"Joey likes me."

He whispered the words to himself like a mantra, over and over again.

"Joey likes me."

If it hadn't come from Dawson, the person that knew Joey better than anyone else, and the person with the least interest in letting him know such things, Pacey would have never believed it. But it did come from Dawson. Even better, looking back at their two kisses and their interactions in the past month, Pacey realized there were small clues scattered everywhere.

"Joey likes me."

He grinned like an idiot as he walked towards the school.

He would ask her out. Today. The second he sees her, it will be the first thing he says to her.

"Potter, wanna go to the movies tonight?"

Nah, they'd seen too many movies in the past few months.

"Hey, Potter, say, you, me, Icehouse… tonight?"

No, definitely not Icehouse. Not under Bessie's paranoid eyes.

"Potter… Joey…"

"Yes, Pacey?"

She had totally come out of nowhere and his words died in his throat.

He swallowed.

"Pacey!" an unwelcome interruption distracted both of them from the anxiously-waited reply.

"Mr Milo… Now before you say anything, I want you to know I have the situation under complete control!" Pacey said, hoping to end the conversation as fast as possible and get back to the more urgent Joey issue.

"And what situation is that?"

"Well… whichever of my academic improprieties you were about to make me aware of…" he frowned.

"Impropriety is the wrong word. Try Kudos! I just received the midterm reports for all the students on academic watch. And after removing my jaw from the floor, I came to see you." The teacher handed him a piece of paper. "You posted three Bs, two As."

"That's impossible!"

"One would think so…" Mr Milo gave him a grin.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you smile before, Mr Milo. I'm liking this! The smiling thing, I definitely like…"

"Well, you just keep up the good work, Mr Witter!"

Mr Milo turned towards the school as Pacey looked dumbfounded at the piece of paper showing his results. His heart filled with joy and then with the realization that this was all thanks to Joey.

"Joey…" his voice cracked. She instantly hugged him.

"I knew you could do it, Pacey."

"That makes one of you." He whispered in her hair as he tried to settle his heart from getting out of his chest. "Tonight, you and me, dinner. On me."

She released him and smiled openly.

"I knew there would be something in it for me eventually."

He had to physically stop himself from kissing her.

"Joey! Pacey!" Jack and Andie stopped but before they could say anything else, the bell rang.

"Well, I hate to be the stickler, but we are late for an hour of hell." Pacey made an effort to place a little distance between him and Joey.

"Yes." Jack sighed. "You got your poem, stickler?"

"Of course!" Pacey laughed. What a ridiculous assignment that had been! He had never been too good with words, and in the state he was in last night, only three popped in his head. Joey likes me.

Considering his good mood, he couldn't help but play with his Lit teacher a little. He started mockingly searching for his homework in his binder.

"Mr Witter. Empty-handed, I presume!"

"No. It was in here. I mean… I had it at the locker… I just… left it right here in my binder." He said casually handing him the paper.

"Ode to the Sports Car…" The teacher read with disdain.

"Yeah, trust me, they're more exciting than Grecian arts."

"Experimenting with cursive for the first time, Mr Witter?"

He felt annoyed by Mr Peterson's continuous despise for him, despite his increasingly good results.

"Listen, I worked hard on that." He had no idea how much he had struggled with his words after last night's conversation with Dawson. Joey likes me.

"I'm sure…" Mr Peterson was definitely not convinced. "However, you neglected penmanship and presentation is half the grade." The poem was scrawled on a badly tore paper sheet. "So, as I see it, you have two choices: you can bring the poem in tomorrow, written legibly and lose points for handing it in late or you can hand it in as it is and the highest grade you'll see will be your old friend, the letter D."

His entire good mood was lost and he struggled to maintain his composure.

"It's not fair."

"Fairness is overrated."

As Mr Peterson turned towards the front of the class, Pacey couldn't help himself and turned towards Jack:

"Is it just me, or does that man get meaner every day?"

"It's not just you."

"Excuse me, Mr McPhee?" They had not been as silent as they had hoped.

"Um… nothing" Jack babbled.

"I trust that your poetry assignment went well, Mr McPhee. We're all aware how critical it is to your… um, deficient grade in this class."

"Sure… It went fine"

"Good! Then perhaps you would like to read your poem for the class."

"Um… You said that these… these poems were just for you."

"I changed my mind. These things happen. Please, read us your poem."

Pacey saw Jack's expression change visibly and couldn't help but be overcome with a feeling of dread.

"I'd really rather not." Jack tried.

"Mr McPhee, what you would rather do is of no importance to me."

"If it's OK with you, can I just hand it in?"

"Read the poem."

"Please, I don't…"

"We're waiting."

Pacey understood Jack's reticence when he started reading. He stood dumbfounded at his desk as his friend pretty much came out as gay in Literature class. He couldn't help but wonder how Jen would feel. As Jack read, tears started falling and then he abruptly ended and left the class. Pacey got up to go after him.

"What are you doing?" the teacher asked.

"I'll go see if he's alright."

"You will do nothing of the kind."

"He was crying!"

"I said sit down."

Pacey felt himself helpless as he did as his teacher asked. He sat down with a determined look on his face. If he couldn't help Jack, he could at least protest.

In the midst of all those rumors flying around and all that drama, Pacey did not have time to confirm a date with Joey or make any reservations. He knew she was working at the Icehouse and considered going to see her but decided that she wouldn't want him slacking off on the homework, especially since his situation in Lit was more and more fragile. So he finished up everything and then went to her house later, carrying a take-away meal. Not exactly romantic, but he hoped the intention behind it was enough.

When Bessie opened the door, he was a little disconcerted. Bessie had caught them kissing, he was sure she suspected something happening, but he didn't know how much Joey had told her.

"Hi Bessie… is Joey here?"

"She's in her room."

"We have a study session planned. I'll just…" He entered quickly, not giving her any chance to think about everything for too long.

He knocked twice before she answered and then went in. Joey was studying at her desk and seemed surprised to see him. He closed the door behind him and tried to look as confident as possible.

"I promised you dinner."

That's when he noticed she was upset.

"Are you OK?"

"Are you?"

"Why… why wouldn't I be?"

"I heard about Lit. I just…"

"It was a hard day for Jack. I…" he sat down on the bed and placed the meal next to him. "I don't know why he wrote that poem, but I feel so angry! Mr Peterson was just plain cruel! And all because Jack was talking to me! And… Ugh!" He placed his head in his hands and tried to focus. "I felt so helpless."

Joey got up from her desk and sat next to him.

"I am sure Jack knows you would have been there for him if you could."

Her hand touched his back and Pacey felt a flood of feelings that could not be stopped, coming out of him. He turned towards her and kissed her. Meals and studies were forgotten soon as a heated make-out session took off much faster than he had anticipated.

Joey's moan woke him up to reality before it got out of hand. Pacey stopped.

"Joey, I…"

Her big brown eyes were staring at him and he almost kissed her again. But he couldn't. He wasn't sure he'd be able to stop once he started.

He hoped she could see what he felt, because for some strange reason, words were still dying in his throat. There was so much he wanted to say, but for some reason, he couldn't say anything.

"I'm sorry…" was all he could say and the face she had made him want to kick himself.

"That's fine." She said, but it clearly wasn't. "You had a hard day. You had to blow off steam somehow."

"No, that's not…"

"Thank you for the dinner, Pacey. I have to go back to studying before it's too late."

The next day, Jack's poem was all over the school walls. Pacey tore down all the ones he could find but by the time he reached Lit, he was frustrated and angry like he hadn't been in a very long time.

"Mr McPhee" Mr Peterson's voice was not promising anything good.

"Yes?" Jack hesitated before answering.

"Would you care to continue reading your now very public work of poetry?"

"You can't be serious…"

"I am. You left us high and dry. If you want a completed grade, then you have to complete reading the poem…" the teacher came close to Jack's desk, with the poem in his hand. "It's that simple."

"Why are you doing this to me?" Jack whispered.

"Because he can." Pacey answered through gritted teeth. He got up from his desk and walked towards his teacher.

"Mr Witter, I recommend you sit down."

"No"

"I said sit down!"

"You want somebody to read the poem? I'll read it!" He grabbed the piece of paper and started reading casually. Mr Peterson tried to stop him while he was reading but he shouted the words louder to block him.

"I said stop!" The teacher cried. "You will listen to me when I talk to you, young man!"

"Why should I?!"

"That's it. I am writing you a pass. You will report immediately to Principal Markham's office."

"What part of you is it that gets off on torturing your students? Everybody else in this classroom may be afraid of you, but I'm not! I see your miserable, scared tactics for exactly what they are! The misguided lashings of a bitter, lonely old man who only feels good when somebody else in the class feels worse!"

He felt like he was shouting at his father, his brother and the whole world on top of his teacher. Every unfair thing in this world was getting avenged.

"Thank you for the analysis, Mr Witter, I'll send a check along with the F you'll get on your report card."

"You can't fail me! I've gotten a B or better on every test in this class!"

"The hell, I can't. I've been waiting to fail you all quarter"

"You disgust me." Pacey had not felt that much hate in years.

"And you, Mr Witter, are a failure. Destined to always be a failure. Trying to teach people like you is like spitting in the face of the entire educational system!"

His anger reached monumental proportions and he could not stop it any longer. He only did what came naturally and spit Mr Peterson in the face.

"No sir! That is spitting in the face of the entire educational system!"

In the Principal's office, he refused to apologize. All he could think about was Jack's desperation, Mr Peterson's meanness and Joey's disappointment at his now inevitable F. He was, of course, now a candidate for suspension. All Joey's work gone to waste…

Jack's reaction outside the Principal's office was, however, what hurt the most. He had wanted to sweep everything under the carpet, and Pacey only made it worse, apparently.

"So what are you gonna do?" Andie asked him later.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, about Peterson. You're gonna apologize, right?"

"No, I'm gonna take the suspension."

"What? Why would you do that?"

"Because, after what that man did, I'm not gonna apologize to him. He doesn't deserve it."

"No, it doesn't matter what he did, Pacey. You spit in his face."

"I was there, thank you." He thanked the stars now that he didn't end up dating Andie. Her freakishly controlling ways were totally not for him.

"Dawson…" Andie turned to her boyfriend. Dawson sighed but said nothing.

"You too, man?" He was honestly disappointed.

"Pacey, this is serious."

"You think I don't know that?!"

"All we're saying is make sure you're aware of the consequences."

"I am aware of the consequences, alright?!"

"What about your grade point, you still care about that, don't you?" Andie insisted. "It's not gonna survive a suspension, Pacey! It will destroy all the hard work you've done and you'll be right back at square one."

That was what was upsetting him, actually. More for all the hours Joey spent drilling knowledge into him, than for the actual grade point.

"An academic loser" he said, more to himself than Andie.

"That's not what I said."

"But it's what you meant. Andie, everything that I've worked for and what I've become is somebody who believes himself and his instincts. And every single instinct I have tells me that what that man did in that classroom is wrong." He saw her try to say something and repeated: "It's just wrong."

His instincts were confirmed when he saw Jack's locker. Somebody had written "FAG" with red paint.

Just at that moment, Jack and Jen appeared from the other side. They stopped when they saw the locker and stared at it in disbelief for a few seconds. With tears in his eyes, Jack headed towards his locker and tried to pretend like nothing happened. A few seconds later, Jen followed him and kissed him against the locker. Pacey heard snickers and noticed people starting to walk away. As he turned himself, he noticed Joey in a corner, looking shocked at Jack and Jen. She was shaking.

He wanted to go to her but then she saw him and walked away.

Joey climbed Dawson's ladder that night.

"Dawson, can I come in?"

A surprised Dawson mumbled "Yeah"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you. It's been a highly irregular few days and climbing this ladder is the truest form of normalcy that I know." She stopped short when she looked in his room and saw the whole of Capeside on Dawson's desk.

"Wow, this is amazing! This is the whole town!"

"It's incredible, isn't it? Jack built it, just for the film."

It struck her that other people were having bigger problems than her right now. But thinking of Jack made her think of Pacey again:

"Okay… listen, I need your advice. And I know that because of the situation it may be hard for you to dispense it but… I really need it."

"Anything. Talk to me."

"Um… well…" she sat down on his bed. "I'm thinking that maybe… maybe you were right about… Pacey…" she blushed.

"That you like him…"

"Things have been happening and… I just keep ending up in these… situations with him… and it's getting more and more out of control… and today, when I heard what he did… and I know he was stupid and reckless and he ruined everything that he worked so hard for these past few months… but I was proud of him! He was the only one of us… well, maybe, except Jen… the only one who did something for Jack, who took a stand!"

"And why didn't you tell him that? Why are you here with me instead of talking to him? I couldn't help but notice today…"

"If I do that… If I am the one to first speak… I will always be the one who spoke first. I will never know what he would have done on his own. If he says no, it will always be a rejection and if he says yes I will always wonder whether or not he just said yes because he was flattered… He's so… so down on himself that he thinks it's extraordinary when a woman or a girl pays attention to him and I don't want it to be just that!"

Dawson chuckled.

"You know, this isn't funny!"

"I'm sorry but you have to talk to him! I mean, I don't know what these situations you talk about are… but it takes two to get into… situations. It's not just you in this. If you've come to me now, you surely must know that it's not just you who likes him, you're just looking for a confirmation from me!"

He sat down next to her. "If I've learned something about relationships this past year is that they begin and end with honesty. If you want something real with Pacey, you gotta be honest. You know?"

She did know.

"So, go…"

Dawson felt a small pang of jealousy as he saw her walk away in relief. He wondered if it would always be like that with them.

Pacey did not apologize. He couldn't and would not grovel to Mr Peterson. He sat on the docks and thought about his suspension. He had not gone home and wasn't sure if he should. He wasn't sure his parents would notice him suddenly not going to school.

When he heard steps he didn't turn immediately – it could possibly not have been someone to see him. But when Joey sat down next to him he was as shocked as he could be. Of all the people to come to him, it had to be her.

"Why did you bother coming down here?" He had to ask.

"Because I care about you." She said it casually, but he felt a hint of nervousness behind the words.

His hand sought hers. He felt at a loss for words. Pacey knew he should say something – anything. But he had never known how to express his feelings and he had never had someone express theirs so openly towards him. He felt embarrassed to realize that tears were falling on his face.

"I'm sorry I messed up all of your work."

"Pacey, you did what you felt was right. I could never blame you for that. And it is both our work that was affected – you made just as much of an effort as I did, if not more." She squeezed his hand. "What this should prove to you is that all those previous years when you messed up in school – it was never about your capacity to do it, but rather your willingness. And once you've realized that, you can always do it again. You can always go back to making an effort and getting good grades."

"It was my fault. Everything that happened was my fault. Peterson knew he couldn't get the best of me so he went after Jack. If I hadn't instigated him, none of this would have ever happened."

"Maybe not. Or maybe he would have read the poem and decided to go for it after all. You have no way of knowing what could have happened. All you can do is live with what happened the way it did and try to make the best of it."

A long silence ensued.

"I care about you too, Jo…" he whispered.

"I know you do, Pace…"