"And...Y/N will read Tommy Thornton."

The boy's eyes open immediately. He smiles but in a confused manner.

"Wha—?" Y/N chuckles. "No. No. See, I—I didn't plan on acting or anything. Like..."

They are now sitting in a circle on chairs. Y/N drums his fingers on his play booklet as he lets Taylor read her part.

"When did you know, Tommy?"

Y/N, looking mighty annoyed, turns to the girl.

"Know what?" He asks rather blankly.

"That we were in love?"

He sighs and looks back down at his booklet. Y/N reads his lines with absolutely no emotion whatsoever.

"Love? Uh...baby, believe me, you don't wanna go falling in love with a guy like me."

Hailee looks up from her book and watches Y/N read his lines. Other girls in the group also eye him, as if they are swooned by how the attractive teen was reading, despite him barely trying.

Taylor responds in character. "It's too late, Tommy. I'm crazy about you. I'm breathing it, drinking it all in. Aren't you?"

He laughs slightly. "Yeah, I—I don't know what I'm drinking, dollface, but if this is love, pour me another glass?"

Y/N cringes at the last line and chuckles. Danny looks over at Y/N, not appreciating the critique of his writing.

"Mr. L/N, are you trying to be bad at this?" Mrs. Rosen asks.

"Oh, no," Y/N replies with a grin. "It just comes naturally."

Everyone laughs at his remark, including Hailee.

The teacher chooses to move on. "All right, everybody, let's go to the end."

Hailee finally stops staring at Y/N, looking down and shaking her head. She smiles softly as she turns the pages of her booklet.

Y/N waits impatiently outside the school for Andres. He's propped up on his crutches and looks out onto the street, seeing nobody. He lets out a quick sigh.

In the background, Danny and Hailee walk side by side down the steps of the building. They have been chatting for a bit.

"Don't even pretend like you're not gonna be great. I mean, you're so pretty."

"Okay." She replies rather quickly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He nods. "All right. See ya."

Danny leaves. Y/N continues to stand where he is, and he's all grumpy. He can't believe Andres is actually flaking on him. Next time he goes over, he's ripping the man's poster of Dua Lipa.

Hailee notices Y/N and goes to join him, exchanging a goodbye with another girl on her way. She stands behind him, and he glances back, rolling his eyes.

Not her again. He faces forward.

"So, would it kill you to try?" She asks about the play.

"Yup." He replies. "And I'm too young to die."

The girls sighs quietly.

"Okay, so you don't care about classes, or sports, or graduating, but you like school because you're popular, and you'll never be on top again."

"That's...thoroughly predictable." He says, repeating her line a couple of days ago on the bus.

She nods. After a few seconds, she finally responds.

"Your act only works on an audience."

Hailee walks away, and Y/N ponders what she said. He takes out his phone to check the time and looks up, seeing the empty street ahead and nobody coming to get him. He looks back at Hailee.

Meanwhile, Hailee gets in her car, buckles up, and revs the engine. She looks up and sees Y/N standing in front of her car.

Nothing was stopping her from running him over; the expression on her face told Y/N just that. So, he hops out of the way on his crutches and heads to the driver's side. She rolls down the window and turns to him.

"Are you feeling Christian?" He asks, giving his best attempt at puppy dog eyes.

Hailee sighs. How could she refuse?

Hailee is driving. Y/N looks out the window and hasn't said anything in the few minutes they've been moving.

"Seatbelt." She says.

He gives her a look as if she'd just asked him to jump off the Hansen Dam. Y/N sighs as he complies, buckling his seatbelt. Hailee smiles.

She taps her smartphone on a stand by the wheel, choosing to play some music. Heaven Takes You Home by Swedish House Mafia starts to play from her stereo, catching the young man off guard.

When Heaven takes you home
And you're at the gates alone
If the grass isn't greener
Come back and check I'm still breathing

"You...listen to Swedish House Mafia?" He asks.

She nods. "Is that weird?"

"No...I—I guess I just didn't expect it."

"Do you like them?"

"Uh...yeah. Well, electronic music, in general. But they're a group I listen to."

"Cool." She replies, still looking ahead at the road. "Anything else you listen to?"

He shrugs, not wanting to really get into anything else. She tries again.

"So...nothing?"

"I don't know. Forget about it."

"So music talk's over with?"

"Right now, yeah."

She nods and grips the wheel, smirking.

"42."

He turns to her. "42? What do you—what do you mean, 42?"

"42 is befriend somebody you don't like."

Y/N's brow is raised. He looks ahead.

"It's a to-do list I have exempt from my life." She clarifies.

"What, like getting a new personality?" He snaps back.

"Mm. Spend a year in the Peace Corps. Make a medical discovery."

"That's ambitious."

"Be in two places at once. Get a tattoo. Ride on a motorcycle."

Y/N turns to her. There is a beat.

"What's number one?" He asks, his curiosity piqued.

Hailee smiles.

"I'd tell you, but..." She looks at him. "...then I'd have to kill you."

Y/N chuckles at her remark.

"Thoroughly predictable." He adds.

Y/N looks out the window and spots a familiar-looking jeep in the lot of a Taco Bell. It's Andres who was with the rest of the posse. Laura, Casey, and Matthew chat amongst themselves, and Y/N looks on with an uh-oh expression.

He leans forward in an attempt to hide himself so they won't see him. Hailee looks at him and then out the window, knowing why he was doing so.

They finally pass by his friends, and Y/N gets up again. He looks over at Hailee, who just scoffs and gazes back toward the road. The music continues to play in the car.

There's nothing wrong with you
You're perfect, you're cool
You took the best parts of you
Showed me what love can do

• • •

OUTSIDE, IN FRONT of the garage, Y/N and Andres are running lines for the school play. The Latino was there to help his friend since it was the least he could do for flaking on him the day before.

"I've come to see if you're ready." Andres read flatly as he sat on the bench.

Y/N leans on his crutch for support as he reads from his booklet.

"Take a good look, lady, 'cause the only thing I'm ready for is a dirt nap."

"Ready to look inside your heart, Tom Thornton?"

Y/N sets his crutch down as Andres continues to read the lines badly.

"Your words have been heard and not just by me."

Y/N looks away from the booklet, trying to recite his lines without needing to see them.

"When you walked into..." He trails off, and Andres encourages him to continue. "Aw, shit."

Y/N reopens his booklet and reads.

"When you walked out of the rain and into my club..." He points at Andres. "That wasn't just a coincidence, was it?"

"Nothing's coincidence, baby." Andres reads. "You know you're the only one who can make me sing."

Andres shuts his book and suddenly starts thrusting the air, as if he was banging the teacher.

"Oh, sí, Mrs. Rosen! Oh, you gonna put Andres in all your plays!"

Y/N looks the other way, trying to keep a straight face. Of course, Andres wanted to make a joke of the entire thing. He ends up flipping on his back and humps the air some more, imitating the teacher's voice.

"Andres, I'm gonna put you in all my plays! Ay, ay, ay!"

Y/N chuckles. "Come on. Come on, man. Come on."

Andres laughs as he lays on the bench. Y/N starts to get serious.

"Do you know I got three weeks to memorize this stuff?" He adds.

Andres calms down and sits up. "Man, you couldn't pull this off if you had three months, man. Al Pacino couldn't even make this shit work, and he was in frickin' Scarface."

"Look, I didn't write it, okay?" Y/N retorts.

"No, but you're the one who's gonna make a jackass outta himself in front of the whole school, the town, your friends..."

"Look, I don't have a choice. So, would you just help me out, please?"

Andres gets serious, too. He gets up and puts a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You know I'm just messin' with you, right? I'm gonna be there opening night, front row, and you could count on it."

Y/N nods. Andres adds one last thing.

"With tomatoes."

The boy laughs. Y/N snickers as well.

"Thanks, man." He says.

Andres and Y/N do their handshake.

At the same time, Y/N's mom pulls up in her Camry and exits, her arms full of groceries.

"Y/N? Boys? Can you help me with these?"

"Yeah!" Y/N calls out and puts the booklet down.

Andres drops his as well. "No problem, Ms. L/N."

The boys approach the car, with Andres patting Y/N's back and putting his arm around him.

• • •

IT IS THE MIDDLE of the school day. Y/N leaves the classroom and closes the door behind him. He looks around momentarily, checking to see if anyone he knows is there before walking over to Hailee, who is taking things out of her locker.

"Hailee." He greets.

She glances behind and sighs. Hailee turns back to her locker, smiling.

"What do you want, L/N? I've known you for years. You've never been the first one to come up and say hello."

He lets out a breath, struggling to say what he wants. Y/N decides to go straight to the point and speaks lowly.

"I need help with my lines."

She shuts her locker and faces him, carrying the book for her next class.

"Y/N L/N is asking me for help?" Hailee asks in a surprised manner.

"Yeah."

There is a beat. She nods.

"Okay. I'll pray for you."

Hailee walks away. Y/N chooses to follow her.

"Hailee, no, look." He feigns a smile. "You really need—"

"You've obviously never asked anybody for help before, right?"

"No..." He says under his breath.

A random girl walking with her friend spots the popular kid and greets him.

"Hey, Y/N."

Y/N pays no mind to her, and the two pass by them. A part of him is a bit embarrassed having been seen with the choirgirl. Hailee continues.

"A request like yours requires flattery and groveling. It can't be all about you. It has to be for the common good of everybody."

"It is for the common good."

They stop walking, and Hailee turns to face Y/N.

"Okay, Danny Solano deserves the best." He tells her, then sighs. He speaks softly. "Please?"

Hailee takes a second. In her mind, she was glad to know that Y/N genuinely wanted to do well in the play and also respect the writer's work.

"Okay." She replies. "One condition, though."

"What's that?" He asks with a shrug.

Hailee looks directly at Y/N and places a hand on the books she is carrying.

"You have to promise you won't fall in love with me."

Y/N chuckles. What kind of request was that? Of course, I won't. He smirks and puts his hands in his pockets.

"That's not a problem."

"Okay." She says with a nod. "I'll see you this afternoon after school."

"Okay."

Hailee leaves. Y/N watches her go and sighs again before looking down. Soon, he heads in the opposite direction and leaves, too.