Ava prepares for Phase Sadness of Operation Emotion by dressing up in her favorite sundress and selecting two notoriously sad movies—A Walk to Remember and Marley & Me—to test whether she can make Alex cry or show sadness. She arrives unannounced at Alex's door and is surprised to find him dressed up for a date. Flustered, she rambles critically about his decor and inadvertently suggests his house "could use a woman's touch." Alex reveals he has a date planned, which causes Ava an unexpected, unsettling feeling in her stomach.

Alex presses Ava on why she's really there, easily seeing through her excuses about boredom and concern over his loneliness. Despite having plans, Alex cancels his date and invites Ava inside, sensing something is off. Ava feels guilty about disrupting his evening but is secretly pleased he chose to stay with her. They settle in to watch A Walk to Remember, and Ava monitors Alex for emotional reactions throughout the film. He shows none—remaining completely stoic even during the most heartbreaking scenes—while Ava cries freely.

Their conversation after the movie turns charged when Ava playfully pats Alex's back searching for a "control panel," calling him a robot. Alex reacts intensely, grabbing her wrist and pulling her onto his leg in a straddling position. He warns her not to "play with" him, insisting he's not a tortured romantic hero and that she has no idea what he's capable of. Ava pushes back, telling him she's tired of being treated like a helpless child by both Alex and her brother Josh. She defends her optimism, arguing that people who only see the worst in others choose to do so.

To Ava's surprise, Alex's demeanor softens. He calls her "Sunshine" and his fingers graze her back. The tension shifts from confrontational to flirtatious when Alex comments that he can feel "it dripping all over me," referring to her bleeding heart. Ava's mind goes somewhere far more intimate, and she scrambles off him in mortification. Alex laughs—a genuine, full laugh—and Ava is stunned by how beautiful his real smile is. They move on to Marley & Me, with Ava sitting as far from Alex as possible, placing pillows between them. As she drifts toward sleep, she finds herself still thinking about his smile rather than the movie.