Midnight Departure
by Alison

I, Alison, do swear that my fanfic Midnight Departure, can only be seen on Lisa's site.

Disclaimer: I don't know these characters, I don't own these characters I am simply borrowing them for a moment to, as Joey put it, "put them into contrived situations"

Author's Notes: To the Six Pack for doing everything that you do. For Josh and Mandi for coming up with this incredible topic. And to Matt and Victor for playing Dawson and Pacey perfectly! This story is mostly true. Matt, Victor and I did actually do most of this stuff (ie leaving at midnight to go on a trip to see a ball game, the flat tire, etc.) And, Matt is my brother and Victor is his best friend so they play Dawson and Pacey respectively. And since I'm not into stuff like that there will be NO Dawson/Joey romance in this story (eww!) and it will only be innocent flirting between Pacey and Joey.

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Joey lay on Dawson's bed watching movies, patiently waiting for him to get home from work. Rolling over to catch a glimpse at the clock she saw that it was midnight. She inwardly groaned. Just then Pacey and Dawson strolled through the door carrying a pile of videos, games and snacks. Lately this was a nightly ritual, they would stay up all night watching movies and playing Playstation while munching on snacks. It was just habit now. Pacey popped a game into the Playstation, handed Joey her the controller and layed down next to her. They started playing some fighting game that Joey visciously objected to, but still played cuz she enjoyed kicking Pacey's ass at it. While they were doing this Dawson was sitting at his computer checking his e-mail and surfing through websites. He stopped at ESPN's webpage and looked through the baseball scores and noticed what games were coming up tomorrow. Pacey, Joey and Dawson usually took a short drive to Boston a few times a season to go cheer on the Boston Red Sox, but they were in New York for a series versus the Yankees. That would make the next closest team the Baltimore Orioles. They were playing the Toronto Blue Jays the next day, with Roger Clemmens pitching. "No way!! The O's are playing the Jays tomorrow in Baltimore! God, I would kill to see that game, Clemmens is running one of the hottest streaks of his life." Dawson rambled on and on.

Joey and Pacey paused the game and looked up at him.

"Well, why don't we?" Pacey asked with a gleam in his eye and a grin on his face.

"Why don't we what Pacey?" Joey asked him.

"Go to Baltimore. Go see the game."

"We could never make it in time Pacey. If we were to leave tomorrow morning we wouldn't make it to Baltimore until about 7. The game starts at 3." Joey logically stated.

"Who said we had to leave tomorrow? What's wrong with right now?" Dawson asked her.

"Well, it's one am, your parents are asleep, and we only have one car with 2 licensed drivers and very little cash." she replied.

"So, we take Pacey's car, call our parents when we get to Baltimore, take the phone in case of an emergency, and drive straight there so we don't have to spend money on a hotel. Pacey and I can take turns driving and sleeping and you can keep us awake and entertained. Please Jo??" Dawson begged.

"Fine, but I'm playing dumb when we get in trouble. I'm claiming that I feel asleep and you carried me into the car and when I woke up we were half way to Baltimore." she relented.

"Well, playing dumb shouldn't be too difficult for you Joey, you've been doing it for years." Pacey joked.

"Yeah, took lessons from my mentor. I think you know him, he is about 6 feet tall, Julius Caesar haircut, has a fetish for older women...." she teased.

"So then it's settled? We are driving to Baltimore???" Dawson asked hopefully.

"Yep, lets go!" Pacey agreed.

Joey trudged along with them while they hurridly got a few things together. They grabbed a map, the CD's, a pillow, some munchies and Joey and Pacey grabbed their extra clothes that they kept at Dawson's. They wrote a note to Dawson's parents telling them not to worry, that they just needed a break from Capeside for the day. They informed them that they had the phone and would be home the next night. They piled into Pacey's new Explorer that his grandma had bought him. Pacey adored this car and was actually a <gasp> careful driver in it. They got in the car with Pacey and Dawson in the front and Joey in the back. They pulled out of Capeside happier than ever, headed towards Baltimore.

After about two hours, Pacey pulled into a gas station. They all climbed out of the car to stretch and Pacey pumped the gas. They went inside to grab some candy and to use the restroom. They paid for the gas and food and Dawson climbed in the drivers seat. Joey took shotgun and Pacey quickly fell asleep in the backseat. To keep themselves awake Dawson and Joey sang along to the songs on the radio and then to the CD's that they had brought. The drive there seemed to take forever in the late hours of the night and they all watched the sunrise together. They passed the time by surfing through the stations, listening to CD's, and sharing countless inside jokes. They arrived in Baltimore about noon and decided to eat before getting to the game.

"My mom and I used to come to this restaurant when she came to restaurant conventions when I was a kid." Joey said nostalgically.

Pacey pulled the car into a space in front of the small cafe and they got out. Joey led the way in and they were seated at a small booth. Since Joey had been here before and knew what was good they let her order for the three of them. She ordered 3 burgers, 3 fries and 3 chocolate shakes. Dawson glanced around the cafe and noticed how "small town" it was. It was if the past 40 years had never happened, like it belonged in the fifties. The man behind the counter wore a white apron and a white paper cap and was making their milkshakes by hand. Their food was delivered a few minutes later and they ate.

"Man, this is the best burger I've ever had in my life! No offense to Bessie and Bodie of course!" Pacey said with his mouth full.

Dawson and Joey laughed and nodded in agreement. They finished their lunch, paid and exited the restaurant. They made their way to the stadium, bought tickets and sat down at around 2:30. While watching batting practice Joey suddenly realized that they hadn't kept their promise to the Leery's.

"Dawson!" she blurted.

"What Jo?"

"Your parents. We forgot to call your parents. They are gonna kill us!" she said to him worried.

"No prob, I'll call them now." he said pulling out his cell phone. "Hello? Mom? Yeah, no we are ok. We just needed a break. Where are we? Well....Baltimore. Calm down Mom! We'll be home by midnight. Yes, I promise. They are fine. Yeah, we love you too. Bye mom" Dawson reassured his mother.

They went back to watching the game and were having a great time. In the bottom of the 6th the game got interesting. Clemmens was pitching to Cal Ripken Jr. The best player on both of the teams facing off with each other.

<CRACK!> the ball flew off the bat and headed towards far right field, right towards Dawson, Pacey and Joey. They stood up, hoping to catch the homerun ball. As soon as it was within his reach Dawson lunged for it. Pacey and about 30 other fans did as well but Dawson had a viselike grip on it. The crowd went wild, Ripken had done it again. The commotion eventually settled and they went back to watching the game.

"I can't believe I caught a homerun ball, hit by Cal Ripken Jr. off of Roger Clemmens. This is too cool!!" Dawson rambled on and on. Joey and Pacey got sick of it and decided to do their favorite baseball game tradition. In honor of one of their favorite movies they began taunting the batter.

"Hey batterbatterbatter. Swing batter!" they chanted over and over. Collapsing into fits of laughter the three of them were having the time of their lives. Pacey pulled out his camera and took snapshots of the three of them and of the field, never wanting to forget this roadtrip. The ride home went smoothly for the first hour, then disaster struck. A flat tire. "Dammit!" Pacey cursed his car as he pulled off the road. Dawson and Pacey quickly changed the tire and they drove to the nearest town to have it replaced. The mechanic said it would be at least an hour and they decided to roam the town. They soon realized what a mistake that idea was. The town was almost desolate, an amazing site compared to the bustling community of Capeside. Joey sarcastically mentioned this to Dawson and Pacey and they agreed. They found themselves inside a small video store, comparing it to their own. The posters on the wall were faded and outdated by many years. "Ghost" and "Sleepless in Seattle" were still under new releases and they were proudly displaying the accomplishment of being able to "pre-order and reserve your copy of Jurassic Park, get it before anyone else". Pacey took a picture of the sign just to prove that he wasn't lying about it. Dying of laughter they ran out of the store and headed back to the autoshop. They paid for the tire and left, anxious to get home. It was amazing how much you can miss your hometown after experiencing someone else's. Dawson and Joey were both asleep as Pacey pulled into the Leery driveway. The three of them deleriously climbed the stairs and crashed on Dawson's bed, exhausted. They would deal with the car, with their famalies and with their lives in the morning. Right now all they wanted was to sleep.

Write to Alison

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