Joey[shaving Pacey] There. Hello, chin. You're back.
[Chuckles] Well...I was never really gone.
Joey
You weren't?
Joey
It kinda seemed like it.
[Pacey kisses Joey]
Joey
What was that?
I don't know. But...you remember how you said you were willing to be surprised by the future?
Joey
Yeah.
Joey
How come you don't seemed surprised?
Well...maybe because I've... wanted to kiss you ever since I saw you in that outfit.
[She looks down at the pajamas she is wearing]
No. Um... not that outfit. The one... uh...the prev-- well, I mean, not—
Joey
Wait, wait, wait. You were wanting to kiss me all night?
Joey
Even when you were yelling at me.
Especially when I was yelling at you.
Joey
Even when you were flirting with that other girl?
Joey
So... is this... some sort of... recent new development in your life?
Wanting to kiss you? No. It's sort of always there... like...white noise, or... the secret service or the threat of nuclear war, for that matter. Just somethin' you get used to.
I got it. Seems a small price to pay for a dream come true.
CClerk
I certainly hope you found everything you were looking for today.
Well...not everything, but we found what we needed, which, as I'm sure you know, is sometimes just as important. In a spiritual sense. 'Cause, you know, if you found everything that you needed today, what would be the point of waking up tomorrow and doing it all over again? It just wouldn't seem worth it.
Joey
Don't worry. He's on a one-day pass from the asylum. But...in all fairness, I should let you know that I will be writing a letter to the home office about this.
Joey
Yeah. Because this store... is perfect just the way it is. Don't change a thing.
Jo, how can you expect me to concentrate if you're around all day?
Joey
Am I really that much of a distraction, Pacey? I mean, my desk is outside of your office. You can't even see me.
But I know you're there. And I would not have come as far as I have if you were 5 feet away from me all the time. I just wouldn’t. Trust me.
Joey
Really? And why is that?
Ok, now you're just milkin' this for all it's worth, aren't you? Fine. [Sighs] I wouldn't have been able to concentrate because every time you're 5 feet away from me or 25 feet away from me, for that matter... there's really only one thing that I want to do.
Joey
Do tell.
[Pacey kisses her]
Joey
Hey. Ooh.
Yeah, I know. Kids today, huh?
Joey
That damn rap music.
And those baggy pants. Even with the damage to my unsuspecting eardrum, I did think that tonight was quite nice. Quite nice.
Joey
Yes. Quite. Perfect. It was... it's been a perfect night....Pace? I can't do this.
Joey
Even when everything is perfect, being with you doesn't feel right, and I'm sorry. Look, everything tonight-- I mean, tonight was lovely and fun and... you've become this... I mean, this amazing man, but it doesn’t... I'm sorry. I don’t... I don't feel it. And I can't do this with you.
Ok, Joey, just slow down for a second.
Joey
No, Pace, it’s... it's true and... I'm sorry.
So what, you're scared. Right? You're scared. And so am I, believe me. And I'm scared because I don't know where this thing is going, Jo. As in, I think it could go anywhere. This could be it.
Joey
It won't be.
How could you possibly know that? I mean, really. Last week, you're onboard, and now you're just psychically telling me that this could never be something great. You can't possibly know that, because we don't know that, Joey.
Joey
And I'm sorry. I know that this is such a horrible thing to say.
But how? How could you know? And when did you make this decision, tonight? I mean, I thought tonight was going great.
Joey
It was. It was great.
So then when? And don't tell me that you're not scared, because I know that you are. I mean, I've known you too long and seen you push away too many good things to let you push me away right now. My whole life, Joey, my whole life you have been the most beautiful thing in my orbit. And my feelings for you were what proved to me that I could be great. And those feelings were stronger and were wiser and more persistent and more resilient than anything else about me.
Joey
Pacey, stop.
Joey
Pacey!
When I was afraid of everything, I was never afraid to love you and I could love you again. I could. I’m telling you, this could...
Joey
Pacey, no. Pacey, stop! Eddie came back. I'm sorry. He came back last night. He came to the bar—
Joey
Look, I'm sorry— [Pacey walks away]
It's weird, huh? This room used to be the official meeting place where we'd discuss what happened that day. And now it's just a film set, and I don't even know what happened this year.
Joey
Yeah. I was kind of hoping I could just climb up the ladder and... magically fill in all the lost time.
How's that working for you?
Joey
Not so easy.
Joey
Maybe I was gone for too long.
Well, we'll piece it together between the two of us then, right? The lost year of Dawson and Joey.
Joey
It wasn't easy.
Joey
Not talking to you. Maybe it seemed like it was. And I guess it just... became routine, just another thing that I didn't do. Well, like shooting heroin or driving drunk.
Wow, I'm up there with the dangerous activities.
Joey
Or casual sex. Dawson, for so long, you were the only person in the whole world I wanted to be with. Then somehow you became my only one-night stand.
I never meant for it to be like that.
Joey
I know. I know. Maybe being in this room makes it easier. Having it set up this way, you know, I'm so familiar, and... seems insane not to talk. And sometimes the hardest things to say are the things that... really matter.
Hmm. Why do you think I've spent years trying to write an entire screenplay about you?
Joey
I read it in one sitting.
Ok. I hope you don't think that I gave it to you so that you could just say all the obligatory nice things.
Joey
And why would I feel obligated?
Exactly, because if I can't get an honest opinion from the girl who loathes me more than anyone else in the world, who can I trust, right?
Joey
You've always been this devilishly clever.
Well... yeah. But... uh, I got--I got-- I wanted you to read it because... well, you're really the only person in the world who can tell me if I got it right this time.
Joey
You grew up, Dawson. You grew up. I always wanted to think that you were this hopeless dreamer and I was the adult that escaped. But I didn't escape anything, not really.
Sure you did. You got out of Capeside. Wasn't that the original plan?
Joey
Couldn't escape myself, could I? You were right. So much of what I was fighting was growing up. And I figured out this past year that it's hard for me... to talk about sex, to talk about... getting close with someone. And maybe... I'm not supposed to lose myself. Now it's not part of the plan. But then again, I never thought that losing you was part of the plan, either.
I think sometimes... you have to lose somebody completely before you can figure out what they really mean to you. I missed you, Jo.
Joey
You got it right this time, Dawson. I missed us.
Joey
You ok, Pace?
You don't have to do this.
Joey
Do what?
Sit out here with me. I know you'd rather be in the house with Dawson, so why don't you just go and help him lick his wounds?
Joey
Things never change here, do they?
No... because these are the roles we were destined to play.
Joey
No, Pace, these are the roles we chose to play. I mean, look at us, sitting out here on this dock in front of the same house we've been haunting for years. We're practically ghosts of our former selves, and honestly, I don't think anyone really remembers what they're mad about anymore.
Mm, I wouldn't be so sure about that.
Joey
Pacey, if I wanted to go back into that house, I would've gone a long time ago. Don't you know me at all by now?
Well, I don't want you sitting here feeling sorry for me.
Joey
I don't feel sorry for you. I feel for you, Pacey. God, can't you ever tell the difference?
I don't know. [Sighs] I don't know, because you and I have had a very confusing run of things. Especially lately.
Joey
Ok. You know, and no matter how much I love you or how long I stay with you, you're only gonna remember the moments when I leave.
Well, you gotta give me that much, because those are pretty much the most painful moments in my life.
Joey
That's because you ask for them, Pacey. I'm sorry. You do. Your whole life, you spend so much time expecting the worst that you don't even notice the moments when people are loving you, and, Pacey, people spend a lot of time loving you.
Well... with all due respect, Jo, my best friend just walked away from me, but that's not even the worst of it. The worst thing is he hasn't even really known me for the last 3 years, so please, clarify that for me. How does that qualify me as a man with a support network?
Joey
Well, you have a person sitting right here, don't you? But of course, that's not enough. Not until you let it.
In what world do I have you?
Joey
Look, just because I don't fit into that... place you want me to doesn't mean there's not a place for me, Pacey. Does it?
Joey, this isn't your fight, anyway.
Joey
You're right. You're right. It's not my fight because it's been over for a really long time, Pacey. And it is up to you to make it right.
I don't know how to make it right.
Joey
Well, you're gonna have to figure it out. You know, that's the thing about ghosts. They say that... they don't leave until they're at peace with what they left undone.
Hey. Jo, come in. I'm finally starting to understand these soap operas. They're pretty good.
Joey
All right, dirt merchant. Put some pants on. You're coming with.
Yeah. I don't think I'm going to be able to do that. The Young and the Restless is just about to come on. I gotta see how J.T. talks his way out of this one 'cause Colleen was about to kill him. I wouldn't miss that for all the pizza in Capeside. But, please, feel free. Pull up a seat. We got chips.
Joey
Pacey. This is pathetic.
Well, yeah. Kind of comes with the territory. Now I'm not sure what you want me to do about it.
Joey
I want you to come with me. I want you to help me figure out how to get Dawson’s movie made on $10 and a dream.
I'd just end up ruining the whole thing, and Dawson knows that, I know that, and in your heart of hearts you know that. I'm a dangerous man, a lethal weapon, so we're all better off if I just lay here on my couch, watching my stories.
Cut, cut. Audrey, you're gonna have to take the robe off.
I thought we'd be in tight enough so we wouldn't see it, but it's right there.
This is, like, my dream day.
Ok, Dawson, what if I just show a little shoulder?
Problem is, I need bare skin.
You need, like, spaghetti straps.
Joey
She's right. You have to have something to match the wardrobe Audrey would be wearing if Pacey junior hadn't walked into her chest with a jelly doughnut.
We don't have an E.T.A. on that dress yet, do we?
Yes. Spin cycle. Your mom says it's gonna be about, uh, 20 minutes.
Uh, excuse me. Is there any scenario in which she could just take off all her clothes? You know, at least for one take? Because then, you know, I feel like I could really give you an appropriate on-camera react—
[Joey grabs him by the ear.]
Joey
Can I have 5 minutes alone with this guy?
You don't know how long I dreamed of hearing you say that.
Joey
We’ve been through so much Dawson. So many good times and bad. When I loved you, you loved Jen. When you loved me, I needed to be on my own. So I left you for Jack. Then he realized he was gay.
And then I convinced you to turn your dad in for trafficking cocaine and...you said you’d never speak to me again.
Joey
But I did. I offered myself to you at that party, after you crashed your dad’s boat.
And I refused...for some reason. And so you fell for Pacey.
Joey
And years passed... until finally here we are... saying, "I do." The way it should be... the only way it can be for star-crossed, ill-fated soul mates. So, I do.
[Dawson wakes up]
Well, you know that list of hardest things to live through? You just got bumped again. Ah. I'm so out of touch, Jo. I've... I've wasted so much time living in my little Hollywood bubble even now, my mind's on my work. I hate to admit that. Show's calling every 5 seconds. The network wants a script, which I haven't finished yet, because I don't know how. I don't have an ending. I can't even think straight enough to write one.
Joey
Dawson, this is a time of extreme stress.
It's not just that. When I saw Jen for the first time the other with Amy my first thought was, when did Jen have a baby? I forgot Jen had a baby. I forgot I knew that. What-- what's wrong with me?
Joey
You cannot feel guilty about that, Dawson. My office is calling every 5 seconds. It's--it's called life, and we just have to deal. Deal with—
With what, though? It's not Shakespeare. I'm not writing Schindler's List. I don't even know why I care so much. I'm no Spielberg. The guy won't even take a meeting with me. Would he?
Joey
Stop it.
She's dying. Jo, she's gonna die, and all I can think about is some frickin' ending to some stupid TV show. I keep thinking there's gonna be time for the rest of it, but it--it--it runs out.
Joey
Yes, it does.
Nothing in my life feels real anymore. I've lost touch with my family, my friends, you... and you and me together is the only thing that ever made sense to me, and I forgot that... until I saw you, and then it came back, what we were, and we're not even together.
Joey
Do you not watch The Creek? We're together every Wednesday at 8:00. Dawson, you wrote a show about us.
And that's the problem. I've turned my entire life into fiction. It's not even real life that I'm living anymore.
Joey
It is real, in the best way possible. Dawson, do you know how lucky you are? You're a writer. You get to live life twice. Who else can do that?
You're off the hook. I never really put much faith in all that "if you love someone set them free" crap, as evidenced by everything I've done in my life up to this very moment... but I am determined to be happy, Joey. Happy in this life... And I love you, I mean, I always, I have always, always loved you. But our timing has just never been right... and the way I figure it, time is no man's friend. So I have to get right with that and be happy, now. Because this is it, I mean, this is all that we get. If there is one thing I've learned from losing Jen, that's what I've learned.
Joey
Pacey, I—
Actually, um, hold on. I'm not done yet. Because I also want for you to be happy. It's really important for me that you be happy. So I want you to be with someone, whether it be Dawson or New York guy or some man that you haven't even met yet. But I want you to be with someone who can be a part of the life that you want for yourself. I want you to be with someone who makes you feel like I feel when I'm with you. So, I guess the point to this long run-on sentence that's been the last 10 years of our lives... is just that the simple act of being in love with you is enough for me. So you're off the hook.
Joey
You know, for the record I, I don't wanna be let off the hook. Cause everything in my life that I've done has led me here, right now. And the last thing I want, need or deserve is to be let off somebody's hook.
Please don't miss my point here...
Joey
And don't miss mine. Pacey, I love you, you know that. And it's very real. It's so real that it's kept me moving, mostly running from it, never ready for it… and I love Dawson, he's my soul mate. He's tied to my childhood... and it's a love that is pure and eternally innocent. I can't be let off the hook because I just might get the notion that it's ok to keep running.
So then what exactly are you saying here?
Joey
Are you writing?
No. The curse of an unwritten ending.
Joey
Oh. Make it a happy one, please. I can't take any more sad ones. Stay away from the life and death of it all.
It's interesting how people use that expression-- life and death. As if to imply that life is the opposite of death, but birth is the opposite of death. Life... has no opposite.
Joey
I never thought of it that way.
Well, leave it to me to over think it.
Joey
You are the writer.
Yeah. This writer has decided it doesn't matter how it ends... because fiction is fiction, and for the first time, in a long time... My life is real. It doesn't matter who ends up with who. Because in some unearthly way... it's always gonna be you and me.
Joey
Soul mates.
What we have goes beyond friendship, beyond lovers. It's forever.
Joey
Yes, it is. I love you, Dawson.
Dawson's Creek · 557 quotes
