Beyond the Pale

"Well, hel-lo!" Pacey said. He leered as he stared at Joey. "Have you seen Joey? She was supposed to go out with me tonight."

"You’re not funny, Pacey." Joey put her hands on her hips. She was already feeling completely insecure, and he had to be a wise-ass. She stood on her porch, wondering if this was all a huge mistake.

Joey’d spent the better part of the afternoon trying to decide what to wear. She didn’t want to make Pacey think that going on a mercy date with him was the thrill of her life, but she was aware that they were going to a very nice restaurant and she wanted to be dressed appropriately. So she’d raided Bessie’s closet. Fortunately, Bessie was at work, or Joey was sure her sister would have forbidden her to wear the dress she’d picked out.

"Are you ready to go?" Pacey asked.

"If you’re done making smart remarks," Joey shot back at him.

Pacey climbed two of the porch steps, staying one step below her so they were eye to eye. He gazed at her apologetically and smiled. "What I was trying to say in my usual inane way," he told her, "is that you look really great, and I’m glad you’re letting me drag you with me to this ordeal." He rolled his eyes.

"Thanks," Joey said. She resisted the urge to tug the neckline of her dress upward. Another inch or two lower and she could’ve been a Cosmo cover girl. Bessie had worn this dress to her last high school dance. The problem was that Bessie was at least four inches shorter than Joey. The sleeveless black cocktail dress that had been nearly to Bessie’s knees hit Joey right about mid-thigh.

"Okay, so let’s go," Pacey said.

When they were settled in the Witter family truck, Joey glanced at her friend and commented, "Nice monkey suit." She didn’t think she’d ever seen Pacey in a coat and tie.

Pacey grinned at her. "I raided Doug’s closet. He may be a potential homo, but he has good taste in clothes. I’ll give him that."

The sky began to darken as they drove toward Harborton. Joey could tell that Pacey was growing more and more anxious the closer they got. She cast sideways glances at his profile, hoping that he wouldn’t notice her interest. What was going on here? This sudden infatuation with Pacey Witter had hit her like an oncoming freight train.

It was full dark by the time they reached Harborton. Pacey stopped the truck in the parking lot of La Lumiere, turned off the engine, and pocketed the keys. He sighed and slumped down in his seat. "I do not want to do this," he groaned.

Joey got out of the truck and walked around to his side. She opened the driver’s side door. "C’mon, Pace," she urged him. "Let’s just go in and get this over with. We’ll get a free meal, we’ll hope that Tatiana catches a major case of gonorrhea from Grant at some point in time, and then we’ll go home."

Pacey had to smile. "You always know just what to say."

Pacey and Joey made their way along the sidewalk and into the gaslit front entrance of La Lumiere. "We’re with the Capeside High group," Pacey said to the maitre’d.

"Uh, Joey," Pacey said as they followed his stiff back, "there’s something I forgot to tell you."

"What?" Joey asked suspiciously.

The maitre’d ushered them into a private room. Mr. Farris, the French teacher, looked up from the head of the long table. "Bonsoir, Armand," he said to Pacey. "

Bonsoir, mademoiselle." "Bonsoir," Pacey said. To Joey he whispered, "We’re supposed to speak only French."

Joey glared at Pacey. "I don’t speak French!" she hissed. "And who’s Armand?"

"That would be me." Pacey shrugged.

"Your French name is Armand?" Joey snickered.

By some unlucky twist of fate, Joey and Pacey were seated right next to Tatiana and Grant. Joey took the seat next to the blonde Russian girl, and Pacey sat on the other side of Joey. He was tense from the effort of ignoring his former girlfriend.

Joey spent the next half-hour feeling like a stranger in a foreign land as she picked at unidentifiable bits of food and listened to conversations of which she didn’t understand a single word. She imagined that she and Grant were the only people at the table who hadn’t studied French, and Grant was probably too unintelligent to feel left out.

"This is just as bad as I thought it would be," Pacey whispered into Joey’s ear. He wasn’t able to hide the hurt in his eyes as he stole glances at Tatiana and Grant.

"Have you eaten your snail yet?" Joey asked him.

"Nope," Pacey sighed, pointing out the slimy-looking thing on the edge of his plate.

"Then it’s definitely going to get worse," Joey said dryly.

",Armand!" Mr. Farris cautioned. "Ne parle pas l’anglais, s’il vous plait!" "What’d he say?" Joey hissed, barely moving her lips.

"Told me not to speak English," Pacey hissed back. He subsided into silence.

At least dessert was recognizable. Joey nibbled at her chocolate eclair, thinking that she’d need to raid the refrigerator when she got home. At least she’d been able to bypass the snails. The only thing that disgusted her more than the thought of eating a snail was having to watch Pacey’s ex-girlfriend slobber all over Grant Bodine.

Joey glanced idly to her left, and she was startled to see Tatiana’s hand creeping underneath the napkin that covered Grant’s lap. The stupid jock turned his head to grin at the Russian girl. Joey faced front. Was Tatiana actually feeling Grant up here in public, during the French II dinner? How depraved could you get? She fervently hoped that Pacey wouldn’t notice.

Pacey noticed. His face turned crimson, and he shoved his chair back. "Excusez-moi," he said curtly to the French teacher, and left the room.

Joey sat helplessly for a minute, then she stood up and followed Pacey.

She found him outside, pacing the sidewalk in the chill night air. "Bitch!" he said angrily. "Slut, whore, cunt!"

"Let it all out," Joey said. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. "Don’t hold anything back on my account."

Pacey stopped and looked at her. "How could she do that? Doesn’t she realize that I loved her?"

Joey stepped closer to Pacey, putting a hand on his arm. "Let’s just go home," she said softly.

Pacey looked down at Joey’s hand on his arm, then up into her eyes. He tried to smile. "That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all night."

The radio in the truck didn’t work, so they listened to the sound of the engine. After a while, Joey said, "So she never slept with you?"

"She was never interested in anything physical with me," Pacey said. His hands clenched the steering wheel. "I thought maybe it was her culture or something...you know, that maybe Russian chicks aren’t into that. But apparently it was just that she didn’t want me."

She must’ve been crazy, Joey thought.

Pacey misinterpreted her silence. "It’s not that I think you have to have sex when you’re dating someone," he said. "I loved her. I would’ve waited as long as she wanted to."

It was clear to Joey that Tatiana didn’t know what she’d given up when she’d dumped Pacey. He was head and shoulders above the dumb jocks that most of the girls went for. "That’s really sweet, Pace," Joey said.

It was 10:30 when Pacey and Joey arrived back at Joey’s house. "I am so relieved that’s over!" Pacey said, getting out and coming around to open Joey’s door.

They walked up onto the porch, and Joey dug her key out of her purse.

"The only thing that made it bearable," Pacey said softly, "is that you were with me."

Joey looked up at him. Pacey’s brown eyes were soft, and he smiled at her.

Silence stretched out between them, and Joey began to feel as awkward as Pacey looked. His smile faded. Joey was freezing, and her heels were killing her feet, but she could not move.

Pacey leaned close to Joey and put one hand on her shoulder. Joey’s heart beat fiercely. Was he going to kiss her?

Pacey’s cheek brushed hers, and she could feel his breath against her ear. He kissed her softly on the cheek. Joey was shaken by the jolt she felt when his lips touched her skin.

"Thanks for everything," Pacey said, pulling away from her. "You’re a true friend."

"G’night, Pacey," Joey said, striving to sound normal. She stood and watched as he loped down the sidewalk back to the truck.

Joey went inside. She closed the front door behind her and leaned against it. She kicked her heels off and sent them flying halfway across the room.

Joey’s hand touched her cheek, where Pacey’s lips had been. "I am seriously hot for Pacey Witter, my former arch-enemy," she murmured incredulously to herself.

"What in the world do I do now?"

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