This is why he insists on burying a dead bird he finds, and his generosity ends up killing him-he dies when his stove explodes while heвЂ™s trying to make tea for himself and Rufus. Ultimately, Mateo always thinks of others before he thinks of himself. Mateo desperately wants to come out to Dad before he dies, but he never gets the chance. Throughout the day, Mateo holds onto a secret about himself that he only reveals after he finally sings in front of a crowd: heвЂ™s gay, and over the course of the day, heвЂ™s fallen in love with Rufus. As the day wears on, Mateo becomes increasingly braver-he finally agrees to ride on the back of RufusвЂ™s bike, and he even willingly leaps off a 20-foot cliff into a pool at the Travel Arena.

He starts to take risks and trust others, and he learns that playing it safe isnвЂ™t always the best way to go. Inside, Mateo wants to be a fun-loving and carefree person, and with RufusвЂ™s help, Mateo begins to be that person in real life. Mateo is initially suspicious of Rufus-he views Rufus simply as a way for him to break out of his shell and become the person heвЂ™s always wanted to be. ItвЂ™s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventureto live a lifetime in a single day. This leads him to join the app Last Friend and to connect with Rufus, as he doesnвЂ™t want to burden Lidia with the news that heвЂ™s dying. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, theyвЂ™re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. However, when Mateo receives his own call from Death-Cast, he realizes that connecting with people online isnвЂ™t enough-he has to connect in person while he still has the chance. He feels that he can do good by being there virtually for people on their last days. Rufus, on the other hand, has plenty of friends, but after watching his parents and sister die in front of his eyes, does not want to subject them to the same fate. Mateo, a quiet introvert whose father is in a coma, has no one else to spend his End Day with and does not want to be alone. Mateo spends much of his time on the blog CountDowners. Mateo and Rufus turn to Last Friend for very different reasons. He only has two real friends: Dad (who has been in a coma for two weeks) and his best friend, Lidia. Mateo suffers from anxiety and keeps to himself as much as possible. Mateo is one of the novelвЂ™s protagonists heвЂ™s an 18-year-old Puerto Rican teen. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, theyвЂ™re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day.

Mateo and rufus