"Hey, Potter."

Joey looked up, surprised, lifting one hand to brush away the tears that stained her cheeks. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothin'." He shrugged and reached down for the line, towing the boat up to the dock. "What's up with you? I figured you would be fighting off Dawson's amorous advances by now."

"No. I don't think I have to worry about Dawson's advances, amorous or otherwise, anymore." She hauled herself up onto the dock and sighed, kicking the rope with her shoe. "We broke up."

"You what?" He laughed. "Come on, Potter. Do I look like I'm wearing my gullible pants?"

"Actually, you look like you stole that shirt from Doug's closet back in the early 80s." She shivered and rubbed her arms with her hands. "Why are you here, Pacey?"

"I don't know. I mean, I was walking home and I started thinking that I'm happy and I knew that couldn't be possible, so I thought I'd swing by here so you could give me a much needed shot of reality."

"Happy, huh?" She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, almost laughing. "You have no clue what happened tonight, do you?"

He shrugged, ducking his head as he blushed. "Andie kissed me."

"Forgive my crassness, but so? You've already done the deed more than once, Pacey. It's not like kissing is foreign territory." She shrugged and dug a rock from between the wooden slats of the dock, hurling it into the creek. "I mean, big deal. You kissed someone your own age. Now, while that's a major achievement for you, given that it's amazing you found a girl your own age who actually can stand the sight of you…"

"Why did I come here?" He shook his head, disgust written on his features.

"Why did you? Isn't Dawson your best friend? Why don't you bother him instead of lurking around my house in the middle of the damn night." She got to her feet and glared at him. "Go bother someone else with your stupid masturbation fantasies, okay? I've got better things to do."

"Like what, Potter? You just said you two split up. You have to run inside and cry into your pillow? Write in your journal about how much it breaks your widdle heart to find out that the guy you've had on a pedestal all your life is really just another stupid, jealous jerk who doesn't like it when his girlfriend whores around on him?"

Joey slapped him, both of them staring at her hand as it hung in the air. Pacey gave off a quick bark of laughter and touched his reddening cheek.

"What's the matter, Potter? Did I hit a little too close to home?" He smirked. "Andie told me all about your little fling with Jack. What's the matter? Didn't the fantasy of Dawson live up to the reality?"

"Shut up."

"Why?" He asked her, his blue eyes hard. "Why should I shut up? Why shouldn't I say all the things I want to say to you right now, Joey? Why shouldn't I laugh that you got what you wanted and found out that you were wrong? Why shouldn't I just enjoy that your sanctimonious little world is crumbling down all around you?"

"Why are you being like this?" She forced the words out, quickly pushing away the tears that clung to her eyelashes. "Jesus, what did I ever do to you?"

"I don't know, Jo. What did you ever do?" He shook his head. "You know what? Forget this. Just forget it completely, because there's nothing I want to say to you."

"Fine."

"Fine." He waved his hand in her direction, turning and heading back toward the police car parked on the edge of the property. He was almost to the door when she ran up behind him, grabbing his arm and turning him around to face her.

"What do I do?"

He looked down at her for a long, silent moment. Her dark hair surrounded her face, pale from her crying. Tears clung to her skin, slipping and sliding over the smooth surface. Her eyes were like pools of uncertainty and hurt. He looked away, catching his lower lip between his teeth quickly then releasing it. "What do you mean, Potter?"

"About…about this? About Dawson?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know." She stumbled back against the car and leaned on it, rubbing one eye with the heel of her hand. "It wasn't about kissing Jack."

"Yeah? Seemed like it was from what I heard."

"Kissing Jack was sort of…a symptom."

"Ah." He leaned back next to her, his arm brushing hers. "A symptom of what, exactly?"

"Discontent?" She shrugged then straightened. "Ever since we started going out, it's been like this…thing. Where I'm an extension of him. I'm…subservient to all the things that Dawson wants or that Dawson does. What I want or care about doesn't matter. The only thing that's worth anything is what's going on with him."

"It was that way before you dated, Joey," Pacey said softly. "You just didn't want to see it."

"I still don't." She laughed, the sound sad and slightly bitter. "With Jack, it was like someone cared about what I was thinking and doing and interested in. I didn't have to worry about it getting passed off as a waste of time or a hobby."

There was a long pause. Pacey looked up at her quickly then back down at the ground. "There's something more."

He didn't phrase it as a question and Joey looked at him for a long time, as if studying his bowed head. "He kept wanting to…do stuff."

"Comes with the territory, Jo."

"I know. I mean, I'm not a complete prude." She jabbed him with her elbow as his mouth twitched. "I said complete."

"No," he nodded. "You're not a complete prude."

"I just don't think I'm ready for much more than kissing, you know? I mean, I'm certainly not ready for rolling around on the coffee table for everyone to see."

"And I thank you for that." He stepped out of the way of her next elbow jab. "Did you just say no, Potter?"

"Yeah."

He nodded. "And did he listen?"

"Yeah."

"Then just chalk it up to hormones. We guys…and maybe you girls too, but we guys have these urges. And they're not always easy to control, and sometimes they're not so easy to hide. And we act on them, and we act stupid because of them. And, as much as it pains me to admit it, you're not altogether unattractive, Jo, so I could see Dawson getting those…urges."

"Not altogether unattractive, huh?" She smirked and turned, her arms crossed over her chest as she faced him. "Seems to me you've had an urge or two for this not altogether unattractive girl."

"Temporary insanity." He smiled at her as he leaned against the car, his eyes intent on hers. He reached out without thinking, his fingers grazing over her jaw. "Don't you think?"

She stared at him for a long moment, her eyes drifting down to his arm then back up to his face. "I'd better get inside."

"I'd better get home."

She nodded, careful not to dislodge his gentle touch. "I'm…I'm glad you found a girl your age, Pace. I'm glad she kissed you."

"Yeah." He licked his lips and pulled his hand away, using his free one to open the door to the police car. "Me too."

"All sorts of kissing going on these days."

He looked at her again, his eyes hidden in the darkness. His voice, when it came, was rough and scary, making her tremble. "Goodnight, Potter."

She watched him drive off, wincing as the tires squealed when he hit the main road. "Night."