Character Analysis
Laura
You might not think a teenager's mom would be a secondary character in her story, but Laura's defined more by her absence than her presence. The only time we actually see her in a scene is when she shows up at the hospital after Wren is admitted for alcohol poisoning, but she can't be bothered to stick around long enough to see her daughter. And Cath wants nothing to do with Laura, who left her, Wren, and their dad—by choice, in the name of finding herself—on 9/11.
Pro tip: If you're waiting for part of Fangirl's happy ending to be a reconciliation scene between Cath and her mom, don't hold your breath. Even though Wren slips away for a couple of visits, Laura never even comes to their front door, and Cath sticks to her guns.
Nick
Nick is Cath's classmate in Professor Piper's Fiction-Writing class. He and Cath start out writing together, and maybe having a teeny crush on each other, but Cath's not so enamored when she finds out Nick's been working on their stories outside of class. He's using her more as an editor than a collaborator, and when the university literary magazine offers to publish a piece Nick wrote, Professor Piper tells him he has to credit Cath. Cath (rightfully) says no, and Nick remains unpublished. Ha.
Abel
Cath's high school boyfriend, a.k.a. Abel the end table, breaks up with her by phone shortly after he goes off to Missouri Tech and she goes off to UNL. He cites the allure of a girl with a higher ACT than Cath, but we're pretty sure the reality is that they're just not that into each other, and they never were.
Courtney
Courtney is Wren's roommate and drinking buddy, and not exactly an intellectual giant.
Jandro
Jandro—shorts for Alejandro—is Wren's college boyfriend, who protects her the night (just the one?) she gets wasted at Muggsy's. We don't know much about him, but he seems like a decent enough dude.