Shake and Nod: Part 4
by: Moon Bunny
Disclaimer: Same as always. I don't own Dawson's Creek. Nor do I pretend to.
Send comments/feedback to moon_bunny@hotmail.com
Joey woke up to the sound of crying. She sat up quickly and saw Pacey holding the paper in his lap and pressed up against the wall. His knees were up, tight against his chest. His arms were on his knees; his face buried there. His shoulders were shaking with every cry.
Joey crawled off the bed swiftly and pulled her to him. She gently stroked his hair as he cried against her shoulder and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Joey stole a look at the paper and gasped.
"Oh Pacey..." Joey whispered, tears coming to her own eyes. "I'm so sorry."
"This is my fault." Pacey managed to get out through his tears. "I should have figured out who this asshole is long ago!"
"Pacey, it's not your fault!" Joey hissed vehemently. She pulled back and stared into his wet eyes with her own.
"Never ever think this is your fault. It's not! You aren't the one out there killing everyone! He is!"
Pacey nodded, then went back into her arms. "My-my mom..." He cried, and then started sobbing.
The sun did its best to filter into the room, but the curtains were drawn and it couldn't get it very much. No matter-it still made it so it wasn't dark.
How unfortunate.
Joey was laying on the bed, her head propped up by some pillows. Pacey was laying next to her, and slightly on her as well. His head was resting on her shoulder/arm, and he had an arm and a leg thrown across her protectively. Joey smiled wryly at the thought. How ironic. Not only had they switched positions, but even when Pacey was terrified and hurt, he still protected her-in his sleep no less.
Joey gently stroked Pacey's hair, wishing that she could take his pain away but knowing full well that she couldn't.
"I love you." Joey whispered to his sleeping form. The room seemed to echo her words.
Pacey stretched a little and smiled in his sleep.
"Yeah, I know." Pacey said into the phone. "Yeah. Yeah. Yeah! Okay! I got it! I know my mother is dead! Stop telling me!" Joey flinched next to him and moved to sit in his lap and hold him, gently rubbing his back. His arm that wasn't holding the phone he snaked around her and held her close.
"Alright." Pacey sighed. "Yeah. Okay. No, I understand. Yeah. Yeah. It's okay. Alright. Yeah. Bye." He hung up the phone and looked down at Joey. He hugged her tightly before speaking.
"I can't go to her funeral." Pacey said into Joey's hair.
Joey ran her fingers through Pacey's hair, her lips resting against the back of his neck. "We'll find him." She promised softly. "I swear to you that we will, and he will pay."
Pacey nodded, the tears slipping down his cheeks and splashing on her shirt.
Joey cried with him.
Dawson came running into Joey's bedroom, throwing the door open with a loud crash. Joey and Pacey looked up from laying propped up on the bed together. Pacey's head was on her stomach, and she was absently stroking his hair. They had been talking, but now they looked startled and scared.
Dawson slapped the newspaper on the bed. Jen was right behind him and was crying. Dawson started crying the second he opened his mouth. "C-Courtney!" Was all he could get out before he burst into sobs. Jen sat down on the bed and gently soothed him.
"Courtney?" Joey looked confused, and then read the paper. "Leery. Oh god! Dawson!"
"Your little cousin?" Pacey read the paper with Joey.
Dawson nodded miserably, the tears staining his and Jen's shirts. "He-he killed her! He chopped her up into little pieces and then scattered her along my aunts and uncle's lawn!"
Joey winced and started crying herself. Pacey followed seconds later.
The four cried together.
"How is he Jo?" Jen asked as Joey quietly shut the door to Jen's room.
Joey sighed and sat down on the bed with the other girl, leaning against one of the posts at the end of the bed. "Not too good." She answered sadly. "He's really upset about his mom, but at least he's talking about it." She winced. "It hurts too much when you hold it in." She looked up at Jen. "Dawson's not much better off ya know."
Jen nodded, looking out the window and back at Joey. "He loved Courtney like a sister."
Joey sighed unhappily. "This is just too hard to take now!"
Jen rubbed Joey's knee for a few seconds. "This'll all be over soon Jo. I have a feeling."
Joey looked up at Jen with a look of confusion and suspicion buried deep in her eyes. "What do you mean?" She asked carefully.
Jen looked out the window and into the dark night. She was talking to herself now. "It's gone too far."
Joey's eyes widened in horror.
I'm so bad. I know it. Wow. Jen? The killer? No way! Woah... Can you believe it? I can't, and I wrote this! = ) Well, write me and tell me what you think! Is Jen crazy? Did she really kill everyone? Geez! I know this was only one page, but I need another cliff hanger. I can't decide how much longer I should draw this suspension out... I'll let ya'll know! = ) And Courtney, thanks! I'd also like to thank everyone who wrote me. You all rock, and without you I'd be in a lot of tears thinking that no one liked my stories.