Frowning, Heathcliff lowers his eyes and shrugs his broad shoulders. "...More unrequited that I thought. I guess. I mean. It's not like I was going to ask her to go steady or whatever but we hang out all the time and we have fun together and I just thought...I don't know. That she'd want to go with me if she wanted to go with anyone." It's not hard to determine who 'she' is but he still doesn't use Fern's name. Apparently, he thinks he's keeping a secret.

Until Ira speaks up, anyway. Fox's out of the bag. For a moment, he looks dumbstruck, then he shakes his head. "Phi said the same thing. Well. She said I should ask her anyway. But I can't do that, dude. Why would Fern bid on Casey if she didn't want to go with him?"