"Oh, Joey, you look radiant." "What?" "l believe she said:" ""Oh, Joey, you look radiant."" "And I could not agree more with your wise assessment, Bess." "Joey Potter, you do look absolutely radiant." "I don't look radiant. I look silly." "That's ridiculous. I'm not gonna dignify that comment with a response." "But, Pacey, the prom?" "I mean, what are we, like, in high school?" "Yeah." "We are in high school, last time I checked." "Plus, I don't have the best record for these events." "Need I remind you of the debacle that was last year's anti-prom." "Oh, my God, I forgot to pick up Alexander." "Oh, my God, she forgot to pick up Alexander." "Pacey, you finish." "Okay." "Okay." "You like my dress?" "I believe I already used the word " radiant."" "Actually, because I kind of figured that the dress really isn't the part that the guys care about." "It's really the after-prom, when the dress comes off." "Speaking of prom, I need for you to go and pick up the prom tickets." "I thought you were going to." "I tried to pick up the prom tickets, but my poor academic standing put me on the "do not sell to" list." "Did you remember the limo?" "Yeah." "Yeah. I remembered the limo." "I'll take care of everything." "You don't have to do it all yourself." "I can handle some of the preparations-- l want to." "Okay?" "I want to. I wanna make this perfect for you." "Sweetheart you don't have to make this perfect." "Well, that's sweet of you to say, but I'd like to try anyway if that's all the same to you." "And speaking of, I really should kind of get on my way but I love you, Jo." "You deserve to have the most amazing senior prom anyone has ever had." "And that is exactly what I'm gonna give you, okay?" "So from here on out, smooth sailing. I promise." "Damn." "It's unbelievable." "So there I am, 1 5 years old." "I'm at this girl's senior prom." "Yeah." "And I've just confessed I'm gay." "What does she do in response?" "She sticks her tongue way down my throat." "It gets worse." "She takes my hand, and she sticks it on her crotch and she says, "You may think you're gay now, honey but give me an hour and I'll rock your world."" "No way, that's crazy." "Right." "Tell me about it." "But don't let my horror story fool you." "You guys will have a great time at your prom." "I gotta go." "I got a doctor's appointment." "Final one after the incident." "Bye, Jen." "Good luck finding a dress." "Bye, sweetie." "And you can keep the magazines." "I'm doing the Cosmo sex quiz, though." "Jack, give me a call." "And I wanna hear all about the prom-related details." "Bye." "See you later." "Bye-bye." "That is too funny." "Don't even say it." "l didn't say a thing." "I know what you're thinking." "And no, I'm not asking Tobey to the prom." "Why the hell not?" "Jack, you guys are getting along really well." "It seems like you have fun together." "He obviously wants you to ask him." "Every other word out of his mouth was " prom."" "Remember last year?" "Remember with Ethan?" "All the controversy, Barbara Johns, the anti-prom thing?" "Jack, nobody cares." "Just take the boy to prom." "I think you're trying to get out of this prom altogether." "That's what this is all about." "Just pick a dress!" "Will you not change the subject." "Jack, I can go stag. lt's fine." "We're aware of Tobey's more-than-platonic feelings." "Now, if I ask him to go to the prom, it's like I'm leading him on." "Jack, all I'm saying is-- -l don't want to hear it." "Jen, drop it." "That's it." "Stop." "Pick a dress." "Do you think this one's too tight?" "No, you look perfect." "I, on the other hand, look like a freak." "Yeah, in what universe?" "She's right." "You look..." "..." "luminous." "Like a big luminous freak." "You're gonna look great." "Yeah." "As long as Gretchen thinks so." "Speaking of which, get a corsage?" "Pacey said he'd pick up mine." "Limo?" "Pacey." "We got everything covered then." "l'm the only one here with the right to feel like a freak." "My senior prom was last century." "When you think about it, it's kind of depressing." "You don't seem all that depressed." "Because I'm not." "I'm up for that kick-ass job in Boston, which is super exciting." "And this prom will be a fun trip down memory lane on the arm of a guy I'm totally into." "What's there to be depressed about?" "Actually, there is one more tradition that I almost forgot about." "What?" "You know what I'm talking about." "Are you or are you not gonna fulfil the longstanding teenage tradition of after-prom sex?" "I decline to respond to that line of questioning." "How are you, Miss Lindley?" "Seems to me that ever since we got back from New York..." "...you seemed a little...." "Horribly messed up?" "l was gonna say sad." "l'm sad and horribly messed up." "Terrified of the future and haunted by the past." "But other than that, I feel really good about things." "All I'm saying is, if you were gonna do it on prom night..." "...just be careful." "That's all." "l appreciate your concern." "But if we were planning on following through on any traditions my emotional bases are covered." "Good to know." "But I admit to nothing." "So why don't I feel perfect?" "In the words of my former therapist, why don't you tell me?" "Well, I'm terrified of the future, for one thing." "And a couple of weeks ago, I had a little bit of a scare." "But that's not even it." "I don't know, maybe it's Pacey." "You know what, Jen, it just doesn't seem like he's too eager to...." "To touch me." "I'm sure he's just waiting for you to come to him." "You think?" "Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, he probably is just waiting." "Yeah." "Jen, what if he's not waiting for me?" "Hey." "l was just thinking about you." "Hence my ear-to-ear grin." "I didn't get that job in Boston." "What happened?" "The woman from the magazine she just paged me and I called her back." "She said that she loved me and I was perfect for it but I didn't have a college degree or the necessary experience." "God, that sucks. I'm sorry." "I really thought I had it." "I don't know what I'm gonna do." "If you wanna skip this whole prom thing, I totally understand." "No." "No." "Dawson, come on." "This is your milestone, not mine." "And you deserve to have it be a wonderful experience." "And that's what it's gonna be." "Are you sure?" "Yes." "Yes. lt's fine." "It's more than fine." "It's gonna kick ass. I promise." "Okay." "I'm telling you, Tobey, he desperately wants to ask you." "He's just too embarrassed." "He's got a really irrational fear of rejection." "I don't know. lt just didn't seem like Jack wanted to ask me to prom." "Would I make this up?" "Look, he is a seething quagmire of neuroses." "You don't even wanna know." "How somebody so good-looking could be so insecure, it's beyond me." "But I assure you, he really wants you to go to prom with him." "He told me so." "The guy begged me to come over here and ask you." "So just call him and say yes." "You wanna know what?" "Nobody's home." "Bessie, Bodie, Alexander." "All gone." "And there are no guests here." "So, basically, that means we have the whole place to ourselves." "Are you thirsty?" "No, I'm not thirsty." "Try again." "You know what I could go for?" "A turkey sandwich on rye bread." "You want one?" "No, thank you." "Okay. I'll be right back." "Hello." "Hello, there." "Jack, okay, listen you cannot be mad at me." "Remember my relationship with Henry, which you completely orchestrated." "And the whole college application thing." "I'm not mad, Jen." "You're not?" "No." "No." "I'll admit, I was a little surprised when I emphatically stated my strong desire not to go to the prom with Tobey, to have him then call me up and say:" ""Jen told me everything, and my answer's yes, Jack." "I would love to go to prom with you." l'll admit, I was slightly peeved." "Then I remembered what you said, that you would go to the prom..." "...even if I brought Tobey." "Yeah. I'm still going to the prom." "So you promise and solemnly swear, no matter what?" "Yes. I promise and solemnly swear." "No matter what?" "Jack, what are you talking about?" "Oh, nothing. lt's just that, well, I realized why get mad when you can get even?" "Jack told me everything, and my answer is yes." "Jen, I'd love to go to the prom with you." "Oh, my God." "Look at my little boy." "He looks like a man to me." "Oh, I think I'm gonna cry." "Mom." "Let's get one with Dawson and Lily." "Oh, good." "Here you go." "Oh, honey." "You are the spitting image of your father." "Do you realize that?" "Much more handsome." "Now." "I cannot believe this is our baby boy's senior prom." "Pay no attention to them, Lillian." "I know they seem a little strange sometimes but they're actually very good parents." "Just a little emotional." "Hey, everyone." "Joey." "Oh, Joey, honey." "You are breathtaking." "Okay, let me get one of the two of you." "I'll take Lily." "Here you go." "Oh, thanks." "All right." "My mom was right, you look breathtaking." "Thank you." "So do you." "Thank you." "Okay, guys, smile." "Okay, maybe one more." "Happy, happy." "Oh, honey." "Easy, there." "So" "You know" "Go ahead." "l was gonna say that given everything that's happened since last year's prom I'm just really glad we ended up here." "Me too." "We're so healthy, it just makes me wanna puke." "Yeah, it is quite sickening, right?" "Hi, guys." "Hello, you two." "Hey." "Hey." "Hey." "You look beautiful." "Thank you." "Come here." "You're looking pretty handsome yourself." "So how you doing?" "Better?" "Much." "Okay, let me see." "How about we do the ceremonial pinning of the corsage?" "Ready?" "All right." "Pace, when did you pick those up?" "I got these yesterday." "Pacey, you were supposed to refrigerate them." "Nobody told me that." "That is not a big deal." "Mom, can we pick some from your garden?" "Great idea. I'll go get my shears." "Great." "Just tell me you didn't forget the limo." "Of course I didn't forget the limo." "Joey, here." "Why don't you take Lily." "I'll get a picture of you and Gretchen." "Here, I'll take it." "Pacey, where are you going?" "Nowhere. I'll be right back." "Hey, everyone." "Happy prom." "Well, you're all probably wondering what I'm doing here." "I'm here to meet my date, of course." "The one and only Jen Lindley." "Oh, cool, a baby." "Can I hold it?" "No." "No." "Hey, Jack." "You look good." "We should probably be going." "My parents are hiding upstairs." "They're not too keen on this whole prom-date-with-a-boy thing." "You'd think they would have loosened up by now." "But what are you gonna do?" "You all right?" "Because we can't leave unless you stop blocking the door." "Right, sorry." "Right." "Hey." "Hi." "Hi." "Look at you, gorgeous." "You look beautiful." "Thank you." "Look at you." "Hi, handsome." "You look great." "Darling, you're a vision." "Excuse me." "You're adorable when you're angry." "This has gone too far." "Well, it must be stopped before it destroys us all." "Don't come crying just because you chose not to think of the consequences of a certain action before you went and performed said action." "Well, excuse me, but I don't think that the punishment fit the crime." "l think it did." "l think that my revenge on your revenge is imminent." "So there." "What are you talking about?" "Nothing." "Oh." "Don't worry about Drue, Jen." "You can hang out with Tobey and I all night." "We'll help you avoid him." "Right. I plan on having fun tonight." "Good, so do I." "Good, so do I." "So do I." "Good." "Excuse me." "Pacey." "Hey." "Wanna help me with my corsage?" "Sure." "Yeah." "The dress looks fantastic, Joey." "You can't even tell where l ripped it." "lt wasn't your fault." "Well...." "Tonight's gonna be good." "I promise." "I know." "Hey, kids. I think the limo's here." "Okay." "That's us." "Okay." "Hello." "How exactly do you plan on purchasing that?" "Your advanced age is about to come in handy, dear." "I don't plan on being responsible for unleashing a drunk Drue onto the prom." "Better luck next time." "Don't think me a total freak for what I'm about to do, but- l love those." "Are you serious?" "Nobody loves these." "l do." "You know what this means?" "Yeah, we both enjoy somewhat unpopular snack foods?" "No." "We've got more in common than you think." "No, thank you." "I have to take a Breathalyser later." "Part of a ridiculous tough-love ploy by Deputy Doug and my dear old father." "Well, all the much better for me." "I've only got 1 0 left." "Drowning your sorrows because of a certain unwanted prom date?" "Oh, God, no." "Drue's the least of my worries." "You know what I don't understand?" "These guys can be so happy and carefree." "Who knows what the future holds." "But I do know that it doesn't hold what they expect it to." "Hey." "Sorry." "Sorry." "Here." "Oh." "Thanks." "Guys." "We gotta go if we're gonna catch the boat." "Thank you." "Hey, stop running." "Oh, my God." "Not only am I here with an older woman but I've got the most beautiful date in the whole room." "Your charm is a perfect antidote for the complete wave of weirdness..." "...that just crashed over me." "All right, you know what if it makes you feel any better, nobody notices anybody else." "They're caught up in their own melodramas." "It doesn't really make me feel any better." "If anybody asks, you can just tell them you're chaperoning." "Okay. I don't know whether to hit you or to kiss you for that comment." "Let's work our way up to the kinky stuff." "If you keep following me, you'll lose a testicle." "Come on, there, Jenny-penny" "Why are you doing this?" "You can't be enjoying yourself." "No, but Jack offered me 50 bucks to follow you around all night..." "...so I plan on getting paid." "Great." "I'm going to get us some punch, honey." "And then there was Ethan." "I mean, this guy was so good-looking." "You know, he was like one of those Disney-character versions of a human." "Like the prince from Snow White or something." "Tell me about it." "The first guy to break my heart he looked just like Ted Danson." "ls that funny?" "Ted Danson?" "Yeah." "He's a handsome man." "Yeah, yeah." "What is he, like, 50 now?" "You know what, I mean a young Ted Danson." "Okay, Becker." "Hey, where are you taking me?" "What's that for, Jo?" "I don't know. I guess I just got caught up in the moment." "And now that that's out of the way you can tell me what's going on." "A prom." "l'm serious." "Look, I absolutely would tell you if something was actually bothering me." "But I hate to disappoint you, Jo, there's nothing bothering me." "Come on." "What?" "I told you, everything is great." "What's the problem?" "Pacey, that is the problem." "It's the "everything's great" is the problem." "Ever since you got back from that fishing trip, or whatever it was it's like you've been walking around like this Stepford boyfriend." "Talking about how everything's perfect, and that's the problem." "Okay, fine." "Look, it's not me." "But the way I understand it, this is your time to be happy." "This is your time to be out there and have fun." "So I'm trying to be who you want me to be." "But I don't want you to be anything but yourself." "Come on." "You want the perfect corsage the perfect limo, the perfect dress the perfect prom and the perfect boyfriend." "That is so untrue, Pacey." "Did I say anything about the limo or the corsage or anything else?" "No." "Because that stuff doesn't matter to me." "You know that." "Then just tell me how you want me to act." "Because I can't win with you." "If I act unhappy you get angry with me." "But if I act like I'm happy, you get angry." "Well, maybe you should stop acting and just talk to me." "Maybe I just don't have anything left to say." "I'm the queen of the world." "Yeah." "Wow, are you ever drunk." "And how." "You've had enough." "Why don't you give me the bottle?" "That was easy." "You're a riot, you know that?" "If you're not more careful with your public intoxication you're gonna get caught." "Oh, please." "Like you don't want me to get caught." "Like you don't just live for other people's misery." "Not yours." "Whoa." "I'm fine." "Jen, seriously, what's the matter?" "Drue, seriously, you don't care." "Pretend I do." "Why don't you tell me?" "Did you know I went to go visit my dad a few weeks ago?" "I wish I could just jump in there and disappear." "That'd feel good." "Jen?" "Maybe this isn't the best idea." "Go to hell." "Jen, come on." "This isn't funny." "Seriously, back off." "Gotcha!" "Yeah." "Maybe you should go over, see if she's okay." "No, maybe we should go over there." "You know what, I think I'm gonna go get some fresh air." "So why don't you go talk to her?" "Okay." "Okay." "Where's Pacey?" "I don't know." "You wanna talk about it?" "l don't think so." "Okay." "And that whole mini-mart thing I don't wanna talk about that either." "That's fine with me." "How long have you guys been...?" "We haven't." "Yet. I mean, you know we might tonight for the first time." "Are you in love with her?" "All I know is that it just.... lt just feels right." "You know what?" "I know that this may sound weird." "But if you're gonna cross a milestone in your life I'm glad it's with Gretchen." "If not you." "Don't worry, that wasn't a question." "Well...." "l know." "I think for the longest time, I was just waiting to find somebody I loved as much as I loved you." "And I realized it's not gonna happen, you know." "You're my first love." "I don't think I'll ever love anyone the way that I loved you either." "And that's a good and a bad thing." "You wanna dance?" "It's our senior prom." "Come on." "Where did you get that?" "Some drunk football guy." "Want some?" "No. I think I'll pass." "Wanna tell me what's wrong?" "Because I know it has to be big if you're drinking that." "I'm at the prom, Pacey." "I'm at the prom again." "I mean, I graduated four years ago, and I'm still here." "You know, tonight, for the first time I didn't just feel older than Dawson I felt old." "I'm too old to be here." "Too old to be doing what I'm doing." "You want pathetic?" "How's this for pathetic?" "I am technically still a junior." "I'm not even supposed to be here." "A brother who's too young and a sister who's too old." "We're quite the lot there, Pacey." "Yeah." "And you wanna know what the worst thing about a prom boat is?" "You're trapped." "Yep." "It's the strangest thing, but ever since I got back from that trip with Doug I've been feeling really angry." "But not angry at myself, it's actually worse than that." "I've been feeling really angry at Joey." "And I don't know why, and that makes me feel guilty." "The guiltier I feel, the angrier I get, and I don't know what to do about it." "Well, maybe if you...." "Maybe if you try talking to her, you'll figure out a reason." "Yeah." "I don't really know how to start talking." "That's the great thing about being trapped." "You gotta try." "I never knew you were so funny." "Yeah, I guess there's a lot about me you didn't know." "l guess so." "So do you wanna dance?" "I thought we were having a good time." "Right." "So why do you ruin everything by misinterpreting it?" "I just asked you to dance, I didn't ask you to have sex with me on the table." "It doesn't matter." "How many times do I have to say this is only platonic before you'll believe me?" "You know what?" "I don't buy that." "Nothing that's happened tonight has been platonic." "Not from the way we've been laughing or flirting or the way you looked at me when you picked me up." "You're wrong." "No, I'm not." "I don't know what you're afraid of, but it's not me." "And I suggest you figure it out or risk losing a chance at something good." "What's going on?" "Pacey, we were just dancing." "That's what it looked like, just dancing." "This isn't about Dawson, you know it." "Why don't you say what's going on?" "You know what I actually realized when I saw you dancing together?" "That is the happiest I have seen you all night." "I think it's actually the happiest I've seen you in weeks." "You wanna know what's worse than that?" "I don't care." "I saw the two of you dancing together, and I just don't care." "I'm not angry, I'm not jealous, I'm really not much of anything." "Fine, let's just take this nothing outside." "Why?" "Because you wanna clean up my mess again?" "You wanted me to take off the happy mask, and the mask is off." "So answer this." "This is what I've been wanting to ask you:" "Why are you with me?" "Pacey...." "Why are you with me?" "Because I don't know why I'm with you." "l used to, but I don't anymore." "l'll make note of that." "What I do know, Jo, I feel like I'm Josephine Potter's little charity project." "I feel like I'm the designated loser." "Just back off!" "Pacey, I never said that." "This isn't about me, this is about you!" "No, it is about you!" "It's about you and how you make me feel when I'm with you." "I feel like I'm stupid and I'm worthless and I'm never right." "But you know what I realized?" "That is not my fault!" "It's not my fault." "When I'm with you, it's:" "" Poor Pacey didn't get into college."" "And it's, "Stupid Pacey forgot the limo, ripped the dress...."" "l told you I didn't care about that!" "But I want you to care!" "I want you to care!" "I don't want you to just accept it like that's the way it's supposed to be!" "We're not trapped on this boat!" "You and I are trapped in this relationship!" "I can't take it anymore, Joey." "When I'm with you, I feel like I'm nothing!" "I feel like I'm nothing." "That's why I flinch when you go to touch me. lt's why I never touch you." "Why I never even think about it." "Because when I start to, it just reminds me that I'm not good enough." "You done?" "Done?" "Oh, no, I'm not done." "I am just getting started." "Well, you can stop right now." "You can go to hell." "Just come on down and we'll get you a great big bottle of tequila." "Jen, do you know how cold this water is?" "We're talking snot icicles dripping from your nose, okay?" "I said, no, Drue." "He humiliates me in a room full of people, and it's not even true." "That's not who I am." "l know." "I don't understand why he would say all that, because that's not who I am." "I know." "I just wanna go home." "You've become a lightweight." "Gotta get back to New York, toughen you up again." "What if I told you I don't wanna go back to New York." "That I hate New York." "I don't know, I just...." "l feel like I've changed and I've just been too afraid to admit it." "And I've been pushing myself so hard this year to toughen up so that I can go back to school there next year." "But I don't think I really want to." "God, you think I'm weak, don't you?" "You know what I think?" "You should never go backwards when you can go forwards." "That ain't weak, Jen." "It's pretty damn strong." "Besides, you know I was thinking you should look into Boston." "It's a real up-and-coming town." "The spot to be, in fact." "And yours truly is gonna be there, so right there" "Strike one for Boston." "Yeah." "Hey." "What you doing?" "Contemplating swimming for shore." "I don't blame you." "Look, Tobey, I'm sorry about earlier." "What I said." "What I didn't say." "The feelings I've been having for you are so much more than platonic they took me by surprise." "I was afraid." "The thing is, when we first met, you were just so...." "Just say it, I was so gay." "No." "No, no, you were so out." "You know, and so okay with it." "And I admit, I was put off by it, it's all I could see." "But tonight I looked at you." "And I really looked at you." "And you're funny." "And you're handsome and nice and, yes, out." "But now it's like the one thing that put me off is just it's one more thing that I like about you." "I'm so not afraid anymore." "How about that dance?" "Hey." "Hey." "How's Joey doing?" "Not so good." "I'm sorry I took off on you back there." "Dawson, you don't need to explain." "Okay." "And it doesn't matter anyway because I know what I have to do." "I've gotta go on with my life." "Go back to college, figure out who I am and what I want." "This is not my place." "Not here." "And not with you." "You're still chasing after Joey." "I mean, literally and metaphorically." "You told me to go to her." "l thought you understood." "l do. I do." "And watching you chase her it just made everything more clear." "I mean, Dawson, there are so many loose ends." "So much that the two of you haven't resolved." "And as much as you think you're beyond the drama of high school and the prom you're a part of it." "You're smack in the middle of it." "And that's right where you should be." "You're a senior in high school." "And I'm not." "Right, but that doesn't mean that this, us, has to be over." "l'm not ready for this to be over yet." "We have an impossible situation." "l'm good at impossible situations." "l'm not." "I'm just not." "I'm sorry." "You know last year I felt like I could give you something that no one else could give you." "I could give you that wall to paint your mural on." "I could take you away on a sailboat for a summer." "I could even give you that night in the ski lodge." "But I don't feel like I have anything left to give you now, Jo." "I guess I'm spent." "I've become a man who hates himself so much he can't even look at his own reflection in the mirror." "I wish I could tell you being with you doesn't make that worse, but it does." "Because the more that you love me the angrier that I get at you." "And the more that I stop loving you back." "How long have you felt this way?" "l don't know." "But I know it's not right." "And I know that my failures and my shortcomings don't really have anything to do with you, but I...." "l know if we stay together, I'm going to continue to take them out on you." "You know what, I've got news for you." "How you treat me is in your power." "You know our senior year is over now." "And you and I are just two very different people on two very different paths." "And for us, this summer there is no boat and there is no sunset." "There is just Boston and Capeside." "But they're less than an hour apart." "And are more than a world apart and you know it." "You've spent your life trying to get out of Capeside because you felt like you deserved better." "Well, I am Capeside." "That's why I didn't get out and you did." "And you do deserve better." "You deserve better than this place." "And you deserve better than me." "You break my heart into pieces and you say it's because I deserve better?" "Just leave me alone." "Okay." "You kids want to go to that after-party?"