"Pretty much all the time. And, if this is some weird attempt to try and set my brother up with your ex-boyfriend, I should let you know that Deputy Doug is still pretty far back in the closet. Jack would have to wade through some serious ball gowns to get him out."

"You give new meaning to the world asshole, you know that?" Her smirk echoed his as he gave her a fake smile. "I want you for you insight on something, not for your non-existent matchmaking abilities."

"No?" He tried to look offended. "As I recall, Miss Potter, it was my matchmaking attempt at you and I that led our fair haired Mr. Leery to the insight that he was in loooooooove with you."

"Yeah, and we all know how well that turned out." She walked around the counter and sat on the empty stool, looking into his eyes. "Now shut up and listen, okay? For once in your life."

"I listen, Joey, I just don't care."

She gave him a hard look. "Care."

"Oooo-kay." He sighed and faced her, his face devoid of expression. "What am I caring about?"

"Okay," she fidgeted, looking away from him quickly before looking back. "I'm going to pose a hypothetical situation to you and I want you to answer me honestly, okay?"

"Does the fear of this show on my face?" He fought his smile. "I'm just curious."

"Pacey? Please? Try and be serious."

"Right. Serious. Gotcha."

"Okay," Joey blew out her breath and clapped her hands on her thighs. "Suppose you're broken up with this girl you really like and you're kind of sad because she's got a new boyfriend and then it turns out that said boyfriend isn't exactly…"

"When exactly do we get to the hypothetical part?"

Joey sighed and sank back on her stool, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest. "Okay, so I suck at this hypothetical thing."

"Hypothetically? Yeah."

"You're not funny."

"Why don't you just ask me what you want to know, Joey?" He shrugged and popped the tape out of the in-store play system, sliding another into the VCR before turning his attention back to her. "You want to know if Dawson's jerking off with the thought of you coming back to him?"

"Ew."

"You want to know if he's doing the 'I told you so' dance?" Pacey shrugged. "Why don't you ask him how he's feeling? I mean, hell, you guys talk about pretty much everything else, why don't you just talk about this?"

"Because I'm scared."

"Of what, Jo?" He grabbed a packet of microwave popcorn off the counter display and headed toward the back room. Joey slipped off her stool and followed him, her arms still crossed over her chest, armor-like. He started the microwave then turned and looked at her, leaning back against the counter. "I mean, come on, this is Dawson. And I don't think you have to look any further than the film we're working on to know that he's not over you by any stretch of the imagination."

"I'm not sure if I want to go back to Dawson."

"I'm pretty sure he's not harboring any lustful feelings about the male half of the population, if that makes it any easier."

"No." She sighed. "It doesn't."

"Look, Jo." The microwave beeped and he pulled the back out, holding it carefully by the corners as he headed back to the front of the store. "Just because you and Jack broke up, through no fault of your own, it doesn't mean…"

"Do you think I knew on some subconscious level that Jack was gay and so I dated him because I knew he was safe and I wouldn't have to worry about anything?"

"Okay," Pacey scratched his head and opened the popcorn, digging around in the hot kernels, "I am so underqualified for this conversation."

"Why do you say that?" She looked at him seriously. "After all, out of all of us, save Jen, of course, you've actually had sex. You get it."

"Sex?"

"Pacey…"

"I'm seriously trying to understand here, Jo, and I have to say it's not working." He offered her some of his popcorn. "You want me to tell you why you dated Jack."

"Yes."

"I can't do that, Joey. Only you can do that."

"I just…I don't understand. I mean, when I drew him? He got excited. And he's been excited since then, when we've…done stuff."

"Okay, you see, we're really getting dangerously close to territory that we need to never venture into. I don't want to know about your sex life, Potter. In any way, shape or form."

"Pacey, I'm trying to have a serious conversation…"

"About sex!"

"Did you know he was gay?"

"Who?"

She shook her head in exasperation. "Jack!"

"No. Jesus, Joey. No one knew. I don't even know if Jack knew."

"Dawson says he knew."

Pacey stopped and nodded, everything suddenly making sense. "Dawson is the one making you think this, right? He's got you so you're not sure if you're coming or going."

"Dawson isn't…"

"Joey, did you leave Dawson for Jack? I mean, I know you kissed Jack before you and D split up, but honestly, did Jack figure into how you felt about Dawson?"

"Not…not really."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"No."

"You felt all those things that drove you crazy before you started making out with Jack, right?"

"Yes."

"And after you broke up with Dawson, did you feel a little lost? A little confused? A little like you didn't know what to do since you'd gotten everything you'd ever wanted and it turned out that he's just another average, horny fifteen year old?"

"Yeah."

"And so maybe when Jack asked you out you said yes a little prematurely because you wanted to put some distance between you and Dawson and having a new boyfriend made it easier. Or maybe you did it simply because you and Jack had a lot in common and so it made sense." He shrugged and rolled a piece of popcorn in his hand. "Dawson didn't know Jack was gay, Joey. Maybe he wished it or hoped it. And maybe when all this happened, he automatically thought that you'd come running back to him, but he didn't know. Don't let him make you think that he knew. If he'd known, Joey, he wouldn't have hated the fact that you were with Jack. He wouldn't have given a shit that you were spending time with him."

"Can I ask you a question?"

Pacey sighed and shook his head. "I really, really wish you wouldn't."

"Do you think I'm attractive?"

"Oh shit." Pacey lowered his head to the counter and counted softly under his breath. "Don't ask me stuff like that, Joey. It goes beyond the boundaries of our friendship as it has been defined since the dawn of time."

"You kissed me the night of the carnival. That went beyond the boundaries."

"Yes, but until now, it hadn't ever been mentioned again and therefore did not affect our relationship at all." He turned his head and looked up at her. "Rescind the question, okay?"

"No." Her voice was soft, wounded. "I just need to know, Pacey. I just need to know that someone other than my gay ex-boyfriend and my other ex-boyfriend who seems to think everything about us exists on a different plane…I need to know that some other guy thinks that I'm…"

"You're beautiful." He sighed and shook his head. "You're gorgeous, Potter and you don't seem to have any clue, which makes you even more…gorgeous. You wear these goddamn outfits that barely cover what you've got and, if I didn't know you, I'd think you were the biggest cocktease alive."

"But since you do know me?"

"Since I do know you," he blew out his breath in a soft sigh. "Since I do know you, the answer's no."

"No?"

"I'm sorry, Potter, but the answer's no. I don't think you're beautiful. I don't think you're gorgeous. And I sure as hell don't think you're sexy."

"You're sorry?"

He nodded, the matter settled. "Yup."

"And you think your weak apology means anything?" He nodded again, smiling as she slipped off the stool. "You think I care what you have to say? You think you know anything? You actually think that your opinion means anything?" She walked up to him, her smile matching his. One of her hands rested on his thigh, the other on his shoulder as she stood on tiptoe, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Well, you're wrong."

He laughed as she headed for the door, his eyes trained on the soft sway of her hips, the shorts clinging to the curve of her ass. "I could have told you that in the beginning and saved us all a hell of a lot of time, Potter."