(Untitled)

[wongsideofcreek]

Joey Potter was not what one would call well adjusted to life on this island. She spent most of her time holed away, sometimes talking to Pacey but mostly alone.  However, growing up near the creek she knew that when the weather was hot the best place to be was near the water.  So Joey Potter threw on the coolest outfit she had and braved the

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[polly_okeefe]

Other than the Compound, which is getting crowded in all this heat, the only place on the Island that is bearable in this heat wave is the beach, so I've spent a lot more time there. I move slowly just below the wave-line, letting the water wash over my toes.

So I can't help but grin as I see someone streak past me and go dashing into the ocean, clothes and all.

"You can't get out that way," I called.

[wongsideofcreek]

"You're telling me that this heatwave is going to follow me into the water?" Joey's voice raised with anger as she looked toward the new girl. She shook her head in frustration.

[polly_okeefe]

"My mistake," I said, raising my eyebrows. "I thought you were trying to leave the Island. And you _can't_ get out that way. They built a boat here and tried that, apparently. But the heat? The ocean sounds like a good plan."

[wongsideofcreek]

Joey glared briefly, before speaking in a tone that was harsh and a bit curious. Joey wouldn't deny that perhaps the stranger had more information than Pacey. "I was under the impression that there was no way to get off this island and that we were for all intensive purposes prisoners, which frankly is a bit too much like Australia for my liking. Did I misunderstand the situation, is there a route one can take to leave this tropical confinement because while I don't mind it yet, one day I may be ready to depart and if you know a way I'd really appreciate it."

[polly_okeefe]

I frown a bit at this girl's measured hostility, but she hasn't sworn at me or told me to go away, so I answer her question honestly. "I've heard that people disappear, just at random. One day you're here, the next you're not, and the belief is that they go back to the point where they were in their old lives before coming here." I bit my lip. "Which isn't always a blessing."

[wongsideofcreek]

Joey visibly shuttered at the idea of returning to her life as it was. If Joey had a choice she'd hide out on this island for quite a bit longer, thank you very much. "How often do these people disappear?"

[polly_okeefe]

I shook my head and gave her a sympathetic smile. "There's no rhyme or reason. Not that I can see. Some people have been here for years, while others vanish after a couple of months." It was cruel, actually. And I was starting to wonder if there was anything I could do about it.

She was too far away for me to offer my hand, so I just gave her a wave. "I'm Polly," I said. "Polly O'Keefe."

[wongsideofcreek]

"Hi Polly. I'm Joey." Joey half smiled in the girl's direction, letting herself sink deeper in the water.

[polly_okeefe]

Joey, I thought. It was a long shot, but this was the island of long shots. She was the right age and certainly had a touch of the New England accent about her. "Not Joey Potter?" I said.

[wongsideofcreek]

Joey froze in spot. "Where are you from?" Joey was suspicious and underneath it all petrified. She was not ready to answer questions about her life from some girl who apparently knew of her.

[polly_okeefe]

I swallowed. "Uh, no, I..." I could tell I'd stepped over a line somewhere. I had to tread carefully with this girl. The next few words were probably also dangerous territory, but I'd already gone down the road too far not to say them. "I-I... I know Pacey. He arrived on the island on the same day as I did. He... uh... mentioned you."

[wongsideofcreek]

"Pacey." Joey laughed shaking her head. She'd been worried this was a bitchy Capeside bitch and she was just a friend of Pacey's. "Well it's certainly a pleasure to meet you. Are you sleeping with him?" The friendliness was dropped for the question but it wasn't accusing so much as curious.

[polly_okeefe]

If I had been drinking anything, I would have choked on it. As it was, I staggered back at her question. "What--?! No!" I shouted. A little too quickly. I regathered my senses, and continued more quietly. "No," I said. Then, a little bitterly, I added, "What kind of question is that?"

[wongsideofcreek]

There was a smirk on Joey's face now, more than a little playful. "Well why not? Let me tell you, Pacey Witter is a catch and frankly on a tropical island I'm not sure why he hasn't been snatched up yet."

The truth was that Pacey had accepted the loss of Andie too easily for Joey to believe. No, something else was afoot and she wasn't sure what. Perhaps it was this Polly girl.

[polly_okeefe]

I sputtered a bit more as I struggled to come up with a response. "I- He-- We've only been here a month -- okay, six weeks. I don't move that fast. And I wasn't planning on moving at all!"

That was a lie. I'd _thought_ about it, at the back of my mind, as one does when in close quarters with people sharing your tropical island prison, especially when one's parents are now more your siblings than your parents, and there was nobody to lay down the law but yourself. I'd detected attractions to no less than _four_ boys on this island -- five if you counted Captain Jack, but flirting seemed to be the only language he could communicate in -- and that fact alone made me ashamed of my self-control, or lack thereof.

But I _hadn't_ made a move towards Pacey. Hadn't done anything more than think about it in passing. He just wasn't interested in me that way, I could tell.

"We're... friends," I replied. "That's all."

[wongsideofcreek]

Joey grinned. This was too easy. "Friends? You don't get nervous when people accuse you of sleeping with friends." Pacey was going to kill her and Joey wasn't sure she minded at the moment.