Jake, Reinvented

From his interactions with Todd and Jake, Rick can tell that neither of them knows who Didi’s real boyfriend is. He wonders if she even knows.

Nelson prepares to beat up Todd after finding out that Todd has been hooking up with Melissa. Just as Nelson is about to smash Todd with his fist, Rick tries to tackle Nelson. Nelson is so big and strong that Rick’s tackle barely affects him, but it does buy enough time for Todd to come up with a lie to save himself. Over Rick’s protests, Todd tells Nelson that Jake is the one who has been hooking up with Melissa. Rick tries to tell Nelson that Jake wouldn’t do something like that, but Nelson doesn’t believe him. Nelson vows to hurt Jake at the party that night.

After Nelson storms off, Rick implores Todd to retract what he did: sending Nelson after Jake. Todd refuses, calling Jake a “phony” and saying that it’s not his problem what Nelson does to Jake. In response, Rick threatens to tell Nelson the truth: that Todd is the one hooking up with Melissa. By siding with Jake against Todd—the most popular student at their school—Rick knows that he may soon lose his popularity and become an outcast.