Two Boys Kissing

Peter wakes up and checks the internet for the news. Finding nothing exciting, he returns to the livestream of the Big Kiss. He looks through the comments and though he sees a lot of support for the boys, he also finds hateful comments. Even though they aren’t directed at him, he struggles not to take them personally.

Three local news crews want to ask questions about the kiss, but Harry and Craig can’t answer, and Tariq is too shy to speak on their behalf. The crowd still grows, there are more hostile people. The chorus highlight how different it was for them, getting to choose how and when to be on camera, versus the novel’s present, where teens have cameras in their pockets and have little say in when or how they end up on camera. Craig and Harry feel a little uneasy about the news cameras, and they can’t control the narrative. Harry’s father explains their aims to the news crews, and Mr. Bellamy expresses his support on camera.

Avery, driving again to Kindling to meet Ryan, turns on the radio to hear radio hosts discussing the kiss. The station is taking calls from people who condemn the kiss and use their public phone call to broadcast their anti-gay views. Avery, like Peter, takes the comments personally. He knows that, ultimately, they are talking about him—and about Ryan, and the gay people who came before them, and all LGBTQ people. The chorus remark, “The minute you stop talking about individuals and start talking about a group, your judgement has a flaw in it. We made this mistake often enough” (128). Avery knows he should turn off the radio, but he can’t.

Cooper wakes to someone pounding on his windshield and telling him that he needs to leave the parking lot. He drives away, slowly coming to believe that his life is pointless and already over. He ignores another phone call from his parents and turns off his phone.

Neil makes his parents turn off the radio when a caller says that she hopes Craig and Harry are giving each other HIV and the host laughs at the comment. His parents reply that they aren’t really listening; the radio plays in the background while they go about their Sunday morning, his little sister eating at the table. He yells at them for not paying attention and not caring more when they have a gay son. He compares the disparaging comments to racist comments about Korean people, and implores them to admit, out loud, that they know he’s gay and in a relationship with Peter. His little sister Miranda says it first, followed by his father, but his mother hesitates before saying that Neil is gay. Afterwards, Neil’s father tells him to have breakfast, and there’s no further discussion. 

It’s nearly 24 hours into the kiss, and the crowd is counting down the minutes. Several in the crowd are there to protest, and the protesters clash with the supporters. Supporters maintain their protective ring around Craig and Harry. Tariq tries his best to stay awake with the boys in solidarity. It’s getting hotter outside, and Harry signals to have his hoodie removed. He is damp with sweat, and just as the crowd counts down to the 24-hour mark, he starts to pass out in Craig’s arms.