Part 3: Le Party
By Jenny Jo ([email protected])
December 23, 2001
4:39pm
Jack just remembered that he forgot to tell Tobey something, so he calls him up, and Tobey answers. �Hey, Tobey? It�s Jack�yeah�hi�no, I�m still going to pick you up�okay�but I just forgot to tell you to bring your sleeping bag�uh, huh, if you want to spend the night�I�m pretty sure Jen, Dawson, Pacey and Joey all are�yeah�of course�my friends think you�re great�Tobey�come on�okay, good�I�ll pick you up��kay�bye�I love you. I mean, I don�t love you. I mean, I�ll see you at 6:00.� Jack quickly hangs up the phone, and feels himself blushing.
�You don�t love him?� he hears Jen ask him, laughing. �Jack, that was very, um��
Before she can finish her sentence, Jack cuts in and says, �shut up,� smiling. �Jen, why am I so pathetic?�
�I don�t know, but it�s what makes you so gosh darn adorable!�
6:04pm
Pulling up to Tobey�s house, Jack is nervous to be face to face with him, because of what he accidentally said into the phone earlier. He keeps beating himself up over it, because, even though he does love Tobey, he knows Tobey just wants to be �friends.� After sitting in the car for a couple of minutes, he finally gets the courage to go up to Tobey�s door and knock on it. But, when he does, it�s not Tobey who answers it. He�s guessing that it�s his sister, Kayla, since she basically looks like a female version of Tobey.
�Hey,� she girl says. �You must be Jack. I�m Kayla, Tobey�s big sister. But, you probably figured that out already, didn�t you?� After Jack nods, Amy continues, �you know, Tobey�s right; you are hot.� She notices that he gets embarrassed, and finishes her thought. �Don�t worry; I�m not hitting on you. I don�t think my husband would be too keen on that, you know?� Jack doesn�t say a word. �So, can you talk? Tobey says all this stuff about how you�re this great guy who has a big heart and crap like that, but I�m not seeing it. You know, it�s really rude to just stand there while someone�s talking to you.�
�I�m sorry, but you haven�t given me a chance to say anythi...�
Kayla cuts Jack off before he can finish, and she begins laughing. �Relax, I�m just picking on you. My brother told me that you�d probably be really tense when you came, so he asked me to calm you down a little. Although, I can tell I just scared you instead. It�s nice to finally meet you; I�ve heard a lot about you.�
Jack finally smiles, and tells Kayla �it�s nice to meet you, too. I�m sorry if I seemed a little...�
�Weird?�
�Yeah, weird is definitely a good word for it.� Jack sticks his hand out for Kayla to shake, and she takes it, but pulls him into a big hug. She holds him for a good fifteen seconds before finally letting go.
�So�Tobey�s going to be out in a minute. He and I are very close, so if you hurt him again, you know you�ll have me to deal with, right?�
"You don�t have to worry about that. I already made a mistake with him once, and I promise it won�t happen again. Besides, we�re just friends.�
�Friends, right. That�s why he�s been talking about you non-stop for the past three days.�
Jack just smiles, and Tobey comes out of the house at that point. He looks great, wearing a pair of jeans and the blue sweater he wore practically the whole time he was in Boston. He�s also wearing his glasses, which is nice for Jack to see.
�Hey,� is Tobey�s warm response to seeing Jack on the porch.
Jack smiles, �Hi. You ready to go?�
�Always. I�ll see you later, Kay Kay. Good luck on your job interview.�
�Thanks. Bye Sparky. Bye, Jack.� Jack waves, and him and Tobey walk to the car, get in, and head off to the party.
There�s less tension filling the car than Jack expected, and that is definitely welcome. The last thing he needs right now is for things to be weird between him and Tobey. But, one thing is bothering him, something that he needs to know. �Sparky?�
�What?� Tobey looks over at Jack, confused.
�On the porch, when Kayla said �bye� to you, it sounded like she called you Sparky. What�s that all about?�
Tobey smiles now, realizing what Jack is talking about. �Oh, yeah, that. Okay, well, have you ever seen Christmas Vacation? The National Lampoon movie?� Jack nods �yes,� so Tobey continues. �Well, you know, in it Chevy Chase goes a little crazy (Tobey�s using very elaborate hand and face gestures when he�s saying this) on Christmas, and I always tend to do that, too. And, the Mom calls Clark �Sparky,� so that�s what my sister calls me.�
�Got it.�
6:36pm
Jack and Tobey have arrived at the Leery house to help decorate for the party. They are the last ones to arrive (after Jen, Pacey and Joey), but no one seems to care that they are a couple minutes late. Only a few decorations are already up, so it doesn�t seem like they missed anything. Dawson is making Gale stay in her room with Lily so she doesn�t see what the house looks like before it�s done. He wants to take as much pressure off his mom as he can, so he and his friends are taking care of all the preparation.
�So, okay,� Dawson says to Jack and Tobey. �If you guys could hang the banner that would be great. It�s over on the sofa, along with the tape. Don�t use too much tape, though, because Mom�s afraid it�ll wreck the wall.�
�Alright, no problem,� is Jack�s response. �Tobey, you take the right side, and I�ll take the left.� They carry the sky blue sign that reads �MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL� in big purple writing, decorated with Christmas trees and Santa�s, to the designated spot, and begin to put it up.
What Jack and Tobey don�t realize is that everyone else is sitting on the couches in the living room, watching them put up the banner, and pointing out things that they think is sexual tension between them. Like, they�ll start arguing about who has to raise their side, and get all grumpy about it. Everyone knows that they�ll get back together sooner than later, and they actually have a bet on when it�s going to be. Here�s what everyone says:
Pacey: Tonight, at this very party. I guarantee it.
Jen: I�ll say on Christmas day. Jack�ll give Tobey the perfect gift, and they�ll kiss�
Joey (ever the optimist): I think they�ll be friends for a while. You know, it is also possible that they�ll never get back together.
Dawson: Nope, you�re all wrong. Especially you, Joey (he smiles at her). I say, New Years, at midnight, they�ll kiss, and realize how in love they still are.
Suddenly, everyone�s caught off guard when Tobey yells at Jack, �why didn�t you tell me I was supposed to bring presents? God, now everyone�s going to think I�m, like, the Grinch, or Scrooge, or something.� Tobey turns around, and sees everyone sitting on the couch, staring at him, and he gets even more embarrassed.
�Tobey,� Dawson calls from his corner, �no one thinks you�re the Grinch. Really, just don�t worry about it. You weren�t supposed to bring presents. We just sort of do it because we want to, not because we have to. It�s not a necessity.�
Although Dawson�s words are supposed to be comforting to Tobey, they aren�t, really. But the sincerity in his voice more than made up for that. �I�m really sorry.�
�Don�t be. Besides, the Grinch is cute, so it wouldn�t be that bad to be him, would it?� Pacey says, smiling.
Just then, the doorbell rings. Everyone who�s supposed to be there now is, so no one knows who could be there. Dawson walks to the door, afraid that someone thought that the party was an hour before it actually was. But, when Dawson opened the door, he got quite a surprise.
�Andie!� an excited Dawson exclaims. He and Andie both embrace each other quickly. �Wow, what are you doing here? I mean, of course I�m glad that you are here, but what are you doing here?�
Andie is equally excited to be seeing Dawson, so it�s hard for her to speak. �Well, it is almost Christmas, right? My dad sent me a plane ticket a couple of months ago, and he told me I could use it if I wanted to come home. Of course I did, so here I am. Also, I heard that my brother�s making trouble for you all, so I�m here to straighten him out a little.�
�There�s no need for that, trust me. It�s so great to see you,� and they hug again. When they pull away, Dawson explains �there are a few people in the living room who I�m sure are dying to see you.�
They head into the room, and when Andie sees that no one�s looking in her direction, she yells (but it�s not really a yell) �so, I heard you were all having a Christmas party here, and I decided I�d crash it for a little while. That is, if it�s alright with all of you.�
�Oh my God!� everyone screams at the same time. Those who are sitting on the couch immediately get up and run to give her a hug, while Jack and Tobey have to climb down their respective ladders. Jack�s going so quickly, he almost falls while he�s on the third step up.
�Careful,� Tobey calls, protectively.
Jack lands hard on the floor, feet first, looks at Tobey and just smiles at him. Tobey smiles back, but has an apologetic look on his face. Jack walks over to him and reassuringly puts a hand on his back. Then, of course, he runs over to greet his sister.
�Andie, I can�t believe you�re here. Why didn�t you call me to come pick you up at the airport? And how did you find out I was here?�
Andie�s overwhelmed by all the questions, but she answers them anyway. �Well, I wanted my arrival to be a surprise, and I guess I succeed. And, I stopped by the house, saw Grams, and she told me that you were all here decorating. So, she gave me a ride here, and told me she�s be here later.�
Jack walks to Andie and gives her a warm hug, and tells her, �It�s great to have you home, sis.�
Dawson chimes in. �Okay, everyone, I hate to be the pre-party pooper, but we have a lot of work to do in a very short amount of time. Jack, Tobey, the poster, or perhaps even the banner, is still a little bit crooked. Pacey, if you�re going to be the DJ, and I still have no idea why there has to be a DJ, you better get that stereo set up. Joey and Jen, where are the streamers? You�re supposed to be hanging them up all over the house, but do you know how many I see? None. Nada. Zip. So, I would be ever so grateful if you�d start hanging some up. Andie, you look hungry. There�s plenty of food around, most of it in the fridge, so eat whatever you�d like. Speaking of that, what am I supposed to be doing again?�
Everyone is just standing there with their mouths hanging open. They�ve never seen Dawson so�in charge of anything. They like it.
Dawson still looks confused, so Joey reminds him, �dishes, coasters, placemats, nutcrackers. Basically you�re just supposed to be putting anything Christmas-like out where everyone can see them.�
�Right, thanks,� Dawson�s obviously very tense about the party. �So, let�s all do whatever we�re supposed to, and get this place ready for a bunch of people that none of us even know. We have,� looking at his watch, �approximately 44 minutes to make this place look amazing.�
They all take that as their cue to get back to work.
7:23pm
Joey and Jen are putting up the last streamer along the banister of the stairs that lead upstairs. They are the last ones to complete their given task, so they call to the others, who are sitting in the kitchen, to come look. Everyone comes, and are amazed by the work that they have all done in putting the whole thing together.
Dawson runs upstairs really quick to get Gale, and when she sees how everything looks, she is beyond amazed. �You guys, this looks wonderful,� she says, on the verge of tears. �You�ve all done such a beautiful job.�
�Thanks,� they all reply warmly.
9:13pm
Many, or possibly all, of the guests have arrived, and most people are either dancing around to the music that Pacey is playing, or standing around talking with other people. Whichever they�re doing, everyone seems to be having a wonderful time. Even Gale seems to be having a good time, which is great to see, since she has been heavily grieving since Mitch�s death.
�The gang� (minus Pacey) are all standing around in the living room, talking about school, relationships and whatnot. Tobey and Joey are discussing the non-relationship between Jack and Tobey.
�Tobey,� Joey starts, �explain to me again why you and Jack aren�t back together yet. You two are obviously still completely in love with each other, so why are you just friends?� Then she remembers the bet, but realizes she doesn�t care if she loses. She just wants the two of them together again, because she knows that Tobey makes Jack happy, and that�s all that matters.
Tobey looks kind of sad when he tells her, �well, a big part of it has to do with the fact that I know that, no matter what, I�ll always be second to Jack�s frat. I mean, believe me, I love Jack just as much as I always did, and�,� Tobey�s starting to have a realization. �If I love him so much, why can�t I be with him?� He asks himself. �Why shouldn�t I be with him?� But then he remembers that he can�t be with Jack, and right now all he has to do is get away from him, so he tells Joey, �look, I have to go. I�ll see you later.� With that, he runs out of the house.
Jack, along with everyone else, saw the whole thing, and goes up to Joey and asks, �Why did Tobey just leave?�
�I don�t know, but what I do know is that you have to go after him. He�s upset, though, so be careful.�
Jack knows what he has to do, so he quickly runs out of the house to find Tobey. As he�s running down the outside stairs, to where all the cars are, he sees someone sitting on the stairs. He�s too worried about Tobey to stop and say anything to the person.
�Jack,� he hears from behind him, and it�s obviously Tobey�s voice. He turns around, and sees that its Tobey sitting on the steps, crying a little bit.
He sincerely says, �Hey, Tobey. You�re still here.�
�Yeah, I remembered after I ran out of there that you were the one that drove me.�
Jack smiles a little bit, and says, �oh, yeah. So, are you okay? Why did you run out of there like that?�
�Sorry about that, I just had to get out of there.�
�Why?�
Tobey takes a couple of deep breaths, and replies, �because, I don�t know why. I was talking to Joey, and started thinking about how much I love you, but I also remembered why we can�t be together.
Jack interrupts, and asks, �why is that exactly?�
�Because, like I told Joey, no matter what, your frat will always come first before me. And I understand why, since you�re living in Boston now, and you need a social life. You need to find a boyfriend where you live, not someone who�s thousands of miles away from you,� Tobey�s fully crying now, and not even trying to hide it. �You need someone who can be there for you, who you can go out with, and have a good time with. And, with you in Boston, and me in California, I�m obviously not that person.�
�Oh my God,� Jack thinks to himself, �he�s doing this all for me.� He�s tearing up a little as well, and tells Tobey, �I have Jen for all that stuff. And, when you come to visit me or vise versa, we can do all that stuff. But, while we�re apart, we can still love each other. Talk on the phone every day, e-mail each other. Tobey, I love you, I don�t want anyone else.�
�Well,� Tobey�s says this, kind of coldly, �you have to either find someone else, or be single, because I�m not going to sit around lonely. I�ve had opportunities to go on dates with other guys, but I�ve been passing them up since I went to Stanford, but I�m not going to do that anymore.� When he sees Jack look down and sniffle, he thinks �what I�m I doing? He loves me, I love him, but I have to do this, don�t I?�
Jack pulls him out of his thoughts, when he hears him ask, �um, okay. Can you have Jen give you a ride home? I�m not feeling very good, so I think I�m going to call it a night. Take care, Tobey.� Then he starts walking towards his car.
�Okay,� Tobey replies, angrily. Angry at himself, not Jack. �What if he meant what he said?� he wonders. �Maybe if we give it more of a chance, we can make it work. No, I have to let him go. But I can�t,� he runs over to where Jack is, and stops him as he�s getting into his car. �Jack, did you mean it? What you said?�
Face tear-stained, Jack exclaims, �every word! Tobey, I�ve never been in love with anybody before, I was always scared to be. But you�ve shown me how amazing it is, and I want�I need to be with you. No matter what, you will always come first, you know? I love you.�
�I love you too.� They kiss each other very passionately before Tobey pulls away and engulfs Jack into a huge hug. They stay like that for a good amount of time, reveling in how nice it is to be back together, and very much in love. After their long hug, Tobey says, �so, what do you say we get out of here and go get a bite to eat from Piggy�s? You know, we could come back at around 11, when hopefully the party will be over.�
�Normally you wouldn�t have to ask me twice, but we really should go back in. I don�t think the others would appreciate it if we went and ate real food.�
�Good point,� Tobey replies, as he takes Jack�s hand and leads him back to the house.
To be continued...