Eleanor
- Eleanor's mom talks to her the next morning, and Eleanor already knows what she's going to say—she tells her mom that Park won't be coming back. Her mom pretends that it's because Eleanor's "so young" (15.5), but Eleanor knows it's not really about that. It's one hundred percent about Richie.
- She feels like crying, but she doesn't want to cry about Park, because "being Park's friend was pretty much the best thing that had ever happened to her" (15.11).
- Park apologizes when they get on the bus. He reaches out and pulls on the scarf she's tied around her wrist. She thanks him for bringing the comic, and watches his hand as he plays with the scarf. They don't look at each other as Park slides the scarf, and his hand, into Eleanor's open hand; Eleanor "disintegrated" (15.34).
Park
- Park thinks holding Eleanor's hand "was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive" (15.35). We'll just leave that there for your enjoyment.
- Park's held hands with other girls, but it's never really affected him before. He kissed a girl last year, but he'd "wondered if maybe there was something wrong with him" (15.39), and even whether he might be gay. He'd only ever been attracted to the girls in his comic books. Except he thinks now that maybe "he just didn't recognize all those other girls. The way a computer drive will spit out a disk if it doesn't recognize the formatting" (15.42). But he recognizes Eleanor.
Eleanor
- Eleanor's still disintegrating. With some Star Trek metaphors thrown in for good measure. She stays completely still.
Park
- They break apart at the end of the bus ride. Park hopes no one was watching them, and he realizes that "Eleanor hadn't actually done anything to touch him back" (15.55). He hopes that's not a bad sign, and asks if she's okay. She nods. He tells her he'll see her in English, and she nods again and walks away. We think Park's also disintegrating.
Eleanor
- Eleanor wonders how there could be "that many nerve endings all in one place" (15.66).
Park
- Park's now in deep worry mode. "Was it possible to rape somebody's hand?" (15.69) he wonders. Eleanor won't look at him in class.
- When he gets to the bus, Eleanor's waiting for him, but sitting in his spot against the wall. He can't bring himself to say anything, so he just sits down next to her.
- Eleanor reaches for his hand, and her own hand is shaking. She asks if he's okay, and he nods. They stare at their entwined hands.