Disclaimer: I don't own these people...blah, blah, blah...I can't even believe I'm writing a fanfic...In fact, I don't even really follow the show that well, so if this is really off, that's why...I just get caught up in the drama an angst and this came to my mind.

"Packing, huh?"

Joey spun around to see Dawson standing in her doorway, peering at her through his blonde hair. "Uh, yeah," she replied slowly.

"I was, but decided I needed a break...I went for a drive and ended up here," Dawson said in explanation to the question he knew she would ask.

"Oh, well...how about we go for a walk?" Joey suggested.

In a matter of seconds, the pair found themselves outside, strolling down Capeside's fading summer season.

"I can't believe we're actually leaving," Dawson commented, more to the air than to Joey.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I could never wait to get out of here, but no...I guess I'm going to sort of miss it. All the memories..."

Dawson's face flinched with pain. "Good and bad..."

"Look, Dawson, don't get all weird on me right now, okay?"

"No, I'm not," Dawson said quickly. "I'm not in the mood to pick a fight either, Jo." he trailed off. "Do you ever feel like you don't know who you are anymore?"

Joey thought for a moment as she kicked a rock across the street. "Yeah, I do," she answered simply, watching the rock skid across the street and come to a rest in a patch of grass.

"I feel like that right now," Dawson glanced sideways at Joey. "For the longest time, I was Dawson leery, Joey's best friend...Then I was her soul mate...now, I'm her worst enemy. Strange as this may sound to you, that's not how I wanted to end up."

Joey narrowed her eyes at Dawson before releasing a sigh. "You're not my worst enemy," she offered quietly. "If I remember correctly, you were the one hating me for falling in love with...Pacey." She finished slowly, the ache in her heart growing strong again.

"I know. I just...I didn't understand, Jo. How we went from us...to...what we are now."

"People's lives change, Dawson," Joey explained the best as she could. "Neither one of us could sit around and wait for the other to come to grips with our lives...People move on, people change."

"This wasn't how it was supposed to be."

"How was it supposed to be?"

"With a happy ending." Dawson ran a hand through his hair. "With me and you...if not together as a couple then together as friends."

"If you ask me, Dawson, I think we all need to get out of this cliche we're living." Joey tucked her hands in her pockets. "I'm not saying I have no regrets, because God knows I do. I have them about you and I have them about Pacey and my dad and last summer, and everything. But...things didn't turn out like that. This is now. We're going to Boston. I mean, who knows?"

"Jo, why do you keep brushing off what I'm trying to tell you?" Dawson asked.

"Because I'm scared, Dawson." Joey covered her face with her hands. "I'm...petrified. Here I am, about to enter a world that is so different from Capeside. Before I had you and Pacey as crutches, and now I don't. And it scares me."

Dawson stopped mid-stride. "Jo, we still have each other."

"Dawson..."

"Jo...Maybe going to Boston is a good thing. Maybe it will bring us back to our senses, you know...because, because Jo...I still love you."

Joey remained silent for a moment. "I need you to realize, Dawson, that I'm still hurt..."

"I know. Me too. But maybe this is the way it's supposed to be. Maybe this is a new beginning for us, you know?"