Disclaimer: Ok, as much as I'd like to brag and say that I owned Dawson's Creek and all the characters, I don't. So let's all kneel down and give credit to the people who really deserve it. Author's note: This starts up after the season 3 finale. I must apologise to anyone who thinks what I'm doing to their little 'clique' is cruel. It probably is, but the point I'm trying to get across is that in real-life, people aren't that forgiving. Out of all the fights and break-ups with friends that I've had in the past year (five), I've only made up with one of those friends. Maybe I'm just stubborn, but the harsh reality is that not everyone would be happy to just forgive and forget about what someone did if that thing was estrange themselves from you for the past two summers. I just thought I'd clear up my reasons for what happens to them throughout my story. Feedback: I love feedback! Please tell me what you think of my writing abilities. But I must say... as Nikki said - "Constructive critism only, please." Well... that and suggestions for what you believe should happen. Send all email to [email protected]
Part Two: Dirty Secrets
"So, tell me everything," Bessie demanded jokingly as she sipped her coffee. Pacey and Joey rolled their eyes in unison. They'd known that they would be drilled with questions when they got back, but could she please be a little more specific? "Everything?" Pacey asked, raising his eyebrows. "Well, not everything everything," she replied with a chuckle. "But everything that you think I'll want to hear." "You mean like the gambling in Atlantic City and how we got caught in the---" Joey tried to say before Pacey covered her mouth with his hand. He leant over to her ear and whispered, "She said stuff that she'll want to hear, Joey. Not the fact that I forgot my wallet so we snuck into a casino and spent your money on the slot machines. And she definitely doesn't want to know what we got up to in the bathroom of that marina!" "I guess you're right, Pace. She'll probably have a heart attack and give you that loooong lecture which you would've received if we'd actually stayed within ear shot of Bessie," she whispered back. "Exactly!" Pacey said. "You two went gambling?" Bessie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Ummmm..." Joey trailed off. "Ahhhh..." Pacey also attempted to say something. He looked at Joey helplessly. Bessie just laughed. "You kids," she muttered as she shook her head and took another sip of her coffee.
"You reckon they'll let us live here, Pace?" Joey asked as she stumbled along the beach towards their boat. Technically it was Pacey's boat, but they shared a silent agreement that it was really their boat. They couldn't imagine it any other way. "I dunno, Jo," Pacey replied doubtfully, knowing that Joey had only been half-joking. "I mean, Bessie seemed kinda happy to have you back. Doug wouldn't mindif I did though - infact, I think that I'd be more than welcome to leave, ASAP." Joey smiled. "Good." Her foot slipped into the moat of a sandcastle which had clearly been made only a few hours (or maybe even minutes) ago. She grabbed onto Pacey's shirt as she fell to the ground, pulling Pacey down with her. He landed on top of her. "Hey Potter, warn me before you do that again." "Sorry," she replied sheepishly. "It was an accident." "Really?" he asked skeptically, lowering his face to hers. "Yeah," she replied. "But I'm glad I made it." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, both of them unable to wait until they got to their boat. They relaxed into the sand, unaware of the rest of the world as they lost themselves in one another. Unaware of the person standing across the street - watching them.
"Oh now that is just a bad choice of location - to say the least," Jen said to no one in particular. She walked over and knelt down in the sand. "Hello, lovebirds," she said with a smile. "Never really got past the honeymoon period, did we?" Pacey reluctantly pulled himself off Joey, really embarressed. "Hey Jen," Pacey said awkwardly, brushing the sand off him and straightening his shirt while he was at it. Joey tried to sit up, but she collapsed straight back into the sand. "Hey, Jen!" she said, letting out a little giggle. "Hi Joey. Hi Pacey," Jen said, raising her hand to a small wave. "Welcome back to Capeside."
"So, c'mon," Jen prodded them as she stuck her plastic fork into a piece of her chicken salad. "Tell me everything." Joey put down her can of diet coke and looked over at Pacey, who immediately burst out laughing. Joey join him in his uncontrollable fit of giggles. "What?" Jen asked innocently, confused as to why wanting to know what they got up to in the past three months was so funny. "Everything everything?" Pacey asked, which got even more laughs out of Joey. "What's so funny about that?" Jen asked, perplexed. "Bessie's first question to us was exactly the same, Jen," Pacey replied. "I'm starting to believe that's the only thing anyone'll say to us," Joey added after her laughter died down. "Could you be a little more specific?" Jen sighed. There were two questions on the tip of her tounge - neither of which seemed appropriate to ask. The first one was 'Did you too do it?" But she wasn't going to be nosy. That was their business and their business alone. The other one was Dawson. Had they tried to contact him? Had they succeeded? She doubted it. Dawson hardly even talked to her anymore! It was even less likely that he'd been having good ol' chats with Joey and Pacey. As though he had been reading her thoughts, Pacey asked her, "How's everyone here?" It was clear that he wanted to know about Dawson, but Jen was sure they wouldn't mind getting the goss on everyone else as well. "I'm good," she shrugged. "Jack's really happy because his current crush likes him back - and isn't a know-nothing know-it-all like Ethan was." "Aha! The truth comes out!" Pacey said triumphantly. "I knew you didn't like him!" He'd always suspected that Jen didn't like Ethan - hell, from what he'd heard - he didn't much like Ethan either. "Yeah, well... turns out that he and his ex got back together, so that got Jack back out there for the summer." "Good for him. I think that's exactly what he needed," Joey said. "Andie's... well... she's still her ambitious, study-minded self... and least she's trying to be," Jen muttered nervously. She knew that she was going to have to tell them someday or another. "And..." "And...?" Joey and Pacey asked simultaneously. Jen sighed. "We need to talk."
"Oh my god! Dawson, honey, where were you? We were so worried!" Gale exclaimed as she hugged a ragged, worn out, barely recognisable version of her son. "I was... never mind where I was," Dawson replied in a tone that barely sounded like him. "But honey..." Gale trailed off as Dawson pushed past her and hurried upstairs, locking himself in his room, just like he did every other night. "What're we going to do, Mitch?" she asked as she collapsed back onto her chair. Mitch sat beside her and drapped his arm around her shoulder. "We'll figure out something, Gale. I promise." "But what if we don't?" she asked. "We will." Mitch replied with conviction.
He WHAT?!?!" Joey gasped in horror. Jen nodded, avoiding their eyes. "I'm sorry. We promised to all be there for each other, but it didn't work. It didn't help him at all. Infact, it just made things worse - obviously." "Oh my god," Pacey muttered, finding it hard to take this all in. "I - I always thought that he was one of the good guys. I - I never thought that Dawson would stoop that low!" "Can't you understand that he was depressed? I mean, this really shouldn't affect your friendship with him," Jen said, trying desperately to convince them. It would have helped if she actually believed her own words. "We don't want to have a friendship with him anymore," Joey said, disturbed by this news. "Joey, please try to understand and see it from his point of view---" "I've tried. I put myself in his shoes and I said to myself, 'I'm a disgusting creep who bought new meaning to the term 'stooping really low'," Joey said angrily. There was more bad news about Dawson, but she didn't feel the need to tell them now. It would only make things worse, even though they probably hated him about as much as humanly possible. "Jen, do I get the feeling there's something else you're not telling us?" Joey asked. "What? Uh, no. 'Course not. Why would you think that?" she stammered unconvincingly. "Well, because you refuse to make eye contact with either of us, you responded very unconvincingly, and you act like you're keeping some huge dirty secret from us," Joey said. "No. I - I just---" Jen tried to think up a convincingly lie - something that would dig her out of the gigantic hole she was already in - but she knew that they wouldn't buy it. She stood up and pushed in her chair. "Well, he's changed. Ok? But who hasn't? Thanks for the salad. Bye," she managed to say as she rushed out of the restaurant. Joey and Pacey exchanged worried looks, and Pacey covered Joey's hand with his own. Joey looked as though she was about to cry, so Pacey carefully wiped under her eye with his thumb and whispered to her, "It'll be ok, Jo." Before hugging her tightly. "It'll be ok."
Stay tuned (well, not tuned... but online, maybe?) for Part Three: Gossip and Assumptions. Here's a spoiler/teaser from it: "I just... uh... ran into Pacey and Joey at the beach," Jen said.
"Killing each other?" Dawson asked.
That was it! "No!!!" Jen yelled. "Your stupid plan didn't work. They were groping each other when I ran into them. They whisper 'I love you' to each other every five minutes and they are REALLY happy!"
"But she doesn't love him like she loves me," Dawson argued. And here's another: "Joey! Wake up!" Bessie shook her.
"What?" she asked groggily.
"You have a visitor."
Joey immediately sat up. "Pacey?" she asked eagerly.
"Nope. Dawson."
"Dawson? What the hell is he doing here?"
"Beats me. C'mon, get up!"
