"Grab that, would you?"

Joey grabbed the video on the floor at her feet and followed Pacey to the counter, tossing it on top of the armload of cassettes as he dropped them. "Isn't it a little late to be gathering up all the previous evenings returns?"

"Ordinarily it would be. However, since your buddy Dawson didn't show up to work this morning, it fell upon me to take care of it when I ended up opening the store."

"You just opened the store? Nellie's dad's going to be pissed."

"Nellie's dad is already pissed. In fact, when he, along with my brother and father I might add, assumed that I was the asshole who didn't open the store, he informed me of exactly how pissed he was and how much he intended to take out of my paycheck to make up for the oversight."

"Didn't you tell him that Dawson was supposed to open?" She walked behind the counter and started randomly opening cases, slipping a video into the rewinder.

"Of course I did," he snapped. "And then I was treated to a rousing lecture from my father about how I'm never going to be a man if I keep trying to pass my mistakes off as someone else's and how it's lower than low to blame someone who's not there to defend themselves." He dropped a few of the tapes into a basket. "He also didn't appreciate me reminding him that the reason Dawson wasn't there to defend himself was because he hadn't shown up for work."

"Lead balloon?"

"Lead balloons go over better than that did. I'm surprised I didn't end up on my ass on the other side of the kitchen." Pacey snapped a cassette into the second rewinder. "Does no one in Capeside know how to work the damn buttons on the VCR?"

Joey grabbed the first tape from the machine and put it back in its case, sliding off the stool and heading for the storage room in the back. Pacey continued stacking videos, sorting them by genre and title, grumbling under his breath the entire time. "So you're going to be working all day?"

"Yeah." He snapped. "Unless Dawson drags his sorry ass in here and takes my shift for me, which I think we both know isn't going to happen." He grabbed a stack of videos, passing her on his way to the back. "What are you doing here, anyway? Aren't you two taking some time away from each other? Or did the guilt of going out with Jack just get to be too much?"

"How did you know I went out with Jack?"

"Jack told us yesterday at lunch. He was all giddy like a schoolgirl at the thought of dating Dawson's little princess."

"Look, just because you're mad at him…it doesn't mean you have to be a complete asshole to me."

"I know." He blew out a breath. "I'm sorry. I'm just pissed. I had plans for today and tonight and now I'm going to have to blow them off because of working."

"Andie?"

"What?"

"Was Andie your plan?"

"Yes and no." He slipped the last video in place then walked back to the desk, sitting on one of the stools. "Andie was going to be there, but mostly we were going to study."

"Study." Her eyebrows lifted in disbelief. "You?"

"Yeah." He sneered. "Me, the village idiot."

"That's not what I…" she stopped at his look. "Okay, maybe that is what I meant, but I didn't mean…" She blew out a breath. "Damn."

"It's okay, Potter." He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger as he shook his head. "You're not the first, last or only person to feel that way. Hell, I feel that way about 90% of the time."

"You shouldn't. I mean, you're not an idiot. You're a jackass most of the time, but you're not stupid."

"Yeah, well." He shrugged. "So what are you doing here, Jo? Need another copy of The English Patient or something?"

"No, actually. I was kind of hoping…"

"Dawson would be here." He nodded. "Gotcha."

Joey sighed and rested her elbows on the counter, her chin on her hands as she stared out at the rows of videos. "It's been weird since we split up, you know? I mean, I feel weird around him. Like I have to watch what I do and what I say, like I can't be myself because the last time I was, I told him I loved him then broke up with him."

"I'm sure he'd rather you be yourself than pretend with him."

"You are?" She cocked an eyebrow as she looked at him over her shoulder.

"Well, no. Not really. I'm sure he wants you to be the same girl you were before you went all independence day on him." Pacey grabbed a movie from the stack behind the counter and fed it into the in-store play system. "But you've got to be who you are."

"I do." She nodded and went back to staring at the front door. They were silent for a long time, only the sounds from the movie drifting lazily through the small store. "Can I ask you something?"

"I don't know. Does it involve sex?"

She blushed and shook her head. "No."

"Sure."

"Well, this morning Bessie, Alex and I were at Mollye's market…"

"Aw, shit." He shook his head and started for the back room. "I don't want to talk about this with you, Potter. You're going to ask me to tell you things that aren't my business and I'm not going to do it."

"So it's true?" She slid off the stool and followed him. "Andie and Jack's mom is…crazy? I mean, I thought you said she was okay, you know? Just a little confused."

"She's not crazy." He snapped. Taking a deep breath, he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I mean, she is okay. She is…she's just...she feels guilty about what happened and she's not dealing with it. She forgets what she's doing and where she is and it just sort of overwhelms her. It's not like she's psychotic or anything. And she's nice."

"That must be kind of scary."

"She's just lost, you know?"

Joey nodded. "Yeah. I think…I mean, the last days before Mom…well, the cancer was in her brain by then and it was…she saw things that weren't there. She kept talking to Grandma Maggie even though she'd been dead three years by then. You remember Grandma Maggie?"

"Yeah," Pacey grinned. "She's kind of hard to forget. Remember when she was swinging me around and she lost her grip and I flew headfirst into the tree?"

She reached out instinctively and touched his scar. "Oh my God, she felt horrible."

"She wouldn't stop crying until I proposed to her."

"You were always into older women, weren't you?" She bit her lip, her light tone fading. "Mom was lost."

"Imagine how it's got to feel when you're still alive though, Joey. I mean, your mom knew at the end. She knew and she'd accepted it. Mrs. McPhee is completely alive, she's just stuck back when Tim was alive."

"Wow. I really didn't mean to bring the party down." She reached out and touched his arm. His head jerked up and he shook it, clearing away cobwebs. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Fine." He raised one eyebrow. "You?"

"Oh yeah. I'm…I'm okay." She smiled. "You want me to stick around and help you?"

"Nah. Hopefully Dawson'll wake up at some point and realize he was supposed to be here and haul his ass in."

"Okay. Well, I'm going to head out then."

"I'll see you later." He paused, looking up when she was almost to the front door. "Jo?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't mention it, okay? About Andie's mom."

"I won't." She tilted her head slightly, watching him. "Don't tell anyone that I had a good time on my date with Jack, okay?"

He nodded. "I won't."