Meant to Be

by

Princess McPhee


Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters. Columbia TriStar and the WB, I’m not doing this to insult you!

Author’s Note: This is set in 4th season, but just pretend that none of the Pacey/Joey storyline from ‘A Family Way’ on happened. Sorry! Triangle fic.

Summary: What if things between Joey and Dawson were even more complicated than they are in the show? How would a chain of events beyond all creativity of DC writers cause Pacey to react?

Feedback: All polite criticisms and compliments to [email protected].

Rating: PG-13 (In TV terms, probably a TV-14-D)


 

Joey Potter flopped on her bed, and sighed. Senior year wasn’t easy. Especially after that blow the college advisor had dealt her the other day. Fourth. Fourth in her class, and she still had little chance of getting into the colleges that she hoped to. All her life, she’d known the ugly reality, but had never really accepted it. Now, she had no choice but to acknowledge it. Money really did rule the world.

After several moments of silent contemplation, she stretched out on her bed, and sighed. Pushing one of her hands under the pillow so that she had enough room, her hand encountered something she’d almost forgotten was there. She pulled out the small leather-bound book, and began to sift through the entries in her old diary.

Skipping all the really painful entries, mostly the ones right after her mom died, Joey thumbed partway through it before something really caught her attention, and she looked at the entry dates closely.

“October ‘96, November ‘96...” she muttered under her breath. Then she found the date on the entry she was staring at. “5:49 PM, December 12, 1996.”

She lay back on her bed, and started to read.

I feel...great...funny. Weird. Oh, I don’t know what I feel! Physically, I can’t get the sensations out of my head, and I love the way he made me feel last night. Like...I was fighting to get out of my own skin. Pure, physical ecstasy like that, I have never, ever felt. But my head keeps yelling at me. Like I missed something.

And I don’t even have anyone to talk to! I signed this stupid contract with Dawson that says that it never happened, so I guess I’m on my own.

Joey shook her head and smiled a little. “I could never have known how much I would appreciate that contract later.” She murmured to herself. She rearranged her tall form a little, and started to read again.

I guess the physical sensations translate into the fact that I have as many hormones as the rest of the female population. But I don’t know how to field the questions from my head. Do they mean that I wasn’t ready? Because I don’t regret anything, so I don’t think that’s it. Do they just mean this’ll take a little while to get used to? I hope so. Because I want to be able to think about last night without the annoying nagging coming from my head.

Joey reached over and flipped the switch on her radio. Soft, modern pop flowed from the speakers, and she nodded her head in time for a few beats before turning back to the old book.

That has to have been one of the singularly most tremendous experiences in my life. Maybe it’ll just take some getting used to. The kids at school still call me ‘Mary’ (as in the Virgin Mary) but I just smile. And I don’t care anymore.

Since I haven’t made a sarcastic remark about their teasing in a whole day, there are already five different rumors floating around about how I ‘lost it’. I don’t think Dawson ever even occurred to anyone.

There is this guy, he’s two years ahead of me, and he’s been trying to get a date with me for months, (I have no idea why! I mean, I’m just the skinny, too-tall freshman with the long brown, boring hair) and everyone thinks I ‘did it’ with him. I guess I should be grateful he’s not obnoxious enough to be bragging about something we didn’t do! So far, I think he’s taken the same approach as I have to the gossips--none.

Dawson seemed like he was about to say something today, but he didn’t. I guess the ‘agreement’ might really work out. Though why I’d want to never talk about this amazing experience again, I don’t know!

Joey looked up, changed the channel on her clock radio, and smiled at the recollections. Dawson had been so gentle, so kind, always thinking of her first--

She shook her head, sweeping away the thoughts of her one-night exploration with her best friend. And that’s what he was, and that’s what he’d stay, she told herself firmly. Apparently, there had been enough sexual tension in their relationship to awaken their hormones, but Joey was determined to keep it down to the platonic level now.

She smiled again as she realized she was looking back at her former self with a motherly eye. The night with Dawson had been amazing, but it had been purely an exploratory endeavor. She’d been fed up with her virginity, and Dawson had been fed up with his since he was twelve, and they’d both been curious, and it had just...happened.

From that day on, it had never happened. Not literally, of course, but it might as well have been, they gave it so little attention. She had never spoken a word, even the littlest hint to anyone. Neither had Dawson. It was hard sometimes, when someone would make a crack, or ask a question, and she just wanted to blurt it out, but that desire had gone away about a year later, when Jen had been shipped into town. And never resurfaced, Joey thought wryly.

All of a sudden, the potential problems this presented to her relationship with Pacey hit her. “I slept with Dawson,” she whispered to herself, shocked.

Joey forced her body to obey, and pulled herself together. “It’s okay, it’s been a long time,” she reasoned aloud. But even to her ears, maybe especially to her ears, that didn’t sound very reassuring.

************************

Pacey Witter dashed up to her in the school hallway between periods, on his way to a class, and kissed her quickly. “Hey,”

Joey looked up, distracted. “Hey,” she replied, not meeting his gaze.

“Something wrong?”

Joey finally looked up, but then went back to fishing through the books in her locker. “What? Oh...no. Nothing.”

Pacey looked disbelieving. “Okay. If you say so.” He ran a hand through his hair, and glanced at his watch. “I gotta go. See you later?”

She nodded, still worlds away. “Yeah...your place?”

Pacey shook his head slightly, an expression half amusement and half concern etched onto his features. “Generally, Jo.” He glanced at his watch again. “Oh, damn, I’m late! Bye.” He leaned over, and kissed her forehead. Joey didn’t look up.

When Pacey was out of sight down the corridor, Joey raised her head, and blinked back a few stray tears, mostly out of anger and frustration at herself. But, unluckily, Jen Lindley decided to wander her direction at that moment.

“Joey? What’s wrong?”

Joey shook her head, and swiped a hand across her face. “Nothing.”

“Yeah, sure. What’ve you got next period?”

“Lunch.”

“Me too. Let’s go, and you can tell me all about whatever it is that isn’t bothering you.”

Joey smiled a little at that, and gathered her stuff to follow Jen.

********************

Ten minutes later, Jen was staring at Joey with an amazed expression on her face. “Joey...this isn’t some kind of elaborate practical joke, is it?”

Joey shook her head ruefully. “I wish.”

“Well, all I’ve got to say is that you and Dawson did the best job of hiding anything that I have ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot of people try to hide a lot of things.”

“Thanks. I think.”

Jen stared at Joey with a penetrating gaze. “Joey...why?”

Joey looked puzzled. “Why what?”

“I don’t know! Why’d you do it? Why’d you hide it? Why...why?”

Joey gave her friend a half-smile. “Well, I’m not sure I can answer the last ‘why’, but I’ll try to answer the others.” She took a deep breath, and her smile was suddenly gone.

“Jen...believe it or not, I wanted sex just as much as any other kid when I was fourteen. Bessie wasn’t pregnant yet, or at the very least, she didn’t know it if she was, so I wasn’t yet terrified of getting pregnant, like I would be now. And I was just...fed up with not knowing what everyone, all the movies, the songs, the media, ...was talking about.”

“Dawson...he’s the chivalrous one, right?” Jen nodded. “Out of hundreds of boys, he’s the only one who will ’court’ you, tell you funny stories, and ask permission before kissing you...?” Jen nodded again, and Joey continued.

“He’d never act like the other guys, he’d never be so...driven by his crotch, right?”

Jen nodded again, waiting for Joey’s story to actually get somewhere.

“Well, you obviously weren’t around when he was fourteen.”

Jen looked a little surprised, like she hadn’t pictured Dawson as a typical guy before. Which, Joey conceded, she probably hadn’t.

“He was tall and just beginning to fill out. But he still had that face...and that adorable naiveté. But that year, and the year before, he’d been a little obnoxious. Acting a little more like Pacey as the days went by, getting a little more sex-crazed with every Playboy magazine his little partner in crime snuck him.

“But, somewhere, deep down, he was still Dawson, and he wasn’t willing to make passes at the high-school girls, even though there were several I alone overheard who would have had him. So, for about eighteen months, he was a mass of bundled teenage male sexual angst.”

Joey took a breath, looked at her watch, then at her meal. She stuffed some food in her mouth, ate it, and then hurriedly continued her story.

“I didn’t think much about sex. It just was. Bodie was practically living with us at that point, and every once in a while, when I just had to go past Bessie’s room, I’d hear them. I thought it was disgusting, until right before my fourteenth birthday.

“Suddenly, I was intrigued by what could give someone so much pleasure, and enticed by the fact that it was sighted as an ‘adult activity’. So, I thought about it for a long time, even allowed Dawson to talk about it without biting his head off.

“And then, one day, I grabbed a couple of condoms from Bessie’s room, and ran to Dawson’s house. I went through his window like lightning, and he stood up and said, “Joey?”. I pulled the condoms out of my pocket, and showed them to him, and then I said, “Make love to me, Dawson?”

Jen was laughing. Joey ducked her head for a moment, and then came back up. “Yikes, huh?”

Jen finally controlled her laughter, and nodded. “So what happened next?” She asked. She actually seemed intrigued by now. “And stop short of the X-rated stuff.”

The smile left Joey’s face, and she blanked out for a second, then returned abruptly to the present. “Well, his jaw dropped. Literally. And I thought I’d have to pick it up off the floor and hand it to him. But he recovered fast. The first thing he did was lock his door, of course.”

Jen smiled again. “Yes, of course. Can’t even have a conversation about sex without locking the door. One of these days, his parents are going to get fed up and climb the ladder.”

Joey laughed at the mental image of one of Dawson’s parents climbing the ladder to see what their son was up to because he wouldn’t open his door.

“Yeah, well, he sat me down on his bed, and we talked, and talked and talked. Like we always do. And eventually it came down to the fact that we both wanted to do it, and I guess, for a pair of fourteen-year-olds, that was enough. We’d both been through enough sex-ed to know what we were getting into, risks-wise. So Dawson used his computer to make this contract that basically said we’d never talk about it again to anyone, ever.”

“Which you are currently in the act of violating,” Jen pointed out.

Joey nodded. “At the time, I really did think it was a secret I’d keep until I died. But ‘twas not to be, I guess.”

She took another breath, ate a little more of her lunch, and attempted to leave the subject behind her. But Jen didn’t want to let go that easily.

“Okay, Joey. Good story. But that, at least not that alone, is not what’s bothering you, is it?”

Joey looked at her friend, completely poker-faced. “How do you figure that?”

“Because this happened three years ago, and it hasn’t bothered you enough to tell anyone about until today,” Jen reminded her reasonably.

Joey sighed, and put down her fork. “All right. You got me.” She squirmed a little. “It’s Pacey.”

Jen immediately looked concerned. “Is everything all right?”

Joey nodded. “At least for the moment. But...Pacey’s been throwing hints lately, he wants to have the inevitable sex-talk. And when the moment comes, and I can’t get out of it, I’m going to have to tell him about Dawson.”

Jen grimaced. “Not good, Joey.”

“Yeah!? Don’t I know it!”

Jen just looked at her. “So, what are you going to do about it?”

Joey looked down at her plate of food, and suddenly she wasn’t hungry. “I guess I’ll just have to tell him. I don’t want to tear down even more bridges between him and Dawson, but I can’t lie to him either.”

Jen nodded her head slowly. “A word of advice, Joey?”

Joey looked at her eagerly. “I am fully open to any suggestions of advice, no matter how useless, at this point.”

Jen laughed a little. “All right, then. Don’t let him start the talk. Take him somewhere, and start the talk yourself. And start it with exactly what you just told me. And a little more emphasis on the ‘experimentation’ part, Jo?”

Joey gave her a half-smile, and looked down at her watch. “Oh! I’ve got to go. Thanks, Jen.” She said earnestly.

Jen returned the smile. “You’re welcome, Joey. And be sure to let me know what happens.”

“I will.”

Joey grabbed her trash, shoved it in the nearest trash receptacle, and nearly jogged out of the cafeteria.

******************

Pacey glanced over at the beautiful girl walking beside him, and frowned again. Something was going on. But he wasn’t sure what, and by the look on Joey’s face, the stiffness in her walk, he didn’t think he was going to like it.

They finally reached what must have been Joey’s destination, a bench in the middle of the forest behind the Potter B&B. She gave a nervous smile. “Dawson and I found this when we were twelve. I’m not really sure why anyone would build a bench this far from any of the trails and roads, but it sure was useful as a top-secret meeting place.”

Pacey didn’t return her smile. Instead, he sat down on the bench, and pulled her down beside him. “What’s going on, Jo?”

Joey looked at the ground, and muttered something that sounded like ‘You don’t want to know’, but it was so quiet that Pacey wasn’t sure he’d heard right.

“What?”

Joey shook her head, sending her hair flying, and fixed her gaze on a tree trunk about twenty feet away, studiously avoiding Pacey’s eyes. “Never mind.” She paused for a long minute, and just when Pacey thought she wouldn’t continue, she spoke again. “Listen, Pacey. I’ve got something you need to know. And you might hate me for it, but it needs to be aired out. Especially since I know that you’re just dying the have the big sex talk.”

Pacey didn’t quite understand, but he did know he didn’t like the sounds of this. When in trouble, joke, his head said. So he did. “Correct me if I’m wrong, Joey, but the ‘big sex talk’ is the notorious safe-sex talk parents have with their kids, not a conversation seventeen-year-old couples have with each other, isn‘t it?”

Joey looked seriously peeved. And Pacey had to admit, he would be, too, were he in her position. But he wasn’t. And this was not sounding like something he was going to be overjoyed to hear.

“Would you just sit still and let me talk, please?”

“Sure. But you weren’t talking. And I just thought I’d fill in the empty silence.”

Joey gave him what had to be her patented death glare. “Pacey, can you be quiet for two seconds?”

Pacey folded his hands in his lap, and stayed what he was sure was exasperatingly silent. Joey looked annoyed, but mostly, she just still looked jumpy. Pacey did not have a good feeling about this.

“Pacey, remember when we were freshmen?”

That was a stupid question. It had only been three years, after all. But Pacey stayed silent, only nodding his head in response.

“Do you remember a couple of weeks that December when me and Dawson avoided each other for all we were worth?”

As a matter of fact, now that she brought it up, Pacey did. He’d tried to get them all together for a camping trip during Christmas vacation, but both had invented amazingly fake-sounding excuses. It had resolved, slowly, over the next couple of weeks, and he’d never given it a second thought. Nor had he ever found out what caused it, he realized.

“Yeah, I remember,” Pacey answered cautiously, not sure where this was going.

Joey fixed her gaze on the tree again. “Well...we were avoiding each other...because we’d had sex one night a couple of weeks before.”

Pacey wasn’t sure he’d heard right. “What?”

Joey looked at him, clearly irritated at his apparent lack of comprehension. “Me. And. Dawson. Had. Sex.”

*****************

Joey watched, more scared than she had ever been, as Pacey digested what she had just told him. Was he just going to jump up and run away? Or would he comfort her? Would he hate her forever?

Just as she was about to burst out and say something, anything, to fill in the silence, Pacey recovered. She held her breath, waiting for his response.

His tone of voice was her first clue. It wasn’t angry, it was cold, unemotional. “You did what, Joey?”

His lack of emotion spurred repressed anger in Joey. “I had sex with Dawson, okay? It was a long time ago, and I’ve never done it again. I wouldn’t have done it if I had known, but I can’t see the future, Pacey!”

Pacey’s facade broke, and the tension and anger in the air was palpable. “You couldn’t see the future? What did the future matter, Joey? If you’d known we would get together, you wouldn’t have slept with him? If you knew you would get a crush on him the next year, you wouldn’t have done it? Or was that when your crush on him started?”

Joey tried to break in, but his rage overtook the small sound of her voice.

“And we were supposed to be best friends, the three of us! I mean, I know why you didn’t tell me when were still semi-enemies, but why didn’t you tell me when I told you about my feelings? Or, if not then, then how about on the True Love? And why didn’t Dawson tell me, even if you didn’t?”

Pacey’s anger was building. “I thought we didn’t keep secrets, Joey! I opened my heart to you, I let you know about every last little thing I’d ever done, and here you were, holding onto this ‘little’ secret that you and my best friend were screwing each other behind my back!”

Joey’s voice was soft as she responded, but the tension in her voice was obvious. “Had, Pacey. Had ‘screwed’ each other. Once. Years and years ago.” She dug around in her pocket for a moment, and pulled out an old piece of paper. Handing it to him, she bit her nail nervously as he scanned the first line of text.

 

NOTE: By the power of Dawson Leery and Joey Potter, this is a legally binding contract, to be held in the highest regard and followed to extreme detail.

 

Pacey gave a short laugh. “You and Dawson sure held each other in ‘high regard’ didn’t you?” he asked sarcastically.

Joey glared at him. “Would you just read it or not, Pacey?”

Pacey gave her a glance. “Oh. Sorry, Miss Held-in-the-Highest-Regard.”

Joey shot him another glare, but this time it was accompanied only by silence. Instead, she pointed at the paper in his hands. Pacey returned her glare half-heartedly for several split seconds, and then reluctantly turned back to the neatly typed piece of paper he held.

 

Agreement of Secrecy

I, Joey Potter, and I, Dawson Leery, do hereby agree to keep secret the fact that both of the aforementioned parties willingly lost their virginity to each other on the night of December 12, 1996.

This contract binds both parties to this agreement until such time when both agree to dissolve the agreement, and sign as such below.

Until such a date, both parties will be held responsible to keep this agreement by his or her own conscience only. This trust is placed willingly in the other parties’ hands, and is expected to be followed to the best of his or her ability.

This contract can be dissolved without both parties’ prior knowledge only in the event that complications should ensure.

 

Signatures:

Dawson Wade Leery

Josephine Potter

 

Signatures for agreement to dissolve this contract:

____________________________

____________________________

 

 

Pacey reached the end of the page, and looked up at Joey again, who was about ready to burst into tears, he could tell. He ached to reach over and comfort her, but he felt the anger and hurt, and most of all, betrayal, too deeply. How did she expect him to respond, finding out that not just one, but two of his girlfriends had cheated on him?

Okay, so it wasn’t really cheating, he conceded. Joey did it long before she’d ever made any promises to him, and Andie had done it in the middle of a relationship, but still, it was hard for him to deal with. What was he supposed to do? Technically, she hadn’t been unfaithful, but it stung, and he couldn’t fool himself.

Deciding to follow his heart, as he could usually be counted on to do as far as Joey was concerned, he took one more look at his normally guarded and stoic girlfriend, who looked ready to burst into tears, and reached over and pulled her into his arms. Joey, obviously not expecting this move, tensed momentarily, but quickly relaxed as he continued to hold her tightly, whispering what could only be categorized as ‘sweet nothings’ into her hair.

After holding her this way for several moments, Joey reluctantly raised her head from his shoulder, but snuggled more tightly into his embrace. Pacey, his head still reeling, pulled her closer mostly out of habit, but realized that it still felt just as good to snuggle with Joey today as it had yesterday.

Sitting quietly with Joey for several minutes, Pacey took the time to think about where this left them, as a couple, and their relationship. It didn’t take him too long to assess the fact that he still loved her, and for the most part, trusted her, just as much as he had before all of this, and quickly following that thought was the oddly comforting realization that if they loved each other, everything would work out for the best. Probably.

Struck by the sentiment of the moment, Pacey leaned down and kissed Joey’s forehead, catching her gaze when she looked up in surprise. “I love you, Joey,” he murmured, and the relief was evident in her eyes. “And as long as we love each other, things will work out.”

Joey smiled, and for a moment, it looked like she was going to comment on the hopelessly cliche sentence that Pacey had just uttered with absolute sincerity, but, thinking better of, she closed her half-open mouth, and merely smiled.

*****************

Dawson watched with slight trepidation as his ex-girlfriend, best friend, and ‘soulmate’ approached his locker at school. But he pasted a smile on his face, and adopted an easy pose. “Hey, Jo.”

Joey smiled uneasily. Dawson recognized that face. She was nervous, and wanted something from him. He almost sighed, but carefully controlled those impulses, and waited patiently for her to speak. He was going to hear her out, no matter how much angst it caused for their already rickety friendship.

“Dawson, I...” Apparently, Joey’s voice wasn’t cooperating. “I need to talk to you later. Can you meet me at the docks?”

Dawson nodded. “Sure. Four o’clock?”

Joey nodded, and flashed him another anxious smile. Dawson waited for her to leave hearing range, and then he sighed heavily, wondering how much more their relationship, provided they still had one after this past year, could be dragged through the mud and still come out intact.

*******************

Pacey watched from the window of Leery’s Fresh Fish as Joey hesitantly approached Dawson where he stood, leaning on the railing and staring into space. After several moments of obviously awkward conversation, Joey apparently got to the point, and pulled a familiar-looking piece of pristine white paper from her pocket. She handed it to Dawson, and waited.

Pacey waited, completely unaware of the fact that he was holding his breath for Dawson’s reaction. Joey was asking Dawson to sign the for the contract to be dissolved. Of course, it was just a formality, the contract was the creation of two fourteen-year-old’s, and held no legal weight, but things would go easier for all of them if Dawson went willingly on this.

Dawson was obviously upset. He threw his hands in the air and yelled at not quite a shouting volume, the typical reaction that could be expected from him, but he hadn’t seemed to have refused, yet. Pacey waited, holding his breath, watching, until Dawson put his arms down to his sides, and slumped his shoulders.

When Dawson took the pen Joey offered him, and scribbled something on the sheet of paper, Pacey let out the breath he’d been holding in a loud whoosh, attracting some attention from the near-by tables, and simply an amused smile from Gretchen. Gale Leery looked up with a puzzled look on her face, but just threw a glance in Gretchen’s direction before returning to her work.

Pacey watched and waited as Dawson nearly threw the paper back at Joey and stalked away. Joey hung her head for a long moment, and Pacey ached to go outside, and reassure her, but he reminded himself that this was between Dawson and Joey, and his place was on the sidelines. This time.

After a few moments that dragged by as Pacey waited more and more impatiently, Joey pulled herself together, wiped her face on her sleeve, and headed for the restaurant. Pacey knew that she wouldn’t want Gale to see her this way, so he hurriedly paid for his soda and left one of Capeside’s best eating establishments at a fast clip.

“Joey!”

Joey slowed when she heard his voice, but she made no move to acknowledge him.

“Joey?” The way his girlfriend carried herself was really worrying him. Joey’s normally tall frame was slumped, her shoulders curved forward in an unhealthy arc, and Pacey could see tears trailing down her also abnormally pale cheeks.

“JOEY!”

Joey slowed even farther, and glanced up at him. “Hi.” She said, her voice limp and unemotional.

“Jo?” He asked, concern etched on his features.

She halted abruptly in front of him. “Look, Pacey, let’s get this over with once and for all, okay?” She took a deep breath, and continued, staring at the ground.

“I slept with Dawson. I might have loved him for a couple of months two years ago, I might not. Either way, I don’t love him anymore, I love you. And your insecurities be damned.” Her head rose slowly with her last statement, and Pacey could see that her eyes were shining with sincerity.

Pacey felt his heart melt. So that was it. She was worried about losing his love. Why, he wasn’t exactly sure, but he knew something for certain. Right now, all he needed to do was reassure her. And something told him that that would be enough.

He took a step forward, and she fell naturally into his embrace, her slight form fitting his muscular one in just the right spots. “Joey, I will never, ever, stop loving you. Especially not for something stupid, that’s in the past. So...just stop it with the doubts, okay? Because I‘m not going anywhere. In fact, you couldn‘t get rid of me if you tried.”

Joey gave a wobbly smile as she looked up at his earnest face. “Okay, Pace. I...do love you. You know that, right?”

He buried his head in her hair, running a few strands through his fingers. “I know that, Jo.”

*******************

Dawson walked through the familiar halls of Capeside High in a daze. Pacey knew. Jen knew. He supposed he ought to be grateful that Jack and Andie didn’t. Certainly, someone would get them word soon enough. Even if Andie was in Italy.

He sensed more than saw the presence of a slight, familiar form on his right elbow, accompanying him on his way down the hall. “Hey, Jen.”

Jen replied in kind, using a tone that belied no feelings for anything. “Hey, Dawson.”

She walked with him to his locker, and stood beside him, saying nothing, as he keyed the combination and pulled it open. Depositing his books inside, he grabbed the things that he would need for his next class, and shoved them into his backpack. When he turned to leave, he found Jen still standing there, her ‘advice’ expression firmly imprinted on her face.

Dawson sighed and leaned back against the lockers a little. A voice to his left startled him. “Hey, Leery, I gotta get into that locker!”

Dawson stood up, and moved over a little. Jen followed him. He nodded to the guy who had spoken. “Sorry.”

Then, turning his full attention back to his former girlfriend and current good friend, he groaned when he saw her expression hadn’t wavered. “Listen, Jen, I really appreciate your advice, but this time, there isn’t anything you can say that will have any effect.”

Jen didn’t move, except to block his path when he started to move away from her. She walked easily backwards as he pushed his way through the halls. “How many times have you said that right before I gave you advice that saved your butt, Dawson?”

He sighed, and ground to a halt. “More than enough times,” He admitted.

Jen locked eyes with him. “Good. Then maybe you’ll listen to what I have to say.”

He made not move to either acknowledge or deny her statement. After a long moment of simply staring at each other, Jen continued.

“Dawson, do you still love Joey?”

He didn’t hesitate to answer truthfully. “Yes.” Then he waited for her to give some piece of advice that would be indecipherable until it ‘saved his butt’ as she had so indelicately put it. But she didn’t. Instead, her advice was simple and to the point, said with complete conviction.

“Get over her.”

He broke their eye contact, and carefully dodged her. Walking brusquely down the hall, he made for his next class, not really caring where he went.

It wasn’t until after an entire class full of missed statements and bad note-taking and embarrassing moments of being called on and having no idea what was going on, did he really have some free time to ponder Jen’s statement.

Many people had said the same thing to him, time after time, but never had he taken them seriously. His heart told him otherwise, and Dawson had never been one to listen to his head excessively. He had always figured that if he and Joey were meant to be, then some divine influence would do the rest. Indeed, he had believed with such passion that Grams would have been proud, had she known. After all, wasn’t that what God was about? Belief in the fact that your life wasn’t in your hands? That everyone had a destiny that they could not escape?

In that courtyard, surrounded by hundreds of teenagers, all scurrying from one class to another, Dawson wondered for the first time, if he should, or really, if he could, accept the fact that Joey Potter was never coming back to him.


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