| RETURN TO ME by Kimber Disclaimer: The usual, I don't own the majority of these characters (except those unfamiliar, such as Ralston Mackey, Lecey, Shanna, Sarah-Emily, etc.), all the Dawson's Creek ones belong to the WB, and their respective owners. Category: a Pacey/Andie fiction, rated PG for slight violence and controversial subjects. Dedications: To Meredith Monroe and Joshua Jackson (who will never read this, but nonetheless) for giving me such wonderful characters to use. This fiction is for my best friend, Issa, whose own writing brought me out of my year-long block, and inspired me to write this piece. I could go on, but this would really start to read like an acceptance speech! Author's Note: Sorry this thing reads like a novel, but once I start writing I don't stop until every little bit of my soul has been poured out onto the paper. The writing controls me, therefore I cannot control it. I hope it is enjoyed by all who read, and would love feedback (just be nice, please! Fragile ego here) at [email protected] . "The Letting Go" � 1992, was written by Melissa Etheridge, and is not mine. A lot could change in five years. The once sleepy town of Capeside, Massachusetts could attest to that. At one time they were like every other small, eastern seaboard town: unknown, and lowly populated. But business had begun to bloom in the last few years, and things changed. Even the people of Capeside had gone through changes. Nothing had really ever been the same after the summer of 1999. Dawson Leery, the town's local "film buff" had come home from Philadelphia a changed man. His ex-girlfriend and one time girl-next-door best friend Joey Potter had grown up over the summer, but was dealt a hard blow when she was shunned by the newly revised Dawson. But the biggest change came upon Pacey Witter, who had shed his once "bad boy" image, for the love of one Andie McPhee, a stranger who'd come to Capeside the year previous. The two immediately took to sparring, but soon gave in and became known as Capeside's Cutest Couple. That was, until disaster struck. Suffering from depression, Andie had been sent home to Rhode Island to recover, and had been separated, with minimal contact, from her beloved Pacey for the summer. She, too, returned a changed person. Her betrayal at a moment of weakness had hurt Pacey so badly that he had never forgiven her, and never let her live down the fact that she had destroyed his life. Pacey had gone through a lot that year. He constantly saw Andie, and was always running into her, or being assigned to do some school activity along side her. In a town like Capeside, it was hard to avoid anyone. He had tried to move on, to regain the social status he'd had before Andie entered his life. He had a brief fling with two of his close girl friends after the break up. The one with Jennifer Lindley was purely for research purposes; and his relationship with Joey Potter - that one earned him nothing but a good beating from Dawson Leery, and had ended in shambles. Somehow he always found himself thinking of his sunny faced Andie McPhee. Nobody else in Capeside could take her place in his heart. They had all graduated from Capeside High School two years later. Jen Lindley had gone back to her home in New York, taking Jack McPhee, Andie's older brother, with her. Dawson and Joey had gotten back together in their final year, and had headed straight to Los Angeles where Joey could study, and Dawson could try his hand at real Hollywood film making. And Andie McPhee, his sunny-faced Andie had left town shortly after graduation. Her father had deserted the family once again in her senior year, and her mother had passed away just shortly before the graduation ceremony. She had graduated top of the class. Pacey had watched with pride as she accepted her numerous awards and scholarships. More than once, he had felt the urge to stand and clap, give a sly whistle, or at least congratulate her. Afterall, she had worked hard to reorganize her life after their break up, and had thrown herself into her school work. He, on the other hand, had graduated simply with a diploma. Following the ceremony, he had wanted to give her his best wishes, to congratulate her, to tell her how sorry he felt for the loss of her mother. But foolish pride had kept him from saying anything at all. Maybe once in the entire night he had caught her eye - but had quickly looked away before she could say anything to him. As that final summer disappeared, so did Andie. With her entire family gone, she had taken off without a word to anybody of her destination. Everyone had just assumed that she'd gone to Boston University to continue her studies, or off to Harvard or Yale, to make use of the thousands of dollars in scholarship money she had earned. But nobody could be sure, and no one wasted the time in figuring it out. Pacey took to studying criminology at night school, and went into the security business, just like his father and brother. He filled his life with work and exercise - and rarely had any spare time. But, four years later, he still hadn't forgotten Andie. He hadn't forgotten the times they'd had together; the numerous times she had pulled him from the gutter, and vise versa. But she had his number, she just never called. He often thought of trying to track her down, but was always too busy to find the time. When he finally did have some spare time, his mind drifted back to her, and he was tempted to make the calls. But, four and a half years after the fact, he had met Lecey. A fresh faced law student, Lecey just happened to be in the right place at the right time. She was four years his junior, with blonde hair, blue eyes and a bright smile. It was a good thing none of this friends were in town, or else they'd have told him what he knew every day of his life - Lecey was a mirror image of Andie McPhee. But she was sweet, and kind; and even though he didn't fully return it, she loved him to bits. But for him, it was like he was holding a piece of the girl he had never gotten over, never forgotten. A piece of his Andie. * * * |
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