Title:The Field Trip
Part: 1
Category: P/J
Name: Calie
E-mail: Calie15@aol.com
Disclaimer: Okay, I own none of the characters from Dawson's Creek. I just wrote this because I am a hopeless romantic, and it makes me feel better about having an empty love life. So if I can't have a cute boyfriend who adores me, I figure I might as well write about people living happily ever after. So please don't get mad if you don't like it, I am just having a little fun.
Summary: The entire 10th grade is going on a field trip into the woods during the winter for a whole weekend. Disregard anything that has happened on the show. Jen and Dawson are still going out, and Joey still likes Dawson. There will be some Dawson/Jen because I don't want Dawson around moping because Joey got herself a man.
Notes: This is a Pacey/Joey story with a little Dawson/Jen thrown in. Thoughts and actions are in parentheses. This is my first try at fanfic, so please send back some feedback. Email me at . If not feedback, just tell me that you actually read it, so I know that people are reading it. Please don't be too harsh, but any ideas are welcome. If by any chance you actually want to post my fanfic, just let me know first. I really don't care as long as I know where it is going.
(Joey just loved field trips, especially ones where you get to spend a whole weekend from Friday to Monday with people you dislike. To top it all off, she hated the whole camping part. The bugs, poison ivy, dirty cabins, and the dreaded Jen. Why can't she and Dawson just break up? A whole weekend of seeing them all over each other just added to the festivities. Why was she going? Because Dawson basically begged her to go. She also didn't have a good reason for not going. It's not like she had an action-packed weekend. Joey finished packing and looked around the room for one last check. I'd better get going, she thought. The buses leave in an hour.)
(Dawson threw his bag into the bottom of the bus. A whole weekend with Jen, he thought. This was going to be awesome. He got on the only bus that he hadn't checked for Jen.)
Jen: Hey Dawson! Over here! (Jen waved him over to where she was sitting.)
Dawson: (He sat himself down and gave her a quick kiss) Hey, have you been here long?
Jen: No, just about 10 minutes. (She couldn't wait to get going. This would be a great weekend if only Joey would attempt to be nice.)
Dawson: So, ready for a weekend in the woods?
Jen: Yeah. (She smiled) It would be great as long as I don't get hurt or end up with too many bug bites.
Dawson: Oh come on Jen. That's what camping is all about. (He smiled. He loved to tease with her.)
Jen: Whoever gave it that definition is crazy. (He laughed)
Joey: Dammit! Will you move already?
Dawson: (Dawson knew that irritated voice too well) Hi Joey. Don't you look like a happy camper? (He looked at her, giving her a big grin.)
Joey: Don't count on it, Dawson. (She pushed some people out of the way, sitting down in the seat behind them. Her frown deepened as she looked at Jen and Dawson. Not only does she not get to sit with Dawson, but she has to listen to them through the entire bus trip.)
Teacher: Mr. Witter, you are late!
Pacey: Yeah, yeah, yeah. (He looked around for a place to sit.) Where am I supposed to sit?
Teacher: That's not my problem. You should've gotten here earlier.
Pacey: Uhhhh. (He looked around.) Great. (There was only one place to sit. He walked down the aisle and sat down.)
Joey: Hey, what do you think you're doing?
Pacey: There is nowhere else to sit. It isn't my fault no one wants to sit with you.
Joey: Go to hell, Pacey.
Pacey: Not for you, Joey.
Dawson: (Whispering to Jen) Now we have to listen to this all the way up. (Jen smiled)
Joey: Pacey, you're taking up the whole damn seat.
(She had been trying to get comfortable for the last 20 minutes. They had only been on the road for one hour, and they still had 2 hours left. Already Dawson and Jen had kissed 4 times.)
Pacey: It isn't my fault you have really long legs. (He smirked.)
(She hated being teased about her height. She was taller then most girls and about as tall as most guys.)
Joey: No Pacey, it isn't your fault. (As Joey again tried to adjust her seating position, she looked up at Pacey.) But it is your fault we have to sit together!
Pacey: Will you stop complaining about that? It was the only seat left!
Dawson: Will you both stop? You may like making each other miserable, but you are making us miserable as well. (Their fighting was messing up any concentration he and Jen could have in order to make out.)
(Joey let out a loud sigh and put her head back on the seat. She closed her eyes, hoping to catch a little sleep. If she slept, she wouldn't have to see Jen and Dawson or hear Pacey's big mouth.)
(Pacey was having the worst trouble sleeping. He was about to wake Joey just for the hell of it and tell her to scoot over, but then she curled up and turned to face him. At first he thought she was going to wake up, but she didn't. Might as well let her sleep. If he didn't, she would wake up and start a whole new argument with him. He never backed away from an argument with Joey, but this time, he was tired. He looked at her again, and she actually looked nice just lying there with a calm expression on her face. It was much better than the sour expression she always gave him. Only another hour and a half to go. He is letting her slide now, but if he is cranky when they get there, he will take it out on her. He had to find something to keep his interest, so he listened in on Jen and Dawson's conversation. As he peered closer to the seat in front of him, Pacey realized they were kissing again. If Joey had seen that kiss, she would've freaked. All of a sudden, he felt someone tap him on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Joey's head lying on his shoulder. Laughing to himself, he knew Joey would be embarrassed if he woke her up. But he didn't do it. He just slid down in his seat a little and put his head back and closed his eyes.)
Jen: Dawson. (She whispered, so he would be the only one to hear her.)
Dawson: Huh?
(He had been sleeping, but then Jen had nudged him. What was so important? He looked out the window to see if the ride was over, but they weren't. He turned to look at her.)
Jen: Look behind us. (She pointed behind their seat.)
(He looked and what he saw almost made him burst out laughing. Pacey was sleeping sitting up with Joey curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder.)
Dawson: Oh my God. I was wondering why they haven't been fighting for a while. (He turned around and reached into his backpack and pulled out a camera. Turning around, he quickly snapped a picture. Dawson and Jen turned back around.)
Jen: Dawson that was mean. (She laughed anyway though.)
Dawson: Oh come on Jen. This will be great evidence when we tease them about secretly having the hots for each other. (With that said, he waved his camera up in the air. Putting it back away, he got back into a comfortable position.)
Jen: I can't wait to see that picture. Their faces will fall to the floor when you show it to them. (This weekend looked like it might turn out good after all. She laid her head on Dawson's shoulder and sighed.)
Dawson: (He looked at her oddly.) Jen, what's wrong?
Jen: Nothing. I'm just tired and bored. I wish we would get there already. Go back to sleep. If Joey and Pacey do anything else incriminating in their sleep, I will wake you. (She smiled up at him.)
(Dawson smiled back, leaned down, and kissed her on her head. He looked back out the window, waiting patiently for the bus ride to end. They should be there soon, so there was no reason in going back to sleep. He looked up at the sky. It was getting dark, although it was only near noon. Just what we need, a weekend full of rain.)
Teacher: Come on sophomores, let's go! We're here!
(Pacey opened his eyes and looked around. Dawson was waking Jen up, who fell asleep on him. This reminded him of a certain person sleeping on his shoulder. Sure enough, she hadn't moved. Pacey laughed as he thought of ways to make Joey feel embarrassed. Starting off with her "secret" love for him. This is going to be great. He sat her up and shook a little.)
Pacey: Come on, sleeping beauty, wake up.
(She woke up, but obviously on the wrong side of the bed, or seat. Joey sat up, dazed from her long sleep. Why was Pacey waking her up? She gave him an aggravated look. She looked around and realized everyone was getting up. She then looked out of the window to see a bunch of trees. Finally! We're here. She looked around for Dawson, watching him and Jen walk off the bus. Man! She keeps missing him! She quickly grabbed her bag. She had to hurry up and catch up with Dawson.)
Joey: Move Pacey!
Pacey: Gladly.
(He let her pass, grabbed his bag, and followed her out of the bus. He got off the bus, standing next to Joey. Joey looked like she was searching for something. No doubt, that something was more a someone.)
Pacey: Look Joey. We have finally brought you home to the wild with all of your fellow relatives. (She gave him a smirk and walked off.)
(Joey stretched her legs. She felt pretty good. Of course, she excluded the fact that she woke up next to Pacey. She was having the worst trouble finding Dawson. She finally spotted him, but then she saw who he was standing with. Jen. Like that was a surprise. Joey slowly walked over to them.)
Joey: Hey Dawson. (Purposely excluding Jen.)
Dawson: Hey Jo. Where have you been? I was wondering what happened to you.
Joey: Nothing happened. It just took me forever to make my way through a bunch of idiots.
Jen: Hi Joey. (Joey gave her a slight smile, if you could call it a smile. Joey had no intention of being nice. Jen stared hopelessly at Joey. Why can't Joey just understand she has no intention of being mean to her? Maybe Joey will get over it in time.)
Joey: What are we supposed to do now? (She addressed Dawson.)
Dawson: I don't know. Maybe they are waiting for everyone to get off the buses. Then they will gather everyone up and make sure everyone is here. So how was your ride up here?
Joey: Fine except for the fact I had to sit next to an animal.
Dawson: Speaking of Pacey, here he comes.
Pacey: How is everyone?
Dawson: We are good, but we're just waiting to see what is going to happen next.
Pacey: Well, whatever it is, they'd better hurry up. I'm hungry.
Joey: See what I mean? An animal.
Pacey: Gosh Joey. (With his most innocent voice) Did you say something? I didn't even notice you where standing there.
Joey: Oh, I said something. I just wasn't addressing it to you.
Pacey: Oh Joey. (Covering his heart dramatically) Your spiteful words scorch my heart.
Dawson: That's enough. It looks like a teacher is signaling everyone to go into that building over there. (He pointed to a wooden building about the size of their school cafeteria. They walked towards the building and went inside. Looking at a bunch of tables and chairs, the group guessed this was where they would have their meals. They found a table and waited for instructions.)
Teacher: Boys and girls, please take a seat and be quiet. QUIET! Ok, so first we are going to take attendance. We do have to make sure everyone is here. (She called out a list of names, and everyone was luckily there.) Now for the rules. They will be followed or you will suffer the consequences when we get back to school on Monday. (She read off an immensely boring set of rules.) Now that you have all heard the rules, you WILL be expected to follow them. Next I want all of the boys to go to this table on the right, and all of the girls will go to this table on the left. Here you will be assigned which cabin you will be placed in. Everyone is going to put into a cabin with the person we thought you would get along with. There are only two people to a cabin. Everyone, please go to your assigned table.
Dawson: Let's get up there, so we aren't waiting in line forever.
(Joey slowly went to her table. She was a little curious as to who she would get placed with. She knew that Dawson and Pacey would probably get placed together since they where friends. It took her forever to get up to the table, and when she finally, did they asked her name.)
Woman: What is your name?
Joey: Josephine Potter. (She cringed inwardly. How she hated to say that name. The woman scanned down the list, stopped, and looked back up at her.)
Woman: You will be placed in cabin 3A with Jennifer Lindley.
(Joey's face dropped as she envisioned the entire weekend. How could this happen to her? She didn't like Jen, yet the teachers thought they got along the best. Then again, she should have expected it. They did have one thing in common, and his name was Dawson.)
Jen: I guess we will be living together for the next weekend.
(Joey turned around to look at Jen. She didn't even have the enthusiasm to give her a nasty look. She just sighed.)
(Joey slowly unpacked. She was really feeling tired, and she hadn't even done anything all day. She did have a headache though. Dawson and Pacey had been put together, which had been more than obvious. It was 3:00pm by the time they had all unpacked and were refreshed. Joey looked through her bag for Tylenol. She had forgotten it. Her headache bothered her just enough that she had to ask Jen.)
Joey: Jen, do you have some Tylenol?
(Joey's question caught Jen off guard. Joey was actually asking her for something.)
Jen: Um, yeah. I will get it for you. (Jen shook two pills out of the bottle, and handed them to Joey. This was odd. Joey would usually go all day with a splitting headache before asking her for medicine. Then Jen looked into Joey's face. She really did look terrible.)
Joey: Thanks.
Jen: Joey, are you feeling ok? You don't look so hot. (Joey had said thanks to her. Something wasn't right.)
Joey: No, I just have a headache. (She laid down feeling terrible.)
Jen: I am going to meet Dawson and Pacey. You coming?
Joey: I think I am just going to stay here a while. (With that said, she closed her eyes.)
(Joey really did look terrible. Jen walked into the main area where everyone was standing. It didn't take her long to spot Pacey and Dawson. She walked quickly over to them.)
Jen: Hey!
Dawson: Hey yourself. (He leaned over to give her a kiss. He soon noticed Joey wasn't with her.) Where's Jo?
Jen: She stayed at our cabin. She told me she had a headache.
Pacey: She is probably just pouting about having to be here.
Jen: Pacey, I don't think so. She really didn't look good. I'm not a doctor, but she looks like she might be getting sick.
Dawson: We'll have to go see her later. I hope she doesn't get sick. It would really suck if she missed the entire weekend.
Pacey: It would be terrible. (With sarcasm.)
Jen: So, what are we doing?
Dawson: We were told we could wander around the paths, but not too far.
Jen: Well then, what are we waiting for? (They headed down the closest path.)
Pacey: Wasn't that walk a little too long? My legs are killing me. What time is it? (They were coming out of the path, having been on it for over an hour.)
Dawson: It is about twenty minutes after five. We really were gone awhile.
Jen: Come on you ninnies. It wasn't that bad.
Pacey: Ha ha. What time do we have dinner?
Dawson: I guess it's at six. We were told to be back in the cafeteria at that time.
Pacey: What now?
Jen: Let's go check on Joey. I want to see if she is any better.
Dawson: Good idea. I hope her headache is gone.
Pacey: Must we?
Dawson: Oh come on, Pacey. You and Joey may fight a lot, but she is still your friend.
Pacey: Fine. (He let out a sigh and followed them to cabin 3A.)
(Jen opened the door quietly, in case Joey was sleeping. She looked around and saw that Joey was fast asleep. Jen raised her finger to her lips to quiet the guys. They followed her inside. Pacey sat on Jen's bed while Dawson walked over to Joey. Pacey didn't see what the big deal was. Joey was more than likely suffering a common head cold.)
Dawson: Jo… (He stopped mid-sentence when he touched her arm.) Jen, she feels a little hot.
Jen: (Touching her forehead with the back of her hand) Yeah, she really does.
Pacey: (Walking over to Joey's bed) What are you guys talking about?
Jen: She has a fever, Pace.
(For the first time, he really looked at her. Joey's face was flushed, and she seemed to be sweating a little. She then opened her eyes. As she slowly woke up, Pacey realized how vacant her eyes looked. He felt bad for thinking earlier that she wasn't really sick.)
Joey: Why is everyone standing around me?
Dawson: We came to check on you because Jen told us you weren't feeling well. You have a fever, Jo.
(Joey did feel rather hot considering it was winter. She sat up and moaned at the same time.)
Dawson: Maybe you should lay back down.
Pacey: Jo, you don't look that hot right now.
Joey: (She gave Pacey an evil look, and then stood up.) I'm fine.
Dawson: Are you sure?
Joey: Yes. (She smiled. He was so cute when he worried about her instead of Jen.)
Pacey: Well, now that we are finished with all this, let's get back.
Jen: Yeah, you're right. Joey, are you sure you want to come?
Joey: Yes (with a tiny bit of aggravation in her voice)
(Pacey was right. She didn't look that hot. She also didn't feel that hot. But, fevers usually go up at night. In the morning, she should be feeling better. Joey still wouldn't admit to anyone how bad she still felt. She won't even tell Dawson. At six, they walked into the cafeteria and ate. Joey had a tray full of food, but she just picked at it. She wasn't hungry though, but she attempted to eat a little just so it would look like she had an appetite. Joey remained quiet since she didn't have the energy to have any conversation. Dawson had asked her about it, but she said she was just a little tired. She didn't even have the energy to be mean to Jen or stop Dawson and Jen from being mushy. She also didn't have any energy to fight with Pacey or say some comeback to his stupid remarks. After they ate, she started to feel a little warm with all the heaters and people indoors.)
Joey: Let's go outside. I'm kind of bored.
Dawson: Yeah, I guess so. Let's go.
(They all got up and walked out the door. If Joey wanted to do something, he wasn't going to complain. No matter how cold it was outside.)
Joey: (Even with the cold air, she began to feel tired.) I am going to go back to the cabin and get some sleep. (In her most cheerful voice) Maybe that will cure me of my lack of energy.
Dawson: Okay, Jo. I hope you feel better in the morning. Goodnight.
Jen: Goodnight Joey.
(Joey was already walking before they said goodnight to her. All she did was wave behind her.)
(Pacey didn't believe for a minute that she was feeling better. She didn't interrupt Jen and Dawson during dinner or say anything mean to him. This was not the usual Joey Potter behavior. Dawson and Jen had been too absorbed in each other to notice.)
