Dawson sat on the bed waiting for Joey to reemerge from the bathroom. They had only twenty minutes before they were suppose to be downstairs to get their seats. He was nervous as it was, he didn't need the extra time. He got up and walked to the bathroom door, and knocked.
"Hey, Joey. Are you almost ready? We are running out of time." Dawson said looking at his watch.
"Yeah, just give me one more minute. Jeez,..."she said from behind the door.
As Dawson walked away from the door he heard the door open, and he turned to see her. She was even more beautiful than he thought she would be in the dress. Her hair was down, but one side was clipped with a brown hair clip that matched her hair, on the left side. She had crimped her hair to give it some wave. She was wearing a little bit of makeup, and she looked really really good.
"Dawson, don't stand there gawking at me...say something." she said, walking over to him.
"You look.....gorgeous, Jo." he said smiling. "But your missing one thing." he walked over to the bed, and picked up the box.
"Oh, yeah. I forgot those." she said opening the box. She took out the earrings, and Dawson took the necklace. As she put the earrings on he placed the necklace around her neck, and clasped it.
"There." Dawson said.
"So, now are we ready?" Joey asked, smiling.
"Yes, we are." he said placing the key to the room in his pocket of his jacket, and taking her hand. He locked the door before closing it behind him, and they walked to the elevator.
When they got downstairs they saw other kids their age their, but no one looked the age they should look. The Maitre Dee gave them a table number to sit at, and Dawson lead the way. They were sitting next to a group of kids that looked rather nervous. Even though Dawson was nervous, he didn't look it. Dawson noticed Joey getting a lot of stares from other guys, and he felt glad that he was with her tonight, and for the rest of his life.
"Joey, I am so glad you are here with me tonight. I don't think I could get through this without you here." he said.
"Hey, I am always here for you. And besides, I wouldn't let you go through something this important for you alone." she said, smiling.
"Yeah, I know." he said leaning over and kissing her.
"They are about to start..." Joey said noticing the lights going dark. Joey felt his fingers tighten around her hand. "Relax, its gonna be alright." she said.
Dawson took a deep breath and relaxed. They listened as the speaker started to talk.
"Welcome all you promising new directors, producers, actors, actresses, and screen writers. This is your big night, and you all will go home with an award, or maybe two. It might not be a gold award, but you will receive an award for your achievements....."
*****
Jen was walking around the ruins when she heard a noise behind her. She hide behind a bush and saw that it was Pacey. She let out a sigh, and she walked up behind him. Jen tapped him from behind, and he turned around quickly.
"God, Pacey!" Jen said in shock. "What the hell happened to you tonight?"
"I got beat up for standing up for my date by three huge black guys." he said, moving his jaw back and forth. "Why are you out tonight?"
"I needed to think about something that happened to me tonight." she said sitting down on a bench behind her.
"What was it?" he asked her, sitting on the bench beside her.
"Okay, I get home from a date with Cliff, and I find Eric on my porch waiting for me." she said.
"Wait...Eric? Is this the same Eric as the one that went out with Joey Eric?" he asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, but see..he wanted my help to break up Dawson and Joey. So I said no. But see the thing is I get this bad impression about him. I have this feeling since I met him, but it wasn't as bad as it was tonight." she said, a shiver crawled up her spine.
"What do you mean?" Pacey asked.
"Well, I thought the reason I thought he was bad news before was because he rode a bike, and all that." she said, pausing. "But tonight I know that is not the case now."
"So, why is it then?" he asked, getting more curious.
"Because the way he talked tonight, the way he looked tonight. Mad. Its the only way I can describe it. I mean he is insane, and I am afraid that he might do something dangerous in order to have Joey all to himself. I mean, when he talked it mad me very, VERY frightened!!" she said, as loud as she could without yelling.
"Okay, what do you mean by how he talked to you?" he asked her.
"I don't know how to describe his voice to you. At least not from what I heard come out of his mouth tonight. But I think I can how I would describe himself to you...now how do I put this?" she asked standing up, running her fingers threw her hair. "Its like the devil himself is here in Capeside, he found who he wants as his bride, and he wills top at nothing to get her!!"
"Do you know what you are saying?" he asked standing up.
"Yes...and I am totally sane right now." she said.
"Okay, we have two more days till Dawson and Joey come home from Boston. Right?" he asked.
"Yeah, so?"
"Why don't we do this before we tell them anything....we research Eric. Find out all we can about him from bits and pieces of what he has told us, and if we find anything, then we say something to Dawson and Joey. Ok?" he asks, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Okay...ok. But I am not gonna feel safe at home anymore." she said rubbing her hands over her arms.
"Well, I can't do anything about that." he said, smiling.
"Actually...could I spend the night at your house tonight. Please?" she asked him.
"Umm....sure." he said, smiling. "Why not? My folks will be asleep, and they never wake me up on Sundays."
"Thanks." she said smiling, as they started for Pacey's house.
*****
"Now the award for best plot." the young guy announced. He opened the envelope, and smiled as he announced the winner. "The winner is Dawson Leery, from Capeside, Massachusetts."
Clapping filled the ballroom, as Dawson slowly walked up to the podium. He took the award, and shook the guys hand.
"Wow, thanks everyone. I would like to thank all my friends for their support, especially Josephine Potter. She is my best friend, and I couldn't have gotten this far without her constant support and encouragement. I would like to thank Steven Spielberg, my idol, for making all his wonderful movies that enriched my imagination, and started up my creativity. Thanks." he said, followed by clapping.
Dawson sat back down at his table with Joey, and placed the award down. He let out a sigh, and looked at Joey. She was smiling back at him, but didn't say anything. All she did was take his hand.
"That makes your second award so far Dawson." she said, glancing from the award just won to the award for best casting.
"Yeah, do you think I have won anymore?" he asked, with a laugh.
"Who knows....probably." she said smiling.
"We come to our last and most important award of the evening. The young man to take this award home tonight is very talented, not that all of you aren't. You all have extreme promise for the future. But this young man knows how crucial it is to make the film believable, and presented his story better than I have seen in long time. Now, with no further adu...the winner is:" a pause as he opened the envelope. "Young Dawson Leery."
Dawson kissed Joey on the lips lightly before he stood up, and walked up there for the third time. He took the award at the same time he shook the man's hand.
"I think I covered my thanks before, but mainly I have to thank my best friend Josephine again, like I said I wouldn't be here without her constant support and encouragement. But I have to thank my friend Pacey, and my idol Steven Spielberg. Thanks, again." he said smiling as the clapping started again.
He sat down next to Joey, and this time gave her a huge hug. She hugged back.
"Thank you all for coming to the festival. And you all have a wonderful stay in Boston." the announcer said with a grin.
"Come on." Joey said standing up. She held out her hand, and with the other took one of the awards. "Let's go upstairs. We have had the longest day in our life tonight. And I am getting tired."
He took her hand, and stood up. "Better idea, we go upstairs, put the awards down, and we go celebrate at the best seafood restaurant in Boston."
"Okay." she said smiling.
They reached the one Seafood Restaurant that was suppose to be the best, and asked to look out over the water. The seated them outside, on the patio of the store. The stars were bright, and the moon was full. It was beautiful. They ordered a small dinner, and talked all through the meal. When they were done, they left and went to the beach. Where they walked along the beach, until they were about to fall asleep on the sand.
"This has been fun, Dawson." Joey said as they walked back up to the road.
"It was, and it can only get
better." he said.