Nic considers telling Spencer about the episode with Zelda and her ex-boyfriend, but he feels that their relationship has degenerated. He compares it to his relationship with his father, describing it as a “strange rivalry” and noting that “I admire them both, but I also want so badly to be better than them” (228). For the first time, Nic vents some misguided hostility and jealousy towards Spencer, writing how “maybe Spencer should be taking advice from [Nic]” (229). As he becomes more irritable and bored with his life, Nic becomes more fascinated with the Hollywood 12-step social scene. This gives him a sense of self-worth, and he tries to see himself as “a film critic […] dating the ex-wife of a famous actor” and “part of this incredible, exciting, glamorous thing called ‘Hollywood’” (232-33).

Nic notices that Zelda has been acting strangely. She has not worked in two weeks, stays in bed all day, and is always nauseous. Though he continues to work out and work at the salon, he expresses increasingly more disinterest and hostility. In regard to work, he says, “I’m practically a celebrity now because I’m dating Zelda.