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, SmOgLoViNg, MDSWitter26, and Cila. I appreciate the comments and constructive criticism. You guys rock!!!

Special Note for Cila: They haven't slept together yet...Sorry if that wasn't completely clear!

"Mr. Witter! May I have a word?" Mr. Milo called out.

Pacey turned around to see Mr. Milo walking towards him with several papers in his hand. His stomach turned. This couldn't be good. "Yes, sir?" Pacey replied politely.

"I just received the mid-term grades for students on academic watch yesterday evening, and might I say, I am very impressed with your progress this term," Mr. Milo said.

Pacey looked at Mr. Milo's face quizzingly. "What?" he asked.

"See for yourself Pacey," Mr. Milo said as he handed Pacey his report.

Pacey scanned the report quickly. He saw three B's and to his surprise, two A's. Unable to contain his joy, he burst into a wide grin. "Wow, I mean, god, these are actually A's!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, they are. You should be very proud of yourself Pacey. You've worked very hard. Keep up the great work," he said as he patted Pacey's shoulder.

"Thank you, sir," Pacey said as he turned around to head inside. He quickly made his way through the halls to find Joey. She was standing at her locker, by herself, gathering some books. Pacey sped up and wrapped his arms around her waist upon reaching her. "Hey," he said happily.

Joey smiled. "Hey, what's going on? Why are you so excited?" she asked.

"Take a look," Pacey said as he gave her his report.

Joey looked over the paper, her eyes lighting up when she saw his grades. "Pacey! I'm so proud of you!" she said as she wrapped him into a huge hug.

Pacey closed his eyes at her touch. "Well, I do have you to thank," he said, placing a kiss on her shoulder.

Joey smiled. "Pacey, this was all you."

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you," Pacey argued.

"No. You did this. It was all you. I was just there to give you a push," Joey said. "But can we stop arguing so I can kiss you already?"

Pacey grinned as Joey moved forward and captured his lips with hers. He sucked on her bottom lip momentarily before tracing the outline of her lips with his. Joey slowly slid her tongue into his mouth, allowing his tongue to dance with hers. However, their kiss was cut short by the sound of the bell. "Mmm, damn," Pacey said as Joey reluctantly pulled back.

"I'll see you later, okay?" Joey said as she shut her locker.

"Yep. See ya," Pacey said with a grin as he strolled off to Peterson's class, feeling more confidant than ever.

Peterson's class...

"Mr.Witter! Do you have your assignment or not?" Mr. Peterson asked as Pacey searched for his poem.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it in here, somewhere," Pacey said as he continued to search for it. "A-ha! Right here, sir," Pacey said as he pulled his assignment out of his binder.

"Ode to the sports car?" Mr. Peterson said as he collected his paper.

"You said that we could write about whatever we wanted," Pacey replied.

"Exactly. As long as it wasn't stupid and a complete waste of my time," Mr. Peterson said.

Pacey bit his lip, trying not to tell Peterson what was on his mind. He turned over to Jack. "Is it just me, or does he get meaner every day?" he asked.

"It's not you," Jack answered.

"Pardon me, Mr. McPhee," Mr. Peterson said as he heard what Jack and Pacey had said.

"Yes, sir?" Jack said, sensing that he was in trouble.

"I just wanted to know how your poetry assignment went for you," Mr. Peterson asked.

"It went fine," Jack said quickly.

"That's wonderful. Then I don't suppose you'd mind if you read it aloud to the class?" he asked.

"Sir, you said these poems were just for you," Jack said uncomfortably.

"I changed my mind. Now, go ahead and read the poem," Mr. Peterson replied.

"Please, could I just hand it in?" Jack pleaded.

"Mr. McPhee! You either read the poem aloud or you receive a zero!" Mr. Peterson commanded.

Jack reluctantly got up. His hands were shaking. "Today. Today was a day the world got smaller. Darker. I grew more afraid. Not of what I am, But what I could be. I loosen my collar to take a breath. My eyes fade and I see... I see him. An image of perfection, his frame strong. His lips smooth. I keep thinking what am I so scared of? And I wish I could escape the pain but these thoughts, they invade my head, like shackles of guilt. They upleash at me." By now, Jack was on the verge of tears. He tried to continue reading, but he couldn't. "I'm sorry," he said as he quickly walked out of the classroom.

Pacey shook his head as Jack left the room. He stood up and walked towards the door.

"Sit down Mr. Witter!" Mr. Peterson ordered.

"No. I'm gonna go see if he's okay," Pacey replied.

"Mr. Witter, if you don't sit down this instant, I will fail you!" Mr. Peterson threatened.

"For what? For going to make sure one of my friends is okay after you forced him to read a poem? Come on," Pacey argued.

"If Mr. McPhee cannot control his emotions, that is not my fault," Mr. Peterson said.

Pacey stared at him in disbelief. "How can you sit there and not feel bad after you made a student cry? What kind of teacher are you?" Pacey shouted.

"Mr. Witter, that is more than enough! You can go to the principal's office and discuss this further. You can also count on a failing grade in this course," Mr. Peterson said.

"You can't fail me! I've gotten a B or better on every test in this class!" Pacey replied.

"I don't care. I've been wanting to fail you for months. It is students like you who remind me what kind of failures we have in our society. Teaching to students like you is like spitting in the face of the entire educational system!" Mr. Peterson bellowed.

Pacey couldn't contain his anger anymore. He spat directly in Peterson's face. "No sir. That is spitting in the face of the educational system," he said as he took his pass and left the room.

Principal's office...

"I'm not going to apologize," Pacey stated simply.

"Yes, you will, Pacey," Principal Markie told him.

"I won't," Pacey stated once again.

"What an insubordinate waste," Mr. Peterson muttered under his breath.

"Hey, you're hardly innocent here yourself," Mr. Milo said.

"What are you talking about?" Mr. Peterson said.

"You made a student cry, which caused another student to have an excessive reaction," Mr. Milo explained.

"You call spitting in someone's face an excessive reaction? That's quite the understatement," Mr. Peterson said in disbelief.

"Alright. Look, why don't we reconvene tomorrow? Pacey, you either apologize, or I will be forced to suspend you. You can go now," Principal Markie said.

Pacey slowly got up and left the office. As soon as he was out the door, he saw Joey waiting outside.

"Pacey," Joey said simply, unaware of how to approach the situation.

Pacey sighed. "Can we talk about this anywhere but here?" he asked solemnly.

Joey nodded. "Yeah. Let's go," she said as she took his hand and led him out of the office and out the door.

Inside Pacey's car...

"Where do I start?" Pacey asked, looking at the ground.

Joey looked at Pacey, unable to catch his eyes. They were sitting in the backseat of the Witter wagoneer. Unsure of what to say or do, she took Pacey's hand in hers once again. She squeezed it gently in hopes to reassure him. "It doesn't matter."

Pacey sighed. "It all started when Peterson called my poem stupid and a complete waste of his time. I looked over at Jack and asked him if it was just me or did it seem like Peterson got meaner everyday. I guess Peterson heard Jack tell me that it wasn't just me, cause then he told Jack to get up and read his poem. Jack's poem was really personal, and he started to cry a bit. He left class, so I went to follow him. Peterson told me to sit down, and I said that I wouldn't. Peterson said that if Jack couldn't keep himself together, it was his own fault. I asked Peterson what kind of teacher he was and then he sent me to me the principal's office and told me that he was going to fail me. I argued that point, and Peterson very politely told me that I was a failure and that teaching people like me was like spitting in the face of the entire educational system. After he said that, I...I spat in his face. And now, if I don't apologize to him, I'm going to be suspended. There's my morning in a nutshell." Pacey sighed once again. "How much different is the version you heard from the truth?"

"I heard that you two had gotten into a fist fight. I also heard that you tried to throw a chair at him," Joey said.

Pacey rubbed his eyes with his hand. "This sucks," he stated.

"I know," Joey said as she ruffled his hair. "What are you gonna do?"

"I won't apologize. I can't, not after what he pulled. I just wanna know how long my suspension's gonna be," Pacey replied.

"Are you sure that's what you wanna do?" Joey asked.

Pacey looked up and met her eyes for the first time since they had entered the car. "I have to," Pacey said. "If I can't apologize to him... are you gonna be ashamed of me?"

Joey gave Pacey a small smile. "No. I may not agree with the way you handled it, but whatever you do, I'm gonna support it 100 percent."

Pacey smiled. He had thought for sure that Joey wouldn't support him. "Thanks Jo," he said as he kissed her forehead.

"You're welcome," she said. "Do you wanna go home now?"

Pacey nodded. "But only if you come with me," he said.

Joey smiled. "As if I wouldn't," she said as she leaned over to kiss him.

The next day...

Pacey and Joey were sitting outside of the principal's office, waiting for Pacey to go inside. Pacey's heart was racing. He was really nervous. He knew that his GPA wouldn't survive a long suspension. Maybe he should just apologize. Or maybe he shouldn't. He looked over at Joey, who was sitting there patiently, holding his hand.

"Pacey? We're ready for you now," Principal Markie said.

Pacey hesitantly stood up. He took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down. He felt Joey squeeze his hand. "Everything's going to be okay Pacey," she asserted.

Pacey rested his forehead against hers. "I know," he replied. He hesitantly let go of her hand and entered the office.

"Pacey. Have a seat," Principal Markie said. Pacey did as he was told. "What do you have to say?"

"Well, I guess I should start by saying that I am more ashamed of what I did yesterday than anything I've done in my whole life. And while I apologize for my actions, I will not apologize for its intent. What happened in class yesterday was not right. To force a student to read a poem, to make a student cry, and strip him of his dignity in front of his classmates is not right. To threaten to fail a student because he's worried about a friend is not right. To call a student a failure in front of his classmates is not right. Give me whatever punishment you deem fit because I think I had every right to get upset yesterday," Pacey said.

Principal Markie nodded her head. "One week. As of right now, you are suspended for a week. You will still be expected to complete all of your assignments, so I advise that you keep up with your homework. You may leave now."

Pacey nodded his head as he stood up to leave. He left the office and immediately saw Joey. "How did it go?" she asked.

"As well as could be imagined. I'm only suspended for a week," Pacey said with a shrug. "So, I better go back to Doug's. Will you come by later?" he asked.

"Yeah, for sure," Joey answered. She pulled Pacey in for a hug. "I love you," she said.

"I love you too," Pacey said as he pulled away. He walked out of the office and left the building.

Later on...

Pacey was lounging around at Doug's. He was trying to watch tv, but he couldn't focus. Suddenly, he heard the doorbell ring. Reluctantly, he got up to answer the door. He opened it to see his father looking very angry. "Hey Pop," Pacey said.

"Don't you Hey Pop me! I just got a call from your school and they told me that you spat in a teacher's face and you didn't properly apologize for it! And, you got yourself suspended as well! What the hell is wrong with you!" his father shouted.

"Did they forget to tell you the rest of the story?" Pacey replied.

"The rest of the story doesn't matter. All I know is that I'm gonna have to kick your ass for your behavior!" his father bellowed as he cornered him. "I'm gonna teach you once and for all not to disgrace our family!"

Quickly, Pacey punched his father in the stomach, then tried to sprint past him. Unfortunately, his father tripped him as Pacey tried to go by. He picked Pacey up and began punching him as hard as he could anywhere he could hit- his face, his arms, his stomach. Finally, his father gave him a hard blow to the head. Pacey felt his head spinning as he fell to the floor. He heard his father leave Doug's house, then he felt everything go black.

To Be Continued...