- In the now: Nikki's English teacher, Mrs. Stone, offers to help her catch up on work she's missed. Among other things, their class has been assigned a thirty-page practice thesis.
- Nikki decides to turn the finished thesis in to her dad, as proof of her progress in school, so she hangs out in the English classroom after school to work on it.
- But then Jack arrives. He's there to ask for help on a college application, and he has a free hour before football practice. He sits down next to Nikki, startling her so that she drops her little notebook, which he picks up for her.
- Jack tries to start a conversation with Nikki by stating that she missed the big game on Friday. She gets silent before saying, yes. He teases her about adding another word to her repertoire.
- Then Jack asks where she's been, since she left without a word. Nikki feels like her heart is breaking, though, so she gets up to leave.
- Jack apologizes and says he's the one who should go. He sounds really sad. She tells him that he doesn't have to leave, and for the next hour, they sit silently side by side.
- As the days pass, Jack and Nikki sit quietly side by side after school in their English classroom.
- One day, Lacey Greene interrupts their study session. She asks Jack why he's been hiding out and missing all the fun of senior year. Nikki feels a little jealous, and wonders about what might've been going on between Jack and Lacey.
- Then Jules shows up to thank Nikki for the hat she knit her as a gift. Nikki feels like maybe there's some new connection between Jack and Jules, but she's not sure. Anyway, Nikki ends up smiling, which is rare.
- In the past: Jack and Nikki dance together at the Christmas Dance. It feels so wonderful that she never wants it to end.
- But when Nikki goes to the bathroom, she hears some girls gossiping about her while she's hidden in a stall. It's Lacey (one of Jack's exes) and her lackeys complaining about how Nikki stole Jack from her.
- Nikki gives the girls the cold shoulder on her way out of the bathroom, and tries not to let it get to her. So Jack dated around a lot before they'd gotten together—so what?
- Jack kisses Nikki before dropping her off at home, even though her dad's watching. Her dad gives her a hard time about boys, but Nikki realizes that he's just trying to reconnect after her mom's death.
- The next morning, Nikki finds a note from Jack in her jacket pocket that reads Ever Yours.