After We Collided

The restaurant refuses to let them in because they’ve lost the reservation Hardin made. They decide to go ice skating instead, stopping by a store to pick up some more appropriate clothing for Tessa. Hardin has never skated before and falls multiple times. Afterward, they share funnel cake and talk again about his piercings. Tessa stresses that he shouldn’t change for her, but Hardin feels like he was hiding behind the piercings. Tessa asks Hardin about his plans for his birthday the following day. Logan and Nate are throwing him a party. He asks her to go with him, but she claims to be busy.

Hardin tells Tessa the nightmares are back. Tessa invites Hardin to sleep in her room. He initially turns her down, only to change his mind. He goes to sleep quickly and is gone the following morning when Tessa wakes. Tessa wishes him a happy birthday through a text message.

Hardin talks to Nate about the party, assuring him that Tessa isn’t coming. Nate saw Tessa going to the environmental science building and wonders if she’s seeing someone. Hardin is annoyed, but assures Nate there is nothing going on. That night at the party, Stephanie and Molly tease Hardin for taking out his piercings.

Tessa gets a couple of texts from Hardin saying the party is boring and he wants to come over. Tessa agrees and goes downstairs to bake a quick cake for him. After baking and decorating the cake with Karen and placing two candles in the shape of a one and three on it, Tessa settles in to wait for Hardin.

Nate convinces Hardin to have a drink. Zed returns Hardin’s phone, which he claims Hardin left behind.

Tessa gives up when Hardin is two hours late. She goes upstairs and listens to music till she falls asleep. Hardin calls, waking her up, but she decides to turn off her phone and ignore him.

Hardin is annoyed Tessa isn’t answering his calls. He decides to leave the party just as a group of strippers walks into the frat house. Hardin checks for text messages from Tessa, but she never even answers an earlier text he sent to her.

Tessa goes to Vance Publishing and asks Christian about transferring to the new Seattle office. He quickly agrees and gives her two weeks to settle her affairs and begin the transfer paperwork for the university.

Tessa goes over to Zed’s apartment and learns about the strippers. She tells Zed about Hardin arranging to come by Ken and Karen’s and then not showing. Zed points out that Hardin picked a party over her. Zed urges Tessa not to waste any more time on Hardin.

Hardin goes to Ken and Karen’s to look for Tessa. Karen tells Hardin that Tessa made the cake that still sits on the counter for him. Hardin stays for dinner and Tessa returns while they’re eating. When the meal is over, Tessa asks Hardin why he didn’t show up the night before. Confused, Hardin asks what she’s talking about, so she shows him text messages on her phone. He didn’t write those texts, but maybe Zed did. Tessa confronts him about the strippers, and he swears he left when they arrived. Hardin asks about her relationship with Zed. Finally, they are ready to tell each other the truth.

Tessa and Hardin ask each other to stay away from Zed. Tessa reluctantly tells Hardin she kissed Zed.

Tessa explains that she kissed Zed while Hardin was in London because she felt like Hardin didn’t want her anymore. Hardin insists on knowing everything, so Tessa explains the whole situation. Afterward, Hardin asks Tessa to leave him alone. He destroys the room, breaking a chair and pulling clothes out of the drawers. Tessa returns and calms him down, but he initially refuses to forgive her. However, he promises to try. They kiss.

Hardin and Tessa have sex. Afterward, Hardin admits to himself that he won’t keep his promise not to hurt Zed.

Tessa and Hardin dress. Tessa cleans up the room. Hardin helps. He notices a couple of gifts with his name on them in her closet.

Tessa is embarrassed and tries to take the presents away, but Hardin insists on opening them. She got him a copy of Pride and Prejudice in which she highlighted passages that mean something to her. She also got him a new binder to replace the one he uses for work, kickboxing lessons, and a Fray CD.

Hardin and Tessa spend the night together. The next morning, Hardin wants to skip classes, but Tessa insists she must go to hers. On the way to campus, Hardin’s phone rings. He refuses to answer it—it’s his mother, who will leave a voicemail. He asks her to check his voicemails; he has seven messages. The first one is the message Tessa left him the day she kissed Zed. Hardin is surprised to hear the message, but rather than becoming angry, Hardin announces he doesn’t want to talk about it again. He drops her off on campus to go to her classes.

Hardin listens to Tessa’s voicemail over and over, becoming angrier with Zed. He goes to the environmental sciences building and seeks out Zed. Hardin breaks Zed’s nose, and Zed fights back, hitting Hardin over the head with a pot while claiming that he slept with Tessa. They push over some shelves and damage some plants. A professor comes into the room and Zed begins crying and claiming he did nothing to Hardin. The professor demands Hardin stand against the wall and wait for the police to arrive.

Tessa is in World Religion when Ken comes to get her. Landon insists on going along. Ken explains that Hardin has been arrested by campus police; Ken is trying to keep it from becoming a bigger issue. They go to the campus security building and find Hardin locked in a cell, belittling the security officers. Tessa calms him down but can’t convince him how serious the situation is.

Hardin gives her an outline of what happened, and Tessa is annoyed that Hardin went in search of trouble. Landon tells her they might expel Hardin for the property damage and pushing the professor. If Zed decides to press charges, the legal situation will be out of Ken’s hands. Tessa decides to go to the hospital and talk to Zed. She is shocked by the extent of his injuries. Zed points out that Tessa is always making excuses for Hardin and taking the blame for his actions. Tessa thinks of all she’s lost since meeting Hardin—her friends, Noah, and her mother—but she loves Hardin enough that it doesn’t matter. She asks Zed if he wrote the text messages promising that Hardin would come to Ken and Karen’s the night of his birthday, but he denies it. Tessa promises Zed that Hardin is moving to Seattle with her in a few weeks and won’t ever touch him again. Zed agrees not to press charges.

Tessa goes home to the apartment with Hardin after the campus police release him. As she sleeps, Hardin looks through the copy of Pride and Prejudice Tessa gave him. He believes he knows when and why Tessa marked many of the passages, connecting them to his and Tessa’s relationship; one refers to marriage in a way that echoes Hardin’s feelings.

Hardin worries about being expelled from school because then he will have to return to England. He asks Tessa to go with him if that happens, and she again chooses not to tell him about her decision to move to Seattle. Hardin and Tessa go to a tattoo shop where they meet Stephanie and Tristan. Tessa and Hardin watch Stephanie get a tattoo on her belly while Hardin considers the tattoo he’ll get next. He wants to have a quote placed on his back about lovers never parting. Tessa argues against it, afraid of what will happen when he learns about Seattle.

Tessa watches as Hardin gets his tattoo. When it is finished, Hardin and Tessa head out to go find Stephanie and Tristan. They pass a man who is drunk and apparently unhoused. Hardin is annoyed, but Tessa pulls away to face the man. She calls him dad.