Pride-Season 1 Episode 1
Posted March 13, 2008
[Tanner, Alex, and Alex's girlfriend, Lina, have just walked into the local gay dance club, Smooth Moves. As Alex and Lina go out to the dance floor, Tanner stands by the wall and surveys the crowd until he is approached by a man.] Man:Hey cutie, first time? Tanner: Yeah, that obvious huh? Man: Well yeah, and I've never seen you here before. Tanner:I just moved here from the Upper Northside. Man:You here by yourself? Tanner:Yeah, except for my bestfriend and her girlfriend. Man:Lesbians huh? Tanner:Yep. Man:Oh, so do you want to come back to my place? Tanner:Um, well my friends... Man:It's okay, I won't hurt you [whispers into Tanner's ear] too bad. [winks] Tanner:Um, thats okay. I think I'll stay here. Man: Aw, come on baby. A cutie like you, we can have all kinds of fun. Tanner: I said no thank you. Man:Come on, I think you've been a bad boy. [grabs Tanner's arm then while Tanner is pulling away another man approaches.] Man Two:Let the kid go. Man One:Who the hell are you? Man Two:None of your damn business. Now let the fucking kid go. He's with me. Man One:He said he was here with two girls. Man Two:Well, he's also here with me. Now let him go before I make you let go. [Man One lets go of Tanner and retreats back out on the dance floor cussing under his breath.] Man Two:You okay, kid? Tanner: Yeah, thanks. [smiles.] Man Two: No problem. Now what is a youngin like you doing in a place like this? Tanner: I came to dance, want to join me? Man Two: Sure. [Tanner and the man walk onto the dance floor.] Man Two:So kid, got a name? Tanner: Yeah, I'm Tanner. Tanner Joelson. What about you? Man Two:Mhm, Ben Frederick. Ben:So how old are you, Tanner? Tanner: Nineteen, you? Ben: Twenty-four. Are you a student here or something? Tanner:No, Im going to be a model. [Ben cocks his eyebrow.] Ben: Really? Better be careful. Little piece of meat like you. The sharks'll eat you up. Tanner: I can handle my own. Ben: Mhm, sure you can. Tanner: Want to go somewhere and talk? I can't hear shit here. Ben: You sure you want to go somewhere with a stranger? You're not very street smart are you kid? Tanner: Like I said I can handle my own. You coming or not? I can always find someone else. And I got to tell my friend I'm leaving. Ben: You lead the way. [Tanner and Ben go to find Alex and Lina. They find them sitting on barstools sharing a Cosmopolitan.] Tanner: Alex and Lina, This is Ben. Ben, this is my bestfriend, Alex, and her girlfriend, Lina. Alex: Nice to meet you Ben. [Ben nods and looks her up and down.] Tanner: Um, Ben and I are going to get out of here and find some place to talk. [Alex sizes Ben up for a second then nods.] Alex:Okay, have fun you two. Tanner:We will. [Tanner and Ben walk off.] Lina:Ben's cute, not much of a talker though. Alex: Yeah, but he seems harmless. You don't think he'll hurt him do you? Lina: I sure hope not. [Meanwhile, Ben drives Tanner towards Saucys, the pizza parlor where all of the gay community hangs out. Ben stops in front of Saucys and Tanner looks up.] Tanner: Oh no, why are we stopping here? Ben:You wanted to talk didn't you? Come on. [Tanner reluctantly steps out of Ben's Range Rover and follows him into Saucys. As soon as they walk in the door Jackie Joelson, Tanner's mom, spots them.] Jackie: Tanner! What are you doing here and why are you here with Ben? [Ben and Tanner look at each other.] Ben: Jackie is your mom? Tanner:Yep. Jackie: You still didn't answer my questions. Tanner: I just met Ben at Smooth Moves. We came here to talk. Ben: Jackie, You didn't tell me your son was sexy as hell. [winks at her and Tanner blushes.] Jackie:Ben, you be good to my baby. He's not much older than a kid. Tanner:Mom, I'm an adult. I'm not a kid anymore. Jackie: You'll always be my baby. Now are we just going to stand here or do you two want a booth?[leads them to a booth and goes back to work.] Tanner: I can't believe you know my mom. Ben: I really didn't know her son was sexy. [Tanner blushes again.] Tanner: So anyways, what do you do? Ben: I'm a lawyer. Tanner: Lawyer huh? You don't really fit my description of a lawyer. Ben: Oh really, and why not? Tanner: I picture lawyers as being boring and nerdy and scrawny with a neatly pressed suit and tie and Italian leather shoes. Ben: Wow, your way off kid. Tanner: Guess so. What's your love life like? Ben: I don't really have a love life. Don't want one. Casual sex is more fun and alot cheaper. Tanner: Makes sense, but don't you want to fall in love? [Ben fidgets with his coffee cup.] Ben: Nope. Want to get out of here? [Tanner looks up into Ben's serious face.] Tanner:Sure. [Ben and Tanner walk out and get into Ben's truck.] Ben: So where do you live? I'll take you home. Tanner: Oh, um you can drop me off at the bus depot on Westview. Ben: But the buses quit running 45 minutes ago. I'll just drive you home. [Tanner looks over at Ben then out of the window.] Tanner: Um, that is home. Ben: You're shitting me right? You live at the bus terminal? Tanner: Yeah, I've been living on the streets for three months. Gotta do what I gotta do. Ben: But what about Jackie? Why don't you live with her? Tanner: Personal reasons. [Ben drives to the bus terminal.] Ben: If you have any clothes or things get them and come on. Tanner: Where are we going? Ben: You can stay at my place for right now. Atleast until you find somewhere else to live. Tanner: Ben, I'm not some fucking charity case. I'll be okay on my own. Ben: Whatever, do what you want. [Tanner gets out and Ben peels out of the parking lot. Tanner sits on a bench and ponders for a minute then goes to find a phonebook. Meanwhile, Ben is sitting at his laptop doing work when he hears the doorbell ring. He looks at his watch and groans.] Ben: [thinks to himself] Who the hell can this be? Ben: I'm coming, I'm coming. Shit, lay off the bell will you? [Ben opens the door and sees Tanner standing there with a backpack on his back. Ben cocks his eyebrow.] Ben: Change your mind? Tanner: I guess I do need a place to stay and as soon as I find some work I promise I'll pay you back. [Ben opens the door and walks back to his laptop.] Ben: Okay, but you're sleeping on the couch and I do have rules. They are.. Number one: No loud music or tv at night. Rule number two: Don't disturb me while I'm working for any reason. And Rule number three: Knock before you enter my room. You can eat or drink anything in the fridge, but we take turns cooking, you'll pull your weight around here and I get first shower in the morning. Understood? Tanner: Yep I got it. [Ben begins to walk away and turns back.] Ben: Oh yeah, and I don't care who or where you fuck as long as it doesn't occur in my house. [Tanner just looks at Ben and nods.] Tanner: Anything else? Ben: Nope. [Ben walks off towards his bedroom. Tanner grabs a blanket and pillow and lays down on the couch and immediately falls to sleep immediately.] [The next morning Tanner awakens to his whole body being shaken.] Ben: Rise and shine, sweetheart. Time for breakfast. [Tanner puts a pillow oer his head and groans.] Tanner [groaning]: You start it and I'll be there in a minute. Ben: Um, no. Me and the ladies eat at Saucys for breakfast. Tanner: Great that is even worse. Are you sure I can't just make something and eat here? Ben: Nope, we got a busy day. Now come on and get dressed before I pick your ass up and throw you in a cold shower clothes and all. [Tanner slowly rises and sleepily waddles into the bathroom.] Tanner [calls]: Um, Ben? Where are the towels and bathclothes? Ben [calls back]: In the cabinet under the sink. Tanner: Thanks. [Five minutes later Tanner steps out of the bathroom with a small towel wrapped around his waist and water still dripping off of him. Ben looks up from the newspaper and stares at Tanner then licks his lips and clears his throat.] Ben: I put some jeans and a t-shirt in there on the couch. Hurry up and get dressed because we need to go. [Tanner nods and walks into the living room. Whenever he walks into the kitchen fully clothed he looks over at Ben.] Tanner: So why are we going to have such a busy day? Ben: You are going to get to meet the ladies today. Tanner: The ladies? Ben: Yep, what everyone else calls the boys; to me, they are the ladies. You'll figure out why when you meet them. Ready to go? [Tanner nods.] [They grab their stuff and hop into the car and head to Saucys. As soon as Tanner and Ben walk in the door most eyes turn to them.] Ben: Hello ladies, this is my new friend Tanner. Tanner, this is [points finger clockwise.] Jack, Dustin, and Logan. [The three of them size him up.] Jake: So where did you guys meet? Tanner: Smooth Moves last night. Ben: I saved him from a slutty fag. [Dustin and Logan laugh and Jake continues to look him over.] Dustin: Well, aren't you just Prince Charming? Ben: Don't you just wish I was YOUR Prince Charming. [Dustin rolls his eyes.] Jake: So if you two met last night why is he here today? Tanner: Oh, I'm staying with Ben until I get my own place. [Jake cocks his eyebrow.] Jake: Oh really? Wow, Ben you really are quite the prince charming. Ben: Jake, can I talk to you alone, NOW? [Dustin and Logan scamper out of the booth and pull Tanner along with them.] What the hell is your problem? Jake: You just met this kid last night and you've already moved him in your house. What the fuck are you thinking? Ben: He didn't have anywhere else to go and since when did you start telling me how to run my life? Jake: Since you've obviously lost your fucking mind. You don't know one damn thing about this kid, but yet he's living with you. It doesn't make sense Ben. There are homeless shelters. Ben: Oh bullshit, your not even that heartless. And the kid is Jackie's son. I can't very well throw him out on his ass now. She'd fuckin murder me. Jake: Tanner is Jackie's son? Ben: Yep. Jake: That hot piece of ass belongs to Jackie? Ben: Mmhmm. Jake: Why the hell didn't you say so before? Ben: You didn't ask. [At that Logan, Dustin, and Tanner slowly make their way back to the booth.] Jake: So I hear your Jackie's son. Tanner: Yeah she's my mom. Why? [Jake smiles at Tanner and holds out his hand.] Jake: Welcome to the family. [Ben's, Logan's, and Dustin's eyebrows shoot up.] Ben: This is only temporary. Jake [whispers in Ben's ear]: Thats what you think.
