The next morning Pacey sighed as he pulled the truck into his driveway after dropping Joey off at her house earlier. He hoped she wouldn't get in too much trouble with Bessie for being out all night. They'd ended up talking the whole night falling asleep out on the beach wrapped up in the blankets, and each other. As quietly as he could, he opened and closed the door of the truck before making his way up the porch to his house. With any luck, his dad would have already left for work.

Sheriff Witter looked up from the cold coffee mug he had been nursing all morning and a better part of the night. He didn't even bother getting up when he heard the sound of the engine cut off; already knowing that it was Pacey. He never met such insolence and disregard from anyone before his son. With Doug, he knew what to expect and with his three eldest daughters, they were always a handful, but his wife handled that. The boys were in his care, sadly. He stood up when he heard the low creak of the front door.

Pacey entered silently, hoping not to disturb any of the sleeping inhabitants of his household. He was a few feet from the stairs before a heavy hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"Is this the time you come home?" Mr. Witter asked glancing at the clock that hung on the wall.

"Today it is." He answered quietly attempting to move forward but the iron hand on his shoulder made it impossible.

"Today, huh? Oh, I must have forgotten. So for today and the next two months you're grounded," he said voice stern.

"Two months, isn't that on the extreme side?" He asked turning to face the scowling face of his father.

"It doesn't surprise me that you would believe that, because you Pacey have no respect or consideration for anyone but yourself. Just when I think you couldn't be anymore of a disappointment, you go and prove me wrong once again." He scowled, his voice tinged with anger.

"Well, if me coming in late is all it takes to disappoint you, then it's understandable that you are only capably of finding fault in me... seeing as all I ever seem to do is screw up!"

"Don't you dare raise your voice to me in my house. I work here. I support this family. I keep the damn roof that you take for granted over your head. So I'm not about to let some jack ass sixteen year old screw up raise their voice to me!" he yelled his voice angry, face red.

"It's your job to take care of me, to provide for me!" The words 'to love me' were perched on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say them. Fear of the response those words would generate forced him to choke them back.

"Yes and while it's my job you will abide by my rules!"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but up until this point, there were never any rules that stipulated when I had to return home."

John Witter hit the roof and with all his anger backslapped his son. The force caused Pacey to fall to the floor. "Don't you ever dare talk back to me again. Get out of my sight." With that said, he walked out the house slamming the door shut behind him.

"Fuck." Pacey hissed under his breath. He tentatively reached up to touch the side of his face. It burned hotly where his father had hit him.

He pulled his hand away and stared blankly at the red stains on his fingertips. It took all of his concentration to force back the rush of hot tears that threatened to cascade down his battered face.

Pacey struggled to open bottle of aspirin in the kitchen. His left eye had swollen shut the ice and steak he'd held to it hadn't brought the swelling down any. He jumped in surprise when he heard the phone ring just as he popped the top off the aspirin bottle causing the little pills to fly all over the counter. The shrill scream from the phone only served to grind his nerves further and increase the pounding in his head.

Joey waited impatiently for the answer on the other end of the line. She wanted to get in contact with Pacey. She smiled softly to herself, remembering what had transpired between them the night before and just wanted to hear his voice again.

"Hello." Pacey asked gruffly not in the mood to speak to anyone. He sucked in his breath sharply as he accidentally brushed the side of his face with the receiver.

Joey eyed the telephone quizzically. "Pacey?" she asked. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, Jo...It's me." His voice instantly softened at hearing her voice.

She smiled to herself. "Want to come over? Surprisingly, Bessie hasn't decided to kill me for last night. I have to thank, Bodie," she said with a laugh.

"Bodie?" He asked, opting not to answer her question immediately, so he could think of some plausible excuse to decline her invitation.

"Yeah, he actually reminded Bessie what it was like to be a teenager. Shocker. She's really mellowed out since his return." Her smile came through the phone.

"That's good, Jo."

She nodded. "I know...So are you going to come?" she asked, referring to her invitation.

"I...I don't think I can Joey," Pacey grimaced at having to lie to her. "My dad wasn't quite so understanding I've been forced to clean out the attic."

She frowned. "Oh..." She had really wanted to spend time with him today; something about yesterday had freaked her. She perked up as an idea came to mind. "Maybe I can help, you know, sort of like return payment to your dad for getting the police auxiliary force to help with the B&B."

Pacey began to feel a slight sense of panic. "Uh... no, that's probably not a good idea Joey." He closed his one good eye and rubbed his temples.

Joey sighed in disappointment. "Why not?" she asked a bit hurt.

"I just don't think you'd be much help," he bit. Then winced as he heard how harsh his voice had sounded. "Doug and my sisters are going to be around...I just don't think you should be here."

She tried hard to fight back tears; it was obvious that he didn't want her around. "What's wrong, Pacey? You want to break up with me is that it?" she asked sadly and slightly angry by his avoidance. She knew this was coming, but couldn't he at least handle it like a man?

"No! I never said anything like that! I just-"

"What? Don't want to be with me?" Her voice came out bitter.

"No, I love you. And I want to be with you but right now isn't a good time." He pled with her to accept that.

She recognized the insistence in his voice and bit her lower lip apprehensively. There were so many questions she wanted to ask. "Okay, Pacey..." she said quietly giving in.

"Do you mind if I go now?" He asked anxious to get past this awkward conversation. He'd never thought talking with her could ever be awkward...but here they were.

"Umm...yeah...sure."

"Bye," he said quickly hitting the off button.

She frowned and licked her lips nervously fighting back tears. He didn't even say he loved her or give her the chance to say good-bye. The sound of the dial tone ringing in her ear shook her out of her revelry and she quickly hung up the phone. She had never wanted to cry so badly in her life, but she swore to herself that she wouldn't.

It had been two days since Joey had last seen or spoken to Pacey. He had been avoiding her like the Bubonic plague with a sigh she decided to call the one person that could possibly know what was up with Pacey. She picked up the phone and dialed the very familiar number.

Dawson Leery didn't take his eyes away from his computer screen as he picked up the receiver and went back to typing.

"Dawson?" Joey asked leaning back against her kitchen counter and twirling the telephone cord around her fingers.

"Oh, hey. Jo... Long time, no speak," he said typing away furiously on his computer.

She released a muted breath. "Yeah, I know." She grimaced remembering why she hadn't talked to him lately and felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. "So... what's up?"

"Working on a new movie script. It's about this guy and girl who spend all their time fighting and through time realize there's more something more behind their arguing but find everyone around them trying to pull them apart."

Joey cringed; leave it to Dawson to pull off something straight out of the pages of the Joey Potter story. "Sounds interesting," she said mustering up as much enthusiasm as she could.

"So what have you been up to these days...aside from the usual school overload."

"Let's see...I ran off to Vegas and eloped with this rich body builder, flew my jet to Paris for the weekend, went skiing in the Alps." She smiled, counting off her activities on her fingers.

"Glad to see that you've been busy." He grinned and sat back in his chair. "We really need to have movie night again soon. I miss ya, Jo."

She nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her. "Yeah, I've missed my weekly dose of ET." She smiled fondly.

"Yeah... you up for it this Saturday?" He asked. "I promise only one Spielberg," he tried to tempt.

She laughed. "Same bat time. Same bat channel."

"Great!" Dawson said, genuinely happy to spend some time with his friend. "Hey, we can get Pacey, Jen, Jack and Andie over here too, do a group thing. None of us have really been hanging out much lately...not even in school."

Joey nodded, great he had slipped Pacey into the conversation for her. "Speaking of Pacey... Have you seen him this weekend? He's like disappeared off the face of the earth."

"Actually, funny you should mention that," he said sitting up and resting his elbow on his desk. "I called him last night to see if he wanted to come over and hang out. He made some lame excuse and hung up. I just figured he was in one of his moods. I called again this morning and he blew me off. Now I called about an hour ago and he wasn't there...It's not like him to be so distant."

Her lips twisted into a frown. "Yeah. I know what you mean. Usually he lives in my fridge," she said jokingly.

"I just figured he was with you either that or he was walking around aimlessly through town." Dawson suggested. "He might be at his boat. As far as I know he hasn’t gotten much, time to work on it. He might be trying to get in some quality time on it."

She nodded to herself. "Probably." She sighed as she caught eyes with her sister. "Bessie's giving me the evil eye. That's my cue to end this convo. Sorry," Joey said sympathetically.

"Later Joey and hey, don't be a stranger. I need you to read my script when it's done."

Joey smiled. "You know it. Remember, I'll be by for movie night."

"Okay, Bye Jo."

"Bye, Dawson." She hung up the phone and leaned back. Well, if Pacey was playing hide and seek with her that meant she just had to 'seek' him and find out what was going on. She knew just the place to look.

"I was wayward child
With the weight of the world
That I held deep inside
Life was a winding road
And I learned many things
Little ones shouldn't know

'What was I thinking borrowing one of Doug's CD's?' he thought as he took a break from sanding the interior of True Love. He wiped his brow and let his fingers drift down to slide over the laceration on his cheek that his father’s ring had left. The scab was long and hard. The fiery bruise that covered his face welcomed the coolness from his fingers. He sighed realizing he'd brought it upon himself but how was he supposed to explain what happened to Joey, or Dawson? They were all going to see him tomorrow at school.

"Funny how one can learn
To grow numb to the madness
And block it away
I left the worst unsaid
Let it all dissipate
And I try to forget

As I closed my eyes
Steadied my feet on the ground
Raised my head to the sky
And though time's rolled by
Still feel like that child
As I look at the moon
Maybe I grew up
A little too soon"

Joey walked quickly along the familiar streets of Capeside. Every so often, she would cast a glance at a store window and catch a glance of her worried expression. She paused and felt her breath catch in her throat when she saw his familiar figure hunched over his boat. She took a deep breath and walked forward trying not to startle him and send him running off again.

"Guardian angel I
Sail away on an ocean
With you by my side
Orange clouds roll by
They burn into your image
And you're still alive
You're always alive

As I closed my eyes
Steady my feet on the ground
Raise my head to the sky
And though time's rolls by
Still feel like that child
As I look at the moon
Maybe I grew up
A little too soon"

Pacey tried to block out the words of the song ignore their relevance to his life and his current position. He went back to furiously sanding away the left over paint wishing he could scrub away his own problems. She watched him intently already by the boat. She cleared her throat trying to get his attention.

He heard her behind him and every muscle in his body tensed. He quickly evaluated his options and realized he had none, nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. His shoulders slumped in defeat; he couldn't hide this from her anymore. But he couldn't bring himself to turn around and face her either.

"Pacey," she said softly unsure of what he might do or say. He was so tense and she could read every muscle. More than anything, she just wanted him to look at her. Acknowledge her in some way.

"Joey," he managed to get out through the lump in his throat. He still stood with his back to her.

She nodded slightly afraid to move or speak too loudly. "Yeah?"

"Why are you here?" he asked out of lack of anything to say.

She chewed on her lower lip anxiously ready to go on the defensive if need be. "To see you." She looped a strand of brown hair behind her ear and tugged at the end of her jacket sleeves, nervously.

"Okay...So, you saw me..." He trailed off, his voice implying she could leave now.

Her eyes widened filled with hurt but she quickly covered it with indifference. "And what? You don't want to see me?" she asked angrily.

"I never said that, Joey," he said wincing at the pain he heard in her voice.

"Maybe you haven't said it out loud, but your inactions have proven it quite well." Her voice came out harsher then she intended.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I didn't want you to see me?" he asked both angered and pleased by her persistence.

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She opened it a few times giving her the appearance of a fish out of water. "A-and, why wouldn't you want me to see you, Pacey?" she asked her anger fading.

Pacey filled his lungs with air and steeled himself to face her. His eyes were down cast his hands lying limply at his side. He turned around keeping his eyes steadily on the ground. There was no way he could look her in the eyes.

She let out a startled sound a mixture of a cry and a choke when she saw his face. A long scaly scab ran the length of his left cheek the skin a bruised and sickly green. She rushed to his side immediately worry and concern etched across her features.

She raised her hand up cautiously and grabbed his chin gently. His eyes slammed shut as she lifted his chin. She examined his scar thoroughly with her eyes before softly grazing it with her fingertips. She stopped when she saw him wince visibly and immediately released her grip. "Who did this?" she asked quietly her voice a mask of emotion.

"No one," he said quietly the knowledge that his lies would be futile didn't stop him from persisting with them still refusing to meet her gaze.

"What, you walked into a wall?!" Joey scoffed angrily irked by his blatant lie.

"Something like that," he mumbled curtly jerking his face away from her hand.

She eyed him inquisitively her eyes piercing. "Who was it? Doug? Your Dad?" Her voice came out tight her face set in a grim line.

Pacey lips formed an angry line, his face stony. He remained annoyingly silent as he turned back to his work.

Joey's eyes nearly bugged out of her head at his casual indifference, "Don't ignore me,” she said her gaze steely voice cold.

"What do you want from me, Joey?" Pacey asked in exasperation whirling around to face her. "Do you want me to say it was my father? Fine, it was my Dad. My very own father hit me. He backhanded me. Is that what you wanted to hear? That he hit me? The man who's supposed to love me more than anyone," He's voice cracked as he continued, "hi-hit me?"

Joey inhaled a sharp breath unsure of what to say and afraid of saying the wrong thing. She heard the sound of the birds chirping in the background and she felt the sun shining down on her, felt the cool breeze. A beautiful day, the type that reminded you spring was just around the corner but everything around her seemed to be mocking her, them, and she just shook her head sadly. "W-well, maybe...First...You could look at me," she said softly.

A myriad of conflicting emotions swam through him at her heartfelt plea. He wanted so much to look at her, take her in his arms, and never let go; for the love between them to be enough, for her to make the pain and shame go away.

At the same time, he didn't want her there to see him in that condition. He never wanted her to know the contempt his father felt for him. The shame that his very own father found him unlovable held him paralyzed, he couldn't meet her eyes.

She bit her lower lip trying to fight back tears. She didn't want him to hide this from her, didn't want him to be ashamed of showing her. She didn't think it was possible for anyone to be ashamed of him. "P-please, Pacey, look at me." Her voice faintly above a whisper she pleaded with him. She felt the tears threaten to spill over but she promised herself she'd stay strong.

"You don't understand, Joey. You were never supposed to see this part of me," He said the emotional burden bearing down on him.

She frowned, tears already falling. "W-we're in this together. It's a two way street and we take the good with the bad, because that's what love is." She gulped, beginning to break down. "God, I love you. Every part of you... even this one," she said quietly suddenly feeling very small.

Pacey slowly lifted his dark eyes to hers aching to see the love that she professed lurking there. He knew she meant her words that she truly loved him, and he hoped against all odds that love would be enough.

Joey fought back a strangled cry when he finally looked at her. It was hard to be around him when he was so guarded. She stood there for a few awkward moments before tentatively trying to embrace him.

He stood there unmoving as she put her arms around his middle and her head against his chest. He tried to hold back the tangled web of emotions that existed inside him from ensnaring her too.

She held him tightly afraid to let go. She wondered why he had never told her this before and how long it had been going on. Her hands soothingly rubbed his back. She pulled back and gazed at him teary eyed. "Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered before embracing him again. "It's my fault, right? For the other night. I should have made you go home, but I was being selfish-" she cut herself off and held him even tighter. "I love you. I love you so much," she murmured.

The lump in Pacey's throat ached at her words, out of love, out of pain. He gradually moved his arms to encircle her, accepting her love. "I love you too Josephine," he whispered through dry lips burying his face in her hair.

Joey never thought that hearing those five simple words fall from his lips, would affect her so much. She could literally, pinpoint the exact moment her heart broke the instant he spoke them. She felt herself begin to sob uncontrollably, her body racked with tears, words unable to form. She felt responsible for all of this in some weird way. If only she had made him leave her, maybe things would have been different.

Her tears pulled at his heartstrings causing his own to fall unheeded. "Please, don't cry, Joey, please. I can't bear to see you cry." He pleaded with her, smoothing out her hair.

She nodded against his chest and gazed up at him her light brown eyes wet with tears. She quickly brushed them away. "Okay, no crying," she said sniffling.

He looked deep into her eyes unable to read the emotion in them. His eyes drifted close and a small smile came to his face as she stood on her toes and gently grazed his injured cheek with her lips. At that moment, all he could feel was his immense love for her.

She pulled away and just studied him intently, not sure of what to do now. "So...what now?" She asked her eyes sad.

"Now... now you leave," he said quietly still wishing she hadn't found him, hadn't seen him like this.

She shook her head in disapproval. "I don't want to leave. We can't just leave things like this, Pacey."

"Why not? It's finished... now that you know, you can just forget about it. Life will go on as normal. Or as normal as it has been these last two weeks," he mumbled.

She looked up at him in shock. "Normal?" she squeaked. "This is not normal and forget about it?! God, Pacey, he hurt you, and I cannot forget about that!" she hissed, angrily.

He faced her voice cold. "This doesn't concern you, Joey. This is between me and my father." He turned back to his work trying to ignore the sharp pang in his heart when he saw the look on her face but it was the truth he had handled this before and he would handle it again. There was no reason to make things worse than they already were

Joey stepped back startled by the sharpness of his words. "I don't care," she spoke up. "Being your father gives him no right to hit you!" She exclaimed.

"It gives him every right if I deserve it." He countered truly believing his words. "It doesn't happen often Joey, don't worry about it." He continued keeping his hands busy so he wouldn't have to face her.

"No one deserves to be hit Pacey and it shouldn't happen at all." She was angry at how lightly he was taking this. She couldn't believe he had never told her about this either that he'd rather keep it to himself than share it with her.

"Whatever, Joey. This isn't any of your business," he said seriously.

"Yes, it is. He's hurting you, Pacey." She spoke quietly and pleadingly hoping to get through to him.

"No shit! It doesn't involve you! It's between me and my family. It doesn't concern you anymore than it does Dawson, Andie or Jen or anyone else! Leave it be!" He threw down the sander his voice commanding her to let it go.

She wanted to cry at his apparent anger to her. "Fine," she paused. "You tell me you love me and that you care for me but what about it if it was me? Would you let someone get away with hurting me?" she asked quietly and turned to go.

He watched her slowly retreating figure until she had disappeared down the street, "I wouldn't, Joey." He whispered to himself. "You know I wouldn't."

To be continued.... of course we couldn't leave it like that! Please send feedback, we absolutly adore it! Besides, it reminds us that there are actually people out there waiting for more. :) Paceysbitch@seductive.com or RinJJ61178@hotmail.com