Nowhere Fast
Chapter 12 - New York State of Mind
Joey Potter
I can’t believe I’m actually in New York City. Dawson would be so jealous.
Now can someone explain why that’s the first thing I thought of?
Anyway, now I’m actually in New York City. I felt like screaming out the window. That first moment was so surreal that only an action that would only occur in a lousy road movie would be the appropriate action.
Technically, I had seen it in real life once. After all, I had to drive past here to when I drove to the campus on the first day. But it had been a very foggy day so I couldn’t marvel at how close I was to arguably the most famous city in the world.
Pacey was driving through blocks, trying to find the entrance to the parking garage. He was so nonchalant about it – getting pissed off at other drivers, finding the wrong direction on a one-way street. How could he not realize how lucky he’d been to live in the city that never sleeps?
Speaking of sleeping, I looked over at the backseat. Sure enough, Jack was still asleep. How the hell could he sleep through this?
I knew that his family had visited New York when he was eleven, but that he had a tourist’s view of the city. He hadn’t even visited when his brother Tim was attending Columbia – that was apparently a trip reserved for father to bond with his older son. I suspect that Tim would tell Jack about his adventures here. It would explain why he was so fascinated with Pacey’s stories, despite having some knowledge of the place.
As opposed to me, who just knew this place from the tinted lens of a director’s camera.
Finally, Pacey found the garage and pulled into the entrance. After finding a parking spot, he tapped on Jack’s knee to wake him up, then went out of the car to get the bags out of the trunk. He led us into a passage that let us out at the lobby of an extravagant building.
I wanted to marvel at the amazing architecture but Pacey shouted, “Would you come on, Potter?” It was then that I noticed Pacey and Jack standing in the elevator in front of me while I was frozen in the lobby. I scurried into the elevator before the doors closed.
When the doors reopened, I was greeted by a painting of an elderly woman in a frame that appeared more expensive than my whole wardrobe. The floor was covered in luscious tan carpeting. I then got out of my daze enough to step out of the elevator before the doors separated us.
Pacey was walking ahead. I caught up to Jack and whispered to him, “I’ve never seen such wealth.” He nodded as we rushed to catch up to him.
He had finally stopped at a door right before the end of the hallway. He knocked on the door with three quick taps and a loud pound – which must have been a code between friends. The door swung open and a tall dark-haired guy stood there. Initially, he was smiling and leaned as if expecting a girl. When he realized it was Pacey, he retreated and appeared to be pissed off.
“I thought they’d finally cleaned up this building,” he sneered.
“So did I.” Pacey replied in a similar tone. I looked from Pacey to the other guy as they were exchanging stares. It had felt like a standoff in a western. Then, just as quickly, they were shaking hands. “You know, you’re not exactly the pretty face I was expecting.”
“Neither was I. Jen went to a friend on the 16th floor and thought she’d just forgotten her key. I failed to remember you had that same knock. So you’re visiting this weekend?”
“This isn’t a surprise visit. Which means that she knew you’d think that it was her.”
He muttered, “Knowing Jen, she was hoping that I’d greet you the way I’d greet her. I bet she fantasizes about me kissing you. Damn freak, thinking of two straight guys kissing.” Damn, why did that sound familiar? Oh yeah, that was when Jack and I were complaining about Charlie. Of course, that was when I thought Jack was straight and would never think of Pacey in that way. I glanced at Jack, who seemed to remember the same conversation I did as he was stifling a laugh.
Pacey dropped his backpack and stormed to the end of the hallway, shouting, “Jenny Penny, where are you?” He turned around the corner. When he returned, he was dragging a giggling blonde with him. I couldn’t see her that well but it had to be Jen.
The other guy exclaimed, “You are such a bitch.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Jen released herself from Pacey’s grip, then wrapped her arms around his waist. “You love it when I play games.”
“Affirmative.” He leaned down to kiss her. I guess that was confirmation that the guy was her boyfriend Drue Valentine. The guy that was the cause of much of the excitement, both positive and negative, the last couple of years for Pacey.
Jen untangled herself from Drue after a minute and I finally got a good look at her. Yes, it was certainly Jen Lindley. She was wearing a corduroy jacket, jeans and a t-shirt. Although not much different than anything I’d wear, the way she wore it made her seem much more sophisticated.
She smiled at us, “So I finally get to meet the team. I’m Jen, if you couldn’t already guess, and this is Drue. Drue, this is Pace’s roommate Jack and his neighbor Joey.” Jen glanced at Pacey, who nodded that she was correct.
Drue glanced at me, then at Jen, then back at me, “I see that Pacey’s taste has improved exponentially. It’s considered standard practice in this area to welcome newcomers in a more intimate manner.”
Before Jen had a chance to smack him, I snapped, “I understand especially if by that you mean you don’t mind your voice changing two octaves.”
Jen laughed, then offered her hand, “And you claim you’re not a New Yorker. You’ll fit in just fine with that attitude.” I shook her hand. Jen then slapped Drue in the arm, causing him to wince.
She then shook Jack’s hand, “My guess was right about Pacey having a cute roommate. Too bad you have to look at his pitiful face every day. That’s always a difficult task.”
Pacey sighed. Jen smiled as she messed up his hair. “Come inside and unpack.” We picked up our bags, “My parents are away on business so we don’t have the rules to deal with. Just don’t get any ideas about throwing a wild party.” She glimpsed at Drue, then Pacey.
Pacey feigned innocence, “Us?” Drue replied, “If you’d said that earlier, I would’ve cancelled this trip to Long Island.”
Jen smirked, “As if your mother would allow you to miss this snobby party in the Hamptons.”
“I would have at least tried.” He replied defensively.
“One word comes to mind right now. Anyway…” She ignored him and faced us, “There are two guest rooms. The couch is quite comfortable if nobody is interested in sharing a bed.” She threw me a look. I wondered just how much Pacey has told her about this situation. Of course, I figured that he’d mentioned what he thought about me. The way I figured it, Pacey used Jen in the same way that I’d use my journal – as a release when I had nobody to talk to. Normally, it would be Dawson fulfilling that role but since he had been the original problem I didn’t know how to talk about, the journal fulfilled the role.
I picked up my suitcase and headed for the first guest room. Unfortunately, Pacey had the same idea. For the same room. At the same time. When we both realized it, we shot each other dirty looks. Pacey muttered, “I’ll take the other room,” and headed in the opposite direction.
I turned around to see Jen and Jack both laughing at what just happened while Drue was puzzled as to why Jen found it so funny. I headed into the other room.
Jen said to Jack, “Looks like you’re stuck out here.”
Jack replied, “At least there’s no chance you’ll walk in on anyone making out on the couch.” Jen laughed.
I slammed the door shut and muttered, “Why did I have to give those two ammunition?”
* * * * *
Pacey Witter
I was unpacking in the guest room when I heard the door open. Jen held a finger to her mouth to shush me as she snuck in and shut the door.
“Drue and Joey are hitting it off so well,” Jen said sarcastically, “I see you didn’t exaggerate when describing her. She’s a real spitfire.” She shakes her head, “Damn, that sounds like a phrase my grandmother would use. Anyway, I wanted to ask you a question.”
“They’re getting that much on your nerves?”
“Well, Drue’s around so there’s nothing new there.” Jen smiled. “Do you think either of your friends would mind heading for a club tonight?”
Uh oh. The words “Joey” and “club” don’t fit together. Unless it’s the type of club you can swing at somebody, of course.
I reasoned, “We’d have to get Joey in a sunny mood and I really don’t think your boyfriend is being very helpful in that regard.”
“What if you play up the fact that she shouldn’t be alone in an unfamiliar place?”
Please let this work, please let this work. “I’ll try that angle. Thanks Jen.”
Jen was about to leave the room when she spun back around, “Do you need me to act as a distraction when you visit your family?”
It’s not that I hadn’t thought about heading home at some point this weekend. I just wanted to avoid that particular mess. At least during the summer, there was Gretchen around as a supporter. Now that she returned to college, there was no reason that I’d want to return to that place.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m already there.” I replied bitterly as I resumed unpacking. “Joey asked me about that and I just told her that I didn’t think they’d be home. That may very well be true but I have no idea and I’m not about to find out. So, it’s just the four of us?” I faced her again, hopefully not showing a reaction to her original question.
“Thankfully, yes. If Drue gets any ideas, I’ll just tell him we’re heading to Greenwich Village.” Jen contemplated this, “Actually, that’s not bad idea. You and I have gone to clubs there before, not to mention that there’s no danger of Joey finding a guy.”
I laughed as I remembered the first time Jen suggested heading to a gay club. Drue had this jealous streak when they first started dating. I had broken up with this girl Noelle and wasn’t quite ready to move on. Yes, another drunken brainstorm led Jen convinced that going there would allow us to have fun dancing without having to deal with Drue’s inquiries. Unfortunately, it also meant that I had to deal with guys wanting my phone number. Looking back, I wish I’d told Jack that story before. Haha, nice try, Jen, I almost missed what she really wanted to accomplish.
“I see what you’re thinking but it’s not happening. We can’t convince Joey to join us if Jack refuses, which is a strong possibility. He hasn’t even talked about being gay since I found out. In fact, we’ve barely talked about anything important. Anything I know is through Joey.”
“If you two really aren’t on the best of terms, why is he here?”
“I’m amazed that he didn’t back out of this trip. Let’s just stick with the place where you’re friends with the bouncer.”
“We’ll head to our regular club and see what happens from there. What if I can convince him while you’re working your magic on Joey?”
“That hasn’t worked so far, Lindley.” I smirked. “I’ll be happy if we can get her there.”
Three hours later, which included an hour of pleading with Joey, we were inside the dance club. We had found a table along the wall. Joey kept scanning the room and shaking her head in amazement. Probably thinking “How the hell did I get talked into this?”
The answer to that question was using Jen’s suggestion along with remembering movies which showcased New York City. I topped it off with the “you’re cooler than Dawson” card, which worked perfectly. In the meantime, I needed to stop her from covering her ears with her hands. So far, she hadn’t actually done that, but she was trying to be inconspicuous. She would have run away if she had the faintest clue where she was. Since there was still the faint chance that she might actually do that, Jen, Jack and I had this agreement that one of us had to stick by her at all times.
Jen and I were on the dance floor on this shift when Jen shouted over the music, “Do you want to try something else? I think I know where there’s Rocky Horror Picture Show playing.”
“Let’s give this fifteen more minutes. If she’s still on her butt, then we’ll do that.”
We walked back to the table in time to catch Joey pleading, “We can get out now while they’re away. They won’t be concerned about our departure.”
Jack snickered as he realized we’d heard her, “I don’t think that’s possible. Welcome back.” Joey turned around, slightly embarrassed, muttering, “That’s not what I meant.”
Jen pointed in the direction of a tall, leggy blonde, “You see that girl? I noticed that she was checking you out.” I glanced out of the corner of my eye at Joey’s reaction as Jen continued, “I’ve seen her in this place before. She’s an actress who works on that teen sci-fi show. What’s it called? Roswell, I think.”
I took a quick peek at the girl. There was no possibility that girl was on Roswell. Not that I watch that show or anything. The beauty of the comment was that Joey had no clue what show Jen was talking about. Yet she was so starstruck by this city that she could believe that someone like that would be there.
I played along, “I’ve only seen the commercials. Are you positive?”
“No, not positive. Only about 95 percent certain. I’m going to find out.” She got up, pretending to be determined to find out the truth.
Joey replied, “That’s pretty amazing, Pacey. I admit, I never thought I’d be seeing any actual celebrities tonight.”
Jack glanced from his glass to me. I think he knew the game Jen and I were playing here.
“I don’t think that’s really her. Don’t get your hopes up.”
Joey nodded as she took a sip from her drink. “Too bad. It would have been nice, even if I have no clue who she actually is.”
Jack replied, “Her character’s name is Isabel.” Joey and I stared at him, shocked. He added, “Now you know what to tell Dawson.”
“How do you know that? Don’t tell me you watch that show as well. I thought it was bad enough that Jen was addicted.” I replied.
Joey asked him, “So is it really her?”
“I doubt it. Then again, Isabel was never one of my favorites on the show.”
In her excitement, Joey also forgot that she was supposed to be sulking about being at this club. I heard her mumble, “I know a place. Ain’t nobody crying.” I then listened to the music and realized she was singing along to the song.
“You know this song?”
Joey replied, “Kind of. I know the words but this version sounds all mixed up.” She then let out a sigh, “Fine. You’ve got me.” She stood up and tapped on the table impatiently. “Don’t tell me you want to sit this song out.”
I bolted up so fast that I feared the chair would hit the floor. “Not a chance, Potter.” Joey had headed for the dance floor when I turned to Jack, whispering, “Not a word from you.” Jack shook his head while covering his mouth with his hand.
“I should warn you that I’m not that great of a dancer.” Joey shouted over the music. She was moving her hips to the beat of the music, which was certainly an improvement over most of the people here.
“Neither am I. I can fake it well enough not to make a fool out of myself but that’s about it.” I followed Joey’s movements to the song.
“I somehow doubt that.” She gave me a quick once-over then flashed a half-smile. “Because you’re fooling me.” Joey then resumed singing along to the song.
I know a place
Ain’t nobody crying
Ain’t nobody worried
Ain’t no smiling faces
Lying to the races
I’ll take you there
Oh, no, oh
I’ll take you there
General Public – “I’ll Take You There
Maybe it was because the music was so loud that I really couldn’t hear her voice but watching her slowly get immersed into the beat was quite amazing. It was as if she could forget what had happened in her life and finally realized she could enjoy herself.
I hoped that I was at least part of the reason she was letting go. Though even if I wasn’t, there was no reason to think about that now. It’d be better just to play passenger on her new journey.
* * * * *
Jack McPhee
I knew that I was only heading to this club for their sake. If Joey didn’t go, Pacey and Jen would be disappointed. If I didn’t go, Joey would have an excuse not to go and I didn’t want her to stay home.
I was relieved that Joey finally let herself loosen up enough to have some fun. She seemed to want to prove that just because Pacey manipulated her into coming didn’t mean she had to enjoy it.
Jen bounced back to the table, surprised, “You allowed Joey to run off?”
I pointed to the dance floor. Although Joey had only been interested in one song, she seemed to be having fun dancing and decided to stay there with him.
Jen spun around quickly, “I don’t believe it! That’s excellent. How did he do it?”
“Let’s say that Pacey was there at the right moment. It could have been me dancing with her if that song came on at a different time. No difference.”
She frowned slightly, then said weakly, “At least that’s a start.”
“That was ten minutes ago. It’s not just that song anymore.”
That caused Jen to smile, “The ice finally thawed.” She added, “For the record, that wasn’t the actress.”
“But you already knew that.”
“Yes,” she smirked, “Does Joey know that?”
“Maybe. Pacey admitted that he doubted the identity of the lady.”
Jen looked a little disappointed but then realized, “Well, it doesn’t matter because it got Joey’s ass off the chair. Now it’s time for part two of my mission.”
I replied skeptically, “Part two?”
“Joey didn’t want anyone to think she was having fun but really was excited. You’re the complete opposite.”
“Jen…”
“You were hoping Joey wouldn’t agree so you didn’t have to come.”
“I don’t recall you begging me to dance. I willingly agreed.”
“That doesn’t mean you enjoyed any of it.” I took a sip of water before she continued, “You should be glad that Pacey talked me out of visiting a gay club tonight.”
I choked on the water, then laughed nervously. “Did you say that so I’d do that?”
Jen muttered, “I thought Pacey was exaggerating. I guess I was wrong.”
“What the hell has Pacey been saying?”
“Look, I didn’t think it would be a big deal. Pacey’s gone to those clubs before…”
What the hell was going on? There is no universe in which Pacey would ever consider that lifestyle. So why would he be there? “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
Jen replied, “Of course not. The two of us have hung out there. Some of our good friends, as a matter of fact.” She then understood the problem, “And of course Pacey didn’t tell you because he didn’t want to think he swung that way, not catching on that you did. This all makes sense now.”
“I really wouldn’t talk to Pacey about this anyway.”
“Because your attraction to him would make the discussion too weird for words? Or since he’s straight, he wouldn’t be able to relate?”
“Mostly the second.”
“That was the point of my suggestion. You wouldn’t be so uncomfortable if you just saw them as regular people. Do you actually know anyone that’s gay?”
“There’s this person…”
“Good looking?”
“Not bad.”
“Friendly?”
“Not…” I stopped as I thought back to what happened just before I left for this trip – Charlie definitely wasn’t being mean at that point. “Occasionally.”
She raised an eyebrow, “How you figure?”
“Friend of enemy.”
“That’s weird.”
“Why’s that?”
“There are enemies other than Abby?”
“Just her.”
“She has friends?”
“Apparently.”
“And yet he’s friendly?”
“Sneaks around.”
“Then what you should do is convince this guy to introduce you to the gay scene. It’s understandable that maybe Pacey wouldn’t be the best person to do that and we’ve known each other for a total of a few hours. Even though it seems longer, and I don’t mean that in a bad way at all.”
“You don’t know this guy. Charlie’s completely annoying. How would you like dealing with someone that thinks they’re right all the time?”
“I’m glad you went beyond the three word response.” She chuckled, “It’s especially annoying when the person is correct, isn’t it?”
I gazed at Pacey and Joey, still dancing. You wouldn’t know that the two weren’t supposed to get along. “Want to stick with getting Joey out of denial?”
She sighed as she leaned back in her chair, “I guess I don’t have a choice.”
Chapter 13 - When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts
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