Nowhere Fast
Chapter 3 - You've Come A Long Way, Baby
Joey Potter
Right Here, Right Now
Right Here, Right Now
It’s official - this year will be hell. Ugh, living next to that... that… creature Pacey Witter will be absolutely torturous. It’s only been three days, including the one today full of classes that droned on endlessly.
I could hear sounds blaring from a stereo next door. Supposedly, it’s music but it just sounds like the same line repeated over and over again. Maybe it was actually stuck on that part of the CD.
Right Here, Right Now
Right Here, Right Now
Right Here, Right Now
Right Here, Right Now
I covered over my ears with a pillow as that annoying phrase was repeated over and over. I’ll keep with my Sarah McLachlan CD’s if you don’t mind. Wherever the hell he was from, it was glaringly obvious they didn’t know the first thing about decent music.
How the fuck did I know it was Pacey listening to it? I just know that he would play something so completely annoying and devoid of any meaning whatsoever. The other roommate, Jack, seemed to have at least some of his sanity. On the other hand, rooming with Pacey could change that within a couple of months.
A few minutes of torture later, I was relieved to hear that song was over. Although since it was a CD, I could count on another equally irritating selection. It was initially silent, maybe he was skipping songs, before settling on another track.
I got up from my bed and trekked over to the bathroom. I told myself that I would stay the fuck away from them, but I just couldn’t help it. I opened the first door, then knocked loudly on the second. The door swung open and Pacey was standing there with his hands on his hips, surprised to see me, even though it should be obvious that I was the only one it could have been.
“Could you turn down the screeching beats you call music?” I demanded.
Pacey looked slightly insulted, “Those screeching beats as you call it are the sounds of the great Fatboy Slim.”
“Who?”
“Have you ever gone to a club? Or for that matter, heard any commercials lately? Never mind, you have no idea who I’m talking about. Might as well have stepped out of a Delorean from thirty years ago, as much sense as the concept of fun is to you..” He dragged me a couple of steps into the room.
“Thanks for that moment of enlightenment. If you don’t mind, I have to return to my room, where club music is not encouraged.” I spun around and walked back out.
Pacey called out, “Thanks for gracing me with your presence.”
* * * * *
Pacey Witter
Joey was an absolute bitch. A wonderfully beautiful bitch, but a bitch nonetheless.
We’ve come a long long way together
Through the hard times and the good
I have to celebrate you baby
I have to praise you like I should
I have to praise you
I have to praise you
I have to praise you
I have to praise you like I should
Who the hell am I kidding? Even hearing her voice bitch me out, I knew that I’d love every moment of it. I knew I was pushing it but I thought it would be a good idea to at least try an actual conversation. A concept I was sure she was unfamiliar with.
I walked through the first door and was about to knock on the second when I could hear her speaking.
“Can you believe those fools actually made such a mistake? As we speak, there’s this weird music coming from my neighbor’s room.”
“I know, Dawson, but it’s pretty bad. You would say the same thing if given my situation.”
She lets out a laugh at whatever this guy Dawson said. She actually has that emotion? I’ve really got to stop noticing these little things about her because she’ll be driving me mad. I think I actually found a disadvantage to this living situation and it involves the, er, private use of the bathroom.
“Do I detect a bit of jealousy?” I could feel her smiling through this door, as she replied sarcastically, “Yes, Dawson, there are two very attractive guys in the next room, just waiting to ravish me.” If you only knew that was true for at least one of the two. Actually, scratch that. Jack couldn’t be blind to her beauty. Or maybe she’s cast a spell on only me.
Joey stopped joking around, “Seriously? Nobody could compare to you.” So Dawson was her boyfriend? I should have figured she’d have one of those. Although why do I get this feeling that she’s being fake while talking on the phone with him? Maybe it’s just me trying too hard to be optimistic. That’s what happens, I suppose, when I don’t have Jen the eternal realist bringing me back to earth.
“I miss home, I don’t deny that. It’s strange not seeing the creek and especially not seeing you on the other side of it. There are so many people that seem to find this such an easy adjustment.”
“I never thought I’d miss Bessie or Alex so much. I mean, I knew I’d thankfully miss Bessie’s nagging and Alex’s crying, but I’m realizing I actually miss them as people.” I couldn't honestly say there was any member of my family I'd miss. If Jen counts as family, and I'd say she does, then I retract the previous sentence.
“No, Dawson, I don’t need you to make a trip across the country. I’ll be fine until I see you for Thanksgiving.” In an irritated, yet playful, voice, she added, “I don’t need you to do that. I’m going to sleep now, or I will as soon as that noise is over. I'd better go over to him again and complain..”
Oh shit, I forgot about the music! I’d better get up before Joey catches me in the bathroom sitting on the floor like this. I stood up and scurried back into my room, where I was alarmed to see Jack sitting on his bed, reading while wearing headphones. Guess Joey wasn't the only one disliking the music.
Jack looked up from the textbook, “Pacey? When did you get here?”
“I was just dealing with Potter,” I mumbled as I shut off the CD player.
“Dealing with?” I could tell that Jack was only pretending to be playing dumb about what I was really doing. Just to be safe on the denial side...
“Don’t ask, McPhee. I’m just heading for the snack machine downstairs.”
Jack looked at me skeptically before he shook his head and resumed reading.
* * * * *
Jack McPhee
The hall meeting was a wonderful exercise on how exactly to put someone to sleep in a span of ten minutes. Pacey was fortunate enough to duck the RA so I was stuck there alone. A stark contrast to the others in the room, who already had found allegiances in the building.
Pacey was actually a pretty decent person, once the fiasco with the whipped cream and the female neighbor was over (That sounds much kinkier than it really was). I let him do most of the talking as he went on about his experiences in New York City. It was definitely informative, considering my knowledge of the place was restricted to what I’ve heard from everyone else. Since we were only about an hour away from the city, he promised to show me the sights over the weekend.
I turned the knob to enter the room, looked around, and was a little surprised that Pacey was nowhere to be found. I stood in the doorway and observed the room’s current state. Even though it was the first day, it was glaringly obvious that there was a certain Odd Couple vibe. One side was a complete mess, opened boxes all over, clothes scattered everywhere. The other side was neat and orderly, with nothing seemingly out of place. Guess which side was which.
I hated to pull an Andie right now but damn it was getting on my nerves.
I saw the bathroom door open. I peeked in and was surprised to see Pacey with his ear pressed against the door. If it hadn’t been completely obvious when we first met Joey, it was clear now that he was falling for her, big time.
He had been single, more or less, for the past year. There were random hook-ups, he’d said, but nothing serious. That wasn’t an important part of his life.
I looked back over at Pacey listening to Joey. I suppose it’s important now.
I grabbed my biology textbook and started reading. Can you imagine a professor could be sinister enough to assign so much reading in the first week? I struggled to keep my eyes open as I studied.
Pacey tried to sneak back into the room. I suspect it was more for Joey’s benefit than mine, but he was still shocked to see I’d returned. He made up some lame excuse to leave the room and ended it at that.
“Why is the bathroom door open?” Joey stuck her head into the room.
“I think Pacey rushed out so fast that he forgot.”
Joey gave a half-smile, “That doesn’t shock me at all.” Looking around the room, “Especially given the condition of his side of the room.”
I shrugged in response. Joey looked around nervously as she continued, “Do you have a girlfriend back home? Wait, I don’t even know where home is for you..”
“It’s Providence, Rhode Island, and no I don’t.” I knew at this moment I should have mentioned there was no possibility that I’d have a girlfriend back home, but I just couldn’t bring myself to say that.
Joey pulled the chair from my desk over to the bed, “I grew up in this small town in Massachusetts called Capeside. Probably fits every stereotype you’ve seen about small towns. I had this boyfriend Dawson, well he was actually my best friend that turned into a romantic interest. I’m thinking that I should have ended our relationship when we were still in the same town but now that he’s in California, I’m not sure if I’m just stringing him along or I’m just missing him.”
Joey stopped talking and realized that she was rambling on and on to a person who she’d only met three days ago. She got flustered and glanced away from me.
“I’m sorry about that, Jack. I don’t know what came over me. I guess this just proves exactly how little I know about this school that I’m telling my life story to total stranger. I think I’ll,” pointing to the bathroom, “get back to what I was doing.” She rose from the chair and got up, stumbling over one of Pacey's boxes as she went out through the bathroom. A few seconds later, she reappeared and stammered, “I.. I forgot to close the door," as the barrier between the two rooms is returned to its regular state.
Chapter 4 - Shattered Glass
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