After leaving Westleigh Way, Fern breaks up with her secondary school boyfriend, Adam. She handles the breakup very poorly; in retrospect, she sees this as another autism symptom, having an inordinately intense focus on dating relationships. She and Lauren begin contacting adults on a same-sex dating website. During this time, she begins exchanging messages with a married couple, Karen and Shaun, who are seeking a third partner. She eventually agrees to let Karen and Shaun pick her up in Bathgate and bring her to their home in Glasgow, where she has sex with them for several hours. Feeling uncomfortable, she manages to convince them to drive her back home to Bathgate. As an adult, she realizes that Karen and Shaun very likely knew that she was a minor at the time.

Fern’s mother finds out about Karen and Shaun from a neighbor who witnessed them picking Fern up at the house. In response, she begins kicking Fern out of the house. Completely unsure of how to fend for herself, Fern relies on friends’ parents to house her. Having received an acceptance to attend university in Edinburgh, she stops attending secondary school altogether and spends her time at the local library.