By popular demand(meaning like...4 of you, which is good enough), here is a second installment of the 5 Moments series. It's recommended that if you haven't read the first installment, you should probably go back and do that since this picks up from where it left off. Anyway, I don't own Community or it's characters within. Enjoy!
The group had decided to stop in a Nevada campground off the main road. While Troy and Abed worked on more experimental weapons and Shirley took time to enjoy the warm but breezy day with her son, Jeff followed Annie as she snuck off into a wooded area with bow and arrow in hand. He came up behind her, standing back as she pulled the arrow back on Britta's bow.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
"Be a waste of a penny," Annie answered as she let go of the arrow, groaning in frustration when she missed the tree.
Jeff shook his head. This was all Annie did in the two days after the group buried Britta back in Arizona. If she wasn't part of a raid, she was out somewhere(not too far away from their temporary camp) practicing archery. So far, she hadn't mastered it quite like Britta had.
"It's a lot harder than it looks," Jeff commented, watching as Annie retrieved the arrow.
Annie glared at him as she walked back, "Then why don't you show me how it's done? I know Britta gave you a few lessons."
"Which she gave up on because I couldn't get the hang of it," Jeff replied.
"You can still help me," Annie shoved the bow and arrow into his hands, "here."
He gave her a look as he stepped forward, raising the bow and taking aim.
"You need to focus," Jeff began explaining, "but you also need to relax and breathe."
He took a few even breaths before he launched the arrow at the tree, only managing to make a small nick in the bark.
"See? I'm not good at this," Jeff handed the bow back to Annie as he went to get the arrow.
"That's still a lot closer than I've ever gotten."
He came back and dropped the arrow into her hand, "Why are so determined to master archery? You're really good with a gun."
"Someone needs to be an archer. It's more effective for killing rotten ones because it's so quiet."
"So it's not because you're trying to deal with losing Britta?"
Annie turned away from him, raising the bow and aiming at the tree once more.
"Troy and Abed dive into their experiments. Shirley spends more time with Ben. You go and hunt more rotten ones, which is really reckless of you by the way," Annie watched the arrow sail through air, getting stuck in an upper branch of the tree, "we all have our ways of dealing. Do you think you can reach that?"
Jeff shrugged and jogged over, hopping up and managing to pluck the arrow from the branch.
"So it is your way of dealing."
"Not just with Britta's death," Annie took the arrow back from him, "with everything. Pierce's death, Britta's death, the day-to-day travel…"
Annie sat down, setting the bow and arrow down beside her as she leaned against a tree. Jeff followed suit.
"There's also the constant fear of one or all of you not making it back from a raid," Annie continued, "that Ben might…"
"Stop," Jeff placed his hand on her knee, "I get it. I go to sleep with these same thoughts. I wake up with them too."
"I just wish this was gone. That things went back to normal and we can go back to Greendale and worry about grades and graduating."
"I wish that too. Which is something I never thought I would say."
Annie laughed, "You do miss Greendale after all."
"And it better stay between us," Jeff said in mock warning.
"My lips are sealed."
Jeff squeezed her knee gently.
"There you are," Troy said, stumbling into the woods, "been looking for you two everywhere. I was beginning to think rotten ones had gotten to you guys."
"Not hardly," Jeff said, removing his hand from Annie's knee, "why were you looking for us? Are we needed?"
"No, we just lost track of you," Troy said, lifting up the walkie to his mouth, "found them, they're fine."
"Roger," Shirley's voice crackled on the other end.
Annie nudged Jeff, her eyes going from the bow to Troy and back to Jeff with a raised brow. Jeff caught on to what she was suggesting and nodded.
"Hey Troy," Annie stood up, bow and arrow in hand, "how good are you at archery?"
