A/N. I'm still really unsure about where I am going with this fanfic and whether I want D/J to end up together (did I just say that?) as, despite the fact he was a pig, I really liked Charlie. Any suggestions send them my way. But first, I think I need to let Joey vent a little...... (Song is Cannonball by Damien Rice)

Singing for the Lonely.

Joey sat at the coffee house table and glanced nonchalantly at her watch. He was only 30 minutes late. But those 30 minutes had felt like hours. Her self doubt about what had happened over the last 24 hours had started to slowly creep up on her. As much as she wanted to be confident, sexually liberated Josephine Potter, she was still the shy and naïve Joey Potter from the small town in Cape Cod. She drained her cup of coffee and looked around. There was no sign of him and in a way she had felt relieved.

The vibration of her cell phone in her coat pocket made her jump, partly with shock but also excitement.

'Hello?' Joey said, the caller ID not revealing who it was.

'I've got good news and bad news.' Charlie's voice filled her ear. God he sounded sexy when he spoke, she thought as a blush crept up over her cheeks.

'Would the bad be something to do with standing me up?' Joey retorted playfully. Hell, if she was about to be dumped she wanted it to be as light weight as possible.

'No. The band got a gig at the last minute and I can't turn it down.'

'So is that the good or the bad?' Joey said, as she stood up and walked towards the door of the crowded shop.

'That was the bad but the good is you are welcome to come along. Maybe sing a little?' he said, hopefully.

'Thanks but I think I'll have to pass on that.' Joey said, walking towards her dorm's across the street.

'Is that an 'I'll have to pass on that for this week' or an 'I'll pass on that forever, go rot in hell you slime bag' turn down?' Charlie said.

And for that moment, Joey didn't know. She hesitated slightly before swapping the phone to her other ear.

'It's a 'Let's see how I feel about it next week' turn down,' Joey said. She could almost hear the disappointment drip down the phone line.

'Okay. But you should know, I'm not easily put off young lady. I'll be back,' he said, putting on a brave face to the massive rejection he was feeling.

'I will look forward to it.' She said, shutting her phone and slipping it back in her pocket.

She stopped for a second and looked up to her room. The building was impressive in its grandeur and elegance but also had started to feel like home to her over the last few months. Months she would have rather forgotten about, if she was totally honest with herself. Moving to a strange town, losing her soul mate and losing a man she considered to be her father in many respects.

Mitch dying was another seminal moment in her already over crowded lifetime of experiences. She felt like she couldn't grieve in case someone told her that it was all her fault. She could tell by the way the Dawson looked at her sometimes, the sadness that his decision to stay with her had caused the loss of his family.

She could almost understand why his relationship with Jen had got so strong. Jen wasn't as close to this situation. Jen hadn't been there when Mitch used to make them pancakes on a Sunday morning after they had spent all night talking. Jen wasn't there the first day that Dawson had fought with Joey at school over something trivial and Jen wasn't there when he had swept Joey up in his big arms at the hospital just after her Mom had died. She wiped a tear away from her face with the memory of Mitch holding her in his arms all the way home, soothing her quietly in the back seat of the car, Dawson sitting next to them holding Joey's hand tightly.

She shook her head, trying to erase the memory before she could shed any more tears. The light in her room was on and she could see Pacey sitting at the window. She smiled to herself thing about the state he was probably in. Knowing Audrey, she was doing something to tease him. She smiled to herself and turned away from the front door, opting to walk to her favourite spot in the city.

There's still a little bit of your taste,

In my mouth,

There still a little bit of your laced,

With my doubts,

You still a little hard to see,

What's going on?

She lowered herself onto the park bench overlooking the river that ran out of the city. It was a deserted area this time of night, no one really wanting to be out in the cold winter by the water. But Joey liked the spot. It almost reminded her of the creek and being near the water always made her hopeful. Hopeful for what she never knew. When she was in Capeside, it was the dream of escape. That she would get in her boat one day and sail away. And she did that. She escaped for a whole summer and then away to Boston to her new life.

But she wasn't really starting a new life. She had just relocated the old one. Everyone had come with her; they all lived 5 minutes across the park. Even Dawson did.

Dawson.

The thought of him made her shiver. The idea of him wrapped up in Jen made her want to vomit. She knew that she was trying to convince herself that being without him was the best way forward but she couldn't. She loved him too much and she loved him too much as everything. Best friend, boyfriend, soul mate. Everything.

There's still a little bit of your ghost,

Your weakness,

Still a little but of your face I haven't kissed,

You step a little closer each day,

Then I can't say what's going on,

The river flowed quickly that night and Joey kept watching the small bits of wood float down the river stream. She wished she was those planks of wood. She wanted to escape. Worthington had not provided her with any more escape as True Love had done the year before. Or that Paris had offered her the year before that. She was always looking for escape but never taking the real option.

Stones taught me to fly,

Love taught me lie,

Life taught me to die,

So it's not hard to fall,

When you float like a cannon ball.

She stood up and picked a large rock up from the ground. She hurled it into the water, trying to release all of her anger about the disappointment she felt in her heart. The disappointment at Worthington, the anger about Mitch and the loneliness she felt without Dawson.

Still a little bit of your song,

In my ear,

There's still a little bit of your words,

I long to hear,

You step a little closer to me,

So close that I can't seem what's going on,

His face swam across her mind. His hair, now a lot shorter than when they were kids together but still as blond. His eyes were still deep, meaningful and brimming with emotion. But now, she didn't know what was behind his eyes or the emotions that were just smouldering below the surface. She picked another rock up and clasped it tightly in her hand. She felt the anger and confusion transfer through her hand into this stone, her hand hot with anger. She took a step back and screamed as she threw it.

'Arrrrh!!!!' she shouted, losing control of her emotions.

Stones taught me to fly,

Love taught me lie,

Life taught me to die,

So it's not hard to fall,

When you float like a cannon ball.

She started to sob. Hot, angry tears fell down her face and she fell to her knees.

She felt two arms wrap around her and she fell into them, not knowing whose they were. She didn't care. They provided her a comfort she hadn't felt in months, not even last night. She inhaled deeply and recognised the familiar smell. Without looking she knew who it was.

'Dawson?' Joey said, between her loud and painful sobbing.

'I'm here Jo, I' not going anywhere. ' Dawson said, soothing her the same way Mitch had done all those years ago.