Part 5

 It had been a week since Pacey Witter had left the quiet town of Capeside
and his friends Joey, Dawson, Jack and Jenn, and moved to Sunnydale, Ca,
home of the Hellmouth and an unlikely group of friends.  In that week, Pacey
had discovered things weren't always what they appeared to be, including the
people that he had found himself liking and calling his new friends.  Each
person was one way on the outside, but had all these little facets to their
personalities that could be overlooked by someone who didn't know them.
 Angel, the vampire, was always brooding, although according to Willow and
the others, not nearly as much as he used to, his time in Hell making him
appreciate life more than before.  Pacey had been surprised at the sense of
humor that came from the older man, often swapping jokes with him.
 Faith, the Slayer, seemed tough as nails to someone on the outside.  Her
façade of not caring making it hard for people to get to know her, but Pacey
discovered, that if you scratch the surface, there was really a scared,
insecure little girl just dying to get out and have someone love her.
 Willow, the hacker and his housemate, seemed to be shy and quiet according
to their classmates, but Pacey had yet to see it.  She was by far the
smartest one in the group, only surpassed by Giles, but she didn't flaunt
her intelligence.  She had this strength to her character that just screamed
forth power.
 Xander, the zeppo, according to Cordelia, seemed completely aloof, much
like Pacey.  He always was there for a bad joke or an ill-timed pun, but
Pacey could see the serious side that was hidden, because he had it too.
 Giles, the Watcher, was the father figure to all.  he seemed impersonal at
times, but the young people in his charge knew that he cared for them all,
including Pacey.
 And then there was Cordelia.  She was the one that surprised him the most.
He had met her type back in Capeside and they often didn't give Pacey so
much as the time of day.  They were too busy doing there nails, making sure
their make-up was perfect and that they had the latest fashions according to
some magazine, but there was a softer side to Cordelia that Pacey found
irrestible.  When she was around him, some of her walls started to show
signs of cracking.  He saw the girl inside that wanted to be liked, not for
what she wore or whom she hung out with, but for whom she was on the inside.
  Sure, she was vain about her appearance, it's what made her Cordelia Chase
after all, but she didn't place as much importance on it as some had
assumed.  It just came naturally to her.
 Pacey and Cordelia often spent lots of time together, the two of them
bonding on their outsider status with the scoobies.  They found a part of
each other that completed themselves.  Pacey offered Cordelia what she had
been looking for when she dated Xander, without the past history to
interfere in their relationship, while Cordelia gave Pacey someone who could
appreciate him for who he was without always telling him about their
problems.  Willow often kidded him about becoming a Cordelia groupie, but he
hadn't minded, knowing that she was only joking and actually approved of the
relationship that was forming between her long-time enemy, turned reluctant
partner, and her new housemate.
 "So, what are you and Cordy going to do tonight?" Willow asked as she
cooked dinner for the two of them.  "Going to the Bronze?"
 "Actually, I don't know what we're going to do," Pacey replied.  "Cordelia
said she wanted to surprise me and refused to let me know what she was
planning."
 "Ohhhhhhh," Willow grinned, "sounds like someone is falling for you." Pacey
threw the napkin that was in his hand and the red head that was teasing him.
  "Pretty soon you'll be going off to the closets to make-out."
 "Nope, I prefer to make-out in public like you and Angel and Faith and
Xander," came the teenager's reply.
 "What Faith and Xander do is not making out," retorted Willow. "That's
foreplay."  The two teenagers laughed as they got ready for dinner.  Pacey
had yet to meet his hosts, as they had decided to go on a two month vacation
to the French Riviera.  In fact, since he had been there, they hadn't even
called, having an assistant phone Willow with their itinerary.  He couldn't
believe that her parents could care for her so little.  As much as he hated
the way his father and brother treated him, at least they acted as if Pacey
was alive.
 "I'll get it," Willow said when she heard the phone ring.  She was
expecting a call from Angel, telling her what their plans might be.
"Hello."
 "Ummm, I'm looking for Pacey Witter," came a young male voice on the other
end of the line.  "I was given this number for him."
 "Sure, hold on," she answered cheerily.  "Hey, Pace, phone."
 "Is it Delia?" He shouted from the kitchen.
 "Not unless her surprise is she's having a sex change.  It's a guy," Wil-low
yelled back.  Pacey came out from the kitchen and took the phone from
Willow.
 "Ha ha, very funny Wills."  Willow just batted her eyelashes at him and
went back into the kitchen.  Pacey raised the phone to his ears.
 "Hello."
 "Hey Pacey, we've been waiting for your call."
 "Hey Dawson," Pacey replied.  "Yeah, well, I've been meaning to call you
but things have been kind of hectic around here.  You know how it is."
 "Yeah, I bet.  I mean, new school.  New people.  New parents.  Must be
kinda tough," Dawson stated.
 "Actually, school isn't bad.  Neither are the people and I haven't even met
the Rosenbergs yet."
 "Then who was that who answered the phone?"
 "That was Willow, their daughter."
 "So its only the two of you in the house?  Is she cute?"  Dawson inquired,
jealous at his friend's luck.
 "Yup, in that cute look but don't touch kind of way."
 "What do you mean?"
 She's got a boyfriend and they are very happy together," he explained.  "I
don't even want to think about what would happen to someone who was stupid
enough to try and get between them."
 "Oh-kay," Dawson drawled.  "So, who's this Delia?"
 "Ummm, well," Pacey fumbled to say, " I guess you could kind of say that
she's my girlfriend."
 "Girlfriend?  But what about Andy?"
 "What about her?"  Pacey inquired.  "She and I are history. She made that
perfectly clear the last time I saw her."
 "Well, then something has changed because she's back in Capeside and
wanting you back," Dawson said.
 "Great," Pacey moaned, deciding that he wanted to change the subject.  "So
what's been going on in Capeside?  Anyone miss me?"
 "Joey and Jenn say hi.  Joey's dating some college guy that she met and
Jenn and I kinda hooked back up.  Then there's….." Pacey found himself
zoning out as he listened to Dawson talk about the soap opera that was
Capeside's youth.  Sure, he still was interested in those things but, maybe
it was the distance between the two friends, or the differences that Pacey
had discovered in himself in the week that he had been gone, he just
couldn't concentrate on what Dawson was saying.  It wasn't until there was
silence on the other end of the phone that he realized that Dawson had asked
him a question.
 "I'm sorry, what was that?"
 "I said, so what's Sunnydale like?  Is it as quiet as you thought is was?"
 "Not really," Pacey said evasively.  "Let's just say their nightlife is a
little more, rambunctious, than what I thought it would be."  Pacey heard a
click in his phone.  "Dawson, hold on I have a call waiting."  Pacey clicked
over to the other line.
 "Hello."
 "Hey, Pacey.  Is Willow around?"
 "Sure thing Angel.  Hold on a minute.  I have another call."  Pacey clik-ked
back to the other line.
 "Dawson, gotta go.  Willow's boyfriend is on the line."
 "Okay, I'll talk to you later."  With that, Pacey heard Dawson hand up the
phone and he clicked back over to Angel.  "Hold on Angel and I'll get her.
Hey Willow, Angel's on the phone."  Willow came rushing out to the phone.
 "Thanks."  Pacey handed the phone to the redhead and went into the kitchen
to give her some privacy and to think over his conversation with Dawson.
Dawson was his best friend.  The two of them had grown up together, along
with Joey, and had always been inseperatable and yet he had been completely
out of the conversation with his friend.  Dawson was talking about the
people that Pacey had considered his family over the past few years,
including the girl that he had been in love with, and yet Pacey had been
completely uninteresting in what was being said.  Could it have something to
do with what his life was like now?  Could the fact that he battled vampires
and demons, or at least researched them, have made him less interested in
the safe and normal lives of the people that he had grown up with.  He
didn't know, and considering that he didn't plan on seeing any of the others
any time soon, he didn't even want to think about it.  He just wanted to
think about Cordelia and what she could possibly have planned for him.
 

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