Work Text:
“I love you”
Characters:
M and Y
Friends/party goers
A black screen displaying the name of the short in white writing. The writing fades away until there’s only a black screen. The black screen disappears and the bedroom set is displayed, the transition is like flipping on a light accompanied by the sound of a door latching shut. M and Y are standing in the room the camera follows Y as she nervously walks further from the door into the room, closer to M.
Y: I love you
M: (laughing a bit awkwardly) is that why you dragged me upstairs? but I— other people will be arriving soon and I really shou-
M pushes past Y to the door but is stoped and whirled round to face Y in the eyes. The mood becomes a lot more serious.
Y: (more meaningfully and with a pressing yet hopeful look) I love you
The camera jumps stays on Y as the hopeful face sets in and then jumps to M:
M: (hurt and angry) No. you don’t.
The camera cuts to Y as her eyes well up with tears
Y: but-
Camera cuts back to M to see her eyes also tearing up but with anguish instead of despair. The rest of this scene can be filmed per producer/director in a similar fashion.
M: No. you don’t get to do this, not now.
Y: do what? Love you?
M: shut up-
Y: No, you can’t just go around denying others feelings.
M: like you denied my feelings two years ago
Y: it wasn’t like that and you know it
M: oh what was it like then? Because I seem to remember you saying those words to me, over and over, but when the time came for you to share your so called love for me as I shared mine for you, you made me out to be some crazy person. Like I’d made the whole thing up in my head. That the whole thing was fake, and in retrospect from your point of view it was. Your feelings were never real then and they aren’t real now.
Y: Maggie, I’m sorry-
M: (very angry w/tears) NO. Don’t you dare say that to me. do NOT apologize to me now. do NOT say that you love me now. I have loved you and you have used me. From day fucking one.
Y: (sobbing) I never meant to hurt you, I just wasn’t ready
M: well too bad, if you weren’t ready then why did you…you were the one who suggested we tell them in the first place. (Resolve is starting to break)
Y: I didn’t know. Until we were there, and I saw the humorous look in their eyes, like they were waiting for the “we got ya, you’ve been pranked” banner to fall from your dining room archway.
M: but then you gave them what they’d wanted, you made it into a big joke, made me look like a fool. I’m done playing jester for your court your highness. I won’t fall for being the butt of yet another one of your jokes.
Y: BUT IM NOT JOKING… I never was, I love you.
M: as you keep saying (sarcastic)
Y: I love you and you know it. You can give your big “it was all a joke to you”speech but deep down you know I’ve always loved you. And I don’t thing you’ve ever stopped loving me.
M: I-
Y: just as I never stopped loving you
M starts to cry soft tears and Y embraces her ash she cries. The shot fades to black then fades back in, the girls are now sat in the end of the bed, Y wipes off the last of M’s tears. It’s clear via incoherent voices during blackout and fade in that they’ve been talking and have gotten back together.
Y: I love you
M: I know…
Y chuckles
M: I love you
Y: I know, and no matter how long it takes, I’ll work to ensure I’m worthy of that.
M: I know you will, it’s just…exhausting.
Y looks at M questioningly, as if telling her “go on”
M: keeping it from everyone
Y: well what if we don’t have to
M: (quickly) I don’t want to force that onto you, (calmer) we’ve come so far and I don’t want to lose that because of this situation…AGAIN.
Y: you know sitting with you, talking right now, is the happiest I’ve been since the incident. Before then I thought the scariest thing that could possibly happen was our friends finding out, but as it turns out I’m more scared of losing you.
M: You’ll never loose me fully, but you need to communicate better, just talk to me! (Beat) Look, even if we don’t tell them anytime soon at least we’ll have each other, and we get back our secret moments.
Y: I don’t WANT the secret moments, I just want you. I want you in the park, at school, grabbing coffee, at Christmas, at thanksgiving, at high school reunions. I want it all, with you.
M: so you really think your ready?
Y: Heck, at this point I might be more ready than you.
M: Ok then it’s settled! Sometime soon, we’ll have to organize something…
Y: No, no more waiting. We’re doing this tonight.
M: tonight!? You sure?
Y: so sure, let’s do this.
M: I love you
Y: I love you too…and IM going first this time.
M: damn straight, and I won’t leave you hanging.
Y: I’m counting on it
The shot cuts to black accompanied by the sound of the doorbell, then the party shot fades in accompanied by sounds of distant chatter, excitement, and music. And we see Y and M underneath the TV.
Y: doing the tink tink tink thing on their glass. Look its around 1 minute to midnight and I just cannot go into the new year without telling you, my friends, that I am in love.
Faint whoops and sounds of happiness can be heard from the party, Y pulls M into their side
Y: I am in love with this woman right here (turns to look into M’s eyes) I love you.
M: I love you too
Cheering can be heard surrounding the announcement but also some laughter and confused even rude discussion can be heard but goes ignored by m and y. The countdown begins at 5.
Group: 5…4…3…2…1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
M can be seen pulling Y into a kiss and the camera zooms in on them, it then pans around them 360 style and all guests are gone to simulate that their in their own little world. They smile, foreheads pressed against each others, cut to black
Fade in back to bedroom panning from door to over the bed, we see a messy room with tissues and empty chocolate boxes lying around, M waking up eyes wide and face sweaty. Breathing heavily as she realizes that it was all a dream. She pulls a pillow from her side and…
M: F*CK! (Screamed into pillow)
Cut to black and roll credits