Sweet Dreams By: Matahari Hi! This is just a story made up by myself. Me. Matahari. I hope everyone likes it! Setting: In Capeside or wherever my imagination takes me and preferably after "Breaking Away." Feedback: Please send to Matahari91@aol.com However, please be nice. Please, Please, Please, be nice. Constructive criticism, ideas, etc. is very welcome. Sweet Dreams Dawson and Joey looked deeply into each others' eyes after their moment of continous, passionate, kissing. "So..." said Dawson. "So..." said Joey at the exact same time, "Where do we go from here?" "To tell the truth Joey, I absolutely have no idea. All I know is that I'm here in my room in front of my window under a billion stars and with my best friend in the whole world, who I think I'm falling in love with. I also know that I don't know what I will do if I can't be with her forever. Beyond that... I have just barely begun to contemplate." "Well, Dawson. Wow. I've been waiting to hear you say that for so long it's kind of hard to believe that you're really saying those words to *me*. Do you know what I did last night?" Joey asked, changing the subject, looking into Dawson's eyes,which glistened with the slightest sign of tears. " Uh no, Jo. Do you want to tell me?" "Well, Pacey came to visit me in the Icehouse and he and I were talking about our *wonderful* fathers." "You and Pacey?" Dawson asked seeming slightly disturbed and he looked down, his voice turning into a whisper. "Yeah. Well, he made me see that it would be a good idea to talk to my dad, so he and I spent most of the night driving in his dad's truck to the prison." "Joey...I thought that you couldn't see your father after 5 o'clock, visiting hours. You didn't stay in the motel with him last night? Did you?" Dawson asked, again seeming dissapointed. "No Dawson... , You know that I wouldn't do anything like that! Especially because.... OK. Well... Pacey paid the guard 20 bucks for me to see my dad." "That really is a sad commentary on our times. I mean, what if you had been trying to spring your dad from jail? Wait! How would I know you wouldn't go into a motel with Pacey? You didn't finish your sentence. You were saying 'you know that I wouldn't do anything like that especially because' what?" " Well, for one thing Dawson, I would have made him get me a different room than he was staying in or at least he would have to sleep in the truck!" she laughs. "And in continuation with what I was saying, EspeciallybecauseI'mmadlydeeplyinlovewithyou." Joey mumbled the last part. "Can you repeat that please? Did you just say you were mad at me?" Dawson asked. " I could never possibly be angry at you Dawson. I said, especially because I'm madly, deeply, in love with you." Joey said slowly annunciating the words. " Which leads me to what I have to say and don't interrupt me Dawson. Let me do this." "I'm all ears Jo." said Dawson looking up expectantly into her eyes and realizing that he felt a certain warmth growing inside of him. He realized how happy he was that he knew that Joey, *his* Joey loved him. He liked that phrase. *His* Joey. That was a nice thought. He slowly picked himself out of his daydream. He just had to tell her how he felt. "Just one interruption before I stay quiet. Call it my last request?" "Sure Dawson. I suppose what I have to say can wait for a few minutes longer. I mean, I waited for a few years for you already. I don't think it will make much of a difference." "Well, what I feel doesn't really translate into words that well, but I want to try at least to explain to you." With that, Dawson crooked his arm around hers and led her to the bed. He motioned her to sit down. She did. "Joey...Joey, Joey. How could I have been so blind? Why did it have to take me so long to realize that the thing I was longing for most in my adolescent life was right in front of me all along?" Dawson asked out loud, letting his thoughts flow freely. He took Joey's hands in his own and he stared deeply into her eyes. "I guess the best way to explain it is this... Remember what I told you in the ruins after our fight about my mom's affair?" "Yes." " Do you remember how we said that we were probably married for fifty years or something in another life?" "I do." "Well, I finally remember what happened on our wedding day." "You do Dawson?" Joey asked hopefully. "Yes, I do. When you said I looked back at Jen, I said I looked back at you, but we were both too afraid to tell each other our true feelings or in my case didn't even want to realize they were there, consciously. Then you said, I think as a distraction from what probably would have been a long akward moment, that you had started to talk to a guy at a bar and I said that the rich guy at it got a little to hot to handle and you asked if we saved each other. Here's what I remember happening; I saved you and you saved me that night Joey. I'm sure of it. I'm so sure because I must have been as passionately in love with you as I am at this moment." and with that he kissed her again for the fourth time in his life (if he counted the kiss she gave him when she was drunk). After they kissed, ( a deep and longing kiss) Dawson and Joey shared a deep embrace and Joey put her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. It was a little irregular than what it should have been which was to be expected considering the situation. It was very entrancing, listening to the rhythm of his heart. It almost made her forget what she was trying to say. Almost. "So Dawson... Are you ready for the truth?" "What do you think I'm going to say Joey? The last time I didn't answer, I was afraid I was going to lose you forever. (he laughed) I never am going to let there even be a chance of that happening again as long as I can help it. " He said resolutely with a glint in his eye, "Of course I'm ready for it." "Okay..." said Joey, "Well, let's see... Where was I? Oh yeah. Well... I told my dad I was angry with him and I saw that he realized that. I asked him if he loved me just like I asked you, except in a less roundabout way. I told him that I wanted to know if he loved me because I said that I was 15 years old and I have gone through my whole life thinking that nobody loved me." "Joey! That's not true!" interrupted Dawson. "I know that now, Dawson. I really do because he made me realize that I loved you and you loved me and he told me to tell you. This morning, when I came over, I was going to tell you, but I got a little sidetracked when I saw...you know." "I'm so sorry, Joey!" Dawson interrupted. "I really am. I was just trying to help Jen out. Her grandfather just died." "Really? That's too bad. You always went for that knight in shining armor thing." Joey said looking down at the floor. "Well, let's just go away from that subject for now and talk about us." "That sounds like a pretty good idea." "So... you love me right?" "I think it's pretty obvious. Yes." "And I love you." "That's good to know." Joey said. "So... does that mean that we're officially a couple or what?" " You know what, Dawson? You want some drama in you life so let's put some in. How about we not officially get together. I think that we know each other too well and if we don't add a little spice into it at first we might not have as much romance. I don't want the typical fairytale, Dawson. I want *you* to want *me*." "So, what do you plan on doing, madam director?"Dawson said amused. " How about we take it slow? I'll play a little hard to get so you'll have to repress desire as much as I have and when we *do* get together, let's do it without anyone knowing for a while. I mean, we spend a lot of time together as it is and it will be *very* interesting to find out how long it will take for Capeside to realize it has a little more gossip in town." she said laughing with a gleam in her eyes. Dawson thought this over for a while staring at the foot of his bed. Although he definitely did *not* want to be apart from Joey and he wanted for them to get together a *soon* as possible, he had to admit that what she had just proposed intrigued him and that she did deserve to have a little fun of her own even though it was at his expense and he did remember someone saying that repressing desire could only make it stronger and it couldn't hurt, so he said, " Umm... I guess so Joey. For *you*, I would do anything." "That was very sweet, Dawson. Now I have to go home and go to sleep. It's getting a little late and we have school tomorrow." "Come on, Joey. Stay here tonight. Please? I mean you almost always do that. If you did otherwise, wouldn't that mean something was wrong?" Dawson said, thinking, "Sometimes being analytical can have it's strong points." "You're probably right." Joey said agreeing. Then she sighed. "I was *so* looking forward to letting you suffer a little, but actually, maybe this *would* be more excruciating." she said, suddenly with a smile on her face. "Okay, I'll stay." "Great." said Dawson as he lay down on his side of the bed. Joey got under the covers and so did he. When she looked like she was just about to fall asleep, with her eyes just barely open, she whispered in Dawson's ear, "This is going to be fun!" Dawson looked over at Joey while she slept. He felt so free, so relieved of all troubles and in the place of these he felt an intense longing for the girl sleeping on his bed, the girl he had known for most of his life. He remembered saying how he thought about him and Jen a billion times a day or something. If Joey only knew how many times he thought about her now... well, let's just say there would be no need for strengthening his desire. He was very sure he had plenty. She seemed so peaceful, lying there. For the first time in weeks, she actually had the sign of a faint smile on her face, which made her all the more beautiful. When he realized he was the cause of this change, it gave him a feeling of unmistakable pride and love for the girl who loved him as much as he loved her. Suddenly, in her sleep, she stirred and turned toward Dawson. She put her arms around him and snuggled close to his chest. Not wanting the moment to end, Dawson slowly put an arm around her slim waist and realized how helpless and vulnerable she looked. He also realized as a result, that he wanted to protect her from all harm that would even dare to befall her. He promised himself that as long as he was alive and kicking, nothing bad would ever happen to his darling Joey. She was right. He did always like the part of the knight in shining armor and now he would do what a true knight would. He would protect his lady. He felt her take a breath and let it out, again and again. It felt so good to be so close to her. He wanted her. Oh, did he want her, but it would have to wait. "Tonight, is the beginning of the rest of my life." he said softly to himself. He stole a kiss on her forehead. Good-night, Joey." he whispered. "Sweet dreams, my love, my life, my everything."