.  After all, this was between Pacey and Andie, and it was their business to work out.  The problem was Pacey just wasn’t ready, and Andie was expecting too much from him right now.  The break up had hurt them both, but Joey especially didn’t want to see Andie’s feelings get hurt any further, not after everything she had already been through.

“Are you two going to study?”  Andie had asked.  Joey hadn’t heard her.

“What? Oh, study? Yeah.”  Joey glanced uneasily around the courtyard.

“So…How is he?”  Andie asked quietly.

Before Joey could say anything, Pacey appeared.

 

When Pacey saw Andie, his face went hard, and he ignored her.  He pretended she wasn’t there, even when Andie had murmured ‘hi’.

“You ready, Jo?”  He asked, holding out his hand to help her get up.

“Um, yeah, I guess,”  Joey said quickly, getting to her feet.

Pacey walked away.  Joey looked helplessly back at Andie who just sat there, staring after him.  Then Joey saw tears in her eyes.

“Bye, Andie”  She whispered.  Andie, swallowing hard, forced a smile.

 

“That was a really awkward situation,”  Joey said as they got in the car.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Jo.”  Pacey said grimly.

“I just wish-”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”  He whispered, pausing before putting the key in the ignition.

Joey gave him a reassuring smile.

“Okay, Pace. I understand.”

“Thanks.”

 

After stopping at the Witter house so Pacey could change his clothes, they continued on to the Potter’s where they spent all afternoon making up homework and studying.  Bessie had come home, made them all dinner, then put Alex to bed.  After a little while she had gone to bed too.

 

By now, Joey had forgotten all about this afternoon with Andie, and Pacey had already disregarded the scene with Dawson in the hallway.  He hadn’t told Joey about it.

 

A week had passed and Pacey had spent every moment of it with Joey.  He had been having so much fun with her that his mind was off of his problems completely.

Joey, too, had never felt better.  The time she spent with Pacey was always full of laughs.  And even when they’d spend whole nights just having serious conversations; about her father’s imprisonment, missing her mother, or about needing more money to make ends meet; Pacey always made her feel better.

 

“Well, what should we study next, Ms. Potter?”  Pacey asked, dropping onto her bed.  It was late, again.  They had gone to a movie earlier and were now working on their homework.

“Mmn, I guess algebra since I failed that make-up quiz.”

“Then algebra it is!”  Pacey flipped open Joey’s math book.  He looked at it, turning it upside down and sideways, then started laughing.  “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what the hell I’m looking at!”

“Oh, Pacey!”  Joey laughed.

“I don’t! My class hasn’t gotten this far yet!”

Joey flung herself down on the bed next to him, laying on her side facing him, propping her head up on one hand.

“I guess I’m screwed then. Well, what would you like to study?”

 

Pacey stared at her for a long moment, a little smile forming at the corners of his mouth.

“What?”  Joey asked at his expression.

“I think…”  He started, then pausing.  “I think I’d like to…study…you.”

Joey’s mouth hung open as she rewound what had just happened in her head.

 

Pacey reached out, touching her face.  Then suddenly embarrassed, he pulled his hand away.

“I’m sorry, I…”  He stammered, looking away.

“Pacey,”  Joey started when she finally found her voice.  He looked back at her.  She still looked shocked.  He took it as a sign that he had just made a complete ass of himself.

“Jo,”  He said, attempting an explanation.  “All this time I’ve…we’ve…been spending together…It’s made me…”  He sighed.  “I…oh, god.”  He cringed at the thought of how he must sound.

“Pacey! I don’t know what to say!”

“I’m sorry!  I shouldn’t have said anything!”  Pacey stood up abruptly, grabbing his backpack.

“No!”  Joey jumped up.  “Pacey…I-”

“I’m so sorry, Joey!”

“No!”

“I should leave-”

“NO Pacey!”  She snapped.  He went silent.  “Will you let me finish, please?”

 

He nodded his head, slouching, waiting for what would come next.

 

She moved closer to him, then took his hand in hers.

“Pacey…”  She said, finally, in a whisper.  “I think I might…I might like to explore this a little bit…before pushing it away.”

 

Pacey dropped his back pack to the floor.  This was not what he had expected. 

 

Joey led him back to her bed where they both sat down.  She reached up, switching off the lamp on the night stand. 

The room flooded with moon light, casting blue shadows across the walls.

Pacey looked at Joey.  The light illuminated her face, and her eyes sparkled in the glow.  He could hear her breathing.

“Joey-”

“Ssh…”  She hushed him.  She reached up, touching his cheek.  He leaned forward taking her chin in his hands. 

They looked into each other’s eyes.  They leaned in close, their foreheads almost touching.

“I can’t help but want to be near you,”  He whispered, closing his eyes.

 

Joey leaned back against her pillow, pulling him down with her.

His face hovered over hers.  They could feel each other’s breath.  She closed her eyes.

That’s when he kissed her.

 

          “Maybe I should go now,”  Pacey said as they lay in the dark, one of his arms wrapped around Joey, the other resting back behind his head.

          “You can stay…,”  Joey said, raising her head to meet his gaze.

          “Do you want me to stay?”  He asked.

          “Yeah…I do.”

          “Then I’ll stay.”

 

He kissed her forehead and she nudged closer to him.

 

This time, when the alarm went off, they were both able to rouse themselves from sleep.

7:30 a.m. 

 

Pacey sat up and pulled on his shoes.  Joey went to her closet and began looking for an outfit.

“I’ll go hang out in the living room while you change,”  Pacey said going to the door.

“Okay,”  Joey said.  He left and she turned back to her closet.

 

Pacey walked down the hallway.  He heard Bessie in the kitchen with the baby.  He paused in the hallway, running his hand through his hair, before bursting into sight.

“Pacey?”  Bessie said, startled.

“Good morning, Bessie.”  He said, almost confidently.

“W-would you like some breakfast?”  She asked, stammering.

“Oh, please! Don’t go to the trouble…”

“Oh, it’s no trouble!  I was about to start the eggs…really, it’s fine.”

“Well, then,”  Pacey said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”  She said as cheerfully as possible to cover her shock.  She opened the refrigerator door.  “Have a seat.”  She gestured to the table.

Pacey sat down next to Alex.

“Hey, little guy!”  He said, letting Alex grab his finger.

 

Joey walked in, crossing the tiny kitchen.  She tried to ignore the look Bessie gave her.  She went to the cupboard and took out two glasses.  As she turned towards the fridge, she caught Bessie mouthing ‘What’s going on?’.  Joey smiled sheepishly and turned away.  When she went to get the juice from the refrigerator door, Bessie caught her by the arm and, to where Pacey couldn’t see her, mouthed ‘I want to know everything’.  Joey shrugged, ‘Later’, and smiling, she took the juice.

 

The day went by quickly.  Joey and Pacey had spent lunch together again, but today after school, Joey was going to the Icehouse.  She had promised Bessie she would help out there.

 

Pacey dropped her off.  When she had started to get out of the car, Pacey had squeezed her hand.  Then he let go.  She had looked at him without saying anything.  She smiled, and he smiled back.  Then she had gotten out of the car, and he had driven away.  She wondered what would happen next. 

She hadn’t felt like this in a long time, and she didn’t want it to end.

 

“SO!” Bessie squealed when Joey walked into the backroom to get her apron.  Joey cocked her head, not saying anything.  She knew the suspense was killing Bes.  Bessie jumped up and grabbed Joey by the shoulders.

“What happened?  Inquiring minds want to know! I want to know!” 

Joey laughed at her sister’s expression.

“God, Bes! Don’t you have a life?”

“No! I have to live vicariously through yours!”  She stepped back, beaming eagerly.

“Well…”  Joey said.  “What do you want to know?”

“Well, for starters,”  Bessie said.  “I wanna know how PACEY, of all people, ended up sleeping in your room instead of Dawson!”

Joey cringed.  “Well…”

 

“Did you ‘sleep’ with him?”  Bessie asked after Joey had given her an overview of the details.

“God! Bessie!”

“Well? Did you?”  Bessie persisted.

“Well…What do you mean, ‘sleep with’?”  Joey teased.

“Josephine Potter!  You know exactly what I mean!”

Joey rolled her eyes.  Then gushed,

“No, Bessie, we didn’t…you know! Do it!”

“Oh, thank heavens!”  Bessie sighed.

“What’s it to you?”  Joey asked furtively.

“Oh, Joey, honey…don’t get me wrong…I’m not trying to stifle you or anything…it’s just that…well, I don’t know if you’re going to like this…”

“What Bes?”  Joey demanded.

“Well, I just think that when you do finally…do it, it should be with Dawson Leery.”

“Bessie!”

“I know, I know…”

“Bessie, that part of my life is over…”

“Joey, you were meant to be together.”

 

Joey frowned.  This was not want she wanted to hear, not after last night.  She decided not to think about it.

 

Pacey hadn’t come over that night.  Joey worked late at the Icehouse, and she came home with Bessie. 

Now she lay in her bed, unable to sleep.  She stared at the shadows on the ceiling thinking about Pacey…thinking about Dawson…thinking about her dad. 

She tried to shake the guilt that rushed back into her mind every time she thought about her father, but it was useless.  She turned on her side, and wished Pacey had been there to comfort her.  She tried to close her eyes, but every time she did, she pictured her father in jail, behind bars, because of her.  She knew deep down that it wasn’t her fault, but she still had issues with accepting that. 

After tossing and turning, she sat up, sighing deeply.

 

She didn’t know what compelled her to get up and get dressed, go outside and climb in her boat, but suddenly there she was, rowing up the creek towards Dawson’s house.  This felt more familiar then anything she could think of, and that’s maybe what drove her to do it.

 

As she neared his dock, she inspected his house.  It was completely dark, not a light in site.  Not even Dawson’s bedroom window was lit up.  Joey looked at her watch.  It was 1:15.  Dawson was already asleep.

Joey remembered a time in their lives when he would have been sitting up waiting for her, even at this hour, counting on her to climb through his window.

But that period was over.  She didn’t want it to be, but it was.

She wanted to stop rowing, to turn around and go back home.  But something made her go on.  She needed to complete this journey. 

 

She tied her boat to the dock and made her way up the yard to the side of the house beneath Dawson’s bedroom window.  She looked up at the house, towering over her.  The ladder was still there, her ladder, leaning against it.  She hesitated for a second, but then took the first step.

She made her way up the ladder quietly, and as she reached the window, she paused.

What if Dawson wasn’t alone?  What if, God forbid, that Eve was in there with him?  Joey bit her lip.  She listened for a moment, and after hearing nothing but the crickets in the grass, she decided to peek through the window.

Joey peered over the window ledge, and holding herself steady on the roof with one hand, she pushed the curtain aside.  It was too dark to see anything except for the red glow of his alarm clock.

“Dawson?”  She whispered.  No answer.  She pulled her self up over the ledge and stepped into his room. 

 

As her eyes adjusted to the dimness, she saw his outline laying across the bed.  she tip-toed to the side of the bed and sat down.  She slipped off her shoes, and laid down next to him.  She laid on her side, facing him with her hands huddled beneath her chin.  She watched his face while he slept. 

After a few minutes, he began to stir.  He briefly opened his eyes, then when he realized he wasn’t alone he raised his head.

“Joey.”  He whispered.

“Hi.”

“When did you come in?”

“A few minutes ago…you don’t mind do you?”

“No.”  There was a pause. “Come here,”

Dawson opened his arms to her.  She welcomed his embrace.  He pulled the covers up around her, tucking her in next to him.

“What’s wrong?”  He asked.

“I couldn’t sleep,”

“Well, I’m glad you came…”  She felt his face nuzzled against her hair.  She scooted closer, his back to him.  “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too.”  Joey felt Dawson’s heart beating in his chest. “Dawson?”

“Yeah, Jo?”  He replied, yawning. 

She wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure of what. So she didn’t say anything.

 

Dawson wondered what she was thinking, but didn’t press the issue.  He wondered if in time things would go back to the way they once were.  He knew it was naïve, but this just felt too right.

 

          Pacey was anxious to see Joey this morning.  He felt like he had had some sort of a revelation within the past few days.  He wanted to share what he was feeling, to let her know what a sudden effect she had made on his life.

          He had stopped by her house to surprise her.  When she wasn’t there, he had figured she had left for school early.  So he went after her.

          He drove to the school and strolled the campus looking for her.  He checked the library, the cafeteria, then her classrooms.  When he couldn’t find her, he decided to wait on the front steps of the school.  He couldn’t miss her there. 

Pacey dropped his backpack on the step, and sat down.

As time grew closer to the first bell, Pacey got a little worried.  Where was she?

          As the stream of students flooding into the building grew steadier, Pacey was about to give up.

          “Five more minutes,”  He said to himself.

          He waited. No Joey.

          “Five more…”

          Still no Joey.

 

The first bell rang.

          Pacey sighed deeply.  He stood, then slinging his backpack over his shoulder, took one last look out over the courtyard.

That’s when he saw her.

 

          Joey and Dawson walked together, shoulder to shoulder, Dawson’s hand on her back as they went.

          “…I feel a lot better today,”  Joey smiled.

          “Good.”  Dawson said.  “So we’ll spend lunch together?”

          “Sure,” 

 

          Pacey watched them make their way closer.  He was jealous.

          “What’s going on?”  He frowned.  He wondered if he should play it cool and wait for them, but seeing them together was too much to bare.  Before they got too close, he ducked inside the building and disappeared down the crowded hall.

 

          It was after third period.  Pacey took his time getting to the cafeteria.  He had avoided Joey all day.  Eluding her was almost too easy.  So easy in fact, that he wondered if she was avoiding him as well.  It was almost certain that he’d run into her in the cafeteria.

          He wouldn’t know what to say when he saw her.  He wouldn’t know how to act.

          He couldn’t get over feeling rejected.  After all, they had kissed…no, they had done more then kiss.  They had made out…in her bed…all night.  That had to mean something.  Yes, he was attracted to her, he had always been attracted to her, but it was the connection he had felt with her during their late night talks that made him want her.  He felt a strong bond with her, and he thought that she had felt it too. 

Apparently not.  The fact that she was being so ‘cozy’ with Dawson made it painfully clear.

          He had been kidding himself.  Trying to start a relationship?  With her?…Especially this soon…after Andie… He should’ve known better.

 

          Pacey drifted down the hallway, not really paying attention to his surroundings.  As he rounded a corner, he slammed into Dawson.

          “Pacey!”

          “Oh…its you.”  Pacey said, grimacing.

          “I’m so glad I ran into you,”

          “Yeah?  Why’s that?”  Pacey asked, rather annoyed.  Apparently Dawson didn’t notice.

          “I want to apologize for the other day,”

          “Great.  Apology accepted.”  Pacey said dimly, trying to move past him.

Dawson reached out grabbing his shoulder, stopping him.

          “Pacey, I had no right to accuse you of anything…I’m sorry, I was wrong.”

Pacey smirked averting his eyes. 

“I must say, I feel like a real ass,” 

          “Yeah, you and me both..”  Pacey mumbled.

          “What’s that?”

          “Nothing…”

          “Pacey!  Today feels like a whole new day,”  Dawson beamed.  “I feel this exuberance bursting from within- ”

“Look Dawson,”  Pacey cut him off.  “That’s great that you feel all fine and dandy, but right now I don’t…”

          “I think me and Joey might get back together!”

Pacey stopped in dismay.

          “What?”  He asked.

          “I-I don’t mean today…this minute,”  Dawson gushed.  “But I think we’re on our way to making amends…yes, definitely on our way…last night she spent the night, and we-we just…I don’t know, seemed to really ‘connect’.”

          Pacey’s head snapped back.

          “She spent the night?”  He bellowed.

          “Yeah, she crawled into my window at like 2:00 am,”

          “She crawled into your window,”  Pacey said, pacing the floor.  “I can’t believe it!”

          “I know! It was amazing,”  Dawson said. “I just…it-it felt like ‘old times’, ‘ya know?”

Pacey stared at Dawson, once friend, now adversary.  He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

          “But, what about Eve?”  Pacey asked angrily.

          “There’s no contest.  It’s all about Joey.”

          Pacey’s jaw hung open, as he realized what this all meant.

“Oh, I gotta go!”  Dawson said, suddenly looking at his watch.  “I’m meeting her for lunch now…I’ll catch you later!”  With that he bound off down the hallway through the cafeteria doors.

           Pacey just stood there.

          “Screw this!”  He suddenly yelled, throwing off his backpack.  He looked back towards the way he had just come.  He paused amidst his confusion, considering what to do.   His unruly emotions got the better of him.  “I can’t deal with this crap right now,”  He whispered, running his hands through his hair.  “I have to get out of here.” 

          Pacey grabbed his backpack and broke into a run down the hallway, heading out the front door.

 

          Dawson found Joey sitting at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, doodling on one of her book covers.

          “Hi!”  She said when she saw him.

          “Hey, how’s my girl?”  Dawson asked, sliding into a seat and putting his arm around her.

          Joey recoiled uneasily.  Her frown made Dawson nervous.

          “Joey, what’s wrong?”

          “Dawson,”  Joey said, her voice somber.

          “Did I say something wrong?”  Dawson was confused.  “I’m sorry…if I did.”

          “Dawson, I hope you don’t think…”  She paused.  “I hope your not hoping for… ‘anything’ right now.”

          “Hoping?”  Dawson asked.

          “Well,”  Joey leaned forward, her voice lowered.  “I hope you don’t expect anything out of ‘us’.”

          “You mean a relationship?”

          “Yeah,”

          “Well, no, Joey…I’m not”  He stammered.  “Well, actually I am….I..”  Dawson racked his brain for the right words.

          “Dawson, we can’t..”  Joey said, shaking her head.

          “But Joey…”

          “Dawson, we have issues…”

          “I know we have issues,”  Dawson sat back, running his hand through his hair.  “We have a lot of issues, but I don’t think that should mean we shouldn’t give it another try.”

          “Dawson, I don’t think…”

          “I mean, even Pacey thinks we should try to work things out.”

          “Pacey?”  Joey asked startled.

          “Yeah, I just talked to him in the hall…”

          “What did he say?”  Joey demanded.  She was obviously upset.

          “I don’t know!”  Dawson said.  He was really surprised at her reaction.  “I just told him, you know, that we were really bonding, and I thought that there was a good chance we might get back together,”

          “Dawson!”

          “What Joey? Do we have a chance of getting back together?”

          “Oh, Dawson!”  Joey cried.  She leaned forward putting her head in her hands, and in earnest said, “I have to tell you something.”

 

          Pacey walked along the sidewalk watching his feet as he took each step.  This sucked.  He needed a drink.  As he made it to the pier, he ditched his backpack in a bush and proceeded to the nearest bar.

         

Dawson couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  He was flabbergasted.  Joey and Pacey?  He looked to Joey, and she nodded, confirming his fears.     

          She had winced when the words first left her mouth, unsure of how Dawson would react.  She didn’t want to hurt him, but he needed to know the truth.

          “So, you and Pace…huh?”  Dawson said, still astounded.

          “Yeah,”  She said quietly.  “It just happened,”  She explained.

          “Are you going to pursue it further?”  Dawson asked.

          “I-I don’t know,”  Joey said , shrugging her shoulders.  “I can’t decide.”  She smiled to herself, recalling how Pacey had made her feel that night.

          “Well…obviously you have feelings for him,”  Dawson said.  “You need to think it through before you just write him off,”

          Joey’s eyes widened in disbelief.

          “What?”  Dawson said innocently.  “He’s my best friend.  He’s a good guy, and as much torment as it could cause me…as much as it will cause me…I want to see you happy…both of you.” 

          Joey reached out and squeezed his hand.

          “Dawson, thank you for not pressuring me…for a decision.  I don’t know how this will turn out, but I’m really glad I have your support.”

          “You’ll always have my support, Joey…Always.”  Dawson tried to be as reassuring as possible, even though he felt like his heart had been ripped out and stepped on.

          Joey sighed heavily.

 

Pacey made his way to the counter and slumped down on the stool.  The bartender looked at him.

          “Give me a shot of Jack Daniel’s,”  He said.  “No, in fact, give me two.”

          “You have ID?”  The bartender asked suspiciously.

          “Yeah,”  Pacey said, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket.  “Here,”  He said tossing his fake ID on the counter.

          The bartender took one look at it and tossed it back.

          “Get outta here, kid.”

          “Come on!”  Pacey groaned.

“NO way.”

 “Look,”  Pacey reasoned.  “I’ve got woman troubles. You can understand that,”

          “I don’t care what you got, I said scram!”

Pacey grumbled some four letter words at the bartender, then got up and left.

          He went back for his backpack, and decided to find another bar.

 

          After he had been thrown out of every bar in Capeside, or at least every bar on the pier, Pacey decided to take a walk.  He ended up at the spot where he had first kissed Andie.  ‘Boy, does this place bring back memories’ he thought.  He walked to the edge of the dock and leaned over the railing.  He peered down into the water below, sneering at his reflection, muttled by the breaking waves.  He had an awful taste in his mouth.  He knew it was just his nerves. 

He Leaned forward, and hawked a loogie into the creek.  Then he turned away from the railing.  He went and sat down on a bench.  This had been his and Andie’s bench.  It made him nauseous just thinking about it.  But even so, he just sat there.

Pacey sat there for hours, watching the sun make its way across the sky, then disappear in a thick blanket of pink clouds.  When it started to get dark, Pacey decided it was time to go.

 

Joey had waited for Pacey after school, but she never found him.  She went home and tried to call him, but his father hadn’t seen him all day.  Joey began to worry that he had gone off the deep end about what Dawson had said to him.  She called Jack and asked if either he or Jen had seen him. They hadn’t.  She got desperate and called Andie.  That was a bad idea.  Of course Andie hadn’t seen him, and now Joey had upset her. 

When she didn’t know what else to do, she called Bessie at the Icehouse and told her everything.

“Oh, Joey, don’t worry…he’ll turn up.”  Bessie had said.

Joey tried to take her mind off of it by watching TV.  The later it got, the more anxious she became.  She got up and turned off the TV.  She tried calling him again.  He still hadn’t made it home, but Doug, Pacey’s brother, had taken her message and swore he would have him call her when he got in.  She waited by the phone.

After an hour, Joey called Dawson and asked him to come over.  She wanted to go out and look for Pacey, afraid that he might have gotten himself into trouble.  She went into her room and began to change into warmer clothing when she heard a knock on the door.

 

“Pacey!”  Joey said, shocked yet relieved when she opened the door and found him standing there.

“Joey, level with me…are you and Dawson back together?”  A look of determination overshadowed the melancholy in his face, but his voice was still shaky.

“Oh, Pacey,”  She said stepping out to him on the porch  Her dire expression made him think the worst, but then she said, “No.”

Pacey exhaled, and smiled.  He stepped toward her, leaning in to kiss her, but she pulled away. 

“What’s wrong?”  He asked.  She could see the hurt in his eyes.

“Pacey, I’m sorry, I may have been leading you on…”

          “What?”

          “I’m not sure if I’m ready for this…I not sure about anything.”

          “How can you know?”  He asked.  “I thought you were into me.”

          “I was…I mean am. Look, that night, it was great…and I really felt close to you.  You’ve helped me through some tough times,”

          “And you’ve helped me too,”  He said.  Joey crossed the porch and looked out at the creek.  She was silent for a moment then turned back to him.

          “Where did you go?  I was so worried about you,”

          “I went for a walk.”  He came and stood next to her, leaning against the railing.

          “After Dawson told me what he said to you, I thought you might’ve gone out and gotten..”

          “What? Drunk?”  Pacey snapped, his voice growing annoyed.  “Well, don’t think I didn’t try.”

          “I didn’t know,”  She said.  “All I know is I was worried.”

          “Well, thanks but I don’t need a mother,”

          “I want to tell you how I feel.  I want to be honest.”

Pacey stood there, with his arms crossed, not saying anything.  Joey went on.                   

          “I really felt something the other night…”  She looked at the ground, then tucked her hair behind her ear.  “I was so involved with forgetting my problems that I didn’t realize I was falling for you,”

          Pacey’s stature changed, his lips formed a little smile.  He looked in her eyes, but after a moment, she turned away.

          “I was so excited, and the more time we spent together, the more I was sure I wanted you,”  Then her expression changed.  “We’ve spent every possible moment together…”  She went on.  “But last night, when we were finally apart, and I was laying alone, in my bed, I just…”  She faced him now, forcing eye contact.  “I just realized I may be doing it for the wrong reasons.”

          Pacey’s face tightened.  He felt a surge of anguish creeping up in his throat.  He fought it back, but his cheeks started to burn. 

          “Oh, Pacey.”  Joey said facing him.  She stepped in close and took his hand.

          “Joey…you said it yourself, you were falling for me.”  Pacey’s voice quivered.  “And I fell for you too.”

          “Pacey, you just got out of a relationship…remember Andie?” 

          Pacey pulled his hand away.

          “I can’t take this…”

          “Listen, Pacey,”

          “I can’t.”

          “You  have to!”

          “Joey!”  Pacey suddenly snapped.  “Do you know what this is doing to me?  I’m confused as hell and I don’t know what’s up or down!”

          “What about me? I’m confused too!”  Joey refuted.

          “Oh, yeah, real confused!  I heard about you climbing into Dawson’s bed!”  Pacey screamed.  Joey’s face turned red.

          “Pacey,”  Joey warned.

“I mean it, Jo.  Were you using me? Or were you using him? I think I deserve to know.”

“How dare you!”  Joey’s eyes flared.  “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”  She turned back towards the door.  “I’ve had enough of this! Go home Pacey.”      

“Don’t you walk away from me, Joey Potter! I’m not Dawson! You can’t just turn me off and on!”

          Joey froze in her tracks.

          He immediately regretted that.

 

          “Oh, god! Joey!  I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry!”  Pacey grabbed her arm and she spun around to look at him.  His lips trembled.  She wanted to be a hard-ass, but she knew he was sorry.  She was sorry too.

“I’m sorry,”  He continued in a whisper.  “I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

          “We’ll always be friends,”  She whispered back. 

 

She hugged him for a long time. 

“I think we need to take things slow.”

          “Yeah,”  Pacey said with an uneasy laugh.

 

          “So I guess we’re okay here?”  It was Dawson.  He was standing on the lawn, with his hands in his pockets. 

          “Yeah, I think so..”  Joey said, letting out a smile.  She started to let go, but Pacey held onto her.

          “Uh, uh.”  He said, shaking his head.  Then opened his arm to Dawson.  “Come here, man.”

          Dawson walked up on the porch, and joined his friends.

          “OH, I love group hugs,”  He said, beaming.

          “I’m sorry, Daw.”  Pacey said, patting him on the back.

          “I know, Pace.  It’s cool.”

          “I’m sorry too,”  Joey said.

          “That’s okay, Jo,”  Pacey said kissing the side of her head.

          “Yeah, you’re still my Joey,”  Dawson said, kissing the other side of her head.  Then he added, “Our Joey.”

          “Oh, yeah! Community property!”  Joey laughed, pulling away.

 

          “So how long were you standing there?”  Pacey asked.   

          “Long enough,” Dawson said.  “So…You turn me off and on, huh?”  Dawson snickered to Joey.

          “Okay, that’s quite enough…”  She said standing back.

          Pacey laughed, then mockingly added, “So who are you gonna choose?”         

          Joey rolled her eyes.

          “Come on, Jo?  Me or Pace?”  Dawson giggled.

          “Neither!”  She cracked, heading for the door.  “I’m finished with both of you!  I’m going inside.”

          “Can we come in?”  They called after her, still laughing.

          “No!”  She yelled, slamming the screen door behind her.  “Go home!”

         

          Dawson and Pacey shrugged, then headed down the yard.

          “So you want me to walk you home?”  Dawson asked.

          “Nah,”  Pacey said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

          “You wanna stay over?”

          “Sure,”  Pacey said.  “You still got those Papa Smurf slippers, Dawson?”

 

They walked to the end of the Potter’s dock, and climbed in Dawson’s boat.

 

 

 

 

The End.