Jen squinted against the late afternoon sun. She shaded her eyes with one hand,
stopping as she saw a lone figure on the docks. She hesitated a moment before
starting to walk slowly.

"Joey?" She began gently.

Joey remained silent with her legs hugged to her chest. Jen sat beside her, letting
her feet dangle over the edge of the dock.

"Have you been here all day?" She knew that Joey had been coming to the docks
after school every day since Pacey left. Bessie had told her as much when she'd
looked for Joey at the B&B.

"C'mon, Joey," Jen coaxed when Joey didn't respond. "It's a beautiful Saturday
afternoon. I was thinking you could help me with some trig problems I need to work
on."

Joey gave her a sideways look, one eyebrow arched. "Sounds very appealing."

Jen smiled. "Okay, so you saw through my lame excuse to get you off this dock.
That doesn't mean I'm gonna stop trying."

Joey was quiet again, staring off into the distance.

"He'll come back, Jo."

Joey looked at her.

"He'll get seasick sooner or later," she added, trying to lighten the mood.

"Why'd he leave?"

Jen's heart tugged at the softly-spoken question. "He… probably just needed a little
time to himself."

"I've been so stupid."

"No, you haven't. You were just scared. And so was he."

Joey started shaking her head, her eyes filling with tears. "Oh, God, Jen, I miss him
so much." She laughed as she wiped her eyes with the palm of her hand. "And I can't
believe I'm telling you this."

Jen smiled as she put an arm around Joey and leaned her head against hers. "Hey,
I'm not that bad."

They stayed that way for a while, watching quietly as the sun made its way across
the pale orange sky. "So, what do you say we get out of here and go find something
else to do, huh?"

"I want to be here when he comes back."

"Joey, you can't stay here 24 hours a day. Come on, there's gotta be something we
can do. Isn't Dawson having a movie night?" She stood up and held out her hand.

Joey looked up at her doubtfully, considering the suggestion. "Movie night?"

"Yes, movie night. You know, where we rent 90 minutes worth of what Hollywood
considers entertainment and either dissect it to pieces or try to apply it to our
hopelessly soap opera-like lives?"

She finally laughed. "Okay. But on one condition."

"What?"

"No Steven Spielberg."

**********

"Hmm."

"'Hmm?'" Joey repeated indignantly. "'Hmm', that's all you can say?"

Dawson looked at her innocently. "Well, what do you want me to say, Joey? It
wasn't exactly awe-inspiring."

Joey stared at him in disbelief. She and Jen had rented "Say Anything" on their way
to Dawson's, and she'd actually had a hard time trying not to get teary-eyed during
the scene where Lloyd taught Diane to drive. "It just happens to be one of the best
'80s movies around, Dawson."

"Joey, it was totally unrealistic and far-fetched. I mean, what would a guy like Lloyd
do while Diane is studying in London? Perfect his kickboxing techniques?" He rolled his
eyes.

"Oh, yeah, and 'Jurassic Park' is more believable."

"No, seriously. If someone played a boombox at full volume in the middle of the night,
they'd get arrested."

"I thought that was very romantic."

"These things don't happen in real life. The golden-hearted underachiever hardly ever
ends up with the girl of everyone's dreams."

She studied him for a few thoughtful seconds. "It could happen."

Dawson paused, realizing what they'd just ended up talking about.

"What did I miss?" Jen barged into the room, large bowl of fresh popcorn in hand.

Joey turned. "Everything."

"I was just about to tell Joey," Dawson interjected, "how right she is. As always."

**********

Jen smiled at her companion cheerfully. "That went well."

Joey nodded, shoving her hands deeper into the pockets of her coat as they stepped
off the Leerys' porch. "I'm glad." Nothing more was said after Dawson's comment, but
the sincerity behind it indicated that a silent truce had been formed.

They stopped a short distance from the small dock by the creek. "So, should we call
it a night?" Jen asked.

"Actually, if you don't mind, there's a phone call I've been wanting to make all night."

Jen nodded and led the way into her grams' house. "I'll break out a midnight snack."

"Okay." Joey stopped in front of the telephone in the kitchen and took a deep
breath. It was a shot in the dark, but she wanted to check anyway. She dialed
Doug's number and waited.

"Hello?" Someone answered after five rings.

Her heart stopped. "Pacey?"

There was silence, then a muffled noise. "Pacey? Is that you?" Her voice grew more
urgent as Jen stopped to watch her with a supportive expression on her face.

"Joey." It was Doug.

"Doug, can I please talk to him?" Her vision blurred, her throat tightening with the
tears that were threatening to come. She hated how she seemed to be crying so
much lately.

"Joey," he replied gently. "It's late."

"Please," the word came out in a whisper as she shut her eyes, wetness streaming
down her cheeks.

"He doesn't think it's a good idea, Joey. I'm sorry."

"But -" Joey brought a hand up to cover her mouth, holding back a sob as the dial
tone droned on in her ears.