On the honeymoon, Lake playfully demands an apology from Will for kicking her out of his house. At the hotel pool, Will throws Lake into the water and jumps in after her. He confesses he loves the shirt she’s wearing—which he always claimed to hate—because she wore it the night he first admitted to himself he was in love with her. She asks him to tell her about that night.

One night, Will sees Lake storm out of her house, yelling at Julia, then leave in Eddie’s car. Julia, crying, tells Will she thinks Lake has discovered she has cancer. After hours of anxious waiting, Will texts Gavin, who reveals that Lake knows nothing about Julia’s cancer but believes her mom has a new boyfriend. Devastated for Lake, knowing the truth she is about to face, Will tells Gavin to bring her home. Later, Lake appears at Will’s door, sobbing. She collapses, and he holds her as she reveals that Julia is dying. Will carries her to his bed. When Julia comes to take Lake home, Will convinces her to let Lake stay the night to process the news. Outside, Julia asks if Will is in love with Lake. He admits he is trying not to be. Julia tells him to try harder, pleading that she needs Lake and cannot have her consumed by a whirlwind, forbidden romance during their last months together. Will promises to be only a friend but defies Julia’s instruction to sleep on the couch, instead holding Lake in his bed as she cries herself to sleep.

On the honeymoon, Lake undresses in the hotel pool. As things escalate between them, a hotel employee interrupts to lock the pool. Mortified, they retrieve their clothes.

The narrative shifts back to the morning after Lake stayed over at Will’s. Kel and Caulder confront Will, revealing that Kel saw him kiss Lake, and asking why he cannot be her boyfriend. Will confirms he cannot date a student. Will recalls the day his parents died. After initially believing Caulder had also died, Will’s overwhelming relief upon learning his brother is alive still haunts him. Julia expresses her fear that raising Kel will burden Lake. Will argues that separating them after Lake’s has lost both her parents will destroy her.

Will returns home to find Lake in intense denial, frantically cleaning and alphabetizing everything in his house. To snap her out of it, he carries Lake into his bathroom and dumps her into a cold shower. He goes to Lake’s house for clothes. When Julia shares a story about Lake’s childhood, Will gently advises Julia to let Lake raise Kel.

That night, Lake accepts Will’s apology, and they lie together in the dark. She whispers that Julia wants to give Kel away. Later, Will is woken on the living room floor by Eddie’s voice and realizes she’s seen them together. Lake tells Will that Eddie already knew about them. Furious and panicked about his career, Will yells at Lake and sends her home, ultimately walking away from her at the door.

On the honeymoon, Lake asks Will for a happy memory. In a flashback, Will goes to Julia’s house, nervous about Lake’s reaction to the detention he gave her earlier that day. He finds Caulder at Lake and Kel’s house. Julia insists he join them. She says, “We’re just carving pumpkins tonight. That’s all we’re doing. Just carving pumpkins.” (193), signaling a truce from discussing her illness. 

After the pizza arrives, Julia suggests playing their suck and sweet game. Will stares directly at Lake and says his sweet is right now. After Kel and Caulder take their turns, Julia says her sweet is carving pumpkins together. When Lake becomes emotional, Julia says her suck is the same as her sweet, confirming that “carving pumpkins” is a metaphor for their avoidance; in response, Lake abruptly gets up to do the dishes, saying her suck is that it is her dish night. No one asks Lake what her sweet was.

On the honeymoon, Lake tells Will her sweet from that night was their private conversation. She admits that when he said his sweet was right now, she wanted to ravish him. She asks why he wrote his poem “The Lake.” Will explains he wrote it after seeing her strength in facing her mother’s illness and realizing he wanted her to wait for him. He confesses he lied about not seeing her at the slam; he performed the poem specifically for her.

The narrative shifts to the night of the poetry slam. Will sees Lake enter and performs “The Lake,” a poem expressing his love for her. After his performance, he searches for Lake but finds she’s already left. Eddie and Gavin tell him Lake went out to the parking lot. Will rushes outside and finds Lake kissing Javier. Consumed by jealousy, he pulls Javier off Lake and punches him. Javier hits Will back. One of the punches he throws hits Lake instead of Will. Enraged, Will attacks Javier again until Gavin arrives and pulls him off. Will drives Lake home in tense silence. At his house, he treats the bruise on her back and tells Julia what happened. Julia rushes over and takes Lake home.

The next morning, Will reports to Principal Murphy that he fought a student at the poetry slam. In a meeting with the principal, Javier’s father, and a police officer, Lake testifies that Javier kissed her without her consent, even when she asked him to stop. She says Will intervened to stop it. Murphy tells Will he did the right thing, but informs him that Javier will only be suspended. Unable to remain in the same school as Javier, knowing he assaulted Lake, Will resigns.