Rival Darling

Violet faces backlash at Sunshine Prep for dating Reed. Students whisper about her, and a girl in math class calls her a “Devil worshipper” (206). Violet confronts them, telling them to ask Jeremy and Heather why she broke up with him. On Wednesday, she finds a cartoon devil drawn in permanent marker on her locker. While she tries to clean it, Jeremy approaches and pressures her to get back together, claiming she will regret getting involved with Reed. Violet firmly rejects him and walks away.

Outside, she tells Mia and Nicole about the vandalism and Jeremy’s confrontation. They encourage her to stick with the fake relationship. At home, Violet is surprised to find her car, Betty, fully repaired and parked outside with Reed leaning against it. Reed reveals his father fixed everything, including adding new snow tires, as a joking “girlfriend special,” free of charge. Uncomfortable with this, Violet asks Reed to thank his father. Reed suggests she can thank him herself at his game on Saturday; when she says she has to work, he invites her to Sunday family dinner instead, explaining his mom found out about them and wants to meet her. He adds that only Grayson knows the relationship is fake and that the dinner will help sell their relationship through social media photos. After hesitating about meeting another boyfriend’s family, Violet agrees.

Parker arrives to pick Reed up. Inside, Mia admits she was spying and notes that Reed smiles a lot around Violet. Uncle Luke questions how the car returned, suspicious of Reed’s involvement. Violet admits Reed dropped it off but minimizes his role and avoids mentioning the free repairs. After Luke leaves, Violet tells Mia about the dinner invitation, and Mia jokes about her entering “the Devils’ lair” (219).

Reed arrives at Violet’s house on Sunday evening, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. Uncle Luke greets him with a fierce scowl, says he does not trust Reed, and threatens to report him to his coach if he hurts Violet. As they drive to Reed’s house, Violet seems nervous too. Reed offers her an out, which she deflects by teasing him about being the nervous one.

Reed’s family immediately descends on them. Cammie inspects Violet and jokes that Reed must have paid her. Parker makes a smug comment. Amy gives Violet an enthusiastic hug. Violet teases Reed by calling him “Reedy” as they enter the living room, where Paige greets Violet with another hug. Grayson remains quiet on the couch. Cammie announces that Amy burned dinner, so they are ordering pizza.

To escape the chaos, Reed offers Violet a tour and takes her to his bedroom, closing the door. There, Violet meets his dog, Stanley. She asks if the dog is named after a tumbler, and Reed does not correct her that he is named after the Stanley Cup. Violet asks about a rumor that he was jumped by four guys. Reed tells the truth: He was attacked by four players from a rival team after a game, but his brothers arrived and scared them off.

Violet opens up about her family, mentioning her workaholic mother and her wish for siblings. When asked about her father, she reveals he was a star college football player who abandoned her and her mother when she got pregnant. Reed realizes her father is likely the reason for her aversion to dating jocks. As they sit on the bed talking, the physical and emotional distance between them closes. Reed leans in to kiss her, but Parker interrupts by pounding on the bedroom door to announce the pizza.

Violet is flustered by the near-kiss and follows Reed back downstairs. During family banter, Cammie calls Parker a “pig,” and Violet and Reed share a knowing look. Cammie starts to say Reed has been too focused on hockey since some past event, but Grayson cuts her off. Reed’s father, Danny, arrives with the pizza. At the table, Violet thanks Danny for the car repairs. He frowns slightly and glances at Reed before saying it was no problem. The family asks how they met, and Reed and Danny playfully argue over who was the real hero. Paige snaps a photo of Reed and Violet smiling at each other across the table.

After dinner, the family hugs Violet goodbye, except for Grayson, who just nods. In the car, Reed reassures her that Grayson liked her. Violet accidentally says she liked being his girlfriend, then quickly corrects herself to fake girlfriend. The slip-up creates tension. To recover, Violet asks about their next fake date. Reed suggests they attend his teammate Matt’s victory party on Saturday. Violet agrees but says she is busy during the week, telling herself she needs distance to sort out her feelings. Later in her room, Violet discovers Reed has followed her on Instagram and posted the photo Paige took with a caption calling her his “girl.” The post makes her heart flutter despite knowing it is part of the act.

Reed misses Violet all week and feels cautiously optimistic after the successful dinner. On Thursday, he goes to Hug in a Mug hoping to see her. Violet’s cousin, Mia, is working and is initially hostile and suspicious. She reveals she knows about the fake relationship and starts questioning Reed’s intentions. Reed admits he “more than like[s]” Violet (250). Mia encourages him, saying she has seen Violet looking at his Instagram post multiple times and suggesting Violet’s feelings might be real. She mentions Violet has seemed out of sorts all week. Mia advises Reed to tell Violet how he feels but also warns him not to hurt her.

After leaving the shop, Reed runs into Jeremy. He tells Reed to stay away from Violet, accusing him of using her to gain an advantage in their upcoming game. Jeremy brings up their past friendship and a girl named Natalie, suggesting Reed is still bitter that his first girlfriend cheated on him with Jeremy for most of their freshman year. The mention of Natalie angers Reed, but he maintains his composure. Jeremy taunts him, saying Violet will eventually come back to him. Reed leaves, concerned by Jeremy’s persistence and the reminder of his painful freshman-year breakup.

On Friday afternoon, Grayson confronts a moping Reed, saying his mood is affecting hockey practice. He urges Reed to call Violet, joking that he invent “a fake dating emergency” (260). Reed takes the suggestion literally, calls Violet, and asks her to come bowling with him and his friends to maintain their ruse. Mia interjects and accepts for Violet, who then takes the phone back and agrees. Reed realizes he needs more people to sell the excuse but ends up only with Grayson and Paige.

At the bowling alley, Violet quickly realizes the excuse is flimsy, as the only other people there are Grayson, Paige, and a crowd of preteens. A girl at the counter named Abigail flirts with Reed, and Violet glares at her. To keep up the act, Violet puts her arm around Reed. Grayson helps cover for Reed’s lie about the alley being a popular hangout. While giving Violet bowling pointers, Reed stands close behind her, creating another charged moment. After Violet bowls a strike, Reed impulsively picks her up and spins her around in celebration. When he sets her down, they share an intense gaze, which Paige interrupts.

On the drive home, Violet confronts Reed about the fake emergency. Reed admits the truth: He just missed her. Violet panics, reminding him of their agreement not to let feelings get in the way. Reed quickly backpedals, claiming he just wanted to hang out as friends. Violet agrees to see him at the party the next night but quickly exits the car, leaving Reed feeling like he has ruined his chance.

On Saturday, Violet is distracted and clumsy during her shift at Hug in a Mug, consumed by her confusing feelings for Reed. That evening, Mia helps her get ready for the party, showing a complete reversal in her attitude toward Reed. Mia suggests a very short, shimmery dress that Violet rejects. She eventually convinces Violet to wear her supposedly lucky “first-base outfit” (283). Violet confesses she might like Reed but is terrified of dating another hockey player. Mia dismisses her fears and proposes a plan: Violet should kiss Reed at the party under the guise of their fake relationship to test his reaction and see if his feelings are real. Violet is hesitant but finds the logic persuasive.

After Mia finishes her hair and makeup, Violet realizes Reed is late. Mia admits he arrived 10 minutes ago and has been downstairs talking with Uncle Luke. Violet rushes down, fearing a confrontation, but finds Luke and Reed chatting and laughing together. Reed almost trips over a coffee table when he sees how beautiful Violet looks. Luke explains that he and Reed have reached an understanding after bonding over hockey and that he now trusts Violet’s judgment. He still warns Reed not to hurt her, but in a more friendly way.

Outside, Reed reveals he came early specifically to talk to Luke and assure him that he really cares about Violet and would never hurt her. Violet is stunned and deeply moved by his words, and she starts to consider that taking a risk on Reed might be worth it.