SOS by Glory, Girl Writer.pdf - Dawson's Creek Fandom Wiki

Jack rearranged his silverware self-consciously. "I don't know. Probably not."
***
part seventeen: ring
Dawson stood just inside the patio doors, watching Pacey, who was standing outside
under the floodlights, charming one of Andie's French friends -- a girl with upswept hair
and a chunky silver necklace and, of course, a delighted, flirted-with expression on her
face. Dawson eased out the doors until he could hear what they were saying.
"I have a boat," Pacey said. The girl giggled and shook her head. "A boat," Pacey
repeated, making a sort of waves-on-the-water gesture. "For the water. A boat." She
just raised her eyebrows. "A boat, like the Love Boat. Like Gilligan's Island. Like in
Titanic."
Now the girl grabbed Pacey's arm. "Ah, Leo!"
Pacey nodded. "Right. And in the movie, Leo was on a boat. A big, big boat."
He had always envied that way Pacey had of making girls purr like they were being
petted. Needless to say, he knew he didn't have that quality. Girls would occasionally
look at him indulgently, like he was a charming five-year-old in a frozen pizza
commercial, but there was rarely anything more than that. There was never any purring.
When the girl gave one last laugh, smiled, and moved along, Dawson walked slowly
towards where Pacey was standing. As he approached, he discovered that he had only
rehearsed the middle of the conversation -- the important things he didn't want to get
wrong -- but he hadn't devised a plan for how to start. He thought of the last time they'd
seen each other, that last day at Joey's, and he absently ran his tongue over the crown
the dentist had put on the tooth Pacey broke. He had no idea where to begin. He had
considered just opening with the apology, but it seemed too abrupt. He couldn't very
well just walk up and say, "Remember me? You hate me. But I wish you didn't." Surely
there was no joke, no icebreaker, no friendly jab that was safe. So, buddy, how's the old
ball and chain?
With a level of regret that seemed to strike with a dull thud, Dawson realized that he had
nothing to say because the two of them didn't really even know each other anymore.
They hadn't really been friends, after all, since the night he walked out onto his porch
and saw the two of them. There had been such a conspiratorial haze swirling around