Pacey and Jen get off the bus, and search for their bags.
"That ride was way too long…" says Pacey as he stretches his legs. He cracks his neck, to which Jen cringes at the sound
"Oh, that is so gross, Pacey…"
"Thank you, I try my hardest… Maybe you could answer a small doubt I have in my head, but ahhh… Where exactly are we going to stay?"
"That is a good question… I was hoping I could spring by my parents 2nd house in Manhattan, I know where they keep the key hidden…"
"2nd house!? Does that imply that they have more than one!?" asks Pacey
"Yeah, one in the Catskills, another in Manhattan, and one in Rochester… They never use the one in Manhattan…"
"Cool… what does your dad do that he earns enough cash to own 3 homes?"
"Legally, he's in the stock market… Illegally, he gambles a lot…"
"Forget I asked…" says Pacey as he walks in front of the Jumbotron. "This is one big city…"
"Yep… Other than the population and the buildings, the biggest difference is the people. Capeside is an elderly lady saying "excuse me…" New York is an elderly lady saying "get your hands off my purse before I call the police…" Lets grab a cab"
As Pacey walks across the crowded street, he bumps into someone…
"Sorry bout that…" says the man
"No, my fault entirely…" says Pacey.
They look at each other closely. The man seems familiar to Pacey, and Pacey seems familiar to the man.
"Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" they both say to each other at the same time, looking closely…
"Naahhhh… Couldn't be…" they both say to each other.
They each go their own way, as Pacey and the man both shrug it off…
"Wasn't that Emilio Estevez?" asks Jen, as she steps into a cab.
Pacey shrugs his shoulders, and gets into the cab...
Meanwhile, Emilio Estevez looks back at the cab, and says to himself "Charlie? Naahhh..."
The cab drives off into Manhattan, and approaches a small apartment building about 10 minutes later. They both pay the cabby, unload their bags, and go up the stairs.
"Nice condom… I mean condo…" says Pacey
"Condoms on the brain, Pacey ???" laughs Jen
"Bite me…" says and embarrassed Pacey.
Jen gets to the door of the apartment, and reaches above the frame of the door… She searches across the frame with her hand, and stumbles on a key. She unlocks the door and walks in.
"Haven't been here in a long, long time…" says Jen, as she sets down her bag and places her hands on her hips.
Pacey walks in with his bag and is stunned at the sheer size of the condo. Very eclectically styled, black leather couches, wood furniture, and a touch of brick here and there…
"Nice place…" says Pacey… "So where can I set my stuff??"
"Walk to your left into the hallway… you're rooms the 2nd one on the left."
Pacey walks into the room. Very plain room, black and white. Very spread out, with a bunkbed.
"Mind if I ask who lives in this room?"
"Oh, that's the guest room…" says Jen, as she unpacks her things in her own room. "Can I get you anything to drink?"
"Got any coke?"
"Probably" says Jen as she heads off into the kitchen to raid the refrigerator.
Pacey plops down in the living room and turns on the big screen TV.
"You ought to bring people up here more often!" says Pacey, laying back in a nice leather sofa, enjoying the surround sound of the entertainment center audio system.
"Slumber parties in this house used to rule!" says Jen, laughing, as she sits down next to Pacey with her coke.
After watching TV for a while, Jen gets a bright idea
"Hey, you want to party tonight?" asks Jen
"Without a doubt! It's Saturday night in the city that never sleeps…" says Pacey, shutting off the TV. "One question, how do you know that there's a party going on?"
"Trust me, there's ALWAYS something going on here in New York…"
Jen walks over to the phone, and pulls out a little address book, and looks up a number. She dials the phone, and a teenage girl picks up.
"Hello?" says the girl
"Hey, is Bridgett there?" asks Jen
"Speaking.. who's this?"
Jen smiles a little
"Take a wild guess…"
"No! Jen!!!!!! When did you get here!?!?" asks Bridgett
"About half an hour ago… Decided to come up for a while, things got a little freaky down in Capeside…"
"Hold on a second, I've got the entire gang over here… They are going to go apeshit over this!"
Jen holds, while Pacey munches on some pop tarts
"Jen?"
"Yeah, I'm here… So what's up, you guys got any plans?"
"Stupid question, of course we got plans… We're going over to Jake Freeman's place, there's a big ass party going on over there… Stop by my place first! God, it's been such a long time!" says Bridgett
"Will do… Be there in less than 5 minutes…"
"Great, we'll be waiting… Oh my gosh, this is so cool…"
Jen hangs up the phone, goes into her room, and changes. Pacey goes to the bathroom to freshen up a bit.
"I hope I'm not a 5th wheel or anything, Jen…" says Pacey
"Don't worry, if you're with me, it's not a problem… Just don't piss anyone off, and you won't get into any trouble… Besides, you handle yourself well around airheads..."
"Airheads? You call your own friends airheads?"
"Yeah, well... they're my kinda airheads..."
Jen and Pacey walk down the street, and grab a cab. They arrive at an even bigger condo than Jen's, which Pacey looks at in awe…
"Jesus, the things in this town are so huge!!" says Pacey
"Yeah, what'd you think, that our condo was a permanent residence?" laughs Jen
"I could live there well beyond my college years, Jen…" remarks Pacey, as they get into the elevator.
They get off on the 10th floor, and walk down the hall, and knock on the door. A tall, slender, shoulder length light brown haired girl, with green eyes and freckles opens up.
"JEN!!!" she shrieks, as she hugs Jen, who hugs back.
"It's good to see you, Bridgett … You haven't changed a bit…"
"Neither have you, you're still as hot as ever… I always wished I had your breasts… you make me so jealous, you bitch!" says Bridgett, playfully…
Jen, rather embarrassed at the reference to her chest, turns to Pacey.
"Um, Bridgett, this is my friend Pacey from Capeside…" says Jen,
"Pacey? What, did your parents not like you when you were born?" jokes Bridgett as she shakes Pacey's hand.
Jen shrugs when Pacey looks at her. If this was an indication of how things were going to be here, Pacey might be in for a bumpy ride.
"Just a nickname I got stuck with… The town's way of calling me a screw-up…"
"You yourself admit that you're a screw up?" asks Bridgett, amused
"Self-proclaimed…" jokes Pacey, sarcastically, getting a little annoyed at this inquisition.
"A man who isn't afraid to point out his shortcomings, I like that… Saves me the time when I'm arguing with him…" jokes Bridgett … "Come in, the gang is dying to see you, Jen!"
Pacey and Jen walk into the condo, it's bigger than Jens. Jen walks into the living room with a group of about 4 girls, and 2 other guys. Jen greets all of them with hugs, people she hasn't seen in a long time. She introduces them to Pacey, who seems to be a little uncomfortable, as he acknowledges the introduction with a small nod of the head, with his hands in his pockets.
Dammit, I knew I was going to be the fifth wheel… I'm used to it… Doesn't matter if it's Capeside or New York… I can't believe Jen actually rolled with these people… I guess you'd have to be from here to understand it… I need to get to phone directory… Calm down, man… Rochester's on the ass end of New York… Just relax, and try to have a good time tonight…
After the quick round of introductions, they all head off down the street, walking and chatting. Pacey brings up the rear, debating with one of the guys, Barry, a tall dark haired guy with bleached ends of his hair on football…
"You're not even from New York, yet you prefer the Giants over the Jets?" asks Barry, amused
"I'm just saying, after that fat ass Parcells left us in the cold for greener pastures, I just can't root for the Jets, under any circumstance…" says Pacey.
"Ahhh, you're just jealous that Parcells molded the Pats into a contender and left them to die…"
"Right, like he didn't do the same thing with the Giants back in '90?"
"At least we won the damn Super Bowl…."
Pacey's having a good time, it's not as bad as he thought…
"So are you and Jen, like a thing?" asks Barry, changing the subject
"Me? Naaaahhh… I'm the town strike-out artist, only in my wildest dreams could I ever get near her…" says Pacey, looking down at the ground…
"Yeah, she's something, isn't she…" says Barry
"I can get my best friend back in Capeside to tell you all about it, they used to date…"
"Used to?"
"She let him go… Long story…"
"Typical…"
"Excuse me?"
"Typical… as long as I've known Jen, she's never been able to maintain a steady relationship with anyone. She complicates things for herself… I wish I knew why, but she just does…"
"Well, not in this case… I say it's a long story, because it's kinda complicated to explain to someone who doesn't know the parties involved that well…"
"And you know Jen better than I do?" asks Barry with a raised eyebrow
"Maybe not Jen but there ARE 2 other people involved in this who I've known my entire life…" retorts Pacey
"Fair enough… But I'm just saying - don't get involved with her if you don't want to come out as another in a long line of ex boyfriends…"
"Duly noted… You speak from experience?"
Barry pulls out his wallet and shows Pacey a picture of Barry and Jen sharing a kiss. She couldn't have been older than 13 years old.
"Lasted the grand total of 5 weeks…" says Barry
The group arrives at a house filled with people, loud music blaring. Typical teenage party. Pacey goes over to Jen
"You know, I don't want to hang on to you like a leech, so I'm gonna go mingle with the other people… Get wasted, get high... You know, what I never get to do in Capeside..." says Pacey
"Have fun… Here's a spare key to the apartment, you know how to get there?"
"Don't worry, I don't plan on leaving unless you do…" says Pacey
"Fine…" says Jen as she goes off…
Dawson and Joey are down by the ruins, skipping stones out on the lake.
"You know I understand why Jen would take a trip to New York. But I don't understand why Pacey would go to New York, nor why Jen would drag him along…" ponders Dawson
"Pacey's going to have his ass grounded until the next Haley's Comet comes around these parts of the world…" says Joey
"Do you think that Pacey cares? Deputy Doug is like the total authority when it comes to Pacey, all he does is whip out his gun and threaten Pacey…" laughs Dawson
"Fine, but WHY would Jen drag Pacey along? It just doesn't make any sense!"
Dawson gets up and goes back to the spot where he kissed Jen for the first time… Joey follows him.
"Dawson, what are you thinking?" says Joey, coming up from behind Dawson and hugging him.
"I'm just worried about Pacey, that's all… New York's a big place, and I don't know whether not Pacey can handle it… Everything is fast over there" says Dawson as he snaps his fingers.
"Listen to yourself, you sound like he's your kid or something…" laughs Joey
"Well, I'd like to think I'm the only person who understands him. It's like I ground him back to reality… I'd hate to think what he'd do without me…"
"Aren't we getting a little self centered here??"
"I'm serious, Jo. If he comes back from New York totally wigged out and twisted, I'm holding myself personally responsible…"
"Dawson, you can't hold yourself responsible for the actions of another human being… It's not your fault he bolted off to New York… Let me put it to you this way - you can't honestly tell me you feel it's your fault that he went and boned a deranged middle aged woman, can you?
Dawson's brain shifted into high gear…
"Joey, run that by me again?"
"What? You can't hold yourself…" Joey is cut off…
"No, the part about boning a middle aged woman…"
"What do you mean??"
"I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner… Work with me here… Where did this deranged middle aged woman go?" says Dawson as he smacks himself on the head.
"Dawson, what the hell are you smoking?" asks a confused Joey
"Think about it! Ms. Jacobs went back to New York after she had left Capeside…" says Dawson, running his fingers through his hair. "Man, Pacey went on some hormonal crusade to try and track down Ms. Jacobs… Why else would he go to New York??"
"Oh god Dawson, he's setting himself up for a fall…" says Joey, concerned…
"I swear, if my parents let me go to New York right now, I'd find Pacey, drag his ass out in Times Square, and knock some sense into him…" says a frustrated Dawson, who skips a few stones out on the lake in anger.
Pacey has been at the party for a while now. It's a pretty good party so far. He's been hanging around the punchbowl for a while, and he's striked up his fair share of conversations with the ladies.
This is much better than Capeside, man… Why the hell would Jen prefer Capeside over this place!? Booze check, Pace - how many beers have you had? Umm… 8, maybe… I think… Let's check if it's been worth it, shall we? How many girls have you talked to for more than 5 minutes? 5, I think… Well, I don't know if that walking pile of make up counts… The booze to girl ratio is worth it… This rocks!
Pacey walks on over to the dance floor and starts to get his groove on with Bridgett, who at this point is intoxicated beyond limit.
"Hey, great party you guys got here!" yells Pacey over the music. "You don't see anything like this in Capeside…"
Bridgett doesn't even answer back, she throws herself into Pacey's arms and kisses him. Pacey, a little stunned, just stands there, moving a little to the music.
"So, screw-up…" says Bridgett as she breaks away from the kiss, almost falling down… She has had one beer too many, it's affecting her balance. "Wanna screw?" continues Bridgett, provocatively.
Pacey stops dancing right there, while Bridgett rubs his hands across his shirt…
Isn't this what guys my age look for until they get married? Do I want to do this? It's not like I'm a virgin or anything… But I don't want to be that guy! The guy who just pumps and dumps girls at his will… You can't do this Pace. It's wrong, and you know it. Then again, so was boinking your English teacher. Don't get into a battle of morality, you won't win. Your call, man… Make the right one…
"You know what, let's not and say we did?" says Pacey, as he continues to dance a little, happy with his decision not to go through with it.
"What's the matter, you don't carry protection? That's not a problem…" says Bridgett as she stumbles with the catch on her purse.
Pacey grabs her by the shoulders, turns her around, and leaves, laughing hard, as he walks back to the punchbowl. Bridgett is still fumbling with the catch on her purse, as she hasn't realized that Pacey has just blown her off
Jen is near the sound booth, talking to some guy in a sports jacket with a football letter on it.
"I've never seen you around these parts before" says the guy
"That's cause I've been living with my grandmother in Massachusetts for a while now… But I'm a city girl at heart…" says Jen
"Funny, I'm originally from Oregon, but my dad got a job here in the city. I'm a country boy at heart…" says the guy, sipping his beer
"I thought it was customary to try and have something in common… " laughs Jen, as she walks outside
"Well, I don't fit into the category of customary…" says the guy, as he walks outside, following Jen
"Are you stalking me?" asks Jen, laughing a little
"It's a free country, last time I checked… Can't I go anywhere without getting charged of a crime?" laughs the guy.
"I guess not… You know, here I am striking up a conversation with a nice guy, and I don't even know your name…"
"Oh, I'm sorry… I'm A.J." says the guy, stretching out his hand "and you might be?"
"I'm Jen…" says Jen, between sips of her beer, as she stretches out her hand, to which A.J. kisses softly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you…" says A.J. as they both sit down on a bench outside the party to continue talking to each other.
The party is dying down, drunk teens thrown all over the place, the music dying out. Pacey is impatiently sitting by the punchbowl with his arms crossed, waiting for Jen, who is outside.
"Well, A.J." says Jen, getting up from the bench "it's been fun, but I, unfortunately, have to go…"
"Wait…" says A.J., who is drunk at this point. He grabs Jens arms as she gets up to go…
"Gee, I know I'm irresistible, but I have to go" says Jen, laughing.
"Don't…" says A.J. pulling harder on her sleeve.
"A.J. let go…" says Jen, getting a little concerned, tugging at her sleeve.
"Come here…" says A.J. pulling Jen to him.
"No!" says Jen, tugging away. They both fall on the ground with the last tug, as A.J. lands on top of her, struggling with Jen's blouse.
"Get off of me!" says Jen, struggling.
"Hold still, bitch!" says A.J…
As Jen is struggling with a potential rapist, Pacey gets off his seat, and decides to take a walk outside. He's staring at the stars, thinking about life in general. He hears Jen's voice, which brings him back down to reality.
"Jen?" asks Pacey turning the corner. He sees some guy on top of Jen, pinning her arms back. Pacey can't believe it, he's witnessing a potential rape.
"PACEY!" yells Jen, as she lifts her head up a little to notice her friend. A.J. looks back at Pacey who is charging at A.J., anger filling up in him
A.J. gets off of Jen, who gets up, tears streaking her face. A.J. swings a right at Pacey, to which he ducks and counters with a right jab to his face. Pacey continues the fight with a few kicks to A.J.'s stomach, before he's sprawled all over the ground, bleeding from a wound to his forehead.
"You know, for a guy who pins a girl down against her will on the floor, you sure are a wuss when it comes to the manly art…" says Pacey, rubbing his knuckles from the pain. "Man, I am getting tired of beating the crap out of guys like this..."
A.J. can only lay on the ground in pain. Pacey walks over to Jen, who is staring in horror at A.J.
"Jen… Hellooo… Jen? Earth to Jen, Earth to Jen, come in Jen…" says Pacey, trying to maintain his sense of humor.
Jen looks up at Pacey, her mind is still a little in shock.
"He just tried… I mean, I can't believe…" Jen is stumbling at her words, tears running down her face. She grabs Pacey, and hugs him, crying her eyes out on his shoulder. Pacey, a little surprised, wraps his arm around her, as though protecting her with a blanket.
"Let's just go home and try to get some sleep…" says Pacey as he walks her out of the party. This trip to New York was fast becoming a nightmare.