"I hate being the new girl." "You'll be fine." "What if nobody likes me?" "Why wouldn't they like you?" " I don't know." " Just... be yourself." "Myself." "You know, Nicole's kids go here." "Kyle's your age." "I don't know Kyle." "I bet you two have a lot in common." " How would you know?" " I don't, but you won't make friends if you don't try." "Okay." "Have a nice day." "Well, that's subtle." "Nice rims." "Josh, the car is not on display for you to admire its accessories." "Somebody died in it." "Somebody who shouldn't have guzzled a bucket of vodka before driving." " Check out that stereo." " You're diseased." "Kyle, knock some sense into him." "I'm sorry I haven't fixed your radio." "You have been remiss in your boy genius duties." "I've had a lot on my mind." "I think I'm in a gunk." " A what?" " A guy funk." "It's your word." "Oh, yeah." "No,"gunk" is over." "You have the ennui." "Ennui?" "Isn't that French?" "Ennui is the new gunk." "Trust me." "I was surrounded by people, many of them friends, but none who knew the real me." "Foss had made it clear that he was the only one I should trust, and I had allowed him to set the rules for how I lived my life." "But now all I felt was doubt and regret." "These are for you." " Why?" " Well, let's see." "A piano mysteriously appeared in my living room last night." " Really?" " When I asked Mom how it got there, she rolled her eyes in annoyance." " She did?" " The only person who could annoy her like that is you." " True." " Ergo, flowers." "Actually, tap-rooted perennial herbaceous plant." "I love them." "Thank you." "Are you kidding?" "Thank you." "You've been such a good friend to me through everything." "You've been a good friend to me, too." "And I was thinking maybe that I should return the favor." "You want to give me a piano?" "No." "But I thought we could go to the Spring Fling dance together." "I mean, if you wanted to." "Your mom won't like that." "My mom left this morning for a week." "The cat's away." "You don't have a cat." "No." "I mean I can do whatever I want." "She's not around to control my life, to tell me who to hang out with." "My cat's away, too." " Is that a yes?" " Yes." "Great." "That's great." "Okay, well, I'll..." "I'll see you later." "See you later." "A single bright moment in an otherwise dark time." "With Foss not around to dictate my days," "I could finally pursue the very thing he'd wanted me to give up:" "a life." " Thank you." " There you go, sir." "You're welcome." " Yes, Madam?" " Hi." "Uh, can I get a large latte double shot?" "Start the day off with a jolt, huh?" " Oh, hi." " Hi." "Yeah." "I just dropped my sister off for her first day at a new school." "She's nervous, I'm nervous." "I figured I'd drown myself in caffeine." " What school?" " Beachwood." "Oh, my kids go there." " Yeah?" " What's her name?" "Jessi Hollander." "And I'm Emily, in case you forgot." "It's Stephen, right?" "Stephen Trager." "Trager." "Any relation to Nicole?" "She's my wife." "No." "Unbelievable." "Jessi's been taking some private therapy sessions with her." " You're kidding." " No." "She has been so great with her." "So, how are you enjoying life at Madacorp?" "Oh, well, so far, so good, although I don't understand half of what they do here." "We're building the foundations for tomorrow." " Right." " Yes, we're very important." " I tell my kids to watch your sister." " Oh, that would be great." "She's had a rough time, but she's a really good kid." "Well, maybe they can be friends." "I hope so." " Well, I got to go." " Okay." " I'll see you around." " Bye." "You're off the hook." "I didn't know I was on a hook." "I know you have a secret burning desire to ask me to the dance, but I can't go." "And why, perchance, has this hideous fate befallen me?" "I got nabbed for trying to borrow the stereo from the drunk-driving car." "You tried to steal a dead person's radio?" "Borrow." "So you can't go to the dance." "I was ordered to clean-up duty." " Sucks." " Totally." "What sucks even more is that you have to clean up after me and my dates." "Your who?" "Dates." "You have multiple dates for the dance?" "Uh, yeah." "Is that a problem?" "No, I just thought..." "That I had a secret burning desire to ask you?" "Yeah." "No." "How's a girl supposed to combat PMS when the chocolate machine's on the fritz?" " Did you buy the dance tickets?" " They wouldn't sell them to me." "Why not?" "Because you're a girl." " And?" " And that's it." "They won't sell same-sex couple tickets." "But we're not a same-sex couple." "We're just two girls who currently hate men." "I tried to explain that, then they told me to buy two single tickets, which were more expensive." "Then I got all PMS-y on them." "They told me to go away." "That's stupid." "Whatever." "Yes." "Hi." "Hi, mood swing." "What's got you all peppy?" "I'm going to the dance with Amanda." "Oh, the hypocrisy." "You have a date with Amanda?" "Oh, no." "It's not a date." "How do you know?" "She told me she's doing me a favor." "A favor?" "Kyle, what exactly did she say?" "She said, "You've been such a good friend to me through everything," ""and I was thinking maybe that I should return the favor." ""I thought we could go to the Spring Fling dance together." ""I mean, if you wanted to."" "And then she said something about a cat." "Oh, you sweet, clueless little muffin." "You better put on your dancing shoes because you have a date." "I do?" "You totally do." "Dibs on the new girl." " Hi." " Hey." " You go here?" " Yes." "I'm, uh, I'm Charlie Tanner." "I'll happily be your one-man welcoming committee." "Maybe later we could hang out." "I'd like to do more kissing." "Oh, you have got to be kidding me." "Who's that?" "One of my mom's troubled teens." "She looks like trouble." "You say that because she's totally smoking hot and sexy and hitting on my ex-boyfriend." "Pretty much." "I think I have to hate her." "Au contraire." "Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer." "Make that girl your "frenemy."" " What's the matter?" " I have a date with Amanda." "Well, that's great." "No, it's terrible." " Why?" " Because I feel sick." "When did that start?" "When I found out it was a date." "It's just anxiety." "But why am I anxious?" "I like her." "I've liked her since the first time I saw her." "That's precisely why you're scared." "If you weren't, then you'd have reason to worry." "You feel better?" "Working on it." "Take a minute." "I'll get us some water." "Jessi, hi." "Hello." "I'm sorry." "I didn't hear the back doorbell ring." "Do we have a session today?" "Hey, Mom." "I invited Jessi over." "Oh." "That's nice." "Lore, do you have a second?" "Sure." "Make yourself at home." "Since when are you two friends?" "She's not my friend." "She's my "frenemy."" "Regardless of semantics, Lori," "I really don't think this is appropriate." "I need to keep an eye on her." "She's all over Declan, and I just don't think they're a good match." "Well, I don't think pretending to be her friend is the mature choice." "You're crossing boundaries here." "Your job is what brought Kyle into this house." "Don't you think you should be a little flexible on the matter?" "Hi." "Hi." "You're Kyle." "You're in my tub." "It's comfortable." "You don't think it's strange I sleep in a tub?" "Is it?" "Maybe a little." "You must be Jessi." "You're here for Nicole." "You call your mom Nicole?" "She's my guardian." "She used to be my therapist, too." "Were you troubled?" "I'm troubled." "Why?" "I'm not sure." "Have we met before?" "I don't think so." "Sweet." "Pizza." "I thought you liked when I cooked." "Yeah, but ever since you got good at it, we never get cool food." "I'll try to remember that." "Where is everybody?" "Finally." "Uh, I'll take that." "Principal Hooper called." "You won't be needing this for a while." "I blame you." "If you'd fixed this a week ago," "I wouldn't have been tempted." "I didn't fix it." "Jessi did." "Jessi did?" "Who's Jessi?" "And is she hot or just smart?" "She's one of my patients." "She's off-limits on all fronts." "Here we go again." "Mom's setting boundaries." "Mom's rights." "Twice in one day people are telling me who I'm allowed to hang out with." "The stupid school won't sell us same-sex couple dance tickets." "What?" "Well, that's ridiculous." "What's wrong with same-sex couples?" "Nothing... if they're girls." "Neanderthal." "Why are girls okay and not guys?" "Both should be okay." "Why is the school saying no?" "Apparently, they're still living in the 20th Century." "Sweet." "Pizza." "I'm never cooking again." "Dad, thank God you're here." "Dinner was becoming an episode of Oprah." "Hey, guys, I have a coworker whose sister just started at your school." "It's your patient, Jessi Hollander." " Emily works at Madacorp?" " Mm-hmm." "I told her you'd keep an eye out for Jessi." "Ha!" "Stephen, you have terrible timing." "Is Lori your friend?" " You want to talk about Lori?" " Well, she's being nice to me, and my sister said that I should make friends." "You are." " What about Kyle?" " What about him?" "Is he your friend?" "He used to be." "I don't really have any friends." "Well, they're overrated." "You're lonely." "I'm lonely, too." "What's going on?" "Jessi, what are you doing?" "Making friends." "Hi." "I'm..." "Leaving." "Who the hell was that?" "Declan." "You are not seeing him again." "But I like him." "We have a lot in common, there's a dance this..." "No." "You are not going with him." "Jessi, what is it?" "My head." "You said I should meet people." "Not him." "That's not who I meant." "Then who did you mean?" "Jessi, stop being so dramatic, and just do what you're told." "Hi." " Hi." " I saw you from my window." "What are you doing out here?" "Can't sleep." "What are you doing?" "My mom said I'm supposed to be in bed by 10 while she's out of town." " It's 11." " Exactly." "Are you okay?" "Not really." "Kyle, it's okay if you don't want to go with me to the dance." "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable by asking you." "I do want to go to the dance with you." "Then why are you acting so weird?" "Nicole says it's because I like you." "You do?" "Of course." "Don't you like me?" "Well, yeah." "Yeah, I do." "I like you." "So we're going to the dance together." "And you're okay with that?" "It's the best thing that's happened to me in a long time." "Hey, potentially sane Trager and perky blonde girl." "In the mood for a little civil disobedience?" "Does it involve drinking?" "Only if rehab's your idea of social activism." "It's your chance to overcome the obvious genetic deficiencies in your family." ""Beachwood bias"?" "You're protesting the dance policy?" "Yes, the dance policy." "A bunch of us are ditching first period to plaster the school with these." "We need more bodies." "Yeah, we're not, you know, of the lesbionic variety." "I don't really think that's the point, Hils." "You heard about us getting denied dance tickets?" "She made a little bit of a scene." "What?" "I was cranky." "Sue me." "Anyway, I thought you guys might be into taking a stand, having a voice, that kind of important life stuff." "But maybe I pegged you wrong." "Whatever." "No big." "He, wait." "Hold on." "You said you need more bodies?" "Yeah." "Why?" "You know anyone who wants to help change the world?" "As a matter of fact, I do." "I can't believe I'm skipping class." "And you're skipping class." "I got a hall pass." "Your teacher give you a hall pass?" "Mr. Miller's an advocate for the principles of nonviolent resistance." "I need more flyers." "Hillary and I are gonna wrap the flagpole." "She wanted to chain herself to it naked with the words "I heart gay" written on her body, but this seemed like a better plan." "You're really enjoying this." "I'm embracing my inner activist." "That little Andy's a spitfire." "She definitely knows how to rile people up." "I know." "Poor Josh." "She'll eat him alive... not literally." "Long live civil disobedience." "Crap." "Where does this school get off denying same-sex couples?" "It is the administration's prerogative to uphold certain moral standards." "Certain moral standards or your own personal prejudices?" "Mrs. Trager, I am principal of this school." "If you think you can do a better job," "I invite you to try, but given the fact you've managed to raise two vandals and a petty thief," "I recommend you stay focused on your own children, none of whom will be allowed to attend the dance." "Sorry you got busted." "Oh, whatever." "It was worth it." "I feel bad for Kyle, though." "He really wants to go to the dance." "Which brings me to Phase 2." "There's a Phase 2?" "There is now." "Not that I don't appreciate your commitment to the cause, but why this one, specifically?" "I get it from my moms." "Moms?" "Yes." "Plural." "Let's just say I don't have a lot of tolerance for other people's closed-minded crap." "I don't understand how you tolerate my brother, then." "I like to think of Josh as a perpetual work in progress." "Changing the world one moron at a time, huh?" "Something like that." "Well, then, count me in for Phase 2, except I can't get suspended." "I don't think SuperMom could bail me out twice in one week." "Speaking of supermom, mine are both booked, so do you think yours would be willing to chaperone a non-school-sponsored event the same night as the Spring Fling?" "Well, like an alterna-dance?" "Something where everyone's welcome, no matter who their date is." "The Swing Spring Fling." "I love it, and so will my mom." "She's dying to put Principal Hooper in his place." "There's hope for you Tragers after all." "What's up, buddy?" "Lori's planning another dance." "I heard." "And according to Mom, I'm still on clean-up duty." "There's no justice." "I need dancing shoes." "As opposed to any other kind of shoes?" "Hillary said I need to put on my dancing shoes for Amanda, except I don't have any." "Dude, it's just an express..." "Expression." "I knew that." "Sure." "Except..." "Yes?" "If there's no shoes to help me dance," " how do I do it?" " Do what?" " Dance." " You don't know how to dance?" "I don't know." "I've never tried." "Well, then, my large-brained friend, allow me to teach you." "You're the smart one." "Music is made of beats." "Get the beats, you'll get the rhythm." "Uh, right, uh... you got to, you know... feel it." "I feel it." "4/4, 4/4, bop, bop, bop." "No, I mean feel the song." "Express yourself." "Dancing is freedom." "Yeah, yeah, I guess." "Uh, you're not feeling it, man." "You'll be fine if you dance next to people who know what they do." "Otherwise," "I think we found the first thing you suck at." "Check it." "We're dancing together." "I'm dancing." "You're copying." "So why do you have a problem with other guys dancing together?" " Totally different, dude." " Why?" "We're not having one of those conversations now." "I know why you don't like it, but you're the one who said dancing's all about freedom." "So shouldn't everybody be able to enjoy it?" "Jessi, you want to be my first ticket buyer for the alterna-dance?" "I assume you're going with Declan." "I'm not going." "Oh?" "My sister won't let me go with him." "Why not?" "She has a lot of rules." "She's strict, huh?" "She's really strict." "She's always telling me what to do." "Where are your parents?" "My mom's crazy, and my dad couldn't handle it, so Emily takes care of me now." "Wow." "That's rough." "Yeah, we haven't always had the easiest life." "And Emily's all I have." "She loves me, and that's why I have to listen to her." "But I really want to go to the dance." "I am a horrible person." " You are?" " Yes." "I'm sorry." "I have not been very nice to you." "You've been nice." "Not inside my head." "Let me make it up to you." "Nobody should have to sit at home alone when everyone else is out with their friends." "You can come with me and Hillary." "I can?" "Sure." "Why not?" "We'll be a threesome." "Dinner's in ten." "I have to dine and dash." "I got to meet the decorating committee." "I think I like activist Lori." "She reminds me of someone I know." "By the way, Mom," "I invited Jessi to come to the dance with me." " Lori..." " I know you don't like it, and believe me, I'm surprising myself, but she's like a lost little puppy or something." "I just feel sorry for her." "Must be genetic." "She just used heredity as an excuse not to obey her mother." "Yeah, well, she's good." "The situation with Jessi is different than it was with Kyle." "There's something about her that worries you?" "I couldn't discuss it even if there were." "That's my point." "Point made, although I think Lori's instincts are pretty good." "Must be genetic." "Whoa." "Nice moves." "I taught him everything he knows, literally." " Excited about your big date?" " Yes." "Uh-oh." "Here comes Dad's fatherly advice about dating." "Well, let's hope it lands better on Kyle, seeing as how yours never happened." "A dagger in the heart, Dad." "You know, I'm really impressed that your friend Andy helped put the whole night together." "She probably only did it so I wouldn't get off garbage duty." "Somehow I doubt that." "Plus, if you hadn't felt it necessary to steal..." " Borrow." " Whatever." "You could be going with her." "Why would I want to go with her?" "You're all crazy." "What happened?" "Principal Hooper called my mom, and she came home early." "I'm grounded, I can't go to dance." "People actually came." "Hils, you are such a pessimist about the human condition." "We got our message out there." "Of course people came." "Yeah, plus we sold our tickets for half the price of the other dance." "Yeah, that helped." "What are we doing here again?" "Supporting Lori." "Why?" "Because the other night I made out with Jessi while Lori was in the next room singing a song about our breakup." "Whoa, that's, uh..." " that's a move worthy of me." " Great." "Now I really feel good about myself." "Uh, I'm..." "I'm gonna need something stronger if that's..." "When did you two hop on the lesbian granola bus?" "I don't know." "Hils, you want to give it a try?" "Yeah, I've always wanted to be a granola lesbian if only to never kiss homophobic cheating jerks like you." "You busted your new moves yet?" "I don't think I like dancing." "Because you're not feeling it, which is understandable, given your dateless status." "But you're more than welcome to join me on clean-up duty." "These Sour Patch Kids are different." "They're extreme..." "like my punishment." "People, the Earth is not your trash can." "Ow." "Static electricity." "An electrical charge caused by an imbalance of electrons on the surface of a material." "You like science." "I guess." "How did you know how to fix Josh's radio?" "Sometimes I just know things." "Me, too." "You made it." "I snuck out." "Hi, Declan." "Hey." " You thirsty?" " Sure." " Hey." " Hi." "I see I'm not the only workaholic in the company." "Oh, all work, no play." "Well, it looks like your evil plan is working." "What?" "Jessi." "She and my daughter Lori really hit it off." "Oh, yeah." "That's great." "I'm going to the dance now to help out Nicole." "You can join us and check out the budding friendship for yourself." "Jessi's not there." "I'm pretty sure she is." "Lori said she was going." "Social as ever, I see." " You missed something." " Where?" "There." "Very funny." "So how's the hot dates?" "I guess you'll just have to see for yourself, won't you?" "I hope the view from the garbage cans is good enough." " It's not really my scene anyway." " What about it isn't your scene?" " You know." " You don't like gay people." "That's not what I meant." "Oh." "I see." "You're gay." "What?" "No." "It's cool, though." "I'm hip with the gays." "I'm not gay." "Bummer." "It might make you cooler." " You're here." " I am." "How?" "Why?" "I snuck out." "Long live civil disobedience." "Come on." "Let's dance." "She's good." "Yeah." "Shame you can't be out there." "Yeah." "I guess if you agreed to some community service at my discretion," "I could lift your punishment for one dance." "I don't know." "She looks a little busy with her dates." "Uh, somehow I think she'll make the time." "Go." "Go for it." "Oh." "I think it's a hundred degrees in here." "This is fun." "Thank you for inviting me." "That's a really pretty necklace." "Thanks." "It's a remnant from my Declan days." "He gave it to you?" "Yeah." "Do you wish that you were still with him?" "Honestly, sometimes." "We didn't end very well, so there's always gonna be part of me that wishes things were different." "But he's moved on, obviously." "Anyway, back to work." "You're a good dancer." "This part's easy." " Slow dancing is..." " No." "Dancing with you." "I don't think Charlie's very happy to see us dancing." "Who cares what Charlie thinks?" "Do you mean that?" "You mean that." "Lori still wants to be with you." "I don't think so." "Do you still want to be with her?" "I'm with you, aren't I?" "You made it." " Emily." " Hi." "We have a little problem." " Jessi!" "What did I tell you?" " Oh!" " Hey!" " Stay out of this." "You're not supposed to be here." "You're hurting my arms." " Emil, why don't we all..." " I'll handle this." "Get your things." " You're coming home now." " I don't want to." "You don't get to make those decisions." " Did you see that?" " No." " The lights." " What lights?" "Oh." "Whoa." "Jess, we're leaving." "You can't tell me what to do!" "Doesn't look like the power's gonna come back on." "It's for the best anyways." "It's pumpkin hour." "Time for me to get home, unless I want to be grounded until I'm 50." "Well, I hope that doesn't happen." "I'd like to go out with you again, before you're 50." "I'd like that, too." "Good night." "Good night." "Go ahead." "Throw the trash at my feet again." " What are you doing?" " I think it's called cleaning." "No." "You're being nice." "You're never nice." "I'm totally nice." "You make fun of me, you put me down, and you always have to have the last word." "I thought that was... our thing." "We have a thing?" "Well, not like a "thing" thing, but you know... a vibe." "A pattern." "A thing." "Yeah." "Cool." "Oh, yeah, your dates, they're..." "Gay, yes." "Actually, I was gonna say they're pretty cool guys." "Go ahead." "Get in the last word." "No need." "Thwarted by an electrical snafu." "Other than the drama, it was a pretty great night." "You were certainly enjoying it." "Sarcasm, party one." "It's okay." "I deserve it." "What, because, on top of everything else, you bailed on me right before my first ever live performance?" "Yeah." "Not your best moment." "I'm really sorry, Lori." "I wanted to be there." "You were there." "And then... suddenly you weren't." "I can't explain what happened." "I've been in a bad place for so long, and then Jessi was there, and somehow it was an escape from it all." "She makes you feel better." "She makes me... forget." "Forget me?" "I don't want to forget you." "But with everything else... being with her feels better than being alone." "What exactly happened between you and Kyle?" "I never understood what went wrong with you two." "Besides you..." "Kyle was the only real friend I ever had." "I guess... we didn't trust each other as much as we thought." "Romance interrupted." "You and your words." "Let there be light." "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and boys, thank you so much for coming out..." "literally... to this very gay event." "And by gay," "I..." "I don't..." "I don't mean happy." "I mean, oh, so very homosexual." "Knock it off." "Why?" "I'm just messing around." "No, you're being an idiot." "You should remember who your friends are." "You're right." "I should." "Declan." "What's up?" "I want to tell you everything." "I don't get it." "Why now?" "There's someone else who knows my secret." "I thought" " he was the only one I could rely on." " Tom Foss." "How do you know that?" "I think there's something you should see." "Saw the two of you together." "Started digging around." "He left these for me... as a warning." " A warning?" " To back off." " Foss did this?" " He obviously doesn't want me involved." "But I'm in this." "I always have been." "If you want me to know the truth," "I'm ready to hear it." "Okay."