Future Ted: [v.o.] Kids, sometimes when you're about to give up on your love life forever for the 17th time, destiny intervenes. Instead of rushing in... I took my time to think up the perfect opening line.
Ted: Wait, no, damn it. Come back! You're really... You're pretty!
[later, at MacLaren's:]
Ted: And before I could call out after her in any kind of embarrassing way that a bunch of teenagers made fun of for the next five stops while I stared straight ahead and pretended not to hear them, she was gone. But here's the thing about Ted Mosby. He doesn't give up!
Lily: [imitates alarm] Stalker Ted alert. Repeat, stalker Ted alert.
Marshall: Already has a yellow legal pad going. Repeat, already has a yellow legal pad going.
Ted: I'm not stalking. I just jotted down a few details to help me find her. Uh, like the fact that her smile was cute, but a bit crooked which can be a sign of teeth grinding. So I called up the city's top five T. M.J. specialists... and h-h-h-here's where it gets interesting.