Wide Awake
By Terri Roberts
Author's Notes: This story starts immediatly after the events in Sleep is Sweeter
two.
Email: CreativeGirl@rocketmail.com
***********
She stirred softly. Sunlight was shinning on her face, waking her from the most peaceful
sleep. She opened her big brown eyes and smiled.
To Joey, life had suddenly become a dream. Things finally seemed to be going right for
her. She now knew that the father she thought never cared, loved her more than she would
ever know. And she knew, inspite of everything he had done, she loved him too. Not only
did her father love her, her best friend in the world did too. * this is love,* Joey said to
herself. Joey didn't normally think in romantic terms, but at that moment in his arms, she
couldn't think of a better word to describe her feelings for him.
He was still sleeping. The sunlight from the window set his golden hair aglow and made
him look more handsome than usual. Joey nuzzeled closer into his arms and smiled......
Then she remembered. France. She had to make her decision about going today. Could
she really even think of leaving now? France only passed through her head for a moment
though, because Dawson was starting to wake up.
He moved his arms up and down Joey's back, making sure that she was really there in his
arms, that last night haden't been a dream. He opened his eyes and smiled at Joey. She
looked so beautiful with the sunlight shinning on her face that it amazed him. It also
amazed him that he had seen her like this so many times before, and never realized
it.
" Morning ," he said brightly , giving her one of his loppsided grins.
" Morning," she said in a half yawn.
Dawson sighed. The perfect girl had been right here the whole time and he didn't even
know it. He gave himself a mental slap for being so stupid and then hugged Joey tighter.
At that moment with her in his arms he didn't think that anything could go wrong-
"Oh, shit!," Joey exclaimed while hopping out of bed.
" What? What?" Dawson asked with a confused look plastered on his face.
" It's eight thirty, Dawson. We're gonna be late for school," she said while putting on her
shoes, " And I have a Spainish test....Omigod, I forgot to do my Trig homework
and-"
"Joey!"
"What?!?"
" Calm down," he said while moving towards her, " Don't start going pyshco on me or
we'll have to send you to Bellveiw."
"Oh, do I get a room with padded walls, too?"
He smiled, " If you're good." He leaned in towards her to kiss her , but she pushed him
back onto his bed.
Joey started for the door , but he grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the bed.
They looked at each other for a moment then kissed. Like last night, kissing Joey was like
being in one of those old black and white romances where the right people found each
other and stayed tofether forever.
The two of them were lost in each other, forgetting about all worries......
" Dawson?" his mother called while opening the bedroom door. Dawson and Joey broke
apart, their faces red.
Mrs. Leery's eyebrows shot up when she saw the two teens. She backed away a little.
" I, um.....It's - Breakfast is ready , Dawson. Um...Hello , Joey."
Joey gave her an embarresed smile , " Hi, Mrs. Leery." She glanced at Dawson.
" Okay, Mom, we'll be down in a minute," Dawson said after a moment.
Mrs. Leery smiled, " Alright." Then she left, closing the door behind her.
Dawson sighed. " Well , you're staying for breakfast , right?"
" Afraid not. I gotta beeline it back home and get my books....and change out of these
clothes.....But I'll see you at school , okay?"
He smiled, " Okay."
Joey grabbed her jacket and moved towards the window. Dawson followed.
Joey started down the ladder but was stopped by Dawson's voice, " Jo?"
She looked up at him, " Yeah?"
He leaned down and kissed her quickly, " I love you."
She smiled at how utterly over romantic he could be, " See ya soon." And then she
proceeded down the ladder.
***************
Joey opened the door to her house and closed it behind her softly, fearing that Alex might
be sleeping.
Immediatly after she shut the door, Joey heard a voice from the kitchen," Where the hell
were you?"
It was Bessie, and she was not happy. She came into the living room with her hands on her
hips.
" Joey, where were you last night? I was worried sick! I mean , you didn't even
call-"
" Bess, calm down, I was at Dawson's."
Joey walked towards her room and started undressing. Bessie followed her, " That's not
good enough, Joey. You know that you're suppose to call."
Joey sighed while puttting on her sweater and turned to Bessie. " I know I should have
called. I'm sorry , Bess. It won't happen again. Oh, I'm gonna be late. Do you need me to
babysit Alex later? Cause it's not a problem."
Bessie cocked an eyebrow, " What's with you?"
" What are you talking about?"
" For one thing, you haven't made one sarcastic remark since walking in the door, and I
caught you smiling before. Very uncharacteristic of you, Joey."
Joey smiled, " I'll talk to you later , Bess. I gotta go."
Joey grabbed her books and was out the door before Bessie could say another word.
*************
Dawson bounded down the stairs, a lop-sided grin plastered on his face. He had what he
wanted, the perfect girl. His best friend, his desire, his everything......
He walked into the kitchen . His parents were already in there, both had a strange look on
their face as Dawson said good morning.
" What ," Dawson asked as he grabbed an english muffin off of the kitchen table.
Mr. Leery smiled that same lop-sided smile Dawson had on his face when he had entered
the kitchen.
" Dawson, um.....so....You and Joey?"
Dawson smiled wistfully, taking in those words. " You and Joey." Dawson and Joey.
Those words had been said so many times before, but this morning they had a different
meaning. Dawson and Joey. He liked the sound of it.
" Yeah, Dad. Me and Joey."
Without another word Dawson grabbed his bookbag and headed out the door
*************
Pacey was walking to school, quickly. This might not seem unusual, but for Pacey it was.
Normally he took his time getting to school. What was the point in rushing to get to a
place you didn't even want to be in. True, Pacey didn't want to be at school. What
teenager in their right mind did? But Pacey didn't want to hear his dad bitch and moan
about what a loser he was either.
Pacey was smart, even he knew this. The one thing that seperated him from all those over
achievers was the fact that Pacey didn't care. But now he had a reason to care. He had
three tests that day, and he had actually studied for all of them last night. What was his
reason? He finally wanted to prove to everyone in the damned town of Capeside that he
was more than the class clown.
He was looking over his History notes as he was walking, and neglected to see the person
walking infront of him and bumped into her.
Pacey's notes went flying and scattered themselves along the sidewalk. "Shit," he muttered
under his breath, " I'm really sorry. I wasn't looking- Oh, Hey Jen!"
Jen looked at Pacey and smiled, " Oh, hey. I'm sorry, Pacey. Let me help you."
She helped him pick up his notes.
While doing so he looked at her carefully and noticed her eyes were blood shot. And she
looked very tierd.
She picked up and paper , but before she could hand it to him he grabbed her hand and
caught her eye.
" What's wrong, Jen?" he asked.
She gave him a half smile, " I...I'm fine, really."
He looked at her seriously, " People that are fine usually don't spend all night crying, and it
looks as though that's exactly what you did."
She frowned, " Yeah. Can't pull the wool over your eyes, huh?"
" What is it?"
" I don't know....everything. My life......everything."
Pacey knew she was lonely and she was lost, even if he didn't know the exact problem.
And she needed a friend right now more than anything else. Pacey thought about his tests
for a moment. He thought about proving his worth to everyone, then...... He grabbed her
hand.
" Come with me?" he asked simply.
" Where are we going?"
" Someplace where we can talk. Or you can talk and I'll listen....or we don't even have to
talk. I'll just be your friend."
She smiled as tears started to fill her eyes, she took his hand and they started walking in
the other direction.
************
The bell rang and Joey literally jumped out of her seat. Math class was over. A joy to
anyone, and Joey felt that she had done pretty good on the test she had just taken. She
walked down the halls to her locker with a different spring in her step. Joey had never
cared about what anyone at Capeside High thought about her, but today she seemed to
care less. Things were just going right.....* Maybe a little too right,* she thought to
herself.
" Joey," called a voice behind her.
She turned around and saw Miss Bellows, the french teacher.
" Hi, Miss Bellows," Joey said with a smile.
Miss Bellows was young and very enthusiastic. She was pretty, in a wholesome way, and
she always had a smile on her face.
" So have you decided if you're going to France or not?" Miss Bellows smiled. She seemed
confident that Joey would not turn her down.
Joey hesitated, then walk the last three feet to her locker, Miss Bellows followed.
" Miss Bellows.....I don't know, " Joey started as she opened her locker.
Miss Bellows cut her off, " I think it would be a wonderful experience for you ,
Joey."
Joey opened her locker. A note fell out. Joey read it quickly:
" Hi,
It's me. I have a test to make up in Biology, so I won't be in lunch today. Meet me at my
locker after school, okay?
Love,
Dawson "
She smiled. He loved her....After one kiss, he loved her. Joey thought about that, then
turned back to Miss Bellows.
" I can't go , Miss Bellows. There's some things I've got to work out here before I can
consider leaving."
Miss Bellows smile faded slowly, " That's alright , Joey. It was your decision."
Miss Bellows walked away.
Joey frowned. It was her decision after all....right?
*************
Jen climbed up the steps of the treehouse. The treehouse was built on an old mapple trees
deep in the woods. There was not another living soul around, except her and Pacey.
After looked around the trees house. There were seats made out of milk crates turned
upside down. There was a lantern that looked as though it haden't been used in a while.
There was also a few blankets and pillows.
Jen smiled as Pacey made his way up the treehouse steps.
" What is all this," she asked him.
" This is my secret place," he said with a tint of pride detectable in his voice.
Jen sat down on one of the crates, " You built it?"
" Yeah, it took me the whole summer when I was eleven to do it, but it was worth
it."
" What's it for?"
Pacey frowned a little, " My dad was always ragging on me, he still does actually. Hanging
at Dawson's wasn't always what I needed. I needed to be alone sometimes and just
think......."
Jen gave him a small laugh, but he took it the wrong way.
" I know, " he started, " Me and thinking aren't two words you'd stick in the same
sentence , huh?"
She moved towards him, " No, Pacey. That's not what I meant at all. I just- know exactly
how you feel. Like no one understands, right?"
Now he laughed, " Yeah. "
They looked at each other for awhile, then he finally broke the silence. " So, Jen. You
don't have to tell me what's wrong, but-"
She interruptted him, " My grandfather died, Pacey."
Sympathy washed over his face immediatly. He turned to her, tears were in her brown
eyes again. He hugged her tightly. " I'm sorry, Jen. I didn't know it was that bad."
She huggged him back, " Yeah."
He released her and brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes, " You want to talk about
it?"
She contemplated this whole situation for a moment. Pacey was her friend, maybe the best
friend she had now...She wasn't sure if talking would make her feel any better, but it was
worth a shot.
She smiled, " Well you up for a long talk."
He smiled back, " Well, we have all day."
And they talked.
*************
Dawson was at his locker waiting for Joey. He felt strange. He kept watching everyone
that passed by, hoping the next person to turn the corner would be Joey. He had fallen for
her completely. He was in love. It was different from the way things had been with Jen. He
didn't have to try to impress Joey. She'd see through it anyway. He could just be
himself.
He saw her. Finally.
His eyes lit up and he smiled brightly
He caught her eye and she smiled back.
" Hi," she said almost timidly.
He reached for her hand and held it in his own.
" How was your day," he asked her.
" Um, let's see. Aced the trig test. Suffered through history. And tried not to sleep through
English class. You?"
" Basically the same. So what do you wanna do?"
She hesitated, " Um, you wanna go to my house. Bessie's working and Bodie took Alex to
the doctor for his shots. We can talk....without being interrupted."
He grimaced, " I'm sorry about my mom barging in this morning."
" No, that's okay. What were ya gonna do? But, I'd really like to talk if that's okay."
Something in her voice made Dawson aprehensive, " Something wrong?"
" Nah, we just gotta talk."
************
Jen sat listening intently to Pacey. That's all they had been doing all day long . Talking and
listening to each other. It had made Jen feel good. She had been able to tell him about how
she felt about her grandfather. And now he was talking about how he wished he could just
make his father proud of him just once.
He finished.
" So, there's something else, isn't there?"
Her eyes questioned him, " What do you mean?"
" Something else is bothering you too," he said knowingly.
She smiled at him, " How is it that you are so good at picking up on other people's
emotions?"
" Well, no one ever seemed to care about mine, so I observed everyone elses."
She sighed, " Well, you are correct, sir. There's something else bothering me."
" What?"
" Well, a certain pair of best friends that we both know are now more than friends."
Pacey's eyes grew wide, " What? How do you know?"
" I saw him kiss her goodbye as she climbed out of his window this morning."
Pacey ran a hand through his hair, " Wow. That's something I thought would happen, just
not so soon."
" Yeah."
He stared off into space for a few moments.
Jen broke the silence, " Did you like her?"
" What?"
" Joey.....Did you have...you know..a thing for her."
Pacey laughed. He didn't know. He did like Joey, but he wasn't sure in what way....
" No," he said after a while, " Well, maybe for a fleeting moment. But , I think we're just
better as friends."
" Friends," Jen said softly.
" The word's kinda hard to define , huh?"
She smiled, " Yeah, kinda. I guess that I was over him. You know? But I guess you were
right. Not having him all to myself made me want him even more. I am shallow , aren't
I?"
" No. Like I said before, you're human."
She yawned, " What time is it?"
He looked at his watch. " It's about ......Five. Wow. Time flies when you're venting all the
misery in your life."
Jen smiled and brushed a strand of blonde hair out of her face. She looked at Pacey as he
looked out the window of the treehouse, staring into the woods.
" Pacey," she asked.
He nodded to show that he was listening
" Why did you bring me here, Pacey?"
He turned to look at her. Why did she have to question him? Why didn't she just
understand? " Why? Because , I'm your friend. Or atleast I hope I am. And out of
everyone in this god damned town I thought maybe you and I might have the most in
common. Outsiders......you know?"
She nodded. Unfortunately she knew exactly what he was talking about. "Pacey, you're
my friend. Maybe the best one I have right now."
He smiled at her comment.
After a few awkward moments Pacey spoke, " So, why don't we go grab something to
eat? I'm starving and you look cold. Then I'll walk you home. Okay?"
Jen smiled and nodded. She had finally found a friend here. She only hoped it would
last.
************
Joey and Dawson were sitting on the steps of her house. Neither was talking. Joey was
just staring off into space, and Dawson's eyes were fixed on her.
" Jo," he said finally.
She turned to him, " Yeah."
He chuckeled and smiled, " Well, you said you wanted to talk, but we're doing anything
but talking."
She looked him straight in the eye. She could always tell what he was thinking when she
did that. He was confused at this moment. He didn't know what was on her mind.
She spoke. " Do you love me?"
The smile on his face faded, " You know I do."
She sighed and looked away from him. " I do......But so quickly, Dawson. You can really
tell me that you love me after only twenty four hours? I was in love with you for two years
before that....and it took me two years to tell you that I loved you....You just said it so
quickly."
He sighed now and turned her so she would look at him. " Joey. I have been in love with
you for longer than twenty four hours. Do you really think I could fall in love with just
anyone after one kiss?"
" You did with Jen," she countered.
" That's not fair , Joey. "
" Yeah," she said , looking away again.
" You think I just started loving you? Well, if so, you're very mislead. Cause I've been in
love with you for a long time now, I just didn't realize it til a little while ago."
" When you kissed me?"
He caught her eye and said seriously, " No, before that."
" When?"
" Remember when you left me and your dad alone together at the prison?"
She nodded.
" I told him how you're my best friend, and how I didn't know what I'd do if you went
away. I told him you meant everything to me. I surprised myself, but I knew it was the
truth. You are everything to me , Jo. Even if you don't believe it. You are my best friend,
my defender, and my love. I need you......Do you need me? I mean......Do you even feel
remotely the same way about me?"
She shook her head and smiled. Tears were in her eyes. She leaned in and kiss him on the
mouth. She kissed him as if she would never be seeing him again.
She broke the kiss and looked at him. She reached up and played with the gold strands of
his hair for awhile. Then she put her mouth to his ear and whispered, " You are my
everything."
***************
Jen and Pacey had walked back to Jen's house after they had grabbed something to eat at
the Icehouse.
She looked at PAcey and smiled one of the biggest smiles, " Thank you,
Pacey. Thank you for today."
He waved his hand, " Friends are there for each other when they need to
be. I was just being a friend."
" Well, you are a good friend , Pacey."
Pacey looked at Dawson's house. There was no light on in the window. It appeared that
no one was home.
" Did you ever wonder about that," Jen asked nodding to the house.
" What," Pacey asked confused.
" Dawson and Joey. They had such a close relationship....I guess it's closer now, but I
mean they were always together. They even slept in the same bed without even thinking
about."
" They were friends, Jen. They'd doen it all their lives. They didn't see what was wrong
with it."
" You going home now?"
He grinned, " It's either that or sleeping in the treehouse."
" You'd freeze outside , Pacey."
" Probably. Well , I'll see ya , Jen. I had a good day, my friend." He started walking
away.
Jen hesitated, then, " Pacey, wait."
He turned around.
" I have a better option than the treehouse," she said simply.
He looked at her puzzling not quite understanding what she meant.
" Listen, Grams is at the funeral parlor ,making arrangments and stuff. Come on
inside."
Pacey hesitated , slightly, and then followed.
Inside the house, Jen led the way up to her room.
Pacey ran a hand through his hair, " Jen, why are we in your room."
She smiled, " Cause Grams would see you if we slept on the couch."
Pacey's eyes widened, " Um, Jen, listen-"
She knew what he was thinking, " Pacey, I mean really SLEEP. I'm not trying to seduce
you. A friend wouldn't do that to another friend, now would they?"
She pulled the cover down on the bed and got in , still wearing her clothes.
Pacey hesitated , but after a moment he climmbed in too on the opposite side.
Jen shut off the light. " Goodnight, Pacey. My friend."
Pacey smiled and pulled the covers a little tighter, " Goodnight, Jen. My friend."
And like Dawson and Joey had done so many times before, the friends drifted off into a
sweet slumber.
************
TO BE CONTINUED
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