GOT MY HEARTBEAT RUNNING AWAY [carson]

[PACEY LUCAS BAEK]

Pacey had spent the past week hunting down enough people to help him with his next endeavour in the world of romance... and that was a very cheesy thing to say, but actually, this whole thing was stupid and cheesy, so he didn't see how it made a difference anyhow. Ah, well. A couple of people had, upon hearing his plan, just laughed at him or called him a dork, but mostly it had been good-natured and the kind of thing that Pacey was able to shrug off. He did whatever he liked, thank you very much. Whatever he liked... was a scavenger hunt for Carson. Pacey liked to do these kinds of things, even if it was silly and ridiculous and meant a lot of wasted effort on his part if she actually said no. He shook off this thought -- no, he definitely shouldn't consider that possibility. It made him far too nervous, and he couldn't afford that right now! No, sir. Pacey needed to get his act together.

In the end, he'd managed to track down eleven people to help him -- most of them younger students, but mostly just because the ninth graders were easiest to bribe. They generally didn't have part time jobs yet. They were also, generally, the least busy ones, which was very good for him when it was exam time and everyone else in the school was busy worrying over that kind of thing. Pacey had, instead, focused much of his energy on setting all of this up, rather than studying. There was time left, still -- he'd be able to study enough in time! So much of his time was spent thinking about non-academic things, anyway, he figured it didn't make much of a difference at this point whether he went through with his plan now or later. So he'd assembled his small army of ninth graders, given them each what they needed, and sent them off to their respective areas of the school, walking along with them until he'd dropped off the last one, so that he'd be sure they knew exactly where they needed to be.

Most of the kids had accepted some kind of monetary payment that Pacey was more than willing to give, actually -- they were just tiny little niners, after all, and they were probably going to go spend it on slushies or something like that. Fewer of them, including some very cute ones that he thought were just the nicest things, had agreed to do it for nothing in return upon hearing his plan. One girl had smiled cheekily at him and said she'd do it for a Klondike bar; he liked that girl. What would you do for a Klondike bar? There were, apparently, very few things she wouldn't do for a Klondike bar. He gave all of his kids an appreciative nod (as well as their respective payments, including, yes, the Klondike bar) as he abandoned them at their posts, tucked the school map into his pocket, and then cleared his throat. This was going to be weird, probably. He just hoped none of it got messed up along the way, but he realized that there was probably ample opportunity for that to happen.

Each of the eleven kids had been given a card with a clue to the next, and a single white rose with a single letter tagged onto it -- spelling out "will you be my". It was probably obvious and he was sure she'd figure out the remaining word, attached to a rose he held onto himself. It didn't matter anyway, because the scavenger hunt wasn't expected to take long. She should never be able to see two of the kids at once, but that was mostly due to turning corners and stuff. They went in order leading outside to him, of course; Pacey had positioned himself out by the entrance to the gardens. Go time, Pacey. He'd arranged to meet her outside of the library for them to go on their movie marathon date, but of course he'd just sent the first kid there instead. Now... he waited.

[CARSON PARKER GARROWAY]

Oh, god, I'll be late! Was the first thought that ran through her head when her eyes shifted over to the clock next to her bed. She knew when she was supposed to meet Pacey, but then she became distracted by one thing or another and wound up losing track of time. Not exactly a surprise considering who she was but the minute she noticed that she had about half an hour to get ready for their date, she slid off of the bed and started to get dressed. Then...came the doubt. Was the skirt too much? Were the jeans too comfortable? Did the top even match? Ugh, it was irritating and after trying on several different sets, Carson finally settled on a pair of shorts and a blue t-shirt. The blue accented her eyes, according to Achelle. She liked flattering her features with her clothing if possible. After glancing at herself in the full body mirror hanging on the door at least five or six times to make sure it was the outfit she wanted, she put her make-up on and went out the door.

"Oh!" Carson realized that she took her dorm keys with her, but left her purse in the room. Her mind was so scattered! The excitement about the date didn't help in the least. Purse finally in hand, the blonde skittered out of the dorms and towards their meeting place. It was supposed to be in front of the library, a rather random place to meet, she thought. Oh well! Whatever was easiest for him. Her feet barely touched the ground as she walked, curly hair bouncing around on her shoulders and a smile on her face. Being around Pacey made her really happy. Happier than usual. He was just sweet and funny and all around seemed like a great guy. She also found it cute that he was taller than her but not by like, a whole foot. He was perfect size for hugging and cuddling up to. The smile on her face was very apparent by the time she reached the front of the library, then frowned. Pacey was no where to be found, but in his place was a boy holding a rose with a card tied to the stem. "Is...is that for me?" Carson asked hesitantly when the boy approached her and held out the flower. She took it and looked at the card. 'W' was all it said. W? What did that even mean? The kid then proceeded to hand her a card with something else on it. A clue of some sort.

After reading it and thinking on it, she walked away from the boy--thanking him, of course, before doing so--and went on her way to find whatever it was she needed to find. With each and every person she found, they each had a rose, a card with a letter, and another card with a clue as to where to go next. By the time she reached the eleventh kid her hands were full of roses and cards and a few of them had fallen out of her hands at some points in time. Still, eagerness and excitement bubbled up in her chest when she put all of the letters together. 'Will you be my' was what it spelled so far, and as ditzy as she could be it wasn't too difficult for her to guess what the last word would be. Would there be that many more roses to find? That was a lot! However, the eleventh clue led her out to the garden. Everything was always so bright and colorful and pretty. Just as she thought this, her eyes caught sight of Pacey, who was also holding a rose of his own. The smile on her face turned into a grin as she broke out into a fit of giggles.

Despite her lavish living conditions, she was simple in terms of happiness and even the little things brought a smile to her face, but this was pretty extravagant. Something she definitely wasn't expecting. When the giggles finally ceased, Carson half walked and half skipped over to where he stood, looking up at him. "Pace..." Her voice was quiet at first as she looked between the roses in her hand and the one in his. "Are you...are you serious?" No one had ever done something like this for her and really, it made her one big ball of happy emotions that she almost couldn't contain. She had to tell herself not to flail around like a maniac. It was just like in the movies! All the ones she had enjoyed watching over the years was happening right in front of her. With another small laugh, the girl took the rose from him and looked at the card long enough to confirm her suspicions. He is serious. Without waiting for his approval, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, still managing to keep hold of the roses. "Yes, yes, yes!" She nearly squealed, tone a bit softer so she didn't make him go deaf. "Yes...I will. You're...you're so wonderful and sweet and...thank you." Her heartbeat was still running away with her but she managed to not to dance around the garden like an idiot. "You didn't have to go all out though, you know. I would've said yes no matter what."

[PACEY LUCAS BAEK]

The overall scavenger hunt had been suggested to him by Haylee and he'd snapped up the idea almost immediately, but some of the finer details were a bit harder to hash out. What the heck was he supposed to make her find? He'd settled for a dozen roses, in the end -- because that was the romantic thing to do, wasn't it? Thanks to some basic arithmetic, he had realized that "will you be my" was eleven letters, which was kind of perfect because then he was left with the final of the twelve roses, and that was exactly what he'd wanted, really. He loved when life worked out that way. As for the reason the flowers were white -- well, that was his favourite part of the plan yet, but he had to wait for her to get there.

He'd been sitting on a bench waiting, checking his phone every couple of minutes or so as the kids messaged him to confirm that it had been a success. He counted them off by letter -- there was W, then I, then the two Ls... He was glad that the plan seemed to be going off without a hitch -- when the final Y rang in, Pacey rose to his feet slowly, watching the door that he was expecting her to come out of. He hoped that the final clue, of all things, wouldn't be the one that stumped her -- none of the clues had been made intentionally difficult, after all. He hadn't wanted to actually wait for her to figure out a bunch of difficult puzzles. Plus, that was a really convoluted and annoying way to ask somebody out... Then again, he supposed people could say that about what he was already doing anyway, but he shook that thought off. Carson had gone along with this so far, judging by the fact that she'd gathered up all eleven of the roses. There was no reason to believe that she'd --

Even with this logic in the back of his mind, Pacey nearly dropped the rose in his hand when he caught sight of Carson, as she started giggling. He hoped they were the good kind of giggles instead of the pitying or thoroughly appalled kind. "Um," he said, giving her a bright grin as he held out the flower with the card attached -- a bigger tag than the others, but mostly because he'd had to fit an entire word on it: "girlfriend". "So, uh, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked, his grin wide and hopeful, and a little cheeky all at once. He didn't know what else to say, really -- he was being very obvious with his intentions at this point. His grip loose as it was, he allowed her to take the rose from him and watched as, with a small inclination of the head on his part, it and all the other flowers turned from white to red in her hands (because red was just the colour of romance, right? So right!). Thank god that worked. It had taken practice, actually, to do it all at once.

She seemed uncertain at first but then she looked at the card and, before he could say anything else, kissed him. In surprise, he made a sound that sounded something vaguely like, "Mmpht!" As soon as he'd realized what she was doing, though, he was more than happy to return the kiss. Take that as a yes, then. This was confirmed by her sudden squealing, and the smile on his face was wider than ever. "So that's for sure a yes, then?" he asked, teasing, after her repeated chorus of yesses. It made him smile like a loon as he settled his hands on her waist. "You're being very unclear here!" He was still just teasing, of course, but god, he was glad to hear her say yes. He took a moment to absorb her words, happy that she was so happy, before he shook his head. "Hey, no need to thank me, I was just..." His grin managed to be eager and happy and sheepish all at once. "It's nothing you don't deserve!" That was true. Pacey hoped that, if nothing else, this would be memorable.

He kissed her again, happy that he could just do that now without having to worry about it. "I know I didn't have to," he said simply. "But if you liked it, then..." Pacey didn't think he needed to finish that sentence, and he just shrugged a little, letting the stupid dopey smile on his face speak for itself. He was ecstatic.

[CARSON PARKER GARROWAY]

It was difficult to give him a response right away, mostly because she was so incredibly giddy that she couldn't really formulate the words without bursting into her happy little giggle fit. The smile on her face was bright and wide and unwavering as she looked at him, the smile on his face so fucking adorable. Just as she tried to find the words to say, she gasped as the roses changed color. That was so cool! So sweet! Why was he so sweet? This was so well planned and she had to appreciate what he went through for this. So, in the excitement and gratitude she had kissed him--to her further happiness he returned it. She didn't remove her arms from his neck and refrained from bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "Maaaaybe," She replied, giggling as she toyed with his hair, biting at her lip to refrain from laughing even more. It was the only way she knew how to expel all of her excitement but it could be a bit much. Carson leaned into him. "Oh, well, I'm sorry! I should say yes at least ten more times, then? Because I can if you want." She knew he was joking but had no problem playing along and saying yes again.

She still couldn't comprehend why he would go through all of this trouble just to ask her out, but at the same time it was such an awesome story she could tell other people. Her mom would surely love to hear it; they talked about a lot of things. "Aww, I'm still thankful though. It was such a sweet and romantic thing to do." She had had boyfriends in the past but this was, by far, the most memorable thing ever. And he made her the happiest, too. She thought they meshed well and loved how often he made her laugh and smile without hardly trying. The smile faded long enough to kiss him back. She rested her free hand on his chest. "I didn't like it." Her expression almost looked serious but for her it wasn't a mastered art and the grin returned shortly after. "I loved it. So I'll say thank you again." Making out with him in the middle of the garden wasn't much of an issue for her but decided that she'd rather find a vase for her roses and go spend time with her boyfriend. The giggle was very muted, but it was there as the word crossed her mind.

"So..." Carson started, searching his face for a moment before pulling the arm with the roses from around his neck, sniffing the flowers. "You ready for our date? The only person who will be home is Janessa, I think. Unless she went to work." Achelle and Renee were working their shifts and the boys were probably with Gavan. "And if she is home we'll just...ignore her." If that could be possible. She hoped it would be, at least today. As happy as the Water could be, Janessa was pretty good at ruining moments without even trying. Taking Pacey's hand and giving it a squeeze, she motioned her head towards the parking lot for them to leave.

[PACEY LUCAS BAEK]

This had taken pretty intricate planning on Pacey's part, actually, and he was so glad that she seemed to enjoy it. He didn't know what he would have done if she'd said no, actually -- probably just shuffled away awkwardly and gone to eat Klondike bars alone in his room. She was smiling and happy and, it seemed, pleasantly surprised, however, so he was spared one kind of lonely and pathetic night for now. "Maybe just one more time," he said, smiling cheekily at her, but he didn't mind either way. "Just to be sure. You know." Really he just liked the way she smiled whe she said it -- it made him feel good about this, because he'd known that it might have been a little bit too much in general. He smiled as she leaned into him. "Good. I'm glad," was all he was able to say finally, after a long second of just staring at her, that same little smile on his face.

He was, actually, a bit of a ridiculous hopeless romantic, and it made him laugh a little when she said it. It wasn't so much like it was funny -- he was just in a really, really good mood. Of course he was. Once he'd settled down, he realized that he had nothing to say to her about that. "I... thanks," he said, grinning a little, kissing her cheek -- because he could do that now, yes. "You're going to make me blush!" He put his free hand to his cheek and turned his face away for a second, enjoying the dramatics, before he chuckled again and turned back. "But I'm glad that you liked it!" Or loved it. That was what she'd said, anyway -- it made him grin and beam ridiculously, though he shook his head a little when she thanked him again. "Welcome," he said, a little sheepish but more pleased than he wanted to let on. It probably showed anyway in the widdest of wide smiles that he had on his face right now. Oh god. He hoped he wasn't blushing or something, too, even if he had a feeling that Carson would just find it cute. She was the cute one! Pacey was just trying to be cute, here.

"Oh!" He smiled and nodded a few times, very eager to be going on this date indeed, even if he'd gotten horribly distracted by everytihng that had gone on so far. Hey, it was a big deal. Carson was now his girlfriend. The thought would have brought a smile to his lips but, as it turned out, one was already present. Of course it was. "Yeah! And that's cool, I don't mind anyone being home," he assured her. Maybe Janessa could be a little bit... antagonistic (he figured he knew the type well enough) but he hoped there'd be no trouble when they just wanted to watch a couple of movies. "And look what I bought!" He separated from her to slide over to the other side of the bench, grabbing the things that he'd brought. "Klondike bar? They might melt soon," he warned, offering her the ice cream bar (so what if he'd gone and bought an entire box when he just needed one?) and then shaking a bag full of snacks... and then the other one full of movies. The kid had come very well-prepared for this!

Snacks and movies aside, he grinned as he took her hand, leaving the gardens with his new girlfriend. Girlfriend. Fuck yeah. That was such an awesome thought. "You look really nice, by the way," he added randomly as they approached the car. She really did. He got her door and then hopped quickly over to the driver's side. "You might have to direct me back to your house again," he warned in advance. Driving there the one time hadn't exactly allowed him to memorize the way or anything.

[CARSON PARKER GARROWAY]

Carson smiled at him. "Yes!" She said, just that one final yes that he asked for, even though it was all in fun. It felt nice to say, for him to smile as though he enjoyed hearing it. Nothing could ruin the day at this point; everything was perfect and bright and the world was in a state of happiness. Well, her world was. He was simply the cutest thing ever and found herself staring at him just as he was staring at her. The girl blinked and glanced down a little, then back up with her smile still in tact. His was too. It was so endearing.

Being as clingy as she was, a hopeless romantic was pretty much what she needed and wanted. Someone who could handle her affection and complements without growing too annoyed or burdened, which happened quite a bit with the people she dated before. Pacey had yet to mention any of the above so Carson took it as a sign that he didn't mind. It made her all sorts of happy to know that, too. Not that she wasn't happy about everything else already. The kiss on the cheek was so sweet and she felt her stomach do a small flip. Why was he so sweet? "Awww," She cooed with a chuckle, "You're so adorable! I think blushing is just the cutest thing ever, so if you do I don't mind." The little red tint to his cheeks would be icing on the cake and would probably put her into a fit of giggles at the sight. Not bad giggles of course. Her cheeks were probably a bit flushed at the moment, and if they were she would wear it proudly. It was not out of embarrassment but happiness that her face was warm. Flattery made her feel good. She was glad Pacey wanted her by his side as more than just a friend, or someone to ask on dates randomly. "You have the prettiest smile," Carson complemented out of the blue. Well, he did! There was no denying it.

It was a wonder the date was even on her mind at that point, considering how crazy her emotions had been the past few minutes. She was still in a bit of shock that he asked her and the roses were so pretty and he was cute and there was no keeping hold of one strand of thought for very long. Still, she did manage to remember and felt a new wave of excitement over the fact that it would be a date with her boyfriend. Extra special. "That's good," Her voice was chipper but it did drop a few octaves. They were there to watch movies, not wreck the house or wreak havoc, so hopefully Janessa would leave well enough alone for the day. Carson didn't even want to tell her sister about Pacey being her new boyfriend, simply because she knew what the other girl might do in terms of teasing or being straight up annoying. She was drawn from her thoughts when he spoke up, the smile returning. "What?" The Klondike bar looked so delicious and, without even waiting, took it from him with grin. "Yay! I haven't had one of these in a while. Thank youuu~" The snacks and movies were just as exciting and it was difficult to stand still at that point.

"Oh, thank you! I just...threw something on," She lied, waving off his complement with a blush. Actually it took almost that entire half hour before she was supposed to meet him, but shhh. He didn't need to know that not only did she procrastinate, but she tried to find an outfit that would draw his attention. She slid into the car and held the Klondike bar in her hands, deciding if eating it in his car was a good idea. "Sure! No problem," Carson nodded at him and settled the roses in her lap delicately. It wasn't too far of a drive to her house, and somehow she managed to give him the appropriate directions without getting too distracted by everything else. The most difficult obstacle was gathering the roses back up without harming them when they did reach the house. "Yay, movie time, movie time..." The girl hummed to herself as she walked up to the door with him, pushing the door open. "Anyone home!?" She called out. Silence. Maybe they wouldn't have to deal with anyone today. At least for a while. There was a quiet sigh of relief as she opened her arms. "Welcome to my humble abode! My home is yours. I can give you a tour later, if you want." The house was large and had a lot of random rooms and what-not so an open house type deal would take a little while. If he was up for it now, of course, she would be up for it too! She was fine with anything.

[PACEY LUCAS BAEK]

He was even, actually, very good with words -- he had all the power of persuasion on his side -- but somehow when confronted with a pretty girl, all of that tended to just disappear. It was a serious problem in his life, really. Well, truthfully it wasn't that serious, but it was a bit of a problem anyway. Carson was definitely one very pretty young lady -- her face and her hair and her everything, really, because he didn't have time to be sitting there listing things off one by one, even in his head. "I'll have to blush more often!" he said happily, not actually blushing, but he laughed a little. She was so happy all the time. It made for a good pick-me-up. He noticed that she was blushing too, now that he thought about it, and maybe that did make his cheeks glow a little. Oh man. "Well... it's the cutest thing on you, that's for sure." Maybe not so much for Pacey, though, but he smiled even more when she complimented his smile. "You think so? You'll be seeing it a looot," he told her, dragging out the word before chuckling. He was just being silly, but she seemed to bring that out of him. Pacey wasn't joking about her seeing his smile very often, though -- the girl just made him happy.

There were few afternoons better spent than one with some really good movies (only his favourites, of course, which had managed to fill an entire bag), enough snacks to last a lifetime, and his girlfriend. Man, that was such a sick word. He beamed as she took the ice cream from him. "What would you do for a Klondike bar?" he sang before grinning. "You're welcome!" She looked so happy about it that he was almost a little impressed -- pfft, and he'd thought he could be the only one to get excited about things like that. He picked up the two bags in his other hand, careful not to drop anything, and took her hand to lead the way back to his car. That had been a very successful plan, he thought happily. There was a bounce in his step that she could probably notice; he didn't even mind. "Well, it looks really good!" He nodded firmly, smiling. As a guy who was perhaps just a little more meticulous with his clothes than others, Pacey understood sometimes. Maybe she really had just thrown it on, though. That would be impressive.

He made sure she was all set and ready to go, roses perched in her lap and not about to go flying all over the place or anything. He wouldn't be offended, but hey, those were important to him now that she'd said yes. He smiled at her briefly before heading off. "Oh! You can feel free to eat if you want, by the way," he said, nodding at her. So long as she didn't drip ice cream all over the interior of his car (which might actually make him cry, so he was glad that she didn't seem the type to do that) he didn't mind food at all. The kid kept snacks on him at all times, after all; it just took meticulous cleaning... by the gas station attendants, cough. Pacey didn't know how to clean a thing. His mind, however, was on their date today and how successful his plan had been (thank goodness) and the scent of Carson's hair -- so many things rather than his car. Carly was no longer the number one girl in his life. Huh. He didn't even mind!

"Movie time," he sang along in agreement, bouncing up and down on the soles of his feet as he followed her up to the door. It was his second time making the trip up to her house; the first time and the good night kiss were still fresh on his mind, but he tried not to think about that right now. It was a very distracting thought. "Nobody's home...?" he guessed as he stepped inside after her, laughing as she spread open her arms. "Sure thing! I need to know where the kitchen is... like, as soon as possible," he said, his voice serious, but his face gave away this time that he was joking. "Um... where did you want to set up the movies?" Her place was fairly sizable (and reminded him of his parents' back in Toronto, actually) so it was likely she had specific rooms for this type of thing -- home entertainment systems and the like.

[CARSON PARKER GARROWAY]

Blushing was simply the cutest thing ever, and she definitely didn't mind seeing his cheeks turn a little pink every now and again. Would it even be possible to make yourself blush on purpose? She never tried so the thought never crossed her mind until now. That would be strange, but she supposed anything was possible. She touched her cheek at his complement and glanced away with a tiny giggle of appreciation. "Thank you," She said softly, feeling the heat beneath her own fingers before letting her hand slide away. "You know, I try!" Not really but it suited the moment, she thought. She smiled at him and would have clasped her hands together in happiness if not for the flowers and everything. That made things a bit difficult. "Yay! Just...don't make your face hurt or anything. I've done that before and it's not very comfortable." While being happy was great and fantastic, smiling to the point of pain wasn't exactly a good idea. Carson dealt with it on occasion and she quickly had to remind herself that grinning from ear to ear all the time wasn't necessary. It was difficult around Pacey though.

She liked sweets. Maybe not as much as some people, but she didn't mind getting a hold of ice cream or, in this instance, a Klondike bar. Which was still ice cream but better and was able to be taken just about anywhere. The melting part did suck sometimes but she didn't mind. So long as there was a means of cleaning it up. Although Pacey was just singing the jingle, Carson said, "Anything except murder. I mean...come on, it's a Klondike bar," with a semi-serious expression before chuckling. No really though, she wasn't against doing much of anything for a Klondike bar. Most things she did without any sort of prize at all anyway. "I'm glad you think so. I was hoping you'd like it. Not that...I did it to impress you or anything. Or well, I guess I did. I'm just glad you like it." She replied with a sheepish smile. Since he admitted to liking it she felt it was okay to say she tried to find an outfit he would like.

After ensuring she was comfortable and nothing would slide around, her eyes were on the ice cream bar that Pacey gave her. She didn't even think to hide her excitement when he gave her the O.K. to eat it in his car. Carson peeled the paper back and dug in. She kept the paper underneath it just in case. A new boyfriend, roses, and a Klondike bar, plus a date. Could the day get any better? "Mmm, delicious," She mumbled between bites. "It always hits the spot! And it's a good day to eat one too." The weather was nice and warm, making for an opportune time to eat and enjoy ice cream. The winter wasn't so bad if the craving was bad enough, but she didn't think you could beat warm weather for cold desserts. She finished it while giving the directions, being sure not to let anything drip on the interior in the meanwhile. That would be bad since that stuff was sticky and gross.

She giggled as Pacey sang along with her, the bounce in his step obvious. It was good to see him so happy! As happy as she felt. He was being even more animate than she was, though her reasons were that she had roses and didn't want to break them. As much as she loved flowers, they never did last for very long and it wasn't wise to speed up that process. "Nope!" She chirped happily, glad Janessa wouldn't be around for a while. "At least for the time being. If anyone comes home soon it'll be my sister." Her job was only in the afternoons, a part time ordeal. Her hand lifted, hand full of flowers as she walked to the kitchen. "I have to put these in a vase anyway, so...here is the kiiiitchen! We have all sorts of good stuff, and plenty of drinks too. The cook won't be around for a few hours though." She made a sweeping motion with her hand to showcase the lovely cabinets and fridge. She pulled a vase out from under the sink--a lovely array, to be sure--and set the flowers up in the middle of the island once they were trimmed and vase full of water. They looked so pretty and were a wonderful reminder of how awesome her day had been so far.

"Oh!" Carson took his hand and gestured to the stairs, hoping he would follow. "We'll just set it up in my room. I've got my own TV and surround sound." She walked upstairs and went down a long hall towards her room. Upon opening the door, it was obvious that her room was...well, her room. It was covered in fashion posters, Vogue magazines stacked up next to her bed, and the wall was a light blue-green color. "And my room! Sorry about the mess," The girl apologized quickly as she picked up a few things and tossed them in the corner. One would think living in the dorms would lead to a cleaner room at home, but nope. "Feel free to set up the movies and stuff. I only have one remote so there's not a lot of confusion. Oh, and pick whichever movie you want first! I'm not picky." Her mind was focused on the date as a whole and spending time with her boyfriend. Damn, the word was such a nice thing to think about. She smiled to herself as she flopped on the bed and watched him.

[PACEY LUCAS BAEK]

He lauged at the thought of Carson smiling enough to actually make her face hurt, and that possibility actually did not even surprise him at all. "Sounds painful," he teased with a chuckle, but he knew how that was. It rarely happened just from smiling a lot, but man did his face hurt sometimes from laughing. He had to stop hanging out with such hilarious people, clearly. Carson did, however, make him smile a lot. It was hard -- her smiling was infectious. When she said she'd do anything but murder for a Klondike bar, his face suddenly shifted to a very serious expression. "I don't know about that murder thing. Depends who it is, too. Maybe for two Klondike bars." It was a pretty terrible joke to make but he really didn't mean it at all, and Pacey... uh, wouldn't hurt a fly, actually. He was harmless. His face cracked into a grin after a moment, hoping she didn't mind the kind of terrible joke. Murder was never something Pacey would consider doing for all the Klondike bars in the world -- or for anything, ever.

Her kind of ramble made him smile happily -- he didn't mind it at all, and to be honest, he could be a flaily mess of giddiness too sometimes, when he was in one of those moods. He had mostly managed to keep his cool today, which was actually surprising. It was probably because she was so happy and excited -- all Pacey wanted to do was sit back and watch her hopping around all happily like that. "Either way it's gorgeous," he said once she had finished after a few moments, and his smile was honest and easy. "But I like everything you wear! You don't need to impress me." He was a boy who liked his clothes, too, so he really truly meant it -- not that fashion was a dealbreaker or anything, but man, it was definitely some common ground... even if Pacey didn't actually dress up very often at all. He had tried a little harder than usual, though, for today. It was a special kind of day. "Aren't they great though? And it iiis, it's all nice and warm." He loved this weather, as an Earth -- he did fantastically around springtime. Everytihng came into life.

Though he certainly wouldn't have minded the presence of any one of Carson's numerous family members, he was happy that they had the house to themselves. There was nothing that he would even think of doing, anyway, but he figured that it was always better this way. He'd never met most of her family, actually -- certainly not her parents. It'd probably be best to at least, uh, spend like a day with her as his new girlfriend first... or even a couple of hours. "Janessa?" he asked when she mentioned her sister -- he couldn't keep all of her siblings in order, really. For all he knew she had a ton of sisters. "Oh, kitchen, okay!" He couldn't cook but man did he love any place with food in it. "That's okay, I'm sure we can survive off of snacks and stuff," he told her, grinning. Would food made by an actual cook be better than gummy bears? It probably would, but he did still love candy and what-not. "Oh, should I shove the Klondike bars in the freezer?" They were probably going to melt soon and, though Pacey would love to eat an entire box, he probably couldn't do it fast enough.

He left the bags on the floor temporarily as he watched her fetching the vase from under the sink. "That looks perfect," he told her with a smile, happier than he could possibly let on that she liked them enough to put them on display in her kitchen. Would her family question it? He kind of hoped so, actually -- he hoped that her eyes would light up and she would smile the same way when and if she told them the story of those flowers... and man, he really was such a romantic deep down (not even very far deep down). Before he knew it, though, she was grabbing his hand and gesturing upstairs, and he nodded. "Okay! That sounds good!" He grabbed the bags again with his free hand and followed along to her room. "No problem! It's not even that messy anyway," he said, smiling and waving it off. It was no big deal. His own dorm was kind of a terrible mess, actually. "Got it! Um... I brought some action movies and stuff, like we said. All the ones with the best running scenes," he reminded her with a chuckle. "But there's some other stuff too." A few romantic comedies had made it into the mix. Pacey wasn't even ashamed, especially when he was on a date. C'mon now. He decided, though, that he would err on the action-y side since that had led to their planning this day anyway, and he popped it into the DVD player before returning to her side with a bright grin and a bag of gummy worms in hand. "Are you ready?" he asked, smiling, as the "coming attractions" started. Pfft, previews. These movies had all come out a while ago.

[CARSON PARKER GARROWAY]

She pretended to think on this, as though considering the fact that two Klondike bars was actually worth being tossed in jail for the next twenty years, maybe longer depending on how the judge felt that day. Of course, what did she know about the court system? Nothing, except for the law shows that probably glorified everything. "I could probably handle it for two Klondike bars," She agreed, after thinking long enough. "But like you said, it depends on the person. I don't know if I hate anyone enough for that..." As crazy as she could be with pranking the opposing alliances, and how little she respected most of them, she didn't think any of them were deserving of death by murder. That was a bit extreme. A good douse of water from a hose gone awry was far better. Aggression wasn't really her thing, unless it was warranted. She giggled. "Thanks. I'm glad you do." Was the sheepish reply. The impressing would most likely continue because she liked to dress up and she honestly didn't think Pacey would find her pajamas adorable or gorgeous, as he put it.

"They're the best, really. I might have to keep some of these around the house." Only if Achelle and Renee approved of it. Working in the hospital they saw all sorts of health complications and became wary of keeping too many sweets available to the kids, especially the twins. Like they needed sugar anyway. They were treated to good stuff though.

Carson nodded to confirm that she was referring to Janessa. "Yep! The one and only. She's the only sister I have. Then I have Wesley, Lucas, and Seth." One big happy family. Well, most of the time. The younger ones could be a pain, as could Janessa, but overall they functioned well enough considering. She smiled a little at the thought of her oldest brother. "You'd like Wesley, I think. He doesn't come around a lot though." The Water graduate went to the Academy but did his own thing most of the time, showing up on random occasions to spent family time in between sports and school. "I think we'll survive just fine, yep! But you can stay for dinner if you want. I don't think my family will mind. No pressure of course!" She waved her hands at realizing that that would mean pushing Pacey into meeting at least half of her family all at once. That could be overwhelming for some people. Pacey seemed pretty easy going but there was no way Carson was going to shove him in the midst of everyone. "Sure! Don't want them melting everywhere." That would be an awful mess. The maids were around a couple of times a week, at least. She rearranged the flowers a little bit to make sure they were spread out, sighing happily when she was content with the placement. The family was definitely going to hear about the story behind her roses.

There were a few rooms in the house that Achelle left up to the family to clean (for responsibility reasons, ugh) and the bedrooms were some of them. Hence the mess that Pacey said wasn't really much of a mess, but hey, she was still trying to impress him in some way or another and tossing a bunch of clothes into the closet wasn't the best way to go about that. "Ohh, yes! Running scenes are good. I trust your taste in running scenes, you know. Don't let me down." She flashed him a smile and a chuckle, clearly not bothered by being 'let down'. Her trust in Pacey was incredibly high, which in some ways didn't say much but at the same time it was a different trust. She scooted over to allow him to lay next to her, trying to cuddle up against him almost instantly. "Always ready! Let's do this." The previews were old, obviously, and she kicked her feet happily in the air. Today was awesome. "You know, we've talked a lot but yet it feels like we haven't." She rolled onto her side to face him, propping herself up with an elbow. "We should do that soon. Like, ask questions and stuff. I'm an open book!" Which she was. That wasn't an exaggeration. Anything he wanted to know was available to him.

[PACEY LUCAS BAEK]

Pacey was actually far too gentle a soul to even consider killing another person, but he wasn't beyond joking around. He was a bit silly, honestly, but it was all harmless. Besides the whole moral issue, of course, he was sure that jail would destroy him. He was far too much of a kid. "Two Klondike bars is just way too good a deal," he agreed, nodding, his serious expression looking far too sage and contemplative to make complete sense. "And nah, I don't think so either. Even if people are the worst." Well, there were exceptions to every rule. Pacey didn't think he knew anyone like that, however -- he wasn't a hateful person by nature, not like that. There were people who irked him and made him angry but, overall, he was a very easygoing, peaceful guy. Even in cases like those, retaliation was so unnecessary. "Do it!" he urged with a nod and smile of approval. "Or I can just bring you some if you want them." He would probably do that -- he liked Klondike bars, he liked Carson, and Carson liked Klondike bars too. There was no problem with this at all.

He tried to store all of this information about Carson's siblings away in his mind, but it was just kind of very confusing, and he nodded after a second. "Okay. That's a huge family," he said, blinking his confusion, but he would get over it. "Where are they all now?" He assumed from her words that Wesley didn't actually live in the house, because that was how it sounded, but of course he knew nothing about Carson's older brother. "I bet I would!" he said anyway, smiling cheerfully. He didn't see any reason why that wouldn't be the case, really; Pacey liked a great deal of people that he met for any reason, and he was hoping to be able to at least get along with all of his girlfriend's family. If they were nice people, which they probably all were, he was sure it would be just fine. "I never turn down food!" he said, grinning cheekily, before he paused for a second. "If your family wants me, I mean... I dunno. Is it a bit early?" He didn't mean in the day of course -- dinnertime was dinnertime and he was hungry all the time -- but, after all, he'd literally asked her to be his girlfriend just today. Pacey had no idea at all, really. "But I'd love to stay for dinner if you'll have me," he said after a moment, deciding that it didn't matter anyway. He was pretty relaxed like that; no need for stress just over... uh, meeting his girlfriend's entire family, oops.

He watched with a small smile as she set up the flowers. She seemed to really like them, and that made him happier than he was really letting on right now -- he really didn't know what he would have done if she'd said no or, uh, been allergic to roses or something. That would be pretty terrible, actually. As an Earth, he really couldn't imagine having allergies like that. "I have the best taste in running scenes! Nobody picks better running scenes than me," he told her as if bragging and showing off something ridiculous. Some guys showed off abs and how many push-ups they could do -- Pacey just had to boast about his superior knowledge of running scenes in action flicks, thanks, and it would get him all the ladies. Well, it probably wouldn't, but he didn't care to get all the ladies anyway -- just Carson. "But I hope I don't let you down." He said this with a smile, not particularly worried; he just let her cuddle up against him. It brought a grin to his face, anyway, even as he watched the previews, which were old and therefore pretty uninteresting. When she spoke next, however, he turned to look at her curiously. "I guess we haven't been saying a lot, huh," he mused aloud in agreement, propped up on his elbow as well so that he could look at her properly. Most of their conversations were silly and fun, instead of being actual important discussions. "We could even do that now, actually. What kinds of questions?" He didn't think he had anything particularly pressing to ask her, but ideas would probably float into the forefront of his mind at some point. Pacey had never really been the questioning type, though -- let things be, he generally believed -- but this had potential to be cute and interesting, and his smile was happy and curious as he looked at her.

[CARSON PARKER GARROWAY]

When someone had a lot of genuinely nice people around them most of the time, acts of kindness should not come as a shock, but for Carson she normally appreciated anything and everything that others did for her. She tended to be a self-entitled person when it came to material possessions, but when you lived a life with money it tended to happen. Still, even Pacey's offer to buy her something as simple as ice cream made her smile and look extremely cheerful. "You would do that for me?" She asked, looking hopeful. "You're so sweet! So sweet." Family was always there; they did things for one another and gave gifts and genuinely cared despite differences, but knowing Pacey wanted her, simply wanted her without any of those ties felt really good. Even the offering of a Klondike bar sent her into a fit of giggles and smiles.

She nodded. "Quite big, yeah. But nice!" Life was a little less bright without them, to be sure. They weren't always the best and they had their dysfunctions like any family but that was what made them who they were. "Well, Lucas and Seth live with my dad and step-mom. They come over on and off though, whenever they aren't busy. They're in ninth grade. And Wesley is a college student. He lives on his own, though." Carson had considered moving in with him at one point but home life was far too good to pass it up, especially considering her parents didn't mind her being there. Wesley still lived a fairly good life though. "Yeah, he's a Water too! We're a lot alike." She said this with a fondness in her voice. She loved her big brother. At his question, she stopped and looked at her boyfriend with a raised brow; the girl never even thought about the fact that asking Pacey to a dinner with the family would be a big deal. Would they even react differently than they normally would? She didn't even know. She reached out and touched his cheek for a bit of reassurance. "I'd love to have you. I wouldn't have asked you to stay if I didn't." As sweet as she could be, honesty was her strong suit and was never adept at faking pleasantries with someone she didn't like. Besides, it was Pacey. She wouldn't have said yes to being his girlfriend if she didn't like him.

Carson merely smiled at him, unwavering and doubtless as always, as she picked at a little string protruding from the comforter. The day had been so wonderful and bright and there was a memory to be held for a long time. The scent of the roses still lingered on her fingers. She smiled wider at him and said, "You could never let me down!" Trust came easily and without reservation towards just about anyone she created a friendship with; hell, even strangers were fair game to hear about family and hardships at school, though that was less likely. She trusted Pacey. It felt nice to snuggle up against him and feel safe. The sounds on the TV were noticeable but seemed muffled by her thoughts as she stared at him. He was so adorable. "Not really," Carson said quietly, but shrugged. "But it's okay! That's what dating is about. Getting to know one another." She scooted forward and rested a hand on his side, looking thoughtful. "...like, what's your family like? What's your favorite thing to do? Best memory? Favorite vacation spot?" The questions rattled off as she thought of them, for whatever reason allowing him to pick and choose instead of taking one at a time. Realizing that it would be silly to pile on every question she had, Carson stopped and chuckled at her own rambling before staring into his eyes in anticipation.

[PACEY LUCAS BAEK]

Was ice cream that big a deal? It was just a Klondike bar! Then again, most people would do almost anything for one of those, so he supposed that it was normal, though her happiness seemed a little unwarranted. He couldn't even hold it against her, though; Pacey himself was bouncing around on the soles of his feet. "Am I... sweeter than ice cream?" he asked, batting his eyelashes at her as best as he could, being overly dramatic in his act of trying to be cute. He was just playing around, of course. Ice cream was the sweetest and the best and man did he want one of those bars now too, but he had to drive. Silly driving, getting all in the way of Pacey and his ice cream.

He had no doubt that her family was lovely, if Carson herself was any strong indication. The girl was a positive ray of sunshine, and it was adorable. Since that wasn't how families worked, though, he was sure that the rest of them wouldn't be carbon copies of her... which would be really freaky and possibly something out of a horror movie. How would he ever find his real girlfriend?! (On the other hand, the world would be a pretty happy place with more people like her.) "Gotcha," he said with a nod, trying to keep this all in his head, but it slipped away pretty quickly. "And Janessa lives here but she's out, I'm guessing?" It was a wild stab in the dark, anyway. "Aw, that's cool! I wonder what it's like to have siblings," he thought aloud, noting the tone she used when talking about her older brother. It was warm and affectionate and he thought it was cute, anyway. He had his cousins, of course. They were always fun, and he pretty much considered them siblings, but they weren't, biologically. It was very different. Pacey smiled, however, when she touched his cheek. Too cute. Carson was too cute. "Thanks," he said -- a guy of simple words all of a sudden, apparently -- and then grinned at her. "Then I'd love to stay! Oh, and I guess as long as your family doesn't mind." Making good impressions were a big deal sometimes. This was definitely one of them.

He'd been in relationships before, but most of them not for very long just because -- well, he'd guess that there wasn't really a real reason. He was a patient dude, and he was still young -- it wasn't like he was forty and still alone. Carson was his girlfriend in a long time, and man, he wasn't used to it, as much of a hopeless romantic as he was. He would make it work, though -- he liked Carson, and that was rare because he was usually so easily swayed by the next pretty girl that walked by. There were still other pretty girls. Carson was still the one he really liked and wanted to date. He'd try not to get too far ahead of himself, but as it happened, he was a pretty idealistic guy when it came to relationships and what-not. All he knew was that he was one very lucky dude. "Yeah, it is," he said with a nod of agreement, still smiling a little. It grew when her hand moved to rest on his side. His fingers played with her hair -- it was so long and beautiful and ugh, Pacey loved her hair -- as he listened to the sudden onslaught of questions. His eyes widened a little. "U-uh... I forgot what you asked first," he admitted once she was done, blinking a little. Damn it.

He tried to think back -- something about family. "Uh, well, my family lives back in Toronto, I think I told you that once..." It had probably come up in passing or something. "It's just me and my mom and dad, but they're awesome. They'd probably like you." His parents liked most of his friends and what-not -- they hadn't met a huge amount, but he didn't think he'd yet to bring a friend or girlfriend home that they disliked. Carson was too cute not to like, anyway. "No brothers or sisters. I have my cousins, though, I pretty much grew up with those guys." He smiled a little. Pacey did like his family. "Favourite thing to do... Eating," he answered with ease, barely taking a second to think about it.

"Best memory... I have a lot, to be honest," he said, mumbling a little bit as he tried to think about it. No one single instant came to mind. "Like today!" Today was definitely a good day, and he wasn't even trying to flirt or be cheeky, but if today could get any better, Pacey was pretty sure he would just collapse in excitement or something. Okay, not really, but it was a really good day and Carson made him happy and he was just being cheesy and sappy in his head now, and he should stop because he couldn't remember her last question. "Oh! And favourite vacation spot... I don't know. I went to South Korea a while ago with my cousins, that was fun. There are a lot of places, actually." He'd been all over the place and it was hard to choose just one. Mostly he liked the memories associated with the individual trips rather than the actual places themselves. Location was just a thing. "What about you? What do you like to do? Favourite food? Ever lived anywhere outside of Maple Hollow? Do you want to?" He grinned, waiting for an answer to see if she would actually be able to -- he'd certainly had trouble remembering everything, let alone in the right order.

[CARSON PARKER GARROWAY]

She giggled a little bit, very amused with his fluttery eyelashes. He was just the cutest guy in the whole world, she thought, as she poked his nose. "Mmm...maybe," She teased with another giggle. Pacey's kisses were definitely sweet, but comparing them to ice cream was a bit silly since you couldn't eat a kiss. And they weren't cold. Now she wanted to kiss him, but refrained. Carson was incredibly affectionate and sometimes it was a lot for people to take in. Her boyfriend didn't seem to mind though. That was nice. She nodded. "Yep! She lives here, but is out and about somewhere," She flipped her hand in a sweeping motion. Hopefully it would be a while before the Thunder girl showed her face but Carson could never be sure. The only thing she could hope for was that Nessa would mind her own business that night. She would be the type to ask about their sex lives before dinner was even set on the table. "Oh, you don't have any siblings?" She asked, blinking. "You seemed like you'd be the type of guy to have them." Proof that they had not talked much about their lives beyond basic things. Still, they could do so over the course of time and that excited her.

"They won't mind! I'm sure of it." Carson replied with a smile. She thought her family to be easy going and laid back like her; the occasional guest would not be much of an issue. The fact that Pacey was her boyfriend would definitely encourage Achelle to say yes. Maybe if they didn't have the cook to help out during the bigger meals she wouldn't be as open, because work would leave her tired and unwilling to make more food. As it was the cook would be there later, so that meant no work for mom. She placed a finger to her lower lip and chuckled, feeling a bit bad that she had bombarded him with so many questions at once. "What's your family like?" She repeated, eagerly awaiting an answer. Or well, all of the answers when they got around to them. For a moment she was distracted by his touch, tuning in around the words 'mom' and 'dad'. "And I'm sure I'd like them! If they're anything like you." Which would make the most sense considering he was their child. She did not seem the least bit anxious about the possibility of meeting them; Carson was a confident girl and did not see any reason why they would not like her. "Oh, so that explains why you aren't a brat." She said this bluntly, not meaning to offend anyone. From her experiences dealing with people, a lot of only children wound up being awkward and awful people. Then again it was probably just her bad luck. Her sister wasn't an only child and she thought the girl to be quite the brat.

When he mentioned eating, the girl just smiled knowingly. Of course it was! It wasn't a bad thing though. The guy should do what made him happy and if eating put a smile on his face, then she encouraged it. Her face turned a little red. "Aww, I'm glad today was a good memory." She looked sheepish as she gripped his side. "And it's good that you have a lot of happy memories in general!" As did she, and maybe that's why they were naturally peppy and upbeat. A life with positive outcomes normally led people to be happier, right? It worked for her at least. She looked incredibly interested as she listened, moving her hand from his waist to his hair. "That sounds like fun! What other places? Ever been to France? Or England?" She rattled off more inquiries and bit at her lip when she realized it, chuckling at herself. She just enjoyed getting to hear about him. Who he was.

Now that the questions were aimed back at her, she had to pause and think for a minute or two before trying to sort out the questions. Her mind was always such a flutter. "I like playing tennis, and hanging out with friends, and shopping...ohh, I love shopping. And clothes! I like fashion a lot." That was something she wanted to do in the future, do something fashion-related. Designing clothes or something of the like sounded like a wonderful career path. As much as she admired Achelle and Renee for their work in the hospital, and Gavin for his wine tastings and testings, she wanted to drift away towards something suited for her. "Hmm," She thought kicking her feet back and forth as she continued to toy with his hair. "My favorite food is probably...anything Thai. I'm not a fan of veggies though." Her nose wrinkled at the thought; sometimes she could handle carrots, maybe some corn, but that was about it. "As for Maple Hollow, I used to live in Saskatchewan before moving here. It was after my mom and dad divorced, and when mom got a job offer at the hospital here she took it."

Did she miss home? Sometimes, but she was only a child at the time. A visit would be nice in the future but everything she loved and cared for was right here. There was no need to miss it too much. "I don't know if I want to, really," Carson said finally, after mulling over the idea of leaving the Hollow to another place. Maybe in the far off future, but she was never the type to think that far ahead. "But I guess we'll see were life takes me! And what about you?" It was so cool to be able to talk to him about things and learn tidbits about him. She liked learning about people in general but Pacey was important and so anything he was willing to share was absorbed like a sponge. Feeling more cuddly than usual, Carson scooted even closer and rested her head on the bed, hand on his neck as she smiled to herself.

[PACEY LUCAS BAEK]

He just laughed when she poked his nose. "Only maybe? That's disappointing," he told her, huffing a little bit and crossing his arms as if in offense, but that obviously wasn't the case at all, and he broke facade after a moment. He was in way too good a mood to be any good at pretending. "Maybe we'll see her later then!" he said, not particularly excited to run into any potentially antagonistic Thunders, but hey, it was his new girlfriend's sister. Hopefully it would be a bit different -- it wasn't like they were at school right now, either. That would also make things different. "Nope, no siblings! My parents decided I was too much of a handful," he said, clearly joking around by his tone, but he was in fact an only child. "Nah, but seriously, I dunno. I guess they never wanted a lot of kids or anything, so." Their house, for sure, could definitely accommodate more children if Pacey had any siblings -- his cousins stayed over frequently -- but it had never been something his parents had wanted, apparently, and he was perfectly happy as an only child. "But... why do I seem like I'd have them?" he asked, genuinely curious.


He smiled back at her and nodded when she said that her family wouldn't mind. He would just have to take her word for it then, considering she knew her family better than he did (duh). From what he knew, anyway, her family -- or at least her mom -- was a pretty easygoing woman, so it shouldn't be too bad. He hoped not, anyway. "Then I'd love to stay. Food, gotta love food," he said, mind wandering away for a moment to imagine yummy things they could potentially have for dinner (so many... different... foods) but he clocked back in after a second to smile at her again. "Thanks for inviting me!" He liked food, he liked Carson, and he was sure he'd like her family -- it was a win/win/win situation, honestly. "I don't know if they are, but they're pretty nice," he told her, smiling. He didn't see them as often as he'd like to, thanks to being at school, but he realized that it was impossible to change that so long as he wanted to stay at the Academy. "And they'd definitely like you -- wait, huh?" Though not offended, he was a little confused by her statement. Were most only children brats? He didn't really have a clue, being one himself and -- as far as he knew -- not a brat. That said, he was aware that people often thought he was kind of spoiled, which was something he actually had trouble refuting. He really did get so many things he wanted.

Pacey just shook his head lightly at her. "Of course it was. An awesome memory." Today had been something else. He'd had other girlfriends in the past, but hey, it was time to live in the present, and if that present included Carson he was all the happier for it. Today would have been a pretty disappointing day if she'd flat-out rejected him. "But yeah, I think life's good in general. I have a pretty cool life." His smile was small and content. He could sit there for a few weeks and think about all the things that made his life awesome, but that would be silly and keep him away from a lot of good moments in that life. "Yep, lots of places actually, I guess," he said, blinking as he thought of all the places he really had been to visit. His parents liked travel and thought it was important. He had to say that he agreed. "France is nice -- Paris has a lot of good food. Cafés and stuff." They'd even managed to get into some pretty famous Parisian places, which had been pretty awesome for him. "And, y'know, it's got that whole 'city of looove' going for it." He laughed at himself as he added the exaggerated inflection. "England is pretty cool, too. I think in Europe Iceland is definitely the coolest though, it just... has the neatest scenery. And when I went it was like, twenty-four hours daylight." That had been pretty sick, he had to say. He tilted his head to one side -- well, as best as he could while lying down and what-not. "Have you been anywhere interesting?"

When she started to answer, he listened with pretty keen interest -- even if these were random things, he still thought they were pretty important to know. "Oh, tennis is fun -- and oh my god shopping," he said, the enthusiasm evident on his face. Really, judging by the fashion posters all over her walls and, of course, the clothes she wore just on a daily basis, he should have figured that she liked shopping, but shhh, these were important things to learn about someone when he was actively learning as opposed to observing. "I kind of figured, actually," he told her with a small laugh, raising a hand to gesture over at the posters on her walls before bringing it back to settle on her waist. "Plus you're always dressed so nice." He was a little bit shameless with his compliments, but hey -- he wasn't a liar. The girl looked good. "Ooooh, Thai food," he said, almost drooling at the thought (though he refrained because ew, gross). "You should come visit Toronto sometime, some of the best Thai food ever." Actually, it was probably the home of some of the best food, period, just because there were so many different people and restaurants and everything else, but Maple Hollow wasn't half bad for food either.

Saskatchewan, depending on where exactly she'd lived, was sort of a far cry, though not too ridiculously removed like it was the other side of the world, from Maple Hollow. Then again, he imagined that places like the Hollow -- large towns merging into smaller-ish cities -- weren't too uncommon. "What was Saskatchewan like?" he asked, wondering if she would remember -- he supposed that that'd depend on when her parents had divorced and when she'd moved. He hadn't really known Carson at all until a few months or so ago, so it could have been much more recently than he thought. Pacey just smiled and nodded in agreement, however, when she said that she didn't know. It was a hard decision to make. "I dunno either," he said, sighing a little. The decisions were coming up hard and fast, though he had a feeling that he'd already made them. "I was thinking about going back home for university, living at home or whatever." Some people might have wanted to leave home for school -- but Pacey had already done so for a few years. He missed his parents sometimes. "But I dunno, I really kind of like the Hollow. And the Academy. And everyone here." Now that he had a girlfriend, too, things were a little bit different. "So I think my parents might actually get me an apartment or something here and I'll probably stick around." He wasn't overly ashamed to admit that his parents would still do things like that for him -- they had a lot of money and he was glad, really, that they weren't about to just boot him onto the street on his eighteenth birthday.