something blue

'Oh my god…' Audrey said in an almost whisper as she saw the scene unfold in front of her.

Pacey's head shot up abruptly, recognising the voice in his head and the dread in his heart. Audrey stood in the door way, casually dressed, no make up, no intricate hairstyle.

A devastated look on her face.

'Audrey I can….' He started to move towards her but she just turned and ran.

'Audrey wait!' he screamed as she slammed the front door and ran towards her car.

Pacey followed as fast as he could but by the time he got to the driveway all that was left were a dust cloud and a set of tyre tracks.

'Pacey? What the hell is going…' Jack said, walking into Dawson's bedroom to find Andie all curled up on the floor, crying.

'Andie?'

'I think I've done something really stupid…'

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

'So now we have no wedding,' Jen said sadly as she put the phone down on the last guest.

'Are we going to be taking the afternoon to fuss over this little bundle of joy then,' Bessie said, gently tickling Amy's side as she lay in her mother's arms.

'Yeah, I can't get enough of her at the moment. But I think before we can enjoy any of that, we have the little matter of two broken hearts and a cancelled wedding.'

The B&B which had been a hive of activity was now deathly silent. Bodie had gone to the restaurant to call off all food related activity and Alex, now not required to wear the uncomfortable suit, had got in his row boat and gone to see Lily.

'Do you think we should call Dawson and Joey? Let them know before they put their foot in it?' Bessie pondered, as she poured the two cold drinks.

'Don't worry. No matter how much warning you give them, they will always put their foot in it,' Jen philosophized, taking a long sip from the drink.

Jen's cell phone started to buzz on the table and Jen almost ignored it, until she saw Jack's number on the display.

'Hey, what's happening?'

'I think you may have to sit down,'

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

The car pulled up outside the Leery house and Dawson slowly got up. Things that weekend had certainly been unexpected and perfect at the same time. Something he thought was never going to happen had, in a magical and wonderful way. A trip that had started out as something so simple had become something so much more.

Joey got out and joined his eye line, surveying the creek.

'How come it looks so much different now?' she mused.

'It doesn't look different, we are though,' he said.

'Wow, get you little Buddha. Maybe you should find your groom before all hell breaks loose.' She moved around to his side of the car and wrapped him in another hug.

'Thanks for my amazing trip to New York,' she said in a whisper.

'You're welcome Miss Potter, or should I say…' Dawson began.

'Dawson! Where the hell have you been!' Jack's voice cut into the delicate moment.

'My fault Jack, we had a…'

'…I know, an art related emergency. Things have all gone to hell while you've been gone.'

'Why? What's happened?' Dawson said, closing the car door and taking Joey's hand.

'Well according to Jen, Audrey got totally freaked out and came over here to call off the wedding and caught Andie and Pacey kissing,' Jack said calmly, opening the front door to reveal Andie pacing up and down the front room, while Pacey sat an arm chair, head in his hands.

Dawson gripped Joey's hand tightly as he saw the scene in front of him. A twinge of guilt rushed through his veins as he thought about what happened the night before they left for New York. He turned to Joey, a semi angry expression played on her face.

'Pacey? Are you okay?' Joey made her way across to him, resting her arms on his shoulders as he remained slumped in his chair.

'No, not really Potter. The love of my life has cancelled our wedding, run away and…' he trailed off, unable to finish the last sentence.

'Pacey, how could you?' she said in an almost whisper.

'I didn't mean to. We were hugging goodbye and…' Pacey looked over at Andie angrily, but couldn't accuse her of what he thought she had done. '…we got carried away,' he looked at Joey. She nodded slowly and came to sit next to him. Stroking his arms slowly, she considered what they could do.

'Where is she? Does anyone know?' Joey said, continuing to rub his shoulders.

'No, she took her car and drove. No one knows. Her phone is switched off,' Jack said, shooting evil looks at his sister.

'Okay, well me and Andie will go and find her and straighten this all out, you guys stay put and wait in case she comes back. Someone call Jen and Bessie and make sure that if she is there they keep her there?' Dawson nodded and pulled his cell phone out.

'Wait Joey, do you really think that…' Andie started but the scolding look she got from her made her shut up quickly.

'Okay? I will call you when we hear anything,' she got up and kissed Dawson on the nose, grabbing Andie's reluctant hand and dragging her out of the house.

'You have to leave it to Potter, she sure can organise the hell out of us,' Pacey said, lifting his head and looking at the concerned faces of his two friends.

The three remained silent, all looking around them from distraction from the awful silence.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

'Joey, you have to understand. I'm….'

'…a selfish woman who couldn't stand her ex boyfriend moving on? Was that what you were going to say?' Joey snapped back.

'How dare you call me that! May I remind you that you're no angel yourself when it comes to Pacey…'

Joey slammed her foot on the break, swerving the car along the edge of the dirt road and finally stopping it dead. She turned angrily.

'This is not high school any more Andie. You might not have noticed but this won't be all okay by the next dance or after a summer apart. What you've done is almost unforgivable. You've broken up a couple who have been together for years, gone through things I couldn't imagine and still made it. So how dare you compare my 9 month relationship with Pacey to one that has been going strong for almost 4 years.'

Joey took a deep breath and watched the tears well up in Andie eyes. She looked rattled.

'I don't know what is going on with you at the moment Andie and god knows I owe you a few favours but your behaviour since you've come back here is not acceptable.' Joey continued, not deterred by Andie's fragile appearance.

'I'm…I'm sorry Joey. I mean it, I'm truly sorry…being here, being back in this place… I can't handle it…Mom losing it, when I lost my mind… it all happened here…I thought it would all be okay but it isn't.' Andie's voice disappeared into a long, low sob. She held her head in her hands as her sobs deepened.

Joey watched as she broke down, but she couldn't feel sorry for her. Audrey was somewhere, who knows where, but whatever state of mind she was in, it couldn't be good. She rubbed Andie's leg, as some kind of kind gesture. But Andie pushed her away, turning to the window to cry.

They drove all over town, in all the places that someone would hide, but there was no sign of her anywhere. Her cell remained off, her parents hadn't heard from her and the sky was starting to darken.

'I'm going to check the bus station one last time, she might have caught a later bus,' Joey mumbled, pulling the car to a stop outside the old building.

'Okay, I'll stay in the car,'

Walking along the dock side, where the bus station was, brought back memories of her old life in Capeside. When her and Dawson caught the bus to see her father. It seemed like a lifetime ago. She saw Dawson's young face smile back at her as the memory slowly changed to that of this morning.

'Are you sure about this…'

'More than anything else in my life…'

'Okay then…lets do it…'

She smiled as the private memory played through her mind. Her life has changed in the space of 48 hours. It had changed in the most amazing way.

But she couldn't be happy now. Her friend was in distress somewhere. No matter how happy she was, she couldn't let that get in the way of being a friend.

She unceremoniously dropped Andie at the boat house, unable to hold civil conversation with her. She watched out of her rear view mirror at the slowly disappearing, delicate figure standing outside her home. And for once in her life, her compassionate nature didn't kick in.

She watched the road for Audrey's car all the way back to Dawson's home but she had truly disappeared. She hoped that someone had found her or she had the good sense to call someone. Pulling into the driveway she saw Dawson standing on the dock, trying in vain to get some reception for his cell phone. He was still dressed in his casual clothes from New York. She smiled, she would never forget that outfit.

'Any luck?' Dawson called out as he saw her get out of the car.

'None. Not even a clue to where she might be. Jen and Bessie didn't see her but her overnight bag is gone so I can only assume she's gone back to New York,'

'Pacey's on the way there now. What about Andie?' Dawson started to walk to meet her.

'I've said it's properly best she heads home too. Capeside seems to bring out the worst in her,' Joey tilted her head up as Dawson leaned in for a kiss.

'Mom is going spare; she doesn't know what to do with all the food.'

'Well I haven't eaten all day. We could smuggle some back to the boathouse and have our own little reception…' Joey said, kissing Dawson's neck delicately.

'Hmmm, that's sounds like a good idea. Why do you always have the good ideas?'

'That's what I do. Is it wrong that I'm little pissed this wedding didn't go ahead?' She rested her head on his chest as his strong arms wrapped around her.

'No, you wanted your best friends to be as happy as you are, there's no shame in that,'

'Yeah…that and I went and did this for her!' she pulled her hair out of the simple bun it has been secured in since they had come back from New York to reveal a neat shoulder length bob where her long, wavy hair had been.

'It wasn't for nothing. You donated your hair to a good cause! Some kid going through hell is going to have a beautiful new head of hair. Anyway, I think you look gorgeous,'

'Really?' she said, self consciously touching her hair for the hundredth time since it had been cut off.

'Yeah…but then I think you'd look amazing in a burlap sack,' he kissed her on the nose and wrapped his arms back around her.

'Well it is the latest fashion,' she smiled at him before getting lost in his eyes once again. She closed her eyes as he kissed her, their kiss falling into a passionate swirl of emotions.

'Mmmm…as lovely….as...this is…don't you think…we need to talk?' Dawson said in between the kisses that Joey kept placing on his lips.

She pulled away and looked at him. 'I know. But not today huh? It's been a long one.' She tugged at his hand and led him to the house.

'Okay, but just the once. Don't think I'm going to let everything slide like this. Still up for our reception?' Dawson said, moving behind her a wrapping his arms around her shoulder, taking small, comical steps towards the front door.

'Well, at least one bride today should get to eat cake,' she said, putting her hand on the door knob and turning it.

Dawson planted a kiss on the side of her face and whispered into her ear 'I love you Mrs Leery.'

Hearing that name made her tingle.

'I love you too Dawson,'. She pulled him inside and quickly ran upstairs, into the cocoon of their childhood memories where they would be alone in their new secret.

At least for tonight.