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Pacey opened the door and found himself face to face with Joey, who was closing her door. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, and she was holding her toothbrush and toothpaste.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Hey."
They both started walking down the hall, next to each other, her toward the bathroom; him toward his dorm room.
"So thanks for the advice earlier, you were right."
She hesitantly smiled up at him. "Of course I was."
"So um… I'm sorry I just stormed out of your room. I'm sorry I just walked away."
"And I'm sorry if I made you feel like my backup boyfriend. For the record, I love spending time with you. I didn't mean to make you feel like I was taking advantage. And I promise you I am not playing any games." she mumbled, almost dropping her toothpaste as she attempted to seem calm.
Pacey nodded his head as they reached the bathroom.
"So are we done this incredibly embarrassing conversation?" Joey asked, smiling crookedly at him.
He nodded his head. "Yeah, I'd say so. So um…"
"Did you want to sleep in my room tonight?" she felt her heart beat slightly increase as she slowly met his eyes. Everything seemed different.
"I think I just might take you up on that offer. I'll be over in five."
She nodded her head and headed into the bathroom. She immediately splashed water over her slightly reddened face.
"I can't believe you're making me watch this," Joey moaned as she stared at the TV screen.
"I can't believe you haven't watched Star Wars since you were seven! Especially since it's one of Dawson's favorite movies."
Joey rolled her eyes as she watched CP30 walking away from R2D2. "I firmly believe that they are a gay couple," Joey grinned as she watched Pacey's mouth slightly drop open.
"You do realize they're robots - right?"
"But Pacey," Joey whined, pointing her hand at the television. "Watch CP30... he's totally..."
Pacey reached for her hand, grabbing it and placing it on her leg, his hand covering hers. "Will you just shut up and watch the movie."
Joey laughed as CP30 dramatically yelled, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot! Will this never end?"
She glanced up at Pacey, her grin wide. "Gay!" she exclaimed as she settled her body against Pacey's. Never moving his hand off of hers.
"Did we fall asleep? Now I'll never know how the movie ends!" Joey exclaimed, as she felt Pacey moving from the bed.
He laughed at her. "Don't worry, I'll just make you watch it again. What's your plan for today?"
"I was going to go on a little adventure today. Do you want to join me?"
"What kind of adventure?" He asked hesitantly, as he pulled his pillow out from underneath her head.
"Bastard," she muttered as she sat up. He struggled to keep his eyes on her face as the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra became apparent. "Forget it. It was stupid anyway."
"What," Pacey whined. "I want to know."
"Careful," Joey grinned. "You're beginning to sound like CP30."
Pacey took his pillow and lightly smacked her head. "Where are we going R2D2? R2D2 you must take me."
Joey slid of her bed, laughing at his hideous attempt to speak like CP30. "Okay, go get dressed. We're going outside - so dress warmly."
"Yes R2D2, I understand..." Pacey began as Joey placed her hands on his back, pushing him towards the door. "R2D2, I do not understand why you are treating me this way."
"Pacey," Joey warned.
"Yeah yeah yeah," Pacey muttered, his voice returning to normal as he opened the door. He turned back to face her. "I'll be back in like 20 minutes, k?"
Joey felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks, unable to believe that she was about to drop to his level. "Beep, beep, beep beep," she exclaimed.
Pacey burst out into laughter. "Dude... that was the worst R2D2 impression ever."
She closed the door in his face, unable to keep from laughing.
Pacey pulled his car onto the tiny dirt road. "You come here all the time?" he asked, looking around. "How do you get here?"
"The bus drops me off like a half a mile down the road. Come on already," she exclaimed opening the car door. He opened his door, putting on his coat as he slammed the door. She slid her backpack over her thick coat and wrapped her scarf around her neck. "Damn it's cold out. This might not have been the best day for this," she muttered.
"I'll just have to warm you up then," Pacey grinned, waiting for a reaction, his grin fading as she faced her back to him and started walking. "Jo? I was kidding!"
"If you want to warm me up, you'll be doing it at the top. So let's start moving."
He ran a couple steps to catch up with her, his pace easily falling in line with hers.
"It's really pretty here," Pacey said, looking around as they crossed a bridge.
"Yeah, sometimes I just come this far and sit and read or draw."
"What does Dawson do?" Pacey asked, as he stopped along the bridge, sitting down so that his feet were hanging off the edge. Joey tossed her backpack onto the bridge and sat down next to him, shivering slightly.
"Dawson's never been here. This is sorta my place I come to be alone." She lightly kicked his foot with hers as they both stared below at the moving water.
"How are you and Dawson doing anyway? I feel like I've barely seen him at all," Pacey probed gently.
She shrugged her shoulders. "We're good. I think we've both been taking some time to grow as individuals. Which is good. I think space doesn't always have to be bad."
Pacey opened his mouth, his heart pounding. What would she do if he told her? "You're right," he said softly.
She turned to face him, a smile on her face. "So what about you and Amber? What's going on with you two?"
Pacey laughed. "Was that a subject change? Because I don't think Amber's any better of a subject then Dawson."
"Our significant others shouldn't be bad subjects Pace. You and I are friends, right?" she said simply. He searched her eyes as she spoke, wondering if maybe she wasn't quite as cool and collected as she seemed.
"Amber isn't my significant other. Not even close."
"Well she's obviously crazy about you..." Joey began, her smile fading slightly as she spoke.
"Maybe she was, not anymore. Apparently I missed the window."
She tucked her hair behind her ear as she shivered. "What happened?" she asked, her expression slightly pained.
He watched her carefully, trying to figure out if she looked upset because she was cold... or because of Amber. "After the party, the party you and I left early, she slept with someone."
Joey's eyes widened. "She what? How could she do that? How can someone just sleep with someone they don't even know?"
Pacey cleared his throat slightly. "Sometimes people get caught up in the moment. Or sometimes people are drunk. Or sometimes it just feels nice to be wanted," he said tightly. "I guess you wouldn't understand."
"I guess not. You ready to start up again? I've got some sandwiches we can eat when we
get to the top."
Pacey nodded as he stood up, offering her his hand. She lightly touched his hand, not using it at all to pull herself to her feet. He watched as she started up the path, without looking back to make sure he was following.
He shook his head, wondering if they'd ever get it right.
"I'm the king of the world," Pacey shouted, in his best Leonardo Decaprio voice, as he stood on the edge of a large rock boulder.
"Will you quit that and come down from there," Joey said crossly as she tucked the remainder of her sandwich back into her backpack.
"Jo, you've got to come up here, the view is incredible."
Joey walked over to the edge of the boulder. "You know I have a fear of heights... right?" she asked as she hesitantly began to climb the boulder. He extended his hand out to her, and this time she firmly grasped it,clinging tightly as she reached the top. "Don't you dare pretend to push me."
Pacey laughed as she applied more pressure to his hand. "This is beautiful," she said softly, her thumb gently caressing his hand. "It looks like it's going to storm though, doesn't it?"
"Or snow..." Pacey said, as small snowflakes began to fill the sky.
"It's snowing!" Joey exclaimed, jumping up and down and extending her hands up to the sky.
"What happened to your fear of heights?" Pacey asked, laughing.
She grinned. "Completely gone. Of course we are going to have to live up here, because I'm never going to be able to get back down."
She felt her teeth starting to chatter as she brushed the light snow from her hair.
"So we're at the top... does that mean I get to warm you up?" Pacey asked, trying to keep his tone light. She nodded her head as he pulled her into his arms and held her there.
She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt that comfortable.