Ezra ignores Felix, and Felix obsesses over what happened between them. He feels oblivious for not realizing Ezra’s feelings sooner.

Felix tells Declan that he kissed someone. They chat about questioning their identities; Declan admits that he used to obsess over his sexuality until he found a community online. They talk about the uncertainty of the future. After hanging up, Felix googles alternatives to college; as he considers all the other options, he gains a better understanding of Ezra’s anxieties about making the right choices in life. Grandequeen69 messages Felix about his mother abandoning him, which triggers a deep pain in him. He wonders, “What do you say, when a person basically tells you that you’re not a human being?” (265).

Ezra returns to school and ignores Felix until Felix chases Ezra down to apologize. Ezra isn’t mad but asks for space, then takes a different chair than normal in class. As Felix tries to focus on painting, he can only think about the situation with Ezra, what grandequeen69 said the night prior, and how Declan is in love with Lucky but not Felix himself. Unconsciously, Felix begins to smear paint across his portraits. Jill stops him and reminds him to apply for the end-of-summer gallery, but Felix believes she is only saying this to be nice.