author's note: I guess I miss Community already? Takes place post s6, so yes, spoilers ahead.
It had only been a week.
Jeff Winger truly never realized how much he needed Annie Edison in his life, until that lone week had gone by.
Of course, it wasn't the first time they'd been apart for this long; the group saw each other when they could over each summer break, but there were always times when he didn't see her.
But back then it didn't bother him so much. Back then, they were just a study group; just a group of friends, hanging out.
It had been so much harder since he realized how he truly felt, and harder still since that kiss.
That kiss.
He was still reeling from it. Jeff Winger, despite ever claiming otherwise, was totally, completely 100% a love struck teenager when it came to Annie freaking Edison.
Of course, she was totally right when she told him that he needed to accept that he'd older – and, in the end, he realized all she said was completely true. But when it came to her? He was very much not an adult.
He was pining over, and he knew it. He was freaking pining over a girl, like he's twelve years old, or something.
But, this was Annie, and it was different. It was totally different. Annie…was different. She had changed him, shaped him, molded him into this better person; she'd taught him things about himself he never thought could be true. Annie Edison, with her Disney eyes and ridiculous purple pens…he'd been a goner for so long.
But by this point, well, it's different.
Jeff had accepted that he needed to let her go; that she had her whole future planned out, and he couldn't be the one to hold her back. He knew this was an amazing opportunity, and he refused to be the one to stand in the way of her, and her dreams. He hadn't told her every thing that he felt, because he didn't want her to have any second thoughts.
God, he cared so much about her, he couldn't even been a selfish jerk anymore.
Instead, he'd been replaced by this lonely guy, who stared at his phone once too often, and replied to her texts a little too quickly.
Time spent at the bar with the other was cool, sure, but it wasn't the same. He felt lost. The original group was gone, done, disbanded. There was only him and Britta left in Greendale, and Jeff found himself thinking bitterly on that particular fact once too often.
It had only been a week, but he knew he needed to make a move. And quickly.
What if she'd met someone? What if there was some cute, young guy interning with her at the FBI? What if that kiss had meant nothing? Jeff wasn't exactly sure when he'd gotten so paranoid, but he was certainly freaking out, as he made his way towards baggage claim.
In the three and a half hours it'd taken, to fly from Denver to Washington DC, he'd allowed his mind to wander; sometimes towards the more positive side of things (his fantasy had seriously fleshed out somewhere along the way; Sebastian now had a younger sister, Ariel – there totally was NOT a theme going on in his brain, not at all – and Annie was a super, badass FBI agent. All was well in that particular fantasy), and occasionally, towards the negative side.
What if she thought he was crazy? Had she not said something about regretting that kiss for a week? What if she seriously meant it? Maybe she'd just stopped regretting it, and now had moved on. Did she even have feelings for him anymore?
Jeff's heart seemed to lurch up into his throat, as he grabbed his bag and practically jogged out of the airport, into the big wide world of Washington DC.
It had been a week, and Annie Edison wasn't sure how to feel.
True to her word, she hadn't allowed Jeff to hold her back; when she was actually at her internship, she barely even thought about it. She didn't allow herself to get distracted from her dreams by a guy, but the rest of the time? Well, there was a reason she tended to text him constantly when she was by herself in her hotel room.
There were two things she could not get out of her head: their kiss in the study room, and that brief, very tiny kiss that had been shared as he was helping her get her bags out of the trunk of his car at the airport.
It had been awhile since she'd realized how she felt for Jeff, and when it became apparent that he had feelings for her too? She wanted to act on it, she really did, but…she had her whole life ahead of her. The timing was off; she couldn't commit herself to Jeff and then disappear for a whole summer in DC. So, she didn't. She kissed him, and she left him with that, but she knew nothing could be done about it until she got back after the summer. And if he happened to move on by then, then that would be okay too; she would survive it.
Today was one of the hardest days; one of the days where she wasn't interning, and had nothing to do aside from explore the city. But, it wasn't the same by herself. She'd made brief plans to meet one of the other interns for lunch, but it wasn't like they were all hanging out all day, every day.
She kind of wished Jeff was there. Or Abed. Or Britta. Just – somebody. Anybody.
Reaching into her pocket to her cell phone, she was surprised to see three missed calls from Jeff and one text.
Where R U?
Odd. Very odd. Obviously he knew she was in DC, why did he need anything more specific? She typed up a quick response; a quick and confused response, complete with several emojis and an army of question marks.
But, all she could do once that was done was sigh a little bit. It wasn't like they were close by anymore; it wasn't like she could call him and ask if he wanted to hang out. He was back in Greendale, getting on with his life, and she was here, just starting hers.
It had been the right thing to do. She loved the internship with all her heart, it was just the days off that she didn't love quite so much. It was nothing to do with the city, nor the people, or anything in between, it was just knowing that at the end of the day, the closest she was to the group were the few texts sent back and forth.
Before the study group, Annie hadn't had anybody. It wasn't exactly a secret that she'd been a friendless loser, with a mother who pushed her too hard. The study group were the first people to truly care about her, and perhaps that was why she felt so lost on her own. This was the first time, since she was 18, that she didn't have anybody to rely on.
Maybe studying was the answer. Perhaps she needed to simply go back to her hotel room, and read over Forensics books until she couldn't see straight anymore; studying and taking notes usually helped her to feel better, what could be different about today?
Something stopped her in her tracks.
No, not something. Someone.
He was standing in front of her, grinning, and she almost wanted to throw herself at him.
Had Jeff Winger seriously just flown all the way out just to see her?
With her heart hammering against her ribcage, she took a step forward, eyes wide and confused.
"Jeff..?"
"Hi."
"What are you…"
"Doing here? I couldn't take it anymore, Annie. The sitting around, the waiting. It's been a week, and I'm several bottles of scotch down, but that's – that's not the point. I missed you. I didn't know what to do, and I knew I couldn't ask you to come back to Greendale, because this is your future and it's so, so important. You're so important. But, I needed to see you. To spend time with you. So I guess I…came here, for you. Is that okay?"
Her arms wrapped around him in a tight hug, and that was all the confirmation he needed. It wasn't exactly the passionate greeting he'd been hoping for, but hey, he could work with it.
