"Okay, Joey, I have to tell you something. Don't move. Just sit right there." He began pacing the room nervously.

"Okay," he takes a deep, reassuring breath, that's not as reassuring as he had hoped.

"No, this can't be saved for later. I have to say it now." He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. "I love you, now before you say anything, hear me out. I know it's stupid and inconceivable and I can think of a million reasons of why this is wrong and why I shouldn't love you."

He shrugs. "But I can't help it, I do. And I know you're probably wondering how all of this came about, hell I'm wondering too, but what can I say?" He run his hands through his hair, nervously. "Okay" he's practically, hyperventilating.

"Remember that weekend? You know the one when I happened to invite that travel critic-what was his name?" he snaps his fingers, hoping to speed up his recollection.

"Fricke. Fredrick Fricke. Well, anyway I spent that whole weekend running around, remember, and everything just kept on going wrong. Well, I was out chopping wood and bemoaning my existence to Mr. Leery, because I was the bearer of all that bad news, and he told me that I was doing a good job. Granted I was the one that had started the whole mess in the first place, and he asked me what was making me go out of my way…and that got me to thinking." He paused, and laughed nervously.

"I know, not a good thing. So anyway, later that night when we had all gathered around the fire, Mrs. Ryan had mentioned how one knows they love someone when they can spend the whole night watching them while they sleep. Then, we had all shared what smells brought back past experiences for each of us. Well, Dawson had brought that up and he couldn't say memories, no, because that would not have been enough syllables and yours was bacon and mine's was snow." He's starting to ramble and he realizes it.

"Well um that's not the point, so anyway back to this whole crazy notion of why I love you. So later that night I had come in to tell you that the plumber said he would be able to stop by the next day, but you were asleep. Asleep?! You had fallen asleep on me, when you had sent me on that God awful mission to find that poor man and I nearly accosted him-and yeah, once again, that's not the point."

He smiles shakily. "Anyway, so I remember sitting there and just watching you. I mean I just sat on the chair, by the fire and only hearing the occasional sound of the fire crackling and the light sound of your breathing and I remember thinking Oh shit, I love her. I, Pacey Witter, am in love with Joey Potter and that scared me. So I put it off, hell I didn't even want to contemplate the repercussions of such an admission, so I kept it to myself. Then, when AJ came into the picture and you had to miss my play, I acted like a complete ass and I'm sorry, but it just caught me by surprise. I was jealous and I'm not supposed to be jealous, because you're my friend and just my friend, but I was." He's talking fast, not wanting to give her a chance to speak.

"So I encouraged, you to go with him after you showed up at the after party. I tried to make up for being a jerk and I sulked for a couple of days and that brings me to Valentine's Day. We had all attended Matt Caulfield's party and…and you know this because it was just yesterday and then when were in the cell you asked me why I had nothing but harsh and stinging comments for you, well this is why, and I nearly spilled my guts in front of the whole group and Dawson" he stops and shakes his head, sadly.

"Dawsonis going to kill me." He takes a deep breath and continues.

"And Mitch had shown up and bailed all you guys out, but I stood." He begins to mutter, "Idiotic father."

"Well… anyway, I guess it was a good thing, because Doug came in, to talk to me and he commented on what an ass I'd been acting like and ask me if it were a girl. I denied it venomously until my treacherous mouth gave me away and before I knew it I was babbling on about hell mouths and butterflies. So he managed to get a word in edge wise and he told me something, something that was actually valuable to my current situation. He told me to tell her Well, he meant you, but he didn't know it was you because I didn't tell him it was you because why give him any ammo?" He inhaled a sharp breath and laughed slightly.

"So this it. This is me. Telling you. That I love you. I love you. I am completely in love with you and I know that you don't feel the same and I'm not expecting you to feel the same, because you have Dawson. Dawson, the perfect one, able to give you anything and everything and I'm Pacey, the screw up. The black sheep of Capeside. The loser. I could go on." He stopped and looked straight at his target. "Sowhat do you think? Any comments, any suggestions, feel free to say now."

A resonating silence filled the room and he collapsed onto his bed, falling on his back. He sighed. "Now if only I could say that to her in person."