“RESOLUTION”
SCENE 1:
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.
SCENE 2:
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.
SCENE 3:
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.
SCENE 4:
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.
SCENE 5:
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.
SCENE 6:
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.
SCENE 7:
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.
SCENE 9:
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!”
SCENE 10:
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.
SCENE 11:
“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.
SCENE 12:
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.
SCENE 13:
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.
SCENE
14:
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.”
SCENE
15:
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…”
SCENE 16:
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.
SCENE 17:
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.