- Lace up your boots, because it's hiking time again, Shmoopsters. Cassia's excited to get up the hill and have a few quiet minutes with Ky to learn more writing. Except today someone usurps her second place spot, and when she gets to the top, Ky is writing in the dirt with a girl named Livy. Oh uh-uh…
- It's date night with Xander, and the two of them eat their carefully portioned beige mush over simulated candlelight. It's all perfectly romantic except for the third-wheel Official sitting next to them and the fact that Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky.
- Flashback time: It's Cassia's mom coming back from a date, a wildflower hidden in her hair. But wait—no one's allowed to pick flowers. Guess Daddy sometimes bends the rules for people he loves.
- Back to the present day. Cassia's portion of mushy noodles looks tiny next to Xander's feast, and it seems to get smaller and smaller each time she eats. Which makes no sense, given how much she's been running and hiking. Hmm… must just be her imagination.
- While the third wheel, a.k.a. the Official, is distracted, Cassia bluntly asks Xander why he hasn't kissed her lately. He says he doesn't like being watched, and notes all the Officials that have been hanging out in their neighborhood lately. Cassia hasn't noticed. This can't be good…