Jack
I’ve got to talk to her.
Brady
It’s been a long day, man. Let your emotions cool down a bit.
Jack
She likes me, Brady.
Jack
I have to talk to her.
Brady
Mike’s not going to let this go, you know?
Brady
He’s going to beat you up again.
Jack
Whatever it is, she’s worth it.
Brady
Just don’t go facing him alone, okay?
Brady
Call for back up next time — none of this heroic stuff.
Jack
So, should I go to her house?
Brady
Don’t be stupid. Just text her.
Jack
I need to tell her how I feel. Like, to her face.
Brady
Then…face time her.
Jack
I can’t stop thinking about her.
Jack
I said some bad things to her the last time I saw her.
Jack
I’ll be up all night if we don’t talk.
Brady
Then…see if she’ll sneak out.
Brady
But if she can’t, because of her parents, don’t blame her.
Brady
And don’t go crazy climbing into her window or any of that.
Brady
Don’t get her in trouble, man. Be careful.
Jack waits to text Hazel after dinnertime.
Hazel
I’m here. Are you okay?
Jack
I’m fine. But I need to talk to you…
Jack
I don’t want you to get into trouble.
Jack
But I have to see you…
Hazel
I’m getting a jacket and my shoes. Meet me at our spot?
Jack
You sure you won’t get in trouble?
Hazel
It’s okay. I want to see you.
Hazel sneaks out to the playground by the old church.
She finds Jack sitting on a nearby bench, holding her journal and sits down next to him.
Jack
You do nice work, Hazel.
Hazel
Thanks. You know, I didn’t mean for…what happened today.
Hazel
We all know that. But I shouldn’t have gotten you to get into the middle of it in the first place.
Hazel
None of this would have happened if I hadn’t gotten into his car.
Hazel
I don’t know. I’m new. Trying to fit in. Don’t know anything about anyone.
Hazel
So I didn’t know who to trust. He seemed nice, because he’d offered me a ride home.
Hazel
It wasn’t that different from how I felt about you, actually.
Hazel
You were so nice to me that first day in class.
Jack
I didn’t want to tell you before, but…
Jack
When I met you in class. I liked you then.
Jack
Yeah. I went out of my way to talk to you that day.
Jack
Yeah. I kept looking for a chance to talk to you again…
Jack
But I didn’t know what to say…
Jack
I’d have given you a ride home if you needed one.
Jack
Then all of this would’ve never happened.
Hazel
We can’t beat ourselves up about it. There’s no way to know what really started the problem.
Jack
I guess you’re right.
Jack
But I’m sorry I ran off.
Jack
I just couldn’t…I hated it when you would only refer to me as your fake boyfriend.
Jack
It was like I wasn’t good enough to be real.
Hazel
You’re so nice to me, Jack. I didn’t realize that when I said fake boyfriend it upset you.
Hazel
I thought it was like a special code between us.
Hazel
It was an excuse to hold your hand.
Hazel
I never meant to make you think I wouldn’t actually go out with you.
Jack opens the junk journal. He shows her the page with the future boyfriend comment.
Jack
Did you mean this part?
Hazel
I actually wrote that the day you agreed to be my fake boyfriend.
Hazel
After the first night we met here to talk.
Hazel
I walked home, and I couldn’t sleep.
Jack
I had a hard time sleeping, too.
Hazel
I was up doodling, and I wrote that.
Hazel
I think that’s when it became my code.
Hazel
I guess to me, I was always felt like I was saying future boyfriend.
Hazel
It was stupid, like I expected you to read my mind…
Jack
Why didn’t you tell me?
Hazel
I was worried. I thought maybe you were just doing me a favor.
Hazel
And I wanted to keep making excuses for us to hang out together in case you didn’t want to.
Hazel
I guess I was hoping you’d learn to like me and ask me out.
Jack points to their names in the journal.
Jack
How far in the future were you talking?
Jack
Can the future be now?
Hazel
Yes. I want it to be now.
Jack
Good. Because I didn’t want to fake it.
Jack
You know how I never wanted to fake kiss you?
Jack
That’s because I always I wanted it to be real.
Hazel
Then don’t fake kiss me…
Hazel
Because I want the other version too.
Jack leans in, closes his eyes, and kisses Hazel.
It’s soft at first, but then he wraps his arms around her, holding on to her —
