Disclaimer: I don't own them, and trust me…no money is being made.
True Love Renewed
Chapter 12: Christmas Break
December 20, 2001
Joey looked up at Dawson's window and sighed. He had just gotten home this afternoon and she wanted to talk to him before the others all came up to greet him. She walked up to the front door and knocked quietly. She was beginning to think that no one had heard when Mitch suddenly opened the door.
"Sorry it took so long Joey, we're trying to put Lily to sleep."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just stopped by to talk to Dawson. Is he around?"
"Sure, he's up in his room, go on up."
"Thanks Mr. Leery."
Joey walked up the stairs and down the hallway to Dawson's bedroom door. Everything was the same as it had always been but she felt different being here this time. Finally she knocked on the door.
"Come on in Pacey," Dawson called from his closet , where he was putting clothes away.
Joey walked into the room and said, "Sorry to disappoint you but Pacey isn't back yet. His train comes in later tonight."
"Joey, I didn't expect to see you here yet. Especially not by yourself."
"I know. I actually came over to apologize Dawson. I know that you only lied to me for Pacey's sake, and that you were doing the same thing I would have done in your situation and I'm sorry that I yelled at you and that I have been avoiding you for the past couple of weeks."
"Joey, I shouldn't have lied to you. No matter what the reason. I would think that the one thing that we had all learned from the events of the past year and a half is that lying doesn't help anything, but there we were, all lying to each other again. I'm sorry for lying to you Jo."
"Well, I'll accept your apology if you'll accept mine."
"It's a deal."
The two best friends hugged and then Joey sat down on Dawson's bed to tell him about the events of the past three weeks while he finished unpacking. About half an hour later Jen, Jack, Tobey, Drue and Pacey showed up with a bag full of movies and games for the group to play. They all talked about how good Christmas was going to be. Everyone was going to be at the B&B, where Bodie was cooking Christmas dinner and then they were going to exchange their gifts. Of course the Leery's were going to have their annual party on Christmas Eve and everyone was going to be there for that too. It was going to be held at the restaurant this year. Around 1:30 they all got up and started their walk back to the B&B with promises to meet up with Dawson tomorrow.
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December 24, 2001
"Joey, what are you doing here so early? It's 8:00 in the morning."
"I know that Dawson, but we need your help with something."
"We?"
"Yeah, Jen, Jack and Tobey are here too."
"Where are Pacey and Drue?"
"Sleeping."
"Joey, what are you up to?"
"You'll see when you get down here."
And with that, Dawson was brought in on the secret the other four had been keeping since Thanksgiving.
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December 25, 2001
"Merry Christmas everybody!" said Bodie as he brought the turkey he had just carved out to the table. Everybody responded with a joyful "Merry Christmas" and then sat down to eat the delicious dinner. After dinner they all moved to the living room where they exchanged Christmas gifts. Joey had gotten done a drawing of Dawson and Lily together and framed it for Mr. And Mrs. Leery and then had done a separate drawing of just Lily for Dawson. She had gotten matching posters for Jack and Tobey, and a CD for Jen. She got Bessie and Bodie some new towels and sheets for the B&B, and she got a new popular toy for Alexander. She gave Grams a new set of dishes for her apartment. For Drue she had gotten a sweater that he had been looking at for a couple of months and for Pacey she had done another drawing. This one was of the True Love, Pacey's old boat, sailing into the sunset. Drue in return had given her a sweater that she had wanted and Pacey had given her a necklace to match the bracelet of her mother's that she had worn to their anti-prom junior year. All in all it was a wonderful Christmas and Pacey took comfort in the fact that Joey and Drue spent their whole night at the B&B with everyone else.
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December 31, 2001
11:30 pm
The gang was all gathered at Tobey's house getting ready to ring in the new year. His parents had gone out of town to attend their own party, so they all had the house to themselves. Unlike most college students celebrating on New Year's Eve, they had no alcohol and instead of having a wild party were sitting around playing games and watching television.
"Okay, Jen, what is your biggest regret?" asked Dawson.
"My biggest regret? Well, let's see, that would have to be when I used to fight with my mother all the time about coming to Capeside when I was younger. She always wanted me to come with her to visit Grams and Gramps and I never wanted to. Eventually she just stopped asking. Maybe if I hadn't fought with her so much I would have gotten to know Grams and Gramps better before I moved here."
Everyone was quiet for a couple of minutes before Jen looked up and said, "Okay, Jack, same question."
"That's easy, my biggest regret is fighting with Andie in the car the day of the accident. If I hadn't been fighting with my sister my brother would still be alive today. Drue, same question."
"My biggest regret is causing so much trouble for all of you and for being such a jerk when I first came to Capeside."
"Well, you added color to our normally black and white lives," said Dawson. "In a way I think we all needed you here in Capeside. I mean think about it, if we didn't have you to try to outwit, Pacey and I would never have become friends again."
"Thank you for saying that Dawson, it means a lot to me," responded Drue. "Now, Joey, what is the biggest dream you ever had come true?"
"I got into Worthington. I spent all four years of high school wanting to go there and I actually got in. Tobey, we didn't get to hear your biggest regret."
"My biggest regret would have to be…being so mean to Jack when I first met him. I just stereotyped him before I ever got to know what he was really like." When Tobey finished his answer he and Jack shared a big smile. "Now Dawson, your biggest regret?"
"My biggest regret is how I acted when I found out about Joey and Pacey. I should have supported your relationship instead of fighting it and losing my two best friends for the summer. And with that being said, we come to Pacey and his biggest regret."
"My biggest regret…"
"Hey everybody it's just about midnight. Let's get ready," said Jen. And with that everybody got up and moved together to start the countdown.
"10"
"9"
"8"
"7"
"6"
"5"
"4"
"3"
"2"
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"
Jack and Tobey shared their first kiss of the new year, along with Joey and Drue. Dawson and Jen hugged, then Jen quickly turned to Pacey for a hug as Joey moved on to give Dawson a kiss on the cheek. Jen was sharing a group hug with Jack and Tobey when Joey made her way to Pacey. Pacey moved in to hug Joey and while he had her in his arms he answered his question from the game… "leaving you behind last summer." Joey looked up at him with a tear in her eye before moving on to hug Jack and Tobey. She then walked back over to where Drue was standing and slipped her hand into his. The game from before the festivities was forgotten and the group quietly settled down to watch a movie. When the movie ended they all left to return to the B&B.
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January 13, 2002
The semester break was over. Everyone had done well in there first semester at their respective schools. Joey and Tobey had both made the Dean's List at Worthington and Jack, Jen and Drue had all come close at Boston Bay. Now it was time to head back to Boston and California and settle into the routine of going to classes and having dinner together with Grams every week. The only difference was that now Pacey was joining the others in their quest for academic excellence by starting his first semester at Boston Community College. They all took the train back to Boston together on Sunday and then spent the night in their respective dorm rooms preparing for the beginning of classes the next day.