Study Sessions
Part 6
by Begonia

Disclaimer: Of course I don’t own “Dawson’s Creek.”  If I did, would I be going to college?

Props:  Kevin Williamson, for starting something good, even if it’s sort of disintegrated.  Josh Jackson and Michelle Williams, for holding up and making the best (and really the best) of a bad situation.  You guys deserve better; I hope you get it.  Glory, Girl Writer, ‘cause you’re incredible.  Tracia, ‘cause “Every time I think I’m out, you draw me back in!” Thanks for the inspiration and the motivation.  Alex, for putting up with me.  I love you.  Tyler, Sebastian, Martin, Robin, Kjerstin, Tiffany, Victoria, Elizabeth, Ellie…you guys are all in here.  Be flattered!

Author’s Note: This story takes place sometime around the beginning of senior year, but basically nothing having to do with Pacey and Joey getting together ever happened.  They’re still just friends and sparring partners.  Pacey and Andie are splitsville, not because she cheated but just because it wasn’t working out. They’re still good friends.  Dawson and Eve are also (thankfully) no longer together.  Jack is still gay. (Dammit!)  Henry came and went, and Jen is single.  Pacey now lives with his sister, Gretchen, having had his room taken away by his other sister and her kiddies.  Dawson has a crush on Gretchen.  That’s about it!  I realize that the show has made its way past this point, but I don’t like how they did it, and anyway, I enjoy writing Pacey puppy-dog stories.  The italics are flashbacks.  On to the story…

All I know of love is that love is all there is.
~Emily Dickinson

 “Jesus, where are they?”  Dawson shifted uncomfortably in his seat and checked his watch for the tenth time.

 Jen cleared her throat a little nervously.  “I’m sure they’ll be here soon, Dawson.  Don’t sweat it.  We’re not on a strict time schedule here.  We have half an hour ‘til the movie starts.”

 “I just don’t want to miss the previews,” Dawson complained.  “I heard they were going to show the one for that new Spielberg sci-fi flick.”

 Jen held back an urge to roll her eyes and said complacently, “I’m sure they’ll be here soon.”

 “Jen-Jen! D-man!”  Jack McPhee had arrived.  He gave Jen a quick hug and clapped Dawson on the shoulder.  “What’s up with you guys?  Where’s the rest of our little group?”

 “Meaning Joey and Pacey?  Your guess is good as mine.  Maybe they forgot,” Dawson said, annoyed.

 “Jo said this morning she was planning on coming,” Jack said.  “She said Pacey would come too if she could ever wake him up.”

 There was a short silence before Dawson said slowly, “Wake him up?”

 “Yeah.”  Jack looked quickly from Dawson to Jen.  “He was still asleep when I called, and she said--”

 “Jack,” Dawson said, his voice suddenly with an edge.  “Where did you call this morning?”

 “The B&B.  I wanted to see how Jo thought she did on our AP Bio midterm.”

 “And Pacey was at…”

 “The B&B.  He spent the night, I guess.”  Jack looked at Dawson carefully.  “This doesn’t bother you, does it, man?  It’s probably totally innocent.  I mean, Joey used to sleep over at your place all the time, right?”

 “With Pacey, nothing is ever totally innocent,” Dawson said, and crossed his arms.

 Jen looked slightly amused at his petulance.  “Dawson, you and Joey haven’t been together for almost two years.  She and Pacey are good friends.  Just leave it at that, okay?  Don’t make mountains out of mole hills.”

 Dawson sighed.  “None of this explains where they are right now.”

****************

 “Pacey, I said we’d be at the Rialto by three!”

 He licked the pulse point at the curve of her neck and she gasped.  “They can wait for us.”

 “They’re going to know something is up.”  Joey slid her hands down his chest and settled them at his waist.

 “Would that be such a bad thing?”

 Joey shot him a look.  “Well, Jack and Jen probably don’t care, but Dawson probably wouldn’t be thrilled to know what we did last night…”

 He caught her mouth in an intense kiss, temporarily silencing her.  When they broke apart, he said quietly, “That was very nice, by the way.”

 “Yeah, it was,” Joey said, smiling.  She licked his lips, then kissed him on the chin before getting off his lap.  “Put your shirt on.  We really should go.”

 Pacey gave her a puppy-dog look before slipping his red and white flowered Hawaiin shirt over his head.  “I love you, Jo.”

 She smiled crookedly.  “I love you too, Pace.”

 He stood up.  “I love your body…”

 “I know…”

 “But, Jo?”

 “Hmm?” She turned around.  “What?”

 “Even though I love your body…if we’re going to go out…you should probably put on a shirt.”

***

 Pacey and Joey ran rather breathlessly into the lobby of the Rialto, quickly spotting Dawson, sitting rather dejectedly on a bench, and Jack and Jen laughing hysterically at a poster advertising a new Jim Carrey movie.  Pacey stopped, taking a moment to catch his breath, and ducked behind a pillar, pulling Joey with him.  “Jo,” he whispered, “The key to this is to act natural.”

 “Pace, for me to do what I naturally want to do right now would be an extremely bad idea,” Joey said slowly, “because I really want to just do you on this concession stand…”

 Pacey inhaled sharply.  “Okay, rule number one of keeping things on the d-l would be not to give me images like that one.”

 “What movie are we seeing again?” Joey asked.

 “Hopefully something with nothing sexual whatsoever,” Pacey muttered.

 “Come on.”  Joey pulled him along by the hand.  “Let’s go.”

 They made their way over to Dawson, Jack and Jen.  Jen gave Joey an appraising look and a wink.  Joey winced.

 “What the hell took you guys so long?” Dawson burst out.

 “Pacey was fixing the radiator in one of the rooms at the B&B,” Joey lied through her teeth.  He may not have been repairing anything, but he sure was raising the temperature, she thought slyly.  Pacey caught her gaze for a moment and looked away.  She knew he had a pretty good idea of what she had been thinking.

 “Well, we better go inside.  Did you guys buy tickets?  Maybe it’s sold out now.”

 Jen rolled her eyes.  “I bought you guys tickets.  You can pay me back if you want…but otherwise it’s on me, just for kicking midterm ass.”

 “I wouldn’t jump the gun,” Pacey said.  “I’m not sure how I did on physics.”  I was a little busy with something else when I should have been studying.

 Jen shrugged.  “Doesn’t matter.  You guys studied and you probably did fine.  Let’s celebrate!”

 “I can’t believe I agreed to see Chocolat instead of Exit Wounds,” Dawson sighed.  “This movie shouldn’t even be nominated for any Oscars.  It has Johnny Depp in it, for god sakes.”

 “Precisely,” Jen said, smiling.  “Let’s go.  I don’t want to miss any of Johnny’s beautiful face.”

 “Yes,” Jack said definitely.  “Let the movie watching commence.”  He was looking curiously from Joey to Pacey, who were exchanging heated looks.

 “Gladiator’s going to win!” Dawson put in helplessly, as Jen took his arm and practically pulled him towards the theater, handing the attendant the tickets.  “Ridley Scott will triumph!  There is no contest!”

 Pacey followed him into the theater, saying laughingly, “How does Spielberg feel about your betrayal, D?”

 “Jo,” Jack said when they were both out of earshot.  “Is everything okay with you and Pacey?”

 Joey blinked.  “Everything’s fine.”

 “You guys seem…preoccupied.”  Jack raised an eyebrow.  “With each other.”

 Joey shrugged.  “It’s nothing.”

 “This doesn’t have to do with the kiss, does it?”

 “Excuse me?” Joey said, nearly dropping her purse.

 “The kiss at Dawson’s party.  Jen told me…”

 “How did Jen know?  She wasn’t even there!” Joey almost screeched.

 “Pacey told her.  He was going a little nuts because he didn’t think you remembered…but I knew that you couldn’t possibly forget a kiss like that.  Too mind-blowing,” Jack said, smiling.

 “What?”  Joey grabbed Jack’s shoulder.  “What are you talking about?”

 “Joey, if you want to get with Pacey, just know you have my complete support,” Jack said calmly.  “You have my permission to come to the realization most of us--meaning all of us with the exception of our favorite space case, Dawson--had a long time ago.”

 Joey put her hands on her hips, not caring if she looked childish.  “And what realization was that?”

 “That what you’ve been looking for has been right in front of you for a long, long time.”

****************

 Pacey was trying very hard to concentrate on the plastic soda holder in front of him and not on the movie, as Johnny Depp began his seduction of yet another woman.  He sneaked a look at Joey, who was sitting two seats down from him, with Jack and Jen between them.  He was surprised to find her looking back.  Their eyes locked.

 “That’s not physically possible.”

 Pacey grinned, enjoying Joey’s look of disbelief.  “Well, it obviously is, Jo, ‘cause they’re doing it.”

 “Doesn’t that hurt?”

 Pacey shrugged, licked his thumb and used it to turn a page in his Spanish textbook.  “You shouldn’t watch cable, anyway.  It’s obviously too naughty for you.”  When he looked up, Joey was watching him intently.  “What?”

 She didn’t say anything.  Edging closer to him on the couch, she carefully covered his hand with hers, her thin fingers intertwining with his.  The book fell to the floor.  “I’m bored,” she announced.

 “Josephine Potter, I suggest you find something to do,” he said seriously.  “I have to read.”

 “I already have something to do,” she said, equally as seriously.

 He raised an eyebrow.  “Really.”

 “Yes, really.”  She let a finger trace circular patterns on his thigh.  He drew in his breath.

 “And what would that be?” he asked a little weakly.

 She leaned forward and pressed her lips hungrily against his.  “I think you know,” she said when they came up for air.

 “Be more specific.”

 She pushed him back into the couch, and he laughed softly.  “Joey, Joey, Joey…you’re just a little tigress, aren’t you?”

 She nipped him at the crook of his neck.  “I try.”

 He rolled over, straddling her.  “I try harder,” he said, leaning down and running his tongue across her bottom lip.  She moaned, arching her back in an attempt to bring his body closer to hers.  He carefully traced the curve of her neck with his tongue, planting kisses along her collarbone.  The strap of her tank top had slipped off her shoulder, and he licked where the strap had been, eagerly placing kisses along her arm, her elbow, her wrist, and finally coming to her fingers.  Taking one into his mouth, he sucked gently.  She sighed.  Using her other hand to pull him closer, she teased his lips with her tongue before thrusting it inside.  His arm encircled her waist, and he rolled over again, this time off of the couch and onto the floor, pulling her along with him.  Now she was fully on top of him, and he knew she could feel his erection against her.  He groaned.  “Joey…Jesus…”

 She closed her eyes and continued to rub against him, enjoying the sensations it created.   She looked so incredibly beautiful that he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. “Pacey…I…want…you…”

 “Pacey.  Pacey.  Earth to Pacey.”  Jack waved his hand in front of Pacey’s face.  “The movie’s over, man.”

 Pacey blinked, then shook his head.  He didn’t think he’d seen a single scene of that movie.  If it did win the Oscars, he’d have to come back for another viewing.  “Sorry, man.  I was totally in la-la land right then.”

 “Yeah, you and Joey both,” Jack said laughingly.  “You guys need to get more sleep or something.”  When he saw the look on Pacey’s face, he cleared his throat and looked away.

 “That movie sucked,” Dawson said definitively.

 “I liked it,” Jen said defensively, brushing popcorn off her lap and standing up.  “It was romantic and cute.”

 “No, Johnny Depp was romantic and cute,” Dawson said.  “The movie was stupid.”

 Jen stuck out her tongue at Dawson and edged out of the aisle.  “I don’t like you.”

 Jack took Jen’s hand and squeezed it.  “Be nice, Jenny.”

 “But he’s insulting Johnny, Jack,” Jen whined jokingly.

 “I know, it’s a grave offense, but we forgive him,” Jack said.  Dawson smiled in spite of himself.

 “You guys are nuts,” Dawson said, taking Jen’s hand.  They walked out of the theater.

 Joey still sat in her seat, staring numbly into space.  Pacey had stood up and at made it as far as her seat, but couldn’t bring himself to just brush past her.  “You okay, Jo?”

 Joey shook her head.  She looked up at him, her wide gray eyes filled with emotion.  “I don’t know how to tell him, Pace.”

 Pacey looked at her and shook his head slightly.  “Then I guess there’s nothing to tell.”  He pushed past her and walked out of the theater.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Epilogue

More Fanfic