Chapter 10

By the time Joey arrived at her dorm room, Audrey had let everyone in and the entire gang were sitting about the place, chatting randomly about music and movies and college. She closed the door behind her and sat down on her bed next to Dawson who looked at her intently. She smiled weakly, she'd stopped crying but it would be easy for everyone to see that she had been.

" You called; I rallied the troops. What's up?" asked Dawson, putting a friendly hand on her knee. Joey placed her hand upon his, thankful of the gesture. Her attempt at a cool exterior had been given up and she could feel the tears welling up.

" I don't even know where to start. There's so much I haven't told you guys," she sighed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

" It's okay, Jo. You know we're here for you," smiled Pacey. Joey nodded in acknowledgement and sighed, wiping her eyes again.

" The dean found out about me and David and now I don't know what to do. I really want to be with him, I think I'm falling in love with him but I can't leave Worthington. So many people worked so hard to get me here, I can't just up and leave all that but David can't lose his job. I just don't know what to do, I love him so much," said Joey, tears now free-falling.

The room was silent with shock. Only Audrey knew how strongly Joey felt about David but nobody knew how serious the situation had become. Joey would never have even considered leaving Worthington for anyone when she started, yet now she talked about it openly. Even after only one meeting, everyone felt strongly about David having to lose his job over something so small as falling in love with the wrong girl.

" So you want us to tell you what we think you should do?" asked Jack, unsure of what else to say. There was nothing he could say to make the situation any better; he didn't know how it was going to end up.

" Pretty much. I don't want to leave Worthington but if I can't think of anything else then there's nothing else that I can do. I'll just have to pay Bessie back and hope she won't hate me,"

" Don't be stupid, Jo. Bessie could never hate you for any reason," smiled Pacey. Joey smiled back, he was right. As overbearing as her sister was sometimes, Joey knew Bessie cared for her unconditionally.

" I just can't believe this is happening. When did life get this complicated?" she sighed, rubbing at her temples.

" Look, Joey. As far as I can see, there's only one thing you can do. If you really want to be with him that much then you should just transfer to Boston Bay or something. Get out of Worthington, he keeps his job, you keep him," Audrey smiled sadly, knowing that if Joey followed her advice then she would be losing her best friend, not just her room-mate.

" Do you really think I should do that?" asked Joey, looking at each of her friends. Jen gave her a weak smile and nodded her head; Jack just shrugged while Pacey looked away. Joey turned around to face her best friend. " Dawson, what do you think?"

" I think that this guy must mean a lot if you're even considering leaving Worthington, so I think you should do whatever you can to stay together. If that means leaving college, then maybe you should leave college," he said, unsure of whether he meant it or not but knowing that it was what Joey needed to hear.

" Thank you so much, you guys. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you. All of you," said Joey, fresh tears filling her eyes. She blinked them away as Audrey walked over to her bed and threw her arms around her. Joey hugged her friend back, grateful of the support but terrified of the decision she had just made. She was leaving Worthington. She was leaving Worthington for a guy.

" You sure you're doing the right thing?" asked Audrey after everyone had left. Joey was lying on her bed, she had been trying to get some sleep before she went over to see David but it was no use. Audrey was never going to let her relax. She sat up and looked across the room, Audrey was rearranging her underwear drawer again.

" It was your idea," groaned Joey, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands.

" I know that, kitten. I just want to know if you've thought it through or if you're just going with the crowd," said Audrey. " Not that I think you'd be the kind of person to just follow the general consensus but…"

" Audrey, I'm doing the right thing. Yes, it feels strange and I'm still unsure that I want to do it but it's the right thing to do. Can I go to sleep now?"

" No," said Audrey, continuing to fold her bras and arrange them in the drawer. Joey sighed and fell back on to the bed. " No, seriously. It's like eight thirty, you're late already,"

Joey looked across at her bedside alarm clock, the big red numbers blinking the time to her. She was late; she must have fallen asleep. She grabbed her coat and bag and raced out of the door without even saying a word to Audrey.

David's front door looked scarier every time she ventured near it. This time, she ran up the pathway and knocked on the door. David let her in immediately as he always did, she always wondered what he was doing in those two minutes before she arrived. Watching cheesy soaps or making coffee or reading Conrad or marking papers, she'd never know. She walked through the doorway and dropped her bag onto the floor, flinging her arms around his neck and kissing him urgently. Passionately.

" What was that for?" smiled David when she finally broke away and composed herself.

" Because I love you," she laughed, " And because I know how to fix things,"

" Really? Well, that makes two of us. What have you thought up?"

" I'm going to leave Worthington," stated Joey. David frowned; he did not look impressed with her idea. " I can transfer to Boston Bay or have some time off college or something. If I leave then there's no reason we can't be together,"

" Please tell me that you haven't spoken to the academic registry about this?" said David, his voice grave and giving away his annoyance at the suggestion. Joey frowned and shook her head, David sighed thankfully.

" Why? What's going on?"

" I handed in my resignation this afternoon. My last lecture is on Friday morning," he smiled. The two of them stood in David's living room in silence, looking at each other but unsure of how to react. Joey was ecstatic that she could stay at Worthington and stay with David but he had still lost his job. David looked at her; he was so pleased that she had not left college before he had the chance to tell her what had happened.

" I thought you couldn't lose your job. You told me you couldn't afford to do this, David," said Joey, her face full of concern. David held her hands in his and looked deep into her eyes.

" I've got a new job. The English department at Boston Bay actually asked me to come and work for them. The dean even sent them a letter of recommendation. A week today and it's goodbye Worthington; hello Boston Bay!" he laughed. Joey looked up into his dark, dancing eyes and couldn't help but laugh too.

She didn't have to leave Worthington, David didn't have to leave Boston and they didn't have to leave each other. It was as if everything had fallen into place. Joey couldn't help but feel slightly surprised, just when she was beginning to feel that the world was against her, something wonderful happened to make it right again. She couldn't stop thinking that she could stay with David, their relationship was not over; it was just beginning. They could start again, a proper relationship away from the prying, judgmental eyes of the college, no more sneaking around and no more hiding away. It could be the real relationship that Joey had wanted, she'd told Audrey that she wanted no bearing on David's job and now she didn't. They were just two people. Two people falling in love, two people who couldn't be any happier.

THE END.