Winthrop Prep -- 2.06 -- The Kissing Game

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who pricked her finger on a spinning wheel’s poisoned spindle and fell into a deep slumber, from which only the kiss of a handsome prince could rouse her. Wait. Cancel that. Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess with a split personality who got hit by a car driven by her presumed-dead-but-not-really-former-amnesiac-boyfriend and left in a coma, from which only the kiss of a scrawny, awkward gay could rouse her. Or, so Franklin Winters hoped when he pressed his lips against his B.F.F.’s.

Franklin: Gross. Girl germs. Okay, wake up now. Please?

Franklin: Fairytales didn’t work. Maybe I can goad you awake. You look awful. You’re not even wearing a headband. The nurses won’t let me put one on you because of the staples holding the back of your head shut.

Franklin: Didn’t work, huh? Alright. You sleep some more. I’ll stay here.

Back home, at Dalton House, Rebecca Turner was deep in thought. Noel knew something was wrong when he came home the other night to find her door chopped down and the charred stove. She’d been cagy in her answers, but when he snuck into her room and held her at night, she’d been distant, and she knew he felt that, too.

Sam: How are you?

Rebecca: Well, I haven’t killed anyone in a week, so I suppose I’m aces.

Sam: Becca…

Rebecca: Sorry. You don’t deserve that. You don’t deserve any of this awful coffee I made, either, if you have any.

Sam: Come on, can’t be any worse than the coffee you made yesterday.

Rebecca: At least I made today’s in the coffee maker and not the blender. What’s that smell?

Sam: Paint. I’ve got it all over me. I was just upstairs, putting a finishing coat on the attic.

Rebecca: Oh.

Sam: Once, I thought I was descended from a walrus. Turns out, I just needed braces.

Rebecca: Huh?

Sam: Just trying to put a smile on your face. How are you, really?

Rebecca: I can see in my dreams. At first, I thought it was a small blessing, but now, every time I close my eyes, all I see is Brian’s face. You said he can’t hurt me anymore, but that isn’t true.

Sam: If there’s anything I can do –

Rebecca: You’ll do it. I know. You proved that to me when you got rid of Brian’s body.

Ted paced the hospital halls outside of Bianca’s room. Between Bianca and Beth, he’d been spread too thin. If something didn’t give soon, he worried he would buckle under the pressure. So, he tried to pull himself together, showered in the visitors’ changing area, put on the clothes Rachel brought him from home, and when he came back, bumped into a young woman, walking her baby.

Ariel: I’m sorry. She’s a bit fussy this morning.

Ted: It’s okay. What’s this pretty lady’s name?

Ariel: Eloise. Like, in the books?

Ted: I used to read those books to my girls.

Ariel: You have daughters?

Ted: Two. Twins. I mean, I did. One of my girls, Layla, she died when she was a child. My other girl, Bianca, she’s in the ICU.

Ariel: What happened?

Ted: She was hit by a car.

Ariel: I’m so sorry.

Ted: You know, I remember when they were her size. They scared me to death. But, the thing that scared me most was that something would happen to them and I couldn’t help them.

 

Ariel: I know what you mean. Eloise burps and I almost have a heart attack, thinking I broke something.

Ted: It never really goes away. Will you have a lot of people around to help keep you sane?

Ariel: No. My parents are preoccupied by my brother’s disappearance and, even if Brian hadn’t 

run off again, they didn’t exactly support this pregnancy.

Ted: Why not?

Ariel: They didn’t approve of her father. Our coupling was improper, they said. He was a soldier, killed overseas back when I was in my first trimester. He never got to meet her and she’s never going to get to meet him.

Ted: My God, that’s awful.

Ariel: My folks, they told me if I put the baby up for adoption, I could come home. Part of me thinks it would be for the best. I’m twenty-two. I don’t know anything about babies. I don’t even have a steady job. I’m a temp. But, at the same time, I don’t think I could bear spending a minute apart from her.

Ted: Hold onto her as tightly as you can, even when she tells you it’s too tight. I made the mistake of letting my Bianca go once, because I thought it was for the best, but it was the worst mistake I’ve ever made. I missed so much time with her, time I’ll never get back.  

Ariel: Every second is precious.

Ted: What’s your name?

Ariel: Ariel Drake.

Ted: I’m going to help you out, Ariel. I’m going to write you a check, enough to get you and Eloise a place to live and to get by until you can go back to work.

Ariel: No, I couldn’t take your money. I don’t even know you.

Ted: You’ve got enough on your plate with your brother being gone and raising a newborn alone, without worrying about mortgages and food and utilities. Please? It’d give me peace of mind to know I’m helping someone when I can’t help my Bianca. 

Ariel took the check when he handed it to her, stunned by his generosity. She’d never seen so many zeroes in her life. Tearfully, she hugged Ted, and he held Eloise while she called a cab to come pick her up. And, when she was gone, he told Eloise to try not to hold it against her when she repeatedly screwed up at the parenting gig. He’d been at it for almost seventeen years, and he still wasn’t any better. If he were, Bianca wouldn’t be here.

As Ariel left, Jasper came in. Ted might not have been able to protect Bianca from him the day of the accident, but he would be damned if he let Jasper near her again.

Ted: Leave.

Jasper: Please, just let me see her.

Ted: Don’t you think you’ve hurt her enough?

Jasper: It was an accident.

Ted: You ran her over with a car trying to make a call on your cell phone! She spent ninety-three cumulative hours in surgery repairing internal damage and 

she still hasn’t regained consciousness. The doctors don’t know if she’s ever going to.  

Jasper: I wish I could take it back. I wish I could trade places with her. God, Ted, I’d lay down my life right this second if it would heal her. But, I can’t.

Ted: No, you can’t. You were careless 

and now my daughter is laying in a hospital bed, being fed by tubes and monitored for some kind of brain activity.

Jasper: I’m sorry.

Ted: Not yet, you’re not. But, if I lose another daughter? You’ll wish you’d never been born.

Jasper: I already do.

Upstairs, in the oncology wing, Rachel sat with Beth as she got her chemo treatment. It was really wiping her out, something Rachel was unnerved to see. Beth was always so strong in that quiet way of hers, but now seemed like a shadow of herself.

Beth: Hey.

Rachel: Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.

Beth: It’s fine. Has there been any change with Bianca?

Rachel: No. Maybe you shouldn’t get up.

Beth: Treatment’s done. I’ve been in that chair for hours, I need to move around.

Rachel: Do you need anything?

Beth: To throw up. What about you? Do you need anything?

Rachel: Just my daughter back. I don’t know what I’m going to do if she doesn’t wake up. This is all my fault.

Beth: No, it isn’t.

 

Rachel: It is. That day in your office when you said a real mother wouldn’t have let a man like Pete Summers around her kid, you were right. I’m an awful mother and I’m never going to have the chance to be better.

Beth: You will. Bianca is going to wake up and the two of you will fix your relationship.

Rachel: Why are you so nice to me?

Beth: I don’t have the strength to be mean to you. Anyway, you’ve let me lean on you ever since I started treatment, I guess I owe you at least five minutes of support. 

And, Rachel took her up on it. She let Beth hold her for five minutes while she cried and let all of her pent-up fear out. Then, when those five minutes were up, she pulled away.

Beth: Feel better?

Rachel: Yeah.

Beth: Good. Can I puke now?

Rachel: I’ll hold your hair back.

In the stairwell, Franklin came upon Jasper.

Franklin: Fancy meeting you here. Lurk in stairwells often?

Jasper: Ted takes the elevators. It’s as close as I can get to Bianca.

Franklin: Dude, I can’t believe you’re still alive. Alison had you the entire time?

Jasper: Yeah. I hear Rebecca’s blind and you’re out of the closet.

 

Franklin: Yep. We’re hoping once Rebecca’s eyes have had time to heal, she’ll be a candidate for surgery and can get her sight back.

Jasper: I hope so. She’s a great girl. She doesn’t deserve what happened to her.

Franklin: Have you been able to see Bianca at all since the accident?

Jasper: No.

Franklin: Maybe you’re the prince sleeping beauty needs. How about if I try to distract Ted for a few minutes? Can’t keep him gone for long, but I can probably secure a ten minute coffee run to the cafeteria.

Jasper: Really? Thanks, man.

Franklin: No problem. I know Bianca would want you there.

Rebecca sat outside, basking in the warmth of the sunlight on her face, when her cell phone rang. 

Rebecca: Hello?

Voice: Hello, Rebecca. Did you miss me?

Rebecca: It can’t be …

Voice: Our game isn’t over, Rebecca. It’s only just begun. Are you ready for round two?

Before Rebecca could stammer out an answer, the line clicked dead. She went back inside, calling for Sam, but finding Noel.

Noel: Hey, what’s wrong?

Rebecca: I need Sam. Where is he?

Noel: In the attic. What do you need Sam for? What’s going on? If you think I don’t notice the tension between the two of you, the hushed whispers, you’re wrong.

Rebecca: I need to tell you something, something you’re not going to want to hear.

Noel: I’m listening.

Rebecca: Last week, when you left for the awards dinner….

Noel: What happened?

Rebecca: I snapped. I accidentally set the kitchen on fire because I couldn’t see the stove settings and Sam came home and put it out. I had a meltdown and busted up my door out of frustration. 

Noel: Is that all?

 

Rebecca: No. Sam calmed me down and we talked for a while and … and, I kissed him.

Noel: You kissed Sam?

Rebecca: Yes.

Noel: That’s all it was, right? A kiss?

Rebecca: No.

Noel: You slept with him?

Rebecca: Yes.

Noel: Was it just the once?

Rebecca: I have feelings for him that I didn’t expect to have. I’m so sorry, Noel.

Noel: Don’t cry. Don’t you dare cry. I’ve been breaking my back trying to support you and this is how you repay me? By having sex with someone else? By telling me you think you’re falling in love with him?

Rebecca: I just needed someone and he was there. I never meant to hurt you.

Noel: Well, you failed. I’m hurt, Rebecca.

As he stormed off, Rebecca resisted the urge to go after him and tell him the truth. This hurt him – but Brian could hurt him a lot more.

Later that day, she met Sam in the courtyard before Dalton House. He was on his way to town, to get more paint. But, when he saw her crying by the fountain, he stopped.

Sam: What’s the matter?

Rebecca: Noel and I just broke up.

Sam: Why?

Rebecca: Because, I told him I slept with you.

Sam: We haven’t –

Rebecca: I know. But, I need Noel to think we did.

Sam: What for?

Rebecca: Because I got a call from Brian and his little voice distorter.

Sam: You couldn’t have.

Rebecca: I did. I don’t think he’s dead.

Sam: He’s dead. He’s super dead. I – Rebecca, I made sure of it.

Rebecca: How?

Sam: That’s how I got rid of the body. I burned it. My family owns the old crematorium. It hasn’t been operational in years, but the furnace still works. Trust me, he’s ashes, Rebecca.

Rebecca: Then, who called me?

Sam: I don’t know. Someone must know what happened that night.

Rebecca: Either way, I can’t let Noel get dragged into this.

Sam: I get it.

Behind them, Rebecca heard a door shut.

Rebecca: Is it him?

Sam: Yeah.

Rebecca: Is he watching?

Sam: He is.

Noel watched as his girlfriend – ex-girlfriend – kissed Sam Winston. Fury churned inside of him, but he didn’t let it go. Rebecca was in a bad place right now. All he ever wanted was for her to be happy and if Sam gave her some semblance of happiness, he couldn’t be selfish, as much as it was killing him to see someone else’s hands on her.

When the coast was clear, Jasper sat down in a chair by Bianca’s bed. 

Jasper: I don’t know if you can hear me or not, Binx, but I’m here. I don’t know how you’re going to feel about me when you wake up, if you’re going to hate me for hitting you with the car, if you’re going to hate me for not remembering you and spending so much time with Alison. But, I need you to wake up, even if you do hate me. Bianca, I love you more than I ever imagined it’s possible to love anyone. You're my world. If you don't wake up -- then my life's going to be over too, 'cause, see, I don't think I can live in a world that doesn't have you in it.

Just then, the door opened. Ted was standing there. He grabbed Jasper and dragged him from the room – neither of them noticing that Bianca’s finger twitched or that she moved her head ever so slightly.

Ted: What did I tell you, you son of a bitch?

Beth: Ted, please!

Franklin: I tried to keep him occupied.

Ted: You were helping him?

Rachel: Bianca needs him, too, Ted. What happened was a tragic accident.

Ted: Was Pete Summers an accident, too?

Beth: Ted!

Jasper: I didn’t mean to hurt her!

Ted: Well, you did.

Beth: Ted…

Rachel: Beth?

Ted: She would be in a psychiatric care facility getting help right now, but because of you, she’s in a coma.

Beth: Ted…I…

Beth collapsed where she stood.

Ted banished Jasper while Rachel and Franklin went to get help. He took Beth over to the couches, where she recovered somewhat.

Ted: Are you alright?

Beth: No. I’m exhausted and I’m scared. And, I know you are, too. But, that’s no reason to take it out on Jasper.

Ted: He –

Beth: I know, he was driving the car. But, this tension isn’t helping Bianca. It’s not helping me, either. I’m going through chemo and I’ve spent more time with Rachel of all people than you. Don’t you think you could focus a little of the

energy you spend projecting your self-loathing onto Jasper on helping me?

Ted: I’m sorry. I’m just so stressed.

Beth: We all are! Ted, we all love her. There’s not a person here who doesn’t want her to wake up, including Jasper. And, honestly, if it would help Bianca, I would be okay with Satan himself visiting.

Ted: You’re right. I should go talk to him.

Beth: First, you should go talk to Rachel. 

When Rachel and Franklin came back with the doctor, Ted tried to do just that, but Rachel ran off.

Franklin returned to Bianca’s room, to sit with her while World War Three fizzled beyond the glass wall.

Franklin: You always did like people fighting over you.

When he looked up, he noticed Noel, standing at the door, watching them. 

Franklin: I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere. What am I saying? You’re in a coma, where are you going?

Noel: How is she?

Franklin: No change. What’s up with you? You look like someone just killed your fish.

Noel: Rebecca and I broke up.

Franklin: Why?

Noel: Because she’s having sex with Sam. 

Franklin: He is pretty cute. I mean – what?

Noel: I don’t know what’s going on in her head right now.

Franklin: She’s found herself suddenly handicapped at such a young age. This must be hell on her.

Noel: I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have dragged you away from Bianca.

Franklin: It’s okay. You’re my friend, too.

Noel: I know. That’s why I came here, I know you’re always there to talk to.

Noel: Oh, God. I don’t know why I did that. I – I didn’t mean it. I have to go.

Franklin: Okay.

Franklin sat there in stunned silence as Noel ran away. Then, he walked, dazed and confused, to the cafeteria. He needed a shot of caffeine. He was running on fumes and clearly hallucinating…

Ted chased after his ex-wife.

Ted: Rachel, wait.

Rachel: You’re never going to forgive me, are you?

Ted: I shouldn’t have done that.

Rachel: I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I’m doing my best to make up for them.

Ted: I know that.

 

Rachel: Do you think this isn’t killing me? She’s my daughter, too! You’re just so consumed with your own grief you don’t notice anyone else’s! It’s just like it was when Layla died.

Ted: What?

Rachel: Come on, we both know that’s what ended our marriage. You shut down, you wallowed in your misery over not being able to save her, completely ignoring that your wife had just lost one of her children and that your surviving daughter lost her sister. It’s the same way now. I’m scared, 

Beth’s scared, Franklin’s scared and Jasper’s scared! But, you’re wrapped up in your own fear and taking it out on everyone else!

Ted: I’m sorry.

Rachel: I’m sorry, too.

Ted: That’s why you left?

Rachel: The Pete thing just got under my skin.

Ted: No, I mean – that’s why you left our marriage?

Rachel: I couldn’t take it anymore. Everything in that house was a constant reminder of Layla, and you were gone. Your body was there, but you weren’t. Not like Bianca and I needed.

Ted: I thought it was because you didn’t love me.

Rachel: I didn’t love Pete. I didn’t love any of them, just their money and the way they made me feel. But, I loved you, Ted. You’re the only man I’ve ever loved and I’ll probably die still loving you.

For the first time in so long, Ted saw that girl he first fell in love with, before she became a hardened shell of a woman. He knew it was wrong, but he pulled her to him and kissed her. 

Bianca opened her eyes. Weakly, she threw her legs over the side of the bed and yanked out her IV. 

 

Bianca: Jasper?

She thought she heard people fighting earlier, but there was no one out here now. Where was everyone? Had she imagined she’d heard Jasper?

On the helipad, Jasper looked out on Sunset Valley. So much had happened. The explosion, his father’s death, his amnesia, Bianca’s personality problems, now this. None of these things happened before they got together. What if he was a curse on her?

Bianca: Jasper?

He heard the frail voice behind him, but didn’t believe it. Still, he willed himself to turn around and see her. She was really there.

Jasper: Binx?

Bianca: Is it really you?

Jasper: It’s me.

Bianca: You died. I picked the wrong cabin and you died. How are you here?

Jasper: It doesn't matter. All that matters is we're together again.

Bianca: Everything’s all messed up in my head right now.

Jasper: Maybe we should go get you a doctor.

Bianca: Ow, God, it hurts to breathe.

Jasper: You’ve got a few broken ribs from the accident. I need to tell you something –

Bianca: You hit me with a car.

Jasper: You remember?

Bianca: No, but I heard you. In my room? I tried to talk, but I couldn’t. 

Jasper: I need you to know that I didn’t mean to hurt you. And, if you hate me –

Bianca: Hush. I forgive you. You could've squished me with a UFO and I don’t think I could be mad at you right now. I’ve missed you too much.

Jasper: Bianca, I –

Bianca: Me, first? You told me a dozen different times without saying a word. Let me do it now. I love you, Jasper.

Jasper: Oh, Bianca. I love you, too. 

He kissed her like he’d never kissed her before, and when her knees went weak, he hoped it was his kiss, but he knew it was because she was still so very weak. So, he scooped her up in his arms. 

Bianca: Gentle, Mancini. I’m not a toy. Those ribs that were broken two minutes ago? Still broken.

Jasper: I’ll take you back to your room.

Bianca: Don’t let me go.

Jasper: I’m never letting you go again.