Chapter 11
Joey had said goodbye to her friends and now the only person left to say goodbye to was Pacey. Joey drove right past her house and straight to Pacey's. She knew that if she was going to talk to Pacey it was going to be now or never. She pulled into his driveway and turned off the engine. She slowly walked around to the back porch. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door. Gretchen, Pacey's sister, answered the door.
"Joey, hey," Gretchen greeted her.
"Hey," Joey said, walking inside.
"Is, um, is Pacey here?" Joey asked her.
"No, actually he just left. He went down to the docks," Gretchen told Joey.
"Thanks," Joey said, as she walked back to the truck. Once she got to the docks, she spotted Pacey sitting on the edge of True Love. She slowly walked towards him.
"Well, I stalled 7 times and 6 out of the 7 times, you know what I thought about? You. This secret thing I do whenever I get really pissed off or confused or angry or upset or sad. I think of you and I immediately feel good inside. I guess it's kinda like taking a good-mood pill or something," Joey said, as she took a seat next to Pacey, tucking her hair behind her ears.
"You said goodbye to Dawson?" Pacey guessed.
"Yeah," Joey replied. Pacey didn't make eye contact with her.
"I know that I have been a little preoccupied lately and I am sorry. I needed to say goodbye to Dawson because he has been my friend. So yes, my mind has wandered a little but my heart…that's a fixed point. It never left you Pacey," Joey told him.
The night air was crisp and refreshing. Pacey looked up into the sky, noticing the full moon over head.
"Is there anything more beautiful than a full moon? It looks close enough to touch but it's a million miles away," Pacey said. Joey looked up into the night sky, staring at the moon.
"It's actually only 240,000 miles away, Pacey," Joey told him.
"Well...," Pacey started.
"It's still romantic," Pacey argued.
Joey had a perplexed look on her face. "How did the moon become the state flower for romance? I mean, it's just a natural satellite that reflects the sun's light."
"Well, casting its peaceful and silent glow over a chaotic world. I love a full moon," Pacey replied.
"But peaceful, Pacey? A full moon turns everything off-kilter; it turns everything upside down. I mean, weird things always happen during a full moon," Joey told him.
"Is Joey Potter being superstitious?" Pacey asked, playfully.
"No, scientific," Joey said, defensively.
"How do you figure that?" Pacey asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"Human beings are made up of 70 percent water, right?" Joey asked.
"Yeah," Pacey said, as he leaned in and kissed Joey on the forehead.
Joey smiled. "And the moon controls the time."
Pacey moved his lips downward until they softly brushed against hers.
"Pulling great bodies of water back and forth, it does the same thing to us," Joey said.
"Really?" Pacey asked, still kissing Joey.
"Pulls us in different directions, disrupting the normal flow of things, and Pacey?" Joey told him.
"Yeah?" Pacey replied.
"I'm telling you. Weird things always happen during a full moon," Joey told him.
"Jo, I need to tell you something," Pacey said, looking into Joey's eyes.
"What's that?" Joey asked.
"Okay, where do I start?" Pacey said.
"Wherever you want," Joey told him.
"Okay. Joey, I am… really scared. I screwed up and I didn't graduate," Pacey chocked out, tears in his eyes.
"I knew something wasn't right when I talked you earlier," Joey told him, sighing.
"Well, whatever it takes we're going to fix it. Everything is going to be okay," Joey said, looking deeply into his eyes.
"How can you be sure? Pacey asked her.
"Because I am not going anywhere without you," Joey told him.
"You, Josephine Potter, have just wrecked me. In the best possible way, you have absolutely wrecked me. Because you see, I fell in love with you, knowing that there was never any possibility of being with you, knowing full well that a sizeable chunk of your heart would always be with Dawson. And that much was actually okay with me. Right up to the point that you chose me. Cause then you just turned everything upside down and I got everything that I wanted, and from that day forward, I've just been a wreck," Pacey told her.
"Why?" Joey asked him.
"Because now all I can do is wait for you to realize what a big mistake you made. Just wait for you to realize that you want to be with Dawson instead of me," Pacey told her.
"Pacey, I chose you over Dawson okay? I love you," Joey told him sincerely.
"Jo, do you think about the future?" Pacey asked her.
"Yes, of course," Joey told him.
"And what do you see when you see the future?" Pacey asked her.
"Us. Me and you, Pace. We grew up together. You see, Dawson and I, we didn't grow up. We are in that house, in Dawson's bedroom, eternally having the same argument over and over again, in this endless cycle that goes on and on. And…I can't stop it. Because whenever I'm around him, I become 15," Joey told Pacey.
"Pacey, what does Dawson have to do with you not graduating? " Joey asked.
"Well, nothing and everything. Dawson Leery would never have messed up like I did, Jo. It just wouldn't have happened, you know that," Pacey told her.
"You know what else Dawson would never do? He would never inspire me to run away with him for the summer. It just wouldn't happen. And you know that. We had a magic summer, Pacey. I mean, we shared something that I'm going to remember for the rest of my life. I mean, don't you see? We're creating our own history here. A history that has nothing to do with Dawson," Joey told him.
"You know, this is where it gets rough," Joey told him.
"What do you mean?" Pacey asked.
"We spent three months on the sea but didn't come close to weathering the storm. We ran away. We made our own reality and, it was so wonderful…" Joey said, trailing off.
"But it couldn't last forever," Pacey whispered.
"Nor should it. Pacey, a relationship isn't about a romantic three month cruise. It's going to be the details that define us. You know, the moments," Joey said, wrapping her arms around Pacey's neck and leaning in his lap,
"You know, let's just forget about everything. All I want to do at this very moment is to just stare at your face in the moonlight because that's the only thing that matters to me," Joey told him, giving him a passionate kiss.
"Hey, look up in the sky. What do you see?" Pacey asked.
"The moon?" Joey asked, looking straight up.
"No, no. Look at... look at the moon. Close your eyes. Now what do you see?" Pacey asked her.
Joey didn't say a word, a little confused by what Pacey was getting at.
"It's the man," Pacey said.
"Who?" Joey asked, confused.
"The man, remember?" Pacey stated.
"Oh, right, right, right. The man on the moon. I get it. I get it. Oh, but wait!" Joey exclaims.
"What?" Pacey asked.
"It's not a man, Pacey. It's a... woman," Joey said, giving him another kiss.
"Pacey?" Joey said, pulling away from the kiss.
"What?" Pacey replied.
"You're right. It's a... it's a really beautiful moon," Joey told him.
"Potter?" Pacey said, kissing her.
"Ummm," Joey moaned.
"I love you," Pacey told her.
"I love you too Witter," Joey said, kissing him once more. With that, Joey nestled her head into Pacey's shoulder and fell asleep. She felt so safe in Pacey's embrace. Pacey looked down to notice her asleep; the light from the moon beautifully casting a dim shadow across Joey's delicate skin. He rested his chin on the top of Joey's head, lightly kissing her forehead. Soon, both of them were sound asleep, holding each other close under the stars; their love forever strong.