In Chap­ter Six­ty of “If These Wings Could Fly,” Leighton and Liam revis­it a spot where they once skipped school, seek­ing solace from the world around them. The cold weath­er pre­vents them from leav­ing the car, yet they find warmth in each oth­er as they sit on the hood and gaze at the star­ry sky, feel­ing a sense of pro­tec­tion from the tow­er­ing trees. This moment of inti­ma­cy allows them to be alone togeth­er, espe­cial­ly after a peri­od of silence fol­low­ing Auburn’s dis­ap­point­ing foot­ball loss and the town’s with­draw­al from its usu­al excite­ment.

Leighton’s desire to share her thoughts prompts her to lean against Liam, where she con­fides in him about sub­mit­ting an essay for a schol­ar­ship con­test, high­light­ing her feel­ings about home and the com­plex­i­ties of their town. She men­tions that if she wins, her piece will be pub­lished in the *Gazette*, acknowl­edg­ing the chal­lenges she wrote about—particularly regard­ing a fig­ure from her past.

As they dis­cuss Leighton’s essay, Liam express­es con­cern for her safe­ty amidst the scruti­ny such an announce­ment might attract. Their con­ver­sa­tion shifts to the dif­fi­cul­ties of grow­ing up in Auburn; Liam shares his strug­gle with the expec­ta­tions placed on him and the con­stant pres­sure to main­tain a per­fect image. He explains that while he excels due to hard work, he feels that the town’s accep­tance is con­di­tion­al.

Their dia­logue delves into deep­er reflec­tions on iden­ti­ty and fear. Leighton reveals the emo­tion­al toll of liv­ing with anx­i­ety, feel­ing bur­dened by a life marked by cau­tion and hyper­vig­i­lance. Liam encour­ages her, assert­ing that their aspi­ra­tions reach beyond the con­fines of Auburn, express­ing opti­mism about their future.

The mood shifts as they engage in play­ful ban­ter, rem­i­nisc­ing about the ear­ly days of their con­nec­tion. Liam recalls how Leighton caught his atten­tion, not just because of her looks but because of her unex­pect­ed brav­ery dur­ing a class dis­cus­sion. They find joy in this exchange, rein­forc­ing their bond and hint­ing at Leighton’s strug­gles with self-accep­tance and their com­pli­cat­ed rela­tion­ship with love and fear. Ulti­mate­ly, the chap­ter reveals the strength of their con­nec­tion amidst chal­lenges and vul­ner­a­bil­i­ty.