After another miserable rehearsal with Cass, Hannah leaves the music building furious and takes a call from Allie. Hannah complains that Cass keeps changing their showcase duet, but she avoids explaining her tutoring arrangement with Garrett and lies that he is paying her. Still annoyed and exhausted, Hannah heads to Garrett's house for their study session.

At Garrett's room, Hannah's bad mood spills into the tutoring, and she snaps at him while they review philosophy. Because Garrett refuses to keep studying until she explains herself, Hannah vents about Cass's latest demands: he wants to add a choir, alter the arrangement, and generally turn a simple duet into a production. Hannah is especially frustrated that Mary Jane, who wrote the song, stays silent instead of helping settle the dispute.

Garrett decides he wants to hear the song for himself and brings Hannah Tuck's guitar. Hannah first sings the duet in its current form, then sings Cass's revised version. As soon as Hannah starts performing, music steadies her; singing clears her mind and reminds her how it helped her survive after the rape by giving her relief and joy when everything else hurt.

After hearing both versions, Garrett agrees with Hannah that Cass's changes make the song worse and that the choir is unnecessary. He is struck by how beautiful Hannah's voice is and asks her to keep singing. Hannah performs more for him, including "Stand By Me," and Garrett is openly awed. He tells Hannah she is talented enough to stand alone onstage and argues that she should drop the duet and perform solo instead.

Hannah admits Garrett may have a point, but she refuses to back out because she gave Cass her word and does not want to abandon someone who is counting on her. When she leaves, she suspects Garrett has done something while she was in the bathroom. Once back at her dorm, she learns he deleted One Direction from her iPod and sent her other music instead. Their teasing, slightly flirtatious text exchange makes Hannah smile, and when Allie asks if she and Garrett are friends now, Hannah finally admits that they are.