Once Bitten
by Theresa G.

Note: It's not really an event story, it's a feelings story, ok?

Disclaimer: DC and its characters don't belong to me, "Let It Rain" and "Last Exit to Eden" are sung by Amanda Marshall, and I shamelessly plagiarized the reality/dream line from the DC promo, so that's not mine. Send comments/feedback to peace126@aol.com

Dawson had leaned forward and kissed her, thinking only that Joey was too important to him to let her go down that ladder. Or on that plane. He knew he was being selfish, but he couldn't help it. For the first time in his life, he realized exactly how miserable he would be without her there.

After a few moments, Joey broke the kiss, and stared at him, close to tears. "Why are you doing this, Dawson?" she whispered, her eyes searching his face. He would never forget that look of pure innocence.

"Because...I care about you, Jo, and I'll die if you leave me. For my whole life, it's always been you, coming up that ladder, and into my room. Somewhere along the line, Jo, I stopped just letting you into my bedroom, I let you into my heart. If you leave, Jo, I can't even describe the hollowness that will be in place of that."

Joey looked down, and a tear fell onto the floor. "Don't do this to me, Dawson. Not now." She looked up, somewhat hurt by him putting her in this position.

"I'm sorry, Joey, and I know that I'm being totally cruel right now, but please tell me that you'll stay here and be with me. And I don't mean just be with me as my best friend, because you always have been and always will be that, but as a girlfriend, Joey. I want to kiss you like I just did every day. Please tell me that you want that, too, Joey."

A look of disbelief flickered in those eyes that he had tried not to lose contact with. His face fell as the disbelief quickly changed to a look that he knew meant that she was leaving.

"I'm sorry, Dawson."

Now, 5 months later, Dawson Leery stood gripping a white rose in his hand and staring desperately out an airport window. Dawson had pryed the flight information from Bessie, since Joey had never written to him at all. He'd sent her letters the first month or so, but, disheartened by her lack of response, he'd stopped writing.

Dawson wiped a sweaty palm on his pants and waited for his best friend to come through the gate. "What are you saying, we're not friends anymore?" "I don't know, Joey. Are we more, are we less?" *More, definitely more,* Dawson thought as he recalled that long ago conversation. In the back of his mind, he was determined to have that wedding with Joey someday. But this time the only woman his eyes would drift to would be her.

Joey Potter walked slowly down the corridor to the gate. *The only problem with going to France was that I have to come back,* Joey thought miserably. She really wasn't looking forward to seeing Dawson, after they had parted on such sad terms. When Dawson had kissed her, she had been so happy, but she had known she couldn't give in. Besides the fact that going to France was an offer not to be refused, she wasn't sure if Dawson was telling the truth. She knew that he must have thought that he was, he would never lie to her like that ... but what if he had just convinced himself of some romantic feelings just so he could have her there to support him through his next Jen crisis? She didn't want to ruin their friendship, and she didn't want Dawson to be unhappy when he realized the feelings he had spouted weren't true.

Joey broke out of her reverie as she spotted Bessie and Bodie, carrying Alex, running toward her. "Hey, Jo!" Bessie greeted her with a hug. "There's someone else here who wants to see you," she whispered confidentially. Joey furrowed her eyebrows in confusion until she looked past Bessie's shoulder and saw who her sister was referring to.

Bessie let go to allow Joey to walk to Dawson. Dawson tried to act nonchalant as he smiled and presented Joey with the single rose. "Hey, Joey."

"Dawson," she forced a smile, reluctantly taking the rose.

"I missed you," he finally said, and went to hug her. Joey allowed Dawson to wrap his arms around her, needing to touch him again. She closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears of joy and pain. When he pulled back, she smiled again, and they made plans for a movie night the next day. As nervous as she was, she hoped that maybe they could repair their friendship.

Dawson paced nervously around the room the next night, sporadically fixing his hair. He had chosen the night's movies very carefully -- "Reality Bites" and "Some Kind of Wonderful." In "Reality Bites," Winona Ryder tries dating Ben Stiller, but soon realizes that she's meant to be with her best friend, Ethan Hawke. In "Some Kind of Wonderful," Eric Stoltz falls in lust with the most popular girl in school, but --surprise-- soon realizes he's supposed to be with his best friend, Mary Stuart Masterson.

Joey climbed through the window and smiled. "Hey, Dawson, what's the feature presentation tonight?"

Dawson just smiled back and popped "Some Kind of Wonderful" in the VCR. Joey sat on the bed, but shifted uncomfortably when she recognized the opening scenes. She looked over at the other movie on the nightstand and frowned. "Dawson .."

"Joey, I really missed you. And I've been trying so hard to figure out what happened before you went to France, and I've come to a conclusion." Dawson sat beside her on the bed, and opened his mouth to say the words. To tell her he loved her...but he was scared. So he leaned forward and kissed her. Joey pushed away after a moment.

"Dawson, I can't do this. I don't want to ruin what we have."

"Joey, our friendship will always, always remain intact. I know that you're scared, and I am, too, but I care enough to give this a chance."

"You don't know what will happen, Dawson. Take a clue from Reality Bites," she said as she gestured towards the video case, "Sex, or anything related, is THE quickest way to ruin a friendship."

"But they defied the rules, Joey, they ended up together," Dawson reminded her.

"They don't show you what happened afterwards, Dawson," she said, tears filling her eyes. She quickly wiped them away and started again, emotion cracking her voice. "What if the reality doesn't live up to the dream, Dawson? I don't want to risk losing you if this doesn't work out. Our friendship is the only good thing I've ever had to hold on to.."

"And a relationship could be just as good, Joey."

"Dawson, please. Let's just promise to be friends forever, and leave it at that. As much as I want this...as much as I've always wanted you to say these things to me ... I can't take that chance. The chance of being hurt again, of losing someone I love, just because you've gotten this idea in your head that you love me because I was gone for a few months and you felt lonely." She closed her eyes, to regain her composure, and then slowly opened them again. "Now it is going to take everything I have to walk away from this, but I'm asking you as your best friend to forget these feelings, and just be there." And she climbed out the window. Dawson would've gone after her, but he couldn't move.

As Joey ran from Dawson's house towards the ruins, she felt like kicking herself. What was she doing? She had just rejected the man she loved because of what? Should she go back there, tell him it was a mistake?

"What am I doing? I can't go back," she said out loud. "Maybe...no."

"Those voices in your head again, Jo?"

She turned to see Pacey sitting on a bench in the ruins and smiling at her. Joey had visited him that afternoon for a little while, but she had avoided talking about Dawson.

Pacey realized something was wrong when she didn't hurl an insult back at him. "Jo? Are you ok?" He saw her tears shine in the moonlight, and motioned for her to sit beside him.

"Let me guess... this has something to do with our mutual friend, Dawson."

Joey looked up at him, and suddenly sobbed. Without thinking, she blurted the entire story out to Pacey. When she was done, he simply grinned in wonder.

"My God, I can't believe it..." Pacey laughed.

"I know, me and Dawson.."

"No, not that. We all knew that was coming. What I'm talking about is the fact that you're just as dense as Dawson is."

"Excuse me?"

"I may not know much, but I know this, Josephine. All those excuses you gave Dawson...pure bullshit." Pacey told her seriously.

"What are you talking about, they were not excuses, they were.."

"Defense mechanisms. Joey Potter, you are so scared of what's happening now that Dawson has finally wised up that you're tossing it all away. You love him, and deep down you know that he loves you, and you can't handle it. You don't think that anyone could love you that much, but let me tell you, he does. Lord knows I heard it enough while you were gone. Stop guarding yourself so strongly from pain, because nothing else is getting in either." When Pacey finished, he looked genuinely proud of himself. To Joey, his words were like a slap in the face.

"Hey, Pacey, can you give me some time alone?" she finally managed to utter.

"Sure, Jo," he said. "You'll need it, cuz the second you get back into Dawson's arms, I doubt he's letting go."

*He sounded so confident about me and Dawson,* she thought. *And he's right...I'm scared...* A song travelled through the air from someone's nearby radio.

Did I just miss
The last exit to Eden
Is this the only love I'll know
Like a Judas kiss
Did my heart betray me
Back on the road I never chose

There are some sins that you can justify
But not the one I'm guilty of
I had a choice one last chance ago
But I turned my back on love

Did I just miss
The last exit to Eden
Is this the only love I'll know
Like a Judas kiss
Did my heart betray me
Back on the road I never chose

I can hear the man upstairs, he's crying out
"Fall on your knees, the end is near"
We both may need a saviour, tonight I fear that mine
Is the one that I left waiting far from here

Did I just miss
The last exit to Eden
Is this the only love I'll know
Like a Judas kiss
Did my heart betray me
Back on the road I never chose

It had started to rain, but it didn't faze Joey in the slightest. She saw the figure approaching and she started running, running towards Dawson.

"Joey!" he called out to her as he ran to meet her. "Joey, please let me ask you something and if you give me a negative answer, I will walk away."

"Yes, Dawson?" she smiled, knowing any answer she gave would be in his favor.

"Joey, how do I make you feel?" he asked.

Not the question she'd expected, but she answered just the same.

"Dawson .. you make me feel like the most wonderful person in the world. What you said to me after the pageant... Dawson, I know I'm not pretty like Jen."

"Joey.." Dawson started to contradict her.

"No, Dawson, I want to answer your question. Whenever I looked in the mirror, I would see someone who couldn't compare to the Jen Lindleys of the world. But when you complimented me after that pageant, I went home and I looked in the mirror again. And all I could remember was that you thought that I looked beautiful. And for the first time, I looked in that mirror and I saw it. I could see what you did, and I was so happy. You make me forget myself, Dawson. You make all the bad things go away, and when you hold me, you make me never want to let go."

Dawson was speechless at the emotion of her answer, and for a minute he just stared at her until she broke the silence.

"So the question is, Dawson, how do you feel about me?" she looked up with hope in her eyes. He stared at her, rain dripping down her cheeks, perhaps mingled with hidden tears, and smiled.

"I was so stupid, Joey. For so many months, I wouldn't listen to my heart, but when I finally did, I realized something. The Jen Lindleys don't mean anything. They're all the same, and none of them are for me. But there's only one Joey Potter, and she is the most angelic, almost intoxicating person I have ever had the privilege to know. And being with you is a privilege, Jo, because so few get to discover the most perfect...woman that I have ever known. I could go on and on because there are so many words to describe this feeling, but I can sum it up in 5. I'm in love with you."

Joey exhaled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, and laughed, overcome with happiness. "I love you, too, Dawson."

Dawson laughed, too, and their lips met in the purest, sweetest kiss either had ever known.

Let it rain
Let it rain
Let it rain on me
Come take my hand
We can walk to the light
And without fear
We can see through the darkest night

The End