Relationship Timeline (H-R style)

Season 1

The Fire and the Wood
Grace and Luke are in the same AP Chemistry class.

At a study session at the Girardis', Luke observes Grace pointing out that wood doesn’t actually burn and is apparently attracted to her intelligence.

Grace, in her own special way, offers to open a jar Luke was struggling with.

Touch Move
In chemistry class, Grace, in typical little-boy-likes-little-girl fashion, throws spit wads at Luke and makes fun of his aftershave.

Bringeth it On
In chemistry class, Luke defends Grace’s intelligence in front of the whole class when Friedman makes a joke about it. Grace seems surprised.

Friedman also gives Luke a hard time for liking Grace, since he thinks she’s gay.

Grace turns to Luke when she fears Joan is falling into the “popular” crowd.

Luke goes to Kevin for advice about his feelings with the infamous “moose-elk” talk.

After Joan’s cheerleading tryouts, where Grace fiercely denied to Luke that she “likes” anyone, Luke asks her to be his partner for the school Science Fair. She tells him she doesn’t plan ahead, and to check back. Excited with her “maybe” answer, Luke scurries off with a big grin. Grace sits on the steps with a small smile and watches him leave.

Death Be Not Whatever
In chemistry class, Grace makes a remark about being obsessed with science, calling Luke “Atom Boy.”

The Uncertainty Principle
Luke reproaches Grace about the science fair. She tells him she already agreed to do it.

While in the cafeteria discussing the project, Friedman makes fun of them with some crack about Grace not wearing a dress. Grace gets annoyed tells Friedman that they’ll see him at the dance, therefore inadvertently asking Luke to the dance.

At the dance, Friedman once again gives Luke a hard time for being there with Grace. Grace overhears this and grabs Luke and kisses him.

Jump
Luke and Grace continue to work on their science fair project.
When the FBI seizes Luke’s computer, Grace tells him that they should build a rail gun instead.

After receiving an offer to join Friedman’s team, Luke once again asks Kevin’s advice. Kevin basically tells Luke to get over his fear of women and work on the rail gun.

Luke and Grace stay up all night working on the rail gun which, to their surprise, works…sort of.

Recreation
Luke steals a glance at Grace at the anti-drug lecture gone awry.

At the party, Grace seems really interested in looking at Luke’s baby pictures.

After everyone’s left the party, Luke is sprawled out on the couch and it’s Grace’s turn to steal a glance at him.

State of Grace
Friedman convinces Luke to give up on Grace and go after Glynis.

Before the debate, Luke confronts Glynis and they share a really awkward kiss. Luke turns to watch Glynis as she scurries off down the hall, only to see that Grace witnessed the whole thing. Grace manages to maintain a nearly unreadable reaction, though she does look at least slightly hurt.

Requiem for a Third Grade Ashtray
Grace tells Joan that Luke lent her his lab notebook, saying she “still has pull.”

Anonymous
While passing by Luke and Glynis, Grace makes a remark about how she didn’t think they would last as long as they have and refers to Glynis as “ostrich.”

Vanity, Thy Name is Human
Luke finally breaks it off with Glynis.

The Gift
Luke joins Joan, Adam, and Grace’s study group because of the tension with Glynis.
After going on a spiel about how a gift should just "happen," Luke let’s Grace know that he’s still interested in her by giving her a geode. Grace seems sincerely touched by the gesture, but tells him that it’s weird. He knows, but doesn’t care.

Silence
While walking home from the hospital, Grace confronts Luke about why he gave her the geode. He tells her it was a gesture of friendship. Possibly courtship. Grace argues reasons why the idea is ridiculous, but Luke doesn’t buy any of them. After a final, failed attempt to push him away, Grace finally gives in and they make out as some random pedestrian walks by and stares at them.

Season 2

Only Connect
Luke and Grace make out behind a brick wall of a little sidewalk café type of place. When she tells him that time’s up, it spawns a little argument about a confidentiality contract she made him sign.

They are now in the same AP Physics class. During Lischak’s opening lecture, Luke steals glances at Grace, who glares at him (albeit with a hint of a smile).

When Grace accidentally snaps a rubber band at Glynis, she makes a snappy comment to Luke about his ‘soul mate’ attacking her. Luke protests, as per the agreement.

Friedman, being totally committed to the “Grace is a lesbian” thing, makes a joke about her “liking the other equipment. She hits him with a rubber band.

They make out at their little hiding place again. At one point, both of them share the same kiss-buzzed-mushy-brain smile. Then Grace brings up finding a new place because of the security guard that drives around.

As the whole AP Physics gang is walking down the hallway, Glynis makes faces at Grace behind her back and Friedman makes yet another lesbian joke. Luke seems to have had enough of that and yells at Friedman to back off. Everyone stares at him and he rushes off.

That night, Grace comes in through Joan’s window and asks if she’s in love with Rove, wanting to know how she knows for sure, and says that it feels kind of like a breakdown. Joan figures out that Grace is talking about herself and asks if she’s in love. Grace responds by putting a lampshade on her head. Joan says if there is someone, she thinks she should know. Grace responds by leaving through the window, saying she was never there.

Kevin lets Luke know that he’s figured out about his secret relationship with Grace and that he needs to stand up to her, and “be a man.”

Luke goes over to Grace’s house with the intention to take Kevin’s advice, but ends up with Grace telling him he’s dead and slamming the door in his face.

Out of Sight
Grace tells Luke that if they can't find some common ground through music, they're toast.

That night they meet and exchange mix CDs. Grace isn't satisfied with Luke's hip hop, classical, or Metallica, and Luke is definitely less than thrilled with Grace's 33 West and Olatunji. When it looks like they're out of luck, some kids come by with a stereo playing Kool and the Gang's "Celebration." Both of them hate it, and find common ground in their mutual hatred. Luke tells Grace that that's their song. They kiss.

At Judith's party, Luke tries conversing with Grace, who points out that contact at parties is a violation of their contractual agreement.

Luke goes into the house and puts "Celebration" on the stereo, and sets it to repeat, before walking off to some unknown corner of the house. Grace hears the song, looks up, and sees Luke standing at a window, nodding for her to follow him. She does, and they make out some more.

Back to the Garden
In gym class, the kids are all discussing their Physics assignment to determine indeterminacy. Luke tries to get Grace to work with him, but she won't. Luke doesn't see the problem, since they worked together on the science fair last year. Grace tells him that if he can't handle the terms of their agreement, then maybe he can't handle her.

Later on, Luke waits for Grace outside the girls restroom. She's miffed that he's waiting around, and tells him it's a little stalker like. She tells him to back off unless he wants make-out time cut. Luke, finally fed up, tells her that it's about more than making out. They have a relationship, which she doesn't deny. He tells her that she may have said he couldn't handle her, but he thinks she's the one who can't handle him. Grace responds by telling Luke that it's about her privacy and that's it. Luke tells her to be private, and alone then, because that seems to be what she wants. Grace stands there for a moment, obviously hurt, before walking off.

The next day, Luke is waiting on the stairs when Grace walks by. He apologizes and says that he's decided he can deal with her terms. She finally admits to her mistake and tells him that he shouldn't have to deal with them because they're not fair. He tells her that no revolution has occurred overnight, they have to build up and he's willing to wait for it. He gives her a sunflower that he stole from Joan's garden project. They proceed to walk down the hall, in conversation. In public.

The Cat
As Luke and Grace are walking down the hall at school, Luke is telling her about his aunt who just had a stroke. He tells her that she almost died and all he could do was just stand there, like it wasn't real. Her only response is "Dude...weird." Luke gets a little annoyed, and tells her that they should be able to talk to each other about this sort of thing. Joan walks up behind them, interrupting them and noting that is "looks like [they are] into something deep there." Grace tells her that Luke was trying to get her to work on the science fair with him again. Luke plays along, rambling about how the competition is fierce. Joan ignores him and continues on, still oblivious to their relationship.

The following night, after a conversation with their aunt, Joan comes up to Luke's room to ask him if he thinks they'll ever find love. At that exact moment, Grace sends Luke an instant message. She tells him that she knows she's a jerk, but there are things that she doesn't tell people, she can't. When it looks like she's about to confess something to him, Joan accuses him of looking at porn and rushes over to check the monitor. To avoid getting caught talking to Grace, Luke quickly closes out of the conversation and logs off.

The next day, Grace comes out of the office with a late slip and sees Luke walk by. She hurries to catch up with him and confronts him about logging off the night before. He says that Joan was trying to bust him for looking at porn. Grace, rather surprised, asks if he was looking at porn while they were online. He says no, pauses for a moment, then asks if she wants him too. She chuckles a little, shakes her head, and smirks. He tells her it was a one time occurrence, but if she has something to say to him she should just say it. For a second she looks as if she wants to tell him something, but sees Joan hanging on Adam and takes the opportunity to make a snarky comment and take off.

Early the next morning, Luke is getting ready for school when he hears an instant message alert. He rolls over his bed and looks at the screen to see a message from Grace that simply says: "My Mother drinks." Luke is stunned. He gets ready to reply, but Grace logs off before he can do so.

At the school, Grace is standing at her locker when she sees Luke heading down the hall. She tosses her bag inside and closes the locker, turns, and takes off, trying to get away. Luke catches up with her and touches her arm. She turns around and looks up at him, with tears in her eyes, then takes off again. He follows.

Grace leads Luke into an empty classroom. She stands there for a moment before looking up at him, with a look that shows fear, pain, vulnerability, and even a hint of shame. He looks at her sympathetically and slowly pulls her into a hug. With her defenses completely down, Grace puts her head on Luke's shoulder and quietly breaks down.

The Election
Luke and Grace are sitting and standing, respectively, on a staircase. Grace is rambling about Joan getting involved in the school election. Luke gently interrupts and asks if they’re going to talk about her mom. Grace looks around for a second before replying with a soft, slightly broken “No.” He tells her that he knows she wants to talk about it, because she sent him that message. For several seconds Grace looks as though she wants to say something, but just can’t find the words, as being this open is a relatively new experience. She finally tells Luke that she just wanted him to know before taking off.

The next day at school, Grace catches up with Luke and Friedman, who are walking down the hall with a copy of Brian Beaumont’s mission statement. One of Lars’ goons, accompanied by his buddy, walks up and takes the mission statement from Luke, telling him that carrying it around could be hazardous to his health. Grace quickly interjects, calling the bully a nimrod. Luke tells Grace to leave it alone, but she won’t. She tells Luke that they won’t do anything, “These losers have some archaic rule where they never hit a girl.” Sure enough, Bully A’s friend steps in, “As if you’re a girl!” and shoves Grace into the wall, quite hard, and knocks her to the ground. Luke freaks and shoves Bully B into the opposite wall. He looks like he’s getting ready to pummel him when Bully A grabs him by the shoulders and heaves him across the room. Luke falls to the floor next to Grace as the two goons walk away. Grace can’t contain herself: “That was beautiful, dude.” They sit there on the floor and laugh about it.

The following day, Grace, Luke, and Joan are sitting at a table in the cafeteria. Luke tells them that the latest polls aren’t looking too good for Brian. Joan says they’ll look better once they can dig up something on Lars. She’s willing to do whatever it takes. Grace (in the most well placed of three Godfather references) tells her a horse’s head is always effective. “Thought you were the poster girl for apathy?” Joan asks. Luke nonchalantly makes a comment about Grace being hit by a wave of school spirit. This warrants Joan’s attention as she eyes Luke suspiciously, “She told you?” Luke says he gleaned it. Grace is failing miserably at looking cool about the whole thing. Joan looks over at her with an equally suspicious expression just as Judith shows up with news about Lars.

The next afternoon, Grace and Luke are in a hallway hanging some more posters for Brian. Luke tells Grace that statistically, their latest move will have less than a thirteen percent change of succeeding. Grace jokes that she never understands half of what he says. She stands there for a second, hesitating, before finally speaking up about her mother. She tells Luke about a time when she was eleven and her friend Becky slept over. They went downstairs for breakfast in the morning, only to find her mother passed out on the kitchen floor from the night before; Becky never spoke to her after that. Luke listens to her tell her story. He doesn’t say anything, but he does look a little happy that she is finally trusting him enough to open up.



Wealth of Nations
Luke and Grace meet in a storage room for the science department, Luke explaining Lishack gave him the key, an advantage of being science student of the year. He asks Grace where she was the previous night, since he IMed her many times without a response. Grace responds fairly comfortably that she was taking care of her mother, since her father works late to avoid dealing with her mom's alcoholism. When Luke suggests Grace talk to someone about it, she writes him off quickly, instead suggesting they study.

After only one statement about black holes, Luke tries again, telling Grace she can talk to him about it. Grace quickly cuts the conversation short by leaning in and kissing Luke passionately, tongue definitely involved. Luke's a bit thrown off and clearly aware Grace is only doing it to avoid the subject. But he doesn't exactly argue when she kisses him again.

Once again in their new hiding place, Luke hands Grace an Alateen flyer. Almost immediately defensive, she worries he "blabbed" about her and tells him she's been through it before; she doesn't need to go to Alateen. Luke responds that Grace has been through it alone; it doesn't have to be that way anymore. Grace just hands him the flyer.

At the Alateen meeting, which seems to be taking place in a church, Grace listens uncomfortably as a teenage boy talks about how his father drinks away his paycheck in one day. When the boy's done and everyone turns to Grace, expecting her to speak, she stands up hesitantly and introduces herself to the group, a chorus of "Hi Grace" following. She hesitantly says that her mother's an alcoholic, and Luke takes her hand. Turning to look at him, she offers him a quick, small smile, and tells the group that he's her "boyfriend, Luke," this marking the first time she's used a gender specific coupling word. Luke looks shocked but recovers quickly, and stands up next to Grace. They look at each other, and the moment's all about them, not the meeting.




P.O.V.
When we first see Grace, she's with Joan. Generally, this wouldn't be included, except she makes a comment to Joan about how telling Adam to 'act' normal goes against Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, and Joan responds that Grace is starting to sound like Luke. It's so, very true. Apparently he's really rubbing off on her. Grace looks surprised and quickly excuses herself.

Next, we're outside the school and Grace walks by Luke, who's talking to some boy about tech stuff- most likely computers, as he's referring to gigabytes. When he sees Grace, he takes off after her, not even saying bye to the kid he was talking to. Together they descend the stairs and walk, as Luke asks Grace how things have been. She remarks they've been great for her mother, who had two bottles of wine at dinner the previous night. Luke asks if she's been keeping her journal, and Grace responds she has, if free form swearing counts. Grace becomes frustrated as Luke lectures her to 'keep at it,' until she blows up and tells him that having done one nice thing for her doesn't give him the right to act like an expert in her life. She storms away, leaving a clearly confused Luke behind.

Later, Grace is in the science storage room, waiting for Luke. He comes in and remarks that it's admirable for her to want to talk to him about her mom. Grace doesn't want to talk, instead pulling Luke into a kiss. He pushes her away and tells her he won't let her use their makeout time to avoid this issue. Grace is upset Luke won't stop talking about it, and Luke responds that Grace's mother's problems are controlling her life. Grace denies this, and Luke comments that they should hang out at Grace's house. She shuts down, saying the conversation's over. As Grace attempts to leave, Luke tells her that she may think she's strong, but she's more terrified than anyone he knows.

Luke's sitting in the library when he gets hit by a paper ball. He turns around to see Grace standing off to the side, and she gestures wildly at the balled up paper. Luke picks it up. It's an invitation to come over to her parent-less house after school. Luke smiles and turns around. She's gone.

A door opens and Luke and Grace step into Grace's room. Luke looks around and Grace tells him to comment. It's more tidy and nicer than he expected. Grace takes these comments to mean Luke has a death wish. Something across the room catches Luke's eye, and he walks away from the door. On the bureau is a whale beanie baby (positioned next to the geode from "The Gift") which Luke picks up. They sit down on Grace's bed as they discuss beanie babies (Luke has "Pinchers," which was worth $5,000 at one point). They start to kiss and a door closes somewhere in the house, followed by the off camera voice of Grace's mom, announcing she's home. Luke jumps up and tells Grace he'll leave through the window, but she quickly catches up to him and requests he 'stay.' They kiss again.




Friday Night
Grace and Luke are making out in the science storage room when Grace pulls back. She's complaining about Joan and Adam, feeding into the normal 'relationship' thing, planning a big date. Luke tells Grace he was going to ask her on a date to the Schlock-Fest, a la Bad Movie Night. Grace says she has a meeting and holds up an "Anarchists Unite" pamphlet. Luke comments on the oxymoron in that, but Grace argues quickly against it and tells Luke not to try to twist politics to get her to go on a date with him. Luke calls her on this, saying she'd also attempted it with him. Grace gets up and leaves, despite Luke's attempts to make her stop.

Luke's waiting outside the Schlock-Fest with Friedman, who is talking about Judith. Friedman tells Luke that the "ectasy of love" leads the will to "desperate undertakings." Luke freezes, obviously thinking about Grace, before telling Friedman he has to go.

At the Anarchists Unite meeting, Luke's walking around, looking for Grace. He realizes all the girls there look like her, and asks one of the girls if she's seen Grace. He tells her she has a jacket and hair like the girl's, and the girl asks Luke if he's saying they're conformists. Luke realizes he's in hot water and backpedals quickly, but ends iup in even more trouble when the guy running the meeting points out Luke's sneakers, which were made by starving children. Luke sacrifices the sneakers.

Meanwhile, Grace is looking for Luke at the Schlock-Fest. There's a kid who looks vaguely like him, and a boy in a mask, who Grace thanks God isn't Luke. Friedman notices her, and Grace realizes she's blown their cover.

Luke arrives back at the Schlock-Fest visibly upset he couldn't find Grace. Inside the theater, Friedman tells Grace he gets it, why she and Luke work together. Luke comes into the theater a moment later and notices Grace. He tells her he went to her meeting looking for her, to which she replies she came to the theater. She notices his lack of sneakers and asks what happened. He tells her about the meeting and she smiles. They kiss. Someone tells them to sit down, and Grace throws popcorn at the guy before they leave.

Back at the Girardis house, Luke, Grace and Friedman are sitting on the front steps when Joan and Helen get home from the hospital after Judith died. Grace goes over to Joan and she, Joan, Luke and Friedman have a tense and depressing conversation in the yard. Later, as Friedman laments over his loss of Judith, he tells Luke and Grace to just hold hands, and physically entwines their hands before enveloping them in a hug.