SCREEN BLACK An alarm clock reading 10:00 a.m. begins to RING. FADE IN: INT.

CASSS BEDROOM- MORNING ALAN, (22) tall and handsome in a grungy east coast kind of way, and CASS, (22) simple and beautiful with long dark hair and vividly green eyes, stir in bed. Cass extends her arm toward the nightstand and turns off the alarm. She prods Alans near comatose body in an attempt to wake him CASS Al, wake up. Youll be late for class. Alan GROANS and flickers his eyes open, the light streaming through the window seemingly causing him intense pain. ALAN Mmm. Morning beautiful. Alan lets out a large YAWN and stretches. CASS You fucking smell like whiskey again. Alan gets out of bed and walks to the bathroom, waving off Casss criticism. Cass sits in bed rubbing her temples, exasperated. INT. SHOWER- MORNING Alan stands in the shower with one hand resting against the wall to keep his balance. His head is spinning with the buzz of last nights alcohol. Cass enters the shower but Alan barely acknowledges her. CASS Can you scoot over a little and pass the shampoo? He grabs the shampoo and tosses it to her. He leans his head back and closes his eyes as Cass washes her hair.

2. INT. KITCHEN- MORNING Alans messy wet hair drips onto the linoleum as he eats a bowl of Froot Loops. He is still in his towel. Cass enters fully dressed and pours herself a cup of coffee. CASS Babe seriously, youve only got a half hour to get to class. Are you even going to go today? ALAN Yeah yeah. Im gettin there. CASS Well Im not gonna be able to drive you if you dont move your ass! She grabs her coffee and kisses him on the forehead before returning to the bathroom to finish drying her hair. INT. CASSS CAR- MORNING Cass drives down the misty, tree-lined Oregon streets toward campus. Alan looks out the window blankly. CASS Ive got a work meeting after class today so Im not gonna be able to pick you up right away. Are you okay just walking home? Alan doesnt seem to be listening. Al! Huh? CASS (CONTD) ALAN

CASS Did you hear what i said. ALAN Yeah, work meeting. Walk home. Got it. CASS Jesus fuck Al. I swear sometimes its like you are a fucking zombie. Where are you? Why are you so goddamn sad all the time?

3. Alan shrugs. ALAN I hate this weather. Jess pulls up outside of a large brick building almost entirely engulfed in ivy. CASS I give up. You really need to get your shit together babe. I cant deal with you like this much longer. Alan looks into Casss eyes searching for something, some kind of unknown truth about happiness. ALAN Im sorry Cass. I love you. I dont want to lose you. You know Ive been dealing with a lot of shit this past year. Just stick with me okay? Thisll pass, beautiful. I promise. Cass looks back at him with a mixture of love and pain in her eyes. CASS I really hope so. Try and have fun today okay? Ill see you tonight. She leans over and kisses him tenderly before he exits the car. EXT. OREGON COAST UNIVERSITY- MORNING Alan walks towards the brick building as Cass drives away, but as soon as she is out of sight he detours towards a path leading to the coast. EXT. COASTAL BLUFFS- MORNING He walks until he reaches the bluffs overlooking the water and leans up against a tree. Dew falls from the leaves, dampening his tousled curls. He flips up the hood of his sweatshirt and pulls a pack of Menthols from his front pocket. He sticks on in his mouth and fumbles with his lighter, which is almost out of fluid.

4. ALAN (mumbling) Light, you fucker. He manages to get it going and lights his cigarette. He gazes over the cliff pensively, troubled by the demons inside his mind. ALAN (V.O.) I was happy once. I used to enjoy life. I enjoyed the warm spring rains and the taste of salt on my lips after a long walk along the shore. But now the rain is cold, it chills my bones, and everything tastes like ash. Alan exhales a cloud of smoke. FLASHBACK TO: EXT. GREEN FIELD- DAY An 8 year old Alan runs through a chest high field of grass, arms outstretched, pretending to be the toy plane he holds in his hand. His father flies and twirls around him as they pretend to be fighter pilots in the open sea of grass. His mother sits off in the distance on a picnic blanket laughing BACK TO: EXT. COASTAL BLUFFS- MORNING Alan takes a last hit of his cigarette and crushes the butt beneath his feet. ALAN (V.O.) Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. Fucking Robert Frost. Alan turns and walks down the forest path. FLASHBACK TO:

5. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM- NIGHT 19 year old Alan sits next to his dying mothers bed. His father stands in the corner, tears streaming down his face. ALAN Dont leave us mom, please dont leave us. His mother smiles at him through sunken eyes and hands him a letter. She closes her eyes, her chest rattles violently until she takes her final breath. He opens the letter, a copy of Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost. BACK TO: INT. LIQUOR STORE- MORNING Alan grabs a bottle of Jack Daniels from the shelf and takes it to the counter. ALAN Can I get one of those dollar lotto scratcher things too? $22.50. CLERK

Alan scrounges around for loose change in his pockets, and places a few crumpled bills onto the counter. He scratches off the film from the lottery ticket as the clerk counts the bills. Nothing. ALAN (V.O.)

INT. ALANS APARTMENT- EVENING Alans apartment is littered with clothes and cereal bowls. Empty bottles of alcohol clutter the kitchen counter. Alan is passed out drunk on the couch with the bottle of whiskey still in his hand. Cass enters the apartment and takes in the scene around her. She drops her bag and begins to sob silently.

6. INT. ALANS APARTMENT- LATER Alan wakes up from his drunken stupor to a cleaned up apartment and Cass sitting silently at his feet. She is twirling something between her fingers. ALAN Hey sweetheart. When did you get here? CASS I cant do this anymore, Al. I just cant She hands over the object in her hands. It is Alans house key. ALAN Woah wait a second. Just wait. You cant do this. You caIm sorry. CASS

Tears stream down her face. CASS (CONTD) You arent the man I met freshman year anymore. You are hardly even a shell of him. I dont recognize you anymore. ALAN If its about the drinking I can stop! I can get better! CASS Its not just about that. You arent here anymore. You arent present. You are rarely even conscious anymore. Tears begin to roll down Alans cheeks. He kneels down in front of her, begging. ALAN I can get better! I swear it! Baby please. Please dont leave me. I need you. You are my everything. CASS I cant be the only good thing in your life anymore. You need to figure out how to be happy. (MORE)

7. CASS (CONT'D) I cant take care of you. Im sorry. Im so sorry. I just- I cant do it. Cass stands up to leave, but Alan wont let go of her legs. He is sobbing uncontrollably at this point. ALAN No. No no no no no. Dont do this! Cass is sobbing as well, she prys her legs free from his grasp and walks toward the front door. Im sorry. CASS

She closes the door behind her, leaving Alan on his knees in front of the couch sobbing. INT. ALANS BATHROOM- A FEW DAYS LATER Alan stands hunched over his bathroom sink after a shower. He wipes the steam from the mirror, revealing his reflection. His eyes are red and sunken in. He looks skinnier, even more like the shell of the person he once was. ALAN (V.O.) What is the fucking point. Shes gone. What the fuck do I have now? A skeleton with flesh and skin stretched over it and a broken soul. Theres nothing left. Nothing. He pulls a bottle of pills out of a drawer. He twists the bottle in his hands, reading the label. ALAN (V.O.) Xanax. At least it will dull the pain for a little while. He opens it and pops a few pills in his mouth. He swallows and takes another look in the mirror, hoping for something to change. INT. ALANS APARTMENT- LATER Alan sits on the couch blankly staring at the television playing infomercials for weight loss pills. He grabs a near empty bottle of whiskey from the coffee table and takes another swig.

8. He checks his phone again, hoping that Cass has replied to one of his 50 phone calls. She hasnt. He decides to call her one last time. It goes straight to voicemail. ALAN (to voicemail) I love you Cass. I always will. I hope that one day you will be happy. Remember all of the good times we had, forget about the bad. I want you to remember me like that. I want you to remember me happy. I love you. To the end of the earth. Goodbye. Something flickers off in his eyes, like the last of his will to live has disappeared. Suddenly he stands up, grabs a sweatshirt, a pack of smokes and the bottle of alcohol and staggers out the door. EXT. COASTAL BLUFFS- LATER Alan stands at the edge of the bluffs looking out at the ocean. ALAN (V.O.) This is where we feel in love. This exact spot. Right here, four years ago. Her hair smelled like strawberries, her lips were the softest things I had ever felt. He pulls a cigarette out of his pack and lights it. FLASHBACK TO: EXT. COASTAL BLUFFS CAMPING TRIP- 4 YEARS EARLIER Alan and Cass are sitting around a campfire with the rest of their freshman year hall-mates as the sun is setting. Everyone is laughing and having a good time passing around a bottle of vodka and smoking marijuana. Cass staggers over to Alan who is quietly laughing at a friends joke. CASS Wanna come on a walk with me Al?

9. ALAN Uh, sure. We can catch the sunset. Cass grabs him by the hand ad drags him towards the bluffs, down a small trail to a rock overlooking the coastline. She stops in amazement at the sheer beauty of the watercolor sky. ALAN (CONTD) Its beautiful isnt it. CASS Sit with me. They sit down on the rock together and Cass shivers, lacing her arm through Alans as she snuggles closer. Cold? ALAN

CASS A little. Ill be okay though. Alan looks down at her and smiles. His smile is radiant. He looks truly happy. Cass looks up at him and returns the grin. They sit there looking into each others eyes for a little bit too long and Alan knows he has to kiss her. He pushes a flyaway strand of hair behind her ear. ALAN This view doesnt even compare to you, beautiful. He leans in and kisses her, the whole world melting away in that moment. BACK TO: EXT. BEACH- LATER Alan walks along the water line barefoot. He puffs on his cigarette and swigs the last of the bottle before throwing it into the sea. ALAN (V.O.) Mist covers my legs as I walk along this gloomy beach smoking this cigarette. It crackles and hisses as rain drops fall against the hot embers. What a mistake I have made. How could I have let her go? Why didnt I make her stay?? (MORE)

10. ALAN (V.O.) (CONT'D) Her voice echoes in my head every single day. Are you even here? Why are you so sad all the time? I could never answer any of her questions, I could never figure out why I felt the way I did. I was so jealous all the time, for no reason. I was distant so that I wouldnt hurt her but it all backfired in the end didnt it? Im all alone again, by myself, kicking sand across this empty beach, the ashes of my cigarette washing out into these darkened waves. Soon no one will even know I was here. My footprints will be erased and disappear into this vast expanse of nothingness before me. Into this troubled ocean they will go. I should just go with them. I should wade out into the sea and let the unknown take me. Alan slowly wades out into the water, the waves tossing against him. ALAN (V.O.) Take me far away from here. From everything human and dark. My mind churns like these repetitive waves before me. I keep dwelling on these stupid thoughts, voices, these actions replaying over and over and over again. I want it to stop. I want to find peace. I think I could find it on the bottom of the ocean floor. Once my heart stops beating all Ill hear is silence. Silence. Nothing. Peace. And soon my body will be nothing, just food for fish and sharks and all the other animals lurking in the oceans depths. I dont want to feel anymore, I dont want to be anything. I want to be NOTHING. The sandy ocean floor begins to fall away as he swims out into the open water. ALAN (V.O.) This water is so cold, microscopic icicles penetrating every square inch of my skin.

11. He keeps swimming, falling further and further away from the shore. ALAN (V.O.) I cant feel myself anymore. My body is numb. But this is what I want isnt it? To be numb. Take a deep breath. This will all be over soon. Alans body begins to fail him. His limbs begin to seize and stop working, his head hardly hovering above the water. He coughs and sputters as saltwater begins to fill his lungs and his mind grows fuzzy. Just as the sea is about to take him, he has a moment of clarity and he realizes something. ALAN (V.O.) I dont want to die. Everything fades to black around him. EXT. BEACH A bright light stings Alans closed eyes. He grips the sand beneath his fingers as his eyes flutter. His wet clothes feel heavy against him. His eyes open to a beautiful watercolor sunset and a female figure kneeling over him. FIGURE Hello darling. He smiles a radiant smile as his fuzzy eyes adjust to see the woman. CUT TO WHITE.