A/N: You guessed it… this week's episode is Neverland. Woohoo! The missing scenes alternate from Pacey to Joey throughout the epi. Hope you like the songs we chose. As always, we do not own the characters/song lyrics, and thank you for your feedback and support; please let us know what you think.

Special shout out to the following for taking the time to leave us feedback last week – leah0628, paceyjoeytruelove, LaLe LiLa, pippiboo, nightshadowlife and girlshapedbox.

**Settling**
by M&M Works

"Out of the Blue" ~ Ashley Chambliss

I think it's the way you look into my eyes
And you carry yourself so well
Man of the hour, you're too good for your shoes
If you stumbled you'd think the world fell

But if you look at me like that one more time
You'll be taking on more than you know
Out of the blue, I'll be kissing on you
And making up rules as I go out of the blue

Out of the blue
Out of the blue
Out of the blue

Wiser than most, yet you're standing so close
Are you sharing your sweet energy
Afraid to look up into your beautiful eyes
Because I'll know it's perfection I'll see

But if you look at me like that one more time
You'll be taking on more than you know
Out of the blue, I'll be kissing on you
And making up rules as I go out of the blue

Out of the blue
Out of the blue
Out of the blue

There's something here
There must be magic in the air
There's something here
There must be magic in the air
There must be magic in the air

Out of the blue
Out of the blue

I'll be loving on you
Out of the blue
I'll be loving on you
Out of the blue

Out of the blue
Out of the blue
Out of the blue

I'll be loving on you
Out of the blue
I'll be loving on you
Out of the blue

Out of the blue
Out of the blue
Out of the blue

**

Ignoring the noise of Joey's outrage at our sudden stop, I explode out of the car.

Now's the time for action.

Right.

Good.

Wonderful.

Just one little problem with my brilliant idea – I don't know what the fuck I'm going to say to her.

Because, suddenly, my mind's gone blank. Not even a lowly tumbleweed to blow through it to keep me company.

Nada.

Empty.

Taking a deep breath to bolster my courage, as I shut the car door, I glance at my hand holding the keys, as if the script of our imminent encounter will have magically appeared on my palm. Nope, nothing there. Where the hell is our resident screenwriter when you really need him?

Wait, what am I thinking? Dawson is definitely the last person we need here right now.

I have absolutely no idea exactly what's going to come out of my mouth in the next few minutes but it is long past the time to say something. Or maybe it's just the right time. Regardless, I've chosen my course of action and, unless I want to offer her driving lessons and once again let an opportunity pass me by, this is it.

God, this is really happening.

Finally.

After all these months.

Am I dreaming?

Perplexed, she stands a few feet in front of me, questions flying between us. The river behind her glitters in the early morning sun, framing her face perfectly. She's a vision - her hair is coming loose from the rapid movement of her head as she argues with me, her cheeks pink from the cold and no doubt irritation. But, most of all, it's the look in her eyes. They sparkle. With the fire of her building bewilderment and exasperation, it's a staggering combination. A pissed off Joey Potter is a beautiful sight.

Only, her queries have no answers that I can fully express in words.

So I revert to action instead.

Closing the distance between us, I let her name slip from my mouth as a whisper, almost a plea. My fingers enclose her smooth, cool cheeks as if to prevent her escape. Then, finally, the moment I've been hoping for happens. Our lips touch! Her cheeks may be smooth and cool but those lips are warm and full and soft… oh so soft.

I know I'm definitely not dreaming now; but if I'm wrong, I never want to wake up.

Miracle of miracles, she's not trying to escape at all but clutching the sleeves of my coat so I relax into the kiss, drinking my fill at the sweet well of her mouth.

My head is spinning with the wonder of her and I have no intention of letting her go, not while she's still pliant in my arms and hasn't decked me. It's only when oxygen becomes critical that I gently release those luscious twin pillows of flesh and gaze tenderly at her, waiting for her eyes to reopen.

She's never looked more beautiful.

**

Pacey seems to have lost what few brains cells he has and, though he might be muttering explanations as he comes around the Witter Wagoneer, I can't really hear what he's saying. I don't understand why we've stopped or what on earth has sent him into a tizzy but one minute I'm spilling my guts; the next he's pulled over and exited the vehicle.

I should have remembered he was never a morning person.

Now we're standing at the side of the road in the freezing cold on this clear winter morning and I'm under interrogation for some incomprehensible reason. Initially, my thought is that he's annoyed that I called him to pick me up. I knew I should have called Bodie! But that doesn't seem to be the crux of Pacey's issue as he continues to badger me with questions that make no sense.

I really thought we were friends!

My confusion and annoyance grow until I'm flapping my arms in near surrender; I have no idea what answers he seeks until suddenly he's so close to me that his solid body shelters me from the wind.

Time seems to slow and stretch, although in reality only seconds pass. His warm hands are cupping my cold face, as if to hold me in place, and all thought disappears from my mind. He leans in and, like a magnet attracted to its polar pair, I don't resist - I follow. I feel his hot breath against my skin a moment before my world narrows and his eyes are all that I can see. Then everything goes dark, for I've instinctively closed my own when his lips claim mine.

He no longer seems to be looking for answers but providing them directly to my soul through my mouth.

I grasp his sleeves with my mitten-clad fingers as his slide into the hair behind my ears. Anchored to him, I melt into the liquid inferno that is his mouth and disregard my need to breathe.

For long moments there is nothing bar fluttering deep inside me and the taste of him, filling me with an unspecified longing for something more.

We break apart ever so slowly; my lips tingling and swollen. My lashes sweep upwards to find him gazing down at me, almost lovingly.

That one look rocks me, promptly restoring reality. With a great gasp of air I realize that Pacey Witter has just kissed me. Pacey Witter, best friend of my best friend, one Dawson Leery, with whom I just spent six months painstakingly restoring our lifelong friendship.

And, just like that, those warm sensations in my stomach dissipate into cold fear.

In a split second, I react.

I push him away.

**

Miserably, I gaze unseeing at the flickering images on the TV, a bag of chips on my lap. Now that I've had a chance to reflect, I realize Jo might just have a point. In all the dreaming I've done about Miss Josephine Potter, not once did I consider how Dawson might feel when I declared myself.

Despite the ups and downs of our relationship, he's been my best friend for a long, long time. There's no denying the history. I dip into the bag and crunch apathetically on a handful of the salty snack. Growing up, the times when I couldn't go home, I knew I could always retreat to the safety of the Leery's. He let me live in his perfect world where we shared everything – toys, firsts, experiences. Shared, of course, on his terms.

I brush at the chip crumbs on the front of my shirt, causing an avalanche to fall onto Dougie's couch. Given the length and intensity of his relationship with Joey, I wonder under just what terms he'd be willing to share his best friend with me.

Not that it really makes any difference.

Joey let me kiss her… oh my God… Joey let me kiss her. I pause to revel in the memory of her sweet, sweet lips before allowing the violence of the aftermath to invade the moment.

Yes, considering Joey's reaction, how Dawson feels seems to be entirely irrelevant.

Those six miles to the B&B were quite possibly the longest in my life. She didn't say one word the entire ride there. Didn't even glance back when she slammed the car door and ran inside.

Now what am I going to do? I need her.

My meditation is interrupted by my brother berating my choice of breakfast foods and the consequent mess in his pristine living room. He offers me the alternative of pancakes at the diner, his treat, which I'm not about to refuse. Besides, I need someone to talk to. Dawson and Joey are out of the question for obvious reasons and Deputy Doug has been surprisingly supportive this year.

Maybe I'll get more out of breakfast than just pancakes.

**

I stomp out of the B&B and head for school on foot. My regular ride has failed to show and I can't help but wonder if he's afraid of my brutality or if he's simply given up on me. I resolutely refuse to guess which it is or to figure out exactly how I feel about either.

No, it's a damn good thing Pacey didn't come to pick me up this morning. I don't need him to give me a ride to school! I'm cold but at least I know I'm safe from his hormonal meltdowns.

He kissed me! I still can't believe it. He kissed me. Just like that, out of the blue. Why? Where did it come from? It's crazy; all this is so crazy. I hardly slept last night. My thoughts are haywire and for some strange reason my stomach hasn't been the same since that morning.

It won't settle.

Bessie turned out to be woefully unwilling to dispense sisterly advice in the romance department; for someone who is more opinionated than even me she sure picked the perfect time to clam up. She didn't seem the least bit surprised to hear that I broke up with AJ, however. If anything, I detected relief in her response to that bit of news.

She was appropriately shocked at the nerve of Pacey Witter daring to kiss me but left me to my own devices when I revealed that I might have… maybe… sort of… let him.

So now I'm back to square one.

For all the angst I was feeling in regard to AJ, he's barely crossed my mind. No, the gray matter in my skull seems to be completely occupied by the memory of Pacey's mouth on mine; that hot, wet warmth igniting my nerve endings all the way to the tips of my fingers and toes.

Regardless of how amazing that kiss was, there is still Dawson to consider. I truly don't believe my love life is any of his concern but this is Pacey! The three of us share a bond that goes beyond childhood play dates.

What am I going to do? I need him. I need them both.

Dawson's perfect world has always been my refuge and his friendship has always lent me strength. If Pacey and I pair off, it could easily upset the balance of friendship that exists between us all. I just can't risk that. Besides, I made a promise to myself to be there for the both of them. I can't break my promise.

For what?

Tingly lips?

A look? A look that I don't even understand?

Jamming my hands further into my pockets, I trudge toward Capeside High; wishing things could go back to the way they used to be.

The question is, just when exactly do I want them to go back to?

**

It meant nothing.

Joey said kissing me meant nothing.

In the midst of a bustling convenience store, as her fingers slip through mine, the warmth leaves my body and I'm left feeling gutted and a little shell-shocked. I babble on for another minute and then gather my sugar-fueled charge and make my hasty getaway.

The kiss meant nothing.

Joey and I are friends.

Just friends.

Great.

I made a mistake and she confirmed it.

She doesn't feel the same way about me.

That's that.

All those long months of hoping, wishing, longing, for – in her own words - nothing.

We're over before we even started.

One all-too-quick-kiss put aside with a polite handshake, like it never happened.

But it's for the best, right?

I need her in my life and, if this is the only way, then this is the only way.

Right?

Now if someone could just tell my breaking heart that...

**

A mistake.

Pacey said kissing me was a mistake.

He politely apologized for the kiss.

I politely brushed it off as nothing.

We politely shook hands.

All very civil.

All just a mistake.

Pacey and I are back to just being friends.

Jen was right, right? Not a big deal unless I make it one. I overreacted before, that's all.

A mistake.

But this is good; this is what I wanted, right? Now things can go back to normal.

Great.

Then why, when his hand touched mine, did it feel like something was finally falling into place.

Something I've always wanted.

Only to sense it slip out of my grasp when he let go of my hand.

Following him outside the store to watch him and Buzz walk away, the thought that's been nagging at my mind ever since the other day, waiting patiently for recognition, waits no more.

I didn't just let Pacey Witter kiss me.

Oh God.

I kissed him back.

**

"Settling" ~ Tara MacLean

Am I real? Am I a dream?
Am I borrowed? Am I blue?
Is it just the dust of leaving you settling?

Am I fair? Am I strong?
Am I there? Do I belong?
Is it only skin I touch?
When I reach for you?

Oh, the leaves they fall,
They go so far sometimes.
Do I blame the wind?
Or the tree for letting you go?
Or do I wave goodbye, Setting?

Do I stay? Do I fight?
Is it wrong and nothing's right?
Or is it just the closet light
I've offered you?

Oh the leaves they fall,
They go so far sometimes.
Do I blame the wind?
Or the tree that let you go?
Or do I wave goodbye?
Settling.

So many times I needed
You to be strong to me.
But you bend beneath
The slightest breeze.
You have no leaves,
No leaves, no leaves...
Settling.

Am I fair? Am I strong?
Do I stay? Do I fight?
Is it just the closet light?
Is it only skin I touch,
Or is it just the dust, settling?

*~*