1988 (#20) - The end of the relationship between Katie and Rocco

Despite the fact that Donna has been moving on with her life for months now and has overcome her interest in her sister's boyfriend, Rocco doesn't seem to have noticed and continues to fantasize about their possible future together. He even convinces himself that Donna is waiting for him to end his relationship with Katie and ask her to marry him, and he buys an expensive engagement ring. Determined to put his plan into action, Rocco takes advantage of a hug with Donna to slip the ring into the pocket of the coat he is wearing. What Rocco doesn't suspect, however, is that the dress Donna is wearing is actually Katie's. When she finds the ring, she can't stand the sight of it anymore and, overjoyed, thinks Rocco wants to propose to her. Katie, crazy with joy, runs to the boy to hug him and tell him that she can't wait to become his wife; all this under the shocked gaze of Rocco, who realizes only now that he has made the biggest mistake of his life. At the time, Rocco is unable to break poor Katie's heart; and rather than face reality, he tries to change the girl's mind by trying to alienate her by making her believe that he is a gruff and violent man, as when he decides to mock and tease, in front of Katie's puzzled eyes, his fellow waitress at Griffey's named Stacy Jacobs. Each of his attempts to look like a stupid blowhard, however, appear in the eyes of a smitten Katie to be simply hilarious, even as Rocco, undoubtedly, appears somewhat awkward and inexperienced in this role. In the end, Rocco decides to be honest at least with Donna, confessing to her the whole truth. But contrary to Rocco's hopes, Donna doesn't allow Rocco to hope for a possible future together, instead urging him to stop being a child and take responsibility, either by marrying Katie or by telling the truth. Having no alternative, Rocco finally finds the strength to talk to Katie, admitting how things stand and the true recipient of his ring. Faced with these words, Katie leaves in tears with a broken heart; she refuses in the following days to see, meet or simply hear Rocco's justifications, whose name she no longer wants to hear, feeling stupid and naive for having been fooled in this way. A mortified Rocco, moreover, definitely ruins his relationship with Donna, who accuses him of having ruined Katie's life and of having behaved like an immature boy. And as always happens, it's only time that heals the wounds and brings back a smile when everything seems to be over. A few months later, in fact, a still thoughtful Rocco about what happened is surprised to meet Katie again in the company of Kurt Bentley, one of his college classmates. And what surprises Rocco the most is not the indifference of the girl towards him, but rather the fact, despite having the opportunity to distract himself with the beautiful Forrester model Jennifer Dawson, to feel jealous towards her and sad that Katie's new life did not include him at all.