Joey was sitting at the kitchen table when he walked out of his bedroom the next morning. As soon as she saw him, she got to her feet and disappeared into the kitchen, coming back with a cup of coffee.

"Thank you."

"No sarcastic comment?" She sat down as he curled his hands around the mug. "No dig at my past life as a waitress? No smart-ass remark about my domestication?"

"Actually, I was planning on just sticking with the thank you." He took a sip and blinked.

"It's a little strong."

"It's a little like a kick in the head." He took another drink, braced this time. "A scoop for every drink you had?"

"I believe that was the recipe you and Jack came up with." She drained the dregs from her cup then folded her hands around it. "Thanks for the use of your couch."

"Not a problem. Will you be needing it again tonight?"

Joey stared into her cup silently as Pacey slowly sipped his coffee. "If I say yes, will it change any of your plans?"

"No."

"No? No dates you'd have to cancel?"

He set his mug down and looked at her pointedly. "I haven't asked you a single question, Joey. Do me the same courtesy." He stood up and walked his cup to the sink, rinsing it. "There's a spare key on the hook by the door. I'll be home about five."

"Can I make you dinner?"

"Help yourself to whatever." Pacey grabbed his coat and opened the door, stopping to look back at her. "Dinner would be nice."

The door closed behind him and Joey slumped in her chair, closing her eyes to fight back the sudden onslaught of tears. She pressed the heel of her hand against the bridge of her nose, inhaling several quick breaths to keep her emotions in check.

Forcing herself to her feet, she took her cup to the sink and washed both of them, then moved to the freezer. She grabbed a package and set it on the counter to defrost, wiping her hands on her jeans before moving to the phone.

Dialing the familiar number, she waited through four rings before hanging up, not wanting to get the machine. Without hesitating, she picked up the receiver again and punched in another number, biting her lower lip as she waited for a response.

"Potter Bed and Breakfast. This is Bessie, how may I help you?"

"Bess?"

"Oh my God. Joey?"

"Hey, Bessie."

There was a moment of silence as she heard Bessie moving, picturing her walking toward the kitchen. "Joey, where are you? No. Forget that. How are you?"

Joey's laugh unleashed a fall of tears. "Thank you."

Bessie was silent as Joey sniffed back her tears, finally speaking, her voice quiet and concerned. "Jo?"

She shook her head. "I'm okay. A little…unsteady, I guess."

"Have you talked to Dawson?"

"I called. There wasn't any answer." Joey walked back to the table and sat down, running her fingers over the golden wood. "I haven't left a message. I take it he's called?"

"Five times yesterday. Three times today." Bessie's voice dropped to a whisper. "Why didn't you call me and tell me this was going on, Joey? What exactly is going on?"

"I caught Dawson screwing his secretary in our bed."

"Oh, Jo."

"And filming it." Joey laughed softly, the sound bitter. "Without her knowledge or consent, or so she said. Which helped my case tremendously, though I haven't been following up on whether or not she's pressing charges."

"Jesus, Jo."

"I left him. Then I divorced him."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"I didn't tell anyone." Joey shrugged. "I didn't really know what to say."

"He told me you served him with papers. He neglected to mention why."

"There's a surprise." Joey sighed. "I figured he'd call, so I wanted to let you know what was going on, and that I was all right."

"Where are you? Are you coming home?"

"I haven't decided what I want to do yet, Bess. I need some time to think and I'm not sure I can do it if Dawson knows where I am. But I will call him and tell him to stop bothering you."

"You're sure you're okay?"

"I am." She blew out her breath. "Things weren't so great beforehand, Bess, so this wasn't' a big shocker. Or shouldn't have been."

"No one told Dawson that?"

"Dawson doesn't want to acknowledge that." She bit her lower lip. "I've got to go, Bessie. I'll call you later, okay? And if Dawson calls, tell him I'll call him tonight."

"You're sure you're okay, Joey?"

"I'm fine. Honest."

Pacey looked around his office, tapping his pen against his desk. Tossing it onto a stack of invoices, he reached for his phone and flipped through is Rolodex, finding the number he wanted.

"Joey?"

Pacey's eyebrows rose. "Not quite."

"Pacey." Dawson's hopeful tone fell. "Hey."

"What's up, man? Something wrong with Joey?"

"Only if you count the fact that she's gone." Dawson sighed. "She served me with divorce papers, Pace."

"What? Why?" Grabbing his pen again, Pacey began writing on his calendar, copying his questions on the lined paper.

"A complete misunderstanding."

"Oh?" He barely managed to keep the disbelief out of his voice. "Must have been a big one for her to file for divorce."

"She walked in on something that looked…questionable. But it wasn't what she thought."

"What did she think?"

There was a long silence. "You haven't seen her, have you?"

"You'll notice that I don't live in New York, Dawson."

"I just think it's odd that you're calling. I haven't heard from you in months."

Pacey outlined the two words he'd written down, glancing over the rest of his calendar. "I was actually calling to wish you a happy anniversary, man." He smiled to himself, almost feeling guilty. "It's today."

Dawson didn't speak for a moment. "If you see her, Pace, tell her to call me, please? She and I need to resolve this thing."

"Sounds like she's come up with a resolution already, buddy." Pacey set his pen down on the desk, leaning back in his chair. "Have you tried Bessie?"

"Yes. She's not there. Or she's protecting her." Dawson paused. "You think I should go to Capeside?"

Pacey looked out the window of his office, staring out at the trees. "You have to do what you think you have to do, D."

"I need answers."

"Well, maybe Capeside's the place to get them."

Joey set the platter onto the kitchen table just as the front door opened. She turned and smiled at Pacey, pulling out his chair. "You're right on time. Dinner is served."

He closed the door and leaned against it, looking at her. "When you woke me up from a great dream involving several sexy women, a quart of ice cream and the inventive use of masking tape, I swore to myself that I wasn't going to ask questions, because I just didn't care. I was tired of dealing with your drama and all the shit that came down back when you and Dawson were involved back in high school, so I've definitely got no use for it now."

Joey crossed her arms over her chest defensively, holding his hostile gaze. "What changed your mind?"

"I called Dawson."

Joey slumped into a chair, her eyes falling away from his. "When should I expect him?"

"I suggested he look for you in Capeside."

Her eyes shot back to his. "What?"

"If you came to me, you needed to be where he wasn't. After he obviously changed the subject when I asked him what prompted your flight from matrimony, I got a little suspicious of our buddy Dawson. So I thought I should get some answers before I make any decisions about giving away your location."

"Thank you."

He nodded, pushing away from the door. She watched him with guarded eyes as he walked to the table and sat down, filling his plate. "So I have a lot of questions." He looked up at her. "But I also have a lot of booze. Which I have a feeling we're both going to need now that you've placed me very close to in the middle of all this."

"That wasn't my intention. I just needed a place where he wouldn't think I'd go." She turned her eyes to her plate. "And a place where I knew I could go."

She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye, both of them beginning to eat, spending the entire meal in silence.

The clinking of the dishes was the only sound in the apartment as Joey came out of the bedroom and tossed her dirty clothes into a small duffel bag before sitting on the couch and tucking her legs underneath her.

She gnawed on her lower lip, staring down at her bare ring finger as she heard running water and then a soft whirring sound. A few minutes later, Pacey walked into the living room carrying two glasses and a pitcher of margaritas. "You didn't mention tequila last night."

"I'm surprised you remember last night." He sat down across from her and poured for each of them, pushing the glass closer to her. Joey smiled her thanks and took a drink, licking the some of the salt off the rim. Pacey watched her relax slightly, sinking back into the couch and closing her eyes. "Start talking, Joey."

"What did Dawson tell you?"

"That there was a misunderstanding. That you saw something and took it wrong."

She laughed. "Wow, his story hasn't changed. Maybe I did misconstrue it. Let me ask you. Suppose you walk into your bedroom and see your husband naked, his cock buried in some blonde girl's ass. Suppose she's tied to your bed, face down, and she begging him to 'fuck her like the bad girl she is'. What would you construe from that?"

"First of all, I don't ever plan on having a husband." He ignored her look and took a drink of his margarita. "I'd probably think the bastard was cheating on me. And, given the intricacy of the situation, I'd guess it had been going on for some time."

"You'd probably be more inclined to think that if, when slamming out of the room, you heard a crash and found your husband's precious video camera set up to record this romantic interlude, don't you think?"

"Dawson loves you, Jo. Why would he cheat on you?"

"Dawson loves the idea of me. Dawson loves that, when I'm with him, I'm the girl who was always by his side, always supporting him. When we're together, we're always…"

"Fifteen." Pacey shook his head. "Fuck that, Joey. You've been saying that since you fucking were fifteen, and I don't fucking buy it anymore. You chose to marry him. You walked down that aisle of your own free will, you said 'I do'. You did it all. No one forced you. No one coerced you."

"No. No one did." She looked pointedly at him. "But no one gave me a reason not to."

"It wasn't my job to tell you who to marry, Joey. It was your job to make a fucking decision and live with it."

"Which I did." She glared at him. "I made my decision, Pacey, just like you told me to do."

"Jesus Christ." He finished his drink and poured another. "I told you to live your fucking life and make a choice. You chose. Or did you just ask someone else to choose for you?"

"You could have asked me to stay with you."

"I shouldn't have had to ask."

They were silent for a long time. Pacey worked his way through another drink then got to his feet, walking into the kitchen and grabbing the bottle of tequila. He ignored the pitcher and poured a shot into his glass. Joey looked away as he threw it back, taking a deep breath as it burned its way down his throat.

"So you left him because he was fucking around on you?"

"We were having troubles before that. He was working on an independent film and the financing fell through, so he invested all of our savings and a large chunk of my retirement plan into it. After which the director quit and stole one of the cameras they were leasing, which then had to be paid for in full. Needless to say, we're not going to be winning any awards at Sundance." She set her glass on the coffee table, resisting the temptation to pour another. "That caused a huge blow-up that resulted in him telling me that I didn't believe in him as a filmmaker anymore. I was too busy with my own life to care about his."

"You shouldn't have let him write your vows."

She ignored the bitterness and kept talking. "We fought. We threatened. I started sleeping in the spare room. Then about a week before my little discovery, I moved out. I got an apartment and told him that I wasn't sure this was going to work out. I couldn't be the person I really am for the rest of the world and come back home and be poor, little Joey Potter, the too tall girl from the wrong side of the creek just to make him feel better about himself. He denied that anything was wrong and said that I just needed to see the film and I'd understand."

Pacey smirked, his soft snuffle of laughter obvious.

"I came back to the house to pick up some things. I was taking some time off work and I was going to go visit Bessie. Clear my head and get someone else's opinion." She turned her glare on him, daring him to say something. When he didn't, she continued. "Divorce scared me, so I wanted to be sure. I was afraid I'd walk away from him and there'd be nothing else out there for me."

"But his dick up some other girl's ass convinced you that being alone was better than being married to him?"

Joey winced. "It wasn't the first time and she wasn't the only one. He'd been fucking around on me for a while. He said that I was perfect and sex with me was all about making love and reaching the pinnacle of being human. He couldn't debase me with any of his more…primal urges."

"You're fucking kidding me."

"He was afraid I'd say no. Or laugh at him. Or think he was weird, I guess. I don't know." Joey rubbed her tired eyes and laid her head back on the couch cushion. "He's been married to me for four years, fucking me for longer than that, but he still sees me as this virgin on a pedestal."

"You tend to inspire men to that image."

"In all those years, he never once fucked me in anything other than the missionary position. He wouldn't let me go down on him, he wouldn't let me jerk him off. He wouldn't let me touch him to arouse him. He had to do all the work. It was him worshipping me." She let out a harsh laugh. "Which I never thought I'd fucking complain about, but I want…I like sex."

Pacey didn't comment as her eyes darted in his direction before landing on the pitcher of alcohol. She sat up and poured herself another, sipping it slowly, letting the cold rush to her head. "I liked touching you. I liked fucking you and tasting you. I liked sucking your cock, Pacey. I liked licking your balls and nibbling your skin. I liked the feel of your nipple against my tongue and I liked having the rough stubble of your chin against my thighs. He shaved before sex so he wouldn't hurt me."

Pacey took another shot, directly from the bottle this time.

"You fucked me everywhere. On the bed, on the floor, on the table, in the shower, in the bath. You fucked me standing up and lying down and bent over and up against the wall and with my legs wrapped around you. You didn't care where we fucked, you just fucked me until I was too weak to stand. Your cock was in my mouth and my hand and my ass." Her breathing hitched slightly as she deliberately kept her eyes off of him. "You came in my mouth and let me suck you until you begged me to stop. You licked at my clit until I thought I was going to die from sensational overload."

"Stop it." He swallowed hard and stood up. "He didn't fuck the way you wanted to be fucked. I get that. He treated you like some china doll and got his kinky kicks somewhere else. You divorced him for fucking around on you. Why are you here?"

Joey dropped her head and closed her eyes. "I left for the same reasons I was going to Capeside. Only once I served him, I needed a place where he wouldn't think to look for me."

"And since I was…what did you call me that night, Jo? Just a casual fuck that was nothing more than a way for you to see that Dawson was really the one who you were meant to spend the rest of your life with? Since that's all I am, he wouldn't think you'd come here?"

"Pacey…"

"Whereas, I'd think this would be the first place you'd come, because what would punish him more for fucking around on you than fucking around on him. Only you can do him one better than some random chick, right? You can find Dawson's best friend to fuck."

"If I'd wanted to fuck you, Pacey, I would have gone into your room last night and done it." She stood up, hating the fact that she was barefoot, leaving her at more of a height disadvantage. "And you wouldn't have stopped me." When he didn't say anything, she sank back onto the couch, her anger gone. "I just need a place to crash for a little while. A place to think and get my head and my life straightened out. I've defined myself by what I was to Dawson for so long, that I don't think I know what or who I really am. I just want a chance to find out."

"How long are you staying?"

"I took three weeks off work." She lifted her eyes to his. "We've been over for a long time, Pacey. You once said we were friends. I need a friend right now."

He rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. "Come on."

"Where?" She got off the couch and followed him into his bedroom, her heart racing as they stepped into the dark room. He snapped on the light and walked to his closet, opening the door. It was a huge room, half of it filled with a weight machine. His clothes occupied one corner of the other side, stopping at a full sized door. Opening it, Pacey turned on another light and led the way up a flight of steps.

"It hasn't been used in a while. And we'll have to come up with some sort of system when you come down the stairs." Joey looked around at the small room, decorated with a bed, a dresser and a chair. "It's not much. But it beats the couch."

"What is this?"

"It used to be a nursery when this was one big house. The first tenant used it for storage. The one before me used it to give the landlord the impression that his roommate wasn't his boyfriend. They didn't take the furniture when they left, I don't have anything to put in there, so I just left it."

Joey walked over to the bed and sat on it, then lay back and stared at the low ceiling. "If you keep your closet door closed, I'll just knock before I come out?" She realized what she said then laughed. "You mean the roommate had to come out of the closet every day?"

"Can you imagine that life? Every day calling and telling your friends and family that you've just admitted to yourself that you're gay."

"Again." They both spoke in unison, laughing and breaking the thread of tension that had followed them up the stairs.

"Thank you, Pacey."

"It's what friends do, Jo." He turned away from the sight of her, sprawled out on the bed. "I'm going out for a little while. I'll give you a little peace to get settled in. I probably won't be back until late, so don't wait up."

"Okay." She sat up as he started down the steps. "Thanks again, Pace."

"Don't mention it."

Joey waited until she heard the front door close before getting off the bed and heading down the stairs. She stopped at the closet doorway and stared into Pacey's room. The kind size bed dominated the room, its headboard against the wall opposite her. The wood was black, which stood out starkly against the faded green sheets. The black comforter was bunched to one side, rumpled from where he'd obviously thrown them back when he'd woken up.

His dresser was black as well, the top bare except for a few scattered coins. She walked over to the low bookcase that served as his nightstand. There was a lamp and a book, the spine cracked from frequent reading. The shelves were full of various titles, covering a wide variety of topics, including sailing.

Moving out of the room, she walked back to the kitchen, grabbing the pitcher and her glass from the coffee table as she made her way through the living room. She drained the last of the alcohol into her glass and took a fortifying sip before grabbing the phone and dialing.

It was answered before she even heard it ring. "Joey?"

"Hello, Dawson."

"Jesus, Jo. Where are you? I've been calling everywhere trying to find you."

"I know. You need to leave Bessie alone, Dawson. She's got a business to run, she doesn't need to deal with you using her to stalk me."

"Stalking you? I've been trying to find my wife who disappeared!"

"I didn't disappear, Dawson. I walked out of your life. Legally. At this point, the only contact we need to have is through my lawyer."

"Joey, we can deal with this."

"I did deal with it, Dawson."

"No. You quit." She could picture him shaking his head. "You gave up on us."

"I gave up?" Joey laughed bitterly. "Only you could come up with that, Dawson. If anything, I got fed up with being treated like a possession. I got fed up with being used and cheated on. Keep your delusions, Dawson. I'm not buying into them anymore."

"Where are you, Jo? We need to talk about this face to face."

"You agreed to the terms of the divorce, Dawson. Sign the papers and send them in, or we'll go to court and I'll use everything."

He was silent for a long time then cleared his throat. "This isn't over, Joey."

"Actually, Dawson, it is. Our marriage. Our friendship. They're both over."

"I see. And I'm the villain here?"

"No." Joey ran her finger along the rim of her glass. "You're selfish. And I was willing to let you get away with it because I was scared."

"Where are you, Joey?"

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Out of your life." Hanging up, she grabbed her duffel bags and carried them up to her new room. She lay on the bed, her eyes closed, surprised not to feel the sting of tears. Telling Dawson the truth, coupled with admitting everything - almost everything - to Pacey had made everything real. And right.

She yawned and turned on her side, pulling one of the pillows against her body. Sleep had been elusive since she'd left Dawson, but for the first time in a long time, she was more than tired, she was ready to sleep.

Four hours later, she lay in the same position, staring at the wall in the darkness. Sighing, she sat up and snapped on the bedside lamp before getting off the bed.

Tiptoeing across the floor, she made her way down the stairs, pausing at the closet door. It was open, the bed still empty. She walked over to the bookcase, leafing through the titles again.

"Hey."

She looked up at his soft voice, her eyes caught again by his bare chest. They slipped lower, over the dark hair on his abdomen to the threadbare sweats that clung to his body. "Hey." She raised her eyes to his face, feeling a blush heat her skin. "I didn't think you were home."

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No. I was hoping you'd have something mindless or boring."

"Or both?" He leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms over his chest. "Any luck?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Any suggestions?" He joined her beside the bed, squatting down beside her. He scanned the titles as she watched him. "I don't want to cramp your lifestyle."

"You won't."

"Is there anyone you're going to have to explain this to? Anyone you're dating?"

"Not exclusively." He pulled a book out and held it out to her. "Try this one."

"What will you tell Dawson if he calls?"

"This is a temporary thing, Jo. A stopover while you get your head together. As far as I'm concerned, nobody needs to know."

"Thank you," she smiled at him, taking the book out of his hands. "I know this isn't easy…"

"Actually, Jo, it is. What happened between us was years ago, and I've moved on." He stood and held out a hand to help her up. "I'm glad I can help you out, but don't think it's for any other reason than because you're a friend."

"I wasn't trying to imply that it was anything different. I know what we had between us was a long time ago. I just don't want to disrupt your life."

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't disrupt my life, Joey."

She smiled, ducking her head in embarrassment. "Not on purpose."

"Oh really?"

She laughed. "Well, most of the time."

He laughed softly in response. "I'm pretty sure I've got the scars to prove you're a liar." Her eyes darkened guilty and he shook his head. "Don't worry, Joey. I survived."

"That doesn't quite make me feel better." She shrugged and took a step back from him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "In fact, it sort of makes me hyper-conscious of everything I've ever done to break your heart and I want to slink off to the kitchen and drink some 409 or something."

"I wouldn't be that drastic. Maybe just some castor oil or something." He smiled at her as he sank down onto the bed, resting his heels on the frame. "I honestly didn't hold a grudge when it all ended."

"Right. And that's why you remember what I said, word for word?" She chuckled softly and sat beside him. "You know how Dawson was…is. He needed me to reassure him that you were in my past, that you meant nothing to me."

"I wasn't your past though, Joey." He stared at the wall, not willing to turn his head and look at her. "Before his proposal, you and I were pretty involved."

"No one else knew it though, Pacey."

"It wasn't anyone else's business." He got off the bed and put distance between then, not trusting himself. "We were going along fine and then the next thing I know you're getting engaged to Dawson."

"I hadn't seen you in a month. You'd left New York for parts unknown and hadn't called. Dawson asked me out and I was lonely. I was scared that you'd decided to just give up on us…"

"So you did it instead?" He shook his head, his anger obvious in the line of his body. "I came back and you were nowhere to be found, Joey. I had to fucking call Bessie to find out that you'd moved in with Dawson."

She bent her head, unable to look at him. "I didn't want to be alone."

"Yeah, well it looks like that worked out really well for you." Pacey shook his head. "I need to go to bed."

Joey got to her feet, nodding. "Should I look for a hotel or something tomorrow?"

"I said you were welcome to stay, Jo." He still didn't look at her. "I just think we need to agree that our past is a topic of conversation best left alone."

She lowered her eyes. "Right." She walked toward the closet door, glancing back briefly before she closed it behind her. "Goodnight."