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Back and Forth

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A dented ego sends Paulo chasing two juniors and a freshman in quick succession. The spree costs him his virginity, most of his dignity, and very nearly his hide once Lucy and Tess catch up with him.

Back and Forth
Chapter54 of 127 (list of chapters)
PublishedApril 16, 2010 (2010-04-16)
Page count33
Major charactersPaulo, Lucy, Jessica, Rachel, Jasmine, David, Tess
Minor charactersMike, Daisy, Abbey, Amaya, Mina, Sue, Augustus, Stacy, Katie, Alec McCain, Lani Amalu, Gym Teacher (High School)
LocationsRoseville High School, Paulo's house, Rachel's house, Drive-in theater, Roseville cinema
Collected inVolume Two, Omnibus 1
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Synopsis

Lucy has been awfully warm toward Paulo lately, and the two are laughing together at lunch when David pulls him aside.[1] Paulo admits they fooled around but that he turned her down, and David mocks his restraint mercilessly.[2] Nursing his pride, Paulo vows to honor eighth grade Paulo and "bag as many chicks as I can muster!!"[3]

Jessica ends up first, her interest in Paulo's apology date only sparking once he claims Tess would be jealous.[4] She sneaks him into a 21+ club with a fake ID and gets him drunk.[5] The night ends in the club's out-of-order restroom, where Paulo loses his virginity.[6] Afterward, Jessica mentions that her friend Rachel has a crush on him.[7]

Rachel says yes the very next morning, and Lucy is around the corner to see it. She marches up and slaps Paulo across the face.[8]

 
Lucy shares her thoughts on the Rachel development.

That night, Paulo flees straight into Rachel's arms.[9] She takes him to an empty drive-in showing of Casablanca, and real warmth builds before she lures him into the backseat.[10] Afterward she giggles that "It's just been a while since I bagged a virgin! ♥", and Paulo is wrecked all over again.[11] He confesses his misery to David, whose booming advice is to go younger.[12]

David steers him toward three passing freshman girls, and Paulo picks Jasmine.[13] Amaya's thumbs-up gets them into an R-rated gorefest, which terrifies Jasmine until an absurd splatter noise sends them both into fits of laughter.[14] The goodnight on her porch is sweet, awkward and kiss-free.[15]

The next morning, Jessica and Rachel corner Tess at her locker to announce "WE BANGED HIM" — the whole affair was revenge on her.[16] Tess storms off, collides with an equally furious Lucy, and the two race each other to find Paulo.[17]

They find him at his locker and descend in unison, screaming "PAULO YOU MAN WHORE!!"[18]

Then Lucy cuts through everything with a devastated near-confession: "You rejected me.. But you slept with.. .. these random.. What AM I to you?!"[19] When Jessica and Rachel arrive to gloat, Lucy punches Jessica square in the face.[20] Paulo spots Daisy in the crowd, troubled, with Abbey's arm around her — and that's when Jasmine glomps him from behind.[20] Her friend Mina bursts in playing stern chaperone, and Jasmine loads Paulo up with her books and strolls him out of the wreckage.[21]

Down the hall, Jasmine takes her books back and reveals the whole act was a plan to get him clear of the mess.[22] An awed Paulo relaxes, and Jasmine gently notes they're not even official yet.[22] He holds out his hand. "Here. Let me carry those books."[22]

Critical moments

 
Jessica and Rachel break the news to Tess as gently as they know how.
  • Mocked by David for turning down both Tess and Lucy, Paulo vows to honor "eighth grade Paulo" and bag as many girls as he can.[3]
  • Paulo loses his virginity to Jessica in a club restroom, then learns she took him out knowing her friend Rachel liked him.[6][7]
  • After their drive-in date, Rachel giggles that she "bagged a virgin", and a crushed Paulo takes David's advice to try someone younger.[11][12]
  • Jessica and Rachel reveal to Tess that they both slept with Paulo, and that the whole scheme was revenge on her.[16]
  • In front of half the school, Lucy blurts out "What AM I to you?!", laying bare how much she had invested in Paulo.[19]
  • Jasmine's surprise glomp and Mina's chaperone act pull Paulo out of the brawl, a rescue Jasmine later reveals was planned.[20][22]

Character dynamics

  • Paulo and Lucy: The chapter opens with the two closer than ever. Lucy had come to Paulo in pieces after Mike rejected her, and he refused to take advantage[23] — the exact restraint David mocks him for here.[24] Learning he then slept with two juniors turns all that warmth into public devastation, and they end the chapter openly hostile.[19]
  • Paulo and Jasmine: Strangers at the start, unofficial-but-together by the end. Their one date is built on shared laughter, and her cool-headed rescue from the brawl wins Paulo over completely.[25][22] It's the only relationship in the chapter that ends better than it started.
  • Paulo and Jessica: She goes from yelling at Paulo over a locker to taking his virginity. The reveal shows none of it was ever about him — the date was a shot at Tess.[4][16] By the end there's nothing between them but indifference.
  • Paulo and Daisy: Daisy barely says a word all chapter, but she's in Paulo's head anyway. The flashback shows thoughts of her giving him cold feet with Tess,[24] and during the brawl it's her troubled look from the crowd that sends him into a panic.[20]

Trivia & observations

  • Veronica's commentary calls this her most challenging chapter to draw since Search and Rescue, while Oliver calls it "a beloved chapter by many, including me."[1]
  • Rachel's design was revised for this chapter. Per Veronica's commentary, this is where she gained her "iconic swirl" hairstyle.[8]
  • Jessica's "You're a cat" brush-off is this arc's first on-page statement of the cat-and-dog dating barrier. Veronica's commentary under the page adds that, like Janet and Kevin, Paulo and Jasmine are set up as a cat/dog relationship "that doesn't really have a future."[7]
  • This is the first appearance of both Jasmine and Mina, and the first time Amaya's job at the theater is shown.[26][14]
  • Amaya never speaks on panel here, but when the question of whether she and Sue talk came up later, Veronica cited this chapter: "it's been established they talked as early as Back and Forth."[25][27]

Related chapters

  • Another Shoulder: This chapter shows the night Paulo turned down a sobbing Lucy on his bed, the event replayed in his flashbacks and thrown back at her during the brawl.
  • Return: The other flashback comes from here, where thoughts of Daisy gave Paulo cold feet with Tess.
  • Love My Way: Tess rejected Paulo's prom confession for his own good, then kissed him anyway. That's the mixed signal he finally rails against in the hallway.
  • Up to Bat: The Paulo and Jasmine relationship begun here gets a date chapter of its own shortly afterward.
  • Pillow Talk: Jessica's grudge against Tess is finally explained in full there, and she and Paulo make their peace.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 1
  2. ↑ Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 3
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 5
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 6
  5. ↑ Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 8
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 10
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 12
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 13
  9. ↑ Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 14
  10. ↑ Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 15
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 17
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 18
  13. ↑ Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 19
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 23
  15. ↑ Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 26
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 27
  17. ↑ Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 28
  18. ↑ Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 29
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 30
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 31
  21. ↑ Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 32
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 33
  23. ↑ Chapter 52: Another Shoulder, page 10
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 4
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 25
  26. ↑ Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 21
  27. ↑ "Veronica on Tumblr". Tumblr. 2026-01-24.
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