Twenty-Four Seconds from Now…

Seventeen-year-old Neon Benton stands in his girlfriend Aria Wright’s bathroom, overwhelmed by anxiety. Tonight, he and Aria, his girlfriend of two years, plan to have sex for the first time. Feeling physically sick with nerves, he gives himself a pep talk and speaks to a framed photo of Denzel Jeremy Washington, a dog he fears. He worries about everything from fumbling with the condom to unhooking a bra to whether the experience will be meaningful. He decides the only way forward is to be honest with Aria about how nervous he is.

Just twenty-four seconds earlier, Neon was in Aria’s bedroom with her. Both were in their underwear, kissing passionately. Neon reflects on how different this real, un-choreographed moment is from love scenes in movies. When Aria asks him what he is thinking, he is overcome, and he tells her, I'll be right back," before escaping to the bathroom.

Twenty-four minutes before that, Neon arrived at Aria’s distinctively pink-painted house, carrying chicken tenders and fries from the bingo hall where he works. The house is empty because Aria’s family is at her younger sister Turtle’s chorus competition. Neon reflects on Aria’s musical family: her conductor father, Maestro; her famous trumpet-player mother; and Turtle, a gifted singer with synesthesia. Aria shows Neon her notes for the senior superlatives she is creating for their school’s new digital yearbook, a project she initiated. Their lighthearted conversation turns intimate when Aria calls Neon "my something." He tells her he is thinking about "us," and they go to her bedroom.

The previous day, Neon was in his room avoiding homework by reviewing videos he had filmed for the yearbook, in which seniors describe high school in three words. A video of his friend Dodie triggers a memory of that morning. Dodie played his new punk song about masturbation while driving Neon to school. Later, at school, Neon comforted Aria, who was upset after her mother criticized her for lacking a clear life plan. Neon understands that Mrs. Wright’s pressure stems from her own traumatic past. Back in the present of that evening, Neon’s older sister, Nat, enters his room. She works at their family’s door-knocker business and shows him a mold for a custom door knocker she is making for Aria as a graduation gift from him. Nat offers him supportive advice for the next night, encouraging him to communicate his nervousness to Aria.

Twenty-four days earlier, on a Saturday morning, Neon walks with his grandmother, Gammy, to the cemetery for her daily visit to his late grandfather Grandy’s grave. She retells the story of how they met. Later, Neon’s mother, Ma, takes him on a surprise breakfast date. She confronts him after finding one of her bras under his bed. Neon confesses he was practicing unhooking it, which leads to a frank and supportive conversation about sex, consent, and mutual pleasure. Back home, Neon talks with Spank, his sister’s weekend partner, whose questions about Aria leaving for college leave him unsettled. A flashback reveals that Neon and Aria, during one of their regular Sunday movie dates, decided to plan their first time for around their two-year anniversary in May.

Twenty-four weeks prior, on Halloween weekend, Neon is helping his father at the family business, Neon Bingo. His father initiates a conversation about intimacy and honesty, advising Neon that connection is more important than "sowing his oats," a mistake he made in his own past. A flashback to the day before shows a heartbroken Aria bringing her dog, Jeremy, to live with Neon’s family because her mother can no longer stand his barking. Gammy immediately bonds with the dog, renaming him Denzel Jeremy Washington. That evening at the bingo hall’s Halloween party, Aria and their friends surprise Neon. A story told by Dodie’s grandmother, Mrs. Monihan, inspires Neon’s "three words" video project. After closing, he records his friends, ending with an intimate exchange with Aria, who says "Should be first" into the camera, to which he replies, "Can be first."

Twenty-four months before, a fifteen-year-old Neon attends his grandfather’s funeral. During the burial, a small dog chases a terrified Neon through the cemetery. The dog’s owner, a girl named Aria, apologizes, marking their first meeting. The following week, Neon delivers a door knocker from his family’s shop to Aria’s house and stays to help her and her father paint. They learn they attend the same school but do not see each other again for four months, until she appears at his wrestling match. Three months after that, they go on their first date. Neon reflects that their relationship is not a dramatic movie but a "special, regular story."

Returning to the present, Neon leaves the bathroom and re-enters Aria’s bedroom. He admits he is nervous, and she confesses she is too. As they undress, Aria tells him she has figured out her three words for the yearbook video. Neon says he has known his for a long time. He extends his pinky finger, and she links hers with his. They pull each other close, sharing a soft laugh, connected and ready."