The Kiss

The Kiss is the third season premier of the Disney Channel sitcom Even Stevens. It was written and directed by Matt Dearborn and released on February 22, 2002.

Plot Summary
Louis finally sneaks a kiss with Tawny during lunch. Both of them sit there stunned when Ren comes along and snaps them out of it by taking Tawny off for a costume fitting for the play she's writing and directing about John and Abagail Adams. Louis tells Twitty about the kiss, but says he doesn't know what Tawny's reaction was. Twitty goes to the play rehearsal to try and find out if Tawny feels the same way towards him. She tells him to have Louis meet her the next morning by her locker, and sure enough as Louis waits for Tawny nervously, she surprises him by saying she'd like to be his girlfriend! The happy couple walk off hand-in-hand.

Meanwhile, Coach Tugnut(the unlikely theater advisor) tells Ren her play is incredibly dull and needs to be spiced up. At home, the Stevens family is watching an old romantic movie on TV which gives Ren the idea to give her play a more romantic angle. Donnie is concerned the the movie didn't make him cry like everyone else. He tries to find someone to help him learn to be more sensitive, but his choice of teachers is not a very good one--it's Beans! Back at the rehearsal, Ren tells the cast she's rewritten the play, and now it ends with a kiss between Abigail (Tawny) and John (Zack, who also likes Tawny). This causes tension in their relationship when Louis immediately becomes jealous of Zack and tries to get Ren to change the ending. When she won't do it, he tries to get Tawny to quit the play. Tawny assures him that she's just acting and still only really cares for him. The play premieres and all is going well, but Louis sneaks out of his seat and goes backstage. Just as Zack and Tawny are about to kiss, Louis barges on stage in Tom's costume and tries to whisk Zack offstage. Tom in his long johns goes out and tries to stop Louis and a big wrestling match breaks out.

The audience certainly isn't bored by the play, in fact they laugh, which wasn't the reaction that Ren wanted. Tawny is upset with Louis, too. When he goes to see her, she asks why he humiliated her. Louis can't explain the reasons for his jealousy, but indicates that he may have stepped into the relationship too quickly. The pair decide they would be better off remaining friends, however, their feelings for each other remain too strong for mere friendship.