Felix Ever After

At the party, Austin and Ezra are hanging out, which makes Felix sad. When Declan and Ezra were dating, all three of them got along well, but it’s awkward with Austin. Marisol grabs Ezra to dance, and Austin and Felix are left alone to chat. Austin admits that he used to be scared of Felix because he is cool and a good artist. He says that he’s liked Ezra for a long time but thought that Felix and Ezra were dating. Felix feels slightly bad for judging Austin prematurely; he can tell that Austin does actually like Ezra. Felix tells Austin he’s happy for him. Austin admits that he’s nervous talking to Felix because he’s Ezra’s best friend. Ezra finds Felix, and they debrief about the dinner with Ezra’s parents a few nights prior, both admitting that he has bad parents. Ezra talks about feeling abandoned by his parents, which Felix can relate to.

Meanwhile, Felix is texting Declan about being a wallflower, too controlled by fear to mingle at the party. Declan advises Felix to break free from fear and “just do” whatever scares him. When Ezra asks Felix who he is texting, he begrudgingly admits that it is Declan, even though he’s afraid of hurting Ezra’s feelings. Leah, Marisol, and Austin come back and announce that they’re going to watch the sunrise at Coney Island. Felix thinks of Declan’s encouragement and agrees to go.

On the Coney Island trip, Marisol, Ezra, and Austin are rambunctious while Leah and Felix are more reserved. Felix is anxious about losing his friendship with Ezra to Austin. Leah and Felix snuggle a bit, and Leah tells him that she hacked James’s phone but did not find anything incriminating. When Marisol announces that she needs sex, Leah asks if she’s slept with everyone in the group. Marisol says not Austin or Felix, taunting Felix and asking if he’s sad they never did.

Leah asks Felix when he knew he was trans, which annoys him because broaching the topic here is assuming that everyone present already knows he’s trans and that he feels comfortable talking about it with them. Still, Felix says he came out late compared to other trans folks. They all talk about how there is still a lot of prejudice against queer people, especially outside of the Brooklyn bubble they live in. Aware of the irony that Marisol is talking about needing to combat the prejudice against queer people, Felix says, “We should probably start making those changes with ourselves first, don’t you think?” (203). All of Felix’s anger toward Marisol resurfaces, and he leaves the group.

Ezra follows. Marisol holds a lot of power over Felix, but he is emboldened by Declan’s encouragement and brings himself to tell Ezra about Marisol’s transphobia. Ezra tells the rest of the group, and Leah explains to Marisol that people don’t choose to be trans. Marisol retorts that choosing not to be a woman proves that you do not like women. When Felix tells her that he is a feminist, she gaslights him, which makes Felix glad that he has Ezra to stand up for him. Marisol claims that she was not behind the gallery wall but says she’s glad someone did it. Ezra and Felix leave, agreeing that Marisol is probably the troll. Felix tells Ezra that he is still texting with Declan because they have a connection. Ezra admits to being a bit jealous, and Felix admits that he’s a bit jealous of Austin.