02x11 - I Can Tell

[bunniefuu]

♪ Who-oa, ah, oh ♪

♪ Who-oa... ♪

♪ I must be lost in my regrets ♪

♪ I must be down, I must be stressed ♪

♪ I've got, like, years of age ♪

♪ That I ain't still got off my chest ♪

♪ There must be so much more to life ♪

♪ If I had diamonds and baguettes ♪

♪ I must be stupid... shady ♪

♪ Must be down, I must be stressed ♪

♪ I must be cooler than glaciers ♪

♪ I'm straight as the
lines on my paper ♪

♪ I must be out of my nature ♪

♪ Put that on my Lord and my Savior ♪

♪ I must be ready for more ♪

♪ Universe spoke, I must be ♪

♪ I know, know ♪

MAN: Sleeping with your eyes open.

[CHUCKLES] That is quite
the skill, Ms. Hicks.

I'm sorry, Professor Walton.

No, no. I get it.

Midterms week is stressful.

So, I understand why your
paper didn't quite hit the mark.

With all due respect, Professor Walton,

I think that my paper on food insecurity

as a public health crisis
was pretty on point.

Full of facts and figures

but no personal connection to the topic.

But this is a real issue in this
country that I empathize with.

In order to improve public health,

you have to first understand
how it affects you personally.

- So, are you gonna fail me?
- No.

I'm going to invite you to dig
deeper and submit a new paper.

Wait. Are you serious?

As serious as the a.m. deadline

by which time all grades must be posted.

Have a productive evening, Ms. Hicks.

J.R.: Man. Couldn't
even use a calculator.

Finals is gonna be wild.

Ahh.

Yo, D., have you heard a word I said?

What? My bad, bro. Uh, what's up?

Bro, what got you zoned out?

Look, me and, uh...

Simone, we...

- kinda had a moment.
- Y'all have a lot of moments.

Yeah, but now she's not talking to me.

That ain't new, either. Come on.

MARCUS: Hey, I'm sorry
to interrupt, fellas,

but, Damon, I need you for a minute.

No. You're good.

- What's up, Coach?
- The faculty grades the team exams early

so I can get ahead of
any academic issues.

But, Damon, I'm afraid to say that

you failed your stats midterm.

[SCOFFS]

Nah, Coach. Like, it was hard,

- but, like, me failing it?
- This lowers your GPA to ..

Oh, we good. NCAA requirement is ..

Yeah, but ours isn't. Remember?

Post-cheating scandal,
you raised ours to ..

I needed this to be clear to everyone

that my boys are for
real student-athletes.

Come on, Coach. Damon's
still grieving his father.

Look, without our ace pitcher,
our rankings could drop.

Couldn't you just make an
exception for us just this one time?

They can't do that, J.
Our education comes first.

I just gotta figure out
a way to raise my GPA.

Until that happens, you're
academically ineligible to play.

PLEDGES: On the campus of
Bringston is where we begin.

fearrrr-less brothers in .

Faith of a mustard seed.
They defied the odds.

Passed the baton...

ALL: Hut.

ALL: ... knowing their
legacy would carry on.

Kappa! Epsilon! Kappa!
Innnn-corporated!

K-E-K...

- [PLEDGE GROANS]
- Hold up!

Why it look like some of
y'all haven't practiced?

Lou, to the front.

- LOU: Yes, big brother, sir.
- J.R.: Why you limping?

I rolled my ankle

practicing the routine,
big brother, sir.

- This process too hard for you?
- No, big brother, sir.

And what about the rest of y'all?

- Hmm? Why you dragging?
- JULIAN: Hey, um, let's call it.

You said you didn't
wanna push 'em too hard.

That don't mean we gotta
have a weak-ass line.

I expect these dudes to
be able to do the work.

Probate is in a few weeks.

We should be much
further along than this.

Hey, I'm with you, but it's midterms.

Let's cut 'em some slack.

Huh. All right.

We'll pick this back up tomorrow.

Don't forget about the
mandatory study hall tonight.

You're dismissed.

Hey, what's up with you?

You ain't get that limp in rehearsal,

'cause you ain't been
at rehearsal all week.

Barely none of y'all have.

Don't worry about it, bruh.

You for real? Ain't bonding and
building trust the whole point of this?

It is, but some things are different.

I'll talk to you later.

SIMONE: Nate, I don't know how
you manage to look like that

when everyone's drip is drying.

I'm on the campaign trail,
trying to secure more votes.

The "Bringston Gazette's" latest
poll results dropped this morning.

Nico has % of the
vote. I only have .

Well, you're not in the lead, but

you're still in there.

At least I'm ahead of Wilinda.

I cannot believe

"Little Miss File a Formal
Complaint for Everything" is running.

Simone, I've gotta step up my game.

Well, since you need to reach voters,

why don't you plan an event?

With everyone stressed about midterms,

I could host an event to help
people relax, relate, release.

Exactly. And I love that.

[CELL PHONE CHIMES]

_

Ooh, ooh, ooh. Ignoring
texts from Damon.

- Tea now, please and thank you.
- No. There's no tea.

You know I have a sixth
sense for messy drama, right?

And, girl, right now,
that alarm is sounding off.

Well, there is no mess,
and there is no drama.

Take your time, but eventually,

Miss Nathaniel learns all.

Hey. Did you get my text?

I was hoping we could talk.

Yeah. I saw it.

Just been busy with
midterms and everything.

I mean, I got midterm stuff, too,

but I think we should
talk about what happened.

[CELL PHONES CHIMING]

Simone.

Yo, are you really checking
your phone right now?

- I'm trying to talk to you.
- There's a new Yard Yack post.

I think we have more pressing things

to talk about other than Yard Yack.

Oh, my God. "Star male athlete

seen leaving the room of
rising star female athlete

in Taylor-Moore Hall. More to come."

Damon, this Yard Yack post is about us.

I'm on line for PKZ and if they
find out about this, I'm dropped.

That post can be about anyone.

I can't lose PKZ, Damon. I have to go.

Oh, hey, hey, look.

Let's just, like,
work this out together.

- Like, let me help.
- No!

It'll just fuel the gossip.

I'll just handle it myself,
but, honestly, until then,

we need distance.

Simone.

MAN: Midterms may be stressful,

but they aren't impossible.

Remember the tools we learned today.

OK. Thanks for coming.

Dr. Hall, thanks for
coming on such short notice.

Man, I appreciate that.

Listen, are we still set
for therapy later this week?

We are, but a check-in never hurt.

Take a seat.

Oh, man.

So...

- how's your mood?
- I feel great, man.

I told Amara that I love her.

I kissed her, and I was
nervous in the moment,

but when she kissed me back, man, heh,

it felt right, Doc.

Marcus, can you tell me what
you're feeling right now?

I'm happy, euphoric.

When was the last
time you felt this way?

Last semester, around the time
of the baseball barbecue...

and my hypomanic episode.

Love and relationships
can feel different

for people living with mood disorders.

It can trigger erratic
behavior and fixation.

Now, I'm not saying that
that's what's happening here.

I just want you to be aware.

We can dive in deeper
during our session,

make sure you get to hold onto this

beautiful thing you're experiencing.

- CAM: Yo, you checked out Yard Yack?
- Not you, too.

Whoa. Blame Keisha,

though it is weirdly addicting.

Look, everybody needs to
mind their damn business

and stop posting everything they see.

Bro, I'm gonna need you
to bring it down a notch.

- You good?
- No.

I failed my stats midterm,

and I'm not eligible to play
until I get my grades up.

Damn. OK, well, did you

talk to your professor
about what's going on?

I mean, you did just bury your dad.

You can't tell me that's
not a part of this.

Look, I'm not about to use
grief as an excuse, all right?

Then use it as an explanation.

We all process grief differently, D.

Grief or not, I should've
passed my stats midterm.

OK, well, then why didn't you? Hmm?

I mean, I saw you when you had
that little study group up in here.

- You were schooling 'em.
- Yeah. I was...

I don't know. Maybe it was, like,
the test itself or something.

All right, so, it's a you problem

or it's a test problem.

Either way, it's worth a conversation,

especially with your
eligibility at stake.

Excuse me, but you'll
need to vacate the area.

I reserved the common
room for a campaign event.

That can't be right
because I reserved it.

Are you calling me a liar?

No. You don't lie to get what you want.

You're more of a "speak
to the manager" type.

But it won't do you any good,

because Keisha's in
back-to-back midterms.

But I texted her
earlier, and she confirmed

that I can use the room. See?

I wrote my name on the clipboard,

so, I'm not cancelling my event.

Well, that's a problem,
because neither am I.

OK, well, why don't you guys

just both have your events on
different sides of the room?

Two against one, and
you chose to compromise?

You need to reach voters, right?

Now you can talk to the ones
that are coming to your event,

and you can talk to hers.

- NATHANIEL: You're brilliant.
- SIMONE: I know.

Anyway, I need a favor.

So, you know the Yard Yack
between the two athletes.

Girl, yes. Everybody's waiting
for the deets on that one.

Oh, my Lord. It's about you and Lando.

No! It's about you and Damon?

I don't know. Maybe. I'm not % sure.

Well, I need deets, because it must
be juicy if you're avoiding him.

Nate, focus, please.

Can you please ask your
computer science friend

to work some kind of magic
and figure out who posted it?

And if they find them, then what?

Then I will kindly ask them

to stop putting my
business in the streets.

And if being polite doesn't work?

Then I will go full Solange
on them in the elevator.

OK, we don't need none of that.

But, Simone, what about Thea?

None of this was planned,

and in my defense, Thea
broke up with Damon.

Mind you, we're not even friends,

non-fighting teammates
at best right now.

Sweetie, those technicalities don't
make your boots any less messy.

And if word gets out,

it's only gonna get
messier for you and him.

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

- Hey, Damon.
- Hey, Dr. P. You have a minute?

Of course. What's on your mind?

I failed my stats midterm,

and I know the material,
and I think that

I figured out, like, why I failed.

- I just want some advice.
- I'm all ears.

So, in class, I'm good, because
we use hands-on demonstrations.

But since the test was paper...

The issue is how the information

- on the midterm was presented.
- Exactly.

Like, I did some research,

and there are different
types of learners,

and I think that I'm
a kinesthetic learner.

- AMARA: Hmm.
- DAMON: At least with numbers.

I do better with hands-on
stuff. Always have.

Well, if that's the case,

you were at a disadvantage.

I think your professor
would be receptive,

but only if you go in with a solution.

Find a way to prove you
understand the material

that fits your learning style.

But you need to do that before a.m.,

when all the grades have to be in.

Uh, OK, um, uh, thanks, Dr. P.

Damon, is there anything
else on your mind?

Nah, just midterm stuff.

You sure?

We haven't really had a chance to
talk since you got back from Chicago.

I'm sorry about your dad.

Thanks, but focusing on school has...

has really helped.

I'm good. I promise, Dr. P.

If that changes...

I'm here.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

- I know.
- That was insane.

I mean, finding a
meeting place on campus

became difficult for our group.

Us, too. We pivoted to prayer walks,

but we eventually had to disband.

- Like, completely disband?
- Completely.

NATHANIEL: Are you
talking about Lions' Den,

the Bible study group that
used to meet in Height Hall?

- Yeah.
- If you don't mind, Nathaniel,

- this is a private conversation.
- Wait. You used to attend

Bible study, right? I
thought I recognized you.

I did. It really helped me
maintain my relationship with God

when I first got to campus,

but now we just yell at each
other on my morning walks.

[WOMAN AND NATE LAUGH]

You have a relationship with God?

I do. Why does that surprise you?

Because I just think people
of faith should, you know,

live out their faith
in their everyday lives.

WOMAN: That is so true.

I can't stand hypocritical
religious people.

I mean, it's easy to
say you're a believer,

but if your life isn't bearing fruit,

- then you're just talking. I mean...
- Well, I think people of faith

come in different shapes,
colors, walks of life,

and I think the worst
thing that we can do

is judge others because their walk

may look a little different than ours

but who are heading
in the same direction.

Because there are
plenty of people out here

who would love to silence our
right to exercise our faith.

Take current SGA president
Nico Logan, for example.

The reason Lions' Den no longer exists

is because he made
it hard to book space,

and then he cut funding.

However, I'm committed
to not only supporting

religious groups on campus

but supporting the
smaller groups as well.

I'd love to hear more.

Well, I'd... I'd love
to tell y'all more.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

- MELODY: Hey, you made it.
- SIMONE: Hey.

As study sessions go,
this is dope as hell.

Yeah. I mean, there's
a reason why PKZ and KEK

have the highest GPAs on campus.

I actually really could
use some help on my midterm.

And you'll get it

after you serve your big sisters.

But I thought the study
group was for pledges, too.

It is for you,

but right now, it's for us.

- Get to work.
- SIMONE AND MELODY: Yes, big sister.

SIMONE: Hey, Jeanelle. Sorry we're late.

- Hey.
- MELODY: Thanks.

- Did y'all see that Yard Yack post?
- Yeah.

But I can't tell you the name

of a single athlete at
Bringston, except Damon Sims

and you, Simone.

Well, it sucks that someone's business

is gonna be put out on the street.

It's only worthy of a Yard Yack post

if the hookup is scandalous.

I wonder what the actual scandal is.

Maybe they're cheating.

I feel for the girl, because, you know,

once names get revealed,
people are gonna come for her.

JEANELLE: So true.
She'll be called a ho,

and he'll be getting daps.

What do you think Aqueelah would do

if she found out the
post was about one of us?

My advice would be to
make sure she doesn't.

- CAM: Protein shake?
- Yeah, thanks, man.

Yo. About earlier, I'm sorry, bruh.

Man, I don't want no apology.

I want an explanation because most
of our line is MIA half the time.

I know. For real, I do, but...

- I can't tell you where we be going.
- Why not?

Ain't we supposed to be able
to tell each other everything?

That's just it.

I can't tell you because
of who you might tell.

Bruh, what are you talking about?

You're tight with J.R.

That's not your fault, but there's
things I can't talk about with you.

But you and me still cool, all right?

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Stop pretending to be
religious to steal my votes.

OK, I emulate Olivia Pope
in fashion sense only.

I run a clean campaign.

And for the record, my
faith means everything to me.

But you would rather make
assumptions than get to know someone.

I've never seen you at chapel on Sunday.

There's more than one
church in Atlanta, Wilinda.

You know that, right?

If there's anyone pretending
to be religious here, it's you.

[CELL PHONES CHIMING AND VIBRATING]

Wait. Where y'all going?
The event isn't over yet.

Nico set up free food in West Campus.

Pizza, chicken, and waffles.

But didn't I just give a whole speech

about how Nico ain't for us?

Apparently, free food
trumps freedom of religion.

CHIIILD: ♪ Sometimes I feel
like I'm just sitting around ♪

♪ Waiting for something
to take over my mind ♪

SIMONE, VOICE-OVER:
From the moment we met,

there was always something between us.

CHIIILD: ♪ If you tell
me I'm all right... ♪

DAMON, VOICE-OVER: Do you
ever wonder what things

- would've been like between us...
- [BOTH LAUGH]

like, had timing been different?

All the time.

CHIIILD: ♪ I've been wasting time ♪

♪ I should probably realize I need you ♪

♪ I've been wasting time ♪

- Damon. Hey.
- Hey. Um...

you said you were here if
I needed to talk, so, I...

- Of course. Of course. Come in.
- [BOTH CHUCKLE]

You were expecting someone. I
should've called first, Dr. P.

- I'm just gonna...
- Damon,

come in. We have time.

Come on.

I tried to do what you said, Dr. P.,

and figure out a way to prove I
understood my midterm, but I just...

I couldn't concentrate.

Was it too noisy?

Too quiet.

I heard every single one of my thoughts.

I thought coming back to school,

you know, would be good for me,

but I'm just messing it all up.

And everyone is telling me
it's because I'm grieving,

but I don't want grief
to control my life.

I lost my father when
I was in college, too.

Grief is your brain trying
to reconcile two worlds...

the one with your father in
it and the one without him.

But you're still you, Damon.

- You will find a way to move forward.
- How?

By talking to the people who love you,

by being honest about your feelings.

Hey, come on, Dr. P. If I'm honest

and I get closer to people,

it's just gonna hurt
more if I lose them, too.

That's the great riddle of life.

We don't know what the future holds,

but that's exactly the
reason to tell your family,

both blood and chosen,
how much you care.

- WOMAN: Hey, J.R.
- J.R.: How you doing?

Hey, Cam,

I've been noticing some
tension with your line brothers

- this past week or two.
- CAM: No, big brother, sir.

- There's no...
- Hey, hey, chill.

I just want to talk to you as a friend.

You can't be my friend and my DP.

That right there is why
the guys are trippin' on me.

They said that?

OK, fine. I'm your DP now.

And you better tell me everything.

Look, it's not about
what they're saying.

My line brothers keep driving
off campus somewhere together.

Is that why they were dragging today

and where Lou got the limp?

Look, I know I wanted to join
KEK at first for the scholarships,

but now I see it's more than that,

and I want to be a part
of this brotherhood.

I was tight with my line brothers,

but now there's distance
with some of them,

and they gonna keep
widening that distance

if you don't start treating
me like everybody else.

- I do treat you like everybody else.
- Really?

Have you had this conversation
with Perry? He's the ace.

Go study, man.

You're dismissed.

Yes, big brother, sir.

AMARA: What about that
one? The Edelman grant.

It says it's specifically for
schools with under , students.

True, but it has STEM requirements.

That building Marcus is going rogue

to help you steal from
the Athletics Department,

will it have a science or
an engineering component?

- I don't...
- [CELL PHONE CHIMES]

Oh. I'm sorry. I will
put that on silent.

- OK, what were you...
- Or you could tell me who was texting you.

Girl, heh.

I have all night.

It's... Zeke.

I've been seeing him
for a couple months.

Seeing him?

Is it serious?

Kind of. But, suddenly,

Marcus is back in the picture.

He kissed me,

and now I have two
viable romantic interests

and no idea what to do.

Yes, girl.

Show these young hos how we do it!

OK, you see? This is why I
don't tell you things, Candace.

Just let me have this.

Start from the beginning.

Don't leave anything out.

[SIGHS]

Distract me. What are you writing?

I'm writing a essay about

a public health crisis
that personally affects me.

So, my topic is nutrition.

- Professor Walton?
- Mm-hmm.

You do you, but Walton loves
out-of-the-box thinking.

When I took that class, I wrote about

midterm stress as a health crisis.

He ate it up.

Thanks.

[CELL PHONE VIBRATING]

Oh. I've gotta take this.

Hey. OK, please tell me something good.

I'm so sorry, but my
connection hit a dead end.

No idea who posted about
the hookup on Yard Yack.

So, that's it?

My business is just out on the
streets for people to speculate about,

- and there's nothing I can do?
- Well, first of all,

I'll remind you again that the post

doesn't specifically name you.

And, second, there are
two things you can do,

but you're not gonna
like either one of them.

Try me. I'm desperate.

Get real with yourself.

You're working yourself
up over who made the post

as a way to avoid what's
really bothering you...

why you kissed Damon.

Nate, I cannot think about
Damon right now, so next.

What's the other option?

Get ahead of it.

If there's someone who shouldn't
find out from Yard Yack,

- you should tell them.
- Well, you were right.

Both of those options sucked.

But you tried, so thanks.

OK, guys, so, I really messed up.

I think the Yard Yack post is about me

and Aqueelah's gonna find out anyway,

so we'll either all be taking this L,

or she'll just be done with it
and then kick me off the line.

I know it was a dumb mistake,

but it's just gonna blow everything up.

Screw it.

I told my boyfriend I
couldn't see him for weeks.

We only lasted days.

[LAUGHTER]

MELODY: Well, um, sometimes I, um...

wear makeup when I'm alone at night,

like, lashes and everything.

[LAUGHTER]

Well, I'm glad to know
our ace isn't perfect.

Well, I guess we all make mistakes.

SIMONE: Yeah. [LAUGHTER]

MELODY: Yeah, well, whatever happens,

we got you.

Yup.

[LAUGHTER]

Thanks, guys.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[CELL PHONES CHIMING]

WOMAN: There's a new post on Yard Yack

about the athlete hookup.

Wait. This is about Blake
Foster, the basketball player,

and Zoe Clark, a volleyball player.

JEANELLE: And Zoe's the
one that made the update.

- So she just outed herself?
- Yeah. "If you find this entertaining,

go touch some grass, 'cause it's toxic.

- You're talking about a real person. Me."
- That's bold.

Don't know if I would've
had the ovaries to do that.

Yeah, why did she do that?

You're in the clear, so does it matter?

Yeah.

I think it does.

[NATHANIEL CLEARS THROAT]

Hey, uh, Nate. Have you seen Simone?

She's not answering any of my texts.

Uh, I think she's still studying.

- Hey, um, how was the event?
- It ended early.

Nico offered free food,
and, unfortunately,

I can't compete with all of that noise.

Sorry to hear that.

Look, I know you would've
been a great president.

Child, I know.

That's why I'm keeping the faith.

Being president will be a part
of my journey here at Bringston.

So it's that easy for
you to keep believing?

"Hebrews" :.

"Now faith is the substance
of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen."

Ever since I came to BU,

I've been searching for my path,

and, well, I think
student government is it.

So, yeah, the polls may
have me down this time,

but next year? Oh, just watch me.

So, wait. Are you talking about
the polls in the school papers?

Yeah. They offered the
candidates all the raw data,

but I'm not sure what to do with it.

Mind if I take a look?

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

All right.

All right. They polled students,

and everyone who took the
poll got to rank their choices.

All right. I could use...

plurality with elimination method

and see if it tells us anything.

Now let's see what
happens when we drop out

the lowest-polling candidate.

Yo, of their voters picked
you as their second choice.

If we add all that up...

the race is much closer
than you think. Look.

Nate, you slide into second place.

Nico with votes and you with .

Uh, look, my bad if I overstepped.

Please. You can
math-splain to me anytime.

That is the fastest my faith
has ever been justified.

You told me everything I needed
to stay competitive in the race.

And you just helped me solve my midterm.

Oh, my God. Thank you.

Everybody besides Cam
and Zaire, stand up.

- Hey, bro, let's have a sidebar.
- Nah.

There's been enough
stuff going on in secret.

You been holding a separate
underground line for these pledges?

And before you open
your mouth and lie...

just know it'll make it worse.

So, am I right?

Somebody had to show
them what it really takes

to become a KEK brother.

You know, I'm disappointed in y'all.

One... for betraying
your fellow line brother

and two... for thinking you
could sneak behind my back.

I'm the DP!

You should've come to me.

All y'all are dropped from this line.

Big brother J.R.

With all due respect,

I can't let my brothers
go out like that.

We all started this process together,

and while I do feel betrayed
by some of my brothers,

one thing you always taught us
is to stick by our brothers' side,

especially when our backs
are against the wall.

One of our brother's mistakes

is all of our mistakes.

So, if you gonna drop them...

you gonna have to drop the whole line.

Y'all better be glad y'all
got some real-ass brothers

who down to ride for y'all,

'cause all y'all would be done.

J.R.: Sit down.

I'mma give y'all

one last chance to finish
out y'all's process my way.

And if I get so much as a
breeze of this happening again,

all y'all are gonna be done.

And that's a promise.

I'm gonna deal with you later.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[CANDACE CHUCKLES]

Anything else for Zeke?

We got stable, handsome, mature,

- successful doctor, mansion...
- It's not a mansion.

I told you not to put that on the list.

A pro is a pro.

- [CHUCKLES]
- [LAUGHING] OK. Now Marcus.

He's inspiring, supportive,

tender, nostalgic.

We just... we have so
much history together.

He's the one that got away.

Technically, he let me get away.

But he realized his mistake.

At the worst possible time.

I'm essentially his boss.

Candace, I can't go down that road.

I'd look unprofessional and unethical.

I've already been the subject of gossip

more times than I can count.

- CANDACE: And I get that. I do.
- AMARA: Mm-hmm.

But Marcus is your Day .

Sometimes the risky choice

is the right choice.

MAYILA JONES: ♪ Feelin' me ♪

♪ So why don't you
feel on me, hey, yeah ♪

Zoe? Hey. Um,

I was wondering if I could
talk to you about Yard Yack

for an essay that I'm writing.

I already said all I
needed to say in my post.

I respect that.

I just wanted to let you know that

I thought that what you did was badass

and I hope you find your peace.

I did.

That's why I admitted
the post was about me.

Everyone has their answer.
They'll move on to the next.

Yeah.

For a second, I kinda
thought the post was about me.

My anxiety was next-level.

- That app is literally the worst.
- The worst...

but damn addicting.

I mean, if I don't check
it, I get major FOMO,

and if I do check it, I start
comparing myself to everyone.

Same.

I have to write a paper
about a public health crisis,

and I was struggling to find a topic

until I realized that
I was living through one

via social media today.

That's the essay I wanted
to talk to you about.

I guess we both learned our lesson,

and we will be deleting the app
off our phones forever, right?

- SIMONE: Hmm. Ha ha.
- [BOTH CHUCKLE]

Real talk?

There was a silver lining in it for me.

I mean, Blake and I weren't
doing anything wrong.

He's single, I'm single.

That post just made me realize that

I needed to be honest
about what I wanted,

with him and with myself.

I heard your conversation
with Damon earlier.

I'm very sensitive to loud sounds.

- Wilinda, this is not the time.
- Why?

Because you're waiting on Kwame Evans?

And as soon as he gets
here, you'll remind him

that he's the lowest-polling candidate

- and ask him to drop out of the race?
- OK.

So, I'm gonna need you to use
your powers of eavesdropping

for good and not evil.

I did. I already talked to Kwame.

He's dropping out, and I am, too.

Now, why would you do that?

I only decided to run for president

because no one on campus
was talking about faith.

But you are.

And you've got the best
chance of b*ating Nico.

That's... that's very gracious of you.

For the record, I always
admired your campaign slogan:

"Never Too Old to Vote Young."

And... and your posters
were always on point, too.

I wish I could say the same about yours.

Your slogan could've been better.

And here I was mistaking
this for a nice moment.

Like, why don't you
incorporate your first name?

"Accept Your Fate. Vote for Nate."

Or "President Nate Will Be First-Rate."

It's really a no-brainer.

Oh, and one more thing:

You're spending way too much
time trying to woo the Greeks.

Your bestie's a tennis player

and you're totally
ignoring the athletes.

I mean, I had the whole
golf team to back me.

Wilinda, what if you joined my campaign?

Well, now that you mention it,

I would make an excellent
campaign manager.

I accept. Let's meet tomorrow at a.m.?

Period.

[EXHALES]

Yo, Nate.

Hey.

I talked to my professor, and I did

a whole presentation on Canva

using the data that
you gave me, and boom.

He dug it. He's bumping me up a grade.

It sounds like you ate. Congrats!

Oh, thanks.

Um...

I should talk to Simone.

That means that what happened was real.

I'm not sure I follow.

Like, this whole time,
I've been worried that

my dad's death was affecting
my decisions and thoughts,

but I passed my midterm.

Like, I didn't fail because of grief.

So, that means that what
happened, you know, between us

wasn't grief, either.

It was real. [CHUCKLES]

Come on. I know her enough
to know she told you.

Damon, I'm not sure if this is

the take-away from all of this.

I'mma go wait for her
at the dorms, all right?

Thanks for listening.

Hey. Been looking for you.

About earlier. You calmed down yet?

I'm relieving you of your duties as ADP.

Bro, what? We're line brothers.

We've been through hell together.
This is what you gonna do?

No, you did this.

You put the entire chapter in jeopardy.

You're done.

Excuse me.

- Why is he so mad?
- Ignore him.

I got your text about Damon.
What's going on with him?

I'm assuming you're
aware of the incident

involving a tennis player, a
baseball player, and a pair of lips?

Nah. Damon was about to tell me,

but then he got interrupted.

I got caught up with some KEK
stuff today. What's going on?

Well, let me tell you what I've noticed.

Simone on the verge of breaking down,

unable to confront her feelings,

and then Damon waxing
poetic about grief and...

and trying to connect these
dots that may not even be there.

This isn't good for either one of them.

And it's not good for Damon.

He needs our chosen family
now more than anything.

It's the strength of our
friendship that get us through.

Do you remember what happened
when we lost family dinner?

Everything went to hell. J.R.,
I think we have to do something

because, eventually, Simone
and Damon are gonna talk.

What's your suggestion?

That if we love them

and want to spare them heartache,

then we stop them from
doing something stupid,

like turning a grief-filled
kiss into something

that will torpedo their
friendship and all of ours.

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

Hey. Marcus.

I'm sorry to show up unannounced.

It's OK. Come on in.

I need to be completely
honest about something.

I'm seeing someone else.

I knew that was a possibility...

but I'm willing to fight for us, Amara.

Two days ago, you said

something about timing,
and I'm... I'm afraid

we missed our moment.

I don't believe that.

Look, I've done the work in therapy,

and it made me want something real.

It's what we had before.

I admit it was real,

but I can't ignore the
fact that I'm your boss.

There's gotta be a loophole

to allow us to work together,

to be together.

We just have to find it, Amara...

if it's what you want.

It's what I want.

- J.R.: Damon, what up, bro?
- What's up, man?

Came to check on you.

Find a way to raise your GPA yet?

Actually, I fixed my midterm grade,

and now I'm not riding the bench, baby.

[LAUGHTER] You feel me?

Man, that's dope. Man, I'm proud of you.

Thank you, man.

Now all I gotta do is talk to Simone.

- Hmm.
- Bro, this whole time I've been trying

to convince myself that it's not right,

but nothing feels more
right than her, man.

J., I think I'm gonna tell
her that she's the one for me.

Are you sure that's a good idea?

- Where you been?
- At the library.

I was finishing my midterm paper,

and it's giving A+.

You were really going through
it today, but you seem better.

Yeah. I'm feeling better.

I realized I don't regret

what happened between me and Damon.

It meant something.

I don't know what, but it
definitely did mean something,

and I'm gonna tell him.

Together we'll just figure out the rest.

I'm saying this as a friend,

but I think maybe you
should hit pause on that.

- You just buried your father, bro.
- Damon is grieving.

He's not a prime candidate
to start a relationship.

I mean, don't get it
twisted. I love Simone.

But if and when you
start something with her,

you don't ever want
to question the timing.

Plus, you're on line,
so that means no boys.

J.R.: I mean, not to
mention, Thea, your ex,

Simone's teammate and sometimes friend.

Don't you think you're
moving on a little too fast?

NATHANIEL: And I know you claim,
"I'm not worried about her,"

but I know you well enough
to know that that isn't true.

J.R.: It might be different
if Simone was a random girl,

but if she don't feel the same,

you could lose one of your best friends.

Uh...

look, uh, you wanna give me a minute?

I guess I just have some
things to think about.

♪ I'm only getting half of you ♪

♪ I'm only giving half of me ♪

♪ The secret is on our lips... ♪

Hey.

Hey.

Thanks for coming.

I just needed to clear my head.

Yeah. I mean, today was wild.

Mm.

I'm glad that that Yard Yack
stuff wasn't about us, though.

Ha ha! Me, too.

And I'm sorry that I
overreacted about it.

I just was trying to process

what happened between us and...

I just couldn't handle
everyone knowing my business

when I didn't even know my
feelings about it, you know?

Yeah. I do. Heh.

Do you know now?

Yeah.

You needed comfort in that moment,

and I was there for you.

And I'm happy that I was
able to be there for you,

but we're friends...

and that's all.

Right?

♪ I'm only getting half of you... ♪

Yeah.

For sure. Friends.

♪ The secret is on our lips... ♪

I had a pretty tough day,

and you were there for me, so thank you.

Of course.

I'm really glad we're on the same page.

[SOFTLY] Me, too.

♪ ... a silver lining ♪

♪ Now there's nothing left ♪

♪ Ooh ooh ooh ♪

♪ There's nothing left ♪

♪ Nothing left ♪

Greg, move your head.