Hunter
By Leia
Part 9
What I
choose to do is of no concern to you
And your
friends
Where I
lay my hat may not be my home
But I will
last on my own
‘Cause its
me
And my
life
It’s my
life
It’s my
life
Oh the
world has sat in the palm of my hand
Not that
you’d see
And I’m
tired and bored of waiting for you
And all
those things you never do
‘Cause its
me
And my
life
It’s my
life
It’s my
life
*~*My Life
by Dido*~*
Joey
sat in her office, slaving away as per usual.
Luckily, she hadn’t heard from Dawson since he had shown up at her
office a few days before. But she knew
that she couldn’t let her guard down.
He show up at any time without a moment’s notice.
“Miss Potter?” Ashley buzzed.
“Yes, Ashley?” Joey replied, irritated.
“Someone is here to see you.”
Joey
froze. She prayed to God that it
wouldn’t be... him.
“Who
is it?” she asked, her throat dry.
“He
won’t say.”
Joey
took in a deep breath.
“Send him in.”
It
was a moment before the doors opened and Joey involuntarily closed her
eyes. When she opened them, she saw
Pacey standing in front of her desk.
“Hey, Potter,” he said with a grin.
“Pacey, thank God!” she exclaimed, getting up from her desk, and
throwing her arms around him. “I’m so
happy to see you.”
She
closed her eyes tight as he held her to keep her tears from showing
themselves. He rubbed her back
slightly. Anger suddenly hitting Joey,
she quickly pulled away and shoved him slightly.
“God
dammit, Pacey!” she exclaimed. “You
scared the crap out of me! I thought
you were Dawson!”
“I’m
sorry, Jo,” he apologized. “I didn’t
mean to scare you.”
She
sighed.
“Its
okay... I’ve just been really jumpy the past few days.”
“With good reason.”
“Have you checked the messages at home?” Joey asked. “I’ve been swamped. I haven’t had the chance.”
“Yeah, you didn’t get anything,” Pacey replied. “I just got a message from Cici.”
“That’s weird... Sara was supposed to call. Oh well, maybe she’ll call later. Do you still want to go Italian tonight? Because I’m really craving Chinese...”
“Uh,
Jo? Can I take a rain check?”
“What?” she asked, taken aback.
“Well, Cici wants to have dinner, and I’ve been kind of neglecting her
lately.”
“Oh,” Joey said guiltily. “No
problem.”
“Are
you sure?” Pacey asked.
“Positive,” she replied, mustering up a smile.
“You
ready to go, then?” he asked, holding out his arm.
“Certainly,” she replied, marching out of the door with him and leaving
all her work behind.
*~*~*~*~*
“By
the way, did you get any milk yesterday?” Joey asked as they walked through the
door.
“Yeah, he got skim and two percent,” Sara replied with a grin as she stood
by the fridge.
“Oh
my God!” Joey said, shocked.
“Surprise!”
Sara
walked over and gave Joey a hug.
“How
are you doing?” Joey finally managed to get out.
“I’m
great!” Sara exclaimed. “And you?”
“I,
um, was better before my dumbass ex-husband showed up a few days ago,” Joey
admitted.
“He
what?” Sara asked, her demeanor instantly changing.
“He
showed up at my office a few days ago, begging me to reconcile.”
“Bastard,” Sara muttered. “I’ve
never liked him... I told you-”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Joey admitted, waving her off. “What brings you to the city?”
“Well, Pacey wanted to surprise you,” Sara replied with a grin.
Joey
turned to Pacey, absolutely surprised.
He looked as innocent as could be.
She shook her head and tried her best not to grin.
“You
big dork,” she said affectionately before hugging him tightly.
“Your welcome, Potter,” he said, putting his arms around her.
Sara
watched them, obviously a little amused.
Amused at the fact that they lingered in their embrace. Their undeniable chemistry had not faded
over years of lost contact, and their banter was sharper and more affectionate
than ever.
*~*~*~*~*
Joey
poured Sara another drink as they sat watching Beaches. It was in tradition of their un-Dawson movie
nights. Sara and Dawson’s tastes varied
drastically, and he always criticized her movie choices, so Joey and Sara would
always hold un-Dawson movie nights. No
Speilberg allowed... Sara detested the man and Joey never really liked him as
much as she had made it out.
“How
do you like New York so far?” Sara asked before sipping her margarita.
“I
really love it,” Joey said with a sigh.
“The atmosphere... its so busy.”
“Its
definitely not the slow life for Joey Potter.”
“And
that’s another thing.”
“What’s another thing?”
“Being Joey Potter. Being
single. Its exhilarating. It makes me completely question the whole
marriage system.”
“So,
no more marriage for you?” Sara asked skeptically as she went to go pop some
more popcorn.
“I
don’t think so. Marriage is so
oppressing... Being single is just so liberating. I can’t even comprehend getting married anywhere in the near
future. Maybe never again.”
“Ah,
Jo. You’re just so much more jaded than
I.”
Joey
raised an eyebrow.
“Are
you thinking of the big ‘M’?”
“Well, I don’t know about the old ball and chain, but I think David and
I might move in together,” she said, beaming.
“That’s great!” Joey exclaimed, she then sighed melodramatically. “But... pretty soon you’ll be buying
mini-vans and baking brownies for the soccer fundraiser.”
“You
get this all from simply moving in together?”
“Yes,” Joey said simply before taking a drink.
“What about you and Pacey?” Sara asked, knowing she would strike a
nerve.
Joey
choked on her drink. Once she
recovered, her face flushed.
“What about me and Pacey?” she inquired calmly.
“When are you two getting hitched?” Sara teased.
Joey
rolled her eyes.
“Pacey and I are roommates, not lovers.”
“For
now,” Sara replied knowingly.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Oh
come on, Joey. You know you want him.”
Joey
did something between a laugh and a gasp.
“I
can’t believe you’re even saying that!” Joey exclaimed. “I’ve known Pacey my entire life!”
“Yeah, and you knew Dawson your entire life, and you married
him.”
“Oh,
and look how well that turned out.
We’re separated and he’s stalking me.”
Sara
shrugged nonchalantly.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never thought about it,” Sara dared.
“Thought about what?” Joey asked, starting to get annoyed.
“Thought about sneaking over to his room right down the hall.”
Joey’s face flushed deeper with anger.
“The
thought has never crossed my mind,” she replied evenly.
“Joey, he’s gorgeous. And there
are mounds of unresolved sexual tension.
Can you honestly say that you guys were that close all those years and
you never kissed once?”
“The
only time we ever kissed was in our sophomore year in high school,” Joey
replied, her emotions devoid from her words.
“We were working on a project for Biology... hormones got a little
carried away, but only on his side.
Pacey was a horny little bastard in high school. Things happen.”
“And
you didn’t feel anything?”
“No,” Joey said firmly. “I was
‘ass-first, head in the clouds’ in love with Dawson.”
“I’m
saying physically... you didn’t even feel a little tingle?”
Joey
shifted uncomfortably, her anger and frustration building.
“Not
even a tingle,” she snapped.
“Sure,
Jo.”
“You
know, Sara, there are other things that you should be worrying about other than
sticking your nose is somebody else’s business! Maybe you should pay less attention to me and my lack of a social
life and pay more attention to your alcoholic sister!”
Sara
was stunned.
“Wh-what?”
“Your sister has a serious problem.
Anybody could see that! She’s
seriously screwed up, and you’d think that you, Miss Psyche Major would see
that!”
“What do you mean? She has a
problem? What kind of problem?” Sara
asked urgently.
Joey
was sobered by Sara’s pleading tone.
She instantly softened.
“She
has a drinking problem, Sara,” she said softly.
Sara
sat down in shock.
“Jo,
if you’re making this up, I swear to God-”
“I’m
not making this up. Something’s bothering
her... I think she’s unhappy.”
“How
serious is it?”
“I... I don’t know.”
“Damn it,” Sara muttered.
“I
shouldn’t have told you,” Joey said softly.
“If
anything, you should’ve told me sooner!” Sara exclaimed, grabbing her purse.
“Where are you going?” Joey asked frantically.
“To
go find her,” Sara replied before slamming the door.
“Shit,” Joey mumbled.
“I’ve really done it now.”