PART ONE

Joey sat at her dining room table, going through some old pictures of her, Dawson, and
 Pacey during their high school years. It was hard to believe that her own daughter,
 Alexandra, was 15 now, the same age she had been when she had really begun to grow
 up. Joey was 34 now. When she had been 15, 34 seemed light years away. She had
 had so many plans for her life: to get out of Capeside, to get a scholarship to a 
good college and never look back. And here she was, married for almost 16 years and 
still living in Capeside. She sighed as she pushed a lock of her long brown hair behind
 her ear. Not that she really regretted her choices. She loved her husband and their
 daughter more than anything. She sometimes just wondered what could have been.
 Just then, she heard the front door open and slam shut. 

"Mom?" her daughter called out.

"Back here, Allie," Joey responded, sitting back in her chair. Allie sounded annoyed.

Allie stalked into the dining room and dropped her backpack on the floor with a crash. 
She sat heavily into the chair across from her mother, heaving a sigh. Joey tried to repress
 her smile. Allie was the sweetest girl, nothing like her mother, but she had a tendency for
 melodramatics, which she had obviously gotten from her father. 

"How was school today? What happened?" Joey asked.

"History happened," Allie told her. "Our teacher wants us to find out our own histories. Namely,
 an essay on how our parents met and fell in love."

Joey laughed teasingly. "Boy, don't you sound enthusiastic."

Allie looked stricken. "I didn't mean-" she began, but Joey interrupted her.

"No, it's okay," she reassured her. "I wouldn't have liked that assignment very 
much either." She laughed suddenly. "I'm willing to bet that you'll have one of the more
 interesting essays, though. Your father and I have known each other for almost 30 years, 
and not all of it was smooth sailing."

"When did you realize that you were in love with him?" Allie asked, interested in spite
 of herself.

"That took a little while. We were your age, 15."

Allie looked surprised. "Just like me and James," she said, referring to her new boyfriend,
 "except that we've been best friends our whole lives."

"Yeah, exactly like that," Joey nodded. "When's this due? I have time now, if
 you do."

"It's due Friday." Allie glanced at her watch. "Yeah, I have time now. I hear that Port Charles
 is boring today. No Eve and Scotty. Let me get a tape recorder and we can get
 started." She jumped up and walked towards her room. A minute later, she returned,
 and put the tape recorder in the middle of the table. "Ready when you are." At her
mother's nod, she depressed the record button.

"Okay. This was our sophomore year, 1997. Dawson Leery and I were best friends, 
and Dawson was also best friends with Pacey Witter. I guess you could say that 
Pacey and I were friends then, but we were really out to antagonize each other. Jen
 Lindley moved in with her grandmother, who lived right next door to the Leery's, right
 before school started, and Dawson fell hard for her. It wasn't until he was in love with 
Jen that I realized that I was in love with him. Unfortunately, well, for him anyway, Jen
 broke up with him, broke his heart. That's when things with Pacey and me started
 to change..."

1997

Joey, Pacey and Dawson were sitting at a table at the Ice House. Pacey was across
 from Joey and Dawson, who was still upset about Jen breaking up with him. 

"Guys, it's been two weeks. We haven't even talked! Not one little conversation. 
There has to be something wrong with that," Dawson complained. 

"Dawson, listen to me. She broke up with you," Joey enunciated. Pacey watched
 her face with interest. She was doing a good job of keeping her annoyance and
 hurt out of her face, unless you knew what to look for, like he did. Her eyes completely
 betrayed her. It was obvious that now that Jen was out of the picture, she had
 hoped that Dawson would realize that she could be and was more than a friend.

"I know she broke up with me, Jo," Dawson snapped. "I was there, you know. But I just
 don't understand why. What did I do wrong?"

Joey just couldn't take it anymore. She jumped off of the bench. "I've been on break
 long enough. I'm sure that Bessie needs some help."

Dawson looked puzzled. The place was empty. He turned to Pacey, who was watching 
Joey leave with an odd look on his face. "What's wrong with Joey today?"

Pacey looked at him and shook his head. "Man, you must be blind not to see what's
 right in front of you." He slid out of the bench and followed Joey, leaving Dawson
 alone, wondering what had happened to everyone today. 

Pacey caught up with Joey inside, cleaning off a table and fighting back her tears. 
She wiped off the few that had come down unbidden. 

"Hey, Joey," Pacey said softly, coming up behind her. She jumped, startled, and almost
 dropped the dishes she was holding. 

"What do you want, Pacey?" she snapped, wiping her eyes.

"I just wanted to let you know that I think Dawson is crazy for not seeing you as
 the great person you are," he told her, meaning every word.

Joey was surprised. Something nice from the sea monster himself? Then she
thought about it and her eyes went hard as she realized what he must be doing. "Well, 
I'm waiting." 

Pacey looked confused. "What? Waiting for what?" He paid her an honest complement, 
and this was what he got? 

"For what's coming next. Your next comment, the one that one was leading to. Are
 you going to call me Josephine? Tell me exactly how I look today? Your plans for 
getting Dawson and Jen back together? Come on, Pacey, the suspense is 
killing me," she said, her voice as hard as nails. She was amazed to see a fleeting
 flash of hurt on his face.

"Sorry to disappoint you," he said easily. "I was actually serious." Joey opened
 her mouth, but Pacey didn't let her talk. "Actually, I had a idea to get you and Dawson
 together. What you need, is a plan to get Dawson jealous."

She paused almost imperceptibly. "That's ridiculous. Pacey, I have work to do, okay?" 
She pushed past him, but he caught her arm.

"Jo, really. Think about it. Didn't you realize you loved Dawson when he was in love
 with someone else? Why wouldn't he feel the same way? We'll see what happens
 when Dawson sees you with someone else. 

"Great," Joey snapped. "So now my life has been reduced to a science
 experiment. Thanks."

"Exactly," Pacey grinned. That was just too easy. "It's all about chemistry."

Joey made a face. She had walked right into that one. Still, she couldn't
 keep the smile off her face. 

"So, you'll do it?" Pacey asked expectantly.

She hesitated, and then smiled at him. "Sure. I'll do it. Can't hurt, right?"

"Great!" he smiled back at her. "How about tonight? We can go see a movie at
 the Rialto, maybe get dinner," he continued, sounding excited. 

"Not tonight, Pacey. It's movie night," she explained.

"No, that's perfect," he told her. "He'll know right away, instead of later."

"I don't know, Pacey," she hesitated. 

"Well, then it's a good thing I do," he grinned at her, putting his hands on her shoulders
 as he faced her. "Come on, Jo. Time to ante up."

She sighed and moved slowly towards Dawson's table outside. Pacey couldn't help but
 to grin excitedly. It didn't matter that she was only going out with him to get Dawson
jealous. She was going out with him!

Joey finally made it to Dawson's table and stood next to him. "Hey, Dawson," she 
said nervously.

"Jo! Great. I'm just heading over to the video store. What movies do you want for 
tonight?" He smiled up at her.

She steeled herself. "Um, I'm going to have to miss movie night this week, Dawson."

"Miss movie night?" Dawson asked, shocked. "Why?"

"I have a date tonight," she told him apprehensively, twisting a lock of hair around
 her finger.

"A date?" Dawson repeated, still stunned. "With who?"

Pacey came up behind Joey and put his hands on her shoulders again. 
"With me."

Part Two

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