August. When the clock struck seven o'clock on Tuesday evening, he punched out of work and walked out the door into the humid summer air. He really didn't want to go home, so he strolled downtown, hoping to kill some time. The town was crowded with tourists; he couldn't wait until Labor Day when they all finally went home. He walked down the street, passing by shops and eateries. The bell over the door to Capeside Candy dinged and he turned to see Belinda McGovern and her fellow cheerleading cronies following her outside the door.

"Why, it's Pacey Witter," she greeted him in a honeyed voice. "Screw any more forty-year-olds this summer?"

"Why, it's the racist bitch monster," he said with false glee, clasping his hands together.

She pursed her lips into a thin angry line, her hands going to her hips. "People need to let that go, okay? I haven't said that word since the ninth grade!"

He sneered. "In public, you mean." He watched her eyes go wide and her nostrils flare as she stood there, seething. Her friends exchanged uncomfortable looks behind her back. "Bye ladies," he said, wiggling his fingers at them. "See you next week when we descend back into the concrete misery known as Capeside High. Of course, Belinda here will be taking the elevator up to go to school."

Seeing their faces contort with confusion, he shook his head, laughing, and walked away. He soon came to Reese's Dairy Bar, an ice cream shop with an attached miniature golf course behind it. Ice cream sounded good on a muggy night like this. He adjusted his direction, heading for the shop, where there was a line outside the front window. The sun was just starting to set and he hoped the temperature would be tolerable enough to sleep well later.

He came up behind a tall girl with tanned skin, in khaki shorts and a red tank top, her dark brown hair just falling to her shoulders. Eyeing the girl up and down, he smiled. He hadn't seen her in weeks. Yet he kept silent as the line moved forward. When she got up to the window, she stood there hesitating.

"You're holding up the line, dear," spoke the woman on the other side.

"It's just that I know what I really want—it's my favorite thing here—but it's always too big and I can never finish it. So, it's a waste, right? Plus, it's just so much sugar for one person. I should just get a vanilla cone. I usually end up getting that. That's a safe choice, right?"

He crossed his arms. Jesus, why was she rambling? The woman behind the window smirked. "You need to make a decision, honey." Thank you! "You want a vanilla cone or what your heart truly desires?" He could almost guarantee Joey was standing there, chewing on her lip indecisively. Rolling his eyes, he stepped forward. "Hey there. Um, she'll have the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae. And, uh… two spoons. Oh, and an order of French fries, please."

Joey turned, wide-eyed, and stared at him, lips parting. He smiled. "Hi, Jo."

"That'll be six-fifty," the woman said. He pulled out his wallet and handed her the money. She nodded. "It'll be right out in a minute."

"You didn't have to pay for it, Pacey."

He pursed his lips. "Sure, I did. Otherwise, you would've been stuck with a boring vanilla cone. I mean, they have twenty-five flavors here, Jo. Live a little."

She sighed, and they stood in silence for several moments. When the woman returned to the window with a sundae covered with hot fudge and peanut butter sauce, he watched as Joey's remarkable brown eyes lit up with excitement. She reached for the sundae. The woman handed him the spoons and the fries. He thanked her. After he poured ketchup on his fries and pulled some napkins from a container on the window ledge, they walked over to an umbrella-covered table.

As Joey took the first bite of her ice cream, he watched her eyes roll to the back of her head. "Oh my God," she groaned in delight. "This is so good."

"Don't say I never did nothing for ya, Potter." He smirked and took his own bite of the delicious treat.

She continued chewing, fighting a grin. They ate in silence for some minutes. "So, what have you been up to?" she asked.

He swallowed his ice cream. "Uh… working at the video store six days a week, writing letters to Andie, and talking to her on the phone for an hour every Sunday afternoon."

"Six days a week? Really?"

"Yeah. Gotta make as much money as I can before the school year starts, and thankfully I've managed to save most of it. Plus, it gets me out of the house for eight hours a day. Can't beat that." She took another bite of the sundae and he watched her close her eyes while she swallowed, savoring the flavor. He stared. "And what have you been up to, Potter?"

"Oh, just trying to ignore my life. Have you been able to do anything fun over the summer?"

He sighed. "Life's not much fun without Andie around, or Dawson. He comes back this weekend, you know? Well, Labor Day… I think."

Nodding, she averted her eyes from his, but she didn't reply. They ate in comfortable silence for several moments. "So, when does Andie come home?"

"She told me her doctor said maybe sometime in September, but who knows," he sighed. "So, what about you? Did you get a summer job?"

"Yep. Down at Logan's Marina."

"How's that going?"

"My boss is a disgusting creep. Other than that, it pays good."

He dipped his spoon into the peanut butter sauce. "You need me to go down there and handle him?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, thanks, Pacey. I can take care of myself."

"Okay. Well, be careful, Jo." She held his gaze for a long moment before she turned her attention back to the sundae. Behind her, he watched as patrons received mini-golf clubs from a man at the stand in front of the course. He nodded towards it. "You wanna play?"

Joey turned and looked behind her. "Ugh. I hate mini golf."

"Why?"

"Because I suck at it."

He laughed. "Mini golf is so ridiculous, sucking at it is part of the fun."

She pursed her lips, thinking it over. "I don't think so, Pacey. Maybe another time."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" he blurted. "The last time we were in each other's company, uh…"

"And I'm sorry about that," she apologized. He gave her a mild look of surprise. "I was just really angry. Not at you, specifically. I was angry at my dad, at myself, at Dawson. I wasn't in a great place two months ago, and you were just… there. I was angry at the world. I'm sorry. So, I'm trying to make up for it and be a little nicer. Plus, you bought me a sundae. Don't worry, though. I'm sure this is just temporary and we'll be back to fighting in no time."

He frowned in sympathy. "Well, if there's anyone who has a right to be angry at the world for a while, it's you, Potter. You've been through things most people will never experience, or understand."

She nodded quietly, avoiding eye contact. "Anyway, I think we've inflicted our presence on each other long enough. Thanks for the ice cream."

He watched her stand up from the table, feeling slightly disappointed she was leaving so soon. "Sure."

"See you at school," she said before walking away.

"Uh, Joey," he called out after her.

She turned around, her eyebrows rising expectantly.

He licked his lips. "Uh, you know how I said earlier that my life wasn't fun this summer without Andie or Dawson? Well… I admit it wasn't much fun without you around either."

She blushed, her brows knitting, an embarrassed expression etching across her features. "Uh, thanks, Pacey," she laughed almost nervously, still avoiding eye contact, and did that cute hair flip of hers.

He shrugged. "See you next week, Potter. Bright and early Tuesday morning at the Junior Assembly. Excited?" He waggled his eyebrows. "I'll save you a seat with me and Dawson." He grinned at her teasingly.

Grumbling and rolling her eyes, she turned to walk away. He smiled after her, chuckling to himself.

September. Mitch Leery's arrival home on Wednesday night brought the party to a crashing halt. He sat on the porch watching guests spill out the front door, Dawson's dad yelling from inside the house for everyone to get the hell out. Mitch then walked back out to the porch and gave him a hard stare. "Pacey."

"Yes, sir?"

"Where is my son?"

"Um…" He was stalling, not sure what to say. He's probably off with this cocktail waitress named Eve getting another blowjob, sir.

Mitch suddenly turned, crossing his arms. "Dawson. Get in the house. Now."

He watched Mr. Leery disappear inside and then saw his best friend climb the stairs to the porch. "I thought you left, man. Where's Eve?"

Dawson sighed, shrugging defeatedly. "I've had two beautiful women throw themselves at me tonight, and I rejected both of them."

"What do you mean, two?" He stared, and then realization dawned. "Wait a minute… You said she wanted you back, but… Joey threw herself at you? Joey Potter? Josephine Lillian Potter? Threw herself at you? Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yes, Pacey! Yes. She was waiting for me in my bedroom and then she took her shirt off and she was going to…" Dawson closed his eyes, groaning. "But I just… I couldn't. It wasn't right. We're no good for each other. If we got back together now, things would just end up like they did last spring. I feel it in my bones."

He rubbed his hand over his mouth. It's about damn time Dawson came to the correct conclusion about their relationship. But wow… Joey?! "How did she react when you told her this?"

He watched Dawson grimace. "She got angry." Naturally. "But then she was… She was crushed, Pacey. I mean, you should've seen her face. I really do feel awful about it. So, you'll still check up on her tomorrow at school and spend the next couple days just looking out for her? Make sure she's okay?"

"Yes, Dawson. I told you I will." He inwardly groaned. Not that he minded, but spending time where he was unwanted wasn't his specialty. And how soon before they just start fighting and the whole 'watching out for her' schtick comes to a bitter, frustrating end? But then again, maybe this was just the kind of severing from Dawson she needed to finally deem him worthy enough to actually call him her friend.

Mitch's voice suddenly rent the air. "Dawson," he barked.

He watched his best friend hang his head and then walk inside the house. He stepped off the porch and started heading for home, but then stopped and stared at the dock where Dawson's rowboat was tied. He hadn't been to the Potter's house in what felt like a year, but maybe it was time to knock on Joey's window again and have a chat. She was heartbroken, and he didn't particularly want to go home yet. He walked down to the rowboat.

Later, while sitting together on the edge of the Potter's dock, Joey wrapped her arms around his waist and cried into his shoulder. He hadn't really seen her cry like this since her mother's funeral. Keeping quiet, he simply held his arm around her and let her cry it out. Eventually she stemmed the flow of her tears, and letting out a shuddering breath, she moved away from him. "I suppose you should get the rowboat back to Dawson," she said quietly.

"I suppose."

She played with her fingers in her lap. "Um… did you need a place to crash for the night, or are things okay with your dad?"

He looked over at her. She was staring down at her lap. "Actually…" Things had been rather okay over the summer, ever since Andie talked to his dad on the phone and he passed all his classes. Plus, it helped that he spent all day away from the house, and only came home at night and well past dinner time. He gazed at Joey, still playing with her fingers, and realized why she'd asked the question. "Um, yeah. I could use a place to sleep for the night. Is your bedroom floor available?"

She snorted. "Yeah."

"I can get the rowboat back to Dawson in the morning."

"Okay."

He bent his head, smiling to himself. Something in the pit of his stomach fluttered. "Do you want to go inside?"

She nodded, and they got up. She walked through the front door while he went around to the back and waited outside her window. After a few minutes, he saw the light turn on. Then a few minutes after that, the curtains pulled apart. He gazed at her standing in her pajamas while she lifted the window open. "Hi there," he said.

Thrusting her tongue in her cheek, she fought a grin. "Hi."

Laughing, he climbed inside her bedroom. Kicking off his shoes, he slid them underneath her bed, and she handed him a pillow and blanket. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, she spoke.

"Pacey?" she murmured in the dark.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think there's something wrong with me?"

His eyes fluttered open. "Um… Well, that's a loaded question."

She scoffed. "Be serious, please. Dawson and I dated for a grand total of four months, and we never once… He meets this Eve girl and she immediately… makes him crash a boat."

He yawned. "There's nothing wrong with you, Jo. And what you did earlier tonight... I have to say I'm impressed."

"Of course, you'd be impressed with my humiliation."

"That's not what I meant. That took a lot of guts what you did. I didn't think you had it in you. Little Joey Potter is growing up."

"I don't know, Pace. Sometimes I think there must be something wrong with me, and then I think that I'm the one who's normal and everyone else is just too blasé about something so monumentally life-changing. Everyone acts like it's not a big deal, but it is. And then I doubt myself again and think that maybe I'm the one who's going about this all wrong and I should just get it over with at the first opportunity like everyone else, but..." She sighed. "When me and Dawson were together, he never really, you know, went for it, and so we just never did. Not even close. I wasn't ready, and he knew that, but he also rarely ever brought it up for discussion. I would think if he wanted me, he'd at least mention it on a regular basis. And don't you think your boyfriend would at least try to feel you up or something? We didn't even dry hump, which is basically a rite of passage in practically every teenager's life. How pathetic is that? And then me and Jack…" She scoffed again. "We all know why he chose me for… whatever that was."

Now fully awake, he stared wide-eyed up at the ceiling and had no idea what to say. "See, Potter? This is why you should've hung out with me over the summer. We could've hashed this girl talk stuff all out before Dawson ever came home."

"I'm serious, Pacey."

He could picture her pouting in the dark. What did she want him to say? "What is it that you're asking me, Jo?"

"I don't know," she murmured.

"There is nothing wrong with you," he told her. "You're 16—soon to be 17—and you're completely normal. You have plenty of time to get some dry humping in before your twentieth birthday, so don't worry about that particular teenage rite of passage, and you have the rest of your life to have all the sex you want. There's no need to rush."

He heard her shifting in the bed and suddenly her voice was just above his head. "That's rich for you to say," she said, her tone accusatory. "You rushed."

He heaved a sigh. "I'm sure it appears that way from the outside, but I was ready. I was also responsible and safe about it."

"You also didn't crash any boats," she grumbled, shifting back on the mattress. "You know, just because I'm not ready to… go all the way… doesn't mean that I don't want to be wanted. Guys looks at me and just think 'virginal prude.'" She sighed. "Eve is everything I'm not."

"She doesn't hold a candle to you, Potter. There are a thousand Eves. There's only one you."

Silence.

He gulped. His stomach was suddenly fluttering like butterflies trapped in a jar. He tried to will the feeling away. "You know, Dawson may be right about your relationship, but he's a moron if he thinks whatever he might have with Eve is superior to you in any way, shape, or form."

Silence.

He then gentled his tone. "Joey, it will happen for you. When you're ready, when you decide it's the right time, and when you're with the right person who wants you just as badly as you want him, it'll happen. There's no need for it to happen sooner than that, unless you want it to. The choice is entirely yours, and you're right—it is a big deal. So, you shouldn't let anyone make you feel inferior—not Dawson and certainly not Eve, if that's even her real name."

Silence. He listened to her breathing. Several minutes passed and he thought she might've fallen asleep, but then she spoke.

"Goodnight, Pacey."

"Goodnight, Jo."

"Pacey?" she whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

He smiled. "Anytime, Potter." The butterflies calmed. A warm, contented feeling rose within him, and he soon drifted to sleep.

In the morning, he awoke as the sun was coming up. He quietly got off the floor, folded his blanket, slipped on his shoes, and then went out the window while Joey still slept. After rowing Dawson's boat back to the Leery's dock, he went home to shower and get ready for school. When he came downstairs, his mom greeted him in the kitchen.

"Good morning, honey. What can I get you for breakfast? I made eggs and bacon for your father before he left for work and there's still plenty here."

"Hi, Mom." He stared while she busied herself around the kitchen, humming to herself. Did she not know, or just not care, that he never came home last night? He shook his head. Same difference. "No, thanks. I'm just going to have some cereal. I gotta get going."

He got a bowl and a box of Honey Nut Cheerios from the cupboard while his mother got the milk out of the refrigerator. He ate in a hurry. "Oh, Mom… Can I take the car to school today? I have to pick someone up and give 'em a ride."

She gave him a look of faux surprise. "Pacey John Witter? Asking permission to take the car?"

Smirking, he shrugged. "It's a new year. There could be plenty more changes in store."

His mother walked over to the hutch against the wall and grabbed the keys to the wagon before setting them down on the table. "Here you go. Drive safe."

"Thanks, Ma." He stood from the table and set his empty bowl in the sink. Then he threw his backpack over one shoulder and made for the front door. "Be good in school and mind your teachers," his mom called after him as he stepped outside.

Less than ten minutes later, he was pulling up outside Joey's house and honking the horn. A few seconds passed, and he saw her step out through the front door, her brows knitting in confusion at the sight of him. She scowled in annoyance. He waved cheerfully. She rolled her eyes, and he laughed to himself. She then went back inside for a minute and returned with her backpack. He watched her walk to the car and get into the front passenger seat.

"Good morning, sunshine," he smirked. "And how are you on this fine Thursday morning?"

"You didn't tell me you were driving me to school today, Pacey."

"I didn't? Huh. Well, now you know." He smirked as she put her seatbelt on. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Potter."

She rolled her eyes again, but this time she was finally smiling. "Just drive."

Grinning, he put the car into gear and they were soon on the road, heading for the high school.