So long ago, I don't remember when
That's when they say I lost my only friend
Well, they said she died easy of a broken heart disease
As I listened through the cemetery trees
I seen the sun coming up at the funeral at dawn
The long broken arm of human law
Now, it always seemed such a waste
She always had a pretty face
I wondered why she hung around this place . . .
~ One Headlight, The Wallflowers
Joey stares in the mirror above her dresser. Her sullen expression looks back at her. It's Monday morning and she is getting ready to leave for school. She's not exactly excited by this prospect. Even though she and Dawson had talked things out the day before, the thought of seeing him and Jen together was still a bit much for her.
'You have to get over this, though,' she thinks to herself. It's the only way she can stay friends with Dawson. And, in the end, she had decided if it came down to having Dawson as a friend or not at all, she would have to choose friendship. She can't imagine what her life would be like if they weren't even friends.
She's still looking in the mirror, arguing with herself about whether she can face school this morning, when there is a knock on her bedroom door. "Come in," she calls.
"Jo? You almost ready?" Bessie asks as she peeks her head in the door.
"Yeah, just about. But, if Bodi's waiting you can tell him to go ahead without me. I'll walk today," she tells her sister.
Bessie opens the door a little wider to walk into the room. Alexander is asleep on her shoulder. "Actually, I was just thinking you might not want to keep Pacey waiting for very long," she replies.
"Pacey?" Joey asks in a surprised tone.
"Yep, he's in the living room waiting for you," Bessie informs her.
At that, Joey quickly grabs her books and heads in to see what Pacey is doing there. As she approaches the living room she sees Pacey sitting on the couch. His arms are folded across his chest and he is staring absently around the room. When he spots her, he jumps to his feet.
She looks at him with questioning eyes and asks, "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"
Pacey shakes his head. "No, nothing. I was just in the neighborhood and I thought maybe you'd like to walk to school together."
Joey smirks sarcastically. "In the neighborhood? At 8 o'clock in the morning? Come on Pace, even you can do better than that."
"Look, do you want to walk to school with me or not? Because I'm sure I can find someone else who would be more than happy to enjoy the pleasure of my company this morning . . ."
She rolls her eyes and says, "Oh, I'm sure you could Romeo. Should I call the cheerleaders that got you all excited in gym the other day and see if they need escorts?"
"Ha, ha, you're so hilarious. Okay, I came by to see if you wanted to walk to school. Do you or not?"
She sighs, "Yeah, I guess. Come on, we better go before we're late."
They walk outside together. After they have been walking in silence for a few minutes, Joey turns to him and says, "Pacey, tell me the truth. Did Dawson send you over here this morning?"
He stops and stands beside her, looking at her. "No, he doesn't even know I'm here." She looks uncertain that she believes him. "I swear, Joey. Dawson honestly has no idea."
"So, if that's not it, why did you come?"
He shrugs and they start walking again. "I guess . . . well, I called Dawson last night to see what had happened after I left. He wasn't too forthcoming with the information. I, uh, I just wanted to be sure you were alright."
Joey smiles a little at this and glances at Pacey who is looking down at his feet. She touches his arm lightly so that he'll look at her. "That's really sweet," she says.
Pacey blushes, obviously embarrassed. "It's no big deal," he says.
"It is to me," she says.
A tense moment passes between then when neither knows what to say. Finally, Pacey breaks the silence. "I bet Abby has told the whole school about why I was in detention."
"Probably," Joey nods. "And she's probably told them about my whole little scene, too."
"At least I won't be the only one being talked about today," Pacey says. He grins at her.
"Yeah, great," Joey rolls her eyes.
"Oh, come on. It won't be so bad. Not that many people will care about gossiping that you like Dawson. Me, on the other hand, I think I'm in for a fun day. Remind me again, why did I get out of bed this morning?" he asks.
"Probably because it's Doug's day off and he'll be home all day," Joey says with a laugh.
"Actually, you're right," he laughs back. "Well, nothing is worse than a whole day with him. Bring on the cheerleaders!" he says.
Joey laughs at him and shakes her head. They keep walking towards the school. The conversation remains pretty lighthearted and they mostly just kid each other and make jokes. Pacey doesn't mention Dawson again. He figures Joey will hear enough about that once they get to school. She's grateful for the short distraction and enjoys laughing at Pacey as they walk together.
"Jen, wait!" Dawson calls down the hallway as Jen shuts her locker and starts towards homeroom. She turns around and sees him and smiles.
"Good morning," she greets him as he approaches.
"Good morning," he smiles back and kisses her cheek. "Where were you this morning? I thought we could walk to school together but you'd already left."
"I had to finish some Algebra homework so I came in a little early to get it done," she explains.
"I could have helped you. Or I could have come in with you this morning," he says.
"I know, but I wasn't sure what kind of plans you had . . . I just thought it would be better if I came in by myself," she says. It's obvious that she is not quite sure what to say.
"Jen, are you mad at me?" he asks quietly as they stand in front of her locker.
"No, Dawson, I . . ." she stops when she sees Pacey and Joey walking down the hall in their direction. "Hey you guys," Jen says to them with a smile.
Dawson turns to see who she is talking to and nods at his friends. He carefully avoids making eye contact with Joey and she notices this but doesn't say anything.
"Hey, how's it going?" Pacey asks them.
"Fine, how about you?" Jen asks.
"Never been better. I'm here for a day of rumors, innuendo, and gossip all at my expense. I've been looking forward to this all weekend," he says.
Jen laughs. "Get out of here," she says teasingly. She looks at Joey, who is standing back a little looking unsure if she really wants to be there. "Hey Joey," she says.
"Uh, hey," Joey says quietly.
Dawson finally looks at Joey. He swallows hard, not sure what to say. Neither of them speaks but the silent exchange between them does not go unnoticed by Jen. She watches them looking at one another. Pacey picks up on all of this and quickly breaks the tension.
"So, anybody want to help me start some rumors about Abby? I figure if she's going to be talking about all of us we might as well return the favor." No one responds. At this point, no one is on the mood for Pacey's humor.
"I've got to get to class," Joey says softly and turns to leave.
"Jo, wait . . ." Dawson says but she's already walking away. He wants to follow her but then again he wants to stay with Jen. He sighs, not sure what to do anymore.
"I'll make sure she's okay," Pacey tells him quietly. "See you guys later." He smiles at Jen, then turns to head after Joey.
"She seems upset," Jen comments as she and Dawson head in the opposite direction towards her homeroom.
"Yeah . . ." he says absently. Jen can tell he is still thinking about the exchange in front of the lockers. He looks down the hall in the direction Joey had headed and Jen follows his gaze. She doesn't say anything. Finally, Dawson turns back to her and they walk to class together, both looking very confused.
"Joey wait up!" Pacey yells as Joey darts through the hall. He has almost caught up to her when she ducks inside the girl's restroom. Pacey is just about to follow her inside but stops short when he realizes there are people everywhere in the halls and that he'll probably get pummeled by 20 girls if he walks in there right now. Instead, he decides to wait for her to come out.
Pacey waits by the door and watches the girls that file in and out of the restroom. After a few minutes the halls have started to clear and it becomes very obvious that he is waiting outside the door for someone. Several people give him strange looks but he just ignores them. What does he care anyway? His reputation at this school couldn't really be much worse.
The bell rings, signaling the beginning of homeroom. Most everyone scurries quickly to class, trying to avoid getting a tardy. Finally, Pacey is the only one left in the hall. He glances back and forth to be sure no one else is around, then slowly enters the restroom. "Joey?" he calls as he rounds the corner. He is relieved to find no other girls in the bathroom. He only sees Joey's feet in the last stall. He walks over to it. "Hey Jo," he says as he raps lightly on the door. "Come on out."
"Go away, Pacey!" she says miserably. He can hear the tears in her voice.
"Give me a break here, Joey. I'm trying to make sure you're okay. I've already made myself late for homeroom which will no doubt get me some after school detention and bring the wrath of Doug upon me when he finds out. Can't you at least just open the door?"
Joey is silent for a moment, then finally gives in. Pacey hears the lock slide and the door eases open. Joey wipes her tear stained cheek and pushes past him. "Happy now? Forget this menial garbage. I'm going back home," she says and storms towards the door.
"Wait just a minute," Pacey says as he catches her by the arm to stop her. "You can't go home. You can't just run away."
"The hell I can't," she says and wrenches free from Pacey's grasp.
"Joey, wait . . ." he calls and follows her out the door. They walk into the deserted hallway and Joey heads for the exit. "Hey, what if someone sees you leaving? And what is Bessie going to say? Do you really want to deal with that today?" he calls after her.
She has to consider what he's saying and she knows he's right. An afternoon explaining this to Bess would be far worse than a day at school dodging Dawson and Jen. She stops in her tracks and spins around to Pacey. "Okay, smart guy, then where to?" she asks.
"I know the perfect place," he says and walks forward. Her grabs her arm and, making sure no one is looking, they quickly leave the school grounds together.
