A Kiss Before Dying
Part Three of "Once in a Lifetime"
by Rae

DISCLAIMER: "Dawson's Creek" is the property of Kevin Williamson, Columbia- Tristar Televsion, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and the Warner Bros. Network. By no means do I mean to pass it off as my own creation since that would be just plain stupid and idiotic. =)
RaDa113@aol.com.

SUMMARY: A romantic tale that explores the past lives of Pacey, Joey, Dawson, Jen, and various other Capeside citizens. Ever wonder what the small Massacusetts town was like in the 50's?
KEYWORDS: Pacey/Joey romance


Capeside, Massachusetts
~January 31, Present Day~
* 8:02 p.m.*

"How'd you convince Old Man Ethan's son to let us use his grounds as our set?" Joey asked as she, Jen, and Dawson walked past the house and into the "backyard." It already had grown fairly dark, the only light came from a soft glow in the distance. It was eerily quiet, the only sounds being their soft voices and footsteps echoing throughout.

"What can I say?" Dawson answered. "I'm persuasive."

The two girls looked at him skeptically.

"Okay, okay, my dad talked him into it," Dawson admitted. "He's redesigning this new restaurant he recently acquired, and my dad offered him a small discount in exchange for a day of filming."

"Go, Mr. Leery," Jen grinned.

"My dad's Superman," Dawson said, a playful smile on his face.

"We won't be running into Mr. Richards today, will we?" Joey shuddered at the thought, for the owner of the estate they would be transforming into a scene from "Romeo and Juliet" wasn't known to be amiable.

"Nope," Dawson answered, much to her obvious joy. "He had some meeting in Boston today. He won't be back 'til earlymorning. We should be done by then."

"If Pacey decides to show up any time soon." Joey glanced at her watch, and looked behind her toward the street.

"On the contrary. Pacey's been here since eleven this morning setting up the place."

"Yeah, I've been working my ass off here." A voice behind a pillar said.

The three rounded a corner and up to gazebo just in time to see Pacey jump down from a ladder. "So, what do you think?"

Joey and Jen looked around them in amazement. Dawson looked equally amazed, though he had helped Pacey earlier afternoon, but had not seen the finished result.

White candles, of all shapes, sizes, and designs, were placed in no particular pattern throughout the circular space, yet did not look cluttered. The glow that came from these candles was a mysterious and majestic glow; when the flames danced, the whole area seemed to sparkle, mostly because the light reflected off the glitterey shouds wrapped around the pillars. Most of the shrouds were the color white, but every now and then, a very pale grey would be seen. The material was accentuated by the light green vines with small, white blossoms that naturally grew arround the said pillars. In the center lay a think, round mattress, about a foot high, that was covered with a silken, white cloth. The cloth was very large; the excess material flowed onto the floor below for a few inches. Various pillows of the same color lay at the head of the "bed," and encircling it was a translucent fabric that hung from the ceiling, the curtain slightly parted at the foot of the mattress.

"Pacey...." Dawson searched for words to describe his awe. "*Wow*."

"It's unbelievable," Jen said.

"Did you do all of this by youself?" Joey said, her eyes still taking the surroundings in.

"Dawson helped," Pacey answered.

"Yeah, but only for an hour," Dawson corrected. "God, I never expected it turn out this good."

"Shows how much little faith you have in me," Pacey joked. "Well, what are we standing around here for? Let's get filming."

After changing into costumes, which took a good half-hour because of complaints from Pacey about wearing tights and from Joey about wearing the particular dress Jen had picked out; after Jen applied stage make-up on both and more grumbling took place; after hair was styled with not quite as much complaining as before; Pacey and Joey emerged to start the filming process and to take directions from Dawson the director. Pacey's eyes wandered toward Joey a lot, stealing glances at her every so often, trying to permanently etch the way she looked that night into his memory.

A few rehearsals and inital run-throughs took place; cues were noted and some test shots were filmed. Finally, when all thought they were ready, the real filming began. Joey laid down on the bed, her arms crossed like the letter X across her chest, eyes closed, trying breath as soundly as possible. The camera, with Dawson behind it, began to roll, and Jen signaled Pacey to make his entrance. Pacey entered the dome-like structure with a cautious swiftness, and stopped short when he saw 'Juliet' laid out before him. He tentively approached her, and under his breath, said," O, my love, my wife..."

He kneeled down beside the bed, and his hand reached out and stroked her cheek. "Death that hath sucked the honey of thy breath hath had no power yet upon thy beauty." He brought his hand away and, for a moment, quietly observed her. "Ah, dear Juliet, why are thou so fair? Shall I believe that unsubstantial death is amourous, and that the lean abhorred monster keeps thee hear to be his paramour? For fear of that, I still will stay with thee, and never from this palace of dim night depart again." 'Romeo' stood up, and from underneath his vest, produced a small vile, and laid down at her side.

Dawson exchanged an impressed look with Jen. Pacey was _really_ good.

"O here will I set up my everlasting rest, and shake the inauspicious stars from this world- wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last." He looked around him, his gaze finally resting on Juliet's face. He took her hand in his. "Arms, take your last embrace. And lips, o you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss a dateless bargain engrossing death." He gently kissed her, it was a soft, lingering kiss.

He then turned his attention to the vile he held in his hand. While opening it, he said, "Come bitter conduct, come unsavory guide, thou desperate pilot, now at once on the dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark." He held it out in the air as to toast the drink. "Here's to my love! O true apothecary!" And with one gulp, he drank the poison. He coughed, his eyes began to glaze over. He collaped onto the bed beside Juliet. "Thy drugs are quick," he said hoarsely. With the little strength he had left, he picked up her hand again and brought it to his lips. "Thus with a kiss, I die."

His hand dropped hers. His eyes closed. He struggled for breath. And then he was still.

All was quiet. Not a sound. And then suddenly, Juliet sat up, looked around her in confusion. Upon seeing Romeo beside her, she began to panic. She tugged at his arm, as if she were trying to wake him from a slumber. "Romeo?" A sob. "Romeo?" A realization. Tears flew down her face, and she suudenly noticed an object enclosed in his hand.

"What's here? A cup closed in my true love's hand?" She unwrapped his fingers from it and examined it. "Poison I see hath been his timeless end," she said sorrowfully. "O churl; drunk all; and left no drop to help me after? I will kiss thy lips; haply some poison yet doth hang on them, to make me die with a restorative." She bent down and gently pressed her lips aganist his. "Thy lips are warm," she observed sadly.

"Lead boy," Dawson said, deepening his voice, also lowering it so it seemed as if it came from a distance. "Which way?"

Juliet looked up. "Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief." She took Romeo's weapon from its case. "O happy dagger! This thy sheath; there rust, and let me die." And with that, she stabbed herself. Blood stained the front of her dress, and she fell beside Romeo.

"Annnnnnnd....cut!" Dawson exclaimed. "That was great! It was perfect! There are no words that would describe how unbelievably _oustanding_ that was!"

"Stop. You're making me blush." Pacey grinned.

"No, he's right." Jen applauded. "You guys were great." Pacey noticed that her eyes were red from crying. He took this as a compliment; their performance had moved her to tears.

"Hey, why don't we go out and celebrate after I pack up the equipment?" Dawson said.

"What about taking down all this stuff?" Pacey gestured toward the candles and the rest of the props they had used.

"We can do that in the morning," he answered. Dawson turned to Joey, who had been silent since the cameras had stopped rolling. "Jo? You up to it?"

"I don't know..." she said hesitantly. "You mind if I take a raincheck? I'm pretty beat."

Pacey looked at her with a concerned expression on his face. "Why don't we do this another day, Dawson? I'm pretty tired myself."

Dawson sighed disappointedly. "All right. Another day." He began to pack up his equipment with help from Jen.

Pacey lightly tugged at Joey's arm. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

"It's okay. I can walk--"

"I don't think you should be walking home by yourself in the middle of night," Pacey said protectively.

"I can take care of my--" Joey stoppped short when she noticed the look on Pacey's face, the same look he had given her when he had asked her a week before to "let him in."

"Besides, I'm your personal chaffeur, remember? It's my part of the deal," Pacey reminded her.

Capeside, Massachusetts
~February 1, 1958~
* 12:09 p.m.*

"Thanks for the ride," Nina said quietly, unfastening her seatbelt and preparing to exit the car.

"Hey, one second," Ben said, pulling her hand away from the car's doorknob.

"Ben, I have to go--"

"One second," he repeated. He studied her solemn expression, her sad eyes. "Is anything wrong?"

Nina looked away. "I'm fine. Great. Never been better."

"Why can't you look at me when you see that?"

She turned to him, and he noticed she was on the verge of tears. "I...I'm fine," she stammered, her voice becoming choked. "I..."

Ben pulled her toward him into an embrace. Her head rested on his shoulder, her arms wrapped around him tightly. She sobbed into his jacket, and she tried to talk, but Ben could only pick up every other word. "Tonight ...hard....remember....can't...."

He rocked her gently, his hand gently stroking her hair. After her sobs had somewhat subsided, he pulled away slowly, bringing both his hands to her face. His palms on her cheeks, he let his thumbs wipe away some of the moistnesss near her eyes. "Okay...take a few breaths..."

She did as she was told, and took his hands down from her face, yet still let him hold his hands in hers. She gulped slowly. "Tonight...it was so hard...all these memories..."

"What memories?"

"Of my mom. Dying," she managed to say as she surpressed another chain of sobs. "I remember the night she...she died. I snuck into her room, it was late...maybe two or three in the morning. Sam was still asleep, Dad was gone...I don't remember where he was. She heard me come in...she smiled and told me I could sleep with her...I crawled into the bed next to her...I hugged her so tight, she kissed me on the forehead...and she started singing this lullabye...and I fell asleep. The next morning, I woke up. Her eyes were still closed, so I tried to wake her up..." Tears began to appear again. "But she wouldn't wake up...she wouldn't wake up...and I started screaming..." She gasped for breath.

He brought her into his arms again. He suddenly felt some of his own tears work their was down his cheek. "It's going to be okay," he whispered. "It's going to be okay..."

"I hugged her again...she was so cold..." she murmured. "So cold...they told me it wasn't my fault..."

"Of course it wasn't your fault."

Nina shook her head, or tried to, with it resting against Ben's shoulder again. "It was, it was. Maybe I hugged her too tightly the night before, maybe I suffocated her-"

"Nina, it wasn't your fault," Ben said firmly, taking her head into his hands again, looking down at her. "Look at me."

She slowly brought her gaze toward him. His eyes gazed into hers. "It wasn't your fault," he repeated.

Nina fell into his arms again, but this time she didn't weep. She just needed to be held.

~Present Day~

Moments later, when she had gathered her strength, Joey pulled away and started to wipe away the moisture from her eyes. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have done that..."

"You don't have to apologize for anything." Pacey handed her a clean hankerchief from his pocket.

Joey accepted it gratefully and swept the material across her face. "I'm such a baby..." She looked into the rear-view mirror. Dissatisfied with her reflection, she said, "God...I look awful."

"You look beautiful," Pacey said quietly, with a soft sincerity Joey had never heard in his voice before.

They studied each other for a moment, and Pacey leaned forward. He placed his hand behind the back of her head, and gently pushed his lips toward hers. A soft, hesiatant kiss. They opened their eyes, looked at each other sleepily, then closed them again as their lips touched for a second time.

Suddenly, Joey pulled away. "I...I have to go," she said before running out of the car and into the safety of her home.

Pacey let out an intake of breath slowly, and let his head bang against the wheel. *Oh, my god, what did we do, what did we do..* he thought to himself.

~1958~

Nina paced her room. *Oh, god, what did we do, what did we do...* she thought to herself as she passed by her desk for the sixteenth time.

Luckily, when she had burst through the front door, Sam and Michael were already asleep and not awake to bombard her with questions about her smeared eyeliner and look of agitation.

When she passed her desk for a twenty-fifth time, she heard a knock on her window. She didn't have to turn to see who it was; she already knew. She exhaled slowly and tried to look less perturbed before walking over to greet him.

"I hope you're not going to make a habit of climbing into my bedroom in the middle of the night," she attempted to lighten the mood.

"We need to talk," Ben said as soon as he was securely inside. "About that kiss--"

"It was a mistake," they said simultaneously.

Two sighs of relief.

Ben continued, "So we can--"

"Forget it ever happened?" Nina finished for him. "Absolutely. I mean, we were both caught up in the moment..."

"Exactly," Ben agreed. "Definitely caught up in the moment. I mean, maybe we even had 'Romeo and Juliet' programmmed into our heads, that's all we've been talking about the past few days..."

"Right," Nina said. "That's it, probaby."

"The kiss meant nothing."

"Nothing at all," agreed Nina.

An uncomfortable silence.

Ben cleared his throat, then said, "So this is--"

"Settled?" Nina nodded her head. "Definitely."

"Good."

Another uncomfortable silence.

"I guess this the part when we say 'good night' to each other then," Ben said, heading back toward the window.

"Yeah..." She watched as Ben climbed out. "'Night."

When he was safely on the other side of the wall, he smiled a small, sweet smile. "Good night," he said before heading back to his car. "Sweet dreams, Nina."



To be continued...