December 22

"Do you think it's possible to contain the hazard area to your side of the room?" Joey lifted a metallic red halter-top off her bed and tossed it onto Audrey's, along with a blue demi-bra, before sitting down.

"Do you think it's possible to have just a little itsy bitsy modicum of Christmas spirit in that little heart of yours?" She picked up the clothes and threw them into her oversized suitcase. "I fear for the safety of my presents around you, Mrs. Grinch."

Joey sighed and let herself fall onto her back. "I still don't understand why you're not packed."

She shrugged good-naturedly, "I had other things to do last night. Besides, Pacey's not even here yet."

Reminded, Joey sat up, reached for the bag that she had bought that morning and slipped it into her shoulder bag. "Can you just try not to make us late then?"

Audrey pushed back a lock of blond hair, "You seriously need to cheer up. I mean, you're going home for the first time since Thanksgiving. Okay, so that wasn't so long ago, but this time, you're bringing me!" She grinned. "I can't wait to meet everyone. I've gotta meet this sister of yours. I mean, she has to be, like, a goddess to have lived with you for eighteen years," she smiled over her shoulder as she stuffed underwear into the corners of the suitcase. "And Mrs. Leery, and the baby! This Christmas is *so* gonna rock!"

She found herself smiling, something she couldn't help but do when Audrey was around. "Yeah, but we'll probably never get there if you don't finish packing." Joey eyed Audrey's suitcase. "You do know we're not staying there long, right?"

"It always pays to be prepared. Besides, from what I've seen, Capeside produces *very* fine men. Who knows what other gorgeous friends you're hiding down there?"

Joey laughed. "You're unbelievable."

"That's what makes me so lovable." She grinned, closing the suitcase.

She smiled and picked up a book she had taken out of the library that morning. "It's a sadly small town. I doubt you're going to need all those clothes."

"You know the old adage. Better to be safe than sorry." She sat on the suitcase in an effort to get it closed. A knock sounded on the door, followed by two quick raps. "I believe that's our chauffeur."

Joey set her book down, making sure to mark her page before she climbed to her feet and headed for the door. She glanced back at Audrey as she struggled with her luggage. "You better hope he's willing to carry that for you."

"He's an angel, of course he will." She replied.

Joey opened the door. Pacey smiled at her and pulled one hand out from behind his back, holding out a single red rose. "Merry Christmas, three days early."

She smiled as she accepted the rose. "Now it is, but you may change your tune when you have to carry the rest of our room downstairs." Joey's eyes traveled back to Audrey.

"I feared that," he groaned looking past Joey to Audrey's huge suitcase. Joey stepped aside to let him in and he held out a pink rose to the blond. "Now, Audrey, do you really need all this?"

"Ohh, for me?" She took the rose and grinned at him, throwing her arms around his neck. "I think I love you!" She squealed. "No one's ever given me a rose before."

Joey rolled her eyes and grabbed her bags, her eyes widened as she almost forgot the book she had been reading. "I think I'll head downstairs."

"You may as well wait, Jo. The car's locked." He turned back to Audrey, "How much caffeine did you drink this morning?"


"Only about seven cups. Oh, and a double shot espresso about half an hour ago."


"Lord, woman." He shook his head and moved to the suitcase, forcing it closed. "I hope you two have everything, 'cause we aren't coming back."

Joey patted her two bags. "I have everything and I think Audrey has everyone covered."

"Thank you, Jo, for packing sensibly." He smiled at her and hauled Audrey's suitcase towards the door. "Let's hit the road."

"Wait, I need my coat!" Joey and Pacey both sighed as she scurried around them to grab her coat, scarf and mittens.

The brunette looked at her roommate pointedly. "Are you sure you have everything?"

"Yup, everything." She nodded definitively. "Oh, wait." She rushed to the bathroom and grabbed her make-up case. "Okay, now I have everything." She looked at their skeptical faces. "Seriously, this time."

~*~

"I believe the caffeine high wore her out." Pacey commented, glancing into the backseat at a sleeping Audrey. He then glanced over at Joey who was reading from a history book. "You do realize it's winter break right? You're between quarters."

She nodded. "Yes, I know. It just doesn't hurt to stay...prepared."

He glanced over at her again and pulled the book into view. "Funny, I didn't know Henry the Eighth knew that position."

Joey glared and snatched her book back. "I guess you should have just paid more attention in school then."

"Please explain to me why you're reading the Kama Sutra."

She stared out the window in annoyance. "It's none of your business."

He was quiet for a moment. "Are you sure you want to lose your virginity that way?”

"I've already decided and you're not going to change my mind."

"I had to try."

"Besides if I were you, I wouldn't be lecturing about first times anyway."

"My first time may not have been with someone I loved, but I did fall in love with her after." His hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"Besides the chances of my regretting it are very slim, there's only a one in four chance that I will. Besides statistics say that sex with a casual acquaintance ranks higher on the acceptability scale then sex with a fiancé."

"Are you trying to tell me it's more acceptable to sleep with someone you barely know than it is with someone you plan to marry?"

"For females yes. For guys the number is even higher."

"What trash have you been reading?"

"It's not trash," she muttered.

"Yeah, well it's not the truth either."

"And how would you know?"

"I just do. Do you really wanna know the details of how?"

She shrugged and gave him a deprecating look. "I think your sexual history speaks for itself. Out of all the women you slept with, how many were you in a relationship with?"

"Three. And before you get all high and mighty, there were only three others. Two of those were casual and one of them was casual only for her and would have actually meant something to me if she hadn't been using me to get back at her ex. So sorry to disappoint you, but I've only slept with six women in my life."

She raised an eyebrow. "And how old are you?"

He rolled his eyes, "Nineteen in less than a month. You know that."

"So I don't understand why you're being so sexist. If it were Dawson here instead of me, he'd be getting a pat on the back, but because I'm poor little Joey Potter it's unthinkable."

"Right, I probably would be congratulating Dawson. But virginity means more to a woman than a guy. And for the record, I'm glad he and Jen shared that experience together. It had far more meaning for him than if it had been with a virtual stranger."

"Which proves my point even more. Dawson and Jen weren't even dating when they slept together."

"But they are now. Plus, they were more than just casual acquaintances. They were close friends."

"That's why this trip back home is a good opportunity."

"What? Are you going to jump Chris Wolf?"

She glanced back out the window. "I don't know. I just might."

He sighed heavily. “You're extremely stubborn.”

"You just don't get it." She folded her arms across her chest and stared out in front of her. "I know it would be perfect if it were with someone I trusted and cared about, someone who knows what they're doing, but Dawson is the extent of my sexual experience. Which isn't much and I don't exactly have any boyfriends on the horizon. I don't want to wait anymore and maybe I am doing it for all the wrong reasons, but it's what I want and if I can't have perfect, I can at least get close to it."

He sighed, and stared at the road ahead, he took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. After that, he didn't say anything more.

She bit the inside of her cheek. "I don't even know why I told you this anyway."

He shrugged a shoulder. "Me neither." He glanced away from the road to look at her, "But I'm glad you did."

"You better not tell anyone."

"I was thinking of telling Bessie so she could lock you in your room for the duration of our visit. But since you asked so nicely..." He sensed her tense beside him, and he stopped teasing her. "I promise, Potter."

She released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Thank you."

"Hey....are we there yet?" Audrey's sleepy voice interrupted them. "What's going on up there?"

Joey slipped her book back into her bag. "Nothing."

Pacey replaced his hand on the wheel. "We're just about there, Audrey. Another ten minutes maybe."

Joey sighed and returned to gazing out the window. "Okay, so tell me all about Capeside." Audrey demanded.


"Oh lord."

Joey smiled. "It's just something you'll have to experience for yourself."

"You guys are no fun." She sat back and let the scenery fly by.

~*~

"Great. We'll see you when dinner is ready." Audrey waved back at Pacey as she pulled Joey from the room. "Okay, so, explain to me how he knows his way around your kitchen like he's lived here all his life?"

Joey raised an eyebrow. "This is an issue why?"

"I guess it’s not really..." She shrugged. "I know you guys dated and all. But no boyfriend I ever had just walked into my house and started cooking for me."

"I think you're reading way too much into it."

"Hey, I'm not reading anything anywhere. I'm just making an observation."

"Besides if Pacey knows his way around the kitchen it's only because he helped with the renovations."

"What, he like painted and stuff?"

"And stuff..."

Audrey blinked and looked around. "So his blood, sweat and tears are in this place...Interesting."

"Why is that interesting?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "It just is." She grinned. "Did you see his butt when he bent over? Hmm Mmm. If he weren't your semi-ex, I'd so make a play for him."

Joey bit the inside of her cheek because she didn't want to admit the thought did enter her mind for a short period of time. "Thank you, but you don't have to do me any favors."

"Oh please, he's so completely off limits it's not even a possibility. I may lack many traits, but loyalty isn't one of them."

Joey shrugged and rolled her eyes. "I don't even think you can call what Pacey and I did dating."

"It was a fling, which is the same thing in the friendship rule book, and means that he's unavailable to me." She smiled. "Not that it's that big a deal. We'd last a week, maybe, before I moved on to Dawson, and then tackled the challenge of Jackers."

Joey laughed and pushed her toward the bathroom. "Go take your shower."

"All right, all right," she laughed and went to her own room to get her toiletries.

Joey shook her head with an amused smile and walked over to one of the windows that gazed out over the creek. It was actually good to be home.