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I chose to use the names of the actual actors and personnel involved with Dawson's Creek simply for ease of use, and apologize for the fact that I had to take liberties in fictionalizing the personalities of real-life people. I don't know any of the actors/crew from Dawson's Creek, and I have no idea what they're really like. For the most part, I made them nice people, but please keep in mind that this is FICTION. No offense is intended.
"And…. Cut!" Dawson Leery exclaimed, looking through the viewfinder of his video camera. He grinned at his two best friends. "That was perfect, guys. It's a wrap."
With characteristic haste, Joey Potter untangled herself from the embrace of Pacey Witter. "Well, that's a relief," she quipped. "Mr. Sweaty Hands here was getting a little too close for comfort."
Pacey grinned right back. "Objecting to my bodily fluids, Miss Potter?"
Dawson laughed at the two, who were always making sarcastic remarks at each other. "Don't forget, we still have the big kissing scene to shoot."
Joey rolled her eyes. "Please, Dawson, don't make me regurgitate."
"You're just afraid that once you feel that magical kiss of mine, you'll never want to stop," Pacey exclaimed with an evil grin.
Joey started towards Pacey, a murderous gleam in her eye, but Dawson grabbed her arm. "Truce! Truce!" he declared.
"Anything else we have to shoot today?" Joey asked. "I need to get to work, or Bessie is going to have my head."
Dawson waved her on. "No, that's it for today. We've got the big attack scene on the dock tomorrow. Bring your bathing suit." He started gathering up equipment. "See you at 7 for movie night?" he directed at Joey.
She shrugged. "Sure. Same as always." She cast one more frosty glance at Pacey. "Later, lame-brain. Later, Dawson."
"You want to hang out for a while?" Dawson asked Pacey.
Pacey shook his head. "Nah, I've gotta get home. I'll see you tomorrow." He jerked his head in the direction that Joey had just walked off. "Have fun watching movies with the Ice Princess."
"You know," Dawson said thoughtfully, "If I didn't know better, I'd say that you two were using hostility to suppress much deeper feelings towards each other." At Pacey's disbelieving look, he hastily added, "But of course, I know better."
The two friends said good-bye. Dawson headed upstairs to work on some revisions to his movie script, and Pacey headed off in the same direction Joey had gone.
Once he was safely out of sight of the Leery house, a golf cart pulled up behind him. "C'mon, Josh", 'Joey' said. "Kevin is expecting us at the cast meeting."
'Pacey' jumped in, and leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "You know what he said to me just before I left?" She gave him a curious look. "He said that if he didn't know better, he'd say that we were 'using hostility to suppress deeper feelings of intimacy.' What do you think about that, Katie?"
She leaned over to kiss him again. "I think he's on to something."
They pulled up behind the high school building, and went in through a basement entrance. Katie pulled out a magnetic pass, and used it to unlock a door that appeared to lead to the boiler room. Once inside, however, it looked like no boiler room anyone had ever seen.
Automatically, she threw a glance at the huge projection screen at the front of the room. The main screen in the center showed what was currently being broadcast, while smaller screens all around it shows other angles and views of Capeside. After so many years, keeping track of what Dawson was doing every moment had become second nature to most of them. After all, their jobs depended on it.
"He's up in his room working on his script, trying to erase the sight of his parents fornicating on the couch from his memory," a voice said behind her. Katie smiled at Monica, who played Abbey on the show.
"Gotta admit, John is so good natured about that whole storyline." It was common knowledge on the set that John Wesley Shipp, who played Dawson's father, was gay. The Leerys, however, were known for constantly appearing to be in heat, much to Dawson's mortification.
The three teens strolled into the conference room for the staff meeting. Most of the cast was already assembled, except for the actors who played the Leery parents. And, of course, Dawson.
"Katie, Josh, Monica, have a seat and we can get started," the man at the head of the table motioned to them. Kevin Williamson hated having to take time away from directing the show for anything, so meetings were generally quick and to the point.
"First of all," Kevin began, "I want to thank all of you for your work lately. Everyone has been fantastic, and the ratings are sky high. Amblin is especially pleased." Amblin Entertainment had become one of the show's biggest sponsors, once Dawson had turned out to be a Spielberg fanatic. Working in plugs for their movies was so easy it wasn't even awkward.
Katie suddenly noticed an unfamiliar face, sitting slightly behind and to the left of Kevin. She was a cute blond, about the right age to be playing a Capeside Teen. New character, Katie surmised.
The suspicion was proven true when Kevin continued his speech. "We're going to be bringing a new character into the show. It's time for Dawson to have a girlfriend. I'd like to introduce you to Michelle Williams. She'll be playing Jen Lindley, who comes from New York and moves in with her grandparents, the Ryans, next door to the Leery's. I hope all of you will make her welcome."
"The Big D is getting a woman?" Josh whispered to Katie. "That should certainly spice up ratings."
"What about the actress who used to play my granddaughter?" Mary Beth Piel, who played Francis Ryan, asked. "They don't look anything alike."
Kevin shrugged. "Puberty. Ugly duckling grew up into a swan. Dawson only met her a few times, I doubt he'll be too concerned once he gets an eyeful of how she looks now.
"Now Katie," Kevin added, "I think it's also time to make some changes in Joey's relationship with Dawson. Set up sort of a love triangle. He'll end up with Jen, but we want the viewers to have some suspense over which one Dawson will pick – the friend he's known forever, or the mysterious girl with a past."
"You want me to hook up with Dawson?" she asked, sounding about as enthusiastic as she had on-screen, when Dawson had reminded 'Pacey' and 'Joey' about their upcoming kiss. "I don't think that the viewers would buy that, honestly. I mean, Dawson and Joey have been best pals forever. Isn't suddenly injecting romance into the storyline just a little too 'My Best Friend's Wedding' for us?"
"That's the whole point. Joey always thought of Dawson as a buddy. But now she's growing up, and starting to have these 'feelings', meanwhile, Dawson still sees her as one of the guys. At the same time, he's become obsessed with this other girl. It will all be very poignant. Trust me," he assured her.
She shrugged. "Whatever you say. You're the director." She was an actress. This was part of the job. "So what do you want me to do?"
"Tonight, when you go over for movie night, refuse to sleep over. Tell him that you two are too old to sleep in the same bed, that the whole male-female thing is rearing its ugly head. He'll argue, and overanalyze, and you can reluctantly give in and stay, but try to make it uncomfortable. That will set us up nicely for Jen's appearance tomorrow. I've got some pages for you." Although the show was, by necessity, ad-libbed, Kevin liked to draft out rough scenes, so that the actors had a good idea of what direction to take things. After all these years, he'd become very good at predicting what responses Dawson would make to different situations.
"Josh," he said, turning to the actor who played Dawson's other best friend. "When Jen shows up tomorrow, I want Pacey to be totally floored. She's the most beautiful, captivating thing you've ever seen. Dawson will take his clue from you, and hopefully figure out that he wants Jen for himself. And Joey should not be happy about this. After all, her friends have never turned into babbling idiots at the sight of her, why are they suddenly falling all over this strange girl? Use that famous sarcasm to its fullest, Katie."
He paused, glancing up at the monitoring screen which showed Meg and John were still making out on the coffee table. "Oh, one more thing. We're going to throw some turmoil into Dawson's home life this season. Mom and Dad are going to have marital problems. I'll have more on that in a few days for everyone. Just keep it in mind."
Josh was surprised to hear that. The Leerys were Capeside's version of the 'Leave it Beaver' family.
Kevin went over a few more points. "Okay, that's a wrap. We should have a quiet night. Dawson's home working on his script, then having dinner with the folks, then Joey climbs in the window for movie night. Try to time the big talk for prime time, Katie. We should get great ratings. We've been throwing teasers up for a couple of days, so the viewers are primed."
Katie realized now what all the fuss had been about. "Is that the 'It's the end of everything simple, and the beginning of everything else' campaign? I was wondering where we were going with that."
"Good bye childhood, hello teen hormones," Josh intoned gravely, drawing a laugh. "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be bumpy life."
Kevin looked up sharply. "Hey, good line. More Joey than Pacey, though. Try to work that in somewhere, Katie."
She nodded absently, already thinking about her upcoming scene, and what she was going to say. Although she had a hard time thinking of Dawson as a romantic interest, dramatic conflict was always interesting.
Michelle came up to Katie and Josh, looking sort of shy. "Wow, I can't believe I'm really going to be on The Dawson Show. This is exciting."
Katie flashed her a grin. "It's a lot of fun. After a while, it turns into almost a game. How far can we go with Dawson's life?"
Michelle looked troubled. "But it isn't a game, it's really his life, isn't it?"
Josh and Katie exchanged a look. This was a question they got asked a lot of the time in interviews. They always gave a pat answer about what a good person Dawson was, and how after so many years, Capeside seemed like a real home to them, and all of that, but in reality, Josh and Katie didn't think of Dawson as "real" any more than they thought Pacey or Joey as real people. Capeside was a fake town, and to them, Dawson was a fake person. No one wanted to hear that, though.
"Of course it is," Josh jumped in. "But you have to keep in mind that this is just a job for us. We're just actors. If we get too attached, it makes it hard to do our jobs, you know?"
Michelle nodded somewhat reluctantly, still caught up by the sight of Dawson on the huge screen, as she watched the footage that had been filmed that day. "But he's sooooo cute."
Katie looked absently at the screen. Dawson? Cute? She supposed so, in a displaced-California-boy sort of way, with his shaggy blond hair and blue eyes. She had known him for so long, it was hard to see him objectively, she guessed.
"Well, it's a good thing you think so, since you'll be the one kissing him," she teased Michelle, who actually blushed. New cast members were always like this. They had been fans of the show, and couldn't get past that giddy feeling of actually being in Capeside. It would pass. It always did.
Michelle's eyes widened as Josh put his arms around Katie. The two were under strict orders not to let word of their romance get off the set, but some hints had gotten into gossip magazines occasionally.
"Maybe now that Dawson's getting a woman, Pacey and Joey can finally hook up," Josh said hopefully. Katie gave him what he called her 'Joey' look, and rolled her eyes.
"Please. That would be even less realistic than Dawson and Joey together. Let's give our viewers at least a slight amount of credit, shall we?" When he gave her a sad, puppy dog face, she relented and kissed him. "I've gotta go. Kevin has pages for me to read before my sexual-tension filled scene with Dawson." She gave a sigh. "Maybe at least I'll stop having to spend nights on set. God, I hate that."
"It's the price you pay for fame," Josh said unsympathetically. "C'mon, Michelle, I'll show you around our town. It's quite a place."
Katie took a deep breath. Here we go. "Home."
Dawson gave her a puzzled look. "Come on, you always spend the night."
"Not tonight."
Dawson was simply not getting the picture, Katie realized, as the conversation progressed. Geez, was she so completely sexless that it had never even occurred to him that he had a girl sleeping in his bed on a regular basis?
Finally, after patiently explaining about breasts and genitalia, she got to the point. Time to plant that first seed of male/female conflict in his brain.
"I just think our emerging hormones are destined to alter our relationship and I'm trying to limit the fallout." She was surprised to see him grin.
"Your emerging hormones aren't developing a 'thang' for me, are they?"
Oh please. Of all the self-centered, conceited…. Well, that's probably about how Joey would feel too. Katie played it that way.
"A 'thang'?" She sarcastically acted as if she had to give that one deep thought. "No, I'm not getting a thang for you Dawson. I've known you too long. I've seen you burp, barf, pick your nose, scratch your butt. I don't think I'm getting a thang for you."
Inwardly, she chalked one up on the scoreboard. Good line. That would make it onto a greatest hits tape.
They rambled on though the scene. Male/female dynamics, blah, blah, blah. Nobody in this world loved to analyze things the way Dawson did. Probably because he wasn't really in this world, actually.
"Come on, don't get female on me, Joey. I'll have to start calling you Josephine."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Josephine THIS," she exclaimed, and started tickling him.
They rolled around on the bed, giggling wildly. Suddenly she found herself pinned under him, looking up at his face. Maybe Michelle was right. He was kind of cute. "Okay, I give. I give!" she laughed.
A little more chatter, and they settled down to go to sleep. Mindful of Kevin's directive: "Stay, but make it uncomfortable", Katie pointedly moved away from Dawson on the bed. He scooted a little closer to his side, and shot her a glance. She moved away even more.
"Why'd you have to bring this up anyway?" he complained.
Well, if they'd wanted tension, they certainly had it now.
"So what you do," Josh was explaining to Michelle the next day, "Is you throw in all sorts of comments about 'reality', and make up these elaborate metaphors about life and television and the media. The viewers eat that up. It's like an inside joke, you know? Dawson never picks up on it, and why should he?"
Michelle laughed. "I wondered if you guys did that on purpose! So what else?"
"Well, Katie and I have a bet going. Every year, we see who can get the most lines on the greatest hits tape. They generally pick lines that make a statement about life and reality, the really funny put downs, touching moments, the good stuff. You're showing up sort of late in the game, but you can practice now, and get in on it next year."
Michelle nodded, trying to absorb all of the tricks that Josh was imparting to her. She'd known that production of The Dawson Show was involved, but it was so complicated, it blew her mind. Right now she and Josh were in the underground control center beneath the high school. It was a buzz of activity, between the production people running around, and the wall of monitors showing different views of Capeside.
"When you're off camera, try to keep an eye on the monitors. Dawson is generally pretty predictable, but sometimes he surprises us. If you said you were going to be someplace, you have to be prepared to get there in a hurry, or have a good explanation ready. We only use the golf carts when we're sure he's not mobile."
Katie walked in and grabbed a bagel, then threw herself down on the sofa next to Josh. "Fun night?" he asked.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, just a blast. I think he's afraid I have cooties now or something."
"It played well on screen," he assured her. "And I liked that whole 'scratch your butt' part. Very witty."
She smirked. "I'd say that's one for the hits tape."
"So what else?" Michelle asked. "Josh is giving me insiders' tips," she explained to Katie. "What's it like with all the hidden cameras?"
"Just ignore them," Josh advised. "We used to try to get in our light, and hit our marks, and all that other stuff you have to do to shoot a scene, and it doesn't matter. The cameras will find you. Trust me. Anything else you can think of, Katie?"
Katie looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Well, you know about the product placement, right?"
The Dawson Show didn't have any commercial breaks, so advertising was done through product placement in the show.
"Make sure the label is always showing, use the full name of a product when you talk about it, that sort of thing?" Michelle asked.
Katie nodded. "But what's funny is that sometimes Dawson totally disses one of our sponsors. It's a hoot. Kevin has a coronary. You can't be obvious about it, but try to lead Dawson down that path. For example, ask him about some shallow, popular movie. He'll go off on this rant about how horrible it is. You can almost feel the producers cringe."
Michelle had more questions. "What about other projects?"
Both Katie and Josh laughed at that one. "Oh, they tell you that you can do other projects, but it's not like you'll have the energy for them. First, they have to come up with some reason why you're gone for so long… though I guess they could send Jen back to New York or something. That doesn't work too well with us. Face it, this is a full time job," Josh advised.
"You did the duck movies," Katie reminded him. "Though there was that day that we told Dawson you were home sick, and he stopped by to visit you. Was so worried he broke into your house. We had to tell him that you were in the hospital, and in isolation with the bubonic plague or something. They set up a dummy in this darkened room, and that was supposed to be Pacey." She shook her head. "The lengths we go to."
"I remember that episode! That was because you were off filming?"
Josh nodded. "Yeah. Since then I've just had small stuff, that you can knock off in a couple of days. You also tend to get typecast, you know?"
Kevin walked up to them with an older woman. "Kids, this is Leann Hunley. She's going to be playing Tamara Jacobs, your new English teacher."
Everyone mumbled hellos. Kevin gave a wicked grin that Josh and Katie instantly recognized as meaning that he was up to something. "Oh, and she's Pacey's new love interest."
Silence. Everyone exchanged stunned looks.
Josh was the first to speak. "Well, all right! Good for Pacey!" He was grinning from ear to ear, as he studied the beautiful woman. Katie elbowed him in the ribs.
"Isn't that a little illegal?" she asked.
"That's good," Kevin told her. "That's exactly how Joey should react to Dawson's interest in Jen. Remember that." Then, in answer to her question, he added, "Besides, its ripped straight from the headlines. We're so au currant it scares even me!"
He turned to Josh. "I'm sorry we didn't have time to go over this, but just play along when she comes into the video store later. You're smitten, she's gorgeous, and she flirts with you. Flirt back hard. Trust me."
Josh still had that grin. "No problem here." Kevin led Leann off to go over her part.
Katie looked at her watch pointedly. "Well, looks like it's time for us to go shoot the movie, and Michelle's big entrance. I've gotta go 'round the Creek and row over. See you there!"
She kissed Josh goodbye, and ran off. "So you two really are a couple?" Michelle asked.
Josh's grin softened into a slightly sappy smile. "Well, we've spent like every day together for the past 8 years. Katie's great, you'll like her a lot."
Michelle gestured at the screen, where Dawson was involved in the fascinating business of eating breakfast. "What about him?"
"Dawson? He's pretty much like what you see on TV, Michelle. After all, he's not the one acting, we are," Josh made a gesture that encompassed the two of them, as well as the whole control center. "He's a nice guy. Not like anyone you'd meet in the real world, but then, this isn't the real world. You'll see."
Katie cringed as she hit the water. Ugh. Why did they have to live on a creek, for heaven's sake?
Josh copped a quick feel under the water, and she swatted his hand away. Cute. He liked to try risky stuff. Added to the excitement, he said.
She dimly realized that Dawson was shouting. "No! Cut, cut, cut. Pacey -- three counts, you gotta wait before you come up, come on!"
Great. They'd botched it again. She had a feeling Josh just liked tossing her into the water. He started to climb back up on the dock, but she grabbed him and shoved him back in the creek. Might as well use it in the scene. "God, Pacey!"
He climbed out behind her, and gave her a hurt look. "What was that all about?"
Dawson kept talking about the scene he was shooting, oblivious to fact that he was actually in a scene being shot. "Joey," he paused. "Pacey, C'mon. You go before she's established on the dock, it's not scary."
Katie grabbed a towel, and shot a glare at Josh. "You did it again. You grabbed my ass." Not technically true, but 'you had your hand down my swimsuit' would probably send Dawson off into heart failure, as well as be a bit much for live television.
Josh smirked back. "Like you even have one."
They continued to bicker, Josh and Katie sparring, Dawson whining about his movie. Out of the corner of his eye, Josh saw the taxi pull up. That would be Michelle.
"Hey, it's Meryl Streep's fault, I'm doing my best," Josh protested, waiting for Dawson to notice the arrival of their newest cast member.
"Bite me," Katie shot back.
Dawson noticed the taxi now, as well as the hot blond who had stepped out of it. Josh let himself become aware of it as well.
"Well, my mouth drops," he said, sounding impressed.
He and Dawson headed up the path towards Michelle, Katie trailing after.
He introduced himself to Michelle. "Hi, Pacey, nice to meet you."
Dawson jumped in. "Hi, I'm Da--."
She cut him off. "You're Dawson. Dawson, yeah I know. We've met before. I'm Jen."
Katie watched for Dawson's reaction. "Oh, the granddaughter from New York. Okay."
Michelle nodded. "That's right."
Katie couldn't believe the look on Dawson's face. He looked like a steamroller had hit him. Never in a million years would she have guessed that some blond hair and an hourglass figure would have this kind of an affect on him. Chalk one up for Kevin, he'd been dead on.
"Wow," Dawson said, clearly dazzled. "You look… different."
Remembering what Kevin had said, Katie cut in. "Puberty." She held out her hand to Michelle. "I'm Joey. I live down the creek and we've never met – ever." There, that should be rude enough to set up the fact that Joey wasn't pleased that her two best pals were making fools of themselves over the new girl.
They carried through the scene. Jen was staying with her grandmother because of her grandfather's stroke, she had come from New York to help out. Yeah, sure. Kevin had already hinted there was a lot more to it than that.
Michelle made her exit gracefully. She'd done a good job, it was a good scene to get her feet wet in. The Dawson Show was a hard transition to make for a lot of actors. No set scripts, filmed live, no second takes.
Katie watched Dawson stare after Jen, an irked look on her face showing Joey's annoyance. Who'd have guessed it, she thought. The great Dawson Leery actually had hormones.
Katie caught up with Michelle after she'd taken her leave of the guys. "Nice job," she complimented her.
Michelle flashed a bright smile. "Thanks, I was so nervous! I didn't sound like too much of an idiot, did I?"
"You were great. The audience will love you. Dawson sure did."
Michelle blushed. "You really think he's interested in me?"
Katie hesitated. Time for a reality check. "Actually, he's interested in Jen. But that's the idea." She glanced up at the screen. "Uh oh!"
Michelle turned. Dawson and Pacey had just walked in on the Leerys, who were having sex on the coffee table. Pacey looked amused. Dawson looked embarrassed as hell.
"I gotta film a scene with Nina," Katie said. "Want to come along?"
Michelle nodded, and followed her off to the set of Joey's house. "Explain to me these other scenes," she asked.
"Well, Kevin felt that only showing Dawson and his life was too one sided, even though it is The Dawson Show. So he started having us do regular scenes with the other actors, which he can intersperse in with Dawson's life when there isn't much going on. How many times can you watch Dawson read a book or watch ET, you know?" she explained. "It also gives some back story on the other characters, and sometimes lets the audience know what's going on before Dawson knows. Makes them feel like insiders."
Michelle nodded. "So you get scripts and everything?"
"Yeah, but we usually tend to ad-lib most of it, and just get the general idea across. We all know our characters so well that it's easy. You'll get used to it," she assured her.
Michelle was impressed with how quickly the scene was done. Joey sparred with her pregnant sister, giving off some serious attitude in the process. One take, and they were finished. Katie gave Nina a hug, and then turned to Michelle. "See? Piece of cake. Let's go watch the guys."
They hurried back to the control room. Pacey and Dawson were at work, at the video store. Nellie was giving them a hard time, per usual.
Just then, Tamara entered the video store, in a very short dress. Pacey looked like his eyes were going to bug out of his head. "Oh my god, look at her," he said.
Dawson looked severe. "Have some respect man, she's somebody's mother."
Josh thought of the Leerys on the coffee table. "I have it on pretty good authority that mothers have excellent sex lives, alright?"
The scene continued just as Kevin had said it would. Tamara even requested "The Graduate". Josh bit back a laugh. It was a little blatant, but it would probably be effective.
And another storyline had been established for Dawson to observe: Pacey had the hots for Tamara.
Michelle sat nervously at the docks. This would be her first scene alone with Dawson. She tried to remember all of Kevin's instructions. "Nice, a little flirty, but not too much. Be witty. We're known for our wit. No one in the real world talks like the characters in Capeside do, but everyone out there wishes that they could. If he invites you up to his room, go. Remember to ask about the Spielberg posters, Amblin is a big sponsor."
She spotted Dawson coming near her, and pretended she didn't see him as he walked up and sat down. "Hey, how's your granddad?"
"Well, he's breathing," she answered, not that she'd even met the actor playing her grandfather, who was being written out of the show. "Good sign."
She remembered that her character's bio showed that Jen was an atheist, and Grams was a real bible thumper. "It's my Grandma that presents a challenge," she offered. "She has this praying mentality, which is really awkward, since I don't do that whole God thing."
Lost for conversation, she looked at the videos he was carrying. Monster movies. He explained he was doing research for his own film. Ah, there was an in.
"Really? Kinda young to be so ambitious," she noted.
"Fifteen. Spielberg started on a eight millimeter when he was thirteen," he informed her.
"Why movies? What's the attraction there?"
"I reject reality," he stated firmly.
Michelle couldn't help it, she laughed. If he only knew. "Oh!"
He didn't seem to think it was strange that she had laughed, and he smiled back. "Would you like to see my studio?"
They walked in the house, and up to his room. No sexually active parents in sight.
Even if Kevin hadn't reminded her, the room really was a bit much. "Let me guess. A Spielberg fan?"
He nodded. "Pretty much worship the man in a god-like way, yeah."
Ka ching! Michelle could hear the happy advertisers in her head.
He led her through the chronology of the posters on his wall, seriously explaining the meaning of each one.
"Are you familiar with obsessive reality disorder?" Michelle asked pointedly. That was pretty good. One of those double-edged remarks Josh had told her the audience liked so much.
"It's beyond that," he said earnestly. "See I believe that all of the mysteries of the Universe, all of life's questions, can be found in a Spielberg movie." Michelle gave him a doubtful look. "It's a theory I've been working on. See, whenever I have a problem all I have to do is look to the right Spielberg film and the answer is revealed."
Geez, no wonder the advertisers loved this guy. He really did worship at the altar of Spielberg. It was a little weird, but it was also kind of cute.
She queried, "Have you considered a twelve-step program?" Hmmm… too harsh?
He laughed. Guess not. "Wit. We like that around here."
So I've heard, she thought.
They kept chatting, and he told her about the film festival he was entering. They were interrupted when Jen's grandmother called for her. "I better go. I don't want her to erupt."
They said their good-byes, and she headed out. She felt as if she's just accomplished some undercover mission, had infiltrated enemy territory, and not been discovered. Dawson was pretty cool. And he seemed to like her – to like 'Jen', she reminded herself.
Joshua pulled up in the golf cart. "A ride, milady?" he asked. She giggled and climbed in. Josh was a crazy driver, even on a golf cart, and she felt like she'd been through a whirlwind by the time she arrived at the school.
At the control center, she looked up and was surprised to see Joey in Dawson's room. How'd she get there so fast?
As if in answer to her unspoken question, Josh explained, "She was waiting on the ladder while you were in there. How's that for tension?"
Meanwhile, in Dawson's bedroom, Katie was startled to see how quickly Dawson had picked up on the suspicion that his mom was having an affair with her co-anchor. That must be the family problems Kevin had mentioned. Dawson tended to be really clueless about most things, but he'd catch little stuff that no one else saw.
"Something about the B's. They're too soft." He pointed with the remote control. " 'Back to you, Bob.' "
She argued with him. Wouldn't make sense for her to jump on the bandwagon too quickly. "I don't know, but I think they are," he insisted.
Time for one of those famous Joey zingers. "You're just looking for conflict. Everything's a potential script to you." She moved in for the kill, "Accept your perfect life Dawson. It's reality." At least it is to you, she ended silently.
Maybe it was having Michelle on the set. Katie had been part of The Dawson Show for so long that she sometimes forgot that other people didn't live their whole lives maintaining a carefully crafted illusion. She was so used to thinking of everyone in her life as a fictional character, that she sometimes forgot this was all too real for Dawson. She wondered how it would make him feel if he knew that everyone around him was playing a part.
He had brushed off her comment (one she thought would probably make the greatest hits reel, by the way), and continued to rewind and watch his mom and Bob.
Michelle filmed her first scene with Mary Beth, who played her Grams. It went well. They were a good mix, fire and ice, and seemed to be a decent representation of a generation gap. The scene was really for the next morning, representing Jen's first day at school.
She was surprised to hear that the rest of the day was free. Grams would hang around the Ryan house set in case Dawson came looking for her. She could go hang out with the other actors, or even go home.
"Call is bright and early tomorrow," Kevin reminded everyone. "First day of school. Who knows whom Dawson is going to stop by and see in the morning. Make sure you're there in time."
Michelle had noticed that no one seemed compelled to go off-set very often. All of the regulars had apartments hidden away throughout the town of Capeside, and there seemed to be a ritual to gathering in the control center and seeing what Dawson was up to.
"Everything is really within walking distance, which is great. Sometimes Dawson gets an idea to head over in the middle of the night to talk, or something, and you've gotta be able to get to your character's house quickly. Sometimes we will sleep on set, but we kinda try to avoid it," Josh informed her.
"What's the deal with school?" Michelle asked Katie and Josh.
Katie made a face. "School is frightening real, if you have a class with Dawson, I'm afraid. All of his classes are the real thing. How old are you, 17?" Michelle nodded.
"I graduated this year," she added.
"Josh and I had tutors when we were kids, and we're done now too. Just grin and bear it. Sometimes Kevin lets us wander off if he knows that Dawson's stuck in a real class, but he's afraid that Dawson might get a backbone one day and decide to cut or something, so he usually wants us around."
"Is he really that predictable?" Michelle wondered.
"Most of the time," Josh admitted. "Granted, this is the first time we've seen them bring in a serious love interest, so it should be interesting to see what the Big D does when his hormones go into overdrive."
"Big D?" Michelle giggled.
"Oh yeah, we've got a million nicknames for him. Big D, Captain Clueless, Dawson the Great. Hey, it's his show, you know?"
Michelle gathered that although they knew that Dawson was the unchallenged star of the show, none of them were remotely jealous of him. She wondered if they'd ever trade places with him, so she asked.
Katie shuddered. "Not in a million years. To have your whole life be a fake? What a nightmare."
First day of school. Michelle felt as nervous as she thought Jen must. She hadn't had much of a chance to meet most of the cast. Kevin had wanted it that way, since Jen wouldn't know anyone either.
First she ad-libbed a really weird scene with the Nellie Olson character. What a name.
She was actually startled when Dawson came up behind her. "Hey, how's it going?"
She jumped. "I could really use a cigarette," she admitted without thinking.
She saw the shock flash across Dawson's all-American clean-cut face. "You smoke?" He sounded so disapproving.
What the hell, she was supposed to have a past anyway. "Uh, I quit. I'm just a little tense."
That must have been the right answer, because he flashed her that million-dollar smile again, and asked to compare schedules. He even offered to walk her to her first class.
She was relieved to see Katie was in her first period class too. Someone she knew, at least. "Hey, I was hoping we'd have a class together."
Katie shot her a look. No, she realized, Joey had just shot Jen a look. "Here we are," Katie commented dryly.
They lounged around in the bio room for a bit. One of the blackboards turned to reveal a monitor. They watched Dawson plead with Mr. Gold to be let into the film class, and fail. Michelle was surprised.
"Hey, failure's a part of life. If he got everything handed to him on a silver platter, how would that be interesting to watch?" Katie pointed out. "But he's got a way of weaseling into what he wants. I bet you he'll get into that class somehow."
Josh filmed the scene where he realized that the woman he was lusting over was his English teacher, and then another scene where he basically hit on her in the middle of the classroom. They actually needed to go three takes on that, because everyone in the scene kept bursting out laughing at Josh's hysterical expressions.
Michelle and Katie filmed a scene establishing Joey's miserable family life, that Joey and Dawson were just friends, and that Joey would kill Jen if she hurt Dawson. Seemed to cover all the bases.
It was weird hanging out with the cast for forty-five minutes, and then suddenly having to switch classes when the bell rang. Michelle kept getting lost, which she supposed was par for the course. Dawson kept popping up to help her. Yeah, he was interested.
At lunch, Michelle kept up a bright line of chatter, while Katie just sat and glared. Joey wasn't taking this whole Dawson/Jen thing very well, it would appear.
"We're supposed to be working, Dawson," she reminded him, with an edge to her voice.
Still captivated by Jen, Dawson handed the script to Michelle. "Would you mind looking at act three? I'm having a climax issue."
Michelle managed not to laugh. "Sure." Katie just rolled her eyes.
Everything fell into place perfectly. Josh nagged Dawson to invite Jen to the movies. He was surprised when Dawson actually asserted himself enough to do so. He must really like Jen.
Dawson tracked down Joey, and asked her to accompany them, having told Jen it was a group of people going, and suddenly realizing that it would look pretty stupid if it was just Pacey, Jen, and himself.
"I'd rather go down in a plane crash," Katie dead panned.
Dawson begged and pleaded, clueless as ever. Katie made a note to watch the tapes. Either Dawson really wasn't picking up on this Joey having a crush on him thing at all, or she was doing a particularly lousy job acting it.
She finally acceded. "Whatever."
"Thank you!" He was jubilant. "You're the best, I mean it. I know you're worried about our relationship and everything but I told you. Nothing has to change. I can tell you anything."
He rode off on his bike. Katie fixed her best "Joey pining after Dawson" look after him as he disappeared in the distance.
Michelle noticed that Josh and Katie were almost giddy as they approached time for the group of them to go to the movies.
"This is gonna be priceless," Josh insisted. "I can read the reviews already."
Katie came up to Michelle. "I'm going to be pretty harsh on Jen," she warned her. "Don't take it personally, okay?"
"No problem." She wondered what 'pretty harsh' was going to be.
"Oh, and I filmed this scene with Nina before. Make sure you mention my lipstick, okay?"
Lipstick? Sure, whatever.
The four of them were walking along the sidewalk.
"So are you planning on staying the whole school year?" Dawson asked Jen.
"Well, that depends on my Grams, really." Michelle thought about the real reason her character had come to Capeside, "And my mom and dad." That should pique his interest. Now to divert the subject away from herself. "Hey, Joey, I love your lipstick, what shade is that?"
She saw Dawson's eyes go to Katie's lips. He seemed surprised. Michelle realized that Kevin was right, Dawson really didn't think of Joey as a girl, just as a friend. Which was pretty amusing, given the fact that Katie Holmes was a fantastically popular teen pin-up.
Katie gave Michelle a sweet smile. "Wicked Red," she said sarcastically. "I love your hair color, what number is that?"
Ouch. Okay, so that was pretty harsh.
"You'll have to excuse Joey, she was born in a barn," Dawson said tightly, giving Joey a look.
The scene went on. Katie was being hysterical, taking pot shots at Jen every chance she got. Michelle almost lost it when Katie stated that Joey had lost her virginity, "years ago. Trucker named Bubba."
Dawson was clearly growing more furious by the minute. Katie was enjoying herself, and Josh looked like he wanted to explode with laughter. Michelle realized she'd never had more fun in her life.
At the Rialto, Pacey disappeared to make his moves on his English teacher, while Joey continued to give the blond twosome the evil eye.
Michelle thought Dawson was adorable. He finally worked up the nerve to take her hand. She braced herself for Joey's response, which was sure to be a zinger.
Not one to disappoint, Katie asked, "So, Jen, are you a size queen?"
She didn't think she'd ever seen anyone turn as red as Dawson, while she and Katie blithely chatted on about the importance of the size of a man's equipment.
Finally, he snapped. "You and me, outside, now," he growled at Joey, as he pulled her out of her seat. "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you," Michelle heard him say angrily to Katie.
As Dawson dragged her out of the movie theatre, Katie noticed Josh was continuing his scene with Leann. Sometimes it was necessary to do things real time, and then show them in tape delay.
In the lobby, Dawson lost it. "What is your problem?" he demanded.
Katie didn't really stop to think where the motivation was coming from, she just knew that it wasn't too hard for her to work up an indignant response.
"My problem is that from the moment Little Miss Highlights showed up you haven't said one word to me!" she spat out. Truth be told, she was a little hurt. After all the years they'd spent together, it did seem pretty disloyal of Dawson to throw Joey to the wolves the first time a pretty face came along.
"Crap! That is pure crap and you know it!" he insisted.
She glared right back. "All I know is that all your blood is rushing down and you can't even acknowledge another human being's even present."
He looked so wounded. "I like her okay! Sue me, I thought you were my friend. Where is a little understanding?"
Men were so dense, she thought with disgust. How typical for Dawson to think he could just dump everything on Joey. "I understand. I'm tired of understanding. All I do is understand!" She turned to leave.
"Joey!" New blond obsession or not, he was clearly distressed at the way things were going with his best friend.
Time for one of those deep moments that made everyone think about the TV show that portrayed reality, but wasn't really reality. "Nothing penetrates with you Dawson. You're so far removed from reality you can't even see what's right in front of you." She resisted the impulse to look at the hidden camera that she knew was behind the mirror. That one was pretty blatant. Kevin would probably be displeased.
"What are you talking about?"
She looked at him with some mixture of pity and disgust. "Your life. It's a freaking fairy tale and you don't even know it." She had almost slipped and said 'TV Show'. That was close. She walked over to him. You just want conflict for that script of yours." She paused. "Stop living in he movies."
She paused one more time. "Grow up." She turned and left, ignoring the hurt look on Dawson's face.
Her next scene was in the Leery house, so she just headed right there. The phone rang as soon as she stepped in the door. It was Kevin.
"Katie, that was priceless. Every viewer is now totally captivated by the Jen/Dawson/Joey triangle."
"Thanks, Kev. Now what?"
"Now I want you to push the envelope. How close will Dawson let you get?"
She blinked. "How close should I try to get?"
"I meant emotionally close. Ask him something really personal. See if he answers."
"Like what?"
There was silence on the line while the director thought it over. "I've got it. Ask him how often he walks his dog."
"The Leerys don't have a dog, Kevin."
"Not THAT dog." He sounded exasperated. "Don't you know what an adolescent male means when he says he's going to walk his dog?"
Oh, that. "In the morning. With Katie Couric. Everyone knows that." Well, not everyone. It wasn't the sort of thing that you talked about on "Entertainment Tonight". But the central cast knew it.
"Yes, Katie, but Dawson wouldn't think that Joey would know that, now would he?" Good point.
"He's not going to answer that."
"Which is the whole point. Now go wait in the closet."
The closet. She had never told anyone, not even told Josh, how much of a sanctuary the closet in Dawson's bedroom set was to her. As children, she and Dawson had often played in there. Everyone thought it was just one of the quirks in their friendship. The truth was, that closet was just about the only place she knew in Capeside with no cameras in it. Microphones, sure, but no cameras. It was the only place she had felt she could go to be alone with her friend.
When had he stopped being her friend, and become a job, she wondered to herself. When we grew up, she supposed. You can only live in a world of make-believe for so long.
She settled herself by the window, watching Dawson and Michelle approach. They must not have stayed for the rest of the movie. No surprise there, she had pretty much thrown cold water over their first 'date'. She wasn't sure why she felt slightly guilty. She's been doing what she was supposed to do – create tension. Lots of it.
She couldn't hear what they were saying, though she could always pull the tape later. She realized that Dawson really wanted to kiss Jen. She frowned, thinking back. This would be his first kiss, wouldn't it? She was surprised at how possessive she suddenly felt. She'd devoted years of her life to The Dawson Show. She was Dawson's best friend. He should be kissing her.
Okay, this was seriously weird. She was not remotely attracted to Dawson. Hell, she had a boyfriend. If she was going to obsess, she should obsess over the fact that any minute now, Josh was going to be shooting a scene where he made out with Leann, an extraordinarily sexy woman. Katie shook her head. Time for a reality check. She got up to go into the closet, and Michelle's last line reached her. "I'm just going to pretend we kissed, okay?"
As she settled herself in the closet, she sternly told herself that she was not glad.
She waited quietly, and stifled a grin at Dawson's surprise at finding her in his closet. "Oh! What are you doing in there?"
Her voice was quiet. "Hanging with the clothes." Ouch. Bad pun. Josh would get her for that later.
She flopped on the bed, playing with his ET doll, as they discussed what was going on between them.
"I know that I have this incredibly perfect life, and I completely under appreciate it," he admitted.
Her tone rife with double meaning, Katie looked up and told him, "Yeah. You do."
"I'm sorry I was such an insensitive male. I thought I was above it." He sounded so forlorn. "I don't wanna lose you, Joey. What we have is the only thing that makes sense to me."
Damn but the boy could apologize. He looked down at her, and for an instant, Katie could have sworn that he didn't see Joey his pal, but a pretty, confused girl lying on his bed. He sat down. "When I saw you in the movie theater with that lipstick on, I remember thinking how pretty you looked." She looked at him curiously. "I mean, I ignored it. But I thought it."
"Yeah?" her voice had softened.
"But that was it, Jo." She let the smile fade. "It didn't go any farther than that."
She thought fast. Joey had a crush on Dawson, but Joey would protect that secret with her life. Evasive action was called for. "When I saw you going for Jen's hand – it's not like I wanted to be the one holding your hand." He nodded. "I just didn't want her holding it."
He seemed so depressed, as he asked her where that left them, bemoaning how complicated everything had become.
"We're growing up Dawson, that's all," she advised him. "I mean, even Spielberg outgrew his Peter Pan syndrome." Kevin would like that one.
She stood up to leave. No sleep over tonight.
When he asked where she was going, she realized she'd nearly forgotten the embarrassing question. "I can't sleep over anymore. And we can't talk to each other like we used to, there's just some things we can't say."
He took the bait. "No, that's just not true. Joey, I can tell you anything," he insisted.
It was like taking candy from a baby. "Yeah? How often do you walk your dog, huh?"
He actually recoiled. "What?!?!"
"You know what I mean. What time of day, how many times a week?"
She didn't think she had ever seen Dawson so intensely mortified. She waited. And waited.
"Goodnight," he finally said softly.
"See ya, Dawson," she offered, looking back sadly on her way to the window.
"See ya, Joey."
As she climbed down the ladder, she reflected that it was pretty stupid for her to feel like she had lost her best friend, but that was how it felt. She'd told Kevin that Dawson would never tell Joey that, but deep down, she'd thought that maybe… well, it didn't matter.
She started to cry. Joey, after all, would be crying.
She could see Dawson pacing around in his room, looking agitated. She was untying Joey's boat when she heard him shout.
"Joey!" she looked up. "Usually in the morning. With Katie Couric."
She stared at him in incomprehension. Oh! In the morning! With Katie Couric! She broke out in a grin. As she got into the boat to leave, they were both laughing. Happily, she started to row away, and the slam of a car door caught her attention. She saw the actress who played Dawson's mom leaning into a car, kissing the actor who played her co-anchor, Bob. She looked up at the window to see if Dawson had seen it – was he supposed to see it? – but he was gone.
Nighttime. Break time. The great star was going to sleep, and the rest of the cast had down time. The mood in the control room was euphoric. .
Having seen the tapes, Katie had to agree it had been a good night. A whole new dynamic had sprung up between the Capeside friends. Jen was a great addition, and the animosity between them would give Joey a bunch of great opportunities for her trademark biting sarcasm.
Michelle was laughing with some of the other cast members. She fit in great already, and she was fun to work with.
Josh and Katie were off in a corner, catching up on their day, and sneaking in some making out. Katie thought about all the changes in Capeside, and wondered if they would result in changes in their real life. She firmly shoved that thought to the back of her mind, and kissed her boyfriend.
It was going to be a good season.