Tony
- Paul asks his new buddy Amber to call Tony and ask if Paul can come over; Tony says Paul has about an hour before Tony's mom gets home.
- Paul spills the details, and Tony says Kyle's right: it is easy to be Paul, and he does always know who he is.
- Things have gotten bad for Tony since they last spoke. Like, really bad.
- Paul tells Tony he should just leave and come live at Paul's house, but Tony says it's not that easy.
- Instead he needs to stick around for two more years until he graduates, because he needs to show his parents that it's not hurting him to be who he really is.
- They hear Tony's parents pull into the garage, and Paul tries to figure out how to get out without being seen.
- Tony, however, wants him to stay.
- When Tony's mom comes upstairs, Tony faces her down. He tells her he and Paul are just friends, and that there's no harm in them being friends.
- Surprisingly, Tony's mom can't come up with a good reason why they shouldn't hang out, as friends, with the bedroom door open.
- She turns and goes to the kitchen, and Tony loses it. He cries and Paul holds him.
- Tony's mom comes back and watches Paul comfort her son, and Paul knows she wishes she could be the one to do it.
- When he stops crying, Tony tells Paul he has to go try to get Noah back.
- Paul's not so sure he can, but he goes home thinking about it.
- That night Tony calls and Paul's mom is super stoked to hear from him—she tells him she's been stocking up on macadamia nuts, his favorite. (Shmoop also really likes macadamia nuts, just so you know.)
- Tony's scored a victory: his parents are willing to let Paul come over, as long as they stay in the kitchen.
- Paul feels like maybe the world is changing for the better for gay people.