Close Encounters... Part 2

"I wonder where they are?" Dawson says as he and Jen sit at the lunch table together. Dawson hasn't said much else the entire time. He's just been picking at the spaghetti in front of him and glancing around every few minutes for any sign of Joey or Pacey.

"Don't worry, he probably just took her home. I'm sure she's fine," Jen assures him.

He nods but doesn't answer. He hates to admit it, but it really bothers him that Joey is upset and Pacey is the one comforting her. He's always been the one who was there for her in the past. He knows it's selfish to feel this way, especially in light of Saturday's events, but he can't help it.

"You know, if you're so worried maybe you should have gone after her yourself," Jen says. She immediately bites her lip, regretting how jealous and spiteful her words came out. She didn't really mean them that way . . . did she? "I'm sorry, Dawson . . ." she begins.

"No, forget it," he says. He rubs his face roughly with his hands. "God, this is all my fault!" he says. "If I had only listened to the things she has been trying to tell me all along I could have had a private conversation with her about this. But, instead, she had to open herself up in front of everyone. That was so unfair . . ."

Jen looks upset. She's not sure how to make Dawson feel any better. And the things he says about Joey always cut to her heart like a knife. She knows that Dawson likes her, but she also knows he will never care about her as much as he cares about Joey. At first she had thought the kind of feelings he had for the two of them were totally opposite from each other. But, maybe they aren't so different after all. He tries to sound like a worried best friend, but sometimes Jen thinks she hears more in his words than the voice of a best friend. She wonders if even Dawson hears this himself?

"Why don't you go find her?" Jen asks suddenly.

Dawson looks at her curiously. "Huh?"

"Joey . . . you should go and see if she's okay," Jen explains.

"And just blow off school?"

"I'll take good notes for you," Jen says with a smile.

Dawson stares at her a moment longer then returns the smile. "Thanks," he says softly and gets up to throw out his uneaten lunch and head for the front desk to sign out. Jen watches him go, wondering if she has just made a huge mistake.

"Yeah, we sort of outgrew it," he says as he steps in behind her and stands slumped over to avoid hitting his head on the low ceiling.

Joey laughs, "Maybe you should sit."

Pacey does as she says and takes a seat beside her. "Remember the year Dawson's dad helped us build this thing?" Pacey says. "We thought we were so cool. We used to have those camp outs up here and tell ghost stories . . ."

"And get scared at around midnight and head back up to Dawson's house," Joey laughs.

"Yeah . . ." Pacey grins as he remembers. They used to have a lot of fun together. "Joey, how come you and I never talk? Me, you and Dawson, we used to be such good friends, but then . . . it was just like the older we got the more I became Dawson's friend and you became Dawson's friend and suddenly we barely spoke at all."

"I don't know," Joey replies softly. "I guess we just always felt like Dawson was what we had in common."

"Lately I feel like you and I have a lot more in common than either of us have with Dawson," he comments.

"Yeah, you're probably right," she says. She looks out the small window in the tree house at the woods below. The tree house is built into one of the tall trees behind the Leery house. Joey stares out at the familiar woods and looks very forlorn.

"You really do like him, huh?" Pacey asks. She blushes and shrugs. "It's alright, nothing you say goes beyond these ears. I promise."

Joey hesitates for a moment longer, not sure she wants to talk about this. Then, finally, she decides that maybe talking about it will make her feel better. "I don't remember when I started feeling this way. It was just like I went to bed one night and Dawson Leery was my best friend and the next morning when I woke up he was a *guy*. I don't know what changed. Maybe it was him . . . maybe it was me. Maybe nothing changed. Maybe I just finally began to see something that I had felt all along. I don't really know . . ."

"Love stinks," Pacey says.

"Thanks for the clinical analysis Dr. Witter," Joey giggles.

"Seriously, I mean it. I never wanted to be in love. I just wanted . . . well, I think we both have a pretty good idea what I wanted. Anyway, I never meant to have a relationship . . . I never wanted to care."

"All that stuff with Ms. Jacobs, that was all true, wasn't it?" she asks, suddenly realizing what Pacey is getting at. He looks down at his feet and nods. "Wow, Pacey . . . God, I'm speechless . . ." she stammers.

"I wish I had been. If I'd never felt the need to brag about the whole thing to Dawson in the bathroom that day . . ." he begins.

Joey touches his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over this. I hate to say it, but a relationship like that was bound to end sometime. You had to know that."

"Yeah, maybe I did . . . but I never wanted to believe it."

"We're always blind to the painfully obvious truth," she says.

"I guess . . ." he says sadly.

"Man, I don't know about you but I'm really tired. I didn't get very much sleep last night. Would you be really offended if I took a nap?" she asks.

"No, go ahead," he says with a small smile. Joey lies down on the hard, wooden floor of the tree house and struggles to get comfortable. She lays her head on her arms and tosses back and forth, looking for a position she can sleep in. Pacey sees this and reaches over to take her by the shoulders. He scoots her closer to him and rests her head on his lap.

"Pacey . . ." she says in protest.

"Shh, just sleep. Don't worry, you're too young for me anyway," he grins. Joey grins back and snuggles in closer to Pacey, feeling peaceful at last. He watches her as she drifts off to sleep and smiles a little. He's enjoying this newfound friendship. He wonders why he never realized what a great girl Joey Potter was. 'Dawson Leery, you have no idea what an idiot you are,' he thinks silently. He closes his eyes and he too is soon asleep.

Dawson walks up and sits on the front steps of his porch. He's been looking for Joey and Pacey for almost an hour and still has had no luck.

"Hey Dawson, something wrong?" he hears behind him. He turns to see his dad walk out onto the porch.

"Oh, hey Dad," Dawson replies.

"You don't sound so hot today. Want to talk about it?" Mitch Leery asks as he takes a seat on the front step beside his son.

Dawson sighs. "It's Joey," he says.

"She's okay I hope?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Well, I mean, I guess she is . . . Jeez, I don't even know anymore," he replies in an exasperated tone.

"So, this is about what happened on Saturday then?" Mitch asks. Dawson had told him about the events in detention when they were talking the night before.

"Pretty much. It seems like everything is about that now. All of our conversations are eclipsed by the divulgence of her little secret. I just don't get it, why'd she have to pick know to unburden her soul to me?"

"Well, it seems to me that Joey hasn't been the only one withholding her feelings," Mitch says.

"Are you trying to say that you think I feel the same way about her?" Mitch just shrugs. Dawson shakes his head. "Joey is the best friend I've ever had, probably the best friend I'll ever have, but I'm not ready to take that step. I mean, think about it Dad. I've spent the last fifteen years flying solo and now I'm finally head over heels for someone else. I think Joey is just jealous."

"Jealous? Yeah, that's possible," he replies but doesn't sound convinced.

"You're starting to sound like Pacey," Dawson grumbles.

"Maybe you should listen to Pacey a little more often," his dad tells him.

Dawson laughs. "You wouldn't say that if you knew what Pacey's been up to lately."

Giving him a strange look, Mitch says, "You'll have to fill me in on that one some time."

"Trust me, you do not want to know!"

"You may be right on that one," his dad concedes. "Well, in any case, I think you and Joey need to talk. You must be feeling more than you want to admit about this, otherwise you wouldn't be spending so much time debating the situation," he points out.

"Don't get all philosophical on me, Dad," Dawson replies.

"Just an observation, son," he says, then starts to get up.

"Where are you going?" Dawson asks.

"Into town. I have some errands to run, then I'm stopping by the station to see your mom."

"Do you think that's such a good idea? Going by the station I mean?"

"We have to start somewhere. I can't avoid this forever. Running away only makes things worse," Mitch tells him.

Dawson nods and smiles slightly. "I'm glad you guys are working things out," he says.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, son. Nothing has been worked out yet."

"Well, your efforts in the situation are commendable at least," Dawson tells him.

Mitch just laughs a little at this. He's been sort of surprised by Dawson's reaction to this whole situation. For a fifteen-year-old boy who has never known an unhappy home in his entire life, he's taking this all rather well. Perhaps all of the other things on his mind right now are keeping him from focusing on it. Mitch has to wonder if that's good or bad.

"I'll see you later, buddy," Mitch says over his shoulder as he starts for the car. He stops and turns back. "By the way, about this Joey situation, I think you need to talk this out with her. You two have always been able to communicate about anything. Just remember who you are dealing with here," he reminds him.

Dawson considers this, then nods. "Yeah, thanks Dad," he says.

Mitch smiles reassuringly at his son, then turns once more to walk towards the Jeep parked out front. He waves to his son and pulls away from the house.

Watching his dad leave, Dawson thinks about his advice. What he had said about running away was very true. It only made things worse. The longer they waited to really discuss this, the more compounded this situation with Joey was bound to become. It was time the two of them sat down and talked this out, once and for all. If only he knew where she was . . .

Suddenly, a thought occurs to Dawson. He realizes he has a pretty good idea where his friends might be hiding out. He gets up from the porch steps and goes to investigate his theory.

* * * * *

Pacey hears a rustling sound and stirs in his sleep but doesn't wake up. He is still leaning against the wall of the old tree house with Joey curled up in his lap. His arm is draped protectively across her as they sleep.

Dawson stands on the ladder with his head even with the entrance to the small room. He is shocked at what he sees before him. His two best friends . . . Pacey and Joey . . . is he really seeing this? But, what about . . . 'No!' he thinks. 'You have no right to question any of it. You're with Jen, remember? Joey has her own life. She can do whatever she wants.'

Joey shifts in her sleep and snuggles closer to Pacey. He instinctively pulls his arm tighter around her. Dawson can't stand to watch this for another minute. He discards his doubts about his place in this. He can't help his anger, his hurt, his . . . his . . . jealousy. He starts back down the ladder, not bothering to remain quiet. He doesn't care anymore who hears him.

Again, Pacey stirs at the noise around him. This time, though, it is loud enough to pull him from his slumber. He leans his head out the nearby window and sees Dawson stalking angrily away. He looks down at Joey as she continues to sleep peacefully in his lap. He sighs as he realizes that Dawson must have seen the two of them like this and gotten the wrong idea.

"Great, perfect," he mumbles. He thinks about waking Joey up to tell her what has just happened, but, then, looking down at her, she just seems so contented. He doesn't want to disturb her when he's sure that between Alexander and all of this stuff with Dawson, she has gotten little or no sleep lately. Instead, he reaches down to brush her hair out of her face and a soft smile crosses his lips. He looks back out the window and watches the clouds roll by and thinks that this day isn't going anything like he had expected.