You gotta think that Cardan's hopes were going up and down like a rollercoaster during the everapple scene. like Jude saying that she'd like to kiss all of her classmates I imagine Cardan's inner monologue like
" I kicked dirt on her lunch and had her pushed into a river and I'm still considered kissing material "
Before realizing that Valerien, the classmate who just attempted to choke her to death is also kissing material. The bar was non-existent.
Like I fully believe jurdan would have happened much sooner if Cardan had been able to convince Jude to have a angry makeout session with him. sure Jude will only see it as a fling, just like how she viewed her time with Locke. she doesn't love Locke ever. but she finds him attractive enough( along with all of her other classmates ) and he outwardly payed her attention which she was open to. And even if Cardan had made out with Jude within the first 10 chapters of the first book I don't think the plot will change that much because he's gonna have to convince her that his feelings towards her are genuine and he didn't see it as a fling which he is canonically doing for the 2nd and 3rd book so we'd probably get about 15more chapters of Jude being in denial and Cardan trying and failing to confess his love.
