9. Fear Strikes Out

Complete story — includes the ending

Cory and Shawn attend their first high school make-out party. Before leaving, Eric plays a cruel joke on Cory by deliberately instilling a deep anxiety about dating etiquette, grilling him with absurd scenarios regarding how to interact with girls. At the party, Cory panics and attempts to leave, but Shawn convinces him to stay. The partygoers begin playing " seven minutes in heaven " a game where couples are randomly selected to spend seven minutes together inside a dark closet. To his relief and horror, Cory is chosen alongside Topanga. Due to the performance anxiety fueled by Eric's teasing, Cory is too terrified to initiate a kiss. Understanding his distress, Topanga kindly offers to just spend the time talking with him instead. However, word of the uneventful closet session spreads, and Cory becomes the laughingstock of the school for failing to kiss her. Dejected and believing his social life is permanently ruined, Cory tells his parents about the humiliation. Amy and Alan blame Eric for causing the psychological block and place a strict embargo on Eric's own social life: Eric is forbidden from going on any future dates until he helps restore Cory's confidence. Desperate to lift his own punishment, Eric sets up a double date to help Cory overcome his stage fright. While the date initially triggers more anxiety for Cory, he ultimately learns to trust himself and gains a newfound sense of confidence. Meanwhile, Mr. Turner becomes infatuated with a new, attractive teacher at the school named Katherine "Kat" Tompkins. Despite Mr. Feeny expressing his traditional administrative disapproval regarding romantic relationships between faculty members, Turner decides to bypass his warnings and actively pursues her. Guest stars: Danny McNulty as Harley Keiner, Blake Soper as Joey, Ethan Suplee as Frankie, Darlene Vogel as Katherine "Kat" Tompkins, David Grieco as Donovan, Benny Grant as John