The voice over of Stefan continues: "I shouldn't have come home. I know the risk. But I had no choice. I have to know her." On the roof of the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan, who had been watching the sunrise, jumps to the ground.At the Gilbert house, Elena sits in her room and writes in her diary: Dear Diary: Today will be different. It has to be. I will smile and it will be believable. That smile will say, "I'm fine, thank you." "Yes, I feel much better." I will no longer be the sad little girl who lost her parents. I will start fresh, be someone new. It's the only way I'll make it through.

Downstairs, Aunt Jenna offers to make breakfast before leaving for a meeting and Elena tries to talk to Jeremy. On the drive to school, Bonnie tells Elena about her being psychic but notices Elena’s not listening. Suddenly, a large crow hits the windscreen. Elena says she can’t be freaked out by cars forever.

At Mystic Falls High School, Stefan walks across the yard. At the lockers, Caroline hugs Elena asks Bonnie if Elena is okay. In the school yard, Jeremy gives Vicki pills and is being teased by Tyler. Inside, Stefan compels the school secretary to let him in the school as Bonnie and Elena look at him from behind.

Elena sees Jeremy enter the men's room, so she follows him and accuses him of taking drugs. He walks out and Stefan encounters Elena leaving the men's room. They act awkwardly before Elena leaves, eyeing him again. In Mr. Tanner's class, Bonnie texts Elena, that Stefan is staring at her.

Later at Mystic Falls Cemetery, Elena sits at her parents' grave, writing in her diary: Dear Diary, I made it through the day. I must have said, "I'm fine, thanks" at least 37 times. And I didn't mean it once. But no one noticed. When someone asks "How are you?", they really don't want an answer." Suddenly, fog gathers and a crow lands on the gravestone. She tries to ignore it and even shoo it away, but when she turns around, it's still there and she runs off, frightened. She stumbles down a hill and finds Stefan standing there. He asks if she's okay and says he's visiting family. Elena then introduces herself and so does Stefan. She sees his ring before he inquires if she’s hurt herself. She checks her leg and his face changes and he tells her she must leave. When she turns around, he’s gone. 

Later at the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan writes in his journal about his encounter with Elena: "I lost control today. Everything I've kept buried inside, came rushing to the surface. I'm simply not able to resist her'".

At the Mystic Grill, Jeremy asks Vicki why she's ignoring him. Nearby, Matt and Tyler talk about Vicki. Meanwhile, Caroline tells Bonnie about Stefan. At the Gilbert house, Elena is surprised to see Stefan at the front door when she's getting ready to leave the house. He returns her diary and she invites him to the Mystic Grill with her.

Back at the Mystic Grill, Matt and Bonnie talk about Elena and they see her and Stefan arrive together while Caroline, Matt, Tyler and Bonnie stare at them. Matt introduces himself. At a table, Matt, Caroline, Stefan, Elena and Bonnie talk and Caroline mentions the party at the Falls.

At the Salvatore Boarding House, Zach bursts into Stefan's room, handing him a paper detailing mysterious deaths. Stefan says he has everything under control and when Zach leaves, he goes to a cupboard and extracts a book with a photograph of a young woman who looks a lot like Elena, which bears the words "Katherine 1864".

During Mr. Tanner’s class, Stefan contradicts him when he talks about the Battle of Willow Creek and he (Mr. Tanner) ends up humiliated. At the Falls, Stefan arrives and is accosted by Caroline. Around the fire, Bonnie hands Elena a bottle and has a vision of death. She walks off before Elena finds Stefan behind her. On the bridge, Elena talks about the car crash that killed her parents. Stefan tells her she won't be sad forever.

In the woods, Jeremy corners Tyler when he starts getting aggressive towards Vicki. Back at the bridge Stefan asks Elena about her friends and Matt, Stefan's face changes again. He leaves. Later on Vicki is alone and is suddenly attacked by unseen being.

Back at the party, Matt tells Elena he still believes in them as a couple. Caroline is rejected by Stefan. He approaches Elena, who sees Jeremy wandering off and goes after him. He discovers Vicki’s body. They return to the party seeking help and Stefan disappears.

At the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan arrives home and tells Zach about the attack. In his room, a crow flies in as he comes face-to-face with his older brother, Damon. Stefan asks why Damon has come back but Damon does not answer the question.

At the Falls, Bonnie tells Elena about her vision. In Stefan’s room, Damon taunts his little brother, provoking him until Stefan shows his vampire face and forces them both out the window. Outside, Damon continues to taunt him and then hands back his ring, before throwing him against the garage and warning him not to mess with him again.

At the Falls, Elena tries to talk to Jeremy but he brings up the subject of her cemetery visits. At the Mystic Grill, Bonnie talks to a rejected Caroline who is jealous of Elena and thinks that she is competition. At the hospital, Vicki wakes up and mutters the word "Vampire" to Matt.

In Elena’s room, she writes in her diary: "Dear Diary - I couldn't have been more wrong. I thought that I could smile and nod my way through it. Pretend that it would all be okay." Meanwhile Stefan, at the Boarding House, looks at Katherine’s photograph and writes in his own journal: "I had a plan. I wanted to change who I was. Create a life with someone new, someone without the past." '''''In synchronized, dual journal entries, they (Stefan and Elena) express their feelings: "Without the pain, someone alive".' In the living room, Jeremy looks at a photograph of his parents. Elena continues in her journal entry: "But it's not that easy. The bad things stay with you. They follow you."

At the Mystic Grill, Bonnie pays for the drinks as Caroline smiles coyly at Damon. Elena's voice over: "You can't escape them. As much as you want to." Elena acknowledges that: All you can do is be ready for the good. So when it comes, you invite it in, because you need it. I need it. She then spots Stefan standing outside of her house. When he asks her if she’s okay, she tells him to ask her tomorrow and then she invites him inside.