Episode 606 - Living Dead Girl

In this episode: When Dawson assists Todd in throwing a blow-out Halloween party on the movie set, Todd and Natasha have Dawson believing he is seeing the ghost of a legendary film actress who was strangled to death on the same stage. Meanwhile, Pacey and Audrey arrive at the party together but leave separately; Jen becomes suspicious about C.J.; and Joey gets stuck taking Professor Heston's teenage daughter to a haunted house with Eddie.

Original Airdate: October 30, 2002

[Scene: The Movie Set. They are shooting a shot that takes place in the bedroom, while Dawson and Todd are watching on from the Director's chair. Natasha, and some guy come into the bedroom, and sit on the bed and begin to kiss and make out.]

Guy: hey... you sure about this?

Natasha: As sure as about anything in my entire life.

Guy: Groovy.

[They begin to get making out even more. Natasha's shirt is coming up and his hands are sliding all over her body. When a man dressed up as the killer comes into the room and raises an axe above his head, and a monitor from above comes crashing down onto the floor next to him]

Andrew: Cut!

Todd: Excuse me, Andrew. Must be my trick ear. Did you just yell cut? Yelling cut is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise bleak existence. And I will not allow some hack stuntman to deny me the pleasure. You do not break character until I yell cut. Do you understand me? Good. [Andrew nods and walks off] That was fun. Sometimes I forget how much I like yelling at people.

Dawson: You're a sick man, Todd Carr.

Todd: Great. Now I'm not gonna make my day. This is what I get for shooting on a bloody haunted soundstage the day before bloody Halloween.

Dawson: What do you mean haunted?

Todd: You don't know?

Dawson: What?

Todd: About the bird who died here-- Melanie Ray? You've heard of Melanie Ray?

Dawson: No.

Todd: And you call yourself a film geek. Shame on you, leery.

[Natasha comes over to them and stands behind Todd and begins giving Todd a massage. You can see the twinge of jealousy in Dawson's eyes.]

Todd: You've heard of Melanie Ray, right, darling?

Natasha: Of course.

Todd: Melanie ray was the Jamie Lee Curtis of her day. The original scream queen. She was shooting this b-movie here in Boston. What was it called again?

Natasha: Uh, kiss the girls and make them die.

Todd: That's right. They shot it right here back in the fifties. And young Melanie was having an affair with her director. [Sighs] Where was I?

Dawson: Ahem. Uh, affair with the director.

Todd: Oh, right. Yeah. Anyway, it was all complicated by the fact that Melanie was married to her costar nick march. And when nick found out about the affair, he went frigging ballistic. They were doing this scene where the 2 characters had to get into a fight. He strangled her... to death.

Dawson: That sucks.

Todd: That's why they say her spirit still haunts the soundstage to this day. If you believe in that sort of thing.

Man: They're ready for you, Natasha.

[Natasha goes off and leaves them alone]

Todd: What?

Dawson: Nothing.

Todd: What?

Dawson: Is there something going on between the two of you?

Todd: Leery, my boy, I learned a long time ago not to screw around with my leading ladies. That's what extras are for. But if I was gonna unlearn that particular lesson, the lovely Natasha would be the one to do it with. Right, while I still have my hair, people, energy up. Camera.

Man2: Marker.

Todd: And...action.

[They begins shooting the scene over again, and Todd watches how jealous Dawson gets watching the guy making out with Natasha]

[Opening Credits]

[Commercial Break]

[Scene: The editing room. Dawson, Todd, and the editor are going through the dailies from their early shoot.]

Man: [Tape] Hey... you sure about this?

Natasha: [Tape] As sure as I've ever been about anything in my whole entire life.

[Todd turns to Dawson who is watching the shot]

Todd: Boy, eh, how's my party coming?

Dawson: I'm pleased to announce the art department's turned stage 7 into a playground for the morally impaired.

Todd: Oh, excellent. I love Halloween. My favorite holiday. Always has been.

Dawson: Yeah. Mine, too. Actually I'm kinda famous for playing these elaborate pranks on my friends back home.

Todd: Good for you, Gilligan. How's my costume coming?

Dawson: Picking it up from wardrobe right after this.

Todd: Am I gonna look like a stud?

Dawson: Is there any doubt?

Todd: But will it get me laid, Dawson? That is the question.

Dawson: Tell you what. If you can't close the deal, I'll have a few extras lined up for you.

Todd: See, that's what I like about you, leery. Always thinking ahead.

Todd: [Tape] Camera. Action.

Todd: Gentlemen, Natasha looks so hot in these dailies, I think I'm gonna have to ask you all to leave the room so I can be alone with myself. Do you know what I mean? [Notice Dawson not laughing] What's your problem?

Dawson: Nothing.

Todd: You're a bit territorial about the lovely Natasha, aren't you, Leery?

Dawson: No.

Todd: Good. Because you shouldn't be. You dumped her, remember? For the prissy one.

Dawson: It's not that simple, Todd.

Todd: Sure it was. Your puny little mind couldn't process the fact that you were shagging one of the hottest young starlets Hollywood has to offer, so you jacked it all in for another go at your prom date.

Dawson: She wasn't my prom date.

[Todd chuckles]

Dawson: It was--it was junior prom. That doesn't count. Doesn't count.

[An image that doesn't belong in the daily flashes across the screen]

Editor: Hey, Todd, you should take a look at this.

[He backs the tape up and goes frame by frame to the image, and they see an image of a woman in a trench coat and dark glasses, next to a sign that reads Melanie Ray Costume #3]

Dawson: What is that?

Todd: Is this a joke?

Editor: This is what we got back from the lab.

Todd: I don't believe this. Someone's screwing with me. Is this one of those practical jokes you claim to be famous for?

Dawson: What are you talking about?

Todd: Remember that little story I told you about yesterday? About the actress who died on stage 7?

Dawson: Yeah.

Todd: That's her.

Dawson: What is she doing in our dailies?

Todd: I have no idea.

[Scene: Audrey and Joey's Dorm Room. Audrey is standing in front of the mirror finishing her Nancy costume. While Pacey is finishing getting dressed in the Bathroom. ]

Audrey: Sid! Ooh, baby! You look awesome! But...

Pacey: But what?

Audrey: Well, don't shoot the messenger here, but if we're going for authenticity, leather pants would really do the trick.

Pacey: Frankly, it's a miracle that I'm even going along with this whole Sid and Nancy thing.

Audrey: Hey, you promised not to be cranky tonight.

Pacey: Sorry. I'm just not really a costume party kind of guy.

Audrey: Seem to love putting on that little monkey suit of yours every morning.

Pacey: Easy.

Audrey: All right. Sorry. Low blow. I have no desire to get into yet another tiff about our ever-widening ideological differences. I'll be ready in a second.

Pacey: Ok.

[She goes into the bathroom, and Pacey begins to walk around the room. He notices a paper on Audrey's dresser with a Grade of F on it. He quickly puts it down when Audrey comes out of the bathroom.]

Audrey: You ready? What's wrong?

Pacey: Nothing. Let's go.

Audrey: Ok.

Pacey: Yeah.

[Scene: Emma's Apartment. Jen and Jack are in the living room, while Emma is off getting ready. Jen is pacing around the room, and Jack is sitting on the sofa. Jen is dressed like a dark angel, and Jack is dressed up as a vampire.]

Jack: I'm telling you, just call the guy.

Jen: I'm telling you, it's too late. The miniscule window of opportunity that once was has officially closed.

Jack: Yeah, but you like the guy. I can tell.

Emma: Which guy is this?

Jack: C.J. Strapping young lad.

Emma: I see.

Jen: I think that maybe the thing to do here, jack, is to just crush from afar. That way there are no broken hearts, there are no dashed dreams, there are no morning-after pills to contend with.

Emma: The girl's got a point.

Jack: No, she doesn't. She's just afraid this guy is too good for her. Dial. [He throws the phone to her] And she's wrong about that.

Jen: Uh, no. He's probably working right now, doing good for others and whatnot, which is annoying, but undeniably charming.

Jack: Dial.

Jen: What? I don't know his number.

Call the help line.

Jen: No. Doesn't that seem wrong?

Jack: Just do it. Arrr! [Fake bites the air]

[Jen dials the phone and calls the Help Line and C.J. answers the phone.]

C.J.: Help line. Happy Halloween.

Jen: Um, hi. Is C.J. There?

C.J.: Speaking.

Jen: Oh. Hi. Uh, this is Jen. Lindley. Do you-- do you remember me?

C.J.: Hello, Jen Lindley. What can I do for you?

Jen: Well, I was just wondering what you were doing tonight. Um, but you're working, aren't you?

C.J.: Uh, yeah, for just, like, another hour. I'm filling in for somebody who's running late.

Jen: Oh, well--I mean, do you have plans after that or—

C.J.: well, if... going back to my room and watching Halloween h20 on cable qualifies as plans, then yeah. I'm all booked up.

Jen: Oh...well, do you have any interest in coming to a party?

C.J.: With you? Alone?

Jen: Well, no. I mean, I'll be there, but my friends are coming, too.

[Jack starts to try to get he to answer alone]

C.J.: Hmm, I don't know about that. Wait a second, did you just call the help line to invite me to a party?

Jen: Yeah. Is that wrong?

C.J.: What's the address?

[Jack and Jen give each other high fives silently.]

[Scene: Hell's Kitchen. Eddie is working behind the bar, when Joey comes walking up and takes a seat at it in front of Eddie]

Joey: Good news.

Eddie: What?

Joey: You can come back to class.

Eddie: What are you talking about?

Joey: I talked Heston into letting you come back.

Eddie: You talked to Heston about me?

Joey: Yeah.

Eddie: Uh-huh.

Joey: Which was clearly a mistake. My bad.

Eddie: Whoever said I wanted to come back to class?

Joey: You seemed to go through a lot of trouble to attend so I just--I thought it might've meant something to you, but again, sorry.

[Joey turns to walks away from the bar, and runs into a girl who is walking rather quickly through the bar. The girl is maybe 12 years old]

Harley: Uhh! Could you maybe watch where you're going?

Joey: How old are you?

Harley: That'd be none of your business. Just tell me where can I find some girl with the unfortunate name of Joey.

[Professor Heston comes walking up to them.]

Heston: Oh, I see you two have already met.

Joey: This is your daughter?

Heston: Meet my daughter Harley. Harley, this is Joey potter.

Harley: Ugg, hi.

[Harley goes walking off to the Jukebox]

Heston: What?

Joey: I thought she was 5.

Heston: Whatever gave you that idea?

Joey: The picture on your desk.

Heston: Well, she was 5 when that picture was taken.

Joey: That's false advertising.

[Harley returns to join them]

Heston: Aw, jeez, would you look at the time? I'll pick the little angel up at 11:00. Have fun. And--well, thanks again, Joey. Bye, sweetie.

Harley: Dad! I'm gonna give you one more chance here not to bail on me.

[Sighs] Sweetie, I'm not bailing on you.

Harley: No. You're foregoing tradition, our tradition. To go out with some skank.

Heston: A--she's not a bad kind of skank, and b--we'll go to the movies tomorrow night.

Harley: It's not the same! We go to the movies on Halloween. We go see some scary old movie at the crest. It's what we do.

Heston: Harley, you gotta give me a break here. I'll make it up to you, I promise, ok?

[Professor Heston leaves them alone, and Joey looks at Harley knowing what she is going through.]

Harley: What are you looking at?

[Harley storms off back to the juke box]

[Scene: The movie Set. Dawson is walking through the stage that has been set up for the party, and Dawson is dressed up like a Man In Black. He walks across the stage when he hears something.]

Voice: Dawson.

[He sees the blur of someone in a long black trench coast walk around a corner. He quickly goes after it but finds that there is no one there. He looks around, then walks off dismissing that he saw anything at all.]

[Commercial Break]

[Scene: The film set. IT is later at night, and the party has kicked off full swing. The band is playing, and there are tons of people dancing and partying in the stage set up for a Halloween bash. Todd is dressed up like a priest and is standing with two twins and he is heavily hitting on them when Dawson comes over to him.]

Dawson: Todd! Can I talk to you for a second?

Todd: I'm busy.

Dawson: Todd, I'm serious. I really need to talk to you.

Todd: Would you 2 beautiful ladies excuse me, please? Just for a minute.

[The two ladies walks off.]

Todd: All right, you better be dying.

Dawson: I saw her.

Todd: Who?

Dawson: Her. Melanie Ray.

Todd: You're screwing with me.

Dawson: I'm not. I saw her.

Todd: Where?

Dawson: In here, on stage.

Todd: Well, you like. You probably saw someone dressed up like her. It's a frigging costume party, leery.

Dawson: This was hours ago, before anybody even got there.

Todd: Come on, mate. Your mind's playing tricks on you. Take the night off. Have a little fun. Knock back some bye-bye-pain juice. Saddle up with a couple of birds. [Natasha comes walking towards them dressed up like a naughty school girl] God save the queen.

[Natasha joins them and stands next to Todd and takes his arm in hers.]

Natasha: Hello, boys.

Dawson: Hi.

Todd: You wanna dance, darling?

Natasha: Love to. Yeah.

[Scene: Hell's Kitchen. Eddie is cleaning up a table as a smitten Harley is hanging around him.]

Harley: Do you have a girlfriend, Eddie?

Eddie: I most certainly do not.

Harley: Oh, well, how come?

Eddie: Well, I've found that girlfriends are generally more trouble than they're worth.

Harley: Well, that seems like a total waste, if you ask me.

Eddie: How old are you?

Harley: I've found that age is but a number, Eddie.

[Joey comes over to join them]

Joey: All right, you two, break it up. You ready to have some fun, Harley?

Harley: And where is this fun you speak of?

Joey: Well, I was going to take you trick or treating, but that was when I thought you were 5. So I was thinking we could go to the movies or something. I heard you say something to your dad about wanting to see—

Harley: That sounds lame. I want to stay here.

Joey: Well, I'm supposed to be taking care of you, and I don't think your dad would want you hanging out in some college bar all night.

Harley: Trust me. He wouldn't care.

Joey: Ok, look, you're talking to somebody who could host a daytime talk show on deadbeat dads, so let's not go there. Come on, let's have some fun.

Harley: No , you're not gonna make me go anywhere I don't wanna go. I'm gonna stay right here until my father gets back.

Eddie: Hey, you know, I read about this haunted house in the paper today. It's supposed to be pretty scary.

Harley: I love haunted houses.

Eddie: Yeah, maybe you guys could do something like that.

Harley: Well, I'll go if you go.

Joey: Eddie's working.

Eddie: Off in 5, actually.

Joey: Well, I'm sure he has plans.

Eddie: Not particularly, no.

Joey: Well, then, by all means, please join us.

Harley: Cool.

Eddie: Cool.

[Harley goes walking of]

Joey: You didn't have to do that. I was handling it.

Eddie: Yeah. You were doing just swell. It sucks when people butt into your business, don't it?

[Scene: The Film Set Party. Jack and Jen are standing together waiting for C.J to arrive. Jack is looking off into the distance when Jen is looking behind him.]

Jack: Jen, did you tell C.J. It was a costume party?

Jen: Yeah. Yeah, I think so. God, I hope so. Why?

Jack: Ahem. Check it out.

[CJ and a friends come walking up neither of them in costume.]

C.J.: You could have told me it was a costume party.

Jen: Oh, my god. I'm so sorry.

David: I feel like such a dork.

Jen: And you are?

C.J.: Sorry. This is David.

Jen: Hi, I'm Jen.

David: Hi.

Jen: This is jack.

Jack: Hey, David.

David: Hey.

C.J.: So, we're gonna go grab some refreshments. You guys need anything?

Jack: Cool.

Jen: Fine.

[CJ and David walk off.]

Jen: Oh, my god! I am like flypaper for the homosexual community.

Jack: Yeah. What?

Jen: He's obviously gay. I should've known.

Jack: Who--C.J.?

Jen: It figures. I invite a boy to a party, and he brings his boyfriend.

Jack: What makes you so sure they're a couple?

Jen: Whatever. Even if he's straight, I can't take this C.J. Anymore. He's way too standoffish. When I make my intentions clear, I want them to be acknowledged and reciprocated. In that order.

Jack: I hear ya. I hear ya. All right. We're gonna delve a little deeper into this, ok? I'm gonna take C.J., And you're gonna take the "alleged" homosexual, and we're gonna meet back here in a little bit.

Jen: Deal.

Jack: Break!

Jen: Break.

[Scene: The Haunted House. Joey, Eddie and Harley are walking through a pretty lame haunted house. They walk through a room, when a man dressed up as a mummy comes and puts his hand on Joey's Shoulder]

Joey: Aah!

Harley: Oh, my god. You're so retarded.

Joey: Who asked you, you little twerp?

[Harley goes walking off away from Eddie and Joey]

Eddie: Hey, go easy on the poor kid. Ok? She's got problems.

Joey: And what do you know about that?

Eddie: Come on, it's obvious the girl has some issues with her father.

Joey: Don't we all? Hey, uh, look, I'm sorry about butting into your life and all that. I saw an opportunity to help, and I went for it. It's just that you're really smart. You're a lot smarter than anybody else in that class. And it just makes me sad to see all of that potential just going to waste.

Eddie: What potential? What--what waste? Look, I like to read books. Big deal. What, my life would be so much better if I went to college? And, uh...

Joey: what?

Eddie: I don't need your pity. And I don't need to be some rich kid's charity case.

Joey: You think I'm a rich kid? Wow.

Eddie: What?

Joey: It's just funny... how little you actually know about me.

Eddie: You know what's even funnier? All of this could've been so easily avoided. I mean, I wasn't even gonna come back to Heston's class. I mean, he's too cynical, he's too impressed with himself.

Joey: So, why did you come back?

Eddie: You. You, uh, you got under my skin. I found myself having these series of annoying conversations with you in my head, which must be a sign of something, so I kept coming back for more, which ultimately proved to be my undoing.

[Someone walks up behind Joey in costume and puts their hand on her shoulder, and she jumps into Eddie's arms and he hugs her to his chest to protect her.]

Joey: Aah!

Eddie: Man, you're such a scaredy cat.

Joey: That's what they tell me. Could you let me go now?

Eddie: You know what? I don't think so.

[He bends down and kisses her, and they kiss for a moment, before Joey stops.]

Joey: Oh, crap.

Eddie: What?

Joey: Harley.

[Scene: The film set party. Pacey and Audrey come walking into the party. And Audrey is looking to have fun, and Pacey seems a little out of place.]

Audrey: Wow! I've died and gone to hell! Hail, Satan!

Pacey: All of a sudden, I feel very old.

Audrey: Oh, Pacey, come dance with me. Dance?

Pacey: Where?

Audrey: Over there.

Pacey: That's not dancing. That's cavorting.

Audrey: Oh, when did you become such a dull normal?

Pacey: About the same time you started failing tests.

Audrey: What's that supposed to mean?

Pacey: What? Come on, what's with the "f," Audrey?

Audrey: It's a letter grade, Pacey. It's typically given when a student fails to meet the requirements of an assignment.

Pacey: Thanks, wise ass. I'm just asking if everything's ok.

Audrey: I got it totally under control, baby.

Pacey: Yeah, 'cause you know in my experience, there's never just one "F." Those things tend to come in bunches.

Audrey: You know what? I have a really good idea. Let's not talk about this.

Pacey: Ok, fine. I'm just letting you know I'm worried. That's all.

Audrey: You know what? It really doesn't seem like you are. It seems like you're too busy running around like Glengarry Glen loser to be worried about much of anything these days.

Pacey: That's nice of you. Take a swing at me. Because I gotta work for a living. That's great.

Audrey: I don't mind that you have to work for a living, Pacey. I'm just saying don't lose yourself in it. That's all.

Pacey: Why are we bickering about this? I just wanna know what's going on with you.

Audrey: Ok. You wanna know what's going on with me? Here goes. I haven't really been going to class much this semester, Pacey. Why is that? You might ask. Because I've been kinda depressed. Yeah, you see, I have this boyfriend, and I thought everything was going great, but apparently it's not. Apparently, he cares about his job more than he cares about me, and I know he would probably say that wasn't true and that I'm just being some hysterical drama queen, but I suppose if it wasn't true, he'd pretty much know everything that was going on in my life, wouldn't he, Pacey?

[Emma comes walking up to them]

Emma: Hey, guys. Love the costumes.

[Scene: The film set party. Dawson is talking with a lady at the party. She is majorly hitting on him and he is oblivious to the fact.]

Dawson: No, I'm not the director. I'm the director's assistant.

Lady: Really? That's awesome!

Dawson: Yeah.

[Dawson looks up to the catwalk along the top of the sets, and he sees the woman dressed in the black trench coat and stares at her as she stares down at him. He can not see much of her face cause it is hidden behind a large pair of dark glasses]

Lady: Are you ok?

Dawson: Can you excuse me for a sec?

[He runs over to the stairs that lead up to the catwalks. And quickly runs up them trying to catch up with the woman he saw. He is always several steps behind her. Every time he gets to the point he last saw her she is else where. Eventually he loses her all together, and he looks down onto the party and sees Natasha and Todd talking. Natasha takes Todd's hand and leads him off to the bedroom set. They sit down on the bed together and start kissing, and Dawson sees this and we can see the jealous eyes light up again. We cut to the toe door of the bedroom set. Dawson comes quickly up to it, and grabs the door handle, but stops, then he thinks second about it and opens the door. He goes into the room to see Todd and Natasha sitting on the bed talking while there are about half a dozen other people partying in the room with them.]

Todd: Right. [Laughs]

Natasha: I was thinking about near the end. Well, so... [They turn to see Dawson] What's wrong, Dawson?

Dawson: Nothing. Uh, I was just, uh, looking for somebody.

[HE goes to walk out of the room, stops for a second to wonder if what he saw actually happened, then he leaves the room. As he walks away his cell phone rings.]

[Cell phone rings]

Dawson: Hello.

[Scene: The editing room. Dawson comes into the room and the editor is queuing up another shot, and stops it at a point]

Editor: I was getting ready to leave for the party when a new batch of dailies came in. I go to digitize them, and this is what showed up.

[He starts the shot back up and we see the ghost woman on screen. This time it is the scene that Todd was talking about earlier, where wee see the woman actually get strangled to death. And we see the people working that set run out and grab the actor and pull him away from her and then that is all.]

[Commercial Break]

[Scene: The film set. Dawson is on the outskirts of the party when he sees Natasha walking towards him.]

Natasha: Hey.

Dawson: Hey. You--you look amazing. I'm sure you've probably heard that, like, 1,000 times.

Natasha: Yeah, I've gotten a couple marriage proposals and one guy said he'd sign over his car if I slept with him, but... thanks, it never gets old.

Dawson: Can I ask you something?

Natasha: If you must.

Dawson: This Melanie Ray-- why did she start having an affair with the director?

Natasha: Who knows? Maybe she fell in love with him or maybe she just wanted someone to pay attention to her.

Dawson: But she had someone to pay attention to her. She was married.

Natasha: Yeah, well, not all relationships are perfect, Dawson. They don't all last forever. Maybe he had a shot. Maybe he blew it.

Dawson: Maybe she just didn't give him enough of a chance.

Natasha: If you're asking if there's something going on between me and Todd, the answer is "none of your business."

Dawson: That's not what I'm asking.

Natasha: Oh, please. You are not so good with the subtext, baby. And you have no right to be jealous.

Dawson: Jealous? I'M... who said I was jealous?

Natasha: Uh-huh. You just keep telling yourself that, sweetie.

[Scene: Outside the Haunted House. Joey is walking down the street looking for Harley when Eddie comes running up to her.]

Eddie: Hey, wait up. Wait up.

Joey: Look, I don't think you fully comprehend the dire here, ok? I lost an entire human being. A totally annoying human being, yes, but I was responsible for her. You know, everything was going just fine until you had to go and kiss me.

Eddie: Oh, so now it's my fault.

Joey: Yes, it is your fault. I'll accept your apology and we can move on.

Eddie: Hey, if you want to get technical about it, you kissed me first, which would make it your fault.

Joey: Shut up and make yourself useful. Now, if you were a bratty teenage girl, where would you disappear off to?

Eddie: Oh, listen, if I was a teenage girl, bratty or otherwise, I would never leave the house. I'd be too busy checking myself out.

Joey: Classy. And I'll thank you for that image.

Eddie: And you know, if you really want to get technical, it's Heston's fault. He's the one who bailed on her. He was the one who was supposed to take her to the movies.

Joey: Eddie Dolan, you are a genius! [She hugs him] Come on!

[Scene: The film set party. Audrey walks through an empty Grave yard set, and notices a coffin that is stood up and has a padded back. She plops back into the leaning coffin and relaxes in it. She notices Pacey walking onto the set, and quietly closes the coffin lid and Pacey does not even notice. He simple walks up next to it and takes a seat on a tombstone near it. Emma comes walking by the set and sees Pacey sitting all alone there.]

Emma: Hello.

Pacey: Hi.

Emma: Is everything ok?

Pacey: Oh, yeah, yeah. If your definition of "ok" is having the strong desire to draw a warm bath and slit your wrists, then I am peachy.

Emma: Ahh. You and the old lady having some troubles?

Pacey: You might say that.

Emma: Uh-oh. Do you need to have a bit of a chat?

Pacey: That's not really our thing, now is it?

Emma: No, but we are flatmates, and I suppose that entitles you to something.

Pacey: Ok. I used to think that Audrey and I were the perfect fit. And we were, 'cause for the first time in any of my relationships, we were on equal footing. There was no mind games, no high drama, no angst. It was just fun.

Emma: Sounds good... in theory. It's a bit difficult to sustain that sort of thing.

Pacey: That's what I'm finding out.

Emma: Yeah.

Pacey: And it's making me second-guess myself. 'Cause I'm not really sure if the reason I'm checking out is because I just can't handle the rough spots or if it's... because I just don't love her anymore. Hmm. Or really, for that matter, if I ever truly loved her.

Emma: [Inhales] Yeah. I'm afraid only you can answer that one.

Pacey: And to be perfectly honest, I don't really want to find out tonight. So what do you say you and I go and rejoin the party, huh?

Emma: Ok.

Pacey: Thanks for listening, though.

Emma: It's ok. But, you know, just 'cause we had one proper conversation, don't think you can cry on my shoulder any time you like.

[They walk off, and after a few seconds Audrey opens the coffin lid and has a depressed look on her face after hearing it all]

[Scene: the film set party. Elsewhere at the party. Jen and David are sitting in some made up chairs talking together and drinking some punch]

Jen: So...

David: Yes?

Jen: How long have you been together?

David: Uh, what do you mean "together"?

Jen: Or, I mean, how--like, how long have you known each other?

David: Oh. Uh, about a year. We met at the stand.

Jen: Ohhh. So you're one of those.

David: Yup. Just another screwed-up gay kid trying to remake the world in his image. You should come by sometime.

Jen: No. No thanks. C.J. Already gave me the hard sell.

David: So you're the Jen he's always talking about.

Jen: He talks about me?

David: All the time. He wants you so bad.

Jen: Really?

David: Yeah. He thinks you'd make a great counselor.

Jen: Oh! For a second-- for a second I thought that-- that you meant that he "wanted" me. But of course not. He's--he's gay. Why would he want me that way?

David: Who--C.J.?

Jen: Yeah.

David: C.J.'S not gay.

Jen: He's not?

David: No. Not at all.

[Scene: the party. In another area, Jack and CJ are talking together, while drinking their punch.]

Jack: Sorry.

C.J.: I'm not offended, I'm just not gay. David's gay. Me, not so much.

Jack: Well, I know somebody who will be very glad to hear that.

C.J.: Who? A little dense.

Jack: Uh, Jen. Cute little blonde traveling companion, called the help line to invite you to this shindig.

C.J.: Oh, that's nice to hear.

Jack: And you're not very interested, are you?

C.J.: Truth is, I'm not. I mean, I think she's really cool and everything, I think she'd be a real benefit to the stand, it's just...that's not what I'm looking for right now.

Jack: But if you were looking for that right now...?

C.J.: She's not my type.

[Scene: The movie theater. Eddie is directing a guy in a costume, how to get to the Haunted House, when Joey comes walking out of the Theater with Harley.]

Eddie: Haunted house is down one block, make a right and just keep following your nose. Know what I'm saying? It's great.

Harley: Child abuse. Child abuse. Not so rough! Hi, Eddie.

Eddie: You gave us quite a scare tonight, young lady.

Joey: Oh, don't be cute with her. She doesn't deserve cute.

Harley: Don't worry, Joey. The night's almost over. You'll be rid of me soon enough. Then you can go back to your miserable little existence.

Joey: Would you mind giving us a second?

Eddie: Yeah.

[Eddie walks away from them]

Joey: Um...[Clears throat] Listen, I know that you're pissed at your dad for flaking on you, but it doesn't mean he's a bad dad and it doesn't mean that he doesn't love you.

Harley: No, it just means he's a dick.

Joey: Harley—

Harley: Do you even like him? Sometimes I don't see how anyone could ever like him. He's very abrasive.

Joey: True, but he's also very...

Harley: Every time I'm supposed to come see him I trick myself into thinking that it's gonna be different this time. But it never is. It's always just different shades of the same.

[Joey understands as Harley walks off to join Eddie]

[Scene: The film set party. Dawson is walking around the party, when out of the corner of his eye, he sees the ghost woman again. He tries to catch up with her, but he is cut off by a group of partiers cutting across his path. He tries to follow her, and notices her go into the Bedroom set. He slowly walks up to the door and opens it up to see Todd and Natasha lying together fully clothed on the bed.]

Todd: Leery! Uh...this isn't what it looks like?

Dawson: Really. You guys aren't screwing behind my back?

Todd: No, we are. But look at her, do you know what I mean? She's very persuasive.

Dawson: Shut up.

Todd: You can't tell me to shut up.

Dawson: What are you gonna do, fire me? You tried that before. It doesn't take. Listen, Natasha, I'm-- I'm really sorry that I hurt you. I mean, that was the last thing that I wanted to have happen, believe me. I got involved in the middle of an incredibly complicated situation, and I made a choice without thinking and it was the wrong choice, which is what I don't think I've really been able to... communicate to you, which is I--I like you. I keep on saying that I'm not jealous, but I--I am. I'm very jealous. This is-- the thought of some other guy touching you, especially him-- I mean, he's... Todd.

Todd: Leery, I'm not adverse to giving this whole firing thing another go, you know.

Dawson: Too late. I quit. I... good luck with the rest of the movie. I'm outta here.

[He storms off, leaving them all alone.]

[Commercial Break]

[Scene: The film set party. Dawson is getting ready leave the party, when he stops and turns around. While looking around he looks up and sees the ghost lady on the catwalk again. He quickly runs up after her as she walks away from him. He makes it up to the cat walk, but this time the ghost lady walks towards him. As she walks towards him she pulls off her wig and glasses and we see that it is Natasha. Then from behind her comes Todd filming Dawson with a hand camera. ]

Todd: [Laughs] Leery, this is bloody gold, mate!

Dawson: What the—

Natasha: Happy Halloween, Dawson. We've had the immense pleasure of screwing with your mind this evening.

Dawson: [Exhales] Wait. So you two aren't even—

Natasha: No way. Too old, too many extras.

Todd: Yeah, I'm not too into my assistant's sloppy seconds, either.

Natasha: Watch it.

Dawson: What about the footage?

Todd: The magic of movie-making, mate.

Dawson: Wasn't that a lot to go through just to get a laugh at my expense?

Todd: No. Worth every second. Right. I'm gonna go get Danny boy to edit this together.

Natasha: Ooh, I wanna see.

Todd: Come on, then. Um... you weren't serious about the whole quitting thing, right? 'Cause I sort of need some help with my shot lists tonight. You up for it? You're a scholar.

[Dawson just laughs to himself as they go off.]

[Scene: The film set party. Jen and CJ are standing outside talking to each other, after a moment to finally get alone.]

Jen: We didn't really get much of a chance to talk tonight.

C.J.: Well, you could always call the help line again.

Jen: You know, I was actually thinking about reconsidering the stand. I feel like maybe I was just too judgmental the first time around.

C.J.: Well, we'd love to have you. Just, you know, make sure you're doing it for the right reasons.

Jen: Are there any other reasons?

C.J.: I don't know.

Jen: You know, you could save me a lot of trouble by just going out with me.

[Cut to Jack and David standing a ways away from them, just watching them]

Jack: This is making me sad.

David: Why?

Jack: Well, he's not into her, and I'm the one who told her to call him.

David: Trust me, she's better off.

Jack: What do you mean?

David: Uh...it's a long story.

Jack: Want to tell me about it sometime over coffee?

David: Coffee?

Jack: Hot caffeinated beverage. It's all the rage these days. Seems to be an excuse for people to get together and find out if they like one another.

David: Yeah, I think I'd be up for something like that.

Jack: Cool.

[Jen and CJ come walking up to Jack and David]

C.J.: You ready?

David: Yeah. Well, it was nice meeting you.

Jen: Likewise.

C.J: Jack.

Jack: C.J.

David: And I guess I'll talk to you soon.

Jack: Dave, definitely.

David: Ok.

Jack: Bye.

Jen: Bye.

[CJ and David leave]

Jack: How'd that go?

Jen: Well, he's playing a little hard to get, which is somewhat disconcerting, but no worries. He'll be mine.

Jack: [Sighs] Come on. Let's get out of here.

[Scene: Hell's Kitchen. Joey and Harley are playing a game of pool, when Professor Heston finally comes in]

Heston: Hi, sweetheart.

Harley: Hey, dad. How was the date?

Heston: Went great. Right up to the moment when she said I had a toxic personality. Is that bad? How'd everything go here?

Harley: Great. She was a perfect angel.

Heston: Cool. You ready?

Harley: Gimme a second, dad.

[Profess Heston walks away from them]

Harley: Sorry I was such an uber-bitch.

Joey: We all have our moments. You know what? Don't stop hoping that things will be different with him. You're way too young to be so bitter.

Harley: Can I give you some advice?

Joey: Sure.

Harley: Eddie totally likes you. I hope a guy like him looks at me that way someday. Don't mess it up.

Joey: Ok.

[Harley and Heston leave. Eddie comes walking up to Joey a few seconds later]

Eddie: [Clears throat] One root beer float. Where is she?

Joey: Gone. Heston just picked her up.

Eddie: Wanna split this? Shame to see it go to waste, like my potential.

Joey: Shut up.

[They take a seat at one of the counters, and begin sharing the float, with 2 long spoons]

Joey: Can I ask you a question?

Eddie: If you must.

Joey: What's going on with us?

Eddie: What do you mean?

Joey: I mean...I kiss you, you kiss me. In some states that could be construed as dating.

Eddie: We're not dating.

Joey: Oh, god, no.

Eddie: And I'm not going back to Heston's class.

Joey: That's fine.

Eddie: Is it?

Joey: Absolutely. You are who you are, Eddie. I have no desire to change that.

Eddie: You know what, Joey? I don't know what's going on with us... but I kind of like it that way.

Joey: Me, too.

[Scene: Outside the File Set. Pacey comes out, happy to finally find Audrey who is sitting on the hood of his car.]

Pacey: Hey. There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. Is everything ok?

Audrey: I think we should break up, Pacey.

Pacey: [Chuckles] What? [He sees she is serious] Let's just go home and sleep on it. We can talk about it in the morning.

Audrey: No. This is what I want.

Pacey: This is not the way I wanted for this to happen.

Audrey: Shut up, Pacey! Just shut up, ok? You are getting off easy here and you know it. I'm not gonna let you put up some false protest so that you can feel better about yourself. I am ending it now. [There is a long pause where neither of them say anything] That's how I know that it's over. You didn't say a word, Pacey, not a word. 'Cause you don't have the energy to fight it and... I deserve better than that.

Pacey: You're right. You do. You deserve way better than that.

Audrey: Go ahead, Pacey. Why don't you follow the script? You know, say all of the things that you're supposed to say to me. You got anything else? How many empty words is it gonna take for you to be able to sleep easy tonight?

Pacey: What do you want from me, Audrey? You know that's not how it is, but the negativity gets to me, too, ok? So I agree with you.

Audrey: Don't you dare try to make yourself feel noble, Pacey. You are not some knight in shining armor. You're just a guy who's grown tired of screwing the same girl and you feel guilty about it. You think that sucks? Why don't you-- why don't you try being the one who has to wonder why all the people that she loves don't love her back.

Pacey: Oh, Audrey, come on.

[She slaps him]

Pacey: Ohh.

Audrey: [Sobbing]

[Scene: The film set. The party is now over, and Dawson is sitting in the bedroom set thinking about this entire day. He gets up and goes to leave the room, and finds Natasha on the other side of the door when he opens it.]

Natasha: Still mad at me?

Dawson: I was never mad at you. I was—

Natasha: Insanely jealous?

Dawson: [Sighs] I don't think I realized how much I actually wanted to be with you until I thought you were sleeping with Todd.

Natasha: Say it again.

Dawson: What, that I was jealous?

Natasha: No. That you like me.

Dawson: I like you, Natasha. I really like you.

Natasha: Good, because... I like you, too. I lot of people walk in and out of my life, Dawson, and... you might not believe what I'm about to say, because I'm an actor and I lie for a living, but... you're one of the only people I ever really wanted to stick around.

Dawson: I don't know what to believe... but I love my life. I... wake up most mornings pinching myself that I get to take even a small part in all of this. But... I can't help but feel like it's all an illusion. You know? I mean, it's like it's all just one moment away from disappearing forever.

Natasha: That's because it is. For all I know, this could be my last job. So I'm going to enjoy the experience while it lasts, hug everybody now, because they might not be here tomorrow, and take the experience with me. And if meeting you is all I get out of this one, well, it might just be enough for me.

Dawson: God, I missed you.

Natasha: I always wanted you back, you know. You just had to pay for your sins.

Dawson: Are we even now?

Natasha: Just about.

[She pushes him down on the bed and begins kissing him]

Dawson: Wait, are you... sure about this?

Natasha: As sure as I've ever been about anything in my entire life.

Dawson: Groovy.

[They begin making out, when a man dressed in the killers outfit comes in and raises an axe above his head and swings it down at them, and cut to black]