Chapter Two:

The Morning After

Pacey Whitter was excited. Not only had he gotten out of the house unscathed by his "cop" brother, but also he was congratulating himself for being the master of persuasion. He had not expected the passionate curve of his words, resulting in a spontaneous plea that his brother had to give in to. This time he definitely surprised himself.

"Pacey – you are the man!" he said proudly to himself as he pressed down heavily on the accelerator, remembering the look that had dawned on his brother's face. The almost depressing understanding that had tinged his usually stern features when he had slowly agreed to lend Pacey the cop car so that he could pick up Dawson for "school," of course.

The police cruiser was…precious, in Pacey's words. His brother treated it like a member of the family. Most of the time, anyway. So it was with great eagerness that Pacey left the house with the car, not lagging behind while his brother, "Officer Whitter" decided lending the shiny vehicle was a bad idea.

In truth, he was picking up Dawson Leery, his best friend in the world…or Capeside, and he was going to bring them to school. But, there was a pit stop in between. It was a new year at Capeside High, and that called for a new Pacey.

Slowing the happily cruising vehicle, Pacey pulled into the curving driveway of Dawson's home. The quaint white house was as perfect as ever – windows open; shades pulled up and of course, the famous ladder against the front porch roof in place. Pacey knew what was really going on, but never let on. What did he care? He didn't like Joey. More than a friend – of course. She was fun to taunt. Taunt and Joey just went hand in hand. The lawn was speckled with dew and it glittered in the morning light as he got out of the car, heading for the front door.

Dawson wasn't in the swing of things, it seemed. Usually he was out the door before Pacey got halfway down the drive. But today he wasn't outside; he wasn't even on the porch! That was unusual. Dawson was a filmmaker. His eye for light and composition was constantly on the go. Pacey had even caught him once staring – which should have weirded him out. But Dawson quickly backed off, assuring him he was only amazed at the light on Pacey's hair.

Dawson can be weird like that, he thought to himself as he knocked on the front door. This part always got him because he was so used to walking in whenever he wanted to. But, since Mr. And Mrs. Leery were probably still at home, he decided the polite Pacey would work best.

Mr. Leery answered the door after a moment or two. He was wearing a quickly pulled on tee-shirt with sweat pants. Pacey took it as he'd just gotten up. There was – of course – the whole "I'm surprised…" look and then the greeting.

"Pacey –" Mr. Leery started.

"Hey Mr. Leery," Pacey began, doing his whole classic expression, I'm not sure what I'm doing. "Is Dawson up? We were supposed to get our…you know…"

Mr. Leery grinned.

"That's right. Come on in."

Pacey readily accepted and stepped into the entranceway. It was such a nice day out, it was a bit depressing to leave all the sunshine.

"Is he still upstairs?"

"Probably. He was up late last night doing homework."

Homework, Dawson, Pacey thought to himself slyly. What were you working on? A class project that wasn't even assigned?

Either way, he knew he shouldn't be assuming, so quickly bounded up the stairs and into Dawson's room.

It was musty in the tiny, cluttered bedroom of the filmmaker. Memorabilia from multiple Spielberg films lay meticulously placed on shelves and desks. Even the old ET doll was…

On the ground?

Pacey picked it up as he moved to the window and pulled up the shade with a loud snap. Immediately the room was filled with a blinding light and the sound of Dawson groaning.

"…Joey – I thought you…"

Pacey grinned as he slowly walked over to the bed as a lawyer questioning a witness would strut.

"Joey now?" he made a tisking sound and pulled the blanket off Dawson and dropped it on the floor.

"Pacey – hey!"

Now Dawson was awake. He sat up as he rubbed his eyes. For a moment, he looked like he didn't know what was going on. Then it snapped into him and he leaped off the bed at the dresser, pulling open a drawer crammed with shirts.

"What's the matter, Spielberg?" Pacey started. "Forget about our date?"

Dawson sighed.

"Pacey – I seriously just forgot. There was a lot of stuff that went on last night…" He stopped, shirt halfway on. "Oh man, Pacey. You can't tell anyone."

Pacey grinned, eyeing Dawson. "Can't tell anyone what?"

Dawson picked up his blanket and started making the bed.

"Pacey – the most incredible thing just happened."

"Just happened?"

"Yes."

Pacey thought for a moment. "Would this thing happen to involve Joey Potter?"

Dawson blushed, even though he and Pacey always shared stories about liaisons and…adventures.

"Guilty, Dawson. You made out with Joey Potter!"

Dawson shook his head.

"No – not made out!"

Pacey, eyeing Dawson once again, chuckled.

"Oh, Dawson! My little man is growing up. Oh boy!"

They were now halfway out the front door and heading across the slick lawn towards the cruiser. Pacey pulled out the keys and clicked the unlock button, the lights flashing as he did so.

"Pace, please remind me again what the point of getting a haircut at six thirty in the morning is?"

Pacey grinned.

"You see, everybody saw us last night before we all went home…except young Joey. So…they all think they know what we look like, right?" Dawson nodded as Pacey went on, buckling up. "So, if we show up at school with brand new styles, we'll shock everyone! Popularity at last!"

"Pacey, I don't think we'll ever be popular."

"What – sure we will!"

"Pace…"

The car pulled out into the street, heading into town and towards the barbers.

"Well…I was thinking of doing something outrageous. You know…like coloring or something."

"Coloring?"

Pacey grinned.

"What do you think about…I don't know…dying my hair red or something?"

"Red?"

"Well…maybe just my tips. A dark red, not the disgusting neon red. I hate that!"

Dawson just grinned.

"You're crazy, Pace."

Pacey smiled back.

"I know. Now, shut up and think about what you want your hair to look like. I've got forty bucks to spend, and I want to use every penny."

Dawson sat back, spending the rest of the trip to the barber's in silence…thinking more about what his next encounter with Joey was going to be like than which hair style he would like to get.