"Joey, I missed you so much!" Dawson exclaimed.
"I missed you too, Dawson!" Joey replied, tears streaming down her face. "What are you doing here?"
Dawson broke the embrace. "Joey, California wasn't for me."
"What?" Joey asked, still half-stunned.
"I can't compete with the people there. They all come from rich families where they've had access to every piece of film equipment invented. A boy from Cape Cod with a hand held video camera doesn't even compare."
"Dawson . . ." Joey said, "what does this mean?"
"I'm taking a year off before I try the film school scene again," he replied. "Except next time, only Boston area film schools will be receiving my application."
"Dawson, are you . . . are you serious?" she asked him. "Going to California has always been your dream."
"Not every dream has a happy ending, Jo," he said matter-of-factly. "I realized that I'd be miserable for four years in California without you. I'm moving to Boston to start an internship with a local documentarian."
"I'm dreaming," Joey suddenly said. "You're not really here. You're not really staying. In a minute, someone's gonna throw a giant bucket of water over my head."
Dawson laughed. "You're not dreaming, Joey. I'm here. And I'm staying. And I'm happy that I'm finally with my best friend in the world again."
Joey threw her arms around Dawson again. "I'm so glad you're home."
"As are we," Jen said, approaching Dawson and Joey. Dawson broke his hold of Joey to give Jen, Jack, and Tobey hugs.
"It's great to see you guys! I missed you all!" Dawson exclaimed.
"It's great to see you, too!" Jack said. "But what about USC?"
"Cliff's Notes version: He hated college, and he's moving to Boston," Joey said, still teary-eyed.
"Wow, that must have been a tough choice," Jen said.
"It was," Dawson replied. He looked at Joey. "But it was the right one."
*************
That night, Joey was sitting on Dawson's bed watching E.T. The movie ended, and she looked toward his side of the bed. "I'm really glad you're back, Dawson. I don't know how to say it enough."
"I'm glad, too, Jo," Dawson said, smiling. He got up and took the video out of the VCR. He put it in its case, then turned back to Joey, still lying on the bed. "Jo . . . can we talk?"
"Of course, Dawson," she said, sitting up. "What about?"
"The night before I left for Califoria," he said, "I kissed you. Or you kissed me, I don't really know. That kiss. . . ."
"Yeah, Dawson?" Joey said, looking half-hopeful.
"That was just a goodbye kiss, right? Simply an ending to a chapter in our lives."
Joey's heart sank. "Of course. It was a goodbye kiss."
"That's what I thought," he said. There was an awkward silence. "Okay, I'm gonna go get some more popcorn, and we'll pop in another movie."
"Okay," Joey said, watching him leave. "As soon as the door was closed, tears began to stream down her face. "I love you Dawson. . . ." she whispered.
*************
Dawson pressed himself up to the door to his bedroom. He took a deep breath, then began to cry.