"Okay," Jen said, becoming more and more frantic as she watched Pacey and the blonde near the front door. "Um, I really don't think that Joey should be going into this situation unprepared, so will you go in there and... mention to her that Pacey's coming?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jack threw up his arms in protest. "You want to send me in there and mention to Joey that the love of her life and his new girlfriend will be staying with us for the weekend? Ha! No way," Jack said, shaking his head. "I'm too young to die."
"Fine," Jen snapped, giving Jack a push towards the door. "Then you go out there and cut them off, keep them outside for a little bit so that I can try and calm Joey down before they come in, okay? Can you do that?"
"Sure. Good luck in there," he smiled weakly as he reached for the door and slipped outside.
Joey's face fell. "Sparks? Yeah..." she said sadly, putting on a thin smile. "I, I know."
"He's going to be a doctor," Andie continued, not noticing Joey's quick change of mood. "And he's more motivated and more devoted to school than I am, if you can imagine that," she giggled.
"So," Joey managed. "When will this Prince Charming be joining us?"
"He's going to try and make it in tonight, but if not, he'll be here for sure by tomorrow morning."
"Well, that's great, Andie. I can't wait to meet him," Joey smiled blankly, turning her attention to washing out the dirty dishes, and away from thoughts of anything else.
Jen's voice called out to Joey from the edge of the kitchen a few moments later, breaking Joey's silent stare.
"Joey? Can I... borrow you for a second?" Jen asked nervously.
"Sure," Joey shrugged, turning to Andie and handing her her apron. "Maybe now I can get out of helping with the cleanup," she smiled.
Walking over to Jen, Joey looked her over curiously. "So, Jen, what's up?"
Jack smiled politely, internally sizing up the cute blonde. She was definitely pretty, two dimples forming in her cheeks as she smiled up at Jack, her blue eyes sparkling. Her shoulder-length hair was slightly layered and fashionable, and on top of all that, she seemed perfectly nice.
This was going to be a lot worse than he thought.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Ashley," Jack smiled, holding out his hand. Ashley removed her's from Pacey's and shook Jack's politely.
"You too, Jack, I've heard so much about you," she said warmly. "And everybody else."
"Really?" Jack asked, glancing quickly at Pacey. "You've heard about... everybody?"
Joey stared at her impatiently and sighed. "Okay, Jen. What's going on?"
"I don't really know how to tell you this, Joey."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong, necessarily. It's just that I... Well, I did something kind of stupid." Jen glanced back into the house and watched the door carefully. Still no sign of them. Thankfully, Jack seemed like he was doing his job. "Before I tell you, Joey, just remember that I had the best of intentions."
"Okay, Jen? Just spare me the foreplay and just spit it out."
Jen took a deep breath. "Well, um... it looks like we're going to have to make room for two more this weekend."
"What do you mean two more?" Joey asked, looking at Jen strangely. "Who's coming?"
Jack glanced nervously towards the house. "Right... invite you in? But, ah, you haven't seen the back of the house yet. Yeah, that's the most beautiful part," Jack rambled tensely, taking both Pacey and Ashley by the hand and tugging them down the front steps and around to the side of the house. "Who cares about inside, you'll be sick to death of it in there. Now, the shrubbery in the back? Amazing! It's just... breathtaking. Absolutely beautiful," he continued, moving behind them and placing his hands on their backs to keep them moving. Pacey laughed, rolling his eyes at Ashley.
Ashley leaned into Pacey, snaking an arm around his waist. "So, Jack is Andie's gay brother, right?" she whispered into his ear as they rounded the corner of the house.
Pacey laughed and glanced back at Jack. "You're strange fixation on gardening has apparently revealed your sexual identity, Jackers."
"That's insulting, Pacey. You know that..." Jack stopped suddenly as his gaze moved past Pacey and to the back porch, where a horrified Joey Potter stood, staring wide-eyed at an oblivious Pacey and the girl that was clinging to him protectively.