Annie's job interview went great. Actually, it went better than great. It went fantastic. For someone who always thought that they could have done better somehow, Annie left that law office feeling more content than ever. She was confident that her call back about a potential internship was as guaranteed as finding Troy and Abed in the Dreamatorium when she got home. This also reminded her that the two of them would be so engrossed in whatever goes on in that room, so she would have to make dinner still tonight. Annie sighed. "So not in the mood...I just wanna relax now."
She figured she'd just pick up a pizza or something for them. It's not like the boys would ever reject pizza anyway. So, Annie hopped into her car and went to the nearest pizza parlour, which was a place called Lorenzo's. She was actually pretty familiar with it, since it was close to her old apartment.
When Annie walked in, Lorenzo greeted her like they were best friends. Annie loved Lorenzo; he was such a cheery man for running a pizza parlour in a terrible neighborhood. He beamed at her when she walked in. "Ah! Annie! It's been a while! You too busy to come down and visit anymore? You're one of my most valued customers, you know!" Annie smirked at him. She knew Lorenzo was just humouring her. Even when she did live here, she didn't get pizza from this place that often. However, she knew she was likely one of the only non-creepy weirdos that visited Lorenzo more than once, so she was happy to go along with it. "I know, I'm sorry, Lorenzo! But I'm actually living with my two friends in an apartment now." At this, the older man smiled. "A good decision, Annie. This neighborhood is not kind to innocent young girls such as you! Bwahahahaha!" Annie just laughed at him. She appreciated the old man's flare for life even at his old age. But she quickly remembered why she was here. "So anyways, I'm gonna need a large pepperoni to go. I really don't feel like making dinner tonight, I'm really tired..." Lorenzo just smiled at her happily as usual. In all the years that she knew this man, she never once saw the smile leave his face. "Absolutely! Give me 10 minutes, yeah?" Annie nodded, and went to sit at an unoccupied table where she waited patiently.
Annie wanted to text Troy to tell them she was going to be a little late, but her phone had died sometime after leaving her job interview. It wasn't a big deal; it wouldn't take her more than 20 minutes to get home anyway. So she just started surveying the pizza parlour that seemed so foreign to her now. It really hadn't been that long since she'd been here, but since everyday with Troy and Abed was a rollercoaster of new experiences for her, it felt weird being here again. Just then, she thought she noticed a man looking at her from behind his newspaper. When she looked again, his face was once again shielded by Greendale's top story. She thought nothing of it and went back to surveying the room.
Then she heard his voice.
"Rough day, I'm assuming?" the man asked. She was a little startled, but was willing to make small talk nonetheless. "You could say that." He looked somewhat intrigued, now. "Care to share while we wait for our pizzas?" Annie let out a little chuckle. This guy was a little peculiar. Even though she only really knew him for a minute now, he seemed to radiate self confidence. He looked a little strange though. He was a rather big man, and looked around Jeff's age if she had to guess. "I just came from a job interview with a prestigious law firm. I'm really hoping to get an internship there." The man then abruptly got up from his own seat and sat across from Annie at her table. "Wow. Sounds like you're going places, kid. You look pretty smart too; I bet you'll get that job. My name's Ray, by the way." Annie smiled inwardly at Ray's unintentional rhyme and beamed at him. "Thanks! That means a lot, really. I'm Annie." She outstretched her hand, and he shook it. She pulled away after he seemed to be holding it for a little too long, but kept smiling anyway. Lorenzo chose this moment to return to the front of the pizza parlour. "Ah! Annie! Your pizza is ready, fresh as the day you were born!" She laughed at him and went up to pay. She then took her pizza, waving to Ray and smiling as walked out the door. "Bye, Ray! It was nice to meet you!" Ray just smiled at her and returned to his newspaper. "We'll be more acquainted soon enough, Annie." He waited about two minutes before folding up the paper neatly and leaving the parlour himself. He hadn't ordered any pizza.
Annie walked to her car with a smile on her face. That Ray guy really made her feel good. It felt nice. She knew she probably wouldn't have gotten that admiration from Troy and Abed. They were awesome, but she'd bet any money that they probably forgot about her even having a job interview as soon as she left the library earlier today. Whatever, it didn't matter anyway. They'd find out eventually, as with everyone else. Speaking of everyone else, Annie couldn't wait to tell Jeff about her potential internship. She had made a point of applying to other firms, but purposely bombed the interviews she got with them. She secretly wanted to work close to Jeff after they graduated, and if he knew that she had applied to other firms, he wouldn't question her being there.
Things had been going great with Jeff. He had been on and off with admitting he had feelings for her, and although it irritated her to no end, one thing was consistent. He was actually talking to her a lot more. She was afraid he'd realize what he was doing and be elusive again, but if he did realize they talked more, he didn't show it. It was comforting, and made her heart warm. She knew Jeff, and them hanging out more often than with the rest of the group was a huge step in whatever you called their little relationship.
She was still thinking about him as she reached her car. She cursed herself for parking so far away; it was cold out. Before opening her car door, she took a moment to tighten up her scarf a bit.
She didn't have to.
Annie's scarf was yanked from behind her, startling her and choking her at the same time. When she tried to turn around and show whoever this jerk was what 3 years of self defense had taught her, a large hand covered her mouth as she was painfully kneed in the back several times. She continued to struggle, but he had wrapped his other arm around her waist and arms and held tight, preventing her from moving. She heard his sigh in frustration and knew he was getting fed up with her squirming in his big arms. So, the man decided to take another route. He removed his hand from her mouth, allowing her to let out very high pitched screams and yell "help" several times, but suddenly her hair was grabbed harshly from behind her head. Before she realized what was happening, her head was rammed into the window of the car beside hers. She felt blood running down her forehead as she was viciously thrown into the vehicle. As she started to feel herself losing consciousness, she thought she saw Ray's face.
After that, everything went black.
A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long, I've been busy. Reviews are welcome as always!
