Dawson and Andie walked in silence back to the Leerys' house. At the same time they arrived, Jack and Jen pulled the car into the driveway. They had stayed with Joey for a while, but she got tired and wanted to lay down, so Jen and Jack left her and went to check if the rest of them were at Dawson's house.
They got out of the car and met the other two teenagers midway.
"We know what happened!" everyone spoke at once. Jen, Jack, Dawson, and Andie looked all at each other. "You know too?" Again, they spoke all at the same time.
"Wait, wait, wait." Jack tried to stop everyone from speaking at once. "So, Jen and I went to see if Joey was okay and she told us why she and Pacey don't like each other."
"And we spoke to Pacey about it. He told us the whole story." Andie told them. "We are still pretty shocked about it."
"Yeah, you tell us," Jen spoke to the other blond. "Pacey just vanishing out of Joey's life. That must have been hard for her. No wonder she doesn't let anyone in at first. She lost her mother, her father, and a friend at the same time."
"What do you mean 'Pacey vanished out of Joey's life'? Joey was the one who didn't want Pacey in her life anymore."
"No," Jack shook his head, "after Joey's father got arrested, Pacey just ignored her for the whole summer."
"He didn't ignore her!" Andie got a little heated up defending her boyfriend. "He was sent away and when he came back she slammed the door in his face."
With that, they all started screaming at each other until Jen stopped.
"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! We all need to hear both sides of the story before we point fingers. Because apparently, we heard different stories."
Everyone agreed and the four of them went upstairs to Dawson's room.
...
"Wow..." Andie let out a breath after everyone was finished talking. "So... it was just one big misunderstanding."
"Yeah..." Dawson leaned back in his chair. "What do we do now?"
"Well," Jen began to think about it. "They are both way too stubborn to just believe us if we tell them it's a misunderstanding. What we need is another plan." She smiled mischievously and played with her hands, like she was a villain in a movie planning to take over the world.
"You're right, Jen. Joey and Pacey are both so stubborn." Dawson agreed with his blonde friend. "But this time we need to be more careful."
...
"Dawson, man, where are you taking me?" Pacey asked impatiently as Dawson dragged him across the school. It was the end of school and Pacey just wanted to go home.
"We just have to make a pitstop really quick," Dawson said.
Dawson led him into an empty classroom. Minutes later, the two boys heard the voices of Jen and Joey.
"Jen, come on. I just wanna go home," Joey said.
"And you will. But there's something else that we need to do before that," Jen told her.
"What could be more important than..."
The two girls entered the empty classroom and saw Pacey and Dawson standing there.
"No way," Pacey said.
"I'm out of here," Joey told them.
Before the teens could do anything else, they heard the door lock, and they looked up to find that Dawson and Jen weren't there anymore. Pacey walked over to the door, trying to open it.
"Neither one of you is leaving this room until you sort out your problems and put an end to your feud. We'll give you some privacy to clear everything out. So don't kill each other until we are back. Pacey, tell Joey where you were that summer, and she'll tell you what your father said to her." Jen said.
They heard Jen and Dawson walking down the hall. Pacey turned around from his position next to the door. He looked at Joey, who was still standing on the same spot her arms crossed and looking down at her feet. He took a deep breath and walked over to one of the tables and sat on it. He let his backpack fall beside him. He thought for a moment what to say but when he opened his mouth, Joey spoke.
"What did she mean?" She didn't look up.
"Who?" Pacey asked her.
"Jen. Earlier, she said that you should tell me where you were that summer. What did she mean by that?"
"Maybe she meant the summer after your dad got arrested?" Now he was the one who looked down at his shoes.
"I still don't understand. You were here in Capeside, wanting nothing to do with me."
"That's not true." He looked up and their eyes met. "The day after the arrest my father took me to my grandparents, and I had to spend the whole summer with them. I only returned the day before school started again. Why would you assume that I didn't want to be your friend anymore?"
Joey just stared for a while in his eyes, trying to process what the boy in front of her just told her. Looking down again, she shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Two days after my dad got arrested, I went to your house to see you, because I hadn't heard from you and I needed you. But your dad told me that you didn't want anything to do with me and that the only reason you even spend time with me was because of Dawson." She was so angry and sad at the same time she could feel her eyes tear up.
Pacey's mouth fell open as she told him this, but he didn't know what to say. "I...I...I didn't know that." He stuttered, his words no louder than a whisper. "The day after the arrest, my father took me first thing in the morning to my grandparents. I wanted to come by and see how you were, but he was already waiting for me."
Joey looked in his eyes, trying to find the truth in them. "Then why did you start to insult me at every opportunity, when you weren't looking down at me and my family?"
"Because you hated me, because of something my father did. I didn't arrest your father, but you still hated me for it. I was hurt, because every time you looked at me, you only saw my father."
Joey was shocked at what Pacey told her. Was that really how he felt? Joey asked herself. "I didn't hate you for that. I know that it wasn't your fault."
"Then why did you start to insult me? Why do you always say my last name like it is the biggest swear word in the world?" Pacey looked like a puppy who just got kicked in the stomach.
"Because I wanted to hurt you the way you hurt me." A tear started to fall across her face. "Not only knowing that you didn't think we were friends but also knowing that you hated me? It was just too much to handle..."
"But I didn't hate you," Pacey explained to her. "I just thought you hated me and that made me so angry because I considered you one of my best friends."
Both looked into each other's eyes. Silence filled the room as they processed everything the other just told them.
"And now?" Joey was the first to break the silence. "Do you still not just see my father's mistakes in me?"
"No," Pacey shook his head and replied softly. "And I don't hate you. I'm sorry for making you believe you were nothing more than the convict's daughter." He paused for a moment and took a step in her direction, still not breaking their eye contact. "What about you? Do you hate me?"
"No," Joey's voice was as soft as Pacey's. "And I don't see your father in you."
She took a step in his direction too. They were standing very close now to each other, still looking into each other's eyes. It was like they were magnetic. Both felt relieved after sharing the truth as they could breathe for the first time.
"Friends again?" Pacey held out his hand for a handshake.
"Friends again." Joey ignored the hand and pulled him in for a hug.
It felt comfortable and like coming home. Joey buried her face in Pacey's shoulder. Her eyes began to tear up again, but this time because she was happy that she had her friend back.
Pacey breathed into her hair, taking the scent of Joey's hair in. "I'm so sorry, Jo." He said honestly.
"I'm sorry, too, Pace."
They didn't know how long they were standing like this, but later, Jen and Dawson came in and noticed the position the long-term enemies were in, both glad that their plan worked.