10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDHmzsQD9LAt the top, the air shifts— Still, unclaimed. His chamber waits ahead, the door worn, but intact. He reaches for the handle—
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Veronica: (eyes begin searching his)
"Do you mind if we talk?"
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Her voice.
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He turns. Veronica is a few steps back. Metro turns his neck slightly.
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Veronica's voice cuts through the silence behind him— steady, but tight around the edges.
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"How long were you planning on avoiding me?"
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Her chin lifts, eyes sharp, trying to look untouched. But her fingers curl slightly at her sides. Her pride, desperately trying to hold. Metro turns towards her— tired of her spell.
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Metro: (steady, not defensive)
"I'm not trying to avoid you V. As you can see, there's a lot on my plate. And since I arrived, you've been throwing your weight around— especially towards me, I'm not sure what I did to you, or what your upset about, but I've been nothing but kind... and real with you."
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The words land.
Not loud.
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Not sharp.
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But they hit harder than a shout ever could.
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Veronica's jaw tightens, her pride struck. Her eyes shift, then they snap back to him, sharper, more exposed.
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Veronica:
"You've been kind? You talk to everyone else, you look at everyone else… but not me."
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Metro's jaw sets, flustered. He looks down, eyes darkening.
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She scoffs, shaking her head.
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"You don't want this?"
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A white light flashes before Metro's eyes.
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Metro: (no hesitation, snaps)
"What are you talking about?!"
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(A beat)
Her pride spikes.
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Veronica:
"It's just like I said,"
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(moves closer, voice sharper)
"You're not ready to lead this op. You pretend tough—but you're not sure what you want, or what you're feeling..."
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(she lets it marinate)
Her eyes burn.
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"People die out here, Metro. Is that what you want for your friends?"
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(beat)
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"Even at this very moment, you're not man enough to look me in the eyes."
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Metro snaps up, trying to escape, but can't. Then locks eyes, a black shadow flickering in his gaze.
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Metro: (voice raised, angrier)
"Yo, who do you think you are to me!!?"
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Veronica looks deep within herself suddenly, almost fallen aback, confused.
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Veronica: (voice soft, sure)
"I would think, I'm a shining light in your..."
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Metro: (cuts her off, voice unhinged!)
"YOUR A PAIN IN MY ASS!"
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Veronica paces backwards, shocked, speechless. She notices the blackness deep in Metro's sockets, due to the dim hallway lighting.
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Veronica looks down in disbelief, then back up, somehow enjoying the moment, for what it's worth.
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Veronica:
"Do you want to know what I think…"
(she steps closer, aura ghostly)
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'I think you're just like every other man I've ever met...'
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Your pathetic…
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"your vile…'
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(whispers)
… and you disgust me"
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Metro explodes his back off the wall, flared up in rage.
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Metro: (shouting intensely)
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!!
YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU I LOVE YOU! I DO! OK!? I LOVE YOU!!!"
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(continues to rage uncontrollably)
"IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR FROM ME!!?"
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Veronica looks down, a single tear drops. She steps closer, ignoring the danger.
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Veronica: (shaky, piercing, direct)
"Why won't you LOOK AT ME!"
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Metro: (no hesitation, snaps back, yelling)
"BECAUSE EVERY TIME I LOOK AT YOU— YOUR CUTTING ME DOWN!!"
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Metro tears up, emotion overflowing now.
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"I'M SICK OF THIS!" "I WON'T ALLOW IT ANYMORE! FOR YOU TO TREAT ME LIKE THIS!!!"
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Metro holds in a weeping sound. His eyes glowing with grief, anger, and everything he's never said.
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(A beat) (eyes connecting again)
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"I know who I am, and I know that we aren't meant to be together."
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Metro tries to tone down the volume, realizing he's been shouting through the hallways.
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Veronica looks deeply into Metro's eyes with longing desperation.
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Veronica: (nearly whispers)
"I'm afraid for you here. I can change it, so you can leave freely. You'll be safer, in the village with me, away from this place."
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She puts her hands on Metro's face longing for eye contact. Metro turns his head, gesturing for her to ease up. Then turns to her.
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Metro:
"V, you lied to me."
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(A beat)
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"You stole from me."
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(Another beat— heavier)
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"And you're hurting me more than you're helping me."
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He wipes his face with the back of his hand, breath still uneven.
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"I'm not going anywhere with you."
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His voice steadies, even as his eyes drip wet.
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"I'm here, with Ana and the boys…"
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"I'm here… with my team."
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Then-- another blow— soft, but absolute;
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"Go home, Veronica."
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Veronica's voice shakes, but she forces it.
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Veronica:
"It's because of her isn't it?"
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A fear she's been swallowing since the moment she saw Rose look at him.
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Metro doesn't flinch. He doesn't look away.
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Metro:
"No. This isn't about her."
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(a moment)
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"This is about you, lying, stealing, and trying to control me."
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His voice softens, but the truth doesn't.
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"Rose didn't push me away from you…
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(charged beat)
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…you did."
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(:::charging heavy beat:::)
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"Do me a favor." (stares with rage)
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Metro's eyes are pitch black for just a moment.
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Metro:(barks demonically)
"and STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
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(He bucks at her)
Veronica explodes.
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Veronica: (slams her fist into Metro's chest)
"DAMN YOU!"
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(once, twice, again)
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"DAMN YOU!!"
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Her punches climb— his shoulder, his neck, his jaw. Metro stumbles back into the wall, turning his head, taking it. Not fighting back. Not flinching. Just staring at her— an intense, hollow stare— as she unravels.
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"I HATE YOU!
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She shoves him.
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Hard.
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Again.
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Again.
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Veronica:
"I SAID I HATE YOU!"
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Her palms hit his chest, driving him into the wall with each shove.
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— Her voice breaks —
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"WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME!!"
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The scream tears out of her— echoing— She collapses into a sob. Her strength drains all at once. She grabs him, clinging, shaking.
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"Why don't you love me…"
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Barely a whisper now.
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A plea.
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A wound.
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Her knees give out.
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She drops, hands slipping from his clothes as she falls to the floor and finally lets everything spill out— the rage, the jealousy, the fear, the love she never knew how to hold.
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Metro looks down at her—, broken, defeated, sobbing at his feet.
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He lifts his eyes.
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A shadow stands in the staircase doorway.
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Rose.
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Watching.
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Silent.
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Witnessing two people destroy each other in real-time.
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— Scene fades —
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