Episode Twenty "Drowning"
Jen woke up the next morning when the sunlight started to come through the windows. She looked down at Drue who was asleep in her lap. They had fallen asleep together last night, she had been sitting against the bed with his head in her lap.
She sighed looking down at his peaceful face. She ran her hand across his cheek and couldn't stop the tears that escaped her eyes. She pulled her hand back and eased away from him. He woke up from the movement and rubbed his sleepy eyes.
"Jen?"
"I'm sorry." She said, not wanting to wake him.
"It's okay."
"No, it's not."
"What?" Drue sat up and looked at Jen.
She was facing away from him, refusing to turn around.
"Drue, what are you going to do?"
"I don't know."
"Don't you think you should figure it out?"
"I'm trying. I just…What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to react to this?"
"That's something you need to work out."
He nodded his understanding.
"Alone." Jen added quietly.
"What?"
"It's just, I can't be here for you like you need me to be. I know you need me to be, but I can't."
"I know this is…well it's really bad. And I know this is hard for you, but this doesn't change anything between us." He tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she flinched.
"It does." Jen said, turning to face him. "It changes everything."
"Why?"
"You have a son, Drue. It changes everything."
"I still love you. That hasn't changed."
"I know."
She was trying to hold in her tears, but his pleading look was making it hard. Everytime she looked at him, she was reminded of everything.
"Why isn't that enough?" He asked.
"I just need some time. I need you to figure things out and then we can talk."
"Why can't we be together while I figure this out?"
"I don't know. We just can't. It's too much right now."
"Jen…" Drue moved towards her, holding his arms out but she moved away.
"I'm sorry." Jen sighed. "I think you should just leave now."
Drue looked at her, heartbroken, but she wouldn't look at him. He sighed, feeling frustrated. Not knowing what else to say he turned and walked out of the room.
-&-
Drue sat in his room thinking about Jen again. Ever since she told him she didn't want to see him, he had been living in a funk. He didn't know what he was doing without her. There was no point to his life without her in it.
It was almost four days since he had talked to her and almost a week since Morgan had turned up on his doorstep with his kid. He still hadn't called her and he was wondering if she was even still here.
He knew he was being unfair making her wait so long for him to get the courage to call her, but he couldn't help it. In the span of a week he'd found out he had a two-year-old son and the love of his life decided she needed time away from him.
He wanted to call Jen so many times over the last few days. He wanted to see her so much. But she said not to call him until he knew what he was doing. And he still had no clue.
He sighed looking at the piece of paper with Morgan's number on it sitting on the table. Finally deciding he couldn't put it off any longer, he picked up the phone and dialed.
-&-
"I feel kinda bad, you know?" Brenda said, looking up at Noah.
They were having a picnic in the park, Noah was sitting up leaning on his hands while Brenda lay with her head in his lap.
"Why?"
"Being all happy when Jen and Drue are so miserable."
"It's not your fault."
"I know. I still feel bad though. Jen was still in bed when I left."
"They just need some time to figure things out, you know?"
"Yeah."
There was silence for a few seconds and he could tell she was still thinking about it.
"Stop worrying about them." He told her and she just laughed.
"I'm sorry. I can't help it."
"Thank happy thoughts."
"Like?"
"Like how lucky you are to be on a picnic with your wonderful, sexy new boyfriend." Noah grinned and Brenda just started laughing.
"You are so full of yourself."
"Hey, what's the use being humble when it's the truth."
Brenda lifted her arm to hit him, but instead ended up pulling him down to kiss her. When they pulled away Noah just grinned. "See, I'm irresistible."
"Just keep telling yourself that, honey."
Brenda smiled as she closed her eyes for a minute. Despite Noah's obvious boasting about himself she knew he was just kidding around and he always made her laugh. Ever since she'd known him he'd always made her smile and laugh and generally kept her happy.
"Noah?"
"Hmm."
"Thanks for being you."
Noah just smiled. "Anytime."
-&-
"Jen." Jack called, opening Jen's door which had been left adjar. He spotted his best friend of her bed, facing away from him. "Hey."
He sat down on her bed and she turned to him giving him an obvious fake smile. "Hey, Jack. How was your trip?"
"Never mind my trip. How are you?" Jack asked, obviously concerned.
"I'm fine."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Nice try. Did you forget who you were talking to?"
"I'm sick of talking about it."
"Where's Drue?"
"Probably with his hoe-bag." Jen sighed.
"What?!"
"We're having a time-out."
"Okay, you better just back up and explain yourself because you're confusing your very worried best friend who's just spent the last few hours on a train and is liable to be confused anyway."
Jen sighed, she knew she couldn't get out of talking about it now. She just hated to think about it though, everytime she did it just made her more upset. Jack listened patiently as she explained what had been going on in the last week.
"Whoa." Jack said when she finished. "I really chose the wrong time to go away."
"Yep."
"Have you spoken to him?"
"Not since the day I told him I don't want to see him. I don't know what he's done. I told him to let me know when he sorted things out."
"You do realize this isn't really his fault, right?"
"Yeah."
"So, why the time-out?"
"Because I need it." Jen sighed. "Before this happened, we were so happy. But maybe this was life's way of telling us that things weren't meant to be for us. Maybe we weren't meant to be happy together."
"That's crazy."
"Is it? I don't know anymore."
"You're being irrational. You deserve to be happy just as much as the next person."
"I don't know." Jen mumbled. "So, what happened with Tobey?" Jen asked, turning her best friend happy voice on.
Jack saw right through it, but knew she needed a change of topic.
"Nothing. It was good. Anytime I spend with Tobey is always good. We talked, about everything. How hard it's been doing the long distance thing, how much we miss each other, all those kinda of things."
"And what did you decide?"
"I didn't tell him about David if that's what you're asking."
"Jack…"
"I know, I know." He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I tried, okay? I tried so many times, but everytime I just couldn't do it."
"You can't keep doing this. You can't string them along. It's not fair to either of them. And it's just making you miserable."
"I know."
"You have to make up your mind."
"I don't want to. Can't I just have them both?" Jack joked.
"Nope. I'm afraid that would be greedy and also very wrong."
"Damn."
"You're going to let him down gently, aren't you?" Jen asked.
"Who?"
"You tell me."
"I think David and I should just stay friends. It's for the best." Jack said, not really believing it.
"If you say so."
-&-
"Joey!" Stacy exclaimed, scaring her roommate as she walked into their room.
"Stacy, you scared me."
"Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for ages." Stacy told her excitedly.
"I was at the library. You know, the place they keep lots of books. And occasionally when a miracle occurs people study there too." Joey said sarcastically.
"Haha." Stacy said, rolling her eyes.
"Okay, so what's got you so excited?"
"Well, you know that cute guy Mike in my Philosophy class?"
"Hmm, the guy you got interested in about one week after Steve was out of the picture?"
"Yeah. He's in a band and he asked me to come and see him play tonight. They're playing at this club downtown and we have to go!"
"I hope by 'we' you mean 'you and Tia'." Joey stated as she started taking her books out of her bag, ready to get started on another paper.
"Tia can't make it. She's already going out with her boyfriend. Come on Joey, you have to come."
Stacy was already getting the puppy dog eyes ready.
"I have a huge paper due next week." Joey tried to protest.
"Oh come on, when have I ever asked you for anything. And don't you think it's weird that we don't hang out more like in those lame TV shows where the roommate always gets sucked into the main gang?"
"Well would that be me getting sucked into your group, or you getting sucked into mine?"
"I wouldn't mind getting sucked into yours. Pacey, Drue and Jack. Yummy."
"Taken, taken and gay and taken." Joey pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah. Rub it in why don't you." Stacy smirked. "So, what do you say?"
"I'll ask Pacey if he wants to come so I don't get stuck alone in the corner when you run off with Mike." Joey said, giving in.
"Thanks Joey, you're the best!" Stacy hugged Joey impulsively and then pulled away. "And I promise not to do that again."
"Good."
-&-
"Come on, you're not getting out of it that easily." Noah said as he walked hand in hand with Brenda. "Most embarrassing thing you've ever done."
"I don't think I can beat yours. I mean, how could you throw up on the poor girl?"
"I was twelve!" Noah said, regretting having told that story.
"Aww. Okay, probably throwing myself at you." She mumbled.
"That wasn't embarrassing."
"It was for me!"
"You've got to live a little."
"Yeah, yeah. If living included throwing up on you then I'd rather…" Brenda trailed off as she spotted someone familiar walking towards her.
"You'd rather?" Noah prodded, looking confused.
He followed her line of vision and noticed a guy who seemed to be looking right at them.
"Do you know him?"
"Huh?" Brenda finally turned to look at Noah.
"That guy you were looking at."
"Oh he's um…"
"Hey." Brenda turned from Noah to the guy she'd been trying to forget all this time.
"Hey Matt."
Noah just stood there, trying to understand what was going on. They hadn't really discussed it before, but Noah was guessing that this was the guy who had left her in the state she was in when they met.
"How are you?" Matt asked, seemingly forgetting Noah's existence.
"Fine. You?"
"Good." Noah cleared his throat and she looked at him, still feeling a little dazed. "Um, Matt this is…err, my friend Noah. Noah this is Matt."
Noah felt a slight twinge that she had called him just a friend instead of her boyfriend, but she didn't seem to notice.
The guys didn't say anything to each other, instead choosing to look at Brenda. She looked between the guys and just sighed. "I…have to go."
She turned and ran across the street before either of them could say anything.
"Brenda!" Noah called after her, but she didn't turn around.
"Was it something I said?" Matt mumbled and Noah just turned to glare at him before storming off.
-&-
Drue took a deep breath as he looked up at the unfamiliar building. He had spoken to Morgan and she had given him the address of where she was staying.
He knocked on the door and waited for her to answer. The door opened and Morgan smiled at him looking flustered.
"Hey Drue. Come in." She said to him before turning and going back inside.
"Come on, Ryan, it's nap time." She told her son, who Drue couldn't see.
"Where is he?" Drue asked.
"He's hiding behind the counter." Morgan told him and sure enough he could see the little boy sticking his head out from behind the kitchen counter, trying not to be obvious. "He's a little shy." She told him.
"Nothing like me then." Drue noted.
"Yeah." Morgan smiled, clearing Ryan's toys from the couch to make room for Drue. "I was kind of surprised when you called. I thought you'd disappeared." She admitted as he took a seat.
"Yeah, sorry about that."
It's okay. I know you had a lot to deal with."
"Yeah, you could say that again."
"I'm really sorry, Drue."
"It's okay."
"I shouldn't have messed up your life. We're going back to New York in a few days and once we get back on our feet you won't even hear from us again."
"What?" Drue was shocked.
"You don't need to spoil your life. I came to you as a last resort for some help raising our son, but I don't expect anything more from you."
"Well, you better expect it."
"Excuse me?"
"You can't just take him away again. You can't tell me I have a son and expect me not to want to be part of his life. I've already lost two years that I could have spent with him."
Morgan looked shocked. She hadn't really expected that.
"But you have your life here."
"And I appreciate that you don't want to ruin it. But I can't just forget I have a son. And I don't want him to forget it either." Drue said as he looked over to the kitchen where he could see Ryan sitting on the floor playing.
"Okay." Morgan said, still completely shocked. "I guess."
"Would it be okay if I played with him?"
"Um…"
"For a little while? We can discuss what we're going to do after."
"Uh, sure." Morgan agreed.
She watched as Drue approached her child, a strangely distressed expression crossing her face
-&-
Joey reached the Marina office and stopped at the door. She stood, leaning against the doorframe, for a few minutes, just watching Pacey. He was sitting at his desk, facing away from her, busy working on something she couldn't see.
It was moments like these that it hit her how much had changed in her life lately. She was no longer the small town girl who dreamt about getting out of Capeside. She was living in a big city.
And Pacey, who had always thought he would be stuck there forever, had made so much of himself. Not that Joey hadn't known he would all along, but every day she thanked a higher power for giving her a second chance with him.
She had made so many mistakes during their senior year. She had been so reckless with his heart that sometimes she thought she didn't deserve him. But here they were, almost two years together and they had survived it all.
She couldn't really picture a future without him. They had hardly spent more than a day apart this year and yet the summer was fast approaching and they would be miles apart. All summer long.
"Joey?" She broke out of her daze to see that Pacey was now facing her looking slightly confused.
"Hey sweetie." Joey grinned, walking towards her boyfriend and giving him a long and very passionate kiss.
"Wow, what was that for?" Pacey teased as Joey settled herself on his lap.
"Just because. Aren't I allowed to be happy to see you?"
"Of course you are. If only you were this happy all the time." Joey pushed him playfully and he just laughed. "So what brings you here Miss Potter?"
"Hmm, I came to bring you this." She leaned in slowly, kissing his lips lightly. "And this…" She moved her lips his cheek and kissed him again. "And this…" She moved and kissed his other cheek too.
"And now I think I should be going." She quickly got up, putting a large distance between them, and then grinned.
"Tease." Pacey stuck his tongue out at her and she just grinned.
"You know you love it."
"No, I love you." Joey just rose her eyebrows, trying not to smile. "Okay, I love that too."
She laughed, moving back towards Pacey and wrapped her arms around him. "Are you free tonight?" She asked, finally getting to the real point of the visit.
"Nope. Work." Pacey sighed, remembering all the paperwork he had been doing before she got there. "Why?"
"Stacy wants me to go with her to see a band downtown. Her latest beau is in it and she needs someone to go with her." Joey sighed. "Now I'm going to get stuck in the corner of some skanky club while she chats up the guy."
"Aww, honey you have to learn to let loose once in a while."
"I let loose." Joey said quickly and Pacey just smirked. "I do!"
"Yeah. Name one time."
"Umm. Last night. I think I was pretty loose."
Pacey laughed. "Let loose out of the bedroom. Not that I mind of course."
"Of course."
"I'm sorry I can't come tonight."
"It's okay. I guess it'll be good for me to spend time with Stacy. I have been neglecting the roommate duties lately."
"Don't get too excited."
"I'm excited. But you can't blame a girl for wanting to spend as much time with her boyfriend as possible."
"Oh no, you most definitely can't blame her, especially when her boyfriend is as gorgeous as I am. I promise I'll make it up to you."
"Yeah, yeah. You better."
Joey grinned and kissed him again before reluctantly pulling away and letting him get back to work.
-&-
Jack walked into the Coffeehouse and ordered two lattes to go. He had been hanging out with Jen and popped out to get them some drinks. He collected the beverages and was about to leave when he noticed David sitting in a booth near the back. He had his head down and was studying and Jack thought about just leaving, but something made him walk over to him.
He slid into the booth opposite David, causing him to look up from his books.
"Hey." Jack smiled trying to lighten the tense atmosphere between them, but David just looked down at his book.
"Have a nice trip?" He asked, his voice short.
"Yeah. I'm surprised you noticed I was gone."
"I didn't. I bumped into Jen."
"Oh." Jack sat there not knowing what else to say. David had his head down again, as he pretended to be engrossed in his studies. "So…"
"Jack, if you have something to say to me why don't you just say it and get it over with?"
"I… um…"
"Look, I know what you're going to say. So don't bother."
"Oh yeah, and what is that?" Jack asked, angry now.
"You came to say you spent a nice week with Tobey, didn't tell him about us and are still confused. And let me guess, you just need more time?"
"I…" Jack tried to say something, but David could see he was exactly right.
"That's all you ever do. You go around in circles trying not to hurt the people you claim to care about, but instead you're just hurting us more. If you want Tobey, tell me and we move on. If you want me, tell Tobey and we move on together. You can't keep this up forever." David stood up and started gathering his things.
"I don't know…"
"What? What to do? I just told you." David said, clearly frustrated. He had never exploded like this at Jack before, but now he was hurting too much. He was sick of not knowing what was going on.
"David, please…" Jack tried, sensing he was about to leave.
"When you've made your choice and done something about it, come and see me, Jack." David said, before grabbing his books and leaving him alone in the Coffeehouse.
-&-
Noah dialed her number for the billionth time that hour and waited. Ten rings later and still no answer. Hanging up the phone, angrily, he ran his hand through his hair in frustration.
Ever since Brenda had ran off earlier that day he had been trying to call her. He must have left her a thousand messages, which he knew she was ignoring.
It didn't take a genius to figure out Matt was the ex-boyfriend who she found so hard to get over. He was the guy she had been trying to forget. And it was obvious from her reaction to him that she hadn't forgotten him at all. He was obviously still holding her affections.
Which left Noah feeling completely shitty. He realized that they had never spoken about Matt before. He knew she had a difficult break up, but he didn't know anything about the person who had such an affect on his girlfriend. Or ex-girlfriend as it probably was now, Noah thought.
He had been with Brenda all of a week and now this had to happen. He knew things were just too good to be true. He knew going into this relationship that things wouldn't be so easy, but he didn't expect them to get difficult straight away.
Noah picked up his phone again and pressed redial. Eight rings later he shut it off, throwing it across the floor in anger.
-&-
Joey was walking back from visiting Pacey when she noticed a familiar blond sitting on the bench across the street from the boys' apartment.
"Jen?"
"Hey." Jen smiled, noticing Joey approaching.
Joey smiled sympathetically and sat down next to her friend, putting a comforting arm around her.
"How you doing?"
"Obviously, not so good. I'm sitting outside his apartment for God knows what reason."
"You don't believe in God."
"Well, then I guess no one knows why."
"Maybe because you miss him?" Joey said tentatively.
Jen laughed sadly. "I didn't think the day would come when I'd actually miss Drue annoying me."
"Yeah, well, maybe not before, but I think this year we've kinda grown attached to our men. How sad are we?"
"Very." Jen smiled slightly.
"You still haven't spoken to him?"
"No."
"Is he home?"
"I'm not sure. I'm hoping he is and doesn't need to come out soon because I don't want to him to see me."
"You just want to be close to him." Joey said, understanding.
"So, how's Pacey?" Jen asked, turning her attention to Joey instead of the building in front of her.
"Good. Busy working as usual."
"Ooh, do I detect some hostility there?"
"No. I just hate it when we hit that time. Every now and again we both get really busy and have less time to do fun things, you know?"
"Well, if you two ever left the bedroom when you have free time perhaps you could do other fun things too." Jen grinned and Joey blushed.
"That and the fact that we're going to be apart this summer…"
"Why are you going to be apart?"
"I'll be in Capeside and Pacey's staying here."
"Oh."
"Jen, I hate seeing you like this." Joey complained. "You know what you need?"
"What?"
"A night on the town with the girls."
"I don't think…"
"I'm not taking no for an answer. Stacy and I are going to see a band play at this club downtown and you're coming with us whether you like it or not."
"Controlling much?"
"Yeah, well that's what friends do."
"Fine fine. I'll come. But I make no promises about having fun, okay?"
"Deal."
-&-
Brenda sighed when she heard the knock on the door. She pulled a pillow over her ears, trying to block out whoever it was. She was definitely not in the mood for visitors. Jen was out somewhere and she had only just gotten home herself.
The person at the door was not giving up and she had to give in, finally getting up to answer it.
"This better be good." She mumbled on her way to the door.
"Hey." Her anger melted away and she was left with a strange feeling when he said that one word to her.
"Matt."
"Hey."
"You said that already." Brenda noted.
"Can I come in?" He asked cautiously.
"I don't think that's such a good idea."
"Please? I just want to talk." He pleaded and she knew she couldn't refuse him anything. "I miss you."
Brenda sighed and opened the door, allowing him to walk in behind her. Brenda sat on her bed and Matt took in her room, looking around silently, avoiding having to say anything.
"So…" Brenda started, knowing he had come for a reason.
"I was surprised to see you today." He started. "Ever since we broke up, ever since I…treated you badly, I've regretted it. And you told me once that I had a problem and I didn't realize it until it was too late, until I'd already lost you."
Brenda listened carefully, knowing that he needed to say this. Knowing she didn't know what to say to him anyway.
"You were so important to me, Brenda. More than you know. So I did what you asked and left you alone. It was hard, but I stayed away completely. I've been going to anger management classes for months now and they've really taught me a lot. I've learned from my mistakes and I know it'll never happen again."
She tried not to laugh at the irony of it. Just as she was getting back on track, just as she finally thought she was moving on, he had to come back to her.
"Matt, that is really great. I'm really happy for you."
"I couldn't have done it without you."
"But you did. You said it yourself, you did it all without me." Brenda corrected, knowing where this was heading.
"No. You were there with me. All along."
"I wasn't going to come and see you until I thought I was ready, but when I saw you today I knew I was ready. I've changed, Brenda. Just like you wanted me to."
He approached her and she got up, putting distance between them. He couldn't do this. He wasn't allowed to let her feel things again. A part of her wanted so badly to kiss him and tell him how happy she was that they could be together. Another part of her knew how wrong it was. And that was the part she needed to listen to.
"I wanted you to change for you. Not for me. It's too late for us now."
"Why? Why is it too late?"
"I…"
"Is it that guy I saw you with today?"
"No. Yes. Kind of. We're together now."
"But I lo…"
"Please don't say it." She pleaded. She didn't think she could hear those three words.
"Why not?"
"Matt, please. I just need you to leave now."
He saw the distress in her eyes and felt bad. He didn't want things to be this way. He wanted her to be happy. That's all he ever wanted.
"I'm sorry." He apologized as he headed for the door.
She followed him to the door and just before he left he turned to her.
"But I love you." He whispered.
Noah came around the corner just as Matt leaned in and kissed Brenda before leaving. His face fell as he watched her close the door, not seeing the tears in her eyes. He sighed and turned around, going back the way he came.
-&-
The bartender placed more beer infront of Pacey, Drue and Noah and walked away, leaving the boys alone. Pacey took a long sip of his beer before turning to the guys.
"How did we end up here?" He asked, looking around the bar they somehow ended up in.
"Well, I came to you brokenhearted and you decided the best way to get over it would be to drown my sorrows." Noah explained.
"And then you called me because god knows I need a good drowning." Drue added.
Pacey looked at the two boys and sighed. "Which now that I think about it was a very bad idea."
"Why?" Noah took another sip of his beer. "I think I'm almost starting to forget."
"That you saw your girlfriend's ex-boyfriend leave her room?"
"Thanks." Noah glared at him. "I know why Drue and I are drinking, but why are you?" He asked Pacey. "Don't you have a really gorgeous and faithful girlfriend?"
"Who didn't ask for a time out at the worst possible time ever." Drue added.
"Yep. One that I will not be seeing for three whole months." Pacey sighed, taking a sip of his beer.
"Aww poor thing." Noah said sarcastically.
"At least you have her." Drue pointed out. "And there are always weekends."
"I guess." Pacey agreed. He felt bad for his two friends who were currently on their way to getting completely wasted.
"No, I guess about it. You have no reason to mope, Witter, so let us do it in peace."
"Yeah." Drue agreed.
"She's probably at home right now." Noah started. "Thinking about how much she still loves the guy. Not even giving me a second thought."
"I'm sure she's not…"
"Or worse! She's at his house right now not giving me second thought." He winced, the image in his head not going away. "Damnit, why isn't this working? I'm supposed to be too drunk to know what I'm talking about by now."
He didn't even know what drink he was on, he had been drinking for ages, but he still couldn't get his mind off Brenda.
"You are too drunk. You're talking crap." Pacey told him.
"I'm talking crap?" Noah laughed. "This from the guy who's complaining about being away from his girlfriend when what he should be doing is making the most of the next few weeks you have together."
"I try, but I can't really…"
"You work too hard that's your problem. You don't have to watch the marina 24/7 you know. It won't kill you to get someone to cover you. Hell, I'll even do it since it doesn't look like I have a girlfriend anymore."
"You still have her."
"Yeah and I suppose that Matt guy isn't the love of her life."
"She won't take him back. He caused her too much pain. I remember Jen saying something about him being a complete jerk."
"What about Jen?" Drue asked, refocusing on the conversation again.
Pacey rolled his eyes. "Nothing."
"She didn't act like he was a jerk. She didn't even look angry to see him." Noah continued.
"She was shocked." Pacey tried to help. "You won't know anything until you talk to her."
"I tried." Noah lied.
"No you didn't. You left." Pacey pointed out.
"Oh, yeah." Noah realized he forget he had told Pacey already.
"Exactly."
"So, what's your point?"
"Talk to her!"
"Oh."
"I tried to talk." Drue said, butting in. "But she doesn't want to talk. She wants time."
"I know. And you just have to give it to her, Drue." Pacey told him before turning to Noah. "And you're afraid."
"Am not!"
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Then go and talk to her."
"I am." Noah said, standing up.
"Go on then." Pacey challenged.
"I'm going."
Pacey and Drue watched as Noah stood up and headed to the door. Just as he reached it he stopped and turned back around.
"Just as soon as I throw up." He said before running into the bathroom.
Pacey laughed before following him leaving Drue to continue his downward spiral.
-&-
"So, the band is pretty good. Don't you think?" Joey said, leaning over and talking in Jen's ear.
"Yeah, I guess."
Joey nodded, looking around loud club they were in. They were sitting at a table near the front where the band had set up. It was a really nice place and everyone was having fun. The band had just finished their first set and Stacy had gone over to talk to Mike.
"Come on, Jen. You can't keep this up forever."
"I can and I will." Jen told her. "It's a woman's right to choose."
"Well, only a crazy woman would choose to be depressed."
"Hey, it's not like you're Miss Mary Sunshine either."
"Maybe because my friend is bringing me down." Joey said pointedly.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I'll try to be more cheery." Jen put on a huge smile for a second and Joey just laughed.
"I think she's cheery enough for the both of us." Jen said, gesturing towards Stacy, who was making her way back to their table with a huge grin on her face.
"Isn't the band just the best?" Stacy said as she sat down next to Joey. "And Mike, god he's so cute. Really intelligent too."
"Yep, we can see that it's his intelligence you're into." Joey teased.
"Can you blame me? And it's not like you two don't have gorgeous boyfriends."
"Excuse me." Jen got up quickly and walked towards the bathroom before either of the other girls could say anything.
"Damn, me and my big mouth." Stacy winced. "Should one of us go after her?"
"Nah, I think she just needs a few minutes."
"Thanks for coming tonight, Joey."
"Hey, no problem. You deserve some happiness. I still feel kinda responsible for that whole Steve thing."
"Steve who?" Stacy grinned. "That's completely old news and you actually saved me from him."
"Still…"
"Still nothing." Stacy said, dismissing the entire thing.
"So, what's Mike been saying? Has he asked you out yet?"
"No. But I'm working on it." Stacy grinned.
A few minutes passed as the girls listened to Mike's band play when Jen returned looking pissed.
"God! I was practically mauled on the way to the bathroom. Remind me never to venture into the unknown alone again." Stacy and Joey just looked at each other before laughing. "What?" Jen asked.
"Nothing." Joey said. "It's good to see the return of Jen Lindley."
Jen realized she had forgotten about Drue for about two seconds and then her confusion was replaced by a sad smile.
-&-
David walked around the campus, more specifically the dorms, knowing he had to go and talk to Jack. Ever since this afternoon he had felt terrible for blowing up at him. He didn't like fighting, and he hated how things were between them now.
He realized that forcing him to choose was just driving a wedge between them. He was stupid to ever think they could be more. Jack's lack of wanting to break up with Tobey meant that whatever he felt for David obviously wasn't as strong as his feelings for his boyfriend.
Jack kept telling him that he just needed time to figure it out, but David realized there was nothing to figure out. Jack wasn't single and the only thing David could be was a good friend.
So that's what he would be. He would rather be in Jack's life as a friend than not be in his life at all.
Finally finding the courage, David made his way to Jack's room. The door was ajar so he pushed it open slightly as he knocked.
Jack looked up from his laptop and was surprised to see David standing there. He thought that after this morning, he had definitely blown everything with him.
"Hey." Jack said as David came inside.
"Hey." David smiled, not sure what to do after this morning, so he decided to ignore it. "What are you working on?" He asked.
"Um, the essay for Psych. The eating disorder one."
"We have an essay to do?" David looked confused and Jack just laughed.
"Yeah, it's not due till Friday. So, I guess you won't be starting it till Wednesday?"
"Thursday." David corrected.
"And yet you still do better than me." Jack sighed. "I hate people like you." He joked.
"What can I say, I'm naturally smart."
Jack nodded, trying to think of something else to say. He hadn't really admitted it, but he really missed David's company. He had grown so used to him being there all year.
"So…" Jack started.
"Jack, I'm really sorry about what I said this afternoon."
"There's no need to be sorry."
"I was way out of line. And…"
"And?"
"And I miss you." David admitted. "So if we could just put all of this behind us and go back to being friends I think I would really like that."
"Me too." Jack admitted.
"Good."
"Great."
"Want to go down to the bar?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Jack grinned, shutting down his computer and following David out the door.
-&-
Fade in to a montage of scenes to Music.
A cab pulls up outside Jen's dorm and all three girls get out. Jen smiles at Joey and Stacy and they both give her goodnight hugs. Joey uses her fingers to make Jen smile, but it doesn't really help. Jen thanks the other two and turns to go into her building. Joey and Stacy get back in the cab and drive off.
The scene fades into another cab which pulls up outside an apartment building. Noah and Pacey get out and we can see Drue inside looking knocked out. Pacey has his arm around Noah to keep him up as he stumbles to support his friend who is nearly completely out of it. They stumble up the steps and into Noah's apartment. Pacey lays him on the couch and sighs as Noah mumbles something in his sleep.
From Noah sleeping we fade into Brenda who is lying on her bed. She is under the covers, lying still but we can see that she isn't asleep. Her eyes move towards her bedside and a frame that has a picture of her and Matt in it. She sighs and moves her hand, picking up the frame and putting it face down on the table before closing her eyes.
Next the screen flashes to a noisy bar where Jack and David are deep in conversation. David leans in and says something to Jack and he laughs, punching David on the arm playfully.
The bar fades into darkness until a door opens and Jen walks into her room quietly, careful not to wake her roommate. She tiptoes around her room, quickly changing and getting ready for bed. She walks over to her phone and the answering machine shows that there are no new messages.
The cab pulls up outside the boys apartment and the boys get out. Drue heads upstairs, now feeling sobered up. He walks over to the large window of his apartment overlooking the city. The night looks beautiful, but he can't enjoy it. He picks up the phone but doesn't do anything with it. He runs his hands through his hair, frustrated before he starts dialing. He waits for someone to answer as we fade to Jen who is now fast asleep.
The roads of Boston are almost deserted. We see Pacey in his own truck now, smiling as he drives. We move to the same cab from earlier, which pulls up outside the Worthington campus, and Joey and Stacy get out. Stacy grins as she links arms with Joey and they walk inside.
-&-
"See, I told you you'd have fun." Stacy whispered as they walked through the corridor.
"I did. Thank you so much for convincing me to go." Joey said purposely exaggerating.
"It looks like your fun's not over yet." Stacy grinned and Joey looked confused until she looked to where Stacy was pointing.
She smiled as she spotted Pacey sitting outside her room. He grinned as he saw them, standing up so he could greet her properly.
"Pacey, what are you doing here?" She asked as soon as she got close enough.
Stacy grinned and opened the door, smiling to both of them before going inside to let them have their privacy.
"Do I need a reason to come and see my girlfriend?" Pacey asked, putting his hands on her hips and pulling her close.
"No, I guess not." Joey looked at him suspiciously, knowing he was up to something.
"Come on Jo, you gotta do better than that."
"Oh, is this what you want?" Joey grinned, leaning in and kissing him.
He pulled her closer, kissing her like he hadn't done it for ages. She smiled as she kissed him, loving the kiss but knowing something was up.
"You're just trying to get laid aren't you?"
"Ha. Josephine Potter, I'm appalled that you would think such a thing." Joey just rose her eyebrows. "What?"
"Come on, what did you do?" Joey asked playfully. "You cheated on me with a bimbo? No? You forgot to do something I asked? No? You…"
"I remembered just how long it's been since I told you just how much I love you."
"And how long has it been?"
"Twenty-two hours, seventeen minutes and…" He checked his watch. "Twelve seconds."
"You're so crazy." Joey laughed.
"Actually. There was a reason for my late night visit. But you'll have to come with me to find out what it is."
"I don't know, Pace. It's kinda late and I'm a little tired." She pretended to move towards her door, but he grabbed her.
"Nice try."
They walked outside together hand in hand. They reached his truck which was parked in a nice spot quite far from the dorms. Joey assumed they were getting in and headed for the front, but instead Pacey led her around the back.
"What's this?" Joey asked as she took in his surprise.
A blanket was laid out on the back and a little basket as sitting on it with a single rose waiting for her.
"Well, it's a midnight snack."
Joey smiled as he got onto the truck and then held out a hand for her. He sat down on the blanket and pulled her into his arms. He handed her the rose, which she took.
"What's all this for?" Joey asked.
"Well, I realized we haven't been spending enough time together lately and ever since we realized we're going to be apart this summer I've been kind of upset."
"Me too."
"But someone told me that I should be enjoying every moment with you right now instead of worrying about something that hasn't happened yet."
"I think that person was right." She smiled and leaned up kissing him hungrily.
"Hey Jo?"
"Hmm?"
"You think we could see the sun rise from here?"
Joey looked at her watch and then grinned. "We could try."
Pacey laughed, kissing the top of her head softly as she leaned back into his embrace.