"The way I figure it, everyone gets a miracle." "Like, maybe you hit the Powerball jackpot." "Or a last-second jumper in the NBA Finals." "Maybe you make it to outer space... or marry the Queen of England, or something." "If you consider all the unlikely things that happen in all the world... you gotta think at least one of them will happen to each of us." "Turns out, my miracle was different." "Of all the houses in all the subdivisions in all the state of Florida..." "I wound up living across the street... from Margo Roth Spiegelman." "Bring your own lampshade, somewhere there's a party." "Here it's never endin', can't remember when it started." "Pass around the lampshade," "There'll be plenty enough room in jail." "From the moment I saw her..." "I was hopelessly, madly in love." "If being' wrong's a crime, I'm serving forever." "If being' strong's your kind." "Then I need help here with this feather." "Due to our close proximity in both age and location... and for no other reason I could ever discern... we soon became friends." "If being' afraid is a crime we hang side by side." "At the swingin' party down the line." "Look." "Quentin." "He's dead." "We should get out of here, Margo." "I thought you closed your eyes when you died." "The truth is... at the time, it didn't feel like that big a deal to me." "It's not like I knew the guy." "If I had a panic attack every time someone I didn't know died..." "I'd go insane." "It was a much bigger deal to Margo." "I figured it out." "His name is Robert Joyner." "He was 36." "Apparently he was getting divorced and he was sad about it." "How do you know all this?" "I'm doing an investigation." "Are you in?" "Sure." "Great." "Come on." "Wait, what?" "His wife works at SeaWorld." "I bet there's a clue." "Margo... we can't go to SeaWorld." "It's almost 11:00." "I can get us in." "Come on!" "I don't wanna get in trouble." "It's a shame, don't you think?" "All those strings inside him broke." "Margo always loved mysteries." "And in everything that came after," "I could never stop thinking... maybe she loved them so much... she became one." "But I'm getting ahead of myself." "A lot changed in the years that followed." "Margo and I sort of..." "drifted apart." "But I never stopped thinking about her..." "I'll get it!" "I'll get it." "And hoping I'd get a second chance." "Trick or treat!" "Yeah." "Happy Halloween, guys." "It wasn't just me." "Pretty much everyone recognized..." "Margo was different." "Margo was... special." "Her life had become a series of unbelievably epic adventures." "Each one too insane to be true." "Like the time she spent three weeks traveling with the circus." "Or the time she toured with the Mallionaires up and down the East Coast." "Look, if you ask the bassist... he's either gonna say I'm his girlfriend or he wants me to be..." "Either way I'm going back there... so you might as well make it easier for yourself and just let me in." "And wherever she went... she always left clues behind for her little sister, Ruthie." "Or anyone else she deemed worthy." "I was never one of those people." "As senior year drew to a close," "Margo and I barely talked at all." "It's your senior prom." "I don't understand the objection." "I have so many objections, Mom." "Like slow dancing." "And fast dancing." "Any kind of dancing." "And wearing a rented tux." "You could take Suzie Chung." "No, we're not a thing anymore." "But she was such a nice girl." "What happened with you two?" "I don't know, it just..." "Just didn't work out." "Hi, Ben." "Hi, Radar." "Hi, Mrs. Jacobsen." "Hey, Mrs. Jacobsen." "I would hit that so hard." "I don't see it." "What?" "Q!" "I'm not saying I just wanna bang your mom." "She should be respected." "Stop." "Admired." "You know, she's a real lady." "Yeah, she's my mom." "I wanna ride bikes with her." "What?" "I'd feed her grapes, take her to Paris." "Treat her like the princess she is." "What, is that wrong?" "It's weird." "It's always weird." "I wanna give her a bath." "That's gonna be so..." "Oh!" "Hold on." "Uh-oh." "Hey, honey bunny." "How's prom looking for you?" "Not a chance, Bloody Ben." "No." "No!" "Freshmen know that story?" "When Ben was 12... he got a kidney infection and started literally pissing blood." "Oh, God." "By the time he came back from the hospital... a rumor had spread through the entire school... that his condition was the result of chronic masturbation." "I'm never gonna get a prom date, am I?" "Don't worry about it." "Prom is a waste of time and a waste of money." "Radar's going to prom." "Radar has a girlfriend, so he has to go to prom." "Lame." "Radar, has she been to your house yet?" "Oh, yeah." "Has your girlfriend come to your house yet?" "Stop." "Isn't there a certain reason why she doesn't come to your house?" "Radar, what up with that?" "You know very well "what up with that."" "We just like to hear you say it." "Could you tell us again?" "Because of what?" "I cannot hear you." "Can you project?" "My parents own the world's largest collection of black Santas!" "On, yeah." "You heard that correctly." "Radar's parents were trying to get into." "The Guinness Book of World Records... for the largest collection of black Santas in one house." "There were over a thousand." "And they were everywhere." "And not just at Christmas." "Even so, Radar was the first one of us to get a serious girlfriend." "You need a prom date." "Why don't you ask that girl you slept with at summer camp?" "Oh." "She's made up." "No, she's not." "But you can ask the girl from Saskatchewan." "Oh, yeah, you could ask..." "Oh, no, she's also made up." "No, they are both real." "Not made up." "Define "real." I don't know." "Gotta go." "Hi." "Hey." "Hey." "Let's go." "We have 10 minutes." "No, we're fine." "Let's go." "Hi, Angela." "Bye, Angela." "It was nice talking to you, Angela." "Oh, God." "She's great." "Glad we can have these chats." "So most of my days were exactly like this." "I threw myself into my classes..." "SATs, extracurriculars." "By the end of high school..." "I barely thought of her at all." "I just had to graduate, go off to college, find someone new." "And forget the miracle ever happened." "And it almost worked out that way." "Until this one night." "Margo?" "Shh." "Margo, hey." "I need to borrow your car." "What?" "Your car." "I don't have a car." "I mean your mom's car." "Why can't you use your car?" "My parents locked the keys in the safe beneath their bed." "And while I'm sure I could go in there and crack the combo... it just so happens that." "Myrna Mountweazel's in there... and that goddamn dog despises me." "Anyway, so like I said, I need to borrow your car." "Mmm-mmm." "Also, I need you to drive the car... because I have nine things I need to do tonight... and more than half of them require a getaway driver." "What, are you committing felonies?" "Ooh." "Remind me, is breaking and entering a felony?" "Yes." "What?" " Well." " Margo!" "Okay" "I gotta go, so are you in or out?" "Why can't you just get one of your underlings to help you out?" "Like Jase, or Lacey, or Becca?" "They're part of the problem, actually." "What problem?" "There are nine problems." "And your boyfriend's one of them?" "Ex-boyfriend." "Hmm." "Do you care to tell me where we're going?" "Uh, first, we are going to BJ's." "We're going shopping?" "No, we're not going shopping." "We are righting wrongs." "Then after that... we're gonna wrong some rights." "Basically, this is gonna be the best night of your life." "Okay" "I really don't wanna get into trouble." "You're a very anxious person, aren't you, Q?" "I'm not an anxious person." "I just..." "I have plans and goals." "None of which involve jail or dying." "Pull in here." "So, what plans?" "Huh?" "You said you had plans." "Uh..." "I just meant I'm going to Duke in the fall... then go to med school and become an oncologist... and obviously... get married and have kids by 30." "And then you'll be happy?" "Huh?" "When you're 30 in 12 years." "Married, kids, career." "Then you'll be happy." "Is that actually what you're saying?" "Um..." "Yeah." "I guess." "Yeah." "Isn't there something that could make you happy now?" "Like, that's the saddest thing I've ever heard." "Bingo!" "Nair?" "Wait, why do you need Nair?" "All will be revealed shortly, my young friend." "Six months older than you." "Remember that?" "Oh, really?" "Are you?" "Margo, don't." "Stop, stop!" "Don't." "It's really loud." "Don't." "Stop." "What?" "Were you trying to say something?" "You can't do that." "Shh." "Stop, stop!" "What else do we need?" "Interesting capitalization." "I'm a big believer in random capitalization." "The rules are so unfair to the letters in the middle." "It's not as weird as it looks." "Still weird." "So what happened?" "With Jase and Lacey and Becca?" "Apparently, my boyfriend of lo, these many months... has been cheating on me." "What?" "With one of my best friends." "Seriously?" "Why would he do that?" "Oh, next left." "Wait, this is..." "This is Becca's house." "Yeah." "And there is Jase's car." "Margo, this is a bad idea." "No, Quentin." "This is a tremendous idea." "Margo." "Margo." "Idiot never locks his car." "Are you sure we should be doing this?" "The Margo Roth Spiegelman revenge plot begins." "Do you wanna do the honors?" "No." "Suit yourself." "I can't believe you just did that." "We bring the rain down on our enemies." ""We"?" "You'll see." "Hello, is this Mr. Arrington?" "Do you know what time it is?" "I'm so sorry, but I just thought you'd like to know that your daughter is having sex in your basement right now." "Goodbye." "What was that voice?" "Let me use your phone." "Quickly." "Here." "Get in position." "What do you mean?" "What do I do?" "Four..." "Three..." "Two..." "Take the picture, now!" "Go!" "Watch this." "What?" "Well, that was fun." "He totally saw me." "What?" "So?" "So, he could kick my ass." "He won't." "What makes you so sure?" "Let me see." "What?" "The Rhode Island of penises." "It may have an illustrious history... but it sure isn't big." "Okay." "Now we go inside." "No." "What?" "No, no." "This fish is for Becca and it goes in her house." "No, no." "Come on, Margo." "We're gonna get caught." "We can't go inside." "I'll be lookout." "You can do whatever you want, Q." "Damn it." "What the hell was that?" "Dad, I'm sorry, okay?" ""I'm sorry"?" "That's completely unacceptable." "I really like him, Dad!" "He does not love you!" "Yes, he does!" "Who's down there?" "Go, go, go." "I have a gun!" " Shit!" " Are you kidding?" "Yeah, run!" "Couldn't you have just thrown it through a window or something?" "We bring the rain, not the scattered showers." "That was fun." "That was pretty fun." "Yeah." "You Okay?" "Yeah." "I don't know." "I just thought maybe it wasn't true." "Ah." "Anyway, moving on." "Lacey's?" "Has Lacey been naughty or nice?" "Lacey has been distinctly naughty." "We've been best friends since the 5th grade." "And then?" "And then, she didn't tell me about Jase." "Ready?" "Ta-da!" "Nice." "Unsentimental." "Traveling around." "Oh, my God, it's so late." "If you're tired, we can go home." "I thought so." "In the aisles of the grocery." "And the blocks uptown." "Who lives here?" "Chuck Parson." "Chuck Parson?" "You didn't think a scumbag like Chuck Parson could emerge unscathed, did you?" "He's Jase's best friend." "He's an accomplice." "Uh..." "Don't worry." "He's a heavy sleeper." "Don't, don't, don't." "The 6th-grade dance?" "Hmm?" "Chuck told all the girls not to dance with you and we all went along with it." "All of us." "I'm really sorry, Quentin." "No, it's okay." "That was a..." "That was a long time ago." "Here." "No, thanks." "There's gonna come a time in your life... where you're gonna look back on this moment... and you're gonna think..." ""What do I regret more?"" ""Removing Chuck's eyebrow..."" ""or not removing Chuck's eyebrow?"" "All right, give it to me." "What the...?" "Look at us." "We're ninjas!" "Maybe you're a ninja." "I'm not a ninja." "You're a ninja too." "Just a really awkward one." "I can feel my heart beating in my chest." "That's how you know you're having fun." "Okay." "So what's this about?" "Come on." "Well, at the end of a grand adventure... one must pause and reflect on one's achievements." "And the best place in Orlando to do that... is the SunTrust building." "Stop." "What?" "Stop it." "What?" "You promised me no breaking and entering." "We're not breaking and entering." "We're just entering." "Very clever." "I can't get arrested tonight." "Or ever." "You won't!" "It's the SunTrust building." "There's gotta be a guard or something." "Well, of course there is." "His name's Gus." " You know the name of the..." " Yep." "Of course you do." "Yeah, you know the name of the guard." "Hey, Margo." "MARGO:" "Hey, Gus." "Do you mind if we go upstairs for a bit?" " Mi casa es su casa." " Cool." "Who's the kid?" "It's Q. Me?" "I'm six months older than her." "Welcome to my office." "Nice music." "Soothing sounds of corporate America." "Whoa!" "Come here." "Okay, so, over there is Jefferson Park." "Mmm-hmm." "All the lights are off, so that's good." "And over here is Chuck's house." "No lights, no cops." "Seems quiet." "I think we're in the clear." "It's beautiful." "You think so?" "Uh..." "From a distance, I mean." "Yeah." "Everything's uglier up close." "Not you." "It's a paper town." "Hmm?" "Look at it." "All those paper houses and paper streets and..." "And the people, too." "I've lived here 11 years... and I've never come across anyone that cares about anything that matters." "Okay, I'll try not to take that personally." "Here's a tip, Quentin." "You're cute when you're confident." "Less when you're not." "Hey" "May I have this dance?" "You owe me one." "Maybe things would have been different... if I'd hung out with you this whole time." "It's not too late." "Whoa!" "Hey, Margo." "What happens now?" "Will things be different... tomorrow?" "I really hope so." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "Me, too." "Okay, you see this?" "This is your comfort zone." "It's this big, Quentin." "All the things that you want in the world... are way out there." "The way you felt tonight... that is the way you should feel your whole life." "All right." "See you." "Hey." "Hey!" "Morning, sleepyhead." "Been trying to wake you for 20 minutes." "Some dream you must have been having." "Getting you a date to prom is so hard that the hypothetical idea itself... is used to cut diamonds." "That's a good one." "Q." "What are you doing?" "What?" "Nothing." "That was so weird." "I know it was you!" "Relax, relax." "Yo, don't tell me to relax!" "I know it was you at Becca's!" "I'm gonna kick your ass!" "Are you sure you wanna do that?" "I mean..." "Even if I enlarge it..." "Put that away." "Wow." "I'm sorry." "This is the part where I get confused." "You did not hook up with Margo Roth Spiegelman?" "No, we did not hook up." "What?" "I'm so confused." "What is wrong with you?" "Me?" "What's wrong with you, bro?" "Margo Roth Spiegelman, 2:00 a.m., she's single... she's dancing, it's dark." "And you don't make the move." "I don't understand that." "It's not even like that." "It's like..." "I don't know." "We were connecting." "We were on a mission." "It was different." "So now what?" "I don't know." "I'll let you know when I see her." "You need aglets." "You need aglets to exist." "I get that you need them." "But to exist?" "But Margo never made it to school that day." "Or the next day." "Or the day after that." "Guy heard her singing karaoke in the mall." "Next thing you know, she's signed to his label." "She's in New York right now, recording an album." "I know for a fact she's in Iceland, saving the whales." "No, it wasn't Iceland." "It was Greenland." "Where did you hear that?" "Like everyone else, I started to wonder..." ""Where the hell was she?"" "What was she doing?" "Who was she with?" "Why wasn't it me?" "I know this is a difficult situation for you." "Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Spiegelman." "Hello, Quentin." "This is Detective Warren." "Sounds like Margo's run away again." "For the fifth time." "Deb." "What?" "Hank, lam tired of this." "She's 18." "Let her do what she wants." "What do you know about it?" "Hmm?" "Me?" "Yeah." "When was the last time you saw Margo?" "Uh..." "It was Wednesday, I think." "Yeah, Wednesday night." "She came to my window and we talked for a second and then she left." "You guys don't think... something happened to her, or anything, right?" "We know exactly what's happened." "She's bored." "She wants attention." "She'll come back when she runs out of money... or when people stop talking about her." "So you don't wanna file a missing persons report?" "She's not missing." "She's gone." "There's a difference." "Yeah." "Not your top candidates for parents of the year." "But they weren't wrong about one thing." "If she was gone... she wouldn't be found until she wanted to be." "Yeah, whatever, bro." "She left town." "There's plenty other honey bunnies in the sea." "What, like Fattina?" "Uh..." "Ha-ha!" "Not "Fattina." It's "Bettina."" "Doesn't even sound like a real name." "Yeah." "What was her last name?" "I don't know." "Just say her last name." "Three, two, one." "It was a one hit, and a quit." "It was a "hit it and quit it"?" "Yeah." "I hit that honey bunny." "I've told you guys this so many times." "I don't wanna go over this again." "Tell us." "I wanna hear it again." "Cousin's house." "Right, Bettina was your cousin." "I forgot." "No!" "Bettina was not my cousin!" "You slept with your cousin." "Not my cousin." "It's so hard when you wanna sleep with someone that's not in your family." "No!" ""Man, I slept with someone in my family." No, no, no." "I just feel if we're gonna validate the story, could we get a couple details?" "All right, I'll give it to you straight." "So, I'm in Saskatchewan." "My cousin Danny's like," ""Yo, Ben, I'm throwing a party."" "I'm like, "Yo, what's up?" "Let's do it."" "So, he throws a party." "Bettina comes over, looks at me." "She's like, "What?" We go upstairs..." "So, she's making strange noises?" "No, she's making a call." "Like a bird makes to another bird." "So you walked in, and Bettina went..." "Mating time, bro." "Mating time." "Just say something true." "What do you mean, "Say something true"?" "Just say anything true." "I'm saying all this is true." "I so don't believe you." "It's true!" "What, you don't believe me?" "No, no." "That's fine." "Go poop." "Shut up!" "Shut up." "We're not even talking about me." "We're talking about you and Angela." "Little honey bunny." "Don't call her "honey bunny."" "You gonna tap that ass, son?" "Don't call me "son."" "When you gonna get up in it?" "Don't say "tap that ass."" "Do a little dance for her." "Stop." "Show her what you're working with." "Come on." "If you must know, we're..." "We're waiting till prom." "Why?" "Because we want it to be special." "Radar, that's so beautiful." "I think..." "I think I wanna be with you." "Stop." "Hey, guys." "Stop." "Hey, guys." "What?" "There's something in Margo's window." "Has that thing always been there?" "I don't know." "The shade's never drawn." ""Woody Guthrie, folk singer."" ""Born 1912." "Died 1967."" "Come and sit by my side, if you love me." "It's looking right at you, Q." "Do not hasten to bid me adieu" "I know." "Hey, Ruthie." "Hey, Quentin." "Your parents aren't home, are they?" "No, they went to the mall." "Would it be cool if we went up to Margo's room for a sec?" "Why?" "Just wanted to check on something." "Margo doesn't like people in her room." "Okay, but we're her friends." "No, you're not." "And, if you were... you'd know she doesn't like people in her room." "She has every album ever made, except Woody Guthrie." "Up." "Sorry." "Mind if I..." "Don't even think about it." "What are you guys even looking for anyway?" "We don't really know." "Clues." "We're detectives." "Hey, look." "Holy shit-stickers." "What do we got?" ""Walt Whitman's Niece," circled." "What do you think it means?" "Oh!" "Wait." "What?" "I think she's sending you a message." "What message?" ""Come find me."" "Last night or the night before that." "I won't say which night." "A seaman friend of mine." "I'll not say which seaman." "Walked up to a big old building." "I won't say which building." "And would not have walked up the stairs." "Not to say which stairs." "If there had not have been two girls." "It's a call to arms." "It's a way of her saying..." ""Take a risk, asshole." "Stop playing it so safe."" "Maybe that's what she's been trying to tell me the whole time... like with the paper towns thing." "She's like..." ""I'm making a move, Q."" ""I'm going after it." "Come with me."" "So, if you crack the code and find out where she is..." "Can I talk to you?" "Hi, Lacey." "You were with her that night, right?" "The night with the Saran Wrap?" "Yeah." "Was she mad at me?" "Nah, she was... disappointed." "In What?" "What did I do?" "That you knew about Becca and Jase." "No, see, that..." "That's the thing." "I had no idea." "If I knew, I would've said something." "Okay, Margo seemed to think that..." "She's wrong." "Yeah, I believe you." "It's just, Chuck knew this whole time, which is awesome." "So, now we're broken up... and I don't have a date to prom the week before prom... and my best friend is off doing God knows what... thinking that I betrayed her, which is something I would never do." "I'm sorry to tell all of that to you." "No, it's okay." "I'm sorry, what did you say about prom?" "Something about a date?" "If you hear from her, will you tell me?" "Why would I hear from her?" "You were with her that night." "Her last night." "It has to mean something." "See you, guys" "That was the greatest 30 seconds of my life." "Walt Whitman's from New York." "Woody Guthrie lived in New York for a while." "Maybe that's something." "You think she's in New York?" "It's possible." "Did she ever mention New York or..." "No, she didn't mention New York to me... but I didn't talk to her for nine years, so that's..." "Yeah, that's true." "I'm taking Lacey to prom." "What?" "You're what?" "You guys didn't see it?" "We had a moment back there." "Must've missed that." ""Unscrew the locks from the doors."" "It's a metaphor." "But what if it isn't?" "What if it's instructions?" "Hmm." "I thought there'd be a..." "Just put it back." "Gravity to the second power." "Yep" "Radar, what are you up to tonight?" "I promised Angela I'd take her shoe shopping." "Shoe shopping?" "Yeah, she decided today that she doesn't like the prom shoes she bought... so I'm taking her to the mall while their Midnight Madness sale is still going on." "It's a pretty good sale they got going on." "Radar, Radar, Radar." "I found something." "What?" "An address." "It wasn't in Margo's doorjamb, it was in mine." "8328..." "Bartlesville Avenue." "That's not a nice neighborhood." "Okay." "Still, we have to go." "But not tonight, obviously." "Wait, what?" "Why not tonight?" "Because you're a rational human being." "And because you weigh 130 pounds and don't wanna die." "You can't go to a strange building in the Detroit-iest part of Orlando... in the middle of the night." "All right, fine." "We'll go tomorrow morning?" "But we have school tomorrow." "Not if we don't show up." "Angela's gonna kill me." "No, she won't kill you." "Every day I walk her to calculus." "She'll survive." "What about Lacey?" "What if she's looking for me?" "Has Lacey ever been looking for you?" "We might miss something important." "You're missing gym class." "Guys, seriously, if you don't wanna go..." "It's not that." "It's just," "I've never missed school before." "Neither have I." "Yeah, and it feels kind of wrong." "I give you that." "It does feel kind of wrong." "But it also... feels kind of right." "Am I right?" "Using that voice doesn't change anything." "Aw, but doesn't it?" "It changes a little." "I think it changes something a little bit." "Doesn't change it a little bit?" "We got no time to waste!" "Yeah, see?" "We gotta go right now!" "Let's go find Margo!" "Start the car, let's go." "Was that Italian?" "A full right?" "Yeah." "You're terrible at directions." "Whatever." "This is it." "This is it?" "Why would she come here?" "It's locked." "Now what?" "Get a rock?" "Margo?" "Anyone?" "Guys?" "I think the last time I was this scared," "I had to sleep with the light on." "Last time I was this scared," "I had to sleep with a stuffed animal." "Last time I was this scared," "I had to sleep in my mom's bed." "Q, if I were you, I would get that scared every single night." "So, we're in a souvenir store?" "No Margo." "For some reason, she wanted you to come here." "This stuff is Old." "Guys?" "Did you find something?" "Paper towns." "Bro, can we go?" "What if it's Margo?" "What if it's literally anything else?" "Goodbye." "In a thousand pages, they talk about whale anatomy... and in the last 50 pages the dude kills the whale." "So, it's not about a dude killing a whale." "Maybe it's about a guy who actually believes... that if he chases this whale down and kills this whale... it's gonna give his life some meaning." "That's Ahab." "It's a common misconception that... a lot of people..." "Don't forget, final papers are due next week." "Also, pick up your pop quizzes from yesterday on your way out." "You're not gonna be too happy." "No circling two answers next time." "Like I'm just gonna let you get the one that you didn't mean." "Not cool." "There was a quiz yesterday?" "Pop quiz." "You missed it." "Is there any way that I can get a makeup test?" "It's one quiz, Quentin." "Relax." "You can still be a doctor." "All right, get out." "Yes." "Okay" "Hey" "Oh, hey." "Anything?" "Did she ever say anything to you about an abandoned building on the west side?" "Like, an old souvenir shop?" "No." "You think she'd be there?" "I don't know, but I think she was once and it's connected somehow." "See you tonight?" "Oh." "I don't know." "Probably." "Let me know if you need a ride." "Okay" "Party at Jase's." "I thought you weren't talking to Jase." "I'm not." "But you can still go to a party at his house?" "Everyone's going." "Not everyone." "We should totally go!" "Wait, what?" "Jase Worthington's house?" "Yes!" "Are you crazy?" "It's just a party." "We've never been to one of those." "We've been to plenty of parties." "No." "If there's a tuba there, it's not a party." "All right." "I don't believe this, Radar." "What about Angela?" "Angela is a mature, intelligent, understanding woman... who never has to know about this." "I don't wanna go to a party at Jase Worthington's house." "You guys can go." "Q, are you seriously gonna spend the rest of high school pining for a girl that ran away?" "I'm not pining for her, okay?" "I'm trying to find her." "Stop being an asshole." "I'm not being an asshole." "I'm trying to be a regular kid for a change." "Have fun." "What?" "Hello, Quentin." "Margo, where have you been?" "Everywhere." "Nowhere." "You have to get lost before you find yourself." "People were worried about you." "No, they weren't." "I was." "You're sweet, Quentin." "You've always been sweet." "I'm glad you're back, Margo." "But I'm not." "Are you gonna answer that?" "Hello?" "BEN:" "Q?" "Q, yes!" "Yes!" "Quentin Jacobsen is inside of my phone, everybody!" "Ben, give me the phone." "Stop it!" " Stop." "Go lie down." " Stop it!" "Gonna go party." "Go, sit down." "Hey, how soon can you get here?" "It's chaos." "We need you." "Ben needs you." "No." "I told you I'm not going to Worthington's." "Plus, Ben's, like..." "Ben's a dick." "You know what your problem is, Quentin?" "You keep expecting people to not be themselves." "You are not Ben." "Ben is not you." "We're all different people." "That's why we're best friends." "All right?" "Get in your van and get over here." "Besides, Margo's been in this house a million times." "You might even find something." "I think we might be here for a while." "I'm gonna be back." "You're so much better than her." "Yeah, Jase?" "Yeah." "Becca." "Who's there?" "Whoa!" "Hi." "Lacey." "What the hell are you doing in here?" "I'm just peeing." "Well, stop." "I can't just stop like that." "Okay, fine." "Finish and then get out." "Okay" "Sorry about that." "You okay, Lacey?" "I've been better." "You wanna get in the tub with me?" "Not like that." "Not like that!" "Um..." "Yeah, sure." "Look at me." "Huh?" "What's the first word that pops into your head?" "I don't know." "I can't..." "Come on." "Beautiful." "See, no." "No." "Okay" "What?" "That's the problem." "No one ever looks at me and thinks that I'm smart... or clever... or interesting, you know?" "I have a brain." "I'm going to Dartmouth." "So, uh..." "Is that what you're upset about?" "Becca and I got in a fight." "She called me a bitch and a whore." "And then she stood on a couch and shushed the entire party and told them I have chlamydia." "Oh, man." "Yeah." "Which, I don't." "Yeah." "Anymore." "But, I'm not a slut." "I don't think you're a slut." "Thanks." "Don't even..." "Becca's just jealous." "Why would Becca be jealous?" "She's dating Jase." "She's gonna be prom queen." "She's basically the new Margo." "No one will ever be the new Margo." "You're right." "No one could ever be the new Margo." "Really?" "I hate that guy." "Me, too." "He's the worst." "The worst." "Here, let me help you up." "Thanks." "Hey, if anyone gives you any trouble..." "Thanks." "I can't fight, but..." "Thank you." "Hey." "I'm gonna catch up with you." "Okay-Okay" "Valar Morghulis!" "Dude, put your shirt on." "Get down." "Valar Morghulis!" "How much did he drink?" "I think it's stuck to my hand." "Hey, Ben?" "Yes, Quentin, approach." "I pronounce thee a knight of the Hefeweizen Order, all right?" "Thanks, Ben." "Hey, we gotta go." "No, I wanna party." "I think I know where Margo is." "Wait, for real?" "Yeah." "Lacey!" "Lacey!" "I have to tell you something, okay?" "It's not the beer talking, okay?" "It's the me talking." "I just needed beer... to get the words from my brain to my mouth." "I wanted to say this for a really long time." "Ben!" "Hey!" "Ben?" "You all right?" "Let's get out of here." "I feel so much better." "Let's go, buddy." " God save the Queen!" " Stop." "Radar, I love you." "Don't kiss me." "Where are we going?" "You'll see." "I love you." "It's not that shady-ass shopping center, is it?" "What?" "Q!" "Oh, God." "Isn't this far enough?" "No." "Come on, guys." "Let's sing a song." "What?" "You don't get as scared if you sing." "Okay." "What should we sing?" "I don't know, anything." "Maybe just sing the first song that pops into your head." "I wanna be the very best." "Like no one ever was." "To catch them is my real test." "To train them is my cause." "That's the first song that popped in your head?" "It's working." "I will travel across the land Searching far and wide." "Each Pokémon to understand." "The power that's inside." "Pokémon!" "Gotta catch 'em It's you and me." "I know it's my destiny Pokémon!" "Oh, you're my best friend In a world we must defend." "Pokémon!" "Gotta catch 'em A heart so true." "Your courage will pull us through." "You teach me and I'll teach you." "Pokémon!" "Gotta catch 'em all." "Gotta catch 'em all Gotta catch 'em all." "Gotta catch 'em all." "Hey!" "Oh..." "Jesus Christ." "Lacey?" "You scared the shit out of us." "What are you guys doing here?" "What are you doing here?" "I followed you." "I don't know." "I thought maybe you found her." "No, she's not here... but I think I know where she might be." "Guys, come on." "This way." "I wasn't scared before, back there." "Okay." "Just love me some Pikachu." "I'm more of a Charizard girl." "What is it?" "Margo hung something here... and I think it was a map." "Okay" "This is Margo's map." "And this is where she used to hang it." "So where is she now?" "Let's see." "She is... somewhere... in upstate New York." "Can you be any less specific?" "This... general area." "Is there a town?" "Let me see." "Yeah, there's..." "There's nothing there, bro." "There has to be something there." "Roscoe, Rockland, Beaverkill, Agloe, Chatham, Wallaceberg." "These are all the towns in that general vicinity." "Are any of them paper towns?" "What's a paper town?" "It's a fake city that map makers would put on their maps... so if they get copied illegally, they'd know... that they're being copied." "Whoa." "What?" "Agloe, New York." ""Agloe, New York, population zero..."" ""is one of the most famous paper towns in America."" "Look at this." ""The present day population"" ""of Agloe, New York, is 1."" "She's in Agloe." "What?" "Agloe." "Q, you gotta go." "What?" "That's where Margo is." "You need to go right now." "Were you listening, Ben?" "It's New York." "I can't go to New York." "Why?" "You have a car." "What is stopping you?" "Like, 1,200 miles." "Well, there you go." "That's 1,200 miles between you and your love of your life." "Because you love her, right?" "Yeah, I do." "There you go." "Your true love waits." "You're right." "I'm gonna do it." "Do it!" "Wait, I wanna go." "Wait, what?" "She's my best friend." "I'm going with you." "Okay" "If she's going..." "I'm definitely going." "Okay, yeah." "All right." "Radar?" "I don't know, guys." "Come on, buddy!" "If we're all going, let's just make this a trip." "What about your parents?" "What about school?" "Parents, bro." "What about prom?" "Who cares about prom?" "We're not missing prom!" "Okay, fine, we'll get back by prom." "You're really doing this?" "And we're doing it now." "Doing it right this damn second!" "We got no time to waste, Radar." "Okay" "Yes!" "LACEY:" "Yay, Let's go!" "We gotta make a stop, first." "You know how I told you I was staying in to watch the Cosmos marathon?" "I lied." "I was at a party." "Not only that... but I drank a beer." "I didn't drink it, but I held it." "Girls were talking to me." "And now the guys and I..." "Correction." "The guys and I and Lacey Pemberton... we're driving to New York." "Wait, you're what?" "It's a really long story." "Are you breaking up with me?" "Am I...?" "What?" "No, no, no." "I wanted to be honest with you and I don't want you to be mad at me." "Marcus, why do I get the feeling that you're afraid of me?" "I'm not." "That is..." "That's..." "What?" "You pretended to like that Ed Sheeran song when I know you didn't." "It was mixed well." "You've never once invited me to hang out with your friends." "That's more about them than you." "You've never even had me over to your house." "Uh..." "Why is that?" "Hmm?" "It's a story for another time." "I promise, Angela, one day I will answer that, but not today." "I'm not afraid of you." "I'm afraid of losing you." "Aw." "Marcus." "Angela's gonna come with us." "Hey!" "Hi." "Hello." "Don't say anything stupid." "When would we ever?" "This is definitely the craziest thing" "I will ever do in my life." "Not if I can help it." "Embedded in a magazine." "Embedded in a drama queen." "According to my calculations, our average cruising speed should be 72." "You're going 64." "I don't wanna get pulled over." "We're not gonna make it." "We're gonna make it." "We have plenty of time." "We're gonna make it." "Excuse me, I hope you don't think that we're gonna be back with 20 minutes to spare." "I have a hair appointment." "Angela has to get her nails done." "Do you know how long it takes to put on a prom dress?" "The answer is all day." "Plus, my parents wanna take pictures." "We have a limo coming." "We have to be back with 12 hours to spare or prom is ruined." "Prom is very important." "Thank you." "I have to pee." "Lacey!" "Oh, shit!" "I really have to pee." "Pull over." "No, we can only stop four times... if we're gonna get there, find Margo, and be back in time for prom." "How long have we been driving?" "35 minutes." "I'll hold it." "Yep." "I'm gonna hold it." "I'll hold it." "Yep." "Nope, we gotta stop." "No, we're not stopping." "Bro!" "You don't..." "Just think about something else." "Yeah." "Like what?" "Like rainstorms." "Or waterfalls." "An exploding bladder." "That is not helping, Radar." "Not helping." "70% of my body is urine." "I'm going as fast as I can." "Not exactly true." "I'm going as fast as I'm willing." "Oh, my God, I think I'm gonna cry." "I'm gonna cry pee." "Oh, my God." "No." "Here, pee in this." "No, do not get pee in my car." "No, Ben..." "ANGELA:" "Gross." "Hey!" "Do you want me to die?" "Do you want me to die?" "Why?" "Why are you doing this?" "It's so gross." "Radar, it's so good." "Don't say my name." "Radar, it feels so good." "Oh, my God." "Uh..." "I'm gonna need another can." "No!" "Grab it!" "Guys, another can..." "Take it!" "I'm switching, I'm switching." "Careful!" "So gross!" "It's nasty." "Yes!" "What's happening back there?" "I'm Ben Starling." "Oh, my God." "JPHS marching band." "Oh, my God." "Keg stand record holder." "And now, I am pee-in-the-car champion!" "Ben." "I'm the greatest!" "I shook up the world!" "No!" "Perhaps we should make one of those stops now." "All right." "This is how this is gonna work." "If we're gonna keep on schedule, we have six minutes." "I'm the gas man." "I start the fill-up... you guys run inside while the pump is pumping." "I take the credit card to the guy behind the counter... and hold our spot in line." "I pee." "Jesus, dude." "What?" "I had a lot to drink." "I've got liquids." "Q?" "Tortilla chips, beef jerky, pretzels, peanuts, Milk Duds, Twizzlers." "Got it." "And definitely, definitely get cleaning supplies." "It reeks in here." "Whoo!" "You like dragons?" "No." "One minute!" "Someone better get me a shirt." "Me, too." "As soon as the tank is full, I'm honking the horn... and all of you guys have 10 seconds to hop back in... or I'm leaving your asses." "Except you, baby." "Aw." "You guys need a bag?" "Uh..." "No, thank you." "Go, go, 90!" "Six minutes flat!" "Get in, get in, get in!" "Yeah." "Nice." "I'm gonna need one of those." "Thank you." "Really?" "Dude, I just grabbed them out of a bin." "I'm so sorry." "I'm so sorry." "You kidding me?" "Last time you're going shopping for me, Q." "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." "Yeah, it's better that way." "Coming to your house." "Knocking at your door." "You mind a sip of wine?" "You cool me, cool me down." "Do you know me you know me, you know me." "Do you know me now?" "Oh." "The kid you used to be." "Well, I know that you're still there." "I hope you had a great summer." "Mom, I'm sorry." "It was super last-minute." "We're not going to New York City." "We're going to New York State." "It's way safer." "Just two days." "I love you, Mom." "Thank you." "Bye." "I hope you had a great summer." "A great summer away." "I hope you had a great summer." "A great summer away" "I still can't believe she hasn't called." "They probably don't have phones in Agloe." "She has a cell." "How do we know that she's even still in Agloe?" "I just do." "I bet she's in the middle of the Atlantic somewhere." "On some billionaire's yacht." "Maybe she's been back in Orlando watching us look for her." "Nope." "She's in Agloe." "I promise." "I admire your faith." "It's very romantic." "Thank you." "I'm on a mission." "I'm Captain Ahab." "You do realize Captain Ahab's not the hero of that story?" "Only because he didn't succeed." "I don't think that..." "Q!" "Hew." "Ls everyone all right?" "I'm okay." "Are you okay?" "Oh, my God." "You guys okay?" "Hey, Ben, you okay?" "Hey." "Hey" "Your face is bleeding." "What?" "Ooh." "It's not that bad," "It's just..." "Thanks." "Thank you." "Okay, bye." "All right." "It's gonna be a couple of hours." "All right." "It looks good, considering." "Considering we didn't die." "Yeah." "Yeah." "What happened?" "There was a cow in the middle of the highway." "Cow?" "It was a land whale." "And Ben, at the last second, grabbed the steering wheel... spun us to safety, saves our lives." "You were a vehicular ballerina." "I didn't know what I was doing." "It was the best damn passenger seat driving" "I've ever seen in my entire life." "Thank you." "Yeah, it's what I'm here for, so..." "All right, now what do we do?" "We wait." "I think we could probably all use some rest." "Seriously." "How we doing on time?" "I'll miss my hair appointment... but a few hours won't hurt us." "Guys, before this week..." "I think the craziest thing that we did was sneak into Snow Dogs without paying." "Snow Dogs." "I love that movie." "Remember the time that we stole your dad's cigars... then we all smoked them behind the house?" "You couldn't stop coughing." "Yeah." "It was gross!" "That was disgusting." "I don't think you're supposed to inhale it." "Good times." "Remember that time when we were all definitely gonna die but then Ben grabbed the steering wheel and we didn't die?" "Pretty awesome." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Yeah, I can't believe it's almost over." "The road trip?" "High school." "We hate high school." "He's right, though." "I've been thinking about it a lot lately." "The lastness of it all." "The last time we'll ever be together in the band room." "Last time we'll ever eat pizza and nasty tater tots in the cafeteria." "Last homeroom, last science lab." "These are all terrible, terrible things." "That we're never gonna get to do again." "And, like, this stuff." "Hmm?" "Well, I'm going to UCF." "You're going to North Carolina, you're going to Boston." "We've known each other since we were fetuses." "And it's not gonna be like that anymore." "And that's gonna suck for me." "Me, too." "Stop." "You guys are bumming me out." "We can't sleep." "You wanna take a walk?" "Sure." "Hey." "Hey." "You cold?" "Yeah." "Actually..." "I'm feeling like I'm gonna probably get some sleep, too." "Yeah." "All right, see you." "Bye." "What was it you wanted to tell me... back at Jase's house, before you puked yourself?" "Nah." "It was something stupid, probably." "I don't know." "I didn't really know you then." "You're not kind of what I had thought." "What'd you think?" "You know..." "What?" "That you were hot... and your face... and torso." "I'm sorry." "Listen, you are all those things, obviously." "But, um..." "You're also pretty cool." "Drive all this way for your friend," "I don't know." "If you ask me, someone like Margo doesn't really deserve you." "You know?" "Would you wanna go to prom with me?" "Yes." "Okay" "Yes." "Okay" "Yes." "Wait, say that again?" "You're really gonna make me say it again?" "Black Santas?" "I know." "I know." "I know it sounds weird." "It's actually 20 times weirder in person." "No, I think it's progressive." "No, you don't!" "I do!" "Santa is a construct." "It doesn't make sense that he's always an old white guy." "I think that it's cool that your parents are willing to embrace the complexity of that idea." "Yeah, I think about that every morning... when I eat my Lucky Charms with a little black Santa spoon." "You don't have to speak." "Just keep me company." "Be mine." "Be mine." "Be mine." "Cool." "Thank you." "So long." "Hey" "What's that look on your face?" "What?" "What look?" "You look like..." "You're acting very strange." "You are." "You got a weird little grin on your face." "What is that about?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "Scoot!" "Scoot." "Ben, did you notice something about him?" "He looks kinda strange, like he's..." "You're grinning or something." "What happened?" "I have news." "What?" "I'm going to prom with Lacey Pemberton." "Holy shit!" "Really?" "Yeah." "Congratulations, man." "I know, dude." "Bloody Ben and Lacey Pemberton." "Angela and I had sex." "Dude!" "What?" "What?" "You just had sex with Angela?" "Bro, are you serious?" "Yeah." "Don't tell her I told you." "What are you guys talking about?" "Books." "Books?" "Books?" "I told them." "Bro." "I thought you could make it to Scranton." "I really did." "Shotgun!" "Move!" "All right, Radar, big man, what's the ETA?" "If we continue at yesterday's pace, we should be there in four hours." "All right." "Dude, awesome." "That leaves an hour to find Margo... tell her you love her." "Back in time for an amazing prom." "Agloe, here we come." "Hey!" "Check it out, ladies and gentlemen." "This is insane." "On a drive I'm taking backroads." "High against where the rivers are flowing." "I didn't think that our love had grown." "Cross the bridge." "To redefine your pain." "Wide awake." "I rearrange the way I listen in the dark." "Dreaming of starting up again." "According to Omnictionary, this should be it." "Margo?" "No?" "Let's look around." "Okay" "Yeah, all right." "How are we doing on time?" "If we wanna make it back for prom, we should probably..." "Go." "She'll be here." "I know it." "Q..." "She'll be here." "I know it." "I know it." "It's time to go, Q." "He's right." "Guys, we can't give up yet." "It's Margo." "She's probably sitting, watching right now, laughing." "This is our final test." "You promised we'd be back for prom." "Not that again." "Seriously?" "I don't wanna miss prom, either." "Five seconds ago, you couldn't get a date to prom if your life depended on it." "And now, suddenly, it's the end of the world if you're not there." "Just because you don't give a shit about prom... it doesn't mean that nobody else does." "Prom is more important than your best friend?" "That's what you're saying?" "No." "That's not what I'm saying." "Why did you even come if you're not gonna see this through?" "Because I thought it would be fun... because I wanted to spend time with my two best friends... before we leave for college and probably never see each other again." "Yeah, wasn't this fun for you?" "Not if I don't find Margo." "Don't you get it?" "If I don't find Margo, it's not fun." "It's all for nothing." "Wow, okay." "What about you, Lacey?" "Don't you wanna find her?" "I thought I did... but you know what, Quentin?" "I came all this way because I was worried about her." "Do you think she'd do the same for me?" "Would she do it for you?" "Come on." "I'm gonna stay." "I'm gonna find a bus back to Orlando." "Have a great prom, everybody." "No." "Go." "Go." "Are you serious?" "Q, let's go." "I'm not going!" "Okay?" "I'm not going!" "All right, great." "Good luck!" "I'm trying to get home to Orlando." "Here you go." "Okay." "Margo?" "Quentin." "Hi!" "I knew I'd find you." "I knew it." "I can't believe you're here." "How are you?" "Wait, what?" "What do you mean you can't believe I'm here?" "I'm just a little surprised." "Wait, what are you surprised about?" "I followed the clues..." "I found that note that you left in my door... and then I saw the "You will go to the paper towns..."" "I read the whole Walt Whitman... and, you know..." "You left those clues for me, right?" "Yeah, I always leave clues..." "Yeah." "So you'd know I was fine." "That I was okay." "I didn't think you would come all this way." "Wait, what did you think?" "Quentin, what are you doing here?" "I'm in love with you." "You're in love with me." "Yes." "Quentin... come OH." "I've loved you since we were kids." "And I've never stopped loving you every single day since." "You're not in love with me." "Don't say that." "You don't even know me." "Yeah, I do." "Don't say that I don't..." "I don't even know me." "Q, I have no idea who I am." "Why do you think I'm here?" "I..." "I thought..." "Why are you here?" "Can I buy you a drink?" "Thank you." "I'd been planning to leave for a while, actually." "I would graduate, do the whole cap and gown thing... and then, the next morning..." "Poof." "Into thin air." "And then I found out about the whole Jase thing, and that was it." "I couldn't take another second of that place." "It was really that bad?" "You know what it's like." "Yeah, but..." "I don't know." "You had everything." "You were Margo Roth Spiegelman." "That's it." "That's the problem, Q." "That's exactly what I'm talking about." "People have always looked at me and seen what they wanted to see." "And yes, I know..." "I cultivated it a little." ""The myth of Margo Roth Spiegelman."" "But it's just a fantasy." "And there we were... at the top of the SunTrust building, looking down on the city." "And all I could think about... was how I felt just as paper as everything else." "Hmm." "So then you came here?" "A paper town for a paper girl." "Not a lot to do, but it's a great place to read and think." "Can I ask you something?" "Of course." "Where do I fit in to all this?" "You were my first partner in crime." "I wanted you to be my last." "And you surprised me that night." "You really did." "You're a way better ninja than I expected." "You know, Q, I'm really sorry." "For what?" "For all of it." "The clues." "Not being a better friend." "Ruining your last few weeks of high school." "You didn't." "What?" "You didn't ruin my last few weeks of high school." "In fact..." "I think they were the best weeks of my life." "First party." "First road trip." "My first time cutting class." "Everybody else is doing things for the last time... but I was doing them for the first." "So... don't apologize." "Because"." "None of that would have happened without you." "Are you sure you don't want to come back?" "College, job, husband." "The allure of a life rightly lived." "That's not me." "You know it isn't." "So, what's the plan?" "I have absolutely no idea... but I'm excited to find out." "You know, you... you may not be the myth we made you out to be... but you're still pretty something." "You're pretty something yourself." "You could come with me, you know." "You can't imagine how many times" "I dreamed you would say those words." "But I have to go." "Hey" "Do you want to call your sister?" "She misses you." "We talk every day." "I'll see you." "What a treacherous thing it is to believe that a person is more than a person." "Margo was not a miracle." "She was not an adventurer." "She was not some fine, precious thing." "She was a girl." "It took me a long time to realize how wrong I was." "And not just about Margo." "I was wrong about a lot of things." "I used to believe everyone gets a miracle." "And I still do." "But as it turns out... my miracle... was this." "Don't stop, no I'll never give up." "And I'll never look back just hold your head up." "And if it gets rough it's time to get rough." "They keep saying." "Don't stop no, it's never enough." "I'll never look back never give up." "And if it gets rough it's time to get rough." "But now I'm falling, falling." "Falling, falling, falling." "Falling, falling falling, falling, oh." "Now we're going down." "And I can feel the eyes are watching us so closely." "I'm trying not to make a sound" "'Cause I'll be found out somehow." "Don't stop, no I'll never give up." "And I'll never look back just hold your head up." "And if it gets rough it's time to get rough." "Don't stop no it's never enough." "I'll never look back never give up." "And if it gets rough it's time to get rough." "So maybe we won't all win the lottery." "Or marry royalty." "Or make that last-second shot." "But that doesn't mean we won't have amazing adventures..." "Aw..." "I want one." "Meet exceptional people... and make indelible memories." "The trick is... to notice." "Before it's too late." "Oh, and Margo?" "Someone said they saw her in New York, starring in a revival of The Fantasticks." "Someone else said she's on the West Coast teaching surf lessons in Malibu." "I don't listen to those rumors anymore." "Wherever she is... whatever she's up to..." "I'm sure it's pretty something." "But, hey... that's her story to tell." "I know it's not the right time tonight." "But I won't move until this stops." "Go back to the top." "Back to the top." "I'm not scared if you run to me." "Lost like when you were mine." "You can take what you want from me." "Just don't offer me your time." "Stay, life can be long." "Wanna know, wanna know wanna know, wanna know it's true." "When you say I want you around." "Gotta make me believe you." "I know it's not the right time tonight." "But I won't move until this stops." "Go back to the top." "Back to the top." "I know it's not the right time tonight." "But I won't move until this stops." "Go back to the top." "Back to the top"