Jeff slumped exhausted onto his sofa. His Vincent Vega costume was rumpled and slightly stained by the wine Troy had spilled on his sleeve. He turned the TV up to mute his brain, but Abed's words reverberated in his thoughts.
It wasn't about making me happy. I chose My Dinner with Andre because it's about a guy who has an unexpectedly enjoyable evening with a weird friend he's been avoiding lately.
That weighed on Jeff. The truth of it was, Abed was his favorite. Jeff might have said some inaugural bullshit about friendship and bonding, he can't remember exactly now but Ben Affleck, a pencil and the liberally bandying of the word community had been involved. But Abed was the one who initiated him into the family, and the family. He smiled at the memory of them arguing over who got to be Jake Ryan.
You and I hung out more last year. It makes sense. Everyone else is growing and changing, and that's not really my jam.
It's true Jeff was different, but that was supposed to be a good thing. He'd begun to understand the value of the study group. Over the last two years Jeff and Abed had become friends, but Handsome Seacrest and Brown Jaime Lee Curtis had been bonded for life by the sacred abusive power of Coprock and generic brand cereal.
I'm more of a fast-blinking, stoic, removed, uncomfortably self-aware type. Like Data, or Johnny 5, or Mork, or Hal, or Kit, or Woodstock and/or Snoopy, and Spock probably goes without saying.
That was true. Abed was Abed, but now he was also Their Abed. Their Abed had friends. Friends that were willing to follow Their Abed into his wonderland when he maybe didn't have both feet so firmly placed in reality. Jeff frowned. Abed had grown too. An extra Troy.
Their Abed had a best friend. And it wasn't Jeff.
Jeff abruptly got up, trying to physically shake his thoughts off. Getting a drink in the kitchen, Macallen neat, with a drop of spring water to activate the flavor, he slumped back into his seat.
It was impossible not to notice how close Trobed had gotten over the last year and half. Not that Jeff hadn't been busy too, using his new kind, understanding, selfless persona to chase skirts, cheat tests, and generally win at life. But he was just surprised that between all the mouse serenades, joint Halloween costumes and Kickpuncher marathons, Abed had noticed.
Abed noticed that he and Jeff weren't that close anymore. The strangest thought popped into Jeff's head at the moment, a not quite benevolent, emphatic good.
But then again, Jeff hadn't noticed Abed noticing. He was slipping too. Jeff quickly thumbed his phone.
Sunday morning. Coprock on DVD. Phantom of the Opera mask optional. Come hang out and be my breakfast cereal sommelier.
A minute later his phone dinged.
Cool. Cool. Cool Cool Cool.
Jeff was getting better at this having friends thing.
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