Disclaimer: I don't own them, and trust me…no money is being made.
True Love Renewed
Chapter 15: Home Again
May 10, 2002
The rest of the semester went by quickly for the group of friends and before they knew it finals week was upon them. Joey had stopped going home every weekend, as did the other three. Apparently whatever was drawing them back to Capeside was gone or forgotten. Joey and Drue were surprisingly still a couple. Joey pretending not to have feelings for Pacey and Drue pretending not to notice the longing looks she cast in Pacey's direction. One thing he was grateful for was that the others didn't seem to notice the way she looked at Pacey and therefore, Drue did not have to suffer through their looks and acts of pity. And it was true, nobody (not even Pacey), knew Joey's true feelings. Joey herself didn't even realize them. So throughout the rest of the semester Joey and Drue continued with their relationship as if nothing had changed. Joey finished her last final and walked out of the room with a contented sigh. She knew she had done well and would easily make Dean's List again this semester. She was lost in her own world as she walked down the hallway and out the door so she didn't realize she was being followed until a beautiful red rose was held out in front of her face.
"A beautiful flower for a beautiful lady," said Pacey with a grin.
"Pacey you shouldn't have," said Joey with a laugh as she took the flower from him.
"I didn't," came Pacey's response.
"You didn't?"
"Nope, I just had the pleasure of delivering the flower. It's not from me."
"Then who gave it to you?"
"Drue. He was on his way over here to meet you after your test but he had to hurry to get back to campus to take his test so I offered to play delivery man for him."
"Well, that was awful nice of you Pace. And it was really sweet of Drue to get me a flower. It is beautiful isn't it?"
"Yes, Jo, it is," said a disgusted Pacey. He couldn't believe how Joey was acting just because of a stupid flower. He wished he had never run into Drue. Of course, if he hadn't he would have been subjected to the sight of Drue and Joey kissing in the hallway when she finished her class and let's face it, no guy wants to see his ex-girlfriend, who he's still in love with, making out with her new boyfriend. So that is how Pacey ended up delivering the flower to Joey for Drue.
"So, what are you doing now that your done your finals?" asked Pacey, as they began walking again.
"Going back to my room and packing to go home. It's going to be so weird not seeing you and Jen every day. I wish you guys were coming back to Capeside for the summer."
"Well, we're going to visit. And of course you and the others will come back to visit us for a week or two, won't you?"
"Of course we will. At least Dawson and I will. I can't really speak for the others but Dawson and I are already planning a trip."
"Great."
"So where are you off to now?"
"Oh you know me, Jo, just going wherever the wind takes me. Or to the library to pick up a book for the Dean, whichever will get me into the least amount of trouble."
"Well, I think you should head to the library, since that is the one that will get you paid."
"Good point. I'll see you at dinner tonight Jo."
"Yeah, see you later Pace."
Joey walked back to her dorm room and packed up her stuff, the smile still on her lips as she thought about her conversation with Pacey. She really was going to miss having him in Capeside this summer, but maybe it was for the best. With Pacey in Boston Joey would be able to concentrate on her relationship with Drue. Maybe then she would stop seeing Pacey's face every time she closed her eyes to go to sleep at night.
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May 11, 2002
Dawson walked out his front door, continued down to the dock, jumped into his little rowboat and started rowing the familiar route to the Potter B&B. When he reached the dock at the end of his trip, he quickly tied up the rowboat next to Joey's and ran up to the door. He couldn't wait to see his friends again. It had only been a couple of weeks since he had been in Boston for spring break but he really missed them. This was going to be different. They had a whole summer to spend together, not just five days. That wasn't the only reason he was excited though. This was going to be the first summer he and Joey would spend together since the summer before tenth grade. They had so many plans, the only thing marring the vacation was that Jen and Pacey were staying in Boston for the summer. Of course, they would visit Capeside and Joey and Dawson would visit Boston, but it just wasn't the same. Dawson was about to knock on the door when a familiar voice spoke up behind him.
"She's not here. She stayed in Boston with Jen for a couple of days. Said something about apartment hunting for next year. She should be back by Friday," said a irritated Drue.
"You seem pretty upset about that Drue."
"How am I supposed to feel, knowing that my girlfriend chose to stay in the same city as the ex-boyfriend that she is still in love with?"
"Did she tell you she's still in love with him?"
"No."
"Then how do you know?"
"I can just tell. I can see it in the way she looks at him. The way she doesn't look at me."
"I'm sure you're just imagining things. Joey is crazy about you. She loves spending time with you."
"Yes she does. But she's not in love with me. I'm not stupid enough to believe that she ever will be. Her heart will always belong to Pacey."
"I think you're wrong."
"Well, I guess we'll see, won't we? If you'll excuse me, I'm going to see my mother, so I guess I'll talk to you later."
"Yeah, have a good one Drue."
"You too Dawson."
Dawson decided to stay at the B&B and visit with Bessie and Bodie for a little while. He was sitting in the kitchen talking to them as they cooked dinner for the guests when he decided to discuss Joey's relationship with them.
"Do you think Joey is still in love with Pacey?"
"Why do you ask?" Bessie wanted to know.
"Well, I just ran into Drue on my way over and he seems to think she is."
"Oh. Well, that's a tough question. I mean, part of Joey will always love Pacey, but no, I don't think she is still in love with him. She's moving on with her life and she is happy with Drue," responded Bess thoughtfully.
"I disagree," said Bodie from where he was basting the chicken at the stove. "I think she is still in love with Pacey. She just doesn't want to admit because she's afraid of getting hurt again."
"What do you think Dawson?" asked Bessie.
"I don't know about the whole Pacey thing, but I do know that if Drue were to break up with Joey, it wouldn't break her heart."
They changed the subject then and once dinner was ready Dawson left for home, not wanting to get in the way of the guests. Besides, he had a lot of time to make up for with his baby sister. From the looks of it he was going to have plenty of time to spend with her this week while Joey was still in Boston.
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May 17, 2002
Joey was having a blast during her extra week in Boston. On Friday she went with Jen and Pacey to see a concert in the park. After the concert they went to an all night diner to get something to eat. That was when Pacey dropped his bomb.
"So….I got my grades today."
"How did you do?" asked Jen.
"Great. I got A's in both of my classes."
"Pacey, that is so great! I knew you could do it," exclaimed Joey with a grin.
"Yeah, but that's not the best part. My dad was so impressed with my grades that he offered to pay for me to go to school as a full time student next year."
"That is so good," said Jen.
"Yeah. That means that I don't have to work all summer, so I'm going home with you tomorrow Joey."
"That's great," said a less than enthusiastic Joey.
"So you're just going to leave me here all by myself for the summer? That is so unfair," cried Jen.
"Jen, you have Grams and your local friends from school. And you know perfectly well that Jack and Tobey are coming to visit you in two weeks. Then you're coming to Capeside for a couple of weeks. Then we are all coming to visit you and Grams again. You are definitely not going to be alone for the summer," said Joey.
After this Jen and Pacey started discussing their plans for the summer, but Joey wasn't really paying attention to the conversation. All she could think about was the fact that Pacey was going to be back in Capeside after all. How was she going to deal with that? She was going to have to make sure that she was never alone with him. The one good thing about the whole situation was that Doug offered to let Pacey stay with him for the summer so at least Joey wouldn't have to deal with having him under the same roof for three months.
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June 15, 2002
Joey was sitting on her bed watching a movie with Drue. Jack and Tobey were in Boston visiting Jen and they weren't due to come back until tomorrow. Jen was coming with them to visit for three weeks. Dawson was visiting some relatives with his parents and little sister. Joey couldn't believe how big Lily had gotten since Christmas. Joey didn't know where Pacey was today. Drue said he invited him to join them, but he never showed up. That was just as well because Joey didn't think she could handle being in the same room with Pacey and Drue together. She didn't know what caused the tension when the three of them were alone together, but it was really uncomfortable. Joey jumped as she heard a loud clap of thunder outside. It had been raining all day and it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon. Joey sighed then looked at Drue as he watched the movie.
"Rainy days are so depressing, don't you think?" she asked.
"Yeah, they are, but the rain isn't the only thing depressing me lately."
"So tell me what's wrong."
"What's wrong is that we are both forcing ourselves to stay in this relationship when it's obvious that we shouldn't be together anymore."
"What do you mean? I think we have a good relationship. I like being with you. I feel happy with you."
"No, you feel safe with me. You don't really care for me as anything more than a friend. You stay with me because you know that if we ever break up it won't break your heart. You stay with me even though you are in love with Pacey because you know that he could break your heart again...and I never could."
"That is not true."
"It is true. You know it's true, you just don't want to accept it yet. I've seen the way you look at him. I've never seen you look at anyone that way before. Not even Dawson."
"What do you want me to do about it? Pacey was a big part of my life. Of course I'm still going to care about him."
"You should be with him. I don't want to be in the way of your happiness. It's not fair to you and it's not fair to him. And it's really not fair for me to stay in this relationship knowing that I could never make you happy. I deserve the chance to find somebody who will feel the same way about me as I feel about her."
"You're right. Well partially right anyway. You do deserve someone who will treat you better than I do. I do care for you a great deal, but I don't think I could ever love you. I've tried to love you, but I can't. I'm sorry for that. But Pacey and I are never going to be together again. That relationship is in the past. It's over and we're never going to get it back."
"I think you're wrong."
"No, I'm not."
Joey and Drue watched the rest of the movie without talking. When it was over Drue leaned over and gave her a soft kiss. Without another word he got up and left the B&B. He needed some time to be alone to process the fact that Joey wasn't his girlfriend anymore. He was amazed when he realized that their break up didn't hurt him as much as he thought it would. He knew that they would remain friends and he was happy about that.