Personal message: Hi! It's me again! Matahari. I decided to write the fifth part to my other story Sweet Dreams so I hope you enjoy it! Don't let the title fool you. In reading it you might think there may be tears and crying. Well, there might be and there might not, but you'll only find out if you read it! Again, this is a Dawson/Joey romance or a Joey/ Dawson romance. Choose whichever one you think best fits. Does it really matter?

Spoilers: If you want to read it, I'm sure some spoilers won't stop you. Very few in this fanfic.

Rating: Definitely not R. You'll have to decide for yourselves. I know you can make good judgements out there people! Make me right! There is nothing that is going beyond a kiss so don't expect it to, but I make do with what I have.

Disclaimer: The passages quoted are Shakespeare's, not mine.

Setting: There's a good chance that it's after my other fanfic and starting in school. Wherever, whenever, whoever, my imagination takes me. However, I don't think I'm going to set anything inside a person. Imagine it though. It's interesting.

THANK YOU AGAIN!!! Thanks again for all the kind readers and site owners who wrote to me! I even got some people who im-ed me about my fanfic. It was a really good experience. I'm telling you people that you are again, basically the main reason I write, so be proud of yourselves for taking the time! Thanks! and Happy Reading!

Parting in Such Sweet Sorrow

"Let's see..." their English teacher said thoughtfully, "What piece of work should they do...I know! What about Romeo and Juliet Act 3, the beginning of Scene 5. Not the overpublicized balcony scene, but a scene just as important. Can anyone tell me the significance of it?"

Dawson raised his hand. "It was the last time Romeo and Juliet saw each other alive," he said with great emphasis and staring straight at Joey as if to tell her something.

"Very good Mr. Leery. I'm surprised somebody got that. It speaks very well of your study skills. I commend you." their English teacher said pointedly. "Here are your scripts. I just happened to have them on my desk. Isn't that convenient," said the teacher jokingly, trying to seem as if he hadn't planned the whole thing. "Now, there's another character with a small part in the scene. The nurse. I'll be her. How's this?" the teacher said in a mock falsetto voice, causing the class to erupt in laughter.

"Okay, it's supposed to take place on the balcony so let me clear off my desk...okay. Ms. Potter and Mr. Leery, stand on the top of my desk. I assure you it's very safe."

Dawson and Joey, forgetting, for a little while at least, the turmoil that was going on in their relationship, gave each other looks that said, "Is this guy crazy?" but they both did as told. This caused them to be even closer than before and both of their hearts started beating a lot faster.

"Okay. You can start now. Wait! You should be holding hands!"

Dawson tentatively took Joey's hand and felt a tingling sensation, like an electric shock go through him. It was really good to feel her body next to his, to have her so close. At first, she pulled back her hand as if stung, but then placed it slowly back in his. "Too bad it's just a demonstration," he thought regretfully.

The teacher sat on the middle front desk and said smiling, "Okay you two...Action! And remember! Make this realistic! Romeo and Juliet were completely in love with each other! But remember, no groping!"

"Shouldn't be *too* hard." muttered Joey under her breath. Joey forced herself to look into Dawson's eyes which were searching hers constantly. Since Romeo and Juliet were supposed to be in love with each other, Joey let her true emotion take over for once and let her control slip. She spoke with such love and longing that it was almost impossible to believe she wasn't taken over by the character of Juliet and that she wasn't speaking to her one and only love. She may not have been taken over by the character, but she really did believe she was speaking to her one and only beloved.

Joey:   "Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day:
It was the nightingale and not the lark,
That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear;
Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate-tree:
Believe me, love, it was the nightingale."

She thought to herself, "Juliet, stop deluding yourself. You know that he has to leave so why make it worse by stupid discussion. Love. I wish I could call Dawson that. It used to be so much easier to express your feelings in those days. Now, it just seems that everyone tries to hide behind what they know. Myself included. I wish I could be as carefree as Juliet was and think about nothing except that he and I care about each other but I can't. It's not like the days of old. It's the nineties and I have to live with it even if it hurts."

When Dawson answered her, it was in the same manner as her speech. He gazed into her eyes and tried to convey in the words he spoke the emotions that ran through him. Every word had meaning. When he said the next lines he spoke with great sadness.

Dawson: "It was the lark, the herald of the morn,
No nightingale: look, love, what envious streaks
Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east:
Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day
Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.
I must be gone and like, or stay and die."

When he said this, he was thinking, "Joey, if you were Juliet and I was Romeo, I would never leave you, even at the risk of dying. I would gladly give my life to see you for a few extra minutes or even seconds. If he had only known...Their relationship was like yours and mine. He thought he was in love with Rosaline but when he discovered Juliet, he realized who his true love was. He was impulsive and young. He, at least was smart enough to realize that there was no use in fighting his feeling for Juliet even though they were from rival families. He was smarter than me anyway. I tried to ignore my feelings for you, my impulses, my true instincts. They always pointed to you but I fought it and thankfully, I finally lost. You are the best thing in my life, Joey. Please realize that before it's too late."

Joey:   "Yon light is not day-light, I know it, I:
It is some meteor that the sun exhales,
To be to thee this night a torch-bearer,
And light thee on thy way to Mantua:
Therefore stay yet; thou need'st not to be gone."

"Let him go, Juliet! Just let him go! Don't let him die for your love. Don't let him die for your selfish reasons! You know that it's better for him to leave! If he hadn't loved you so much he wouldn't have died. All because of love! I would rather perish than to let Dawson give up his life for me. He will succeed in life. He needs to follow his dreams and he doesn't need me keeping him down. I don't want him to be held down because of me." Joey thought as if she was giving advice to an existant person. She spoke the words pleadingly, pulling him close to her, looking devastated.

Dawson: "Let me be ta'en, let me be put to death;
I am content, so thou wilt have it so.
I'll say yon grey is not the morning's eye,
'Tis but the pale reflex of Cynthia's brow;
Nor that is not the lark, whose notes do beat
The vaulty heaven so high above our heads:
I have more care to stay than I will to go:
Come, death and welcome! Juliet wills it so.
How is't my soul? let's talk; it is not day."

When Dawson spoke these words, he looked intensely into Joey's eyes. He really believed that if she willed anything he would do it. He would die for her, he would do anything her heart desired if he could only have her back. He thought back to how every time he had ever thought she would leave him, he always gave in.

One time was after the semi-quasi date with Jen and he had found her in his closet. They had still been confused and when Joey had asked him when he "walked his dog", he was shocked. He never considered her asking so personal a question to prove that they could talk about anything. It was one of the painful moments in his life when he said, "Goodbye, Joey" and she had stepped out with a simple, "See ya, Dawson." The look in her eyes told him that she didn't want to do what she did, but it just showed that she was right and that she was dissapointed that she was. Even though she said that she would see him, he knew that if he didn't do something, that he would probably lose his best friend. The "only thing that made sense" to him.

He banged his head on the on the closet and sat down at his desk looking for some inspiration from Spielberg. He thought back to when Joey and he were watching E.T. and she had said, "I'll be right here." Sensing that Joey would never use the information he told her against him and just wanted to test the strength of their friendship, he looked out the window and called, "Joey!...Usually in the mornings with Katie Couric!" And was glad when the tears ceased from her eyes and he saw her smile light up her face.

A second time when he had "given in" was the night she had asked him if they were ready for the truth and he had kissed her. He hadn't wanted her to leave, so his true emotions and love for her had somehow fought their way through to save him. There was some truth to the saying, "You never know what you have until you lose it." For Dawson, however, the saying would be changed a little to read, "You never know what you have until you *almost* lose it."

Joey:   "It is, it is: hie hence, be gone, away!
It is the lark that sings so out of tune,
Straining harsh discords and unpleasing sharps.
Some say the lark makes sweet division;
This doth not so, for she divideth us;
Some say the lark and the loathed toad change eyes;
O, now I would they had changed voices too!
Since arm from arm that voice doth us affray,
Hunting thee hence with hunt's-up to the day.
O, now be gone; more light and light it grows."

"Oh," Joey thought, "I must have said about the same thing to Dawson in my letter: to go away once I'd realized he'd be only worse off with me. Daylight did divide us. Once that night was over...it will never be the same again. Juliet, if only you knew how much you will miss him, you'll never see him again. At least I'll get to see Dawson. Actually, maybe it's better your way, Juliet. Every time I see him, I know that he's hurt and in pain and that it's all my fault. Every time I'm close to him, I feel so much for him that I cry inside. I know how you felt when you saw Romeo dead Juliet. Maybe it's better though to see him dead than in so much pain..." When Joey spoke these words, she tried to be less emotional. She tried to seem to be pushing him away. Something that she had had a lot of practice doing lately. She took her hands away from his, feeling that was what Juliet would do at the moment.

Dawson: "More light and light; more dark and dark our woes!"

Dawson said this thinking, "How true. If only last night could have lasted forever. Now everything's changed, but at least I know how I feel. I love her, but is it actually a good thing? Before I denied my feelings. Now, when everything seems so right to me, it turns out wrong. Why did this happen? Some say it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. Maybe they're right. Maybe they're wrong. All I know is, I don't think I'll survive without her."

Dawson covered his face in his hands. He spoke very depressingly, which portrayed the way he was feeling.

After Dawson spoke, the teacher stood up on chair behind them and startled them out of their reverie because it was the nurse's turn to speak.

Teacher: "Madam!"

He called to Joey.

Joey: "Nurse?"

She answered back a little breathlessly, after gaining back some composure.

Teacher: "Your lady mother is coming to your chamber: The day is broke; be wary, look about."

Joey: Then, window, let day in, and let life out.

Joey thought, "My life, my love. I left him when I went out of his window. If he only knew my intentions were good and it was because I loved him."

Dawson: "Farewell, farewell! One kiss, and I'll descend."

When he said those words, Dawson didn't know what to do. In the scipt it said to kiss her but he was pretty sure she wouldn't appreciate it. Or would she? He knew that he wouldn't want her to kiss him just because of a stupid script or a dare. He wanted her to kiss him because she wanted to. He decided to step down from the desk because Romeo was supposed to decend next.

Joey was really frightened when she heard what he said. She knew that if she kissed him, it would be pretty hard to stop. She was glad when she saw him stepping down and was about to speak her next lines when...

Abby Morgan had been staring at the scene with interest. After all, she had seen the tension between the two "friends" when she had went to detention with them that time a few months ago. She wasn't going to let those two deprive her of some juicy gossip for the day. So, she raised her hand quickly and said, "Aren't they supposed to kiss?"

The teacher answered, looking flustered, "Actually, they are. But I don't think we'll make them. They'll have to decide for themselves what they think is best."

This comment however, went unnoticed for most of the class who had started chanting, "Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her, kiss her." They were just excited to get a little lift from a regular, boring school day, and this was definitely getting interesting.

"Well, Joey, Dawson. What do you say?" asked the teacher.

"Um...It's all right with me if it's all right with Joey," mumbled Dawson. Everyone looked at Joey for her to respond.

Joey thought this through. If she said "No" then everyone would think that she was scared, or even worse realize the extent she liked Dawson. On the other hand, it would be pretty painful to kiss Dawson knowing that it was probably the last kiss they would ever have. In the end, she opted for the latter and got ready her will power.

"I guess so..." she replied.

"YES!" the class cheered.

Dawson wet his lips. He leaned in close. Closer. Yet even closer to her face. He wanted to make this last. Joey, on the other hand, had decided that the class had never specified what particular type of kiss they wanted, so she was going to kiss him on the cheek. She went forward, closed her eyes, aiming for his right cheek. However, as luck or fate would have it, Dawson had went towards the side and their lips met. Joey's eyes flew open, but she decided that since this was a demonstration, nobody would blame her if she enjoyed it for awhile. She closed her eyes and savored every moment of that kiss. The movement and motion. They way they intertwined in each other's arms. After a few seconds, however, Joey realized that maybe she had become too caught up in the moment and after a moment of a deepened kiss, she withdrew slowly.

Dawson, was enjoying the moment as well. He kissed her wondering if she would kiss back and she did. However, he did have some doubts about whether all that emotion was for the grade or was it in some way, an outlet for her love for him to show. He put his arms around her as she did with hers around him.

He memorized every touch, and sensation. He knew that it would never last. At last she slowly backed away, the little she could on the desk. She whispered to him, "It's time for you to go." He didn't know if it meant for him to get off the desk, for him to get out of her life or both. He finally decided that she just was telling him to get down because that was in the script.

Joey:   "Art thou gone so? love, lord, ay, husband, friend!
I must hear from thee every day in the hour,
For in a minute there are so many days:
O, by this count I shall be much in years
Ere I again behold my Romeo!"

Joey said this in a daze. She was still recovering from the effects of her kiss with Dawson. "But it was only a kiss." she reminded herself. "No, it wasn't," she thought again, "You know it wasn't just a simple kiss. Can your love be your friend? Is that really possible? I don't know anymore."

Dawson: "Farewell!
I will omit no opportunity
That may convey my greetings, love, to thee."

Dawson was recovering as well, but he had had a little more time to get himself together. To his surprise, Joey looked just as flustered as the teacher had been when Abby had asked her question if not more so. He spoke the words as he thought, "If I went away, I would write you every day, call you every hour. If only you would give me the chance."

Joey: "O, think'st thou we shall ever meet again?"

"How ironic." Joey thought as she said the words despairingly.

Dawson: "I doubt it not; and all these woes shall serve For sweet discourses in our time to come."

Dawson tried to sound reassuring, but not very convincingly since he had almost given up hope of it happening for himself.

Joey: "O God, I have an ill-divining soul!
Methinks I see thee, now thou art below,
As one dead in the bottom of a tomb:
Either my eyesight fails, or thou look'st pale."

As Joey said this, she wished that she hadn't thought about the future. That she would have just not questioned what would happen and just let everything be, but that wasn't her nature.

Dawson: And trust me, love, in my eye so do you:
Dry sorrow drinks our blood. Adieu, adieu!"

With that Dawson offered his hand to help Joey down, and after a moment's hesitation, she relented. The class cheered, clapped and whistled. After awhile the teacher said,

"Okay, class, calm down. Dawson and Joey that was very nice. In fact you did it so well that I'm going to pair you both up together with the same piece. You may take your seats now."

Dawson and Joey quickly went towards their seats hiding their faces when they got there.

"Well, class, I'm glad you got such a fine example of what to do and I know everyone was paying attention. Very riveting wasn't it? I will assign you your partners and skits now so that no two people have the same one. In addition to the video that you will show, for which you may rent out the school's equipment. Since there is a limited amount of supplies, I will have one group go on one day of a week and the next, the next week. Dawson and Joey already have a head start so they will go the following week of this week. In addition to your film, you will be required to be able to answer questions about the particular skit you are doing. Well, the bell's about to ring in a few seconds... Good-bye class!"

The bell rang just as the teacher had uttered his dismissal. The class swarmed out. Joey tried to get out but everyone seemed to push in front of her. She was just about to go out when she saw the teacher behind her, and wanting to be polite, offered him to go ahead of her. Just as she was about to leave, someone pulled her arm lightly so she had turn around. There was Dawson. He had a serious look on his face and he said calmly, "We need to talk."

Feedback: I love feedback! I wouldn't say I live off it, but it's like chocolate. You know? You don't *need* it, but you know you want it. It's not as hard as Dawson and Joey's assignment so just try it! Send ideas, suggestions, comments,questions and whatever else you have. Thanks!

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