18
Episode Three "Frat Party Blues"
Jack walked into Jen's dorm room to find her sitting on her bed. She was flipping through a magazine and humming softly to herself. She looked up as Jack walked in and smiled.
"I just came to check if that smile had gone yet. But nope, it's still there." Jen's grin widened at Jack's words.
"If I didn't know any better I'd think it was permanent. My jaw kinda hurts from smiling but I can't stop myself." Jen said, putting her magazine down and making room for Jack on the bed.
"Well I've been getting kinda sick of the happy buzz coming off of you and Drue lately. And it's only been two weeks." Jack sighed dramatically.
"Hey, I think I deserve a little happiness. And I don't know why, but Drue makes me happy." Jen smiled thinking of her boyfriend.
"Hmm." Jack said, pretending to think. "Maybe it's his killer smile that you spent a whole hour discussing the other day. Or maybe it's that he's such a great kisser that your best friend had to hear about his lips for about three hours."
"It wasn't three hours." Jen disputed. "It was two." She stuck her tongue out at Jack jokingly.
"In case I didn't tell you this already, I'm really happy you're happy."
"Well I'm happy, you're happy, I'm happy." Jen said and then shook her head trying to work out if she even made sense. "But I'll try not to bore you with the little details of my love life. So what brings you here?"
"Do I need a reason to see my best friend?"
"No you don't. But is there one?" Jen asked.
"Actually no. I'm just bored."
"Missing Tobey?" Jen asked, reading his mind.
"Kinda. It's only been a couple of weeks since I saw him so it's not so bad. It's just the thought of not seeing him until Thanksgiving. And then only seeing him every few months or so. It gets kinda lonely." Jack admitted. Jen moved and hugged him closely.
"Aww Jack. I'm sorry. I'll always be here you know that don't you? I know I've been kinda preoccupied with Drue lately, but I always have time for you." Jen said soothingly.
"I know. I'm sorry I didn't mean to kill your buzz. So tell me what's been going on with Drue lately?"
"Oh nothing really. He's just incredibly sweet. Which freaks me out every time I say it." Jen joked. "I don't know. There's just something about Drue. I know what he's really like and really he just wants to be loved." Jen said softly.
"I know. It just took us a while to realize it."
"And he's so funny. And cute and…"
"Okay Jen I know. I have met Drue before you know." Jack grinned.
"But I didn't think you paid attention to how cute he was. Oh yeah, I remember now, you're hot for him. Well stay away, he's taken." Jen joked. Jack just rolled his eyes.
"Oh no, you got me! I can't restrain myself around your boyfriend!" Jen just laughed.
-&-
Drue knocked on Joey's door and waited for her to answer. He was on his way to see Jen and thought he would drop by and see Joey too. It was Thursday so he wasn't sure if she would be at class or not.
"Hey Drue." Joey greeted as she opened the door. She moved out of the way to let him in and closed the door. "What brings you by?" She asked, as she turned back to her desk and continued to sort her notes that had been scattered over the desk into some sort of order.
"Oh nothing. I just thought I'd come and see if you were surviving without me. You know now that Jen is getting all my much needed attention." Drue grinned while Joey just rolled her eyes.
"Oh yeah. I was sitting at home depressed because I wasn't getting any 'lovin' from you." Joey said sarcastically. She had actually been missing Drue's friendship. It reminded her of the way she and Pacey used to be before all the relationship stuff got in the way.
"It's okay. I'm here now." Drue said, sitting down.
"So why did you really come?" Joey asked again.
"Well maybe I was just missing your sarcastic nature a tiny bit. Jen's going easy on me lately."
"I'll be sure to tell her that you get more turned on when the girls are feisty." Joey grinned at Drue.
"Jen knows just how to turn me on thank you." Joey winced.
"Uggh. Please don't give me details like that again."
"Oh come on Joey. I was sure Pacey had gotten rid of the old prude in you." Drue joked.
"Well I think what Pacey and I did is even beyond your league." Joey said slyly. Drue just laughed.
"That's my girl."
"Drue. I'm not your girl, Jen is. Remember Jen? She's blonde. Kinda short." Joey joked.
"Haha. I think I remember Jen. The girl I'm supposed to meet tonight. But what can I do Joey, every time I see you, I just lose myself in you." Drue tried to keep a straight face but kept laughing. Joey just hit him.
"When you laugh while you say that, it doesn't make me feel too good about myself." Joey said, pretending to be offended.
"I'm sorry. You're just not my type."
"I'm crushed." Joey said sarcastically.
"I'm sure you are. But I have a roommate that might be interested in you. Shall I tell him to give you a call." Drue asked.
"Hmm. Well your roommate should be able to call me without you telling him to." Joey said lightly. She and Pacey had spent quite a bit of time together over the past few weeks. They had settled back into their friendship as easily as they could. There were still awkward moments but generally it was much less tense.
"Maybe he's just scared." Drue suggested.
"Oh great. Now I've gone from unattractive to scary." Joey said sighing.
"I never said you weren't attractive. Scary is another story." Drue joked.
"Drue, don't you have to pick up Jen?" Joey said acting bored.
"Fine. I know you are really trying to get rid of me because you can't control yourself in my presence."
"Yes that's it, you got me!" Joey pulled Drue towards the door. "I can't handle myself around you. Please leave before I do something I'll regret." Joey said flatly pushing Drue out of the door.
"I know you love me Joey." Drue joked from the other side of the door.
"Bye Drue!"
-&-
"Hello stranger." Drue grinned at Jen when she answered her door. She turned around and walked into her room, letting him follow.
"Oh it's you." Jen said, pretending not to be excited.
"Me! Yes it's me. You're wonderful boyfriend." Drue grinned. "I love saying that."
"What?"
"I'm your boyfriend." Drue smiled, grabbing Jen and pushing her onto the bed.
"Drue!" Jen squirmed under him but he just held her down.
"Don't try and resist it Lindley. You can't get away from me that easily." Drue joked, kissing her softly.
He intended for it to be a short kiss but she deepened it, pulling him into her. He kissed her thoroughly, exploring her mouth. They lay together kissing for a little while. Jen totally forgot about the disinterested demeanor she was going for before. He moved to her neck, kissing the skin softly as she ran her hands through his hair.
"Drue." Jen groaned pulling him back.
"Sorry. I get a little carried away." Drue said sheepishly.
"It's okay. It's more than okay." She said, kissing his forehead softly.
They lay together on the bed, Drue still half on top of Jen, just trying to catch their breaths. Every time they were together now it became a fight to not go over the edge. They had been further than kissing with each other back in New York so many times. Not all the way, but close. That was a different time though with different circumstances. This time they didn't want to rush into anything. Or Jen didn't want to and Drue fully respected her.
"So what do you want to do today?" Drue asked, kissing her softly.
"I don't know. Jack came to see me before you got here." She told him. She didn't realize she was doing it but she was rubbing circles on Drue's hand, which was intertwined with hers. He just smiled down at her softly.
"Yeah? What did he say?" Drue kissed her again lightly and then put his arm around her waist and settled for lying next to her.
"He misses Tobey. I feel bad for him. He finally found someone he really likes and then Jack has to move away for college." Jen said sadly. She was really worried about her best friend. "Sometimes I think maybe he should move on. I love Tobey and everything but Jack needs someone here."
"Yeah. But I think they care about each other too much to just let go."
"I know. I think we should all go out together this weekend or something. We haven't done that in a couple weeks and it's clearly you're fault." Jen said.
"My fault? How do you work that one out Lindley?" Drue asked, looking up at her.
"Well you make me forget about my other friends when you're around. I'm being very bad." Drue laughed.
"But I like you bad. Very bad." Drue said slyly, moving in for another kiss.
"Anyway…" Jen pushed Drue slightly. "I think we should all do something. Are Pacey and Joey still spending a lot of time together?" Jen asked. Drue laughed.
"What?" Jen asked.
"Nothing. Pacey was right, you are a big gossip." Jen tried to hit him but it had no affect on him.
"I am not. I just care about my friends. It's your fault I'm not more up to date with their lives. You keep using up all my time." Jen joked.
"You know you love it." Drue said, turning to kiss her. "Well it will please you to know that Joey is a frequent visitor at the apartment."
"Good. Sometimes I just want them to get together already because we know how much they love each other. But I think they need to go through the being friends period to come out with a stronger relationship." Jen said.
"So is that why we had such a long being friends period?" Drue asked.
"No, we had such a long being friends period because you didn't ask me out for ages."
"I was just playing hard to get. I knew you wanted me." Drue grinned.
"Ha. I don't want you. You were just following me around like a puppy dog so much that I felt sorry for you." Jen joked.
"So I just need to follow the girl around for a while before she gives in. Thanks for the tip Lindley. I'll remember that next time."
"Hey!" Jen hit him lightly.
"Don't worry, you won't be getting rid of me that easily." Drue said before giving her a kiss that made her forget that she was even mad.
-&-
Joey watched Pacey as he cleaned one of the many boats lined up at the Marina. She could see him humming softly to himself as he cleaned. He looked great. He got a tan over the summer and his skin looked so good that Joey just wanted to touch it. But what stood out to her the most was that he seemed happy. He was smiling. She remembered when they were aboard True Love. She used to watch him when she thought he wasn't looking. She would just watch and admire the way he was. Just like now, he used to have a calm expression on his face.
He was concentrating on what he was doing and he was enjoying it. Pacey turned even cleaning a boat into something special. She didn't think many people understood Pacey's love for the sea but Joey did. She understood that he felt free out at sea, he felt able to do anything he wanted. He felt happy.
There was a time when she made him happy. A time when they would sit together for hours talking or even sitting in silence and they would be happy. Just knowing that they were there for each other made them happy. Joey felt stupid for not telling Pacey that she hadn't been lying when she said she wasn't going anywhere without him. She didn't want to go anywhere he wasn't but she should have made sure he remembered that.
When everyone was wrapped up in where they were going to college, including her, they had all forgotten that Pacey didn't know what he was going to do. She hated the fact that if she had maybe stopped thinking about herself for one second and stopped to tell Pacey how much she still loved him and still wanted him to be with her when she started college she may have been with him now.
It was just the simple thing of showing Pacey that she did care that could have helped salvage their relationship. She had just taken his presence in her life for granted because she hadn't considered the fact that she could actually lose him.
She got so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize that Pacey had spotted her and was looking at her strangely. After all she was only standing a few feet away just staring at him. She took a deep breath and walked towards him.
"Hey Pace." She greeted smiling.
"Hey Jo. What are you doing here?" He asked.
"Well I was going to say I was looking for Drue and just thought I would come and see you but I think we've reached a point where we don't need to lie anymore." Joey grinned.
"Does that mean you were lying all the times you said you were looking for Drue?" Pacey asked smiling. He was kind of flattered that she cared so much.
"Yeah." Joey admitted. "But I don't need an excuse to see my best friend do I?" Joey asked.
"Of course you don't. You can come and see me whenever you want." Pacey assured her. He had a feeling she had really been coming to see him all those times but he never said anything. He loved seeing her, he loved spending time with her. However much it pained him to see her and not be able to be with her, he still loved her company.
"Good. I was actually on my way to the library to pick up some books for English class. They don't have them at the Worthington library." Joey explained.
"That's not an excuse is it?" Pacey joked. Joey just laughed.
"No. This time I'm telling the truth. No more lies from me I promise." She said it lightly but hoped he got the extra meaning. She really did want to build their friendship, and hopefully their future relationship, on trust and honesty.
"That's good to hear." Pacey said, understanding her meaning.
-&-
Jack gathered his things and left the large lecture hall where his creative writing class just ended. He didn't have another class for an hour so he was trying to decide what to do with his time.
"Jack! Jack!" He stopped and turned around to see who was calling him. He didn't recognize the voice. A tall guy who he recognized from his class walked up to him waving a book in the air. "Jack right?" Jack nodded. "You left this book in class, I thought you might need it." He said holding the book out. Jack looked at the book and smiled at the guy.
"Thanks for bringing it to me. I need this for the assignment we have to do." Jack said relieved.
"No problem." The guy looked Jack up and down and smiled. He was quite tall, medium build with light brown hair. "David. David Bailey." He said holding his hand out. Jack shook his hand.
"Jack McPhee. But I guess you knew that already." Jack said nervously. He noticed the way David had looked at him and was wondering what he was looking for.
"Well it was nice meeting you. I guess I'll see you around." David said.
"Sure. Thanks again." Jack said as David walked off in the opposite direction.
-&-
Pacey came home from work to find an empty apartment. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed something to drink. He went over to the phone and was about to press play on his messages when the phone rang.
"Hello?" He said, taking the cordless and going to sit down.
"Pacey. Hey, what's up?" Jen's unusually perky voice greeted.
"Hey Lindley. I just got in from work."
"Oh yeah. You're working all hours these days. Didn't you ever hear the saying 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'?"
"Maybe you should tell that to Jack then." Pacey laughed.
"Maybe. I think you could both use it." Jen said lightly. "So is Drue there?"
"No. I thought he was with you but obviously not."
"Well he was here before but he left a few hours ago." Jen explained. "Oh well, I'll have to catch him later. So what are you up to tonight?"
"Nothing much. Just going to relax."
"You really know how to live the high life." Jen rolled her eyes.
"Hey, point me to a party and I'd gladly attend."
"I'll have to look into it. Anyway I better go. I have an early class tomorrow so I better try and sleep early. Speaking of which, Drue has class in the morning tomorrow, can you do me a favor and wake him."
"Sure. I'll see what I can do." Pacey agreed.
"Thanks. I swear he never goes to class and at this rate he'll get kicked out." Jen said, genuinely concerned.
"No problem. See ya later Lindley."
"Bye Pace."
-&-
Joey stared at the computer in front of her and sighed. After hanging out at the Marina for an hour with Pacey she left to get her books from the library. She would have liked to stay longer with Pacey but he was working and she didn't want to get in the way.
Despite leaving the Marina early Joey found she had a lot of things to do to take up her day. She spent a few hours at the library researching for a Psychology paper she had to write as well as picking up the books she needed. Then she had two classes, which took her right into the evening.
By the time she got back to her dorm she was exhausted. She decided to have a hot bath to relax for the evening. She just felt like having a nice quiet evening in.
Now she was sitting in front of her computer waiting for it to log on. She tapped her fingers on the table as she waited for the welcome message to appear.
She skimmed through her emails, none of which were very important, and then logged off. She thought Dawson may have emailed her but he hadn't.
She hadn't spoken to Dawson for quite a few weeks. She figured he was busy settling in to college and making new friends and she had been so busy with Pacey and school she hadn't had a chance to call him either. She hadn't told him about Pacey being in Boston because she figured Pacey would tell Dawson if and when he wanted to.
She felt free being able to have a friendship with Pacey that wasn't continuously scrutinized by Dawson. She felt like she could finally stop feeling like a little girl and grow up. She wanted to show Pacey that she had grown up and moved forward.
As much as she loved seeing Pacey and spending time with him, she wondered how long it would be before they wouldn't be able to handle being friends anymore. But even worse than that she was worried that Pacey wouldn't want to go past being friends again.
She was worried that she had totally ruined all her chances of happiness with Pacey. That was all she could think about lately and it was killing her.
She sighed, getting into bed. She wondered what dream she'd wake up from tonight. She just wished it wasn't the nightmare she had been so scared of. The one in which Pacey no longer loved her.
-&-
"Drue. Get your sorry ass out of bed now or you'll be late." Pacey shouted at his roommate. Pacey listened but no noise came from Drue's room. "Drue!" He waited again and then heard Drue get up.
"What's with your sudden interest in my tardiness?" Drue mumbled, coming out of his room.
"Jen gave me strict instructions to make sure you're up. Sorry." Pacey grinned.
"She keeps me up till all hours of the morning and then expects me to get up and go to class. Women!" Drue sighed falling onto the couch.
"I'd say that girl has got you whipped but then I'm sure you'd remind me of a certain relationship I had last year so I won't."
"Oh yeah. Potter had you whipped bad." Pacey just rolled his eyes.
"I prefer to call it doing anything for the love of a good woman. And I don't think you're one to talk."
"I'm not whipped. Jen just wants me up so I'll go to class and then pick her up because she can't bare to be away from me." Drue said.
"Whatever. Are you guys going to be home for lunch today?"
"I don't know. Why?"
"Just asking. I don't want to walk into any public displays of affection." Pacey grinned.
"I'll take it into my room if it gets that far." Drue assured him.
"Good to know."
"So where's Joey today?" Drue asked.
"How am I supposed to know? She's probably at school like normal college students." Pacey shrugged. He picked up his things, ready to leave for work.
"Sorry! I just thought you might have spoken to her since you're such good friends." Drue stressed the last word just to annoy Pacey.
"Well she came by yesterday and said she had a full day of classes today so I'm assuming she's in class." Pacey said, rolling his eyes at how nosy Drue was. "Anyway, I'm gone." Pacey said before leaving.
"And you say you're just friends." Drue laughed to himself.
-&-
"Hey Joey." Stacy greeted her roommate as Joey rushed inside.
"Hey Stacy." Joey greeted distractedly.
"What are you doing here? Don't you have class?"
"Yeah. I left my book here." Joey said, looking for it in her things. "Or at least I thought I left it here." She said, trying to think where it could be. She searched her bedside looking to see if it was there and accidentally dropped the fame that was sitting on it. "Damn it!" Stacy bent down and picked it up for her, glancing at the picture of Pacey and Joey before placing back on the table.
"Oh hey, how are things with Pacey?" Stacy asked.
"Good. They're good." Joey said smiling. She was glad that she and Pacey had been hanging out together lately. They were slowly falling into the familiarness of their friendship.
"That's good to hear. Any chance I'm going to meet him soon?"
"I don't know. Maybe soon. I'll see what I can do." Joey spotted the book she was looking for under a pile of notes. "Here it is. I better go. I'll see you later."
"Bye Joey."
-&-
"Hey Paul." Jack greeted as he entered his room. Classes were over for the day and Jack was glad to have some free time. His roommate Paul was standing in front of the mirror fixing his hair. He was obviously getting ready to go out somewhere.
"Hey Jack. What's up?" Paul asked, running his hand though his hair again.
"Nothing much." Jack said, flopping onto the bed. "Hot date?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Nah, a frat party." Jack just gave him a look.
"Why the look? You should come. It's at the Kappa Sigma house; it's really close to here. Plenty of gorgeous girls…and guys." Paul grinned. "Where's Jen? Maybe you could bring her." Paul inquired not-to-subtly.
"I'm not sure. She's probably out with Drue." Jack said.
"Drue? That really tall guy right?" Paul asked.
"Yeah, that's Drue. He's her boyfriend." Jack said, making it clear to Paul.
"Her boyfriend? Oh I thought he was just a friend." Paul said, trying to keep the conversation casual. Although it was plainly obvious to Jack that Paul was interested in Jen.
"No, they've been dating a while." Jack said. Well two weeks could be considered a while; Jack didn't want Paul to think they weren't serious.
"Oh. Well you could ask them if you wanted." Paul said, grabbing his wallet from his bedside and heading for the door.
"I don't know. Maybe a little later I'll drop by." Jack said.
"Okay cool. See you later Jack." Paul said before leaving.
Jack said on his bed and thought. So he wasn't really the partying kind. That was mainly because there weren't that many parties back in Capeside. He had to get out there and enjoy college. Everyone was getting on with their lives and he needed to do the same. He turned over and picked up the phone from his bedside.
-&-
"Hello?" Joey said picking up her phone as she tried to keep her eye on how far she had read in her book. She was really tired when she had come home after class. She decided to read a book for class to get some work done as well as relax.
"Hey Jo. It's Pacey." Joey nearly dropped the book. Pacey had never called her dorm before. Every time they had hung out it had been because she had gone to see him at the Marina or at his apartment.
"Hey Pace." Joey tried to calm herself. She shouldn't get so worked up over a phone call. "What's up?"
"Nothing much. What are you up to?" He asked casually, even though it had taken him about ten minutes to get the courage to pick up the phone. He didn't know why he still felt nervous doing such a little thing when he had been spending a lot of time with Joey lately anyway.
"Oh, I'm just reading. I have to get through this fat book for English by Tuesday." Joey groaned.
"Books for class aren't as interesting as The Little Mermaid are they?" Pacey smiled, remembering how they would spend hours reading to each other last summer. He used to love hearing her read. Her voice used to convey all the emotions of the characters she was reading about and she would get so lost in the fantasy world.
"Not nearly as interesting. And I have to read this on my own." Joey added.
"Well you can't always be so lucky to have a reading partner as wonderful as me." Pacey laughed.
"I know. I'm lost without your superb reading skills." Joey joked. Pacey just smiled hearing her voice.
"Anyway the reason I called was because Jack just called me. Apparently there's some party at one of the frat houses and he wants us all go. Jen and Drue are going and he was wondering if we wanted to go too."
"Sure. Sounds good to me." Joey agreed, already trying to mentally pick out what she was going to wear.
"Okay so I'll pick you up in fifteen minutes?" Pacey asked.
"Thirty." Joey corrected. If she was going out she needed to get ready. Pacey just rolled his eyes.
"Okay. See you then." Joey hung up and tried to breathe. So Pacey was picking her up for a party. They weren't going together. They were going with he gang. Everyone would be there.
But to her, the only person that really mattered was Pacey.
-&-
"I can see you peaking. Do you want me to kick you out?" Jen said watching her boyfriend. She wanted to change into a dress for the party so she told Drue to close his eyes.
"Oh come on Jenny. It's not like I haven't seen it before." Drue grinned as Jen threw her cardigan at him.
"Well you're not seeing it now. And don't call me Jenny." Jen added. Drue sighed and closed his eyes as Jen slipped into a short blue dress. "You can look now." She informed him.
Drue got up and walked up to her, putting his arms around her.
"You're so beautiful." He whispered in her ear before kissing her. She held on to him and kissed him back. She couldn't believe how much her relationship with Drue had changed recently. And how much she really liked him.
"Let's go. We're gonna be late." Jen said pulling him towards the door.
"Can't we just blow off the party and stay here tonight." Drue pouted.
"No. We haven't gone out with the group in a while. And besides, don't you want to dance with me?" Jen said kissing him lightly.
"Let's go." Drue said, pulling her out the door.
-&-
The party is already in full swing by the time the gang arrives. Loud music is blaring and people are dancing or making out in all corners of the place. Drue takes the initiative and grabs Jen's hand, leading her to the middle of the room, which had become the dance floor.
"Let's show them how to dance Lindley!" Drue grinned, shaking Jen about before pulling her to him and kissing her.
"That's not dancing." Jen said as she pulled away.
"No. It's better than dancing." Drue smiled and kissed her again.
He pulled her close and started dancing as a semi slow tune played. He just looked at her smiling face and couldn't help grinning like an idiot. He just felt so lucky right now.
"Stop that."
"What?" Drue asked innocently.
"Staring at me like I'm something you're about to eat." Jen said laughing.
"I can't help it. You look good enough to eat."
"You know if you keep complimenting me like this you're going to lose that whole bad boy image you work so hard to keep." Jen said grinning.
"For you, I'd even give that up." Drue joked.
Meanwhile Jack decided to head for the keg. A few drinks would do him good to relax. Pacey and Joey were left standing together near the entrance. They just looked at each other and smiled awkwardly.
"So do you want to dance?" Pacey shouted over the music.
"Sure." Joey agreed and they both moved towards the middle of the dance floor.
Pacey took her into his arms and their bodies fit together so perfectly that Joey was sure it was just meant to be. Dancing had always been a way they showed how much they loved each other. Anyone watching them could tell that they were very much in love.
"So do you come to these parties a lot?" Pacey asked.
"Sometimes. Jen and Drue love this stuff so we've been to a few." Pacey just looked at her. "What? I'm not the innocent little Joey Potter you once knew, you know."
"Oh I know. You're far from innocent Josephine." Pacey moved closer to her and her heart just started racing.
"Hey!" Joey hit him lightly. "Don't call me Josephine." She scolded him out of habit, but really she loved it when he called her that. Pacey was the only one who could make the name she hated all her life sound beautiful. It was just the way he said it.
-&-
Pacey moved through the crowd holding two glasses of beer above his head, trying to reach Joey. Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and smiled at the brunette who was standing behind him.
"Pacey?" She asked. Pacey looked at the girl, trying to place her. "It's Sarah. Sarah Price. We met in Miami." She told him.
"Sarah! Hey, what are you doing here?" Pacey said smiling at the girl. They had stopped over in Miami for a week during the summer. Dean Newman had some friends there and had decided to spend some time with them. Pacey was left to enjoy the sites for a week. He met Sarah at a party that the Dean invited him to.
"I go to Worthington. It's quite near to here." Sarah said, not sure if he knew the place.
"Really? I have a friend who goes there." Pacey mentioned, thinking of Joey.
"I thought you lived in Capeside?"
"Oh I do. Well I did. I got offered a job here so I've moved here now." Pacey explained.
"Where do you work?"
"Down at the Marina about half an hour from here. I'm just a lowly manager. Can't compare to you." Pacey joked.
"Oh shush. I know Uncle Andrew was really pleased with your great work this summer. He seemed rather impressed with you as a person too." She added. The Dean was a close friend of her father's. It would have helped her to get into Worthington if she needed the help. But she was very bright and didn't need the favoritism.
"I aim to please." Pacey grinned.
"So you're a freshman right?" Pacey asked, trying to remember. He had only spent a short time talking to her on the night of the party.
"Yeah. Getting used to the whole college life. Which basically consists of frat parties and social gatherings." Sarah grinned. "Oh great, I see my friend making a beeline for me so I better go. It was nice seeing you again. Maybe I'll see you around." She said, smiling at him.
"Sure. See you." Pacey said. He looked at the glasses in his hands. He had totally forgotten he was supposed to be getting a drink for Joey. Now where was she?
-&-
"So what brings you to this very secluded corner of the room?" Joey asked, taking a seat next to Jack.
"Just needed a break." Jack said, looking straight ahead. Joey followed his line of vision. Jen and Drue were dancing together; Jen was laughing as Drue pulled her closer to him. Jack sighed. It wasn't that he was jealous of their relationship. He was really happy that Jen had found someone who made her happy. It was about time she had some happiness.
But for so long it had been just him and Jen. They were all each other had and now that had changed. Jen's attention was being taken up with Drue while Jack had no one because Tobey was back in Capeside. He missed Tobey terribly. He wondered when he would find someone who would be there with him every step of the way and who he loved the way he loved Tobey. He thought he finally found someone he was happy with and circumstances had to take that away. He wanted his relationship with Tobey to work but it hurt that they were so far away from each other and seeing Drue and Jen glued together just made him feel it even more.
"What about you? Where's Pacey?" Joey pointed to Pacey who was standing there talking to a tall brunette. He smiled at the girl and it made Joey want to puke. "Who's that?"
"Beats me. But I don't care. After all Pacey and me are just friends. Why should I care that he's talking to a very pretty girl and seems to be having a good time and is forgetting that he's supposed to be getting his best friend a drink." Joey said flatly, not even bothering to hide how much it bothered her.
"I'm sure it's nothing." Jack said, trying to be reassuring.
"He's talking to a random girl at a party. He's moving on. And he's supposed to I guess. I'm sure in some stupid alternate reality I'm supposed to have moved on too. I'm supposed to be dating this really rich handsome guy from Worthington who showers me with so much love and attention that I forget that I even knew a guy called Pacey." Joey rambled on.
"Joey, how much have you been drinking?" Jack asked, laughing.
"Not that much. Well maybe a little more than I should. But at this rate I don't think Pacey will use the ultimate guy maneuver to save me from myself." Joey sighed. "I ruined that too. I ruined it so much that even Pacey couldn't save me." They sat in silence for a little while just watching the party move around them.
-&-
"Jen!" She turned looking for the person who had called her. Drue had gone to get them a drink and she was left standing by the side of the room.
"Paul. Oh hey. What's up?" She said, smiling at him.
"Nothing much. I haven't seen you around lately. Where have you been?" He asked.
"Oh I've just been busy. School and everything."
"Cool. I miss having you around our dorm. It's not every day a gorgeous girl graces us with her presence." Paul laughed.
"Well I'll be sure to come around more often." Jen said.
"So are you enjoying the party?"
"Yeah. It's good. Are you thinking of joining?" She asked.
"The frat? I don't know. Kappa Sigma? Sound like a good frat to you?" Paul laughed.
"I don't know. I'm not much of a frat girl. Except for the parties. I have to admit they throw great parties."
"That they do. So do you want to dance?" He asked. Jen smiled and looked out for Drue. He was standing near the keg talking to some guy. She figured one dance wouldn't matter.
"Sure." She agreed, walking towards the dance floor.
-&-
Jack stood off to the side of the room and watched the party. He didn't know why he was feeling so down. He just felt bored and trapped. He was the one who wanted to come to the party and he couldn't even get out there and have fun.
Maybe he was scared. He was scared of meeting new people and moving forward. He didn't know why but he was. He could feel the group pairing off, Drue and Jen, Pacey and Joey, which just left him alone.
College was supposed to be his chance to get out into the real world. It was his chance to get out of a town where he was known as 'the gay guy' and just be himself. But he didn't know why he felt himself holding back.
"Jack?" David came up behind him and smiled.
"Oh hey David." Jack said smiling at the guy.
"Why the sullen expression? This is supposed to be a party." David joked.
"I don't know. I guess I'm just not in the partying mood." Jack shrugged.
"Fair enough. Mind if I join you in the unsociable corner?"
"I'm not unsociable."
"Right. That's why you've stood in a corner watching that blond girl dance all night?" David rose his eyebrows.
"Jen? She's my best friend. I'm just trying to take tips on how to get out there. Maybe I'll use the tips next party." Jack joked.
"Right. So you're not harboring feelings for her then?" David said, pushing for information.
"Oh no. I'm…" He hesitated for a second. "I'm gay." David smiled, as if he had known all along.
"Me too." He admitted. Jack had a feeling David was gay but it just felt weird for him to come out and just ask.
"So you just brought Jen up so I would say I was gay right?" Jack laughed, suspecting David had known.
"Kind of. I didn't want to just come out and ask." David admitted. Jack just smiled at him. "Hey, do you want to dance or something." Jack looked around uncomfortably.
"Uh. Well I'm not really a dancer. I have two left feet." Jack said.
"Okay, well maybe some other time. I guess I'll see you around Jack." David said.
"Sure. Bye David." He said as David went and rejoined his friends.
-&-
Drue stopped in his tracks as he saw Jen dancing with Paul. He felt his stomach drop dramatically. He knew he shouldn't get worked up over one dance but he couldn't help it. He turned to leave and walked straight into someone.
"Drue! Watch where you're going." Joey said.
"Sorry Jo. Uh, I'm going to go now. You guys are okay to get home right?" Drue said.
"What? You can't go. Come on, we haven't even danced yet." Joey grabbed his arm and took him to dance before he could even say anything.
That was when he realized that Joey was acting surprisingly loose. She obviously had a little too much to drink, which was why she nearly tripped over herself. Drue caught her and help her stand.
"Thanks." She said giggling.
"How much have you had to drink?" Drue asked.
"This much." Joey slurred, putting her fingers together. Drue just gave her a look. "Okay maybe this much." She stretched her fingers meaning a lot.
"You never could hold your liquor. Where's Pacey?" Drue asked.
"Talking to a bimbo." Joey said straight away. "Except she's not a bimbo. She's pretty and nice and Pacey wants her." Joey said sadly.
"You're talking crazy talk Potter." Drue said, looking around for Pacey.
"Drue?"
"Yes?"
"Don't call me Potter. It reminds me of Pacey and that's a no no." Joey poked him in the chest lightly.
"You know you're kind of funny drunk." Joey scrunched up her nose. And then just as if she remembered something she spoke up. "Why were you leaving before? Where's Jen?"
"I don't know." Drue lied, although he could still see Jen dancing with Paul a bit further down the room. Joey turned and followed his eyes.
"Isn't that Paul?" Joey asked. "You're jealous." She said as she realized it.
"I'm not." Drue disputed.
"You are. You're jealous." Joey said again.
"Who's jealous?" Jen said coming up behind Joey and Drue. Drue hadn't noticed her coming.
"No one." Drue said quickly.
"Drue was just telling me that he's jealous 'cause you were dancing with Paul." Joey said putting her arm around Jen and whispering in her ear.
"Was he really?" Jen asked, slightly amused both by Joey's behavior and Drue's jealousy.
"Yes he was." Joey said like a little kid. She let go of Jen. "I'm going to go find that boyfriend of mine. Who's not really my boyfriend because I ruined that." Joey mumbled walking off.
Jen watched her go and only stopped when she saw Jack intercept Joey's mission and start talking to her.
"So you were jealous?" Jen asked.
"No." Drue said sticking his tongue out.
"Aww. How cute." Jen stood of tiptoes and kissed Drue fully on the lips. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. She pulled away and smiled at him. "Why would I need to have another guy when I've got you, silly."
"I wasn't jealous." Drue said grinning.
"I'm sure you weren't honey." Jen laughed and kissed him again, just to reassure him.
-&-
Joey watched Pacey as he talked to a group of people. She wanted to just walk over there and kiss him. She wanted to be the only one that he wanted to talk to. The only one he cared about. She wanted to be what she used to be to him. She didn't want to be a friend.
But it was her own stupid fault. Why did she feel this obligation to Dawson? Why couldn't she just let her past go and move forward? Why had she been so scared?
She wasn't scared anymore. She wasn't afraid to tell the world that she loved Pacey and no one should get in the way of that. She wanted everyone to know. She wanted Dawson to know that he wasn't her life. Pacey was.
The room was spinning and so was her mind. She watched as a girl leant over and said something in Pacey's ear. Probably because the music was too loud but it didn't stop Joey feeling more determined to make Pacey see they belonged together.
She stumbled over to the phone and picked it up. Not even caring that it wasn't her phone. Like anyone would notice in a party like this anyway.
She dialed a number, hoping that she was remembering it correctly and waited.
"Hey you've reached Dawson Leery. I'm not available to take your call right now so leave a message after the beep." Joey waited patiently for the beep and then began talking.
"Hey Dawson. It's Joey. Of course you know it's Joey because you know my voice so I didn't need to say that but anyway, it's me and I just wanted to say something to you Dawson. I wanted to tell you that Pacey is here. He's in Boston and I wanted to say that I love him. I love him so much.
"I should have told him that a long time ago. I wish I had been able to tell you this before Dawson. I mean really tell you. Because I want you to know and I want everyone to know. I don't know why I felt you would be upset that I slept with Pacey or that I love him. Because you shouldn't be. Because he is wonderful.
"I was stupid to let you determine who I love, because if you really loved me you'd see that Pacey is all I want and all I need to be happy. He makes me happy, Dawson.
"I…I guess I just wanted to say that. It's probably going to beep soon. Or maybe it already has and I've rambled for ages but… Okay I'm going to go now. Bye Dawson."
Joey hung up and just stared at the phone. Now she just wished she could tell Pacey what she had just said.