Pacey jogged up the stairs to the third floor of the dorms the next morning. He'd wanted to come by earlier, but realized showing up at seven am would be a death wish. He'd managed to kill time by watching cartoons for a few hours, before giving up and leaving the house. He'd chosen to walk to prolong seeing Joey and/or Audrey. As much as he wanted to see Joey, he just as adamantly didn't want another confrontation with Audrey, he'd seen how the blond could hold a grudge.

Audrey slammed the door to her dorm room behind her, bag in hand and headed for the stairs. Pacey came face to face with her and froze, "I...uh..." His jaw went slack as he fumbled for something to say, "Hey."

"Bye," she said stiffly, walking past him.

He winced, watching her go. The compulsion to find a bottle of hard liquor and throw back a few shots overwhelmed him for a moment. How had he let his life get so fucked up? "Audrey!"

She stopped and turned back to him, annoyed. "What?"

"I'm sorry." He bit his lip for a moment, "You have to believe me, Joey would never have betrayed you."

She shrugged it off. "Whatever." He sighed, not knowing what else to say. "Later." She turned to go and then turned back, thinking better of it. "If you want to see Joey, go right in. She’s in the shower, so don’t bother to knock."

He smiled faintly at Audrey, "Thanks." Turning away from the blonde, he missed her secretive smile. He twisted the door knob and stepped inside.

Joey shook her head and glanced down at Charlie, who was lying in her bed. "I thought she'd never leave."

"Why was she 'ere in the first place?" He grumbled, his blond hair mussed where she'd run her hands through it the night before. He squinted up at her, "And why are you not in bed with me?"

Joey laughed. "She does live here."

"But she wasn't here last night," he shot her his most charming grin and pulled her back down to the bed with him. "My prayers were answered."

"You're a lucky man," Pacey said gruffly from the doorway.

Joey's eyes flew to the doorway in surprise. "Pacey, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see how things went last night." He swallowed, "Obviously, they went well. Very well. I'll see you around."

Joey pressed her lips together tightly and didn't say anything as he shut the door quietly behind him. She sighed, and glanced at Charlie sadly. "I shouldn't feel guilty, right?"

"That all depends."

"On?"

"On whether you feel guilty for hurting him or hurting me." He shoved off the bed and reached for his boxers lying on the floor.

She frowned and sat up in annoyance. "What?"

"You heard me."

"What did I do?!"

"I've been a part of some crazy shit in my life," he shook his head, grabbing his pants and yanking them on. "But this takes the cake. You people are fucked up." He said angrily. "I want you, you want him, he wants you, but is dating Audrey, who's fucking Dawson who's about to be a father. Oh, you didn't know that?" He scowled at her, "I called yesterday, and Audrey didn't exactly hang the phone up completely. I should just go seduce Jen and complete this circle."

"Wait a minute, why are you getting mad at me? I thought we wanted the same thing here. No strings."

"No," he shook his head, swiping his shirt off the floor. "I wanted strings. I wanted lots of strings. Hell, I wanted a goddamned rope!"

"Forgive me, if I find that a little hard to believe."

He turned back to her in disbelief, "If I had simple wanted a good fuck, I wouldn't have been sniffing around you for the last two months."

"Well, what I was supposed to think, when all you did was constantly hit on me?"

"What? Now flirting with someone means you want sex and sex only? Did I miss that memo when it was sent out?!"

She frowned. "Okay, I'm sorry. I, obviously, thought wrong."

"Bull shit." He found his shoes and shoved his feet into them, not bothering with the laces. "You knew how I felt about you. Were you thinking of him while I fucked you?!"

She glared at him. "God, no!"

"That's a relief at least." He grabbed his keys, "Thanks for the ride, Joey. Don't bother calling me." Joey winced as the door slammed behind him. Well, that was certainly unexpected.

Jack shook his head as he watched Audrey and Joey studiously avoid each other, one in the kitchen, the other at the dining room table. Jen was curled into a tight ball on the recliner in the living room, while Dawson flipped through movies near the VCR. "You know, when I suggested a quiet night in for my birthday," Jack said from the hallway, "I'd assumed that would mean in the same room. Pacey isn't even in the same house."

Joey came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. Her cheeks covered in flour. "Well, I am making you a cake, but it's more Grams then me. I helped."

"Thank God," Jack grinned at her, "I vividly remember Christmas cookies where you forgot to add sugar."

Joey was quiet for a moment. "I'll be right back." She headed back to the kitchen.

Jack's laughter trailed after her, and he turned to Audrey. "So where's your boyfriend? Did he have to work tonight?"

Audrey glanced up from the magazine she was flipping through. "We broke up."

Dawson looked up sharply at the blonde, "When was this?"

She shrugged, glancing back down at the magazine. "A few days ago."

"Interesting," Jack poked his head into the kitchen. "How's it coming, Jo?"

"There's sugar."

He chuckled, "Good. Please tell me you remembered the rest of the incidents as well."

She rolled her eyes. "Geez, make one little mistake and you never leave it down."

"Okay, I'm bored." Jack frowned.

She smiled sympathetically. "I know it's not the best birthday party so far, but things might perk up."

"I'm about ready to pull out Monopoly."

She winced. "Things aren't that bad."

Pacey flung the front door open with a bang, he shook his head, "What kinda party is this? Jackers! Birthday boy! Where you hidin'?"

Joey bit her lip. "Okay, maybe I was wrong."

"How much have you had to drink?" Dawson crossed the room to Pacey's side, and grimaced at the heavy scent of alcohol on his breath.

"Well, let’s see" Pacey furrowed his brow in confusion, "Today is...Thursday."

"Today's Saturday, Pacey." Jen uncurled herself on the chair.

"Wow, really?" He laughed, "Then....uh....about three days worth of beer and a thirty dollar bottle of 141."

Audrey grimaced from her spot at the table, and Joey shared a look with Jack. "I'll make coffee."

"Pfft, coffee?" Pacey pushed past Dawson and flopped down onto the couch. "Why bother?" He pulled a flask from the inside of his jacket pocket and unscrewed the cap before taking a swallow of the brown liquid.

Jack headed to the fridge. "I think I'm going to need a beer."

"Here," Pacey screwed the cap back on the flask and tossed it to Jack. "141, a few swigs of that'll knock you on your ass real quick like."

Joey grabbed the flask from Jack. "I'll take that."

Pacey smirked, "Not that you need the help getting on your back, Potter." Joey rolled her eyes, and unscrewed the cap, pouring it into the sink. "Bitch!"

"I know."

"That was all I had!" He stormed into the kitchen after her.

"Sorry."

"No, you're not." He glared fiercely down at her.

"Aww, look, it's a lover's spat." Audrey stood in the doorway, a malicious smile on her face. "What happen, Pace? Catch her in bed with another man?"

Joey's eyes narrowed on Audrey. "I'd shut up if I were you."

"Oh, like I give a fuck if he finds out now. In fact," she smirked maliciously, "I hope he does."

Jen came up behind Audrey. "What's going on?"

"Lover's spat." Jack informed her, "But I'm not sure which lovers we're talking about."

Dawson reached for Jen's hand. "Maybe we should just leave them alone."

"No..." Jen jerked her hand away from Dawson's, not wanting to go anywhere just yet. "This is interesting."

Joey glared at Audrey. "You're a real bitch, you know that?"

"Oh yeah?" Audrey crossed her arms over her chest, "I wonder who I learned that from? He was mine first, Joey. You practically handed him to me on a silver platter!"

"This is not my fault!"

"Bull shit. You're still so fucking in love with him it's disgusting." Audrey's eyes spit fire, "And I had to suffer because you couldn't handle it." Her eyes narrowed on Joey, "Was Charlie able to make you forget? Or did you just use him to make Pacey jealous?" Her eye flashed to Pacey, "Did it work? Did you picture them together, Pacey? Her legs wrapped around his waist as he plowed into her, her screaming his name instead of yours?"

Jen glanced between the three of them, eyes wide. Pacey stood frozen, staring sightlessly at the opposite wall through icy blue eyes, refusing to let anyone see how much their words cut him.

Joey pushed off the counter and headed to the door. "I don't have to deal with this. I'm out of here."

"You obviously care about him so very much!" Audrey shot after her. "First you betray me, then you betray him, and now Charlie. How does he feel being second best, Joey?"

Joey turned at her angrily. "I didn't betray anyone, Audrey. You're the one that has!"

"Hardly." She scoffed, turning to Pacey, her voice accusing. "Every time you were with me, you were thinking of her! What's worse, Pacey. Wishing you were with someone else or actually being with someone else? Hmmm?"

Pacey pierced her with his eyes, "You know what the worst thing is, Audrey? The absolute worst thing is that you're getting pleasure out of this."

"Dig your own grave," Joey told Audrey sharply. "I'm not going to do it for you."

"You already did!"

"Fine, blame me if it makes you feel better."

"It'd make me feel better if he loved me back!" Audrey yelled at Joey's back. "You're a complete bitch, Joey. You had him by the balls and threw him away for a quick fuck!"

"You love him?" The words were blurted out of Dawson's mouth before he could stop them.

Joey shook her head in disgust and left the kitchen. Jen turned and stared open mouthed at Dawson, as did the others in the room. Audrey pressed her lips together tightly, and said nothing.

Pacey shook his head in disbelief. "So you claimed to love me, yet cheated on me with my best friend." Despite being drunk, he was able to draw the right conclusion and had the balls to voice it.

"You did the same to me," She hissed, avoiding looking at either Dawson or Jen.

The short blonde ran from the room. And sneering at Dawson, Jack went after her.

"I never slept with Joey." Pacey growled, "Now I wish to God I had and that you'd found us together."

Audrey frowned as Pacey walked away and turned to Dawson. "I'm sorry."

He pursed his lips, "Do you love him?"

She shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know."

Dawson ran a hand over his face, "This whole thing is a mess."

"Tell me about it."

He straightened his back and pulled her into a hug. "Everything will work itself out, Audrey. That's how things are around here."

She returned the hug. "Hopefully. I think you should talk to Jen."

"I'll give her time to cool off." He sighed, shaking his head sadly, "But I don't think there's anything left to salvage from our relationship, I knew it when I first touched you."

"Sorry."

"There were two of us there, Audrey." Dawson released her, "You've got nothing to be sorry for."

Joey shut the front door behind her, and shoved her hands into her coat pockets, pulling out her gloves and tugging them on. She nearly tripped over Pacey where he sat on the bottom step. "Ow!"

Joey shot him a glance and stepped past him. "Sorry." He snorted, but didn't say anything.

She stopped on the walk and turned to face him, folding her arms over her chest. "Are you happy?"

He laughed, "Am I happy? What the fuck kind of question is that?"

"I thought you said no more alcohol?"

"I thought you said there was nothing going on with Charlie?"

"What does Charlie have to do with any of this?"

Pacey laughed, wishing his head didn't hurt so damned much. "You sure you didn't cheat on your SATs?"

"So this is my fault?"

"I just think it's funny that you went from my bed that morning to his that night. Ha Ha. See, I'm laughing."

"But nothing happened between you and I."

"Sure didn’t feel that way to me."

"It doesn't matter who I sleep with Pacey, it's none of your business."

"And it is none of your business what I drink or when I drink it." His eyes flashed.

"Good point." She flashed him a tight smile and turned to go.

"Say hi to Charlie for me."

"Tell him yourself."

"I wont be here," he shot after her. She shrugged. "Bye, Potter."

She tossed her hair over her shoulder, and walked away.