Author's Note: The next few parts are going to be a bit different than the structure I’ve used for this series so far. I feel that my story may need a little more character development than the original musical allows. While I’ve been following the original script pretty closely up to this point, I’m now going to be deviating from it for a bit. I’m also going to be going backwards a little bit and include some song lyrics I skipped. Anyway, I hope you like it, and feedback would be much, much appreciated.
Rating: PG
Phantom From the Creek
Act One Scene Seven
Pacey walked for hours trying to process the ramifications of his conversation with Jen.
”The odds of Joey finally losing it are much better than the odds that the Phantom is Dawson,” Pacey muttered, “but I’ve spent time with her… and she does seem like the same lucid old Joey. She gets a little crazy when she talks about Dawson, but that’s excusable.”
The Phantom is very real, though, whoever he is, Pacey continued, thinking to himself. Someone’s been taking that cut of the profit that has been left for him, Joey’s been with him, and we heard him today. And he doesn’t sound like he’s all there. He sighed. “I won’t let him hurt Joey,” he said aloud. “I won’t let anything bad happen to her.” He suddenly looked up, surprised by the familiarity of his surroundings. He’d walked right to Joey’s house. He swallowed and approached her door with determination. He knocked.
"Pacey!” Joey opened the door with a smile. “What a nice surprise.” She gave him a hug, which he wearily returned. “What’s wrong?” she asked, almost timidly. “Did I do something?”
”No… no… it’s just…” Pacey looked at her and put his hand to her cheek. She smiled again. “Have you heard about the new play we are going to start rehearsing as soon as you make up your performance of West Side Story?”
”No… I haven’t heard from anyone since you went back to the theater after you left here this afternoon,” Joey looked confused. “Which show is it?”
”More of an opera this time,” Pacey said. “I’d never heard of it. It’s called ‘Il Muto’.”
”Hmm… a play about a mute? Who was cast in that part?”
”You,” Pacey said. Joey gasped.
”No! On no, I thought they liked me, Pacey!” Joey began to speak faster and more frantically. “I thought… I thought I’d have bigger roles and… oh, no, no, Pacey!”
”Jo, relax,” Pacey moved his hand to touch her shoulder reassuringly. “This does not reflect where Andre and Firmin think your career should go at all. It’s far more… political than that. You’re still going to get to be a star, in my opinion.”
”What do you mean political?” Joey asked. She grinned. “Is Abby screwing her way back to the top? You won’t be included in her newest list of conquests, will you?” Pacey cracked a smile.
”She’d be better off promising not to proposition me for a part.” Joey laughed as he became serious again. “’Il Muto’ was submitted by the Phantom.”
”That doesn’t make any sense. Why would Dawson cast me in a silent role?” Joey asked. Pacey frowned at how easily Joey referred to the Phantom as Dawson.
”He didn’t,” Pacey said. “He requested Abby play the silent role. Well, you can imagine how that went over.”
”Abby always was the prima donna,” Joey sighed. “So I presume Dawson cast me in whatever lead role there was and Abby, in her jealous rage, did her whining thing?”
”More an overdramatic play of victimization, actually,” Pacey laughed. “It was pretty bad… and poorly acted if you ask me. The girl can sing, but her acting is pretty transparent.”
”Dawson doesn’t need to try so hard to help my career,” Joey said, walking into her living room and sitting down on her couch. “He’s already done so much for me. All I needed was the opportunity and he gave that to me. Now I want to see if I have what it takes to get cast on my own.” Pacey sat down beside her.
”Okay, Joey. I think we need to talk about the Phantom for a minute. It is really scaring me how flippant you’re being about calling him Dawson.” She shrugged.
”So you don’t believe me?” Joey asked, not looking at him.
”Actually, I didn’t say that,” Pacey took her hand in his and gently caressed her fingers with his thumb. “This probably won’t go over well with you since it didn’t go over well with Jen, but—“
”Oh! You told Jen?” Joey interrupted. “She must be ecstatic that he’s returned!”
”Right. Well, yeah…” Pacey paused. “If it’s true. We’ve decided there is a chance it is, but it’s very remote. We don’t know anything yet. Look, Joey,” the expression on Pacey’s face became pained, “if it is Dawson… he may not be the same man you once…” he stopped and looked at her adoringly. “… loved.”
”He didn’t seem so different to me,” Joey insisted. “He’s still tender, romantic… he just scripts music now instead of movies. Since you left today, I’ve been thinking… the easiest way to handle this and make his transition back into our lives the smoothest is to treat him exactly the same way we did before he left.”
”Exactly the same way?” Pacey echoed. “Exactly?” He dropped her hand.
”Oh… Pacey, I’m sorry, I meant… he was my best friend for so long, I just meant it like that.” Pacey perked up a bit.
”Don’t you think you’re getting a little carried away, though? You don’t even know if it’s him!”
“I do know, Pacey,” Joey said coldly. “Why are you trying to make this so difficult?”
”Right, this was the part Jen didn’t like either,” Pacey groaned. “Joey, I care about you so much. There is no possible way Dawson can be the same person after all these years. There’s no way we can treat him exactly the way we used to because we aren’t the same either. I don’t want to see you get so paralyzed with pain ever again. I won’t let the disappointment of losing him again, if that is what happens, do that to you.”
”Why don’t you want to believe, Pacey?” Joey pleaded. “It will fix everything that’s been wrong since we were fifteen!”
”It’s unnatural, Jo.” Pacey watched Joey’s lip begin to tremble. “I want to believe, but I know it’s impossible for something like this to work out happily.”
”But why!” Joey screamed. Pacey took her into his arms.
”Because he threatened us,” Pacey said quietly. Joey pushed herself out of his embrace enough to look at him.
”What?” she asked incredulously. “Why?”
”Because of you,” Pacey looked away from her. “In the letter he enclosed with the script and the casting, he said ‘Should these commands be ignored, a disaster beyond your imagination will occur.’” Pacey closed his eyes, waiting nervously for Joey’s reaction. It was one he had not expected. She laughed.
”Dawson threatened our managers if they don’t give me a leading part? Oh he’s a riot,” she began to laugh even harder.
”Joey, this isn’t funny!” Pacey’s eyes narrowed as he turned back to her.
”Dawson would never hurt a fly!” Joey exclaimed.
”His demands have been ignored, Jo. I don’t want to have to wait and see what he deems to be the proper consequences.” Joey stopped laughing.
”There will be no consequences, Pacey,” she crossed her arms.
”I just want to protect you, Joey. I—" he trailed off.
”You what?” she asked, arms still crossed. Pacey smiled weakly.
”I like you a whole lot. That’s probably how I found myself back here tonight.” He thought he detected the faintest trace of a blush as she put her arms down to her sides. He took that as a sign of some affection and kissed her. She kissed him back.
”Pacey, it’s getting late,” Joey slowly pulled away. “Why don’t you sleep here tonight?” She stood up. He followed suit, beaming.
”Okay!” he said eagerly.
”No mixed signals there,” Joey giggled. “I meant on the couch. I don’t know where your car is, but I’m sure it is a ways away, and I can drive you to it in the morning.”
”Oh, okay,” Pacey said, only partially feigning the disappointment in his voice.
”The bathroom is over there, and I’ll get you some sheets. Good night, Pacey.” She kissed him softly.
”Goodnight. Sleep well my beautiful Joey,” Pacey called after her when she finally began to walk to her bedroom. Pacey couldn’t see the startled reaction Joey had as she walked away from him. She felt a strong tinge of recollection, but she hadn’t the slightest idea why. She tried to shrug it off before she went to bed, but she knew she had not been successful as she closed her eyes................
I remember there was mist…
Swirling mist upon a vast glassy lake…
There were candles all around
and on the lake there was a boat,
and in the boat there was a man…
“Who was that shape in the shadows?” Joey’s voice resonated in the Phantom’s lair. “Whose is that face in the mask?” She found him seated in his boat, facing away from her. She reached to grab the mask, but his reflexes were too fast for her.
”No, Joey. Don’t,” he said sharply, still facing the water. He stood up and got out of the boat. He put his arms around her waist and slowly backed her towards the bed as he sang to her,
He laid her down and position himself next to her. “Joey,” he breathed, as he took her hand to kiss it. She watched him expressionlessly for a moment before pulling him towards her and attacking his lips with hers. She ran her hands up and down his body hungrily, wanting to feel everything she had never gotten to feel because he left her. The Phantom’s piano began to play an eerie tune of his own composition as Joey exposed her neck for him to cover in light kisses. She took his hands in hers and lifted them above her head, letting out a deep exhale before he kissed her mouth again. Dawson drew back slightly as Joey closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure. She sat up next to him.
"Why should I fear you, Dawson?” Joey asked suddenly.
"Because you’re my soulmate, Joey,” Dawson replied cryptically. Joey felt her eyes growing heavy. She put her hand to Dawson’s face to touch his cheek, but felt herself falling backwards, falling miles to level ground. In her fall, she accidentally ripped his mask from his face.
She heard him cry out, but could not see what she had revealed before she awoke.