Simon, who now understands that Blue knows his real identity for sure, reflects that he has been careless. He feels he messed up badly by guessing Cal without much real evidence. He has a difficult time answering Blue’s last email, staring at it until it’s time to go to school. At school, he’s distracted thinking about Blue, expecting that now he finally might give him a sign who he is. No sign comes.

At rehearsal later that week, Cal tells Simon he is bisexual and suggests they hang out. Simon is amazed but hesitates because of Blue. Blue barely answers his emails. When Simon walks into English class the next day, Abby is telling Nick that Cal is interested in Simon. Simon can’t explain to them that he doesn’t want to be with Cal because he feels like he is already involved, although it’s in a relationship with “[s]omeone who seemed to like me better before he knew who I was” (206).

Simon now signs his emails as Simon, not Jacques. Simon writes to Blue that while he understands why they were writing anonymously, and he doesn’t want to exert pressure, but he wants to know who Blue is. Simon is uncomfortable that Blue knows who he is, but not the other way around.