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Summary
Mateo and Rufus stop running at 6:24 PM. Since they don’t have much time left, Mateo and Rufus decide it’s too risky to be around Malcolm, Tagoe, Aimee, and Lidia because their friends could get hurt by whatever kills them. Also, the suspense of their impending deaths is exhausting them both. Mateo suggests that they go back to his apartment, and Rufus agrees. Meanwhile, the Plutos stand outside Clint’s Graveyard and process what just happened. They’re glad they didn’t see Rufus die a violent death. Even though they know he’s going to die today, they want him to go out better than that. Aimee regrets her part in the whole incident as Peck and his gang are taken away in a police car. All three Plutos hug, aware of their missing friend but knowing they’ll carry the memory of Rufus with them forever.
Mateo and Rufus arrive at Mateo’s apartment. In Mateo’s room, Rufus finds the Luigi hat Mateo was wearing in his Last Friend profile picture. He tells Mateo to put it on for a photo shoot, and Mateo does and jumps on his bed, laughing while Rufus takes pictures, marveling at how amazing Mateo is and how much he’s changed in less than a day. Feeling brave, Mateo sings while Rufus records him, and then the two of them talk about how lucky they feel to have found each other on their End Day. Rufus says they need to stay in the bed and never leave. They take a selfie together, and Mateo impulsively tells Rufus that he loves him, and Rufus says it back. Happy and content despite the ticking clock of their End Day, the boys are also exhausted. Snuggling together on Mateo’s bed, kissing, they both relax, and Mateo’s last thought as they nod off is that he hopes they die together in their sleep.
When Mateo wakes at 8:41 PM, he feels great and almost believes he’s going to survive. Even though the boys said they were going to stay safe in Mateo’s bed, he goes to the kitchen to make tea for them. As he turns on the stove, the faulty stove explodes and sets the kitchen on fire. The fire alarm and smoke wake Rufus who immediately calls out for Mateo. Rufus crawls to the front door as neighbors come into the hallway. Despite the searing heat and smoke, Rufus goes back to look for Mateo and finds him on the floor. He drags him out to see that he’s badly burned and not breathing. Rufus begs the firefighters to take Mateo to the hospital, but they pull out a body bag. Rufus watches Mateo’s body get bagged up, then the ambulance takes him to the hospital. He dozes on and off in the hospital before waking up fully and thinking that Mateo should have died a better death because he saved Rufus in so many ways.
Analysis
The idea of fate versus choice is illustrated in the bittersweet moments Rufus and Mateo share in Mateo’s apartment. Mateo and Rufus’s existential discussion about whether fate brought them together and will possibly bring about their demise reveal the central lesson that the more important thing is the choices people make. Significantly, Mateo’s perspective echoes this sentiment, and it drives both boys to choose to continue enjoying the time they have left together. The sentiment is what leads to Mateo take the initiative to tell Rufus he loves him, and he is rewarded when Rufus answers that he loves Mateo too. Both Rufus and Mateo finally understand and embrace the idea that they’re in control of their own stories. They learn to accept that even if they can’t control how it’s all going to end, they can control what they do in each moment.
The theme of the power and complexity of love is illustrated through Mateo’s transformation. Immediately after he gets the Death-Cast alert, Mateo foreshadows his growth when he looks at himself in his Luigi hat and thinks about how much he wants to be the carefree boy in his Last Friend profile photo. Even though his fears and anxiety hold him back throughout the day, Mateo learns to live more fully and take risks. Through his relationship with Rufus, Mateo embraces opportunities to try new things and be vulnerable because Rufus is always supportive and encouraging. As their day ends, Mateo puts his Luigi hat back on in his bedroom, and the transformation is clear. He has come full circle on his End Day and fulfilled his goals of being brave and carefree. Significantly, Rufus notes that Mateo is unrecognizable from the person he met earlier that morning. It’s the love between Mateo and Rufus that helps Mateo become his best self and allows him to transform into the person he always wanted to be.
Throughout the novel, both boys learn that though death is inevitable, no one should let that knowledge keep them from living. Even as the boys sit in Mateo’s bed and refer to it as a safe island, they know they cannot escape their mortality. Still, they make the most of their time, telling each other how much they love each other and talking about finding each other in the afterlife. After his nap, Mateo wakes up feeling optimistic, and he wants to do something nice for Rufus even if it means leaving his friend alone in the bed they promised to stay in. Despite how alive Mateo feels, the exploding stove attests to the futility of trying to cheat death. After finding Mateo in the fire, Rufus tries at first to deny Mateo’s death, lying to the firefighters and insisting that they help his friend. Ultimately, though, Rufus accepts the truth and decides to take advantage of what time he has left.
