Pacey had his fingers linked through Andie's as they walked down the street. It was the end of their third date and they were still in what Pacey liked to call the "Practical Date" phase. He had picked her up at 8:00 sharp and then they had gone to eat at the Ice House. Aftewards, they'd gone to the late movie at the Rialto. Pacey hoped the night hadn't been too boring for the blonde at his side.

He'd met Andie when she came into the video store. It was similar to how he'd met Tamara. She wore a smile on her face and a shirt in such a color that it brought out the bright light in her wide eyes. After she'd made her selections, they'd talked a little about her family moving to Capeside. She had a brother named Jack and they both lived with their mother on the other end of town.

As they neared the steps of the substantial house she lived in, Andie tightened her grip on Pacey's fingers and looked at him smiling.

"I had a really good time tonight, Pacey." He raised his eyebrow in slight surprise and grinned back at her.

"Well, McPhee, that was the plan. Hopefully, we will have an even better time, next week." He leaned his head down and kissed her lightly.

They walked to the door and as they exchanged goodbyes, he kissed her once more, willing himself to feel what he was trying to convey with his lips.



Across town, a similar scenario was occuring. Joey and Dawson were sitting on the steps of her porch, fingers intertwined. Joey nervously tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and looked at Dawson who was smiling to himself while looking at the creek. Feeling eyes on him, he turned back to her.

"So, how did you like the movie?" She gave him a smile and rubbed her arms.

"It was good. Not the best movie ever made, but still, really good." He nodded, satisfied with her answer.

"So, are you coming over tomorrow? I think it's time for a Jaws marathon."

"Dawson, even you have commented on the weakness of the sequels. They will never live up to the original." He grinned.

"True, but even the experts say that to have a marathon, you need more than one movie." Joey shoved him and laughed, rubbing her arms to get rid of the cold. She glanced at her watch.

"Um, so do you wanna come in or anything? It's kind of late..." Dawson looked at his own watch and stood up.

"Actually, I should probably get home soon." He pulled her to her feet and tipped her chin up, kissing her slowly.



A hidden figure watched as Joey slid her arms around Dawson's neck, holding him close to her. Inside Pacey's mind, he was scolding himself on the immaturity of this serious invasion of privacy. He rubbed his hands together trying frantically to warm them.

As Joey finally pulled away, the muscle in his jaw unclenched, relaxing his face, and he let out the breath he'd been holding the whole time. Once more, he chastised himself for being so stupid. She deserves her privacy. She does. And I'm leaving. Soon. I'll leave soon. I will. Pacey shook his head. If he was leaving anytime in the next half hour, it was going to be against his will. Besides, it wasn't like he had anything better to do with his time.

He leaned back against a tree, and closed his eyes. He heard the sound of Dawson's boat being rowed away from the dock, the gentle lapping of the water against the side.



When Joey walked in the door, the first thing she saw was Bessie, looking at her with a carefully controlled smile on her face.

"So, where were you until 11:00?" Joey's teeth tugged at her lower lip, as she tried to contain her smile.

"With Dawson..." Bessie laughed and held out a huge manila folder.

"Here, Pacey dropped this off a while ago. He said to tell you that the research was done and he wrote the paper." Confused, Joey took it from her hands and began leafing through it. Seconds later, she fell back against the counter. On the last page of the reaction paper was a note from Pacey.