Tessa Young—Landon Gibson

Tessa Young and Landon Gibson’s friendship becomes both a source of steadiness and a point of honest friction as Tessa considers leaving for New York City. Landon offers her a way to begin again on her own terms, yet his support does not mean endorsing every consequence of her relationship with Hardin Scott: when its conflicts involve their wider circle, he tells her directly that the pattern must change.

A friend at a turning point

As Tessa prepares to leave for Seattle, Landon stops her at the bottom of the stairs with a gentle hand on her arm. He wants to know whether she has changed her mind about going with him to NYU, explaining that he needs to tell Ken about the flight arrangements. The practical question carries emotional weight. Tessa has been traveling repeatedly and longs for a home, security, and stability; at the same time, she is not ready to settle the question of her medical appointment. She says she still intends to go, though she first needs to say goodbye to Kimberly in Seattle.

Landon makes clear that the decision is hers. He tells Tessa she need not go merely because he is going and that he will understand if she chooses to stay with Hardin. His willingness to leave room for either choice helps Tessa answer without having to defend the decision as a favor to him: she embraces him, calls him amazing, and says she wants to do this for herself. Their exchange presents his care as practical as well as affectionate. He checks the plan and its logistics, but also takes care not to turn his invitation into an obligation.

The New York City plan

Tessa later explains the move to Kimberly: she is considering New York City with Landon, who is going to NYU, and hopes to attend the university herself in the fall after taking the summer. The plan is still provisional, and Tessa knows it means moving across the country; she also says that getting away from where she is and joining Landon makes sense. His presence gives the proposed move a concrete point of connection, but the decision is framed as Tessa’s attempt to establish a life beyond her current circumstances, not simply as following him.

That distinction becomes sharper when Hardin asks where she would live and she answers that she would live with Landon. His startled reaction exposes how much the arrangement matters within the romantic conflict. Tessa had been unsettled by Hardin’s calmness and had anticipated a more volatile response; when his surprise comes, she feels some relief. The scene shows that Landon’s offer is not only a future housing arrangement. It has become part of Tessa’s effort to imagine a viable alternative to remaining with Hardin, and therefore a pressure point in their relationship.

Support with limits

The friendship is not depicted as simple agreement. After Tessa and Hardin’s conflict has repeatedly followed them between Seattle and their current surroundings, Landon tells her that the situation is no longer working. He distinguishes between trouble contained within the couple and a pattern that is drawing other people in. Tessa is hurt by the rebuke, particularly because Landon has generally been kind and supportive, but he insists that the consequences are unfair to those around them.

Landon identifies a specific concern: his mother is pregnant, and the scene created by Tessa and Hardin could have affected her nerves. He also points to the repeated travel between Seattle and elsewhere, with the couple fighting in both places. His objection makes the cost of their recurring conflict tangible. It is not an abstract judgment about Tessa’s choices; it is a boundary based on the disturbance reaching his family. In this moment, being a good friend means refusing to protect Tessa from criticism when he believes other people are bearing the effects of her relationship.

Friendship amid the conflict

The wider conflict gives Landon’s position additional context. Tessa raises the possibility of an abusive relationship with Hardin, clarifying that she means the ways both of them deliberately hurt each other, not that she is accusing him of physical abuse. Hardin reacts strongly to the word and rejects that characterization. He later acknowledges that their relationship has been difficult and that he has made many mistakes, while insisting that he would never abuse Tessa. These exchanges do not establish that Landon takes a position on the couple’s label; they show the emotionally charged dispute unfolding around the New York decision and the conduct he says is affecting others.

Tessa and Landon’s friendship therefore combines invitation, tenderness, and accountability. He gives her a possible route toward independence without insisting that she take it, and she responds by naming the move as something she wants for herself. Later, he challenges her when the instability between her and Hardin reaches beyond them. The available scenes leave the immediate effect of that confrontation unresolved, but they make the friendship’s central tension clear: Landon can offer Tessa refuge and still insist that care requires limits.