Annie stood upright propped against the door holding it open, she was somewhat aware of her unconscious decision to not go any further into the supply closet. Something about the two of them and closed in spaces didn't really bode well with her in her current frame of mind. But she had followed him for a reason and she wouldn't chicken out and not see it through. She refused.
Annie's eyes ran over his back briefly as she looked to see if he had found what Abed had sent him in search of. She watched his back, shoulders and arms as he sifted through different items on the shelves trying to locate some contraption that Abed swore was in the supply closet.
"What are you even looking for exactly?" Annie quipped suddenly, as her eyes continued to assess his inquires.
"I don't even know. Abed was uncharacteristically vague." Jeff responded, shuffling boxes and cleaning supplies out of the way as he kept looking for...something.
"Abed's never vague," Annie reasoned, letting the door behind her inch forward just barely on its hinges. She felt like maybe she should be helping him look but she wasn't even sure what they were supposed to be looking for. She also was weighing whether or not she should bring up what she had followed him into this godforsaken closet to say in the first place. Just the thought of it made her doubt herself and her heart rate quickened.
"Hence the usage of the word 'uncharacteristically'." Jeff replied smartly, not turning around. He had promptly snapped her out of her thoughts and her eyes left his form and gazed through the space between the door and down the long empty hallway of the building. She suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of courage and as if to test its validity, she stepped further into the closet, letting the door close gently behind her. She leaned against it easily and crossed her arms.
Jeff was still trying to locate this random object when, just as Annie's mouth opened to proclaim something of heavy significance, he turned around and looked directly at her, catching her off guard. His hands went up in a show of frustration.
"I don't know where the hell this thing is," He exclaimed. "Let's just go back and tell him to come get it himself. Knowing him it's probably behind a wall somewhere where we can't even get to it."
"I...uh.." Annie trailed off, her mouth agape and her eyes big enough to signify that something had thrown her off.
Jeff's eyebrows knitted together and his eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her.
"What?" He questioned.
Annie silently panicked as she recalled every single silly way that she had rehearsed saying this to him. For the last two days, since she had made the decision that this was what she was going to do, it had been all that her mind could focus on. But now, the doubt and unease she felt standing in front of him with the topic only breaths and syllables away from occupying the space in between them, she couldn't do it. She wanted to, but couldn't.
"Nothing," She breathed nonchalantly as she offered him a slight smile, her shoulder scrunching up and her hand flicking briefly as if to completely dismiss the notion and even the importance of what she had been so close to uttering. "You're right, we should just go, he can find...whatever it is later. We'll tell him we tried."
"We tried?" Jeff questioned, tilting his head a little as if he was pondering something. "I believe it's more like I tried. You astutely kept watch at the door like we were going to be fined for breaking and entering."
"I was unclear on what it was that we were even supposed to be looking for." Annie defended in a huff, folding her arms further across herself. "And I still don't know. But you don't either, might I add."
"You don't always have to know what you're looking for to find it," Jeff lamented. "Sometimes only when you see it is when you realize what it is."
"Classic Winger," She retorted. "Thank you for your insight."
Annie turned and reached for the door handle, she almost thought her mind was playing tricks on her when it wouldn't budge. She tried again, putting more force into her fist. Still nothing. She tried one more time, willing the knob to magically turn even though her mind had already gathered what this meant. But this couldn't be.
No, this was some sort of cruel, sick joke.
"Crap," Annie mumbled more to herself than to him. "We're locked in."
"What?" A look of disbelief quickly trickled onto Jeff's face. "That's impossible."
Jeff crossed the small closet in about two paces, his long legs facilitating his movement, he was beside her before she even realized he had moved. Annie's eyes flicked up briefly to his face, she quickly averted them and subconsciously took a small step back in an effort to put more space in between their bodies. She was momentarily thrown off because she hadn't expected him to infringe on her personal space so suddenly, though it was innocent enough given the circumstances, that didn't stop her awareness of his closeness.
Jeff rattled the door handle a few times before giving up. He sighed and slid his foot forward and lightly kicked the bottom of the door.
"Everything about this place is literally broken," he declared.
Annie stayed silent. She was focusing on trying to look anywhere but at any particular part of him, though his current proximity was proving to make that a difficult task. She could literally feel his body heat radiating off of him. She needed him to back up.
As if he read her mind, he glanced down at her briefly before taking those two steps back to where he had been previously standing.
"It's fine," Annie started after clearing her throat and taking a deep breath. "It'll be fine, Abed has an impressive attention span, he'll realize we're taking too long and come let us out."
"Who are you trying to convince?" Jeff asked absentmindedly as he fiddled with his phone, he held it at different angles obviously searching desperately for a signal. "We aren't going to wait for him to notice. Damnit, I have zero bars. Give me your phone."
Annie's eyebrows hovered closely over her widened eyes as she looked at his outstretched hand awaiting her phone. She briefly grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut.
"I don't have it," She admitted. "It's on the study table."
"What?" He questioned, almost as if he was astonished. "How do you not have your phone?"
"Oh, right. How dare I?" Annie retorted sarcastically. "How is it possible that I'm not married to my phone the way that you are to yours? Sorry I don't have it with me for every step that I take. Sorry my identity isn't attached to it. I apologize."
Jeff's face deadpanned as his mouth fixed in a line.
"Well, it's in times like these when they're rather useful," Jeff replied simply, drawing out the words slowly, as if to further illustrate the pertinence of his point. "When you're trapped and need to call for help."
"Assuming you have service, of course." Annie responded pointedly.
Jeff took a deep breath and chose not to respond. He looked around him momentarily and sat on the edge of some oversized crates that were piled on top of one another and stretched out his legs.
"You're right," Jeff began as he crossed his arms. "Abed will realize we're taking too long and come find us."
"Yeah," She agreed lightly as the thoughts in her head started to overtake her once again.
Was this some sort of cosmic trick? Some extravagant joke? Now she'd have to face her uncertainty about bringing it up. They were locked in a supply closet for goodness sakes. Maybe this was better? At least he couldn't leave if the conversation turned difficult. But what if she was the one who needed to leave? She couldn't. They were stuck. But they needed to have this conversation, like really have it. Not kind of, sort of have it. Or flirt with the idea of having it. They needed to really have it.
They were adults. They could totally have an adult conversation about their adult relationship. Or lack there of. Or whatever.
"What were you going to say earlier?" Jeff's voice broke Annie out of her winding thoughts. Her eyes met his at the question; he was studying her. Sometimes he was oddly observant for someone who was such a narcissist.
"Hm?" Annie questioned, though she knew exactly what he was referring to.
"Before I suggested we give up and go back, you were going to say something."
"I, uh... yeah." She began steadily trying to swallow her apprehension. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Shoot," Jeff replied through a frown, upturning his palms briefly. "It's not like we're going anywhere this very second."
"I'm going to take some time off from the study group." She said simply, trying to add as much steadiness and even indifference to her voice as she could muster.
"What?" He questioned, after a beat of silence. His eyes were muddled with confusion.
He thought that maybe he had misheard her. But his hearing, like most things associated with him, was impeccable. That made no sense. Why would Annie Edison, princess of all things academic and scholarly, quit the study group? Hell, she was one of the only ones who even studied half the time, with her abundance of gummy erasers and index cards in every shade of pastel that had ever been invented. Why would she want to quit?
"I'm taking some time..." Annie repeated, more forcefully than she had said it previously, when Jeff promptly interrupted her.
"No, I heard you," Jeff said, cutting her off. "I just don't understand."
"I just have some things going on that I need to deal with," She reasoned vaguely.
"Like what?" Jeff inquired, eyebrows furrowed.
"Just things."
"What kind of things?"
"Important things."
"How profound," He accused with a nod, his mouth drooping in a mock frown. "Look Annie, if you want to quit the study group to deal with imaginary 'things', I'd guess the group wouldn't take it very well."
"I'm not quitting, Jeff." Annie corrected curtly. "And the group will be okay. It's not like I won't see them. I'll still help Shirley with the boys on occasion, have movie nights with Troy and Abed, go shopping with Britta when she's reached her leather jacket quota."
"So these imaginary 'things' still allow you time for all of that?" Jeff wondered aloud, certain looks of confusion played on and off his face as if he was trying to gage what exactly was going on.
"They aren't imaginary!" Annie quipped sharply. "Stop saying that."
"Did Pierce do something that I don't know about?" He questioned slightly irritated, as if he figured out why she didn't want to be around them.
"No," She admitted, realizing that this conversation wasn't going at all like she had planned. In fact it seemed to be heading in a completely obscure direction. "For once Pierce's particular disposition is not in question. God, where is Abed?"
Jeff quietly watched her as he tried to figure out what was going on. He noticed the way she was absentmindedly fingering a lose piece of thread at the end of her blouse. The fidgety way that her feet kept subtly moving just barely underneath her every few seconds. The way she wouldn't maintain direct eye contact with him through the bout of silence that was settling between them. Then he finally figured out why. It hit him like a freight train, like the first burst of cold air when you step outside on a winter day, like the reemergence of a specific memory that you hadn't recalled for years and years and then suddenly, without even so much as a trigger, it appears.
"It's because of me," He stated simply, almost the way you would say something that held no significance, like 'It's on the kitchen counter' or 'Pass the salt'. "You're going to quit the study group because of me."
"Really Jeff," She exclaimed, her voice thick with irritation. "I'm not quitting! You aren't even listening to me!"
"I'm not listening?" Jeff accused, his voice raising. "You're the one talking in cryptic codes about having hypothetical 'things' to take care of so you're going to leave your friends high and dry. You suck at clarity."
"Okay fine!" Annie replied, literally putting her foot down with notable force, her eyes were burning with determination like she had everything to prove. "It's because of you. I need a break from the study group because of you."
Jeff suddenly realized what this whole thing was about and it made him wish desperately that they weren't locked in a supply closet together with no way to get out. This had all just taken a dangerous turn and if he didn't tread carefully, things could literally erupt and he wasn't prepared nor equipped to handle it, and she was even less so. He refrained from speaking while he racked his brain for what he should even say to grab hold of this conversation quickly before it spiraled completely out of control or in a direction he really couldn't afford to go in. Annie's eyes met his directly and the expectant look on her face let him know that she was waiting for his response to her revelation.
"You don't have anything to say?" Annie pressed after a few more moments of silence as their eye contact held.
"I don't know how I'm supposed to react after you tell me you're going to abandon us because of me," Jeff stated plainly and carefully. He was always one to think on his feet and have words and excuses for everything but this was starting to feel like a situation where he would quickly become a fish out of water.
Annie's face softened at his word usage. The word 'abandoned' resonated with her quickly and she almost completely changed the subject and started talking about him, until she figured he'd be even less inclined to that particular topic of conversation than the current one.
"I'm not abandoning anyone," Annie clarified lightly. "I just, need some time away to think."
"What is time away going to do? Your mental capacity seems in tip top shape lately."
"Don't make jokes," She responded. "Time away will help me gain perspective, it might even help me deal with my feelings for you."
"So what you're inferring is that how you feel about me is an out of sight, out of mind type of phenomenon?"
"Don't do that!" Annie accused, her voice raising an octave and his eyes left hers momentarily at her reaction. "Don't try to explain away my own feelings to my face, it's insulting."
"I don't want you to quit the group," Jeff admitted lightly as his eyes found hers again. "I don't want you to quit, take a break, whatever. I don't want that."
"I'm just confused and overwhelmed, Jeff." Annie replied honestly. "It's like so much time goes by and we're simply good friends and everything is normal and then all of a sudden, without warning, we share these moments and I can't... I can't marginalize them. Or excuse them. And your actions and words don't help me."
"I don't know what you mean," He maintained, trying to dig his way out of how intense the conversation was getting. With every passing second it was like he felt the instinct to cut it off and leave, then he realized he couldn't. It almost frightened him in a way.
"Stop," She proclaimed. "Can you just be honest? Can you just take accountability for your actions and how you feel?"
"I feel like I want to know where the hell Abed is right now." Jeff countered seriously.
"You are unbelievable," Annie accused, shaking her head. "And before you get ahead of yourself, that isn't a compliment."
Annie took a deep breath to try and regroup, she had to get her thoughts and words in order because she was faltering. She had coached herself with ways to keep her on track because she had known that having this conversation with him wasn't going to be easy and he would fight her the entire way. What she hadn't accounted for was a certain amount of frustration and anger that was creeping up. That was never a good sign because whenever she felt those things she'd start feeling out of control and completely lose it. She refused to go into a full blown tailspin while trying to have this conversation with him. She would try with all her might to hold onto her composure. She could totally be mature and in control. She wasn't going to act erratic and unstable; she could handle this.
"Sometimes I think I'm doing a really good job," Annie started after taking a deep breath. "It's like weeks go by and I'm not worrying or obsessing over things in my head but then all of a sudden, without warning you...you just look at me and I just can't when you look at me that way, Jeff."
"I can't help the way my face looks," Jeff countered in an amusing tone signifying he was joking. "I cannot help the looks that appear on my face."
If Annie hadn't been a hundred percent focused and fighting off nervousness and irritation she might have actually smiled. Leave it up to Jeff Winger to make a joke at a completely inopportune time.
"Okay fine," She played along sweetly. "What about the words that come out of your mouth? Are you responsible for those?"
"On occasion," Jeff responded, he thought if maybe he joked his way through this, the wreckage wouldn't be as extensive.
"It's called chemistry, Annie! I have it with everyone." Annie proclaimed with great accuracy, recalling his blatant denial in front of the group some time ago.
"Oh come on, Annie," Jeff exclaimed. "I think we're past that."
"Do you? That's funny, something we agree on because I think we're way past that as well." Annie surmised, crossing her arms.
Jeff shifted on the crate and propped his arm against the railing of the shelves beside him, as he uncrossed and recrossed his legs at the ankles, his height seemed magnified even though he was seated. Annie noticed his movements and even in their subtly they made her lose her train of thought. How was it that this one man was so disarming to her at the mere drop of a hat? She almost found it ridiculous and absurd. She was a 20 year old grown woman. She wasn't 16. She'd had crushes before. But to even liken whatever this thing was with Jeff to a crush was underselling it tremendously. So many things about him affected her in a really deeply, unexpected way. Even after all this time she couldn't really pinpoint it. And it was so much more than his stupid face and his stupid charm and his stupid body. It was just him.
"What about, 'I wish I could give you an answer that makes sense but relationships are complicated'?" Annie posed, trying to break free of her all-consuming thoughts once again.
"They are very complicated," He responded. "Clearly."
"Well your answer or your reasoning doesn't have to make sense, but I'd still like to hear it."
"Well, I'd like to hear how many sentences I've said that you can repeat verbatim." Jeff countered, still trying to avoid saying or admitting too much. Trying to buy Abed more time. He felt like he had been trapped in there for an hour. He could only rely heavily on amusement and sarcasm for so long before he'd have to either start shutting down or worse, actually cop to some of his own bull shit. That thought alone was enough for him to silently will Abed, or anyone really, to come let them out of this damn supply closet.
"Okay, how about this one?" Annie began steadily taking a step towards him, bringing her hands up to further illustrate the importance of what was coming next. "'When you feel the way I feel about you."
Jeff's jaw noticeably tightened as he stared at her. When he had made that admission to her during the UN debacle he had a feeling it would probably come back to bite him. He had been much more forthcoming in the moment than he had intended but sometimes that happens, stuff is said and you can't take it back.
"I'm pretty sure that statement speaks for itself." Jeff countered.
"No, it really doesn't. You said that because of the way you feel about me you placate me and treat me like a child but that you couldn't do that forever. You never came out and admitted how you actually felt."
"And you said you liked how close we are and now you're trying to get away from me." Jeff accused, more tension in his voice than he would have liked to express.
"That's only because I don't know what the hell is going on!" Annie protested, her anxiety was starting to rise. The conversation was again going off track and she wasn't getting the responses or indications that she had hoped she would manage to gain. "You'd think by now it would have gone away or died down at least. But it hasn't."
"I don't know what you want me to say," Jeff replied wearily. Her frustration and aggravation was evident and it was triggering his own. He truly felt bad that she was so obviously broken up and at odds about this entire thing. He felt even worse that it was causing her to want to take a break from the group.
"Say something honest!" Annie pleaded, her raised voice quivering just barely as her arms made erratic motions. The battle she was fighting to keep her composure, she was losing quickly. Whatever semblance of control she might have had was disappearing quickly. "Don't joke or be sarcastic! Don't try to change the subject or divert around it! I don't want you to sell me some stupid song and dance! I don't want some grand speech. I just want the truth!"
"Come here," He urged softly. Before he even realized what he was doing, Jeff leaned forward and grasped her arm, pulling her closer to him as he leaned back. Annie's eyes widened in surprise briefly as her breath hitched in her throat, partly from the overwhelming emotions she was feeling and partly because she was now much too close to him, and at eye level. She dropped her head to avoid his gaze and concentrated on her breathing. All she could then focus on was the feeling of his hand griping her arm, the gentle pressure that it was generating was almost enough to make her knees tremble. Her deep breaths were only guiding his glorious scent into her nose, her brain firing off signals at the familiarity of it. She didn't understand how he always smelled so good. And it wasn't like it was just his cologne or his aftershave, it was him. It was his skin. She wanted to drink in that smell.
"Annie, look at me," Jeff began lightly. "Look at me."
Annie did as she was told but felt weaker still when their eyes met. From some unknown place within her, she gathered enough focus to not completely fall apart.
"Just relax," Jeff instructed gently, easing his fingers over her arm reassuringly, sending both warmth and chills cursing through her body simultaneously. "You're going to give yourself a panic attack, relax."
Annie willed herself to pull it together enough to stop her frustration from giving her physical reactions. She focused on the blueness of his eyes, feeling the need to rest her hand inside the crook of his arm to brace herself against him but something inside her, it seemed from some deep far away place, told her this was the opposite of what was supposed to be happening. She wasn't going to allow him to distract her with his sudden acute attention and physicality. She needed words, she needed affirmation. Annie slowly pulled her arm from his grasp, she noticed how he didn't let go immediately. She held his gaze though their closeness was still giving her internal undulations.
Jeff experienced a peculiar sensation in the pit of his stomach when she pulled her arm from his hold. Like she was retreating from him. As if she had already made up her mind about him and their situation and she couldn't be swayed. He felt a sense of vulnerability that he wasn't really accustomed to. He felt that if she did walk away and leave the study group, and him, for any period of time, he really had no way of stopping her, or changing her mind, or saying the right thing. It made him panic. As if whatever control or upper hand he felt that he unwittingly possessed in their relationship was evaporating. The last thing he wanted was for her to shut down on him. That thought alone was enough to force him to speak.
"I don't want to fight with you." Jeff reasoned gently, his eyes imploring her in an understated, indirect way. Like he was somehow unable to put all his cards on the table.
"I don't want to fight with you either," Annie admitted, her heartbeat, though still wildly irregular, had stopped threatening to jump out of her chest. "I just want to have a conversation you seem unwilling to have."
"Whatever you think you want to hear from me," Jeff acquiesced, everything felt foreign and unnerving in that moment. "I can assure you that you really don't."
"Do you always do this with people, or is it just me?" She wondered aloud, feeling the exponential need to put more space between them, but she didn't want to seem like she lacked strength just because of their proximity.
"Do what?" He questioned, his eyes scanned her face briefly. He felt an almost uncontrollable urge to reach out to her again, to encompass her and keep her right there. She seemed so strange and unattainable in that moment. She seemed unfamiliar to him. Like she was getting further and further away.
"Tell people how they think and feel?" Annie posed. "Just to distract them from you having to admit your own thoughts and feelings."
"Annie, don't do this." Jeff reasoned, he felt his fingers itching to reach for her again.
"I expect that the group won't be too thrilled when I announce my news," Annie began, taking a deep breath, breaking the magnetically charged eye contact that was exhausting her. She suddenly just wanted this whole day over, this conversation, this tumultuous back and forth, her feelings. She just wanted everything to be over. "I'd appreciate it if you would be supportive because we both know that'll make them more understanding."
Jeff stared at her almost dumbfounded, his brain was trying to access something to say but he was drawing blank after blank. Some of the things that were popping up in his head simply just couldn't be said. He just wouldn't allow it. So he did the only thing he felt he could do. The only thing left in his mind in that second, he went with.
Jeff grabbed her by the waist and pulled her against him, his lips capturing hers while muffling the gasp of surprise leaving her mouth. Her initial shock caused her hands to freeze beside her before giving way and wrapping around his neck, part of her wanted to slap him for doing this now, part of her just revelled in the feeling of his lips on hers. It had been so long. He moved his mouth against hers with a sense of desperation that neither was really prepared for. Annie instinctively responded to his prying lips, deepening the kiss. She felt both elated and angry all in the same moment and it was a maddening combination. But the way his arms were wrapped around her waist and the way his hands clung to her body made all of her prior resolve and strength and resistance melt like a puddle at his very feet. His tongue explored her mouth eagerly and she matched his pace with blinding accuracy. He kissed her with an intensity that turned her brain into mush, exploring her mouth so completely as if he was begging her to stay. Which he was in his own weird, twisted way.
A sound at the door snapped Annie out of her blatant Jeff induced stupor and she managed to push herself away from him and their entanglement just as the door was swinging open. There stood Abed, peering in curiously at them. Both Jeff and Annie were noticeably out of breath and though they were no longer touching it was as if bright laser beams were connecting them.
"Abed, thank God!" Annie proclaimed, trying her best to not appear as flustered and out of sorts as she assumed she looked.
"I have horrible timing," Abed revealed, matter of factly. "Should I come back? Maybe it'll be better if I come back? Maybe the timing will make sense."
"What?" Annie exclaimed, almost concerned that he was being serious. "NO. No, you saved us."
"What?" Abed looked at her curiously. "Did you think you were going to die in here?"
"I could have." Annie stated sincerely. She could still feel Jeff's hands, she could still taste him. She couldn't even look at him. But what was worse is that she knew he was starting at her. She felt that too.
"Abed did you do this on purpose?" Jeff asked calmly as he stood, straightening his shirt.
"Did I lock you guys in this supply closet on purpose? No. Can't say that I did. It would have taken much more than forethought to carry out. There were way too many variables that were left to chance for this to be planned. Like whether or not Annie would even follow you in here."
"So then where is whatever you sent me in here for?" Jeff asked as he walked towards the door, stopping curiously close to where Annie was standing. It didn't go unnoticed. But she still refused to look at him, instead she focused on Abed.
"Oh, it's not in here." Abed stated simply. "It was in the file cabinet in the study room, I forgot where I put it. "
"You expect me to buy that?" Jeff questioned seriously.
"It's purely a case of forgetfulness," Abed reasoned simply. "Whether you buy it or not is up to you."
"Okay well, Abed." Annie interjected, walking towards Abed. "Thank you for coming to get us, let's get back to the group. I have something to tell everyone."
Jeff didn't move for a couple of seconds as he watched their retreating forms. He felt a strange sickness that froze him dead in his tracks. What was he even doing? Had he really expected that to work? That she would just change her mind completely because he had kissed her like that? Maybe once upon a time, she would have. But they both knew she wasn't the same girl. His selfishness choked him abruptly. Usually he regarded selfishness as a quality, not a liability but in that moment it just made him monumentally sad. Because she was going to go through with this regardless and he would have to be without her. But as much as it pained him to admit it, maybe it was best.
Annie was exhausted as she sat at the study table amongst the noise and chatter of the others and wondered if Jeff would even come back or if he would be cowardly and just leave. She saw him enter the room from her peripheral vision because she still refused to look at him. She had suspected that what she was about to say would be incredibly hard to get out, but after what had just happened between them in that closet, it was actually a hundred times worse. But she knew it was what she needed to do. She felt like her sanity was tied to it.
Jeff sat down and looked around at all of their faces. All six of them. Five of them were about to be confused and undoubtedly crushed, they were about to feel only one percent of what he was feeling in that very moment. He tried to meet her eyes a couple of times but gave up when he realized it was no use. She wasn't going to look at him.
"I wanna say something really quick," Annie began slowly.
"Listening," Troy proclaimed as he leaned back in his chair.
"I'm taking some time off from the study group." Annie replied evenly. Jeff heard a hint of the slightest bit of doubt in her tone. Or maybe he had just imagined it. Wished desperately for it.
Suddenly everybody was talking at once. Cutting each other off in a mix of questions, concerns, reasonings and rebuttals. Annie's eyes widened as she tried to get a word in edgewise. Her eyes reluctantly fixed on his and she silently implored him, against her better judgment, to step in.
"Guy, guys," Jeff spoke up. "Relax, it's only temporary. Right, Annie?"
"Yeah, of course," Annie proclaimed quickly looking away from him and meeting the eyes of the other's reassuringly one by one. "It's only temporary. I just have to deal with some stuff, that's all. No big deal."
Jeff stayed silent. He had contributed as much as he could mentally stand. While the rest of the group seemed satisfied with Annie's reasoning, at least for now, Abed sat curiously eyeing Annie and then Jeff but didn't say a word.