"You have no idea how disappointed in you I am right now", he rebukes. That night, Elle fights with her father over Linda, accusing him of only dating her for his own pride in response, he angrily recounts the sacrifices he has made for her and her brother Brad and that she is not the only person who deserves to be loved. Marco admits to Elle that he does still have feelings for her, but she rejects him. Marco shows up at the Fourth of July party where he again fights with Noah and punches him, but Noah refuses to retaliate. Encouraged by Chloe, who is coping with her parents' divorce, to talk to Elle, Noah makes up with Elle. At the same time, Elle grapples with accepting her father's new girlfriend, Linda, also a friend of her late mom, fearing that she'll replace her.
Tensions escalate when Elle struggles to divide her time between Lee and Noah. During a day at the waterpark, Noah and Marco clash, prompting Noah to call out Elle for not realizing Marco still has feelings for her.
Noah's friend Chloe – who Elle once thought Noah was having an affair with – arrives at the beach house while Marco – who Elle kissed – gets a job in the area. She chooses to go to Harvard with Noah which upsets Lee, but Elle promises to make it up to him by spending the summer doing their beach bucket list of various activities. Lee shows Rachel his plans for them to see each other on holidays while going to colleges across the country from each other, while Elle is suddenly faced with a deadline by Berkeley. When Noah and Lee's parents announce they're selling the beach house where they all spent their childhoods, Elle, Noah, Lee, and Lee's girlfriend, Rachel, offer to spend the summer there to help out with the sale. After going on a road trip post-graduation, Elle still hasn't made her mind up about whether to go to Berkeley or Harvard – although Noah is already planning to get an apartment off-campus for the two of them.