"It suits you." "What's that?" "The look." "Deer standing in the road of senior year caught in the headlights of college indecision." "I'm seriously considering just running away and joining the circus." "Well, what do you say we keep that one as a fall-back." "Okay?" "Now I know this college application process can be pretty daunting." "But you are well ahead of the game." "Except for Williams College." "I'm missing your peer recommendation from "The person who knows you best."" "Right." "You've got the easy part." "You just have to pick someone." "is that gonna be a problem?" "No, I was just hoping to take a vacation from large choices that carry even larger consequences." "Okay." "Try this." "Close your eyes." "Just humour me." "Okay." "Clear your mind of everything." "It's just air up there." "Okay." "Now picture the question." "Who is the person that knows you, Joey Potter the best?" "Okay." "Open your eyes." "Who did you see?" "You know, lugging your literature to and fro is getting tiresome, McPhee." "Oh, pardon me if I'm not in a rush to hit those high school halls and be stared at like some kind of social leper." "It won't be like that." "Oh, come on. I mean, can't you hear it?" ""There's that smart girl who almost 'chem'd' herself to death inside the inflatable funhouse."" "Andie, if our high school didn't have a history of forgiving stupidity how do you think I'd be able to walk down the halls?" "You guys have been really good about visiting me." "But you've all been alone." "Nobody's talking about the other night." "And no one's talking to each other." "Well, yeah." "We' re not the most huggy of groups right now." "I mean, our previously fractured circle of friends has gone and fractured itself again." "You mean Jen and Jack?" "No, I mean everybody." "That's ridiculous, because we all talked about this." "You talked about it." "You gave me the whole "two to tango" speech." "So far as I can tell, every tango needs someone to lead." "Why is everybody so insistent that that person has to be Jen?" "I told you, it's not her fault." "Okay, I'm gonna fix this." "I'm just gonna get a hold of her and" "Why?" "Honestly, why, Andie?" "I mean maybe not all friendships need to be saved." "Maybe we' re meant to just spend a certain part of our lives with certain people and then move on." "Isn't that what this year's supposed to be about?" "Moving on?" "Pacey, we can move on without moving away from each other." "Well, maybe we can't." "Well, it's about damn time." "Mr. Brooks, your praise for a job well done could swell a young man's head." "Two things about that statement trouble me, Mr. Leery." "You used the word "well" and the word "done."" ""Well" would imply that your brush strokes don't streak all to hell." "" Done" would suggest that your work is complete." "Neither of which could be further from the truth." "What do you--?" "Cheap paint applied by cheap labour wouldn't even come close to repairing what you and your friends did to my boat." "I understand that, from your point of view, what we did was- Illegal." "Right." "But it was a matter of life and death." "Well, compared to that, what's a little matter of whitewashing my fence?" "Well, there's the issue of my untouched applications for higher learning." "Believe me, Mr. Leery, from my observation it isn't gonna be all that high." "Look, I just don't have the time." "You' re a resourceful lad." "You found time to steal a boat when you needed to." "Now if you want me to honour my promise not to press charges you need to honour yours by working off your debt." "Guess who." "Rough skin, questionable odour." "If I were a betting woman, I'd say my least favourite person on earth." "Wrong. it's me." "Drue, I thought that we had come to an understanding." "And what understanding might that be?" "The best thing you could do for me and the rest of civilization would be curl up and die." "Normally I welcome banter but there's something we need to address." "I've been getting the vibe from your friends they think I'm a bad influence." "I can't have them not wanting to play with me." "How will I occupy my time?" "Drue, because of you, my friends aren't even speaking to me." "Not even the precious Jack?" "That is none of your business." "Right." "Never mix business and pleasure." "Nothing gives me more pleasure than to see you and your buddies all conflicted." "Frankly, I didn't think it would actually be this easy." "Yet, here you are, avoiding all of them and talking to me." "lt's starting to feel just like old times." "This is nothing like old times, Drue." "You know, no matter what or who you did I've always been there." "Not pretending to be and then judging you afterwards." "Can you say the same about your new friends?" "I can say this much:" "I don't care if every friend that I have never speaks to me again I will not look to you for solace or support, ever." "Just remember, Jen, that which does not kill me makes me more diabolical." "Hey." "Andie sends her best." "I was wondering where you were." "Don't mean to interrupt." "But, Pacey, what day is it?" "Thursday." "And Thursday is...?" "The day after Wednesday." "Cute." "I'd like to see how cute you are when you find nothing to eat but Junior Mints and stale Cookie Crisps." "Because Thursday is the day a certain sibling is supposed to remember he's on grocery duty." "Got the keys, bolting out the door." "You want the list?" "Not right now." "The list." "Don't believe a word she says." "She lies." "Goodbye, Pacey." "Tell me everything before the enemy returns to camp." "Actually, Gretchen there is something that I've been meaning to ask." "What's that?" "How'd you manage it?" "What's that?" "Avoid college application dysphoria?" "You might be dating one, Joey, but you still can't "out-Witter" a Witter." "Especially an older one." "What do you mean?" "Avoidance." "You've had something on your mind since you waltzed in." "I've finally got it down to a subject but I still need the text." "So spill." "Okay. I'm one recommendation short of finishing my application." "To Williams." "That's great." "Yeah, but you haven't heard the punch line yet." "It's a peer rec, to be written by "the person who knows me best."" "And the plot thickens." "So have you asked him yet?" "Who?" "Dawson." "Dawson?" "Well, see, if I ask Dawson, not that I'm going to, but if I do ask him" "What about Pacey?" "Exactly." "What about Pacey?" "I mean, no matter which one I ask, somebody's gonna get hurt." "But that person shouldn't be you by default." "You've gotta be a little selfish here." "They want the person who knows you the best not the person you happen to be dating." "So you' re saying I should ask Dawson." "I'm saying you should answer the question." "But the doctor doesn't think there's any good chance for me..." "..." "later on." "No, darling, please." "Yes." "Please." "I could flip to something else." "Something you might actually want to watch." "I'm pretty obvious, aren't I?" "The fact of the matter is, I'm not really watching it either." "What?" "What is it?" "I've been watching you this past week and thinking." "I've made a lot of mistakes with this family. I want to fix that." "You don't have to fix-- -l spoke to Principal Peskin." "You have enough credits to graduate." "With your acceptance to university all that you really need to do is walk, come June." "So what would you think about taking the rest of the school year off?" "To do what?" "Get a job?" "No, that's not exactly what I had in mind." "I was trying to remember the last time I saw you relax." "No responsibilities." "No burden." "No worries." "And then I remembered your face that summer in Florence with Aunt Georgia." "There was this market...." "Yeah, in that square by her flat." "And you were just running from cart to cart." "Charming everyone." "Come on, Dad. I was 1 1 ." "It was more than that, Andie." "You were free." "Are you saying that I should go to Italy?" "Georgia says she'd be delighted to have some company." "And you' re always talking about spending time in Europe." "I don't know if I...." "Andie." "The next four years are gonna be even more intense than the last four." "Trust me." "This might be your only chance in your whole life for an opportunity like this." "Think about it." "You've got mail." "You can't keep avoiding her." "l can try." "This is Jen Lindley that we' re talking about." "I know." "And I know what you' re trying to do." "Right now, I'm not willing to have this conversation." "Dad wants me to take the rest of the year off." "How's that for conversation?" "Off?" "Off of what?" "Off of everything." "I mean we haven't made any final decisions yet." "Hold on, hold on." "So you get all the perks of senior year at Capeside but with no homework." "Where do I sign up?" "Actually, I wouldn't be in Capeside." "I'd be in Italy." "In Florence, to be exact." "With" " With Aunt G?" "Wow, we haven't-- We haven't seen her since...." "Forever. I know." "But remember how much I loved it?" "I'm sorry, Andie. lt just sounds like you'd be running away." "From what?" "You tell me." "You've been looking forward to senior year with anticipation that borders on frightening." "And then here it is and you want to leave." "And you stay and you have six months of zero responsibility surrounded by family and friends." "Friends who can't even stand to be in the same room with one another." "That's exactly my point." "Do you want to leave when you' re the only one that everyone's talking to?" "Jack, you make it sound like there's no valid reason for me to go." "I always pictured you as a girl that didn't just go to the last party of senior year but threw it." "You'd leave and miss the end of this?" "All of it?" "It's not something I thought you'd ever do." "But then again I guess I've been making that mistake about a lot of people these days." "Jen, thanks for coming down." "Yeah." "No problem." "This is Officer Morris, from Juvenile Correction." "What's up?" "I had to tell them." "We've been naughty, naughty kids, Jen." "And frankly, we need help." "Drue, what are you doing?" "What's best." "I told them all about our mutual experience with ecstasy." "And how we both contributed to the delinquency of poor Andie McPhee." "Have a seat, Jen." "Listen, you can't believe a word that this guy says." "He's just" "A victim." "Drue had finally cleaned up his act." "Does anybody want to hear my side before handing down a sentence?" "It's not about punishment, Jen." "It's about prevention." "Are you guys actually buying this crap?" "Jennifer." "Are you saying that we don't have a past speckled with recreational drug use?" "I'm saying that I don't have a present." "Grams, please." "You know me." "Ask." "Jen, I've admitted to my part." "I mean I admit that I gave you the drugs." "And somehow they got from your hands to Andie's nervous system." "I mean, do I fib?" "If I may point out, that by coming forward with this information my son has clearly demonstrated that he is ready to tackle his past indiscretions." "I think we all appreciate Drue's forthcoming nature." "And in recognition of that I think this can all be handled with 1 00 hours of community service." "Excuse me." "Wait." "So we' ll meet up later." "Discuss which part of the community is most in need of servicing." "So do I start packing my bags immediately or should I wait until after dinner?" "Grams, will you listen to me, please?" "I am so, so sorry." "No. I do not want to have this conversation, Jennifer." "I thought we had a relationship based on honesty and truth." "I will not yell. I will not punish." "Scolding is for children." "And, Jennifer, you are no longer a child." "I wish you were, then there'd still be time to right whatever it is that is wrong with you." "I have never in all my life been so deeply disappointed in anything or anyone." "I don't even-- l don't even have the words." "Hey." "I got your e-mail. I was surprised." "I wasn't sure if you were ever gonna write back." "I didn't." "Well, if you didn't then" "Andie." "Probably figured it was the only way to get us to break our code of silence." "Well, that would require both of us wanting it broken." "Look, I didn't e-mail you." "I don't have anything to say to you." "Come on, Jack, what do you want?" "You want to just be angry, fine." "But I mean, at some point, you're gonna have to tell me how to fix this." "You want me to say sorry?" "I have." "I've apologized for making a mistake." "For poor judgment." "I've apologized for things that I don't even think were really my fault." "I'm 1 7 and I just-- l did something stupid." "When you're close to somebody and they do something unexplained or out of character you don't-- You don't just abandon them." "You, of all people, should understand." "It's killing me, what you're doing." "You may not ever do what I did, but what you're doing I can tell you, I would never do to anybody." "Especially you." "There." "We talked." "Now do you get it, Andie?" "Nothing you can do is ever gonna fix this." "Hey." "Hey." "Need some help with that?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Something tells me you didn't come over just to help me carry paint." "So...." "Did you realize how wrong it is I've been working off our debt to Mr. Brooks all by myself?" "Me and my Yacht Club employment are forever in your debt." "Right." "Right. I' ll put it on your tab." "So are you gonna ask me?" "Ask what?" "You've got your favour face on." "I do not." "Oh, now you've got your "l'm lying" face on." "Look, okay." "It's...." "Here." ""The person who knows you best."" "Wow." "Wow." "You said that already." "Yeah. I thought it had more impact the second time." "So what do you think?" "What do you think?" "I think that I want you to say that you' ll write it for me." "Are you sure that I'm the right person?" "Does Pacey know about this?" "No." "But if you say yes, he will." "Are you the right person, Dawson?" "Well you are the only person who knows that I have a favour face." "I'm just asking that you ponder the possibility, okay?" "And if you do decide to write it, then you are the right person." "Okay." "Mr. Leery, unless you'd like to starve to death, you'd better get in here." "Food's in here." "Mr. Brooks, this is really good." "You' re not one of them?" "One of who?" "One of those teenagers who can't stand a moment of good old-fashioned silence." "If the dinner table was meant for talking, they'd call it the talking table." "You know, I'm gonna take this outside." "Oh, yeah." "Well, that's why your friends never come over here and help you." "You don't face your issues, Leery." "You just take them outside." "Keep doing that, you' re gonna end up doing a hell of a lot more than just painting alone." "What about you?" "You've got a wall full of photographs." "Full of people I've never seen before." "Who are they?" "I mean, you once critiqued my photography saying I didn't have enough life in them." "You have the opposite problem." "Where are these pictures in your life?" "My brothers." "Thirty years ago, they came asking for money to start their own business." "My gut was screaming no." "It didn't feel right." "Timing was not the best." "But they needed me." "And though your gut said no-- l invested a lot." "The business lost a lot and so did I." "As you take on years, you' ll come to realize that you don't always lose people from your life by choice." "Sometimes it just happens when you make the wrong ones." "Hey." "Hey. I got some A.P. English here with a side of calc." "Oh, thanks." "Pacey I have a secret." "And I know that we haven't shared one of these in a long time." "But I really need to tell you or I'm gonna burst." "Sure thing." "What's going on?" "Okay." "My dad suggested that I take the rest of the school year off." "Yeah." "That I go to Italy for six months and see my aunt." "Well, that's quite an offer." "Yeah." "And I know why he's making it." "I mean, obviously because of last week, he's worried." "But also, we talked about it." "You know?" "I mean, we really talked about this." "And..." "...it's just different this time." "So what does Jack have to say about all this?" "I thought he was gonna be the first to volunteer to help me pack." "But instead he gives me all these sound arguments and reasons for why I should stay." "You know, he left once too." "Yeah." "But he moved across town, not across the world." "So my father wants what's best for my health." "My brother is being selfish out of love." "And you want a tie-breaker." "Come on, you've done it before." "In fact, you almost made a hobby out of saving this damsel in distress." "I didn't save you, you saved yourself." "You just took me along for the ride." "But then why can't I save myself now?" "Why is making this decision so hard?" "You know, maybe Jack is right." "Maybe going to Italy is running away." "From what?" "From everything." "Taking the easy way out." "Packing up when life hits a rough patch." "Or maybe this is exactly what you need." "To have the strength of will to take off the training wheels and try riding on your own for a while." "I don't know if I can do that, Pacey." "A lot of what's been happening is because of me." "And what are people gonna think if--?" "Andie." "You can." "You spend too much time worrying about everybody else." "We all do." "But at the end of the day, it's your life." "It's not your dad's. lt's not Jack's." "It's not mine. lt's yours." "And you get to live it." "So you' re the tie-breaker, Andie." "Hey, we can help build a new community centre for kids." "Just shut up, Drue." "Jenny, this little rift of ours troubles me so." "I felt that we were growing apart and we needed to spend some quality time together." "And I could only help but dream of us picking up trash on the roadside and how that city-provided orange jumpsuit would just hug you in all the right places." "Drue, you forget that I know you." "You did this to look better to everybody." "To protect that inner lago of yours." "But you' ll find that no amount of apologizing is good enough once they've made up their minds about who you are." "These people have no idea who we are, Jen." "That's what I've been trying to tell you." "These are not your people." "I am your people." "And all that Capeside will ever be for you is your past." "Hey." "Hey." "You look like you' re getting colour back." "Yeah, I think I am." "Everything seems to be going okay around here now, huh?" "What do you mean?" "Like you and Jack." "Things are okay between you guys now, huh?" "Yeah." "Yeah, they are." "I mean, if you and Jack can work things out then why can't Jen and Jack, right?" "Or Pacey and Dawson." "Or any of us, really." "Well, all it takes is realizing what you risk losing by letting someone go." "Hey." "Hey." "I see you' re ploughing through tonight's reading." "Try last night's." "I thought I'd catch up." "Mr. Copeland in room three has a tendency to break out in song while bathing." "This seat's not taken." "It's okay. I can't stay." "Well either you're a very fast writer, which I know not to be the case or you come bearing bad news." "I just...." "I've been thinking about it since the minute you asked me." "And the answer just keeps on coming back the same." "I'm not the right person to write this." "Not anymore." "You did what I asked." "You...." "You thought about it." "And thank you for that." "I'm sorry." "Okay." "Pacey." "Dawson." "So, play date?" "Not exactly." "I asked him to write a peer recommendation for me." "He said no." "So it's really nothing." "Well, that's not nothing." "The nothings, you tell me about." "The somethings, you keep secret." "I know this tone." "And it signifies the start of a really nasty conversation." "But it takes two to have one and I'm not up for sparring." "Not over this." "So now you get to decide what we talk through." "But you also get to decide what it is that we let slide?" "Were you ever gonna tell me about this?" "It's been hard to tell you anything this week." "You' re never around." "Okay." "Look." "If you were angry with me, you should" "Look, Pacey." "That's not it, okay?" "I was just waiting to see if he'd agree to do it in the first place before starting World War" "Where are we now?" "Fifteen?" "And if you' re upset that I asked him, Pacey it's because it was the question." "You know what?" "Third grade Dawson was there when I broke my left arm jumping off Peter Masik's back-yard swing." "He was there the night I came home early from Lake Emandal because I was homesick." "You know, he was there the day that I had to wear that horrific training bra for the first time." "And the day that my mom passed away." "He was the first to come through the door." "He sat with me the whole day." "He never asked me how I was doing." "Because he, unlike everyone else he knew me enough to know that there weren't words to describe how I was doing." "So you really, Pace you can't be angry with me for asking him." "I'm not angry that you asked Dawson to do something for you." "It's the question." ""The person who knows you best."" "When do I get to be that person?" "Dawson?" "You look pretty swank for fish duty tonight." "Thank you." "Did your mom enlist your services?" "No." "Actually, I'm a paying customer tonight." "I'm having dinner with Andie." "That's strange, because I'm having dinner with Andie." "Really?" "Hey, guys." "Let me guess, dinner with Andie?" "Yeah." "How did you know?" "Pacey." "What's going on?" "Where's Andie?" "She's in the bathroom, perfecting the answer to your first question." "What's this all about?" "l don't know." "Don't shoot the diner." "I'm a guest, just like you." "Hey, guys." "Thanks for coming." "So now that we' re all here, why are we here?" "You' ll find out shortly." "We' re just waiting for one person." "Andie, come on." "This is" "Oh, wait." "Here she is." "Hey, Jen." "Hi." "We saved a seat for you." "You know what?" "I'm...." "l'm not that hungry." "Andie, can you bring home a doggy bag?" "I'm the one that's crashing the party. I' ll go." "l just said I was going." "No, I am." "I'm leaving Capeside." "And that's why I asked you all to come here tonight." "To say goodbye and also there's something that I need to say to you guys." "All of you, before I go." "So, Jen, Jack, please stay." "You know what?" "It shouldn't have taken a scheme to get you all here tonight." "When Dad first made me the offer to take the rest of the year off I sat down with my trusty number-two and made my list of pros and cons." "The pros were pretty obvious." "Opportunity of a lifetime, right?" "And then came those nasty cons." "And you know what got top billing?" "You guys." "The thought of leaving all of my friends." "I mean, you guys are the ones who have supported and consoled and understood, unconditionally." "But look at us now." "We are a mess." "And let's talk about why, starting with last week's fiasco." "Okay?" "Enough with the " blame Jen" game." "If I don't, you shouldn't." "Yes, she had them." "But I took them." "It was my fault." "And, Pacey, Joey, Dawson you guys are so lucky." "Do you have any idea how rare it is to have friends that you've known your entire life?" "So please don't underestimate that." "Because in the end, you always go back to the people that were there in the beginning." "And in the beginning, there were the three of you." "And you two." "You know what?" "This is just.... lt's really inexcusable." "The biggest reason that was keeping me here was the thought that if I left, you wouldn't have a sister around." "But then I realized that you would." "When I first met you I didn't know much about love or friendship." "And each of you taught me a lot about both." "So maybe by my leaving, I can return the favour." "Because the thought of it ending like this the way things are right now it's just.... lt's not how I want to remember us." "Do you?" "is anybody in there?" "Yeah." "And there's only room for one." "Which, I guess, is kind of a recurring theme these days." "l'm really sorry." "Hold on a second." "Let me go first this time." "Oh, Jo, I'm sorry for how I reacted to the whole peer rec thing." "I think it was just kind of a left hook to the hot button." "And I reacted like Pacey." "You know who that guy you reacted like is gonna be in 1 0 years?" "The person who knows me best." "Dawson knows my past." "My future lies with you." "You think about it, you know?" "You didn't even like me three years ago." "Well, you always tease the ones you love." "And you do have to always deal with the ones that you used to love." "Hey." "Hi." "ls-- ls that the girl that used to tell me everything?" "is that the boy who used to listen?" "I never stopped listening, Jen. I just didn't particularly like what I was hearing." "Look, what Andie said in there...." "You are such an important part of my life." "l thought you were changing on me." "l never changed, Jack." "It's still me." "Jen Lindley, girl who screws up every now and again." "I'm sorry." "I don't need an apology." "I just need somebody who will stand by me." "Are you willing to do that?" "Are you willing to keep standing?" "I knew I'd find you here." "I thought you didn't know me anymore, Dawson." "The truth is, I never doubted how well l knew you, Joey." "I was just afraid of what would happen if I had to put it all down on paper." "Before you told me that if I decided to write the recommendation that I was the right person for the job." "If the offer still stands, I would really like to do that for you." "I'd like that too." "Thank you." "That's nice to see." "Gives them something to hold onto." "Well, what do you say you come inside and help me give us all something to hold onto." "You know, this could potentially be the last time we" "Oh, don't say that." "There is no need for that." "You' ll be back, you know?" "There's prom and there's graduation" "And a whole other world out there." "Pacey, you said it yourself." "is that why you' re doing this?" "Because of what I said?" "Oh." "Pacey, you gave me my strength, you know?" "The strength to do things that I always needed to do but was too afraid to do." "No." "No, I'm sorry." "I don't think that you get to use the adjective "afraid" anymore while being self-referential." "You can now use "brave" and perhaps occasionally "stalwart."" "Stalwart?" "No, I hate stalwart." "Well, that's too bad." "You' re stuck with stalwart." "You know, I think what we' re gonna miss the most about you is just your overwhelming optimism." "Your ardent belief that everything in the world is wonderful until proven crap." "Do you think maybe you can just leave us with a little bit of that when you go?" "It's the least I could do." "I'm gonna miss you." "Me too." "Hey." "Hey." "Look, Andie the only reason that I said that you shouldn't go is because I'm gonna miss you more than anything." "Good." "The thought of not having you around, of saying goodbye" "Jack, you' re my brother." "There are no goodbyes." "Yeah." "l love you." "l love you too." "Okay, everybody." "Let's do this." "We are...on the clock."