Joey, Jen, Jack, Andie, Dawson and Doug were residing back in Doug's hotel room. They managed to book in to a random hotel not too far from the Conway's estate, and assured Casey they would stay the week before returning to Capeside. Two rooms based on gender.
"I know this sounds horrible, but it's kind of nice this." Doug thought long, "I mean, knowing he's gone. It's nice that I got to know him, and it's real nice that I know how much I do actually care about him now." He sighed and furrowed his brow tiredly, "That came out all wrong. It's tearing me up inside knowing - well, knowing that my brother's is dead! My little brother. I was still getting to know the guy and it was getting to know me that killed him-" He cut himself off and tried to shake his dark thoughts from his mind.
"Hey, it's not your fault Doug," Joey started. "If anything, we-"
"I knew Joey! I knew! I just... I mean I tried, God knows I tried to stop it. I told Dad, I begged the man, but he wouldn't let up. He was against the kid for no good reason. He was a mistake and he was an embarrassment that Mister do-gooder John Witter assumed he could frankly do without and be better off. He shouldn't have started on him though, Charlie did nothing wrong."
"I really liked him," Andie yelped alone. Her eyes glazed over in mourning. "I mean, from what I knew, I really thought I seen potential there. In a relationship. I really, really liked him."
"Same," Joey agreed immediately, staring off into the distance. Dawson snapped round to her quite taken aback, but said nothing as he noticed a single solitary tear course her right cheek.
"I wish, I like, I want," Jen sighed, "If we were to change anything, we would live in ignorance of Charlie's existence. We wouldn't know to care. We wouldn't know him."
"How do you mean?" Jack asked softly.
"You know," Dawson started as if he had formulated the idea, Jen rolled her eyes but was not mentally awake enough to wade in, "She's saying that if we have regrets about Charlie, if we wanted to go back to stop the sadness now then we would never have had the chance to know him. Sure he breezed through our lives, and quickly, suddenly, he was gone again, but maybe he was meant to, you know? Maybe at the click of the fingers life was sending us this great person and just as quick taking him back-"
"But why?" Jack sighed, "I got that much, but why?"
"If my Grams were here she'd say 'God moves in mysterious ways,'" She laughed gently. "But she's not here. I know what Charlie did for me. He made me laugh without having any ulterior motive. He didn't want anything from me - from any of us - heck, he didn't even like us," She chuckled harder.
"Had nothing in common," Dawson smiled as well.
"He was a jock," Joey added.
"Had major authority issues," Doug joined in, "You wouldn't believe the amount of village-people jokes he subjected me to in my uniform."
"I don't think it was just your uniform that did it for him," Jen teased. Doug waved his hand in the air as if to dismiss her.
"But seriously though," Doug added as the glumness returned and the light, comic mood was but a remnant that hung in the air and his smile flickered from his features and was gone. "No matter how we analyse it, he shouldn't be dead. It was not his plan to come meet our dad and then kill himself. I'm sure he didn't hug his mother at the airport thinking it was the last time he'd ever get to see her again. He's fifteen for Christ sakes! At least, he... he was fifteen. His life - it - technically he hung himself, but - he really felt it was beyond his control - he - it was my dad that forced that bloody belt around his neck. It was my dad that ruined his life and mine and Casey's and Colin's and - God damn. God damn!"
"Doug, it's okay," Jack comforted, as the girls flocked around him offering him hugs. "He's your brother and we know you love him. Just because it was beyond Sherrif Witter's capabilities it doesn't mean you can't reach out to him and grieve for him. It'll all be alright."
