"Do you want to explain this?" Bessie asks, her voice tight. Joey doesn't know what to say.

"Explain what?" Bessie flips the book open to a specific page and reads aloud.

"This. 'I always imagined my first time to be absolutely perfect, and in a way it was. It was earth shattering, like nothing I've ever experienced in my entire life. I get shaky even thinking about how he made me feel; I saw him in school today and all I could think about was the feel of his lips against mine, his hands touching me in places that-'"

"Bessie, stop," Joey interrupts, scarcely believing what was happening. Her world had suddenly collapsed, Bessie would never let her see Pacey again. She was too stunned even to realize the fact that Bessie had gone through her things. Bessie snaps the journal shut, her mouth settling into a tight frown.

"You're sleeping with Dawson, aren't you?" Bessie demands, staring Joey down. Joey doesn't reply, so Bessie strides across the room and stands directly in front of her sister, not letting her avert her gaze. "Aren't you?"

"No." Joey mumbles, looking away. Bessie grabs Joey's chin and turns her head back towards her.

"Do not lie to me, Josephine. I found the half empty box of condoms in your dresser drawer, don't insult me by trying to deny this. You've been spending way too many nights over there lately, I should have known! I *trusted* you - I trusted that you were a responsible adult. Do Mr. and Mrs. Leery know? Do they know what's going on under their own roof?"

"Bessie..."

"I'm going to call them and tell them, Joey, and you can guarantee that you will never sleep over at Dawson Leery's house ever again, I can tell you that much." Bessie heads for Joey's phone.

"I'm not sleeping with Dawson!" Joey blurts out, and her vehement exclamation stops Bessie in her tracks. Knowing the game is up, Joey sits down on her bed, tears beginning to fall. "It's Pacey, Bessie...I've been sleeping with Pacey. I'm having sex with Pacey."

"What?"

"You heard me, Bessie...."

"No, I didn't...because if I did, you just said that you and Pacey...are..."

"We are," Joey replies, wiping her eyes. Bessie's mouth hangs open; she is stunned beyond belief.

"Pacey Witter has a girlfriend," she finally says, after a few minutes of complete silence. Joey doesn't reply. "Pacey *has* a girlfriend, Joey. The two of you can't be having sex, he has a-" Joey jumps up, annoyed.

"I know he has a girlfriend, Bessie! I am painfully aware of that fact! You don't need to remind me."

"I can't believe you, Joey! I thought you had more sense than that. *Pacey Witter!* *God*! Could you *be* any more stupid? You saw what happened with Bodie and I - you live with the consequences of it everyday, do you remember him? Alex? How could you take those risks when-"

"It was a risk I was willing to take!"

"Why in hell would do this, Joey?"

"Because I love him!" Joey yells, throwing her journal onto her bed. Bessie rolls her eyes.

"No you don't. You don't know what love is, Jo," Bessie scoffs.

"You might not think I do, Bessie, but I know what love is. And I feel it for Pacey. I live every second of every day just waiting to see him, to hear his voice, to feel the way he makes me feel-"

"It's *lust*!" She grabs the journal off of Joey's bed and flips the pages in front of Joey's face. "Everything in here! It's lust, Joey. Attraction, infatuation! It's all hormones!"

"Don't say that!" Joey exclaims, and steals the book from Bessie's hands. Her tears are flowing freely now, she is unable to stop them from coming. "You have *no* idea what Pacey and I share, Bessie. No idea."

"I know more about it than you think."

"Just because you *completely* invaded my privacy and read my own* diary* doesn't mean you know everything, Bessie. And what gives you the right?" Joey's voice rises higher. "Why did you even do it? Who said that you could just come into my room and look through me things, read my journal? My life is *none* of your business, and you don't have any right to tell me what my relationship with Pacey is really about."

"I snooped because I was worried about you! And I see now that I haven't been worrying nearly enough. I had no idea any of this was going on!" Joey goes to her closet and starts tearing her school stuff out of her backpack and replacing it with clothes and various other things. "What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving! I can't stay here another instant."

"You aren't going anywhere, young lady!"

"I can go wherever the hell I want to."

"No you can't!" Bessie yells back, trying to grab Joey's bag from her. Joey tugs harder, determined to get as far away from her sister as she can. She rips her bag away and hastily begins shoving more things into it. Bessie runs her hands through her hair, exasperated. "Joey, you don't understand. This is serious."

"I am fully aware of it's seriousness, Bessie, believe me. I'm not an ignorant teenager."

"I'm not saying that, Joey..." Bessie takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "I didn't mean to get so angry, I just..."

"Just went through all my stuff and didn't like what you found," Joey supplies, smirking unhappily. Bessie sighs.

"I just don't want to see you make the same mistakes that I made, Joey...I realize that you think you love him now...but you're 16, Jo. I know that Pacey probably makes you feel wonderful and loved, and believe me, I know that sex is a great experience...but it's not an experience that you should be having right now. You're too young."

"Just because Pacey and I are having sex doesn't mean that I'm going to turn my life into a complete waste like you did. I'm not a skank like you," Joey says bitingly, and regrets it the instant the words leave her mouth. Bessie's hand connects with the side of Joey's face, leaving her cheek stinging. Joey's hand goes to her injury, stunned. Bessie had never hit her like that since they were little kids.

"How dare you," Bessie's voice is low, seething with anger. "How dare you say such things to me? Bodie is the only man I've ever been with and the only man I've ever loved - if anyone is a *slut*, it's you, *Josephine*." Joey doesn't move, her hand still touching her face gingerly. "What you and Pacey are doing is *wrong*. You're only going to end up ruining your lives and the lives of the innocent people around you, like Andie and Jack. Don't you know that?" Joey finally looks at her sister, tears running down her cheeks.

"All I know is that I love him, Bessie. I don't know how, why or when it happened but I love him. I know that much," Joey whispers, and picks her backpack up off of the ground. She moves past her sister quickly and then runs out of the house, wanting to escape. Bessie doesn't make a move to stop her, but instead just stands there, alone, in Joey's bedroom.

Joey lets the front screen door slam behind her as she races out into the cold night. The November sky is already dark, stars beginning to shine. Joey doesn't know where to go or what to do; a loud sob escapes her throat as she pauses momentarily on the front porch. Trying to force herself to stop crying, Joey brushes tears from her eyes and takes a deep breath, then looks around her front yard. Clutching the strap of her backpack tightly with both her hands, she sniffles slightly and then makes her way down the porch steps, heading toward the only person in the world who she wants to see.

Andie and Pacey walk along the streets of Capeside toward Pacey's house, neither of them speaking much. There doesn't seem to be anything to say, which is so unusual and strange to both of them that they don't know what to make of it. Andie glances at Pacey again and again, wishing that he would take his hands out of his pockets to take her hand in his own, but he doesn't even seem to realize she is even walking beside him.

"Pacey?" she asks, timidly. He looks at her, startled out of his reverie. "You okay?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"No reason. It's just you're being awfully quiet. You've said like, two words since we left the school. Is something bothering you?"

"Nope. Nothing's bothering me," Pacey replies shortly. "You haven't been the usual chatterbox yourself, either. I guess there's just nothing to talk about today." He shrugs, looking down at his feet as he walks. "Didn't anything interesting happen at work?"

"Not really," Andie mumbles. The tension in the air was unbearable. "He must know something, he must've found out somehow," Andie's mind races a mile a minute, trying to figure out how Pacey could know about her and Dawson. "He couldn't, could he?" She didn't see how. "Didn't anything good happen while you were hanging with Joey?" A laugh escapes Pacey's lips before he can stop it, and Andie looks at him strangely. Quickly he tries to cover it up with a cough.

"What was that for?" Andie asks. Pacey just shrugs and goes on as if it never happened.

"Well, you know me and Joey. We slung insults at one another, but restrained ourselves from throwing punches. The usual deal. But we did get the lab done and we did manage to have a degree of civility to our actions, so I suppose overall it was a successful night." Pacey tells her. Andie nods slightly, and then stops walking, pointing across the street to where Jack and Jen are exiting a restaurant.

"Hey, there's Jack and Jen," she says, and grabs Pacey's hand, dragging him across the road toward their friends. She waves to her brother and Jen, smiling widely. They both smile back as she and Pacey approach. "Hey, guys! What's up?"

"Nothing much," Jack replies. "We're just waiting for Dawson - he ran into one of his friends from film class and stopped to talk." Andie looks toward the restaurant door, momentarily stumbling over her words.

"Dawson? Dawson..." Andie starts twice before she finds a usable sentence. "Dawson is with you?" She turns from Jack to Jen.

"Yeah," Jen replies. "We're out celebrating his win at the film festival."

"And I'm just tagging along," Jack adds, laughing lightly.

"Well at least you're smiling - I was beginning to forget what it looked like," his sister tells him with a smile of her own. Her smile quickly fades when Dawson comes out the door and sees her. He looks as awkward as she feels; Pacey gives Dawson a small wave as he slowly walks over to them.

"This is just freakin' great..." Dawson mutters under his breath as he glances at Andie, taking his place beside Jen. "Hi, you two...how was your night?" Dawson inquires, purposely evading looking at Andie again, making sure to keep his eyes just on Pacey. Andie, however, is trying her hardest not to look at him either, fidgeting nervously. Jen doesn't notice this, but Jack does and looks at Andie questioningly. She just turns away.

"My night was fine," Pacey says. "I finished my lab and met up with Andie afterward. We've been walking around this boring excuse for a town for what seems like an eternity, how about you?"

"Uh...work, dinner, now I'm going to the movies. You two wanna come?" Dawson asks out of politeness.

"Yeah, that would be great," Jack says to Andie and Pacey, smiling. "Then I won't be the third wheel anymore." Jen punches him in the shoulder with a small giggle.

"Oh, you shut up with that stuff, McPhee, you are not the third wheel."

"I think we'll pass," Andie replies, and Pacey looks at her, surprised.

"We will?"

"Oh. Well, you can go, if you want to, but I'm feeling a little tired. I think I'm just gonna head home." She steals a look at Dawson, who looks relieved and disappointed at the same time. Pacey shrugs.

"I'm pretty exhauasted myself, actually, so I'm gonna take your cue, Andie. Sorry guys," Pacey says to his three friends, looking somewhat apologetic, but not really. The thought of spending an evening with Andie after what had happened in the lab between Joey and himself was not an appealing situation. "I'm sure you'll have a *smashing* time without us," he continues, smiling.

"Oh I'm sure it'll be quite smashing," Dawson replies, taking Jen's hand. His heart starts to beat more slowly and easily as Andie and Pacey begin to walk away, his guilty conscience subsiding. "We'll see you both tomorrow."

"Yep, see ya," Andie says quickly, waving good-bye. Jen turns to Dawson as Pacey and Andie disappear around the corner.

"Too bad they couldn't hang with us."

"Yeah, too bad," Dawson replies. The pair starts to walk toward the movie theater, but Jack doesn't follow right away. He looks in the direction his sister had went, pondering something. Jen stops when she realizes Jack isn't with them.

"Jack, you coming?" She calls. Jack shakes himself out of his reverie and quickly catches up with them.

"Yeah, sorry," he mumbles, forcing a smile.

Abby watches happily as the last piece of paper slides out of the printer. She takes the stack and eyes the fliers she has created, smiling as she hands one to Chris' waiting hands.

"This is going to be absolutely fabulous," she remarks, eyeing her work. "Just fabulous."

"What makes you think they'll come?" Chris asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, they'll come, believe me. Everyone will come," Abby replies. "And nothing may happen...in fact, I doubt it will...but as we all know parties are definitely the place to dig for clues. Pacey and Joey are bound to pull each other aside to talk at one point, it's such a cliché but it always happens- and I've just got to make sure and 'overhear' them. I mean, I can't simply follow them around with a camera, Chris. I've got to know ahead of time what they're planning on doing, where they're meeting..."

"I think following them around would be easier and more time-effective," he smirks, tossing the flier onto the floor. "Despite what you want to make it out be to be, Abby, this is not investigative reporting...it's more along the lines of dive-bombing, paparazzi style tabloid journalism here. You've got to go after every inch here and pull out all the stops. And if that means getting your hands down in the dirt, so be it. You'll track them everywhere they go." Abby picks the party invitation off the floor and sets it back on the stack with an angry, forced grin.

"Tell you what, Chris, why don't you just stick to your end of the bargain, huh? I'll get the footage my way, and trust me, I *will* get it. I don't need your input, I know exactly what I'm doing," she opens her bedroom door, pointing the way out. "I've been doing this a lot longer than you have, Wolfe, so best leave the real work for the professional. You know your way out." Chris gets up from his chair with a grunt, not affected in the slightest bit by her speech.

"You gotta chase, Abby. Go after them, don't wait for them to come to you. It never works," he says lowly into her ear, moving extremely close to her. Abby is silent for a minute, unwillingly aroused by his body pressed against hers. Annoyed with herself, she takes a deep breath and pushes him off, pretending he didn't get to her at all.

"Don't tell me what works and what doesn't. I said I'll get this done my own way and I will," she gives him a push out into the hall. "Now, good-bye." Chris grins derisively as Abby closes her bedroom door, knowing full well that he had just made new headway with Abigail Morgan. And he had no intention of stopping until Abby realizes exactly what's she's been missing.

"Thanks for being so great to Jack, tonight, Dawson. It was unbelievable," Jen says sincerely, ruffling her hand through her boyfriend's hair affectionately. She smiles down at him as she stands above him on her porch step.

"Well, I've been there before, I sympathize," Dawson shrugs. "Besides, it's not like I hate the guy. The only reason I disliked him in the first place was because he took Joey away from me. That doesn't seem like that big of a deal now," he grins. "I've got better things to do with my time than to hold useless grudges over things that don't matter." Jen responds by giving Dawson a light kiss on the lips - almost immediately the front lights come on. Dawson laughs. "Speaking of useless grudges...when did your Grams start hating me so much and why?" They both chuckle, and Jen glances toward the living room window. The curtains fall closed as her grandmother ducks out of view.

"Probably as soon as I started kissing you like this," Jen replies, and kisses Dawson again, longer and more thoroughly. "Besides," she continues, "Could you imagine a world without Grams watching us from the window? It's almost tradition now." The front door opens, and Grams looks at her granddaughter sternly.

"Jennifer, you should really come inside, it's getting late."

"Grams, it's nine o'clock," Jen says, looking at her watch. Grams just holds the door open and gestures for Jen to come in.

"Yes, and it's a school night." Jen nods reluctantly, but doesn't move. "Jennifer..."

"I'll be in just one minute, Grams, I promise," she states, and Mrs. Ryan sighs and goes back inside. Jen turns to Dawson and rolls her eyes.

"Some traditions should be broken, I think," Dawson remarks. Jen agrees readily.

"Yes, you may be right." Laughing lightly, she kisses him on the cheek and opens the door. "I'll see you tomorrow in school?"

"You bet." He squeezes her hand and she goes inside the house. "Good-bye."

"Bye, Dawson." The door closes, and Dawson turns and heads across the lawn toward his own house. Sighing deeply, he glances back toward the Ryan home and shakes his head.

"Andie's right, I've got a great girl right there to be with," Dawson tells himself, but can't help but let his mind wander back to his and Andie's kisses, the kisses he had promised to forget. He takes the ladder up to his room, trying hard to force all thoughts of Andie away. Stepping through his window and into his bedroom, Dawson stops in his tracks, seeing a familiar figure sitting on his bed.

"Andie."

Pacey steps into his bedroom with an exhausted sigh and turns on the light. Tossing his backpack onto the floor, he shuts his bedroom door and locks it, hearing his father and Doug talking about something down the hallway in the kitchen. He flops onto his bed, closing his eyes tightly, reliving the earlier moments of the day. Just thinking about it, his whole body went crazy with longing.

Suddenly he sits up, hearing a thumping noise by his open window.

"Joey?" he exclaims in disbelief. She crawls into his room, her wet tears glistening down her cheeks. She's a complete mess, her hair tangled and her soft face streaked with tears. Pacey rushes to her in concern, immediately taking her in his arms. "Jo? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I've been walking around Capeside forever," she says, her voice weak. She had been anxiously awaiting for him to arrive home, wanting so desperately for him to tell her everything would work out...even though she knew it wouldn't be the truth. "I kept coming by here to see if your light was on, I didn't want to go to the front door and face your family...looking like this, acting like..." Joey breaks down crying again, collapsing against Pacey's wide chest. Pacey brushes his fingers through her hair, trying to pull it out of her face. She eventually looks up at him, trying to stop the tears from coming. She finds solace in his loving gaze and warmth in his embrace, too upset to answer his worried questions.

"What's going on?" he asks, his voice filled with emotion. She's beginning to scare him. "What happened? Did something happen to you?" Joey remains quiet, holding him close and not wanting to let him go. "Joey, please...tell me what's going on!"

"She knows."

"Who knows? Who knows what?" Pacey's confusion only adds to his concern, and he holds her even tighter.

"Bessie. She read my journal. She knows everything. About us. About us being together, sleeping together, everything," Joey explains, her voice so choked with sobs that it's hard to understand. "Everything, Pacey, do you understand? It's over. She'll never let me see you again. She's sure to tell Andie or someone, I just know it." Pacey pulls back from Joey, scarcely believing what he's hearing.

"Bessie knows?" he repeats, still fully registering the concept.

"Pacey, I'm so afraid. I'm afraid of what's going to happen. I can't go back and face her, I can't. I said...I said...I said these terrible things to her...she slapped me," Joey's hand unconsciously goes to her face where her sister's hand had left a stinging red mark. Pacey runs his hand over it, brushing her tears away. "She's never...I just...I don't know what to do, Pace."

"Shhhh," Pacey tells her, taking her and pulling her close once more. He rubs her back, rocking her ever so gently and comfortingly as she continues to cry. "It'll be all right. We'll think of something, it'll be okay."

"Will it?" she asks, meekly. It was un-nerving, for Pacey, to see Joey so upset and weak; he knows he has to be the strong one tonight. He kisses her forehead, and then stands up.

"It will. Stay here tonight...we'll figure out what to do in the morning, all right?" He goes to his dresser and opens up the top drawer, pulling out a pair of his boxers, then opens up another, taking out a dress shirt. He hands them to her gently and then takes some of the junk he has on his floor and stuffs it in the closet. Joey looks at him, unsure. Pacey nods reassuringly. "It's gonna be okay, I promise."

"How do you know?"

"I just know. Everything will work out fine."

Joey undresses and redresses slowly as Pacey shuts the windows and closes the drapes, her tears subsiding into sniffles. Taking his brush from his dresser top, Pacey runs it through her long brown hair a couple of times and then kisses her cheek lovingly. Taking her hand, he leads her to his bed, and they climb under the covers together. Joey smiles slightly as they nestle close together, his arms wrapped around her waist. Just being near him made the world seem right again. She sighs, tired but content. The events of the evening had drained her completely of all her energy, and she falls right to sleep.

"Jo?" Pacey asks, softly. When there is no reply, he peers over her shoulder and realizes she's fast asleep. With a smile, he kisses her neck lightly and then snuggles closer. "Night, Jo," he murmurs, closing his eyes. He slept the most peaceful night he had in a long time, just knowing that Joey was laying in his arms.

"Andie?" Dawson repeats again, louder. His disbelief is clear in his voice, and one look at his face makes Andie think she definitely made the wrong choice. She jumps up off his bed and goes to the window hurriedly.

"Oh, I knew this was a bad idea! I'm going. I am going," Andie goes to step out the window but Dawson stops her.

"But how...how...I mean, I obviously know how," he stutters, gesturing to the window. "But why?" Andie looks at him, her eyes carrying heavy emotion.

"I just...I needed to talk to you," she says. "About the..."

"Right..."

"See, the thing is...I know we said that we would kind of pretend it never happened, but I'm having a little trouble getting past it. Okay, maybe not a little, a lot. A whole lot. And it's not something that I'm proud of because I never thought I'd be the kind of person who would do something like this, ever. I don't think of myself as someone who would possibly even consider sneaking around her boyfriend's back with his best friend, because...because that's just outright wrong. And I'm not asking you to consider it either, really I'm not. I just was wondering if you possibly were having as hard of a time as I am having when it comes to pretending we're not attracted to one another." She finally stops rambling and waits for Dawson to answer.

"No," Dawson replies. Andie is clearly hurt by this, and her mouth curls into a frown.

"No. No? All right. Well...yeah, that's okay. That's fine...I mean, I understand why. I'm probably just feeling this way because Pacey and I have sort of been in this rocky stage, you know? We both got a lot to deal with at a very early stage in our relationship, and it's hard for us to deal with. But you, with Jen...I mean, Jen's great to you. She adores you. You two just have the typical teenage relationship deal going on, so I can see why you wouldn't be so eager to set all that aside. We're in completely different situations, you and I, and-"

"Andie," Dawson interrupts, laughing. "You didn't let me finish." Andie stops, sheepish, and clicks her heels together with a small giggle.

"Oh. Sorry. You were going to say?"

"I was going to say...that I'm having an even harder time than you pretending that we're not attracted to one another. I'm going insane."

"Oh," Andie grins slightly, feeling even more stupid. "So all that junk I just said about you and Jen? You can disregard it."

"Yes, I can," Dawson smiles, taking a step toward her. Andie looks around his room, lacking direction and the words to say.

"So...what do we do now? I want you, you want me, we're both seeing someone else. I...well, do you want me to break up with Pacey? Because if I did, I couldn't lie to him, you know. I'd owe him the truth. And then your entire friendship would be shot to hell. And I don't know if I want that hanging over my head. And you and Jen? Jen...she's a sweetheart. I'd really rather prefer for her not to hate me, you know?"

"We've pondered our options many times before this, Andie, and each time we come to the same conclusion...that we can't do this."

"Which means...that I really shouldn't be here right now," Andie says guiltily, grimacing.

"But you are here," Dawson states. "You're here, and I'm here...and we're both clearly not able to stick to our own decisions," he continues, shrugging a little. "I don't know what that means, exactly, but I do know that even though our minds know it's wrong, our hearts just don't give a damn." They smile at one another for a moment, and then Andie moves close to him, bridging the gap.

"I'm willing to make a mess of things, Dawson," she murmurs. Dawson nods in return, and presses his lips to hers gently. "You up for it?"

"I'm up for it," he replies, and wraps his arms around her back, kissing her more deeply.

"Dawson, hey!" Pacey greets his friend, trying to act as happy as possible. Dawson turns quickly, almost jumping out of his skin at hearing Pacey's voice. He turns pale, temporarily looking away as he tries to act normal.

"Pacey...hi," Dawson stammers, forcing a smile. Pacey looks at him strangely.

"You okay, man?" Pacey inquires, his mind immediately jumping to the worst of conclusions, thinking maybe Dawson had found out him and Joey. Dawson shakes his head in return, shrugging a little.

"I'm fine, I'm just really tired. I really didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Me neither," Pacey says. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

"I don't know...things on my mind, I guess. You?"

"Same."

"So...um, what else is new?" Dawson asks awkwardly, watching Pacey nervously as he opens his locker.

"Nothing, really."

"How did the whole lab thing go with Joey?"

"Fine, fine," Pacey replies hurriedly.

"No bloodshed, then, I assume? You and Joey were actually civil to one another for an extended period of time?"

"Joey and I are always civil to one another," Pacey retorts. "Just because we snipe at each other doesn't mean that we hate one another."

"Just checking...I mean, I just thought that you were trying to make a conscious effort to make things right between you and her," Dawson says.

"Look, Dawson...I know that you've been dying to know the little details of what's going on with mine and Joey's friendship, so let me just tell you. Joey and I had a fight, we made up, we're back to how we used to be. This *is* our friendship...sarcastic banter, insults, it's who we are. We're not going to go crazy and kill each other, I promise," Pacey blurts out, just wanting Dawson to stop inquiring after how his friendship with Joey is coming along. The last he needed was to have another person shove him in Joey's direction, oblivious to the fact that he and Joey needed absolutely no one to do that for them. The guilt of having Dawson, of all people, in addition to Andie, nag the two of them about being better friends, was almost too much to handle. "So stop trying to push me toward her all the time, thinking that our friendship can somehow magically turn into a friendship likes yours and hers. It's sweet of you to wish that, really, but it ain't gonna happen." Dawson sighs, leaning against the lockers.

"A friendship like hers and mine, huh? She and I barely have a relationship, Pace. We said we'd try to get things back on track with us, but neither of us have really done anything about that yet."

"So why don't you do something? It's not as if she lives a million miles away," Pacey says, shutting his locker and turning to his friend.

"Yeah, I know. It's just so hard to get things back to the way they used to be. I mean, it shouldn't be, because, you know, I have Jen and we've both moved on with our lives. But even though we're not romantically involved anymore, it's difficult to just have her crawl through the window and plop on my bed for movie night. Things aren't the same...they aren't that simple. There's like, some kind of wall between us. And not even just between us. Between her and everyone..."

"What do you mean?" Pacey asks, suddenly interested in his friend's whining.

"I mean that Joey's been withdrawn, you know? Who does she have to talk to anymore? She doesn't have me, she doesn't have Jack...she's not really that close to Jen or Andie...and it's certainly clear that you and her aren't comfortable sharing things with one another." Pacey almost laughs at this, but stops himself. "I feel like I have no idea what's even going on in her life right now, I don't even know where to begin. Bessie called my house last night looking for her, and it was so strange to actually tell her Joey wasn't there. Joey's *always* been there." He stops and looks at Pacey, just wishing to himself that things could go back to their former simplicity. He couldn't even tell Pacey half of what's bugging him, and it made him feel so strange; by getting involved with Andie, he's betraying everyone - Pacey, Jen, maybe even Joey, and therefore taking away every person that he could possibly confide his torments and troubles to.

"Hey, guys, Abby's having this wild thing at her house tonight," Chris Wolfe rudely interrupts them, not even thinking they could've possibly been in the middle of something. He hands Pacey and Dawson fliers. "Everyone is going to be there, it's going to be totally beyond."

"A party at Abby Morgan's house? I think not, Wolfe."

"Suit yourselves, but all your fine young women are going to be there."

"What?"

"Yeah, Abby already talked to your little girlfriends, they said they would definitely be there."

"Andie said that?" Pacey asks, not believing him. Chris just nods with a wink.

"Yes, Andie said she "wouldn't miss it", yeah, I think those were her exact words. Abby apparently had some convincing argument. But the fliers are going out to everyone in the school except freshmen, so if you're not there, you're missing out on the biggest bash of the year," Chris tells them, and walks away, knowing that he had roped them in. Pacey and Dawson look down at the papers in their hands skeptically.

"A party."

"At Abby's house."

"Somehow I don't see how this could possibly be any fun."

"You think Andie and Jen really want to go to this thing?" Pacey is bewildered by the concept. "Because if they're really honestly going to this thing, I'll go. But if they're not, there's no way in hell that I'd be caught dead there."

"Well, I don't know," Dawson replies. "All of us rarely ever see each other anymore, to really hang out and do stuff that normal friends do. It could be fun."

"Fun? And Abby Morgan? The two can not co-exist in the same world, Dawson." Dawson shakes his head.

"Let's just see if they're going to go before we close our minds to the idea, okay?" Abby's party, to him, sounded like a good idea. The recent detour that his life had taken made him feel like he was an alien in his own world. He craved the settled, scripted life that he had led up until a short while ago, long before he had ever kissed Andie McPhee and turned his life upside down. Maybe letting go and just hanging with his friends for a night at a stupid party would be the exact remedy he needs. He stops himself - why in the world would he walk right into the dragon's lair? A party at Abby's could only lead to disaster.

"Abby, what do you want?" Joey blurts out angrily as Abby invites herself to sit down at their table in the library. Abby just smirks at Joey and sets three fliers on the table.

"Now, Joey, that's not very nice. Here I am, taking the time out of my busy day to stop to talk to unfortunate groundlings of this school such as yourselves, and that's the greeting I get? And all I wanted to do was invite you all to my party...I am truly and deeply hurt." Abby laughs slightly and turns to Jen and Andie. "It's going to be the biggest party this school has ever seen. My mom's out of town and my cousin is getting the booze for me."

"That's hardly incentive, Abby," Andie says, shaking her head.

"Well, maybe not for a straight-laced goody two shoes like you, but maybe Jen here might find it enticing. We all know you like your alcohol, Miss Lindley." Jen shoots Abby an angry glare.

"If this is your plan for getting people to come to your party, Abby, I sincerely think that you should re-think your strategy."

"I don't *need* a *strategy* to get people to party at my place. I'm popular, remember? I know it's a foreign concept to lowlifes like you, but I don't need to beg people to hang with *me*."

"Then what do you call what you're doing now?" Joey asks, snottily. Abby rolls her eyes.

"This is merely spreading the word to people who would never hear it otherwise," Abby replies. "Besides, I figured that since Dawson and Pacey are going, you would be jumping for a chance to go."

"Dawson and Pacey are going? Since when?"

"Chris Wolfe already talked to them. I figured I might as well invite you guys - the more, the merrier, right?" Abby winks at Jen, who knows that Abby is hinting at Jen's almost threesome with Chris and his friend, and is so disgusted that she almost gets up and leaves.

"I don't think Dawson and Pacey would really go to your party, Abby, and I don't think we'll be going either," Joey says harshly, and Abby shrugs, unaffected.

"All right, suit yourselves...but don't come crying to me when you're all alone on Friday night," she gets up and saunters off, leaving the three friends to think about it. Joey, Jen, and Andie look at one another, not sure if swearing off Abby's party was really the right idea.

"Abby is a jerk," Jen says, reassuring themselves of their decision. They all nod, but none of them look entirely convinced. Trying to forget it, Andie goes back to her studying, and Joey follows her example. She opens up her notebook, trying to forget Abby, and is surprised to have a folded up piece of paper fall into her lap. Picking it up, she opens it, and recognizing the handwriting, quickly folds it back up again and glances at Andie to see if she was watching. Luckily, she wasn't. But Jen was, and shoots Joey a look.

"What?" Joey mouths, and turns away defensively. Shoving Pacey's note into her pocket, she makes a mental note to read it as soon as she gets away from her friends.

"Mr. Gold?" Chris Wolfe steps into the film classroom, glancing at the various movie posters that decorate the walls. Psycho, Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Funny Girl. He looks at the last one strangely, finding it completely out of place. Mr. Gold looks up from his paperwork, and Chris walks toward his desk.

"May I help you?" Mr. Gold asks, not recognizing Chris, since he's not a film student. Chris extends his hand, and Mr. Gold shakes it.

"Yes, you can," Chris starts. "I'm Chris Wolfe...I don't take film class or anything...but I do know a lot about films and I like it."

"I'm sorry, Chris, but there's no openings in any of my classes-" Mr. Gold begins, assuming Chris is there vying for a spot in film class. Chris holds up his hand to stop him mid-sentence, smiling a little.

"Oh, no, that's not what I'm here for. I know you're very particular about who gets into your classes...in fact, I'm friends with one of your students, Dawson Leery. That's actually who I wanted to talk to you about," he explains, pulling up a chair across from Mr. Gold's desk. Mr. Gold looks interested and a bit confused.

"Dawson? What do you need to talk to me about?"

"It's just that he told me that you would be showing his film in class - the one from the Boston Film Festival."

"Yes, that's quite right. We're actually showing it during class a week from Friday. Did you want to sit in for a class so you could see it?" Mr. Gold offers kindly. Chris shakes his head no.

"No, no...I've actually seen it. It's great, isn't it?" He replies, smiling. Lying was getting to be too easy - he should write a book on how to do it masterfully, he could make millions.

"It's a fabulous piece of work for someone Dawson's age," the teacher agrees, nodding.

"That's why I wanted to talk to you about it. See, Dawson is the modest type, and he hasn't really even told anyone besides his close friends and family about his win."

"Um-hmm," Mr. Gold nods again, not sure where Chris is going.

"And I, being the more outrageous type, am here today to try and convince you to let the whole school see Dawson's movie. Dawson doesn't know that I'm doing this - I sort of wanted it to be my congratulatory surprise," he remarks. "It's not even my own idea, it's his friend, Joey's, idea, really. So I can't even take the credit for this."

"So you want me to show Dawson's movie to all the students here at Capeside High?"

"I honestly think that it would be a great thing to do. Give Dawson a chance to be in the spotlight for awhile, recognize his success. I also think it would be a great thing for school morale, like a chance for us all to get together and celebrate that our school is producing people like Dawson Leery," Chris's voice is overtly sincere, practically dripping with sappiness. Mr. Gold buys into it.

"Dawson Leery is lucky to have a friend who thinks so highly of him," Mr. Gold writes himself a note on a piece of paper, and grins. "I don't know if we could work something like that out, Chris, but I will make sure to at least run the idea past the principal, I promise."

"Really?" Chris asks. This had been much easier than he had expected.

"I'm not making any promises, but hopefully we will be able to get an assembly together, maybe devote a morning to watching Dawson's award-winner...I don't see why an hour out of the school day for something like this would make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. I'll see what I can do." Chris stands, shaking Mr. Gold's hand once more.

"Thank you, Mr. Gold, thank you very, very much. I really appreciate you taking the time to even consider this. It really means a lot to me."

"It's no problem. I'll make sure to let you know as soon as I talk to the principal. I'll have to run the idea by Dawson too, unless you want to do that." Chris shakes his head, a little too quickly.

"No, no...you should tell him. I don't want to him to know quite yet that I'm behind this whole thing - want it to be a surprise, you know?" Chris backs toward the door, eager to leave now that his work is done. "Thanks again, Mr. Gold."

"You're welcome, Chris. I'll keep you posted."

"Pacey! Wait up!" Joey shouts, running down the street to catch up with him. Pacey stops, turning around with a huge smile as he sees Joey coming toward him.

"Jo, hey!" He stops himself from kissing her hello, instead just sticking his hands in his pockets and smiling at her warmly.

"I got your note," she greets him, taking it out of her pocket to show him. "You write anything like this to me in school again, and we're bound to get caught, you know that?"

"You didn't like it?" He laughs.

"Did I like it? Of course I liked it," she replies sincerely. "Certainly cheered me up, considering how the last few days have been." She sighs, remembering that she would be seeing Bessie in a few minutes. She'd gone straight from Pacey's to school that morning; Pacey'd "borrowed" an outfit of one of his sister's for her to wear. Joey thinks of Bessie, knowing there's going to be hell to pay for running off like that the night before. Pacey senses her uneasiness and nudges her a little with his elbow, giving her a reassuring smile.

"It'll be okay, Joey. Bessie will calm down about all of this in a few days."

"I don't know...Bessie's not usually one to calm down," Joey replies, shaking her head. "I have a feeling I'm going to be continually punished for this for years to come." They turn down the dirt road leading down to the creek and Joey's house, Joey's apprehension growing with every step. As they near her small house, Bessie becomes visible, standing on the front porch with her arms crossed, a tight frown creased across her face. Joey stops in her tracks, and turns to Pacey. "Maybe we better just say good-bye here. You get any closer to Bessie and there might be bloodshed." Pacey nods, understanding.

"Call me later, all right? We can meet somewhere..." Pacey says softly, giving her hand a tiny, discreet squeeze, trying to comfort her. She forces a small smile, glancing toward her older sister.

"I will, I promise," Joey turns and walks toward her house, giving Pacey a small wave good-bye.

"Bye," Pacey murmurs, and slowly walks back down the road toward town. He glances back once, only to see Bessie start yelling furiously at Joey the moment she walks up the front porch steps.

"I don't understand," Jen cries out, frustrated. Dawson looks at her, unable to comfort her at all, since he's equally exasperated.

"It's just too confusing," Dawson mumbles, closing his math book.

"I don't understand how they expect us to understand how to do this," she groans, shoving her own math book off the edge of Dawson's bed, along with her pencil, calculator, notebook, and worn down eraser. They clatter to the floor loudly, some papers flying out of her notebook. "Is it just me or is geometry devil incarnate? It has to have been invented right in hell." Dawson gets up from his desk chair and plops next to her on the bed.

"School is the seventh circle of hell, no doubt about it," Dawson agrees. He lays back on his pillows, and pulls Jen back with him. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he smiles contentedly as she nestles close to him, resting her head on his chest. He breathes in the wonderful scent of her short blond hair; it smelled like roses. His fingers absentmindedly run through her golden locks as his mind begins to wander. How could he be so happy with her, and yet be so happy with Andie too? Was it possible to like two people at once?

"I'm so exhausted," Jen murmurs, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "I vote for taking a nap before finishing the math homework." Dawson lifts his head to look down at her, a teasing look in his eyes.

"A nap?"

"Yes, a nap," she mumbles, closing her eyes. "I'm tired beyond belief." Jen lets out a small, cute sigh and snuggles closer to her boyfriend. Within minutes she's fast asleep. Dawson shifts slightly, trying to get comfortable, and almost cries out in pain as something sharp digs into his back. Sliding his hand between his body and his bed, his fingers find a small hair clip, and Dawson looks at it oddly. Then he realizes where it came from, and quickly sets it down on the night table, glancing down at Jen to make sure she was still asleep. The clip was Andie's...it must've fallen out the night before while they were making out on his bed. It had been crazy, both of them saying how wrong it was to be kissing one another yet not stopping themselves from doing it. All of a sudden, Dawson had a headache. What was he doing? To Jen? To Andie?

All of a sudden his phone rings, scaring him out of his wits. Jen stirs slightly, but doesn't wake. Carefully, he unwraps himself from around her and sits up, picking up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dawson?"

"Andie. Andie...um, hi...what's up?"

"A lot is up, actually. I mean, we have to talk. About last night."

"Yeah, we do...but-"

"We have to decide what we're going to do and stick with it, Dawson. This is just too much for me to handle."

"Andie, it's been stressing me out too, I know how you feel."

"No you don't, Dawson," Andie replies, a bit harshly. She immediately repents. "Sorry, sorry...I just...too much stress, Dawson...I can't handle it like other people. It makes me weird out."

"Weird out, how?"

"Dawson..." Andie clearly doesn't want to elaborate, but Dawson remains silent, letting her know that he wants the truth and he wants it straight. "Fine...When I got home from school today, I had an anxiety attack. I've only had one once before, but I'm pretty sure that ...Anyway, I just can't...I can't do this. This is too much for me to take in all at once. I told you I was "up for it", but I was totally, *completely* wrong in that assumption."

"Andie, I'm sorry that you-"

"Don't be sorry," Andie interrupts. "It's not your fault I had an attack, no one can control that. All I'm saying is...I don't want to be the other woman. And you shouldn't be the other man. If you want us to have a relationship, we have to make clean breaks, Dawson, it's a simple fact."

"It's a simple fact, Andie, but not a simple decision, you know that."

"It's not an easy choice, you're right. But it's a choice that has to be made," Andie says. Dawson can tell that Andie had clearly given thought to what she was going to say before she made the call. "So who's it going to be, Dawson? Jen or me?" Andie's voice wavers as she asks the question, trying to remain strong and determined. Dawson doesn't answer.

Turning from the phone, he looks at Jen, who is still sleeping silently on his bed, looking like an innocent child. He closes his eyes, thinking hard, and turns back to the phone with a sigh. His eyes fall on his framed photo of Pacey, himself, and Joey on the docks, the summer before ninth grade. He studies Pacey's face in the photograph, his heart tearing him in two different directions.

"Andie...this isn't the best time for this right now..." he says, his voice cracking a little. This time, Andie doesn't respond. The line is filled with dead air for a few moments as neither of them speak. "It's not that I don't..."

"Fine, Dawson. Fine. I'll...I'll talk to you later." Andie hangs up before he can say anything else, upset. She stares at her telephone for a second, letting her hand rest on the receiver as if she's frozen in time. Finally breaking herself from her maddening thoughts, she goes to her bathroom and opens up the medicine cabinet. She surveys all the different bottles, the different prescriptions, that stand inside on the shelves, and a small tear runs down her cheek. "I don't need to go down that road again," she mumbles to herself, and shuts the cabinet door and returns to her bedroom.

Joey sits silently on the hard, rocky ground, shivering in the night air. Suddenly something warm envelops her, and she smiles widely, twisting to look up and see Pacey's familiar face.

"Hey there, jail bait," he murmurs in her ear, kissing her neck lightly. "I'm glad you called."

"I'm glad you came," Joey replies, shifting to kiss him on the lips.

"How's Bessie?"

"Bessie...Bessie has forbade me to see you ever again," Joey says off-handedly, trying to make the statement seem trivial. Pacey pulls away from her.

"What?"

"Bessie made me promise to stay away from you. To tell you it was over between us, and to tell you to tell Andie the truth about us," Joey looks up at him, playing with his shirt collar. Pacey takes his hand and sets it over hers, lifting it away from him. His seriousness doesn't go unnoticed by Joey, who in turn frowns herself. "Pacey, I'm not going to listen to her. I told her I would do it, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her. I definitely won't be writing anything more in my journal about us, that's for sure."

"Jo...this will never work..." Pacey sighs.

"Yes it will. We will just have to be more secretive and creative, that's all," Joey informs him casually. Pacey gives her a strange look.

"You're being awfully calm and collected about all this, Joey, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I flipped out before you got here, I got it out of my system. Just because my sister is my guardian doesn't mean that she has the right to control what I feel or who I choose to be with. I, Joey Potter, control that, and no one is going to tell me anything different. I am my own woman, and I will see you whenever the hell I want to." Joey replies.

"Well then," Pacey smiles, finding Joey's self-determination cute. "She looks so sexy when she's angry," Pacey remarks inwardly, placing his hands on her hips and pressing her closer to him. She moves so she's sitting directly on his lap, her legs wrapped around his back, and kisses him fully on the lips.

"Well then," she repeats, kissing him again, sweetly and delicately. His arms snake around her, his hands resting intimately against the small of her back as her fingers run lightly through his hair. Instead of their usual passionate, frantic kisses that they shared in the past, this encounter felt different, to them both. His lips lingered on hers, moving slowly and deliberately, savoring each sweet kiss as if it were their very last. Her tongue danced with his, swirling against him as she delves deeper into the well of his mouth. Both their desires were building, but neither made any move to take things any further than they already were. They just continue to kiss each other thoroughly and at length, somehow feeling more intimate than ever.

The night before, as Joey lay in Pacey's arms, she came to the startling realization that being with him felt like the most simple, natural thing in the entire world. Nuzzled together in his bed, just listening to his soft rhythmic breathing as he slept, made her feel more warm, safe, and secure than she had felt in a long time. She loved the way her body just seemed to fit right in with his, the way he wrapped his arms around her waist and fell asleep with his chin resting on her shoulder, and the way he kissed her lovingly as soon as he woke up, as if he'd been doing that for years. The startling fact that he was Pacey Witter and she was Joey Potter had ceased to amaze her; she had always had trouble believing that she and Pacey were really having an affair together, it seemed too crazy to comprehend. Two months ago she would've never imagined herself to be clinging to Pacey passionately under the moonlight, never wanting to let him go. Now she couldn't imagine being with anyone else.

"Anything interesting happen yet?" Chris asks, joining Abby in her hiding place. She had followed Pacey to the Ruins earlier, calling Chris on her cell phone and telling him to meet her there. Abby shakes her head no.

"Not a thing. They've been kissing for an eternity, but nothing more."

"Aw, how sweet," Chris snidely remarks, annoyed. "Instead of screwing the brains out of one another, they're simply going to suck the air from each other's lungs. Has to be the one night I'm up front and center for a live show that they decide to tone things down to a PG-13 rating."

"Oh, shut up with your whining, Wolfe. You can still get your kicks from the rest of the Joey and Pacey sex collection, we're going to have more than enough footage. And I'm sure my party tomorrow night will provide even more." She turns her attention back to her two victims and lets out a frustrated sigh as Pacey and Joey pull away from one another, and settle into a comfortable embrace; then she has to stop herself from gagging as she watches Joey begin to point out star constellations to Pacey. Fed up, she turns off her camera and stands up slowly, being careful not to make any noise. "Come on, Chris, I've been out here long enough. They're playing cutesy couple in love tonight instead of lusty sex fiends. What a waste of a perfectly good evening." She and Chris begin to walk down the path and out of the Ruins when Chris steps on a twig, sending a loud snapping sound through the air, seemingly sounding twice as loud as it really did. Abby and Chris both freeze in their tracks.

Joey looks over her shoulder, hearing a sound, and then looks to Pacey. He heard it too.

"Do you think someone's coming?"

"Shh, just listen for a second," Joey whispers, and they both fall deadly silent, listening attentively for another sound. Nothing comes, but their peace has been broken.

"I don't hear anything."

"Maybe we were imagining things."

"Even if no one's there, we should probably leave, just to be safe." They both stand quickly, glancing around nervously. Abby and Chris hear them moving, and hurriedly leave the Ruins as fast as their feet can take them.

"Dawson?" Joey asks, surprised to see him on her front porch.

"Hello to you too," he laughs.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to walk to school with me," Dawson says, as Joey steps out of her house. She looks at him for a minute, as if she didn't quite hear what he said.

"Walk to school?" She repeats.

"Yeah, like we used to, you know?" Dawson takes a step inside her house and picks her backpack up off the floor by the door. "What do you say?" He hands it to her, and she smiles back at him.

"Sure," she replies, and they take a few steps down the stairs. They are stopped by Bessie's harsh voice.

"Where are you going?" Bessie inquires. Joey turns around, giving her sister a steely glare. Dawson picks up on the animosity between the two to of them immediately and takes another step away, not wanting to get in the middle of one of Bessie and Joey's fights. He's known Joey long enough to know better than that.

"I'm going to *school*, Bessie, you know, the place I go to five days a week?"

"Then why are you leaving so early?"

"It's only five minutes early," Joey rolls her eyes and turns to go. Bessie finally notices Dawson half-hiding behind the porch railing and smiles at him.

"Dawson! Hello! I didn't know you were here!" Dawson is taken aback by Bessie's sudden change of mood, and tentatively steps toward Bessie.

"Um, hi...I'm just walking with Joey to school," Dawson explains. Bessie looks thrilled with the idea.

"Oh, good! Good. You keep an eye on her, okay? Who knows what she'll be up to next," She says, and Joey has to stop herself from jumping up the steps and slapping her. Instead, she grabs Dawson's hand and pulls him away.

"Kay, we're leaving now."

"Bye, Bess!" Dawson calls back, as Joey drags him away. Bessie watches as her little sister and Dawson leave, tossing the towel she hand in her hands over her shoulder. She sighs, hoping against hope that Dawson Leery will keep Joey's thoughts away from Pacey. She could still barely believe that her sister had started dating Pacey behind everyone's back - was she really that clueless as to what was going on in Joey's life? The thought of what Joey had been doing with Pacey was enough to scare her out of her mind ; was she really that bad of a parent to Joey that Joey could have been having an affair with someone right under her very nose? Apparently so, and that was enough to make Bessie want to keep Joey as close to her as possible. The last thing she wanted her sister to be was some guy's mistress.

"Pacey Witter doesn't deserve Joey," Bessie mutters to herself. "Any guy who would cheat on his own girlfriend doesn't deserve anyone at all." Why couldn't Joey see that?

Joey glances back toward her sister, her temper boiling. Dawson laughs lightly at her, a bit comforted by the fact Joey and Bessie were still the same as ever, with their petty squabbles. At least one thing had remained unchanged.

"So, what was that all about?" He asks. Joey just shakes her head.

"You don't want to know," she snorts, looking down at the ground. Dawson gives her a questioning look.

"Yeah, I do," Dawson replies, nudging her a little. "Come on, you can tell me. What'd she do, steal one of your magazines again or something?" He chuckles, but Joey doesn't even acknowledge him.

"It's a bit more complicated than that, Dawson," Joey says, still looking away. "I really don't want to talk about it." She changes the subject quickly. "Where's Jen today?"

"Jen...Jen is at a doctor's appointment, she's coming to school late."

"Oh, so that's the real reason you wanted to walk to school with me today, huh?" Joey laughs, punching him in the shoulder.

"No," Dawson defends himself. "I wanted to walk to school with you because I miss you." His tone is so sincere that Joey stops walking for a second, looking at him.

"I miss you too."

"My life is so confused and messy right now, I can't even begin to tell you all that's going on. Everything is turned upside down and backwards..."

"I know what you mean," Joey agrees, nodding. "My life isn't exactly...normal right now either."

"I just want things to make sense again," Dawson tells her, as they continue to walk down the road. "Something is missing in my life ever since you left it. I keep leaving my window wide open all night long, hoping that sometime you'll just climb through, give me a smile, and plop back down on your half of the bed. But you never do."

"I know..." Joey sighs. "I've wanted to come over a bunch of times."

"Remember that time when you, me, Andie, and Pacey ate lunch in the park? And I asked you to come over for movie night?" Joey nods, remembering. She had called last minute and told him she couldn't come over ; it was the night after Pacey had told her he couldn't break up with Andie. In her room, being miserable, was the only place that she had wanted to be - there was no way she could've gone over and watch E.T. "Why did you decide not to come?"

"I don't know..." she sighs. "I had just broken up with Jack and I just didn't have the energy to spend an entire evening pretending that things weren't awkward between you and me, that it was just another movie night."

"But it was just another movie night. Look at the two of us now, are we awkward walking to school together? Awkward sitting in lunch together?" Dawson points out. "Things can get back to normal, I know it. We can transcend all of it, Joey. I just need my best friend back again, I feel lost without you."

"I feel the exact same way. There's been so many times when I've needed someone to confide in, and there's been no one there to talk to. There's Jen, but it's not the same, you know? She doesn't know me the way that you do."

"And no one knows me the way you do," Dawson replies. They walk along next to each other for a moment in contented silence for a moment, and then Dawson laughs a little and throws his arm around Joey's shoulder. "God, I've missed you. Best friends?"

"Of course we're best friends, Leery," Joey retorts, putting her own arm around him. "I don't think it's possible to have it any different. It'd be against nature!" She jokes. "And first thing you have to do as my best friend is..."

"What?" Dawson asks.

"Soon as we get to school, I have to see your math homework, I didn't get number 10," Joey says. Dawson, who had been expecting something more important than that, laughs at her and grabs her in a headlock, messing up her hair. She shrieks and pulls away from him, dashing ahead of him.

"Well, I'll give you number 10 if you give me numbers 20 through 25," Dawson replies. "I didn't understand those graph questions at all," he catches up with her, falling in step beside her as she runs her fingers through her hair, trying to straighten it out.

"The graph ones were the easiest!" Joey exclaims.

"Not for me, they weren't!" He ruffles his hand through her hair again teasingly, and Joey stops in her tracks as he continues to walk along.

"Dawson! Come on!" she whines, half annoyed but half happy, as she stops and takes her brush from her backpack, brushing it through her hair quickly and then running after him.

"Hey, Jen. I forgot to ask you before - how was your doctor's appointment?" Joey asks, as Jen sits down on the school steps, next to Dawson. They had waited for her after school, so they could all walk home together.

"It was fine, just the usual check-up," Jen says, shrugging. "Nothing major. I had to get some shot or something though. And I didn't get a lollipop afterward so I was really pissed off," she jokes. She looks between Joey and Dawson, and smiles. "You two look quite happy."

"We are," Dawson says. "We were actually just reminiscing about the good ol' days."

"The good ol' days?" Jen raises an eyebrow. "You're talking like you're fifty years old. What in particular are ya talking about?"

"My fifth birthday party, actually. My mom and dad hired this clown to come, and Joey was scared of him."

"I was not!" Joey says, but Dawson shakes his head.

"Yes you were. You tried to run away from him when he gave you a balloon."

"Liar."

"And then after we cut the cake, Joey took her piece of cake and threw it at Pacey. It got all over the carpet and my mom was furious," Dawson laughs good naturedly. "Man, you two were vicious toward one another, even more so than now. Do you remember when you punched Pacey in the stomach in the 2nd grade? He broke down crying, you hit him so hard."

"Yeah, I remember that," Joey says, a look passing over her face as the subject turns toward Pacey. She shifts a little, feeling awkward.

"I remember it like it was yesterday...he came walking out of the coatroom, and you came tearing after him, and just whopped him really hard. Why'd you do that, anyway?" Dawson asks, still laughing. Joey just shrugs.

"I don't remember," she lies. She remembered it just as well as Dawson did. Pacey had followed her into the coat room that day, after teasing her all morning long, pulling her hair and calling her names; he had kissed her quickly, and then ran out of the coat room. Which was promptly followed by the famous punch in the stomach. She forces a smile at Dawson, but her thoughts are now elsewhere.

"You and Pacey, always antagonizing each other," Jen looks at Joey. "Who would've thought that the two of you would ever become *friends* like you are now?" Her eyes meet Joey's, and Joey quickly turns away.

"So, you guys going to Abby's party tonight?" Joey says, seeing a flier on the ground and taking the opportunity to change the subject. Dawson and Jen both look at her simultaneously as if she's on drugs.

"What do you think?" Dawson asks, disbelieving. Jen then turns to Dawson, surprised by him.

"But Abby told me that you were going," Jen says, recalling the scene in the library earlier that week.

"I'm not going - Chris told me that *you* were going." Jen shakes her head no emphatically.

"Me? No way," she replies, not sounding very convincing. "I would never knowingly subject myself to any of Abby's tortures."

"She's throwing a party, you guys, not planning a plot to destroy us," Joey remarks, which causes another series of strange looks from her two friends. "What?" she asks, throwing up her hands. "It's not like I'm saying I like the girl, I'm just saying that we're being a little pre-emptive about deciding not to go to her party."

"Since when have you wanted to go to her party?" Jen wonders if someone has taken over Joey's body.

"I don't. I don't want to. I'm just saying that I don't think a party thrown at Abby's house necessarily means she's going to do something insane like have an animal sacrifice or turn us all into her disciples or something. Although, I wouldn't put that past someone like her," Joey laughs.

"Well, maybe you're right, Joey...maybe, in this really obvious way, it could be sort of fun. If we steer clear of the host, that is," Jen says, thinking Joey might have a good point.

"You're actually saying that we should consider going?" Dawson can't believe his ears. Jen shrugs, seeing Andie and Pacey walking out of school together.

"I don't know. Let's ask Andie and Pacey what they think," Jen stands up, and hurries to stop Andie and Pacey before they walk away. Andie pauses, seeing Jen running toward them. A million curses and swears run through her mind; of all people, why did Jen have to be the one to talk to her today? She unconsciously moves closer to Pacey - she'd been overcompensating all day long, showering Pacey with baby kisses and other loving gestures. Pacey had been very surprised by Andie's sudden burst of affection, but tried to take it in stride. "Hey, Andie! Pace!"

"Hi, Lindley," Pacey says, his voice growing a bit tight as Andie entwines her hand in his.

"So, tell me what you think of this," Jen begins, as Dawson and Joey get up and join their other three friends. "Joey, here, thinks that we should check out Abby's party, and I agree. Dawson thinks it's a dumb idea."

"I didn't say it was *dumb*," Dawson interjects.

"Abby's party? How did this topic come up?"

"It just...did," Joey replies, looking at Pacey for a moment, then glancing down at his and Andie's hands. "Does there have to be a reason?"

"When it comes to whether or not to attend the Queen of Mean's so-called 'party', there would have to be some *very* good reason to attend, I think," Pacey remarks. Joey just shrugs in return as Jen takes back the conversation.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I am definitely thinking about going." Dawson looks at his girlfriend, a little surprised.

"Two seconds ago you were saying there was no way you would go. Now you *want* to go?"

"That was before I knew Joey wanted to go - I wasn't going to be the first one to boldly admit I *want* to go to Abby's bash. But part of me does. And I bet part of all of you do too," Jen turns to Andie. "Andie, don't you think it could be fun?"

"I don't know...I guess...in this really obvious way it could be kind of fun. I suppose," Andie mumbles.

"That's exactly what I said!" Jen says, laughing. Andie forces a smile at Dawson's happy girlfriend, suddenly feeling as if she's going to be sick. She looks at Pacey, turning the question over to him. "Pacey, do you want to go?" Pacey looks from Andie, to Jen, to Joey, and then looks to Dawson as a last resort.

"I'll go if *Dawson* goes," Pacey says, hoping that his friend will do as expected and say he doesn't want to go.

"Come on, Dawson, what do you say?" Jen urges him, smiling at him. Dawson sighs, obviously torn in two different directions.

"You really want to go to this thing? Even you, Joey?" Dawson glances at his best friend, still finding it hard to believe that all his friends are really asking him to go along to Abby's house. Everyone nods.

"Yeah, I'll go if everyone else goes," Joey replies, and Dawson sighs again.

"Okay, fine...I'll go," he gives in, reluctantly, and Jen kisses him on the cheek.

"It'll be fun," Jen reassures everyone. "Who knows, maybe something interesting will happen for a change to brighten up our boring Capeside lives." Joey, Pacey, Dawson, and Andie all sigh inwardly, thinking that their lives can't take much more change.

"Where are you off to now? And why are you dressed like that?" Bessie inquires, practically jumping down Joey's throat as she walks into her sister's bedroom. Joey is standing in front of her mirror, dressed in an outfit that is a bit more risqué than her normal attire. She adjusts her red, deep v-necked top and fluffs her hair, then glances at her sister momentarily before turning her attention back to her reflection. "Are you wearing makeup?"

"Yes, I'm wearing makeup, Bessie. I'm going to a party."

"A party. And where might this party be? I don't think Pacey's bedroom qualifies as a party," Bessie snidely jabs, and Joey whirls around, angered.

"God, Bessie, what is the matter with you? I told you I stopped seeing Pacey, can't you trust that? What more do you want from me?" Joey lies through her teeth, too angry to think about the irony of her statement. There she was, trying to make her sister trust her, even as she spoke lies. "In case you've forgotten, I had deep feelings for Pacey, and it hasn't been easy for me to break it off with him. But not only do you have to keep stabbing at me for my relationship with him, you have to keep treating me like I'm some sort of dirty skank, questioning me whenever I leave the house, as if I'm going to go run off to Reno and get married or something. It's not fair to me!" Joey's voice had gradually grown louder as she continued to speak, and Bessie holds up her hand to stop her.

"Okay, okay, Joey..." Bessie says. "I get the point. But how do I know that I can trust you? Can you tell me that? What about all those times you called me, telling me you were staying at Dawson's, when you were really with Pacey? Pacey *has* a girlfriend, he doesn't need another. So get mad at me for not liking the idea of my own little sister being the other woman. Do you not remember all the pain that Mom went through when Dad cheated on her?" The mention of her mother almost drains the color from Joey's face. Suddenly Bessie's words had finally hit a nerve. "Don't you remember that at all? How it tore her up inside?"

"Yes, I remember," Joey says, very quietly. She looks down at the ground, ashamed.

"Then why would you go out and do that to someone? Your own friend? How can you live with yourself, knowing how wrong you are?"

"Bessie..."

"Isn't that what you hated about our father? Isn't that why you took such a long time to forgive him? Because he put Mom through such hell?"

"Yes."

"Then how could you turn around and supposedly love Pacey? He's doing the same thing to Andie McPhee that Dad did to Mom, and you're willingly a part of that." Joey picks up her purse from her bed, needing to leave. This was just too much for her. She walks past Bessie, making a beeline for the front door. Bessie follows her.

"I have to get out of here," Joey murmurs, opening up the screen door.

"You can't run away from it," Bessie says, her voice full of meaning. Joey stops, meeting her sister's gaze. "You can't hide from it. You're the other woman, Joey. How does that make you feel?" Bessie crosses her arms, letting the full impact of her words hit Joey. Joey is silent for a few moments, just staring back into her sister's eyes. Finally, she takes the step out the door and hurries toward the party awaiting a Abby Morgan's house, just wanting to forget the things Bessie had said. But she couldn't forget; she was exactly what Bessie said she was. The very things she had detested her father for, she was now the epitome of.

"Having fun yet?" Dawson asks Pacey and Andie as he grabs a can of pop from the cooler. The couple is taking a break from dancing, standing on the sidelines, watching everyone else dance for awhile.

"She made me dance, Dawson, how could I be having fun?" Pacey jests. Andie rolls her eyes.

"Him and his dancing..." she groans. "I've never heard someone protest over something so trivial."

"That's Pacey," Dawson says, opening his drink. "Have you guys seen Joey?"

"What about me?" Joey asks, hearing her name said over the loud music as she approaches her friends.

"Well, speak of the devil, here she is now," Pacey jokes. Instead of coming up with a witty reply, Joey just sort of looks at Pacey awkwardly, as if seeing him made her feel sick. Pacey notices this immediately and isn't sure what just interchanged between them.

"I was just asking if you were here yet," Dawson informs Joey. "Want a drink?"

"No, I'm fine. Where's Jen?" Joey asks quickly. She needs to talk to someone or she's going to burst; Bessie's words were weighing on her conscience so badly she was afraid it was going to collapse entirely.

"She had to go to the bathroom, I think," he says, trying to remember. "She should be back any minute." Joey is quiet for a second, almost as if her mind had gone somewhere else, and then suddenly she snaps back to reality.

"Oh. Well. You wanna dance until she gets back?" She still hasn't as much as looked at Pacey, and he's beginning to feel very strange.

"Pacey, why don't you dance with Joey?" Andie interrupts, giving her boyfriend an overly sweet and sugary smile. Joey looks alarmed. "I sort of need to talk to Dawson about something." Pacey gives her a questioning look. "About some homework from Social class."

"That's okay, I don't really need to-" Joey starts.

"Andie, it's a party! You really should learn to kick back...talking about homework at a party," Pacey says to Andie, not hearing Joey's faint protest. Andie just smiles a little, half-heartedly.

"Well, you know me..." She turns to Dawson. "I just had a question about the second question from that workbook thing we had to do? It's in my purse, we can go get it."

"Um, okay...sure..." Dawson says, not really sure that he wants to embark on another discussion with Andie tonight. He knows this isn't about some stupid homework assignment. Joey starts to protest again, but Dawson stops her. "You two just dance. We'll be right back. Try not to kill each other." Dawson follows Andie off through the crowd, leaving Pacey and Joey alone. Neither of them move for a second, and then Pacey takes Joey's hand and leads her out onto the dance floor as "Smooth" by Santana begins to blast over the loud stereo system.

"Jo, are you okay?" Pacey asks as soon as they're in the mix of the crowd.

"I'm fine," she replies, shortly.

"You seem strange tonight. You sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine, Pacey."

"Is it Bessie?"

"Pacey, I said I was fine. Let's just drop it."

"Jo-"

"Pacey. Just be quiet and let's just dance until Dawson and Andie come back," Joey replies harshly. Pacey is taken aback by her rapid change in attitude toward him, but drops the subject. They start to dance, unconsciously dancing closer together than normal. Pacey can't help but admire Joey's beauty in the dark room, her features accented by the multicolored lights that Abby had set up all over the place. He leans toward her, daringly brushing his lips against her ear as he speaks to her.

"Joey, I don't know what's wrong, but if it has anything to do with Andie..." he moves a little closer to her. "You're the one I desire, Jo...you're the most beautiful person I've ever laid eyes on, and I've never wanted anyone as much as I want you...You have no idea.." His breath falls lightly on her ear, and she closes her eyes, her body tingling with his closeness. She tries to resist her need to touch him, but fails. She begins to truly dance with him, their bodies almost grinding against one another's as they move to the Latin beat of the music.

Across the room, Andie stops by the door to the kitchen, glancing around to see that they are out of seeing distance from Pacey.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" Dawson asks. "I know it wasn't about Social, clearly."

"It was about on the phone. Last night."

"Oh, that."

"I shouldn't have asked you to be the one to decide. I am capable of deciding too. And I think it's best for me if I just...you know...stick with Pacey. If you and I get involved, it's going to be more trouble than it's worth. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

" Well, Andie, I think you made yourself pretty clear."

"I just want to make sure...you know, that we're okay. That you're okay. Because Dawson, it's not *you*, I mean....it's not that I don't like you. It's just..."

"Andie, don't worry, I understand."

"It's just too complicated."

"Much too complicated. I agree."

"Because it's not that I'm not attracted to you - I mean, that's how the whole thing got started, because I was attracted to you. Am attracted to you. I didn't want you to think that I'm the type of girl who would-"

"Andie, stop, stop. Stop worrying and over-analyzing things to death. That's my job," Dawson laughs, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh, oh, right," Andie laughs too, but her laugh is forced.

Jack comes down the stairs, returning to the party from the upstairs bathroom. He scans the huge, but crowded living room for any of his friends, not recognizing two-thirds of the people around him. He spots Joey and Pacey dancing on the dance floor together, and he is surprised by what he sees. The pair is dancing as if they were on MTV's The Grind or something of that nature; their bodies moved exactly in rhythm together, both their hands travelling places that shouldn't be touched by a mere "friend"...they are a little too close for comfort...but maybe he's imagining things. But if Pacey is there, where is Andie? His eyes dart around the room until he finds his sister's familiar blond head...and she was talking to Dawson. Standing very close to Dawson and talking, that is. He watches Dawson lean forward and give Andie a light kiss on the cheek before walking away; Andie looks forlorn as he disappears back into the crowd. Something was not right with this picture.

"Jack!" He jumps half a mile, almost falling down the stairs. He turns to see Jen walking down the stairs toward him.

"Jen! Hey! You scared me right then," he says. She had gone into the bathroom after him; he had almost forgotten he had seen her. Jen smiles apologetically.

"Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you. Apparently I have that effect on a lot of people tonight." Jack looks at Jen, questioning her statement with his gaze.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Jen shrugs it off. "Just Dawson's mind has been some place else tonight. When we were dancing together, he barely even looked at me. He was like that all day too, like he's distracted." Jack doesn't know quite what to say to explain away Dawson's behavior. Jen continues, not expecting Jack to comfort her. "How about you? You having any fun yet?"

"Oh, tons. I love standing around, watching everyone else dance. It's actually really entertaining," Jack replies, sarcastically. "But, there is one good thing. I haven't seen Abby around anywhere. Apparently she's left her own party or something."

"That's definitely a good thing," Jen agrees. "But why do you have to sit here all night long? Why don't you get out there and have some fun?" Jack looks toward Pacey and Joey, still dancing on the dance floor; Jen follows his gaze and sighs when she finds Joey to be on the receiving end of it.

"I'm still not in the mood for kicking back and partying all night long, what can I say," Jack mumbles, turning away. Instead of trying to uplift Jack's spirits, Jen instead finds herself watching the scene before her with concern. Pacey and Joey were dancing as if they were going to step right off the dance floor into bed; luckily Andie was nowhere around to witness it. How could Joey do this to Andie? How could the two of them be so daring together in such public surroundings? When Andie was in the same room? If Andie saw, she would be sure to know in an instant that Pacey and Joey certainly didn't hate each other. How could Joey be *so* arrogant?

"I don't understand her..." Jen murmurs. Jack hears her.

"Understand who?"

"What? Oh, nothing. Nevermind," Jen stammers, running her hand through her hair. "I better go find Dawson." She starts walking down the stairs, but then turns back to Jack. "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't be so broken up over Joey. She's not worth it. You didn't lose much, trust me," Jen's voice is slightly angry, and Jack is surprised.

"I didn't lose much?" Jack repeats. "You're her friend, Jen, how could you say a thing like that?"

"She is my friend..." Jen sighs. "Don't ask me to explain. But don't waste your time pitying yourself over losing her - you're better off without her." Jen glances toward Joey once, and then walks away to go find Dawson. Jack watches her go, letting her words slowly sink in, and wondering what in the world had made her say them.

"It's been an hour, and nothing is happening," Abby whines, sitting down on her bed with a pout. "This sucks ass, Chris. I haven't even seen Joey here - if she doesn't come, this whole thing was a complete waste." Chris shrugs, not really caring.

"Well, that's what you get for making them come to you, Abby, what did I tell you?" He takes a seat next to Abby. "You should listen to me more often."

"Why should I listen to you? It's not like you ever say anything important," Abby replies snidely. "I mean, I've been waiting three weeks now and you still haven't even told me what you're doing about Joey and Pacey."

"I like keeping you in the dark."

"Considering that this whole thing is my brainchild, I'd think that you'd at least have the decency to inform me of what you've been up to," Abby says. "But no, instead all you tell me to do is wait, you'll tell me eventually. "Just go get more footage, Abby." It would really be nice if I knew what purpose all my hard work is going to, you know." Chris is quiet for a second, deciding whether or not to tell her.

"Fine, I'll tell you," he replies, reluctantly. "But I don't know if it's all the way cleared yet, Mr. Gold is still working on it."

"Mr. Gold? What does he have to do with anything?"

"Let's just say...Dawson Leery isn't the only one in the school who can make movies," Chris smiles. "And when Mr. Gold convinces the principal that showing Dawson's movie to the entire school is a great idea, Dawson's movie isn't going to be the only thing that everyone will see." Abby's eyes widen, and her face is graced with a huge grin.

"Oh my god, Chris..." Abby starts, then stops.

"That's why I've been telling you to keep piling up the footage of Pacey and Joey. We need everything we can. We've got one shot at blowing the cover on those two. And it has to be brilliant."

"This is just a completely fantastic idea!" Abby shrieks, and not thinking, throws her arms around him and gives him a big kiss. Almost as soon as she does, she quickly jumps back and wipes her mouth, looking at him, disgusted. "Forget I just did that."

"Forgetting that will be no problem," Chris mutters, intentionally trying to get a rise out of her. "You kiss like a slobbering dog." Abby stands up, reviled and angry.

"What? I do not!" Abby pulls him up off the bed and kisses him again, this time deliberately giving it her all, determined to prove him wrong. When she breaks away, she looks him square in the eye and cocks an eyebrow. "Do I still kiss like a slobbering dog?"

Chris, who is obviously affected by Abby's lips on his, shrugs her off, trying to pretend the opposite. He doesn't reply, so Abby turns to leave her bedroom.

"Well, I'm going to go check on our little friends downstairs, since nothing *interesting* is happening up here, that's for sure," she opens her door, but Chris strides over and closes it. Abby Morgan loved to tease him, with all her little promises and her passion-filled kisses, and he wasn't going to let her get away with that. He had enjoyed the power over her before, when he hid his plans from her; the last thing he wanted to be was underneath her again. "What are you doing? Let me out," Abby glares at him, tugging on the doorknob. But Chris holds the door closed.

"Do you want something interesting to happen up here?" Chris asks.

"Ugghh, you make me sick, Chris," Abby replies, rolling her eyes.

"Really."

"Really. Now let me go, slimeball." Instead of complying with Abby's request, Chris grabs her and lays his lips against hers, pulling her away from the door. Abby tries to force herself away at first, but within a few seconds, she is kissing him back just as eagerly as he is. Slowly, he leads her toward the bed, stopping to turn off the light.

Jack finds his sister, sitting outside on the front porch. He had been searching all over for her; he had asked Pacey where she was, and he didn't even know. Didn't seem much to care, either.

"Andie, there you are," Jack sits down next to her on the swing.

"Oh, hey, Jack. How's the party?"

"All right, I guess. Other people seem to be having a regular laugh riot in there, even though I'm not." He looks at his sister. "It doesn't look like you're enjoying yourself much either."

"Well, that would probably be because I'm not."

"Did something happen with Pacey?" Jack asks, thinking maybe that could be a reasonable explanation for the whole thing, but Andie shakes her head no.

"No, nothing happened with Pacey," Andie replies. "He's not looking for me, is he?"

"He asked me if I'd seen you," Jack lies, not wanting to tell her Pacey hadn't even seemed to care when he'd seen him. He was too busy talking to Joey. All he'd said was, 'She told me she was going to go mingle or something.' "So, why are you out here all by yourself?"

"No reason, just needed some air."

"So this has nothing to do with Dawson?" Jack asks, laying his cards out on the table. Andie whirls around to face him, surprised.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I saw you. Before? You and Dawson were talking about something pretty heavy, I could tell. And then he kissed you on the cheek."

"Friends kiss each other on the cheek, Jack," Andie says, defensive.

"Pacey and Dawson doesn't kiss Joey on the cheek. You certainly don't kiss Joey or Jen. We're not in Spain, or Italy, or something. That excuse doesn't exactly fit," Jack tells her. "But forget the kiss - what were you two talking about?"

"Nothing," Andie snaps back. "Nothing important."

"It looked important."

"Why do I feel like I'm being interrogated, Jack? What exactly was it that I did wrong? Talk to my friend? I didn't know that was a crime."

"Andie..." Jack sighs. "It's not...You've barely even seen Pacey tonight, you're sitting out here all alone...you've been acting a little weird lately...Every time someone mentions Dawson, you get this look in your eyes, like you're afraid of something. Whenever you see him, you refuse to look at him. Yet just awhile ago, I saw you in a heated conversation with him, and he kisses you. Something is going on, and I just want to know what it is. That you're okay."

"Nothing is going on!" Andie exclaims, standing up. "I can't believe you'd even suggest such a thing."

"Andie-"

"Don't Andie me, Jack. I know what you were thinking, and I can't even bear to look at you right now because of it," Andie bites, and storms back inside, leaving Jack alone and speechless.

"Joey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Jen interrupts Joey and Pacey's conversation, stepping between them. They both look at her, a bit startled. After their heated dance, Joey knew it was no use to try to shove her emotions aside. Bessie had been right about everything; maybe she was like her father. But looking at Pacey, it was just too hard to walk away. Jen looks between the two of them as they crash back to reality; She had a feeling they had been in their own little world a second before.

"Me?" Joey asks.

"Yeah. Sorry to steal her away, Pace. Here's a thought - go find your girlfriend," Jen remarks, her voice a bit harsh. Joey and Pacey exchange worried glances as Jen pulls Joey away.

"What the hell was that?" Joey exclaims.

"You're yelling at me?" Jen replies, disbelieving. "Joey, you and Pacey have been everything but discreet tonight. Are you stupid?"

"I don't even know what you're talking about. We were just talking. I don't see how-"

"The dancing? Joey, I saw the two of you. Anyone who knows the two of you wouldn't have believed it was really the 'two bitter enemies' out on the floor, there. I thought you ended it with him. I thought you agreed you were going to tell him it was over, when you worked on the lab together."

"Yeah, and I did," Joey lies. "It's completely over between us. Just, Andie asked us to dance together while she talked to Dawson, so we danced together. What's the big deal?"

"And where is Andie now?"

"I have no idea. She came back over and said she was going to go talk with other people she knew. God, just because they're boyfriend and girlfriend, it doesn't mean they have to be attached at the hip every second."

"Oh, you mean like you two have been all night?"

"Jen, let it die already. Pacey and I, yeah, we did some things we definitely shouldn't have. And I'm trying to forget about them, so if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you didn't bust in and accuse me of something when I'm just *talking* to him."

"Well it's not like I don't have good reason."

"If you want to know why Andie and Pacey haven't been hanging together tonight, ask Andie. Besides, it's not like you and Dawson have been together all night. Maybe I should accuse you of cheating on him with someone, what do you think?" Joey remarks, and walks away, back to Pacey. She is surprised to find Andie by his side. "Andie...hi."

"Hi, Joey," Andie greets her off-handedly, then continues what she was saying to Pacey. "So I'm just exhausted, so I'm going to go."

"You sure?" Pacey asks. Joey hears the concern in his voice and sighs. "You want me to walk you home?"

"No, that's fine. It's only a few blocks away, I think I can make it on my own," Andie says. "I'll call you tomorrow. Bye. Bye, Joey." Andie walks through the crowd toward the door, and Joey looks up at Pacey.

"You don't think she left because we've spent most of the night together, do you?" Joey inquires, all her guilt returning. Pacey shakes his head no, but looks unsure. Joey looks at the ground, wishing that she was some place else at that moment.

"What did Jen want?" Pacey asks, not wanting to talk about Andie's departure from the party. Joey shrugs.

"Girl stuff," Joey informs him, knowing that will stop him from pressing for more information. They are both silent for a moment. "So, what now?" With Andie's leaving, the mood between them had drastically changed. Pacey turns to her, and takes her hand.

"Come with me."

"Do you want to dance?" Jen asks Dawson, sitting down next to him.

"What? Oh, hey Jen."

"Hi, Dawson. Do you want to dance?" Jen repeats, seeing as how he didn't answer the question.

"Dance...naw...I'm not really in the mood."

"Well, do you want something to drink?"

"No thanks."

"What about something to eat?"

"Not hungry."

"Dawson, do you want to leave?" Jen asks, exasperated.

"Leave? No, what makes you think that?" Dawson looks at her.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because every single thing I've suggested, you keep turning down."

"Sorry, Jen, I just have a lot of things on my mind," he explains. Actually, there was only one thing on his mind. Andie McPhee.

"That's hardly unusual, Dawson. You always have things on your mind. But you've barely said two words to me tonight. Are you mad at me or something?"

"Mad at you?"

"Would you stop repeating everything I say?" Jen exclaims, tossing her hands into the air in frustration.

"God, sorry..." Dawson sighs. "I'm not mad at you, Jen."

"Then what is the matter?"

"Nothing is the matter. Maybe I'm just not into partying like you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jen asks. Dawson winces, knowing that he had said the wrong thing. He hadn't meant to.

"Nothing. It's not supposed to mean anything."

"Fine, Dawson, whatever. I'm just going to go home, okay? I'd rather be at home playing cards with Grams then sitting here trying to figure out what your problem is." Jen gets up.

"Jen, don't go," Dawson tries, but she has already up and left. He stands up and follows her toward the door. "Jen, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to-"

"Jack, could you take me home?" Jen asks, as Jack comes back into the party from the porch. He looks at her, as her words register.

"Yeah, sure...I was just going to leave anyway."

"Jen, come on, please stay," Dawson begs, feeling really badly. Jen just puts her jacket on.

"Dawson, we can talk tomorrow, okay? I just want to go home," Jen steps out the door. Jack glances at Dawson, and then follows Jen outside.

Pacey opens the door to the first upstairs room he comes across, and leads Joey inside, not turning on the light. Abby and Chris, who were making out on Abby's bed, pull away from each other quickly. They are about to tell whoever it is to get out when they hear someone speak.

"Pacey, we shouldn't be in here," Joey says. Quietly as they can, Abby and Chris tip-toe over to the open balcony door and step outside, keeping their fingers crossed that Joey and Pacey didn't hear them.

"Yeah, we probably shouldn't," Pacey murmurs, and moves to kiss her. Joey pulls away and turns on the light.

"Pacey, you just saw Andie leave, and now you want to...I mean, we're the reason she left, you know that."

"You don't know that," Pacey says. He steps toward her again, and she steps backward. She leans against the closed door and sighs.

"Pace...I..."

"Jo, just don't think. I've wanted to do this all night long and I didn't, because Andie was here." He presses her lips to hers, his tongue surging into her mouth. All of her resolve melts away in an instant, and she welcomes his kiss. His lips slide down to her neck, kissing her sensuously. Abby and Chris watch from the balcony, trying to get into a place where they're safe from Joey and Pacey's view but can still see what's going on.

"See, I told you that they would come to us," Abby smirks at Chris, who just rolls his eyes.

As Pacey continues to suck on Joey's neck, his hands work their way underneath her shirt, caressing her flat stomach, Joey squeezes her eyes even more tightly shut, trying to block out any guilt that is seeping its way into her mind as her desire for Pacey boils within. He slides her shirt over her head and drops it to the floor, then starts moving toward the bed. They collapse on it together, and Abby turns to Chris.

"Oh my god, they're going to do it on my bed. How am I supposed to sleep on that thing after this?" she whispers. Chris just shrugs, finding the whole thing doubly entertaining. Pacey is now on top of Joey, kissing his way down her stomach. Joey apparently didn't want to wait, and removes her own bra, and sits up, tugging at the hem of Pacey's shirt. He takes it off and then presses her back onto the bed, the cool of the bedspread feeling wonderful against her hot skin. A groan escapes her lips as Pacey begins to kiss her breasts; her mind was starting to grow cloudy.

Chris watches intently as Joey writhes under Pacey's touch, suddenly realizing just how gorgeous she really is. Abby, on the other hand, is looking at Chris, hurt by the look that he has on his face. Apparently Joey Potter got him more excited than she ever had, he never looked at her that way.

As Pacey's hands slip down into her jeans, something suddenly goes off in Joey's head, like an alarm. She sits up quickly, Bessie's words ringing so loudly in her mind that she thought her head might just explode. Pacey looks at her, startled. She climbs up off the bed hurriedly, putting all her discarded clothing on as fast as she can.

"What is it, Joey?"

"I have to go. I have to get out of here," Joey says, pulling her shirt over her head.

"What? Jo-"

"This is just...I can't do this anymore, Pacey. I can't. This is wrong, we are wrong. We shouldn't be together, not like this. Bessie's right."

"God, Joey, what is the matter tonight? One minute you're hot, one minute you're cold...I thought that the whole Bessie thing...I thought we-"

"We did, and I've changed my mind. I can't do this. I don't want to be the one to break you and Andie up. I don't want to be the other woman anymore," Joey says, frantically, and runs out of the bedroom. Pacey quickly grabs his shirt and throws it on, running after her. Abby and Chris step back into the room, surprised by how fast things had changed just then.

"Well..." Chris says, looking around the room. "That was amusing."

"Yeah, sure it was," Abby snorts. They both look around Abby's bedroom, and Chris gestures toward her bed.

"Want to pick up where we left off?" he asks, grinning. Abby looks at him as if he's diseased.

"You're such an ass," Abby says to him angrily, and stalks out of her room.

"Well, thanks for the ride home, Jack," Jen says, smiling at him though her voice is sad.

"No problem," Jack replies, getting out of the driver's side and coming around to walk Jen to her door.

"Oo, you're even walking me to the door. What a gentleman you are," Jen smiles again, this time more genuinely. Jack grins back.

"So...what happened back there with Dawson or aren't you ever going to tell me?" Jack had waited the whole ride home for her to tell him what happened, but she hadn't said anything about it. She didn't seem to want to talk about it, so he left it alone.

"Dawson...he's just so impossible sometimes. I really like him, and I'm glad that we're together again, it's just..."

"Just what?"

"Sometimes he just acts so immature, you know? Like tonight. He doesn't understand how he makes me feel when he does that." Jen sighs. "I just want him to feel the same way for me that I do for him...but there's always some other issue pressing on his mind, it's as if I'm always second. First time around, it was Joey. Now this time...well, I don't know what it is, but it's something..." Jack looks at Jen, feeling sorry for her.

"Jen...I think there's something that I should tell you..." Jack begins, not sure if he should voice his suspicions about Dawson and Andie. Is that the right thing to do? He didn't know. Jen looks at him.

"What?" Jack stares back at her, and can't bring himself to do it.

"I just...I...I think that you should tell Dawson how you're feeling about all this. If you don't tell him, and let it build up, it will only be a disaster," Jack tells her, not able to bring himself to tell her the truth about what he thinks. "And if you ever need someone to talk to, give me a call. I'd be happy to listen."

"Thanks, Jack," Jen says, and kisses him on the cheek. He is surprised by this action, and his mind immediately goes back to his and Andie's conversation earlier that night. "I'll see you in school on Monday."

"Yep, see ya," Jack replies, waving good-bye as she opens her front door and goes inside. Jack looks at Jen's house for a moment, and then turns around to go home. He had to talk to Andie.

"Joey, wait a second!" Pacey finally catches Joey in Abby's front yard.

"Pacey, just let me go," Joey says back, tears brimming in her eyes.

"I'll break up with Andie if that's what you need. Maybe it's better that way. If I tell her the truth, she won't think that it's about her...problems...It's probably for the best anyway."

"Pacey..."

"Joey, I'll do anything I need to. I don't want to lose you. I love you."

"No you don't, Pacey. Bessie was right about a lot of things...this is just lust, Pacey. It's about sex, you know that. You don't love me."

"Yes I do, Joey."

"Pacey, it's only been like two months...we're attracted to each other, that's how this all started...it's not love."

"Are you saying you don't love me? Is that what you're trying to tell me here, Joey?" Pacey asks, his voice full of hurt. He looks at her, waiting for an answer, hoping to god he's not right. Joey gazes back at him, searching for the right words. Did she love him? She didn't know. What is love? How does love feel? Her guilt had made her confused. Pacey takes her silence to mean he's right, and takes a step away from her. "Fine...then it was about sex for you. Fine. Well, Joey, I'm glad you enjoyed sleeping with me for awhile, glad to know I was just someone to keep your life interesting. You may not love me, but you know, I really did love you..." he turns away, too upset to think straight. "Next time, fuck with someone else's emotions." Pacey turns back to her, all choked up. He tries to say something else, but ends up just walking away.

"Pacey, please..." Joey starts, but he doesn't come back. "Pacey, that's not how it is!" True, she doesn't know exactly how it is, but she does know it isn't like he said. "Pace!" She watches as he disappears into the dark night.

Jack walks into his dark house, hanging up his jacket and tossing the car keys onto the table.

"Andie?" he calls. No lights are on downstairs, so he heads upstairs. "Andie, are you home?" There's no answer. He goes to her bedroom, and sees her bathroom door is open and the light is on. "Andie?" He walks into her room, and knocks lightly on the bathroom door before opening it all the way. He can hear her crying inside, and is immediately concerned. "Andie!" He rushes to his sister's side. She is half-laying, half-sitting on the bathroom floor, propped up against the wall. She is in her pajamas, crying her eyes out. Various pills are scattered all over the floor, empty bottles tossed around on the counter. His mind leaps to the worst conclusions. "Andie! Andie, please don't say you took...Andie, did you take anything? How much of all this did you take?"

"I didn't take any of it!" she exclaims through her sobs, tossing the orange, plastic medicine bottle she has in her hand against the wall and burying her face in her hands. "I didn't take any of it...."

"What's the matter? What is wrong?" Jack asks, sitting down next to her and trying to get her to move her hands away from her face.

"Everything, everything is wrong, Jack! My life is wrong."

"What?"

"You were right, Jack."

"About what?"

"About Dawson. About it all."

"*What*?" Jack manages to pull her hands away and looks at her.

"Dawson and I...we've been...he kissed me, I kissed him back...I can't explain how it all happened. I've tried to block my feelings for him out, I tried, Jack, I tried! It's no use. And I can't take it. There's Pacey, and then there's Dawson. I love Pacey, I do. I can't bear to hurt him."

"Andie...listen..."

"And Jen! How could I do this to Jen! She's my friend!"

"Listen-"

"Why do I have to be so screwed up? Jack, look at this! Look at all these stupid pills! Look at this! This is my life! I can't take it anymore! I just want a normal, everyday life! I just want...I want..." she breaks down completely, letting Jack take her in his arms.

"Shhhh..." he murmurs, rubbing her shoulders comfortingly as he pulls his sister close to him. "It's gonna be okay, Andie. It's going to be okay..." Andie continues to cry, and Jack lets her. He'd ask he questions about all of this later...now she just needed to be allowed to be upset.

Dawson sits up, alarmed, as his bedroom curtains move and he hears a noise outside his window. Then Joey climbs inside, and he almost laughs.

"Oh my god, Joey, it's been so long since you've done that, you scared the hell out of me. What are you doing here? It's already past midnight."

"I know, I'm sorry...I just..." Joey sighs. Her eyes were red and swollen from all her crying, and Dawson notices.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" He asks, getting up off his bed and going to her.

"There's a lot of things that are wrong, Dawson...but I can't tell you about it..." Joey starts and looks at him. "My life is just so messed up."

"Why can't you tell me about it, Jo?"

"It's just stuff...I can't tell anyone."

"Not even me?"

"Not even you, Dawson." Joey sits down on his bed.

"Is it about another guy?" Dawson asks, re-taking his seat on his half of the bed. He looks at Joey thoughtfully, wishing that she would confide in him. Joey lets out a long breath.

"Yes," she says. "It's just a long confusing story. I want something I can't have."

"Well, I can relate to that."

"You can?" Joey asks, getting comfortable. It made her feel better just to be back in Dawson's room. It felt like home here, as if she belonged here.

"I...you have to promise not to tell anyone, Joey, if I tell you this." Joey nods. "I'm sort of having feelings for this girl who already has a boyfriend. And I feel horrible, because..."

"Jen."

"Right. And I know it's normal to be attracted to other people even if you're in a relationship...but I feel terrible. Completely and absolutely terrible."

"Know the feeling. I just feel...I don't know...I feel dirty, Dawson. I don't know what to do. I've been trying to forget about...this guy...and I just can't do it."

"Exactly..." Dawson says, and sighs deeply. "Man, sometimes I just think that I will never find happiness with anyone."

"Well, I promise that you'll at least always have me to complain to about it, okay?" Joey replies, smiling. She felt a little more light-hearted, having at least talked about it with Dawson, though she didn't tell him the real truth. A little bit of their friendship had come back. Dawson smiles back at her.

"And you can always complain to me." Dawson gets up off the bed and grabs a videotape from his shelf, and holds it up. Joey nods. He pops it into the VCR and turns on the television, then sits back down. The opening credits of E.T. start to roll, and he and Joey look at one another.

"Man, I've missed this," Joey tells him, and snuggles back into his pillows. Dawson watches her for a minute, a light smile playing upon his face.

"Me too, Joey. Me too." He settles back against the headboard and focuses his attention on the movie, trying to forget the crazy outside world that had been tormenting him all day. Now it was just him, his best friend, and their favorite movie. At last, something made sense. He only hoped it would last.

To Be Continued...

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