Hunter

By Leia

 

Interlude 1:  Joey

 

  Everyday, I find myself growing more and more attached to that man.  So gentle, yet so strong.  So beautiful.  Pacey Witter, the best friend that I’ve had no matter what.  It had seemed as if... I don’t know.  As if the years had not put any space between us... but maybe I was wrong.

 

  Why didn’t he tell me?  Why didn’t he tell me about this girlfriend of his?  I suppose that’s what she is... his girlfriend.  I mean, of course he’d have a girlfriend.  He’s Pacey... smart, beautiful, and lovable.  But why didn’t he tell me?

 

  As I toss and turn and Sandra’s couch, I wonder why it even matters whether or not he told me.  I mean, maybe they were estranged.  I try to recall their conversation.  I remember Cici saying something about not giving up.  Something about Pacey not being ready for a commitment.  And of course, Cici falling into Pacey’s charms.

 

  I roll over again.

 

  And he kissed her.  To tell you the truth, I had never really paid attention to Pacey kissing.  He had dated Andie in high school, and that was the only serious relationship I had ever seen him in.  Throughout high school and college, it was two-week stints and random flings and one-night stands.  I rarely met the girl he was dating.  When I watched them kiss, I saw the tenderness there.  Tender, yet passionate.  Its been so long since I’ve kissed someone.  Even longer since I’ve kissed someone besides Dawson.

 

  I mentally slap myself when I think about kissing Pacey.

 

  Being physically attracted to Pacey is a definite no-no.  Pacey is a lot of things... sweet, caring, and a great friend.  But he’s also brash, impulsive, and hot-headed.  Not to mention, commitment-wary.

 

  Like I’m one to talk about being commitment-wary.  I was ready to be out of my marriage before I had even realized it.  And as I watched Pacey and his girlfriend kiss, I realize what, in all this time I’ve spent with Dawson, I’ve been missing.  Passion.  Soft, inviting lips.  Intense stares.  Intense anything.

 

  My pulse quickens at the very thought of it.  I kick off my covers slightly.

 

  I feel like a high school girl.  Getting all hot and bothered over some guy.  And what’s worse, he’s not “some guy”.  He’s my best friend, my roommate... my savior.  Who happens to have a blond bombshell of a girlfriend.

 

  I’m like a high school girl who’s hormones need to be kept in check.  Terrible thoughts are forever crossing my mind when Pacey walks around the house in his boxers.  I’m an awful person, and I know it, but I’m not blind!

 

  I know how crude and adolescent this sounds... but God, I need to get laid.

 


Part 6

 

Disclaimer:  I do not own Dawson’s Creek or its characters.  Sandra, Steve, Kate, Ruth, Sara, and Cici are all based on real-life people.  I don’t own “Bent” by Matchbox Twenty, but I would like to own Rob Thomas ;)  Anyways, “Bent” can be found on Matchbox Twenty’s “Mad Season” album.

 

Acknowledgments:  Thanks to Sharone and Cici for all your support on my real-life issues.

 

Dedication:  I dedicate this part to Jann, my hoochie.

 

Author’s Note:  I never slept with my ex-boyfriend... uh, just so you know.  You’ll see what I’m talking about later on.  And the Steve and Kate characters will be further involved in the story in later parts.

 

If I fall along the way

Pick me up and dust me off

And if I get too tired to make it

Be my breath so I can walk


If I need some other love

Give me more than I can stand

And when my smile gets old and faded

Wait around, I’ll smile again

 

Shouldn’t be so complicated

Just hold me and then

Just hold me again

 

Can you help me, I’m bent

I’m so scared that I’ll never

Get put back together

You’re breaking me in

And this is how we will end

With you and me bent

 

If I couldn’t sleep, could you sleep?

Could you pain me better off?

Could you sympathize with my needs?

I know you think I need a lot

 

I started out clean but I’m jaded

Just phoning it in

Just breaking the skin

 

Can you help me, I’m bent

I’m so scared that I’ll never

Get put back together

You’re breaking me in

And this is how we will end

With you and me bent

 

Start bending me

Its never enough

I feel all your pieces

Start bending me

Keep bending me until I’m completely broken in

 

Shouldn’t be so complicated

Just touch me and then

Just touch me again

 

Can you help me, I’m bent

I’m so scared that I’ll never

Get put back together

You’re breaking me in

And this is how we will end

With you and me bent

 

~*~Bent by Matchbox Twenty~*~

 

 

  The shrill sound of the phone ringing awoke Sandra from her slumber with a startle.  She rubbed her head as she fumbled with the cordless from her bedside.

 

  “Hello?” she mumbled.

 

  “Hung over, again, Sandy?” a taunting male’s voice asked on the other line.

 

  “Only a little,” she replied as she pulled herself out of bed and into the living room.

 

  “Where were you last night?”

 

  “Out.”

 

  “Out with...?”

 

  “Ruth and Joey... who do you think you are, my mother?”

 

  “Joey?  Who’s Joey?  Your newest boy toy?”

 

  “No, Joey as in Josephine... you know... Sara’s friend from college?”

 

  “Oh, yeah.  Well, I was trying to call to see if you wanted to go out with Kate and I.”

 

  “As much as I enjoy being the proverbial third wheel, I think I’ll pass.”

 

  Sandra went to sit down on the couch, only to find that Joey was sitting there watching TV.

 

  “Uh... hey, Sandra...” Joey said sheepishly.

 

  “Listen, I gotta go, Steve.  I’ll talk to you later.”

 

  “But Sandra-”

 

  She hung up the phone.

 

  “Hey, how’d you get in?” Sandra asked.

 

  “Oh, Ruth let me in before she left last night.”

 

  “Oh, okay,” Sandra said casually as she went to the kitchen to find the aspirin where she kept her usual stash.

 

  “There was a slightly awkward situation back at Pacey’s, so I opted to crash here... I hope that’s okay with you.”

 

  “Hmmm?  Oh, yeah.  You know you’re welcome anytime.  You’re like family, Jo.”

 

  Joey smiled.

 

  “So, do you always party like that?” Joey teased.

 

  “Only when I want to forget about something,” Sandra mumbled.

 

  “What was that?”

 

  “Oh, not that hard, usually.”

 

  “Yeah, I used to party like that when I was in college.  Luckily, I didn’t do anything too stupid.”

 

  “I wish I could say the same,” Sandra said with a laugh.

 

  “What kind of stupid things have you done?” Joey asked.

 

  “Well...” Sandra sat back down on the couch with her aspirin and glass of water.  “One time, I got so drunk... that I slept with my ex-boyfriend.  It totally gave him the wrong idea, and needless to say, it really screwed me over with my boyfriend at the time.”

 

  “Ouch,” Joey said with a cringe.

 

  “That’s definitely an understatement.  But you make mistakes, and you try to avoid doing them again, ya know?”

 

  “Yeah... yeah, I know.”

 

If I fall along the way

Pick me up and dust me off

And if I get too tired to make it

Be my breath so I can walk

 

 

*~*~*~*~*

 

 

  Pacey sat in the living room.  He glanced at his watch.  Seven AM.  Joey hadn’t come home.  He was worried sick about her.  He looked towards the bedroom.  Cici was still sleeping, he hoped.  He didn’t want to deal with her right now.

 

  Suddenly, the door opened.

 

  “Joey,” he began.

 

If I need some other love

Give me more than I can stand

And when my smile gets old and faded

Wait around, I’ll smile again

 

 

  “Hey, Pace...” she said uncomfortably.

 

  “Listen, Jo, I need to explain...”

 

  “Pacey, don’t worry about it,” she said, flashing him an uneasy smile.  “You don’t have to explain anything... but I need to get ready.  I have to go to work in an hour.”

 

  She walked right past him and into her bedroom.  He sighed.  He hope that this didn’t estrange them even further than they had been before.

 

Can you help me, I’m bent

I’m so scared that I’ll never

Get put back together

You’re breaking me in

And this is how we will end

With you and me bent

 

 

 

*~*~*~*~*

 

 

  Joey met Jen for their lunch date at a nice little cafe a block from Joey’s office.  Jen sensed Joey’s obvious rigidness as Joey sat in her nervous and jumpy state.

 

  “Okay, what happened?” Jen bluntly asked.

 

  “Excuse me?” Joey said as she took a sip of her coffee.

 

  “Obviously something happened.”

 

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

  “Josephine Potter, I can see right through you.  You’re not living with Mr. Oblivion anymore.  Not everyone is so dense that they can’t see through your transparent attempts at cover up.”

 

  Joey sighed as she put her cup to the side.

 

  “Well, I met Cici.”

 

  Jen cringed.

 

  “Something in your tone tells me that it didn’t go over well.”

 

  “Well... I mean, she didn’t look happy, but I don’t think any blood was spilled... at least while I was there.”

 

  “What do you mean by ‘while I was there’?”

 

  “Well, I kind of... bolted.”

 

  “Oh, that’s not suspicious at all, Josephine,” Jen said, rolling her eyes.

 

  “I know, I know... but I panicked.  I mean, nobody even told me that Pacey had a girlfriend!”

 

  Jen raised an eyebrow.

 

  “Should it matter?”

 

  “Well... yes.  I mean, I would want to know.  What if she came in and I was traipsing around in my bathrobe?  Wouldn’t that look bad?  And...” Joey began to trail off.  “And... I just can’t believe he didn’t tell me.”

 

If I couldn’t sleep, could you sleep?

Could you pain me better off?

Could you sympathize with my needs?

I know you think I need a lot

 

 

 

*~*~*~*~*

 

 

  “Jo-” Pacey began as Joey walked in the doorway.

 

  “Pacey, listen, I’m not going to cause any problems between you and your girlfriend.  I’m just going to get my stuff and I’ll be out of here in twenty minutes.”

 

I started out clean but I’m jaded

Just phoning it in

Just breaking the skin

 

Can you help me, I’m bent

I’m so scared that I’ll never

Get put back together

You’re breaking me in

And this is how we will end

With you and me bent

 

 

  “Joey-”

 

  “Listen, Pacey, I don’t want to cause any trouble between you and Cici.  I’ll just move in with Sandra.  She’s still looking for a roommate.”

 

  “You’re not going anywhere.”

 

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said with a bit of shock.

 

  “Joey, you’re not going to cause any problems between Cici and I.  And you’re not going to live in some college student’s apartment, okay?  Its an extra five miles to your office.”

 

  “Pace-”

 

  “And you’re alone in the city,” he cut her off.  “Yeah, you know Sandra, but you know me much better.”

 

  “Pacey-”

 

  “And you need to stay with someone your own age.”

 

  “Pace-”

 

  “And I’d miss you, Jo.”

 

  She paused slightly.

 

  “You would?”

 

  “Yeah.  I thought about you a lot since...”

 

  “I thought about you, too.”

 

  “I just wish things could be-”

 

  “Un-tense, not strained...?”

 

  He smiled.

 

  “Exactly.”

 

  Joey looked around for a second, thinking.  She took in a deep breath and held out her arms.  The tears in her eyes were evident to Pacey as his own grew noticeable.

 

  “Here’s a start,” she whispered shakily.

 

  He walked over to her and enveloped her in his arms and they held on to each other.  He felt her begin to shake with sobs.  He rubbed the small of her back gently as he rocked her slowly.  He knew it was so hard for her to ask for help, even when she was desperate for it.  He also knew that he couldn’t force himself, but he knew that he couldn’t wait around for her to ask.  There had to be some sort of balance, and he knew how to create that for her.  And she would need it.  She would most definitely need it.

 

 

Start bending me

Its never enough

I feel all your pieces

Start bending me

Keep bending me until I’m completely broken in

 

Shouldn’t be so complicated

Just touch me and then

Just touch me again

 

Can you help me, I’m bent

I’m so scared that I’ll never

Get put back together

You’re breaking me in

And this is how we will end

With you and me bent