[voiceover] What Dawson said that night definitely rang true-- my life is waiting for me out there. I know it. And what's really cool is that I have absolutely no idea what to expect. But whatever it is... I'm ready for it. I'm excited. Bring it on.
S6The Kids Are Alright
S6The Song Remains the Same
Time's the enemy, right? Our enemy?
Mmm, you're not planning on turning into a pumpkin at midnight?
No, but I am leaving tomorrow.
And then what?
And then I come back.
Back to what, exactly?
To us.
[the morning after they slept together] So we should probably stop and think about this. You know, about what it means. I mean, about how this will change... [Dawson kisse her] ...things.
Maybe later.
[They begin to make out again]
Every good thing that's happened in my life I've essentially managed to talk out of existence. I'm not going to do that this time.
We didn't talk at all this summer, which was your choice as much as it was mine.
So I asked you to lie to me?
Joey, you and I both know if either one of us had stopped and thought for even a second last night, then what we did never would have happened, and I for one am not sorry that it did. If you are, then that's... that's a completely separate argument. That's actually a much bigger deal than...
Dawson, you have a girlfriend! How is that not a big deal?
Had a girlfriend, Joey. And, look, I'm willing to admit that the timing on this is far from perfect, but I'm sick of waiting for this so-called perfect timing that's obviously never gonna happen for us.
Oh, yeah, right. You know, it's... better to just get it over with and move on, you know? "Slept with Joey. Just... cross that off my list of things to do."
You know that's not how I think.
How do I know that, Dawson? I haven't talked to you all summer. Apparently you've changed so much that you're willing...
You really think I'd wanna sleep with you and not want it to mean more, Joey? You think I've been waiting all these years for us to have one night together and then go our separate ways?
Oh, I'm sorry you got sick of waiting, Dawson. I'm sorry that I wanted our first time to mean something more than just...
It does mean more, Joey! It... I mean, it... it means everything to me. I... I don't know what it means to you.
Oh, you're saying that I wanted this to happen?
No, 'cause that would involve you actually knowing what you want, which we both know is not likely to happen anytime this decade.
Oh, great, you know? Use something from when I was a child!
You're still a child, Joey. You're still the same scared little girl who...
Who what? Who what, Dawson? Who broke your heart? God! Is the statute of limitations ever gonna end on that one? Ever?! Dawson, I'm sorry I don't have the same dreams I had when I was 15 years old, and I'm sorry that I moved on faster than you did, but you know what? Maybe not everything that happens to you is my fault! And maybe just because I want more from my life than...
More than what? More than us? You don't know, do you? You've never known. The entire time I've known you, all you've wanted to do is escape. From me, from Capeside. I mean, you say that I'm the dreamer. I'm the one who doesn't wanna live in the real world. Well, I'm doing it, Joey. Right now. I'm living in the real world. It's you who wants the fantasy.
I want the fantasy?
Yes.
Who lit the candles? Who bought the champagne?
Who dumped who 4 years ago? Joey, I know what I want. I've always known what I want. Before we destroy whatever chance we might actually have at having a relationship, I'm asking you, please, stop and think about this. Is this really what you want? Is this... really the way that you want things to end between us?
Why are you doing this, Joey?
We're doing this, Dawson. It's what we do. It's what we always do.
Last night was real. Today was real. It's you, not me, who doesn't wanna deal with the realities of an adult relationship.
You're right.
That's it? I'm right?
I want the fantasy. I want more than anything for us to be together. But not like this. Not screaming at the top of our lungs about things that happened 4 years ago.
But if we can't argue like this and get past it, then...
Maybe there's nothing here worth saving. Maybe last night was just...
Just what?
Just two old friends making a huge mistake.
Wow. If that's the way you feel, then... then I... should go.
S6The Importance of Not Being Too Earnest
Oh, my god! You're still there, like a vegetable.
Writing a good e-mail is hard.
Yes, especially when it is a huge mistake.
Shut up.
Joey, I am serious. E-mail expression is the scourge of the modern age. The Internet has made it way too easy to express oneself. Ok, you have some fleeting thought. You send it. It lands with a thud in some unsuspecting person's mailbox. Said person then reads it, gets irked because you've recapped a conversation that you presumably already had. They fail to respond. You feel slighted. But if you must be one of these pathetic passive/aggressive e-mail types, far be it from me to stop you. What do you have so far?
Well... I had "Dear Dawson," and then I erased it.
Why? I think that's a nice start.
I seemed cold.
True. I mean, you did just nude-up with the guy. Oh, I'm sorry, or did you guys do it through a hole in a sheet because that's very Dawson and Joey to me.
Again, shut up.
Sorry. Ok, so what do you want to say?
I don't know. I mean, I don't like the way things ended, and I want him to know that I care, but I also want to hold on to my righteous indignation.
Obviously. Well, why don't you just pick up the phone and call him?
I'm afraid we'll just fall right back into our old patterns. Trust me. E-mail is a far safer alternative at the moment.
Ok, if you must do this, then I say that you go for it. You know, be gooey and be embarrassing, but most of all, just be real, Joey. Say all of the things that you can't say to his face, the whole nine.
You're right. I better get to work. But...thank you, Audrey.
No problem, sister Christian.
RRich
Witter!
Rinaldi.
RRich
That's "sir" until you buy me flowers, Witter. Where have you been?
I'm really sorry. I was just under the impression that I wasn't supposed to be here until 9:00.
RRich
Ahh, "supposed to." Well, that's cute. Are you supposed to dress yourself, or does your mommy actually want you to look like a pansy? Look around. You see these guys? Apparently, these gentlemen are free thinkers. Since you've yet to grow a pair, you get stuck with these. [Hands him a stack of folders]
And what's all this?
RRich
That is a collection of about 30 cold days in hell: Rich guys sittin' on piles of money so high that their daughters eloped and sold their own babies on the black market just to put ramen on the table. We have never been able to sell them stock, and they will certainly never buy it from the tardy likes of you. You better get on the phone. We work on commission here. And the guys on your list don't know how dreamy you are, so I would work that blue collar charm full-throttle. Stop battin' your eyes at me.
Is this some sort of punishment?
RRich
I'm just tryin' to get you to leave. I don't have enough desks.
HHetson
Ok, kiddies, knock back your Ritalin and settle down. You may recall, we were wrapping up a rather depraved discussion of Portnoy's Complaint last week. Sadly, we won't be dabbling in Roth's stream-of-consciousness sexual rivers much longer, but fate assigned us some additional reading last night via e-mail. I think you all got a copy, so why not? Let's discuss something you actually might've read. "Dear Dawson, I don't know where to begin."
Uh, professor Heston—
HHetson
Nobody likes a show-off, Potter. You don't reach a point for several paragraphs, so I'll skip ahead. "In the moment when we touched, maybe we went somewhere else that rose above all this, but then we landed, and I think maybe we crashed." [Class laughs] Why, when broaching the topic of sex, do so many writers try to write themselves out of it? Sexuality and all its dysfunctions are intrinsic to the human experience, maybe the one thing we can all relate to at the end of the day-- well, neurosis and the god thing aside. And the reason that Roth seduced us and Miss Morning After here didn't is that while Roth isn't afraid to get his hands quite literally dirty with rapid-fire sensual description, our e-mail author here distances herself from the act with vague metaphors. Can't be stream of consciousness if you're observing from the shores... right?
You know, maybe-- and this is just a shot in the dark-- she didn't mean to send it to the gossips at large. Maybe she's just trying to get some private closure, never dreamed she'd be subjected to the Oprah psychobabble of her life-lacking peers. Now, do you guys want something to eat, or should I just bring over a nice tray of bon-bons so you guys can hunker down and watch your stories?
Boston Bay is not a party school, Audrey.
Spare me your lies, Jen. I am not going back to my evil den of higher learning. This is clearly where it's at.
Hey, the midday keggers get a little old after a few semesters, trust me. I tell you what, I'm gonna meet you guys in there. I'm gonna go talk to Professor Freeman.
Don't you think that's a tad Tracey Flick? He doesn't know who you are.
Sure he does. I've raised my hand and talked in class a lot of times. He's noticed. He has.
All right... swimfan. Somebody has got to talk to that boy about his love of the straights.
Whatever. It's totally hot.
HHetson
Oh, it's so nice to see you, Potter. Hope our pesky class didn't interfere with your all-important e-mail schedule. Whip out another diatribe last night?
Actually, I did. I was hoping this was it. Did you guys not get it?
HHetson
Oh, this is actually a copy of the article that I assigned to follow up the reading. I know your mini-drama probably prevented you from even looking at the syllabus.
Well, most of yesterday consisted of eviscerating my personal life, and every other lesson is a rant composed of your dated theories. I'm sorry I'm late, professor Heston, but the first half of class is usually when you reveal how bitter you are, how moronic we are, and how literature is dead. Were you thinking of moving on to something slightly more stimulating today?
HHetson
Well, I-- I think we've been spending too much time together, Potter, if that's your attitude. I mean, I was thinking of teaching today, but I don't know if I've got a lot to offer, what with the tenure and the published articles and all. But if you all insist on being stimulated, why don't we discuss James Joyce’s description of the girl on the beach. I mean, I'm too hackneyed to illuminate the subject, but maybe you can shed some light.
S6Instant Karma!
This celebration of madness about people who aren't afraid, who take chances, people who really live. And I guess that I've always... wanted to be one of those people, you know?
[Joey kisses him]
What was that?
Just following an impulse.
I don't mind you kissing me if it's because you want to kiss me, not for revenge or to help you forget someone else. Whatever happened between you guys, you're gonna have to deal with it. Yourself. Just... just you.
Maybe it's the only way that we could finally stand on our own. You know, to... hurt each other so much that we have no choice but to let go. Maybe otherwise we never would.
Yeah. Maybe.
Do you think it would have worked out between us if I... if we hadn't... if things had been different?
I don't know. I mean, that's the thing with us. They never are, are they?
I... think I'm going back to California. 'Cause I don't really work here anymore.
I'm sorry, Dawson.
Things happen.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's Dawson's Creek pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.