Ugh sorry this took so long. I know it's a terrible excuse but school is eating my life. Also, this was a long wait for not that much payoff. I originally intended for more to happen in this chapter but it ended up not... I've been sitting on about half of it for awhile and I finally had enough free time to finish it up and give it somewhat of an ending. I hope the next chapter doesn't take this long. If you're reading my HIMYM stories I'm working on those too! I promise! Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed and favorited and whatever. Once again, school eats my life so I'm sorry if I don't respond to all of you individually! But I do read them all and greatly appreciate them! Okay, enough of me.
This study session is not going the way Jeff wants. They have a test tomorrow. Normally, he would barely be concerned. But this history class is a little bit of a challenge and the professor hates him and this is the last class he needs to pass. He can't slack off. Plus, they're discussing one of Jeff's least favorite topics: Annie and Willy. He still can't put his finger on what exactly bothers him about the whole thing. It's just that it's his brother…and Annie. It's weird. He tunes back into the conversation in enough time to hear Pierce be, well, Pierce.
"Did you make a man out of him yet?"
"Pierce!" Annie squeals, her cheeks turning bright red.
"Normally I wouldn't condone this, but Willy is my patient and I'm invested in this relationship." Britta says folding her hands on the table and Jeff rolls his eyes.
"Using the word patient implies that you're a real therapist."
"Don't deflect just because you don't want to talk about Annie's love life." Britta snarks back.
"What a coincidean that I would run into you folks here." The dean says entering the study room.
"Actually it's not a coincidence at all. Coincidence implies it was an accident, but we're here at the same time everyday." Abed points out.
"Excuse me for trying to enter the room creatively."
"Don't you always enter the room with a play on the word 'dean'?" Troy questions looking at the rest of the study group for reassurance. The dean opens his mouth to reply, but Jeff cuts him off.
"Why are you here, Dean?"
"Well, I wanted to be the first person to invite you to Greendale's next dance…." Dean Pelton hits his hands against the table to create a drumroll. "The Prezzy for Lezzy's!" He announces with pride.
"I'll field this." Jeff assures the group before turning to face the Dean. "The what?"
"The Prezzy for Lezzy's. You know it's president's day next week and I thought we should celebrate in style."
"A president's day dance? You realize how ridiculous that sounds, right? Someone back me up here!" Jeff says looking around the table, but they ignore him.
"Why 'for Lezzy's'?" Annie asks peering at the Dean curiously.
"Lesbians are a severely underappreciated minority of Greendale-"
"Brittles knows all about that!" Pierce calls out with a chuckle, only to be met with a disapproving stare from Britta and a confused one from Troy.
"You did have that really awkward kiss with Paige at the Valentine's dance two years ago…"
"I'm not a lesbian." Britta mutters crossing her arms. "And I will be attending the dance with my boyfriend, Troy." She smiles over at him.
"When blondie stops using you as her beard, I'll set you up." Pierce turns to Troy with a wink.
"It has been awhile since Andre and I had a date night…" Shirley mulls it over, completely ignoring Pierce.
"Rachel and I were looking for a place to recreate some classic rom-com tropes." Abed says in an agreeing tone.
"Well, Willy's going to be away this weekend, but I guess I can go anyway." Annie shrugs.
"Jeffery?" Shirley prompts glancing his way.
"No can do, I'm busy." He replies picking up his phone, which Britta promptly swats out of his hand. He glares at Britta and sighs heavily.
"Jeff, you have to come." Annie says and his head automatically turns toward her. "It's our last one." Her eyes got widen slightly and he knows she's minutes away from invoking the eyes, which have somehow gotten sexy. Ugh, Annie and her stupid powers over him. He can't let the rest of the group see his complete weakness, so he stops it before it starts.
"I'll go." He sighs and slyly glances over at Annie to see her face break out into a smile.
Annie straightens her dress out as she walks into Greendale's cafeteria. She looks pretty hot, or at least that's what Britta said before they left. But it doesn't really matter because she has no one to impress. She's been at Greendale four years and found nothing but duds. With the exception of…no, she's not going there. Besides, she has Willy now. It's nothing serious and they've only been on a handful dates, but he's a really nice guy, which is exactly what she needs. Plus, he actually likes her and that's more than she can say for any guy she's been really interested in. She sighs and mentally scolds herself. Tonight is fun. It's one of her last Greendale dances and she's going to appreciate it.
"Milady." She hears a deep voice from behind her and she can feel the smile work its way onto her face of its own accord. She turns around and comes face to face (actually because of the height difference it's more like face to chest) with Jeff. "So, looks like it's mostly me and you tonight." Annie follows his eyes to see the rest of the group paired up into couples on the dance floor.
"Well, I'm glad you're here." She responds. Jeff smiles at her and the corners of his eyes crinkle. It's Annie's favorite kind of Jeff smile and she finds herself responding, her smile widening to match his own.
"So, now what are we supposed to do?" She shrugs.
"I don't know. I felt like I had to come because it was one of our last Greendale dances but now that I'm here…"
"Seems kind of lame?" He offers with a slight raise of his eyebrow.
"Yeah," Annie rolls her eyes at his pleased smile.
"I told you it would be."
"You were right." She mutters in a monotone voice trying her best to look stern.
"So, you wanna blow this joint?"
"Jeff!" She admonishes hitting him on the arm. "We can't just leave. We promised we'd be here."
"And it looks like our presence would be greatly missed." Annie sighs and glances back at their friends who don't seem to be paying attention to anything other than their significant others. "C'mon Annie, please. If we stay any longer the Dean might find me and ask for a dance."
"Fine." She finally agrees noting the expression of glee on Jeff's face. "But you have to explain this one to the rest of the group."
"They won't even notice we're gone. Now, shall we?" He smiles offering his arm. She places her arm in his and nods as Jeff escorts them out of the building.
Sometimes Jeff forgets how much he enjoys Annie's company. The last couple of months he's spent so much time trying to get rid of any untoward feelings for Annie that he had inadvertently been avoiding her. But now they're hanging out and it's so easy. He has fun with her and most importantly he's himself around her. He doesn't worry about Jeff Winger, he's just Jeff. He's learned to do that with the entire group over the years, but he feels his guard come down most around Annie.
He glances at her and notices that she's studying the menu again.
"You know, I don't think this place changes its menu that often." He comments with a wry smile and she huffs.
"I want to try something new. I'm being adventurous." She informs him and then turns her attention back to the menu.
"Uh, if you're going to be adventurous I really don't think the Denny's menu is the place to do that."
"You have to start small, Jeff."
"Mhhhm." He hums sarcastically.
When the waitress comes back and she orders french toast, he can't contain his laughter.
"Stop laughing at me!" She demands and he can hear the formidable in her voice, but he can't stop. "Jeff!" She whines.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He apologizes placing a hand over his heart. "But, Annie, if you want to be adventurous I don't think ordering French toast is the way to do that."
"Says the man who always orders the same thing everywhere." She grumbles.
"True, but I'm not trying to be more adventurous."
"Fine, what do you suggest?"
"Well, like I said the Denny's menu isn't the place to do it." She groans and he can't help but laugh at her frustration with him. "I think changing your entire life plan was probably enough adventure for a couple of years, especially for you."
"I can have fun too, you know!" She immediately protests and he blinks taken aback.
"I know that."
"Sorry," she apologizes sheepishly.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Annie sighs swirling her straw around in her cup. "I've been so stressed lately between school and work." He nods, he'd known this semester had been hard on her so far since she changed her major and was taking, of course, an overload of classes, plus working part time. "And I yelled at Troy and Abed the other day. I feel like I've been a buzzkill lately. I don't know." She shrugs dejectedly and Jeff takes a deep breath thinking about what to say next.
"Hey, you know Britta's our resident buzzkill." He murmurs trying to lighten the mood with a joke first. "Annie, we all know you're stressed. You're entitled to freak out once in awhile. You wouldn't be Annie, if you didn't. And someone needs to whip Troy and Abed into shape occasionally."
"I guess you're right." She shrugs in acknowledgment.
"Of course I am." He smirks trying to get Annie to lighten up and it works. She glares at him, but the smile on her face gives her away. They're both silent after that, but it's not uncomfortable. It's the type of silence you can only have with good friends. It's comfortable and amiable. Of course, he's never known Annie to be silent for long so she eventually breaks it.
"Are you worried about what's going to happen after graduation?"
"Hey Debbie Downer, have you seen my friend Annie anywhere? She's short and tiny, wears a lot of cardigans, tends to be a little ball of sunshine. If you find her could you let me know?" He replies sarcastically and she rolls her eyes.
"Jeff, I'm trying to be serious."
"The dean offered me a job." It had been on the tip of his tongue all night, apparently he just needed a little prodding.
"What?" Annie asks eyes wide and he nods.
"They're looking for someone to teach a few of the political science classes and surprise, you don't need to be very accredited to work at Greendale."
"You're actually considering it?" He shrugs.
"Well, not too many law firms want to touch you when you were disbarred for faking a bachelor's degree. I figure I can work at Greendale and maybe find a part time position at some law firm, build up their trust and hopefully they'll hire me as an actual lawyer in a year or so because I do not want to work at Greendale forever."
"Wow," she mutters taking it all in. "How long have you been planning this?"
"The dean told me about it last week. Apparently he knew I was having trouble finding a job, so he stepped in."
"Ah, yes. Your knight in shining armor," she jokes and he can't help but crack a smile.
"Shut up."
"I'm proud of you for finally figuring everything out."
"Well, I have you to thank for that, Edison. I doubt I would have even passed Spanish freshman year without your help and forget some of my other classes. You kind of saved my ass. A lot." He remarks earnestly and the small smile Annie gives him return makes his entire stomach flip. Stop it. He clears his throat and quickly changes the subject. "So, what about you? What are you doing after Greendale?" She shrugs and toys with her straw.
"Well since I changed my major, I have to stick around an extra year to get my degree."
"Wow, a whole extra year to finish an entire degree. That's crazy." He mocks.
"Well, I may be taking some summer classes and classes over winter break and overloading my schedule during the regular semesters." She concedes.
"You're going to be the greatest forensic investigator Greendale has ever seen."
"Thanks, Jeff. And hey, maybe if the other law firms are too stupid to notice a good lawyer when they see one, we can open our own practice." Annie quips and he grins. "I solve the murders, you send them to jail."
"I'm not really that type of lawyer, but anything for you, Annie." He means for it to come out jokingly, but there's a hint of seriousness in his tone and they both know it's true. He would do almost anything for Annie. And that's what always scared him away: the intensity of his feelings. But it's getting to the point where he can't ignore it much longer. Jeff Winger may finally need to do something about Annie Edison. He just doesn't know what.
