Title: Green Apples - Part 10
Author: Angie
E-mail address: [email protected]
Category: Pacey/Joey
Rating: PG13
Warning: Touches on the very touchy subjects of death and religion.
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to Kevin Williamson, Paul Stupin, and the WB.
Summary: The gang is finally graduating! Everyone is planning on attending college together...except Pacey. Joey is upset, but love can withstand anything, including separation, right? But when the unthinkable happens in the lives of these six friends, will it cause Pacey to rethink his situation? Find out the answers in this new fan fiction series.
Author's Note: Ok, everyone...here is the final chapter of Green Apples. I hope you all enjoy it.
Joey and Pacey stood on the deck of True Love. He held onto her tighty as they watched the sun set over the creek. He couldn't believe how frail she felt. She had lost so much weight during the course of her illness. And that was not a good thing considering she was thin to begin with.
"So, you are really leaving me..." Joey said quietly. Pacey said nothing. He just tightened his arms around her. "When do you leave?"
"A couple of weeks. I just got the paperwork I requested in the mail yesterday, so I have to fill that out and get it back to them."
Joey nodded. The idea of Pacey going into the marines was still hard for her to grasp. "So, what about you? When do you guys go to register for school?"
"Tomorrow. Freshmen registration is between 10:00 and 12:00. I found out last week that I was approved for a student loan and it is a good thing too."
"You are going to have a blast, Jo. Your college years are going to be the most memorable years of your life."
Joey turned to face him with tears in her eyes. "It won't mean anything without you to share it with, Pacey. Nothing."
"Potter, if there were any other way, I would take it. I have been wrecking my brain."
She nodded. "I know."
He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his chest. They stood there silently as the tears flowed down her face. And after a minute Pacey allowed his own tears to fall.
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Pacey woke up at 6:00 the next morning, which was drastically out of character for him. He sat at the kitchen table with the paperwork laid out before him.
"Hey, little brother," Doug said, coming into the kitchen and pouring himself a cup of coffee. "What ya got there?"
"Oh, just my papers I have to fill out to enlist," Pacey mumbled.
Doug looked at him knowingly. "Your heart isn't in this, is it, Pace?"
"Oh, yeah, Doug. It isn't every day you get a chance to represent your country. My heart is in it," he said, still staring at the papers.
"I don't believe you, Pacey."
Pacey looked up at Doug, as if he had just grown two heads.
"What do want me to do, Doug, dance a jig? I told you I am happy. I am very very happy for this opportunity," Pacey said, he voice getting louder and louder as he spoke.
"Ok, Pacey, let's talk about this in terms you can understand. Say there was a hypothetical young man who was enlisting in the marines because he thought that was the only way he would ever pay his way through school. And then over here in the other hypothetical corner you have a hypothetical young lady of whom the young man in question almost lost in a tragic accident this year. His heart is not in the marines, it is back home in college with the women he loves. Now, Pacey...let me ask you this. If you were to advise this young man, would you not tell him that if he really wanted something badly enough, he would think of another way? And if enlisting in the marines was really something you were doing because you wanted to and it was going to better your life, I would not tell you this. But you are only doing it to get through college and get a good job to support the woman you love."
Pacey stared down at the table as he took in every word of what Doug was saying. Doug took a step closer to his brother.
"As you well know, Pacey, we are not promised tomorrow. None of us. Don't waste any time. Make every second of your life count."
Doug left the room, and Pacey sat there and continued to let his words sink in. 'Doug just doesn't understand what I am going through,' Pacey thought. 'He can't even comprehend what it is like to be labeled a failure. If I do not do this, and get through school, my life will never be right. I will die a loser and a failure.'
He positioned his pen over the line labeled applicants signature...P...a...c, he began signing. He stopped abruptly and looked at the watch on his arm. 10:45. He jerked the papers off the table, wadded them up, and tossed them into the trash can on his way out the door.
Pacey ran to his car, jerked his keys out, and started the engine. Then he spun out of the drive-way and headed to his parents' house.
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Joey stood in line waiting for an advisor to help her schedule her classes. 'Half of Capeside must be enrolling today,' she thought. Joey jumped as someone wrapped their arms around her from behind. She tried to turn around, but they just held her tighter. She smiled. There was really no reason to turn around anyway. She knew exactly who it was.
"What are you doing here, Pacey?" she asked. Then she saw the catalogue and enrollment forms in his hand. He finally released her and she turned to face him. He had tears in his eyes and a smile on his face.
"Ah, just signing up for a couple of classes," he answered.
"And how are you accomplishing this one, Witter?"
"Well, you know...just when you think you have the most dysfunctional family next to the Munsters, they go and surprise you."
Joey looked at him, confused.
"Well, I guess I can thank Deputy Dougie for the pep talk, and my father for the loan that I will be working 3 jobs to pay off. I didn't want to ask him, ya know? And I just knew there was no way I would be approved for a student loan or a scholarship. But this morning, I did it. I swallowed every inch of my pride and I ask him for the loan...promising I would pay it back. I wish you could have seen the look on his face, Jo. He was more than happy to loan me the money. And it was like he was so proud of me, when I told him I wanted to go to school."
"That's great, Pacey. I am just so happy you are here with me today," she said giving him a huge hug.
"Me too, Potter. And who knows. Maybe with your constant nagging, I will have a GPA that is worthy of scholarship money in the future."
Joey laughed. "I think that's a safe bet," she told him.
"So, what do ya say, we get in here, and schedule our classes? Together of course, so I can glance over your shoulder constantly." Joey jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow.
"Ow!" Pacey exclaimed, laughing.
"Listen, Buster, some things you have to earn on your own."
"I agree. And what do you think, Josephine Potter, have I earned your love on my own?"
"Definitely," she whispered as he kissed her forehead.
"Speaking of which...don't you and I have a wedding to plan?" he asked her.
Joey giggled. "Let's just get through midterms first, Pacey. Then we'll talk."
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So will Pacey be able to make the grade in college? And will Joey and Pacey ever make it down the aisle? Find out in "Lace On Satin"...the sequel to "Green Apples". Coming soon!
End of "Green Apples".
Feedback is appreciated guys! =)
You can e-mail me at [email protected].