Dawsons Creek
from the TV Series created by Kevin Williamson

Tamara (Leann Hunley): Pacey, talk to me.
Pacey (Joshua Jackson): About what, The Graduate or The Summer of '42, which would you rather discuss?
Tamara: Oh Pacey, I'm so sorry.
Pacey: You should be, because you're a liar. How can you say you were just renting a movie?
Tamara: Because it's the truth.
Pacey: It's a crock. The truth is you're a well put together, knockout of a woman who's feeling a little insecure about hitting forty. So when a young virile boy such as myself flirts with you, you enjoy it. You entice it. You fantasize about what it would be like to be with that young boy on the verge of manhood. Cause it helps you stay feeling attractive. Makes the aging process a little more bearable. Well, let me tell you something, you blew it lady. Because I'm the best sex you'll never have.
Tamara: You're wrong about one thing, Pacey. You're not a boy.
(Tamara kisses him. Hard.)

Pacey: I should start my saying that I'm more ashamed for what I did in that classroom yesterday than anything I have done in my life. It was dead wrong and I have no case here and I'm sorry. However, I am not now, nor will I ever be, apologetic for its intention. Every day we, the students of Capeside, come to a place where you guys are in charge. You tell us when to arrive, and when to leave, and when to move rooms, and when to eat. You tell us when we're doing well and when we need to be doing better and we never, ever question it because we're afraid to. To question it is to go against the belief that the entire system is built upon. The belief that you guys know what's right. And I'm not afraid to tell you that what happened in that classroom was not right. To make a student cry, to embarress him, to strip him of his dignity in front of his classmates, is not right. And while I do respect the system, I do NOT respect men like you, Mr. Peterson, I don't. I can't. And I never will. Not after what you did. You have a good afternoon.

[Pacey and his father are on the beach. The father has just fallen over from being drunk]
Pacey: So I guess this is as good of time as any to have that father-son talk. [in a gruff voice, imitating his father] So, how ya doin' in school, Pacey? [back to normal voice] Actually, Dad, I'm doing alright. I'm really turning things around. Turns out I'm pretty smart. [gruff voice] Good man, Pacey. Always knew you'd turn out to be something. How the ladies treating you? [normal] Well, I met this woman. [gruff] Is she cute? [normal, he laughs] Aw, cute, man. Andie's beautiful. She's smart. She's funny. I tell ya, this girl is something special.For whatever reason, she seems to think I'm pretty special, too. Why can't you see that? Why can't you see me, huh? When did you give up on me? When I was 5? 10? 12? I'm 16 years old, Dad! [begins to cry] And I'm here and I'm not provin' that but I'm tryin' so hard for you. It's your job. It's your job to love me no matter who I am or what I become because you're my father! You're my dad! You're supposed to love me you son of a bitch. I can't do this by myself.

Mr. Potter (Gareth Williams): Dawson, wait please. Tell me about her. Tell me about my daughter.
Dawson (James Van Der Beek): What do you want to know?
Mr. Potter: Anything, everything.
Dawson: She's great. I mean, she's smart, she's beautiful, she's funny, she's a big ol' scaredy cat. If you creep up from behind her she'll jump out of her skin. It's pretty amusing. She's honest. She always calls them just like she sees them. You can always count on getting the truth from Joey even if the truth hurts. She's stubborn. We fight a lot. She can be so frustrating sometimes. But she's a really, really, good friend. I know her to a fault. She believes in me. And I'm a dreamer so it's so good to have somebody like that in my life. If she goes away, I don't know what I'm going to do. I mean, she's my best friend, you know? She's more than that. She's everything.

Joey (Katie Holmes): Dad, do you remember Melissa Barry? She always wore her hair on top of her head and a ponytail?
Mr.Potter: Yeah, she was a friend of yours.
Joey: Yeah...(pause) The day you were arrested, I was at school in the bathroom in one of the stalls and I overheard her talking about you. About how you were a drug dealer and how we lived in a crack house and she was laughing and, I remember, I was so upset. I ran home and I cried for hours and Dawson came over and he cheered me up. The next day I went to school and I walked up to her and I looked her straight in the eye ...and I smiled and I walked away like nothing ever happened.
Mr.Potter: Joey, I'm sorry.
Joey: No, that's not my point. People are always going to talk. That's tough and I'll always walk with my head held high and they can't crush me. And I know that you've been through a lot. You've made your mistakes, but...you're my dad. And I'm proud of you. The thing is...protecting your strength from the outside world is one thing...please don't pretend with me and I promise I won't pretend with you. (pauses, trying not to cry) But, um, I just wanted to say...I love you and I'm really glad that you're home.
(They hug and a tear rolls down Mr. Potter's face.)
Joey: Come on. I want to show my dad off to all of Capeside.
Mr.Potter: I think you were right before. When it comes to the outside world, I think we should take things slow.
Joey: But I don't care about the outside world. I care about you. There's a celebration going on and we have so much to celebrate. Come with me.
Mr.Potter: I'm not ready, Joey. Not yet.

Jen (Michelle Williams): My name is Jen Lindley. And I was friends with Abby, as much as anyone could be because Abby had a toxic personality, in fact it was almost bordering on radioactive. Abby could be cruel and Abby could be spiteful, and Abby could certainly be petty. She spent her days mischievously stirring up trouble, and creating calamity, and generally, taking pleasure in other people's pain. You know, in Sunday School, they teach us that God made Man in his image. Well, if God made Abby in his own image then what does that say about God? God has always been such a mystery to me. I mean, what kind of deity creates a world that is so full of suffering and so full of pain. I tell you what, Abby taught me a lot. She taught me how to do a tequila shooter with one hand tied behind my back, and she taught me to live life by my own set of values, and not follow the crowd, in hopes of winning some phantom popularity contest. But most of all, what's most important, is Abby taught me the sadistic nature of our God and as much as that knowledge is disturbing, it's true. And it's real. And for a world that is so saturated with phoniness and lies, for that small amount, for that little bit of honesty, I will always be grateful to her.

Andie (Meredith Monroe): Um, there are people who give me comfort in my life...who when the going gets rough, which it unbearably does, I can count on them for a shoulder to cry on. And they will pick me up when I fall, and hold me in their arms while I cry and tell me that everything is going to be alright. I am so thankful for these people, they are priceless. But there's another group of people, just as important and just as priceless...they're the people who challenge me, who push me to my breaking points, and who force me to muster courage that I never thought I had. Abby Morgan was one of those people. In her own truth-telling way, she gave me strength. I'm a much stronger woman because of her. A woman who I never thought that I could be. She gave me that gift. She was one of a kind. There's no one like her and she will always hold a special place in my heart.

Jen: When you see Belinda and her clique in the hallway, you're desperately wishing that you were walking with them, aren't you? And thinking that maybe if you were wearing the right shoes, sporting the latest hairstyle, and using the hottest shade of lip gloss, then maybe they would toss a glance in your direction. Ever wonder why they force their narrow-minded opinions down our throats? Perhaps it's because they have an inkling of what the future has in store for them beyond graduation. Cut to 25 years from now, Belinda McGovern wakes up one morning feeling empty. Maybe it's because her Dartmouth-educated lawyer husband Tad has run off to Tijuana with her daughter's roommate from boarding school. Or maybe it's because the twins, Timmy and Tommy, call her by her first name and their live-in housekeeper "Mom." Or maybe it's Belinda's daily 2:00, 5:00, 7:00, and 9:15 showdown with her bottle of Prozac. Her life has become a domestic wasteland. Avoid this fate. Don't let yourself become another cookie-cutter blonde, size 4, rah-rah-sis-bam-boom, mindless, soulless, spineless wench. Screw these auditions, screw cheerleading, and screw Belinda McGovern.

Joey: [voice over] And now that this scared little girl no longer follows me wherever I go, I miss her. I do. 'Cause there are things I wanna tell her-- to relax, to lighten up, that it is all going to be ok. I want her to know that meeting people who like you, who understand you, who actually accept you for who you are, will become an increasingly rare occurrence. Jen, Jack, Audrey, Andie, Pacey, and Dawson. These people who contributed to who I am, they are with me wherever I go, and as history gets rewritten in small ways with each passing day, my love for them only grows. Because the truth is... it was the best of times. Mistakes were made, hearts were broken, harsh lessons learned, but all of that has receded into fond memory now. How does it happen? Why are we so quick to forget the bad and romanticize the good? Maybe it's because we need to believe that the time we spent together actually meant something, that we were there for each other in a time in our lives that defined us all, a time in our lives that we will never forget. I can't swear this is exactly how it happened. But this is how it felt.

Kudos and many thanks to Randy for some of these monologues, it is very much appreciated.

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