Disclaimer: I don't own Dawson's Creek or any of its characters.
Author's Note: Thanks to the following for reading and reviewing my story: Gypsy, Giuliana, justagirl, alysa, Aubrey, Abagail Snow, Cesare, roundin3rd, Molly, kelcb26, annie, dwscreekfreak, Vale, *~)TINK(~*, Vera, Annie, Pacey-Luver, FinallyPJ, and SmOgLoViNg. I appreciate the comments and constructive criticism. You guys rock!!!
Comments: I can't believe that I'm already at Chapter 11, the official half- way mark! Thanks to everyone who's read this story so far. Please keep reading and reviewing, it always makes my day to see a review in my inbox! And, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've had a serious case of writer's block and a lack of time to write.
Dawson couldn't believe that he had just found condoms at Pacey's. What could it mean? Were Pacey and Joey really having sex? What if Pacey was just using Joey for sex? He tried to think of some way to ask them without being too nosy. Dawson looked up at the stars. He couldn't hide the twinge of jealousy he was feeling right now. Joey and Pacey had each other, as did Jack and Jen. Even Andie was semi-dating someone. That left him as the odd one out. As he approached his house, he switched his thoughts back to how to get Pacey and Joey to confess.
***** The next day at school... *****
"Hey Pacey, wait up!" Dawson called out.
Pacey turned around to see Dawson jogging towards him. He smiled. "Hey, Dawson, how's it going?"
"Good, good. You?" Dawson asked back.
"I'm doing great. Oh, thanks for bringing back my math book. I kinda needed it for first period," Pacey thanked.
"No problem. Um, would you mind stopping by my house after school?" Dawson asked, hoping that Pacey would accept.
"Yeah, sure. I'll be over at around 4, okay?" Pacey answered.
"Great. I'll see you then," Dawson said as he walked over to his next class. He was actually very happy that Pacey had accepted his invitation. He was going to figure out exactly what was going on between Pacey and Joey.
***** 4:00 p.m. at Dawson's House *****
Pacey strolled up to the Leery's front door. He opened up the screen door and then rang the doorbell, just as he had done numerous times before. He looked down at his shoes and shifted his weight from foot to foot. He suddenly heard footsteps coming to the door. He looked up and saw Dawson opening the door. "Hey, man," Pacey said as he entered the Leery house.
"Hey, thanks for stopping by," Dawson said as he led Pacey into the kitchen.
"No problem. So, why did you need to see me?" Pacey asked as he took a seat at the stool stationed by the island in the kitchen.
Dawson paused as he played around with the items in the fridge. He really didn't know where to start. "Uh, look Pacey," he stumbled.
Pacey looked at Dawson puzzled. "What is it?" he asked.
"I don't really know how to approach the subject, Pace," Dawson replied.
"Listen, you can talk to me about anything," Pacey said. "Just give it a shot."
Dawson turned around to face Pacey. He took a deep breath. "Are you having sex with Joey?" he blurted out.
Pacey stared at Dawson with a confused look on his face. "Did you just ask me..." he started.
"Yes, I just asked you flat out if you're having sex with Joey. Well, are you?" Dawson repeated.
Pacey couldn't believe it. How could Dawson even ask that? "I'm still in the process of figuring out how the hell you think you have the right to ask that," Pacey replied.
"Are you even gonna answer me?" Dawson demanded once again.
"I don't need to!" Pacey exclaimed. "What Joey and I do alone is our business, and nobody else's!"
"So you two have," Dawson mumbled.
"What?" Pacey said with fire in his eyes.
"You said what you and Joey do alone is your business. So, you're saying that you two are sleeping together," Dawson said.
Pacey stood up from his chair. "That's not what I said. Listen, Dawson, I don't have to tell you anything. My sex life is not open for discussion! Now if you'll excuse me, I should be going," he said as he started to walk away.
"Pace..." Dawson began.
"I'll talk to you later Dawson," Pacey said as he stormed out the door.
***** Later on that same evening... *****
Pacey was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was still fuming over what had happened earlier with Dawson. How could he honestly ask him that? And, more importantly, why did it make such a difference to him whether or not he and Joey were having sex? These questions repeated over and over in his head until he was brought back down to Earth by the roar of his father downstairs.
"Pacey! Phone!" his father barked out. Pacey sighed as he walked out of his room to grab the portable phone.
"Hello?" he said as he rubbed his forehead.
"Hey," Joey said happily on the other line.
"Hi, how's it going?" Pacey replied.
"Good. Look, Pacey, I was just talking to Dawson a few minutes ago," Joey started.
Pacey sighed into the phone. "What did he say?" he asked.
"Well, he told me that I should ask you about it. So, Pacey, what happened over at Dawson's?" she asked.
"Nothing," Pacey lied.
"Pacey, come on, I know you're lying to me," Joey said.
Pacey sighed. "He asked me if we have had sex yet," he remarked bluntly. There was a moment of silence on the other line. "Jo?"
"What did you tell him?" she asked nervously.
Pacey paused for a minute. "Do you even have to ask me that?" he asked hastily.
"What do you mean?" Joey asked confused.
"It just sounds like you're doubting me. Like you expect me to lie to Dawson," Pacey replied hurt.
"Pace..." Joe started.
"No, let me finish. I can't believe you'd think that I would lie about that. I thought you trusted me a bit more than that!" exclaimed Pacey.
"That's not what I meant!" Joey exclaimed.
Pacey opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by the sound of his father stomping upstairs.
"Pacey! Get off the phone!" he yelled, his speech a little slurred from being drunk.
Pacey cringed at his father's drunken voice. He knew he was in for some kind of drunken lecture. "Look, Joey, I have to go..." he started before his father charged into his room. He dropped the phone out of fear.
"I told you to get off the phone! Who the hell are you talking to!" demanded his father.
"I'm just talking to Joey; I was about to get off. Just calm down," Pacey pleaded.
"I am calm! Now hang up on that trailer trash! I have a, a business call to make," his father said with a chuckle at his pathetic joke.
Pacey looked up at his father. Even if he was angry at Joey, even if his father was drunk, nobody talked to the woman he loved that way. "Don't talk about Joey that way!" he shouted.
John Witter laughed. "Come on, Pacey, we all know that girl doesn't love you! She'll just pass you up for someone better. Why would she want to stay with a loser like you?" he said. Pacey had had enough. He threw himself towards his father. He made a fist and hit his father in the nose. His father then retaliated. He wheeled and punched Pacey right back in his right eye. With his other hand, he knocked Pacey down with a few blows to the ribs. "You have ten minutes to get yourself the hell out of my house!" ordered his father as he left Pacey's room and slammed the door.
"Pacey?" a small voice called out.
Pacey looked around him, searching for that familiar voice. He noticed the telephone was still off the hook. He reached over and picked it up. "Joey?" he said, his voice quivering.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" Joey said, trying not to break down into tears.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Look, if I don't get off the phone now, he's gonna come back, so I guess I'll talk to you later," Pacey replied, trying to be strong.
"Where are you going to go?" Joey inquired.
"I don't know; I just can't stay here right now. I need to go out and think," Pacey answered.
"About what?" Joey asked.
"You seem to forgotten what we were just talking about," Pacey said.
"Look, Pacey, I didn't mean that. If you come over here, I can explain. But right now, I want to make sure that you're alright," Joey said as she started to cry.
Pacey paused. "Alright, I'll be over in a few minutes. Okay?" he said.
"Okay. I love you Pacey," Joey said.
"I love you too," Pacey said as he hung up the phone. He looked around his room and found a duffel bag. He opened up his drawers and threw some clothes into the bag. He grabbed a few other things and then stormed out of his house.
***** Joey's house *****
Joey was waiting impatiently for Pacey to arrive. She was sitting outside her house on the porch swing. She looked up nervously to the sky as it started to rain. Pacey still wasn't there yet. She waited for ten minutes out in the rain before she saw his tall frame walking towards her house. She couldn't hold it in anymore. She started running towards him. As she got closer to him, she noticed that he was holding his chest and wincing in pain. However, he hadn't noticed her running towards him yet.
"Pacey!" Joey cried out.
Pacey looked up to see Joey sprinting towards him. He tried to pick up his pace, but it hurt too much to try and run. So, he decided to just try and walk faster. It took a few minutes but finally they had reached each other.
"Pace, are you ok?" Joey asked, placing one of her hands on his face.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Pacey lied, trying to hide the pain in his face from the aching in his ribs. He took a good look at her. Her chocolate- brown hair was wet from the rain, and her blue sweater and jeans were starting to get drenched. However, it was her face that really captivated him. She was looking intently at his face, her fingers rubbing his face gently. She didn't even know that he was staring at her. When she finally looked into his eyes, he knew that their argument didn't mean anything. In her eyes, he saw more concern, passion, and love than he ever thought possible. His lips quickly turned into a smile as he pressed his forehead against hers. "I'm okay now, Joey," he whispered softly.
Joey gave him a half-smile. "You can still be upset over what happened with Dawson. I don't blame you for it," she said.
"It's okay. I just blew it out of proportion. I was just so angry at Dawson that I took it out on you. You didn't deserve that, and I'm really sorry about the stuff I said about you not trusting me. I was just upset, and it came out wrong. I can't even begin to tell you how bad I'm feeling about that right now," he apologized.
"How come you're the one apologizing? You didn't do anything irrational. Pacey, I was just feeling insecure. I should have had a little more faith in you than that. And I want, no, I need you to know that I trust you more than anything. Okay?" she replied.
"Okay," Pacey said with a smile. However, his smile quickly faded as he felt another spasm of pain in his chest.
Joey looked at Pacey with concern as he started to hunch over. "We need to get you inside. Come on," she said as she turned to leave.
"Wait, Jo," Pacey said as he stopped her.
"What?" she asked.
"Have you ever been kissed in the rain?" Pacey said with a grin. Before Joey could answer him, he pulled her close and kissed her with everything he had before he had to pull away because of the pain in his chest.
Joey smiled as she took Pacey by the hand. "I'm serious Pace. We need to get you inside before you get pneumonia or something."
"Come on Joey..." Pacey said as he tried to pull her close again.
"Pacey. I promise I'm all yours once we clean you up and settle you in," Joey bargained.
"Okay, Potter, you win this time," Pacey said as he started walking back towards Joey's house.
"How long have you been out in the rain for?" Joey asked in a serious tone.
Pacey shrugged. "Twenty minutes maybe. Could have been longer, I'm not too sure," he answered honestly.
"Aren't you freezing?" Joey asked as she noticed Pacey's attire. He was wearing a light coat with just a Hawaiian shirt on underneath.
"Kinda," Pacey admitted.
"Pacey, if I ask you something really serious, do you promise you'll tell me the absolute truth?" Joey asked.
"Yeah, of course," Pacey replied.
Joey took a deep breath. "How long has this been going on?" she asked.
Pacey sighed. "Beginning of the year," he answered. The look on Joey's face urged him on. "After the whole Tamara incident and failing grades, he's been on my case. And, a few months ago, he got really drunk one night, I came home late. He took exception to it, and he just smacked me around a little," he said.
"Pace..." Joey started.
"No, Joey, it's okay. I'm fine. He's drunk when he does it; it's no big deal," Pacey tried.
"Actually it is a big deal! What if this happens again?" Joey asked.
"I haven't thought that far ahead," Pacey said as he started climbing the steps up to Joey's house. Before Joey could continue, Bessie came outside.
"Pacey Witter! Get inside before you get sick!" Bessie said sternly. She pulled Pacey and Joey into the house. "Joey, I want you to dry off, and Pacey, I want you to go have a shower. Now!" she ordered. Joey smiled as she led Pacey down the hallway to drop his bag off in her room.
"You know Potter, you could always shower with me if you want," Pacey teased.
"In your dreams Witter," Joey replied as Pacey set his bag down on the floor. "Do you need some clothes?"
"No, I got some stuff in my bag I can use," Pacey said as he took his coat off. He looked up at Joey and noticed her look of concern. "Really, I'm fine Joey. What can I do to show you that I'm okay?" he asked.
Joey bit on her lower lip. "I want you to show me your chest," she answered.
Pacey paused for a minute. He reluctantly took off his Hawaiian shirt, followed by his wife beater. He grimaced as he saw Joey put her hand to her mouth in disbelief. His chest was covered with black looking welts. There were a few red ones too. He watched as Joey turned her head. "They're not as bad as they look..." he started, but he was interrupted by Bessie walking into the room.
"Pacey, stop hitting on my sister and get your ass into the shower," she said playfully.
"Yes ma'am," Pacey said, never taking his eye off of Joey as he left the room.
***** After Pacey's shower... *****
Pacey stepped out of the shower several minutes later. He walked out of the bathroom in a towel, having forgotten his clothes in his bag. He walked in to Joey's room to find her in pink flannel pajama pants and a short red t- shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and she was reading a book on her bed. He stood in awe for a moment, taking in her beauty. It was a few moments before she noticed his presence.
"Pacey, why are you staring at me?" she asked.
"Because you're beautiful," he replied.
Joey blushed, half because of what Pacey said, and half because she couldn't help but to think about what his towel was covering. "I love the towel Pacey. Good to know that the loincloth is coming back," she joked.
"Come on Potter, you know you love it," he teased as he walked over to grab his bag. He turned to see Joey staring intently at him. "Trying to get a glimpse of me changing Potter?" he asked.
Joey quickly looked away, blushing even harder. "No," she said shyly.
Pacey noticed her discomfort. "I'll just head into the bathroom," he said.
"It's okay Pacey. I'll just look away until you get your boxers on," she explained.
"You just want a sneak peek at the goods," Pacey said as he motioned for her to look away. He quickly pulled out a pair of boxers and changed into them. "You're good now," he said. He went back into the bag and pulled out another wifebeater. Once he was done changing, he settled onto her bed and looked at the ceiling.
"Pace?" Joey said from her book.
"Yeah?" Pacey said looking over at her.
"There's some ice over there, for your eye, if you want it," Joey finished.
"Thanks," he said as he walked up to get it. "Bessie won't mind if I spend the night will she?" he asked.
Joey looked up from her book. "Of course not. In fact, she thinks it would be a good idea if you stayed here for a few days," she explained.
"Why? Did you tell her?" he asked.
"No. I just told her that you need some time away from your house, and she said you could spend a few days here if you want," she answered.
"Would you mind it if I stayed here for awhile?" Pacey asked.
"Pace, if it makes any difference in your decision, um, I would really like it if you were to stay here for a few days," Joey said quietly.
Pacey walked back over to the bed and sat down facing her. "It's not like I was gonna leave anyways," he said.
Joey set her book down on her nightstand. "Why wouldn't you tell me about what's been going on with your dad?" she asked.
Pacey shrugged. "It's not exactly the easiest thing to tell someone. And, I don't want you to worry about me Jo. I'm fine," he lied as he tried to hide the pain that was rising in his stomach.
Joey noticed the discomfort in his face. "Do you think something's broken?" she asked as she lifted his wifebeater over his shoulders.
"No, I'm just a little sore," Pacey said.
Joey looked down at the welts on his stomach. She touched the bruises softly, being careful not to hurt him. "I don't think you should go home," she said quietly.
"Joey, you're being over-dramatic. I just need to stay away for a couple of days and let him cool off," Pacey reasoned.
Joey sniffed away the tears she knew were coming. "I just don't want to see you get hurt," she said softly.
Pacey reached up and wiped away a loose tear. "I'm never gonna hurt if you're by my side," he assured her.
Joey smiled as she placed a hand on top of Pacey's. "You know, we haven't even addressed our conversation from earlier."
Pacey sighed. "Let's talk about everything else tomorrow. I just want to go to sleep," he said as he struggled to sit up. "I'm gonna go and set up the couch."
Joey looked up at him sternly. "You're not going anywhere."
"Jo, Bessie would totally lose it," Pacey tried.
"I don't care," she said as she shut the door. She turned around and took Pacey by the hand. She walked over to the bed, slowly pulled back the covers and got underneath them. She shook her head as Pacey tried to put his arm around her waist. "I don't want you sleeping on your side. It'll hurt your stomach too much."
"I'm fine, Joey," Pacey said as he settled in behind her, putting his arm around her waist despite what she had said.
Joey smiled as she laced her fingers through his. "I love you," she said softly.
"I love you too," he replied, placing a light kiss on the back of her head. With that, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep. It took Joey awhile, but she finally fell asleep too.
***** Awhile later... *****
Bessie was walking by Joey's room when she noticed that the light was out and that the door was shut. Assuming the worst, she burst in immediately. However, she was surprised to see Pacey and Joey just lying there, fully clothed, asleep. 'They look so cute together,' she thought to herself as she started to walk away. She shut the door and let them sleep.
Author's Note: Thanks to the following for reading and reviewing my story: Gypsy, Giuliana, justagirl, alysa, Aubrey, Abagail Snow, Cesare, roundin3rd, Molly, kelcb26, annie, dwscreekfreak, Vale, *~)TINK(~*, Vera, Annie, Pacey-Luver, FinallyPJ, and SmOgLoViNg. I appreciate the comments and constructive criticism. You guys rock!!!
Comments: I can't believe that I'm already at Chapter 11, the official half- way mark! Thanks to everyone who's read this story so far. Please keep reading and reviewing, it always makes my day to see a review in my inbox! And, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've had a serious case of writer's block and a lack of time to write.
Dawson couldn't believe that he had just found condoms at Pacey's. What could it mean? Were Pacey and Joey really having sex? What if Pacey was just using Joey for sex? He tried to think of some way to ask them without being too nosy. Dawson looked up at the stars. He couldn't hide the twinge of jealousy he was feeling right now. Joey and Pacey had each other, as did Jack and Jen. Even Andie was semi-dating someone. That left him as the odd one out. As he approached his house, he switched his thoughts back to how to get Pacey and Joey to confess.
***** The next day at school... *****
"Hey Pacey, wait up!" Dawson called out.
Pacey turned around to see Dawson jogging towards him. He smiled. "Hey, Dawson, how's it going?"
"Good, good. You?" Dawson asked back.
"I'm doing great. Oh, thanks for bringing back my math book. I kinda needed it for first period," Pacey thanked.
"No problem. Um, would you mind stopping by my house after school?" Dawson asked, hoping that Pacey would accept.
"Yeah, sure. I'll be over at around 4, okay?" Pacey answered.
"Great. I'll see you then," Dawson said as he walked over to his next class. He was actually very happy that Pacey had accepted his invitation. He was going to figure out exactly what was going on between Pacey and Joey.
***** 4:00 p.m. at Dawson's House *****
Pacey strolled up to the Leery's front door. He opened up the screen door and then rang the doorbell, just as he had done numerous times before. He looked down at his shoes and shifted his weight from foot to foot. He suddenly heard footsteps coming to the door. He looked up and saw Dawson opening the door. "Hey, man," Pacey said as he entered the Leery house.
"Hey, thanks for stopping by," Dawson said as he led Pacey into the kitchen.
"No problem. So, why did you need to see me?" Pacey asked as he took a seat at the stool stationed by the island in the kitchen.
Dawson paused as he played around with the items in the fridge. He really didn't know where to start. "Uh, look Pacey," he stumbled.
Pacey looked at Dawson puzzled. "What is it?" he asked.
"I don't really know how to approach the subject, Pace," Dawson replied.
"Listen, you can talk to me about anything," Pacey said. "Just give it a shot."
Dawson turned around to face Pacey. He took a deep breath. "Are you having sex with Joey?" he blurted out.
Pacey stared at Dawson with a confused look on his face. "Did you just ask me..." he started.
"Yes, I just asked you flat out if you're having sex with Joey. Well, are you?" Dawson repeated.
Pacey couldn't believe it. How could Dawson even ask that? "I'm still in the process of figuring out how the hell you think you have the right to ask that," Pacey replied.
"Are you even gonna answer me?" Dawson demanded once again.
"I don't need to!" Pacey exclaimed. "What Joey and I do alone is our business, and nobody else's!"
"So you two have," Dawson mumbled.
"What?" Pacey said with fire in his eyes.
"You said what you and Joey do alone is your business. So, you're saying that you two are sleeping together," Dawson said.
Pacey stood up from his chair. "That's not what I said. Listen, Dawson, I don't have to tell you anything. My sex life is not open for discussion! Now if you'll excuse me, I should be going," he said as he started to walk away.
"Pace..." Dawson began.
"I'll talk to you later Dawson," Pacey said as he stormed out the door.
***** Later on that same evening... *****
Pacey was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was still fuming over what had happened earlier with Dawson. How could he honestly ask him that? And, more importantly, why did it make such a difference to him whether or not he and Joey were having sex? These questions repeated over and over in his head until he was brought back down to Earth by the roar of his father downstairs.
"Pacey! Phone!" his father barked out. Pacey sighed as he walked out of his room to grab the portable phone.
"Hello?" he said as he rubbed his forehead.
"Hey," Joey said happily on the other line.
"Hi, how's it going?" Pacey replied.
"Good. Look, Pacey, I was just talking to Dawson a few minutes ago," Joey started.
Pacey sighed into the phone. "What did he say?" he asked.
"Well, he told me that I should ask you about it. So, Pacey, what happened over at Dawson's?" she asked.
"Nothing," Pacey lied.
"Pacey, come on, I know you're lying to me," Joey said.
Pacey sighed. "He asked me if we have had sex yet," he remarked bluntly. There was a moment of silence on the other line. "Jo?"
"What did you tell him?" she asked nervously.
Pacey paused for a minute. "Do you even have to ask me that?" he asked hastily.
"What do you mean?" Joey asked confused.
"It just sounds like you're doubting me. Like you expect me to lie to Dawson," Pacey replied hurt.
"Pace..." Joe started.
"No, let me finish. I can't believe you'd think that I would lie about that. I thought you trusted me a bit more than that!" exclaimed Pacey.
"That's not what I meant!" Joey exclaimed.
Pacey opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by the sound of his father stomping upstairs.
"Pacey! Get off the phone!" he yelled, his speech a little slurred from being drunk.
Pacey cringed at his father's drunken voice. He knew he was in for some kind of drunken lecture. "Look, Joey, I have to go..." he started before his father charged into his room. He dropped the phone out of fear.
"I told you to get off the phone! Who the hell are you talking to!" demanded his father.
"I'm just talking to Joey; I was about to get off. Just calm down," Pacey pleaded.
"I am calm! Now hang up on that trailer trash! I have a, a business call to make," his father said with a chuckle at his pathetic joke.
Pacey looked up at his father. Even if he was angry at Joey, even if his father was drunk, nobody talked to the woman he loved that way. "Don't talk about Joey that way!" he shouted.
John Witter laughed. "Come on, Pacey, we all know that girl doesn't love you! She'll just pass you up for someone better. Why would she want to stay with a loser like you?" he said. Pacey had had enough. He threw himself towards his father. He made a fist and hit his father in the nose. His father then retaliated. He wheeled and punched Pacey right back in his right eye. With his other hand, he knocked Pacey down with a few blows to the ribs. "You have ten minutes to get yourself the hell out of my house!" ordered his father as he left Pacey's room and slammed the door.
"Pacey?" a small voice called out.
Pacey looked around him, searching for that familiar voice. He noticed the telephone was still off the hook. He reached over and picked it up. "Joey?" he said, his voice quivering.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" Joey said, trying not to break down into tears.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Look, if I don't get off the phone now, he's gonna come back, so I guess I'll talk to you later," Pacey replied, trying to be strong.
"Where are you going to go?" Joey inquired.
"I don't know; I just can't stay here right now. I need to go out and think," Pacey answered.
"About what?" Joey asked.
"You seem to forgotten what we were just talking about," Pacey said.
"Look, Pacey, I didn't mean that. If you come over here, I can explain. But right now, I want to make sure that you're alright," Joey said as she started to cry.
Pacey paused. "Alright, I'll be over in a few minutes. Okay?" he said.
"Okay. I love you Pacey," Joey said.
"I love you too," Pacey said as he hung up the phone. He looked around his room and found a duffel bag. He opened up his drawers and threw some clothes into the bag. He grabbed a few other things and then stormed out of his house.
***** Joey's house *****
Joey was waiting impatiently for Pacey to arrive. She was sitting outside her house on the porch swing. She looked up nervously to the sky as it started to rain. Pacey still wasn't there yet. She waited for ten minutes out in the rain before she saw his tall frame walking towards her house. She couldn't hold it in anymore. She started running towards him. As she got closer to him, she noticed that he was holding his chest and wincing in pain. However, he hadn't noticed her running towards him yet.
"Pacey!" Joey cried out.
Pacey looked up to see Joey sprinting towards him. He tried to pick up his pace, but it hurt too much to try and run. So, he decided to just try and walk faster. It took a few minutes but finally they had reached each other.
"Pace, are you ok?" Joey asked, placing one of her hands on his face.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Pacey lied, trying to hide the pain in his face from the aching in his ribs. He took a good look at her. Her chocolate- brown hair was wet from the rain, and her blue sweater and jeans were starting to get drenched. However, it was her face that really captivated him. She was looking intently at his face, her fingers rubbing his face gently. She didn't even know that he was staring at her. When she finally looked into his eyes, he knew that their argument didn't mean anything. In her eyes, he saw more concern, passion, and love than he ever thought possible. His lips quickly turned into a smile as he pressed his forehead against hers. "I'm okay now, Joey," he whispered softly.
Joey gave him a half-smile. "You can still be upset over what happened with Dawson. I don't blame you for it," she said.
"It's okay. I just blew it out of proportion. I was just so angry at Dawson that I took it out on you. You didn't deserve that, and I'm really sorry about the stuff I said about you not trusting me. I was just upset, and it came out wrong. I can't even begin to tell you how bad I'm feeling about that right now," he apologized.
"How come you're the one apologizing? You didn't do anything irrational. Pacey, I was just feeling insecure. I should have had a little more faith in you than that. And I want, no, I need you to know that I trust you more than anything. Okay?" she replied.
"Okay," Pacey said with a smile. However, his smile quickly faded as he felt another spasm of pain in his chest.
Joey looked at Pacey with concern as he started to hunch over. "We need to get you inside. Come on," she said as she turned to leave.
"Wait, Jo," Pacey said as he stopped her.
"What?" she asked.
"Have you ever been kissed in the rain?" Pacey said with a grin. Before Joey could answer him, he pulled her close and kissed her with everything he had before he had to pull away because of the pain in his chest.
Joey smiled as she took Pacey by the hand. "I'm serious Pace. We need to get you inside before you get pneumonia or something."
"Come on Joey..." Pacey said as he tried to pull her close again.
"Pacey. I promise I'm all yours once we clean you up and settle you in," Joey bargained.
"Okay, Potter, you win this time," Pacey said as he started walking back towards Joey's house.
"How long have you been out in the rain for?" Joey asked in a serious tone.
Pacey shrugged. "Twenty minutes maybe. Could have been longer, I'm not too sure," he answered honestly.
"Aren't you freezing?" Joey asked as she noticed Pacey's attire. He was wearing a light coat with just a Hawaiian shirt on underneath.
"Kinda," Pacey admitted.
"Pacey, if I ask you something really serious, do you promise you'll tell me the absolute truth?" Joey asked.
"Yeah, of course," Pacey replied.
Joey took a deep breath. "How long has this been going on?" she asked.
Pacey sighed. "Beginning of the year," he answered. The look on Joey's face urged him on. "After the whole Tamara incident and failing grades, he's been on my case. And, a few months ago, he got really drunk one night, I came home late. He took exception to it, and he just smacked me around a little," he said.
"Pace..." Joey started.
"No, Joey, it's okay. I'm fine. He's drunk when he does it; it's no big deal," Pacey tried.
"Actually it is a big deal! What if this happens again?" Joey asked.
"I haven't thought that far ahead," Pacey said as he started climbing the steps up to Joey's house. Before Joey could continue, Bessie came outside.
"Pacey Witter! Get inside before you get sick!" Bessie said sternly. She pulled Pacey and Joey into the house. "Joey, I want you to dry off, and Pacey, I want you to go have a shower. Now!" she ordered. Joey smiled as she led Pacey down the hallway to drop his bag off in her room.
"You know Potter, you could always shower with me if you want," Pacey teased.
"In your dreams Witter," Joey replied as Pacey set his bag down on the floor. "Do you need some clothes?"
"No, I got some stuff in my bag I can use," Pacey said as he took his coat off. He looked up at Joey and noticed her look of concern. "Really, I'm fine Joey. What can I do to show you that I'm okay?" he asked.
Joey bit on her lower lip. "I want you to show me your chest," she answered.
Pacey paused for a minute. He reluctantly took off his Hawaiian shirt, followed by his wife beater. He grimaced as he saw Joey put her hand to her mouth in disbelief. His chest was covered with black looking welts. There were a few red ones too. He watched as Joey turned her head. "They're not as bad as they look..." he started, but he was interrupted by Bessie walking into the room.
"Pacey, stop hitting on my sister and get your ass into the shower," she said playfully.
"Yes ma'am," Pacey said, never taking his eye off of Joey as he left the room.
***** After Pacey's shower... *****
Pacey stepped out of the shower several minutes later. He walked out of the bathroom in a towel, having forgotten his clothes in his bag. He walked in to Joey's room to find her in pink flannel pajama pants and a short red t- shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and she was reading a book on her bed. He stood in awe for a moment, taking in her beauty. It was a few moments before she noticed his presence.
"Pacey, why are you staring at me?" she asked.
"Because you're beautiful," he replied.
Joey blushed, half because of what Pacey said, and half because she couldn't help but to think about what his towel was covering. "I love the towel Pacey. Good to know that the loincloth is coming back," she joked.
"Come on Potter, you know you love it," he teased as he walked over to grab his bag. He turned to see Joey staring intently at him. "Trying to get a glimpse of me changing Potter?" he asked.
Joey quickly looked away, blushing even harder. "No," she said shyly.
Pacey noticed her discomfort. "I'll just head into the bathroom," he said.
"It's okay Pacey. I'll just look away until you get your boxers on," she explained.
"You just want a sneak peek at the goods," Pacey said as he motioned for her to look away. He quickly pulled out a pair of boxers and changed into them. "You're good now," he said. He went back into the bag and pulled out another wifebeater. Once he was done changing, he settled onto her bed and looked at the ceiling.
"Pace?" Joey said from her book.
"Yeah?" Pacey said looking over at her.
"There's some ice over there, for your eye, if you want it," Joey finished.
"Thanks," he said as he walked up to get it. "Bessie won't mind if I spend the night will she?" he asked.
Joey looked up from her book. "Of course not. In fact, she thinks it would be a good idea if you stayed here for a few days," she explained.
"Why? Did you tell her?" he asked.
"No. I just told her that you need some time away from your house, and she said you could spend a few days here if you want," she answered.
"Would you mind it if I stayed here for awhile?" Pacey asked.
"Pace, if it makes any difference in your decision, um, I would really like it if you were to stay here for a few days," Joey said quietly.
Pacey walked back over to the bed and sat down facing her. "It's not like I was gonna leave anyways," he said.
Joey set her book down on her nightstand. "Why wouldn't you tell me about what's been going on with your dad?" she asked.
Pacey shrugged. "It's not exactly the easiest thing to tell someone. And, I don't want you to worry about me Jo. I'm fine," he lied as he tried to hide the pain that was rising in his stomach.
Joey noticed the discomfort in his face. "Do you think something's broken?" she asked as she lifted his wifebeater over his shoulders.
"No, I'm just a little sore," Pacey said.
Joey looked down at the welts on his stomach. She touched the bruises softly, being careful not to hurt him. "I don't think you should go home," she said quietly.
"Joey, you're being over-dramatic. I just need to stay away for a couple of days and let him cool off," Pacey reasoned.
Joey sniffed away the tears she knew were coming. "I just don't want to see you get hurt," she said softly.
Pacey reached up and wiped away a loose tear. "I'm never gonna hurt if you're by my side," he assured her.
Joey smiled as she placed a hand on top of Pacey's. "You know, we haven't even addressed our conversation from earlier."
Pacey sighed. "Let's talk about everything else tomorrow. I just want to go to sleep," he said as he struggled to sit up. "I'm gonna go and set up the couch."
Joey looked up at him sternly. "You're not going anywhere."
"Jo, Bessie would totally lose it," Pacey tried.
"I don't care," she said as she shut the door. She turned around and took Pacey by the hand. She walked over to the bed, slowly pulled back the covers and got underneath them. She shook her head as Pacey tried to put his arm around her waist. "I don't want you sleeping on your side. It'll hurt your stomach too much."
"I'm fine, Joey," Pacey said as he settled in behind her, putting his arm around her waist despite what she had said.
Joey smiled as she laced her fingers through his. "I love you," she said softly.
"I love you too," he replied, placing a light kiss on the back of her head. With that, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep. It took Joey awhile, but she finally fell asleep too.
***** Awhile later... *****
Bessie was walking by Joey's room when she noticed that the light was out and that the door was shut. Assuming the worst, she burst in immediately. However, she was surprised to see Pacey and Joey just lying there, fully clothed, asleep. 'They look so cute together,' she thought to herself as she started to walk away. She shut the door and let them sleep.