Two Boys Kissing

Craig is disappointed that his parents didn’t return for the 24-hour mark, but he’s still excited that they made it. He wants to kiss Harry for real, but when the countdown ends, he can feel Harry fainting. He keeps their lips together and squeezes Harry to wake him. He signals for Harry to be given water. Harry sips it through a straw, but he’s still too hot. He tries to pull off his t-shirt, but can’t without breaking the kiss, so he signals for it to be cut off. Someone brings a fan.

Neil comes to Peter’s house as Peter watches the livestream, and Peter reports that Harry almost passed out. Neil doesn’t know what he means, and Peter reminds him about the kiss. Neil can’t bring himself to tell Peter about the family confrontation he just had. He doesn’t feel that Peter will relate because Peter’s parents were always supportive. Neil sits down with Peter to watch the kiss.

Ryan takes Avery to the Pancake Century Diner. He first checks to see who is inside, out of habit. He and Avery enjoy themselves, bonding over their small towns and small high schools. Back at the Big Kiss, Craig fantasizes about pancakes. He feels bad about thinking about food while Harry is suffering. He recalls Harry being the strong one in their relationship, but he realizes that his reliance on Harry’s strength is part of the reason they broke up. While he enjoyed letting Harry be the one in charge, Harry felt that Craig was too complacent and that he didn’t fight for their relationship until it was too late. Now, Craig tries to be the strong one, helping Harry to get through the rest of the kiss.

Cooper drives, imaging others’ reactions to his disappearance. He thinks they will be sad, but only for a moment, and that they will actually be relieved that they don’t have to pretend to love him anymore. “Love, he thinks, is a lie that people tell each other in order to make the world bearable. He is not up for the lie anymore. And nobody is going to lie to him like that, anyway. He’s not even worth a lie” (154). The chorus want for him to realize that he is wrong, and that love makes the world more bearable because it isn’t a lie. They want him to have a chance to truly feel it, but Cooper has already made up his mind about his fate. 

Neil and Peter leave the livestream of the Big Kiss on in the background while they play video games together. Peter can tell something isn’t right with Neil. He is afraid to ask, however, for fear that Neil is upset with him. Neil can’t make himself share what happened with his family, though he knows he should. Finally, Peter asks Neil what’s wrong, and Neil says he's fine. Peter wants to push further, but instead lets it go and continues the game.

After pancakes, Ryan takes Avery to his favorite abandoned miniature golf course, Mr. Footer’s. It looks run-down, but Ryan explains that it was a favorite of his as a child, and that it eventually closed and was abandoned. They crawl through a gap in the gate and play a pretend round of golf. Avery makes up a hole patrolled by live gators that eat your ball if you miss. He swings an imaginary club, and pretends his ball just missed the hole. Ryan, joining the fun, swings and hits his ball near the hole as well. Avery then putts his imagined ball into the hole and gestures for Ryan to take a turn. They continue playing, making up more elaborate holes as they walk along the old course holding hands. “The sun isn’t shining, but they don’t notice. If anyone were to ask them later, they’d swear that it was” (160). Avery goes to make a wish in an old wishing well, but Ryan tells him not to, because he spent his childhood wishing in that well and nothing good ever happened. Avery tells him that he wasn’t doing it right, and he puts a penny to Ryan’s lips and kisses him, then tells him to make a wish. Ryan wishes to be happy. They kiss again, but when they proceed to the next hole, they hear voices and footsteps approaching.