Cut to New York City.
We see a montage of the sites. The Statue of Liberty, Central Park, and Times Square. Finally, we settle at a local television studio.
Inside, three familiar people wander around.
DAWSON: Where’d Andie wander off to?
PACEY: Said something about wanting to do some shopping. We’re gonna meet up for dinner later. I’ll stay if you need me, though.
DAWSON: We’ll be fine. Go. Have fun.
JEN: (off-screen) Like he needs you to tell him?
Dawson, Joey, and Pacey turn around to see Jen Lindley standing behind them, carrying a clipboard.
JOEY: Jen! Hey, what are you doing here?
JEN: I’m working as an intern. Remember that radio show I had back in Boston? Well, apparently some execs listened to it and gave me a call
JOEY: Count yourself lucky they didn’t catch the Dr. Drew disaster.
Dawson and Pacey look at each other with a look of confusion.
BOTH: Dr. Drew?
Jen sighs.
JEN: Please don’t ask. Suffice to say, Audrey stole the spotlight in an attempt to stalk the guy.
PACEY: I think I may be physically ill.
Jen goes over to Dawson.
JEN: Imagine my surprise when I heard you were coming in for an interview. The movie was great, by the way. Knew it would be.
Dawson smiles.
DAWSON: Thanks for saying that.
JOEY: Hopefully she’s not just stroking your ego.
Dawson gives her a look.
DAWSON: Joey…
She laughs.
JOEY: I’m kidding, Dawson. My days of resenting Miss Lindley here are far behind me.
PACEY: Too bad. That’d give the viewers something to look forward to.
Jen and Joey give him evil looks.
BOTH: Bite me!
PACEY: A tempting offer, but I’ve got a previous engagement. Knock ‘em dead, Dawson.
Pacey takes off. Jen turns back towards Dawson and Joey.
JEN: So…the cover of Entertainment Weekly, huh? Congrats.
DAWSON: It came as somewhat of a shock.
JEN: At least they didn’t catch you with your tongues down each other’s throats.
Joey’s eyes go wide.
JOEY: Don’t jinx it. The last thing I want is some snap-happy shutterbug following me around.
JEN: Good point. With your temper, he’s bound to get more than a broken lens.
Joey raises an eyebrow.
JOEY: What do you mean ‘my temper’?
DAWSON: Well, you do tend to overreact sometimes, Jo. It’s not a bad thing. Personally, I find it to be one of your more endearing qualities.
JOEY: I do not have a bad temper. I just don’t like getting pushed around. Ok, so I get angry sometimes, but who doesn’t?
Dawson and Jen give her unsure looks.
JOEY: I don’t have a bad temper!
Just then, one of the camera guys taps Joey on the shoulder. She spins around.
JOEY: WHAT?
He backs away.
GUY: They, um, want to run through a few things with the two of you before we start.
JOEY: Oh. No problem.
She looks back at Dawson and Jen, who are still looking at her.
JOEY: Ok, so maybe I have a few anger management issues.
JEN: You think?
*****
Cut to a bistro in downtown New York.
Pacey is sitting at an outside table with Andie, eating dinner.
ANDIE: Pacey, you’re not serious, are you?
PACEY: Hey, I can go shopping too, you know?
She sighs.
ANDIE: FAO Schwarz is just a toy store.
PACEY: Just a toy store? Correction, it’s the biggest freaking toy store in the world, thank you very much. I’ve wanted to go there since I was a kid.
ANDIE: You come all the way to New York, and the first thing you want to do is visit a toy store?
PACEY: I’m a big kid. So sue me.
Andie smiles at him.
ANDIE: Well, if you’re good, mommy’ll have a surprise for you back at the hotel.
Pacey raises his eyebrows, and grins.
PACEY: Check, please!
*****
A few minutes later, the two of them head out into the street, arm in arm.
PACEY: So, this ‘surprise’…
Andie giggles.
ANDIE: You know what I mean.
He grins.
They walk a few steps more, when suddenly a familiar voice calls out.
VOICE: Pacey? Pacey Witter, is that you?
Pacey freezes, as he slowly turns around. Behind him, Tamara Jacobs is standing only a few feet away.
At that moment, Pacey lets out a high-pitched screech. He hides behind Andie.
PACEY: Don’t hurt me! It was Dawson’s idea…all Dawson’s!
Tamara walks up to them.
ANDIE: Pacey thinks you’re going to kill him because a character was based on you in Dawson’s movie, Miss Jacobs.
Tamara laughs.
TAMARA: Yes, I saw it. You don’t have anything to fear, Pacey.
Pacey sighs in relief, and walks out from behind Andie.
PACEY: I don’t?
TAMARA: I have to admit, it was somewhat embarrassing. But I wasn’t offended. Come to think of it, it’s kind of flattering that I was considered important enough to be included. Though that young lady went a little overboard…
ANDIE: She’s like that all the time.
Tamara smiles, and looks at Andie.
TAMARA: Andie, correct? We met the last time I was in Capeside. Are you two…?
PACEY: Most definitely.
TAMARA: I’m happy to hear that. So, what are you doing in New York?
PACEY: Dawson has this interview thing going on, so we’re off seeing the sights.
TAMARA: Well, it was good seeing you again.
She leaves. Pacey watches her go, as Andie gives him a concerned look.
ANDIE: Pacey?
PACEY: Huh?
ANDIE: Are you ok?
PACEY: Yeah, I’m good. Actually…I think I need to talk to her. In private.
Pacey follows Tamara, while Andie watches him with a worried expression on her face.
*****
Cut to Capeside, at the Leery house.
Gale walks into the living room, where Mike, Bessie, Bodie, Audrey, Chris, and Gretchen are gathered.
CHRIS: Five minutes until it airs.
Bodie waves a remote control in the air.
BODIE: Tape is set.
BESSIE: Can’t believe my little sister is actually going to be on television.
GRETCHEN: Anyone have popcorn?
The others look at her.
GRETCHEN: What? An occasion like this needs popcorn.
AUDREY: My god, you ARE Pacey’s sister!
*****
Cut to a lavish apartment, somewhere in New York.
Helen Lindley and Jack McPhee are seated in front of the television. Grams walks by and sighs.
GRAMS: All this fuss…I’ll never understand it.
JACK: What? Hollywood propaganda or people acting like flies to a bug-zapper over it?
She sits down next to the two of them.
GRAMS: When does the program start, anyway?
Jack checks his watch.
JACK: Two minutes.
Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. Jack gets up and answers it.
Andie walks in.
ANDIE: Hey. What’d I miss?
JACK: They haven’t started yet. Where’s Pacey?
Andie bites her lip.
ANDIE: He had to do something.
The show begins. The others gather around the television, making sure they don’t miss anything.
*****
Back at the studio, a woman is talking into one of the cameras.
HOST: We have some special guests tonight, ladies and gentlemen. One of the hottest up-and-coming talents in the film industry, and director of ‘The Creek’…we managed to get Dawson Leery to come down here to talk to us tonight.
The camera goes over to Dawson and Joey, sitting next to her. Dawson looks into the camera and smiles, while Joey appears ill-at-ease.
HOST: As an added bonus, we also have the author of ‘The Amber Shadow’ here as well, Josephine Potter.
JOEY: (nervously) It’s just ‘Joey’…if that’s all right?
The host laughs.
*****
Cut back to the Leery house…
AUDREY: Well, somebody’s a little camera shy.
BESSIE: Ha! Poor Joey. She’s not going to pass out, do you think?
AUDREY: Nah. Though someone should bring her a barf bag…
*****
At the studio…
HOST: Firstly, I’m sure the question on everyone’s mind concerns a certain picture that’s popped up recently. Are you two…?
JOEY: Yeah. Uh, that is, we’re going out…that is what you were going to ask, right?
DAWSON: We’re an item. She’s crazy about me.
Joey looks at him.
JOEY: Modest, much?
The audience laughs, as does the host.
DAWSON: That picture was actually taken a few months ago at the Sundance Film Festival. Someone must have seen Joey’s book, and put two and two together.
HOST: You have to admit, it’s a pretty big coincidence the two of you achieved fame roughly at the same time.
Joey scoffs.
JOEY: Me? Famous? Hardly.
HOST: Don’t be so modest. I personally thought your novel was awe-inspiring.
Joey looks at her, surprised.
JOEY: You—you read it? Really?
She nods.
JOEY: Wow.
HOST: Dawson, any reaction for your overnight success? ‘The Creek’ seems to be gaining popularity unheard of from new talent.
DAWSON: Well, I’ve actually been in the business for over a year. I worked on the direct-to-cable film ‘Wicked Dead’, and a few independent features. But ‘The Creek’ is the first one by Creek Side Pictures.
HOST: That studio’s pretty new as well, isn’t it?
DAWSON: Yeah, I co-founded it with a friend of mine last year, but the film itself was completed a few months prior. I had originally written the script for the same studio that was making ‘Wicked Dead’, but…we had some difficulty. Creative differences.
HOST: Isn’t that always the way?
DAWSON: So I’ve heard. Anyway, I came up with the idea for Creek Side Pictures so I would be able to make movies the way I wanted to make them. I spent some time in LA last year, but I’ve found that the further away from my home town I get, the harder it is to keep focused. When I’m near Boston or Capeside, my talents are at their peek.
HOST: Capeside?
DAWSON: The town I grew up in.
She turns towards Joey.
HOST: Joey, what did you think of ‘The Creek’?
JOEY: It was great. More that great…although I’m kind of biased because I helped make it.
HOST: Oh? Co-writing the script?
She scoffs.
JOEY: No way. Make no mistake, that script was 100% Dawson’s. I helped cast.
DAWSON: My business partner and I had some…financial difficulty at one point. We were effectively broke, so we had to improvise. The entire thing was filmed in Capeside. We used local businesses for sets, and the cast was completely made up of friends and family.
JOEY: My roommate played the English teacher.
*****
Meanwhile, somewhere in New York, Pacey is following Tamara Jacobs down the street.
PACEY: Tamara!
She doesn’t hear him. She just keeps walking. Suddenly, her phone rings. She picks it up.
TAMARA: Hi. Yeah, I’m on the way back right now. You’ll never guess who I ran into.
Pacey stays back, listening.
TAMARA: Pacey. Uh huh, I was shocked too. Didn’t expect to see him here so soon. The poor boy was scared to death of me.
She continues talking, while Pacey attempts to stay out of sight. Tamara hangs up, and enters a nearby building.
Once she’s inside, Pacey goes up to the front door, looking at the tenants list.
PACEY: Jacobs…Jacobs…ah, here we go!
He heads inside.
*****
Cut to the third floor.
Pacey walks out of the elevator, and tracks down a room number. Quickly, he knocks on the door.
Voices are heard inside.
TAMARA: (off-screen) Figures…
VOICE: (off-screen) Don’t worry. I’ll answer it.
TAMARA: You’re the best.
A moment later, the door opens. Doug is on the other side, half-dressed.
DOUG: Oh shoot…
He shuts the door immediately. It takes Pacey a moment for what he just saw to register.
PACEY: What the--?
He starts pounding on the door.
PACEY: DOUG! You’d better have a very good explanation for this!
DOUG: (off-screen) Go away!
PACEY: In your dreams!