A/N Yes I am about to do the unthinkable. By the way, thanks for all the review, good and bad. (Song is Last Goodbye by the late, great Jeff Buckley)

The last goodbye

Joey's anger soon took over any of the comforting feelings she was feeling towards her soul mate. She angrily stood up and started to walk away.

This is the last goodbye,

I hate to see the love between us die,

But it's over,

I'll just take this and then I'll go,

You gave me more then you thought,

More than you'll ever know.

'Wait, Joey!' he called after her, running after her.

He finally reached her and spun her around quickly, grabbing her two wrists firmly.

'Joey, we have to talk about this. You can't run away from whatever is going on.' He said, looking deeply into her red eyes.

'That's rich coming from you Dawson.' She spat back angrily.

This is our last goodbye,

Must I dream and always see your face?

Why can't we over come this fall,

Maybe it's because I didn't know you at all.

'What?' Dawson said, confused about Joey's emotional outburst.

'You've done nothing but run away from everything the last few months, including your supposed Soulmate and now you are here trying to give me a lecture about my emotional state?'

'That's not fair Joey, I've had to deal with a lot recently and you can't throw it back in my face,' he said, his anger getting the better of him. He couldn't believe she was angry at him for grieving.

'Why not, you've thrown it back in mine! Do you know how hard it's been, pretending to be fine? Pretending that everything that's been happening hasn't affected me?' Joey said, trying to work herself free from his arms.

'What does that mean?' He said, gripping her tighter.

'I lost Mitch too okay? He was like my father for the last 10 years of my life and you thought I was just going to be able to deal with his death? Sink away quietly into a corner because you didn't want to deal with it? I thought we would have dealt with it together. It hurts like hell Dawson and you know what's even worse? I've lost you too because you blame me for it,' she said in one long and sob filled speech.

Kiss me,

Please kiss me,

Kiss me out of desire, baby not consolation.

Oh you know it makes me so angry,

Because I know that it does,

I'll only make you cry,

This is our last goodbye

Dawson tried to hold back the tears in his eyes. He was so mad with her he couldn't even look at her. How dare she try to upstage his grieving! He threw her hands back at her chest and turned to walk away.

'Not so easy to hide is it Dawson? Go back to your fantasy world and go back to Jen! I'm so glad you didn't waste any time getting over me' Joey shouted loudly as she turned her back on him.

'How dare you bring Jen into this? It has nothing to do with her!' Dawson said angrily, as he walked back towards her, gripping her hands again.

'It has everything to do with her. You've run away into a little emotional bubble so you don't have to deal with the reality of what you are running away from. Being with Jen isn't going to bring your Dad back. Nothing is Dawson. He's dead!' As Joey's voice raised again she felt the sharp sting of the forceful slap Dawson threw at her face.

Did you think?

No this can't happen to me,

Did you rush to the phone because?

Cause that voice that's calling from the back of your mind,

Saying baby baby please,

Did you know him at all?

Did you know him at all?

Did you know him?

She fell to the ground and held onto her check tightly. It didn't hurt, but the shock of it did. Dawson just stood there, looking down on her.

'Do you really think I am that stupid not to know that he's gone? He's dead and it's because of me, because of us Joey! Because I wanted to chase some infantile notion of us being soul mates! Do you really think that I would ruin my relationship with Jen so I could retreat into some kind of fairy land? Jesus Christ Joey, you're sick.' Dawson said, running his hand through his hair.

'You blame me for his death don't you? You think that our relationship killed him?' Joey said, still recoiling form his anger.

Dawson took a deep breath in and looked up to the sky.

'Yes' he said quietly. It was as if everything she had ever feared was vocalised.

She stood up and brushed herself down. She held her face slightly, feeling blood trickle down it. She looked at her hand and was shocked by the sight of it. Where she had been holding onto that stone so tightly, she had actually cut her hand. She felt faint but tried to keep it together.

'Well, if you feel that way Dawson I guess that's it. Bye Dawson. 'She picked her bag up from the floor and started to walk away, shaking as she went.

'We can't end it like this Joey' Dawson said, not letting enough of his real emotional make his statement seem as if it were genuine.

Joey stopped and took a sharp intake of breath.

'You just did Dawson.' She said simply, not daring to look around. She carried on walking and then started to run towards the nearby path. Dawson watched her run away, watched until he could not longer see her. He looked down at his hands and saw blood. Where had that come from? Had he hit her that hard? He couldn't have done that, not to Joey, not to anyone. The idea of him hitting Joey suddenly made him feel sick. Sick to his very core. He suddenly had the urge to find her, to beg for forgiveness.

So he ran, ran as fast as he could towards her room.

But when he got there, he was too late.

'What the hell are you doing here?' Pacey said, pushing Dawson out of the doorway and up against the wall.

'Look, I need to see her. I need to apologise,' Dawson said, seeing the pit of anger in Pacey's eyes.

'There is no way you are ever going near her again.' Pacey said, his anger oozing from every pore. 'You really think I'm going to let you in near so you can hurt her?'

'I didn't mean to. I was angry and...' Dawson began but was cut off by Audrey.

'She's gone Dawson,' she said, standing at the doorway.

'Where? Where has she gone?' Dawson said, working himself free from Pacey's forceful grip and towards Audrey.

'I don't know. She came home, covered in blood and locked herself in the bathroom. All we got out of her was you too had fought and she had cut her hand on a rock. Then she said you hit her. 'Audrey looked up and this point and stared Dawson directly in the eye. She knew that he hadn't meant to do anything, but she was angrier than she had ever been.

'I didn't hit her I...'

'Save it Dawson. Anyway, we went to get some ice for her face and we came back and she had gone. Packed a bag, took off somewhere. All she left was this,' Audrey said, wiping the tears away and handing him a note.

Audrey and Pacey,

I've gone.

Don't worry; I'm not going to do anything stupid.

I just need to find my path, away from everyone.

I love you both.

Joey.

'So there you have it Dawson. Congrats, you might have just chased you soulmate away,' Audrey said bitterly, slamming the door behind her.

Dawson tried to take it all in. But it was all too much, all too confusing. He looked up and saw Pacey glaring at him from across the hallway.

'Pacey, you've got to help me find her,'

'Why do you think I would ever want to be near you again!' Pacey said

'Because we need to find her. Find out where she has gone and...'

'And what Dawson? Drag her back, make her fall in love with you again? Make the world the happy film script you've always dreamed it was?' Pacey said, walking towards him.

'I need to apologise Pacey. I said some awful things.' Dawson said, looking at hands. Joey's blood was still there.

'You did some awful things. Things I'm not sure I could forgive you, let alone someone who had put you on a peddle stool for most of her life. Face it Dawson, you blew it.' Pacey said.

Dawson fell to the ground and cried. Cried like he hadn't in a long time. His sobs almost as loud as those made by Joey in the park. The ferocity of his emotions shocked Pacey. He almost felt sorry for him. But he couldn't let him. He knew this is what Joey wanted. Not to be found. But then Dawson had lost the two people he loved most in the world and Pacey softened.

Pacey sat next to him and put his arm around his old friend. Trying to quiet his cries of anguish of losing her.

Of losing the life he once had.

Of losing everything.