052803I hopped up on the counter, facing him. He stood on the opposite side of the kitchen, leaning against the fridge. �What do you want to do?� Jake asked me. �Let�s make the pizza and hang out for an hour while it�s cooking,� I replied. �Sounds good,� Jake answered while opening the over door and gingerly easing the deep dish pepperoni pizza into the burning abyss. Turning to me, he slapped my leg and motioned with his head for me to follow. Grabbing the remote, and with a swift flick of his finger, the television sprang to life. It was 10:40 pm; time for Leno. Making room for himself, Jake pushed back the fluffy green blanket and placed a pillow next to the armrest before settling down onto the couch. He patted the space between his legs, smiling at me. Half of my body disappeared under the green blanket as I went from a vertical to a horizontal position. I lowered my back onto his chest, making some minor adjustments before finalizing my arrangement for the cuddle fest that was about to begin. I leaned my head back against Jake�s chest as he wrapped his arms around my blanket cocoon. My head had no choice but to fall in line with the rising and falling of his chest, emphasized even more through my current location. I could feel his heartbeat echo throughout my body. Slowly brushing my fingertips along his arm, I raised my eyes to the television. Just in time; Headlines was coming on. As the intro for the segment began, I sighed contently. I love every moment I spend with him. We could be sleeping, with our legs barely touching, and it�s incredible. This is because I know that whatever happens, I don�t have to go far � Jake will be right there. Even when we are a state apart, if I suddenly get a phone call from the editor of a magazine I want to intern at, Jake is close by. With the push of a few buttons, I can be giddily shrieking into the phone as he takes fifteen seconds out of his workday to congratulate me. Two months ago, he was some scraggly-haired guy I kept sneaking glances at while we watched a hockey game on his couch. I looked down at his hand and gently squeezed it. �Yeah,� I thought to myself, �I could get used to this.� 051803A Tribute For the past six years, I have always had a date on Wednesday nights. At precisely 7:00 pm, I would plop down on the couch, turn on The WB, and be swept away to another world: Capeside, to be exact. For the next hour, it didn't matter if Britney Spears came to my front door; Dawson's Creek was on and I was glued to the television. Dawson's Creek has been more than a television show to me. It has been a part of my life. I can remember changing out of my gym clothes in the ninth grade locker room and hearing the girls next to me talking about a new show that had premiered the night before. All I managed to pick up was a mention of The WB Network, so, being the internet savvy teen I was, I hopped on AOL the minute I got home and investigated. I watched it the next week and was instantly hooked. I've been hooked ever since. With my purchase of the recently-released Season 1 on DVD, I finally got my chance, six years later, to watch the first episode I had missed. Upon completion of that viewing, I had successfully seen every episode of Dawson's Creek to-date. Some people may think that is weird or that I am a tad bit obsessed. It doesn't bother me. Think what you will. Dawson's Creek has mirrored my life. The characters have gone through tenth grade heartbreaks, eleventh grade prom mishaps, even high school graduation at the same time I have. Especially through the insanely crazy years of high school, it's nice to have an outlet where you can think "yeah, I know what that's like" and easily sympathize with someone else. The show has helped me to make it through some of life's most difficult situations. I have learned many things from the Creek. However hard things get, your friends will always be there for you to pick you up off the closet floor and wipe away your tears. If someone breaks your heart into a million pieces, a new person will come along and make you forget all about your past heartaches. No matter what happens between friends, it is possible to move on and salvage a friendship later on down the road. And, most importantly, true love really does conquer all. Whatever life has thrown at me, I've been able to turn on Dawson's Creek and get an answer for my question. I cannot say that about any other show. Dawson's Creek was a wonderful program. It gave me something to look forward to each week, even if I'd been to hell and back the past few days. No matter what had happened, when 7:00 pm on Wednesday rolled around, I gained the ability to forget about my troubles and entwine myself in someone else's. The memory of Dawson's Creek will live on in my heart for a long time to come. Thanks for six years of memories and making my Wednesday nights enjoyable. 050603I will never forget the first time I met you. As I climbed the stairs to your apartment, I was incredibly nervous. I am not good with meeting new people. Usually, I clam up and do not say a word, but find it in me to smile all too often and laugh at every attempted joke�even the horribly unfunny ones. What can I say? Guys make me nervous. I do not know where it stems from, but anytime I am near a pack of males, especially tall ones, I want to sit in a corner and throw a blanket over my head. Unfortunately, I have been that way my whole life. I have always been painfully shy in group settings, so when I sat on your couch, quietly watching the Wild hockey game and not making a peep, I was not surprised at my own behavior. I just cannot believe you kept flirting with me despite that fact. I was impressed, to say the least. You have managed to impress me for a month now. Even when I think you have said it all, you manage to come up with something that gives me butterflies all over again. It reminds me of the feeling I got when I reached the front door of your apartment for the first time and saw your face as you turned around. The pictures did not even come close to accurately depicting how unabashedly handsome you are. Each time I see you, I fight the corners of my mouth from curling up into a huge smile. Most of the time, I cannot help it. You make me so happy. But this is not your standard run-of-the-mill happy. It is an emotion I had only dreamed of experiencing - something I saw in movies as a little girl and hoped would happen to me one day. It has, and I am so glad you are the one making me feel this way. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 050303It feels like home to me
- Chantal Kreviazuk
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