They Both Die at the End: Rufus, 1:18 a.m. Summary & Analysis

Rufus explains that he and his “boys” call themselves the Plutos. They’re all in a foster home they call Pluto because their families either died or checked out— they’re just like Pluto, which got demoted from a planet to a dwarf planet. Rufus has been at Pluto for four months. Malcolm’s parents died when he was 13, while Tagoe’s parents ran off. Rufus knew that Pluto wouldn’t be home for long; he was going to college with Tagoe soon. He feels better with Malcolm and Tagoe around. Rufus stops in front of a church where he and Aimee first hung out. She’d played classical music for him, like Olivia used to play. Rufus wants to take a picture of the stained glass windows, but figures that it won’t matter since all his Instagram photos are black and white.

Rufus calls Aimee, even though she said she needed space. He watches a priest escorting a crying woman into the church; she reminds Rufus of his mom. Aimee doesn’t pick up, but she calls Rufus when he texts her about his Death-Cast call. She’s curious why Rufus is out so late on a Monday night, but Rufus doesn’t want to answer. Aimee cries and tries to convince Rufus to stay put—lots of Deckers die walking home—but he says he’s going to Pluto and hangs up. He vows to tell Aimee his side of things before Peck can. Hopefully, Peck won’t call the police, or Rufus might spend his End Day in jail or be killed by a cop. He tells the Plutos that he wants them to throw him a funeral—he wants them to remember him as their friend, not the monster he was earlier.