Thank you for reading the last chapter. Sorry it has taken me long to update but I don't have much time to write anymore so I write here and there. I'm glad a few people still read this story, it mean the world to me. I will try ad update sooner next time. As an FYI, I am not including Buzz. I never really got the old big brother thing so I left it out.

"Hey Dawson," Pacey said smiling back at his friend. "What are you watching?"

Dawson lifted up the VHS box. "Jaws. I haven't watched it in a couple of weeks."

Pacey stood in the doorway just taking in everything. He missed Dawson. He missed coming to his friend's house unannounced and watching whatever Spielberg film Dawson NEEDED to watch that day. He missed talking to Dawson about what happened with his father that day or how bad he did on a test. He missed figuring out life with his best friend at his side. The last three years, Pacey had to struggle to make sense of everything by himself. He wanted Dawson to tell him how to make things right like he always did with every issue he had, especially with Joey. Oh how Pacey wished he could walk into his old friend's room and ask him why can't Joey love himself they way she loves him.

He can now.

Here he is in the bedroom he would always go to when he needed advice. Here was Dawson, still his best friend and still willing to help him.

"I know its early, Dawson, but I needed to talk to you about something," Pacey said not moving from the door way.

"I need to talk to you too, Pacey," Dawson said standing up and taking the tape out of the player. "Do you remember our fort we built when we were younger?"

Pacey smirked at this memory. "I do. I heard they were going to tear it down."

Dawson squinted his eyes at his friend. "You did? How did you know?"

Pacey chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Maybe we should spend one more night there. It would be a perfect way to say goodbye."

"Do you think its still there? I mean we haven't been there in years."

"I know for a fact it is still there."

Dawson put his hands into his pockets. "Okay, let's do it."

The walk to the old fort was a silent one. Pacey's mind was racing a million miles a minute. He contemplated every possibility that could happen with Dawson and Joey. Pacey was always strong about his feelings for Joey and did everything he could to be with her.

Maybe he wasn't supposed to be so pig headed about Joey.

Maybe this is the universe's way of telling him that she wasn't worth the pain.

Maybe this time he was supposed to let her go.

This could work for him. Pacey could be happy without Joey. He could have his best friend and maybe even he and Joey could stay good friends too. He could focus on his school work instead of Joey and pass all of his classes and hell; maybe he could get into college. He could finish junior year with his whole life intact and sail away on the true love alone and…

Pacey shuttered at that thought.

The summer after junior year was the best summer of his life. He and Joey were madly in love and were happy all of the time. They left all their troubles behind for two months and were able to just be together. Pacey remembered the last night they spent on the true love alone. They laid for hours on the deck of his boat with their limbs intertwined, not one saying a word. Pacey caressed Joey's soft sun kissed arm until she fell asleep. He gently swiped some hair from her face and took in every inch of her features. He could remember in vivid detail every single curve of her face and how her hair smelled like coconut. He loved how her skin felt under his fingertips. He thought about that little freckle by her ear that was a perfect place to put his thumb when he held her face to kiss her. He loved to just watch her sleep. He smirked at the little twitches her mouth made while she slept. Pacey could still recall this memory as if it just happened.

He knew.

He knew what he had to do.

"You know, that's just typical," Dawson laughed.

Pacey came out of his trance when he heard his friend. "What's typical?" Pacey said as they reached the falling down fort.

Dawson ran a hand along the rotted out wood of the roof of the fort.

"This fort. This life…Me. I remember this as being bigger than life and in reality everything is just ordinary. Maybe my whole life was just ordinary and I was just too blindly optimistic to see it. I don't know. I've been trying to reconnect with who I was when I had all this passion and when I knew who I was and things were simple but maybe that reality never existed."

Pacey sighed and put down his back pack. He remembered this conversation and where it led; or didn't lead.

"Dawson, you over think things. Life was never simple but life isn't always as complicated as you make it out to be either."

Dawson started to collect sticks around the fort for a fire while he talked to his friend. "Things seem pretty complicated right now, Pacey."

Pacey sat down next to the place he knew where he had to dig. He shook his head at his friend. If only he knew how "uncomplicated" sixteen year old life seems in hindsight a couple of years later.

"You are going to do great things some day, Dawson. You still have this amazing passion in you and right now you don't have that muse but its only a matter of time before you find another one."

Dawson shrugged his shoulders. "I guess we'll see. Should we dig a whole for the fire?"

Pacey pointed to a spot. "We should dig right there. I think that is where we buried our box all those years ago."

Dawson smiled and picked up the shovel. "Well let's see," he said as he dug his shovel into the ground. One shovel full of dirt and Dawson hit the small metal box. "You're right," he said pulling the box out of the dirt.

Dawson wiped off the box with his shirt and sat next to Pacey. He rummaged through the old box and pulled out a crumbled old stack of papers.

"What's this? The secret code of Pacey Witter and Dawson Leery. Do you remember this, Pacey? I think we drew this up…"

"…the day we became blood brothers," Pacey said taking the paper from his friend.

"And look at this! An old picture of Joey and Me. How could I not know how beautiful she was back then," Dawson said smiling at the picture.

Pacey sighed. "I did. I always knew."

Dawson looked up at his friend. "I want to thank you, Pacey."

"Thank me?"

"Yes, I wanted to thank you for being there for Joey when I couldn't. Everything with her has gotten so complicated and for a while there she became my everything so when I lost her I guess I lost myself. I wanted my life to go back to the way it was when it was just the three of us without all of these raging hormones. I just want things to be easy again." Dawson laughed. "I don't think that will ever happen."

"You have no idea," Pacey said quietly.

Pacey started the fire and the pair sat in silence for a while.

"Anyways, I know helping with Joey must have been rough for you since you hate her and all," Dawson stated.

"I never hated her, Dawson," Pacey said. "She may have hated me but I never hated her."

"Then why do you fight with her so much?"

"Well, she was annoying when we were kids. She was a girl and you know how pubescent minds works. Once we grew up, I don't know, I guess its just became our thing. She keeps me on my toes and it intrigues me. I never met a woman that was more of a smart ass than I am. Joey and I are actually pretty similar. We bicker a lot but somehow we just work."

"I'm glad you two are able to get along now."

"We do, Dawson, we really do. She can be the most infuriating and stubborn woman in the world but then when she puts her guard down and lets you in, she is this amazing being that makes you feel like you can do anything. Its incredible how she effects people," Pacey said with a smirk.

"Um, yeah. I guess she does."

Pacey sighed. "Dawson, you know you are my best friend right?"

"Sure," Dawson said with a chuckle.

"No, Really. You are my best friend. You and I might be different in a lot of ways but I owe a lot of who I am to you. If it wasn't for you I probably wouldn't be here. My life has sucked pretty bad until now but you were always there with your unwavering optimism to make me feel better. I know I'm not the smartest and I am pretty much a screw up but because of you and who you are, I try to be a better man. I know I will never compare to you…"

"Pacey, you are a good person, "Dawson interrupted.

"You think so?"

"Of course. You have a good heart and I know it. You might be a little sex crazy and a little bit crazy in general but that's what make you, you. You're Pacey and you shouldn't try to be like anyone else."

"I'm not sex crazy, Dawson. I may talk a big game but I've loved all the women who have been in my life. I loved Andie so much and I never thought I could ever love some like I loved her. She broke me, D. I broke into a million pieces and felt an inch tall when she cheated on me and as much as you think I helped Joey; Joey really was the one that saved me."

"What are you trying to say, Pacey?" Dawson asked wide eyed.

Pacey swallowed the lump in his throat. It was now or never.

"I fell for Joey."

Dawson stayed quiet for a minute and stared at the fire.

"I kissed her," Pacey added.

Dawson finally looked at Pacey. "You kissed her?"

Pacey nodded. "And she kissed me back."

Dawson stared at Pacey. "So are you two together then?"

Pacey shook his head. "No. I haven't even talked to Joey about it. It just happened this morning and…"

"It just happened this morning? When did you see Joey? I haven't even talked to her."

"She called me really late last night after her date with college boy in Boston went south so I picked her up. She started telling me how much I mean to her and how she can trust me to be there for her so you know me, act first think later, I kissed her. In true Joey like fashion she freaks out and goes on a lengthy tirade about how fragile our universe is and how you would be affected but only after she lets me kiss her."

Dawson shook his head. "Wait…What?" What college boy in Boston? What date?"

"What Date? Dawson, haven't you talked to Joey?"

"I guess not much as of late. I know we've drifted apart lately but I didn't think this much. Why did she call you?"

"She said said I was the first person she thought of."

"She said that?"

"Yes."

They sat in silence for a minute. Pacey sighed and turned to his friend.

"Dawson, I didn't mean to fall for her. You're my best friend and I don't want you to stop being my friend over this. I never in a million years thought that I, Pacey Witter, would fall for Joey Potter but I did and she certainly never thought she would want me but it happened."

"How do you know she wants you? I thought you haven't talked to her."

"I don't know how to explain it but I know she does. I'm not really concerned about her right now. I want you to understand what happened and how I feel and how she feels and I want to know that we are going to be okay."

"Pacey, I don't know."

"Come on, Dawson, don't make this a long drawn out melodrama. How do you feel?"

"About what?"

"About what? About This! About Me. About Me and Joey…about Joey. Tell me how you feel."

Dawson took a few deep breaths.

"I feel…I don't know. I feel angry because you know what Joey means to me and yet you kissed her. I'm confused because you and her are both my friends and I want you both to be happy but its makes me sad because I didn't want you to be happy together. I just…I don't know, Pacey. I think I need to go."

Dawson stood up and started packing up his things. Pacey stood up and tried to stop him.

"Dawson don't do this. I thought if you knew before anything really happened then we could be okay. I'm not trying to hurt you."

Dawson put his backpack over his shoulders and started to walk away slowly.

"I know, Pacey. It means a lot that you told me. Its just…It feels like everything I ever knew has come crashing down and this proves that life as I knew it is no more."

Pacey watched his friend walk away. Maybe his friendship with Dawson was meant to end. He wanted so badly to save what he had with him but it seemed like no matter what he did, Joey was always going to be an issue. He wanted Dawson to understand that falling in love with Joey was not something he planned and he didn't force her to love him back…or did he? He did kiss her first after she was vulnerable from that bad date and he did make every little encounter with her awkward until she finally decided that she had feelings for him. Maybe Dawson was right. Maybe Pacey did make Joey think that her feelings of friendship for him were more than that and eventually she realized that she really didn't want him. Maybe Joey never loved Pacey at all.

Pacey packed up his things, shut down the fire and walked back to town as fast as he could. He passed the clock tower in the town square and saw that it was already nine at night. He didn't care. He needed to talk to Joey. Pacey walked up the short gravel driveway of the Potter residence and banged on the front door.

Bessie answered the door angrily. "What the heck, Pacey. Do you know know what time it is?"

"I know, Bess. I really need to talk to Joey."

A car door closed and Joey walked up. "Pacey?"

Pacey caught his breath. She was even more beautiful then he remembered. In that moment all of his old feelings came rushing back and hit him like a freight train. He was still head over heels in love with Joey Potter.

"Hey, Jo. Can I talk to you?"

Joey bit her lip and pushed some hair behind her ears. "This isn't really a good time right now."

Pacey grabbed her hand. "Potter, can you please just pacify me this once please. Its important," he said pulling her towards her dock.

"I guess I'll be right back, Bessie," Joey shouted to her sister as she went with Pacey to the dock.

When they reached the dock, Pacey let go of her hand and kept walking until he reached the edge of the water and flung his backpack down. "Listen Joey, about what happened this morning between us…" he said not facing her.

Joey wrapped her arms around herself and smiled. "I'm sorry that I over reacted, Pacey. It was just a kiss that happened in a confusing moment and something isn't a big deal unless you make it one and this…this isn't a big deal."

Pacey turned around and looked at her. "It was for me."

Joey's smile slowly faded. "It was?"

Pacey walked to her and put his hands on her arms. They were only inches apart. "It was a very big deal for me, Jo, and its a very big deal now. Do you have any idea how long I've been wanting to do that?"

Joey dropped her hands to her sides and looked into his eyes. "You have?"

"I care about you, Joey and I mean in a non-platonic way. I want to be with you." Pacey wiped some hair out of her face, never dropping her gaze.

"Pacey…" Joey whispered.

Pacey slowly ran his hands down her arm and held her hands. Her skin felt electric under his touch. "Did you feel anything when I kissed you?"

Joey nodded.

"What did it feel like?" he continued.

"It felt right," Joey squeaked out.

Pacey closed his eyes and inhaled deep. He wanted to savor this feeling for as long as he could, however brief and false it might be. Pacey sighed and opened his eyes.

"I told Dawson."

Joey's eyes widened and she pulled away from Pacey. "You told Dawson? Why would you do that?"

"I had to, Jo. He's my best friend and I wanted him to hear it from me before it was too late to save our friendship."

"What did he say?"

"Not much. I tried to explain how I feel about you and I think he understood but he wanted to be alone."

Joey rubbed her temples. "I knew this would happen."

Pacey took a step towards her and she put her hands up.

"Pacey don't."

"I'm not going to kiss you again, Joey. I said what I needed to say and that's it."

"What do you mean that's it?"

"I mean just that. I'm bowing out. I'm taking a step back. I want you Joey and I am not going to apologize for kissing you. I need you to figure out exactly how you feel about me. More importantly, I need you to figure out how you feel about Dawson. If you don't want to be with me that's fine. If you do decide that my little hormonal meltdown is something that both you and I share then I need you to be certain of it. I don't want to be stuck in this hell of will she, won't she." Pacey got close to Joey again. "If you do decide that you want me too then you need to be all in. I need to know that I am who you want and I need to know that you came to that decision by yourself without me, or Dawson, pushing you towards a decision."

Pacey walked away and grabbed his backpack. "I need you to talk to Dawson," he said walking back to her.

Joey shook her head. "I wouldn't know what to say. I don't know how I feel."

"Yes you do. You know exactly how you feel but you are just too scared to admit it. Whether you want to be with me or with him or you don't want to be with anyone; you know. No matter what, you need to know that I will be here for you always. I'm not going anywhere and I need you in my life regardless of your girlfriend or friend status in it. I want you to stop thinking about what everyone else feels and stop worrying about hurting someone. We all are hurting and its not your fault. You need to worry about you."

Pacey gave Joey one last smile and walked away.