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Theodore Screenplay by Hannah Richardson

1 Introduction When I was given the choice to write in whatever genre and style I wanted I knew I had to do a screenplay The sequence of crafting and creating something that could be brought to life on screen is everything Film is something I ve been passionate about for a long time now and writing my first screenplay was a riveting experience It was tough at times trying to get the format correct and it was a little more time consuming to write than a regular story would be but it was well worth it This story Theodore is about two strangers meeting on a chilly night and connecting Theodore is 22 and drifting unsure of what to do with his life after a mysterious event turned his world upside down He likes to keep to himself nowadays but when he meets Willow he tries hard to fight that part of himself Willow is a sarcastic college student who lives with her best friend Margot She won t hesitate to tell you like it is which startles and intrigues Theodore Once they start talking it s hard for them to stop but this is not by any means a love story The length of this script puts it at about the exact length a short film would be which is what I was going for I m so thrilled with how it turned out Theodore went through many stages and revisions and I m happy to say this is my favorite one I hope you like this story and thank you in advance for reading

2 Black on white credits roll and the title fades in and then out after a moment FADE IN The nighttime scenery of a small town flows on screen to the song The Night We Met by Lord Huron We can see snowflakes beginning to fall The focus turns to a WOMAN named WILLOW early 20s running Her dark hair is pulled back into a ponytail and she is dressed for the Winter in a black puffer jacket thick pants running shoes and a scarf It then shows a lanky MAN named THEODORE early 20s with floppy dark hair sitting on a park bench He is wearing a gray and black flannel that s unbuttoned with a white shirt underneath and black Doc Martens We can see a skateboard sitting by the bench The screen goes back to Willow running and then coming to a halt when she sees Theodore You can see her breathe because it s cold A MALE VOICE begins to speak to us NARRATOR V O Willow has been going on night runs for a long time but she had never seen him before A montage of Willow seeing Theodore about four more times on different runs begins The music slowly fades as Willow sees Theodore again and decides to go off her usual path and turns to run towards him She comes to a halt by the bench Theodore has earbuds in and looks miles away She waves her hands so he ll look over and see her When he does he takes one earbud out and looks at her WILLOW HESITANT AT FIRST Um hi I don t want to be rude especially if you re just a normal person sitting on a bench but every day this week you ve been here when I go on my run It s getting a little creepy Theodore looks nervous and seems flustered at her statement THEODORE SOFTLY I m sorry I m not trying to be creepy

3 WILLOW All right What are you trying to be then Theodore brings his legs up onto the bench and hugs them THEODORE SOFTLY I m just trying to listen to music That s all WILLOW Please just tell me you re not a stalker THEODORE I m not stalking you WILLOW Why should I believe that Theodore huffs THEODORE Can you just leave me alone WILLOW Well if you re not gonna tell me do you mind if I sit down I have nowhere to be tonight But you probably already knew that Willow sits down on the bench Theodore is on and he scoots away from her It s quiet for a moment THEODORE QUIETLY I m homeless This is just a place I decided to be for a little while Willow is quiet for a second after that WILLOW Oh Shit I m sorry For how long

4 THEODORE SOFTLY You don t have to fake sympathy we don t know each other Willow furrows her brow with concern looking at Theodore WILLOW You must be so cold sitting out here all the time Theodore shrugs his shoulders THEODORE It s not so bad WILLOW HESITANTLY Look I was thinking about going to this coffee shop a few blocks down if you want to come I can buy you a warm drink Theodore looks at her with a why in the world would you ask me that expression THEODORE You were just accusing me of being your stalker and now you want me to go get coffee with you WILLOW It s miserable out here and I know you re freezing Plus on the off chance that you are in fact a stalker there s less of a chance that you ll try anything in a public place Theodore sits there for a moment THEODORE SOFTLY Okay Willow gets up and starts walking down the street Theodore keeping a little distance between them as he skateboards He still has one earbud in

5 As the shot is panning up away from them we can hear them introducing themselves WILLOW O S I m Willow THEODORE O S Theodore CUT TO COFFEE SHOP NIGHT Theodore and Willow are sitting down at their table with drinks in their hands The place is warmly lit it s a cozy atmosphere with quiet instrumental music playing in the background There s only a few people in there Theodore still has one earbud in The two sit there in awkward silence for a moment WILLOW Well this is a little weird isn t it THEODORE Yea a little bit WILLOW I forgot to tell you earlier but I love your shoes Theodore looks down at his Doc Martens that are in horrible condition THEODORE Thank you WILLOW My roommate has a pair kinda like them I tried to wear them once but I can t pull them off THEODORE I m sure you looked fine in them WILLOW Right you probably saw me in them you being my stalker and all

6 She says this in a joking manner Theodore smiles slightly not liking what she said too much WILLOW Alright alright I ll take your word for it for now They both laugh They start talking as the shot pans out and the song Chamber of Reflection by Mac DeMarco starts to play CUT TO COFFEE SHOP NIGHT We can assume they ve been talking for a little bit now and seem to be enjoying each other s company WILLOW So since you re a Cancer you must cry a lot or something right Or is that stereotype not true THEODORE I don t know too much about astrology but I don t know it seems like I do cry more than the average male would WILLOW I actually think that s good because most guys are just dicks for no reason It s nice to hear you admitting that you feel THEODORE It s frustrating sometimes Like It s I always catch myself caring so much about some little thing that shouldn t even matter that much but it does in my mind no matter how hard I try to tell myself not to care about it Plus Titanic makes me cry like a baby Willow nods her head

7 WILLOW I ve definitely felt that feeling before Thankfully not all the time though Scorpio perks Willow winks at Theodore jokingly and he lets out a nervous laugh WILLOW Are you okay You re really fidgety THEODORE Yeah it s just been a long time since I ve talked to someone this much WILLOW I can tell THEODORE Sorry about that I prefer my own company most of the time WILLOW I knew it The way you dress and I don t know just your whole vibe gives that away There s silence for a moment We can see Willow looking at Theodore s earbud that has been in his ear all night WILLOW So what have you been listening to THEODORE What Willow points at her ear referencing his earbud THEODORE Oh right He takes it out

8 THEODORE Having music playing sometimes helps me focus but yea I listen to a lot of different stuff I used to work at this old vintage record store so I discovered a lot of older artists that I probably wouldn t have otherwise Theodore hands Willow one of his earbuds so she can listen and she puts it in Theodore s hands are shaky She listens for a moment and we can tell she likes it as she slowly bops her head to it WILLOW So you worked at a record store That is so sick such a dream job How come you don t have it anymore Theodore is suddenly distracted now as a lot more people walk into the coffee shop His body language starts to get more fidgety than it already was His foot is tapping and he can barely sit still His breathing is a little heavy WILLOW O S Are you good THEODORE No um I I think I better go He grabs his coffee and starts getting up Willow grabs his arm to make him wait a moment He quickly jumps away from her touch and she retracts her arm Theodore all but runs out of the coffee shop WILLOW Doesn t like physical touch noted Willow gets up to go after him CUT TO OUTSIDE THE COFFEE SHOP NIGHT Theodore is running out of the coffee shop door and keeps running across the street to a building he can lean on He is breathing heavily and suddenly that turns to a low growl and his

9 iris turn gold Soon Willow comes out of the coffee shop over to Theodore We can see him try to compose himself WILLOW Hey are you good What happened in there THEODORE Panic attack I get them out of nowhere sometimes Nothing to worry about His breathing is still labored He resigns himself to the ground running his hand through his hair After a moment Willow sits beside him WILLOW So no offense but you look like shit Your clothes are gross your hair s greasy you obviously could use a good night s sleep THEODORE Thanks WILLOW Would you want to crash at my house Theodore looks very surprised by this THEODORE You would do that Willow s eyes soften WILLOW Of course Theodore smiles They both start getting up CUT TO ROAD NIGHT Willow and Theodore are walking to Willow s house The only sound is their footsteps Theodore is carrying his skateboard He doesn t have his earbuds in

10 THEODORE So do you only go on runs at night WILLOW Yes THEODORE How come This question seems to close off Willow a bit WILLOW I just do Silence THEODORE I didn t mean to upset you WILLOW No it s fine I ll ask you a question now If it s too personal you definitely don t have to answer THEODORE Alright WILLOW Why are you homeless Silence for a moment THEODORE Some stuff happened a few months ago and I had to drop out of college and that s also when I lost my job WILLOW Damn so you lost everything just all of a sudden Theodore looks off into the distance He wants to say more to her but doesn t It s deeper than he s letting on

11 THEODORE Pretty much WILLOW Can you not find any other job THEODORE Not in this town WILLOW So why are you here then THEODORE The population Willow gives him a questioning look confused by what he means by that THEODORE There s not as many people here as in the city I like it WILLOW So you lost your job and became anti social or something THEODORE Something like that Silence They keep walking THEODORE So what do you do are you employed WILLOW I m a college student online studying psychology and I sometimes work the night shift at a diner Theodore glances over at her with an amused smile THEODORE So you re anti social or something

12 Willow laughs WILLOW Something like that CUT TO WILLOW S HOUSE MORNING MARGOT Willow s roommate a woman in her 20s is just waking up and walking out of her room She has bed head and yawns She is heading to the kitchen and starts pouring herself a cup of coffee In her drowsy state she doesn t see Theodore sitting at the island quietly with a cup of coffee in front of him He takes a sip It should also be noted that Theodore is purposely sitting where no sun rays can hit him He also has wet hair from a shower He looks much better Margot stops what she s doing when she hears him behind her and slowly turns around Her eyes widen when she sees this stranger She smiles nervously MARGOT Um hi THEODORE Hello MARGOT Who are you THEODORE I m MARGOT SLIGHTLY RAISED VOICE Willow where are you I think you should know that there s a stranger in the house Willow walks into the kitchen soon after Margot says this She looks over at Theodore and we can see her do a double take He cleans up nice She quickly focuses WILLOW No need to get all crazy Margot Meet Theodore Theodore this is my roommate and best friend Margot

13 Theodore smiles an adorable smile at Margot that she doesn t return THEODORE It s nice to meet youMargot ignores Theodore and grabs Willow s arm steering her out of the kitchen and ear shot of Theodore CUT TO BATHROOM DAY Margot closes the bathroom door letting go of Willow s arm MARGOT WHISPERING Who is that strange man WILLOW Margot calm down it s not a big deal okay We met last night He needs help MARGOT And What does he need help with WILLOW He s homeless I told him he could crash here Margot throws her arms in the air in frustration MARGOT WHISPER YELLING This isn t a homeless shelter You do realize he could have killed us in our sleep last night right What were you thinking bringing him here when you don t even know him WILLOW I know he seems a bit strange or whatever and I don t know him completely but we talked a lot last night and he seems nice God why are you acting like such a mom

14 Margot raises her eyebrow at Willow and looks at her for a moment Suddenly her face lights up with realization MARGOT STILL WHISPERING Oh my god you hooked up with him didn t you WILLOW Margot what the hell no I didn t hook up with him He slept on the couch Margot smirks at her MARGOT Mhm sure keep your secrets I wouldn t blame you anyway he s hot WILLOW You literally just called him weird two seconds ago and now he s hot MARGOT Who says he can t be both Margot opens the door to the bathroom and walks out Willow rolls her eyes and follows her out CUT TO KITCHEN DAY Theodore is sitting at the island We can see him staring intently at the sunrays coming through the window He slowly raises his hand out towards the sun and quickly retracts it once he feels the warm rays on his skin He then realizes and puts his hand back into the sun but keeps it there this time He smiles and moves over to a different seat that is completely in the sun As he s getting situated in his seat Willow and Margot walk back in Margot sits on the other side of the island in front of Theodore and Willow sits beside him Theodore becomes a little tense MARGOT So Theodore how old are you

15 THEODORE I m 22 MARGOT Mhm interesting So how long are you planning on staying here THEODORE Um however long you will have me I know this isn t permanent Margot looks at Theodore s clothes and then back up at his face MARGOT Well one thing s for sure you re going to need some new clothes Willow claps her hands excitedly WILLOW Shopping day Margot gives Willow a look which deflates her excitement a bit WILLOW Shopping night Theodore looks at Margot and then at Willow looking confused and a little worried THEODORE Shopping night Willow sighs WILLOW I guess I should probably just get this out now I have a disease called Xeroderma Pigmentosum It s not like some big secret I just don t like talking about it THEODORE Oh I ve never heard of that

16 WILLOW It s really rare Pretty much I can t be exposed to any sort of UV light or it can severely damage my skin It s honestly a miracle that I haven t developed any skin cancer in my life yet THEODORE Oh shit WILLOW Yeah I even had these custom windows made for the house that don t let any UV rays through Theodore has an expression on his face that says ohhhh THEODORE So that s why you do the night shifts and online school Willow slowly nods her head Her eyes are full of sadness OUTSIDE NIGHT Theodore is trying to teach Willow how to skateboard We can tell he has new clothes on Willow is not doing so well at skating Willow falls and Theodore goes over to help her up an amused look on his face Willow points at him in a joking manner after she gets up WILLOW You better not be making fun of me THEODORE Definitely not He begins skating around easily WILLOW I don t get it How are you so good

17 THEODORE I picked it up pretty quick It s easy for me to defocus on everything while I m skating I like that Theodore skates over to her He gets off and she steps on She grabs on to his shoulder to help steady herself Theodore doesn t pull away but starts staring intently at her hand almost as if he s in a trance She doesn t notice but he quickly composes himself and she takes her hand off At first it seems like such a beautiful moment and then she falls They both start laughing They compose themselves after a moment and both sit down on the sidewalk THEODORE Hey I didn t say it earlier when you were talking about it but I just wanted to say that I m sorry you have to go through this Your disease I mean Willow shrugs her shoulders WILLOW Everyone s got their shit I wanted to say sorry about Margot She can be a bit much sometimes THEODORE I didn t mind After a moment Willow gets up She puts out her hand to help Theodore up and he hesitates to take it but eventually does They begin walking back to the house CUT TO LIVING ROOM NIGHT Theodore is sleeping on the couch in new pajamas His pupils are moving rapidly behind his eyelids CUT TO HALLOWEEN PARTY NIGHT

18 The setting is a little foggy letting us know it s Theodore s dream The setting is a house with loud music playing and people in costumes everywhere Theodore is outside the house where it s a little quieter standing and smoking a cigarette He checks his phone once A moment later a WOMAN named VERONICA early 20 s who appears to be intoxicated and has long dirty blonde hair that s in two low pig tails comes out of nowhere and is walking over to Theodore Theodore looks over hearing someone walking and recognition lights up his face She s in front of him now and when he sees the state she s in he becomes concerned He puts his hands on her upper arms to help steady her THEODORE V are you okay I ve been texting you I didn t know where you ran off to He spots her neck and sees blood It wouldn t be so unusual at a Halloween party but she s dressed as an angel He moves her hair over to see it better and reveals what looks like a bite THEODORE Oh my god what happened VERONICA MUMBLING I m so hungry Veronica starts to growl and finally lifts up her head so we can fully see her face Her irises are golden and she has some mascara streaks on her face She has a look of conflicted sadness on her face and reaches up to cup Theodore s face and suddenly her expression turns into one of no emotions It s not Veronica staring back at him anymore THEODORE Veronica Suddenly she jumps at Theodore s neck We can hear her teeth sink into him Theodore starts screaming CUT TO LIVING ROOM NIGHT

19 Theodore s scream from his dream continues into real life as he wakes up grasping his neck covered in sweat and breathing heavily He jumps as Willow is suddenly at his side She looks concerned for him WILLOW Are you okay We can see him glance at her neck His breathing is still heavy THEODORE I m sorry I didn t mean to wake you it was just a nightmare WILLOW Do you want to talk about it THEODORE No that s okay Theodore starts getting up off the couch quickly He grabs his shoes and goes out the door before Willow can say anything else Willow sits there for a moment unsure if she should go after him or not CUT TO THE BENCH NIGHT We find Theodore sitting on the bench from the beginning He has his elbows leaned on his legs and his fingers are woven through his hair We can t see much of his face until he breathes a heavy sigh and leans back on the bench His eyes have a haunted look to them and there s what appears to be a small line of dried blood coming out the side of his mouth Suddenly we hear footsteps and then Willow is beside the bench Theodore jumps up putting distance between them He turns away from her THEODORE Willow please just go away I need to be alone right now WILLOW Whatever you re going through isn t going to be solved this way you know that right Isolating

20 running You can t just bottle everything up and sulk in it I know I don t know everything about you but I can help you Let it out Talk Willow was slowly walking toward Theodore while speaking and now has reached him Theodore has tears in his eyes Willow softly puts her hand on his shoulder Theodore flinches only slightly and then accepts it Willow reaches with her other hand and puts it on his back His face is still slightly facing away from her WILLOW WHISPERING Be still breathe Everything will be okay You don t ever have to be sorry about the way you feel Theodore shakes his head tears falling now THEODORE I ve hurt so many people WILLOW And so has everyone Look at me Theodore doesn t Willow tries to turn his head to face her and Theodore jerks out of her grasp and huffs Now he s facing her He looks like a bit of a mess THEODORE VOICE SLIGHTLY RAISED Would you get off me Just because you re studying psychology doesn t mean you know how to fix me I can t be fixed okay so just drop it Willow points at him WILLOW What s that on your face THEODORE What WILLOW The corner of your mouth

21 Theodore wipes his mouth and looks at his hand to see red THEODORE Oh um uh it s nothing They stand there for a second Willow looking at him with squinted eyes WILLOW I m going back home You re still welcome if you want to come Or sit out here for a little longer Whatever Willow starts walking in the direction of the house Theodore stands there for a moment Suddenly his eyes glaze over and his iris turn gold A small but menacing smile appears on his face but it s gone quickly when he shakes his head snapping himself out of it Theodore has a worried expression on his face After a second he starts walking after Willow CUT TO LIVING ROOM NIGHT It s the next night and Margot and Theodore are sitting on the couch with the TV on They both have a bag of popcorn Willow walks into the room putting her hair into a ponytail She has running clothes on MARGOT Are you sure you don t want to stay and watch Jaws with us WILLOW I m sure I need to go for a run Plus I have to meet with Pepper MARGOT Pepper Oh hell no WILLOW We got assigned to be in the same group for a project so it s just an obligation

22 MARGOT Ohhh Margot puts some popcorn in her mouth and starts talking again MARGOT Have fun with that Call me if you need anything Willow goes out the door Margot shuts the lamp off so the screen is easier to see and clicks to play the movie MARGOT I still can t believe you haven t seen this it s such a classic THEODORE I guess I m more into music So who s Pepper MARGOT This girl Willow used to be friends with but once she found out about her disease she started making fun of her and shit It was messed up THEODORE What the hell MARGOT Yeah Believe me I was not afraid to smack a bitch Anyways the movies starting so shhh CUT TO LIVING ROOM NIGHT Theodore and Margot are still watching the movie and it has gotten to a particularly bloody scene The focus turns to Theodore who is getting fidgety and seems very uncomfortable He s visibly sweating MARGOT Dude can you sit still it s not that scary Suddenly something just clicks and Theodore turns his head quickly to look at Margot The atmosphere is eerie She s not

23 paying attention to him just the movie In the light of the TV we catch a glimpse of Theodore s eyes that are golden He slowly starts to inch closer to Margot A low growl can be heard When he s centimeters from her face she finally huffs and turns to look at him and as she s about to say something she sees him and her breathe catches She can t seem to form a sentence as she tries to scoot away from him Fear is written all over her face She picks up her phone as fast as she can and calls Willow CUT TO COFFEE SHOP NIGHT Willow is at the coffee shop with PEPPER a red head who seems to be about the same age as Willow They are presumably talking about the project when Willow s phone rings She turns it over to see that it s Margot and she answers WILLOW Margot everything s fi MARGOT O S INCOHERENT SCREAMING The phone cuts off Willow looks very worried and panicky She grabs her phone and coat and gets up WILLOW I have to go Pepper is left at the table looking annoyed CUT TO OUTSIDE THE HOUSE NIGHT Willow is frantically unlocking the door to the house It s raining and there s lightning and loud thunder CUT TO LIVING ROOM NIGHT The focus is on the door as Willow comes in The credits of the movie are rolling and it s quiet and dark Willow is looking around and sees blood on the floor by the couch She gasps and slowly walks over She hears a noise and turns around Theodore

24 is coming out of the shadows of the kitchen He has blood on his mouth His eyes are still golden and he has a small smirk on his face He seems a thousand times more confident WILLOW WHISPERING VOICE SHAKY What have you done THEODORE I was hungry my bad He slowly starts walking towards her With one finger he slowly wipes some blood off his mouth and sucks it off his finger THEODORE You know for the past few months that I ve been a vampire I ve been fighting it so much So much to the point that I just wanted to say fuck it I hated myself every day But now that it s here taking over the sad sack human part of me I feel so alive More alive than I ever felt when I actually was alive He s closer to her now Willow has tears streaming down her face and she looks terrified WILLOW Vampire You sick fuck Is Margot alive THEODORE I m not quite sure I hope not she was a dreadful bitch wasn t she WILLOW Is she going to become like you THEODORE Oh no You must have vampire blood in your system when you die to become one I got slipped some at a party Margot however didn t get so lucky Theodore is right in front of Willow now He smiles and pushes her hair behind her ear

25 THEODORE But you my dear you have a choice WILLOW I can t believe I actually trusted you and if you think for one second I will ever want to become something as vile as THEODORE Fine This was only ever going to end one way you know He quickly leans down and starts biting her neck Willow screams but slowly grabs the wooden picture frame off the side table behind her that is a selfie of Margot and her and shoves it into his heart He makes a soft sound and pulls back looking down at his chest His face is Theodore No golden eyes no smirk Just Theodore He looks frightened and in pain He falls to his knees and Willow falls with him cupping his face and crying WILLOW It s okay it s okay you ll be at peace now Suddenly there s a gasp and Margot starts moving cupping her neck MARGOT STRAINED WHISPER Help me Willow looks over and gasps as she sees that Margot is alive She slowly lays Theodore down putting his head on a pillow As she s about to go over to Margot Theodore grabs her arm and she gasps scared he might try to bite her again THEODORE BARELY AUDIBLE Thank you A single tear runs down his face as his eyes go blank Willow is looking at him with tears still coming down her face She sighs and goes over to Margot grabbing a blanket from the couch and holding it on Margot s wound as she takes out her phone to call for help Willow is crying and can barely get her words out

26 WILLOW Everything s going to be okay Margot The song Terrible Willow talking to before the screen Margot s face and rolling Love by Birdy begins to play We can hear the 911 operator in the background Right fades to black we see a smirk appear on her eyes gleam gold The credits start THE END