Episode Thirteen "Changing Direction"
Drue came out of his room, still half-asleep to find a nervous Pacey pacing up and down the living room holding an envelope.
"Did you get it?" Drue asked, suddenly remembering what Pacey went to get.
"Right here." Pacey said, holding up the envelope that was in his hand.
"Well? What did you get?"
"Ask me after I open it." Pacey laughed nervously.
"Pacey! You've got to open it. Stop being such a pussy."
"I just know I messed up. This was my chance to get into college and I ruined it."
"Look, you had a lot going on. And I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is." Drue said assuringly. "You want me to open it?"
"No." Pacey continued to pace and Drue sat down, looking through his own mail. "Okay, go on." Drue grinned as Pacey handed over the envelope.
Drue ripped it open and pulled out the piece of paper. He looked at it and Pacey couldn't tell what it said from his expression.
"Well…"
"Uh…" He handed the paper over and Pacey saw for himself.
"Great." Pacey fell onto the couch. "Looks like Pacey the idiot strikes again."
"It's not that bad."
"Not good enough to get me the scholarship that I need to help pay for college. Especially with my academic record."
"Hey, look, you can do it again. Isn't there another one next month?" Drue tried to be encouraging, but it wasn't working. He felt really bad, he knew how much Pacey needed to score well to get into college. And he knew Pacey was really clever, he just hadn't had any time to study properly between his work and Joey's Dad turning up.
"What's the point?" Pacey got up, heading for the door.
"Pacey where are you going?" Drue called after him but Pacey kept walking.
Drue sighed. He wished he knew a way to make Pacey feel better.
-&-
"Knock, knock." Jen knocked on the counter at the coffeehouse, trying to get Joey's attention. "Uh, miss a little service please?"
Joey smiled as she spotted Jen and Brenda and walked over to them.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Joey smiled at them across the counter.
"Nothing much. Just thought we'd swing by and see what you do all day."
"Wait tables. Nothing too exciting." Joey cringed. "How are you doing?" She asked Brenda who was sitting quietly.
"Okay I guess." Brenda tried to smile. The last couple of weeks had been really hard on her. She hadn't realized how much she would miss Matt after they broke up. He may have hit her a few times, but she still loved him.
"Just hang in there okay?" Joey smiled. "And if you need anything Jen's always available." Joey joked.
"Hey!"
"Just kidding. I'm always here too."
"Thanks Joey." Brenda smiled. The whole group had really welcomed Brenda into their group. She didn't have many other friends because she spent all her spare time with Matt before, but now she was starting to make some friends of her own.
"Oh yeah, I was meaning to ask you something Jo," Jen remembered.
"Shoot."
"Well Grams is inviting Drue over for diner tomorrow night and I thought you might like to come. Grams misses us."
"Aww, I would love to, but I'm working. But tell Grams I said hi."
"Will do."
"Why is Grams inviting Drue to dinner?" Brenda asked.
"Because he's been hiding from her." Jen laughed. "He hasn't stepped foot in her house for more than ten minutes with me. I think he's scared."
"Drue's scared of Grams?" Joey looked confused.
"Don't ask me. I'm just his girlfriend. That boy has some serious issues." Jen laughed, thinking of her boyfriend. "You're coming over to the apartment later though to plan Spring Break, aren't you?" Jen grinned.
"Yep, I'll be there."
"Great."
-&-
"Just you, me, and Grams?!" Drue exclaimed as Jen told him the news. He had stopped by to see her at her dorm and she told him they were going.
"Yeah?" Jen said, pretending to not know that Drue was nervous. "Why, is there a problem?"
"No. Of course not." Drue sat down on the bed and sighed. "Actually yeah. Your Grams doesn't like me." Drue moaned. Jen laughed, she sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around him.
"Of course she does. Remember, she let you help us move our things here and everything."
"Yeah, but she always had this look. This 'you hurt my granddaughter and you'll have hell to pay young man' look." Jen giggled at Drue's impression.
"But you haven't hurt me."
"But she thinks I will."
"No she doesn't. Come on. She just wants to sit and have dinner with the guy who makes me happy." Drue smiled.
"Do I really make you happy?"
"Of course you do, doofus." Jen kissed him softly and he melted into her.
"Okay. I guess I'll come."
"Good because it wasn't an option."
-&-
Pacey, Joey, Jack and Brenda were all at the guys' apartment, talking amongst themselves. Brenda was sitting on the couch with Jack eating popcorn. Pacey was sitting with Joey in the corner, but wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying. Drue and Jen came out of Drue's room and Drue spoke up noticing everyone was there.
"So, Spring Break…anyone have any ideas?" Drue asked. They had been talking before and said how they all wanted to do something together so Drue decided to invite everyone over so that they could finalize plans.
"I was thinking we should go to a really nice beach town." Jen spoke up. "You know typical Spring break location. We haven't done anything like that before."
"Sounds good to me." Joey agreed.
"Hey, my parents have an empty condo in Florida, we could stay there?" Drue suggested.
"Gee sweetie, is there any place your parents don't have some sort of accommodation in?" Jen teased.
"They like to be prepared, what can I say?" Drue joked. "But it's huge and right on the beach. It would be perfect."
"That is perfect." Jack grinned. "Looks like this is shaping up quite nicely."
"Yep." Drue grinned.
"How many rooms are there? You sure they'll be space for everyone?" Jen asked.
"Umm, there's five rooms so…" He started counting off rooms, me and you, Pacey and Joey…"
"How come me and Joey just get stuck with you two." Jen teased.
"Because you love us?" Drue offered.
"Maybe we would like to room together?" Joey spoke up. "Maybe we don't want to share with you two slobs?"
"Yeah." Jen grinned.
"You can protest all you like but you know you can't resist us." Drue pulled Jen close to him and kissed her. "Besides I am not rooming with Pacey. No offense."
"None taken." Pacey smiled slightly from where he was sitting. He hadn't said much because his mind just wasn't on Spring break. While everyone would be enjoying himself, he would still be worrying about what he was going to do with the rest of his life.
"Anyway, that's two rooms and then there's Jack, Brenda and David…Is David coming?" Drue asked, not sure. David had become a part of the group, although he wasn't around as much as the others.
"I'm not sure. I'll invite him if it's okay with you."
"Of course." Drue smiled, bending down to kiss Jen. "Looks like we're going to have a great time."
Joey held onto Pacey's hand tightly and looked up at him. He had been distant all night and she wasn't sure what was wrong.
"Are you okay?" Joey asked him quietly.
"Huh? Yeah sounds like fun." Pacey said distractedly.
"Pacey?" He got up suddenly and Joey looked confused.
"I'm uh…just going to get some fresh air." He announced, before heading out, leaving everyone else confused.
"What's his problem?" Jack asked Joey.
"I don't know." Joey whispered, suddenly having a really bad feeling.
"Don't worry about him, he's just upset." Drue said.
"Upset about what?" Joey asked.
"He didn't tell you?" Drue looked confused. "Joey, he got his SAT result back today."
"What? SAT? When did he take the SAT?"
"A few weeks…what? He didn't tell you?" Drue suddenly realized.
"No!" Joey was slightly angry now. "He didn't tell me anything." She sighed, wondering why he was hiding this from her.
"Well he took it a about a month ago and he got the scores today."
"And? How did he do?"
"He did alright, but he wanted to do better to qualify for a scholarship." Drue sighed.
"Oh…crap!" Joey sighed. "Should I go talk to him?"
"Yes!" Jen said.
"But he obviously didn't want me to know."
"Joey, he needs you now." Drue said. "Really he does."
-&-
Joey approached him slowly, he was sitting at the far end of the beach by the rocks and it had taken Joey a while to find him. She sat next to him, but he didn't look at her. He just kept staring out to at the sea. Joey took his hand and squeezed it lightly.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know." Pacey sighed.
"Pacey, I thought we were being honest with each other? Why would you hide something like this from me?" Joey searched his face but he refused to look at her. "Pacey!"
"Maybe I just knew this would happen and I didn't want to waste your time." Pacey said angrily.
"Waste my time? Why would you think this would waste my time? Taking the SAT is not a waste of time, Pacey. And I could have helped you."
"Yeah, well obviously I needed your help didn't I?" She was trying not to get angry at him, but his cold tone was just making her more upset.
"This isn't about needing my help. It's about being there for each other."
"Look Jo…" He looked at her concerned face, but he just didn't want to talk right now. He felt like such a failure. "I just need to be alone okay?"
"Fine." Joey stood up, more pissed off than anything now.
"Jo, I didn't mean it like…." He tried to explain, but she just walked away.
"See ya later," she said over her shoulder.
-&-
Brenda walked down the street towards the library. She had been trying to get some work done, but lately Matt was always on her mind. She hadn't realized how much she would miss him when he wasn't around. She hated that something so good had to be spoiled because of his insecurity.
But they hadn't been able to work through his issues and she couldn't let him hit her whenever he lost his temper. That was no way for a relationship to work.
"Brenda!" She sighed as she saw him call to her from across the street. She stood still not knowing what to do. She hadn't seen or spoken to him in two weeks and he had been really good about not contacting her.
"Matt," she nodded to him as he stopped in front of her.
"Hi…" He just watched her and she started to get uncomfortable. But he didn't know what to say.
"Er…how are you?"
"Okay. You?"
"Seriously?" Brenda sighed. "Sorry. I'm dealing."
"Good." She smiled at him softly.
"I just…I saw you across the street and I just had to say hi. I'm sorry."
"It's okay Matt. It's just…it's not good for us to talk right now."
"I really am sorry."
"I know you said…"
"I mean, about what I…what I did." Matt looked down uncomfortably and Brenda really felt bad. Despite what people might think she knew Matt wasn't a bad guy.
"I know. Did you think about what I told you?" When Brenda had broken up with him she'd suggested he look into counseling to help him deal with his problems.
"I don't know…I don't think I could. You're the only one I could ever talk to."
"I know. But we can't. I can't right now."
"Yeah. Well…I better be…"
"Matt, please, think about it. If not for yourself then for me. For us?" She smiled softly at him before continuing on walking towards the library. Although there was no point now, she knew she wouldn't be concentrate anymore.
-&-
Noah Riley was working at the Marina early the next morning. It was Pacey's day off and Noah was in charge of everything in his absence. He finished serving a customer and noticed Pacey walking towards him, looking sullen.
"Hey," Noah smiled at his boss. "What's up?" He thought for a second and then asked, "You're not supposed to be working today are you?"
"No. I just thought I'd come see how things were going." Pacey answered vaguely. Truth was he was still upset about his score and the fact that Joey was pissed at him. Working always got his mind off it and he was sick of sitting at home so he decided to see how Noah was doing.
"You don't trust me?" Noah smirked. "I thought you'd be using all your free time to ravish your girlfriend."
"We had a fight."
"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to put my foot in it," Noah cringed. He knew how close Pacey and Joey were just from the way Pacey spoke about Joey.
"It's okay. I was an ass. She's pissed. We'll work it out."
"Well that's a plus." Noah smiled and then tried to change the subject. "So have you made any plans for Spring Break yet?"
"Uh… Well we made some last night, but I wasn't really listening. I think we're going to Florida, my friend, Drue has a condo on the beach."
"Oh nice. Florida would be perfect."
"Yeah, you should come."
"Really?"
"Yeah, if you want I could ask Drue if he has any spare room." Pacey offered.
"Wow. Thanks Pace."
"No problem. It'll be fun, if Joey gives me a break, we could hang out." Pacey smiled.
"Great."
-&-
"Come on guys, it'll be fun." Drue sat on Jack's bed trying to convince him and David to come to Grams tonight. They were working on the computer and found Drue's begging rather amusing.
"We can't. We have a lot of work to do."
"But you love Grams, Jack. She loves you. It'll be great."
"I do miss Grams and her cooking. You have to come meet her sometime," he told David.
"Yes! Come, meet her today," Drue pleaded and Jack just laughed.
"What is your problem, man? Why are you so nervous of Grams of all people?"
"Because Jen loves her Grams."
"And?"
"And Grams will hate me. I can just see it now, she'll ask me about my intentions towards 'young Jennifer' and I won't be able to keep a straight face knowing I just screwed her daughter before coming over."
"So don't screw Jen before going to dinner." Jack laughed.
"That's not the point. It would just feel less like an interrogation if you were there."
Jack looked at Drue and then at David and then grinned. "Okay, I guess we'll come."
"Great. Thanks." Drue looked at Jack's grinning face again and did a double take. "Hey, wait a minute. You were coming anyway weren't you?"
"Jen asked us this morning." David laughed.
"Well gee, you couldn't have told me that an hour ago?"
"No. It was much more fun watching you grovel."
-&-
Joey was working at the coffeehouse, but she couldn't get her mind off Pacey. She hated it when he closed himself off from her. She knew he needed his space, but she hated feeling useless.
"I think the table's clean Joey." Steve grinned gesturing to the table she'd been cleaning for the last ten minutes.
"Sorry," Joey blushed, realizing she had been lost in her own thoughts. She walked back behind the counter and Steve followed.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Steve offered.
Joey smiled at him. "No. I wouldn't want to bore you."
"It wouldn't bore me. I'm told I'm a great listener."
"It's just, well my boyfriend, Pacey. He didn't apply for college with us last year and he wants to apply this year. But he didn't tell me, and he took the SAT without telling me. He got his scores back yesterday, and I guess he was a bit disappointed, but he didn't tell me any of it."
"Wow. Isn't that something you would share with your girlfriend?"
"That's what I thought," Joey sighed.
"Seems to me like he doesn't think he needs you in his life, if he can't even talk to you about things like that." Steve commented.
"It's not that," Joey quickly commented. "I know why he kept it from me. He thinks I'd be disappointed in him or something if he didn't go to college. He hid it from me because he didn't want to tell me if he didn't get it."
"But…"
"Pacey loves me. That's what makes him do stupid things sometimes. But I just need to convince him that he can trust me with this and I love him whether or not he goes to college."
"Seems like an awful lot of trouble."
"It's not. You wouldn't understand. Pacey and I have a lot of history together."
"You don't think the fact that you're with a guy who you've known since high school will ruin your chance at having the proper college experience? You're supposed to meet new people. And if you look further than your group of high school friends, you might see that some of us aren't so bad." Steve smiled at her before going to serve a customer.
Joey just sighed. She was getting the distinct feeling that that was some sort of come on, and she really couldn't be bothered to deal with that right now. All she wanted to do was talk to Pacey.
-&-
David sat on Jack's bed while Jack made last minute edits to his essay. He looked around for something to do and found a magazine lying on the bed. He picked it up, flipped through it and then tossed it aside.
"So, you still didn't tell me what happened with Tobey," David mentioned.
"What?" Jack said distractedly.
"You know, Tobey? The guy you're dating. The one you don't talk about anymore," David's voice was sarcastic. He had been trying not to ask, but he couldn't stop his curiosity. Jack had been acting different ever since Tobey's visit and David wanted to know why.
"I just hadn't had a chance to tell you. Actually, that's because there's nothing to tell." Jack sighed, he wished he stopped feeling like something was wrong. He knew that he cared about Tobey, he just wasn't sure why he felt uneasy about being with him.
"Come on Jack. You know you can't lie to me."
"Yeah, why is that?" Jack turned and grinned.
"Maybe because I can see right through you. I have x-ray vision, you know." David joked.
"It's nothing really."
"Nothing that has been keeping you from mentioning him. Right."
"I don't know. Last time he was here it just felt…I don't know, weird?"
"I told you, long distance relationships are hard."
"Yeah, but I just felt like I didn't know him anymore. It felt uncomfortable and it hasn't felt like that with him ever before. He noticed it too, he asked me if there was something wrong."
"What did you say?"
"I don't know. We haven't even been speaking on that phone that often and when we do it's more like 'hey, how's life?'"
"So what are you saying? You want to break up?" David asked. And he felt really bad that for a second he hoped Jack would answer yes.
"No. Of course not. I really care about him. That's why it's so weird that it's weird. I just want things to go back to the way they were."
"Me too," David mumbled.
"What?"
"Nothing." David sighed, wishing he had never even thought of Jack that way, it would have made everything so much simpler.
-&-
Drue and Jen sat in a deserted corner of the beach, wrapped together in a blanket. From the looks of their flushed faces and slightly dishelved clothes it's obvious that they've been busy.
"Why have we never done that before?" Drue asked and Jen just laughed.
"Because you can get arrested for indecency in public places," Jen reminded him.
"You didn't seem to think of that twenty minutes ago." Drue reminded her, pulling her tight against him.
"Yeah, well, I was a little busy." Jen laughed. She was so happy that she couldn't describe it. Being with Drue never got boring and he amazed her every day in so many different ways. "We just gave 'our place' a whole new meaning." Drue laughed lightly.
They sat for a while, just listening to the waves crash against the rocks and enjoying being in each others arms.
"You know, I figured out why you met me here. You just wanted to seduce me so that I would feel even worse when I face Grams."
"Yeah Drue, because having sex with you is all about making you feel bad." Jen said sarcastically. "I don't know why you're so worried about tonight."
"Maybe because while your Grams is talking about us and my good intentions, I'll be having flashbacks of what we just did."
Jen grinned and leaned into him, nibbling on his earlobe and kissing his neck. "You mean stuff like this." She whispered in a low breathy voice.
"Uh…Jen you're not helping."
"Not trying to." Jen grinned as she continued to kiss him, moving from his neck to his lips. He kissed her back, pulling her with him so they were lying down as he continued to devour her.
-&-
Joey arrived at the Marina and took a deep breath. Pacey wasn't supposed to be working tonight, but she had checked everywhere else and this was her last stop. Just as she thought, he was sitting inside his office. She approached him cautiously, not wanting him to be upset with her.
"Hey there, stranger." She smiled softly as he looked up to her.
"Joey." He smiled back at her, despite how bad he was feeling. He didn't want to shut her out, but he had just felt so disappointed.
She walked towards him and wrapped her arms around him while he sat in the chair. They just held each other for a little while, not talking. Joey kissed the top of his head softly and then pulled back a little to look into his eyes.
"I guess I screwed up again, huh?"
"No. Well yeah, you screwed up by not telling me. But the actual test, that wasn't so much of a screw up."
"Joey, I'll never get into college with those scores. I just wish I had more time to study." Joey nodded her head and then suddenly realized something.
"When was the test Pacey?"
"Uh…About a month ago?"
"About the same time my Dad came back and you spent all your time making me feel better?" Joey accused.
"Um…"
"Pacey!" Joey realized that she had been so distracted in her own drama and Pacey hadn't even told her about the SAT.
"I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to have to deal with my shit."
"Your shit? Pacey, I can't believe you let me be so selfish."
"You weren't being selfish. You didn't know."
"I should have guessed."
"What? You're supposed to be psychic on top of everything now?" Pacey joked, pulling Joey into his lap. She just felt bad because she knew that Pacey had spent pretty much all his time with her when her Dad was there.
"Just because I was dealing with my own something, didn't mean we couldn't deal with your something too. Just promise me, you won't shut me out next time?"
"I promise. I just, I didn't want you to worry about anything."
"Well I have a right to worry. As your girlfriend I have every right to worry, ok?"
"Okay." Joey smiled and then leaned in and kissed him softly.
-&-
Grams stood in the kitchen getting dinner ready when Jen came inside. She watched her grandmother and sighed, she didn't realize how much she missed Grams. She had chosen to move into the dorms so Grams could have her own space. Grams had settled well in Boston and Jen was happy.
She walked up to Grams and put her arms around her, hugging her from behind.
"Jennifer." Grams smiled and turned around. "What was that for?"
"Nothing. I just miss you."
"Well your poor grandmother misses you too. You hardly have time for her anymore."
"Not true," Jen disputed. "And thanks for this, Drue is looking forward to it."
"With a certain amount of dread and fear I imagine?"
"How did you know?"
"The young boy thinks I'm going to interrogate him any second. It's rather funny how fast he runs from me." Grams smiled. "I must admit I was a little worried about his influence on you but I can see that you're happy."
"I am," Jen agreed, "Well why don't you you come say hello, he's waiting in the living room for us."
"Alright let's go." Grams smiled as Jen led the way into the living room.
Jen smiled when she saw Drue standing there, looking rather smart. He was holding a bunch of flowers and Jen smiled.
"For me?"
"Grams," he corrected. "This is for you." He pulled her closer and kissed her softly, until he heard Grams behind Jen.
"Drue, so nice of you to bring flowers. I'll just go put them in some water." Grams grinned and took the flowers. Drue just sighed.
"Relax," Jen told him. "She already loves you."
"Really?"
"How can she not?"
-&-
Brenda got home after a pointless day at the library to find her room empty. She remembered that Jen was at her Grams. Jen had invited her to dinner too, but she didn't feel up to it. She told Jen she had a lot of work to do, but the truth was she just didn't want to be around people tonight.
Jen had been so great to her and had been extra nice these last few weeks when it had been really hard. But tonight Brenda just wanted to be alone. She sat on her bed, trying to think of something to do that would keep her from thinking about her boyf…her ex-boyfriend, she reminded herself.
She looked over to her table and suddenly she wanted to cry. She got up and picked up the framed picture of her and Matt that was sitting there. She held it in her hands and couldn't stop the tears from falling.
She just looked at it, remembering all the good times she had with Matt. She kept replaying the conversation they had today and it just upset her more. She hated that he couldn't control his anger. She hated the fact that it had torn them apart. And she hated feeling like this.
She got up and wiped her tears, knowing she had to stop doing this. She walked over to her closet and stuffed the frame underneath her things. Out of sight. Out of mind. Or so she hoped.
-&-
Jack and David sat next to each other and Jen and Drue sat opposite them. Grams smiled as she noticed everyone had finished eating.
"So who wants desert? I have chocolate cake."
"Oh Grams, I love you." Jack said. Grams laughed.
"I thought you would like it, Jack."
"Jack likes anything, Grams." Jen joked.
"Well then, I'll just go get it." Grams got up and Drue turned to Jen. He kissed her softly on the head and then got up, leaving a confused Jen behind.
"Grams?" Drue followed her into the kitchen and stood next to her as she got the desert from the fridge.
"Yes Drue."
"I just…Do you like me?" Drue asked finally and Grams laughed.
"Well I don't hate you." Grams laughed.
"I guess that's good." Drue sighed.
"Only joking dear. I am rather fond you. I don't know why you would think otherwise."
"I don't know. I just want you to know that I really love Jen." He didn't know why but he didn't want Grams to think badly of him. He knew how important Grams was to Jen and he needed her to know that he would never hurt her granddaughter.
"I know you do."
"And I'll never hurt her."
"That's good to hear." Grams smiled and turned to Drue. She had to admit she had enjoyed making him sweat. She didn't know why he was so nervous because he didn't seem like the type of guy to be worried about what she would think. But obviously she had been wrong.
"So are we cool?"
"Yes Drue. We're cool." Grams laughed. "Now shall we go feed them some cake?"
"Yes. Let's." Drue grinned.
-&-
"I thought I sent you home?" Pacey grinned at Joey when he opened the door. She had gone home about an hour ago, or so he thought.
"You did." Joey grinned. She held up a book for him and he looked confused. "I bought this for you."
"SATs for Dummies?"
"Yeah."
"Jo I don't…"
"And this." She handed him some papers as she walked inside his apartment.
"Registration application?"
"Yep. All you have to do is fill this in and you can take the next SAT. It's not too late." Joey smiled and he still looked confused.
"But there's no point. I won't…"
"I don't want to hear it. You're taking the SAT. You're going to get a great score and you're going to college. That is what you wanted, isn't it?"
"Yeah it is. But…"
"Pacey your score wasn't bad. If you did a bit more studying and were a bit more relaxed, I'm positive you'll do great."
Pacey smiled, pulling her close to him. "Why do you have so much faith in me?"
"I don't know. You're just lucky I guess," Joey teased. He grinned and then moved in to kiss her hungrily.
She groaned as he moved against her, making her feel hot. She pulled away suddenly, pushing him away from her. "No."
"No?"
"No. We're going to study."
"Study?"
"Yes!"
"Jo." Pacey gave her his puppy dog eyes and pulled her tightly against him. He kissed her neck, softly moving his lips over her skin.
"Pacey," she moaned as his lips touched hers. He pulled her closer as he kissed her hungrily. "Oh, what the hell. But we're going to study later." Pacey grinned.
"Yeah later." He picked her up easily into his arms and carried her towards his room. "Right now we've got other things to take care of." She laughed as he shut his bedroom door behind them.