[Open in Capeside High hall]
(Dawson and Jen walk together down the hall)
Jen: Genetic inevitability is what it is.
Dawson: What�s what it is?
Jen:The fact that I'm turning into my mother. Take this whole Homecoming Queen debacle.
Dawson: Your mom was an HQ?
Jen: Ah, she was Miss Cape Cod, same difference � who graduated from swimsuit competition to a life of cucumber sandwiches, high teas and junior league.
Dawson: Point being?
Jen: It's just, despite all my best efforts, I too have managed to reach the very pinnacle of Capeside popular culture. Dawson, I have sold my soul. I have become that false character who just follows their name around.
Dawson: Beat yourself up much Jen?
Jen: Only when I deserve it. Just another happy character flaw brought to you directly from Mommy Dearest.
Dawson: You know, I think you've got it backwards. I don't think anyone voted for you because you're like your mom. I think they voted for you because you're different.
Jen: They voted for me because I'm blonde and I fill out my sweater.
Dawson: That too, but I think, wh� (she looks at him sceptically) no, when kids voted for you they voted for an outsider, you know? A provocateur. Messiah to lead them from the mainstream.
(They round a corner and are confronted by Mr. Milo)
Mr. Milo: There she is. Miss Lindley, may we interrupt?
Jen: With good news, I hope, Mr. Milo.
Mr. Milo: Allow me to introduce you to Capeside High�s finest. You are looking at half a century of Homecoming Queens. (Camera reveals a large group of women in nice clothes with big hair) Ladies, may I present Miss Jennifer Lindley. 1999's proud addition to your number.
Miss Freckling: (steps forward) My name is Constance Freckling of the Mayflower Frecklings, famous Freckilng's Candies. I'm the oldest living HQ. Now Jennifer, if you'll extend your index finger along the inside of my wrist like this. (She takes Jen's hand) Congratulations. You've learned the secret handshake. Welcome to the club. I've heard all about you.
(All talk at once. Dawson and Jen smile nervously at each other)
[Credits]
* * * * *
[Outside Bessie and Joey's house]
(Lots of workers are walking around. Bessie pours coffee as Pacey and Joey walk up)
Bessie: Guys, it's all so exciting. Now, tell me, whose brilliant idea was this again?
Pacey and Joey: Mine.
Pacey: Okay, it was your sister's idea to craft this place into a bed and breakfast, but I'm the one who told her how she could do it for next to nothing.
Bessie: Oh, and Pacey, be sure and thank your Dad again for getting us the help.
Pacey: Ah, please, I finally figured out what the police auxiliary in this town is for. (He reaches for the coffee pot on a nearby table) Take it black?
Joey: Yeah (He pours her a cup of coffee)
Pacey: Ok, Potter, what's up?
Joey: Well, considering that a lot of our insurance money is going to be swallowed up in this, I just hope it all works out.
Pacey: It'll work.
Joey: It better. I can't go back to the marina gig.
Pacey: Yeah, whatever happened with that creep anyhow?
Joey: Long story. (pauses) He was going on a date with, ah, somebody that I know, and I was concerned about her and I tried to warn her and, as a result he fired me the next day.
Pacey: Oh what a charmer. So who was the girl?
Joey: (looking away) No one you know.
Pacey: Really?
Joey:Yep�
Pacey: Yeah, Potter, do yourself a favour. Never go into politics. You're constitutionally incapable of lying with a straight face. So who was she? (Joey is silent as they look at one another) Oh.
Joey: Sorry. I wasn't going to tell you, Pacey.
Pacey: Why do I feel like I just got hit with a sledge-hammer?
Joey: If it's any consolation, it won't last. I mean, Andie's way too smart to fall for that jerk's act--
Pacey: Hey, it's okay. Whatever makes her happy, right?
(Pacey walks away, emptying his coffee on the lawn)
* * * * *
[Dawson's house]
(Dawson walks into the kitchen)
Dawson: Hey Dad, I'm home. (he places bag on chair and looks across room) Mom?
Gail: Hey.
Dawson: Hey! (runs over and gives her a hug)
Gail: Oh Honey, I've missed you so much.
Dawson: What are you doing home?
Gail: What, a mother can't surprise her son?
Dawson: I'm not complaining.
Mitch: (enters kitchen) I can tell you why she's here � this year's HQ gala.
Gail: Your father knows me too well. Being an HQ from a certain undisclosed year in the late seventies, yeah, I thought I'd come home.
Mitch: Late seventies?
Gail: (laughs)
Mitch: Hello, Gail.
Gail: Hi, Mitch.
Dawson: (getting something from fridge) You know, Jen's planning it.
Gail: The gala? Jen Lindley?
Mitch: Yeah, Capeside�s newest Homecoming Queen.
Gail: Well, how on earth did that happen?
Dawson: Nobody's quite sure, although I'm interpreting it as an early sign of the Armageddon.
Gail: Hmm, well at the very least, that should make for a fun time for us. (she looks at Dawson)
Dawson: Have you developed a lazy eye or were you actively looking in my direction when you said �us�?
Gail: Honey, I need an escort.
(Dawson, Gail and Mitch glance uncomfortably at each other until Mitch walks away)
* * * * *
[Capeside High Cafeteria]
(Pacey and Joey sit at a table. Andie comes and joins them)
Andie: Hi.
Pacey: (getting up) You know, I just remembered I got some French vocab to study for.
Andie: You don't take French.
Pacey: Well, all the more reason, right? (he leaves)
Andie: You told him.
Joey: It slipped out over breakfast.
Andie: Breakfast?
Joey: Yeah, Pacey's been helping Bessie and me with the addition. You know, the one we're investing every spare cent we have to build so we can hopefully open soon and financially barely scrape by?
Andie: Look, Joey, it wasn't my fault you got fired, and even if it was, which it wasn't, you can't stay mad at me forever.
Joey: Not forever... a few solid months.
Andie: Ok, I don't know what Rob and I are. All I know is I can't help it. I like him.
Joey: For now, but I can promise you this, Andie. You're going to get a big, fat �I told you so�.
* * * * *
[Freckling Mansion]
(Jen picks up a note on the door. She goes inside and looks around at pictures on the wall. There's a dress in the middle of the room. She looks in the mirror)
Miss Freckling: (coming up from behind her) Don't slouch, young lady. Square your shoulders, and face the world! (motioning towards the dress) What do you think?
Jen: Excuse me?
Miss Freckling: The dress. It's nearly finished. I make a new one every year for tomorrow's gala celebration.
Jen: Oh. See that 's what I wanted to--
Miss Freckling: One must remain modern, after all. I'm thinking of lifting the hem and softening the neckline a little.
Jen: Softening would be good. Listen, Mrs. Freckling--
Miss Freckling: Miss Freckling. I never married.
(Banging and crashing on the roof)
Jen: Oh, what in the w-world was that?
Miss Freckling: Hank.
Jen: Hank?
Miss Freckling: My handyboy. Lovely child. Lives right down the road. Presently, he's hanging extra twinkle bulbs on my roof.
Jen: Oh yeah, about that party� I hope that you don't mind, but�well it's just that I've been through all this before (pauses) with my mother, and she was constantly trying to turn me into a debutante and, and it's just not my thing.
Miss Freckling: Oh, but I do mind. You have a responsibility, young lady, as the newly crowned queen to help me host this event.
Jen: But I never asked for any of this.
Miss Freckling: Nor did I ask for you, Jennifer. Most girls who walk through this door are pleased as punch to be here. They're sweet, upstanding, enthusiastic girls who relish the chance to be role models. They tend to stand up straight, comb their hair and... (eyes move down) wear brassieres. Am I making myself clear?
Jen: Crystal.
(Jen leaves -- as she walks out the door, a figure falls from the roof in front of her)
Henry: Aaah!
Jen: You're Hank.
Henry: Quick. Bees. Run for your life!
(He takes her hand and they run to the greenhouse)
* * * * *
[Inside the new addition of the Potter house]
(Pacey and Joey are sweeping up)
Joey: Just like the cops to disappear when the going gets tough.
Pacey: Well some of them do have wives and children to get home to. And besides, we're almost done here. And you know, I was thinking -- you're gonna need a name for this addition when we do get finished, so a suggestion, if I may? How does the Pacey J. Whitter wing strike you?
Joey: Keep talking, it'll be a memorial dedication.nbsp;(phone rings in the background)
Pacey: You know, Potter, sometimes your lack of gratefulness, it borders on unappealing.
(Bessie enters with the phone in her hands)
Bessie: Joey, it's for you. Whoever it is, she sounds upset.
Joey: Hello?.... Hello?
Andie: (tearfully) Joey?
Joey: Andie, is that you?
Andie: Joey, please help me.
(Joey and Pacey look at one another, concerned)
* * * * *
[outside Rob's house]
(Pacey, Joey and Andie are crouched under a tree)
Joey: Andie, what happened?
Andie: (tearfully) I don't wanna talk about it. I just wanna go home.
Pacey: Andie, you gotta tell us what happened first.
Andie: Pacey, please--
Joey: Andie, what did he do? Did he try to hurt you?
Pacey: Andie, you gotta tell us, what did this guy do to you?
Andie: Um, we were� upstairs in the bedroom� and we were just kissing. And then... he started trying to... and I kept saying �no� and he kept trying, and then I managed to get away before anything else happened. And that's when I came down and I called Joey and�can we just go now please?
Pacey: Where is he?
Andie: Don't worry about it.
Pacey: Is he in there?
Joey: Pacey, let's just go.
Pacey: I'm not leaving until I talk to that bastard.
Andie: Pacey, no--
(He gets up and goes towards the house � Joey hugs Andie)
[Inside Rob's house where a party is going on � loud music with lots of people � Pacey walks around until he sees Rob out in the backyard talking to friends]
(Pacey comes from behind him)
Rob: But I tell him, it is easy...
Pacey: Rob?
Rob: Yeah?
Pacey: You're with Andie, right?
(Pacey punches Rob -- guys try to pull them apart and hold them back)
Pacey: What the hell did you do to her, man?
Rob: I didn't do anything.
Pacey: That's why she's outside bawling her eyes out, for nothing, right?
Rob: Where is she?
Pacey: You're not going anywhere near her.
Rob: Get off me!
Pacey: If you so much as touch her again, I am going to nail you to a cross.
Rob: Wait a minute, I didn't even lay a hand on her.
Pacey: (walking away) Save it for the judge, Logan, huh?
Rob: Get out of my house.
(Rob�s friends pat him on the shoulder and give him another drink)
* * * * *
[Evening � inside Miss Freckling's greenhouse]
(Henry and Jen admire the flowers)
Jen: It's really beautiful in here.
Henry: Isn't it? You're looking at over 200 plants. (pointing to one) Bulbophyllum virginalis.
Jen: (bursts out laughing) You're making that up.
Henry: No I'm not, I swear. Sometimes they get a little suggestive with the names.
Jen: Okay, give me another one.
Henry: Ok, how about Polystachya Pubescenes or Vanda Vaginatum?
Jen: Ooh, is it hot in here or did you just make me blush?
Henry: Oh�
Jen: Relax, Henry, it'll take a lot more than a flower to offend me. How did you learn so much about these?
Henry: Miss Freckling.
Jen: What's the deal with her?
Henry: What do you mean?
Jen: She's wound so tight, she's like a violin string.
Henry: Na, she's-- she's just sad.
Jen: Sad?
Henry: She's got no one in her life. She never had kids, no relatives. I've lived next door to her for 10 years, I think I'm her best friend.
Jen: I don't know who to feel sorrier for, you or her. (she looks at him and he looks away) Henry, we're gonna have to toughen you up. You keep wearing your heart on your sleeve like that and you're gonna bleed to death.
Henry: It's not me� it's her. You have no idea how much she was looking forward to meeting you.
Jen: She was?
Henry: I told her all about you. See, the thing is, she has exactly two events on her social calendar. The W.O.C. in Miami every spring--
Jen: The W.O.C.?
Henry: The World Orchid Conference. And in the fall, the Homecoming Queen gala. It's what she lives for. Without them, she's got nothing at all.
* * * * *
[Joey's house]
(Joey, Andie and Pacey sit around the table)
Joey: Look, um, you need to go to the station tonight.
Andie: Uh-uh, I can't go to the station.
Joey: Andie, you have to�you have to talk to the police.
Andie: Joey, it's not like he actually did anything.
Joey: Well, then why don't you stay here. I mean, I really don't think you should be alone tonight.
Andie: Thanks, but I can't.
Pacey: I can take care of this, Jo.
Joey: You sure?
Pacey: Yeah.
Joey: Ok.
* * * * *
[Miss Freckling�s house]
(Miss Freckling is working on the dress � Jennbsp;and Henry enter)
Henry: Miss Freckling? Constance? She's got her aid turned off.
Jen: Aid?
Henry: Hearing aid. Sometimes she likes to tune out the world.
(Henry taps her on the shoulder and she jumps, startled)
Miss Freckling: Oh, Hank you startled me. (she turns her hearing aid on)
Henry: I, um, I ran into Jen outside.
Jen: Miss Freckling, I know that we got off on the wrong foot and I� just wanted to see if we could start over.
Miss Freckling: He is persuasive when he wants to be, isn't he?
Jen: O, well, I, I --I'm just getting to know him.
Miss Freckling: Well, if he likes you, you can't be all bad.
Jen: You know, I was just thinking the same thing about you.
Henry: So, should we wait for the waters to calm or just dive right into the party planning?
Jen: I say, dive right in.
Miss Freckling: Very well. (they go and sit on a couch)nbsp;Entertainment or food, take your pick.
Jen: Um... entertainment?
Miss Freckling: Ah surprise, surprise. Now, since it's my house, there are some rules.
Jen: Surprise, surprise.
Miss Freckling: No mimes, no magicians, no Barry Manilow, no Elvis look-alikes, no motivational speakers, no comedy troupes, no breakdancing, no gangster rap, no animal tricks--
Jen: Okay, no nothing that you might possibly see on Letterman.
Miss Freckling: What's Letterman? (Jen and Henry look at one another)
Jen: How does a string quartet playing Mozart strike you?
Miss Freckling: Perfect.
Jen: Ok, I'll split the difference.
Miss Freckling: I'm sure you will.
Jen: Oh, and there's one more thing.
Miss Freckling: What's that?
Jen: Well, uh, he doesn't know it yet, but Hank here is going as my date. (He sits down next to her and she puts her arm around him)
* * * * *
[Pacey�s boat]
(Andie and Pacey sit on the boat together. Andie picks up the sign "True Love")
Andie: True Love, that's ironic.
Pacey: Yeah, well I figured since it didn't exist, I'd try and create it for myself.
(He puts a blanket around her)
Andie: Why did you bring me here?
Pacey: Because, well, you said you wanted to go some place quiet.
Andie: There's lots of quiet places, Pacey.
Pacey: Yeah, I guess there are. Um, I guess I just wanted to show you I've been okay, since we ended things. I've found a way to turn what's killing me into something potentially beautiful.
Andie: I haven't, Pacey. I'm not over you.
Pacey: You will be, McPhee.
Andie: See, even that, just you calling me by my last name. Do you know how long I've waited to hear that?
Pacey: You've been through a lot tonight, Andie. Let's not go there, huh?
Andie: If it took what happened tonight to bring us together, so be it.
Pacey: We're not together. I mean, I'm here for you, but we're not together.
Andie: If we're not together, then I'm not sitting beside you, staring into your eyes� and kissing you.
(She leans in to kiss him, at the last second, he pulls away)
Pacey: Andie--
Andie: Sorry.
Pacey: We just can't. Phew, we can't for so many reasons, we can't.
Andie: I'm not asking you what we can't do, Pacey. I'm asking you what you want to do.
Pacey: I want to know that you're okay. That's all that matters to me now.
Andie: That's a shame, because you still matter to me in every way. I want to be with you, Pacey.
Pacey: I know that's how you're feeling right now, but tomorrow could be an entirely different story.
Andie: I'm not talking about tomorrow. I'm talking about right now. Tonight. You and me together, under the stars, just like it used to be. I'm talking about a kiss. That's all I'm asking. Don't you want to?
