Jake’s house doesn’t burn down, but Jake is led away in handcuffs, charged with assaulting Nelson with a dangerous weapon. Nelson recovers the next day, but he has permanent side effects from his skull fracture, including no memory of what happened at the party. Rick is frustrated that Didi won’t admit what she did. Since she acted to save Jake’s life, Rick is sure that she wouldn’t get in trouble if she confessed.

Jake is in trouble with the police and might be kicked out of school for assaulting a fellow student, but all he cares about is how Didi is holding up under the stress. Rick repeatedly urges Jake to tell the truth—that Didi is the one who struck Nelson—but Jake adamantly refuses, not wanting to put Didi at any risk of punishment.

Rick realizes that everything that Jake did was for Didi. He threw the parties hoping that she would show up at one someday. He practiced being a long-snapper for hours, even though he doesn’t care about football, to get on the football team and attract the popular crowd to his parties. He even got his dad to buy a house near Didi’s school to increase the chances that he would run into her.