Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters. I am not profiting from this. Yada yada yada.
Author's Note: This is my first fanfic and if I don’t get feedback (hopefully with advice), then I am not going to finish it.
Background: This takes place towards the end of “To Be or Not to Be.” It starts off where Pacey is sitting on the dock after being suspended, but Andie never shows up. Instead, another person comes to support Pacey.
Category: Possibly Triangle or Rectangle, but eventually P/J
Pacey sat at the edge of the dock in misery. He had waited. And waited. But she hadn’t come. She had really given up on him. One wrong decision and she had abandoned him. He buried his head in his hands. How was it possible that he could be so wrong about someone? He heard footsteps towards the end of the dock, and looked up expectantly. He saw a female form making its way to him in the dark. He averted his eyes, to avoid appearing too eager. She walked up to his side and nudged him with her foot.
“Hey stranger.”
Pacey looked up in surprise. It wasn’t the voice he was expecting.
“Hey Joey.”
She sat down next to him, tucking one foot under her knee and letting the other dangle over the edge of the dock. They both stared off into the horizon, where the ocean faded into an indistinct haze until it couldn’t be separated from the dark February sky. Pacey waited for a few minutes, expecting her to speak. It seemed that she had sought him out this evening. She had to have something to say. But Joey seemed to find peace in the silence, and for the time being, he didn’t feel the need to break it. So minutes passed without a word.
Eventually, Joey turned to him and he straightened up a bit, waiting to listen to tales about her traumatic experience with Jack, or her analysis of some interaction with her and Dawson, or maybe criticism about his behavior at school. Her words weren’t what he had expected, what he knew she was thinking, and that annoyed him.
“Do you remember when we were kids and we used to sneak out late at night and come down here? One time, in particular, I remember sitting out here and you kept making up constellations. That was nice. Things were simple then.”
Pacey nodded. “I remember that. But that’s not why you’re here.”
Joey looked at him, gave him a sarcastic half-smile and said, in a flat voice, “Well, Pace, you were just suspended, and I think my boyfriend’s gay. I thought we could share our sorrows. We can start off with mine, if you like. Do you think Jack is gay?”
He gave her a bitter smile. “Well, if he is, then his sister probably won’t be very supportive. Recent events have taught me that that isn’t exactly her department.” Pacey paused, realizing that his dilemma wasn’t helping her with hers. He thought for a moment, then continued, “But somehow, I think that you’ll manage to find some way to support him and some way to get through it yourself, Jo. You’re strong, and you’ve been through a lot worse than this,” he said, trying to stave off what he thought would be an emotional breakdown on her part. Gingerly, he put his arm around her shoulder as a means of emotional sustenance. She shrugged off his arm, scooted away a bit, and turned so she was looking directly at him.
“Pacey, don’t you get tired of it?”
“Tired of what?”
“Tired of being the hero.”
“The hero?”
“Yes, the hero. Why do you have to say the right thing and be strong and noble? I came here to talk to you, because I thought you’d know how I feel. You were just suspended for doing the right thing. And Andie isn’t talking to you as a result. Where’s your indignation at a world that isn’t conforming to the movie formula that a lifelong friendship with Dawson Leery has taught us to expect? Stop being the hero Pacey. I don’t want advice from a hero. I want sympathy and mutual griping from a friend.”
Pacey looked at her for a moment, mulling over her words. She was wrong. That was clear. If his life was a movie, then there was no way that he, Pacey Witter, was the hero. He was the faithful sidekick, always second to Dawson “Do Good, Get the Girl, Cue Happy Music” Leery. Joey, more than anyone, knew this and helped perpetuate his role. But something else she said held more interest for him. If he had heard her right, then she had said that he did the right thing. And that was the last thing he had expected to hear from Joey Potter. He had hoped to hear it from Dawson. He had expected to hear it from Andie. Both had failed him and at this point, he was willing to take what he could get.
“You think I did the right thing?”
Joey looked at him quizzically and said, “Of course, I do. I wish I had been there to do it myself.” She examined his look of surprise. “Don’t tell me that they’ve convinced you that you were wrong.”
His pause was answer enough for her.
“Pacey, whatever happened in that classroom has set off a chain of events that will undoubtedly change my life, and whenever I think about it, there’s only one bright spot. There was someone in that classroom who stood up for someone who couldn’t stand up for himself. There was someone had the courage to question Mr. Peterson’s asinine behavior. There was someone who wouldn’t back down in the face of adversity. And the bright spot is, I am lucky enough to know that someone.”
Pacey was shocked. It was the moral justification that he had craved, from the last place he had hoped to get it. He started to smile, when Joey said, “Don’t let that go to your head though.”
His grin widened, “Of course not.” They both sat quietly for a moment, and Pacey resumed his former somber state. “Have you talked to Jack about it?”
“No. I guess that just makes too much sense, huh? I talked to Dawson.”
“Well, there’s an unbiased advisor if I ever saw one.”
Joey laughed. “Actually, he was kind of surprising. I don’t know exactly why I went over there. But I knew what I thought I was going to hear. But he told me I should try to salvage what I have with Jack.”
“That is surprising. So why are you sitting here now, when you should be at the McPhee place salvaging?”
“Jack’s working tonight. I figured I could catch him towards the end of the shift. And there’s the need I have to avoid the inevitable disappointment that is coming when I do talk to him,” Joey stopped, then resumed speaking. “You were there. You heard the poem. What do you think it was about?”
Pacey didn’t know what to say. He knew what he thought. He had all but told Andie what he thought earlier, and it didn’t go over that well. He didn’t want to influence Joey one way or another. She was going to have to decide for herself. But he didn’t want to lie to her, either.
“Well, it could have been about a lot of things, Jo. But, I don’t think these rumors are exactly. . . unjustified. I mean, he wrote a poem about a guy. It was a good poem, but . . . Jo, I really think you should just talk to him about this.”
“Yeah, I should. And I will. I just don’t want to think about it right now. So, what are you big plans for the first day of your suspension?”
“Well, I am going to be crashing at Casa de Leery for the duration of the time that I am not welcome at dear old Capeside High. So I plan on raiding Dawson’s video collection.”
“Oh, you daredevil. That doesn’t sound similar to what we do almost every other weekend of the year.”
“Yeah, well, you have any better ideas?”
“Actually, I do. For some reason I have a feeling that dear old Capeside High isn’t going to be a place that I want o be spending too much time tomorrow. So what do you say we do something together?”
“Little Miss Perfect wants to skip school with the suspended deviant?”
“Little Miss Perfect wants to hang out with the school hero, rather than face the traditional stares and glares our small-minded townfolk. You up to it?”
“Always.”
“Ok. I will meet you here. Tomorrow at 9am.”
“Sounds good,” Pacey said, as Joey began to stand up.
She looked down at him. “Well, I guess it’s time I faced my fate. Don’t stay out here too long. I want you to be energized tomorrow.”
“Of course,” he replied as she turned away and began walking up the dock.
“Joey!” he cried out after her. She turned. “Good luck,” he said. She nodded, then walked away into the night.
