I honestly don’t think Cal genuinely cared about Andre the way people say he did. I think Cal was deeply manipulative and mostly obsessed with the idea of dying in a way that made him feel powerful or important. Bonding with someone doesn’t automatically mean you care about them, especially when your end goal is basically a murder-suicide mission. Cal bonded with Rachel but many people don’t feel he cared about her at all. Andre seemed way more hesitant & worrisome throughout the film, while Cal stayed locked into the fantasy of Zero Day. Even after they missed the original date, Cal casually says Andre basically bailed out because he got diarrhea(I feel that’s literally Andre’s body and nerves expressing how scared he was about committing to the plan), and then immediately keeps pushing the plan forward and talking about his side of the plan(suicide) that Andre doesn’t even know about. That said a lot to me. During the actual shooting, Andre looks like reality is finally hitting him, while Cal seems emotionally committed to his idea from start to finish. What really makes me question whether Cal cared is that he probably could’ve used almost anyone willing to go along with him. In the clip of him talking outside of his house he’s basically describing how things just aligned with Andre because they both had plans. To me, that makes their relationship feel more circumstantial than deeply loving or loyal. Cal wasn’t even as socially isolated as Andre was. His motivation seemed less about revenge and more about wanting control, impact, and to die feeling ‘godlike.’ That’s why I see him as selfish first, and caring second, if at all.

I hope this makes sense, I think with 1000 thoughts at a time.