* * * * *
"Jen, wait!" Dawson calls down the hallway as Jen shuts her locker and starts towards homeroom. She turns around and sees him and smiles.
"Good morning," she greets him as he approaches.
"Good morning," he smiles back and kisses her cheek. "Where were you this morning? I thought we could walk to school together but you'd already left."
"I had to finish some Algebra homework so I came in a little early to get it done," she explains.
"I could have helped you. Or I could have come in with you this morning," he says.
"I know, but I wasn't sure what kind of plans you had . . . I just thought it would be better if I came in by myself," she says. It's obvious that she is not quite sure what to say.
"Jen, are you mad at me?" he asks quietly as they stand in front of her locker.
"No, Dawson, I . . ." she stops when she sees Pacey and Joey walking down the hall in their direction. "Hey you guys," Jen says to them with a smile.
Dawson turns to see who she is talking to and nods at his friends. He carefully avoids making eye contact with Joey and she notices this but doesn't say anything.
"Hey, how's it going?" Pacey asks them.
"Fine, how about you?" Jen asks.
"Never been better. I'm here for a day of rumors, innuendo, and gossip all at my expense. I've been looking forward to this all weekend," he says.
Jen laughs. "Get out of here," she says teasingly. She looks at Joey, who is standing back a little looking unsure if she really wants to be there. "Hey Joey," she says.
"Uh, hey," Joey says quietly.
Dawson finally looks at Joey. He swallows hard, not sure what to say. Neither of them speaks but the silent exchange between them does not go unnoticed by Jen. She watches them looking at one another. Pacey picks up on all of this and quickly breaks the tension.
"So, anybody want to help me start some rumors about Abby? I figure if she's going to be talking about all of us we might as well return the favor." No one responds. At this point, no one is on the mood for Pacey's humor.
"I've got to get to class," Joey says softly and turns to leave.
"Jo, wait . . ." Dawson says but she's already walking away. He wants to follow her but then again he wants to stay with Jen. He sighs, not sure what to do anymore.
"I'll make sure she's okay," Pacey tells him quietly. "See you guys later." He smiles at Jen, then turns to head after Joey.
"She seems upset," Jen comments as she and Dawson head in the opposite direction towards her homeroom.
"Yeah . . ." he says absently. Jen can tell he is still thinking about the exchange in front of the lockers. He looks down the hall in the direction Joey had headed and Jen follows his gaze. She doesn't say anything. Finally, Dawson turns back to her and they walk to class together, both looking very confused.
* * * * *
"Joey wait up!" Pacey yells as Joey darts through the hall. He has almost caught up to her when she ducks inside the girl's restroom. Pacey is just about to follow her inside but stops short when he realizes there are people everywhere in the halls and that he'll probably get pummeled by 20 girls if he walks in there right now. Instead, he decides to wait for her to come out.
Pacey waits by the door and watches the girls that file in and out of the restroom. After a few minutes the halls have started to clear and it becomes very obvious that he is waiting outside the door for someone. Several people give him strange looks but he just ignores them. What does he care anyway? His reputation at this school couldn't really be much worse.
The bell rings, signaling the beginning of homeroom. Most everyone scurries quickly to class, trying to avoid getting a tardy. Finally, Pacey is the only one left in the hall. He glances back and forth to be sure no one else is around, then slowly enters the restroom. "Joey?" he calls as he rounds the corner. He is relieved to find no other girls in the bathroom. He only sees Joey's feet in the last stall. He walks over to it. "Hey Jo," he says as he raps lightly on the door. "Come on out."
"Go away, Pacey!" she says miserably. He can hear the tears in her voice.
"Give me a break here, Joey. I'm trying to make sure you're okay. I've already made myself late for homeroom which will no doubt get me some after school detention and bring the wrath of Doug upon me when he finds out. Can't you at least just open the door?"
Joey is silent for a moment, then finally gives in. Pacey hears the lock slide and the door eases open. Joey wipes her tear stained cheek and pushes past him. "Happy now? Forget this menial garbage. I'm going back home," she says and storms towards the door.
"Wait just a minute," Pacey says as he catches her by the arm to stop her. "You can't go home. You can't just run away."
"The hell I can't," she says and wrenches free from Pacey's grasp.
"Joey, wait . . ." he calls and follows her out the door. They walk into the deserted hallway and Joey heads for the exit. "Hey, what if someone sees you leaving? And what is Bessie going to say? Do you really want to deal with that today?" he calls after her.
She has to consider what he's saying and she knows he's right. An afternoon explaining this to Bess would be far worse than a day at school dodging Dawson and Jen. She stops in her tracks and spins around to Pacey. "Okay, smart guy, then where to?" she asks.
"I know the perfect place," he says and walks forward. Her grabs her arm and, making sure no one is looking, they quickly leave the school grounds together.
