"Dawson Leery. Witness as the protagonist falls from great heights, seemingly losing all potential to live up the common standard of decency and heroism and fulfill the ideal that was built by upstanding individuals time and time again throughout the history of the world. Witness as the protagonist, now cast down into the shadowy depths of sin and iniquity, rises up and manages to reclaim the glory that was once considered only a mere step away. Witness as Dawson Leery heads out today with a new purpose, a new goal. A new aim. Leaving behind his selfish pursuit of sexual and emotional happiness with Andie McPhee, Dawson Leery is now solely focused upon the task of rebuilding what was destroyed, finding what was lost, and reacquainting himself with the person he once dreamed he was and now dreams of becoming."

"Dawson, what the hell are you doing?"

Jen interrupts Dawson's inspirational speech to his reflection in the mirror, shooting him a bewildered but amused look. Dawson turns a faint shade of pink, then shrugs.

"A pep talk."

"You know, most people's pep talks don't include words like iniquity and most times they're directed toward others in need of motivation, not to themselves. And I know that when I do try to motivate myself, it's usually like 'don't screw this one up again, Lindley.'"

"Well, that's what I was saying, in my own way."

"In your own way, yes, I guess you were," Jen half-grins, shaking her head. No one else in the world could be Dawson Leery, even if they tried.

"Flowers?" Dawson takes the bouquet of flowers that is sitting on his dresser and hands them to her with a friendly smile.

"For me?"

"Yes, for you. I am on the path to redemption, Jennifer Lindley, and I thought that you deserved some beautiful flowers because you're the first person who is willing to give me another chance." Dawson picks up his jacket and puts it on, then grabs his backpack from the floor.

"All I get is a bouquet of flowers for that? God, Dawson, I never would have pegged you for the cheap type," Jen jibes, nudging him in the ribs. "I thought...jewelry...all expenses paid trip to Jamaica...a new car...but flowers?"

"But they're yellow, the color of friendship. I was going for a gift that would say what I wanted it to say," Dawson replies, guiding her out of his bedroom.

"And a yellow Mustang convertible wouldn't have worked as well?" Jen jokes, walking down the stairs. Dawson follows her, sighing deeply.

"You know, Lindley, you're making this whole 'Start of a new day for Dawson' incredibly hard."

"It's my job," she quips back. At the bottom of the flight of stairs, she stops and turns back to him. "But I suppose...since they are roses...they'll do." Dawson bows to her overdramatically, causing her to laugh.

"Thank you for your seal of approval, Miss Lindley. You have no idea how much it matters to me."

"All right, you may rise, Leery," she extends her hand to him, which he kisses lightly. She nods, putting on an air of superiority. "Now...since we have decided to walk to school together, you must know that we have to swing by and pick up Jack on the way to school."

"Oh, of course. We have to reunite the two lovebirds. You've spent an entire 14 hours apart from one another, and I'm sure you'll have to catch him up on all that happened while you were sleeping." Dawson opens his front door for Jen, and she steps out into the bright morning sunlight. The air is cold. Breathing out deeply, her breath turns into fog and she smiles.

"I love the smell of winter," she smiles, and glances back at Dawson as she continues on down his front steps. He doesn't reply, so after a moment she looks back at him again. "What's wrong?"

"Just about picking up Jack...Andie's not going to...be there, is she?"

"No, she always goes to school early on Thursdays for Good Morning Math," she tells him, observing him carefully as the tension slips away from his face and is replaced with relief.

"Oh. Well...then we better get going then, we don't want to be late for school," he falls into step with Jen as they walk down the path, headed for another long day or trials and tribulations at Capeside High. Dawson unconsciously sticks his hand is his pocket and closes his hand around the note he had received in the mail last night, but doesn't say a word about it to Jen. No reason to toss his worries out into the open; the responsibility had fallen on his shoulders, and for once Dawson Leery didn't plan on shrugging it off.

"Am I going insane, or did I see you walk into school today with Dawson on one side, and Jack on the other?" Joey, looking upset, intercepts Jen as she leaves history class. Jen just raises her eyebrows, shrugging.

"I don't know about the insane part, but yes, you did see me walking with Dawson today."

"Are you nuts? After what he did to you?"

"Let's just say that I'm more forgiving than most. It's not like I'm totally free of those skeletons in the closet either. I mean, I probably have more than anyone I know," Jen stops to take a drink at the drinking fountain as Joey stares at her dumbfounded. After finishing, she looks up at Joey, surprised to find her friend still agape. "What? It's not like I made peace in the Middle East, Jo, I just decided to forgive and forget in all matters concerning Dawson. It's not a life-changing, pivotal moment."

"Well, it may not be for you, but it is for me. You're supposed to be on my side about this, Jen. How am I supposed to feel when you go side with the enemy?" Joey asks, dismayed. Jen just laughs, upsetting Joey even more.

"Joey, come on...who are you kidding? He's not the enemy. He used to be your best friend until a few months ago when your best friend became Pacey's bed..." Jen smiles knowingly as Joey looks around, embarrassed, not wanting anyone to hear that. "Besides, what do you care if I'm friends with him or not? It's not like he's standing in the way of you and Pacey anymore. Speaking of which...I heard that you and Pacey were pretty close to doing it right in the hallway yesterday..." Jen wiggles her eyebrows at Joey, who blushes.

"Yeah...well...Pacey and I sort of made up...but..." Joey tries to stop the images of Pacey from coming into her mind but can't. "But...that's besides the point! Don't go changing the subject on me!" Jen chuckles, and Joey attempts to glare at her. "Jen, I am being serious."

"Then what is your point, Joey? I made up with Dawson. He's trying to set things right with everyone, I support that. I'm sick of all of this. All this time I've been sitting on the sidelines, watching as the four of you seemingly competed about who could mess up their own lives the most. Dawson was horrible to me, but that was only a little subplot. To me, it was actually pretty inconsequential, because I've been crushing on Jack for gods knows how long. Now I have Jack, and I fully intend on not turning my relationship with him into the melodrama which you and Pacey so crave."

"We don't *crave* melodrama, Jen," Joey replies, annoyed. "It's just something that sort of comes with the territory of our relationship. And the reason that I'm upset that you have done this whole forgiveness deal with Dawson is that fact that you making up with him only makes me feel more wrong and more alienated because he hasn't forgiven me and I still don't feel any more forgiving of him. You and Pacey are pretty much the only people I have right now and if you are Dawson's friend, it just makes things harder for me and in general."

"All right, Joey, I get what you're saying. Let me just set the record straight right now. Me and Dawson, and me and you are two entirely different entities. What you say to me and what he says to me will not be intermingled, transferred, or discussed in any way shape or manner. I will not urge you to make up with him, nor will I urge him to make up with you. What you and he choose to do about this mess that all of you have created is entirely your business and all I will say is that I hope you work it out and I have declared ultimate neutrality in all matters from this point onward. Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to go find my boyfriend and continue living a normal life as if the love rectangle that has dominated our group of friends simply doesn't exist. So...see you in lunch." Jen nods as she finishes her sentence for emphasis, adding a silent "hmmph" to the end of her declaration.

"Bye..." Joey mutters lowly, turning to go to class and crashing right into someone who was walking toward her.

"Whoa, Potter, I know you're happy to see me, but please." Joey grins at the sound of the familiar, sexy voice, then tries to replace it with a standard sarcastic glare.

"Yes, Pacey, I can barely contain myself. Oh Pacey! Oh Pacey! I've missed you so," she brings her hand up to her head as if she's going to faint.

"If you faint, Potter, I'm not going to catch you."

"Good, because if I were in your arms I wouldn't end up fainting, I'm sure I'd end up puking," she snips back, but her insult is infiltrated by a giggle as he grabs her and pulls her to him playfully.

"Oh, we're going to have to do something in order to refute that statement, right away." Pacey mock threatens.

"Are we?" Joey asks. "I suggest you do it quickly then." Pacey smiles and captures her lips in his, kissing her gently. When they break away, they both grin almost giddily.

"Can I just state for the record...that I like being able to kiss you in the hallway of this fine institution. I like it a lot. Too much."

"Well, I like it too," Joey replies. "And I could definitely get used to it."

"You *better* get used to it, Potter, it's going to be happening a lot!" Pacey laughs, setting his hands on her hips and gently guiding her so her back is against the lockers. "*A lot.*" He repeats, his lips meeting hers again. Joey smiles against his mouth, and wraps her arms around him, suddenly beginning to feel like school wasn't so bad after all.

Dawson enters the hallway, heading to science class, and stops in his tracks. He'd seen the tape, but seeing Joey and Pacey kissing one another for the first time, right in front of him, made his heart fall right down to his toes like a piece of lead. Dawson's acutely aware of every move they're making and the heat that is radiating off of them. Every student who passed by was sneaking looks, like the kissing couple was like a horrible car accident that they couldn't help but look at. He tries to look away, but can't seem to make any part of his body obey his mind's commands. Part of him ached to see them together; from both heartbreak and from the realization that had started to dawn on him only a few days before. Pacey and Joey aren't the Pacey and Joey of his childhood that he'd grown accustomed to seeing but never really looking at. What he sees now are not 'Pace n' Jo,' troubled sidekicks to his hero, but a man and a woman, both entirely grown up and madly in lust and madly in love, two mature people who are so intense and so different from the images he held of them in his mind. Two people who exist entirely independent of Dawson Leery.

Two people who had slept together and betrayed every ounce of trust he held in them.

Somehow that kept coming up and kicking him in the gut.

Finally he looks away. The path to becoming a better person is taking a detour for awhile; his heart still needed more repair than he had originally estimated.

"Jack McPhee, just the person I was looking for," Abby Morgan sits down next to Jack, interrupting his studying. He glares at her.

"Really. See, the funny thing is that I try at all costs to avoid you, so it's a bit ironic that you've been looking for me. Don't you see that I'm trying to study here?" Abby glances at his book, not really caring about Jack's need to delve into the farthest regions of U.S. History and Government.

"Look, Jack. I know you hate me. I know everyone hates me. Believe it or not, that really isn't what I've always wanted for myself. It's just something that got started, and once the ball got rolling...I mean, it's hard to stop the one person who first started hating you from getting other people to hate you..."

"What's your point?"

"And after awhile it just gets easier to find joy in that hate than trying to dig your way out of it. That's the way that my entire life has been for as long as I can remember. I mean, I'm sure there was a time when I had friends and acted with what can be considered 'human decency' or whatever, but I really can't remember it. I've learned to derive happiness from making other people just as miserable as I am."

"May I reiterate my first question?"

"What I'm trying to say is that my latest dive into the destruction of others has not fulfilled me in the slightest bit. In fact, it's made me hate myself even more than I ever have. See...that's not the way things are supposed to work, so I figure I must have done something wrong."

"You? Do something wrong? Abby, you don't understand the concept of right and wrong," Jack scoffs, shutting his book and turning to her. Abby sighs.

"Yeah, actually I do, McPhee, so if you would get off your high horse for just one millisecond and realize that I'm here offering an apology and meekly seeking your help in repairing the damage that I have created, maybe we could get something accomplished. But if you insist on being a jerk, then maybe I'll just leave you and all your little friends to rot and you can deal with the consequences of knowing that if you had only given me the chance, things could've all worked out." Jack stares at her for a minute, not knowing what to say. "Well?"

"O...kay...I'll listen..."

"I need you to bring Andie and Jen to the Ice House tonight at 6 o'clock."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you why, because I need you to lie convincingly. I know that if I tell you, you'll end up slipping and tell them what it's all really about. And they're not going to come once they know I'm behind it, hence you have to know the minimal amount of information."

"All right..." Jack nods warily. "Six o'clock, then..."

"Yes. Six. Can I trust that they'll be there?"

"Um...yeah."

"I need better than that, Jack."

"They'll be there, Abby."

"Good. See you then." Abby gets up and walks off. Jack shakes his head, and opens his text book back up. He can't concentrate on the term of Andrew Jackson however, and could care less about wildcat banks. What in the world was Abby Morgan up to now? He debates about going after her and telling her he'd changed his mind about helping. But he decides against it. It's too late. He's already involved, whether he likes it or not.

"Hi...is Dawson home?" Gale looks Andie McPhee up and down, not sure if this sweet innocent looking girl could possibly be the same girl who was responsible for corrupting Dawson. Well, that wasn't fair. The girl responsible for making her realize her son was corruptable.

"No, he ran to the supermarket for me. He should be back soon though," Gale replies, mentally ping-ponging the idea of inviting Andie inside. Andie looks down at her snow boots, wishing she were some place else at that moment. She could feel Mrs. Leery looking at her, judging her.

"Oh...well, I guess I'll just come back later then," Andie turns to go, realizing that Gale wasn't about to ask her to stay anytime soon. To her surprise, Gale opens the door wider.

"You can come inside and wait until he gets back, if you want to," she offers. "It makes more sense than trudging all the way back home and coming back again later." Andie stops, wavering nervously. Should she go in? Or is she only setting herself up for another bad memory? She wasn't even sure why she had come to see Dawson in the first place, or if it was right for her to try to talk to him again.

"Um...sure..." Mrs. Leery steps aside to let Andie in, then shuts the door. Andie peels off her jacket, hat and gloves, then sets to work at removing her boots as Gale hangs up her things.

"Why don't you come in the kitchen and take a seat? I was just about to make some hot chocolate. Would you like some?"

"Hot chocolate?" Mrs. Leery nods. "Sure, I'd like that alot. Thanks." Andie relaxes a little, gingerly sitting down at the kitchen counter. She still eyes Gale a little worriedly, though, feeling as if she's treading on some unstable ground. Mrs. Leery takes out two mugs from the cupboard and then gets out the milk. The room is awkwardly silent as she finishes mixing in the chocolate and puts the mugs into the microwave.

"So, Andie...how's school going for you?"

"School's going very well, thanks."

"You just moved into town this year, right?"

"Yeah, at the end of August. Right before the school year started," Andie replies, still on edge. She twines her fingers in the edge of her sweater nervously.

"Do you like Capeside?"

"Yes, a lot. The people here are really nice. When I got here, everyone was really, really nice to me. Well, with the exception of Pacey, but that's another story," she grins a little, then looks away quickly. Why did she have to bring up that topic?

"Yeah...Pacey's a character all right," Gale taps the counter lightly, waiting for the hot chocolate to finish heating up. "How long were the two of you going out before you started seeing Dawson?" As if on cue, the microwave stops, almost like a bomb ticking off its last second before exploding. Andie almost chokes as she breathes in quickly, startled by the abruptness of Mrs. Leery's questioning. But then again, she was a reporter. Direct and to the point. Andie stumbles to find her voice. "I was just wondering, you know. This whole thing sort of has my interest piqued. It's my nature."

"Um, I...the whole thing...about a month and a half ago, I guess?" Andie's eyes dart around the Leery's kitchen, trying to look at anything besides Gale. Gale takes the hot chocolate out of the microwave and hands Andie her mug with an overly warm and insincere smile.

"Here you go," she takes a sip of her own drink, finding it just the right temperature. "I love that microwave. I've finaly figured out just the right times to make things perfect. Watch, now it'll probably break and I'll have to start the process all over again with a new microwave."

"Right..." Andie laughs nervously, taking a tiny sip of her hot chocolate. "I knew I should've just gone home," she says inwardly, hating herself for being so stupid as to going into the Leery home. She practically delivered herself right into the lion's den. Nothing was worse than an angry mother.

"So...you and Dawson...you two a couple now that Pacey and Joey have gone their own way?"

"Not exactly. I mean, no. We're not," Andie stammers.

"Oh, that's too bad. I figured that since Pacey and Joey ended up together, maybe the whole thing was just kismet, right?" Gale smiles again, causing Andie's soul to practically shiver. She hated that smile.

"Dawson decided that it was better for us if we stayed away from each other from now on," Andie replies meekly. She starts to stand up. "Maybe I should just go."

"No, stay! If you and Dawson agreed to stay apart and you're here now, it must've been something really important, right?"

"We didn't really agree," Andie says quietly, glancing down at the floor. "I better go." Gale looks at Andie for a moment, recognizing the look on her face anywhere. That was the same look she had when Mitch had told her he wanted a divorce. A choice he made.

"Andie-"

"You're right, Mrs. Leery."

"Right?" She's confused.

"About me. I can tell by how you look at me. How you've been asking me these questions. You think I'm this screwed up girl who has ruined your son. And you're right. I am screwed up. I've just been..." She trails off. "It's just that when I was with Dawson I felt like I wasn't. Screwed up. I didn't mean for everything to end up like this. I'm sorry." Andie heads for the door, hurriedly collecting her jacket.

"Andie, I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have asked you about this, it's none of my business and I have no right to pass judgement-"

"You're his mother, you have every right to pass judgement."

"Don't go, Andie. Stay and wait for Dawson. There was obviously something you wanted to talk to him about that was important to you, and I think you should-"

"I should just go. I have to be somewhere to meet my brother in a little bit anyway. I shouldn't have come here in the first place." Andie shoves on her boots, not bothering to tie them before opening the front door. "Don't tell Dawson I was here." She slips out before Mrs. Leery can think of a thing to say to stop her.

"Hello, this is Jack McPhee. Is Jen home?"

Contemptuous silence.

"Yes, hold on a moment." Grams' tight voice hurts Jack's ears. "Jennifer, you have a phone call!" He can hear Jen call back in the background.

"Who is it?"

"It's that boy...friend of yours," Grams almost can't say the words. Jack stifles a small laugh, wondering what Mrs. Ryan would ever do if Jen ever spent the night at his house. He could only imagine how horrible things would be for him then.

"Grams, his name is Jack," Jen calmly reprimands her grandmother, and then comes on the line. "Hi, McPhee. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I was actually just sitting around doing nothing and decided to call you."

"Glad to know that you use me as a last resort to avert terrible boredom, Jack," Jen teases.

"Well, usually I have so much to do on a Thursday night, Jen, but my session at the hospital doing cancer research was cancelled and so far there's been no cries of distress from any damsels so my superhero gear is still in the closet...there's not even a decent Jerry Springer episode on on the WB."

"God, no Jerry Springer? How will you survive?"

"I think I'll get by. Although I could definitely use a few stories about how someone's midget tranvestite ex-lover/prostitute slept with their mother, sister, best friend and their dog at various occasions while high on crack." Jen cracks up completely, surely earning her a few suspicious looks from her grandma.

"I think I might have missed the episode," Jen replies.

"Oh, it was an Emmy-winner for sure," Jack states. "The critics were raving."

"I'm sure they were," Jen's laughter finally dies down after a moment. "So...I'd hate to have to tear you away from your busy night of channel surfing, but do you want to go see a movie?"

"Actually...I was calling you to see if you wanted to hang out down at the Ice House with me. Get some dinner, maybe?"

"That sounds pretty good. I was in the mood for some of Bessie's fries."

"Make sure to tell her that, she rarely ever gets compliments on anything that she makes. French fries are the one thing she can do without the help of the entire kitchen staff."

"I'll make sure to let her know that I give them two thumbs up," Jen smiles. "What time do you want to go?"

"Want to meet there in like, twenty minutes? Around six o'clock?"

"Sounds great. See you then?"

"Yep, see you then."

"Bye!"

"Bye," Jack hangs up, his smile immediately falling. He hated lying to her. But he'd promised Abby. And if one simple little, harmless lie helped all of their friends to come together again...maybe it was worth it. Right?

Joey stands behind the counter at the Ice House, staring out the big picture window across the room. It faced the dock, providing their customers with a nice view of the harbor, but it wasn't the scenic quality of Capeside that she was appreciating. In fact, she couldn't even see it. She half-smiles to herself as she slowly wipes the counter as if in a trance, the washcloth carefully running over every inch as she continued to wipe down the same area over and over again. Her mind is elsewhere.

Pacey Witter elsewhere. He's standing out on the dock, apparently lost in thought himself. Except for the various times she'd seen him glance at his watch. She assumes that he's waiting for her, but she couldn't just walk out to meet him. Bessie was on the phone, putting an order in with the grocery store for next week's supplies, and the other waitress was on her break. Most likely wasting away another half hour of her life smoking in the back by the dumpster. How glamorous.

She can't imagine his reasoning for not coming inside, but figures he has a reason. One thing she'd discovered about Pacey was that he wasn't the insane, irresponsible, carefree person that she had judgementally imagined him to be for the greater portion of their lives. He often had a reason for doing every single thing he did, even if it was impulsive. So if he wanted to stand out in the freezing cold...well, she'd just have to make fun of him for his strangeness later.

However, Joey doesn't exactly mind having a chance to watch her boyfriend from afar. She slows down her hand's movements on the counter, her thoughts turning to something entirely different than the task at hand. Suddenly a rapidfire assault of sexual fantasies bombard her mind, images of Pacey's strong hands all over her body. Her eyes lock on his form, imagining what would happen if she could take him and pull him into the Ice House bathroom with her, not saying a word, and just make love. Her eyes drift closed, her lids feeling heavy. Pulling off his winter coat, his sweater, his white t-shirt...she could almost feel the smooth contours of his well-muscled chest underneath her fingertips. He'd just stare at her, taken aback by her aggressiveness, but as soon as she removed her own shirt, he'd surely be caught up, his hands exploring every inch of her warm skin. Joey lets out a long breath, beginning to feel a little warm, and more than a little aroused.

"Excuse me, miss? Excuse me?" An impatient voice interrupts her day dream, and she looks at him with a start. How long had this guy been standing there?

"Sorry, can I help you?"

"Yes, I've been standing here trying to get your attention for a few minutes now..." he says, annoyed. "My wife and I would like two cups of coffee please." Joey glances at the well-dressed snob of a woman next to the man, who is obviously some kind of businessman, and gets a look of disdain in return. Apparently the woman wasn't too happy about having to stop in to a lower class restaurant like the Potter's humble establishment.

"Sorry, I'll get that right away," Joey musters up a smile, somewhat tinged with bitterness. Taking the oldest pot of coffee that's sitting on the counter, she fills their cups and hands them to the couple, wishing they hadn't been so close or she would've secretly spit in them. "On the house."

"Thank you," the man replies, without a tinge of gratitude in his voice. The two of them head for the door.

"Have a nice day," she mutters, glancing back to where Pacey is standing. He looks at his watch again, and spins on his heel and starts walking into the Ice House. The door at the other end of the Ice House opens up first, distracting Joey's attention. Her smile, brought on by Pacey, falls to the floor when she sees Dawson enter.

"Jack! Wait up!" Andie calls, hurrying down the dock after them. "Sorry I'm late, Jack."

"Andie, where've you been? I was worried about you. I thought you were coming home after school," Jack asks, worried.

"Oh, sorry..." Andie replies. Jen gazes at her, trying to figure out if Andie had been crying or not. Her eyes were a bit red and puffy, but maybe she wasn't. Andie feels Jen's eyes on her and becomes uncomfortable. "Hey, Jen."

"Hi, Andie," Jen tries to sound as friendly as possible, knowing it must have been a nightmare for Andie to walk up to her brother and realize she was there. Nothing like the girlfriend and the other woman walking down the dock together, right? "Are you okay? You look a little upset." Andie looks a bit relieved that Jen's being nice to her, but tries to hide it.

"No, I'm okay. I've just been walking around, Jack," Andie explains to ease her brother's worry. "Just needed some time alone, that's all." She shrugs, trying to brush it off as something unimportant. "Jen, you coming to the Ice House with us?" "Yeah, you don't mind, do you?"

"Me? Mind? No, not at all," Andie replies hastily. If anyone was in a postition to *mind*, it would be Jen, not her. She forces a smile at her brother and her friend...or former friend...and continues down the dock. "So...what are you guys going to eat? I think I might just get a salad or something, I'm trying to stop eating meat. I don't know how long that will last, but I thought I'd at least give the vegetarian thing a shot, you know?" Andie opens up the door to the Ice House and stops walking, causing Jen and Jack, who were following behind her, to almost trip over her. A gasp rises in her throat.

"Andie, what's the matter?" Jack gently moves her out of the way to see what the problem is, and realizes it immediately. Pacey. Joey. Dawson. All standing by the counter, looking at one another awkwardly. He was going to kill Abby Morgan. Kill her.

Chris watches with a feeling of dread, as Andie, Jack, and Jen disappear inside the restaurant, like cattle going in for the slaughter. What was happening now? He looks around suspiciously, figuring Abby Morgan must be close by. Something was up, for all six of the friends to be in the same place all at the same time. It couldn't possibly have been a major coincidence that everyone just happened to go to the Ice House on a night that Joey's working at the exact same time. Something was too neat, too orchestrated.

His suspicions are confirmed when Abby comes walking down the pier, her hands stuck in the pockets of her black pea coat and a red winter hat on her head. Would she ever learn? He couldn't believe at one time he had been attracted to her. Not that he was the most upstanding individual of all time, but...he'd drawn the line, and now he felt the constraints of his conscience all the time, every moment of the day. Chris advances toward Abby angrily. She sees him coming, and then tries to pretend she didn't.

"Abby, what are you doing?" he demands.

"I'm walking, what does it look like?"

"Why are they all at the Ice House?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play innocent on me, Abigail, you know very well what I'm talking about. I just saw Dawson, Pacey, Jack, Jen, and Andie all go into the Ice House within five minutes of each other. Now tell me what's going on right now, I want to know."

Abby glares at him, his more-righteous-than-thou attitude grating on her last nerve. As if this day hadn't been hard enough already, she didn't want to listen to his tirade. Chris had become insufferable; if he thought what they had done was so bad, why wasn't he the one trying to make things right again? Why wasn't he the one walking into the Ice House right now instead of her?

"Go jump off a cliff, Wolfe. You're no better than I am, and if you think your little act of humanity that day when you stopped the tape gives you complete immunity from the fact that you're an asshole, have always been an asshole, and will always be an asshole, you've got another thing coming. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to take care of." "Abby!" He grabs her arm roughly, and she wrenches herself away from him.

"Don't. Touch. Me." Abby's voice is tight and harsh. Chris is a little stunned by the severity of the look on her face, and lets go. She turns and stalks off, heading to the Ice House in a fury. He debated about following her and seeing what she was up to, but instead leaves in a huff. Damn that girl and her stupid ploys. Let her do what she wants. What goes around comes around, she'll get her due.

"Abby." Joey stands behind the counter, hands on her hips. "I should've known you were behind this." Abby just looks at the six people standing in front of her, realizing just how much they all hated her just by looking at their faces. Not that she could blame them. Not saying a word, she goes into the kitchen and retrieves the key from where Bessie had said she'd put it.

"What are you doing?" Pacey demands, as Abby goes down the small hallway where the bathrooms are located, and begins unlocking the door to the basement.

"If you all would come with me," Abby says, opening up the door and turning on the light. "There's something I'd like to straighten out right now." Andie takes a step toward the exit.

"I don't think so, Abby," she states, and Jen starts to follow her.

"Fine," Abby says loudly. "Go. All I needed was five minutes, but if you're not willing to devote that much time to saving all of your supposedly important friendships, that's your decision. I don't need to do this, this isn't for me."

"Oh please!" Joey exclaims. "You've done nothing but terrorize us, and we're supposed to believe that you're trying to help? Do you think we're complete idiots?" Joey circles the counter and walks over to Abby, trying to resist the urge to jump on her and start beating her up.

"No, I don't. And if you don't trust me, maybe you'll trust your sister. Or Jack." Everyone turns and looks at Jack. "They all helped me to get you all here. They know that I'm trying to help."

"Jack?" Jen looks at him questioningly, waiting for him to say it wasn't true. Instead he remains silent. "I can't believe this." Before anyone can say anything else, Dawson walks down into the basement, not saying a word. The five remaining friends exchange glances, not sure whether to follow or not. Cautiously, Andie begins walking toward the basement door. As she disappears out of sight, Joey and Pacey look to one another, communicating through their eyes, both unsure. Pacey takes her hand gingerly, and they go downstairs together.

Jen shakes her head, both angry and sad, and then walks downstairs, not even looking at Jack.

"You better fulfill your promise to fix things, Abby," Jack murmurs to her as he slowly walks past her, his voice low and threatening. Abby takes a deep breath, crossing her fingers before stepping down the stairs and shutting the door behind her.

"Let's only hope I can."

To Be Continued...

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