Episode 2.08:

Soulmates and Best Sellers

Summary by Scott

Brandon wakes up. We discover that he's grown a new goatee and he likes it very much. Brandon discovers that Steve has written an article about him which Steve has actually managed to get into a major newspaper. Brandon calls Steve to thank him and discovers that Steve has even more publicity planned for him. Apparently, Brandon's book is already number one on the new release best sellers list. Brandon's day is off to a very good start, to put it mildly.

Clare greets Brenda at Now Wear This!. Brenda is pricing tickets for her trip to New York with David and Donna. Brenda invites Clare along so she won't feel like a third wheel. Clare, always up for a new adventure, accepts.

Donna is suffering from a major hangover from her drunken misadventure the previous night. While the poor woman tries to keep it together, David asks her who she thought he was when she called him Joe last night. He correctly guesses that it might be Joe Bradley but Donna makes up a story about it being the name of her waiter last night. David falls for it.

Kelly visits Brandon. Brandon is suddenly uneasy about making money off of Dylan's pain. He's not ready to talk about it yet with Kelly,though.

David and Steve are goofing off in the Beat on the Street office. We find out that Val is visting her mother in Buffalo. She understandably needed some down time after everything she's been through lately.

Donna shows up at the store but she's obviously still a wreck. Brenda offers to cover for her and sends her home. She also tells Donna that she's invited Clare along on the New York trip to keep her company.

Kelly nervously sets things up for Brandon's book party that night.

David tells Steve and Janet about Donna calling him Joe. He still can't get it out of his mind. Steve tries to reassure him but Steve really isn't too sure what's going on either. Steve's a little worried.

Gina calls a barely conscious Dylan to remind him to wish Brandon good luck from her.

Kelly's interrupted in setting up for the party by the ever-demented Jen. Jen's there to check out what she sees as her competition for Brandon. A genuinely puzzled Kelly gets steadily more annoyed with Jen and throws her out.

Lexi calls Michael to get his help in solving the great mystery of who Lexi's secret admirer is.

Kelly chews Brandon out good about Jen until she finds out the truth. Brandon then introduces her to his publisher, Mark.

Dylan talks with Nat and mentions that he's working on selling the hotel.

David decides to try to clear the air with Donna about the whole Joe thing but changes his mind when he actually sees her.

At the party, Carly is introduced to Mark and they really hit it off.

Brandon and Dylan talk and Dylan tells Brandon how proud he is of him. Nat walks by and we find out that Dylan has gotten his college degree and typically not bothered to tell anybody.

Brenda comes by to express her pride in her brother. Clare comes by to express her own pride in Brandon. She gets to talking with Carly who's feeling a little stressed. Claire invites Carly and Zack along on the increasingly crowded trip to New York.

David talks with Dylan about the book and we learn that a portion of the profits will go to Toni's favorite charities.

Donna tells Brenda that she will tell David about her fling with Joe. She just doesn't know when yet. She's obviously tormented about it.

Noah shows up and sparks start flying between him and Brenda again.

Lexi is at the party, feeling rather lonely because nobody will talk to her. However, when Donna does try to talk to her, Lexi, as socially inept as ever, ignores her and drives her away.

A nervous Carly tells Mark that she has a son but he's okay with it.

As dinner starts, Carly goes to the bathroom and runs into Janet. She mentions how nervous she is about dating and how Zack will react. Janet tries to reassure her but Carly doesn't believe her.

Jen shows up. Brandon tells her off. She throws a temper tantrum and leaves. As she's leaving, she runs into Dylan. Dylan tells her in no uncertain terms to stop trying to break up Brandon and Kelly. He also threatens to tell Michael.

Brenda and Noah leave the party and decide to head back to Noah's apartment.

Dylan calls Gina and tells her that he'd love to see her give Jen a piece of her mind.

Brenda and Noah start getting more and more intimate.

Valerie comes back from her trip, rested and willing to work on her relationship with Noah. She decides to use the spare key to leave her suitcase at Noah's apartment. Val enters the apartment, discovers Brenda and Noah making out and we draw a very quick curtain. What happens next probably isn't going to be pretty....