AN: I am absolutely in love with the Annie+Abed idea. I haven't really written anything in a while, so please, bear with me, and any feedback is always helpful.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot.

Summer was always the hardest time of the year for Annie Edison. Being inactive was difficult for her. In the first two months of vacation she had finished all the mandatory (and not so mandatory) reading for next semester, written summaries of all the course books and even brought all the school supplies in advance.

Annie had watched all the TV-shows and movies on her list, some of them even twice. Doing that alone wasn't half as much of fun as with Abed, but since he spent most of his time with Rachel, Annie was forced to sit in front of the TV by herself.

Finally, one Friday night Annie decided that she had had enough of alone time and decided to go out. She called Britta and invited her for drinks.

"Sure thing, Annie," Britta said in the phone, "only that I promised Jeff already. But if it is okay with you, all three of us can have a night out together."

"That would be awesome. Just tell me when and where."

"Well, we decided to meet at the Red Door at nine, and just see where the night takes us. So we'll see you there?"

"Absolutely, can't wait!"

Annie dropped the phone on the bed. She hadn't been in pubs for months, so she couldn't help but to feel a bit exited. She dug into her closet, trying to find the perfect dress. The red dress she finally chose was perfect – sexy, but not slutty, and comfortable enough to dance in whole night. Paired with her favorite high heels, she felt confident and strong.

Stepping out to the living room, Annie noticed Abed watching the TV. She hadn't heard him coming home, so she was a bit startled for a second.

"Hey Abed, you're home early," she said.

"Yeah, my plans fell through, so I decided to come home and spend some time with you. But now I see that you have you are going out tonight, so I guess I'll just watch some Cougar Town instead."

Annie looked suspiciously at Abed. She could see that something was troubling him. Feeling a bit guilty, she decided to leave it for the next day. She really needed to get out, and she wasn't in a mood to be a therapist right now.

„You are right as always. I'm going out with Jeff and Britta tonight," Annie said. "I'll probably run late, so don't wait up. "

„Actually, Annie, maybe I can come with you? I had a really lousy day and according to various movies, it is custom to go out and have a drink in that situation, "Abed answered, looking hopefully at Annie.

"Of course you can come with us! You know that you don't even have to ask," she said, looking concerned. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"I would much rather keep it to myself at the moment, if you don't mind. I haven't really processed today's events yet, so I'm not comfortable sharing them yet. But I appreciate your concerns," Abed said without any emotion. "I'm going to change my clothes, just wait five minutes," and disappeared to his room.

Annie stared at the closed door. What has happened with him? He never drinks to forget his problems. Something really bad must have happened.

With a loud sigh, she picked up her phone and sent Britta a text: Running late, coming with Abed.

Annie knew that the night was going to be much more than she planned.

Red Door was already packed when Annie and Abed arrived quarter past nine. They found Britta and Jeff in a booth, drinking their favourite drinks (vodka neat with four olives and Macallan, neat) and arguing heatedly about god knows what.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late," Annie said, sitting down next to Britta.

"Oh, it's no biggie, you didn't miss anything. I should get a refill," said the woman, taking a last zip from the glass, "are you coming to order?"

"Yes, of course. What do you want, Abed? I'll take your order too," Annie said, slipping out of the booth again.

"Just bring me a beer," he answered, looking out of place.

"Something happened with Abed today," Annie said to Britta, making their way to the bar. "I'm not sure what, and he really doesn't want to talk about it, but we have to do our best to keep up his mood, right?"

"Well, as a psych major, I am always happy to offer my services, Annie, but you are right. I want tonight be the funniest evening in my life, so maybe I'll leave the counselling to another day," she answered.

Once in the bar, girls ordered their drinks and went back to the table. They talked about their summer, listened Jeff's complaints about being a teacher ("I swear to god, if there wouldn't be that open bar in the Teachers' lounge, I wouldn't stay another minute in that god forsaken Greendale," he said, "that god damn summer school! If only I had known that I have to teach summer classes when I signed up.") Britta tried to talk with Abed about his problems, but he only slipped from one charming character to another, avoiding answers and making Annie lose her mind.

The night was fun and when Jeff came out with the idea of doing shots, no one resisted. That, as they found out, was a decision that changed their lives. It was also the last thing any of them remembered.

AN2: So that was that. Remember, let me know, what you think! Knowing that someone is actually interested what I write is a big motivation to continue!