But for now, we tell the tale of a distant first kiss

EXT.  PARK -- EVENING
Travis sits on stone steps, it's a quiet, nice spot.  He looks at his laptop, closes his eyes, and breathes deep.
FX- A couple comes into focus as Travis slowly types.
TRENT
I'm really glad I met you.
MISSY
Me too.
TRENT
You look really pretty.
MISSY
Thanks, I really like your shirt.
Trent and Missy lock eyes.  And slowly move in to kiss, all of a sudden Missy turns, and starts to walk away.
FX- Trent and Missy morph into a younger Travis and Megan
Megan sits next to Travis.

MEGAN
I miss you sometimes.
TRAVIS
Only sometimes?
MEGAN
You know what I mean, don't be a dick.
TRAVIS
I can't believe you found me here.
MEGAN
It's our spot isn't it?  Our first kiss.
TRAVIS
Except how we didn't actually kiss here.
MEGAN
That was your idea.  You said it was more romantic.  I had no problems telling people our first kiss was in a movie theater lobby.
TRAVIS
So is this a desperate attempt to get me back, because I have to say, you could of worked on a better speech.
MEGAN
You were so nervous, and right after you just looked at me.  God I still remember blushing when you just got this devastated look in your eye, and said-
TRAVIS
I'm in trouble.
FX- Megan disappears
Travis stares at the people all around him, the busy street coming back to life.

The Future

I'm about to take romantic comedies to the next level....

Stay tuned.

The realization of a daydream

EXT. GRANDFATHER'S HOUSE -- NIGHT
Travis walks slowly to the house, and see's Megan.  There is a long beat.
TRAVIS
You know, you daydream, and you practice this moment in your head again and again until you have it perfectly figured out, and yet, all I can come up with is: Hi.
MEGAN
You look good.
TRAVIS
Do I?  I've been drinking.
MEGAN
That sounds about right.
TRAVIS
I'm sure you didn't come all this way to pick a fight.  What do you want?
MEGAN
You.
TRAVIS
You had me.
MEGAN
I screwed up.
Travis takes a cigarette, lights it and and puts it out on his arm.  He winces in pain, and that starts to laugh.  Megan doesn't say anything she just looks on confused.
TRAVIS
This just figures. 
MEGAN
Um, okay.
TRAVIS
You would think I would be dreaming, but I'm not.  But I have new lovely scar story to tell people at least.
MEGAN
This was a bad idea.
TRAVIS
Funny, I should have said that many a year ago.
Megan grabs his hand, leans over and kisses where the cigarette went out, looks up at Travis and locks eyes with him.  Travis's is clearly confused.
TRAVIS
God damn it. 
Travis kisses Megan.
TRAVIS
This isn't right.

A Tragic Flaw

Heres a new treat from the screenplay in progress. Very rarely do I feel like i perfectly nail something on draft one, but I guess the Gods were smiling on me today. It's based on something someone told me anywho, here goes





EXT. MATT'S APARTMENT -- AFTERNOON
Matt and Travis sit on his front stoop with a basketball, having just returned from playing.
MATT
That was almost embarrassing.
TRAVIS
I haven't played since 8th grade.  Don't flatter yourself, it wasn't that big of an accomplishment.
MATT
Hey, I'll take my victories where I can get them. 
TRAVIS
Nice standards you have there.
MATT
You want to stay for dinner?
TRAVIS
Emma's kind of a crappy cook.
MATT
It's an acquired taste.  You need a less sensitive pallet to fully appreciate the subtleties.
TRAVIS
So is that what happens when the ring goes on the finger?  You start making elaborate excuses for the shortcomings of your partner.
MATT
Something like that.
TRAVIS
It's nice isn't it?
MATT
It really kind of is.
TRAVIS
I bet.
MATT
All that time with the same woman, and you never get married.  Christ, that is not the Travis Dillinger that left.
TRAVIS
I had the ring a week before I left. 
MATT
How come you didn't.
TRAVIS
I never wanted it to be a patch.  I was waiting for smooth sailing.
MATT
And you couldn't get out of rough waters?
TRAVIS
You know, I'm gonna stop the sailing metaphor right now, because, frankly, I got nothing else there.  We fought a lot.
MATT
Who doesn't?
TRAVIS
Happy people?
MATT
Do you miss her?
TRAVIS
You know, I shouldn't. 
MATT
Why not?
TRAVIS
Because she gave me some pretty decent reasons not to, but I keep thinking that maybe this is all just a bad dream.  That she's going to be there when I get home one day.  Apologizing and it will be A-OK.
MATT
It's pretty to think so, isn't it?
TRAVIS
I guess so.
MATT
So, this new girl.
TRAVIS
She's nothing special.
MATT
Then why are you spending so much time with her?
TRAVIS
I'm kind of low on friendly faces these days, plus she has a great body.
MATT
So she isn't your next Little Red Hair Girl?
TRAVIS
What?
MATT
We may not have been that close before Travis, but you are an easy person to read.  We all knew you.  Your happiness depends on having that girl in your life.
TRAVIS
I don't think I've ever dated a red head.
MATT
Really?
TRAVIS
I kind of dig them too, I guess the odds never worked in my favor.
MATT
Yeah, you kind of stuck to the brunettes.
TRAVIS
No I didn't.
MATT
What color is her hair?
Travis gets a sudden quick revelation.
TRAVIS
Okay, so apparently I have a type, but it isn't like that with this one.
MATT
If you say so. 
TRAVIS
I don't know.  It's not bad, I guess, but it's just not knock me on my ass amazing.
(Pause)
I had that with Megan.  I could say a million bad things about her, but I had that with her from moment one. 
MATT
Yeah, well maybe if you play nice, she'll dye her hair or wear a wig.

The title derived

Emily Sinclair could run the whole gamut of emotions on me. Every day brought with it a new adjective. Sundays were reserved for total abhorrence, Thursdays lust, and Mondays bafflement. On this particular day, I was madly in love with her, it must have been a Tuesday.

A Hero's Welcome

FADE IN:
INT. AIRPORT -- NIGHT
TRAVIS
Anxious, defeated, these words were alien to Travis Dillinger. This was a man at the top of his game, the pinnacle of his life.
INT. AIRPLANE -- LATER
Travis sits alone on the airplane. Looking disheveled.
INT. AIRPORT -- LATE NIGHT
Travis gets off the airport and surveys the scene. He is surrounded by people, all ecstatic to see him
TRAVIS
Upon stepping through the gate, he received the heroes welcome, but even war heroes didn't get such a warm reception. The balloons, the fans, friends, family. They were all there. Even she was there.
MEGAN
Hey. Look, I know-
TRAVIS
Megan, I don't-
MEGAN
It'll be different this time. I'll help you. I'll be your muse, your inspiration. I love you Travis. Always have, always will.
TRAVIS
I love you too.
Travis and Megan kiss. All of a sudden Travis backs off.
TRAVIS
This isn't right.
FX - The scene is ripped. A piece of paper being ripped apart. Pieces of the shot are gone in swift, fluid motions, replaced by white.
INT. AIRPLANE -- NIGHT
Travis stares looking at a blank page in a note book. Then peers out the window.
INT. AIRPORT -- EVENING
Travis steps off the plane, shoeless.
INT. AIRPORT -- MOMENTS LATER
Travis, with a pair of brown penny loafers on his feet, walks to baggage claim. One by one the crowd disperses until it is just Travis, and his lone bag circling the carousel.

Bailey (Prose from when I was 18)

You wake up. Head throbbing. Mouth dry. Clothed only in boxers. The most stunningly beautiful person in any world is snuggled up tight against you. She purrs softly: fast asleep. This is your life, Kyle Blake. You arm doesn’t dare move. Despite a few minor details, the memory of the past night remains in tact. Nothing happened. You fell asleep spooning with you best friend. The only person in the world that you give a fuck about, her skins pressed into yours. The meshed hands, intertwined legs. This is Kyle’s wake up call
You attempt to get up, but reality, sobriety keep you there. Marissa would kill you if she saw this. She’d go to the kitchen, grab a knife and cut off your balls. She would take the ice pick and chip, chip, chip away at your dick. Drew and Riley, they would tell you it’s about fucking time. Give you high-fives. Nothing happened. You saw into each others souls and fell asleep all over cheap beer. This was just another Thursday night to you two. You’ve had hundreds of these. This was the norm. The average. This is your Friday morning Kyle.
10:42. You’ve been awake for sixty-three minutes, fifteen seconds. Head still throbbing. At least you can count on your headaches to stick with you. A yawn invades your body. Starting at your nicotine-stained teeth down your callous tongue, all the way to your horrifically empty stomach. An impulse hits your overworked and under-paid brain. It goes straight to your heart. Emotion, logic’s distant, retarded cousin, hits you out of nowhere. Like a brick to your back. It’s been awhile. If you could remember the last time you felt anything, if ever, you could recognize it easier. Apathy is the new ecstasy. A heavy sigh drops to your long-winded lungs. Your lips slowly tremble and move to the sea of peach. Nerves conquer you. You feel the skin against your slightly quivering lips. Suddenly your twelve all over. Your second first kiss. You hit her on her neck. Contact. The brain sends an emergency signal. S.O.S. 911! Help, somebody. God, please! Stop! If only you had a choice. The heart intercepts the message and destroys it. You move to her lips. You free your arm. It’s half asleep. Pins and needles. The first thing it feels is Goddess Bailey’s soft skin. A light brush on the cheek. A shock down your spine. Close your desolate eyes. Breathe in. Take the plunge. Lip to lip. Soul to soul. You’re twelve again. Butterfly-infested stomach. Your second first kiss.
The blonde responds warmly. It must be a dream, she must be fast asleep. They must be sixteen. They must be crazy still, back at the old nuthouse. That’s what she dreams of every night. Her nightly visit of perfection. In her dreams, she’s married with two completely neurotic kids. Her husband couldn’t be more amazing. In her fantasyland, Disney World, Never-never land, she’s with him. She can feel his lips. Slowly and stealthily her tongue advances into foreign territory. It feels so real, so right, so perfect, but it’s over in an instant. Before it ever started, it was decimated and demolished. An eternity in a moment. She keeps her lips slightly ajar. The words, “I love you Kyle” escape without warning. Kyle Blake, this is your true love.
You ears hear this. It travels up to cranial territory and your aortic pump simultaneously. Another battle, this time for all the marbles. Double or nothing. The words, “I love you too Bay” shoot up out of the lowest crevice of your heart. They blast out of your mouth like a loaded canon. Your brain finally comes back from his coffee break. Mocha Java Espresso. Fully aware. Shock and awe. Rejuvenated. It’s over. You stop. An eternity in a moment. Sixty two seconds. You’re twelve. You’re sixteen. You’re twenty-one. Kyle Blake, this is your wake up call.

December 25th, 1992. A little 9-year-old boy sits playing with his new Ninja Turtles. Dressed in a black suit that was 2 sizes two big, he sat there looking at Space Explorer Leonardo. Bebop was about to get the living pulp beaten out of him. Smash. Bam. Pow. Master Splinter would love watching his little protégé beat the living snot out of the evil crony. Unfortunately for little Kyle, Santa didn’t bring him a Splinter figure. K Mart must have been out of them. In fists of fury and rage, a button goes flying off of Kyle’s suit jacket and on to the hard would floor in the dining room.

Lady Blake, queen of the castle, just sighed and said, “Kyle, be more careful”. It was a hectic day for the domestic goddess. The house was filling with a plethora of aromas. Burning Clove. Garlic. Turkey, potatoes, beats, all wafting in from the kitchen. The smell of snow mixed with the exhaust from a car come sneaking in through the cracked window. Jimmy Stewart on the television. It’s a Wonderful Life, what a picture perfect lie. The loud sounds of Bing Crosby crooning along to, “White Christmas’ stormed in from the same cracked window.

A moment passes and the doorbell chimes in. Ding-dong. Drab and devoid of any character. Little Kyle’s mother halts the preparations for her seven-course grand feast. The lovely hostess, the mistress of the manor, opens the royal gates after a slight moment of hesitation. To her amazement, a group of five carolers, three men and two women, start their tone-deaf rendition of, “The First Noel”. Queen Blake called for her adoring king to come quick.

Lord Blake, with his gruff but lovable voice asks what the trouble is from a far. “Just come”, she yells at him. From the distance the alpha Blake appears. Dressed in rugged blue jeans that had started to wear, and a black/red flannel shirt, straight out of an L.L. Bean catalogue. His sleeves were rolled to show off his hair arms as well as the fact that he had been hard at work. The couple stood there listening intently, smiling, feeling total bliss until the final word of “Jingle Bells”. The carolers left as quickly as they arrived. The man picked up his petite wife and kissed her warmly. The scratch from his five o’clock shadow was sure to itch at his wife’s silky porcelain skin. Her cheeks turned brick red. Like a virginal schoolgirl, she told her lover, “not in front of Kyle”.

Pre-pubescent Kyle stuck his tongue out with a mild, “ick”. In a few years he would get what it was all about. He’d learn all about sex from his school yard chums. He’ll see a girl’s privates from playing doctor with little Sarah Becker, the girl down the street. They rode the bus home together every day. It was her idea, Kyle just went with the flow.

Twenty-something Kyle wondered what happened to Sarah. What she was doing, how big her tits were, and how many guys she let fuck her. After snapping back into reality, he brought his girlfriend into his bedroom. He would stick his tongue in her with a mild, “slurp”. He knew what it was all about, all the joys of physical contact with girls. His buddies taught him all about it in fifth grade. He would play, “Twister” with her for an our, touching every skin cell on her body. Twisting and turning. Fun for the whole family, at least Kyle’s. Kyle was the only Blake left alive.

The overture ends. The curtian rises, and out steps Emma. Emma, the quirky friend. Emma, the girl with personality. Emma, the funny one. Emma, the ruiner. She walks into the coffee place, somewhere in the background. She walks three steps stage left, and somehow trancends into center stage.

Art

You know why we're artists?

Why?

Because we have no idea who the hell we are.

The worst place to be

The worst place I could possibly be when I hear a gun shot, taking a piss. I could have been down there, in the middle of the action. I could have stopped the gunman after they did it. I could have dived in front of that bullet. But, no, I'm standing here in front of 80 lbs of porcelain, and I jump and hit the bowl mid-stream.


Immediately I think to myself. Oh god, I hope it didn't hit Kathryn. I know it's aweful to only think of my girlfriend, but in my defense, I only met her family forty-five minutes ago. Of all the weekends I pick to propose to her, I pick this one. It was bad enough that this is the first time the hopefully future in laws, but the shot. That really is going to put a damper in my plans.

I don't bother to clean up, and I pray that doesn't come back to bite me in the ass. With all that I assume is happening, i think a piss mark on the toilet seat is the least of their concerns. Plus, i can always blame it on somebody else. 

I head downstairs, after what I can only assume has been three hours, but realistically is only a minute, and the first think i notice is the back of Kathryn's head. Cries, gasps, sirens, they all get fainter. By the time I reach the bottom of the stairs everybody is gone, and I wonder how all of that could seemingly happen so quickly.... 

Betting

Look, I came here and as much as I want to  have this grand romantic speech to sweep you off your feet, I don't. But heres my pitch: I know I'm not a safe bet, I know I'm not anything close to a good bet, but deep down, I'm an okay guy, and I think somebody should bet on me in the long run. I was pretty much hoping that would be you.

The trouble with muses.

They leave you so god damn speechless. They can inspire you to write all this great stuff about everything under the sun, but when it comes to writing about them, you come up with nothing. Even the greatest of minds have problems putting into words the truly awesome parts of life. 

The best stories come from real life.

 
INT. KALLIOPE'S APARTMENT -- EVENING
A few sheets of papers slide under the door. There is a post it attached.
TRAVIS
You wanted to know what happened. I figured I would let you be the first person to know.
Kalliope peels the post it off and starts to read the story. As she reads we see the action play out. This is different from Travis's narrations. The scene is set, unchangeable, not being built as it is written.
INT. CODY'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT
KALLIOPE
Quitting a few beers ahead of schedule, Cody walked back to the cramped third floor apartment he built his world around. He threw his keys on the coffee table, and kicked his shoes off wherever they landed. When he heard a noise. A noise that shouldn't have surprised him, and he knew he shouldn't investigate. If only he had turned around, gone back to the bar, and finished his drinks.
The scene is now fully Cody's. Kalliope's voice drops out and we watch the action play out.
Cody hears moans, and slowly approaches the bedroom. He sees his girlfriend, Kate, having sex with some guy. Kate sees Cody, stops. The guy grabs his things, and starts to get dressed. Cody walks to the kitchen, pours himself a drink. Kate comes out crying.
KATE
Cody?
CODY
Who is he?
KATE
We met at the-
CODY
Actually, I don't care.
KATE
I'm sorry.
CODY
No you aren't.
KALLIOPE
He took a sip of his courage. Mulled over his next action. And set about to make the situation worse.
CODY
It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea.
KATE
What are you doing?
CODY
That a maiden there lived whom-
KATE
(Crying hysetically)
Cody, stop. Please. Don't.
CODY
(Calmly)
That a maiden there lived whom you may know by the name of Annabel Lee. And this maiden lived with no other though than to love and be loved by me.
The guy walks out in the middle of this, Cody locks eyes with him, and continues.
CODY
I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea.
GUY leaves, Cody goes back to looking at Kate.
CODY
But we loved with a love that was more than love. I and my Anabel Lee.
INT. KALLIOPE'S APARTMENT -- CONTINUOUS
Kalliope finishes. Looks genuinely touched. The first real show of emotion we get from her harder shell. She goes for her cell phone.
KALLIOPE
I'm sorry.
TRAVIS
Me too.
KALLIOPE
Annabel Lee huh?
TRAVIS
What are you talking about? Didn't I change that to be Daffodils by Wordsworth.
KALLIOPE
Apparently not.
TRAVIS
Oh. Well that was her favorite poem. Annabel Lee. Her name is still Kate right?
KALLIOPE
Yeah. Why?
TRAVIS
That was her middle name. I was just hoping I didn't subconsciously make it her first name.
KALLIOPE
Oh. Ok.
TRAVIS
I'm fine. Don't worry. I just wanted you to know.

Ruined

Kalliope: So what happened?

Travis: I don't know. I've always had this image in my head that all the great love stories. Rick and Ilsa, Sid and Nancy, Gatsby and Daisy, they all just ruined each other. They just totaly fucked up every fiber of each other's being. They were beautifuly miserable with each other, but without, that was a massacre. To me, that's what love is. So, I guess that belief really is what happened to us.


*Update 09/30
This is no longer between Travis/Kalliope and is much more tightly written. 

It starts.

"I was madly in love with her, it must have been a Tuesday"


More to come soon.