Note: thanks paceyjoeytruelove, nursechrism, superfan24, xxoJenxoo, PaceyandJoeyForeverandEver, elwoodluver00034 for the nice feedback here is the next chapter.
Chapter 3
The gang was together at the Potter B&B discussing Dawsons' return to school the next day.
"So you really think he'll just act normal and try to get all his old friends back?" Joey asked the others as she snuggled deeper into Pacey's embrace. She was sitting on his lap with his arms around her holding her close to him.
Jen was first to reply "Well he may be a bit nervous about approaching us but I think he expects Jack, Andie and me to take him back as friends faster then you two. Since we had nothing to do with the incident."
"Are you going to be hanging out with him?" Jack asked her.
"I really don't know, I mean we all made mistakes and yeah he screwed up big time. I don't know. Part of me would like to if he truly has been cured. Another part feels it is somehow wrong, that I'd be betraying Pacey." Jen replied.
"I know what you mean." Jack told her. "I mean I hate what he did to you and Joey Pacey, but if he is better then we owe him a chance to prove that he has changed. He has helped us all with tuff before he lost it." Jack said to mainly Pacey.
"Hey, you don't have to feel guilty on my part, personally I would advise you to stay out of his way but I can't hold it against any of you if you wanted to still be friends with him. It is your decision to make, not mine." Pacey replied, then added "I don't think I can ever trust him again. I know he felt I betrayed his trust first by kissing Joey but they haven't been together for almost a year and what would give him the right to force Joey to put her love life on hold while he experiments with Eve and then he went after Nikki. He was always manipulation Joey, if you guys are going to hang with him just be careful he won't manipulate you too." Pacey said to them.
"You make me sound all gullible." Joey said as she turned her head around to see his eyes.
"Well you had your crush on him and couldn't see straight letting you open for his manipulation." Pacey replied.
Joey thought for a moment then said "I guess …I was pretty gullible." Her face then broke out in a smile as she snuggled back into his embrace as she said "I'm glad you are always honest with me. Even if the truth may hurt." The others looked at her and she added "honesty and communication a vital to any relationship." She blushed slightly under their amused gaze.
Pacey smiled and kissed her right cheek from behind. "Stop it you two" Jen said as she saw where this was leading. "Let's keep the PDA's to a minimum." Joey blushed and Pacey looked amused at the group.
"So back to Dawson, you're ok if we might hang with him?" Jack asked them.
Pacey shrugged and said "Just be careful."
The rest of the conversation was turned back into Jen and Andie probing for details on Pacey's and Joey's trip to Key West on True Love.
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"Good old Capeside high, I'm so glad to be back." Pacey said sarcastically as he and Joey walked through the school halls with his hand in hers.
"Look on the bright side Pace, now you can get kisses again if you study hard." Joey told him smiling then dropped her smile think about Pacey & Andie and Pacey & Tamara and how they ended up with the sex. 'She wasn't ready to have sex with Pacey yet, would he expect her to be ready like his previous girlfriends?' she thought to herself.
Pacey grinned "true, let's say we get to study-ing" Pacey said stopping his sentence as he saw a all too well known blond guy walk up to them.
Joey looked at him then followed his gaze and spotted Dawson, "Let's just act like he's not here and maybe he'll get the clue." She told Pacey as she pulled him towards her locker.
Dawson looked as Joey pulled Pacey towards her locker, a pang of jealousy shot through him but he pushed it away, putting on a fake smile he walked up to them "hey guys."
"So Pace have you heard from Jen yet? She was pretty psyched about seeing Henry again" Joey asked him ignoring Dawson.
Pacey looked at her and then Dawson torn in being polite and answer Dawson or join Joey in ignoring him. 'still if I ignore him we just run away from the issue' he thought before he said "Not yet Jo, but I'm sure that if she has seen him they're probably busy showing how they missed one and other." He smiled at her then turned to Dawson "Hey Dawson, you feeling better?" he asked trying to be civil and not give into his rage that he felt for Dawson.
Joey shot Pacey a look that said why? Dawson saw when Pacey spoke to him. He tried a smile as he said "Much better Pacey, I'm really sorry about what happened. I know you'll probably won't forgive me, as won't Joey but I need you two to know I am really sorry."
A part of him wanted to believe him as he looked at Dawson seeing he was telling the truth about being sorry. "I trusted you man, I was your best friend. But I didn't deserve what you did to me. I don't know if I can ever forgive you for it. I'll be honest in saying that part of me wants to but another part just won't. I don't trust you D." the bell rang "I have to get to class, I'll see you later" he said smiling to Joey before briefly kissing her on her lips. Joey held unto his hand until the had to let go and then looked at Dawson.
"I have to go as well, I'm not ready to talk to you without wanting to hurt you Dawson, so please don't try to." She then walked off leaving Dawson standing there a few seconds before he too went off to class.
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The bell rang and Jen packed up her things and headed to the door, Dawson had already packed up and stood by her table "Hey Jen, how have you been this summer?"
Jen looked up at him "Dawson" she said uncomfortable around him, she studied his features and maybe for the first time noticed his big forehead trying hard not to show this she said "we've had fun, it was mostly just Jack, Andie, Will and me because Pacey and Joey went sailing," she said trying to act as if that was a normal thing to talk about as they walked out of the classroom through the halls. She studied his face trying to read his reaction as though if he was really back to his old self. "Still it was nice, we got a lot closer. How about you, you feeling your old self again?"
Dawson smiled at her hiding his true feelings about Pacey and Joey well, just like he had back at the clinic. Sure he had shown his emotions to the doctors in the beginning as they expected, then slowly he had manipulated them by tell them what they wanted to hear, fake his improvement until he got released. Sure he had calmed down and he was sorry for hurting Pacey but seeing them again this morning he knew more then ever that he needed to get Joey back. He had to save her from Pacey, he would only use her for sex and then dump her when the next pretty girl came along. No, Joey needed to be saved from him, weather she wanted to or not.
"Yeah, I feel much better now, thanks for asking. I still can't believe that was actually me doing that to Pacey, I just lost all control and…I'm really sorry about it." He said to her.
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." Jen replied seeing no sign of his words not being honest but somehow feeling that she shouldn't be talking to him.
"I know, I tried to apologize to Pacey and Joey this morning." He sighted remembering Joey's cold words to him this morning "I guess I will have to prove to them I have changed in order to earn their trust again." He told her.
Jen was silent a moment for she turned to him and halted before she said "You hurt them both, really bad Dawson. They have known you forever and you beat Pacey into the hospital, not even calling for help when he was out cold but just leaving him there. I understand that you made a mistake God knows I have made plenty but this, you scared them both shitless by not caring what happened to the person who you used to be able to call your best friend just because he and your other best friend fell in love. You may have called Joey your soul mate Dawson but you're just a kid. Just because she was your best friend and first love doesn't make a person your soul mate. You had no hold over Joey by calling her that, it's not like she and you were married for Gods sake. And if you considered it a marriage then what the hell were you doing with Eve and then Nikki? You're allowed to be with other people but she isn't? How fair is that? She's not your property, nor is she Paceys' property now. She a person who can make her own decisions and she chose Pacey, so whether you like that or not you're just going to have to deal with it." Jen finished lecturing him, needing him to know all of that before she could give him a chance at their friendship.
"I know Jen, I've realized this over the summer, I was being selfish and an ass." Dawson said to her in his well trained sincere voice, he had heard all this crap before from his therapists back at the clinic and was used saying one thing but meaning another.
Jen gave a small smile trying to believe him as though part of her told her not to. "Good, oh there is Henry, I'll talk to you later Dawson." She said leaving him there as she walked up to her boyfriend, Henry Parker.
Dawson smiled 'one down, three to go Pacey. Now let's see where Andie is, then she'll help me make Jack believe and the three of them will help me take Joey from Pacey and he'll be all alone, as he should be for what he did to me.'
End Chapter 3, hope you liked that. Sorry to those who hoped Dawson to be cured but I just don't liked the guy. I'll try to update again tomorrow.
