* * * * *

"I cannot believe I let you drag me here," Joey grumbled.

"Calm down, Joey. It won't permanently scar you," Jen said. "Besides, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."

"We're in the studio audience for Oprah," Joey said flatly. "Exactly what can be interesting? Some man trying to save relationships? Some woman teaching you how to find inner peace? Some big-headed celebrity pushing her newest book or movie? I don't see how that could be interesting. Besides, Dawson's wedding is in four days. There are so many things we should be doing. We are in the wedding party, after all. And let's not neglect to mention the fact that Jack is taking his sweet time flying in, and Pacey's no where to be found."

"You're just going to spoil the surprise," Jen said, rolling her eyes. "Jack's in tonight. And Pacey . . . well, Pacey's here."

"What?" she asked softly. "Pacey's already here? How come no one told me?"

"Here in this building here, Jo," Jen said impatiently. "He just flew in this morning, and he's on to promote his new book."

"What?" she asked, her voice barely audible. It hit her like a ton of bricks. She wasn't expecting this, not in a million years.

"Don't tell me you're not happy about this," Jen said softly. "I mean, I thought you and Pacey were cool. You hung out a lot the last time he was in town."

"That was seven months ago," Joey said. "So many things could change. I know he's got a new girlfriend now and--"

"It's still hard for you, isn't it?"

"What?"

"Seeing, Pacey," Jen said.

"No." Joey shook her head. "It's not that. I mean . . ."

"It is that," Jen said perceptively. "He's the one that got away, isn't he?"

Joey shook her head passionately. "Hardly, Jen. Pacey was just a fling. He was . . . good for me at the time, but not right for me in the long run. It was bound not to last. It's just hard to see him . . . to see him when he's so far away from the rest of us."

"Jack's hardly here either--"

"But he's in town all the time," Joey said. "He's got the luxury of going where he wants when he wants."

"But you know that Pacey's life is in New York," Jen shrugged. "You act . . . hurt. You know, like he should just leave his life because the rest of us are here."

"He could write novels here," Joey replied.

"You miss him, huh?"

Joey nodded. "It's like nausea. It'll pass eventually."

"I have an advanced copy of the new book," Jen said, raising her eyebrow. "You need to read it."

"I doubt it'll be as good as the last one," Joey shrugged. "I've read it at least seven times. Who knew that Pacey had it in him?"

"Seven times, Joey?" Jen asked skeptically. "You need a life."

"I've got a life," Joey defended. "It was just a good book."

"Well, you haven't seen anything yet, Jo," Jen smiled. "He's done a phenomenal job. I mean look, Pacey's on Oprah. Do you know how big a break this is for him?"

"It's huge," Joey said softly. "He's on to big things, huh?"

"Humongous," Jen said, turning her attention to the stage.

* * * * *

Joey watched him guardedly. He wasn't the gawky Pacey Witter she'd known once upon time. There he was chatting it up with Oprah, of all people; acting as if he'd known her forever. He was smiling as he spoke with the women around them. He was joking with them as he autographed their books.

He was very . . . suave. Joey hadn't really realized it until that moment. He'd grown up, and she wondered just where she'd been.

As he signed the book for the last person in the line, his eyes drifted to Joey and Jen. "Hey guys," he said, striding toward them confidently. "I'm so glad you're here." He kissed Jen on the cheek. "Looking fabulous as ever, Lindley."

"You don't look so bad yourself, Witter," Jen smiled. "Enjoying all the adoring fans, I see."

He chuckled. "I suppose so." He smiled at Joey, as she stood just beyond Jen's shoulder. "Jo," he smiled, out-stretching his hands. "No love for your old friend, Pace?"

"I suppose I can muster up some emotion," she muttered, wrapping her arms around him. She loved the feel of him there and held on to him for dear life.

"You look great, Jo," he said in her ear, still squeezing her tightly. "It's been a while."

"It has," she whispered, pulling away awkwardly. "How have you been?"

"Life has been good to me," he smiled. "I guess you could say the same, Miss hot-shot producer."

"Things with work are going well, yeah," she nodded.

The moment was strange as the both stood there awkwardly, neither sure what to say to the other. "So," Jen began, "where's this new girlfriend of yours we've heard so much about?"

Pacey face broke into a grin, and Joey couldn't help but to look down at her feet sadly. "She's still in New York," he replied. "I've just been here and there for stuff with the book, and she's been staying at home. She's flying in on Friday for the wedding, though."

"Good," Jen said.

"Home? Are you living together?" Joey asked suddenly.

Pacey looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before nodding.

"You didn't say anything in your last e-mail," she said. "We're your best friends, and you move in with this woman and we haven't met her?"

"I knew, actually," Jen admitted reluctantly. "I'm sure it just slipped your mind, right, Pace?"

"Yeah," he said. "It just slipped my mind, Joey. I meant to say something."

Joey looked at Jen. "So are we getting lunch?"

Jen nodded absently. "You up for some lunch, Pacey?"

"I think I can handle it," he said playfully. "Can you ladies take a lunch with the world-renowned Pacey Witter?"

Joey rolled her eyes. "I think we can handle it," Jen said, lacing her arm through Pacey's as they walked out.

* * * * *

"So, tell us about this girlfriend of yours, Pacey," Joey said, taking a bite from her breadstick.

"Did I tell you that I loved the new book?" Jen asked Pacey, trying to change the subject.

He nodded. "I'm glad."

"How come you didn't show me?" Joey asked him.

"Jen hasn't given you her copy yet?" he asked, raising an eyebrow toward Jen.

"I haven't for a reason, Pacey," Jen said. "You know it."

"I don't have the slightest idea of what you're talking about."

"Well, your depiction of me was quite creative," she said. "Innocent appearing bad girl and wounded soul? And you named me Missy? Missy? What were you thinking?"

"Missy's just a character, Jen. She wasn't you."

Jen snorted. "Yeah, right."

"It's fiction, Jen," he said. "Do you really believe that I was propositioned by a whole sorority houseful of women? That's what happened in my last book."

"I know myself being characterized when I see it, Pacey," Jen argued. "I was Missy. Andie was Kylie. Dawson was Hayden. Jack was Drew. Joey was Elena. And you . . . you were Michael."

He laughed, although his face paled slightly. "You're crazy, Jen."

"Ran out of stories to tell already, Pacey?" Joey asked.

Pacey shrugged. "So maybe the characters were slightly based on you guys. That's it, though. The thoughts, the feelings, the events--they belonged strictly to my narrator."

"Which is you," Jen said.

He glanced up a Joey for a brief second. "Well sometimes you can write what you can't say," he said, pushing some rice around his plate with his fork.

"That's what I figured," Jen said, glad he finally came around. "Besides, you made me promise not to let anyone else see the book."

"But you never listen," he said. "Anyway, I suppose it'll be out in the open soon enough."

"I loved your last book," Joey said finally. "I've read it a few times."

"Seven so she told me earlier," Jen interrupted.

"Really?" he asked, the corner of his mouth twisting into a smile. "I had no idea."

Joey smiled. "I told you that I loved it. You didn't believe me?"

"I thought you were just being nice."

"How long have you known me, Pacey?" she said playfully. "I never say things just for the sake of being nice."

"Whatever was I thinking?" he replied.

"I need to go to the ladies room, if you'll excuse me," Jen said, leaving the booth. She'd had to go for the last twenty minutes, but was afraid to leave them alone together. After all, they were fooling no one. You could definitely feel the tension.

Joey looked at Pacey. "I liked it," she said, smiling sincerely. "I know it may sound silly, but it was . . . it was a way for you to be close when you weren't. I think I may have gotten too used to having you around to comfort me when things went wrong."

He looked down at his plate awkwardly. "I don't know how to act with you getting all sentimental on me, Jo," he said, laughing nervously.

"You never have been able to take that, have you, Pacey?"

"Take what?"

"When I actually express how I feel." She stopped momentarily, sighing as she awkwardly rubbed the side of her head. "Jesus, Pacey. It's not like I'm offering to be the mother of your babies. I'm just trying to say that I've missed you."

"You never say that when you write," he shrugged. "The few times you do manage to write."

She shook her head. "I'm not like you, Pacey. You're the one who went on to be some famous writer. That's because you're the one who uses you words to vent. I just like to say things. I don't need time to mull them over like you do."

He looked up at her and laughed. "I know we left things really--"

"Weird."

"--weird the last time I was here. I really never wanted us to be in that position. And when you didn't write, I was a little worried that I'd messed up. Well, I know I messed up. I guess I was worried you wouldn't forgive me."

"It's forgotten, Pace," she replied, dismissing it with a simple shrug. "I would've told you if I had a problem with it. You know that I would've."

He smiled. "That's why I was afraid about coming. I figured you'd give me an earful once you saw me face-to-face."

"I wanted to, but seven months is a long time, Pace. We had fun on your last visit. I can't forget that."

"I'm glad, Jo. You're my best friend. I can't stand it when you're angry with me."

She rolled her eyes. "You and those lines of yours. I must've heard that a million times in the past ten years."

"Yeah, well, old habits die hard," he scoffed. "Are we okay?"

"Yeah," she said, grabbing another breadstick from the basket on the table. "I don't know what would've given you the idea we weren't."

"The cold look on your face at the studio. The ambush of questions about Mia. The various points in conversation when you aren't paying attention to what I'm saying."

"What can I say, Pacey? I have the attention span of a gnat. I want to know about this girl you're living with whom you never talk about. And maybe I felt a little apprehensive about how you felt about things between you and me. You didn't even tell me you were coming. All I knew before I sat down in that studio today was the Jen was taking me to see Oprah," she rattled off.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" he asked softly.

She squirmed uneasily. "Of course not, Pacey."

"You have read the book, haven't you?" he questioned.

"No."

"So why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?" she asked. "Just what the hell is in this damn book?"

"Nothing."

"What's going on with you, Pacey?"

He shook his head. "I'm just under a lot of stress. The book's coming out, and Mia just moved in. I can't handle you not being you right now. At this moment in time things with you just cannot change."

"Is that how you want things to be, Pacey? Things don't stay the same forever. You should know that."

"I know that, Jo. I guess that I was hoping that things with us could stay the same. You know, the one constant in the universe that nothing can change. The fact that we manage to survive no matter what else happens, and a whole hell of a lot has happened."

"You have two options, Pacey. Change or die."

"And what change do you want?" he asked.

"I'm not quite sure. Maybe I want you out of my life so I don't have to put up with this shit anymore. Because if we were really best friends, I'd see you more than once every six months. I would have already read your new book, already met your new girlfriend."

"I'm sorry you feel left out, Jo. That's not what I wanted," he said, hanging his head.

"God, Pacey, you're freaking me out. Don't be so serious. That's my job," she said with a soft smile.

"What's your job?" Jen asked, sliding back into the booth next to Pacey.

"Being crazy," Joey said.

Jen laughed. "She does sort of have a monopoly on that one, Pace."

"Damn," Joey muttered, pulling her pager out of her purse as it beeped. "Duty calls," she said, throwing some cash on the table.

"Hey, before you go," Jen began, "I have to pick up Jack at the airport tonight, you can entertain Pacey?"

"I don't need entertaining," Pacey said. "I can probably get some work done in the hotel room tonight."

"That's silly. Do dinner with Jo, maybe catch a movie, and meet Jack and me for drinks?" Jen said.

"Sure," Joey said. "It'll be nice, Pace. Meet me at my office at six? You remember where it is, right?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then," he said as she rushed out the door.

Jen stood and slid in the seat across from Pacey. She smiled at him knowingly.

"What?"

"What's up with you and Jo?" she asked.

"No. Nothing, I mean," he stammered. "You have to do a favor for me, Jen? Promise?"

"What?"

"Don't let Dawson or Joey see that book until I'm safe and sound back in New York." His voice was shaky.

"Why did you say all those things about Andie in the book, Pacey?" Jen asked curiously.

"So Dawson would kill me?" Pacey said dryly.

Jen sighed. "That's going to kill Jo when she reads it."

He looked up at her seriously. "That's not the reason. Look, Jen. Just please don't ask me a lot of questions."

"I don't get it," Jen said. "Why are you trying to protect Joey?"

"If she reads the book, it'll change things between me and her. And I can't have that happening now. Not with the wedding and everything else that's going on."

"And when Dawson finds out that you slept with Andie since they've been together?"

"I didn't sleep with Andie. That scene was just creative license. It really . . . added a good twist to the story," he said.

"Who the hell are you trying to fool, Pacey? You'd take our lives and make it a book and stick one scene in there just for the hell of it? I'm not an idiot."

"Jen, I promise you that I didn't sleep with Andie. I swear."

"So what is this?" she asked. "What's this all about?"

Pacey rubbed his temple distractedly. "I needed to write that book, Jen. Just to get rid of some stuff that was going on. I didn't know that my agent would publish it. And I had no idea the prelims would go so well."

"Dawson, Joey . . . neither one of them is going to speak to you again after they read it, Pacey."

"That's why I need you to keep it from them until I go home."

"This morning Joey told me, in her own way, I suppose, that she wants you to move here. That's how much she cares about you, Pace. And you're jeopardizing us all. All hell will break loose for you and Jo, for Dawson and Andie. What in the hell would possess you to do this?"

"It will be clear soon enough, Jen. But I can't do this right now," he said, looking down at his hands.

"What are you lying about, Pacey?" she asked.

"I'm not lying," he replied. "Just please don't let Joey see the book."

"And Dawson?"

"And Dawson," he said. "It'll make more sense later. There's no reason to get them all stressed out over this. They deserve to get married, Jen. There's no reason for them not to."

"Except for the fact that you still love Andie," she said.

"It's not as simple as it seems, Jen," he said softly.

"Love never is," she replied.

* * * * *

* * * * *

Joey stood there silently surveying the apartment. "If I were Jen, where would I hide Pacey's book?" she asked herself.

The obvious place to start would be on the bookshelf. She saw Pacey's last two books there, but the newest one was nowhere to be found. She checked the end tables, the coffee tables, under the couch cushions. She even looked inside the freezer. She figured that was where everyone hid everything. But it wasn't there.

The book wasn't hidden, though. Joey found it on the nightstand next to Jen's side of the bed. She sat down for a moment, her brow furrowing as she looked at the cover. If it was such a big deal, she didn't understand why it wasn't hidden. Then again, Jen probably never expected Joey to use her key to come into the apartment, into her bedroom and look for it.

Even Joey couldn't believe that she was doing this. For some reason, she knew she had to read this book. It probably was the missing piece of the puzzle.

She walked out slowly, making sure everything was in its place before she closed the door and made her way out of the building. It was two o'clock, and she had four hours before Pacey was meeting her for dinner.

* * * * *

Looking at her, Michael finally realized he saw everything he'd ever wanted. Circumstance. Circumstance had bit him in the ass, so to speak. Circumstance had been what ruined their brief relationship.

It could've been different. It should've been different. But it wasn't. Now when he looked in her eyes, he saw everything. That meant nothing, though. He knew that.

She stood there. She was motionless, her face was blank. "What's the matter, Kylie?" he asked. His voice was barely above a whisper. Something was wrong. He could tell just by her expression.

She didn't say a word. Instead, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He stumbled back, caught seriously off-guard. He made no attempts to stop her; the back of his mind thinking that maybe the one who'd gotten away hadn't gotten away after all.

Joey jumped, tossing the book in the air, startled by the ringing telephone. She should've known better than to let her assistant go for the day.

"Joey Potter," she grumbled into the telephone, as she bent down to retrieve her book off the floor.

"Joey! Thank god," Andie cried. "I need your help."

Joey stopped for a moment.

"I was Missy. Andie was Kylie. Dawson was Hayden. Jack was Drew. Joey was Elena. And you . . . you were Michael."

Andie was Kylie. Andie was Kylie. Joey shook her head. That couldn't be right. If Pacey was Michael, Andie couldn't be Kylie. Andie couldn't be Kylie.

"Joey? Joey? Are you still there?" Andie said.

"Yeah, I'm still here," Joey said, flipping through the book trying to find the page she'd been on.

"Dawson has disappeared," she said. "You have to find him."

"Find him? Where could he possibly be?" Joey said. "Maybe you're just over-reacting."

"His cell phone's off. He's not a work. He's not here. Please, Joey," Andie begged.

"Andie, give him an hour or two, I'm sure he'll come around. I'm really busy with work, and I'm meeting Pacey at six for dinner--"

"Pacey made it, huh?" she interrupted.

"Try his cell. Dawson may be with him."

Andie shook her head. "I'm sure that's where he is. I shouldn't worry, huh?"

"No," Joey said. "You're not going to be able to keep tabs on him all the time, Andie."

"Okay, so I'm a little worried. I'm afraid he'll come to his senses and not marry me."

"He won't do that. He loves you."

"This is some change," Andie noted. "You being the optimist and me being the pessimist."

"Call me back when you figure out where he is," Joey said finally. "Bye, Andie."

She couldn't wait to get back to the book. She was hoping this was some sort of little mistake. Maybe it was fiction. At least that was what she hoped.

He wanted her, probably more than he'd ever wanted anyone in his life. The idea that it was wrong wasn't even a dominate presence in his mind. The only thing he could understand was that she was what he wanted, she was what he'd always wanted. He'd just been too stupid to realize it.

He exhaled a nervous breath, raking his fingers through her silky brown hair, as he melded against her.

"Shit," Joey muttered, picking up the phone again. "Yeah?"

"You were right, Jo. He's with Pacey. I'm sorry I got you all worried," Andie said cheerfully in the phone.

"It's okay, Andie. Look, I'm really busy. I'll talk to you tomorrow?" Joey asked.

"Sure," Andie said, reluctantly hanging up the phone. She didn't understand why Joey was always so preoccupied with work.

Joey looked at the phone with mild contempt and decided to let the voicemail to get it the next time it rang. She picked up the book again, focusing her eyes on the print, possibly against her better judgment.

She pulled away slightly, staying uncharacteristically still. She let her breath out slowly as she opened her eyes. "Tell me you want this too," she whispered.

"I do," was his reply.

"Good," she murmured, pressing her lips against his.

Joey was pulled out of the story by a knock at the door. She shook her head, shoving the book inside her purse and shuffling some papers around her desk. It was six, and that was Pacey. "Come in," she said, her voice coming out rather horse.

"I'm not early, am I?" he asked, walking in the office tentatively.

Joey shook her head. "Nope, six on the dot. I was just a little too caught up with what I was doing." She cleared her throat.

"Look, Jo, like I said before, I can just hang out at the hotel tonight. I know you're busy--"

"Don't be ridiculous, Pacey. It's been seven months since I've seen you. The least you could do is treat me to dinner," she said, smiling gently at him. She pushed the book out of her mind for the moment. She figured she'd save judgment until she had a chance to read the whole scene. Because something just didn't make sense.

"You're not buying?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

"You're the one that published a nearly best-seller," she replied.

He laughed. "Nearly hardly counts."

"Well, I'm sure the next one will make it," she said.

"That's what I'm afraid of."

* * * * *

Jen looked at Jack thoughtfully for a moment as they stood in the bustling airport waiting for his luggage to roll around. "Can I ask you a completely hypothetical question?"

"We know that hypothetical questions are never hypothetical, but ask away," he grinned.

"I told you about Pacey's book, remember?"

"How could I forget Drew the fabulously heroic pro baseball player?" Jack said playfully. "You're going to let me read it, right?"

"Actually, there's a problem. Pacey made me promise not to show it to anyone."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you."

"Sure you can," he said, resting a gentle hand on her elbow.

"You won't say anything?" she asked, furrowing her brow slightly.

"If that's what it takes."

Jen nodded, as Jack grabbed his bag from the carousel, and they began to walk out of the terminal. "Well, I figured each character that corresponds with each one of us. And Michael, Pacey's character . . . he sleeps with Kylie."

Jack's eyes widened with surprise. "You're Kylie? When did you sleep with Pacey?"

Jen shook her head. "Not me, you idiot. Kylie is . . . well, Kylie is Andie."

"It's no surprise that Andie slept with Pacey," Jack said. "I mean, everyone in high school knew."

"No, Jack. Pacey slept with Andie since she's been with Dawson. As far as I can tell, sometime within the last year."

"Andie wouldn't do that," Jack replied. "She loves Dawson--"

"Yeah, but sometimes we do things uncharacteristic of ourselves. Maybe it was just one of those moments--"

"I don't think so, Jen," Jack said, tossing his suitcase in the trunk. "I know my sister. She'd never do that to Dawson. And Pacey. Geez, he'd never do that either."

"He did say it was fictional," Jen said, sliding behind the steering wheel. "It could be fictional?"

"It is a book," he said in a patronizing tone.

"So why can't Dawson and Joey read it? What's he hiding?" she asked, more for her own benefit than his.

"Give it a rest, Nancy Drew," Jack said playfully.

* * * * *

Joey looked at Pacey over the top of her glass of Sherry. "So," she began, watching him as he looked around the room. "When am I going to get to read the new book?"

"I'll send you a copy as soon as I get back to New York," he said, lifting his own glass to his lips.

"I have to wait that long?"

"I'm afraid so."

"What's this one about?" she asked.

"A group of friends going from childhood to adulthood," he replied.

"A coming of age tale, huh? Lots of good sex in it, I hope," she said, playfully raising an eyebrow.

"That is part of coming of age," he said, his mouth twisting into a smile as he swished around the liquid in the glass.

She knew that she wasn't getting anything out of him this way. She'd just have to wait until she got home to find out for herself. "What'd you do with Dawson today?" she finally asked.

"We went and got the rings," he said, holding up his finger as he reached toward a chair where his sport coat was. He pulled out a ring box and opened it. "Beautiful, aren't they?"

Joey sighed, smiling softly. "They are."

He raised his eyebrow. "You're not getting the wedding bug, are you?"

"Hardly. I mean, I so rarely think about it. Barely even in passing. Besides, you're the one with the serious significant other."

"With all her serious issues about commitment, you can bet you'll see Jen married before me," he said.

"Haven't I told you not to talk about me when I'm not here?" Jen said, standing above them.

Joey and Pacey both stood, greeting Jack. "It's been a long time, Pace. How have things been going?"

"Good," Pacey said. "I was on Oprah today."

"Oprah, huh?" Jack said, impressed. "You are really hitting it big, aren't you?"

Pacey laughed. "Well, I had to do something to keep up with you, Jack. Being a writer hardly compares with being in the NFL."

"That depends on who you ask," Jack laughed.

"So what have you two been doing?" Jen asked, sitting in Jack's lap in lieu of grabbing the remaining chair.

"We went out to dinner. And we've been talking. Catching up," Pacey said, smiling at Joey.

"That's good," Jen said. "Anything I missed?"

"Lots," Joey said. "But I should really let Pacey catch you up. I'm exhausted." She stood, giving Jack a kiss on the cheek. "We'll talk tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure, Jo," he replied. "You'll be at Andie's breakfast in the morning, right?"

"Yeah," Joey said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Thanks for dinner, Pace."

"You're welcome, Jo," he said softly, watching her as she walked away.

She couldn't get away fast enough. She had a date with a cup of hot tea and Pacey Witter's latest novel.

* * * * *

Joey heard the knock, but barely looked up at the door. There was only one person who would be at her door at midnight, and she didn't want to see her. "Joey, open up!" Jen called through the door. "I've got your key too!"

Joey sighed. "So come in!" she shouted back.

Jen shook her head, pulling the key out, unlocking the door, and stepping inside reluctantly. After one look at Joey, she knew. "You've already read it, haven't you?"

"I have," Joey nodded, her voice flat.

"Dammit, Joey, how could you come into my home and steal?" Jen yelled.

"I just wanted to read the book, Jen." She tossed it at her feet, barely moving from her position on the couch.

Jen sat on the couch at Joey's feet. "You're going to tell Dawson?"

"I'm going to kill Pacey."

"Pacey said it wasn't true," Jen said, figuring she was the only hope at damage control. "Maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt."

"You do that," Joey said with a nod. "But my problem is with Pacey. So when you leave here and call him like I know you're going to do, you tell him to get his ass over here. We need to talk."

"I'm sorry, Joey," Jen said, standing up.

"So what did he ask you to do?" Joey asked, looking up at Jen.

"He asked me to keep it from you until he went home," Jen said. "I think maybe this is a big misunderstanding, Jo. We both know Pacey and Andie better than that."

"And maybe we don't know Pacey at all. Just go. Tell him to come here. Now."

* * * * *

Pacey stood outside the door, somehow feeling as if he was going to his own execution. Jen's phone call was a blur, but Jen had said Joey read the book and she was angry. Pacey didn't know how to read that. If Joey'd read the book, he thought she might've been confused. He didn't know what to make of angry.

He knocked.

He looked at her for a moment. She was definitely angry.

"You bastard," she said, hitting him with his own book on the arm. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She hit him again. Thump. "I can't believe you!" Thump. "You fucked Andie?" Thump. "The same weekend you fucked me?" Thump. "What? Jen was busy too?" Thump. Thump. Thump.

"Joey, will you stop it?" he yelled, pulling away.

She grabbed him, pulling him in the apartment so she wouldn't wake her neighbors. "You have ten seconds to explain."

"Joey, it's not what you--"

"It's not what I think," she said nodding her head sarcastically. "Tell me what it is. Because as far as I can tell, you're still in love with Andie. You think she's your soul mate and you have a billion great things to say about her. Not to mention the fact that she's marrying your best friend on Saturday. And you slept with me the last weekend you were here, severed all contact with me, and barely said two words about me in this book. I'm a nice girl, but I wasn't right for you? Jesus, Pacey, that's not what you told me then!"

He shook his head. "I thought you'd get it, Jo. You're Kylie. I wasn't talking about Andie. I was talking about you."

* * * * *

* * * * *

Joey surveyed the kitchen cautiously from the corner. Andie and Jen were standing at the griddle flipping pancakes as they laughed about stories from high school. Henry stood at the stove, scrambling more eggs at Jen's request. Dawson was opening a tube of biscuits and laying them out on a cookie sheet. Things were running smoothly, and Joey was highly impressed.

She really hated to see people in love. It was selfish, and she knew that. Yet she still hated to see anyone like that: It only managed to remind her of what she didn't have.

She'd kicked Pacey out of her apartment last night. The mere thought brought a frown to her face. He had managed to say the last thing she was expecting, and she wasn't sure how to deal with it. If this was a new story she'd fall into his arms, kiss him, and confess some undying love.

But this wasn't a story.

She barely snapped out of her thoughts before Dawson was standing in front of her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She smiled. "I'm good. You look really happy, Dawson. I'm glad for you."

"So what's up with you, Jo?" he asked, furrowing his brow as he motioned for her to sit down with him at the table.

"Nothing, Dawson," she said, smiling at him. "I guess that I'm just . . . I don't know. Maybe a little stressed out?"

"Is it because of Pacey?" he questioned.

Joey frowned. Now was a fine time for Dawson to be perceptive. She shook her head. "No, Dawson. Well, yeah. He's my friend. I miss him. And I hate it that I can't just fall into that same old place I was in with him."

"I'm all up for us bugging him and getting him to move to Chicago," Dawson said with a grin.

"Dawson, don't be so pushy," Joey said, smiling softly at her friend's enthusiasm. "That's not what Pacey wants."

"I'm not pushy, Jo," Dawson said. "I'd just like to see Pacey here with us. Things feel incomplete without him. I know he's off doing his own thing in New York, but sometimes I feel forgotten."

She smiled. "Me too, Dawson."

"I know that Jen and Jack and Andie are all Pacey's friends, but we're the ones who need him here, and we have to let him know that, Jo. There have been times I've needed him in the past few weeks, and I've been reduced to a pile of mush in front of you," he said with a smile.

"It's okay, Dawson. I know that sometimes you'd prefer to have another man to talk to--and Henry doesn't exactly fit the bill--but I think I pinch-hit pretty well."

"You do, Jo," he said. "But Pacey being here would make you happy. Maybe even a romance in the future?"

Joey shook her head. "I don't think so, Dawson. He's got a girlfriend, and--"

"Mia's expendable," Dawson noted. "She has the personality of a dishrag."

"And you wouldn't be biased?"

"Maybe a little," he shrugged. "She's just . . . nice."

"Nice?"

"Terribly nice. It makes you sick really."

Joey laughed. "You've lost your mind, Dawson. I think Pacey's girlfriend being nice is a good thing."

"Well, I'm convinced he moved in with her just to smooth over some argument they were having, because not even four weeks ago he was saying that he didn't see himself being with her very much longer. She's just someone to be on his arm while he's getting the book out. You know, keep the women off his back. His agent completely plays up this stuff up to the media. They have him act a certain way to attract female readers, but keep him from being too overwhelmed by pushing his girlfriend to the forefront every once in a while."

"Let me guess," Joey said. "Andie's assessment?"

"It makes sense," he said, waving at Jack as he came in and began chatting with Henry.

"You're doing it again, Dawson."

"Doing what?"

"Writing a script. Pacey dumps his girlfriend of convenience, moves to Chicago to satiate you, and then falls in love with me, putting the perfect little cap on our group which just doesn't have room for a nice girl. I wish I lived in your world. Everything is so simple there," she said sarcastically.

"You're bitchy this morning," he observed, while not exactly passing judgment. "Did something happen?"

Joey shook her head, looking up as the other girls greeted Pacey excitedly. He looked at her briefly, and she wasn't exactly sure how she was going to get through this morning.

* * * * *

Joey looked across the table at Pacey, as he quietly ate his pancakes. The others were discussing the latest blockbuster movie, and Jen was getting a rise out of Dawson by saying how much she liked it.

"So how'd you sleep last night?" Joey asked softly.

"I didn't," Pacey replied, looking back down at his plate.

"We should talk," she said.

"Is there anything left to say?" he asked skeptically.

"I've had time to think," she replied. "I think that we need to talk."

"You said a lot last night," he said.

"Give me five minutes," she said. "Could you excuse Pacey and me?" Joey asked the group. They nodded, letting them go while not interrupting their conversation.

Pacey reluctantly followed her into Andie's living room, flopping down in a chair, as Joey sat on the arm of the couch. "So say what you want to say," he said, shrugging his shoulders, but refusing to look back at her.

"It felt like a sucker-punch, Pacey, that's all," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know if you were doing it for shock-value--"

"Shock value," he said, nodding. "You're kidding me, right? I didn't want you to read the god dammed book, Joey! You stole it."

She pushed her hair back from her face and sighed. "I know I did, Pacey. And I'm glad I did. There are just so many things going through my mind, I just want a chance to tell you about them. Fair warning, though, is that you may not like what you hear."

"You beat the hell out of me with my own book last night, Joey. Then you kicked me out of your apartment. I think I know what I need to know about how you feel. And if it offers you any solace at all, I wish I'd never written that damned book. I wish that none of it ever happened."

"So now you're intentionally trying to hurt me?" she asked, looking down at him.

"No, I want it to be over before anyone else gets hurts," he said seriously. "I don't want to cause anyone any harm."

"You're not going to show it to Dawson are you?"

He shook his head. "Although it's not as bad as sleeping with his girlfriend, I know that it would kill Dawson if he found out about us in high school."

Joey nodded. "Then I suppose I should warn you that he's planning on giving you the hard-sell on Chicago again too."

"I figured. You don't have to worry. I'm not leaving New York," he said, standing up with every intention of returning to the kitchen. Her voice stopped him.

"What if I asked you to?"

He turned and looked back at her. "I know you too well, Joey. You wouldn't."

"I would," she said simply.

"Then the answer's no," he replied, turning on his heel and returning to breakfast. He got a few questioning looks, even more when Joey returned, looking slightly startled.

Andie sensed the tension and stood up, smiling down at everyone. "I can't tell you guys how much this means to me," she said smiling brightly. "We are family, and that's evident when we are all together like this. I really can't tell you all how much I appreciate you being here to share this with Dawson and me. I just can't explain what it means to me to know that you all are going to be there with us on Saturday. It reminds me of everything that's important in my life. And now I'm going to shut up before I start to cry." She said down carefully, Dawson laying a gentle kiss on her cheek as he smiled at her.

Joey bit on her lip, a vain attempt to hide the emotion from her face. She glanced back at Pacey to find him watching her. Their eyes locked for a moment, so many things being said unspoken. The loudest of them all being the fact that they were lying to each other.

* * * * *

Jen smoothed down the wrinkles in her lavender gown as she stood in the bridal shop, examining herself in the full length mirror. As Joey emerged from the fitting room and stood next to her, she silently cursed herself for ever deciding to stand next to Joey wearing the same dress. She supposed, however, that what she lacked in beauty, she made up for in confidence.

"So what happened with Pacey?" Jen asked her.

Joey shrugged. "I can't talk about it right now."

"Things are really tense between you two still?" she asked.

"Worse," Joey replied.

"God, it's really hard for me to resist my urge to just lock you two in a room and let you get out all this damned repressed sexual energy," Jen stated.

Joey shrugged again. "Somehow I don't think it would help."

"You need to talk about it," Jen said wrapping her arm around Joey's shoulder. "Let's have lunch today, and we'll figure out what to do. We can put a banana in his tailpipe or something."

Joey laughed at Jen, carefully studying their reflections. They probably couldn't have been more opposite, but Joey had really grown to love Jen. Most importantly, she knew Jen would be the only one she could talk to about this. "Lunch it is," Joey nodded. "I think the Rainforest Cafe would be good. The thunderstorms are more than appropriate."

Both women stopped when they saw Andie step out of her dressing room. She was dressed in a beautiful white gown with a huge skirt. They both stepped to the side, allowing her to stand between them to look in the mirror.

"Wow," Jen said.

"You look great," Joey continued.

"You don't think it's too ostentatious, do you?" Andie asked. "The last thing I'd want to do is look pretentious like I've got some repressed urge to play princess on my wedding day. Not to mention I feel like a huge phony. I should've eloped when Dawson wanted to. This is ridiculous."

Joey laughed. Jen grabbed Andie at the shoulders. "Calm down, Andie."

"How can I possibly calm down?" Andie ranted, angrily stepping up on a box so the seamstress could take care of a few minor alterations. "I'm getting married." She stopped and smiled. "I'm getting married," she repeated, more gently this time.

"At least someone is," Joey mumbled, flopping down on a couch.

"Huh?" both Jen and Andie said in unison.

"Nothing," she snapped, crossing her arms.

"Why do you feel like a phony?" Jen asked Andie as she fluffed the fabric of her veil.

"Well, let's start with the wearing white thing," Andie mumbled, trying to keep the seamstress from hearing her, but still getting a small chuckle from the woman.

Jen laughed. "That's hardly true anymore, Andie."

"I know," Andie sighed. "But it's really strange considering I once slept with the best man."

Jen jumped back slightly, looking at Joey. Joey couldn't help but to be mildly amused, because Jen still thought that it had been Andie that Pacey had slept with on his last visit. She nearly chocked when Jen asked, "How is Pacey?"

"He seemed fine this morning," Andie shrugged.

Jen shook her head, laughing slightly. "No, I mean how is Pacey . . . you know, in bed."

Joey leant forward, resting her hand on her chin. She wanted to hear this.

"I can tell you that he was a great lover," Andie replied, seemingly unaffected by the question. "That was a long time ago, though."

Still is, Joey thought to herself. She was really stupefied that the conversation took this turn, but still enthralled.

"Frankly, I was disappointed I never got my chance with him," Jen said, referring their brief attempt at no-strings-attached sex. "I can only imagine. And now . . . well, who the hell knows?"

"Comments, Joey?" Andie asked, raising her eyebrow. "You're very quiet over there."

Joey shook her head, not saying anything.

"What's going on between you two?" Andie asked. "Why all the mystery at breakfast?"

"We had a little disagreement last night," Joey said, meeting Jen's eyes. "We just had a thing or two to talk about."

"It's okay isn't it?" Andie asked. "I'd hate to see you two fighting this weekend. There was enough of that when we were kids."

"It's not like that, Andie," Joey responded. "There's no need to worry."

"Good," Andie said with a nod. "I just want everyone to be as happy as I am."

Joey frowned. She doubted that would happen.

* * * * *

"Hook this for me?" Dawson asked, holding out his tie for Pacey.

"Sure, man," Pacey replied, hooking Dawson's necktie for him.

Dawson took a step back. "What do you think?"

"I think you're getting married, my man," Pacey said, patting Dawson on the shoulder before turning to look at himself in the mirror.

"Can I ask you a question?" Dawson asked.

"Sure," Pacey said, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt.

"What's going on between you and Jo?"

"We had an argument."

"About what?" Dawson asked. "You two seemed so tense this morning. And Joey nearly chewed my head off before breakfast."

"It was really little," Pacey lied. "I'm sure things will be fine tonight, or tomorrow, or whenever we see each other again."

"When are you going home?"

"Probably Monday. Mia wants to spend a day in Chicago."

"So what's up with you and Mia?" Dawson asked.

"Nothing," Pacey said, shaking his head. "Why do you have so many questions?"

"Well, just a few weeks ago, you told me things weren't going to last much longer, and now you're living together," Dawson observed.

Pacey shrugged. "Something happened you wouldn't understand, Dawson."

"Try me."

"I can't," Pacey said, heading back into the dressing room to put on his normal clothes. "I can tell you," he continued from behind the door, "that I'm not staying with Mia. I just haven't figured out how to let her go just yet."

"I think you and Joey should get together," Dawson said, ignoring the sound of Joey's voice in his head. Deep down he knew that they deserved each other.

"That's a little far-fetched, even for you, my friend," Pacey sighed, resting his head against the wall.

He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

* * * * *

Jen ignored her salad and looked at Joey anxiously. "So tell me what's going on," she said.

Joey sighed. "It's really a long story. But you read Pacey's book too."

"So this has to do with the book?"

"Only indirectly. But you were a little wrong in your assessment. Andie isn't Kylie, I am."

Jen's eyes widened. "What?"

"Don't act so surprised," Joey said. "You know that Pacey and I were together a little while in high school."

"Top secret, but yeah," Jen said. "And you've had sex with Pacey since then?"

"The last time Pacey was in town. Just like in the book," Joey replied.

"So you walked in, slept together, and left and never had even a small discussion?" Jen asked. "You just went back to life as normal?"

"Not exactly normal," Joey mumbled.

"What happened?"

"I wish I knew, but I don't, Jen. Basically . . . well, when I went to his apartment, I just wanted to talk to him. I wanted him to know that I had all these feelings about knowing that sometimes I just wanted to be with him. And I just wanted to be there with him. But when I looked at him, the words weren't there. And I kissed him and I just knew that I wanted him."

"So what happened?" Jen asked.

"It was beautiful," Joey whispered. "But . . . things were strange afterward. I think we both knew that it wouldn't work. And he had to go home."

"But you didn't want him to."

"You know me and Pacey. We couldn't make it work then, and we probably couldn't make it work now."

"I thought Dawson was the issue then?" Jen asked. "He won't care if you two wanted to be together now."

"I know, Jen, but . . . it's just not meant to be," Joey said. "You can't fight fate."

"Did you read all those beautiful things he wrote about you, Jo?" Jen asked softly. "He's in love with you."

"But he refuses to listen to me. He refuses to move here. He doesn't really want me, Jen. He just wants the idea of me."

"He called you the woman of his reality, the only person who could ever make you happy, the one he wants to be with when he old, the woman he wants to have his children. That doesn't sound like a man who doesn't want you," Jen said. "If anything, I think you're scared that he actually does."

"And what if we both realize how badly we want each other and it doesn't work out? I won't survive that," Joey replied.

"You'd rather never have the chance because you're afraid?"

"It already hurts when he's not here."

"So make it stop hurting," Jen said. "Tell him you want him."

"And if I said that I can't?" Joey asked.

"Then you're a damned fool," Jen replied.

* * * * *

* * * * *

Joey surveyed the kitchen cautiously from the corner. Andie and Jen were standing at the griddle flipping pancakes as they laughed about stories from high school. Henry stood at the stove, scrambling more eggs at Jen's request. Dawson was opening a tube of biscuits and laying them out on a cookie sheet. Things were running smoothly, and Joey was highly impressed.

She really hated to see people in love. It was selfish, and she knew that. Yet she still hated to see anyone like that: It only managed to remind her of what she didn't have.

She'd kicked Pacey out of her apartment last night. The mere thought brought a frown to her face. He had managed to say the last thing she was expecting, and she wasn't sure how to deal with it. If this was a new story she'd fall into his arms, kiss him, and confess some undying love.

But this wasn't a story.

She barely snapped out of her thoughts before Dawson was standing in front of her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She smiled. "I'm good. You look really happy, Dawson. I'm glad for you."

"So what's up with you, Jo?" he asked, furrowing his brow as he motioned for her to sit down with him at the table.

"Nothing, Dawson," she said, smiling at him. "I guess that I'm just . . . I don't know. Maybe a little stressed out?"

"Is it because of Pacey?" he questioned.

Joey frowned. Now was a fine time for Dawson to be perceptive. She shook her head. "No, Dawson. Well, yeah. He's my friend. I miss him. And I hate it that I can't just fall into that same old place I was in with him."

"I'm all up for us bugging him and getting him to move to Chicago," Dawson said with a grin.

"Dawson, don't be so pushy," Joey said, smiling softly at her friend's enthusiasm. "That's not what Pacey wants."

"I'm not pushy, Jo," Dawson said. "I'd just like to see Pacey here with us. Things feel incomplete without him. I know he's off doing his own thing in New York, but sometimes I feel forgotten."

She smiled. "Me too, Dawson."

"I know that Jen and Jack and Andie are all Pacey's friends, but we're the ones who need him here, and we have to let him know that, Jo. There have been times I've needed him in the past few weeks, and I've been reduced to a pile of mush in front of you," he said with a smile.

"It's okay, Dawson. I know that sometimes you'd prefer to have another man to talk to--and Henry doesn't exactly fit the bill--but I think I pinch-hit pretty well."

"You do, Jo," he said. "But Pacey being here would make you happy. Maybe even a romance in the future?"

Joey shook her head. "I don't think so, Dawson. He's got a girlfriend, and--"

"Mia's expendable," Dawson noted. "She has the personality of a dishrag."

"And you wouldn't be biased?"

"Maybe a little," he shrugged. "She's just . . . nice."

"Nice?"

"Terribly nice. It makes you sick really."

Joey laughed. "You've lost your mind, Dawson. I think Pacey's girlfriend being nice is a good thing."

"Well, I'm convinced he moved in with her just to smooth over some argument they were having, because not even four weeks ago he was saying that he didn't see himself being with her very much longer. She's just someone to be on his arm while he's getting the book out. You know, keep the women off his back. His agent completely plays up this stuff up to the media. They have him act a certain way to attract female readers, but keep him from being too overwhelmed by pushing his girlfriend to the forefront every once in a while."

"Let me guess," Joey said. "Andie's assessment?"

"It makes sense," he said, waving at Jack as he came in and began chatting with Henry.

"You're doing it again, Dawson."

"Doing what?"

"Writing a script. Pacey dumps his girlfriend of convenience, moves to Chicago to satiate you, and then falls in love with me, putting the perfect little cap on our group which just doesn't have room for a nice girl. I wish I lived in your world. Everything is so simple there," she said sarcastically.

"You're bitchy this morning," he observed, while not exactly passing judgment. "Did something happen?"

Joey shook her head, looking up as the other girls greeted Pacey excitedly. He looked at her briefly, and she wasn't exactly sure how she was going to get through this morning.

* * * * *

Joey looked across the table at Pacey, as he quietly ate his pancakes. The others were discussing the latest blockbuster movie, and Jen was getting a rise out of Dawson by saying how much she liked it.

"So how'd you sleep last night?" Joey asked softly.

"I didn't," Pacey replied, looking back down at his plate.

"We should talk," she said.

"Is there anything left to say?" he asked skeptically.

"I've had time to think," she replied. "I think that we need to talk."

"You said a lot last night," he said.

"Give me five minutes," she said. "Could you excuse Pacey and me?" Joey asked the group. They nodded, letting them go while not interrupting their conversation.

Pacey reluctantly followed her into Andie's living room, flopping down in a chair, as Joey sat on the arm of the couch. "So say what you want to say," he said, shrugging his shoulders, but refusing to look back at her.

"It felt like a sucker-punch, Pacey, that's all," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know if you were doing it for shock-value--"

"Shock value," he said, nodding. "You're kidding me, right? I didn't want you to read the god dammed book, Joey! You stole it."

She pushed her hair back from her face and sighed. "I know I did, Pacey. And I'm glad I did. There are just so many things going through my mind, I just want a chance to tell you about them. Fair warning, though, is that you may not like what you hear."

"You beat the hell out of me with my own book last night, Joey. Then you kicked me out of your apartment. I think I know what I need to know about how you feel. And if it offers you any solace at all, I wish I'd never written that damned book. I wish that none of it ever happened."

"So now you're intentionally trying to hurt me?" she asked, looking down at him.

"No, I want it to be over before anyone else gets hurts," he said seriously. "I don't want to cause anyone any harm."

"You're not going to show it to Dawson are you?"

He shook his head. "Although it's not as bad as sleeping with his girlfriend, I know that it would kill Dawson if he found out about us in high school."

Joey nodded. "Then I suppose I should warn you that he's planning on giving you the hard-sell on Chicago again too."

"I figured. You don't have to worry. I'm not leaving New York," he said, standing up with every intention of returning to the kitchen. Her voice stopped him.

"What if I asked you to?"

He turned and looked back at her. "I know you too well, Joey. You wouldn't."

"I would," she said simply.

"Then the answer's no," he replied, turning on his heel and returning to breakfast. He got a few questioning looks, even more when Joey returned, looking slightly startled.

Andie sensed the tension and stood up, smiling down at everyone. "I can't tell you guys how much this means to me," she said smiling brightly. "We are family, and that's evident when we are all together like this. I really can't tell you all how much I appreciate you being here to share this with Dawson and me. I just can't explain what it means to me to know that you all are going to be there with us on Saturday. It reminds me of everything that's important in my life. And now I'm going to shut up before I start to cry." She said down carefully, Dawson laying a gentle kiss on her cheek as he smiled at her.

Joey bit on her lip, a vain attempt to hide the emotion from her face. She glanced back at Pacey to find him watching her. Their eyes locked for a moment, so many things being said unspoken. The loudest of them all being the fact that they were lying to each other.

* * * * *

Jen smoothed down the wrinkles in her lavender gown as she stood in the bridal shop, examining herself in the full length mirror. As Joey emerged from the fitting room and stood next to her, she silently cursed herself for ever deciding to stand next to Joey wearing the same dress. She supposed, however, that what she lacked in beauty, she made up for in confidence.

"So what happened with Pacey?" Jen asked her.

Joey shrugged. "I can't talk about it right now."

"Things are really tense between you two still?" she asked.

"Worse," Joey replied.

"God, it's really hard for me to resist my urge to just lock you two in a room and let you get out all this damned repressed sexual energy," Jen stated.

Joey shrugged again. "Somehow I don't think it would help."

"You need to talk about it," Jen said wrapping her arm around Joey's shoulder. "Let's have lunch today, and we'll figure out what to do. We can put a banana in his tailpipe or something."

Joey laughed at Jen, carefully studying their reflections. They probably couldn't have been more opposite, but Joey had really grown to love Jen. Most importantly, she knew Jen would be the only one she could talk to about this. "Lunch it is," Joey nodded. "I think the Rainforest Cafe would be good. The thunderstorms are more than appropriate."

Both women stopped when they saw Andie step out of her dressing room. She was dressed in a beautiful white gown with a huge skirt. They both stepped to the side, allowing her to stand between them to look in the mirror.

"Wow," Jen said.

"You look great," Joey continued.

"You don't think it's too ostentatious, do you?" Andie asked. "The last thing I'd want to do is look pretentious like I've got some repressed urge to play princess on my wedding day. Not to mention I feel like a huge phony. I should've eloped when Dawson wanted to. This is ridiculous."

Joey laughed. Jen grabbed Andie at the shoulders. "Calm down, Andie."

"How can I possibly calm down?" Andie ranted, angrily stepping up on a box so the seamstress could take care of a few minor alterations. "I'm getting married." She stopped and smiled. "I'm getting married," she repeated, more gently this time.

"At least someone is," Joey mumbled, flopping down on a couch.

"Huh?" both Jen and Andie said in unison.

"Nothing," she snapped, crossing her arms.

"Why do you feel like a phony?" Jen asked Andie as she fluffed the fabric of her veil.

"Well, let's start with the wearing white thing," Andie mumbled, trying to keep the seamstress from hearing her, but still getting a small chuckle from the woman.

Jen laughed. "That's hardly true anymore, Andie."

"I know," Andie sighed. "But it's really strange considering I once slept with the best man."

Jen jumped back slightly, looking at Joey. Joey couldn't help but to be mildly amused, because Jen still thought that it had been Andie that Pacey had slept with on his last visit. She nearly chocked when Jen asked, "How is Pacey?"

"He seemed fine this morning," Andie shrugged.

Jen shook her head, laughing slightly. "No, I mean how is Pacey . . . you know, in bed."

Joey leant forward, resting her hand on her chin. She wanted to hear this.

"I can tell you that he was a great lover," Andie replied, seemingly unaffected by the question. "That was a long time ago, though."

Still is, Joey thought to herself. She was really stupefied that the conversation took this turn, but still enthralled.

"Frankly, I was disappointed I never got my chance with him," Jen said, referring their brief attempt at no-strings-attached sex. "I can only imagine. And now . . . well, who the hell knows?"

"Comments, Joey?" Andie asked, raising her eyebrow. "You're very quiet over there."

Joey shook her head, not saying anything.

"What's going on between you two?" Andie asked. "Why all the mystery at breakfast?"

"We had a little disagreement last night," Joey said, meeting Jen's eyes. "We just had a thing or two to talk about."

"It's okay isn't it?" Andie asked. "I'd hate to see you two fighting this weekend. There was enough of that when we were kids."

"It's not like that, Andie," Joey responded. "There's no need to worry."

"Good," Andie said with a nod. "I just want everyone to be as happy as I am."

Joey frowned. She doubted that would happen.

* * * * *

"Hook this for me?" Dawson asked, holding out his tie for Pacey.

"Sure, man," Pacey replied, hooking Dawson's necktie for him.

Dawson took a step back. "What do you think?"

"I think you're getting married, my man," Pacey said, patting Dawson on the shoulder before turning to look at himself in the mirror.

"Can I ask you a question?" Dawson asked.

"Sure," Pacey said, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt.

"What's going on between you and Jo?"

"We had an argument."

"About what?" Dawson asked. "You two seemed so tense this morning. And Joey nearly chewed my head off before breakfast."

"It was really little," Pacey lied. "I'm sure things will be fine tonight, or tomorrow, or whenever we see each other again."

"When are you going home?"

"Probably Monday. Mia wants to spend a day in Chicago."

"So what's up with you and Mia?" Dawson asked.

"Nothing," Pacey said, shaking his head. "Why do you have so many questions?"

"Well, just a few weeks ago, you told me things weren't going to last much longer, and now you're living together," Dawson observed.

Pacey shrugged. "Something happened you wouldn't understand, Dawson."

"Try me."

"I can't," Pacey said, heading back into the dressing room to put on his normal clothes. "I can tell you," he continued from behind the door, "that I'm not staying with Mia. I just haven't figured out how to let her go just yet."

"I think you and Joey should get together," Dawson said, ignoring the sound of Joey's voice in his head. Deep down he knew that they deserved each other.

"That's a little far-fetched, even for you, my friend," Pacey sighed, resting his head against the wall.

He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

* * * * *

Jen ignored her salad and looked at Joey anxiously. "So tell me what's going on," she said.

Joey sighed. "It's really a long story. But you read Pacey's book too."

"So this has to do with the book?"

"Only indirectly. But you were a little wrong in your assessment. Andie isn't Kylie, I am."

Jen's eyes widened. "What?"

"Don't act so surprised," Joey said. "You know that Pacey and I were together a little while in high school."

"Top secret, but yeah," Jen said. "And you've had sex with Pacey since then?"

"The last time Pacey was in town. Just like in the book," Joey replied.

"So you walked in, slept together, and left and never had even a small discussion?" Jen asked. "You just went back to life as normal?"

"Not exactly normal," Joey mumbled.

"What happened?"

"I wish I knew, but I don't, Jen. Basically . . . well, when I went to his apartment, I just wanted to talk to him. I wanted him to know that I had all these feelings about knowing that sometimes I just wanted to be with him. And I just wanted to be there with him. But when I looked at him, the words weren't there. And I kissed him and I just knew that I wanted him."

"So what happened?" Jen asked.

"It was beautiful," Joey whispered. "But . . . things were strange afterward. I think we both knew that it wouldn't work. And he had to go home."

"But you didn't want him to."

"You know me and Pacey. We couldn't make it work then, and we probably couldn't make it work now."

"I thought Dawson was the issue then?" Jen asked. "He won't care if you two wanted to be together now."

"I know, Jen, but . . . it's just not meant to be," Joey said. "You can't fight fate."

"Did you read all those beautiful things he wrote about you, Jo?" Jen asked softly. "He's in love with you."

"But he refuses to listen to me. He refuses to move here. He doesn't really want me, Jen. He just wants the idea of me."

"He called you the woman of his reality, the only person who could ever make you happy, the one he wants to be with when he old, the woman he wants to have his children. That doesn't sound like a man who doesn't want you," Jen said. "If anything, I think you're scared that he actually does."

"And what if we both realize how badly we want each other and it doesn't work out? I won't survive that," Joey replied.

"You'd rather never have the chance because you're afraid?"

"It already hurts when he's not here."

"So make it stop hurting," Jen said. "Tell him you want him."

"And if I said that I can't?" Joey asked.

"Then you're a damned fool," Jen replied.

* * * * *

* * * * *

Pacey looked as though he welcomed the break that Joey's words had given him. Dawson had stopped, finally standing up erect at the sound of Joey's voice. "What did you just say?"

"In the book," Joey said, swallowing hard when she saw a slight trickle of blood from the corner of Pacey's mouth, his swollen jaw. She could also see Dawson's black eye and a deep scratch on his arm. "I'm Kylie in the book," she continued. "Pacey didn't sleep with Andie."

"You shouldn't protect him, Jo," Dawson said calmly. "I'll feel much better if I can just kick his ass and get it over with."

Joey shook her head. "I'm sorry, Dawson. It really was me. Andie wouldn't do that to you. Pacey wouldn't do that to you."

"You saw what he said in the book," Dawson said, taking a step toward Joey. "He fell in love with her in high school, and even though they couldn't be together it just culminated and built until he couldn't take it anymore."

"It was me," she said again. "Pacey and I . . . well, we . . . we were together really briefly in high school, and it was . . . it just didn't work out. And I didn't even know that he felt this way, Dawson . . . I mean, I thought the same thing when I read the book about Andie . . . but when he told me, I understood that he was telling our history. But please don't be mad."

Dawson swallowed, looking up at her painfully. "Be mad at who? You or him?"

"Either of us," she replied.

Dawson looked down at Pacey, who had his eyes trained on a spot on the hardwood floor. "You slept with Joey," Dawson said softly, causing Pacey to look up at him briefly. Dawson shook his head, before looking back to Joey. "And you both lied to me."

"We never meant to--"

"God, I was so stupid," Dawson mumbled to himself. "I should've known."

"It was so small, Dawson, there's no way you could've known," Joey tried to explain.

"Stand up, Pacey," Dawson spat, looking down at his friend. Pacey did so, looking back at Dawson and waiting. "Don't touch her again."

"What?" Pacey asked, more confused than anything else.

"Don't touch her again," Dawson repeated.

"Dawson," Joey warned, not sure exactly how to say what she knew she needed to say.

"Who's going to protect you if I can't?" Dawson asked.

"I don't need protecting," she said plainly, surprised at the lack of defensiveness in her tone.

"Then what's there left for me to do?" Dawson asked defeatedly. "I'm getting married in less than forty-eight hours, and you're the best man and the maid of honor at my wedding. We've been best friends since we were little. And now I find out that you've both been hiding this huge part of your lives from me for years. I find out that Pacey took advantage of you, and that he's let everyone read his new book but me. I don't know anything about your lives."

Joey reached out, resting her hand on his arm before he flinched away. "Dawson, it's not what you think," she said, trying again. "We just didn't want to hurt you."

"Goal not accomplished," Dawson winced, glancing from Pacey and Joey then back again before walking out.

Joey started to go after him, but Pacey held her back. "I think he just needs time," he told her. "Just let him get used to it. When he thinks about it, he'll be bound to understand."

Joey nodded, her eyes focused on the door. "Sure, he will."

* * * * *

Her head rested softly on his shoulder as they laid together on the couch. "This is a mess, Pacey," she mumbled.

"I've noticed," he replied. "Now we know why we didn't tell him all those years ago."

"No, if we'd done like I wanted to, he'd be completely familiar with the idea. And we might really be together now," she said decisively.

His body tensed as he spoke. "Get up."

"Huh?"

"Get up," he said again. "Because I need to stand if we're going to fight."

"We're going to fight," she said flatly, standing up and watching him expectantly. She ignored his bruised face and swollen lip.

"How the hell can you blame this on me?" he asked.

"You're the one who wouldn't tell Dawson about us! You're the one who couldn't come up with your own damn story and decided to write about all of us in the book! How could this be anyone's fault but yours?!"

"Joey we decided together to break up!"

"Because you didn't want to tell Dawson," she said. "If we had just dealt with all this fallout then, we might be together now."

He shook his head. "Now I remember."

"Now you remember what?" she snapped.

"I remember why I didn't want to tell you in the first place," he answered.

"And just what in the hell is that supposed to mean?" she shouted.

"It means I'm leaving," he spat.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be any different from last time," she muttered.

"It's always my fault," he said knowingly. "Despite the fact that you know you're just as scared as I am, you were always as scared as I was, but you're going to continue to make me look like the one who's screwing this up while you pretend to be fearless."

"You are infuriating," she growled. "You think you know everything."

"I know I don't know anything," he returned.

Before she could spat off her witty response, she was interrupted by the ringing phone. She had no idea who would be calling at two a.m.

She heard a frantic Andie on the other end of the phone. Her words were rushed and jumbled. "Andie, slow down."

"The wedding's off, Joey," Andie said calmly. "But I need to talk to you."

Joey nodded absently. "Sure, Andie. Just don't jump to any conclusions, please?"

"I think that things are pretty solid," Andie replied.

"Stay right there," Joey said. "I'm on my way." As she hung up the phone she looked back at Pacey impatiently. "I have to go to Andie's."

"That's fine," he said, retrieving his jacket. "There's nothing left to say."

"Don't do this now, Pacey," Joey said, pulling on a pair of pants with her night shirt, and exchanging a coat for her robe. "We've got a million things we need to talk about, but right now I have to make sure this wedding happens."

He shook his head, laughing sardonically. "Go to hell, Joey."

* * * * *

"How did this happen?" Jen asked Joey as they were speaking on the phone. "What exactly went on?"

"I don't know," Joey said. She could hear Jen's voice breaking slightly on her cell phone, but continued to talk. "One second I was kissing Pacey and the next Dawson was busting into my apartment. Some how he got a hold of Pacey's tell-all book and read it. He was beating the hell out of Pacey for sleeping with Andie. But then I told him that Pacey had slept with me. So then he acts all hurt. He was mad at Pacey for sleeping with me and he was mad at me for lying to him. I have no idea what Andie's upset about."

"This is some mess," Jen said. "What are you going to do?"

"I thought you might have some ideas," Joey replied. "I mean, what am I going to say to Andie? 'I'm sorry Dawson didn't trust you, but the good news is that he hates me and Pacey now instead.' I'm sure that'll go over really well. She wanted her wedding to be perfect, and now we've managed to ruin it."

"Well, what did Pacey say?"

"Pacey and I had a fight."

"About what?"

Joey groaned. "I don't want to go there. Look, I'm at Andie's. I'll let you know how things go, okay?"

"Okay," Jen said. "Call me when you're done."

"Will do," Joey said, turning off the phone and ambling up the stairs to Andie's apartment. Joey was surprised to see Andie's eyes red-rimmed when she answered the door. "Andie, what's wrong?" she asked softly.

"What did you do?" Andie asked in return.

"Why don't we sit down, and I can explain?"

Andie nodded, moving toward the sofa and sitting down next to Joey on the couch. "Pacey wrote this book," Joey began. "And in the book he based a character on each one of us."

"Jen told me about the book," Andie said. "I just don't see what this has to do with what Dawson was fussing about tonight."

"Well, Pacey wrote the characters in an odd way. Anyone who reads the book thinks you're Kylie. And . . . well, in the book Kylie had a past relationship with Pacey's character, and they sleep together."

"So Dawson thought that I slept with Pacey?" Andie asked confusedly. "How could he think that?"

"I don't know, Andie," Joey said honestly. "But, in the book . . . well, I'm Kylie. I'm the one with the past relationship with Pacey. We slept together the last time he was in town."

"Huh?" was all Andie managed.

Joey shook her head. "Dawson was mad because he found out. I mean . . . I can't explain the reason he's upset because we were together the last time Pacey was here. But he's really upset that we were together in high school and hid it from him."

"How could you do that, Joey?" Andie asked softly.

"We didn't want to hurt anyone, Andie. And it would've hurt Dawson. If it's any consolation, it didn't last."

"How is that supposed to be any consolation?"

"It's not."

"This what's breaking up my wedding, Joey. The fact that Dawson doesn't even want to look at you," Andie said softly. "You need to fix it."

Joey was concerned. She'd never really seen Andie react this way. Usually she was frantic, and now all Joey could see was an eerie sort of calm. Perhaps shocked would be a better characterization. "I'll fix it, Andie. I promise," Joey whispered, resting her hand on Andie's.

* * * * *

Even though she was sitting in the dark, Jen wasn't sleeping. How could she sleep? This whole weekend that was supposed to be a celebration of love and friendship was falling apart at the seams.

She grabbed her robe from the chair when she heard the knock on the door. She assumed it was Joey, but was caught off-guard to find Dawson there instead. She winced when she saw his black eye. "My god, Dawson," she whispered.

"I know, I look horrible," Dawson mumbled. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Jen nodded, letting him walk into the apartment. "How are you doing?"

He slumped down on the couch defeatedly. "You can go ahead and tell me that I'm over-reacting and I'm too melodramatic for my own good."

"You reacted in a typical Dawson fashion," Jen said with a simple nod.

"And I have a feeling that's not a good thing," Dawson groaned.

"Dawson, you have a right to be upset. I know that you thought Pacey'd slept with your fianca33;e, but he didn't. I thought that would make you feel better."

"They've been my best friends since we were kids, Jen. And I find out that they dated, and they slept together, and . . . they're obviously in love. It's like being asleep and waking up and just not knowing what the hell is going on. It hurts."

She rested a soft hand on his shoulder. "I know, Dawson. They just did what they thought was best. In hindsight, it was probably a mistake. But it's made."

"And now I'm being petty."

"You called off your wedding," Jen said. "I don't see how that makes things better. I'm sure Andie's crazy."

"Never say the words Andie and crazy together in a sentence," Dawson said seriously. "It has nothing to do with Andie," he continued.

"Yeah, but you're ruining her day, Dawson. And you know as well as I do that what's happened between you and Pacey and Joey isn't unforgivable. Just as much as Andie wants them at her wedding, you do too . . . or you will."

"Why does everyone treat me this way? Like I only care about myself and how things affect me."

"Because . . . can I be honest with you?" she asked.

He nodded reluctantly.

"Sometimes . . . you are a little . . . self-absorbed, but in an adorably naive sort of way. And I think . . . well, Joey and Pacey aren't exactly open and honest with each other about what has, is, or will go on between them. You were like this z variable that added too much complication to the problem."

"Am I being stupid?" he asked.

"I think you're reacting, Dawson. And be mad at Joey and Pacey if that's what you need to do. But don't let it get in the way of the one thing you want to do."

"So I should tell Andie that I'm an idiot and just suck up the way I feel about Joey and Pacey?" Dawson thought out loud. "It can't be as complicated as it sounds."

Jen smiled. "It can't be. Just make things with Andie right, Dawson. Everything else will fall into place."

"Okay, Jen. You've convinced me. Trust me, I will be blaming you if this backfires."

"I figured," Jen laughed.

* * * * *

"Jack, you in there?" Pacey asked through the hotel room door. He wasn't sure just why he'd come to Jack. Maybe everyone else was just somehow off-limits.

Jack was wiping the sleep from his eyes when he opened the door. "God, Pacey, you look like shit," he said through squinted eyes.

"You were sleeping," Pacey said blankly. "I'll let you get back to bed."

"Hold it right there, Witter. Whatever made you pull me out of bed is reason enough to stay awake. Come in," Jack replied.

Pacey walked in slowly, absently banging his fist into the palm of his other hand. "Have you talked to Andie? Jen?"

Jack squinted slightly. "Andie called me and told me that Dawson's called off the wedding. Let me guess. You know why he did it."

Pacey nodded, sitting down on the sofa in Jack's suite. He reluctantly explained everything that had happened since he'd arrived in Chicago.

"Why'd you tell Joey to go to hell?" Jack asked at the end of the story.

"I wish I knew, Jack," Pacey said, smiling awkwardly. "I just wanted it to be over, and I wanted to piss her off the same way she'd pissed me off."

"Why were you pissed off?"

"She blamed me for everything. And it's . . . well, it's not like I can't accept responsibility for what's happened. I mean, it was my fault that I wrote the book. It was my fault Jen had it. It was my fault Joey read it. It was my fault for lying to Dawson all those years ago. She blamed me for the one thing that wasn't my fault."

"And what's that?"

"That we'd be happy and together now if I hadn't decided to keep everything from Dawson in high school."

"You don't believe that?" Jack asked.

Pacey shook his head. "I think that the events of the past six hours are probably proof positive and Joey and I would never make it as anything more than friends. There are too many things about our past in the way, not to mention that we're just too . . . stubborn for our own damn good. Jo and I . . . we're not like Dawson and Andie or even Jen and Henry. Neither of us is going to bend or compromise to be together, even if it is what we think we want. Nothing's going to make us change."

Jack looked skeptical. "Pacey, she's the only thing you want. Jen told me about the book, and you're lying to all of us if you say that you don't love Joey. You're successful and wealthy and famous. I know all about that, Pacey. With all of that, there's still this pesky piece right in the middle that's missing. And for you, that's Joey."

"It's a nice sentiment, Jack. Hell, I'm probably pretty lucky that I know the exact location of the piece, because a lot of people don't even know where it could be. But there's the whole issue of making it fit. And right now it just doesn't fit," Pacey said, probably extending the puzzle analogy way too far for its own good.

"What are you scared of, Pacey?" Jack asked softly.

Pacey laughed, shaking his finger at the other man. "Nice try."

"I can tell you're scared. You might as well tell me," Jack shrugged.

"You really did miss your calling as a therapist for this whole pro football thing, McPhee."

"Are you afraid she doesn't want you back?"

"I'm afraid she does want me back."

"Well, I'm definitely confused," Jack said, running an absent hand through his hair.

"She wants me back and we give it a try. I move to Chicago to be near her and I fall even deeper in love than I already am. But what inevitably happens is that it won't work out. It's like . . . instead of knowing that missing puzzle piece is in the drawer in the kitchen, I've seen it in the picture and it looks perfect there. But then the piece is lost forever, and the picture will never be the same," Pacey explained.

"I'm way too groggy to make sense of that," Jack yawned. "Tell her how you feel, Pacey. Everything else will make sense then."

"Nice try," Pacey said, standing up and giving Jack a pat on the shoulder. "Get some rest, McPhee." He looked down at his watch. "I have to pick my girlfriend up from the airport in about five hours anyway."

Jack made a face. "That's a messy addition the equation."

"Tell me about it," Pacey groaned, leaving the room.

* * * * *

"Dawson, open up," Joey said, banging on his apartment. "I don't want to explain, I just want to . . . I want to tell you that Pacey and I won't come to the wedding. We want you to marry Andie."

"That's a nice offer," Dawson said from behind her. He was just coming home from Jen's.

Joey jumped slightly before turning around. "You scared me, Dawson."

Dawson nodded tiredly as he leaned against the wall. "I want you and Pacey at the wedding."

"I'm glad," Joey said, sighing softly out of relief.

"What you two did was . . . it hurt, Jo. But it's not something I won't get over. And I'm not over it right now. But Jen was right. Someday I will be, and I'll regret it if you two weren't at my wedding."

"I'll have to thank Jen. For what it's worth, I'm really sorry."

Dawson nodded. "If you don't mind, I want to get some rest. I have lots of things to do before the rehearsal."

Joey looked down at her feet. "Okay, Dawson."

He smiled half-heartedly before going inside his apartment and shutting the door.

Joey leaned against the wall, sliding down to the floor and resting her head in her hands. After a few moments of silent reflection, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Jen's. "Thanks for the back-up," she said after Jen answered.

"Sure," Jen said. "Everything's okay I take it."

"I talked to Andie and to Dawson. The wedding's back on. Thanks to you, I suppose," Joey replied. "I don't know how to thank you, Jen."

"This is only the beginning, Jo."

"Don't spoil my little victory now."

"I talked to Jack and let him know everything would be okay. Pacey went to see him," Jen said.

"I don't want to know," Joey sighed.

"Fine," Jen responded. "Just know that he's picking up his girlfriend from the airport at six."

"Well, that's the last thing I need," Joey groaned.

"You've got to do something about it, Joey," Jen said simply.

"The question is what do I do about it," Joey replied.

* * * * *

* * * * *

As he watched her come through the gate, the only thing he could think was that she looked different. Mia didn't look the same as she has on Tuesday when they'd said goodbye at the airport in New York. She'd had her light brown hair trimmed slightly and only wore a light coat of make up. She was dressed in a simple black pantsuit covering her slender frame and looked sleek and sophisticated.

He felt like he was looking at a stranger. And maybe that's what she'd been all along. He kissed her cheek softly when she stood before him. "Mia, you look great."

"I wish I could say the same about you," she said, pulling away slightly. Her fingers gently grazed his swollen jaw. "What happened?"

Pacey looked down at his feet, not sure how or where to begin to explain what was going on. "I think that things are bad for us no matter how I tell this story," Pacey began. "Um, I . . . well, you see . . ."

"Is this about Joey?" Mia finally asked.

"If that's what you're thinking . . ." he began, unsure of what he should actually say. "No, Mia. Something hasn't been right between us for a while now, and I think you knew that."

"The minute I read the book," Mia said softly. "The second I realized that no one else would make you happy. The moment I understood that you knew Joey was your destiny."

He shook his head. "This isn't about Joey. I just . . . I want you to be able to go out and find a man that loves you like you deserve to be loved."

"Fuck you, Pacey. You don't think I saw this coming from a mile away? This has nothing to do with you wanting me to find what I deserve, it has to do with you wanting the easy way out so that you can be with Joey!"

"Mia, Joey and I aren't together, and we're not going to be. I wish it were as simple as the fact that I'm leaving you to be with Joey, but It's not. All I know is that I've seen love this weekend, and that's not what we've got."

"You let me fly all the way to Chicago to break up with me, Pacey?" she said, her voice in a muffled roar. "How could you do that?"

"You were already on your way when I decided . . . and I thought that it would be better if I said this in person . . . and I'm sorry, Mia. I am," he whispered.

Mia stood quietly for a moment. "You should've just called. We could've spared each other the expense."

"I'll pay for your flight," he said.

"That's not what I mean, Pacey," she said, looking up at him with her eyes shining. She didn't want to cry. She actually wanted to smack him, but she managed to control the impulse, afraid of drawing attention to them.

He looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry, Mia. I just want you to have what you deserve."

"I guess there's no sense in arguing with you," Mia said quietly. "Are you even coming back to New York?"

"Yeah, I'll be home on Monday," he replied. "I'll see you then. We can talk more about this."

She nodded. "Okay. I guess I should find a flight home," she said, giving him a gentle kiss on his good cheek. "Have a safe trip home, okay? We can work this out, Pacey."

"Okay, okay, I can't watch anymore!" Joey said as she ran up to the couple. She'd been watching from a few feet away the whole time. Seeing Mia kiss Pacey just sent her over the edge, and she felt like she was barely herself as she ran toward them. "I'd hate to have to spoil your happy little reunion here, but he doesn't love you," she said to Mia. "Not even twelve hours ago he was going to sleep with me, and I know it must suck to find out this way, but you're not going to have him without a fight. I love him, and I'm not going to just walk away gracefully so that you can be with him when he's the only man who'll make me happy. So just get right back on that plane and go home to New York."

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Joey?" Pacey snapped, grabbing her forearm tightly.

"I'm not giving you up, Pacey," she said plainly. "So just deal with it."

"So you're Joey?" Mia said softly. "Mia Harrison," she continued, extending her hand. "It's nice to finally meet you." Mia wasn't sure where the sudden wave of calm came from. Joey wasn't what she'd expected. The way Joey looked at Pacey disturbed her slightly. It was almost as if she could see it. See whatever it was between them. She wasn't exactly sure what it was.

"You too," Joey said softly, not sure exactly what was going on. She looked at Pacey questioningly.

"Go home, Joey," he said.

"No," she replied flatly.

Mia looked at Joey and plastered on a fake smile. "Joey, could you just give Pacey and me a second?"

"Sure," Joey said, caught slightly off guard by the request. She wasn't exactly sure why she complied with the request, other than after her outburst, she wanted to give them a moment. She wandered over to a set of chairs, far enough away to give them some privacy, but close enough to be able to watch what was going on.

Mia touched his arm and smiled. He laughed softly and smiled in return with a gentle nod. They both looked back at Joey briefly. He placed his hands on her cheeks, laying a gentle kiss on her lips. She hugged him, patting his back as they stayed still. He whispered something in her ear before she pulled away. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him as she walked to the counter. He waved.

Joey couldn't help but to cringe when she turned her attention back to him and saw the look on his face. He looked unhappy to say the least. He stood beside her silently for a moment. "Come on, I'll give you a ride home."

She stood, following behind him for a moment, but was close to explosion when they reached the outside of the airport. "Is that all you have to say, Pacey?"

"Yeah, Jo, that's all I've got to say," he mumbled in reply.

"Isn't that just great," she snapped, her lips turning into an awkward snarl. "I embarrassed myself for nothing."

"I don't know what possessed you to come here, really," he shrugged. "Why did you?"

"Temporary insanity, I guess," she scoffed. She childishly settled into the passenger side of Pacey's rental car.

"You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" he asked, slumping down in his own seat.

"Well enough was telling me to go to hell last night, Pacey? Now maybe I came here on some whim inspired by a serious level of exhaustion on my part because I was trying to make sure that Andie and Dawson got married tomorrow, but the least you could do is respond to what I said back there," she finished, pointing back toward the terminal.

He looked back at her, the corner of his mouth twisting in a strange smirk. "That you just told my girlfriend I had every intention of cheating on her last night?" he snapped. "Since when are you inside my head, Joey?"

Joey shook her head. "You know exactly what would've happened last night if Dawson hadn't barged in," she replied coldly.

"I'm glad it didn't," he said. "Because we'd be right where we are now. We're never getting away from this, Jo. You and I . . . we're destined to fail."

"If this is about what I said earlier, I . . . I jumped to conclusions I probably shouldn't have, Pacey. I mean, I saw Dawson beat the hell out of you, and then I had to tell him about us. It's not like it's something either of us has ever wanted to do."

"I know it's not," Pacey shrugged, throwing the car in reverse and backing out of the parking spot. "I'm just trying to tell you that this isn't going to work. No matter what we do, it's not going to work. So we can just put that failed attempt at romance last night out of our minds, get Dawson and Andie married, and I'll go back to New York and everything will go back to normal. We'll have our daily e-mails and our weekend visits. That's how things are best for us anyway."

"That's not what's best, Pacey. How am I supposed to go on everyday pretending that's what I want? Because it's not what I want. If the scene I made back there is any indication, you should know how I feel."

"We learned all those years ago that feelings aren't enough, Jo."

"You're a quitter," Joey said decisively. "You find one little flaw and you give up."

"Lots of flaws, Jo. It's time for us both to stop pretending," he replied softly.

"Fine," she said sharply. "Just take me home."

* * * * *

"So we are sure that this wedding is going to happen?" Jen asked skeptically.

"The wedding is going to happen," Joey said with a nod. "Everything seems fine. Dawson still hates me, but he says that he'll get over it eventually."

"And Pacey?" Jen asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Ah, you'll love this story. I mean, it always makes you laugh when I make an absolute fool of myself," Joey replied.

"That very rarely happens, Joey."

"Well, last night when you told me about Pacey picking up his girlfriend from the airport, I decided I would go there to stop him. So I confront him and this woman, I tell her that I love him, that I'm going to fight for him, and that we had almost had sex."

Jen winced. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Tell me about it," Joey sighed.

"You scared him."

"Yeah," Joey nodded. "Wait . . . what?"

"You scared him," Jen repeated.

Joey shook her head. "I didn't scare him, Jen. He just . . . well, he doesn't want me. It's much simpler than you make it sound."

"You scared him."

"Will you stop it?"

"Can't you see that this boy is head over heels in love with you?" Jen asked impatiently. "Let's face facts. He didn't make up that stuff in the book. All those beautiful words were about you, Joey. He's just scared . . . of you . . . of himself. There's a difference. He wouldn't be acting this way if he didn't care . . . the fact is that he probably cares for you so deeply he doesn't know what to do about it."

"I don't see how that makes him scared," Joey replied.

"It's not exactly a very Joey-like thing to do. You know, run up and declare your love for him to his girlfriend," Jen said.

"And it's not a very Pacey-like thing to be scared and hide his feelings," Joey observed.

"See how this has affected you both."

"So what am I supposed to do? Lock him in a room and make him listen to me?" Joey said sarcastically.

"That's not a bad idea," Jen said.

"Please don't tell me you have a plan," Joey groaned.

Jen smiled. "I have a plan."

* * * * *

Jen slid into the booth and took a seat next to Pacey where he was nursing a gin and tonic. The rehearsal had been long, and Pacey had somehow become the bad guy. Jen wasn't exactly sure how, of course. She knew it was probably easier for Dawson to be angry than for him to come to terms with how he actually felt. Andie was frantic and angry, mostly at Pacey for putting her in the position of almost having to call off her wedding. And Joey . . . well, she wasn't exactly sure what the hell was wrong with Joey.

"Being anti-social tonight, Pacey?" Jen asked, playfully elbowing him in the ribs.

He shrugged. "Who exactly wants to be social with me, Jen?"

"I don't know," she smiled. "I think this crowd here is a little . . . mm, well, they're definitely not showing love like they should."

"Of course not," Pacey laughed. "Dawson hates me for sleeping with Joey. He hates Joey for sleeping with me. Andie hates me for almost breaking up her wedding. Joey hates me for not running into her open arms. At this point, I think you and Jack are the only ones talking to me."

"If it's any consolation, Henry thinks you're brave," she laughed.

"And Henry's opinion is so important to me," Pacey said dryly.

"Look, Pacey," Jen began, "why don't you go into the bathroom, splash some water on your face, and take a few minutes. I'll talk to Dawson and Andie."

"And Joey?" he asked.

"You fix things with Joey," she said.

"What do Joey and I have to fix?"

"A whole lot of potential that you're wasting right now," Jen said. With that she stood up and went to sit with Andie and Dawson at their table.

Pacey figured that maybe Jen had been right. Maybe a few seconds of quiet in the bathroom would do him some good. Maybe it would silence some of the chaos in his mind.

He jumped slightly when he looked in the mirror and saw Joey standing behind him. "You do realize this is the men's room," he said coolly.

"I wanted to talk to you in private," she replied.

He watched her in the mirror. The look on her face reminded him of the serious look that she'd had the night before. "So talk."

"I shouldn't have intruded on you and Mia this morning. I was out of line. It doesn't mean that I didn't mean what I said."

"What? That you love me? That I'm the only man who'll make you happy?" he asked skeptically as he turned to face her.

"Yes, Pacey," she whispered.

"It would never work," he replied softly. "I mean . . . I don't know what I mean, Jo. But every time we . . . it just blows up in our faces. I can't take that."

"You're not giving it a chance, Pace," she said, gently touching his good cheek. "If you would, you'd see."

"What would I see?"

"Me."

He looked at her sadly. "We would--"

"Be great together," she finished.

He shook his head, sliding from his place between Joey and the sink. "We would, Jo, but how long would it be before it became disastrous?"

The corner of her mouth twisted into a disbelieving smile. "You don't want me?"

He turned to face her. "It's not . . . no, Jo. No, my god, I'd be insane not to want you."

"Is it Mia? Because . . . well, what does she have that I don't have?"

"Nothing, Jo," he whispered. "Nothing."

"So what is it, Pacey?" she asked, already tired of this tautological conversation.

"I'm just . . . I'm not ready for this."

"Not ready," she repeated, letting the words roll around her mouth. "Just what aren't you ready for?"

"For you to love me."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

She sighed, rubbing her temple tiredly. "What the hell is wrong with you, Pacey?" she asked. She didn't yell. She only asked. It was more for her own peace of mind than a question she wanted him to answer.

"I don't know," he said again.

"Well, instead of watching the stripper at the bachelor party with an attentive eye tonight, maybe you should try to figure it out," she said. "Because after I finally catch up on all the sleep I missed last night, I'm going to painfully realize how out of character I've been acting today, and I'm not going to come to you again."

He nodded. "If that's how it has to be."

"That's not how it has to be. You could just say something, Pacey . . . say anything that will make me believe we have a chance."

"There's nothing I can say."

Joey pursed her lips. "Fine, then. I'll see you around," she mumbled, before storming out of the bathroom.

He looked at himself in the mirror. His jaw was still swollen and bruised, and he still had a cut on his chin. Most importantly, he'd probably just made the biggest mistake of his life. "Stellar work as usual, Witter," he said, staring at himself in the mirror for a few moments before he walked back into the restaurant.

* * * * *

"Pacey, why are you sitting in the corner sulking with your beer. There are strippers out there," Jack said, pointing to the center of the bar. "You used to love strippers."

"Eh, I'm just not up to it tonight," Pacey sighed, looking back down at his glass.

Jack sat down in the chair across from him. "Problems with Joey?"

"Problems in general," Pacey said. "I went to get Mia from the airport this morning, and while we were talking, Joey came up and started declaring her undying affection for me. Mia was seriously pissed off because Joey said I had been planning on sleeping with her last night."

"Did Mia go home because of what Joey said?"

Pacey shook his head. "No. I was in the process of breaking up with her when Joey burst up into our conversation. We've got some things to work out when I get back to New York, but we both know it's over."

"I don't understand why you're going back to New York," Jack said. "Did Joey agree to go with you?"

"Joey and I aren't together."

"Why the hell not?"

"Do you honestly think that Joey and I would work, Jack? Just sit down and think about it for a good three minutes, and you could come up with ten reasons why we wouldn't survive. I'm just trying to limit the emotional fallout," Pacey said as if it were completely logical and relatively simple.

"What about the reasons that it would work? The fact that you connect, that you understand each other, that you've been best friends forever. What about the fact that Joey needs you here? What about the fact that you love her?" Jack rattled off.

"Love doesn't mean shit in a relationship," Pacey said bluntly. "That theory's been proven to me in spades all the way back to Andie. And I just can't take that with Joey."

"You're scared because you know that Joey's not like the others," Jack observed.

"What?" Pacey said, caught off-guard by the statement.

"Joey is different. And that scares you."

"That's not true, Jack. I'm just trying to save us both a the pain of it all. Joey and I are both too stubborn to live together and have babies and do all those sorts of things."

"But you can see it. You can see living with her and having babies with her just as sure as Dawson can see that with Andie. If it couldn't work, you wouldn't be able to see those things."

Pacey looked at Jack with question in his eyes. "Why do you think you know so much, Jack?"

Jack shrugged. "We have known each other a long time, Pacey, and I've had the luxury of spending time with you and with Joey over the past few years. You've got something together that you don't have apart. And you may be the only one who knows how you feel, but I can tell you love her, Pacey. And if you let fear ruin this for you, you'll live the rest of your life regretting it and you'll never be happy. If it does end, then it does, but at least you won't be sitting somewhere fifty years from now wondering if Joey could've been there with you."

"It's easy to say that when you're not involved," Pacey replied.

"I am involved," Jack said. "Just give it a chance. I don't think you'll be disappointed."

"If I end up with a broken heart, I'm coming after you," Pacey said seriously.

Jack rolled his eyes. "I've got the whole New Orleans defensive line on my side."

"Well, I have a one fist fight per week limit anyway," Pacey sighed.

"Go see her, Pace."

"Okay," Pacey replied with an affirmative nod. "I will."

"And don't forget to tell her how you feel," Jack added.

"How could I forget that?"

* * * * *

She hadn't been expecting him and was caught off guard to find him standing at her door when it was near midnight. She was still in her clothes from the day, and had been paying some bills when she heard the knock. She actually spent a good three minutes trying to decide if she should let him in or not.

She rested her forehead on the cool steel of the door as she looked back at him. "Pace."

"Hey," he said softly. "Could I come in?"

She nodded, stepping back slightly. "I wasn't really expecting you," she admitted.

"I know," he began. "I just had to see you."

She motioned for him to sit on the couch as she curled up in a chair. "What's on your mind?"

"You."

Her mouth turned into a grin. "Care to be a little more specific?"

"You and me."

"What about us?"

"That we may very well belong together."

"And what made you come to this realization?" she asked.

"Lots of things," he said. "I've known it for a long time, I think. But I've been scared of what it could do to us."

"Why are you scared?" she asked.

"Because I don't want to lose you. It wasn't until today that I realized I might lose you anyway," he stated. "I don't want to be apart from you anymore, Jo. Not spiritually, not emotionally, not physically. I just want to be with you so that we can take things together."

She laughed softly. "What took you so long, Pacey?"

"So what does that mean?" he asked.

"It means yes, Pacey. I want you and me to be us. That's what I want."

He closed the distance between them, kneeling in front of her. "I know I've been an idiot today."

"You can make it up to me," she whispered. She kissed him, allowing her lips to linger on his for a moment. "Spend the night with me."

"You don't think it's too soon?" he asked softly, his fingers stroking her cheek.

"Do you think it's too soon?" she asked in return.

"No."

She smiled. "So why'd you ask?"

"I don't want to mess up."

"It's natural for us to want to be together." She gently rubbed small circles with her thumb along his cheekbone. "Because . . . Pacey, I need you to be a part of me in every way."

"You're so beautiful, Jo," he said, pulling her closer and kissing her gently. Their lips brushed together, softly at first. Their breath mingled in an invisible touching of spirit and their lips came rushing together once again, the inability to separate almost magical. He explored her mouth with a tender thoroughness, wanting to leave nothing untouched.

He stood slowly, pulling her along with him. She gasped for breath as she began to walk backward toward the bedroom. He was so different than she remembered. Maybe it was the sudden declaration of love. All she knew was that she had loved him a while, and all she would think about was him and the way that he could make her feel. She'd been willing to settle for sex, just because she didn't think love would be possible.

Lucky her, she'd somehow managed to get both.

She stopped when her calves hit the box springs of the bed. She felt like all her senses were at their peak. His skin was warm and flushed. There was a mingled smell of his normal spicy odor and the smoke from the bar. Her eyes were half-closed, but she saw him and all the tenderness that came with him. She could hear the blood rushing through her veins and her ragged breaths. And he tasted just like she remembered. There was no other way to say it; he tasted like Pacey. She was on sensory overload, and she wondered how long the euphoric feeling of being there with him would last.

And for the first time, she let herself think that it would be there forever. There was the possibility that every night could be just like this. It almost didn't seem like a reality.

He pushed her down on the bed, not feeling any resistance. He began to undo the top buttons on her blouse as his lips began to trail along her collarbone. She wrapped her long fingers around his scalp, licking her lips softly as gently moved his tongue in even strokes along her shoulder.

He poised his finger over the next button but looked back up at her. He smiled. "This is the only place I've wanted to be in the past few months. Here with you like this."

She placed her fingers under his chin and tilted his head back toward her. She kissed him hungrily and he matched her fervor. He rested a hand firmly on her hip and shifted his weight slightly. She sighed as his lips met her neck and he let out a soft growl.

He pulled away slightly, smoothing her hair on the pillow as he moved it out of her eyes. She gazed into his eyes lovingly. "It's not a dream, is it?"

"No," he whispered, kissing her softly as he twirled a strand of hair around his finger. "It's very real."

* * * * *

* * * * *

Joey groaned when the telephone rang. She reached across Pacey and grabbed the receiver. "Yeah," she said unhappily.

"Dawson doesn't love me."

"Huh?" she asked tiredly.

"Dawson doesn't love me."

"Andie?" Joey finally asked. "What do you mean?"

"Dawson came here last night after his party--"

"It was just a bachelor party, Andie. If there were strippers, it doesn't mean that he loves you any less," Joey argued.

"No," Andie corrected. "All he talked about was you and Pacey. He's still in love with you, Joey."

"That's impossible, Andie. Let's face it. We both know Dawson. The fact that he's so upset about me and Pacey has nothing to do with the fact that he doesn't love you, it has to do with the fact that his big ego doesn't think it's normal for him to be left out of anything," Joey rattled off. She smiled at Pacey as he slowly opened his eyes and gazed up at her.

"I'm not marrying him, Joey. He's acting like a complete asshole."

"Can't say that I argue with that, Andie, but you know you love him," Joey replied. "Don't throw that away because he's being stupid, because the fact of the matter is that most of the time he's a great guy."

"Why is he acting like this?"

"Because he's hurt."

"I don't want to marry him if this is how he acts every time he's hurt. We're twenty-six years old, and he's dealing with this like he's five. I can't take that."

"What's wrong?" Pacey mouthed to Joey. She held up a finger to him in response.

"Andie," Joey began, "if you erased the past two days from your memory, would you still want to be with Dawson?"

"I can't erase the past two days," Andie sighed. "Talk to him, okay? Just tell him I don't want to go through with it. Make up any excuse that'll spare his feelings." With that, Andie hung up.

"Andie? Andie!" Joey said into the phone as a last hope. She looked at Pacey. "Now Andie's called off the wedding."

"Well that's great," Pacey said, covering his eyes. "What are we going to do?"

"We have to talk to them," Joey said, crawling out of the bed. "You go to Dawson--"

"I don't think so," Pacey interrupted. "I'll take Andie, you take Dawson. And I don't think you should be talking to Dawson all alone. Take Jen, she seems to be the voice of reason."

"Fine," Joey said, scrambling around the room for some clothes. "You take Jack with you. I'm sure that she'll listen to family over the ex-boyfriend who screwed everything up."

"Okay," he said, sliding into his pants that had been on the floor, despite the fact that they were wrinkled. "We can fix this, right?"

Joey nodded. "Just get Andie to that church by any means necessary."

* * * * *

Andie laughed lazily. "Joey sent you two here?" she asked. "I mean, you don't exactly seem like the most logical choices. My gay brother and the guy that started this whole mess."

Pacey winced. "I'm sorry about this, Andie."

"I don't know if you should be sorry," Andie replied. "I guess it's better to know how Dawson feels now."

Pacey laughed. "Have you ever met Dawson?" he asked sarcastically. "He has fits like this all the time!"

"Well, this one is at the wrong time," Andie said.

"It's my fault, Andie," Pacey stated. "I mean, Dawson was never supposed to find out about me and Joey. It was even my idea to keep it from him because I knew that his reaction would be like this. But you can't not marry him, Andie. You've loved him all this time, and this one reaction doesn't change that."

Andie laughed sadly. "It doesn't make me love him any more either. As a matter of fact, Pacey, it makes me quite skeptical that I'd be able to actually spend the rest of my life with him."

"You remember what I said when you told me you were marrying Dawson?" Jack interrupted.

She smiled softly. "That the two most quirky people in the world had found each other."

Jack shrugged. "It's just another quirk. And you're using it as an excuse to mask your fright."

"And if I am?" Andie asked.

"If you are, I'm locking your ass in the trunk of my rental car and driving you to the church," Jack replied matter-of-factly.

Andie rolled her eyes. "My brother the former psych major," she said to Pacey. "Always thinks he knows what the hell he's talking about."

Pacey laughed. "I found he's been right a lot."

Jack stood and took Andie's hand. "It's not because I was a psych major," he said, "it's because I'm your brother."

"You're a pretty good brother," Andie said.

"So, let's get that white dress and head to the church," Jack suggested.

"Can we make him suffer for a little bit first?" Andie asked.

Pacey laughed. "That's the least he deserves."

* * * * *

"I've screwed pretty badly, haven't I?"

Joey smiled. "She loves you. But you've got to apologize to her."

"You hurt me, Joey," he said softly.

She took his hand in hers and smiled softly at him. "Pacey and I never wanted to hurt you, Dawson. Our whole lives we've been falling in love at the wrong times, and we didn't want to make you uneasy because of it. I know it scares you. And I know it hurts that I've kept a part of my life from you. But I promise . . . I won't do that again."

"And she means it, Dawson," Jen chimed in. "I'll kick her ass if she ruins your next wedding."

"Not funny, Jen," Dawson grumbled. "I want to marry her and that's all I want to do. But I'm not the one who called it off this time. She doesn't want to marry me."

"Well, Pacey and Jack are talking to Andie," Joey said.

Dawson groaned. "Somehow I'm not reassured."

"We'll go to the church and get you ready," Jen said. "I'm sure that they're already there with Andie. Let's just hope that Andie's not letting Pacey help with her make-up."

"Okay," Dawson agreed reluctantly. "Just promise me that you'll help me practice my apology in the cab?"

"Of course," Joey replied. She rested her hand on Dawson's shoulder when he tried to stand up. "Wait, I want to talk to you about something first."

"Okay. Shoot."

"Pacey and I . . . well, we're sort of together. And I think that we're going to give a relationship a go. I've learned from my mistake, and I want to tell you right away. Pacey and I haven't even discussed what's going to happen, but I wanted you to know."

"Okay," he whispered. "You'll both have my blessing someday."

Joey pulled Dawson up into her arms, encircling him for a hug. "Thank you," she said softly. "But you and Andie are in more need of a blessing. Let's go?"

"Let's go," Dawson repeated.

* * * * *

Pacey was perplexed as he looked at the veil in his hand. "How in the hell do I do this?" he asked, rubbing his chin with his free hand as he looked curiously at Andie's head.

Andie sighed. "This is why I have a maid of honor," she said. "Where could they be?"

Pacey shrugged. "I don't know. Jo didn't answer her cell, so maybe the battery died or something. They could be on their way. Besides, am I not a suitable replacement?"

"No, Pacey," Andie said pointedly. "You are not soothing my nerves."

"I take offense to that!" Pacey replied. "I'm as soothing as Joey would be."

"You may be a great novel writer, but you suck at being supportive. Keep writing and don't go to work for any crisis lines."

"You don't need the veil," Pacey said with a powerful nod, ignoring her comment. "Your hair is nice and it shouldn't be covered with this thing." Moving the veil about, he managed somehow to get himself tangled in the tulle.

Andie laughed. "I'm glad you're here, Pace. I mean, if all this bad stuff had to happen, at least I have you to share it with. Someday we'll be telling our kids about the mess that Uncle Pacey made of our wedding."

"Well, at least I've made my place in the McPhee-Leery family history," Pacey laughed.

Andie paused for a moment, watching Pacey with an intense scrutiny. "Are you in love with Joey?" Andie asked, softly looking in his eyes.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm in love with Joey. She really makes me happy. And I want to make her happy."

"You've loved her for a long time, haven't you? You've just been scared?"

"Yeah, I've just been scared."

"But now . . . you . . . you're ready? I mean, you're not scared anymore?"

"I'm still scared," Pacey said. "But it's not going to intimidate me . . . it's not going to keep me from her, because it's already done that for long enough."

"So I'm doing the right thing by just sucking up all my fears and insecurities and marrying Dawson?" Andie asked. "It's what I should do, right?"

"It's what you should do," Pacey said. "You look way too beautiful not to get married today."

"Thanks, Pace," Andie smiled.

Jack anxiously swung the door open and poked his head in. "Dawson's here, and he wants to see you."

Andie frowned. "He can't see me. It's bad luck."

"Oh, come the hell on," Joey grumbled, pushing her way through the door. "Turn around," she told Andie, covering Dawson's eyes and leading him into the room. She turned him around and placed Dawson's back to Andie's. "Now talk so we can get you two married already," Joey sighed. She grabbed Pacey's hand, took him outside with her and shut the door.

Dawson reached behind him and took Andie's hand. "I wish I could see you," he said softly. "But I just want to apologize, Andie. I was a complete jerk. I never should've even felt like I felt about Joey and Pacey, and I never should've let it even have the opportunity to mess up what we share. Because that's what is most important to me."

Andie squeezed his hand. "I was scared, Dawson. But if you still want me, I want to get married. Because I love you."

"I love you, too," Dawson said. "I'm sorry it took a near disaster and lots of trouble for everyone to fix it. I'm so sorry I ruined you day, Andie."

"As long as I still get to marry you, I don't think the day's ruined," Andie said softly.

"So can we get on with it?" he asked anxiously.

"Yeah," Andie said. "Just make sure that Joey comes in to do my veil. Pacey was no help."

* * * * *

"So what do you think they're talking about in there?" Pacey asked Joey as he slumped against the wall, watching her on the other side of the hall.

"He's apologizing," Joey said. "What did you say to her that made her change her mind?"

"Nothing, really. Jack was the one who saved the day," Pacey said. "He figured out that she was just scared and using the thing with Dawson as an excuse. He's a smart guy. I couldn't even figure out the veil."

Joey smiled. "You know what I really regret?"

"What do you regret, Miss Potter?" he asked, closing the distance between them and resting his hands on her hips.

"I regret this whole thing completely ruining our morning after," she said softly, not wanting Jack and Jen to hear.

"Me too," he said huskily, taking a deep breath and inhaling her scent. "God, you smell good," he muttered, moving his hand up to touch her hair.

"You could've held me this morning," she said softly. "I could've felt the warmth of your chest as I rested my head there. And to see you in the light of the early morning. To smell you, to kiss you. It would've been so wonderful."

"We can pencil it in for tomorrow morning," he said, gently nuzzling his face in her neck. "Or right now," he murmured, trailing his lips along her neck.

Joey smiled. "As soon as Dawson comes out, I need to change and so do you."

"I know," he sighed. He rested his arm on the wall, and gently nibbled on her ear. "I'm just so . . . anxious now that you're around and we're for real."

"Like you said, Pacey, we've got plenty of time," Joey said, playing with the baby hairs at the nape of his neck. She pulled him closer for another kiss.

"Did you tell Dawson about us?" he asked, pulling away slightly.

"I did, and he's okay," Joey said, kissing him again.

"Wow . . . so this means that we . . . wow," he said, a soft smile on his face.

"I love it when you're at a loss for words," Joey smiled. Their conversation was cut short when Dawson emerged from the room, and Pacey took two large steps back. "How is everything?" she asked.

"It's good," Dawson said. "We all need to get ready." With that, the men fled to the opposite side of the church, as Joey and Jen disappeared into the room with Andie.

* * * * *

Joey looked at Andie as they stood in the church foyer and wondered just how she was managing to be so self-assured and confident. She stood straight with a huge smile planted on her face, and there was not one strand of evidence that she'd ever been scared.

Turning to look at Jen, who stood in front of her, Joey asked, "When are you getting married, Jen?"

Jen laughed. "Who knows? I somehow don't see myself with Henry for the rest of my life."

"Really?" Joey asked, surprised. "Why have you stuck with him all these years?"

"I love him," Jen said simply, "but I don't think we're ready for the institution of marriage. Besides, he's never asked."

"He's never asked you to marry him . . . in all these years?"

Jen shook her head. "I think we're both to scared of commitment."

"Well, if there's anything I learned this weekend, it's that the unexpected happens every day. I think that you might just be surprised. If I ended up with Pacey, anything's possible."

"If we're happy, that's all that matters, right?"

"Right," Joey said. "And I don't think you're ever going to find us all this happy again," she smiled. "Despite the various cancellations of the wedding, the arguments, and the black eyes."

"A strange bunch, aren't we?" Jen said.

"We're interesting alright," Joey said. She turned back to Andie. "You ready to get hitched?"

Andie wrapped her arm around her dad's and smiled back at Joey. "You bet I am."

"Then, Miss Lindley, give the signal," Joey said to Jen.

* * * * *

"Why are weddings over so fast, anyway?" Pacey asked curiously.

Joey looked up and smiled at him, contented just to be dancing with him. "I couldn't tell you," she replied.

"It's like there's all this anticipation, and before you know it it's just . . . over," he said, wrinkling his nose.

"Well, if you think about it, it's just the beginning, Pacey," she shrugged. "I mean, they're just starting a whole new chapter of their lives together. Everything is viewed from a completely different perspective now."

He smiled, moving closer to her. "Kind of like us?" he whispered.

"I don't know," she answered non-chalantly. "We haven't really had the discussion just yet."

"And what would the discussion be?"

"Just what exactly are your intentions, Pacey? Where is this relationship going?"

He laced his fingers in hers and brought them down to rest at their sides. "Where do you want it to go?" he asked, grinning devilishly at her.

"That's hardly fair," she scoffed. "I asked first."

"My intentions are the most honorable," he said seriously. "And . . . as far as where the relationship is going . . . well, I hope it's going there," he finished, pointing to the middle of the floor where Dawson and Andie stood closely as they danced together.

Joey laughed nervously. "I didn't think you'd say that."

"I'm not proposing now," he said, smiling playfully at her. "But I know that there's no one else I want to be with. And despite all my earlier doubts, I think that . . . we can make it."

She smiled at him. "You really think so?"

"You look skeptical."

"No," she replied. "I'm not skeptical. I just think this whole thing is so . . . unexpected. Especially since things with you and Mia are still . . . well, what are you going to do about Mia?"

"Mia and I broke up," Pacey said, amused by her insecurity. "We broke up yesterday morning at the airport."

"You didn't tell me," Joey said softly.

"Well, I really wasn't in the mood to talk yesterday."

"Yeah, but after what I said . . . I thought you would've had something to say."

"I had a lot to say," he said. "But I thought you were just over-reacting, and I didn't want to . . . I didn't want to get my hopes up."

"You don't believe me when I say it," she said. "What can I do?"

"Stay with me."

"That was my line," Joey said, smiling softly. "You're supposed to ask me about what we're going to do about the problems that result from living arrangements, and I'm supposed to say that I want you here with me. I say, 'stay with me, Pacey,' and you're supposed to smile and kiss me. And then the happy music plays."

"So, Jo . . . what are we going to do? You know, because I live in New York and you live here?" he asked, smiling gently at her.

"Stay with me, Pacey," she whispered.

He ran his thumb along her chin, before bringing it up to gently stroke her bottom lip. They stopped moving when he lowered his head to kiss her. She got lost in him. Finally, she felt like it was real. She felt assured it would last.

He pulled away and smiled at her. "I think the music director missed his cue."

"It doesn't matter," she replied. "Just as long as I get you, I can do without the music."

"You've got me. Hell, you've had me for a while," he said, his lips seeking hers again.

"Pacey," Joey said, pulling away slightly, pressing her index finger to his lips. "Listen."

He grinned. "That would be the happy music?"

"That would be the happy music," she replied.

He raised an eyebrow. "The happy ending?"

"No, the happy beginning," she said, standing on her toes and kissing him again.

* * * * *

The End