Sunday, November 26, 2017

November 2017 Writing Challenge - #26 - One Kiss

Please post

Time is the prompt

This is from my phone. I’ll do better.

Okay so

Unlimited budget

Special effects

All take place in the time of one kiss

Go!

*************

I've been working with the previous posts for Duncan and Jeffrey in order to hack them into scenes, along with a bunch of new material to tie it all together, with an actual arc for their relationship and Jeffrey's induction into more responsible paganism.  Here's part one of the three...

*************

The wiccan supply store.

DUNCAN finishes his last phone call.

                          DUNCAN
OK, none of the other stores in town have this one thing either.

                          JEFFREY
Special order then?

                          DUNCAN
I got one last thing I can try before be have to go straight to the manufacturer.

                          JEFFREY
Which is - ?

                          DUNCAN
Stores in nearby cities.  We all have a kind of informal network.  Help each other out when things like this come up.

                          JEFFREY
So there's more places you can call?

                          DUNCAN
Handful of 'em yeah.  Maybe we'll get lucky.

DUNCAN starts getting his directory.

                          JEFFREY
Thank you so much.

                          DUNCAN
You're lucky it's a slow day so far.
And that you're cute.

                          JEFFREY
Never realized I had that as part of my arsenal.

                          DUNCAN
I find that hard to believe.

                          JEFFREY
You're sweet.

                          DUNCAN
You need to think more of yourself.

                          JEFFREY
Duly noted.
So are they places you can call now?

                          DUNCAN
We open a little earlier than most places.

                          JEFFREY
Part of why I came here.

                          DUNCAN
Part of why.

                          JEFFREY
You're cute, too.

                          DUNCAN
Early start time means the stores in the other cities aren't open just yet for me to call.

                          JEFFREY
But you called the other local places.

                          DUNCAN
I know most of those folks personally.  I used some cell numbers rather than waiting on the stores to open.

                          JEFFREY
Thanks.

                          DUNCAN
Well, you're cute.

                          JEFFREY
Really cute, apparently.

                          DUNCAN
I can give you a call later when I'm done checking with the other stores.

                          JEFFREY
Can I hang out here?

                          DUNCAN
Sure.

                          JEFFREY
You're cute, too.

                          DUNCAN
So you said.

They smile at each other.

                          DUNCAN (cont'd)
Your situation?  This is why I worry about solo practitioners striking out on their own.

                          JEFFREY
We screw up.

                          DUNCAN
Well, you got the spell right but yeah, you still screwed up.  There are stages of training with a coven or at least a decent mentor.  A year and a day.

                          JEFFREY
A year and a day?

                          DUNCAN
Yeah, because it normally takes at least that long to fully understand what you're screwing around with.

                          JEFFREY
People's hearts, and relationships.

                          DUNCAN
All that, yes.  But worse, actually.  Free will. 

                          JEFFREY
Pagans are very big on free will.

                          DUNCAN
Well, think about it.  You ditched the traditional church you grew up in -

                          JEFFREY
It ditched me, actually.

                          DUNCAN
OK then.  You got yourself out from under a restrictive orthodoxy that was trying to tell you what to do so you can better exercise your own free will to live and worship as you choose and then -

                          JEFFREY
And then I concoct a potion that takes away someone else's free will.

                          DUNCAN
Exactly.

                          JEFFREY
But why is there a spell if you're not supposed to use it?

                          DUNCAN
It's the way you use it.  I mean dress designers use scissors.  But they use them to cut fabric, they don't use them to stab people.

                          JEFFREY
So, are love spells ever a good idea?

                          DUNCAN
Not really.  There are two basic categories, and one is less horrible and invasive than the other, but they've both got their problems.

                          JEFFREY
And the one I gave to Micah, who gave it to Auggie -

                          DUNCAN
Was the horrible, invasive one, yeah.
I mean, you see why, now, right?

                          JEFFREY
Yeah?

                          DUNCAN
OK, so with an attraction spell, where Micah gets Auggie to fall in love with him, Micah's hurting Auggie, and himself, and everyone in their immediate social circle, for starters.  I mean, at least he's not keeping it a secret, and he's trying to undo - or rather he's got you trying to undo it for him, but -

                          JEFFREY
He's messing with Auggie's free will.

                          DUNCAN
Yes, exactly.  And he's messing with Auggie's wife Sarah, and their unborn child.  Auggie already made a decision to build a life with someone, and it wasn't Micah.  Say we didn't undo things - how do you explain this mess to a kid?

                          JEFFREY
But these two guys have always been close.

                          DUNCAN
Well, you've screwed that up now, too.
By encouraging this delusion, Micah's screwing with a serious friendship, he's cutting himself off from other potential guys, most of whom one would hope actually have the advantage of being gay and possibly being interested in him

                          JEFFREY
- without the need for mind-altering chemicals being used.

                          DUNCAN
But instead, he's turning himself into something Auggie wants instead, with the added downside of now being the kind of person who would do something stupid, thoughtless and selfish like this.  When the dust settles, you and he and Auggie and Sarah all have to find a way to live with that less than flattering information.

                          JEFFREY
Setting aside being Auggie-specific for a second, what if a person just cast a spell to attract "the right person" to them?

                          DUNCAN
We still talking about Micah?

                          JEFFREY
Let's say we are.

                          DUNCAN
That's slightly less problematic, but only slightly.  You need to be super specific - because you also want to be sure that the spell means that you'll recognize that "right person" if they do cross your path - and of course, there's no guarantee they'll cross your path right away.  I mean, if they were already in your orbit, you might have met them and have no need for an attraction spell in the first place.  And if you wouldn't normally meet such a person in your day to day life, well, I mean, if you meet the right person twenty years from now, that doesn't do you a ton of good, but the spell still technically worked.

                          JEFFREY
So it's not much more useful than a gay dating app.

                          DUNCAN
Not really, not unless you're extremely lucky.

                          JEFFREY
And if you're extremely lucky, what do you need a spell for?

                          DUNCAN
Now, a self-love spell that you cast on yourself, that could be useful.

                          JEFFREY
Confidence builder?

                          DUNCAN
Absolutely, helps make you more aware of the romantic possibilities that come your way, AND makes you feel more worthy of being a potential catch when love comes calling.  Plus you may be having so much fun getting to know yourself better, you may not feel so pressed to spend all your time looking for a partner.  You can hang out with yourself and let the other guys find you.

                          JEFFREY
So when you say self-love -

                          DUNCAN
I didn't mean masturbation, no.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.

                          JEFFREY
So casting the love spell inward, rather than outward, that's OK.

                          DUNCAN
That kind of self-love spell we just talked about, yes.  The other kind, not so much.

                          JEFFREY
The other kind?

                          DUNCAN
It's the same kind of ill-considered life hack as the spell Micah inflicted on Auggie, just in reverse.  It's basically designed to "make me the kind of person this other guy would love."

                          JEFFREY
Changing yourself for another person.

                          DUNCAN
Never a good idea, with or without magic.

                          JEFFREY
Because if it works -

                          DUNCAN
Then you're either stuck pretending to be something that you're not for the length of your "relationship" or you revert to your true self at some point because you just can't stand it anymore, and then your beloved thinks you've pulled a bait and switch on 'em.  Why would you want to do that to yourself, or them?

                          JEFFREY
Once again, nobody's happy.

                          DUNCAN
Nope, not really.

                          JEFFREY
Love's hard enough -

                          DUNCAN
- without needlessly complicating things.
Micah's your friend.  Don't you think he deserves better?
Don't you?

                          JEFFREY
Yeah.  I guess.

                          DUNCAN
You're feeling like crap now.  I get that.  It's good that you're bothered by it.  Means you won't do it again.

                          JEFFREY
Absolutely not.  No.
     (pause)
Time to call yet?

                          DUNCAN
Not quite yet, no.

DUNCAN smiles, hopefully.

                          DUNCAN (cont'd)
Still feel like waiting.

JEFFREY smiles, shyly.

                          JEFFREY
Yeah.



(to be continued)



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