No, I do not own anything related to Dawson's Creek, I am merely borrowing their likeness. This story is one of the most organic I have ever written, it just kinda comes naturally so I'm hoping it doesn't take too long to get where I want it to. As always, please let me know what you think :)
He saw everyone who walked in, even between fetching patrons drinks and chatting with the regulars. Nights like this drew crowds of all types and Pacey Witter was not one to miss any new entrances to his bar. The band was loud, kitschy eighties regalia and all, but it always proved to be one of his biggest nights of the month. Especially when they happened to follow finals week. His dingy rock bar, Watson's, was nestled in the very center of a good ol' Collegetown, meaning that four universities called the relatively small city and its outlying suburbia home. Hundreds of exhausted and anxious students always found themselves in the middle of the bar when "Orchestral Human Ballet" was playing. Though it wasn't only collegiate who found themselves adorned in neon, many who sported feathered hair and acid wash when it was socially acceptable made their way into. Tonight seemed no different. He served, he smiled, he may have even flirted a little, but the truth be told, he was tried.
"Hey Pace, we're out of Hornito's!" Shelly called from the other end of the bar. Nodding, and checking for anything else he may need to grab, he turned and headed toward the back of the building. As he made his way, he paused, something catching him off guard, but he continued on as he saw his sister waving from the hallway of her own club. He continued forward, walking past her bouncer David, who was sat between where Watson's ended, and Boulevard technically began. No one was sure where exactly the legal separation was, but it worked perfectly for the siblings who declared the pool tables to be a natural boundary between a rock bar and a club.
"What's up sis?"
"Have I told you how much I LOVE your eighties night?" she beamed. He smiled back, shaking his head as he made his way to the basement store room. Boulevard was equally packed though its much younger crowd seemed far less riled than his mix. He looked around for his sister who was animatedly talking to two familiar buxom blondes, and instead of getting caught up in that he turned to walk back to his own bar, hands full of liquor and ran right into a body. A body that happened to be attached to the most beautiful pair of hazel eyes he had ever seen.
"Oh, my fuck! I am so sorry!" She stammered as his grip loosened on a bottle of Macallan 18 year. She deftly caught it and handed it back to him, before he even realized he'd nearly lost it.
"Nice reflexes." He said breathily.
"It's shocking, really, I'm not usually so agile." Her soft laughter fueled his growing smile. "I'd just never forgive myself for having caused that excellent scotch to hit the floor."
"Lady who knows her scotch, " he mused. "Looks like you'll be taking my heart with you tonight." She smiled shyly, biting her lip, her eyes locking with his cool, blue ones.
"I'd never be so lucky."
"Heh," he let out a throaty chuckle. "As much as I'm enjoying getting lost in your eyes, I should really get back." Motioning to his still full arms, she moved out of his path.
"Of course, " she replied. "I'm meeting some friends anyway. Um, maybe I can find you later?" His gaze followed her movements until their eyes met again.
"I'll be waiting." He winked, turned and sauntered away as her bottom lip found its way between her teeth once again.
"Jo!" The blonde to the left of Gretchen called out. Joey Potter tucked her ever loose hair behind her ears and moved toward her friends.
"Hey Jen, Audrey!" She beamed, hugging them each.
"Bunny! I mean, Joey!" Audrey laughed, apparently already drunk.
"Wait, Joey Potter?!" Gretchen surmised as recognition swept over her. Oh my, God, I haven't seen you since you were, what, ten?"
"Gretchen Witter?! Holy shit!" They hugged tightly, they had been relatively close as kids but, like everyone, had lost touch.
"See, I told you it was a surprise," Jen said wryly.
"I take it you didn't recognize my infuriating younger brother then?" As Joey's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, the reality struck her like a bolt.
"That wasn't….it couldn't have…Did I just hit on Pacey?" The girls tried, but failed to choke back their laughter as Joey turned a furious shade of red.
"Looks like you need a drink, girlie!" Audrey cooed. Gretchen and Jen nodded in agreement as Joey swallowed down the last of her pride.
"Got any of that Macallan back there?"
"Alas, no. For the good scotches and whiskeys, one must cross the battle lines and head into Watson's." She winked as Joey groaned.
"Fine, two shots of Fireball. Then we can go party like it's 1999, er, 1985."
"Yesssss! I need to dance woman! These shoes are not intended for standing." Audrey whined.
"Aud, those shoes were meant to do only one thing, and it's neither dance nor stand."
"And what, pre-tell, could they be for Miss Lindley?"
"Those are 'fuck me' shoes," Jen smirked but hushed her tone as she noticed Audrey's pointed look. "And I have a feeling your intended target will be even more disinterested tonight." Joey finished her shots, not noting what Jen and Audrey had been discussing, and turned to Gretchen.
"It was really good to see you, I'll be in town…probably a long while, I'd really love to catch up."
"I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other, Jo. Have fun!" With a small wave goodbye, she found herself racing to catch up with Jen and Audrey, who had positioned themselves in the very center of the dancefloor, directly in front of the stage, with empty glasses. She shook her head as she neared them.
"Refills ladies?" They both nodded enthusiastically as Joey took their glasses. "Kamikazes, right?" Jen nodded in reply, to the staccato beat of the synthesizer, causing Joey's eyes to roll despite herself. As she made her way to the bar, she saw him again and couldn't understand how she didn't recognize him. Sure, he was older, it had been nearly 12 years since he was a daily annoyance in her life, and it was a good six years since they'd last seen each other in person, but he was still unmistakably Pacey. She sighed, her mind fleeting back to her last day living just up the street.
"So, I guess this is goodbye," Jen said, her eyes misty with unshed tears. " I'll miss you so much Joey, you're my best friend." Joey and Jen hugged tightly, neither wanting to let the other see them cry. They were too strong for that.
"I'll miss you too, Jenny, so so much." She stepped out of Jen's embrace, and right into Dawson's arms, who was openly weeping.
"Movie night will never be the same." He sniffled. "I love you Josephine, please don't leave me!" Joey kept her arms loosely around Dawson's neck while rolling her eyes at his latest proclaimation of love. Jen snorted in laughter, but coughed quickly to cover for her friend.
"I'll miss you too Dawson. Is it okay if I have a minute before I have to go, I just want to take it all in one last time." Jen and Dawson nodded, turning their backs on Joey as she went and sat at the end of the pier. It was the last time she would see the sunset on the lake. She tried to paint the image in her mind, the brilliant orange hues of the dipping sun, the grey-blue water of the glass like lake surface, the light mist of the waves as they lapped against the dock. She knew she'd be seeing sunsets on the ocean now, but there was something so lovely and peaceful about knowing this mass expanse of water was fully surrounded by land that she couldn't see. The tears began flowing freely, the light fading by the minute, trying to allow the scent and sound to envelope her when a strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and held her close. When she finally looked up at him their eyes met in a sad smile.
"Thanks Pace. I'm really gonna miss it here." He pulled her even closer as he felt the sobs wrack her small frame.
"Yeah, but now you'll get to live by the ocean. And near Boston, you'll have the world at your fingertips. You also won't be forced to swim in this smelly, seaweed infested lake anymore." They laughed.
"I was mostly referring to the people."
"Ah yes. Jen will be sad, Dawson, inconsolable. He'll probably cry for weeks you know. I might just have to drown him."
"As long as you don't let him call me and cry. I swear, he has the whiniest voice I have ever heard."
"Oh, of course, leave him to Pacey. Not even middle school yet and you're leaving a trail of broken hearts in your wake." She elbowed him in the ribs playfully.
"Dawson's heart breaks every other day, mostly for fictional characters, you can hardly call that one heart a trail." She rolled her eyes at him but not before noticing something flash across his eyes.
"Maybe his isn't the only broken heart you'll be leaving behind." His voice a whisper, she'd realized too late what he meant and before she could think to respond, he'd leaned over and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. There they sat, neither moving or knowing what to do next, just savoring this moment before she headed east and left him in the dust.
"Let's move it Josephine! Mom and Dad will have my as if we make them any later!" Bessie yelled docks. Joey and Pacey quickly broke apart and stood up.
"If she gives you a hard time, just tell her you know what she was doing, too." Joey looked at him quizzically. "Let's just say it involves a certain older brother of mine…and a whole lot more tongue than what we just did." Joey blushed as her mouth lifted into half a smile, noting the information and tucking it away for future reference.
"I guess this is goodbye then. Don't go doing anything stupid , like becoming a nice guy, or a decent human being for that matter."
"Oh, don't you fret, I'll never do anything that could actually make you like me." He winked.
"It could never happen. To me, you'll always be a cake eater." It was him rolling his eyes this time, but before he knew it, she'd thrown her arms around his neck and hugged him as tightly as she could. "I'll miss you most." She whispered as he returned the intensity of her hug. When she turned away, she all but sprinted towards her sister, tears freely flowing down her cheeks, and if she'd have looked back, she would have seen his as well.
As she approached the bar, she tried to shake the memories from her mind, knowing if she wore those same emotions on her face he'd know who she was in an instant, and she was looking to having a little bit of fun at his ignorance. She set the empty glasses on the bar, directly in front of where he stood, but he never fully looked at her.
"Two kamikazes, please…and a glass of that Macallan that I saved from becoming an insanely expensive puddle." He smirked as he noted her order, turned towards her, clearing the empties away so he could lean closer.
"And how would you like that?"
"Two fingers. Straight up. And hurry with those kamikazes, when my friends are made to wait, they can be quite the nightmare." He nodded, though he was already pouring the drinks, he scanned the crowd to see if he could place who she was with. There were a few people he didn't fully recognize in the bar that night, but he could not see this gorgeous creature being in their mix. When his eyes settled on Jen and Audrey, she was sure her cover was blown, but he shook his head and turned back to face her.
"A lady who even knows how to properly order scotch. Color me very impressed." He sat the glass in front of her, wanting to see if she would make the stereotypical 'whiskey face', but instead, the 18 year single malt seemed to be as mild to her as water. He desperately held on to his self control because all he wanted to do was reach across the bar and kiss her like she'd never been kissed before.
"Mmm, that is delicious." She pulled money from her back pocket when something started to stir in Pacey's mind. A certain intonation maybe, how she had turned her body, or perhaps, the very timbre of her voice was reverberating through his head, and for the life of him, he couldn't place it.
"Keep the change," she said through a crooked smile, half turned away she called back to him. "I'm glad I didn't break it this time, Pace." With that, she disappeared into the crowd, and he was left dumbfounded, his brain, and body, in overdrive. There was something terribly familiar about the last thing she'd said, she even called him 'Pace', and though who she was still eluded him, buy did she get inside his head.
"Geez! Took you long enough!" Audrey exclaimed, snatching her drink from Joey's hands and drinking down half of it without a breath.
"You and Pacey catch up" Jen asked, sipping her drink much more slowly.
"No, actually, he's still completely oblivious, though probably at least a little intrigued."
"Maybe you didn't have the effect on him you thought you did." Slurred Audrey, loudly.
"Or maybe it's because you look NOTHING like little Joey Potter anymore." Jen said matter of factly. She wasn't wrong. Joey's hair was now a deep, chocolate brown, streaked with blue and purple, and her makeup was definitely on the bolder end of the spectrum. She was dressed in dark blue skinny jeans and an old, off the shoulder, CBGB crop top which showed her nicely toned abs, but could definitely be construed on the conservative side considering her present company. Especially since she opted for her trusty Chucks rather than Jen and Audrey's penchant 'fuck me' shoes.
"Gretchen recognized her right away." Audrey reminded them.
"Yeah, but she knew we were bringing someone, so it wasn't a complete surprise. Pacey has zero clue that who he hopes to be his new paramour, is actually his very first crush." Joey blushed crimson as Audrey let out a frustrated sigh.
"Fine, but I'm not waiting around all night for them to rediscover each other. There's much partying to do…school is out…forever!" The girls toasted to the night, though neither had the heart to tell Audrey that while she may be done now, Jen had grad school to look forward to, and Joey had two internships this summer, before her graduate classes started. But there was still time to get into some trouble.
"Ladies, what say we take this party upstairs?" Jen suggested, pulling a joint from her bag.
"Yes!" Audrey danced a small circle around them, and started walking towards the bathroom stairs, Jen and Joey following behind.
"You have no idea how badly I need that, Lindley."
"Au contraire, Potter, I still know you too well. I can practically see Pacey running through your thoughts. Let's go clear your mind." She linked her arm in Joey's and led her up the narrow staircase to Watson's ladies room. Very few people trek up the stairs, they'd rather head into Boulevard for lavatory purposes then deal with their ridiculously high heels on the short, steep staircase.
"Wait, we're doing this in the bathroom? In Pacey's bar?" Joey was skeptical. She was hardly a novice, but she had always erred on the side of discretion. Jen pushed the door open, and made a very sharp right into a small room off the main bath.
"This is the band dressing room, and as they are…."Safety Dancing" at the moment, we have plenty of time to imbibe."
"That looks like trouble." Shelly mused. Pacey looked at her questioningly. "Jen and Audrey just took that girl upstairs."
"What girl?"
"The one you've been looking for since she walked away from the bar."
"Wait, she's with Lindley?" The cogs of Pacey's mind were spinning furiously. Shelly looked amused, and then continued.
"Yeah, when I talked to Gretch, she said something about an old friend having moved home, or something."
"Fuck. Me." His eyes darted up the stairs. Everything stopped. His mind from working, words from coming out, the world spinning. Joey Potter was back, and he couldn't even remember how to breathe.