Dawson pulled back, surprised. Joey's eyes fixed on him, shining with newly forming tears.
"Joey, let's talk about this in the morning," he suggested. Joey furrowed her brow in anger.
"What's wrong with you?" she demanded. "Dawson, I'm in love with you. And I know you have feelings for me. Don't do this." She reached for his arm and looked up at him, pleading with her eyes. Dawson gave a slight chuckle and shook his head in frustration.
"Joey, I do have feelings for you. You know that. I probably always will." Joey looked unsatisfied.
"But?" she countered, challenging him.
"But I can't keep doing this!" he exclaimed. "I don't like games, Joey. You broke my heart. Twice. And I don't know if I'm ready to take that chance again."
"But you kissed me back!" Joey yelled. "You led me on! Is this some passive aggressive way to punish me for Pacey and Jack?"
"What?! No!" Dawson said, incredulous. "I did kiss you back, but it was completely impulsive." Joey's face crumbled and Dawson scrambled to console her.
"Joey, I love you," he said softly. Joey rolled her eyes and snorted sarcastically. "I do," Dawson affirmed. "And I don't want to hurt you—" Joey cut him off.
"Well that's exactly what you're doing. Good night, Dawson." She got up and walked into her room.
"Joey, wait!" Dawson said. Her door slammed. Dawson ran his hands through his hair, groaning in frustration. He heard Joey in her room, sobbing, but the noise was quickly drowned out by loud Maroon 5 music. A tear ran down Dawson's cheek and he brushed it away, embarrassed. He hadn't even realized that he had started to cry. He sank back onto his pillows and thought about the exchange they had just shared, recounting the conversation. He thought about Joey. How she had swallowed her pride to come crawling back to him, all the way to California. And he'd rejected her. Dawson leapt off of his bed and went to Joey's room. He turned to knob slowly. It was locked. Dejected, he started to walk away but turned around again and knocked.
"Just leave me alone, Dawson," Joey called. She picked up the bottle of tequila on her dresser and poured her third shot, cringing as the alcohol burned her throat. Drinking to ease her pain was not like her. This was something Jen would do, she thought to herself, ashamed. Dawson knocked again.
"I need to talk to you," he was saying. Joey opened the door, peeking her head out. When she did, Dawson kissed her… a long, romantic kiss that made her feel dizzy. Or maybe that was just the booze.
Dawson was taken aback by the strong taste of tequila on Joey's breath. It had been awhile since they got home from LaFonda. Joey pulled him towards her, and he sat down on her bed. She gazed at him, flirting with her eyes. The dark eye makeup that she had so carefully applied was now smudged under her eyes. Dawson took a Kleenex from her nightstand and gently wiped it away.
Joey kissed him, peeling her shirt off and throwing it to the ground. Dawson watched in amazement. This was so unlike her. She pulled his shirt off, as well, and placed one of his hands on her breast as she started to remove her underpants. Dawson smiled, aroused. The open bottle of tequila on Joey's dresser caught Dawson's eye and his smile changed to a serious expression as he gently removed his hand.
"What's wrong?" Joey slurred. "I know that you want me, Dawson."
"We can't do this right now," Dawson said. "You're drunk."
"Dawson, I want this," Joey said. She placed a hand on the wall to steady herself as it began to feel like she was spinning.
"I want this, too, Jo," Dawson assured her. "But not like this." He walked over to the dresser and put the cap back on the bottle of tequila, noticing the shot glass. "How much did you drink?" he asked, concerned.
"Some shots," Joey mumbled. She stood up to go to him and stumbled, falling on her ass.
"Whoaaa," Dawson said, helping her up. He blushed, noticing that she was naked. Dawson grabbed a towel from a hook on Joey's bathroom door and wrapped it around her. "Come on, Jo," he said, supporting her as they walked to his room.
When they got to his room, he helped Joey sit on his bed. He took one of his T-shirts out of his drawer and helped her put it on, and then gave her a pair of his boxers. He looked at her and noticed that she was crying.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"You don't want me," Joey said quietly. "I offered myself to you- again- and you don't want me." Dawson pulled her close to him and stroked her hair.
"Nothing could be further from the truth," he said. "I just can't take advantage of you when you're like this." As Joey continued to cry, Dawson rubbed her back and petted her hair. "Shhh," he whispered. "It's okay, sweetie." He kissed her on the cheek. "Let's lay down," he said, lying on his back and patting his bare chest. "Come lay on me." Joey rested her head on Dawson's chest as he continued to comfort her. About an hour later, Joey was sound asleep. Dawson sighed as he looked at her fragile body, in his clothes, draped across him. "I love you so much, Jo," he whispered.