RESOLUTION

by Rachel

 

 

          Jack stared blankly across the courtyard, unconsciously admiring an attractive young man reading a book on the steps of the school library.  Suddenly aware, he looked away, blushing a bit.  Even though he finally admitted his sexuality, it still was taking a while to get used to it. 

“Why is this so hard?”  He mumbled to himself.

“Hey! What’s up?”  It was Joey.  She walked up to him smiling her sideways grin.  She had been his friend when Jack needed one most.  She had been there for him and helped him through the past few months, some of the hardest months in his life. 

“Nothing really…Just waiting for Jen.”

“Oh.”  Joey frowned.  She considered Jen her nemesis. She had been her arch-enemy in the fight for Dawson Leery’s affections ever since she had moved here from Manhattan.  Ever since Jack had moved into Jen’s grandmother’s home, Joey had felt…well, she had felt left out.  And jealous.  But she would never admit to it though.

She had too much pride for that.

“What’s going on with you?”  Jack asked.

“Oh, I was just on my way home…”  She saw Jen approaching.  “I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Where are you rushing off to?” Jack called after her, but she had already disappeared around the corner.

 

“Hey Jack,” Jen was standing behind him.  He turned to face her.

“Hey, you ready to head home?”  He asked.

“Yeah.  Where was Joey off to in such a rush?…”  Jen knew of Joey’s dislike for her.  Jen had made many unsuccessful attempts at friendship with her.

“I don’t know. Come on,  lets go…”  As they walked past the library, Jen noticed Jack’s absentminded gaze focus on the young man on the library steps.

“Why don’t you ask for his digits?…”  She leaned over and whispered in his ear.  He blushed, and grinned.  “Ooh, blushing now are we?”

“OH YOU!…”  He said and began chasing her.

 

          Dawson lay on his back with his head at the foot of his bed, gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling.  Numerous movie posters hung from his walls and a box containing his unfinished movie sat in the corner.  Dawson didn’t care.  He had only one thing on his mind - Joey.  He missed her.  It had been weeks since she had even looked at him.  He had passed her many times in the halls of the school but she always pretended not to know him.  She would duck around corners to avoid him.  She wouldn’t even make eye contact with him. She made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him.  But he knew what he had done was right.  He had potentially and ultimately saved Joey’s life.  Who knows what could’ve happened if he hadn’t told.  His parents had supported and assured him through his decision.   It was ironic how they loved him so but couldn’t stand to live in the same house with eachother anymore.  Now his mother was gone, off to try to start a new life for herself, and his father had taken responsibility of  the house again.  He was glad his mother wanted him to stay in Capeside.  He missed his mom. 

 

          But he was tired of thinking of all that…all he could think about was Joey.

A KNOCK AT THE DOOR.

“Come in,”  It was Pacey, looking just as depressed as Dawson felt.

“Man, Dawson, this really bites…”  He plopped down in a chair facing Dawson.   Dawson rolled over on his stomach and propped his chin in his hands.  Pacey looked flustered.  He had been since Andie made the decision to move back to Providence to live with an overbearing father.  He knew she needed help, and he knew that neither he nor Jack could have given her the kind of help she needed to be well.  But it was hard.  A lot of things had been hard in his life:  Dealing with his emotionally distant father; living up to the impossible expectations his overachieving older brother had set.  A ghost of a mother who never seemed to be around when he needed her.  But this was the hardest.  Andie had saved him.  She had taught him to be himself.  She had seen through his slacker façade and she had made him want to be somebody.

         

Dawson looked at his friend.  He knew how he felt.

“So what are you up for tonight?”  Dawson looked inquisitively at Pacey.  Pacey raised an eyebrow.  He really needed to get out and have some fun.

 

          Joey slowly walked up the walkway to her little house at the end of the creek.  It was not a beautiful  house like the one Dawson lived in, and it was not full of fancy furniture the way Jack’s house had been before his father sold it.  But it was home.  It seemed so empty now. 

After her mother had died, Joey had lived there with her sister, Bessie. They survived by working hard, running the family restaurant which was the only thing they were able to save when the “Potter scandal” had left them abandoned and poor. Bessie was the only one who understood how she had felt when the town would talk mercilessly, calling the Potters white trash, snickering over Bessie, the unwed mother, and of a half-black child no less. 

It’s been a long struggle, and with her father going back to prison, the house feels lonelier then ever. 

As she reached the door, as she turned the knob, something made her look out.  Out across the creek. 

“I miss Dawson.” She mumbled.  But then she remembered the pain he had shown her.  She remembered her resentment every time she looked at him.  The longing was replaced by scorn.  She frowned.  She shook her head as if to shake him out of it, then went inside.

 

Jen and Jack ran into the kitchen, out of breath and smiling. It was a close race, but Jen had won.  Gramms was standing at the stove, cooking up something that smelled delicious.  She looked surprised at their exuberance.

“Hey, Gramms,” Jen kissed her grandmother on the cheek.  She was relieved they were finally getting along.  It would be hard to live with her, but it was too scary to live without her.  Hard was the way it had first been when her parents had sent her to live here, tired and unable to cope with her rebellious ways.  She had felt so attacked, so alone, with no one on her side. Then, when Abby died, she had felt so sad, so lost, so angry.  She had said a lot of things to Gramms that she did not mean, a lot of things she had immediately resented.  But that was all over with now.

 

“Hello dear, hello Jack.  Are the two of you hungry?”  She had an East Coast  accent, a mixture of Boston and, perhaps, Northern Virginia.  She was a very soft spoken woman.  But strong as well.  She had watched her husband die, waste away in a bed for many years.  Now Jen was all she had left.

“No, thank you.” Jack still felt a little uneasy around Gramms.  He knew her faith did not approve of his lifestyle.  But she was always kind, and never passed judgment.

“Nah, Gramms…” Jen replied dodging around her and grabbing a cookie from the cookie jar.  “We’re just gonna go study.”

“Well, if you kids are around later, dinner will be ready at six o’clock,” Gramms went back to her stew.  They grabbed their books and headed towards Jen’s room.

 

          Jen flopped down on her bed, Jack sat on the floor beside her.  He pulled out his history book and began flipping pages.

          “Hey, Jack…”

          “Yeah…”

          “Do you wanna go to a party tonight?”

          “Depends…Who’s gonna be there?”

          “Everyone in Capeside I hear…”

          “NAH…”

Jen smiled.

          “OH come on!”

Jack shook his head slowly, a big grin forming across his face.  He knew how much Jen loved parties, and he was just giving her a hard time. He, on the other hand, didn’t really like “everyone in Capeside”.  Coming out was the hardest thing he’s ever faced, and his schoolmates didn’t make it any easier.  Writing “FAG” in bold, red letters on his locker that day…He will never forget it.  He remembered how he had been holding Joey’s hand, he had felt all right.  He had had a hard morning that day, but dating Joey had made it all fade away.  But then the locker…he had never felt such despair.  Then Joey had kissed him.  He was so sad.  Everyone had stared.  The harder part was later, when he admitted to himself he was gay.  It was almost as hard as telling Joey.  She had looked so confused, so disappointed. 

          “Well? Are we going or not?!” Jen shouted.

          “Okay, okay...”  Jack caved.

 

          Dawson and Pacey entered the huge living room…Kids were everywhere dancing, talking, and laughing. Some were drinking.  The music was loud, a Blink182 song was playing.  This was not really Dawson’s scene, and there was no way he would ever take a drink again. Not after what happened on his sixteenth birthday.  He had gotten so smashed, and he had made an ass of himself in front of his friends. In front of Joey. In front of his parents.  God, what an awful day…

Pacey didn’t look too thrilled to be there either.  It was a far cry from the old Pacey, ready to star at any party only to wake up the next morning too late for first period and then be criticized by his family for wasting his life. 

          “Hey Dawson, hi Pacey…”  It was Carrie, the host for the evening.  She was pretty and  popular.  And trouble.  When Dawson and Jen had dated, she was always poking around trying to cause problems.  Carrie had just met Jen and she knew practically nothing about her, yet she managed to spread some of the most vicious rumors.  Dawson didn’t particularly like her, but she seemed to like him.

          Pacey looked at her with a bit of disgust.  If Abby had been the Wicked Witch Of The West, this girl would definitely be her sister, the one under the house.

          “Well, well, well…Look what the cat dragged in.” Pacey smirked.  Carrie, blatantly ignoring Pacey, stepped between the two.

          “So, Dawson…” She said, taking him by the hand. “Wanna dance?”

“I’m not a very good dancer,”  Grinning that famous Leery smile, he looked at Pacey for help.  Pacey just held his cold gaze on Carrie.              

“OH, come on!”  She pulled him towards the center of the room.  Carrie began dancing, and rather flirtatiously.  Dawson just stood there, looking at Pacey, then shrugged.

“Slut…”  Pacey muttered.  He walked off towards the kitchen.  “There’s got to be something to eat around here somewhere…”   

 

Pacey entered the elaborate kitchen.  It was crowded.  Half eaten food platters and half empty beer bottles covered every flat surface.  He strolled towards the fridge.  Swinging open the door, he saw absolutely nothing that looked even remotely good.  He slammed the door shut. He turned, sighed and went to find an empty chair.  He wasn’t in the mood for this after all, not tonight.

 

Jen and Jack were in the backyard, within a group of teenagers dancing and laughing near the pool.  Jen was drinking.  Jack would watch out for her tonight, to make sure she didn’t get wasted.  To make sure no one would try to take advantage of her as Chris had done so many times before.  Jen didn’t plan on getting wasted.  Then again she never did, except for that one night, at the wedding.  That night she and Abby…poor Abby…had crashed the wedding.  Andie made them leave, she had kicked them out.  Then Abby had drowned in the creek. Jen still felt guilty.  She felt sick as she thought about it. 

“I need to sit down Jack…”  Her face turned pale.  She held her stomach.  Jack thought she might pass out.       

“Jen, you okay?”  His face strong with concern.

“No.  I can’t help thinking about Abby…”

“Jen, its over…she’s gone.  It happened months ago.  You couldn’t help her…”

“I know, I know…”  Jen still couldn’t shake the image.  Abby was not a nice person, but Jen had felt comfortable with her.  She didn’t have to worry about playing “nice” around her.

“Do you want to go home?”  Jack asked.

“No, Jack, not just yet.  Let’s stay for a little while longer.  I’ll be okay.”                             Jack helped her to her feet.  He felt sorry for her. He knew what she was going through.  She didn’t have many friends, Abby had seen to that.  And she hadn’t been able to talk much with Dawson since he and Joey had gotten back together.  It had been even harder now that they were broken up again.      

He had the feeling she still had a romantic interest in Dawson, although she adamantly stated she was over him, and wasn’t ready for a relationship again.  They decided to go inside.

 

SCENE 8:

Joey was sitting on the sofa only half watching a rerun on t.v. when the phone rang.  It was Bessie calling from the Icehouse. It had taken a long time to clean up the mess that the fire had left, but Bessie had worked hard, and Joey had helped out when she could, and now it was almost ready for reopening.

“Hey, Joey.  Can you come down to the restaurant and pick up Alex?  It looks like I’m going to be here a lot later then I thought, there’s still so much to do.”

“Sure, Bess.  I’ll be there in a little while.” Joey hung up the phone. She put on  her sweater and headed out the door.

 

It was a peaceful night, all the stars were out. The moon was almost full and it glowed.  Joey walked down the avenues towards town, thinking to herself.  She thought about all the problems she’s had.  She missed her father.  She loved him.  How could she have betrayed him?  She felt so guilty about helping the police.

She walked past the park, which was empty and silent. She could hear the crickets. Moths fluttered in the glow of the street lamps.  She remembered her father’s face, he looked so hurt.  She wanted to cry again, but she wouldn’t.  Then she began thinking of how hurt she had been, and of how he had hurt her so many times.  She tried not to think about it as she neared the town center.

 

She heard music.  It became louder as she neared the residential street lined with the large town homes of the well-to-do Capeside citizens.  Soon she heard talking and laughing.  As she neared the large house, she saw kids in the front yard swigging beers and joking around. Cars lined the streets.  She recognized some of the kids from school.

“HEY!  Joey! Come here!”  It was Molly, a girl she had met over the summer in her art class.  She was smiling, she waved Joey over.  Joey ventured closer.  “Joey, come hang with us!”

Joey passed through the gate into the yard.

“Hi, Molly,” Joey felt a little awkward.

“Hey, Joey these are my friends…”  Molly introduced her friends, and she introduced her boyfriend, a rather tall football player, who kept grabbing her by the waist and kissing her neck.  Joey blushed a little, she wasn’t very comfortable with public displays of affection. “Go inside and grab a beer!”

“No thanks, I can’t stay…” Joey felt really insecure and out of place.

“OH come on!  Just for a few minutes!  They have sodas and stuff, too!  Go get one!”

Joey thought about it for a minute.

“Okay. I’ll be right back,”  She walked up the walkway towards the front door, she would only stay for a few minutes.  She didn’t want to seem rude, and it felt good to be wanted, even if it was by someone she hardly knew.  It wasn’t often that someone tried to befriend her.  She walked into the crowded house and headed towards the kitchen to get a soda.

 

          Jen and Jack went into the family room.  It was huge! There was a pool table, a full sized bar, and a big-screen t.v.  Jen saw Pacey slumped in a chair in the corner looking bored.

          “Hey Pacey!”  Jen went towards him, Jack followed. “Whatcha doin’ all by yourself?”

          “Hey Jen. Jack.”

          “Hey man,”  They shook hands.  Jack respected Pacey.  He was a good guy.  He had taken care of his sister, and had never backed down, even at its worst point.  He had also been the first to stand up for him in school when all hell had broken loose over the controversial poem Jack had written.

          “Why so down?” Jen asked sitting beside him.  Jack took a seat too.

          “Just sick of these people…they’re so phony.  It’s so lame…” Pacey looked around the room.

          “Tell me about it…” Jack looked around too.

          “Oh, you what am I going to do with the two of you? You NEVER have any fun…” Jen was smiling.  She felt better. “Where’s Dawson?”

         

          Pacey gestured towards the middle of the room.  There was Dawson, trying to politely get free of Carrie’s grasp.  He saw the group and his face lit up.  He, finally out of Carrie’s reach, came up to them.

          “Jen! Jack! When did you get here?!” Dawson  gave a quick hug to Jen as she stood up to greet him. “How are you guys doing?”

          “Good. How are you doing?” Jen asked a little suspiciously, eyeing Carrie who in turn eyed Jen with a dirty look.

          “Trying to get my mind off things…mostly.”  Dawson answered.

          “Dawson, I’m really sorry how things turned out…”  Jack knew the situation between him and Joey. He was there when the fire had started in the Icehouse.

          “Hey…it’ll all work out some how.  So Jen, you wanna dance?” Dawson held out his hand.

          “DANCE? DAWSON LEERY!, DANCING?”  Jen looked shocked, although she was just kidding around. “Yeah…okay,”

          “Don’t be too thrilled…I’m not all that out there…” He smiled. They went out to the floor, talking and giggling. 

 

Jen and Dawson were good at being friends.  They got along so well now.  It was hard to believe that the two of them had been involved in an ugly and bizarre love triangle just a year ago. They had put it all past them now.

         

“Joey loves you, ya know…”  Jen looked Dawson right in the eye.  She was serious.

          “Jen…Wow! What brought this on?” Dawson was surprised.

          “I just want you to know that…well, I want you to be happy!  And if Joey makes you happy, you should try to get her back.”

          “Jen, I never thought I’d hear you say that.”

          “Dawson, I never thought I’d say that,”  Jen smiled sheepishly. “But I mean it.  I support you 100%.”

          “Wow, thanks Jen. That really means a lot to me…”

Dawson hugged her. 

          “NOW COME ON! Show me your moves!”  Jen laughed as Dawson playfully mimicked, and very badly she thought, the “running man”.

         

          Jack and Pacey sat quietly on the sofa just talking about things when Chris and a couple of his friends walked in. They looked drunk.  Chris immediately saw the two on the sofa, and they approached.  Pacey saw them coming.  He glared at them.  Jack looked up, surprised. 

          “Well, well, well…what are the two of YOU being so ‘cozy’ about?”

          “Back off Chris...” Pacey warned.

          “Chris, go harass someone else…” Jack looked annoyed.

          “Jack. Chill.” Chris was one of those guys who liked to push things too far. “Hey, where’s that luscious Jen?  I hear you too are living together now, what happened? Did you decide to go both ways?”

          “Lay off, Chris,” Pacey’s eyes burned.

          “Chill out, loser,” one of Chris’ friends said from beside him. They laughed to each other.  Pacey rolled his eyes.  He held his tongue, reluctantly.   

          “Chris, what is you’re problem?” Jack stood up to him.  Even though Chris was a good 5 inches taller then Jack, he didn’t care.  Jack would not let him intimidate him this way.         

          “Fag!” called out one of Chris’ friends under his breath.

         

          Suddenly the party grew quiet, Jen and Dawson were at Pacey’s side now. Everyone was staring at them.

“I just want to know, “ Chris was talking to Pacey, “now that that girlfriend of yours is gone, are you moving on to her brother, or what?”

Pacey looked like he wanted to go at Chris, but Dawson put his hand on his shoulder to hold him back.

“Chris, why don’t you get lost!” Jen stepped between them.  She stared Chris right in the eye.

 

Everyone came from all over the house to watch.  Joey walked in unknowing of the situation at hand.  She saw Dawson.  At first she started to turn to leave but then she saw what was happening. She stood back from the group watching, listening.  Her face grew troubled.   

          “What are you so worried about, Jen. Are you, like, their fag-hag now?”

          “Hey,”  Dawson began to intervene.  Jack’s face went hot, he clenched his fist.

          “Chris, you’re only out for a good time at everyone else’s expense!  One of these days you’re going to get it, and you aren’t going to like it…” Jen stood her ground. 

“Wow, Jen, you are a slut.  Are you doing all of them now?  Did Dawson finally get some out of you?” Chris laughed, his friends laughed.  Jen turned red with rage. She hated Chris.

          “You’re the slut!”

          “That’s enough, Chris!” Dawson was growing intolerant.

          “What happened with Joey, Dawson?  With her dad back in jail, seems like she’d be an easy lay…”

          “Man, Chris, you’re such an ass!”  Pacey had had it.      

          “What happened to you Pacey? You used to be such a cool guy? All of a sudden you’re loony girlfriend goes off to the nut house and you freak out…”

 

          Pacey lost it.  He slugged Chris as hard as he could.  Chris went down.  Pacey jumped on him, wailing his fists.  Everyone started screaming. Suddenly Dawson and Jack were pulling him back. Chris’ friends looked shocked. They grabbed Chris and pulled him away.

          “You SON OF A BITCH!” Pacey was screaming with rage. “DON’T YOU EVER TALK ABOUT ANDIE AGAIN!”

          Chris’ mouth and nose were bleeding…he looked dazed. Pacey had hit him good. Joey stood there with her mouth hanging open. Jen was speechless.  Jack and Dawson held back the struggling Pacey.

          Chris slumped down on the floor.

          “YOU BROKE MY NOSE!” Chris wailed.  Blood covered his face and hands.

          “Pacey! PACEY! Calm down!”  Dawson held back his friend. He knew this would mean unneeded trouble for Pacey.

          Carrie ran up shrieking and screaming,

          “YOU’RE RUINING MY PARTY!”

          “Get out of here Chris!” Jack screamed.

          Chris’ friends helped him to his feet again and helped him out of the room.

          “You ASSHOLE!” Pacey screamed at him. He spit at Chris, then turned away and stormed out.

         

          “Oh my god!” Jen cupped her hands over her mouth.  She didn’t know what to do.  She looked around at all the people staring at her.  Staring at THEM .  She spun around.  She looked back at Dawson.

          “Get out of here!” Jack yelled. “Out!”  No one budged.  There was a murmur in the crowd as they stared at Jack.

          Carrie got in Jack’s face,

          “YOU RUINED MY PARTY!  How DARE you!”

 

Joey stepped in.

          “Leave  him alone! Get out!”  She couldn’t stand it. “GO!”  Carrie stood there for a moment, then turned and stormed out.  Slowly onlookers turned away, the music started again, and cliques went back to their corners to gossip.       

 

“Jack, are you okay?”  Joey whispered.     

          “Yeah,”  But she could see he was upset. “Jen!”  He turned to her.  She was standing there with tears running down her face.  Joey felt horrible, even for Jen.       

          “Jack, I’m okay…” she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.               

 

          “Joey,” Dawson was behind her. “I want to talk to you…”

 

          “Did that just happen?” Jack was confused. 

          “Oh my god! Pacey!” Jen suddenly aware.  “We have to find him!”

 

          Pacey had run to the dock.  He was still furious.  He kicked over a garbage can and beat his fists against the door to one of the shops. 

“ARGH!”  Pacey’s fists were swollen and bleeding.  They hurt, but not nearly as much as Chris’ face would be in the morning. 

He hated what he had done.  He knew his father would hear about it, and his father would give him the third degree.  After all, he was Capeside’s finest law enforcement officer.  How would it look?  His son running around punching guys out.  He would be so angry.

He sat down on a bench on the pier facing the dark waters of the creek.  The moon light reflected off the braking waves.  He put his head in his hands and closed his eyes.  They burned.

He couldn’t let Chris get away with talking about Andie like that.  He couldn’t tolerate it.  He didn’t mean to blow up, but Chris had it coming.  He was a jerk.  Look at the way he was, look at how he lived.  Pacey remembered what he had done to Jen during the study group Chris had held at his home last year.  He had used her, then bragged about it.  He remembered how Chris had helped Abby with that stupid video that had almost destroyed his relationship with Andie.  Chris was a cold person.

          “Bastard,” Pacey mumbled.           

          He began remembering all of the fights he and Andie had had.  He remembered how they had made up.  He remembered how he had felt holding her the first time after they had made love.  He remembered how she had looked while she slept.  A tear streamed down his cheek.    

          “Damn it!”  He hated to cry. 

          He remembered how her illness had crept into their lives.  He was so in love with her.  Everything was going so well.  Then all of a sudden she had become a different person.  She had told him she hated him.  She had screamed and yelled and cried and she wouldn’t let him help her. She wouldn’t let him touch her.

He began to sob silently.  He felt like breaking down.  He felt rage.  He wanted to beat something.  He wanted to beat something hard until it felt as bad as he did.  

He slouched down and cried.

He felt a hand on his shoulder.  Jen was they’re kneeling beside him.

“Pacey?…”  Her face was full of grief and concern.  He reached out towards her.  She held him, and rocked him.  She kissed his forehead, and consoled him. Eventually the crying stopped.

         

          “Dawson! Leave me alone!”  Joey jerked from Dawson’s grasp,  her face red with anger.  She was scowling, and would not face him.

          “Joey, please!”  Dawson pleaded with her.  “Please! Give me a chance! Look at me! Please!” 

She finally turned and faced him.  He saw the intensity in her eyes and it almost scared him. He stepped back and looked at her.  He remembered how she had looked as a little girl, in particular from one day when they had been fighting . 

That was the day he had tried to sink her toy boat as they played by the creek in his front yard.  She had been so angry with him.  She wore the same frown.  Her face had been beet-red.  She had dirt on her nose and her hair was all messy.  She had stamped her foot at him, and when he fled, laughing, with her boat in hand, she had chased him.

Suddenly he saw her as that same little girl he had loved for so long.  That image was a part of him.  She was a part of him.

 

Joey looked into Dawson’s eyes for the first time in weeks.  She saw a raw earnesty there.  She saw love and need.  She felt longing filling her.  It clouded her thoughts.  But then she was picturing  her father’s face, he had looked so frightened…The anger was back.  She could never let it go.

“What, Dawson?”   She demanded.  “What?”  Her voice was now a whisper.

“Joey.  I love you.  I never meant to hurt you!”  He prayed she would listen.  “Please, Joey!  Know…know that I wanted to help you.  I was so scared!  I was so  afraid that you would get hurt!  Just try to understand!  Please understand! Please,  Joey…”  His voice drifted a little as he stood there waiting.

She just stared straight ahead, as if she were comatose.  Finally after a long pause, she looked up at him, with tears in her eyes.  Her lips parted as she began to respond.

“Dawson,” Her voice cracked in a whisper.  She looked away, he reached out to touch her.  She turned and fled.

Dawson’s heart fell to the floor.

 

Jack had looked everywhere for Pacey.  He was out of breath from running. He had checked the neighborhood, he had searched the streets.  He now stood in the desolate park.  He took a seat on a bench.  He looked around.  He was relieved to be alone.  He had been afraid.  He was afraid of this day.  It was his first face-to-face conflict being out.  He did not know what would happen tomorrow. 

Was this just the floodgate to a lifetime of criticism and mockery?  How many times would he be a victim?  Gay bashing.  It now applied to him.  It seemed so surreal.     He was so afraid.  He had no idea of what to do, or how to handle it.  He just sat there, imagining his life.                  

Jen and Pacey walked back towards the party.  Pacey would not go inside.  But Jen would go to get Dawson and find Jack.  Pacey felt better now.  Jen was sorry.  She felt guilty about this whole evening, as if it were her fault.

“I’m sorry, Pacey..”

“You?  Why should you be sorry?  It’s not your fault that Chris is a jackass.”

“I know, but…” Jen whispered.  “But I just feel like if I hadn’t…I mean I wish I didn’t…Oh, God.”  She couldn’t even say the words.

Now it was Pacey’s turn to console Jen.   

“Jen, you’re an entirely different person now,”  He put his arm around her as they walked. “You’re a good person.”   She smiled up at him.   

“Thank you.”

 

They walked up the side walk.  Pacey stopped at the gate.  Jen continued up the walkway, ignoring the stares of the party guests.  She went inside to find Dawson.

 

          Joey ran through the front door.  She slammed the door shut behind her and flung herself on the couch.  She cried hard.  She tried to remember how her life had gotten to this point. 

Then the phone rang.

          She looked up and wiped her face.  She debated on not answering it.  Then she picked up the receiver and in her strongest voice possible said,

 “Hello?”

          “Joey, where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you to pick up the baby,”  It was Bessie.  Joey had forgotten all about her.

          “Oh, Bess…”

          “Joey, what’s wrong?”  Bessie could hear something in her voice.  Joey broke down.  She told Bessie everything.  About the fight, about Dawson confronting her.

          “Bessie, I’m so confused.”

          “Joey, honey. Get some sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning.  You can decide what to do then.  I’ll keep Alex with me, and I’ll be home soon.”

 

          Jack walked back to the house.  He saw Pacey standing out front.  He stood next to him. 

          “You alright?”

          “Yeah, Jack. You okay?.”

          “Yeah, I’ll be fine…”

          Jen and Dawson came walking down the front steps of the house and out to the walk way. 

          “Well, now what do we do with ourselves?” asked Dawson, with a somber smile.

          “We need some veg time.”  Jen put her hand on Dawson’s shoulder.  The group began walking back towards Dawson’s house.

          “Pacey, you knocked the hell out of that guy…” Dawson grinned.

          “Yeah. But wait ‘til I get home, my dad’s gonna knock the hell out of me…”

 

          Joey lay awake in bed, the moonlight filtered through the half opened blinds of her bedroom window.  She had tossed and turned since going to bed 3 hours ago.  She had only slept for an hour before her troubled dreams had awakened her. It was 1:25 a.m.  Bessie had gotten home hours ago with Alex and had gone to bed.  She felt restless.  She kept thinking of Dawson’s face as he had pleaded with her earlier that night.  She had tried to close her eyes and forget about it, but the image would not escape her. 

She suddenly sat up.  She turned on her light.  Joey got up and walked to her closet.  She put on a sweater and pulled on her jeans.  She slipped on her shoes and headed out the window. 

 

          The crew sat in Dawson’s room, wearing their pajamas, huddled around his t.v. watching one of Dawson’s favorite movie classics.  They had not done this for a while, it felt good to be surrounded by friends.

          Jen had bandaged up Pacey’s fists.  They really didn’t hurt so much anymore, and Pacey felt a hundred times better, though he still missed Andie.  Jack had forgotten tonight’s events in the midst of their laughter.  Dawson still couldn’t get Joey out of his head.

          “Pass the chips…”  Jack gestured past Jen.         

“We’re out of dip, Dawson…”  Pacey held the empty bowl upside down.

“Well, why don’t you go downstairs and make some more?”  Dawson made a face at him.

“And make some popcorn while you’re at it!”  Jen said playfully.

“What am I? The maitre ‘d?”  Pacey began to stand.

“Well, I’d like a Pepsi…”  Jack grinned.

“OH! And don’t forget ice cream!” Jen squealed.   

“Yes, my good man, and I’d like a big fat steak with fries, a side salad and a thick chocolate shake…”  Dawson chuckled.

“How ‘bout a big fat kick in the ass?”  Pacey pointed to  Jen and Jack.  “You two are gonna help me, come on…”  They left the room and headed down to the kitchen.

 

          The room became quiet.  It was dark except for the illumination from the t.v. and the red glow from the alarm clock on Dawson’s night stand. 1:47 a.m.  Dawson lay back against his pillow, the light flickered across his face.  The movie was almost over.  He watched as the hero kissed the girl.  He thought about how it felt kissing Joey.  It had made him so happy.  Now he felt empty.

         

          TING! Something ricocheted off of his window.  TING! There it was again.  Dawson sat up, startled.   He stared at the t.v. screen.  The credits were rolling. 

          “Dawson!” a whispered yell from outside. 

Was he imagining it?  TING!

          “Dawson!”

There it was again!  His heart leapt!  He jumped to his feet and flung open the window.  He leaned out.  A breeze tousled his hair.  

He didn’t believe his eyes.  There before him was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.  Joey stood there, shivering, in the yard below his window.

“Joey!”

“Dawson, I want to talk to you.”  she looked up at him.

“I’ll be right down…” A hopeful grin spread across his face.  She saw it and a little smile slipped out.  Embarrassed, she looked away.

 

“ALRIGHT DAWSON!”  Pacey boomed.  Applause.  Dawson spun around to see Pacey, Jack and Jen in the doorway, all smiling, spouting cheers and clapping.

“Go get her, man!”  Jack hooted.

Dawson, grabbed his pants and began to pull them on a little too fast, he ended up falling over. He was struggling with his clothes, and his clothes were winning.

“Hurry up, Dawson! Don’t keep her waiting!”  Jen laughed.

His pants were on, he slipped on his pullover, and tried unsuccessfully to throw on his shoes.  One went flying under the bed.

“Oh, DAMN IT! I DON’T CARE!”  He screamed with glee.  He jumped to his feet, one shoe on, and climbed out the window.  The rest of the gang leaned over the window ledge to watch.  They hooted and hollered as he made his way down to meet the woman he loved.

 

Dawson climbed down the ladder as fast as he could.  At one point the sock on his un-shoed foot got snagged and came half way off.  He ended up jumping off three quarters of the way down, and landed flat on his ass in the wet grass.  Joey giggled.  He looked up at her, there was laughter from the above window.

“Oh, Joey…”

“Hi,”  Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight.

“I’m SO sorry…”

“Sshh!”  She put her finger to her lips.

He stumbled towards her on his knees.  He was at her feet.  She  reached out to him.  He grabbed her, pulling her down into the grass with him, and kissed her.  She kissed him back. 

The sprinklers, on their timer, came on, and water whirred through the air splashing them.  It surprised them.  They laughed and kissed again. 

 

He felt so good, he never ever wanted to let her go.    

She would never again let anger come between them.  

 

“WHOO-HOO! YEAH!” Pacey bellowed.

“Yeah, BABY! YEAH” Jen and Jack cheered them on.

 

 

“You wanna come on up?” Dawson felt like a million bucks.

“I’d like that very much,” Joey felt so happy.

 

Dawson, as gracefully as he could in the wet grass, scooped her up in his arms.  She was so surprised, she squealed and he almost lost his balance.  He carried her up the ladder firemen style.  She laughed with glee.  Her wet hair hung down behind him. 

 

He helped her through the window, and the crew, all together as friends once more, settled in for the night. 

 

 

 

THE END.