(They stare into each another’s eyes – Pacey places his hand on her face and they kiss, pull away and kiss again)

* * * * *

[Outside Andie's house the next day]

(Pacey and Andie drive up in the patrol car)

Andie: Thanks for taking care of me.

Pacey: Right back at you, Andie.

Andie: I just wanna say, for the record, about last night. Whatever did or did not happen between us happened for a reason, and I, for one, am 100% okay with it. And you know, wherever it may lead, whatever new status may result, it's totally—

Pacey: Andie—

Andie: I'm rambling.

Pacey: Yeah.

Andie: Well, it's an awkward moment and I'm scared, and in scared moments I ramble. I mean, some people do that sometimes, I mean, sometimes they even ramble when they're---

Pacey: Andie--

Andie: Rambling again, right? I guess I just wanna know that you're feeling what I'm feeling.

Pacey: I am.

Andie: (sighs) That makes me so happy. (she kisses him goodbye on the cheek) Okay.

(They wave goodbye -- he closes his eyes thoughtfully)

* * * * *

[Joey’s house]

(Rob is at the door – Joey opens it)

Joey: Didn't you read the sign? No known sex offenders within 200 yards of my property.

(she goes to close the door and he forcefully pushes it back open)

Rob: I didn't do it.

Joey: Not bad. You could use a little work on the delivery, however. I suggest a less forceful interpretation.

(She tries to close the door again but he pushes it back open)

Rob: Joey please, tell me... (he grabs her hands) tell me she hasn't gone to the police.

Joey: You touch me again and I will scream faster than you can say William Kennedy Smith, you got it?

Rob: Look. Joey, she was the one that wanted to go upstairs, okay? She-- she practically dragged me up to that room... and when we started kissing, I swear, she just—she just freaked out.

Joey: Know what, Rob, you do not have a lot or credibility with me right now.

Rob: Fine, I admit it, okay? But there is a difference between an inappropriate workplace flirtation and--

Joey: And sexual assault? You draw your own line in the sand, Rob, they’re both against the law.

(He grabs her arm as she tries to close the door)

Rob: I have never forced myself on anyone.

Joey: If you say so.

Rob: It's no secret that she's unstable. No secret that she spent some time in a mental hospital.

Joey: I'm going to pretend that you never said that.

(She closes the door)

Rob: (yelling) Then why would she do this, huh? That's all I wanna know. For what possible reason?

* * * * *

[The gala]

(Miss Freckling surveys the party happily as classical music plays in the background)

Miss Freckling: Splendid. Splendid.

(Dawson and Gail sit together at a table)

Dawson: I wonder where Jen is.

Gail: Oh, don't look now, here comes Marilyn Mendrick and her husband. I haven't seen them in years.

Dawson: I can't stand that woman.

(They get up and go across the room where they meet Marilyn)

Marilyn: Oh, Gail, Dawson.

Gail: Neil, Marilyn.

Marilyn: I heard all about Philadelphia.

Gail: I'm sure you did. Excuse us, we were just going to get a drink.

Dawson: Actually, I'm quite proud of my Mom.

Marilyn: Oh, we all are, even if Philadelphia didn't quite agree with her. Honestly, I think it's perfectly absurd to fire an anchor because the public felt she was too old to identify with. You wouldn't hear them saying that about Diane Sawyer.

Neil: Gail, I speak for the whole county when I say you'd be welcome back on our airwaves anytime.

Gail: (sighs) Thank you, Neil.

Neil: (to Marilyn) Shall we? (they leave)

Dawson: Mom, is there something you want to tell me? (Gail looks at Dawson awkwardly)

(Jen and Henry enter dressed in gross, lacy costumes)

Miss Freckling: You're late. The entertainment still isn't here, and that wardrobe is far from appropriate attire. I demand you go home and change this instant. I can understand why she would turn this into a travesty, but why you, Henry?

Jen: Relax, okay? I put him up to it and you haven't seen anything yet.

Amanda: (off-camera) I swear it's hotter than a French prostitute in this place.

(Drag queens enter)

Christy: What you need, Amanda, is a long tall stiff one.

Amanda: On the rocks.

Summer: You said it, Sugar.

Miss Freckling: Who and what are they?

Jen: ‘They’ are the entertainment.

Miss Freckling: I need to sit down.

* * * * *

[Andie's kitchen]

(Joey and Andie are chopping tomatoes)

Joey: Andie, have you told your dad?

Andie: Why should I? I mean, it's only gonna upset him and it's not like anything cataclysmic happened.

Joey: Andie, this guy could have hurt you.

Andie: You don’t know that, Joey, and maybe I overreacted.

Joey: Do you think you overreacted?

Andie: Well, I didn't cry wolf, if that's what you're saying.

Joey: No, that's not what I'm saying.

Andie: Then what are you saying?

Joey: I have to tell you something. (she moves around to Andie’s side of the counter)

Andie: What?

Joey: Rob stopped by my house this morning. He told me his side of the story and he basically got down on his knees pleading his innocence.

Andie: (defensively) So that's why you're here. You of all people are gonna believe that scum.

Joey: I didn't say I believed him.

Andie: (sarcastically) No? You just stopped by for a friendly little chat?

Joey: No, I stopped by to make sure we were doing the right thing, Andie. Look, I should've reported the guy myself about his behavior towards me. I mean maybe I could've prevented this whole thing. I think your water's boiling.

Andie: Listen, Joey, maybe all of this happened for a reason. I mean, maybe something good came out of it. (She puts spaghetti noodles into the pot of water)

Joey: What do you mean?

Andie: As of last night, Pacey and I are back together and I can't tell you how happy I am. Because now everything can just go back to the way it was.

(Joey turns away looking disappointed)

* * * * *

[The Gala]

(Jen stands on the stage with a microphone)

Jen: Ladies and gentlemen, the moment that you’ve all been waiting for. Please help me in welcoming the awesome talents of Amanda Wreckinwith, Summer Clearance, Megan Whoope and Ms. Christie Anity.

(They sing "It's Raining Men")

Henry: Don't-- don't tell anyone, but I think I got the hots for Christy.

Jen: (laughs) I always knew you had excellent taste in women.

Henry: Constance is gonna kill me.

Jen: Don't be so sure. Down deep buried somewhere, I think she gets it.

Henry: Gets what?

Jen: Homecoming Queens, Drag Queens, what's the difference? They're all just people dressing up, pretending to be something they're not. Playing a role. (she grabs his hand and begins to stand) Come on.

Henry: What-- what are we doing?

Jen: Dancing, Henry, in hopes of performing a miracle and awakening the dead.

(Jen and Henry get up and dance. Gail and Dawson smile. Some old bloke begins dancing with one of the drag queens -- Miss Freckling looks worried, but she's tapping her foot)

* * * * *

[The Boathouse]

(Andie enters with a basket. Pacey's working on the boat)

Andie: I come bearing gifts.

Pacey: Hey, Andie.

Andie: Hey, I thought that, uh, True Love could use a woman's touch. What do you think?

Pacey: Well, to tell you the truth, what she could use is a new rudder and a keel.

Andie: Ok, would you settle for a skipper's cap and a pair of my Dad's old topsiders?

(He puts on the hat)

Andie: Very nice.

Pacey: Andie, to be honest, I-- I'm really starting to wonder whether I'm ever gonna finish her at all.

Andie: Why do you say that?

Pacey: Well, because sometimes it's-- it’s harder to rebuild something than it is to just start from scratch.

Andie: Why?

Pacey: That picture that you have in your mind of the way something was … it's never gonna be that way again.

Andie: Yeah, but it-- it could be better.

Pacey: Yeah, it could be... depending on how badly damaged it was in the first place.

Andie: How badly damaged was it?

Pacey: It was pretty much totaled.

Andie: Ok, Pacey, could we please stop beating this metaphor to death and just talk about what we're actually talking about.

Pacey: I made a mistake last night, Andie. We both made a mistake.

Andie: What did we do? Nothing.

Pacey: All I can tell you is how it made me feel.

Andie: How?

Pacey: Like I went against what I know is right.

Andie: That's funny because… today is actually the first day that I’ve felt really happy since I left the hospital.

Pacey: That is funny. You know, there used to be a time when you and I were so in sync in everything that we did, just connected. And look at us now -- we have the opposite reaction to the exact same event.

Andie: Pacey, please don't do this. Not now. Don't break up with me.

Pacey: I never wanted to break up with you, Andie. Never. I mean, all those months just waiting, secretly hoping...

Andie: You're just-- you're just punishing me, that's what this is about and you just need to stop being angry with me.

Pacey: I'm not punishing you, Andie. Punishment implies that you did something wrong.

Andie: I slept with another guy six months ago. I knew it was wrong when I did it. I keep trying to tell you this and make you understand it. How many times do I have to say it?

Pacey: Andie, if you wanted to sleep with him, if even just for a second, then maybe it wasn't wrong.

Andie: It was—

Pacey: Maybe... maybe that was just your heart's way of telling you that I'm not the one. Cause that's what my heart's telling me right now. It's telling me that you're not the one.

Andie: [sob] You don't mean that, Pacey. Pacey, you can't mean that.

Pacey: Andie, I'm sorry.

Andie: No, just-- just forget it.

(she leaves)

* * * * *

[Gala]

(A conga line is going. Miss Freckling sits with Jen)

Miss Freckling: Well, Jennifer, the evening wasn't a total disaster. I will say one thing, they sure do know how to dance.nbsp;(they both laugh)

Jen: That they do. You know, Miss Freckling, I believe that I owe you an apology.

Miss Freckling: Whatever for? Besides the obvious, that is.

Jen: Well the-- the truth is that I intended to shock you tonight, but something unexpected happened. For the first time, I was able to see past the cliche and I actually enjoyed being a Homecoming Queen.

Miss Freckling: Which brings us to one small, unresolved item. Hank. He adores you, you know.

Jen: It's just a crush, it's completely harmless.

Miss Freckling: It's more than that. He talks about you non-stop. Your presence in his life has awakened him somehow. It's quite special. Though my concern is the sentiment's not mutual?

Jen: That would be correct.

Miss Freckling: I had a beau, once. Heir to a mattress fortune. Beautiful man. I was 17. We courted. He asked me to marry him. I remember it like yesterday. He took off his hat, got down on one knee, it was at his mother's grave site on the anniversary of her death.

Jen: What, he proposed to you at a cemetery?

Miss Freckling: (nodding) Looking back, I-- I should've run from there screaming like a woman from a burning house.

Jen: But you didn't.

Miss Freckling: No, I didn't. But the wedding never happened anyway. He led me on, Jennifer. Played me for a fool. And then he ran off to California with the girl who'd sold him his Cadillac. But the point is, the heart is a fragile thing. Break it too badly, and it might well never recover. (sniffs)

* * * * *

[Miss Freckling's greenhouse]

(Jen and Henry are looking at flowers. Henry shows her one in particular)

Henry: She calls it the Spotted Heart. It's her most sacred blossom. Took her over 15 years to breed it correctly.

Jen: It's older than you are.

Henry: The world's most beautiful things are.

(He tries to kiss her, but she resists)

Jen: Henry—

Henry: I thought we were having fun?

Jen: We are, but not like that.

Henry: You asked me to come with you tonight.

Jen: Yes I did.

Henry: Doesn't that count for something?

Jen: It counts for us becoming friends.

Henry: Jen, I’m-- I think I'm in love with you.

Jen: Henry, you're not in love with me.

Henry: You can't say that. How do you know what I feel?

Jen: You don't even know me, how could you possibly be in love with me?

Henry: Because I just-- I am.

Jen: I wish it was that simple.

Henry: It is that simple. If it's our age you're worried about, we’re not-- we’re not even two years apart. It's nothing.

Jen: Right now, it's everything, Henry. Do you know how much is gonna happen to you in the next two years if you do them right? Your heart is gonna swell and break a hundred times before you turn 16.

Henry: And how does that make me any less ready for you now? I can still care about you more than anyone ever has.

Jen: No offense, but that's not saying much.

Henry: Then give me a shot. What do you have to lose?

Jen: Listen, Henry, what you need right now, is somebody who can not only understand what you're going through, but who can also go through it with you. Believe me, everything that you haven't done, I have.

Henry: Except fall in love. You haven't done that, or else you'd have someone. But you don't, which leads me to believe that everything you think you know about love is questionable. And as long as it is, you can't tell me I'm not the one for you.

Jen: Henry, what you need to know about me, and it's something that I'm just beginning to understand, is that until I can look at myself without judgment or condemnation, I'm not ready for anyone. Let alone you.

Henry: You know, what you just said, about my heart breaking 100 times? Well, there goes number one.

(he walks away)

* * * * *

[Gala]

(Dawson and Gail sit talking by themselves)

Dawson: I'm just sorry you didn't feel you could tell me.

Gail: How does a mother tell a son, whom she's supposed to be teaching to dream, that she failed at her own?

Dawson: Mom, alright, first of all, you didn't fail. And second of all, you don't look old. You look great.

Gail: Thank you, Honey.

Dawson: Now, as for coming home...

Gail: Sweetheart, I have my reasons why I don't want to race back to Capeside.

Dawson: And that's between you and Dad and I don't want to get in the middle, but--

Gail: But you think that I should talk to him, don't you?

Dawson: I just think you could use a friend like him now.

Gail: That's not too easy, Dawson. There's way too much history there.

Dawson: But there's no law saying that you can't, you know, lean on him a little. Just, tell him the truth, Mom. What's the worst that could happen?

Gail: He could help me. We could become friends again.

Dawson: Ha. God help us.

[Joey's porch]

(Andie paces furiously while Joey sits listening)

Andie: You lied to me. You told me one thing to my face and then you went right behind my back. I thought you were supposed to be my friend.

Joey: I am, Andie.

Andie: Oh, and you have such deep feelings for me that you went straight to Pacey and sabotaged everything.

Joey: Pacey? I haven't even talked to Pacey since you guys dropped me off.

Andie: And I'm supposed to believe that?

Joey: Well, it's the truth.

Andie: Oh, okay, so it's just a coincidence that one minute we're together and the next he never wants to see me again.

Joey: When did this happen?

Andie: Tonight. An hour ago. Right after you went and told him that I made up the entire story about Rob just to get him back.

Joey: Look, okay, Andie. I admit, it-- it did cross my mind, but I didn't believe it. Not for a minute.

Andie: Is that right?

Joey: Look, I know you. I-- I know that you're a good person. You-- you would never do anything so hurtful and plainly wrong. (Andie walks over to the bench silently) What? What did I say?

Andie: (sobbing) Nothing.

Joey: You can tell me, Andie.

Andie: Look, you don't know me, Joey, okay? You don't know what I'm capable of when I set my sights on something.

Joey: Andie, you're a stubborn and determined person. There's nothing wrong with that.

Andie: No, it's-- it's more. It's like I've got blinders on and all I can see is what's right in front of me, what I'm after. And everything on the edges just gets blocked out, somehow.

Joey: What are you talking about?

Andie: I'm talking about Pacey. I love him and I need him.. . and the truth is... I don't know what the truth is any more.

(Joey sits beside her and puts her arm around her)

Joey: It's Ok.

* * * * *

[Gala]

(Jen is walking inside, she sees Miss Freckling talking to the drag queens. She sits with them, they make a toast)

* * * * *

[Docks]

(Henry walks alone with a hurt and confused look on his face)

* * * * *

[Dawson's porch]

(Mitch and Gail sit talking to each other)

* * * * *

[Boathouse]

(Pacey sands his boat furiously)

* * * * *

[Joey's porch]

(Joey sits with her arm around Andie)