As she brought her head up slightly, straining to make out his position and at the same time stay hidden, she couldn't help laughing as she saw him, bent down on the other side of the car.

She straightened, and watched as he finally noticed her presence and whirled round to face her. She studied him in silent humour after her laugh had died down, watching his bright eyes and wondering at his stubbornness, his obstinacy. He was too strong, she thought with a brief smile, and so was she, and she wondered if they would be stuck in this stalemate forever. Or perhaps one of them would glance up at the sky, and comment on the growing heat, and that they hadn't eaten yet. Yes, they would say, they gave in, and the other would give a triumphant laugh and follow them back into the apartment.

She lifted a tired arm, wiping at the sweat that had collected in beads on her forehead, and then let her hand settle there as she tried to shade her eyes from the sun.

"Good manoeuvre," she admitted finally. Looking up at the sky, the sun that shone directly in her eyes. "Or good luck. I haven't yet resigned to the implacable fact that this was your intentional doing."

She watched him again, seeing the hosepipe abandoned on the floor beside the car from the corner of her eye. She heard him laugh.

"Is it too difficult for you to acknowledge my superior battle-skills? Perhaps I should be anticipating a run of bitter remarks on the twist of fate which has placed you in this inopportune position."

"It's not so inopportune, she said idly, wondering if she dared turn to the right slightly to glance at the hose-pipe. She turned, watching his smiling face from the corner of her eye. "After all," she finished. "I'm the same distance from the pipe as you are."

She watched as he raised an eyebrow, his gaze still fixed to her face. "So why aren't you making a run for it?" he challenged.

She shrugged idly, smiling a little, wondering when it was all going to end. But she didn't want to be the first to give in, and as she stood opposite him in the growing heat she knew that neither did he. "Why aren't you?"

They stood in silence for a moment, sharp-eyed stares on each other's faces, both smiling, but both knowing that in the end one of them would have to make a move.

Joey took a deep breath, and she realised too late, when she had turned full speed to the side, that Pacey had anticipated her move and had already stepped further to the side. She tried to duck beneath his outstretched arm as she reached for the hose which lay in a tangled heap on the floor, wondering at the sudden speed as she ran in its direction, her eyes focussed on the ground in front of her.

When she felt a hand grip her around the waist she didn't have the time to scream. She didn't have the time, and perhaps as she had run away from him she had known he would catch up with her. As she felt his strong, vicelike grip, she struggled to move away from him, pulling hard as she grabbed the end of the hose in one hand.

She pulled so hard that for a moment Pacey was pulled out of balance, and she wondered later why she had taken advantage of that moment, knowing he wouldn't have let go of her. He never let go, and she always found herself on the floor as he was, and it was always the same, and she always complained that he had pulled her down.

Joey felt her head impact with the ground, and she wondered as pain soared through her head why she had the urge to laugh. To laugh and cry, she thought, and maybe she would do both. She felt the impact of his body too as he fell against her, and winced slightly, wondering if he would be considerate enough to move off her quickly before her back ground completely into the concrete below her. But he didn't move.

She twisted slightly to the side, hardly bothering any more to find speed, knowing he had the upper hand, wondering how long he would play the advantage for. She looked up into his grinning face and for a moment he was still as he stared down at her, breathing hard.

"Get off me," she said finally, and watched him smile; of course, he had known she would ask him eventually, but he wondered how long her stubbornness would prevent her. He shook his head slightly.

Sighing he pulled himself up slightly, and took the hose from her open hand. She was looking away from him, her palm up with the hose resting gently on her palm. They both knew she didn't have a chance in hell of getting it back now, and maybe she had finally decided she didn't want to fight for it, just for the sake of fighting.

Pacey smiled, and looking at her he wondered how much she really cared; and how much he did. But it was something that could be thought of later when he was in bed, the way he stared at the ceiling, thinking. It had always been the way.

Now it was asking too much for him to let it go, even though he knew she was wishing he would; he knew, though, that she would have done the same thing had it been her with the upper hand; and it was, he thought. Too often.

He smiled down at her, and let a leg fall to either side of her body as he sat up, so he was straddling her. He sat back slightly and for a moment just watched her face. She had turned her head away; he'd always known she hated to lose, and why did it matter so much to him anyway? She had averted her eyes, and her mouth was tight, but her eyes were bright, he thought, in silent anticipation.

"Joey," he said finally, his voice bright and cheerful, and she gritted her teeth, knowing exactly what he was about to do. "Have you showered this morning?"

"Yes," she said calmly, turning to him and staring him straight in the eye. She thought to herself if she was going to go down, and god knows she had tried to bring him with her- but then, it had never worked. If she was going down alone, she was gong to do it with some dignity. She promised herself she wouldn't scream, and hear him laugh. If he laughed she would laugh too.

She smiled brightly. "Yes I have. What do you say we resist the urge to repeat the experience and save us both some water and money?"

"Oh, that's gracious," he said sarcastically. "Very noble. Do the government know you're inclined to behave in this well-disposed manner? Perhaps they should offer you some sort of environmental prize. Except why do I get the feeling this is something more than altruistic selflessness? "

"Think of all the starving children in Africa," she begged, smiling a little.

"Oh, we're on the social ladder now are we?"

She scowled. "No, I am. You fell off and landed on your butt ages ago."

He looked at her thoughtfully. "Ouch. That must have hurt."

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe you were too dense to notice," she muttered.

He laughed. "What do you say we don't try stop fate," he said.

She sighed. "What do you say we give fate a little helping hand. As in off me."

He shook his head, sighing in mock weariness. "Fate asked me to tell you he likes the way things are going just fine."

"Fate would," she muttered darkly. "Considering he's apparently of the male gender."

Pacey rolled his eyes, wondering if she was trying to stall him. And he wondered why she kept talking, because didn't they both know it wouldn't do any good? Perhaps she thought she could change his mind. And it was something she had the capacity to do, but he wouldn't let her, not this time.

"Yeah, Joey," he said dryly. "I think I may have had the stupidity to reveal the great male plan…"

"Is this the one involving leather and Crisco?" she inquired.

"No, this is the one where we're all out to get you."

Joey dismissed it with a gesture of her hand as she looked up at him, still pinning her to the ground. She winced slightly, twisting, trying to get more comfortable. "That plan was unearthed years ago. It's common knowledge."

"Oh, it wasn't my stupidity then."

"No, that too."

She felt him whack her on top of the head and she cried out, in annoyance and in laughter. "Pacey, lovely though it has been to shower you with disparaging remarks which I'm sure your mentally challenged brain has great problems processing, I have other things to do. Why don't you exert your male dominance which I'm sure you're looking forward to displaying, and do whatever it is you're planning on doing before we return to the mundane but somehow more pleasurable aspects of our lives."

"More pleasurable?" he asked, a slight smile playing on his lips. "What can be more pleasurable than the feeling of, and I quote here, "exerting my male dominance" by spraying the water in this hose-pipe all over you?"

She sighed. "We're doing the water thing? Great. That's just what I feel like right now." She wondered how sarcastic she sounded.

Pacey rolled his eyes. "Of course we're doing the water thing. What, you think, I'm holding it just for the hell of it?"

Joey raised her eyebrows, twisting her mouth into a half smile, her eyes dancing. "Oh I don't know," she said coyly. "I thought that you guys did that sort of thing."

Pacey groaned, lifting his gaze to the skies. "Oh, and the queen of prude has found it within herself to make a double entendre? The world just may be turning…"

"And the King of wise-crack dumb-ass remarks has finally found within himself the intelligence to look up "double entendre" in the dictionary…Heck, do we even need a government?"

"Joey, could it be you're stalling?" he asked, ignoring her previous remark.

"Pacey, could it be you're falling for it?" She smiled sweetly. Pacey shook his head and grinned, holding up the hosepipe. He examined it slowly for a minute, watching her face as he did so. Finally he pointed it over her face, and turned round the nozzle on the top of the pipe, laughing as he saw her scrunch her face up.

She cried out as the cool water hit her face, washing over her skin, falling in small pools down her head, into her hair. Dripping down her top, settling in the crevices of her body; where her neck met her shoulder, her chest, and the space either side of her nose.

Pacey was still smiling sweetly, watching as she tried to move to the side, away from the heavy spray of water. When he felt a hand claw madly at his shirt, one on his hand, he looked down in surprise. realising that for a brief moment she had stopped holding her hands in front of her face in a vain attempt at preventing the water from touching her. She was trying to fight him now, trying to move the hose way from her.

He sighed, and with a small laugh he let go of the hose with one hand. He reached forward slightly and grabbed both of her flailing arms, securing his grip by holding her hands, his fingers circling around her wrists. In one smooth motion he pulled her arms back and pinned them over her head, leaning forward so he could keep his grip.

He heard her cry out, and for a minute he panicked, thoughts madly running through his mind; scared that he had hurt her, that he had frightened her, that he had crossed the line. He loosened his grip slightly, looking down at her, trying to make out if the look on her face was pain or annoyance. And he wasn't sure.

He pulled himself up quickly, pulling the hose away from her face as he struggled to turn the supply off again. He dropped it quickly and looked down at her, still standing over her.

"Jo?"

"Mmmm?"

He looked at her, wiping her face and blinking several times, trying to rid the water from her eyes. Finally she opened them again, staring up at him groggily.

"God, you gave up quick," she said.

He wondered why she was still lying on the sidewalk. "I thought I'd hurt you," he said softly.

Joey smiled and rolled her eyes, still too tired to get up, breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling; too much, he thought. Perhaps he had worn her out more than he thought. "Nah," she said. "Just the shock of the water." For a moment it looked as if she were going to rise, as she brought her head up off the ground slightly. She hovered like that for a while, before deciding she didn't have the energy. He let her head fall back against the ground and shut her eyes. "I think purification came too late," she murmured.

Pacey snorted. "At 24? And purification needs grounds on which to purify. You, miss prude, don't stand a chance of that."

Joey laughed. "In your dreams Pacey. Not that I'm suggesting this small Capeside self was without impulse or desire, but I think that I may have lost a few of my bitter resolutions as I grew up. And with that came a lot of things."

Pacey grinned. "Oh yeah. And with it came the porn-star with a passion for S&M and a closet full of saucy buys from "Victoria's Secret." Tell me Joey, I read you all wrong."

"Actually it's "Ann Summers"" she said, keeping her face straight. "But you're new to all of this. I'll let it pass."

He rolled his eyes. "As much as I'd like to stand here and discuss with you the finer points of teenage sexual exploration, as you said earlier, we both have things to do."

Joey smiled, still not opening her eyes. "I have to sleep." She lifted her hand to shade her eyes and finally she turned and looked up at him. "I don't know what it is, Pace. I've been feeling so tired lately." She sighed. "I didn't think lethargy was part of the package deal- not at the grand old age of 24."

"Stress," Pacey said firmly. "That law firm works you too hard."

Joey sighed. "It's an internship, Pace. I'm just out of Law school and I'm lucky to even have a job. I have to be on best behaviour. And that means taking calls at 4:00 am and answering phones, and…and generally being on beck and call. I'm sure it'll pay off." She rolled her eyes. "And if men in dark suits ask for coffee, then that's what I give them."

Pacey studied her for a moment. "As long as that's all their asking for," he said deliberately.

Joey blushed slightly and shook her head. "You worry too much."

Pacey shrugged. "You give me reason to worry. You come home late, and when you do you seem angry and fed up, and a little dishevelled. It just makes me wonder if they're putting you under any pressure."

Joey closed her eyes again, feeling both liberated and closed in by his protectiveness. She knew he cared, and she knew he worried, and she wondered why it was so difficult to discuss this with him. She just felt uncomfortable, and maybe it was because he was a man, she wasn't sure.

"They do put me under pressure," she said. "But it's not THAT kind of pressure. You've read too many John Grisham's. I'm afraid the reality of law suits and courtrooms rarely lives up to the films' and books' avid interpretations."

Pacey smiled. "Okay," he said, and she was relieved he had let the subject drop. "Come on Ms. Fatigue- let's get you home to bed."

Joey smiled, taking the hand he reached down to her, letting his fingers grasp her wrist, pulling her up. "It's only 8:00," she argued, smiling.

"So maybe this small-town girl wants to adapt to city life. But I'm thinking an early night somewhere in a busy calendar won't do much harm."

"Thanks," she said, giving him a warm smile. "You're too good to me."

"I'm sure one day you'll get off your lazy, ladder-climbing butt and return the favour," he said, grinning.

Joey smiled, leaning against him as he put an arm round her, guiding her towards the entrance to their apartment building, trailing the hose behind him. He glanced back slightly as he held the door open for her, smiling ruefully at his dusty car. Somewhere in the process of water fights and mindless games the real reason he had come out here- washing his poor excuse for an automobile- had been forgotten. He smiled then, thinking of how Joey had returned from work only to dump her briefcase inside and change out of her starched blue suit. He hadn't even noticed as she walked up behind him until he felt the cold water of the hose against his back. So it was payback he decided.

Joey leant against the wall once they'd climbed the stairs to the third floor, and she wondered then why she had stayed here so long, why they both had, when she had to climb three bloody flights every day. She watched tiredly as Pacey scooped the key from his pocket and unlocked the door. She followed him in, and began pulling her soaking tee shirt over her head as she walked towards her bedroom.

Pacey rolled his eyes, wondering why Joey, who used to be so closed in and insecure, felt comfortable half-changing in front of him. Perhaps she saw him as a brother, he thought, and he could feel a lump in his throat. He wasn't sure why. But as he turned away from her he wished she would stop it- he knew it wasn't her being a tease- he knew she wasn't like that, and for sure he'd dated too many women who were. And Joey had always stared at them disapprovingly from her place in the chair by the window. So he knew it wasn't that- but there was something about it that bothered him.

It was something they had found strange at first, living with someone of the opposite sex. Pacey remembered how at first Joey had just shared his flat when she was here in Boston for Law school, while he was having councillor training. She had turned up on his doorstep one day, and he remembered his own surprise as he had seen there sitting on the steps outside, her bags at her feet. And she had explained the fear of carbon monoxide poisoning at the flat she had been renting, and it had been temporary anyway hadn't it? But she'd asked if she could "crash here" until she got herself together.

Pacey smiled, thinking how "together" had taken a lot longer than either of them had thought, but after a while he thought of just asking her to move in. He'd told her that he wanted to half his rent anyway- it was too much, he explained, - and maybe they both knew that it was just nice to have somebody else around, but it was easier not to say that at the beginning.

It had been funny at first, he thought. But it was the kind of funny which was made worthless once he remembered that she was his best friend now, and, he had realised a while ago- he cared a lot about her- he loved her, though he knew it wasn't a romantic love, or a sexual one. But it wasn't like family either, and maybe it was best not to analyse.

And it felt good to have somebody there. Someone who, he thought, didn't leave dirty underwear on the floor like he did. But she didn't complain- as long as it was his bedroom and not hers, and not their livingroom. Or the kitchen, she'd said with a small smile.

Maybe they'd both had to adapt. They'd set up barriers which had to exist in a platonic man/woman friendship. And it hadn't even been something they'd talked about, he mused. Except maybe as jokes when they'd drunk too much. But it didn't happen often. If they got drunk, it was normally with other people, and they could always return to the apartment and know the other person was there to make sure they were okay. And the barriers they'd set had been agreed silently.

It was partly getting used to change, Pacey thought with a smile. Remembering not to just walk in on her when she was changing, checking the bathroom was empty, not talking about things that were too personal. But they hadn't kept to that one; he realised that Joey especially began to see him as a confidante, and maybe she said too much. It was easy to say too much. And they had talked about love, and sex, and romance. And Pacey continued to joke with Joey about her being "prude" and standoffish, but he knew that if he had ever been right, things had changed. Not that she ever told him that much, but it was enough. He wasn't sure he wanted to know anymore. He had always felt strangely protective of her, even though he knew sometimes she wished that he would step away; it didn't seem to be something he could do.

And of course the last rule: Don't get too close. It was something he was careful he kept to, though perhaps he hadn't been careful enough lately- he decided maybe he should talk to her about the changing thing. It felt somehow wrong, even though he always made himself turn away.

He knew that she would laugh at him, and tell him he was being silly, and then of course she might parade around in her underwear to make a point. No, he thought with a smile, she would never do that. In fact, maybe it would make things uncomfortable between them; and he would do anything to prevent that.

Pacey sighed and realised finally that he didn't want to be worrying- didn't need to. She wasn't, and suddenly it dawned on him that none of it all really mattered- they knew each other both so well, he didn't think seeing Joey with one fewer items of clothing would really make no difference in the whole spectrum of things. He shook his head slightly, grinning at his own stupidity. It wasn't something he had ever really thought much of before; it wasn't something he wanted to think about again. Perhaps, he thought, the heat was getting to him.

When he knocked on Joey's bedroom later that night, he heard only a muffled reply. He called her name, and she told him to come in, her voice quiet, tired. She pulled the pillow off her face when he entered, and smiled up at him. But she didn't move from her position, lying down on her bed, one hand clutching the pillow above her head, the other resting gently on her chest.

She was wearing one of her old vest tops and a pair of his boxers. He rolled his eyes, wondering if she knew, or cared, that he had been looking for them. He wondered when she had found them. She'd probably adopted them one afternoon when she was doing the washing, he thought with a smile.

"Hey." He sat down on the corner of her bed.

"Hey." Her voice was a little weak and he wondered why.

"You okay?"

She smiled. "I'm not sure. I feel…weird."

He grinned. "Has it just dawned on you?" he quipped. "You've felt weird to me for a long time."

"Hah-hah," she said quietly. "That joke's so old it doesn't even deserve a comment."

"Why are you commenting on it then?"

She shut her eyes. "Did I mention I feel weird? I think something's happened to my brain. My sense of humour is flat, my mental synapses don't seem to be functioning, and my acerbic wit seems temporarily displaced by some unknown force."

He grinned. "I wish." When she didn't answer, he looked at her, concerned. "How weird?" he asked her.

She sighed, her eyes still closed. "I don't know. Don't worry, it's probably nothing."

He smiled. "Okay. Let me know when you're better so I can tell you that you've stolen my boxers."

She smiled as she rolled over, putting her face in the pillow. "I had realised," she said dryly. "They're not likely to be anyone else's boxers, are they?"

Pacey raised his eyebrows. "I don't know. Maybe Eric paid you another visit."

Joey groaned at the mention of one of her ex-boyfriends. "I think not. If he tries to wheedle his way back in here remind me I told you not to let me."

"Are you sure? You didn't appreciate my concern last time I tried."

She groaned again, too tired to turn around and face him. "You're right," she agreed. "I don't know why I didn't. The sex wasn't that great."

Pacey winced and stood up. "A little more than I wanted to know," he told her.

Joey grinned, her face still pressed against the pillow. She lifted one of her hands in a silent wave in his direction. He smiled down at her. Leaning over he pulled the blanket from a crumpled heap at the bottom of the bed, and laid it over her.

She murmured her thanks, smiling slightly. He could see the corners of her mouth twist up, though her face was still against the pillow.

She sighed. "G'night Pace," she said quietly.

He smiled. "G'night Joey."

Part Two