At the Briar vs. Harvard hockey game, Summer is still fuming over her argument with Fitz. She confides in Brenna that what truly upset her was Fitz’s earlier comments to Garrett that she was surface level. Brenna gets into a heated verbal exchange with some aggressive Harvard fans sitting a few rows behind them, who mock her outrage at the referee. During the game, Brenna points out Harvard’s captain, Jake Connelly, and another player, Brooks Weston, whom she calls a “goon.” Summer, who went to high school with Weston, is surprised to learn he plays for Harvard. Ultimately, Jake scores a breakaway goal at the final buzzer, giving Harvard the win.

After the game, Summer reconnects with Weston outside the locker rooms. He seems thrilled to see her and introduces her to Jake. Weston invites Summer and a reluctant Brenna to a party, and Summer accepts for both of them.

Brenna grudgingly accompanies Summer to the Harvard party. There, they meet a player named McCarthy, who scored against Briar. Hunter calls, irritated that Summer is partying with the team that just beat them. As the night continues, Summer catches up with Weston, who does a line of cocaine. Later, Jake joins their group, and Brenna reveals that her father is Briar’s coach. McCarthy, who had been flirting with Brenna, panics upon hearing this, worried she will tell her father about his concealed knee injury.

Back at their house, Summer and Brenna join Hollis for shots of Fireball whiskey while Fitz watches disapprovingly and Hunter dozes in an armchair. Growing increasingly drunk, Summer begins dancing wildly. Concerned she will injure herself, Fitz carries her over his shoulder up to her room, despite her angry protests. The next morning, Brenna is discovered doing the walk of shame out of Hollis’ room. Hunter subsequently climbs into Summer’s bed to sleep, and an exhausted Summer joins him.

On Monday, the first day of the new semester, Fitz is up before dawn when a scream pierces the house. Hollis has accidentally barged into the bathroom while Summer was showering. A furious Summer confronts him in the hallway, and during the argument, her towel accidentally drops, briefly exposing her naked body to Fitz, Hunter, and Hollis. Fitz promises to fix the bathroom’s broken lock.

Later that day, Fitz receives a life-changing phone call from Kamal Jain, the legendary founder of Orcus Games. Jain is impressed with Fitz’s game, Legion 48, and schedules a face-to-face interview at the Ritz in Boston in two weeks. He tells Fitz he’s on a shortlist of seven candidates and the process will be competitive. Afterward, Fitz runs into his art classmate, Nora, who asks him out on a date. When he sees Summer on campus, they pointedly ignore one another.

In her History of Fashion class, Summer is consumed with jealousy when she overhears Nora telling friends about her upcoming date with Fitz. During a class discussion, Nora attempts to undermine Summer’s point about designer Coco Chanel, but Summer’s articulate response impresses their professor, Erik Laurie. After class, Laurie confirms academic accommodations for Summer’s learning difficulties, but his persistent winking and flirtatious manner make her deeply uncomfortable.

While Fitz is on his date with Nora, Summer stays home and bonds with Hollis over the movie Titanic. When Fitz returns, Summer makes a series of sarcastic comments about his date. The tension escalates into a fierce argument, which ends when Fitz calls her a bitch.

Wanting to force a confrontation, Fitz carries a struggling Summer upstairs to her room. There, Summer finally reveals the true source of her hostility: On New Year’s Eve, she overheard his dismissive comments about her to Garrett. Overcome with guilt, Fitz apologizes, admitting he was wrong to judge her. Summer confesses that she had developed a crush on him that night and that his words had hurt her deeply.

In the days that follow, their interactions become awkward and distant. Fitz grows jealous as he observes Summer and Hunter spending more time together. One night, struggling with a creative block, Fitz does a free-drawing exercise and is surprised to find he has sketched a portrait of Summer. He realizes she is the perfect inspiration for Anya, the female lead in his new video game. Later, he stumbles upon his roommates and Summer playing Spin the Bottle. Summer spins, and the bottle points directly at him.

Pressured by their friends, Summer and Fitz share a kiss. The kiss is unexpectedly intense and passionate, leaving Summer reeling from the moment of deep connection. However, the next day, she convinces herself the kiss meant nothing to Fitz since he left the room immediately afterward.

During the second week of classes, Summer has an uncomfortable meeting with Professor Laurie, who approves her swimwear line for the end-of-year fashion show but makes inappropriate comments about her modeling a bikini herself. Later, while attempting to outline her midterm essay, Summer is overwhelmed by her ADHD and has a severe panic attack. Fitz discovers her crying on her bedroom floor and comforts her as she confesses her long-standing struggles with her learning disability.

Fitz offers to help Summer with her essay if she agrees to let him sketch her as a model for his video game character, Anya. Summer accepts, and they begin nightly study and sketching sessions. As they grow closer, Fitz finds it increasingly difficult to hide his intense attraction to her. The night before his interview with Orcus Games, Summer insists on styling him and brings over bags of designer clothes. While he is changing, they share a moment of charged physical awareness.

Hunter enters during the styling session and flirts with Summer before she leaves the room to get Hollis. Hunter privately asks Fitz whether anything is going on between him and Summer, referencing both the Spin the Bottle kiss and their study sessions. Fitz downplays the kiss and insists they are just friends. Hunter declares his own romantic interest in Summer, stating he plans to ask her out and asking if Fitz has a problem with it. Feeling that Summer has placed him in the friend zone and wanting to avoid a confrontation, Fitz suppresses his jealousy and gives Hunter his blessing.