Annie Edison was trying to live in the moment. Desperately trying to live in the moment. Suddenly, as the vaughn's car pulled out of the parking lot, Jeff's smirking face flashed in her mind, and, not surprisingly, she felt incredibly ill. She thought it would pass, and she tried to push the feeling down. But memory after memory of not just Jeff, but the whole group, spun in her mind, when she suddenly yelled,
"Stop the car!"
The car came to a rough, screeching halt on the empty street. Annie roughly grabbed the seat beside her to turn around at Vaughn.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered before bolting out the car and grabbing her stuff off the backseat. She walked back to the nearest gas station and called a cab back to Greendale.
Jeff Winger was feeling nauseous. Skillfully slipping past the crowd, he made his way outside and into fresh air. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. He replayed the last ten minutes in his mind. And he could only think about one, very important detail.
Annie was gone. Gone.
He let that word sink in his mind, and the nausea got worse. He clutched his stomach and walked quickly down the steps. He watched his feet as he walked, ignoring all the whispers from the smokers outside. As he glanced up, he came face to face with a flushed Annie, bags in tow. He frowned.
The next two four minutes went by in a blur, when, suddenly, Annie's face was slowly inching towards his. His eyebrows raised a small amount, until his brain screamed at him not to do this, how much of a mistake it was.
But then her lips were on his, and his mind went blank.
It was only for a moment, just for a second, and she was gone, biting her lip. Jeff counted to three, letting the devil and angel on his shoulders argue, until, finally, he closed that space between them and kissed her. Hard.
Annie fiddled with her thumbs, sending a nervous glance towards Jeff. The taxi slid down streets that she had grown up around, until they reached downtown. Jeff saw her staring at through the corner of his eye, and he turned to give her a reassuring smile.
She couldn't believe this was the situation she was in right now. Driving to Jeff's apartment to do who knows what. When Jeff had given her that look at the dance, the silent question, she had simply nodded, feeling as though she was watching her body from above.
And now, here she was, going home with Jeff Winger.
Jeff a hundred percent thought was going home with either Britta or Slater by the end of the night. If someone had told him he was going to be riding in a cab back to his house with Annie, of all people, he would have laughed.
Now, it didn't seem so funny.
He didn't really want to admit it, but he was nervous as hell. The butterflies in his stomach wouldn't settle, and he felt like such a girl. Never had a girl caused him so much turmoil or frustration when it came to should he or shouldn't he.
To be honest, he wasn't sure he could go through with it.
A quiet voice in the back of his head reminded him that of couse he would. Because he's Jeff Winger, for god's sakes, ladies man forever.
Finally, the cab came to a halt at the apartment building and Jeff let out a quiet sigh. He heard the door open and close beside him as he payed the driver, and got out her side to avoid traffic.
Throwing his keys on the counter beside his door, he motioned towards his small living room.
"Make yourself at home… i guess." God, has he always sounded this stupid. He felt himself flush as Annie nodded.
"Thanks."
She flopped down onto his leather couch, pulling her flats off and rubbing at her feet. Her eyes wandered around the room, looking at the bare walls and large flatscreen t.v. The bedroom door loomed around the corner and she suddenly felt sick again.
Jeff could obviously sense it, so he spoke up in a quiet voice. It was a voice she had only heard a few times, when he was nervous or scared, and it made her heart melt.
"Annie, we really don't have to do this if you don't want to."
She's silent for a few moments, before he watches her push herself off the couch and find him in the moonlit room. She places her hands on his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. She breathes in his scent through his coat which he has yet to take off.
"No. This is what I want." She breathes against his ear, and he can't help the grin that breaks out on his face before he presses his lips against hers, tight and hard.
"Me too." He whispers against her lips.
He pulls her towards his room, kissing her along the way. She shuts to door behind her with her foot.
In the morning, he makes her breakfast, something he's new to. She just smiles when he burns the pancakes and they eat cereal on his couch, watching saturday morning cartoons.
And, Jeff has to admit, It's kinda perfect.