After seeing Penny in the hallway, Leonard impulsively asks her out for a romantic dinner, which she accepts .

About 90% of the episode is revealed to be an extended daydream in Leonard's head as he overthinks how the date might go . In this vision, their dinner is disastrous, leading to a major argument and then a secret physical relationship to avoid their friends' judgment .

Leonard snaps out of the daydream while standing in the hallway talking to Sheldon . Despite his imagined "Bad Ending," he decides to ask Penny out anyway .