Say goodnight not goodbye

[wongsideofcreek]

Joey sits on the beach, sand running through her finger tips.  The sand feels warmer than she might expect on her numb skin.

New Years Eve.  She'd been avoiding one of her best friends since childhood (one of her only friends until recent years) for two months over something petty and immature.  The very things that Joey Potter claimed to be against

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[1st_zack]

Sitting alone in an empty hut was something Zack was still spending as little time doing as possible. He walked along the beach caught up in memories. He was so caught up in everything not Tabula Rasa that he nearly walked right past the girl sitting on the beach.

Strife, on the other hand, ran right up to her. Being a growing German Shepherd pup meant that he immediately jumped into her lap and tried to get her attention by biting her with sharp puppy teeth.

[wongsideofcreek]

While the last thing that Joey wanted deal with where people, an animal was okay in her book. Joey gave a small smile to the pup as he snapped at her. She rubbed the top of his head as he tried to attack her arm.

Somehow she wouldn't be surprised if the dog did manage to bite her. Joey wasn't even sure if she'd be able to feel the pain.

[1st_zack]

"Strife!" he yelled. "Down, boy. Sorry about that, ma'am," he said as he hurried up the beach. "He's still a puppy. He's just trying to play. It's not aggression."

"Strife," he said, reaching out for the pup who in turn jumped on Zack's legs and started pulling on fabric at the leg of his pants, shaking his head and play growling.

[wongsideofcreek]

"It's okay." Joey gave the boy a small, empty smile. "He doesn't mean any harm."

She ruffled the fur again, not really wanting to communicate with the person. Dogs were better, no questions, no heartbreaks. The sadness on her face was undeniable.

[1st_zack]

"Yeah," he said, agreeing with her to ease the awkwardness. It was obvious something was bothering her.

"So ... are you ok?" he asked, the awkwardness of the moment unrelenting.

[wongsideofcreek]

"Do I look okay?" Joey asked, only a little bite in her voice. Truthfully she was angered about being taken away from the happy place with the dog. The boy's question only reminded her that she was not, in fact, okay.

[1st_zack]

"I don't know," he said, slightly annoyed himself. Maybe she always looked like that. How would he know having just walked past her on the beach.

Strife being a puppy with a very short attention span, decided at that moment to chase after the waves. His departure left Zack and Joey to themselves. Zack did his best to ignore the rising tension between them.

"No," he said, taking the opportunity to give the question a serious response. "You don't look okay."

[wongsideofcreek]

"I'm not." Joey answered shortly, watching the puppy rush away.

"Did he come to the island with you?" Joey was curious about the pets, wondered if they were island natives or followed their masters. Not that it mattered, the closest thing that Joey ever had as a pet was Dawson.

[1st_zack]

"Who?" he asked, still watching Strife, before he realized she was talking about the dog.

"No, he just showed up."

[wongsideofcreek]

Joey nodded, her eyes still on the dog.

"Painting supplies showed up for me. I thought they might be from Pacey, it's his style, but the writing was all wrong. And where would he have gotten them?" What Joey would give for those painting supplies now. She'd paint...something...in honor of her friend.

"He's yours?" She spoke as though it hurt her throat to talk.

[1st_zack]

"Who's Pacey?" he asked, curiously. "You're a painter?"

Strife who was being observed by two onlookers got bored soon enough with chasing the water and began chasing his tail then picked up a stick and starting running around with it in his mouth.

"Yeah, that fuzzball is mine," he said, trying not to laugh at the antics of a puppy.

[wongsideofcreek]

Joey ignored the first question and moved awkwardly onto the second. "I try, I mean it's just something that I like to do. But my...my mom was an artist. I just..."

There was little that Joey truly believed she could do, despite the image she projected on the world.

"He's nice. The dog." He reminded her of Pacey for reasons Joey couldn't quite explain.

[1st_zack]

"His name is Strife," Zack said. "He's been an interesting new project for me."

"So your mom? Why did she quit?" he asked caught up in his own thoughts and missing any signals she might have given about not wanting to further discuss the subject.

[wongsideofcreek]

You know, I really didn't give you permission to talk to me, did I? Those were the words on the tip of her tongue, ready to come out. Instead tired and drained Joey just shook her head.

"She did." The two words were quiet, cut off. Topic closed, conversation over.

[1st_zack]

"Oh," he said, understanding that the conversation was over.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean ... Look, I'll leave you alone." He'd realized that he had once again, put his foot squarely into his mouth. He still hadn't grown out of that trait.

[wongsideofcreek]

"I..." Joey wanted to say something friendly to the boy, but as always, it was as though she didn't know how.

"I like your dog." Maybe she had already said it. Maybe it was pointless. But for Joey to say anything was a step in the right direction.