"Hopelessly Devoted To You"


Joey stepped into Dawson's room and heard the shower in the bathroom across the hall on and then turn off. She looked around the room and saw the bed still unmade. The clock read 8:23. Joey glanced at his desk and saw a lime- green flyer on it. She picked it up; it said "Auditions for Grease! Held On May 10" at the top.
Just then Dawson entered the room, wrapped in a white towel from the waist down. he came up behind Joey and kissed her neck a few times.
"Hey, good morning," he greeted his girlfriend. Joey turned her head around and caught his lips quickly.
"Morning. What is this, Dawson?" she asked. Dawson went to the other side of the room and pulled on a pair of boxers.
"I thought we could audition," he said, coming back over to her. Joey turned to him and shook her head.
"Uh-uh. No way, Dawson. After your monster from the lagoon movie, there is NO WAY I'm doing ANYTHING that has to do with the theatre!" she stated firmly. Dawson draped his arms around her waist.
"Jo, it's be fun! And by the way, what was so wrong with my monster story?" he said, trying to weaken her.
Joey stood her ground, and ignored the comment about his other script.
"I said no, and I meant no. I will not parade around in a poodle skirt, singing some cheesy song at the top of my lungs because it IS NOT fun!"
"Please, sweetheart... for me?" Dawson asked in his puppy-dog voice and look. And as much as Joey tried, she couldn't resist that look.
"I hate when you do this to me!" she exclaimed, pouting.
"You're so cute when I piss you off," Dawson smiled and touched her cheek. He let go of her and went to pull on a pair of jean shorts and white tee-shirt.
"When were you planning to tell me this, anyway?" Joey asked, watching him from behind.
"Well," he said as he zipped up the shorts, "I just got the flyer yesterday, so I didn't have time to tell you until this morning. Sorry."
"Speaking of time," Joey looked at her watch, "you're major late today. What took you so long?"
"Ahh..." Dawson blushed, but Joey didn't see because he was turned away from her. "Slept late. Stayed up to practice, and... ya know."
"Mhmm," Joey sarcastically agreed, not believing a word of it. "You just spent extra time in the shower, for reasons I don't care to know of."
Dawson blushed harder and pulled on a jean shirt over the white tee-shirt.
"You caught me this time," he said. He grabbed his back pack and walked toward Joey and the door, his hair still partially wet.
"Ready?" Joey asked.
"Let's go," he answered and they set off for school.
At 3:00, when school got out, Joey and Dawson retreated to the theatre to wait to audition. Joey wouldn't admit it, but she was kind of nervous.
"What am I singing?" she asked.
"I don't know. Whatever they tell you, I guess," Dawson shrugged.
Joey looked at him concernedly, but left it at that. They sat down in one of the two hundred seats in the auditorium and waited for an announcement. A moment later, one came.
"Welcome boys and girls," Mrs. Collens began. "You all know why you're here. Now, before we being the auditions, I'd like to tell everyone what is required of them when they audition and if they are chosen for a part in Grease!. You will each choose a song from the movie version, which is what we'll be doing since it's more familiar to the people, and then take a partner and read a few lines from the script. After that, we'll tell you who has made the first cut. Tomorrow will be the second and then Friday the list of characters will be read over the intercom at lunch. Is that clear?"
A murmur of "yes" went out to her, and she smiled.
"Good," she continued. "All right then, if you'll all please be quiet and respectful, we can begin try-outs. First is..." she glanced at her clipboard, "Pacey Winter."
Dawson and Joey looked at each other with wide eyes, and then at the stage. Pacey walked up the steps, said something to the pianist, and then stood up straight to sing.
"Stranded at the drive-in Branded a fool What will they say Monday at school?..."
"I can't believe this!" Dawson exclaimed.
"Yeah, he has a pretty good voice," Joey said, not catching her boyfriend's drift.
"No, I mean that he's actually auditioning! Wow," Dawson explained and continued watching.
"Hey, how are you two getting along?" Joey asked. She knew that after the incident two months ago, things hadn't been what you'd call peaceful between the two friends.
"Okay, I guess. I'm still pretty pissed at him, and he knows it, but we're cool," Dawson answered. He would never forgive his friend for what he had tried to do to Joey.
"Good. Because I really wanted to try to work this out between us. What about you and-"
"I can't find it in me to speak to her," Dawson shook his head. "You don't know what she said, Jo, and I don't even want to try with her."
Joey nodded.
"Fine. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. I just wanted to know."
They sat for a moment in silence, listening to the last chords of "Sandy", and then Dawson spoke again.
"Don't take this the wrong way, Jo, but... ever since we've been going out, you've been... different."
"How so?" she asked, not really understanding him.
"Well, you're not as mouthy as you used to be, and you've been more mellow. I don't know, maybe it's just me," he answered.
"No, you're right," Joey agreed. "I can let my guard down, now that we're together. I've got you, and it's easier for me. If anyone else called me sweetheart, I'd probably whack him upside the head. I like it when you call me sweetheart."
"Good to know," Dawson said, smiling.
"Next up is Dawson Leery," Mrs. Collens said into the mic. An idea sparked in Dawson's head.
"Good luck," Joey wished him.
"Thanks," he answered and left for the stage. He whispered something to the pianist, and then to Mrs. Collens.
"All right then, Josephine Potter will audition with Mr. Leery," Mrs. Collens announced.
Joey stared at the smug look on Dawson's face as she walked up to the stage.
"You WILL pay for this," she muttered.
"I told you, you're so cute when I piss you off," Dawson smirked. They stepped onto the stage and "You're The One That I Want" began to come from the piano.
"I got chills They're multiplyin' And I'm losin' control Cause the power you're supplyin' It's electrifyin'!" Dawson belted out. His voice rang through the auditorium like he had sung professionally for years. It amazed even Dawson himself, let alone everyone else. Then Joey took up her part.
"You better shape up Cause I need a man And my heart is set on you You better shape up You better understand To my heart I must be true..." she sang. Her voice sounded exactly like Olivia Newton-John's - higher than most, yet coming from her chest. Dawson knew she could sing well, since she had sung "On My Own" for the beauty pagent, but he was more than a little surprised at this.
Joey felt incredibly comfortable on the stage, and it surprised her. She liked the attention she got from the audience when the song was over, and it felt nice to sing in front of people.
"Joey, I don't think there currently exists a word to say how fantastic that was!" Dawson exclaimed as they were handed scripts.
"I don't know, Dawson. I just felt so comfortable up here singing!" Joey answered enthusiastically.
"All right you two, why don't you start with the scene where Danny and Sandy meet each other for the first time at the Rydell bonfire. You were both fantastic singers, might I add," Mrs. Collens complimented. Joey and Dawson smiled and began.
"Sandy?"
"Danny?"
"Wha - what are you doing here? I thought you were going back to Australia!"
"We had a change of plans!"
"I can't - That's cool, baby, I mean, you know how it is... Rockin' an' rollin' an' what not."
The couple was completely in character - they could have been John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John!
"Danny? What's the matter with you?"
"What's the matter with me, baby? What's the matter with you?"
"What happened to the Danny Zuko I met at the beach?"
"Well I do not know. Maybe, maybe there's two of us. Try the yellow pages, check out a missing persons add, I don't know!"
"You're a fake, and a phony, and I wish I'd never laid eyes on you!"
Joey stomped away like Sandy had done in the film, and everyone stared in shock at the two of them on stage. Finally, Mr. Collens, Mrs. Collens' husband and co-director, said,
"I think we've found our Sandy and Danny!"
The audience roared their applause and Joey and Dawson blushed on stage. They came down the steps and took a covered copy of the script from Mr. Collens.
"Highlight your lines and be ready to begin rehearsals next Monday," he said. They nodded and went back to their seats to watch the rest of the auditioners.
An hour later, Mrs. Collens read the people who had made first cut.
"Lindsey Johnson, Cliff Elliot, Jonathan Archer, Barry Seymoure, Julie Maynard, Christina Raymond, Joan Blanche, Mark Cutter, Nellie Olson, Devon Maratta, Bernadette Montecarlo, Samuel Kline, Jen Lindley, and Pacey Witter," she listed and continued. "And of course, Josephine Potter and Dawson Leery as Sandy and Danny. These are the students we are considering for speaking roles. If your name was not called, please stay for another five minutes to see if you have been chosen for chorus..." She rolled off another list of sixty or so names. "Now, if you were not mentioned on either of these lists, you may want to consider set design and technical work. Thank you, all of you who auditioned..." She went on for another five minutes about when rehearsals were, and when the final list would be up and so on.
After listening to all of it, Joey and Dawson set out of the auditorium with their scripts, eager to start practice. Pacey caught up with them as they were leaving.
"Hey man, congrats! Joey, you were awesome up there!" he exclaimed as he patted Dawson on the back.
"Thanks, Pace, you did a pretty good job yourself!" Dawson answered.
"What role were you considering, now that you didn't get the lead?" Joey teased.
"Is that the best you can do, Josephine?" Pacey teased back. "I mean, come on! You were so much more fun before you started dating Mr. Speilberg, here!"
"Well, if you REALLY want me to, I can always say that you'd make the perfect Tom - no singing, no lines, and the straight - A jock..." Joey said thoughtfully and Dawson laughed. Pacey shivered.
"Ugh! No way! That's ruin my rep as a stupid disgrace to Capeside! I'll take the compliemt, thanks," he answered.
"Really, Pacey, what role do you want now?" Dawson asked.
"Kneckie - he's the easiest to play," Pacey said without hesitation.
"Why is that?" Joey inquired.
"It'd be playing myself," Pacey answered with a smile. "See ya guys later."
"Bye," Dawson and Joey called.
"Wow. This has been one interesting day," Joey breathed as they began walking home again.
"You're telling me. Did you hear them call her name on the list of speaking roles?" Dawson said softly.
"Yeah," Joey nodded, "I thought I wouldn't bring it up. The one bad thing that had to ruin my perfect day."
"Well, I know what would make you feel better.." Dawson said slyly, stopping by the rail on the docks.
"What?"
"A nice, long, leisurely massage," he whispered as he kissed her neck.
"Dawson," Joey began as she pushed him away, "I thought we agreed not to let sex dominate our relationship."
"Must you be so loud?" Dawson smiled and draped his arms around her waist. "Joey, we've done it once, two months ago, and you have no idea how hard it is to keep control when you're around!"
"As much as I love you, and as fantastic as making love to you was, we just can't again. It's too dangerous," Joey protested.
"Then we'll use a condom," Dawson pleaded, "and you know I don't have AIDS or anything."
"They don't always work, Dawson, and if I get pregnant... I don't want what happened to Bessie to happen to me," Joey said firmly. "And I can't very well go up to my sister, and say 'Hey, Bess, Dawson and I want to make love, can you get me on the Pill?' It doesn't work that way!"
Dawson sighed. He knew she was right.
"I love you, Jo, and if that's what you want, I'll do it," he agreed finally. Joey shook her head.
"Believe me, Dawson, this is NOT what I want - it's what's right and safe."
They linked hands and stayed silent for the rest of the walk home.
Play rehearsals became more and more frequent as time went on. They went from having two rehearsals a week to three, and at last to everyday except weekends. But most of the characters didn't mind, especially Joey. There was only one word to describe her on stage: elated. And with Dawson starring opposite her, it made her even more comfortable.
The play was scheduled for August 15, well into the summer. Joey and Dawson were required to go to each practice unless otherwise directed, and they both loved it. One night, just a few weeks before Opening Night, Joey and Dawson stood on the dock in front of his house, rehearsing their lines for the first scene.
It was mostly a lot of kissing, but that was why it needed so much practice. Dawson couldn't really determine a real kiss from a stage kiss.
"I'm going back to Australia - I might never see you again!" Joey said, not using her script anymore (both had memorized their lines weeks before).
"Don't, don't talk that way, Sandy," Dawson responded, holding her around her tiny waist. They were incredibly close, and both their hearts beat faster with every moment and romantic line they spoke.
"But it's true! I've just had the best summer of my life, and now I have to go away... It isn't fair," Joey whimpered.
Dawson tipped her chin up and looked deeply into her eyes. The scene was set... moonlight reflecting off the water, holding each other, completely in love. The only thing different from the movie was the fact that it was 11:00 at night.
Their eyelids fluttered shut and they kissed sweetly, until Dawson pressed her closer and continued to kiss her with more passion. Joey broke away and began to laugh, in both exasperation and humor.
"Dawson, what is it? Can we PLEASE get over a simple stage kiss? I know you might consider reciting cheesy lines from a movie from the 70's that doesn't even take place in the 70's a turn-on, but I certainly don't!"
"Oh really?" Dawson said, a smirk curving his beautiful lips that once covered Joey's entire body. "What DO you consider a turn-on?"
Joey stopped laughing and looked at him strangely for a moment.
Two can play at this game... she thought devilishly.
"Lots of things..." she said in a low, sensual voice. "Mmm... like when we're pressed so close together," she mimicked her words with her actions, "and when you kiss my bottom lip so lightly... and when you touch the back of my neck like a feather..."
Dawson's breath began to speed up and it became incredibly hot in his khaki shorts and tee-shirt. He blushed and tried to pull away, but Joey held him close. She could feel him pressing into her lower stomach, and saw his pupils dialating. She kissed him gently. Then she pulled away and brushed her self off.
Not bad, she thought, Not bad at all.
"Well, I should go home now. Remember, we have rehearsal at nine tomorrow morning. Bye, Dawson," Joey replied, and began to saunter away to the little boat.
Dawson stood there, mortified, exasperated, confused, and completely turned on. He stalked up to her, pulled her arm and spun her around to face him.
"Don't even THINK you can get away with that," he said so only Joey could hear. Then he kissed her with a ferocity, and she kissed back. Dawson's arms snaked around her back and his hands traveled south of the border. Joey made no move to stop him, but kissed him with all she had.
Dawson's mother watched the two from upstairs in Dawson's window. She smiled at them, knowing they were truly in love. She had watched the whole scene for the last half hour, from their lines as Sandy and Danny to their kiss now. But Dawson's hands were moving into (what she thought as) uncharted territory. So she called out the window,
"Dawson! Bessie just called and she wants her sister home tonight!"
The two immediately broke their passionate lip-lock and stared up at the window, Dawson in anger and embarassment, Joey in amusement and embarassment.
"Thanks, Mrs. Leery - I mean, Gail!" Joey yelled up. She turned back to her boyfriend. "Goodnight, Dawson. Sweet dreams..." With that, she left.
Dawson watched her until the boat was out of sight, sighed, and treaded back into his house.
"Hi son," his dad greeted him as he watched TV from the couch.
"Hey dad," Dawson said and began to walk up the stairs. Then he stopped and came down again. "Dad? Can I talk to you about something?"
Mitch Leery looked at his son and flipped off the TV.
"Sure, what is it?"
Dawson sat down on the recliner across from the couch.
"Well, it's kinda about Joey and I... and sex," Dawson admitted. Mitch smiled at his son.
"Go on," he urged.
"Well, um..." Dawson couldn't find it in him to ask, but he mustered up all of his courage and asked, "When did you and mom first have sex?"
It took every ounce of composure Mitch had to not burst out laughing. He said calmy,
"Well, we were about five or six months into our relationship, I was about 20, your mom was 18... why?"
Dawson blushed as red as fruit punch Kool - Aid.
"Um.. You know Joey and I are doing Grease!, and we have to do a lot of kissing, but the thing is, I really can't do a stage kiss... I just get caught up in how beautiful she is, and how soft she is, and... well, it's kind of embarassing," he said.
"I see," Mitch nodded, understanding. "Dawson, you and Joey have known each other for your whole lives, and it feels incredibly wonderful when you're with her, am I right?"
"Yeah, exactly," Dawson agreed.
"You want to give her the world and protect her from everything bad and kiss her every moment, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"You're in love, Dawson," Mitch said, smiling. "And that's what happens when people are in love. Sex is a huge commitment in a relationship, and I can see why doing this play is so rough on you."
"You're telling me," Dawson said under his breath.
"What?" Mitch looked puzzled.
Dawson looked at his father, and then down at the floor.
"Dawson, did you and Joey...." Mitch asked cautiously.
"Yeah," his son admitted, "a few months ago."
Everything was silent for a few moments. Gail Leery watched from the top of the stairs, not saying anything, knowing this was a father-son moment.
"Well, the first thing I have to ask is did you use protection?" Mitch inquired after a long minute.
Dawson nodded.
"Yeah, I'm not that dense, Dad."
"I can breath a sigh of relief now," said Mitch, who had held his breath the entire time. "I'm not quite sure what to say, son. This is new on me."
"Just tell me that what we did is okay, that you're not mad or anything, or disapointed in me and Jo," Dawson pleaded.
Now Mitch let out a bubble of laughter.
"Why would I be disapointed in you, Dawson?"
His son looked at him strangely.
"I thought you'd say that we're too young, and we don't know what love is yet, and all that kind of stuff that parents say to their kids when they find out that they had sex," Dawson replied.
Mitch's laughter subsided and Gail came down the stairs and spoke.
"Honey, you've been watching WAY too many movies!"
"Mom?!? You've been listening?"
"Yes, Dawson, and I'm glad to know," Gail nodded and sat down next to her husband.
"Let me ask you something," Mitch began to his son. "Do you love Joey?"
"I would give up everything for her, as corny as it sounds," Dawson said seriously.
"Does she feel the same way about you?"
"I know she does. If we weren't so young, I think we'd be married!"
"Then, there's nothing for us to be mad or disapointed about," Gail said to her son. "The only thing we'd be upset about is if we thought you were irresponsible and were doing it for a fling."
"Which I'm not," Dawson reassured his parents. "Thanks, Mom, Dad. This really takes a load off my shoulders."
"Anytime, son, anytime," Mitch said, and Dawson left up the stairs.
"How do you think it went?" Gail asked when she heard the door to her son's room shut and lock.
"Pretty good, considering that the big Sex Talk was after he'd already experienced it!"
They laughed, and went back to watching TV.
The week before Opening Night was hectic as ever. Costumes were being finished, sets being put up and down during scenes, and music being played, finally, by the musicians who had been hired to play. The whole summer had gone rather nicely, even if play rehearsals took up most of the time. Joey was beginning to think that acting might be her calling, and she spent a lot of time thinking about pursuing it.
As Dawson and Joey practiced their dance sequence, Jen watched them enviously from off stage. She had won the role of Betty Rizzo, which was perfect in her opinion. She sighed at the happy couple.
"You know, green is REALLY not your color, Jen," said Pacey, who was sitting beind her. He was the only one who was still speaking to Jen. Jen whipped her head around.
"I'm not jealous," she informed him. "Not at all. I'm just watching -"
"To see what kind of mess you can create in their happy relationship now," Pacey cut in. "Jen, stop it! Why can't you let go of him? If you really loved him, then you'd be happy that he was happy."
"How can you say that?" she asked bitterly. "You say you're in love with Joey, and then you try to get her back by force."
"You did too," Pacey pointed out. "And I was sorry, because I knew I'd hurt her. Jen, smarten up, and leave poor Dawson and Joey alone. For once, Dawson knows what real happiness is, and he's not living in a fantasy world."
With that, Pacey got up and left.
"Oh, I'll leave them alone, all right," Jen said to herself. "But not before I leave with a bang."
She began to plot in her little blonde head...
Jen's mind was churning with all sorts of awful ideas. It wasn't like her to think the way she was, but when push came to shove, the world HAD to revolve around Jen Lindley. She looked upon Joey and Dawson, tripping over each other's steps and laughing. A small part of her wished that it was her with Dawson, but her heart had hardened and she had become vengeful.
She listened in for a minute...
"Never knew you were a dancer, Dawson," Joey teased as her boyfriend stepped on her foot for the millionth time that day.
"Yeah, well, it runs in the family, I guess," Dawson replied. "We're pretty good at this, you know."
"No, I'm pretty good at this. You make Winnie the Pooh look like a professional!" Joey retorted. They laughed good-naturedly, and tried the steps again, this time doing better than before.
Jen burned with rage at their happiness. It hadn't exactly been easy for her to work so closely with Joey these past few months, but she had kept her cool and waited. A lightbulb went off in her head. It was the perfect plan, and she knew just when to announce it...
Four days later they had dress rehearsal, and Mrs. Collens came over the microphone.
"Attention, everyone, can I have your attention?" The auditorium was silent while Mrs. Collens spoke. "I am happy to announce that on Opening Night, we will have a special visitor in our audience: Mr. Steven Speilberg!"
A loud buzz went up and Dawson nearly fainted.
"Did she say what I think she just said?" he asked Joey.
"It appears so," she answered with a smile.
"I've gotta sit down," her boyfriend said, eyes widening.
Mrs. Collens continued, "This will give you even more a reason to do especially fantastic Friday night. Now, I need those of you involved with "Summer Nights" on stage so we can run through that number once more."
"Dawson, honey, we've gotta get up!" Joey hissed when Dawson didn't respond.
"Wha - ? Oh! Oh, yeah, let's go," he answered sleepily. They trudged up the stage stairs and got into place, going over "Summer Nights" for what must have been the hundred millionth time that week.
Jen hadn't counted on Steven Speilberg being there, but what did it matter? it would just add to Dawson and Joey's embarassment!
Opening Night:
The auditorium was buzzing with people and photographers as Dawson and Joey were backstage helping each other with their costumes.
"This is the most grotesque stuff I have ever seen! It looks like the black oil junk on the X-Files!" Joey exclaimed as she combed the black hair dye into Dawson's silky blonde hair.
"Thanks a lot, Jo, that's just what I wanted to hear right now," Dawson grumbled, but with a smile on his face.
"You're welcome," Joey answered. "All done. Take a look."
She handed him a mirror. He looked into it and gagged.
"Oh my God, what happened to my hair?" Dawson squeaked. Joey laughed.
"You sound like a girl, Dawson. And anyway, how do you think I feel having to wear," she pulled on a blonde wig, "THIS?"
"It's better than having to actually have this stuff IN your hair! What if it doesn't come out, and I'm stuck with black hair forever? I'll never be able to look in the mirror again!" Dawson cried.
"Oh, and I'll never be able to look at you again, it makes you look so hideous! I think you should wear a bag over your head so people can't see that you're so hideously ugly!" Joey was laughing incredibly hard now. Dawson put down the mirror, and shook his head.
"PLEASE GOD, let this come out!" he prayed. Then he slipped on his black leather jacket and put a cigarette behind his ear.
"Are you finished whining?" Joey asked.
"Yeah," he answered. "Can I have a good luck kiss?"
Joey sauntered up to him and leaned up to meet his lips. They kissed quietly for a few moments until Dawson deepened it. His tongue slid into Joey's mouth and held her closer. They were lost in ther own world until Pacey opened the door on them, and coughed loudly.
"Ahem," he smiled, "you two lovebirds are wanted on stage, if you can pull yourself away for a moment."
Dawson and Joey blushed cherry-red and walked out the door Pacey held open for them. Pacey stopped Dawson.
"Good luck, man," he said, and then whispered, "Jen's up to something. Look out, ok?"
"Thanks, Pace," Dawson replied sincerely, "I owe you one."
They clapped each other on the back and walked out to the stage door.
Joey stared out through a crack in the curtains at the hundreds of people attending. She was in her glory - never before had she experienced something so satisfying... well, except for ONE instance.
Dawson came up behind her and put his arms around her waist. Kissing her neck, he mumbled,
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah. Are you?"
"I hope to God I am," he said and chuckled softly.
"Good luck, Dawson," Joey said and squeezed her boyfriend's hands.
"Good luck, sweetheart," Dawson answered and squeezed his girlfriend's hands.
They kissed lightly before a stage hand came over and told them to take their places because their mics were being turned on. All they had to do was move about two feet over, and stand in each other's arms, waiting for the music.The introduction began to play, the lights went low in the audience, and the curtains opened.
From the corner of their eyes, Dawson and Joey could see all of the people staring at them in their embrace. Dawson looked like he was going to faint, especially because he could make out Steven Speilberg in the front row. Joey wish she could tell him to calm down, but her mic was on, and everyone would hear it. Then she had an idea...
As the music began to quiet down, she leaned up and kissed Dawson to take his worry away. It seemed to calm him down, right in time for Joey to speak her first line.
"I'm going back to Australia, I might never see you again!"
"Don't - don't talk that way, Sandy..."
And so it continued, each reciting their lines like it was the most natural thing in the world. When it came time to kiss, they did it perfectly: not like they were boyfriend and girlfriend, but like they were actors portraying the roles of Sandy Olsen and Danny Zuko.
They play was going on without a hitch, even though it wasn't even the end of Act Two yet. Joey was getting ready to sing "Hopelessly Devoted To You", and her palms were sweating. She knew she had no reason to be nervous - it she made it through "Summer Nights", she could certainly make it through this. So whe the spotlight went on her, she melted into the music.
A hush went through the theatre as she sang the first few chords, and it was silent throughout the rest of the song.
"Guess mine is not the first heart broken My eyes are not the first to cry I'm not the first to know There's just no gettin' over you I know I'm just a fool who's willing To sit around and wait for you But baby can't you see There's nothin' else for me to do I'm hopelessly devoted to you But now There's nowhere to hide Since you pushed my love aside I'm out of my head Hopelessly devoted to you Hopelessly devoted to you..."
Just then a voice came over the speakers.
"That's right, folks, you heard her! Hopelessly devoted to him. She's gotta be - Josephine Potter is pregnant with Dawson Leery's child!"
Joey knew immediately who it was - Jen. Her eyes welled up with tears and sobs threatened to escape her throat. The audience was gasping in shock, expecting her to run away and the play to be over. But Joey looked at the musicians, who started to play again and she continued the song.
"My head is sayin' Fool forget him My heart is sayin' Don't let go Hold on to the end And that's what I intend to do I'm hopelessly devoted to you..."
Her voice was shaky at first, but she glanced at Dawson in the wings, who had tears running down his cheeks. He was so proud of her for continuing like that, and not jetting out of there like Jen had expected.
After the number was over, Joey retreated back stage into Dawson's waiting arms. He hugged her for a long moment, and then let go so he could tell her something.
"Mr. Collens found Jen. They can't kick her out of the play right now, it's too early. But Pamela is going to fill in for her tomorrow night."
"That's great," Joey said with a smile.
"Let's get going, we don't want to keep these people waiting!" Dawson said and led them onto the stage once again.
The rest of the play was a complete success, and Joey and Dawson received roses from Mr. Speilberg himself. Dawson almost fainted again, but as they took a final bow with the audience giving them a standing ovation, he recovered.
They looked at the wildly clapping audience. The entire football team was there to cheer on Cliff. They began shouting at Dawson,
"KISS HER, KISS HER, KISS HER!"
Dawson and Joey looked at each other, and, still holding onto the roses, kissed passionately. That brought a whole new dazzling "WHOO - HOO!" from the audience. When they broke apart, everyone joined hands and took a final bow. The curtain closed and the play was over for the night.
Dawson sat in his desk chair in his room, leaning his head back into a basin full of hot water. Joey stood behind him and gently massaged the black dye out of his hair. It came out, thought not as easily as it said it would on the bottle, and every few minutes, the water had to be changed.
Joey had just gotten back with a new basin of hot water and began to massage the little dye left in Dawson's hair out. His now grayish-blonde locks felt incredibly silky as they threaded through her fingers. Both had washed their make up off, and changed into sleepig clothes as soon as they had gotten back from dinner after the play. Joey wore a pair of white silk pajamas, while Dawson reclined in a pair of black silk boxers.
His eyelids closed slowly as Joey worked the awful dye out of his hair. She had no idea how sensual he found what she was doing for him. He sighed and breathed out her name.
"Hmm?"
"Nothing. I just like saying your name," Dawson responded sleepily.
Joey smiled and laughed very softly. Then she took the piece of peach terrycloth laying on Dawson's desk and towel-dried his hair. She placed the basin on his desk and pulled him into bed. Both of them were extremely tired and cuddled up to each other. Dawson immediately fell asleep, while Joey stayed up to watch him for a few minutes.
He looked so peaceful, like a sleeping baby. She brushed the stray strands of hair that had fallen in his eyes back and watched his chest rise and fall. At that moment, she felt complete, whole, like her soul had been pieced back together from the fragments of her haunted past.
"Love you, Joey," Dawson mumbled in his sleep.
"I love you, too, Dawson," she breathed. Joey lay her head on his chest and closed her eyes, finally at peace. Even though she knew that Jen would never stop torturing her, she felt that she had crossed over the barrier, and she could now stand up to her demons.
After tonight, Joey would always be hopelessly devoted to Dawson Leery.
THE END!


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