Schmidt sauntered into the kitchen; he had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt with a kitten on it that said "Hang in there baby," cargo pants, and flip flops. He found Nick and Jess sitting at the counter, talking in low tones amongst themselves. Winston was sitting at the table with his coffee, rolling his eyes and shaking his head at the pair; when he saw Schmidt he stared him up and down with a look of confusion.

"Listen up, room brothers; I'm headed on a soul searching trip. I have some things I've got to figure out. I'll be back in a few days, try not to miss me too much." He winked, clicking his tongue. Nick replied by pulling a turtle face and shaking his head disapprovingly at his flamboyant roommate.

Jess looked up at Schmidt, her blue eyes twinkling in the LA sun. "Would you like some company?"

"Jessica, as much as I appreciate the sentiment, I need to be alone right now." Schmidt turned toward the door. Nick and Jess resumed their private conversation and Winston jumped up and ran after Schmidt.

"Hey man, take me with you! You can't just leave me alone with them!"

"Winston, I have to do this on my own. You're going to have to find someone else to pal around with."

"Don't do this Schmidt, don't be selfish!" Winston grabbed Schmidt helplessly, but he was already opening the door and exiting the loft. Winston turned to face his other two roommates and caught the last few words of their conversation.

"So what do you want to do today?" Nick asked Jess sweetly.

"I'm up for anything as long as it doesn't require too much walking. You really busted me last night, Miller." Jess replied and they both started laughing.

Winston threw his hands in the air and let out an exasperated cry before storming across the loft to his room and slamming the door shut.

Nick and Jess were just brushing their teeth when Winston walked into the bathroom. He looked at both of them awkwardly for a moment before backing out of the room. Nick rinsed out his mouth and tried to catch Winston, but he had already disappeared back into his room. Nick shrugged and turned back to Jess, who looked like a ray of sunshine in her yellow sundress. Her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail and she wore a pair of yellow flats. Nick was wearing a loose and slightly crumpled red flannel shirt with faded jeans and sneakers. When they were ready to go, Nick knocked on Winston's door to let him know they were leaving. "Hey buddy, we're leaving now." When he didn't answer, Nick shrugged and left the loft with Jess.

After he was sure they were both long gone, Winston came out of his room and was walking toward the door when his phone rang. "Go for Winston." He regretted the words the moment they came out of his mouth because he knew Daisy would never let him live them down, "Hey Daisy. Yeah, I'm on my way out the door now. I'll be there in ten. See you soon."

Nick and Jess were standing in line at the pizza parlor for dinner when the girl behind the counter waved at Nick. She had a choppy brunette bob, striking green eyes and a large grin plastered on her face which distracted from the patch of white flour on her cheek. "Hey Nick! How have you been?"

Jess turned to Nick who looked uncomfortable. "Hey… Jenny - Uh, I've been great. You look, uh, well."

"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself." After taking their order, she leaned against the counter and added, "We should catch up sometime."

Jess, being her friendly self, introduced herself, "I'm Jess by the way."

"It's nice to meet you, Jess. Hey, my break is coming up, how about I join you guys for dinner?"

Nick frowned, "I don't know, that's really up to Jess, I mean…"

"We'd love to have you join us." Jess smiled warmly and Nick looked at her like she was crazy. "Come on, Nick, it'll be fun!"

Winston walked up to the cinema and found Daisy waiting for him by the ticket booth. "Hey boo."

Daisy scoffed. "Boo? Seriously?"

Winston frowned. "Honey?"

"Try again, hotshot." She was toying with him now. Winston shook his head.

"Babe? Sweetie? My lady of the night!"

"Er… Did you just call me a lady of the night?"

Winston froze momentarily like a deer in the headlights before Daisy let out a chuckle; she proceeded, brushing off the fact that she was apparently a hooker now.

Daisy started laughing and he tittered along with her. "So what movie do you want to see?" He turned to look at the listings.

"I love a good thriller." She nodded toward the gory poster to his right.

Winston smiled, but his eyes flooded with panic. "Oh, that looks… awesome." He walked up to the ticket booth, pulling out his wallet, "Two for Texas Chainsaw 3D please." They got their tickets and headed into the theater.

While they were waiting for the movie to start, Winston yawned and stretched his arm to place it around Daisy's shoulders. She turned to him and gave him a look. "Are you serious right now?" He started to remove his arm, but she grabbed it and held his hand. "If you want to put your arm around me, just do it. We're not in middle school anymore; be a man." Winston relaxed a bit and allowed her to lean against his chest while the previews started to play, a sly grin playing on his lips.

Elizabeth entered the apartment building carrying a large box. She noticed the elevator door was closing and started running, shouting at whoever was inside to keep the doors open for her. A small bronzed hand reached between the closing doors. She thanked the kind stranger, hopping on the elevator before she realized who her savior was. Cece smiled awkwardly at her ex-boyfriend's ex-girlfriend, trying to be friendly, but failing miserably. An awkward silence passed until the doors swung closed and Cece decided to strike up a conversation. "So what's in the box?" She asked half jokingly.

Elizabeth stared straight ahead at the elevator doors and answered in an icy tone, "I'm not here to make small talk."

Cece looked down at the floor. A few seconds passed before she looked up at Elizabeth and spoke again, "Did I do something to you?"

"Gee, let me think." Elizabeth shot back angrily.

Now it was Cece's turn to get angry, "Hey, he broke up my wedding!"

"I wonder how he got that idea." The venomous and brusque retort warned Cece that she was on thin ice.

Cece was going to say something else, but the elevator had stopped on the fourth floor and the doors swung open. Elizabeth rushed toward the end of the hall toward apartment 4D. She knocked on the door rapidly, but there was no reply. Cece had followed along the corridor and was talking again. "Look, it's not my fault he still has feelings for me!"

Elizabeth dropped the box on the ground with a loud 'thud' and turned so quickly to face Cece she almost got whiplash. "I don't know you, but he was doing just fine without you. He was actually happy. He was getting back to who he used to be."

"The operative word being used, he used to be. People change, honey. Isn't it possible that the man you and I fell in love with are not the same person?"

Elizabeth stared cruelly at Cece, glassy tears threatening to break her stony visage. "The man I fell in love with is still in that cold shell of a person. I was just starting to bring him out and you had to come and ruin it. He is vain and cares too much about what people think about him. He used to be my sweet and sensitive big guy, but now he's so cold and shallow! Though I suppose dating a model will do that to a man."

Cece persisted. "I wasn't the one who changed him! That happened long before I came into the picture." She was shouting now, letting out all the frustration that had been eating at her the past week, "Maybe he was tired of being your fat little foot scratcher!"

Elizabeth gasped, but Cece wasn't even close to being done, "And another thing, I never wanted to change him! I like Schmidt for who he is, whether he's a smug douche bag or a sensitive sweetheart; I accept him!"

By this point Elizabeth is tired of being yelled at and reaches a hand out to slap Cece, who recoils and throws a punch back at Elizabeth. The two get into an awkward, flailing, catfight which ends with Cece screaming, "MY JOB IS MY FACE!"

Elizabeth scoffs and stomps back to the box she dropped on the floor by apartment 4D. She digs a ridiculous gray sweatshirt out and launches it at Cece before shouting "Frogetabout it!" She then leaves the loft in a scathing mood.

Winston tried to calm his nerves as the movie started getting increasingly more intense. He took a few breaths and clutched the popcorn bucket tightly to hide his shaking hands from Daisy. "It's okay Winston, it's just a movie." He thought to himself. "These people are not going to die. None of it is real. It's not real." He was just starting to relax when Leatherface appeared on the screen, revving his chainsaw in full on 3D, causing Winston to toss the bucket of popcorn several feet into the air. Popcorn flew everywhere and everyone in the theater turned to stare at him. "Whoops, I'll just go get us some more popcorn." He whispered to Daisy before ducking out of the theater and sprinting toward the lobby.

"Nick, you were such a stud in the sack." Jenny winked across the table at Nick who was making his turtle face so much that Jess feared his face would actually stick like that. "I miss your long hair though. I loved running my fingers through it as you screamed my name."

Jess raised an eyebrow teasingly at Nick. "Nick, I didn't know you were a screamer." Her eyes twinkled playfully, but Nick knew better than to take Jenny's recollections so light-heartedly.

Nick shook his head, wishing he could be anywhere but here. "Will you excuse me for a minute?" He got up and started walking to the bathroom. Jess recognized that he was acting weird and followed him.

Before he got to the bathroom she grabbed him by the hand to pull him back. "Nick, what's wrong? It was just a joke."

Nick turned to look at her. "No Jess, you don't understand."

"What don't I understand, Nick? You're being really weird." She crossed her arms in front of her chest and tapped her foot.

"It's just that—it's not like—would you stop looking at me like that?!" He sputtered.

Jess could tell he was flustered so she uncrossed her arms and stopped pressuring him. "Fine, you don't want to talk about it. I get it." She started to walk away and Nick buried his face in his hands.

"Jess, wait." She turned back toward him and he took a deep breath before continuing, "It's just kinda weird for my current girlfriend to be hanging out with my ex."

Jess stood there, dumbfounded for a few moments before she could reply. "That's the first time you've called me your girlfriend." She smirked up at him. "Is that what where we are now, Nicholas? Are we going steady?"

Nick made his turtle face again, "Don't say 'going steady' Jess, this isn't the fifties."

They gazed longingly into each other's eyes for a few more moments before Nick finally spoke again, "Jessica, you're an amazing woman. You make every day of my life an adventure, you've turned my world upside down, and I would love it if you would be my girlfriend."

Jess's face broke into a wide grin and she responded with her best Yoda impression, "Be your girlfriend, I will." They both laughed and Nick leaned in to place a gentle peck on her lips.

Winston stood rigid outside the theater, bucket of popcorn in his hands, trying to force his feet to move, but he was shaking too much. He shoveled in several large handfuls of popcorn trying to gather up the courage to go back into the movie. Eventually the movie ended and Daisy came out to find him panic stricken with a mouth full of popcorn. "What happened to you?" She asked when she saw him.

Winston swallowed and opened his mouth to give some ridiculous excuse, but couldn't lie to her. He sighed and pulled her aside. "Okay, look, I don't like scary movies. When I was a kid, Pop Pop took Nick and I to see It and I've had nightmares about that damn clown ever since. I'm sorry, Daisy; I should have told you before."

Daisy reached up to touch his cheek, "You're kind of a bitch," she pulled her hand back and slapped him playfully; "I like that about you."

Winston smiles and pulls her in for a kiss. When they pull away, Daisy inquires, "Do I need to check under your bed for monsters?"

"Hey girl, I ain't afraid of monsters alright, I just don't want to be murdered by a psychopath- and I just got what you meant by that."

Nick and Jess arrived back at the loft later that evening. They strode inside grasping each other's hands. Jess turned to face Nick. "I had fun today."

"Before or after we ran into my nymphomaniac ex girlfriend?"

Jess laughed. "I always have fun with you, Nicholas."

His gaze dropped to her lips and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer before kissing her tenderly, but still with the passion and desire that made kissing Nick Miller so extraordinary. When they pulled apart, Jess declared, "I'm going to get ready for bed." Nick nodded and watched her walk toward her room. He then headed for the fridge to get a beer before collapsing on the sofa, turning the TV onto the sports highlights.

Winston heard the TV go on and quietly crept out of bed so he wouldn't wake Daisy. He carefully closed the door and crept over to the couch, planting himself next to Nick.

Nick nodded to his roommate. "Hey, I take it your date went well."

Winston nodded. "Yeah man, I think Daisy and I have got something really special. I like her a lot."

Nick smiled, genuinely happy for his roommate. "That's great; I'm happy for you." He took another swig of his beer, gargling it absentmindedly.

Winston watched the basketball highlights in silence before turning to Nick and saying, "So how are things with you and Jess?"

Nick smiled. "Really great actually, we're going steady." Still flinching at the saying, he felt like he was going to have to ask her father for his blessing; then he realized that even if he wanted to, that ship had already sailed.

Winston nodded. "Congrats man, that's fantastic. You two are really something."

Just as he said that Jess appeared wearing one of Nick's flannel shirts. Her raven black hair fell gracefully around her shoulders, framing her delicate features. She waved to Winston as she padded over to Nick and curled up next to him, resting her head against his chest. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. Winston yawned, stretched and stood up. "Well, I should get back in there. You two crazy kids have fun now." He winked at Nick as he headed back to his bedroom.

Nick rubbed his hand up and down over Jess's back as they watched the rest of the sports highlights in contented silence. When the show ended, he switched off the TV and looked at Jess, who had fallen asleep. He reached out to brush a stray hair from her face and her eyes fluttered open. "Hey." She whispered sweetly; she sounded so serene.

"You ready to go to bed?"Nick asked. Jess nodded sleepily and he stood up. He helped Jess to her feet and they walked back to his room together, his arm positioned around her waist, partially for balance, but mostly just because he could.

Schmidt ambles through a park late at night, still trying to find an answer from the universe when he runs into a homeless man asking for spare change.

"Please, I am far too busy on my spiritual quest to be bothered with charity cases." He jeers and then continues walking, talking to himself all the while, "I should have brought my kimono. I do my best thinking when my Schmidt-son is free!"