Escape From Witch Island #307

(Dawson is working at the video store when suddenly Joey shows up.)

Dawson: Joey, hey.

Joey: Dawson, please tell me you have 'The Crucibles'.

Dawson: Belinda checked it out, about an hour ago.

Joey: Oh. Well, serves me right, I guess, for being that girl.

Dawson: What girl?

Joey: The girl who rents the movie the night before an all important paper is due, because her debilitating attention deficit disorder has gotten in the way of her actually reading the book.

Dawson: Since when are you that girl?

Joey: Well, between taking care of baby Alexander and getting the B&B up and running, I haven't had a whole lot of time for that pesky endeavor known as school.

Dawson: B&B? I thought you worked at the Marina? What happened?

Joey: That's a long and exceedingly soapy story, Dawson. So, what's up with you? Eve help you add anymore crimes and misdemeanors to your record?

Dawson: Eve left town, actually. (an awkward pause)

Joey: Well, thanks a lot Dawson. I guess I'll see you around school. I'll be the one cloaked in failure.

Dawson: Hold on, you know what, Joey? What if I told you you didn't have to do the paper?

Joey: I'm listening.

Dawson: After we got the assignment I went up to Green and said 'Look, you really want the standard 5-pages of footnotes and cribbed encyclopedia passages chronically the Salem Witch trials, or…

Joey: Let me guess, you, uh, sold him on the idea of making a movie instead? Classic Dawson Leery.

Dawson: Here's the best part. Jen and Pacey are also excused from doing the paper as long as they (missed the word).

Joey: I guess my invitation got lost in the mail.

Dawson: I would have invited you…

Joey: Forget about it. So what's it about? Your movie.

Dawson: Well, umm, since we're reading The Crucibles, we're studying the Salem Witch trials, I figured why not do a documentary on something that happened right in your back yard. Witch Island.

Joey: So basically, you're ripping off the Blair Witch Project.

Dawson: I am insulted. I am making a real documentary. I want to try and use the myth of Witch Island to tell a larger story about hypocrisy (missed the world) and persecution. So, are you in?

Joey: Well, you know, I could blow off the paper, I'd probably fail the class, and if I failed the class, well, that could be the beginning of a long and tragic downward spiral that dooms me to wait the tables of Capeside's greasy spoons for eternity. So, count me in.

(credits)

Green: In the year 1692, 13 young women, well, teenage girls really, were banished to a small island off the New England coast, because they were suspected of practicing witch craft. One night, a year later, a fire raged out of control, killing them all.

Mitch: Hands down, the best high school make-out place ever.

Gail: I think that's where your father and I made love for the first time.

Dawson: God, mom…

Gail: Honey, are you okay?

Jen: I gotta say, Blair Witch didn't do it for me. I wasn't remotely scared, that girl was irritating me, and I had to run to the snack bar in dire need of Dramamine.

Joey: I was scared.

Pacey: That's no surprise there, Potter. After all, you are quite the skittish kitten.

Dawson: I thought Blair Witch was groundbreaking. Hollywood laid to waste by a couple guys with a camcorder? How cool is that.

Pacey: Frankly, I think my father makes scarier movies with his home video camera. You guys want scary? Check out the Whitter family Christmas Project. Guaranteed to make your teeth chatter.

Jen: You know, before we're off to see the witch, I would like to apply that there are no such thing as witches. I say witches is just a buzz word for a girl who happens to follow her completely healthy, totally natural urges, and explore her sexuality. But see, you can't do that in swinging 1690, without getting the good towns folk all up in arms. So what do these puritanical, impotent creeps do instead of reaching for the Viagra? They brand these girls as witches, they send them off to some God forsaken island to die a horrible, solitary death.

Joey: Well, lucky for you, Jen, I mean, we live in a world where you can follow your natural urges without fear of persecution.

Jen: You're right. I would have been so burned at the stake by now.

Dawson: Okay, I think it's time to set up some interviews. Umm, Joey, lend me a hand?

Joey: Sure.

Dawson: And you guys rustle up some interviewees.

Pacey: Yavolay(don't ask me what this means!) director! Have fun kids! Doesn't that just warm your heart? Kevin and Winny taking those first tentative steps back to The Wonder Years.

Jen: Actually, it just makes me glad that you and I had the forethought not to hook up.

Pacey: Amen, sister Christian.

Jen: Why is that do you think?

Pacey: Well, if you look at the clinical research, you'll find that the smart ass sidekick, he never gets the girl.

Jen: Oh!

Pacey: Now the real reason there was never a you and me, Lindley, is because you and me, we don't need anything from each other.

Jen: I'm sorry, I left my decoder ring back in the cereal box.

Pacey: You see, you as the girl who's wanton ways had her banished to the boonies, you needed the affection of the unblemished, small town, pure heart to validate you in your oh so vulnerable time. Right?

Jen: Yeah.

Pacey: Me, the suprarenal black sheep of the Whitter crew, I guess I just need the love and affection of a woman who's drive and devotion would shame me to the core that it would force me to get in touch with the, I don't know, shall we call it my inner achiever? You and me, we're different. We're on a level playing field.

Jen: And I thought that Dawson was good at deconstruction.

(Elsewhere)

Andie: Ahh, Principle Green, do you have a moment?

Green: Now's not the best time…

Andie: I just want to let you know that I take my appointment to the head of the disciplinary committee with the utmost seriousness and I am determined not to lose your trust.

Green: That's some earnest attitude. Now if you'll excuse me…

Andie: Oh, I just want to let you know that the last few weeks have been tumultuous to say the least, but I am please to report that I have my priorities in order.

Green: Good, I'm glad to hear that. So why don't you check with me later…

Andie: I'd like to run by a few ideas if that's alright.

Green: (giving in) Come on.

Andie: Excellent. Okay, I've read the rules of conduct…

(Outside school, Joey and Dawson set up the camcorder for interviews)

Dawson: I can't tell you how much I miss this, Joey.

Joey: Me too.

Dawson: I feel lucky.

Joey: So do I.

Dawson: You know, like I've been able to recapture a feeling that I lost somewhere along the way.

Joey: I know what you mean…

Dawson: I mean, granted, you know, it's only for a school project, but it's good to be making movies again.

Joey: I thought you were talking about us, you and me.

Dawson: That too, obviously. You know, I miss the whole, lets make a movie bug thing we had before things got so terminally angsted. You know, I'm really glad we're friends again.

Joey: Friends.

(Interviewing Grams)

Grams: 300 years ago, harlots who were practicing witch craft were banished to that island. And what happened there has proved positive that the good Lord doesn't take lightly to those who dabble in the black (missed word).

Bessie: One time in high school, this guy disappeared there. He was a big stoner. One of those guys who have Led Zepplin's "Four" playing in his head at all times. So everyone said he probably got wasted and drowned. I don't know. Some people say the witches got him.

Student: Yeah, well kids just mysteriously disappear there over the years and they say it's the witches or whatever. But I think the CIA or the NSA had something to do with it. It's just like our government to come up with some occult back story to cover up their male thesis.

(Pacey, Joey, Dawson and Jen are walking to the dock where they catch the boat to Witch Island)

Pacey: Nobody bought snacks? Come on, guys! What is a field trip without the snacks? Nobody bought the Doritos? The Ho-Ho's? (missed word) for a Coke wrapped in tin foil.

Man: It's the Dawson Leery party, right?

Dawson: Present and accounted for. Mind if I ask you a couple of questions? I'm making a movie.

Man: Only if you return the favor (pulls a camcorder out of his bag and starts filming Dawson). Alright. So, umm, what is your movie about?

Dawson: (a little weirded out) I'm making a documentary on Witch Island. What's your movie about?

Man: I'm making a documentary about all of the people making a documentary about Witch Island. Ever since Blair Witch hit, every geek with a camcorder and a dream has been out here, so. A little luck and this baby will get me on the festival circuit, right?

Dawson: Yeah… What can you tell me about Witch Island?

Man: You kids think it's all spooky fun and kissy cool and all that, but don't get so caught up in your Scooby Doo adventure that you get stuck out there past dark.

Jen: Oh, come on, we don't scare that easy.

Man: She calling me a liar? You calling me a liar, is that what you're saying, huh? Listen, girls died out there, you don't think they're not a little ticked off about what happened out there all those years ago? You think they're above taking their anger out on a teenie bopper or two, everyone once in a full moon? Huh? These girls, sometimes they can't control their natural urges. Alright, all aboard, let's go.

(At the island, exiting the boat)

Wendy: Hey guys! Welcome to Witch Island. I am Wendy Dowlripple of the Capeside historical society and I'm here to answer any questions that you may have about Witch Island. Which, I'm ashamed to say, represents a particularly dark period in our nation's history.

Jen: Oh, dear God.

Pacey: Uhh, you wouldn't happen to have a snack bar or anything up here, would you? Cause I'm famished, and Cameron over there decided to cancel the 7-11 run before we got on board.

Wendy: You'll find some refreshments in our gift shop, young man. Along with a lovely selection of our witch themed souvenirs.

Jen: Ooh, I like souvenirs.

Wendy: Making a little movie, are we?

Joey: He's ripping off The Blair Witch Project.

Wendy: Seen it. Come with me. I'll take you to the cemetery. Goes over real well with you film maker types. Got a lot of atmosphere.

Dawson: Hey, Joey? You realize the Blair Witch was fake, right? Where as my documentary is real.

(Jen and Pacey in the gift shop)

Jen: Pacey, check this out. (reading out of a spell book) That wicked crush got you down? Do you stare at him for hours without getting so much as a glance in return? Do you ever call and hang up? Riffle through his garbage? Has the thought of disfiguring his girlfriend ever crossed your mind? Stalk no more, ladies with the handy dandy incantation that will turn the object of your affections into a love sick puppy dog.

Pacey: Dream on, Lindley.

Jen: What, you don't think it will work?

Pacey: Well, not to be a naysayer… No, actually, to be a naysayer, my belief in the power of spells is somewhere up there with my belief in the validity of sea monkeys.

Jen: I'm gonna try it.

Pacey: Really? On whom?

Jen: You.

Pacey: Me?

Jen: Who better? You're not attracted to me in the slightest.

Pacey: Not in the least.

Jen: Ouch.

Pacey: No, no, no, I didn't mean it like that. You are certainly quite the oeuvre vixen and I am nothing if not fond of you, but you're just not my type.

Jen: Right back at you, man.

Pacey: I'm brooding and cumuli.

Jen: I'm sure you score way high on some girls' cute-o-meter, Pacey, just not mine.

Pacey: I'm a better catch than Ty the bible beater or that skirt chasing Neanderthal Chris Wolfe.> Jen: This coming from a guy who's past two relationships have ended with the girl either leaving town to avoid prosecution or cool out in crazy camp for the summer.

Pacey: Ouch.

(Dawson and Joey out at the cemetery with Wendy)

Joey: There's only 12.

Dawson: What?

Joey: Well, there was 13 witches, Dawson. 13 girls were sent here and there are only 12 graves.

Wendy: Smart girl. Nobody ever picks up on that. Her name was Mary Waldeck.

Dawson: What happened to her?

Wendy: Her body was never found. No one knows for sure what happened but there are two distinct schools of thought. Those who like a good ghost story, well they believe she really was a witch and she haunts the island to this day. But, for those romantics out there, they believe that her lover came and took her away from this awful place.

Joey: Her lover?

Wendy: Yeah. I'll give you the Cliff's Notes. Mary's an orphan. She's taken in by a family named the Bennett's, and raised along their own son, William. William and Mary got along famously. So much, so in fact, that in time, they fell in love.

Dawson: Uh oh.

Wendy: One night, Mary and William were found in bed together. This did not go over well with the God fearing Bennett's. And in a blink of an eye, Mary was no longer their daughter. She was a witch.

Joey: How horrible.

Wendy: Can you imagine what this poor girl had to go through? This is a young girl no older than you, put on trial, banished to some God forsaken island for crimes that she didn't even understand, much less, commit. She was separated from the love of her life. I think that that's what makes this island such a charged place. Cause, if you've ever loved somebody that you couldn't be with, you can feel it in the air. Sadness, longing, the uncertainty.

Joey: Are you taking this down, Dawson?

Dawson: What do you mean?

Joey: Soul-mates torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. Doomed to wonder what might have been. There's your movie.

Dawson: What about the fire? Where did that happen?

Wendy: Through the woods, at the church.

Dawson: Can you take us there, I'd love to get some footage.

Wendy: No, because I never, ever go into the woods. And if you kids are smart, you won't either. But if you do decide to go, we have some maps inside the gift shop.

(Jen and Pacey back at the gift shop. Jen is mixing her potion.)

Jen: Lights low and feet on the floor. Chant these words to make him yours. Darsabaloof, demoteefca, demoteeva, rennachicka, bleeth. (She drinks some of the brew) Your turn.

Pacey: Excuse me? I'm sorry, it sounded like you said something about me consuming that God awful muck.

Jen: Says right here that both myself and the object of my affections must ingest of the potion in order for the spell to work.

Pacey: No, no, no, no, no…

Jen: Please? Pretty, pretty, pretty please? You don't have to swallow the precious (missed word).

Pacey: Fine. Fine, but Lindley, pay back is gonna be a bitch (Pacey drinks).

Jen: How do you feel?

Pacey: Nice and fresh.

Wendy: What is going on in here?

Jen: Just a couple of crazy kids practicing a little bit of black magic.

Wendy: You shouldn't mess with things that you don't understand. (Handing Dawson a map) Here, this will take you through the woods and to the church. And, oh yeah, don't get lost because it's very dark, it's very dangerous, and there's a slim chance that you will never bee seen or heard from ever again. Kay?

Jen: Take that Mary Waldeck girl, for example. Was she a witch? I think not. Sounds like she just had a bad case of the warm and fuzzies.

Joey: It's too heartbreaking for words.

Dawson: I couldn't disagree more.

Joey: How do you figure?

Dawson: It clearly illustrates how love can thrive even in the worst of circumstances.

Joey: Yeah, and look what happened to her.

Dawson: Nobody knows what happened to her.

Joey: Well, I think it's safe to assume that Mary died a very sad and lonely death. Separated from the one boy she ever loved.

Dawson: You know, I don't buy that. If people are truly, madly, deeply in love, they're figure out a way to be with each other.

Joey: They were young, they were split up for a long time. Maybe he forgot about her. Maybe he met someone else.

Dawson: If he did meet somebody else and forgot about her, than obviously they were never meant to be together in the first place. See my point?

Joey: Could you be any more naïve?

Dawson: Could you be any more cynical?

Jen: Could you be any more irritating? Heads up, guys, we're here.

Pacey: What do you think the chances are that they got a men's room in there. I think I went a little heavy on the witches' brew.

(Back at Capeside High. Andie is roaming the halls, busting people.)

Andie: Spaghetti straps and opened toed shoes? Not on my watch. (gives a slip to the girl. To a guy at his locker) Inappropriate display of the female form (nudie pics in the locker) Statue 97.1 - offensive and disgusting. (Hands him a slip. To a hippie type guy) Excuse me, in case you didn't know, Elvis has most definitely left the building, and in his absence, there will be no sideburns creeping past the earlobes. Rules of conduct, baby. Read 'em, learn 'em, live 'em. (Hands him a slip. Belinda notices Andie working the student body over)

(Back at the church)

Dawson: Listen to this, the towns people built the church because they thought it would help the girls find God. Sent a minister over every Sunday but the girls would tease him so mercilessly that he eventually gave up and stopped coming.

Jen: I could hang with those girls. (starting to leave the church) I wonder if Pacey loves me yet.

Joey: They were murdered.

Dawson: Beg your pardon?

Joey: It says here that a group of men from the main land treated the island like their own personal brothel. When word got out, the bible thumpers got together and decided enough was enough and an angry mob came, crowded the girls into this church and set it on fire.

Dawson: And that's when William must have run off with Mary.

Joey: Hold on, Romeo. Why are you reading into this all of a sudden? How do you know that William didn't light the torch?

Dawson: I don't know, maybe because he loved her.

Joey: How do you know he was such the enlightened male, Dawson? I mean, if the whole town thinks your girlfriend is a witch, maybe it's just easier to go with the flow.

Dawson: That's not the story I'm interested in telling.

Joey: Well, the good documentarian looks at the story from all possible angels, Dawson. Not just from the perspective of his (missed word) and annoying world view.

Jen: (coming back inside the church) Has Pacey shown up yet?

Joey: Not since he went in search of a perfect tree.

Dawson: We gotta get back, it's starting to get dark.

Jen: You know, I'll go find him. You two go back to that boat guy and make sure he doesn't leave without us, and we'll meet you back at the docks.

(Dawson and Joey walking back to the docks)

Dawson: Joey, why does my optimism have you so irked?

Joey: That's not what's irking me, Dawson.

Dawson: What is it?

Joey: What's going on with us?

Dawson: God, Joey, this is not the time, or the place to run an exhausted dissertation on the state of our relationship.

Joey: Right, you know, we should just stand back and watch it crumble around us. We'll deal with it later when it's more convenient.

Dawson: Joey, we're friends, why can't we just leave it at that?

Joey: Friends…

Dawson: Yeah, you take away everything else that we are, and it's what we are. We're friends.

Joey: Dawson, you can't just will a friendship into existence.

Dawson: You know, I give up. For the first time in my life I have no idea what you're talking about.

Joey: Of course you don't.

Dawson: Well, explain yourself.

Joey: Dawson, what exactly do you know about my life these days? I mean, think about it. Do you know how I lost my job? How I did on the PSAT's. How the Potter sisters are eating out their meager living? And you know, I don't know a thing about your life, either.

Dawson: Joey, I'm sorry if I've been distant… I thought that's what we needed.

Joey: You know what? The last year of my life has been this wide awake nightmare of conflicting emotions. And no matter how bad it got there was always one thing that kept me going. That was us. Our bond, our connection, whatever you want to call it. It made me feel like I wasn't alone, that I was part of something special. So, I'm not standing here whining about being friends or not being friends. It's just for the first time in my life, I'm not feeling that connection, Dawson. And it scares me. Wait!

(They hear the boat starting, and rush to the dock)

Man: There you are. Great. Get in, let's go.

Joey: No, we can't leave yet. We got split up from our friends.

Man: Stupid, stupid, stupid. Didn't I warn you guys about getting stuck out here past dark? I'm pretty sure that I did.

Dawson: They'll be here any minute.

Man: No, uh uh. No way, I'm not staying. Weird things happen out here at night. So, you can come with me now, or I can come back in the morning and find out if you're still alive.

Dawson: We're not gonna leaving without our friends.

Man: Fine. I warned you guys. I told you. Whatever you do, don't go in the woods.

(Man pulls away, leaving Joey and Dawson on the docks. After nightfall, Jen and Pacey still haven't found Dawson and Joey. They walk through the woods with a flashlight.)

Jen: So, do you feel anything yet?

Pacey: Feel what exactly?

Jen: The spell.

Pacey: Yeah. I actually am starting to feel something. I think I'm starting to feel a little lost. That's what it is, lost.

Jen: Yeah, I know. This, I gotta say. The idea of a wholesome biblically themed meal this evening with Grams, isn't sounding too gosh darn unappealing. I'd even consider saying 'Grace', but instead, I am traipsing around some haunted forest with the likes of you.

Pacey: Why am I always the bad guy? Huh? Do I deserve this? I don't think so. What is it about me that inspires vitriolic diatribes? Take Andie for example. She goes away for the summer and sleeps with a mental patient. So I break up with her for conduct unbecoming a girlfriend, something that I think I was pretty justified doing, and yet somehow, she manages to turn it around so I feel like a creep at the end of the day. How does that happen?

Jen: What, you think you're the creep? Just wait until some sweet, innocent freshman gets a crush on you, and you accidentally on purpose break his smitten little heart, thus derailing his (missed word) love life forever.

Pacey: You know, love has this horrible habit of always messing things up.

Jen: That it does.

Pacey: But sex is nice.

Jen: Yes it is.

Pacey: Yes it is. Sex good, love bad. You toss it into the wok, it messes the whole thing up.

Jen: This is true.

Pacey: I'm starting to think that maybe casual sex is the way to go.

Jen: But sex is never casual, Pacey.

Pacey: Perhaps. But what if both partners agreed to the terms beforehand?

Jen: Like a prenup?

Pacey: Yes, exactly. Like a pre-getting busy agreement. I'm just thinking out loud here, but the concept of two horny teenagers coming together for some gleefully nasty coitus and parting as friends is positively revolutionary in this day and age.

Jen: Sounds killer in theory.

Pacey: No guilt…

Jen: No shame…

Pacey: No head games…

Jen: No bad mixed tapes.

Pacey: Yeah, I hate those. You know, this may be the witches brew talking, but you are starting to look all kinds of cute.

(Dawson and Joey are back in the gift shop, looking through some books and things)

Joey: (reading from Mary's journal) Another day goes by without word from William. It's been but a few weeks time since I arrived on the island and yet it feels like an eternity. This time apart has me wondering if our bond was but an illusion.

Dawson: Is that what you think, Joey? That our relationship was some slide of hand magic trick made to fill up some hole in your life?

Joey: Look, I didn't say that, Dawson. Don't put words into my mouth.

Dawson: I don't have to.

Joey: Dawson, don't you ever wonder, you know, where this is going? Where we are exactly? I mean, is this just the first act, or has our story ended and we're just too stupid to realize it?

Dawson: Why do we have to figure that out all right now? What's wrong with just living in the present for once?

Joey: Because the present sucks, Dawson! I mean, excuse me for thinking back and looking forward, but I'm just trying to make sense of what's happening to us.

Dawson: Joey, you yourself once told me that some love stories never end. What happened to that girl?

Joey: She offered herself to the boy she loved - the boy she thought loved her back. And he rejected her.

Dawson: Joey, listen to me. If we are truly meant to be, than we will find a way back to each other. It's as simple as that.

Joey: You so sure about that, Dawson? (reading from the journal) I fill my days with memories. I remember how he used to look at me. Like I was his most valuable treasure. Has he found a new treasure? I can't help but wonder if we'll be able to find our way back to each other. The road before us seems so very long and my head is clouded with such dark thoughts. I feel our bond grows weaker by the day and I'm powerless to stop it.

(They hear a bell ringing in the distance)

Dawson: That's probably them.

(They gather their stuff and rush out - to the church, Pacey and Jen wait inside.)

Pacey: Hey. You rang?

Dawson: We thought you guys rang.

Jen: We didn't rang.

Joey: Well, somebody rang.

Pacey: Well, this is mighty peculiar people.

Dawson: What?

Pacey: There's no bell.

Joey: Okay, I'm now sufficiently wigged.

Jen: How goes the 17th Century soap?

Joey: She just got a letter from William.

Jen: Do tell.

Joey: November 10th, 1693.

Jen: That's today.

Joey: That's also the anniversary of the fire. (reading from the journal) A letter today from my beloved William. He has made me so happy. He says he's coming tonight to take me away from this God forsaken place. Yet I am scared. He says there are those in town who feel we should be punished further for our crimes. (she stops reading) That's the last entry.

Jen: So, you think he came back for her?

Joey: Nah. He probably played her for a fool and took up with some well breed hussy from the mainland.

Jen: Come on, Joey. Hop on the happy train. Sounds to me like those two were madly in love.

Joey: You know, I hate to be one of those girls who mistakes pop lyrics for profound thoughts, but sometimes, love just isn't enough.

Jen: And I hate to be the one to bust this whole subtextial bubble that you're living in, but do me a favor, Joey. Don't let someone else's love life dictate your own.

(Pacey and Dawson sit alone talking)

Pacey: You're not filming anymore, hombre?

Dawson: Not feeling particularly visionary at the moment. Let me ask you something, Pacey? Do you think I made a mistake?

Pacey: Where?

Dawson: Telling Joey we needed some time apart.

Pacey: Do you think you made a mistake?

Dawson: Not at first, but… I look at her now and see how far apart we drifted. I don't know. What if I was wrong? What if we don't end up together, and it's all my fault.

Pacey: You wanna know what I see when I look at you, Dawson? For better or worse, I see a guy who consistently wears his heart on his sleeve. So no matter how harsh it may seem in retrospect, when you decided to put some distance between yourself and Joey, I know all you were doing was just following your heart. And with that in mind, I really don't think it's possible for you to have made a mistake.

(Dawson is sleeping, and Pacey and Jen are alone behind some pews.)

Jen: So, do you honestly think we can pull this one off?

Pacey: I don't see why not.

Jen: You don't have any feelings for me, right?

Pacey: None whatsoever. No offense, of course.

Jen: None taken of course.

Pacey: You for me? Feelings?

Jen: Hardly even think about you.

Pacey: You gotta love that.

Jen: So, what do we do now?

Pacey: Should I take my pants off?

Jen: Maybe we should kiss first?

Pacey: Yeah, that's a good idea.

(They start to kiss, but Jen stops)

Jen: Is this the spell?

Pacey: I don't know. I don't care! All I know is in November of 1999, 4 hyper-verbal teenagers running off into the woods on a witch hunt to film some ridiculous documentary for history class, and eight hours later, (whispering) two of them start making out.

(They start to kiss again)

Pacey: That was…

Jen: Weird.

Pacey: Yeah. Let's try again.

(They kiss some more)

Pacey: How bout that one? Weird?

Jen: (whispering) Not so much…

(They continue kissing. Suddenly they hearing screaming and shouting from outside. Fire is shooting in through the windows. Pacey pulls Jen to her feet, and Dawson and Joey run toward them. The people outside yelling continues. The four try to push the door open, but to no avail. Suddenly the fire and noise stops. Joey tries the door again, and it casually opens. They run outside.)

Jen: Can we just go home now?

Joey: Look, I don't care if we have to swim home, let's just get the hell out of here.

Dawson: There's got to be a logical explanation for all this.

Pacey: Okay, why don't you send us a postcard, Spock, cause I for one am not sticking around to find out.

(The four run through the forest to the dock. When they get there, they see the boat and board it)

Joey: Hey, the boat's there.

Pacey: Get in, get in, get in!

Jen: Go, go, go!

(The scene splits to a TV-screen, where Dawson is showing the film in class.)

Dawson: But honestly, I had envisioned a much more straightforward documentary of the history of witch island, but I was surprised by what I found there. A love story. Pure and simple. Two soul mates torn apart by the social climate of their time. And though what happened to us on the island is certainly open to your own interpretation, there's no disputing the fact that the island embodies the emotional turmoil of a girl who didn't know what the future held for her and the boy she loved.

Green: It's nice work, Mr. Leery. A tad derivative in the wake of the whole Blair Witch phenomenon but inspired work none the less. I particularly liked the part that….

Girl: Wait, what's that all about? (Pointing to the screen)

Dawson: What?

Girl: It looks like two people standing on the dock, watching you go. See, look close? (Dawson rewinds the tape and pauses it, two distinct figures are now shown standing on the dock as they drive the boat away. Dawson gives Joey a look. Jen looks at Pacey. The rest of the class notice it also, and have an odd look on their faces)

Boy: (Walking in from the hall) Principle Green, we have a situation here. (Green walks out with him, and into a classroom filled with people in line at a table. Andie and Belinda are there, giving detention to the hordes of people in line)

Andie: …and making a filthy mess in the library. One week's detention. Next!

Green: Miss McPhee? You care to explain what's going on here?

Andie: Principle Green, I took your advice and ran with it. I've teamed up with Belinda and we've taken the first steps towards improving the quality of life at Capeside.

Green: What could all of these students have possibly done wrong?

Andie: Each and every one of them was in direct violation of the rules of conduct.

Green: The rules of conduct were prepared in 1957. Of course they're gonna be in violation. Now after you've dismissed these students, I'd like you to stop by my office.

(Andie looks embarrassed. Green leaves. Later, Jen goes to the video store, and wakes Pacey, who is suppose to be working.)

Jen: So, when are we gonna talk about it?

Pacey: Talk about what exactly?

Jen: What happened out there.

Pacey: What DID happen out there, Lindley?

Jen: I don't have any idea. But, I would just prefer that didn't get in the way of our… experiment.

Pacey: Perhaps we should take the shadowy, ill explained events of our brief sojourn in the woods as something of an omen.

Jen: No.

Pacey: No?

Jen: If nothing else, that gooey little mellow drama only proves that love just mucks everything up.

Pacey: So then, you're thinking would be that we should still have sex?

Jen: Yes.

Pacey: Well, alright then. Okay. (pause) Did you want to do it right now?

Jen: Umm, do you?

Pacey: I'm kinda tired, actually.

Jen: Oh, fine. Roswell's on in five minutes anyway. You just let me know when you want to do it and I'll do it.

Pacey: Okay, so let me get this straight… If I'm ever in the need of a release, you're just gonna help me out.

Jen: Exactly. But keep in mind, it's a two way street.

Pacey: Of course. Well that sounds fantastic. It does. Should we, I don't know, should we kiss on it?

Jen: No.

Pacey: No!

Jen: No, kissing is intimate, and we're not about intimacy.

Pacey: Perhaps we should just shake on it then. (they shake hands) It's good seeing ya!

(Cut to Dawson's room, Joey is sitting with him, looking at the still frame of the 2 silhouettes on the dock.)

Joey: I mean, who else could it be other than Wendy and that boat guy. I mean, he's a guy, she's a girl, they both have access to the island. They left the boat out there for us, I mean, it's the only possible explanation.

Dawson: Only possible explanation?

Joey: Let's hear your version.

Dawson: Okay. The girl is Mary Waldeck and the guy is William Bennett. Look at those clothes. I mean, that hat is 17th century clothes if I've ever seen them.

Joey: I think the crack habit is definitely come between you and your cognitive powers, Dawson. Obviously Wendy and the boat guy were screwing with us the whole time.

Dawson: Skeptic.

Joey: Sucker.

Dawson: Cynic.

Joey: Gullible.

Dawson: I don't know, maybe you're right. Maybe we've seen the world according to Dawson one too many times. Maybe we should just sit back in a movie theater out of the harsh light of day.

Joey: I don't know, Dawson. Maybe you were right. Maybe William and Mary found their way back to each other after all.

Dawson: You think?

Joey: It's just a thought.

Dawson: Joey, I want to apologize.

Joey: For what?

Dawson: For taking our friendship for granted. I was wrong to think that we could just pick up right where we left off.

Joey: Well, it's not entirely your fault, Dawson. I mean look at us. We've spent years intellectualizing every little feeling and it doesn't count for anything. All that matter is, what we do. You know, how we take care of each other, so, let's not talk this to death. Let's take it slow and check in with each other every once in awhile.

Dawson: That sounds immensely doable.

Joey: Good. I think this is one X-File we're never gonna close.

Dawson: Not unless we go back.

Joey: No.

Dawson. Come on, Joey. A sequel?

Joey: Let's just see how this one opens first.

Dawson: By the way, how did you do on your PSAT's?

Joey: Brilliantly.