On the day of the competition, Lee finds in his car trunk Elle's applications to Harvard, angering him. Elle shares a dance with Marco, almost kissing him but stops upon hearing the OMG girls gossiping about her. The Halloween Dance arrives, and Lee forgets to tell Rachel that they changed costumes (Rachel was a marshmallow while Lee and Elle were going to be crackers making a smore), upsetting her even more. After leaving Rachel waiting at the movies, she asks Lee to talk with Elle, promising he will but never does. Unbeknownst to Elle, Lee's relationship with Rachel is having problems, as Elle is going everywhere with them and not letting them have their time as a couple. As Marco and Elle start passing the time together, they grow closer, and an attraction between them initiates. Lee has an accident on one of their practice sessions (later revealed to be fake) and proposes that Marco become her dance partner, which she isn't too happy to accept but eventually does. She finds an earring below Noah's bed, making her angry and confronting Noah, who assures her nothing has happened between him and Chloe and asking her to trust him. Elle visits Noah in Boston, meeting his new friends and Chloe, making her more insecure.
Elle does it without telling Lee.Įlle talks with her father about college tuition and learns money is a problem, and is willing to participate with Lee in a dance competition with a cash reward for first place. Noah suggests Elle apply to Harvard, which clashes with her plans to study at University of California, Berkeley with Lee (where their moms met and became friends). Elle beats Marco on the dancing game, forcing him to participate in the booth. Elle and Lee are planning the kissing booth again for the Charity Fair, while Lee is trying to convince Elle to have Marco Peña, the attractive new transfer student, also known as the new "Noah Flynn," be one of the kissers.
Her senior year begins with her classmates gossiping about how she and Noah will eventually break up, making her fear elevate as Noah has befriended an attractive British girl named Chloe on Instagram. The film starts with Elle narrating her time with Noah before he leaves for Harvard.