At play rehearsal after school, Simon sits backstage when his classmate, Martin, mentions he read his email. Earlier that day, Simon logged into an email under a fake name in the library, and Martin used the computer right after him. Martin, responding to the content of the email, tells Simon his brother is gay, and he encourages Simon to come out. Simon feels uncomfortable. He doesn’t know Martin very well, he isn’t out of the closet, and he feels protective of the privacy of the person he was emailing, Blue, a boy whose identity he doesn’t know who also goes to their school. Martin says he won’t “show anyone,” but insinuates that he has screenshots of the email (3). He asks Simon to help him talk to a girl he likes, Abby, one of Simon’s friends. Simon realizes this is blackmail, and that if he doesn’t do it, Martin could post the email to the Creekwood High School Tumblr.

Later, Simon, upset about the encounter with Martin, walks to his friend Nick’s house with his dog, Bieber. There, Nick and Leah, both old friends of Simon’s, are playing video games. Simon is comforted by the “smell of this basement and the familiarity of Nick and Leah” (7).