02x09 - Portraits

[bunniefuu]

ANNOUNCER:
Previously on Felicity...

I was just, uh, thinking
about Thanksgiving last year.

It feels like yesterday.

Really?

Yeah.

I think I left my matches
in my coat pocket...

(DOOR CLOSES)

That was Professor Sherman?

Uh-huh.

Okay, let's open
this up for discussion.

Felicity.

I'm not sure, maybe
the perspective is off?

I can't quite put my finger on
it, but something feels wrong.

Oh, there's definitely
something wrong here,

but it isn't the perspective.

Is it the shading?

Perhaps.

Or could it be the fact that
you are a manipulator and a liar?

What?

Not to mention a bit of a slut.

(CLASS LAUGHS)

Wow!

Harsh. Bruce.

You didn't deserve that.

I know. Can you believe her?

What are you doing?

Why'd you push me away?

I... I'm sorry. I didn't
mean to push you away.

I was just...

Drunk. Confused.

'Cause you're still
in love with me.

(ALARM BEEPS)

FELICITY: Dear Sally,

So, the dream started
Thanksgiving night.

Noel's kiss,

it's just stirring up feelings I
guess I've been trying to avoid.

The Monday after break, I
could barely even look at him.

Hi.

Hi. How's it going?

Oh, I'm still recovering
from my 200-proof hangover.

Totally.

Look, I just wanted to say
about, uh, what happened...

The kiss.

Yeah. Uh...

It was a really stupid drunken
mistake that I totally regret.

I feel guilty about it.

Me, too.

Yeah?

Okay.

I mean, not to mention the
trouble we're in now with Sherman.

Yeah, I know, but...

I thought about it, and
she's a professional.

She's not going to
hold it against us.

Of course she will.

No, she won't.

She's not gonna
give us a bad grade

because of what happened
over Thanksgiving.

Okay, we're dead.

Dead.

(THEME SONG PLAYING)

The three weeks since Thanksgiving
have been unbelievably frustrating.

And not just because of finals.

Even though I had decided against
being in a serious relationship,

my unconscious mind
just wouldn't cooperate.

It wouldn't let go of Noel.

Noel...

That kiss... That kiss has not
only screwed up my sleep patterns,

it's put a giant curse
on our art class.

SHERMAN: Felicity.

Sorry.

Pay attention, please.

So we should all be getting
our final projects ready.

I want you to do two
portraits of yourself.

One as you see yourself,

and one as you think the
outside world perceives you.

Then pair off with a partner and
you'll be doing each other's portraits.

I expect to see at least
five of the techniques

that we have worked
with this past semester.

Choose a face that you like.

You're gonna be spending
a lot of time looking at it.

If you want to use
color, that's fine,

just don't get fancy,
keep it simple.

You may want to use a
mirror for the self-portraits.

So let's get your
materials together, go for it.

I want to do this with you.

Yeah?

Well, I mean, unless...

No. I want to. Of course.

Good. Okay.

Hi. Hi.

Noel and I are going to be
partners. That's okay, right?

Yes, of course.

Good, uh...

And we just wanted
to let you know that

what happened at
Thanksgiving, um...

What you saw had
nothing to do with David.

That's true.

It was your punch that did it.

I'm just leaving.

Do you have a
class-related question?

I really admire
you as a teacher.

Obviously, I've learned so
much from you this semester.

And... I just wanted to make
sure that what happened

isn't going to affect our
teacher/student relationship.

I'm going to pretend you
didn't just ask me that.

Okay.

I'll see you on Thursday.

SEAN: Oh, my God.
That's just fantastic!

I... No. Yes. I can bring
samples over tomorrow afternoon.

Uh... Absolutely.

Yes, sir.

As much as you'd like. What...

Okay.

Yes!

What?

I don't believe this.

What, what, what happened?

Okay, um, you know how...

How I was giving away Smoothaise
samples on Thanksgiving?

Yes.

Well, apparently
there's this investor guy,

and he, uh, totally flipped out.

Total Smoothaise fanatic.

And he wants to distribute
it to restaurant chains.

Oh, my God!

That's amazing!
Isn't that great?

Congratulations! Thank you.

You know, I'm gonna buy you
a drink tonight at Epstein Bar.

Oh, you're playing?

Yes, I'm playing.

Wow! That's great!

You absolutely have to come

because I sent out,
like, a million flyers,

and there might be
music people there.

Oh, music people.

(DOOR OPENS)

Hey! Hey.

What's wrong?

Nothing!

(DOOR SLAMS)

My American Lit
final's due in 48 hours,

and I haven't even started yet.

That's why I slammed the door.

Oh.

That's why I'm gonna
go slam it again.

Okay.

I thought with time
the dreams would stop,

but they haven't.

In fact, they've just
gotten more intense.

I've missed you so much.

I had her first.

You can never take that away from
me, no matter how much you love her.

I'm the one who really
taught her how to make love.

I'm her soul mate.

No. I am.

FELICITY: Lucky?

Je m'appelle Charles.

FELICITY: What
are you doing here?

(SPEAKING FRENCH)

(BARK)

You okay?

Yeah. Yeah. I was, um...

I was just thinking
about this dream I had.

It's nothing.

No. Tell me. I want to know
what you were dreaming.

(NERVOUS CHUCKLE)

No. It doesn't even
make sense at all.

I don't even remember
the details. It's just stupid.

I'm dreading doing
those self-portraits,

sitting in front of a mirror,
studying every pore of my face.

Yuck!

Oh, I'm gonna have
to disagree on that one.

I mean, drawing you is... Well, yuck
is not the word I'd use to describe it.

How's, uh, how's Ruby?

Still in LA. She'll be
back in a couple of weeks.

But she's totally unimpressed
with the whole Hollywood scene.

You must miss her.

Yeah.

FELICITY: I was pretty sure

I was making
something out of nothing,

that Noel really wasn't
sending out signals.

I was just imagining them.

But then something happened.

Late Wednesday
night, mid-final sketch,

we took a TV break.

I guess we were both exhausted

because we passed out.

When I woke up, I could feel
his breath against my neck,

and Noel had his arm around me.

ELENA: So what happened
when you woke up?

Nothing. I got up first, and...

He didn't say anything about it.

I don't know if he
did it on purpose.

We just went back to drawing.

What happened to "I don't
want to date anyone right now"?

I know, but...

When I said it to
David, I meant it.

Last year,

I had a chance to be with Noel,

and if I have the chance again,

I just...

I don't wanna make
the same mistake again.

I mean, unless this is all
wishful thinking anyway.

Are Ruby and Noel,

you know, are they serious?

I think he likes her.

I mean, I don't know. I mean...

(SIGHS) You guys have a history.

It's a whole different thing.

Plus, she's been
out of town for weeks.

What does that mean?

I mean, how serious can it be?

Do you think I should
tell him about the dreams?

You two have been dancing
around this long enough.

You might as well.

FELICITY: I couldn't
take it anymore.

My dreams, our nap,

all these things were adding up

to some pretty
unmistakable conclusions.

I had to confront Noel,

and I just had to live
with the consequences.

Hi.

Ruby.

It's so good to see you.

Uh, yeah.

They rearranged my
sh**ting schedule,

so I could come
back for my Econ final.

Come on in. Noel's
in the shower.

I... I'm thirsty. Aren't you?

No.

Okay, I'm just,
uh... Portrait break.

Good. I'm getting carpal tunnel.

Can you believe it's
already Christmas?

I swear, time's going
faster than it used to.

I know. What happened to fall?

It's like it skipped and went
directly from summer to winter.

What's this, Christmas shopping?

How non-procrastinating of you.

Or is this Elena's?

No. It's mine.

Wow. Which teacher
are you trying to butter up?

Actually, that's maybe for Ruby.

Oh.

Maybe.

Wow.

Yeah. I'm not sure.

I can't decide
what the hell to do.

No. I'm sure she'll love it.

I don't know.

Hey. Uh...

Is this better?

Uh, that's really pretty.

Or...

This.

Too much?

No.

It's too much, isn't it?

But is the Palm
Pilot too impersonal?

Because she's always complaining
about being disorganized.

And my brother got one and
said it completely changed his life,

and that made me want one.

So I just... What do you think?

Noel, I...

You can say anything you
want. They're all returnable.

I can't tell you
what to give Ruby.

No. I just want your opinion.

I think they're all really good.

Okay. Well, just tell me
which one you would want.

What? What's going on?

I could probably tell
you what to give Ruby

if I didn't have a
personal interest at stake.

I wanna go out with you again.

I don't even know how
serious you and Ruby are,

or even if you'd be
interested in dating me

if you weren't
dating anyone else.

Oh, my God.

I'm reeling.

I'm physically reeling.

I know, this was
like a bombshell.

I don't... I can't
really feel my legs.

(SIGHS)

This is bad timing...
What you're saying.

Mmm-hmm.

Yeah.

I saw this guy on the
news when I was a kid,

a stunt guy.

And he was, uh... He
was on a motorcycle.

He was doing this insane jump

over, like, 60 school buses
or something ridiculous.

And he tried it, and he missed.

He broke, like, 80%
of the bones in his body

on the roof of bus 59.

And I remember they
interviewed him from the hospital.

He had bandages
and gauze all over him.

He looked up, and you
could only see his eyes.

And they asked him if
he was gonna try it again,

and he said, "No."

And they said, "Why not?"

And he said,

"Because I really
missed the first time."

You just said the perfect thing,

and thank you for
being honest back.

Now I feel weird.

It's like reverse reeling.

No, don't.

We should both feel really good.

We just got it out there.

We certainly did.

Now we can just move on.

Give her the bracelet.

You think?

It's what I'd want.

♪ I know better now

♪ Better be this time

♪ Give me love

♪ Give me life

♪ I've been
traveling for so long

♪ Overdrive, hundred miles

♪ I deserve a
little bit of this life

♪ A little smile

♪ I deserve a little bit of you

♪ Yeah ♪

Whoo-hoo!

Yeah!

Whoo-hoo! Whoo!

Thank you.

Thanks.

Hey.

Hi.

I found your flyer in my inbox.

I decided on a whim

to come check out your show,

and I'm really glad I did.

That was a great set.

Thank you. Thanks.

I'm Eric Kidd.

Julie Emrick.

Oh, you know that.
You got the flyer.

Yes. Um, I'm head of
A&R at Pop Rocks Records.

I don't...

Well, we're growing.

We have a lot of great acts,

and we're really into
developing new talent.

I was wondering, have
you made any recordings?

Me? Yeah.

No. Well, I've made a couple
of really cheesy tapes for myself.

I borrowed a 4-track
from my friend.

There was, like, a dog
barking in the background.

I would love to hear it,
canine backup and all.

Maybe I could pass it
along to my partners.

Are you kidding?

I'm dead serious, really.

Look, can I buy you
a drink or something?

Oh, God, I would love to.

But I'm in the middle
of finals right now,

and I should not even be here.

SEAN: Hey.

You were amazing. Thank you.

Amazing.

Sean, this is Eric.
Eric, this is Sean.

Be really nice, 'cause he's
from a record company.

Nice to meet you.

You, too.

Well, look, why don't
you give me a call.

I would love to hear
those tapes. Really.

Here's my card.

Thanks.

No problem. Nice meeting you.

Thanks for coming.
Nice to meet you.

Yeah.

Oh, my God. Pop Rocks.

What's up?

Noel's the greatest.

Gwen, this is Felicity,
my old lab partner.

Felicity, this is Gwen,
your replacement.

It's nice to meet you.

Gwen, why don't you
continue with the assignment,

and I'll be just a sec.

I'll go get...

The beaker.

The beaker.

She's the, uh, slow talker?

She's not the fast talker.

What's wrong?

Noel just dumped me.

Since when were you dating?

I, uh...

Told him I wanted
to see him again,

and he said no.

He likes Ruby.

Oh, honey, I'm sorry.

Oh, no, don't be.

I told him how I felt,
and he made a choice.

It's weird.

I guess I should be
miserable or something.

But I really respect
his decision.

That only makes
you want him more.

Damn right.

It sucks how that happens.

Yeah.

Merry Christmas.

Oh, my God. What is this?

Open it.

I didn't get you anything yet.

That's okay.

A Palm Pilot. I totally
need one of these.

Yeah?

I'm so disorganized.

Or unorganized?
Whichever one's right.

You sure you like it?
Because I have the receipt.

We can return it.

No. I love it.

Yeah, here, let's return it.

No. Stop. This is perfect.

Really?

Really.

You're the sweetest.

Good. I'm glad you like it.

Wow.

Please, now hook it up.

Hook it up? Oh, that was nice.

(HUMMING)

Hey.

Hello.

You look great.

Thanks.

Any special occasion?

No. I was just dropping off
my tape to that record guy.

Who, Eric?

How'd that go.

He seems really interested.

That's great. You want a
sandwich or something?

No. Actually, I just had
lunch with him in his office.

He ordered a pizza.

Really?

I am so excited.

He's thinking about
doing this thing

called a demo deal

where they pay to have
three or four songs recorded.

And then if they
like what they hear,

they may actually sign me.

But you didn't sign anything
with them yet, did you?

No. Why?

I don't know.

I just kind of got a
bad feeling from him.

What?

To be honest, he just seemed
like he was a little more interested

in hitting on you than
helping your career.

What are you talking about?

I'm just telling you what I saw.

I don't believe you.

I'm standing here
telling you something

that just happened to me,

and all you can talk about

is how you think that
he was hitting on me.

Okay. I'm sorry.
Maybe I'm wrong.

You know what, you told me

about your stupid
Smoothaise investor,

I was just happy for you.

Wait a minute. Stupid
Smoothaise investor?

He's got two partners.
They own a record company.

The guy is legit.

The guy is a little slimy, okay?

You don't even know him.

I don't need to
know him. I met him.

You think just
because I am a girl,

that he's trying to scam on me

and I don't have any
business sense whatsoever.

Okay, okay. I am staring
at a blank computer screen,

panicked, trying
to write a paper

on a topic I don't understand.

So, please, shut up.

Fine, 'cause I'm leaving.

No. Julie.

Come on.

I hope what I said
earlier didn't freak you out.

No. No, no, no.

It's, uh...

It was the nicest thing
you've ever said to me.

Okay.

So, did you end up
giving Ruby the bracelet?

Actually, I gave her
her the Palm Pilot.

Really?

How did she take it?

Seemed to like it.

Good.

You're too hard. It's no good.

Let me see it.

No. I made you look
like a really cute tomato.

I think I finally got
your eyes right.

Yeah? Yeah.

Hey, can I try something?

What?

Bruce, that guy from class...

He was in a dream
I had recently.

Disturbing.

Wow.

Anyway, he was telling
me about this technique

where, before you
draw, you get close

and stare deeply into the
other person's eyes nonstop.

The eyes being the window
to the soul, that kind of thing?

Yeah. Sort of like looking for
the inner essence of your subject.

Says he does it
when he gets blocked.

I thought he was
hitting on me at first.

Then I met his
girlfriend and realized

that it's just a natural
artistic exercise.

Do you mind?

No.

Okay. Uh, well, why
don't you come over here,

and we'll stare.

(DOOR OPENS)

What?

You two were about
to kiss, that's what.

Elena?

It's okay. Go ahead
and get it over with.

We were not about to kiss.

It's all right with me.

It doesn't have to
be Thanksgiving.

(DOOR CLOSES)

FELICITY: Last night's dream

was the most unsettling so far.

Oh, no.

I really wanted that bracelet.

Me, too.

You, too?

Interesting.

So, was this your idea?

Sally, you know that feeling

when you're driving somewhere

and you can't remember
exactly how you got there.

Well, I just took
my French Lit final,

and I have no idea
what the question was.

Hey, Roger Clemens,
what's your problem?

Nothin'.

I know what that's like,

when you just wanna throw
a highlighter across the room.

It makes sense.

American Literature.

Things you learn in college.

It's my final paper.
It's impossible.

No, no. Final papers
are a hassle, okay?

Paying for life is impossible.

I swear to God, if I could switch
places with you, I almost would.

No, thanks. What,
you got money trouble?

Nah.

No, nothing. It's just R&D's
very expensive. Okay?

But when Smoothaise
hits, which I know it will...

No question about it, I'm gonna
look back on this period of my life

and I'm gonna laugh about it.

I'm already looking at this
period of life and laughing.

What's your paper?

It's The Invisible Man.

What? "Examine the
theme that American society

"willfully ignores and
oppresses African Americans."

Yeah. In 5,000 words.

Huh.

All I can think about is that when
this guy makes himself invisible,

it's like some sort
of a metaphor.

You know what I mean?

Metaphor. Yeah.

This guy comes in,

and he's all dressed
up in bandages

and everybody's,
like, hey, what a freak.

H.G. Wells.

Yeah. So I'm thinking

that that's what it's
like for some people.

But I don't know.

I feel like a total idiot.

I think you are
an idiot. Thanks.

But not for the reason
that you're thinking.

Sean, come on, that's not funny.

Oh, no, it's not funny.

See, you're supposed
to be reading

Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison.

There's another Invisible Man?

Two books with the
same name, Sean?

That is so stupid.

No. That's a metaphor, Ben.

Shut up!

You know what, I
shouldn't have told you.

I cannot believe I read
the wrong freakin' book.

(DOOR OPENS)

Just so you know,

Eric Kidd gave my tape to
his partners, and they loved it.

Who's Eric Kidd?

Oh, just the guy who
wants to get in my pants.

What, so they're
signing you? That's great.

I know. Eric still has
to hear from one guy,

but once he does, he's
gonna draw up a contract.

Well, congratulations.

Thank you. Where are you going?

Bookstore. Bookstore.

I'm sorry. I, um...

I was just being a
little overprotective.

I get to record my songs.

How much fun is that gonna be?

If you need anybody
to play the oboe...

High school band.

I didn't mean to be so...

No. Hey, forget it.

The Smoothaise investor,
okay, wasn't actually the investor.

He was a liaison, or a
secretary, it turns out, so...

Oh.

Yeah. It totally fell apart.

Which is actually a good thing

because the guy
was talking to me

about signing
over all the rights,

and I never would
have done that.

Yeah, of course you wouldn't.

I'm sorry.

Yeah, well, whatever.

Congratulations,
though. Seriously.

Thank you.

I'm gonna go call my parents.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Sorry.

No. That's, uh... Hi.

I wasn't just staring at myself.

I'm actually doing a
self-portrait for class.

Oh, I know. Noel told
me about the assignment.

Do you have a second?

Yeah. Yeah, of course. Come in.

I'm sort of having
a stupid crisis.

Is it about finals?

No. It's about Noel.

Oh.

I wasn't even gonna ask you,

because you dated him,

but then I realized that's
why I should ask you.

All this does is show
how lame I am with guys.

You know I'm doing
that movie, right?

Right, which is great.

I guess it is.

It just seems sort of
like it's not me, but...

So they're giving me
this thing called per diem,

which is money.

It's like free money on top of
what they're already paying me.

So, I'm thinking of
getting Noel a ticket.

What kind? A plane ticket?

Yeah. To come back
with me to Los Angeles.

The movie said they needed
me for two more weeks,

which is insane since
all I do is sit around.

Why I'm asking you

is because it seems
a little extravagant.

Would it freak him out?

Um...

I don't know. I...

I don't think it would.

So, if you were me,
you'd give it to him?

If I were you?

Yeah. I mean, you know,

but don't really take
my advice. I don't...

Oh, no, I'm gonna.

Oh.

Were you going
to kiss me or not?

Um...

'Cause it certainly
seems like you were.

Last night?

Noel.

Yes. I almost
kissed you, all right?

Well, what about Ruby?

I know. God!

You throw this insane
curveball at me, you know.

You want to start dating again.

Could you have
chosen a worst time?

I didn't choose this time.

I only told you because I thought
you were sending me signals.

Well, maybe I was.

Okay, wait a second, two things.

First of all,

that's not fair to
Ruby, and secondly,

then what are you saying?

I'm saying I'm a mess right now.

Ruby and I are
just starting out.

She's been gone longer
than we've been together.

Obviously, she doesn't mean more
to me now than you do, she can't.

On the other hand,

I didn't just throw out that
motorcycle story cavalierly.

You know, I actually
thought about that.

And on the other
hand, I think I'm...

I think I'm willing to
risk it again and trust us.

You... Again.

Really?

So if Elena hadn't walked in...

Yes. Yes.

I would've planted a giant,
undrunk, guilty kiss on your lips.

God! I'm Ruby's R.A.

I'm her boyfriend.

(SIGHS)

You said "I think."

That you "think"
you're willing to risk it.

Yeah. It doesn't sound
very decisive, does it?

So maybe we just think about it.

Yeah, we can do that.

FELICITY: I didn't
dream at all last night.

Not about Noel,
not about anything.

Today was our drawing final.

I woke up sort of energized

with a weird butterflies feeling

I haven't had since
sometime last year,

this exciting, hopeful feeling

that maybe Noel and I
were getting back together.

Are you and Noel
getting back together?

What?

The point is that I finally
met a guy that I really like,

someone I can trust.

So, I get this
ridiculous movie thing,

I don't even know
what I'm doing,

and I'm staying in this
way-too-modern hotel

with these GQ creepy
guys in the lobby all the time,

and the only thing that
really gets me through it...

are the packages Noel sends me.

Noel sent you packages?

Yeah. Really... Just
really great packages.

With little stuff,
little cute things

like toys and
horoscopes and candy,

and he made some
cards on the computer...

It sounds really
stupid talking about it.

I can't tell you how
much that meant to me,

how much he means to me.

Are you and Noel
getting back together?

Ruby...

Listen, maybe it's just
me being totally insecure,

but when I gave Noel
that ticket, you know,

to go back to Los Angeles,

he was really touched, but
he seemed sort of distant.

And, um...

And he wasn't
sure if he could go.

And I didn't really know why.

He didn't give me an answer.

He didn't say that
was because of me?

No. But when he talks about you,

or, you know, when you
talk to him on the phone,

he's different.

It's hard to explain.

I know you guys have
been hanging out a lot

and working on
your art final and...

The point is...

I can't compete with you.

I know I just can't.

(SIGHS)

Of course I like Noel. I mean...

But...

You don't have
to worry about me.

As complicated as it is,

Noel and I are just friends.

Really?

Yeah.

Oh, my God.

It's exactly what I
wanted you to say.

You don't have to
do this, you know.

Actually, I like typing, so...

You know what? This is
a halfway decent paper.

Is it? Yeah.

I've been working
on pure adrenaline,

but, yeah, it feels pretty good.

What time is it due?

Um, in 15 minutes.

A piece of cake.

Okay, uh, you spelled
polarized wrong.

All right. Fix it?

Yeah.

Let's go.

We lost... We lost it!

What? Joking.

Ah, don't do that.

(ALL TALKING INDISTINCTLY)

Hi.

So, Sherman's gonna
m*rder us today.

Are you ready for this?

Uh, not really.

I mean it. This is the end
of our educational careers.

Ruby came to see me.

Oh.

She tell you about the ticket?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think you should go.

Go with Ruby.

When she came to see me,
she had this tone in her voice.

It was sweet and urgent and...

A little familiar.

And I realized where
I'd heard it before.

From me.

Last year when Hannah came.

I was the new girlfriend,

and Hannah was
the old girlfriend.

That was a horrible feeling.

It's a totally
different situation.

Really?

But still I think you're...
I think you're right.

I'm going to go with Ruby?

Yeah, I...

All I can say is I understand.

Of course, I understand.

SHERMAN: Okay,
let's focus on the work.

First up is Felicity
Porter and Noel Crane.

All right. Let's see.

Well, there are some problems
here, a few obvious ones.

But clearly, for these thoughtful
and skillfully drawn pieces,

the positives far
outweigh the negatives.

These two drawings
were obviously drawn

by two people who could
really see each other.

Who felt a certain...

FELICITY: So it turns out
Sherman didn't destroy us at all.

She was actually... She
was actually incredibly kind.

That is a very
elusive quality to have.

Now, over here...

Excuse me.

Um...

I just wanted to say
thank you for, uh,

the grade and critique.

It was really generous.

I was only critiquing
the art, not the artist.

FELICITY: Ruby left a day
early to get back to her movie.

Noel flies out to meet
her tomorrow night,

the same night I
fly back to Palo Alto.

I leave from Kennedy
and Noel from La Guardia.

(INAUDIBLE)

Oh.

You take this one, okay?

Are you sure?

Yeah. I'll get the next one.

Going to Kennedy.

Okay.

Thanks.

Thanks.

So...

Have a good Christmas.

You, too.