Dawson awoke to see Joey sitting next to him in his bed, wearing one of his old Universal Studios T-Shirts and reading the paper. A beam of sunlight shone through the window and directly into his eyes. He moaned and pulled the sheets up over his head.

"Good morning, Casanova," Joey said, fixing her blue-green eyes on him stonily.

"Jo," he said. "We need to talk." Joey folded her paper and put it on the bedside table before standing up.

"A date?" she asked. "You're here for less than 24 hours and you go out on a date?! I don't know whether to be impressed or disgusted," she sneered.

"Calm down. Kirby is just a friend. I promise. She lives next door and we went out with her roommates so that I could meet the neighbors."

Joey rolled her eyes. "Right," she said sarcastically. "I shouldn't have come." She started to leave but Dawson reached out and touched her arm.

"Don't say that," he urged. "I'm so glad you're here, Jo. You have no idea. I thought I'd lost you," he said quietly. "I went out with Kirby and her roommates to take my mind off of you, because I was so miserable I couldn't function," he admitted.

Joey softened and he saw the beginnings of a smile on her face. "Normally, I would be so mad at you right now. I don't know if it's just how pathetic you looked last night or how badly I want to save this friendship, but for some reason I just can't find it in myself to be furious with you." Dawson was blushing as he listened intently. Joey twisted a strand of hair around her finger self consciously. "After our fight, I talked to Jen and she helped me realize that holding you back was wrong, but letting you go would be the biggest mistake of my life," Joey continued. She looked at Dawson, who was smiling. "So, I used my graduation money to book a flight to LA," she explained.

"Joey, you didn't have to do that," Dawson said gently.

"No, Dawson. I did. If not for you, then for me. I couldn't let things between us end like that." She tucked a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear and continued. "I talked to your parents about it, and surprisingly, they understood. I thought they'd never forgive me for asking you to stay in Capeside," she laughed nervously. "Your mom gave me directions to your apartment and an extra key… and I thought I would surprise you. Obviously, that was a mistake." Her gaze drifted over to a suspicious looking stain on the carpet and she smirked, taunting him. Dawson looked at it, horrified.

"Oh, my God," he said, embarrassed. "Jo, believe me, that was not how I wanted to greet you!"

Joey shrugged. "No biggie. It's not the first time I've seen you barf and I'm sure it won't be the last." She and Dawson laughed awkwardly.

"I'm really glad you're here," Dawson said. "And I'm so sorry for everything that happened between us.."

"I'm the one who should be apologizing," Joey said. "I just didn't want to lose my best friend. I was so scared, and when you told me you were going I just… I guess it was all an act to cover up the fact that I felt like my heart was breaking…" she stopped herself and looked up at him.

"I could break your heart?" Dawson teased.

"Dawson," Joey's voice caught in her throat. "You're the only one who could." She cracked her fingers nervously. "Can we just put that stupid fight behind us? We both hurt each other so much, and I wish we could take it back. Whatever issues we had, they aren't worth losing you. At least not to me." Dawson reached out and took her hand.

"Nothing is worth losing each other for," he agreed. Joey climbed back into the bed next to Dawson and curled up against him. "I realized something on the plane, Dawson," she told him. "Our friendship is never going to be easy, and it's never going to be perfect. And a substantial part of that is because it's so deep. And I just want you to know that it means more to me than anything in the world."

"Me too," Dawson agreed. "You know what? I propose that we just completely start over. From here on out, we have a clean slate."

"That sounds good to me," Joey said. Dawson smiled.

"Good. I didn't even ask you, how long are you staying?" Joey grinned.

"The whole summer. Bessie's shipping my things later this week." Dawson let out a shriek of excitement and wrapped Joey in a hug.

"Joey," he said. Joey looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Dawson." Dawson rested his head on her chest and she stroked his hair gently.

"So, friends again?" Joey asked.

"Friends," Dawson confirmed. As they sat on the bed, hands intertwined, both of them wondered if they could really just be friends again. Or if they wanted to be more.