Michael is rooming with Vlad, on whom he has developed a crush. Vlad convinces Michael to invite his parents to his next play, although his father is incredibly unsupportive of his homosexuality. Though his mother tells him they will come, Michael notices mid-performance that they did not. Crushed, he flees the stage. He is found later by Vlad, who explains that he too has his share of problems. Though Vlad is a seemingly normal, all-American teenager, he reveals to Michael that he suffers from an acute type of OCD, for which he is medicated.