. Author’s Note: It’s over, it truly is, no sequels, no rewriting the entire series, because honestly my attention span isn’t that long, I get distracted very easily like that shiny object over there, oo, pretty. I wanted to get this story out of the way so I could work on my new one. Anyway it has been a blast thank you for all of the support the feedback really is wonderful and it definitely kept me going all of these months (not in the sense of living, in the sense of writing, I’m not giving you people too much credit! Lol). So the finale you’ve all been waiting for! Will Dawson’s forehead consume the entire universe? What will happed to Joey and Pacey? Will Jen ever find love? And whatever happened to Bodie? (Not that I’m going to explain the Bodie part because honestly where did he go?)  What has happened thus far: After Dawson invites Joey to double with him, Jen, and Pacey, Joey has her own plots for revenge by sabotaging his relationship with Jen, how exactly? By taking the double date seriously, after trying to embarrass Dawson and scare away Jen she awakens new feelings for one Pacey Witter. After a night of near sexual experiences Pacey and Joey decide to try out a friends with benefits relationship. What started out as completely physical becomes something more and when the entire school finds out they end it in an attempt to hide their changing feelings from Dawson. After a beach party and Joey’s drunken declaration of lust towards Pacey their agreement is back on. Through pregnancy scares, first dates at a carnival, a long night of urban legends, and a beauty contest, Joey decides that she is in love with Pacey. First she tells Dawson who acts in his usual Dawson ways and shuns her from his life, next she tells Pacey who freaks and takes her home. And now the final installment of Only in Your Dreams. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13

“Josephine Potter, get your but down here your bus leaves in 20 minutes,” Bessie called up the hall.

“I’m not going,” she called back.

“This isn’t a yes or no matter, you’re going and that’s final,” Bessie demanded heading towards her room.

“What’s the point, I have nothing to say, it will just be countless hours of staring and awkward pauses with the occasional ‘how’s school?’ with a fire back ‘how’s Butch? I told you not to bend over.’” Joey groaned burying her head under her pillow.

“He’s your father Joey, and as his daughters it’s our responsibility to visit him on his birthday,” Bessie urged drawing back the curtains a steady stream of sunlight filling the room. “Is Dawson still going with you?”

“Dawson and I aren’t speaking to one another.”

“Why not?” Bessie inquired sitting gently at the foot of her bed.

“I rather not talk about it,” Joey groaned.

“Does it have to do with Jen?” She asked, “They didn’t have sex did they?”

“Bess, I suggest you worry more about the gossip of your piers over the gossip of boring high school romances.”

“They did didn’t they?”

“No,” Joey replied rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Okay, why don’t you take Pacey, he’s been spending a lot of time here lately.”

“I’m not talking to him either.”

“Somebody isn’t playing Miss Popular around her,” Bessie smirked, “what happened with him?”

She cringed, “I said something stupid and instead of playing along with my idiotic declaration he acted in normal Pacey style and said exactly what he was thinking and feeling and now I’m too embarrassed to ever face him again.”

“What did you say?” Bessie asked intrigued.

“Can we not talk about this, please?” Joey begged finally rolling out of bed.

“It’s either discuss you’re ‘pathetic’ little life or visit our father’s,” Bessie said smugly.

“I hate you,” she replied simply.

“Go get dressed.”

~*~

The bus ride was long and lonely, the guy next to her smelled like cheese and not in a good way. She was alone and on her way to prison, not that she was going to jail it was out of common courtesy to visit her bastard father on the anniversary of his birth.

“Where are you off to?” Cheese Whiz asked.

“The big house, the father’s turning the big 4-0,” she shrugged trying to end this conversation as soon as possible.

“I wish my kids still visited me on my birthday, gives you something to look forward to other then adding another digit to that ever increasing number you label yourself under.”

“Really, how old are your kids?”

“I believe 8, 12, and 16,” he thought for a moment, “my boys a real catch probably around your age.”

“I’ve decided that relationships shouldn’t be wasted on teenagers, they don’t understand how they work.”

“They’re a hell of a lot of fun though,” he sighed.

“So what happened? To your family that is,” she asked timidly.

“I messed up,” he said thoughtfully, “didn’t say ‘I love you’ enough, maybe didn’t love her as much as I could, probably should have stuck around instead of wondering off after she let me go.”

“Men don’t always make the best choices,” she agreed.

“I sense some anger,” he said rolling off her comment.

“Honestly, in my experience with father’s you’re still one of the good ones.”

“A lot of anger,” he adjusted.

“My father cheated on my dying mother with a cocktail waitress before getting overly involved in drug trafficking thus removing himself from my already wretched life.”

“That’s pretty bad,” he nodded. “Did you ever consider forgiving him so you could move on with your own life?”

“See now that’s just wishful thinking on your part,” she accused, “I mean if I can forgive my father then maybe your kids could forgive you.”

“That’s part of it I do admit,” He nodded again, “but aren’t you ever tired of the anger?”

She stared down at her feet, “Sometimes I just wish that he would explain why, you know? So I could understand why I should forgive him.”

“Father’s make stupid decisions attempting to do what’s right,” he explained, “And the people they’re usually thinking about at the time are their children and how they can make their lives better.”

“Yeah,” she trailed off.”

~*~

“Mike Potter,” the guard called out dragging the aging shell of a man down the line of tables. Joey sat alone at one near the center with her hands clasped together looking off into the distance. A slight smile lightened his face at the sight of her a happiness that he had been missing whenever his children weren’t in his life.

“Joey?” He asked softly grasping her attention.

“Hi dad,” she said coldly making no move to hug him or embrace him.

“I’ve missed you sweetheart.”

“Thanks.”

“So how’s school been going?”

“Fine.”

“Are you sure,” he urged, “you’re so smart Joey, smarter then I ever was. I’m proud of you honey.”

“Thanks.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“How’s your sister?”

“Fine.”

“Am I ever going to get more then one word out of you?”

She shrugged, “I don’t know.”

“That’s an improvement,” he chuckled softly. “So how’s Dawson?”

“Okay, I guess.”

“Has he noticed how beautiful you are yet? He’ll wake up eventually you know.”

“It’s not important,” she replied still staring down at the table. “He’s got somebody else and so do I.”

“Really,” he grinned widely, “tell me everything.”

“There’s nobody actually there was and now there isn’t and it’s not important,” she dismissed.

“Oh, well—.”

“I was thinking on the bus today, actually I was talking to this guy and he made me think,” Joey said abruptly finally looking into the eyes of her father. “He told me that I needed to forgive you to get on with my life so that’s what I’m going to do, I’m telling you that I forgive you for everything. For the affair, for the drugs, for everything, I don’t approve of what you’ve done but I understand that you had your reasons for it all and I can’t hate you for it.”

A single tear escaped running down his cheek, “You don’t know how much that means to me sweetheart.”

“You’re my father, and no matter what I do, I can’t hate you, it’s too hard,” she said her own tears beginning to fall. “Because as much as I try for the contrary, I love you, Daddy.”

He reached up covering her hand with his, “I love you too Joey, I love you and your sister and your mother so much and that what makes this all so hard. That’s what makes me despise myself so much for.” She continued to cry and he couldn’t help but join her, “I’m so sorry honey, so sorry.”

~*~

“Josephine, Miss Potter could I have a word?” Principal Markham said slowing down the young brunette.

“Yes, Miss Markham?”

“Turns out the girl who was selected for the semester in Paris changed her mind, something about leaving a boyfriend and the slot has opened for you,” she explained.

“Excuse me?”

“You have the opportunity to go to Paris for six months, it’s the chance of a life time Joey, I suggest you take it.”

Joey’s eyes drifted down the hall falling on none other the Pacey Witter, with her heart caught in her throat she smiled, “It sounds perfect, I’d love to go.”

“Good,” Markham smiled, “We’ll get all the information together for you and your guardian to look over, you’ll be leaving in two weeks when the semester ends if it all works out.”

“I can’t wait,” she said behind a fake smile.

~*~

Everything was changing and she wasn’t sure how to keep up with it all. Dipping her feet into the creek even the water was changing what a month ago was warm and inviting was now cold and bitter. The leaves which were once a healthy green was a dry barren array of browns and yellows. But it wouldn’t be that way for long, the leaves would grow back, the water would reheat yet she felt that her heart would still be broken.

“Hey,” she nearly jumped at the sound of his voice.

“Hey,” she mumbled back her gaze still fixed on the horizon, she didn’t need to look at him because it wouldn’t changed anything.

“I heard about Paris,” he explained taking a seat next to her.

“Yeah about that—.” She began.

“I think it’s great, amazing!” He corrected himself, “To finally get out of Capeside, just what you always wanted right?”

“Maybe I found a reason to stay.”

He paused looking at the profile of her face etched with the orange shadow of the descending sun. “Don’t let me be the one to hold you back.”

“It isn’t,” she dismissed.

“Good,” he nodded. “So how was your dad?”

“Fine, I think I’ve finally got those issues behind me.”

“That’s good.”

“God Jo, is this going to be how it is between the two of us?” He suddenly broke out, “This awkward tension that prevents us from having an actual conversation.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Joey,” he said sternly. She looked at him coldly causing him to redirect his gaze to the horizon, “So you’re leaving then?”

“Why should I stay? Give me one reason, my house has been invaded by everything baby, my mother’s dead, my father’s in prison, my best friend hates me and the only thing I thought I had left, well it wasn’t worth as much as I thought,” she trailed off.

“Look I’m sorry, okay?” He pleaded.

“For what? You don’t have anything to be sorry about.”

“No,” Pacey corrected, “I do, I’m sorry for not telling you ‘that I love you too’ when I should have.”

She froze staring at him for a long moment, “It doesn’t matter, I’m not going anyway. The girl who was supposed to go broke up with her boyfriend and decided to take the trip after all.”

“Oh,” he sighed staring back out at the water. He had meant what he said hadn’t he? Why did he feel so guilty suddenly for saying it?

“You can take it back now, if you want to,” Joey added.

“No, I’d rather leave it out there, its better that way.”

“It just seems in personal that’s all,” she shrugged.

“I can turn it into a grand romantic gesture if you want?” He continued, “I think Dougie may know a pilot I can write it in the sky, is that good?”

“Don’t talk like that.”

“Hey, Joey?” He asked.

“What?”

“I love you.”

She fought off the smile, “Whatever.”

He smirked, “Hey Jo, I wanted to tell you something.”

“What is that?”

“I’m still in love with you.”

“Oh, what a coincidence.” 

“How’s that?”

“We both need lobotomies.”

“Why?”

“Because I sort of still love you too, we obviously have problems.”

“Actually I sort of like it that way.”

“I guess it’s alright,” she shrugged her lips curving into a crooked smile.

“Hey Joey?”

“What?”

“Can I kiss you now?” 

“Why not?” She smiled fully tilting her head to meet his lips as they engaged in the perfect fairy tale kiss for a perfect fairy tale ending.