Previously on Dawson's Creek
So, you guys have gotten
to be pretty good friends lately.
Yeah.
I mean, Pacey's a doofus, but,
then he has his moments.
You know, I think that you setting me up
was a lot more about you than it was me.
Maybe it's you who's lonely for the relationship.
Well, maybe I am. But this is Capeside.
Gay population is one.
Joey, listen to me, if we are truly meant to be,
then we will find a way back to each other.
I'm starting to think that casual sex is the way to go.
Sex is never casual, Pacey.
But what if both partners agreed
to the terms beforehand?
Nothing. Nothing. Ah.
You?
Nothing.
God, Pacey, this is weird.
It really is. It's the damndest thing.
I mean, how are we supposed
to have some lurid, purely sexual affair
if every time we get together--
There's no sexual tension. Nada.
Zilch.
Is it me? If it's me--
No, it's not you, it's me.
No, no, I mean, we're both,
we're both 2 highly sexually charged people.
Absolutely. Look at our track records. Oh, yeah.
We're all that and then some,
thank you very much.
And look at the measures that we've gone through today.
We've come properly equipped.
And we've picked the perfect locale.
Absolutely, you know,
Dawson -and Mr. -Leery
both at school for the afternoon,
the window's always open,
this was sheer genius on your part.
Grams always said that that ladder
was an invitation to sin.
It's really starting to get depressing.
All right, I'll tell you what.
Why don't we give it a week? Keep trying
in the hopes that whatever sexual spark
that once flickered will burn again.
Whoa, whoa. Did you just hear
somebody come into the house?
Whoa, man.
Pacey?
Hey, man. What's happening?
W--what are you doing in my room
in the middle of a school day?
Just playing some crash bandicoot.
What are you doing home?
I had a dentist appointment.
Came back to get my books.
You, uh, have any cavities?
No. How, how did you get in?
Is that clock right, on the VCR?
'Cause if it is, man,
I should really be getting to school.
Aren't you forgetting something?
I don't think so.
You sure?
Pretty sure, yeah.
'Cause you're only wearing one shoe.
Hey. Oh, my god,
I hope that is not your report
on manifest destiny because mine
is only 4 paragraphs.
No, no. Remember when Dawson
put that story about me
joining the football team on the web?
Yeah?
Well these are e-mails from people who saw it.
Oh, Jack. This is amazing.
I mean, look how many people you reached.
Oh, look, I didn't exactly reach everybody.
Check this out.
"Dear homo,
"too bad Capeside didn't make it to regionals.
"Our linebackers are looking forward
to playing smear the queer."
Oh, my god. That's so sad.
I mean, some poor, dumb cheerleader
is wasting all of her prime boy-chasing years
on this closet case.
Ok, this one looks good. "Dear Jack,
"saw the story about you on the web.
"Have you been deluged with letters addressed dear homo?
"If not, I'm sure they'll come soon.
"That's what happened to me
"when I took another guy to the prom last year,
and the story got picked up by the ap wire."
Who's that from?
Uh, some guy named Ben. Ben street.
"If you ever need to talk to someone
"who's been there and lived to tell,
you can find me in the pink pages under out teens."
Give me that. Gotcha.
You should write him back.
He sounds like a nice guy.
Yeah, I think I'm gonna
write this guy back, man.
He's a total stranger.
What would I say?
I don't know. Say anything.
It worked for John Cusack.
Ok, gotta go. Bye.
All right, whatever it is, I didn't do it,
but if I did do it, I just want you to know
that I take full and complete responsibility
for all of my actions.
This isn't a disciplinary matter Pacey. Please.
You're here because when Mr. Milo
sent your file over to me,
you jumped immediately to the top 10
of my "most in need of guidance" list.
And when I started talking to your teachers...
Uh-oh.
You're failing math, Pacey.
I'm failing?
I'm afraid the only other grades
you've got going here are 4 d-pluses,
and one very lonely c-minus.
You want to tell me why that is?
Just lazy, I guess.
Has there been some trouble at home,
any, any sort of change in your family situation?
Nope, it's nothing like that.
Mr. Milo mentioned something
about a girlfriend being sick.
She's not my girlfriend anymore.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Yeah, you and me both,
but life goes on, doesn't it?
Listen, you think I could get out of here?
I'm probably missing a filmstrip or something.
You seem like a good kid, Pacey.
Whatever's eating at you these days,
don't let it win, ok?
Maybe it already has.
Ok, 40,000 hits? I must be doing something wrong.
Oh, well, you can't do a search
on such a broad topic like democracy.
I mean, you've got to decide
what you want and what you don't want,
and, then, you know, establish some restrictions.
Ok. Oh, so it would be like
if I were searching for, say, a boyfriend,
then I'd want to meet a lot of people
and, uh, get to know them,
and eliminate the truly incompatible ones.
You know, you really should have your own website--
www.annoyingsister.com.
Ha ha ha, Jack. Ok, I really think
that you should write this guy Ben back.
I mean, he seems super nice,
and, you know, he only lives 2 towns over.
I mean, you guys could end up being friends, or...
Or what?
Or whatever.
Please.
What? You're worried that he has a boyfriend.
Come on, let me assure you
a lot can happen between May and November.
Prom guy could be completely
out of the picture by now.
Andie. Stop it.
Jack, you have to seize the day.
If you don't, I'll do it for you.
I know your password.
Jack.
What? Someone just instant messaged you.
You just hit...
Oh, my god, it's Ben street. It's him! It's him!
Yeah, yeah, I know. I know. What do I do here?
How do I make this thing go away?
You don't make it go away.
He's talking to you. Say something.
Now?
Yeah. He's waiting.
Yeah, but I-- - Type.
I--I don't know what I'm-- - Type.
Go on. All right.
Ok, well, you have to hit send.
Hey, Joey. Joey.
How are you doing?
My, you are looking absolutely ravishing today.
Is that a new, uh, hair thinga-ma-jig you got going there?
You need my notes from today's class that you missed.
You miss me, huh?
Oh, how could I miss you?
It's so much easier to see the board
without your big, fat head in the way.
I need these back by tomorrow morning.
What's a cosine?
You don't know what a cosine is?
You're never gonna catch up by mid-terms.
You're absolutely right, I'm not.
Not unless, of course, you--
Look, I'm not going to help you, Pacey.
I have been busting my butt
all semester while you've been...
Well, who knows what the hell
you've been doing lately.
I've been busy.
Busy, right. Pacey, you have
a very undemanding part-time job,
your only familial obligation
is to feed the dog every day,
and your social life is basically a triangle
consisting of you, me, and Dawson.
Ok, listen. Truth be told?
I'm failing math right now. Yeah.
So, if you could find it in your heart
to explain all this trig stuff to me,
I'd do anything you want.
Anything?
Slow, quick, quick.
Good footwork, people.
Ow!
I think you should probably
tell me what I'm doing here
before the other 9 suffer the same fate.
Well, do you expect me to believe
that you actually have control
over those left feet of yours? Ow!
Pacey.
I'm sorry.
Look, every year, The Starlight School
offers a $1,500 scholarship
to the high school student who best exemplifies
the spirit and grace of ballroom dancing.
Now, if you look around, there are about 6 people here
who wear their teeth to bed,
let alone go to high school with us.
Which would make you, what, a shoo-in?
Well, I do have to complete
at least one of the 2-week courses.
Why didn't you
get Dawson to do this with you?
Or Jack, for that matter?
Because they don't owe me like you will
after I perform CPR on your math grade.
So that's the trade-off.
Mm-hmm.
One study session for one dance class.
That's the trade-off.
Excellent.
What did I say about rib cages touching?
And refresh my memory. Who's leading here?
I'm trying, but Janet Reno here
doesn't exactly make it easy on a fellow,
you know what I'm saying?
Like you even know how, Pacey.
You lead.
We'll just give it the old college try, shall we?
Oh.
Don't get too close.
Ow.
Here, this is your assignment for study hall.
I want you to do all the even problems
on page 107, and show your work,
don't just copy the answers
out of the back of the book.
You know, if I had known the sadistic pleasure
were gonna take out of tutoring me,
I never would have let you had such free reign.
Look, we're gonna spend an hour
after school doing math
and then we're gonna go back to--
I--I know. I know. The Starlight foundation
for another afternoon's torture
at the hands of Miss Penny Pretty.
Uh, you do realize, don't you,
how absolutely imperative it is
that no one, and I mean no one,
find out about our after school activities.
'Cause on the sliding scale
of embarrassing and decidedly non-butch activities
for a teenage male to be involved in,
waltzing is right up there
with painting your own pottery.
Pacey? Do you really think
I'm eager to have this information
disseminated to the general public?
Perfect. Then we're in agreeance, yeah?
Exactly. No one is to find out.
No one. Perfect.
Find out what?
Nothing.
No, no, we can tell him. It's Dawson, right?
We were, we were just discussing, uh,
the fact that I am really awful
at home improvement and decor. Right.
How are you with a roller?
I can hold my own.
That's fantastic, 'cause the Pacey j. Witter
memorial addition to the Potter family home
is in desperate need of painters and plasterers,
all union wages.
Count me in.
That's good to hear. All right. So, Joey.
Yeah. See ya. Yeah, ok, let's do it.
Hold on, Pacey, I want to talk to you a sec.
Yes. I can't talk at all right now.
I--I'm really trying to stay off
Mr. Milo's top 10 most tardy list.
Can I--can I get you after school?
Yeah? Ok.
Have you asked about prom guy yet?
All right. They were never really dating, ok?
They just did the whole prom thing
as a... As a statement.
Oh, political commitment. I like that.
In moderation, of course.
Well, what else?
Uh, he's a saxophonist.
Um, huge Charlie Parker fan.
All-conference track.
Hmm, sounds hot. What's he look like?
Aw, come on. It's not important.
Well, yeah, but he saw you
on the web, in your uniform. It's only fair.
We're just writing here, ok?
It's not like we're going on a date.
Yet.
You know, I dated a guy from the Internet once. Hideous.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna get that picture, yeah.
2. One formal, one casual.
No baseball hats, baggy sweaters
or other articles of deceiving clothing.
Jen.
Hey, what are you doing here?
Shouldn't you be out campaigning for prom queen?
Very funny, Dawson.
No, actually, I'm-- I'm working on
a project with Pacey.
It's a human growth and development thing.
Is he here?
Um, he isn't in until Tuesday.
But he told me that he was working today.
I must have gotten him confused.
That's not surprising, considering
what a flake he's been lately.
Hey, there aren't any especially do-able
new faculty members I don't know about, are there?
Pfft. What?
Well, the last time Pacey was acting this weird,
I ended up with taped outtakes
of him and Miss Jacobs
performing tree surgery at The Ruins.
Wait, you don't, you don't think
that Pacey's older woman fetish
has returned with a vengeance, do you?
No, I don't know what to think.
But you're definitely thinking something.
Yeah, I...
Yesterday, I came back to my house,
in the middle of the day
and I found Pacey sprawled out on my bedroom floor.
Wow. Was he alone?
Yeah, he was playing crash bandicoot.
Dawson, I hope that's not
one of your clever euphemisms.
No, it's just a, uh, a video game.
Good.
But...
Here's the weird thing, all right?
Later that night, I found a condom on my floor.
And then, when I asked Pacey
about it this morning,
he and Joey were huddled together
like it was some sort of conspiracy.
Has, uh, has he said anything to you?
I mean, have you talked at all with him yet?
No, he, he took off,
and he's been dodging me ever since.
Hmm.
Can we take a break, please?
We just took a break. It's no wonder
you're so far behind. I swear, Alexander
can sit still longer than you can.
No, you don't understand.
It's just that, recently,
whenever I crack a book to study,
it's like I automatically
want to be doing something else.
Anything else. I mean,
it seems to me that under
the previous regimes in my life,
every time I was studying,
I was given a reward.
I offered you Chex Mix.
I'm not talking about Chex Mix.
I'm talking about tomorrow, and I'm talking about Andie.
Let's just say that those 2 ladies,
they trained me to acquaint studying with...
With what?
Sex. I equate studying with sex.
Sex with studying. Now I get the studying
but no sex. You understand?
So it's a little hard to get motivated these days.
So what you're saying is that
you're merely the innocent victim
in some behavioral psychology experiment
gone horribly awry?
Yeah.
And that you're desperately in need
of some able-bodied female
to help you provoke those pre-conditioned,
Pavlovian homework responses?
Yes.
That is the worst pick-up line
I have ever heard, Pacey.
Thanks, toots, but I wasn't hitting on you.
I'll have you know, I have my own prospects, thanks.
Like who?
You...
For right now,
they would prefer to remain anonymous.
But let me tell you, they've made it clear to me
in no uncertain terms, should the mutual desire occur,
that they will be more than willing
to take care of all my physical needs, you understand?
So is this a potential relationship,
or are we talking a free trade agreement?
All right, listen.
If you had the opportunity
to be with somebody, no questions asked,
no strings attached, no awkward first dates,
no waiting by the phone, no any of that,
totally on the surface. 100% casual.
What would you do? Would you go for it?
A totally empty, emotionally unfulfilling
sexual experience? That sounds great.
You're not listening to me.
I'm being serious, but it's kind of
a limited time offer. So I just thought I'd ask you.
What do you think?
Pacey, I think that if you really wanted to be
having casual sex with someone right now,
you'd be doing it, instead of sitting here,
having a hypothetical discussion about it.
That's what I think.
Oh, come on, already. Yeah.
Ok, all right.
All right, it's, it's happening.
Ooh, not bad.
You're not kidding.
Jack, did you actually express attraction
to a member of the male species?
Come on, this is completely empirical.
I mean, anyone would be attracted
to that extremely attractive guy.
And I sense a blush?
"So, what do you think?"
He wants to know what I think.
Ok, so you tell him that...
That you think that he should travel 2 towns over.
No, I can't do that.
You can, and you will.
Andie, come on, this is, this is way, way too fast.
Ok, so you tell him that
you want to meet for coffee.
I mean, I can go with you if you want.
Yeah, that will be a lot of fun.
Ok, Jack. Agree to meet at some
very safe, very well lit public place.
I mean, it's not like we haven't done
an extensive background check on the guy
to know that he's for real.
Yeah, I, but look, I can't, all right,
look at me, I'm shaking.
Fine, Jack. You're just nervous. Here.
Um, the picture was great. What can I say?
Want to meet tonight for coffee?
"I thought you'd never ask."
Oh!
Dawson, I don't know how the hell
you suckered me into helping you
with your centennial Hitchcock window display.
It needed a woman's touch.
Well, I suppose that's where Pacey
usually comes in, huh?
No, Pacey's usually in the back sleeping when I'm doing this.
All right.
Oh, maybe he's rediscovered his work ethic.
What do you mean?
Pacey. 2 o'clock.
Is that Joey?
Dawson, do you have one of those
little signs that says "Back in 5?"
Yeah.
Ok, so Joey and Pacey are auditioning
for Capeside dinner theater's version
of Strictly Ballroom.
Let's get out of here, Dawson.
Right behind you.
Excellent. 2 more young people
eager to learn the sophisticated art
of ballroom dancing. And people say
kids these days have no appreciation
for the finer things in life.
Actually, we're not here to dance.
We're just looking for some friends.
Ok, good. Well, while you look, you dance. Ok?
Attention, everybody,
looks like we have yet another set
of delightful young people joining our class.
Must be something in the air.
And what, pray tell, are you 2 doing here?
Just enjoying the fine art of ballroom dancing.
Didn't I say you two would be naturals?
Much better than these 2,
and they've been here all week.
But you used to date, didn't you?
Uh, not right now, ok?
I'm right, aren't I?
You dated, it didn't work out,
but then you got past all of your issues,
and now you actually trust each other, right?
See, you can see that in the dancing.
You can see that the trust is there.
Now these 2, on the other hand,
a whole different story.
I mean, look at them. Look at their form.
Look at the tension in their arms.
Ok, is there some sort of problem here?
Well, what did I say about rib cages touching?
Can we do that? No, sorry.
It's just not gonna happen, all right?
Right. You see what I mean?
See the hostility,
the way they're wary with each other,
not to mention the constant bickering and name-calling.
Now, these 2 clearly are in the early stages
of some screwball mating ritual.
What?
Ok, you've got it all wrong, lady.
Really, I do?
Oh, completely.
Actually, you could not be more wrong.
Ok, there's enough sexual tension here
to power a kiss reunion tour.
I can't remember the last time
I saw dancing this bad.
True.
Wait a minute, just because they can't dance,
you think that they're--
Well, it's this theory that I've developed
based on years of experience.
If people dance that badly,
then they're usually hot for each other.
The dancing doesn't lie.
All right, people.
Let's take it from the top.
Hey.
Mrs. Ryan let me in.
Is that what you're wearing?
Good night, Andie.
No. I just like you better in blue. You look fine.
Better than fine. You always look fine.
Marky Mark-worthy.
I sense a pep talk coming on.
Ok. Jack, look,
I'm your sister and I love you,
and your romantic future is vitally important to me.
Because if I wind up an embittered old maid,
I'm coming to live with you and your boyfriend.
So you're fairly certain that I'm actually gonna have a boyfriend?
Sure.
It hasn't occurred to you
that this whole online thing
could be a complete disaster?
Ok, Jack, worst-case scenario--
you show up,
you meet each other, you hate each other,
you drink your mochaccinos, and you go your separate ways.
But that's not gonna happen, Jack.
I have a really good feeling about this.
I'm glad someone does.
Jack, there's no need to be nervous.
Ben obviously likes you.
I don't even know Ben. Ben doesn't know me.
Thus the reason for having coffee.
Andie, this is different.
This is a whole new level of my life
that I don't even know if I'm ready for.
When I walk through that door
and I say hello to this guy,
my entire life is gonna be different.
I'm not just gonna be telling the world that I'm gay.
I'm actually gonna be gay.
Jack...
You'll be gay, anyway.
I mean, if you don't go,
you'll be gay and without a boyfriend.
Yeah.
Ok?
Ok, people, we're gonna play a little game.
I want you to consider this musical partners
instead of musical chairs, ok?
I want you two.
You two, you two,
you two.
Thank you.
You two.
What? No. I think you must've meant...
Some sort of mistake here.
Come on, children, play nice.
Ok. We are going to dance--
happily, joyously, enthusiastically,
because we love to dance.
Now, when you hear the music stop
and I yell "Switch,"
I want you to stop dancing
and reach for the nearest available partner.
All right?
So when did you and Pacey discover
your mutual love of ballroom dancing?
Obviously, just moments before you and Dawson did.
I can't get over how weird it was
to see you in my room the other day.
What's going on?
What? Not everybody's got the dazzling array of electronics
available to them in their bedroom that you do.
And that's the only reason that you were in my house
when I wasn't there?
No. No, no.
There's always the lure of the Leery kitchen,
which I have to say has kind of lost its luster
in Mitch's reign of terror.
So what was the condom for?
The what?
The condom I found in my room.
Switch.
Excuse me for a second.
We're dead. He found the condom.
I know. I've already talked to him about it.
I wouldn't worry.
Really? You don't think Dawson's gonna mind
that we've been mapping out each other's erogenous zones
between his sheets?
The question's moot. He's not on to us.
He's not?
No. Well, at least he's not on to me.
He's cast somebody else as the female lead.
So when did you discover your love for ballroom dancing?
I read about some scholarship
that they were having.
Scholarship?
And I needed a partner, so...
So...why'd you ask Pacey?
Why didn't you just ask me?
Pacey came to me first.
He needed help with math. I needed help with this.
That's what friends do, Dawson.
They help each other.
That's all you guys are is friends?
And switch.
Excuse us for a second.
I need to talk to you.
What is wrong with him?
Uh, nothing, really.
It's just, um, Dawson seems to think that we're doing it.
What?
Well, you know, having sex,
getting to know each other in the biblical sense.
Uh...
Pacey, that's impossible. And he would never think that.
No, not under normal circumstances,
but in this case, I think certain events were perhaps misconstrued.
What events?
Switch! Well, I just--
Ok, so...wanna just tell me what's going on?
It's not what you think, Dawson, not even close.
How do you know what I think?
Because, man, it's written all over your face, ok?
Yes, me and Joey have been spending a lot of time together recently
because we've been here trying to learn how to ballroom dance,
and then she's teaching me a little trigonometry.
You know what's much more interesting to me
is that all of the possible blond and brunette combinations
of women that you and I both know,
the first one that popped into your mind is Joey. Why is that?
You're not going to get out of this
by attempting to psychoanalyze me.
I'm just asking a simple question.
Dawson, you and Joey--
She's not your girlfriend anymore.
You're right, she's not.
Right. So the why are we having this conversation?
You see where I'm going with this?
You're the same guy who told me a couple weeks ago
that the two of you just needed to go your separate ways.
Yeah, we do need to go our separate ways.
It just never occurred to me--
that what? That she would actually go her separate way, too?
Or perhaps it didn't occur to you
that her separate way would include a stopover at me. Is that what it is?
God, man, this is the way it always is with you.
You talk and talk, but you don't listen to yourself.
You say you're over her, but you're not.
They're just words. They don't mean anything to you.
You don't know what you're talking about.
Heh. Look at that girl, Dawson.
Just take a good look.
She's a freaking goddess.
How long did you think it was gonna be
before some guy comes along and is interested in her?
I mean, really, dude.
And when that happens, what are you gonna do?
I'm just gonna take it all as it comes.
You're gonna take it as it comes.
Perhaps you should start figuring out right now.
Because the guy that comes along is not gonna be your best friend,
and he's not gonna ask for your permission.
The guy that comes along is gonna take one look at that woman
and just cut right in on you.
What are you hiding, Pacey?
What?
All this analysis of my love life doesn't change the fact
that you haven't answered my original question.
Why did I find that condom?
Switch!
God, I can't believe that guy.
Pacey, chill out.
Here we are again,
though I have to say the story line
is starting to stretch the limits of believability.
Meaning what?
Meaning that we're 2 red-blooded American teenagers
who, weeks ago, made the enlightened decisions
not to keep our bodies to ourselves.
And what do we have to show for it? Nothing.
Nothing. How is that possible?
I've spent a lot of time trying to figure this out,
and frankly, I'm just drawing a blank.
Pacey, it's for about a million different reasons.
Really? Do you think you could hit me with a couple
so it would make me feel better?
Ok, how about the fact that our mothers teach us to be embarrassed about sex?
Or that we live in a country that thinks violence is cool,
but gets squeamish when 2 people under legal voting age
start using the correct terms for each other's body parts?
Pacey, is this your not-so-subtle way of telling me
that you're ready for a return to Witch Island?
Maybe it was the dancing
or perhaps it's just the romantic setting of this coat room,
but...I am definitely getting that witchy feeling.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you of anything,
but something really strange is going on here.
Pacey's not sleeping with you,
he's definitely sleeping with somebody.
Whoa. What do we have here?
It's...nothing, right?
Yeah, nothing.
Doesn't look like nothing.
Believe me, we've done exhaustive research in this area.
It's nothing.
Pacey and I are just friends.
Is that what the kids are calling it these days?
You guys are so stupid. You're both gonna get hurt--
Nobody is gonna get hurt by this.
We both agreed that neither of us have our emotions in it.
And you're proud of that fact?
Joey, we're just messing around.
Dawson?
They lost me at "nothing."
Pacey, this isn't you.
I mean, Jen, maybe you're trying to prove something to somebody about--
Whoa, hey, slow down.
This was as much my decision as it was hers, ok?
So it that why you named your boat True Love?
Because you think it's ok for casual acquaintances or even friends
to, you know, use each other as scratching posts?
I knew you weren't gonna understand.
You know what? I understand.
I understand just fine.
I've never in my life seen somebody
so worked up over just a kiss.
I don't think it was just the kiss.
What do you mean?
I mean that Joey knows about our arrangement.
How could she possibly know, Pacey?
Because I went to her for some hypothetical advice,
but when she saw us kissing,
I'm pretty sure she figured out it wasn't so hypothetical.
You went to Joey for advice about us?
Yeah, I know, not so smart, huh?
Smart or not smart, it's just...
Funny you went to her.
Well, I wouldn't say that I went to her.
She just kind of happened to be there. We were studying.
Can I ask you something, Pacey? What is it about her?
Huh?
She's obviously got something
that makes boys in emotional turmoil just flock to her.
Come again.
Oh, come on. Dawson's the same way.
Whatever small problem got to him,
he went straight to Joey.
So who else would you have me talk to?
I can't exactly go to Andie with something like this,
so I guess I'm supposed to commune with deputy Doug, then.
Dawson. Why couldn't you just go to Dawson?
Unless, of course, you now feel uncomfortable
talking to him about your sex life, considering...
Considering what?
Your current girl Friday used to be his.
Ok, now correct me if I'm wrong,
but Dawson Leery didn't actually know about you and I
until what, 2 minutes ago?
I'm not talking about us.
What, Joey? This has nothing to do with Joey.
I saw the way that you overreacted to Dawson.
I saw the way that Joey overreacted to us.
I know that you're having trouble in math these days,
but it doesn't take Einstein to get the sum total
of these 2 overreactions.
You're gonna have to explain this one to me
because I gotta be missing something here.
You're talking about Joey Potter, right?
The one who can't walk into the same room with me without gagging?
Huh? That Joey Potter?
There was nothing going on between us--
No, Pacey, there's nothing between us.
No matter what we do, it's not gonna work out between us.
No, it's not, is it?
No.
Are you disappointed?
Yeah, I'm disappointed.
And at the same time...
I think I'm also a little relieved.
Me, too.
I'm gonna go.
See ya, Pace.
You know what, Pacey?
Thanks for nothing.
What are you still doing here?
Anxiously awaiting to be regaled with first-date stories.
Well, they tell me in order to have first-date stories,
you actually have to have a first date.
What happened?
I can't get into this with you.
You're just gonna get on me about how I handled it.
Jack, that's not fair.
You're always the one who's scraping me off the concrete.
Can't I return the favor?
I didn't even go in, ok?
I panicked.
I got there, looked through the window,
and I saw him sitting there waiting for me.
Then I saw this couple.
This girl and this guy.
And when I saw them, it...
When I saw them at that moment, I didn't wanna be me.
I wanted to be them.
I got so upset that I just left.
So I guess when it comes right down to it,
I'm just not brave enough to walk through the door.
Oh, Jack, you are so brave.
Your entire life, you have been nothing but brave.
But not this time.
I mean, I keep taking these baby steps,
but I'm not getting anywhere. I'm not getting any braver.
Don't be so hard on yourself.
I mean, that's what fear is for.
It's--it's life's way of telling us
that we're not ready for certain things.
Aren't you the same girl who spent the past week
dragging me kicking and screaming towards my romantic destiny?
Yeah, but I know when to push and when not to.
It's a little something I picked up
-from annoying sister. -Com.
Anyway, Jack,
when it's right, you'll know it.
And that's when you'll walk through that door.
When you're ready.
If it makes you feel any better,
what happened was inevitable.
What was?
What we just saw.
Look at it from a storytelling perspective.
Pacey's brooding, disillusioned, tough-guy persona
was destined to collide with Jen's fake sexual bravado.
It was inevitable.
Dawson, you're the ultimate romantic.
How can you not be more upset about his?
If Jen and Pacey wanna mess around in a coat room, that's their business.
But, Dawson, you don't understand what's going on.
They made some sort of casual-sex pact.
They're just using each other.
We're all guilty of that.
At least their being up-front about it.
So you buy into this whole raging hormones theory?
You think it's ok for 2 people who aren't in love
to just let their sexual impulses run wild?
No. What I'm saying is if Jen and Pacey made some sort of agreement,
I don't think they made it because they wanted sex.
I think they wanted comfort.
I'm sure that's all they were doing in your bed, Dawson,
providing each other with comfort.
It's not impossible.
It's all you and I ever did.
Give 'em a break, Jo.
They're just lonely.
Dawson, being lonely is no excuse to just throw yourself
at the first available warm body.
Could you sleep with someone that you didn't love?
No, and neither could you.
But I do understand the impulse.
What impulse?
Impulse to...
To put your hand out and want someone there at the end of your reach.
To want someone to be close to wanna kiss or touch, even if it's wrong.
That's just it, Dawson.
It's wrong.
If a kiss is just some purely physical thing,
and if there's nothing else behind it, what's the point?
The point is you can't control those feelings, Jo.
Even if they're wrong, they're there.
They're always there.
You can understand that, can't you?
I forgot my coat.
I--I better go inside and get it.
Ok.
Good night.
Good night, Joey.
I forgot my coat.
Well, yeah, you ran out of there in a bit of a hurry, didn't ya?
Look, if it makes you feel any better,
we never actually slept together.
I mean, not even close.
It's none of my business what you guys did or didn't do.
I'm sorry I overreacted.
Yeah, you did overreact, didn't you?
Don't act so smug. I'm not saying you're right
or that I approve of what you guys are doing.
Were doing. I'd say the time limit on the limited-time offer
has probably run out now.
Oh.
So you got your coat.
What made you come in here?
Dawson.
He convinced me to take pity
on your poor, misguided, testosterone-impaired self.
Heh heh. He did that, did he?
'Fraid so.
Man, I guess I owe him another one, huh?
You do.
Come on, let's go.
Hey, not so fast, you two. There's a class about to start.
I think we've done enough dancing for a lifetime.
Whoa, whoa. Let's not be too hasty here.
We've still got a scholarship to work for, right?
Oh, um, about that scholarship--
things have been kind of tight here at the Starlight.
There's no scholarship?
No. But what I can offer you
is 6 months of free dance lessons.
And what would we do with those?
The cha-cha, the rumba, the merengue.
Um, when you're ready, the tango.
It's the dance of love.
Thanks, but no, thanks.
Come on, think about this for a second.
Don't be too hasty.
We may have found our calling in this dance studio.
Give it up, Pacey. You definitely were not that good.