Dawson Leery picked up his suitcase from the hot pavement at the Capeside bus terminal and surveyed the parking lot. Seeing that his dad wasn't here yet, he parked it on a bench under a shaded overhang to await him. He looked around at the familiar landscape and sighed contentedly. It was nice to see not much had changed in his absence. Philadelphia had been a nice switch of scenery for awhile but after a few weeks he was surprised to find he missed good 'ole Capeside-and a certain brunette of course. He wondered if her disdain of him had eased at all over the summer. Pacey and Jen had both refused to get involved in their argument. Actually they hadn't told him much of anything about their summers, the few brief phone calls and letters mainly asked about Dawson's time in Philly. Probably nothing worth mentioning around here anyway, he thought derisively.

Just then his thoughts were interrupted by a honk and he looked up to see the Witter family truck pulling up to the curb. Jen and Jack jumped out of the back, and Dawson smiled, but when he saw Joey climb out of the cab of the truck with Pacey, he broke into an ear-splitting grin. He wasn't sure if she had totally forgiven him, but this was a good sign.

"Hey, D-Man, your dad's got a teacher's meeting so he asked us to come get you. Glad you're back," Pacey pounded his shoulder and gripped his hand.

Jack smiled and nodded hello, throwing Dawson's bag in the truck. "It's about time!"

Jen hugged him. "We missed you."

"I missed you too." He answered Jen, but looked at Joey, who hung back slightly, her face hesitant and unreadable. Dawson wondered if he was just a fool to hope… Seemingly coming to a decision, Joey stepped forward and smiled softly. "Welcome home, Dawson."

Dawson's eyes lit up and it felt like a 50-pound weight was lifted off his shoulder. "Jo, does this mean…?"

"Yeah, I forgive you. I'm not happy with the way you handled it, but I know you didn't mean to hurt me."

Pacey knew what it took for her to make that statement and he smiled at her over Dawson's shoulder. He hoped she knew how proud of her he was.

Dawson stepped forward and grabbed Joey, hugging her with a summer's worth of pent-up agony. "Jo, I'm so sorry. You were right, I acted like a jerk. I was afraid something would happen to you, but I shouldn't have gone behind your back and manipulated your decision. I missed you so much these past few months."

Joey barely heard him, she was so busy trying to process the emotions swirling through her. She felt relief and happiness at having her best friend back, but then she felt guilty as though she were betraying Pacey, which in turn made her think about the betrayal Dawson would feel when he found about she and Pacey had kissed. If he found out. She squirmed uncomfortably in Dawson's embrace and stepped back.

She nearly smiled at Dawson's crestfallen expression, not out of malice, but because it was so typical of him to assume that a simplistic three-months-late apology would suddenly make everything copasetic and send her running back into his arms. Clearly, he thought her forgiveness would be the cue for them to get back together. Dawson was forever seeking the fully resolved happy ending. Well, he'd have to learn to deal, because Joey wasn't ready to welcome him with open arms just yet.

Sensing her reluctance for once, Dawson decided it might not be wise to push her on this yet. He saw a glimpse of silver at her wrist and frowned thinking that Joey didn't usually wear jewelry. He caught her arm and saw the little charm bracelet. "Cute," he said gesturing to it. "Jen told me you guys went to New York back in June. I wish I'd known ahead of time, I would've met you in the city. It's only a few hours from Philly. Did you buy it at the Empire State Building?"

"Birthday gift." Seeing his quizzical glance, she added, "Pacey." She looked at Pacey and they both smiled, remembering the trip that now felt like so long ago.

Jen and Jack who hadn't known about that, raised their eyebrows at each other. Dawson caught the exchange and thought it rather odd that Pacey would give Jo jewelry, but dismissed it rather quickly.

"So, were the four of you bored silly in Capeside this summer or what?"

They exchanged amused looks. "Actually Dawson it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be," Pacey smiled and laid on the sarcasm, as he threw Dawson's bag in the back of the truck. "Not the big city and all, but somehow we managed to keep from gouging our own eyes out." He tossed the keys to Jo and climbed in the passenger side as Joey slid in behind the wheel.

Dawson's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Wait, Joey you're driving this contraption? Who taught you how to drive"

"Pacey." She smirked at him as she adjusted the mirrors. "You have something against women drivers, Dawson?"

The two of them had spent most of the past week in the school parking lot as Pacey was determined to teach Joey how to drive before the end of the summer. They'd managed to keep their mind (and hands) on the road this time and Joey had improved considerably.

"At least we ask for directions when we're lost," Jen piped up as she climbed into the back. "Besides Joey's a good driver. Pacey taught her well."

"Thanks, Jen," Joey called out breezily as she started the engine.

Pacey turned in his seat, just in time to see Dawson's mouth drop open. He wasn't sure what was more unbelievable, the fact that Joey was driving (a shift at that), that Pacey had taught her how, or that she and Jen seemed to be getting along. Figuring that cracking on Pacey was the safest route, he decided to pursue that line of conversation as he climbed into the truck, settling down on the hump across from Jack.

"So you're telling me you not only willingly got into this heap with the road demon here but you allowed him to give you driving lessons?"

Pacey grinned as he imagined what Dawson's reaction would be if he found out Pacey had almost taught Joey a lot more than just how to drive in this truck. Looking at the little smile playing on Joey's lips, he wondered if she was remembering their first "driving lesson" as well. "I won't take offense to that since despite all your pejorative comments I do have a practically perfect driving record. Home, Jeeves."

Watching them, Dawson realized Joey was smiling at Pacey a lot more than she usually did and their banter was a lot less antagonistic, too. He beamed, thinking that things were almost too good to be true. Jen and Joey seemed to be getting along okay, Jo and Pacey weren't at each others' throats like he'd expected they'd be by now, and Joey had even forgiven him. He beamed happily, remembering that his mom would be home in a few days as well. She'd hated her boss in Philadelphia and she'd realized she wanted to make things work with his dad again. The two had racked up some serious long distance bills over the summer and seemed committed to making things work this time. All in all, things seemed to be falling back into place in Dawson Leery's once well-ordered world.

Less than 10 minutes later they pulled up in front of his house. Upon seeing the familiar white 2-story with the ladder propped against its side, Dawson was very glad his father had moved in for the summer and given up his apartment downtown. He grabbed his bag and jumped out of the back then walked around to the passenger window. Jen and Jack hopped out also and followed him.

"So guys, I noticed on the way in that tonight is the big grand opening of the cineplex that replaced the Rialto. Shall we partake of a film later?" He smiled, as everyone rolled their eyes.

"Ha, pay up!" Joey smirked holding her hand out towards Pacey. Seeing Dawson's curious glance, she said, "I told him you'd want to go to the movies the first night back, but Pacey insisted on betting me 5 bucks that you'd want to see ET tonight."

"You thought I'd go to Philly without a copy of Spielberg's finest masterpiece?" He asked Pacey. "I nearly wore the tape out this summer."

Pacey groaned and shoved a hand into his back pocket withdrawing his wallet, while Joey smugly smiled and held out her hand. He laid a sawbuck on her palm and muttered. "Should've known better"

Dawson looked at Joey fondly. "Guess you know me pretty well after 16 years."

Joey smiled in return, but her expression seemed sad. "At least she didn't bilk you out of $40 bucks in poker," Jack groused.

"$40 bucks? And I thought you didn't even know how to play poker? Who turned you into such a cardshark?"

Joey shrugged and half-smiled. "Pacey taught me."

"Yeah and I owe him $60," Jen complained good-naturedly "So stop whining Jack. At least you have a source of income to fund your gambling habits."

Dawson's eyebrows shot up. "The Icehouse re-opened already?"

"No, we're, uh, still dealing with the insurance people."

Seeing Joey's discomfort at talking about the fire, Pacey interjected. "Jack's my new co-worker, D. He took your job at the video store."

A small chill ran up Dawson's back and he had a nasty flashback of the dream he'd had about 6 months ago where Jack seemed to be taking over his life. First his girl, now his job. Anything else you'd like McPhee? he thought snidely.

He was trying to be friends with Jack, he really was, but one of Dawson's worst traits had always been jealousy-especially when it came to Joey. That's what had led to their first breakup. He checked his temper, realizing he shouldn't rock the boat with Joey. "So, how's things going next door? Is it one happy little family yet?"

Jen rolled her eyes. Dawson could be so condescending at times. "Well Grams and I are getting along ok, but she and Jack have really hit off. He even goes to church with her on Sundays. I'm sure if she could trade me in for another one of him, she would," Jen said, with only a hint of resentment in her voice.

Jack heard the vulnerability in her voice and gave her a little hug. "Jen you know that's not true. But after the relationship between you and Ty didn't work out, Grams is just happy to have someone else to fix up with the nice boys in the church youth group," he joked and everyone laughed.

As Dawson watched them he felt another twinge of unreasonable anger at Jack, and couldn't help but think he'd been replaced as Jen's confidante and best male friend in Capeside as well as Joey's. "Well I hate to break up this pity party folks, but I gotta work this afternoon and Joey has a date with a very handsome man."

Dawson's heart skipped and he struggled to sound nonchalant. "Oh, You, uh, have a date, Jo?"

"Yeah Dawson, he's quite the catch. Dark, handsome… about 3' 3", mostly balding and in the middle of teething.

He felt his breath return in a rush and Dawson grinned. "Alex's still in his screaming phase?"

"Yeah, In fact I'm surprised you can't hear him over here. We better go."

"So are we set for the movies tonight?"

Everyone agreed they would meet at the theaters at 7 and left to go their own separate ways.

***

It was halfway through "Eyes Wide Shut" before Dawson even attempted to put his arm around Joey. Pacey, who'd quickly grown bored with the movie when he realized it wasn't half as sexy as the trailers made it look, watched Joey flinch as Dawson rested his arm along the back of her chair. She'd been shrugging off Dawson's touch all evening. Typically oblivious, Dawson didn't seem to notice and kept on trying, undaunted by Joey's lack of interest. Pacey didn't understand why Jo was so antsy. He'd assumed they'd be happy as clams by now, that Joey would've forgotten all about the silly crush she thought she'd had on him, once Dawson came back to town.

Liar, a small voice in Pacey's head chirped. You knew when you were roller skating and she started crying that this wasn't some lust-driven summer infatuation for her any more than it is for you. He heard Joey sigh softly and saw Dawson squeezing her shoulder. Pacey had never been a jealous kind of guy but he suddenly wished he was anywhere but there at the moment. Remembering what he'd told Joey in NY about his mental snapshots, he decided to conjure one up. Pacey let his mind drift, considering the possibilities of what might have happened if the truck hadn't started rolling last week...

***

"I thought it was incredible," Dawson enthused as they filed out of the theater. A summer storm had started while they were inside, so they huddled under the overhang trying to stay dry. "The way Kubrick managed to have the audience anticipating the sex but never actually having it happen was such a…" he searched for the word.

"Tease?" Joey filled in with a smirk.

"No! It was…" he stumbled again.

"A waste of $8 bucks because you only got to see Kidman's naked backside?" Pacey griped jokingly.

Dawson groaned. "I was actually going more for artistic, masterful…"

"Anti-climactic," Jen finished, rolling her eyes. "Come on Dawson, the film was pretentious. Trying to be pseudo-intellectual and artsy by having the characters talk about sex but never actually do the deed," she stopped and grinned.

"On second thought, I see why you could relate." She punched his arm playfully to show she was joking.

Dawson blushed as they all got a good chuckle at his expense. "Come on Jack, you're artistic, back me up here. What did you think?"

Jack finished a huge yawn, then grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I dozed off after the big orgy scene."

A crack of thunder emphasized his comment. Pacey laughed. "Give it up, D. I'm going to brave Mother Nature like the kind soul I am and get the truck. Back in a few."

"Wait! I'll go with you." Joey charged after him, desperate to escape Dawson's undivided attention for a few moments.

"What you didn't want to wait with lover boy?" Pacey asked as they sprinted across the parking lot.

"Please! If I'd known I'd have to surgically remove him from my hip tonight, I would have brought the scalpel."

"Come on, Jo. Don't tell me you're not overjoyed that our fair-haired hero was lusting after you tonight and not the girl next door," his words came out harsher than intended.

"Aren't you being a little fickle?" he turned his back on her as they reached the truck, heading for the driver's side door.

Joey looked at him with a hurt expression. When Dawson had stepped off the bus today, she'd been surprised at how happy she was to see him again. For a moment, all the old feelings had rushed back, he was her best friend in the world and she'd been tempted to run to him as she'd done for the least 16 years. But when Dawson had put his arms around her to hug her, Joey realized it was all wrong. She knew in an instant that it wasn't going to work out with Dawson. She still loved him as a friend but it didn't feel right to be in his arms. She wanted Pacey and she knew it. She'd practically come right out and told him she had feelings for him and he'd refused to accept it, despite the fact that he claimed and certainly acted like he had feelings for her as well.

Seething with anger now, she stomped around to the front of the vehicle. "Fickle! You think I'M being fickle? One day your tongue's halfway down my throat and the next you want to pretend like it never happened." Her eyes hardened like chips of ice as she stared at him, and her voice dropped an octave. "I'm not fickle Pacey, just stupid and naïve enough not to realize when I was being used."

"Used!" Pacey charged back around the truck to stand in front of Joey. "What are you talking about Jo! I did not use you!"

"What was it, Pacey? Did you think 'Hey, Dawson's out of town, she's probably lonely, she'll be an easy notch for my bedpost?'" She shrieked angrily at him, the heartbreak clear in her tone.

"Damn you, Joey! You know it wasn't like that!" Pacey ran his hands through his hair in frustration. The two were so caught up in their fighting that they didn't notice the storm had stopped.

"Wasn't it? I told you Pacey. I told you I had feelings for you and all you could say was that you were confused. Not too confused to grope me, but too confused to love me, right?" Tears were running down her face now and her voice sounded like broken glass. "What a laugh you must have had, huh? 'Stupid Joey, thinks I actually care about her. I bet she even thinks I'm in love with her.' Well, don't worry Pace, it's crystal clear now what an idiot I've been."

Her only thought to get out of there as fast as possible, she turned away, but Pacey grabbed her arm and the next thing she knew he was kissing her. Her body was pinned against the truck and Pacey was stroking her hair and clinging to her like a life preserver in a storm. Her wits deserted her for a moment but then she remembered how angry she was. Pacey had just proved her point. She pushed him off her and opened her mouth to give him an earful. But no words came out.

The kiss had been like a cork flying out of a champagne bottle for Pacey. He was finally able to put into words the feelings he couldn't get a handle on all summer. "Joey I'm the one who was an idiot. I should have told you that I'm-" he stopped in mid-sentence, seeing that she wasn't even looking at him. Her stunned and sick-looking gaze was fixed on a point just over his shoulder. Oh no, he prayed silently as he turned, Don't let it be… But luck didn't seem to be on Pacey's side today. For about 10 feet away, Dawson Leery stood, staring in shock at his two former best friends.

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