Dawson watched as Mitch's rental car pulled out of the apartment complex's parking lot. Mitch honked the horn several times and he drove away, waving as he disappeared down the street. When the car was no longer visible, Dawson retreated into his new apartment. He reclined on the couch, enjoying the cool breeze that the ceiling fan whipped throughout the room.

They'd started moving in at 5 am, and it had required every ounce of energy that Dawson had. The entire time, Mitch had been congratulating Dawson on making the "right decision," which just reminded Dawson of the fight he'd had with Joey. He wanted to call her, but he knew that she didn't have a cell phone and after the things he'd said to her, he was afraid of calling the house and being chewed out by a furious and protective Bessie. On the other hand, he'd said exactly what he felt. And Joey wasn't entirely without fault. He felt his face get heated as he remembered her comment about his "pipe dream." He had a splitting headache, and remembering the fight was making it worse. Dawson took two Tylenol and lay down on the couch again, lacking the energy to get in his bed. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was only 4 pm. He closed his eyes, drifting in and out of consciousness and wishing that he could hear the gentle lapping of the creek against the dock outside of his house in Capeside.

Suddenly, Dawson was awakened by a jarring knock at the door. He groaned and looked at the clock. He'd been asleep for 4 hours. Dawson got off of the couch and looked through the peephole to see a short, blonde girl. He opened the door.

"Hi!" the girl exclaimed. She was about 5'2" with suntanned skin, a white blonde bob, and clear green eyes. She wore a UCLA Cheerleading T-shirt with a cutoff jean skirt and flip flops. "I'm Kirby," she said, extending her hand. "I live next door, in Apartment B, and I saw that you just moved in, so I thought I'd introduce myself.

"Dawson Leery," Dawson said, smiling. Kirby seemed nice. She kind of reminded him of Jen. And she took his mind off of Joey, which was nice. It would be great to have a group of friends here. Friends, he reminded himself. The last thing he needed was to get hung up on some girl and possibly get involved in another relationship.

"So, Dawson," Kirby said. "What brings you to LA? Are you an aspiring movie star?" Dawson chuckled.

"Not exactly. I'm a film student. I'm starting the summer program at USC in two weeks." Kirby's eyes lit up.

"Wow! Impressive!" Dawson pointed to her shirt.

"Are you a UCLA cheerleader?" he asked with interest.

"Used to be. I actually transferred to SC for the fall semester. I had an injury and had to quit cheering." Dawson looked sympathetic.

"I'm sorry. Well, do you want to come in?" Kirby shook her head.

"No, my roommates and I were actually about to go grab a bite to eat. Would you like to join us?" Dawson's stomach growled and he realized he hadn't eaten all day. That's probably why I feel like shit, he thought to himself.

"That sounds great," he told Kirby. "Is it okay if I jump in the shower first and then meet you there?"

"Of course! Take your time. We'll be at LaFonda Mexican Restaurant."

"LaFonda… I think I saw that on the way in," Dawson replied.

"Yea, it's right around the corner. You can't miss it. That's where we all hang out," Kirby said. "They have great margaritas, and they don't card!" Kirby winked and began to give him directions. "Just take a right out of the complex and then make an immediate left and you'll see it. It can get pretty out of control, so make sure you can handle it!"

Dawson made a mental note of the directions and assured Kirby that he could handle it before saying goodbye. He liked her. She seemed sweet, outgoing, fun, and the complete opposite of Joey, which might be exactly what he needed right now. He got into the shower and washed his hair, savoring the clean, refreshing feeling of the water. Moving really sucks, Dawson thought. As he got out of the shower, he heard his cell phone beep. His heartbeat quickened as he picked it up and saw that he had missed a call from Joey. The phone gave a special ring, indicating that he had a new voice message. He punched in his password and listened.

Silence. Then he heard the unmistakable click of Joey hanging up the phone. Disappointed, Dawson put his phone in the pocket of his jeans and headed out the door.