September 2000
It was the first of many such days the four of them would spend at the beach that summer. Each day they spent at the beach was a day they didn't spend thinking about their broken hearts. Andie slept over every night until his parents got back from their honeymoon. After they got back, she started going home a couple nights a week, and Dawson spent more time thinking about Andie than about Joey on the nights that she wasn't there.
As promised, Dawson's father took them waterskiing, and they spent July 4th on Waldeck Island. After that, Andie's visits became less and less frequent. He'd still watch movies every night, with or without her. She knew when he needed her to spend the night without him asking. Some nights were rougher than others, and she was always there for those nights. The other nights, he just held her pajamas as he slept, and it was enough. They saw each other almost every day, but they never did wind up going to Boston for a weekend.
By the time Joey and Pacey got back from their trip, it had been close to a month since the last time Andie had slept over. A part of him missed it, but the bigger part was glad to be moving on, that he didn't need Andie to chase away the demons. She had taken her suitcase back in early August, but she left the pajamas on her pillow.
The night that Joey and Pacey came back, he wasn't jealous when he saw Andie flirting with the French boys. His spirits were buoyed when Joey told him she hadn't slept with Pacey yet. It didn't stop the pain from rushing back, though. As if on cue, Andie climbed through his window before he started his movie. They watched it together in silence, and she changed into her pajamas one last time before curling up into his arms without having to ask.
The next morning, she changed back into her street clothes and balled up her pajamas. They both knew this was the last night she'd sleep over.
"Can you leave them?" Dawson asked sheepishly.
She gently tossed her pajamas on top of him and walked towards the window before turning back to face him.
"Dawson, you know I love you, right?"
She wasn't saying it romantically. Andie had become his best friend this summer, but it wouldn't last. That didn't mean he loved her any less.
"I love you, too, Andie."
She smiled with a nostalgia that somehow didn't seem premature before climbing out the window. He never did get the chance to ask her out, timing always being their enemy, though he would often wonder in the months and years to come if they could have made it as a couple. It wound up being Pacey's sister, his oldest crush, that got him to fall in love again, but Andie was the one who managed to restore the friendship between Dawson and Pacey.
In spite of everything, they would always remember the Summer of 2000 as one of the best summers of their lives.