Joey spat out the toothpaste in her mouth. She refilled her cup with water and rinse her mouth again. She thought back to the events of the day.
As amazing as it may sound, she spent the whole day with Pacey without killing him. Pacey was alright to be with. She may of actually enjoyed her time with him.
After they went back to the creek to retrieve the football, the sky with a pure shade of navy blue with splatters of glowing dots.
They were frozen from the head to toe with their wet clothes plastered against them. Begin in such a horrible condition like that, Joey would expect herself to be in a lousy mood. But instead, they both ran home laughing.
Joey reached for the towel on the wall and quickly washed her face. She turned off the tap and the lights in the bathroom. Joey kicked off her slippers and reached for the lamp. But before she could, a white piece of paper on her night stand caught her eye. Curious, she reached over and unfolded it. She froze. It was the number to where Dawson was staying.
She groaned. She was suppose to call him earlier today but she must of forgotten. She glanced at her alarm clock. It was too late to call him now.
Tomorrow, she told herself.
* * *
"Bye Pops," Pacey told his father before he closed the door.
"Bye Pacey. And don't stay out too late," his father warned.
"I won't," Pacey said and closed the door.
He decided to go to Joey's. He'd seen her this morning at the Icehouse, but they didn't do anything together since she was in charge of closing up the restaurant. He whistled as he made his way there. It was nice having Joey around. She helped him get his mind off Andie and helped him end his constant moping. He didn't think that was possible, but he was proven wrong. And out of all the people in the world, it was Joey. He chuckled to himself. Now that was the unbelievable part.
Things in his life were defiantly picking up. Even things with his father were getting better. They could actually be in the same room without yelling at each other. Things were still a little awkward, but at least they were improving. His father seemed to be giving their relationship another try, and Pacey was more than delighted to see that happening.
Pacey looked up and saw the faint outline of Joey's house. He picked up his pace and starting jogging.
* * *
Joey's head was pounding. Bessie had just left for some cooking convention thing thirty minutes ago and Alex hadn't stopped crying since. She fed him, she changed his diaper, heck, she even sang to him but nothing stopped his crying. She was relieved when she heard the doorbell ring. She ran to the door and opened it.
"Hi Jo," Pacey greeted.
"Hi," Joey repeated his words, a little surprised to see him here. Her next words echoed her thoughts. "What are you doing here?"
"Just felt like dropping by," Pacey said.
"Come in," Joey said, stepping back.
"That Alex?" Pacey asked, noticing the crying.
"Do you even have to ask?" Joey said.
"Guess not," Pacey said. He followed the sound of the crying baby and found Alex's room.
"Hey little dude," he said to Alex. Alex continued to cry.
"Pacey you're not exactly making things better for him," Joey commented.
"Hey, trust me. I know what I'm doing," Pacey said, waving her off.
"Alright," Joey said tired and fell back on the single couch in Alex's room.
"All he needs is a little bit of ‘The English Patient'," Pacey told her confidently.
"The English Patient?" Joey questioned doubtfully.
"Just watch," Pacey told her. "Hey Alex. You wanna hear more from your favourite movie? Yeah? Okay then, let's start from your favourite part."
Joey watched Pacey as he retold the story to Alex. To her surprise, Alex was actually quieting down. Her eyes rested back on Pacey as he told the story. She rested her head back on the couch and smiled. Pacey was good with Alex. She relaxed herself and listened to Pacey tell the story.
* * *
Joey quietly closed the door to Alex's room after she and Pacey stepped out. They made their way to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Joey found some peanut butter and bread and offered it to Pacey. Pacey eagerly grabbed it and began making a sandwich.
"So, did you call Dawson yet?" Pacey asked as the thought crossed his mind.
"No, not yet," Joey replied, getting two small plates from the cupboard.
Pacey waited to hear the expected ‘I'll do it right now' but it never came.
"Well, aren't you going to do it?" Pacey asked, after swallowing a bite.
"I don't know. Isn't it kind of late?" Joey asked nervously, looking at the clock.
"It's 8:37 Jo," Pacey pointed out. He finished his sandwich. "Can I have another?"
Joey passed him the loaf of bread and peanut butter. "Alright. I'll call him now," she said, but didn't seem to happy about it.
"I'll be watching tv," Pacey said as he finished making his last sandwich and got up. Pacey left the room and Joey reached into her pockets for the small piece of paper.
Here goes, Joey thought to herself as she picked up the receiver. She dialed the numbers nervously. 4...1...8...5...2...7, she thought to herself as she dialed the numbers. She willed herself to press the last digit ‘6', but something stopped her. Her finger froze right above the digit. She quickly put down the receiver. She couldn't do it. She wasn't sure why, but she wasn't ready yet. Maybe it was because she was still mad at Dawson or that she was scared of his reaction, but whatever the reason was, she new that she wasn't ready. She got up from the kitchen table and went to join Pacey.
* * *
Pacey saw Joey come in from the corner of his eye.
"What'd he say?" Pacey asked curiously.
"Nothing," Joey said.
"What? That's not like Dawson," Pacey commented.
"No, Pacey. He didn't say anything because I didn't call him," Joey explained.
"Why?" Pacey asked in surprise.
"I don't know. I'm just not ready yet. Maybe I'm not ready to forgive him," Joey told Pacey.
Pacey nodded as if he understood. "You'll know when the time is right," was the only thing Pacey said.
Joey gave Pacey a weird look. "Gosh Pacey. I'm not talking about sex here."
"So you say," Pacey said in a suspicious voice.
Joey rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at him. They both settled back on the couch and watched the program that was currently displayed on the tv screen. Joey cringed when she realized what the program was.
"Pacey, is this the new show where everyone tries to seduce everyone else?" Joey asked disgusted.
"It's more than just that. Even though it may have a lot of adult situations, it's been getting great reviews," Pacey said.
"Uh huh. I'm sure of it," Joey said, leaning back against the couch.
Pacey and Joey continued to watch the show. When it was over, Pacey turned to Joey.
"So whatcha think about-" Pacey stopped mid-sentence when he realized that Joey was asleep.
"I guess not much," Pacey said to himself, answering his own question.
He decided to not to wake her. He gently turned her body so that she was lying on the couch. He looked around for something to put over her and found her coat lying on the couch. He gently placed the coat over her. Pacey stopped and looked at Joey, his hands still resting on her jacket. She looked really peaceful when she wasn't in his face. He studied her more carefully and realized how beautiful she really was. She didn't need any makeup or fancy clothes, she was naturally beautiful. Joey turned on her side, shaking Pacey out of his trance. What was he doing studying Joey?
This is Joey for crying out loud! He shook is head and made his way to the door, but glanced back at the sleeping figure one more time before he closed the door behind him.
* * *
Pacey made his way to the Icehouse the next afternoon and it was finally in view. Something was different about it. The place was packed. Pacey made his way up the steps to where Joey was, busy getting someone's orders. He tried not the bump into anyone as he made his way over.
"Joey!" Pacey called out.
"Oh hey Pacey," she said, balancing some plate on her arms.
"What's going on here? Why are there so many people here," Pacey asked, looking around.
"I have no idea. Maybe it's because of the new special we have, but I doubt it," Joey said, making her way to a nearby table.
"Pacey, I'm sorry, but we're really swamped here and I really can't talk to you now," Joey said as she ran back to the counter.
"That's fine. I'll see you later then," Pacey said, turning around to leave.
"Okay. Bye-" Joey said, but was interrupted.
"Pacey, I'm glad you're here!" Bessie called out from the kitchen.
"Hey Bess-" Pacey began but was cut off.
"Listen Pacey, I know that this is probably the last thing you would expect to hear from me, but do you mind helping us out? Our other waitress canceled and we're really swamped," Bessie explained.
"Well, I don't know. I haven't-" Pacey started but was cut of again.
"Oh yeah Pacey! We could really use your help," Joey said, as she filled some glasses up with water.
"But I-" Pacey began.
"Please?" Bessie begged.
"Well I don't-"
"We'll pay you of course."
"It's not that-"
"Then you'll start?"
Pacey looked at Bessie than at Joey. They were really in a bind and really needed him. He held up his hands as a sign of defeat.
"Alright, but if I break anything, I'm not paying for it!" Pacey warned.
"Here," Joey said, throwing Pacey an apron. "Take table seven's orders down. The pad and pen are by the cashier. Write down the table number and orders and put then on the ledge for Bessie." Then, Joey was off.
Pacey made his way to his assigned table. He asked the people what they would like, and he scribbled away.
* * *
Joey and Pacey both lied down on the grassy field in the ruins. They just finished working at the Icehouse and they were both exhausted.
"You know Jo, I never knew waitressing can be so exhausting and that it can take the life out of you. It can be practically called a sport!" Pacey said.
"So you finally realize what I have to go through every single day. And do I sense a compliment coming up?" Joey asked.
"Not in this life time," Pacey snorted.
"It's alright. You already gave me one," Joey said.
"I did?" Pacey asked bewildered.
"Yup," Joey said, content with the confusion she put on Pacey's face.
She looked up at the sky.
"Wow. Look at all the stars. It's such a clear night tonight," Joey said.
"Yeah," Pacey whispered, staring at the hundreds of glowing dots floating in the sky.
"Hey! Look! There's the big dipper," Joey said, pointing out the constellation.
"And there's Orion," Pacey said, raising his arm to the sky.
"And Apus," Joey pointed.
"And Ophiuchus," Pacey said.
"Wow, Pacey. I never knew you knew your constellation," Joey said impressed.
"I didn't until Andie taught me. We used to sit under the stars and point out constellations too," Pacey told Joey.
"Oh," Joey said disappointed. A weird feeling suddenly washed over her. She couldn't pin point exactly what that feeling was, but she didn't like it. She pushed it aside and pointed out another constellation.
"There's Scorpius," Joey said.
"And Serpens," Pacey pointed.
"And Cepheus," Joey said.
"That was Andie's favourite," Pacey automatically said.
The weird feeling came back. But this time, Joey knew what the feeling was. She was jealous. Jealous of the times Andie spent with Pacey. She didn't know why, but she was.
