ok, so I apologize for taking so long...but I have been unbelievably busy. I'm not doing all that well in school (heh heh, oops?) But I promise to write the next few chapters this weekend! Thanks for reading, you guys!!
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Joey glanced around Dawson's room. His mom had said he was there.
"Dawson?"...no answer. "Hello?" she called again a bit louder.
"Joey?" Dawson's head all of a sudden sprang out from under the bed. Joey jumped about 6 feet high.
"What the hell are you doing under there?!" she asked getting down on her knees to talk to him as he crawled out.
"Well, you see, I have this old box of just...crap. And I needed a picture of myself as a baby for a project..." Joey raised an eyebrow.
"It's an art class, Jo." She still gave him a weird look, then shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Ok, the reason I stopped by was...well, Pace was supposed to stop by the B&B at 7, and he didn't show."
"Uhm....actually, the last time I saw Pacey was..." Dawson laughed to himself.
"What's so hilariously funny?" Joey asked.
"Well, see, what happened was...today he showed up for work late. So I was late to meet Gretchen. So I just ran out of there like a bat outta hell. And accidentally ran into these kids. Last time I saw Pace, he was talking to them out front of Screenplay."
Joey sighed. "Alright. Thanks, Dawson. Call the B&B if you hear from him, ok? I...I just want to know that he's alright." Joey smiled at Dawson, halfway under the bed.
"Will do, Jo. Now back to the picture." Dawson slid himself back under his bed, taking a flashlight in his teeth.
"Bye Dawson!"she screamed.
"Bye Jo!" He hollered back sticking his hand out under the dust ruffle and waving.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pacey ran down the street quickly. He was headed toward his sister, Gretchen's, house. Well, he lived there, too. But technically it was her's. 'I gotta talk to Gretch...she'll know what to do, she always does.' Pacey kept thinking to himself as he approached their beach house. He shoved his key in the front door, opened it, and slammed it behind him. \
"GRETCHEN!?!" He shreiked at the top of his lungs.
"GRETCHEN!!" He yelled again as he ran from room to room.
"GRET...chen..." he said as he breathed heavily, seeing her sitting on the couch, staring at him, smiling.
"Yes, Pace? Need something?" She said sarcastically. "Why dontcha sit down and explain to me why you're running around the house like a crazy man." She said as she stood up to get him a glass of water.
He didn't drink it, he inhaled it.
After sufficiently hydrating himself and calming down enough to talk, he began to tell Gretchen the story.
"Ok...now dont freak out. Ok?
"Looks like you've freaked out enough for the both of us, Pace."
"Promise?"
She sighed. "Alright, I promise! Now, tell me what's got you so hyped up!"
Pacey took a deep breath. 'Just say it Pace. Just say: I saw Isabella. It isn't that hard, you idiot.' he thought to himself.
Gretchen stared at her brother with a concerned look on her face. "Pace?"
'Now or never, man. Just say it.' He took a deep breath. "Gretchen...do you remember when we were really little...well, you weren't. Anyway, you remember Bella, right?" Pacey asked hesitantly.
Gretchen shifted on the couch. "Pacey. We're not supposed to talk about her."
He sighed. "I know that! But, do you remember her?
"Of course I do, Pacey. How could I not? Belle was my little sister."
"Ok, well, if you like...saw her now, would you know, just by looking at her that it was her?" Pacey leaned toward his sister. "Would you?"
"I honestly dont know, Pace. I mean, how old is she now? Like 13 or 14. She would look real different, Pacey."
Pacey was getting impatient. "But what if she didn't look different!? What if you saw her...and it was like looking at a big Bella?! Would you be able to recognize her? Would you know it was her?"
"I dont know, Pace...why are you all of a sudden asking about her? You have never, not once, since the incident, asked about Belle. What's going on." Gretchen asked, probably the most serious that he'd ever seen his older sister. He didn't answer.
"Pacey, did you see Isabella?" Gretchen asked taking Pacey by the shoulders.
He didn't answer.
"Yes or no, Pacey." Gretchen said getting more forceful. "DID YOU OR DID YOU NOT SEE ISABELLA!?!" she screamed while shaking his shoulders when he wouldn't answer her.
"PACEY!" She screamed stepping back. He sighed and looked at her .
"I dont know..." When he said this, she blew up.
"What do you mean 'YOU DONT KNOW'!?!?! Pacey, if you SAW our LITTLE SISTER, I STRONGLY SUGGEST you telling me THIS INSTANT!!" She began to pace back and forth in front of her brother, pointing her finger accusingly at him. "Because, Pacey, If you choose NOT TO TELL ME! Your personal safety is AT RISK because I'm going to-" she stopped and shoved her face up close next to his to emphasize her point-"BEAT YOUR BRAINS IN!!!"
Pacey sighed.
"WELL!?!" Gretchen screamed.
"Yes." he said blatantly.
Gretchen, in shock, fell back onto the couch.
"I think her and her friends were headed toward the Rialto to see a movie. They're in town on a trip. Leaving tommorow."
Gretchen jumped up dragging Pacey with her. She grabbed their jackets and dragged him out the front door, not bothering to close it. She jumped in the driver's seat of her car and Pacey jumped in the passenger side.
"If that was her, I sure as hell am NOT letting that little girl leave Capeside."
Gretchen hit the gas and they were off.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Joey approached Pacey's beach house for the second time. This time, when she knocked, Gretchen didn't show up at the door. The door was already open, it just blew open when she went to touch it.
'Oh my god.'Joey thought, instinctively thinking the worst. She walked toward the family room, finding the sofa cushions all out of order she panicked.
"Pacey?" she hollered, hoping he would answer her. "Pace? It's Joey. Are you here!?!" she rushed from room to room. She didn't find him
"PACEY!?!"she screamed one last time. She ran outside. 'Joey, don't freak out just yet. Pacey's fine! He's gotta be.' she thought to herself as she looked around the outside of Pacey's house. "No car."she said to herself.
Gretchen's car wasn't there.
"They must of just gone out." she said to herself again, trying to logical. Joey walked back inside and wrote a note to her boyfriend letting him know she dropped by and to call her ASAP. She left the house, closing the door, and started to walk into town, where she figured she'd see a movie, since her date with Pacey was obviously off.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hurry up, Pacey!" Gretchen screamed as Pacey attempted to dig out his money for the movie tickets. "GOD, Pace! Could you be ANY slower?!?"
"Here."Pacey said as he threw a 10-dollar bill at the girl in the ticket booth and grabbed the two tickets to the movie. He handed one to Gretchen and they practically ran into the theater. It was halfway through the movie, which happened to be "Charlie's Angels."
"I love this movie!" Pacey exclaimed as they stepped in and saw Drew Barrymore licking a steering wheel on the screen.
"You would." Gretchen answered as she tried to find the kids. "How many of them are there?" She asked.
Pacey looked around, trying to adjust to the sudden darkness. "Uhm...that's them, right there." He said pointing to a group of about 9 or 10 kids sitting in a few rows near where they were standing. Gretchen grabed Pacey's arm and said, "C'mon."as she dragged him to the row behind the kid's.
They sat down and stared at the two rows of teenagers.
"So...Which one did you think was her, Pace?" Gretchen whispered.
Pacey glanced over the kids. He spotted all the ones he'd seen earlier that day, but not Bella. "I dont see her, Gretch." he whispered.
"What do you mean you don't see her, her friends are here, so she's here, FIND HER!" Gretchen whispered to her brother more loudly than she meant to. One of the kids turned around. It was Josh.
"Hey, you're that dude from today. The one who's friend trampled us!" Josh said.
Pacey sighed and glanced at Gretchen. "Yea, that'd be me. Josh, right?"
"Yea, I never caught your name, dude."
"It's Pacey."
"Cool name. Real...unique."
"Uh, thanks."
"I'm gonna watch the movie now. See ya."
Pacey thought about it for a second, then knew this was his chance. "Hey Josh?"
"Yea?" He turned around again.
"How's that friend of your's, the one that almost got hit earlier?"
Josh laughed. "Oh, you must mean Bella. She's fine. She went to the bathroom and to get some popcorn." He waited for Pacey to say something. "Anything else?"
"No, thanks Josh."
"No problem, man." and then Josh went back to watching Cameron Diaz drive a race car down main roads.
Just then, the theater door opened. Gretchen squeezed Pacey's arm and they both stared at the person who entered. Pacey leaned toward Gretchen and whispered, "That's her."
Gretchen stared at the brunette in awe. There was very little light, but the likeness was uncanny. They had the same brown hair. The same brown eyes. Pacey was right. That was her. "Oh my God..." Gretchen whispered, to no one in particular. "I know." Pacey whispered back. "It's her, isn't it?" He asked. Gretchen sighed. "How can it not be?" she asked in return. Then she knew what she had to do.
Gretchen leaned forward and tapped Josh on the shoulder, he turned around, beginning to get annoyed. Bella turned to, she was sitting next to Josh.
"Hi, Josh was it? My name's Gretchen, I'm Pacey's older sister. Where are you kid's staying tonight? I'm just curious." she flashed him a sugary-sweet smile.
He laughed doofily. "Uhm...uh..."
Bella couldn't take it, she exploded with laughter and then looked directly at Gretchen. "Hi Gretchen. Yes, this is Josh, and yes, he's a total moron. We're staying at a nice little place called the Potter B&B."
Gretchen smiled at her sincerely. "Thank you. I hope you have a nice trip. Goodbye."
Bella smiled. "Bye Gretchen."
Bella turned back around and heard Gretchen and whoever was with her leave. 'What was his name...Pacey? What a strange name.' Bella thought to herself. 'But then, why does it sound so familiar?'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Joey walked into the Rialto just in time to see Pacey, followed by Gretchen bust out of the theater showing "Charlie's Angels." She ran toward him.
"Oh my god, Pacey!" she shrieked as she threw her arms around his neck. "Thank GOD you're alright!" Pacey looked at Gretchen confused.
"Whoa, wait a sec, Jo." He pulled her off of him so he could look at her. "Why wouldn't I be alright?"
Joey began to get upset. "Pacey! You were supposed to meet me at the B&B at 7! You never showed." Pacey sighed. "Jo, I'm soo sorry, this thing came up and I totally forgot."
Joey continued her story: "So I went to Dawson's, and he was under his bed and he didn't know where you were, so I went to your house, and the first time Gretchen was there, but then when I went again, she wasn't. And the door was WIDE open. I mean, not even closed. And all the couch cushions were going this way and and that, and I thought someone had brutally murdered you or something!" She screamed waving her arms in the air.
Pacey looked at her. "Joey, I'm fine. Gretchen and I really need to go now, though. Something really important came up and we have to go talk to my mom and dad and Deputy Doug now." Joey looked confused.
"You both hate them." she stated blatantly.
Pacey sighed. "Why dont you just come, sweetie, ok?"
Joey, still confused, answered after a moment. "Alright."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Gretchen pulled her car up in front of the Witter house. She glanced into the back seat at Pacey and Joey. She opened her door and looked back at them again. "You ok, Pace?" Pacey glanced at Joey. "Yea, but you're talking." Joey looked at him. He looked at her. "You comin in Jo?" He asked taking her hand. She smiled and started to get out, nodded and said a very satisfactory, "Mmmm-hmmmm."
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Joey glanced around Dawson's room. His mom had said he was there.
"Dawson?"...no answer. "Hello?" she called again a bit louder.
"Joey?" Dawson's head all of a sudden sprang out from under the bed. Joey jumped about 6 feet high.
"What the hell are you doing under there?!" she asked getting down on her knees to talk to him as he crawled out.
"Well, you see, I have this old box of just...crap. And I needed a picture of myself as a baby for a project..." Joey raised an eyebrow.
"It's an art class, Jo." She still gave him a weird look, then shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Ok, the reason I stopped by was...well, Pace was supposed to stop by the B&B at 7, and he didn't show."
"Uhm....actually, the last time I saw Pacey was..." Dawson laughed to himself.
"What's so hilariously funny?" Joey asked.
"Well, see, what happened was...today he showed up for work late. So I was late to meet Gretchen. So I just ran out of there like a bat outta hell. And accidentally ran into these kids. Last time I saw Pace, he was talking to them out front of Screenplay."
Joey sighed. "Alright. Thanks, Dawson. Call the B&B if you hear from him, ok? I...I just want to know that he's alright." Joey smiled at Dawson, halfway under the bed.
"Will do, Jo. Now back to the picture." Dawson slid himself back under his bed, taking a flashlight in his teeth.
"Bye Dawson!"she screamed.
"Bye Jo!" He hollered back sticking his hand out under the dust ruffle and waving.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pacey ran down the street quickly. He was headed toward his sister, Gretchen's, house. Well, he lived there, too. But technically it was her's. 'I gotta talk to Gretch...she'll know what to do, she always does.' Pacey kept thinking to himself as he approached their beach house. He shoved his key in the front door, opened it, and slammed it behind him. \
"GRETCHEN!?!" He shreiked at the top of his lungs.
"GRETCHEN!!" He yelled again as he ran from room to room.
"GRET...chen..." he said as he breathed heavily, seeing her sitting on the couch, staring at him, smiling.
"Yes, Pace? Need something?" She said sarcastically. "Why dontcha sit down and explain to me why you're running around the house like a crazy man." She said as she stood up to get him a glass of water.
He didn't drink it, he inhaled it.
After sufficiently hydrating himself and calming down enough to talk, he began to tell Gretchen the story.
"Ok...now dont freak out. Ok?
"Looks like you've freaked out enough for the both of us, Pace."
"Promise?"
She sighed. "Alright, I promise! Now, tell me what's got you so hyped up!"
Pacey took a deep breath. 'Just say it Pace. Just say: I saw Isabella. It isn't that hard, you idiot.' he thought to himself.
Gretchen stared at her brother with a concerned look on her face. "Pace?"
'Now or never, man. Just say it.' He took a deep breath. "Gretchen...do you remember when we were really little...well, you weren't. Anyway, you remember Bella, right?" Pacey asked hesitantly.
Gretchen shifted on the couch. "Pacey. We're not supposed to talk about her."
He sighed. "I know that! But, do you remember her?
"Of course I do, Pacey. How could I not? Belle was my little sister."
"Ok, well, if you like...saw her now, would you know, just by looking at her that it was her?" Pacey leaned toward his sister. "Would you?"
"I honestly dont know, Pace. I mean, how old is she now? Like 13 or 14. She would look real different, Pacey."
Pacey was getting impatient. "But what if she didn't look different!? What if you saw her...and it was like looking at a big Bella?! Would you be able to recognize her? Would you know it was her?"
"I dont know, Pace...why are you all of a sudden asking about her? You have never, not once, since the incident, asked about Belle. What's going on." Gretchen asked, probably the most serious that he'd ever seen his older sister. He didn't answer.
"Pacey, did you see Isabella?" Gretchen asked taking Pacey by the shoulders.
He didn't answer.
"Yes or no, Pacey." Gretchen said getting more forceful. "DID YOU OR DID YOU NOT SEE ISABELLA!?!" she screamed while shaking his shoulders when he wouldn't answer her.
"PACEY!" She screamed stepping back. He sighed and looked at her .
"I dont know..." When he said this, she blew up.
"What do you mean 'YOU DONT KNOW'!?!?! Pacey, if you SAW our LITTLE SISTER, I STRONGLY SUGGEST you telling me THIS INSTANT!!" She began to pace back and forth in front of her brother, pointing her finger accusingly at him. "Because, Pacey, If you choose NOT TO TELL ME! Your personal safety is AT RISK because I'm going to-" she stopped and shoved her face up close next to his to emphasize her point-"BEAT YOUR BRAINS IN!!!"
Pacey sighed.
"WELL!?!" Gretchen screamed.
"Yes." he said blatantly.
Gretchen, in shock, fell back onto the couch.
"I think her and her friends were headed toward the Rialto to see a movie. They're in town on a trip. Leaving tommorow."
Gretchen jumped up dragging Pacey with her. She grabbed their jackets and dragged him out the front door, not bothering to close it. She jumped in the driver's seat of her car and Pacey jumped in the passenger side.
"If that was her, I sure as hell am NOT letting that little girl leave Capeside."
Gretchen hit the gas and they were off.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Joey approached Pacey's beach house for the second time. This time, when she knocked, Gretchen didn't show up at the door. The door was already open, it just blew open when she went to touch it.
'Oh my god.'Joey thought, instinctively thinking the worst. She walked toward the family room, finding the sofa cushions all out of order she panicked.
"Pacey?" she hollered, hoping he would answer her. "Pace? It's Joey. Are you here!?!" she rushed from room to room. She didn't find him
"PACEY!?!"she screamed one last time. She ran outside. 'Joey, don't freak out just yet. Pacey's fine! He's gotta be.' she thought to herself as she looked around the outside of Pacey's house. "No car."she said to herself.
Gretchen's car wasn't there.
"They must of just gone out." she said to herself again, trying to logical. Joey walked back inside and wrote a note to her boyfriend letting him know she dropped by and to call her ASAP. She left the house, closing the door, and started to walk into town, where she figured she'd see a movie, since her date with Pacey was obviously off.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hurry up, Pacey!" Gretchen screamed as Pacey attempted to dig out his money for the movie tickets. "GOD, Pace! Could you be ANY slower?!?"
"Here."Pacey said as he threw a 10-dollar bill at the girl in the ticket booth and grabbed the two tickets to the movie. He handed one to Gretchen and they practically ran into the theater. It was halfway through the movie, which happened to be "Charlie's Angels."
"I love this movie!" Pacey exclaimed as they stepped in and saw Drew Barrymore licking a steering wheel on the screen.
"You would." Gretchen answered as she tried to find the kids. "How many of them are there?" She asked.
Pacey looked around, trying to adjust to the sudden darkness. "Uhm...that's them, right there." He said pointing to a group of about 9 or 10 kids sitting in a few rows near where they were standing. Gretchen grabed Pacey's arm and said, "C'mon."as she dragged him to the row behind the kid's.
They sat down and stared at the two rows of teenagers.
"So...Which one did you think was her, Pace?" Gretchen whispered.
Pacey glanced over the kids. He spotted all the ones he'd seen earlier that day, but not Bella. "I dont see her, Gretch." he whispered.
"What do you mean you don't see her, her friends are here, so she's here, FIND HER!" Gretchen whispered to her brother more loudly than she meant to. One of the kids turned around. It was Josh.
"Hey, you're that dude from today. The one who's friend trampled us!" Josh said.
Pacey sighed and glanced at Gretchen. "Yea, that'd be me. Josh, right?"
"Yea, I never caught your name, dude."
"It's Pacey."
"Cool name. Real...unique."
"Uh, thanks."
"I'm gonna watch the movie now. See ya."
Pacey thought about it for a second, then knew this was his chance. "Hey Josh?"
"Yea?" He turned around again.
"How's that friend of your's, the one that almost got hit earlier?"
Josh laughed. "Oh, you must mean Bella. She's fine. She went to the bathroom and to get some popcorn." He waited for Pacey to say something. "Anything else?"
"No, thanks Josh."
"No problem, man." and then Josh went back to watching Cameron Diaz drive a race car down main roads.
Just then, the theater door opened. Gretchen squeezed Pacey's arm and they both stared at the person who entered. Pacey leaned toward Gretchen and whispered, "That's her."
Gretchen stared at the brunette in awe. There was very little light, but the likeness was uncanny. They had the same brown hair. The same brown eyes. Pacey was right. That was her. "Oh my God..." Gretchen whispered, to no one in particular. "I know." Pacey whispered back. "It's her, isn't it?" He asked. Gretchen sighed. "How can it not be?" she asked in return. Then she knew what she had to do.
Gretchen leaned forward and tapped Josh on the shoulder, he turned around, beginning to get annoyed. Bella turned to, she was sitting next to Josh.
"Hi, Josh was it? My name's Gretchen, I'm Pacey's older sister. Where are you kid's staying tonight? I'm just curious." she flashed him a sugary-sweet smile.
He laughed doofily. "Uhm...uh..."
Bella couldn't take it, she exploded with laughter and then looked directly at Gretchen. "Hi Gretchen. Yes, this is Josh, and yes, he's a total moron. We're staying at a nice little place called the Potter B&B."
Gretchen smiled at her sincerely. "Thank you. I hope you have a nice trip. Goodbye."
Bella smiled. "Bye Gretchen."
Bella turned back around and heard Gretchen and whoever was with her leave. 'What was his name...Pacey? What a strange name.' Bella thought to herself. 'But then, why does it sound so familiar?'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Joey walked into the Rialto just in time to see Pacey, followed by Gretchen bust out of the theater showing "Charlie's Angels." She ran toward him.
"Oh my god, Pacey!" she shrieked as she threw her arms around his neck. "Thank GOD you're alright!" Pacey looked at Gretchen confused.
"Whoa, wait a sec, Jo." He pulled her off of him so he could look at her. "Why wouldn't I be alright?"
Joey began to get upset. "Pacey! You were supposed to meet me at the B&B at 7! You never showed." Pacey sighed. "Jo, I'm soo sorry, this thing came up and I totally forgot."
Joey continued her story: "So I went to Dawson's, and he was under his bed and he didn't know where you were, so I went to your house, and the first time Gretchen was there, but then when I went again, she wasn't. And the door was WIDE open. I mean, not even closed. And all the couch cushions were going this way and and that, and I thought someone had brutally murdered you or something!" She screamed waving her arms in the air.
Pacey looked at her. "Joey, I'm fine. Gretchen and I really need to go now, though. Something really important came up and we have to go talk to my mom and dad and Deputy Doug now." Joey looked confused.
"You both hate them." she stated blatantly.
Pacey sighed. "Why dont you just come, sweetie, ok?"
Joey, still confused, answered after a moment. "Alright."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Gretchen pulled her car up in front of the Witter house. She glanced into the back seat at Pacey and Joey. She opened her door and looked back at them again. "You ok, Pace?" Pacey glanced at Joey. "Yea, but you're talking." Joey looked at him. He looked at her. "You comin in Jo?" He asked taking her hand. She smiled and started to get out, nodded and said a very satisfactory, "Mmmm-hmmmm."