Dawson was in his room, in fresh clothes, watching Always for the 30th time. His now broken camera was on his desk, wires popping out all over the place. Mitch Leery walks into his son's bedroom…
"Son? How'd it go down at the docks today?"
"Well, I got cast as an extra… and got thrown into the water, with the video camera, so it's all busted up… But Steven promised to send me a new one."
"Steven? You're on a first name basis with him now!?"
"He's a really cool guy, dad!"
"I don't doubt that…" Mitch Leery noticed the slight depression on his son's face, and knew that a busted camera wasn't what he was worried about. "So how's Joey doing? She OK?" continues Mr. Leery
"Actually, I didn't see her this morning…" replies Dawson, trying to cover up for the fact that he purposely missed seeing how Joey was doing. He couldn't face her, he lost his nerve, because he didn't want her to know that he loved her. Somehow, some way, Dawson would eventually let it slip in a conversation. He was sure of it.
"Son, you've never been able to hide concern, it's something you inherited from my side of the family… A broken camera isn't enough to make you watch a love movie. Let me take a wild guess… Jen Lindley?"
"No dad, it's not her…"
"Ahhh, but it's a girl, isn't it?"
Dawson presses stop on his movie, and leans up.
"Dad, I need a man to man talk. But whatever I say in this conversation doesn't leave the room… Promise?"
"Yeah, sure… so what's on your mind?"
"Well, I've been debating this notion about a certain female I know… I know for a fact that I'm 100% head in the clouds in love with her. My problem is that I can't admit to it for reasons unknown to me."
"Ahhhhh… It's one thing not to be able to admit it around her, it's another thing not being able to admit it to other people…"
"I can't admit it around her, even thought I want to, really badly!!"
"But you just admitted it to me…"
"Ahhh, but I haven't said her name, Dad, so technically, I haven't admitted anything to you…"
"Son, you can kid everyone else on God's green earth, but you sure can't fool me… I've only seen you cry over one female in your entire life… I've never seen you have such a close relationship with any other female than the one you're in love with…"
"Man, is it so obvious to everyone!?!?!?!?!?!" asks Dawson in a burst of outrage
"It's obvious to the people who know you 2…"
"God, and the worst part is that she's moving away soon, Bodie got a job in Swampscott…"
"Ahhh, so it is Joey!?!?!?" asks Mitch Leery
"I thought you knew!!!!!!!"
"I just wanted to hear you say it, confirm my suspicions…"
"Great Dad, just great." Dawson can't help but feel that nothing will ever rectify the situation.
"Bodie's a chef, right?" asks Mitch Leery, with his brain in high gear…
"Yeah, down at the Icehouse… Best clam chowder I ever had, no offense to mom…"
"OK, just wondering… Well, son, my advice is to disregard what your brain says… I don't know where you inherited it, but you use your brain too much, Dawson… Humans are born with something called "instinct, " or as some call it goosebumps, gut feelings, hunches, hair on the back of your neck… Use your instinct…" says Mitch Leery as he walks out of his sons room…
Monday morning at school, Dawson is determined to follow his gut feeling. He's going to tell Joey that he loves her. Jen comes up to Dawson's locker, and taps him on the shoulder.
"Dawson, hey… Heard Spielberg got you thrown into the water…"
"You could say that… By the way, have you seen Joey? I haven't seen her all day long!"
"All day long? Dawson, it's 10:00 in the morning, I don't think the phrase all day long can be applied…"
"Whatever… how's your grandfather doing?"
"Oh, he's fine, thanks… and your parents? How're they coming back together?"
"Well, they're boning more and more on a regular basis, so I gather things are going well…"
"That's good to hear… I gotta go, I'm late for English…" <
Dawson felt that Jen was acting kinda strange being nice to him and all even after she had dumped him. Why was he even thinking this, he was a man on a mission, in search for his true love.
Joey was in her English class, paying little attention to the teacher ramble on about Romeo and Juliet. All she could think about was Dawson, and the kiss they shared that day in detention.
While walking down the hall, Joey and Dawson bump into each other. Neither has realized who they bumped into.
"Watch were your going!" says Joey, picking up her books
"Joey?" says Dawson, picking up his stuff
"Dawson? Oh my god, I'm sorry I snapped at you like that!"
"Don't worry about it, I should be watching were I was going… Hey, how's the wrist?"
"Umm, yeah it's fine… I mean, it wasn't much…" said Joey, again trying to downplay it.
"Nothing? Joey, you tried to commit suicide, I'm fairly certain that attempted suicide falls into the category of the exact opposite of nothing…"
"I just…" tried Joey to mumble out a few words before stumbling upon them
"Look, it's OK if you don't want to talk about it. Should the urge ever come up though, my window is open for you at all times…" says Dawson, shifting his brain before his heart into the conversation. Right now, the well being of his love's desire was top concern.
"Forget about it… Anyhow, I heard from Pacey that you guys were extras in the movie… you lucky dog, you got to work with your idol!" says Joey, trying to change the subject.
"If you called being thrown off a dock work, I guess so…" says Dawson, trying to act as casually as he can. In the back of his mind, he's kicking himself to no end for not trying to tell Joey how he feels about her. Screw his brain, his heart is begging him to tell her that he loves her!
Each go their own way, and Joey smacks herself on the head for having snapped at Dawson, thinking she has just burned her chances with him.
Later that day, Dawson is in his room, studying for a chemistry test he has the following day. He can't concentrate on the properties of acids, his mind is too crowded with thoughts of Joey.
Meanwhile, Joey is in her room, doing some homework on Romeo and Juliet, when she's realized she's substituted the name "Dawson" for every time it should say "Romeo"
Joey decides she's had enough of this, and she reaches for the phone to call Dawson, but there's a knock on her door.
"Come in, it's open" she says with a slight disappointment in her voice.
In walks Jen, with a book in her hand
"Jen, hey what's up?" asks Joey… She's trying to get this over with quick because she needs to talk to Dawson
"Joey, I need some help with chemistry, and you're like a total genius when it comes to this…"
"Ahhh, you caught me at a bad time, Jen… I was just about to leave for work…" lies Joey through her teeth.
"But I thought you didn't work the Monday shifts" wonders Jen…
"Well, Bessie's kind of busy right now, so she needs the help…"
"Busy? She's fast asleep outside in your living room with Alexander…" replies Jen
"OK, I'm busted… I really need to talk to Dawson right now, that's all I'm going to tell you…"
"Finally, it's about time you realized it…"
"Realized what?"
"Do you honestly believe I dumped Dawson because I needed some time to myself? Joey, I dumped Dawson because I want him to be happy. I know it sounds twisted, but it's true. I wouldn't have dumped him if I didn't care about him."
"Come again? You're losing me somewhere in there, Jen…"
"I love Dawson way too much to hold on too him when he's head over heels in love with you. I can read it in his eyes, and I can sure read it in your own eyes, Joey. He was infatuated with me, it was just puppy love to him, unfortunately for me. I love him a lot, and I just want him to be happy, even if it isn't with me. You two are retarded for each other!"
"OK, I'll admit that I have feelings for Dawson… But, I mean, are you sure he has feelings for me?"
"The way he kissed me ever since he kissed you in detention… Dead giveaway, he felt as if he was kissing you…"
"It's just that, I still think he's got feelings for you…"
"If he did, he'd be acting like a total jerk around me. He's still the same Dawson that I knew before we ever began dating."
"Jen, I've got a lot to apologize for, ever since I met you, I hated you… because Dawson loved you… and not me…" Joey was on the brink of tears
"Hey, I would have felt the same way had I been in your shoes…"
"Truth is, you're not such a bad person… You bitch, you make it so hard not to like you!!!" says Joey, trying to crack a smile…
"I'll take that as a compliment, I think…" remarks Jen… "look, you've got to take care of some business with Dawson. I'll leave you alone to think about your next move, I'm going to head on over to the library, see if I can't find some help on this chemistry crap…" says Jen as she walks out the door
"Jen?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks"
Jen smiles and walks out the door.
Joey sits back and takes out a photo album. She looks at every picture taken of her and Dawson… Ever since they were toddlers. She's determined to tell Dawson how she truly feels for him.
Dawson, sitting in his room, can't get Joey out of his head. He decides to go out to the dock near his home and think for a while. He takes a look at a photo album of him and Joey ever since they were in diapers. Now or never, he is going to tell her how he feels about her, damn the fact if she doesn't love him back. He goes out the door of his house, when his mother asks him if he's done with his work. Dawson replies with a little white lie.
As he sits down on the dock, his mind starts racing with all sorts of ideas. He skips a few stones out on to the water. His brain is so focused on Joey, he doesn't notice her rowboat coming up behind him. Joey, noticing that Dawson is sitting right there, feels her heart beat out of her. She remembers something she once read :
"You don't lose anything by loving; you lose everything by holding back"
"Dawson…" says Joey, rather quietly
Dawson's concentration is broken, and he turns around to notice Joey tying up her boat to the dock. His heart is ready to jump out of his throat.
"Hey, Joey…" Dawson says, mustering up all his guts… "freaky coincidence, actually, I was just sitting here, thinking about you… What brings you to these parts of Capeside?"
"Want to add some more freakiness to your coincidence? I was thinking about you on the way over…" remarks Joey, trying to break the ice with some quick humor.
"Really?" says Dawson, surprised.
"I wouldn't have said so if it wasn't true… Look, I need to get something out into the open before I go insane…" says Joey, as she sits down next to him
Dawson made his brain take a back seat to his heart at the moment, and was all ears for his best friend. Scratch that, the girl he loves.
"Joey, you can tell me anything you want…"
"I'm in love with someone…" said Joey, trying to work her way subtly to her point.
Dawson's heart shattered… The woman he loved was in love with someone else. Or so he thought.
"Oh?" said Dawson, with a twinge of disappointment in his voice.
"Yeah… he's really wonderful, smart, intelligent…" replies Joey, making all sorts of generalizations, trying to narrow down the description to fit Dawson.
"Aren't they usually all?"
"Yeah, but he's so much more than just that…"
"Do I have to sit here and play 20 questions, Joey? I mean, you haven't given me a name yet…"
"I don't think I'm ready to give a name, Dawson…"
"OK, fair enough… how about some more intricate details??"
"Such as?"
"What he looks like, maybe?"
"OK… He's tall, unbelievably handsome, great smile…"
"That doesn't give me much to work with, Joey" replies Dawson, trying to set a better mood. "Can you at least tell me what grade he's in at Capeside High, if he even goes to Capeside?"
"Oh, he's a sophomore… I'm pretty sure you know him, as a matter of fact, you know him very well…"
"Sophomore… Tall… Great smile… Naaawww… Can't be… Pacey?"
"Dawson, I don't date outside my species…"
"Right, OK… What color eyes does he have?"
"I don't know, I haven't really noticed… I'll tell you once I find out…" says Joey, bracing herself to look into Dawson's eyes.
Dawson, really sad over the fact that Joey is in love with someone else, decides to change the subject…
"Great Joey, I'm dying to find out…" replies Dawson, rather sarcastically…
"Wait Dawson…" says Joey, as she looks into his eyes… Dawson brings his head up and looks into Joey's eyes. "They're brown…"
His concentration was broken by a Fed Ex van pulling up into the Leery driveway.
"Just a sec, Joey…" says Dawson, as he gets up to see what Fed Ex is doing at his house.
Joey, whose heart is beating like a drum at this point, bites her lip… She just told Dawson in her own backwards way that she loved him, but it didn't hit him yet.
"Can I help you?" asks Dawson, approaching the Fed Ex guy.
"Yeah, I got a delivery for Danny Leery?" asks the guy
"Uhhh, you sure that doesn't say Dawson Leery?" asks Dawson
"Lemme check… Oh yeah, Dawson Leery… Sorry about that… Sign here and here, please…"
Dawson signs the papers, and waits patiently for the Fed Ex guy to hand him the package. He looks back at Joey, who is sitting on the docks, staring out at the water…
The Fed Ex guy hands him a big box, unusually big, and leaves.
"Joey, I'll be right back, just gonna put this in my room…"
Dawson walks into his room and puts the package down, when he notices that it's from Steven Spielberg's production company. He immediately puts it down, and rips it open to find the box for a professional all-purpose authentic studio movie making film camera. Dawson can't believe it! Not only did Spielberg fulfill his promise, but he returned it greater than he expected. Enclose, he found a note.
Dawson - The camera is from one film maker to another, that's gift number 1. Your good friend Pacey informed me of your situation. You know, the one reason I think "Always" flopped at the box office was because it dealt with love. I couldn't find an answer to it, and never have in any of my movies. That's something you're going to have search for yourself. All I can tell you is abandon all logical thought… There's no formula to it, unlike film making. That's gift number 2. Best of Luck, Steven Spielberg.
Dawson smiled at the note more than at the camera. It was the moment of decision. As he walked down to the dock, he was getting ready to tell Joey that he felt nothing but the utmost love for her.
"Dawson, what was that?" asked Joey
"Oh, just a gift from Steven Spielberg for having wrecked my camera…"
"Hey, pretty neat…"
"Yeah, isn't it? Look, Joey… I need to tell you something that's been building up inside me since I've known you… You may be in love with someone else, but I feel you have to know, I feel that it is imperative for you to know that…" Dawson is stumbling at his words…
"Dawson… hello?? Dawson… You know you can tell me anything…" says Joey, trying to hold back on the fact that the someone else she loves is sitting right next to her.
"Joey, what I'm trying to say is, what I'm trying to find the words to say is that… I love you… I always have, ever since we were little, I was just too stupid to realize it… Even though I now know that the feeling isn't mutual, I had to get it out of my system, or else I would have had an aneurysm of gargantuan proportions… To me, you're like the missing half of my soul and my heart." Dawson can't help but look out to the creek, he knows he's probably messed things up for life.
Joey, can't help but feel warm inside. Her love wasn't unrequited, he felt the same way about her!
"Dawson, I…"
"I understand if you want to leave now… I won't hold it against you…"
"I don't want to leave Dawson… I haven't finished…"
"Finished what?"
"You asked me what color eyes this guy has, didn't you?"
"Yeah, and you said you hadn't noticed, that you would get back to me…"
"Right… They're brown"
Dawson and Joey were now looking each other in the eyes
"But how do you know that, you just said you hadn't noticed?"
"Because I'm looking at him right now…"
At that moment, Dawson's heart shifted into gear
"Joey, are you…" Dawson couldn't even finish the sentence… Joey leaned over slowly and kissed him. Dawson closed his eyes and returned the feeling.
Mitchell Leery pulled into the driveway, and notices his son on the dock, lip locked with Joey. A smile pulls over his face, as he steps out of the car and walks into his home.
"Hey, Gail, are you watching this?" asks the Leery patriarch
"Watching what?" asks Mrs. Leery washing her hands from some vegetables from the salad she's making.
She walks over to the porch, and notices her son and Joey sharing the most passionate kiss she's ever seen.
"Awww… It just breaks my heart to know that Joey's going to move sometime soon…"
Mitch Leery grins at the notion, and comes up behind his wife…
"Maybe not… I called the Icehouse today and made Bodie and Bessie and offer they couldn't refuse…"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I promised them a share of the profits for Kelp, which I have just finalized the construction plans for, slated to begin in 3 weeks down in the empty lot next to the cove. Bodie's head chef, and Bessie can be the manager."
Gail looks up at her husband, and embraces him.
"Mitchell Leery, you are an angel among mortals…"
"Hey, I try…"
Joey and Dawson break away from their kiss, as they move their hands to hold each others.
"Joey, I don't know what to say… I mean, you're going to move, this is inevitably going to end…"
Joey's mood changed from happy to sadness is a matter of moments… It was the truth… Screw the truth, I've dealt with enough truth my entire life…I' m going to have this one moment of happiness, even if I get hurt when it ends!
"Forget about that, we'll deal with it when the time comes. I'll take your dad up on that offer for dinner now…"
"Shall we?" jokes Dawson, as he stretches his elbow out to Joey
"Sure." Joey latches on to Dawson's elbow, and walk towards his house.