Tori finds Lucas at the end of the day and confronts him about avoiding her. He tries to act like he hasn’t been doing so, but Tori sees through it and tries to apologize. Lucas doesn’t know how to respond and quickly leaves.

Tori’s grandparents come over for dinner. She listens to the semi-painful conversation and attempts to text Lucas and get him to explain why he’s avoiding her. Tori’s grandparents congratulate Charlie on being back on the rugby team and ask Tori about her plans for college (she has none). They criticize Charlie when he says that he plans to transfer to Tori’s school next year. Tori finally gets Lucas to agree to meet up later. She goes to the meeting place and waits, but he never shows up; instead, he sends a single text, “sorry,” and Tori walks home.

At a school assembly, Mr. Kent gives a speech about the barriers that women face in the world, telling the students that they’re lucky to have attended such a good school (although the sixth form admits male students, the school is otherwise for girls). Afterward, the grade-seven students release confetti poppers on the sports field, and Tori finds the sight uplifting, though she’s sure Solitaire is behind it. She goes online, looks up Michael’s name, and finds several articles about him winning competitions. It occurs to Tori that there are entire sides to Michael that she doesn’t really know.

After not seeing her all week, Michael catches Tori when he bikes by her bus and waves at her. Tori meets Michael in the snow, and they walk together. He admits that he was suspended all week for swearing at Mr. Kent, who accused Michael of not trying hard enough in school. Michael also reveals that he spoke to Charlie and heard what happened between Tori and Becky. Tori becomes momentarily defensive again, as she feels like nobody should worry about her but herself. She thinks about everything that has happened lately and how little is being done about it, and she decides not to sit in inaction anymore.

Mr. Kent approaches Tori again and asks about her most recent essay on Pride and Prejudice. He also asks her about her friends and hobbies, which Tori is uncomfortable thinking about. At this point, she has no hobbies and considers Michael her only friend. Mr. Kent warns Tori that the antagonists of stories always seem to be alone, while happy characters always have friends, and he tells her that only she can change this.

Tori decides that the Solitaire blog is telling her something, and she increasingly feels like she has to stop whatever the blog owner is planning. She cries and tells Charlie that she’s overwhelmed by her life and feels like she’s failing. She also explains that she misses when she didn’t care about anyone or anything.

Tori opens an old diary and reads an entry that shows her as happy, spirited, and still close with Becky. She cuts up the diary, cuts her hair, and then cries for a while before retreating to the internet.

Tori is dragged to a music festival with Charlie and Nick and wanders off on her own. As she moves among the crowd, she notices flyers with anarchy symbols and the word “Friday” strewn around the ground. Tori finds Lucas and tries to confront him again, accusing him of not caring about her. Lucas still doesn’t provide an explanation as to why he’s been avoiding her. Instead, he makes an escape after Tori rants to him about Charlie and how powerless she feels to help him.

Charlie calls Tori and tells her to leave the concert grounds immediately, but Tori doesn’t process the warning. Suddenly, the anarchy symbol appears on the stage screen, and a voice comes over the speakers to announce a major event being planned for the school on Friday. Tori looks out over the nearby river and sees Michael standing on the other side, yelling at her to get out.

Fireworks start going off across the grounds, and people begin catching on fire. Tori jumps into the river as one explodes behind her, and her skin and clothes are burned. Michael carries her to safety, and she gazes at his face as it reflects the endless colors of the explosions. At one point, she thinks he might have kissed her head. Something inside Tori tells her that there is some good in this world after all.

Tori goes to the hospital and gets treated for her burns, which are minor. She goes to school and does all she can to research Solitaire and find out who’s behind it before Friday. Tori runs into Michael, who says that he was texting her and was worried. Tori doesn’t remember the texts but tells Michael about her plans to take down Solitaire. He questions her sudden “obsession” with Solitaire. She thinks that someone has to care about things, so it may as well be her. At home later, Tori mentions Solitaire to Nick and Charlie, who seem indifferent and blame the police for not acting. Tori gets angry at Charlie, seeing him as just another careless person.

Tori asks her mother to iron her skirt for school, but her mother plainly tells her that she doesn’t care about the problem and tells Tori to deal with it herself. Tori wonders if she’s growing up to be just like her.

At school, Becky tells Tori that she knows Tori doesn’t like her and that there’s no sense pretending to be friends anymore. She storms off, and Tori wanders into a computer lab, where she finds a stairwell leading to the roof. While on the roof, Tori sees a group of students gather on the field below and light the school lectern on fire. As they cheer, she sees the same desensitization she sees everywhere.

Michael finds Tori and says that he needs to tell her something, so they walk to the library together. When Michael doesn’t share his “news,” Tori attempts to make small talk, but he remains uncomfortable. She tries to tell Michael once again that he doesn’t need to pity her or pretend to be her friend, and Michael becomes frustrated and leaves.

The day before the big Solitaire event, Tori calls Michael. He admits that he’s angry at her and that he feels like she sees him as an object there to make her feel better. Tori asks if they can meet up to talk in person, and they find one another outside. Tori asks him what he wanted to say the other day, and Michael says that he wanted to invite Tori to his upcoming skating competition. Tori is thrilled for him, and they celebrate with a snowball fight. She finds herself actually laughing. When they head inside, they lie down on a table to observe the sky through a skylight.

Tori falls asleep, and when she wakes up, she hears Michael talking angrily to Lucas. She turns around and faces them, and Michael pushes Lucas to talk to Tori. He looks terrified as he admits to being the instigator behind Solitaire. Lucas explains that he thought he was in love with Tori and couldn’t stand seeing her so unhappy. He blamed the school and thought that attacking it would liven Tori’s spirit again. Tori is beyond enraged and tries to attack Lucas, but Michael holds her back. Lucas tells Tori that Solitaire plans to meet early the next morning, though he claims to no longer be involved. Tori sees Lucas as just another example of a selfish person operating on their own emotions instead of concern for others, and she runs.

Tori wakes up early to head to school and calls Becky to tell her what she’s doing. Becky is alarmed and tells Tori to stay home, but Tori has made up her mind. She goes into the school and finds a group of three students in Mr. Kent’s classroom: Lucas and his friends Aaron and Evelyn. Moments later, Becky appears to help Tori, and the two of them listen in on the Solitaire conversation.

Tori and Becky see Lucas arguing with his friends and holding a lighter that he refuses to give them. Aaron eventually punches Lucas, takes the lighter, and holds it to his neck. Becky steps in between them and tells them to stop their chaos, pointing out that their actions are helping no one. Nevertheless, Aaron takes a school bag, lights the inside, and tosses it toward a shelf of books; the fire seems to go out on its own. Becky continues to confront Aaron and Evelyn, who eventually give up and leave the room.

The others follow, but Tori feels increasingly hot. She walks back toward the classroom, which has erupted in flames. While everyone else runs from the building, Tori finds a fire extinguisher. Michael finds her and tries to get her out.

Tori escapes Michael’s grip and runs back into the school. She finds another fire extinguisher, but it warns against use near anything electrical, and she realizes that she can’t stop the fire. Tori steps out onto the school roof and looks down. She thinks about her life and how it hasn’t yet led her anywhere, and she starts to wish that she could die.

Charlie, Nick, and several others gather on the ground below and tell Tori to stop. Moments later, Michael appears at the window and reaches for Tori, telling her that they need to get out. Tori remains in place, and Michael asks if she wants to die by suicide. Tori apologizes to him yet again and admits that she has never felt worthy of friendship.

Michael tells Tori that she’s changed his life and that he loves her, and they kiss. More and more students appear in the field below, all bearing witness to the school as it burns. Tori stands with Michael and looks down at the people below, finally seeing them as just people. Though she does not feel “cured” or happy, she feels alive and full of emotion.

Tori is on the way to the hospital, along with all her friends. Charlie apologizes for noticing Tori’s sorrow but doing nothing, which makes her cry. He mentions how their father joked about reading The Catcher in the Rye too many times and how it must have seeped into his DNA. Becky wonders if a teenager can ever be sad without being compared to that book. The group muses on Solitaire for a moment, and a long silence follows. Tori wonders why she never gets a happy ending but is glad to be alive and not alone.