Somewhere Else
Chapter 8 - Do You Really Want to Know?
Lisette jerked up as soon as she heard her name called. “What are you doing here?”
“I was trying to get a rise out of…wait a minute, I can be here. You can’t!” Joey pointed next door. “Remember the boyfriend?”
Frank interrupted, “How do you two know each other?” his voice indicating he hoped there would be a catfight.
Lisette replied dryly, “Frank, meet Pacey’s recurring ex-girlfriend Joey Potter.”
Frank’s eyes widened at the familiar name. So this was the girl Abby kept insisting on bringing up in conversation. When Joey caught the look, he covered, “The same Joey who lived in this very room?”
“Yeah.”
“Pleasure to meet the legend.”
Lisette sighed loudly, “There’s no reason to suck up now. She’s going to tell him.”
Joey informed her, “I don’t think it would take long for Pacey to figure out you’re here.”
“Especially since he’s not deaf,” Pacey’s voice crept upon them. Joey twirled around to see him standing right behind her. “Though he is hoping this is some sick nightmare.”
“Pacey…” Lisette whined, actually desperate enough to want to explain.
“I’ve never claimed that we were exactly an exclusive couple. But, why that?”
Frank crossed his arms over his chest. “Excuse me?”
Lisette attempted to defend herself. “I’m not sure what happened, either. We’ve been hanging around the same clubs.” She pointed to Frank, ‘There’s definitely something here and it’s useless to deny it for months.”
“Maybe it’s the drinks,” Pacey muttered, knowing that Frank’s usual way of operating involved drunk or lonely girls.
She shook her head, “I don’t think so. When I’m around Frank, I feel like I’m me. I haven’t felt so alive.”
Pacey shook his head, amazed how self-centered she could be. “Do you honestly think that I, as your apparently ex-boyfriend, care about the chemistry you have with Strickler?”
Lisette frowned upon seeing Pacey being less than supportive. “You’ve been waiting for a way out.”
“I have? I didn’t know that,” Pacey snapped.
She indicated to Joey, “See, here’s your chance.”
Joey replied flatly, “Don’t bring me into your issues.”
“You were always there. There’s no need to deny it any longer.”
Pacey exclaimed, “Would you not tell me what I supposedly want? I was not the one in this relationship who made Joey an issue. You did! How dare you blame me for the fact that you hopped in bed with someone else!” He stormed away and back to his room.
Joey watched Pacey leave, then turned back to Lisette. “I would just like to be the first to say that I hope you two work out. You’ve found your perfect match.” She let out a huff, shaking her head in amazement as she returned to Pacey’s room.
When she entered the room, Pacey was grabbing his coat and slipping into a pair of boots, ready to leave. Joey snatched her coat, warily watching him to see what he’d do next.
He was about to leave the dorm room when he realized Joey was there. He stated, “I’m leaving and you’re not staying here.”
“Are you kidding?” Nonetheless, she obliged, exiting the room. Pacey followed her, then locked the door.
“No. I need to get out of this madhouse and I want you nowhere near me.” He stomped down the hall to the staircase.
“Pacey,” Joey pleaded, knowing what he needed was a friendly shoulder to lean on. “I’ll head to the bar with you.”
“Who said I was getting drunk? Haven’t those idiots proved alcohol distorts your judgment? What I want is to go for a drive, alone. I don’t want anyone, especially you, anywhere near me.”
“What do you mean, ‘especially you’?”
Pacey whirled around, almost colliding into Joey in the process. His stare bore through her, terrifying Joey in the process. His voice rose, anger pouring out with every word. “I don’t need you. I don’t need you to say I told you so. I don’t need you to ruin any chance I have at being happy. I don’t need you teasing me, toying around with my emotions. It’s not too much to ask that I be happy without your interference, is it? That would mean you no longer have any control over me.”
Joey was frozen by his words. She lifted her hand to her eyes to shield the pain those words inflicted. Pacey’s shoulders slumped; he hadn’t meant to actually hurt her. He scratched the back of his neck, not sure if there was any way to fix his inadvertent outburst.
“Um, look, Jo.” He backpedaled, wanting to repair at least some damage he caused. “I know you didn’t deserve that but, please, leave me alone before this gets even worse.”
Joey nodded, not able to say anything as she observed him exiting the building.
* * * * *
“Joey?”
She squinted, the bright lights of the main lobby temporarily blinding her. When her vision began to return, she exhaled loudly upon seeing a familiar face. “Have a good time tonight?”
Jack took in her appearance and shook his head. “This can’t be a positive sign. Did Pacey get mad when you told him?”
Joey stood up and stretched out her tired limbs. “He’s mad but not because of that.” Jack looked toward the staircase, wondering if he should venture upstairs, to which she explained, “I don’t think Pacey’s home. He stormed off.”
Jack draped an arm around Joey’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from the big, bad Witter.”
Joey laughed as they staggered to the room, the whiff of alcohol on Jack finally waking her up. “I should hope that the strong drunk idiot could handle that!”
They eventually reached the room, Jack careful to inspect before letting Joey enter. She slipped out of her coat, hanging it over a chair, then sat down. “Pacey found out the truth about Lisette.”
Jack was standing by his closet, his coat in hand about to rest on a hanger, when he muttered, “Which truth is that?”
“That she’s a cheat. She had the nerve to fuck Frank.”
“Just when I begin to think I’ve been hard on her, she does something to prove we were right all along.”
“So now, he’s mad at everyone for knowing better.”
Jack sat down on his bed, almost regretful of what he’d just said. “Poor guy.”
“Yeah. That’s not the way to discover. Plus, the whole Abby Morgan element is screwing around with his head.”
Jack began to point out, “Which could benefit you…”
Joey cut him off before she had to listen to another of those lectures, “My mind isn’t there right now.” She checked the clock on the desk, which read 2:32. Even though she could guess that Jack was out because he didn’t want to be around the reunited, it still seemed off. “How was your night?”
“Just an ordinary party,” Jack shrugged. “Someone I met at a function weeks ago invited me. I think he worked on Michael’s father re-election campaign.”
“How classy,” Joey sneered.
Jack replied defensively, “I was invited as a guest, not his date!”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“What is your problem?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You’ve been acting like that since the Valentine’s Day mess.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m suddenly the enemy.”
“I have not.” Jack raised an eyebrow to which Joey relented, “Maybe I’ve been a little difficult.”
“If Charlie got over what happened that night, you should at least be able to lighten up a little. It’s been two weeks and I’ve talked to you several times since then, setting up your surprise visit and all.”
“I wonder why he forgave you so easily…”
Jack pointed out, “I never deceived him.”
“Maybe so but that doesn’t mean it was respectful either.”
“I know.” Jack slumped against the wall. “I ran into Michael a couple days ago.” Joey groaned, her instinctive reaction whenever she heard his name. Jack nodded. “It was inevitable. I know I’ve been firm with him regarding this yet I suspect he still thinks there’s a chance.”
“Do you want that?”
“No,” Jack affirmed. “I just wish it hadn’t ended so badly. You can’t please everyone, I suppose.”
Joey said softly, “You want to know why I’ve been hard on you?” She stood up and plunked down next to Jack. “Because you’re the one who’s supposed to do the right thing.”
“I don’t follow and, I suspect, I wouldn’t be able to understand even if I hadn’t had a couple beers earlier tonight.”
“You’re probably right.” She leaned against the wall. “In fact, it would likely make more sense if I was drunk.”
“Um, Jo? I may not be able to hang around you as much as I used to but you still can’t hold your alcohol.”
“Hey! I’ll have you know that I was willing to belt out ‘I Love Rock and Roll’ at that karaoke bar!”
Jack shook his head, not at all convinced, “No beer for you.”
Joey pouted, sticking out her tongue at him. “Fine.” Then, in a more serious tone, she continued, “No matter how much I ever loved Pacey, there were always little things that irritated me. He’ll always flirt with older women. He’ll continually disrespect authority figures who abuse their power. You don’t normally do anything that annoys me. You’re the one that always seems to choose the right path.”
“I’m not perfect, Jo.”
“You’d think I would have realized that by now. After all, look who you hang around.” She gave a smirk to offset the statement. “Yet I can honestly say that was the reason I had a crush on you before I truly noticed Pacey.”
Jack thought back to the early days of freshman year, when he hadn’t yet been honest about himself and Joey was struggling to part from Dawson. “Doesn’t that experience prove your picture of me was wrong?”
“You mean when I made a fool of myself and kissed you?”
He was quick to remind her, “Another drunken episode of yours.”
“I was drunk off of dumping Dawson as much as the beer.” Joey smiled. “Yes, even then, eventually, I realized you’d done the right thing. If I couldn’t stay mad with you after that, nothing should have been able to accomplish it.”
“You’ve been mad at me before.”
Joey corrected, “Usually, it’s connected to Pacey. So I blame him and you get the residuals. This mess with Michael is the first time it’s lasted beyond a day or two.”
Jack replied, “I’m sorry for not being flawless,” as he dragged Joey over to him and offered a brief hug. Not wanting the rare seriousness take over, he added, “Besides, I know you’re only concerned because you’ve stopped resisting Charlie’s charms.”
Joey shoved him away, now annoyed. “I don’t think so.”
“Come on. He’s becoming a friend of yours. Admit it.”
Joey moved further away. “He is not. Don’t gross me out.”
“It’s okay. I know that, underneath all the disparaging remarks, you do care about his well-being.”
Jack may have been correct but that didn’t mean Joey had to admit anything aloud. “If that’s what helps you accept that you’re dating the guy, I’ll agree with it.”
He let out an airy laugh as he informed her, “I don’t think you’ll survive the night here if you don’t surrender at once. In fact,” he squinted at her, appearing to formulate a plan, “I think I should call him at once and tell him you luuuuh-ve him.”
Joey raised an eyebrow as she repeated, mocking Jack, “You want to call your boyfriend and tell him I luuuuh-ve him? Somehow I don’t think he’d want to hear those words out of your mouth regarding me!”
Jack shrugged, “You’re right. At this point, he’s had a long day and doesn’t need this nonsense.”
“Though you could phone him and end the night on a positive note.” She waggled an eyebrow to emphasize that point. “I could leave the room for awhile…”
He cut her off, “Not today.” Jack hadn’t spoken to Charlie since encountering Michael and he wasn’t even sure what to do at this point. Though he knew he’d made the right choice about which guy, there were still lingering problems he wasn’t quite prepared to handle. Certainly not ready to talk to Charlie about those problems. “So, is Pacey mad at you because he’s pissed off at Lisette or for other reasons?”
Joey answered, “Mostly Lisette, I think. I mean, I hadn’t said anything yet…why, is there anything else that could be bothering him?”
Jack thought back to the earlier conversation in which Pacey was trying to get Joey out of his head. He could now see he was stuck knowing both were still attracted to the other but nothing could be done for a little longer. He replied, doubt lingering in his voice, “I believe that’s all there is.”
Chapter 9 - Switching Paths
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