Part 1
"Hey Bessie, is Joey home?" Dawson asked. Phones weren't usually his thing, but seeing that Joey hadn't come over yesterday, he figured he'd give her a call. 'Just to make sure she's okay, of course,' Dawson reassured himself.
"Um… yeah, I know she's here somewhere. Can you hold on for a second? I'll see if I can find her for ya,"
"Sure, no hurry. Thanks Bessie." Dawson thought back to the beauty pageant that had been a few nights before… and how gorgeous Joey had looked that night. 'She looked absolutely incredible,' he thought. 'Woah, wait-- what's going on here?' he stopped himself before he went any further. 'She's been my best friend forever-- I shouldn't be looking at her like this!' A sudden chill ran through his body.
"Hello?" Joey said softly, interrupting his thoughts and jerking Dawson back into reality.
"Hey, Jo. Um… why didn't you come over last night? I thought you maybe would want to watch movies or something, I don't know. I didn't see you at all yesterday, and it's kind of weird because we always to something together, and---"
"Dawson, uh, I'm sorry, but… I gotta go. Uh-- Bodie's expecting me at work in like 2 minutes, so I'm already going to be late. Bye," Joey said, cutting Dawson off.
Dawson heard the click of the phone as she dropped it back into the receiver, and felt a sudden sense of sadness.
Dawson threw himself back onto his bed, and found himself face-to-face with a picture of him and Jenn that was sitting on his nightstand. Right next to it were pictures of him and Joey. It was then that he had the strangest feeling. For months now, whenever he saw Jenn he had had the same feeling. He always wanted to go kiss or hug her or something. But today… well, today it just wasn't there. He suddenly didn't even find her all that attractive anymore. He felt himself comparing her to Joey, not just physically, but mentally too. Dawson then realized something. 'I don't even know Jenn. Joey, yeah-- I know her inside and out. At least I thought I did. Is Joey just my best friend… or is she something more than that?' All this thinking was wearing him out. Dawson forced the subject out of his mind, and quickly fell sound asleep.
@>---,---'----
"Joey, order up!" Yelled Bodie. Joey seemed to be in her own little world today. She had been forgetting orders and snapping at customers all day. In general, she was being pretty rude.
"Joey! Come on!" Bessie shouted.
"All right, all right. Keep your pants on!" Joey muttered, getting some strange looks from the table she was waiting on. She went to the counter and picked up her tray.
"Josephine Potter, what is wrong with you?" Bessie scolded. "Look what you just did- you made those people leave. Either get your act together, or leave!"
Joey looked back to the table she had just been at. Sure enough, they were packing up to leave. 'Oops,' she thought. "Sorry Bess, I'll do better."
'I wonder what Dawson is doing right now?' She asked herself while carrying the tray back to her waiting customers. Then she thought better of it. 'Oh, come off it, Joey! He doesn't love you. The only reason he looked at you the other night was because you had on three pounds of make-up and a push-up bra. Dawson Leery will never see you as anything other than his best friend.'
"Hey! What where you're going, Miss!" a man yelled at her, just as she banged into somebody walking towards her. It was Pacey, a good friend of hers. Luckily, she managed to catch her tray, along with its contents.
"Oh, Pacey! Sorry about that, I was just, um…" before she knew it, pent-up tears were streaming down her face. "I can't take it anymore!" She yelled, thrusting the tray into Pacey's arms. "Here, take this!" she ran off, leaving Pacey completely bewildered.
"Uh, help?"
@>---,---'----
Pacey ran after her, but she was running too fast for him to keep up. She turned a corner, completely throwing him off. 'Where is she going?' He asked himself. Then he saw a flash of brown hair, as Joey ducked under a bridge. 'Pacey, why didn't you think of this before?' Joey always went to the bridge when she had something to think about. As kids, it had been a favorite place to hide. He sat down next to Joey, and caught his breath.
"Pacey, leave me alone. I don't need you or any of your wise-crack remarks right now!" Joey yelled.
"Stop it! Look at yourself. All upset over nothing!"
"Nothing?!? What are you talking about, nothing? You don't know half of what's going on, so just shut up and go away!" Joey spit angrily.
"OK, fine. Maybe I don't know everything, but I think I have a pretty good idea. I'm not as dumb as I look," Pacey said.
"Oh yeah? Sure, Pace. Why don't you tell me what's got me so upset? I'm not even sure myself anymore…" Joey trailed off.
"You are afraid you're losing our old pal Dawson Leery."
Joey looked surprised, and then sad. "Yeah, so you noticed, too?" She asked, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
"Joey. Do you really think you are losing him?" He asked.
"Yes."
Pacey started to laugh.
"What's so funny about this, smart ass?"
"Joey-- Dawson is completely in love with you! It's always been you," Pacey said with a smirk on his face. Joey just stared at him.
"What, you still don't believe me?" Pacey asked, getting frustrated with her.
"Pacey, are you out of your mind? Dawson does not, I repeat, does NOT love me."
"Man, Jo, you've really got it good!" Pacey put his head in his hands.
"Got WHAT good?"
"Ugh! OK, I'll spell it out for you. You want Dawson just as bad as he wants you! Tell me-- what is this going to take? You know I'm right, Joey."
"Alright Pacey! I admit it. I do kinda have a thing for Dawson. I have for a long time," Joey started.
"Why haven't you ever told him?" Pacey shouted.
"Shut up! You don't know how close I've come. Now just listen to me, ok?" She took a deep breath. "Do you remember what happened at this very place, just two summers ago?" Joey asked quietly.
"Two summers ago? Let's see, I remember making out with Stacey DiMarco here---"
"Pacey! He kissed me! We had been talking for hours--- I had just told him that I felt like a reject because I was thirteen and had never been kissed. Then he leaned over, and just… kissed me. It was, well--- amazing. That was then that I knew I felt something new for him. He wasn't just the boy next door anymore."
"I remember that! Yeah, I had been spying on you guys. I jumped out of the bushes, saw you two kiss, and started rolling on the ground laughing!"
"Then you said, 'Hey Dawson, don't I get a kiss?' We've had a lot of fun, Pacey," Joey laughed.
"No kidding. Wow, you've had a "thing" for him for a long time! It really must've killed you when he and Jenn started to see each other, huh?"
"Yeah, I could've strangled them both."
"Me too. I've always had a thing for that Jennifer…anyway."
"Huh? You're kidding me!!!!" Joey said incredulously.
"Shut up, I didn't say that."
"Sorry, Pacey. My lips are sealed."
"So… what are you going to do now, Joey Potter? That's the question, and it's up to you to answer it."