"So, what first: Dirty Dancing, Grease, or West Side Story?" Dawson asked Joey as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Try none of the above." She grimaced at the movie selection.

Dawson rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Joey.

"Dawson, we have seen all those movies at least three to four times each. I've had about enough with retro musicals in general. Plus, those movies are sexist and demeaning to my gender," she complained.

"Aw, Joey, you're not still on that feminist kick, are you?

"Now I resent that," she replied. "Couldn't you have picked gender-happy films?

Dawson's face took on a somewhat confused and incredulous, yet amused, look. "Gender-happy?"

"I guess I have to enlighten you."

"As usual," he sighed, collapsing onto the bed. "Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Okay," she started, getting up from her perch and taking the three videos away from him. "West Side Story." Joey held up each tape as she described it. "A girl so supposedly in love with a guy that she risks her family as well as her life. Dirty Dancing? Move around erotically in a short skirt and you get to lose your virginity to the older man who comes from the wrong side of the tracks. A relationship I'm pretty sure is illegal in most states as well as a significant amount of countries. Oh, yes, and here's a favorite: Grease. The so-called ''heroine'' of the story who sets a great example for the young women of our generation: Wear enough tight leather clothing and you'll eventually get the guy you want." She dropped the movies onto the comforter and picked up the television remote from his dresser.

"Point made. Case closed. Let's find something decent to watch on HBO."

Dawson watched her as she flipped through the channels. "You know, I previously viewed you as a cynic who has little faith in humanity."

Joey turned to him. "And now?"

"And now, I just think you seriously need help."

Joey picked up a nearby pillow and swatted him with it.

"Dawson, I--" Pacey came barreling in and stopped when he saw Joey with him. "--obviously came at a bad time, so I'll just--" He started to exit.

"No, Pacey, wait, it's all right," Dawson said to him. "Come on in. It's just Movie Night. And since Jo here has refused to view the movies that I have selected in correspondence to tonight's theme due to its so-called sexism, we're pretty open to spontaneity."

Joey nodded in agreement. "Go ahead. Humor us."

"Well," he said as he entered the room again. "It's take-a-shot-at-Pacey night at the Witter household, and since the amount of residents has been temporarily increased due to the police convention being held at Fairfax a mere twenty miles away this weekend, I decided to take seek some shelter."

"Crash here," Dawson offered.

"You sure?" he asked, glancing at Joey.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" He got up from the bed and started for the door. "I'll go get the futon."

Pacey watched as he walked out of the room, and turned to Joey apologetically.

"Sorry, Jo."

"For what?"

"For cramping your Saturday night plans. Tonight could have been the night that Dawson would have opened his eyes and I, by butting in just now, have just now ruined its chances."

"Trust me, it's no problem, Pacey. Nothing would have happened anyway. Not with Jen a mere ten feet away to distract Dawson."

Dawson came back at that moment in lugging a rolled-up matress behind him. "You know what I was just thinking? Jo, why don't you sleep over, too? It'll just be like old times."

"Making s'mores and listening to pathetic ghost stories? I'll think I'll pass and let you guys do some male bonding."

"Hey, my ghost stories weren't pathetic," Pacey defended himself.

"They weren't compared to your little feet-pajamas," Joey replied with a grin.

Pacey threw up his hands in frustration. "I stand corrected. It's take-a-shot-at-Pacey night nationwide."

"C'mon, Jo," Dawson persisted.

She shook her head. "Don't think so. It's bad enough to hear one guy snore, but two will keep me up the entire night."

"I do not snore," Pacey and Dawson said simultaneously.

Fast-forward. Two days later. Joey Potter's birthday. 7:28 a.m.

"Somebody ready for a birthday spanking?" Pacey grinned as he approached Joey at her locker.

"Touch me and die." Joey slammed her locker shut.

"Ah, Jo, you wouldn't really injure someone who has been so helpful these last few weeks, would you?"

"You'd be surprised."

"You know, this is not the normal behavior someone would display on such a joyous occasion as their day of birth." He paused. "But then again, when have you ever been considered normal?"

"When have you?" she replied.

Pacey winced slightly. "Strike two. Keep this up and you won't be receiving your birthday present."

"It's okay. I'll think I'll survive without another homemade paperweight."

"Hey, it wasn't a paperweight, it was a pet rock," he explained. "Now here," Pacey took out a wrapped box from his backpack and handed it to her. "Before I think twice about acting civil around you."

Joey glanced at the gift suspiciously.

"Go ahead, open it."

"Is it safe to?"

"Do you think I'd be stupid enough to conceal an explosive in your birthday present?" He rushed on when he saw Joey open her mouth. "And don't even think about answering that question."

Joey smiled. "Mind if I open it later? I mean, I really don't want to put my fellow classmates in any danger."

"You can do whatever you want. After all, it is your birthday. Which brings up an interesting question. How do you plan to celebrate it?"

"A small family gathering."

"Yeah, I guess it'd be too much to ask that you take advantage of the situation and throw a potential party-of-the-year, being that it's a weekday and all," Pacey grinned. "Am I invited?"

"Are you family?"

"No, fortunately."

"Then, no." Joey paused, and her smile widened. "But, I guess I can make a few exceptions. I mean, there's no need to discriminate against those outside my species."

"Well, geez, I don't know..." Pacey pretended to ponder. "I'll have to check my schedule...it all depends...will there be cake?"

"If I say yes, will that mean you're going to accept my invitation?"

"Depends if your performance is convincing or not."

"There will no be cake of any kind."

"I'll be there at seven."

Fast-forward. Appoximately two hours later. 9:34 a.m.

"...when the Big Three met at Yalta in February 1945, Churchill and Roosevelt tried to get support from Stalin against Japan..." Mr. Conway droned. Joey sighed and dropped her pen onto her desk. Conway had been discussing World War II for the past thirty-four minutes, and for the first thirty-three she actually taken notes and somewhat listened to his monotonous lecture. The thirty-fourth minute she had given up and was now attempting to look studious and attentive meanwhile fighting off boredom and sleep.

Her eyes drifted around the room, and she found herself making eye contact with Pacey. Pacey rolled her eyes and smiled in an attempt to express his mutual boredom.

"Ms. Potter, maybe you'd like to tell the class what Germany would receive from the US and Great Britain in return for declaring war on Japan," Conway broke the silent communication, glaring at the two.

"Uh..." Joey's eyes glanced nervously about the page of her opened textbook. "Germany would receive..."

All of a sudden the fire alarm went off.

The principal's voice filled the classroom through the PA system. "Attention, students. Please evacuate the building immediately!"

Joey sighed in relief. She got up from her seat and started to follow her classmates out of the door and into the crowded hallway.

"Saved by the bell." Pacey grinned, catching up to her. "Or make that the fire alarm. Count your blessings, Jo. To think, if there had been no fire drill planned for today, you'd still be in there, utterly clueless, trying to figure out what Germany would receive from the US and Britain for going to war with Japan."

"Yeah, and you'd know," Joey replied, lacking a better insult.

"Territory in eastern Asia." Pacey's smile widened. "Unlike someone in this conversation, I did my homework. Or maybe you were distracted by my charming features, my radiant smile, at the moment to answer Conway's question." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Charming feautures, my ass." Joey glowered. "And you so sure it's just a fire drill, Einstein?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"Look around you," she told him as they walked outside. "Doesn't the faculty look a little too distressed and disturbed for a measly fire drill?"

Pacey's eyes shifted about, observing that, in fact, some of the teachers did look fairly upset. "Hmmm....maybe you're right."

The pair wandered about the outer campus grounds, where all of Capeside High was restricted to, for a while, overhearing unreliable bits of info from gossiping students, until they spotted Dawson and Jen. "Hey, what's going on?" Pacey asked Dawson as he and Joey walked up to the two.

"Where's the fire?" Joey questioned.

"There's no fire. It's a bomb threat. Someone called the school and told whoever who picked up the phone that they had ten minutes to evacuate the building," Dawson answered excitedly, grinning from ear to ear. Joey could almost see the gears in his head turning at the sound of a potential script. "Is this great or what? Of all the days I don't bring my camera..."

Pacey turned to Joey and beamed. "Someone obviously wanted to start off your birthday with a bang." He asked Dawson another question. "So, this bomb...where is it?"

"Look, all I heard about was the threat that explosives are going to demolish our foundation of education. I don't know if Capeside High actually going to blow up." Jen shrugged. "Sorry, Pacey, it's most likely some bored bum tryin' to find some entertainment. That's how most are treating it."

Pacey sighed disappointedly. "Well, at least we're out of school at the moment." He paused and pondered a bit, and brightened as an idea entered his mind. "But, hey, you never know. There could really be some kind of explosive in there. Set by some disgruntled alumni who didn't get any in high school." Joey rolled her eyes. "Does every conclusion you make revolve around sex?"

Before Pacey could respond, the PA system emmited several bursts of static, which was followed by what appeared to be the vice-principal's voice.

"Students, you may now return to your classes."

"I knew it was too good to last," sighed Pacey. "Or at least be true."

"We have thoroughly searched the building and we have found no bomb," continued the vice-principal. "Please return to your classes now. Sorry for the disruption."

"How could they possibly do a supposedly-thorough search in less than thirty minutes?" Dawson questioned, starting to walk back toward the building. "Ah, the wonders of modern technology," Pacey replied.

"And our school isn't exactly that huge," Jen added. "There aren't many places to store a bomb in there."

"But, hey, what if they only checked the most obvious places?" Pacey pondered. "We could be in the building, going back to our daily routine and hum-drum lives, and all of a sudden...KA-BLAM! Capeside's youth, their body pieces scattered amongst the rubble. Perfect headline for your mom to use to further her career, Dawson."

"Don't you think she'd be a little too distaught to cover a story that involved the untimely death of her only son, Pacey?" Joey rolled her eyes again.

"Gee, I'd hope so," Dawson said.

Fast-forward. Approximately eight hours later. 6:19 p.m.

Joey opened the door with a crying Alexander on her shoulder and found Pacey in front of her. "Hey, you're here early."

"What can I say? I like to be punctual," he said, stepping into the Potter household.

"When there's food involved," Joey grumbled, trying to get her nephew to quiet down.

"Brutal honesty. Gotta love that in a woman."

"Tact," she threw back at him. "I like it in a man."

"Which is probably why you like Dawson, who practically lives entirely in oblivion."

The phone began to ring, and Joey handed the crying baby to Pacey. "Pacey, can you..?"

"Yeah, sure," he answered, taking Alexander from her, much to her relief. "Hey, little man."

Joey picked up the phone and found Bessie on the other line. As her sister began to explain that she and Bodie were going to be a bit late due to some last-minute grocery shopping, Pacey had managed to stop the child's tears, much to Joey's astonishment.

"How'd you do that?," she asked, putting the phone back into its cradle.

"Do what?"

Joey gestured to Alexander, who was now peaceful. "Get him to stop crying."

"I guess it was something I was born with," Pacey shrugged. "Though I would have much rather been born wealthy, but that's something well beyond my control."

"Mind if you handle him until Bessie and Bodie come back?"

"Nah." He crossed his index and middle finger tightly together. "Me and Alex here, we're like this."

"Alex?"

"Well, you can't expect to call him 'Alexander' all his life," Pacey replied. "Calling him'Alexander' would instantly brand him as a wuss, bringing on inevitable name-calling by his peers and possibly a significant loss of self-esteem and self-confidence, therefore being branded a loser."

"Speaking from experience?" The bitter words tumbled out before Joey could stop them.

Pacey appeared taken aback, and did not bother to hide the hurt that was caused by the comment.

Joey instantly felt a pang a guilt. "Pacey, I'm--"

"Y'know what?" He said as he gently put Alex into his cradle. "Forget it. I'm through with being the target here." He began to walk away from them and toward the front door.

"Pacey--" She followed him.

"No," he stopped in his tracks. "Okay? For years you've taken all this sexual repression and bitterness from not getting the guy into verbal missiles directly aimed at me. Personally, I'm a little sick of it. So either find some other way to deal with the downs in life or get another friend to whine to about the boy down the creek." He opened the front door and walked out.

"Pacey, look...just listen, all right?" Joey caught up with him and stood in his path. ''I'm...I'm sorry...I didn't mean it...it's just today...today's been a little hard..." Her voice trailed off.

He looked at her and sighed. "I'm listening."

"I don't know. It's just...when I was little, I had this image of what my sixteenth birthday would be like. You know...two proud, beaming parents holding out the keys to a brand-new cherry-red convertible sitting in the driveway, a huge gala with all of the people you've come across surrounding you and showering you with all this attention...."

"And you're disappointed with how your sixteenth is actually turning out?"

Joey shook her head. "No, it's not that. Things have changed. I could care less about presents or some party. All I want now is what I had back then. I want a family." She paused before going on. "I want my mom back."

"You still miss her," Pacey stated simply, starting to understand today's behavior.

"Yeah. A lot. People say it gets easier as the years go by, but...maybe I'm doing something wrong because the pain is still there. And it hurts more at times I need her most."

"Like today." Pacey sighed, kicking himself for not seeing it sooner. "Sorry. I should've known."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Joey replied, shifting uncomfortably. "It's pretty lame, actually."

"No, it's not lame," argued Pacey. "No one can expect you to just delete her from your memory and go on with your life without suffering from losing such a major part of it. It's not normal. To be honest, you're dealing with this better than most people would, better than I would anyway."

"Yeah?"

He nodded. "Yeah." Pacey waited a moment before continuing. "God, you know, if I had things my way, Jo, you'd be with your mom again. But I don't. And that is completely, utterly unfair because, frankly, even though I've said otherwise in moments of stupidity and insensitivity, you deserve the best, Joey. I don't understand how you got the other end of the bargain."

"But if she was here," he continued," she'd most definitely be proud of you. Get you that convertible even."

Joey rolled her eyes. "Please, Pacey...my mother wouldn't be proud of me. I'm a social reject, an everyday topic in the girls' bathroom, at the top of Capeside's Least Wanted..."

"Not true. Josephine Potter is a beautiful and intelligent honors student who's completely dependable and responsible. Every parent's dream come true. I'm surprised that the Leerys haven't adopted you into their family yet." A small smile appeared. "You know, I'm getting pretty tired of saying thank you, Pacey."

"Eh, don't worry about it. I'll let this one go by. Just consider it a friendly deed." Her smile widened and, to his surprise, Joey came toward him and wrapped her arms around him. Pacey arms tightened around her waist, her head resting on his shoulder. They stood there for few minutes, cluthing onto each other, not at all uncomfortable with their closeness. The embrace felt so natural to him, it gave him so much comfort and security, something that he didn't commonly find in the cruel world around him.

Joey felt his body stiffen. He pulled away suddenly, his eyes focused on something in the distance. She turned to see what he was looking at, and saw Dawson Leery peddling down the street, completely oblivious to the moment he had broken. "Hey. Did the party start already?"

"Not quite," Joey answered. "Bessie and Bodie have not yet arrived with the dinner preparations."

Suddenly, Alexander's crying emerged from inside the house.

"Pacey, can you--" Joey turned to him.

"Be right back," he said as as ran back into the house.

Joey noticed a small package underneath Dawson's arm. "Is that for me?"

"Maybe, maybe not..." He grinned.

"Dawson..." She grabbed the present from him. Joey ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the box. Her hands pushed away the tissue paper to reveal a rectangular, delicate silver frame containing two pictures: on the left was her and Dawson when they were six years old at a beach picnic, and the other one a recent photo they had taken on his sixteenth birthday.

"Friends forever," she whispered. And nothing more, she thought to herself. But she was surpised she that she felt no bitterness about that realization. As she let her fingers gently stroke the glass surface of the frame, her hopes and desires of a romanticism between them slowly evaporated. It confused her. And at the same time, gave her an immense sense of relief. It felt as if a large boulder had been lifted off of her shoulders.

"Forever," Dawson confirmed, unaware that a life-altering change had occured in her life, as well as his. He smiled as he took her into his arms.

Pacey looked out of the living room window to see Dawson and Joey embrace. He froze, his eyes unable to be moved away from the sight. Intense emotions overwhelmed him. Anger. Envy.

*How could Dawson do this?*, he thought to himself in rage. *How could he do this? The bastard...*

It took him several moments to realize that Dawson wasn't doing anything. That there was no logical reason to be furious with him. *He's just hugging Joey, a girl who has been his best friend for god knows how long...he doesn't know how I feel about her--*

Pacey stopped mid-thought. *Wait a minute...''how I feel about her"?! I DON'T--whoa, why am I getting so worked up over some stupid hug between two friends? Yeah, you wish it was just a ''friendly hug'', Pacey.* His mind whirled. Spun out of control.

And then all of a sudden, everything fell into place.

And Pacey had to get out of there fast.

Joey and Dawson pulled away from each other, and with perfect timing, Bodie pulled into the driveway.

"Hey, birthday girl." Bessie smiled at her sister as she stepped out of the pick-up with an armload of groceries.

"Ready to par-tay?" Bodie grinned.

Joey smiled, shrugging. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Bessie and Bodie made their way into the house to start the celebration dinner, and at that moment, Pacey came out the front door, his face agitated.

"Pace, is everything all right?" Dawson asked as their smiles disappeared.

"Uh, no," Pacey said honestly, hoping he didn't look as uncomfortable as he felt. He took a deep breath and started to lie. "I just got a call from my dad. Told me to get my butt home as soon as possible. He wants to have a 'talk' with me." He was surprised how convincing he sounded. A regular Oscar-worthy performance. But then again, the situation he used as an excuse to leave wasn't so unbelievable and far from reality.

"What happened?" Joey continued the questioning, genuinely concerned.

"I kind of don't want to get into it right now. I mean, I've destroyed the party mood enough as it is."

"We'll save you some cake," Joey said, trying to lighten the situation.

"Nah, you don't have to do that." Pacey paused. "Unless it's chocolate, of course," he continued with a small smile. "Happy birthday, Joey. See you guys later." He turned away and started to walk quickly toward his car, refusing to look over his shoulder.

Joey watched as his car disappear down the street, somewhat saddened by the exit, unaware that Dawson was talking to her...well, trying to talk to her.

"Joey?" Dawson asked, concerned. "Hey, Jo." He nudged her gently.

"What?" She looked at him with a confused expression. "I'm sorry, Dawson, what were you saying?"

"Nothing important," he replied. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," she replied, her face filled with concern. "I'm just worried about Pacey, that's all."

"Look, don't worry. It's probably nothing," Dawson tried to reassure. "His dad probably noticed that the car was missing."

"But the look on his face...I don't know." Joey shrugged. "I just have this weird feeling that--"

"It's probably the cafeteria lasagna you had for lunch that's giving you that weird feeling. Don't worry about it. Pacey's fine." He took her hand and started to pull her toward the house. "Now, c'mon. We have a birthday to celebrate."

Fast-forward. Approximately four hours later. 11:23 a.m.

Joey sat on her bed, unconsciously staring out her window. As she looked into the dark horizon, she thought to herself...contemplated. Funny how so many things had changed in less than twenty-four hours. Just last night she had been dreaming of the moment Dawson would say that he loved her, that he always loved her, will always love her. But tonight...

"Tonight I have to study for my history test," Joey said to herself, stopping her self-reflection. Life had become to complicated for her to analyze. She pulled her backpack onto the bed with her, and inside lay Pacey's birthday present. She looked at in surprise for a moment, she had forgotten that it even existed. She took the wrapped box into her hands, somewhat intriguiged about what its contents were. She unwrapped it slowly, and took off the lid. When she saw what lay inside, a grin appeared.

Joey fingered the kids' doctor's kit, and opened it to reveal colorful plastic replicas of medical instruments. And beneath them, near the bottom, she noticed a small plastic bag.

She took the bag out and her smile widened when she realized what it contained.

Red jelly beans.