Jeff ducked behind a row of lockers, fanning himself against the wall until the coast was clear. It was lunchtime and Rory had just made a b-line for chess club which meant the mission was officially a go.
Sliding his aviators down he crept stealthily along to the closed door, peering through the window. It was what he expected, a room adorned with motivational posters screaming geeks have rights. Yeah, the right to stay celibate until they're forty.
His gaze drifted to Rory and the only other occupant of the room, a kid he'd never seen before decked out in vest and a bow-tie.
Not really a surprise that they'd never crossed paths.
He pulled out his phone using the zoom on his phone's camera to get a better look at what they were exchanging. Whatever it was the going rate was a fifty and he took a few snaps, ducking down when they turned their attention towards the door.
Shit.
He waited for the sound of footsteps to indicate if he'd been made and breathed out a sigh of relief when their muffled conversation resumed. Inching himself back up he discreetly peered over the edge of the window again. This time there was no mistaking to two orange pill containers that exchanged hands and he jumped away from the door having seen everything he needed to.
The slimy, good for nothing jerk was taking adderall.
Annie was going to be crushed.
They'd only been going out for a few weeks but she was already head over heels and smitten. It was like Vaughn all over again but while the free-loving hippie was a lot of things he did genuinely care about her. So far all this guy had done was schmooze her with his 'I'm rouge and Irish' eyes, something that worked on the rest of the group but not him.
Now he was glad he'd trusted his instinct.
Turning, he bumped into a group of students and muttered an apology as he awkwardly stepped around them.
What happened to the good old days when damning information meant an affair with a teacher or cheating on exams?
He breathed out slowly, trying to piece the conversation together in his head as he started searching for her. He wasn't looking forward to breaking the news but this wasn't something he could sit on. She needed to know and as much as he'd like to pass the buck and void himself of responsibility the courteous, most diplomatic way was to tell her himself.
He checked the library first to no avail and quickly diverted towards her locker, feeling a sudden wave nervousness hit as he spotted her.
It was now or never.
He walked up to her slowly, leaning on the neighbouring locker with a tight smile, "hey, have you got a sec?"
She continued riffling through the colour coordinated folders barely giving him a second glance. "Not really, you know how angry professor Wilson gets when students are late to his class."
It wasn't the sort of conversation he wanted to have out in the open and he swallowed, hoping a more serious tone would sway her, "actually... it's sort of important."
She closed her locker door, turning to him with a curious pout. Not once had she ever known him to be tactful about a situation and his demeanour almost scared her. "Jeff, what's going on?"
He wanted to be tactful, diplomatic... but the second he met her doe eyed expression the words were anything but as they tumbled out, "you're boyfriends hooked on adderall."
Annie's gaze widened as she glanced around, worried someone might have heard the accusation. Luckily no one seemed to be listening and she grabbed hold of his arm pulling him roughly towards a supply closet down the hall. He didn't protest when she shoved him in slamming the door closed behind them.
"Who told you that?"
"It doesn't matter, the point is-" he started to deflect then frowned, wondering why she hadn't out-right denied the possibility. He'd been expecting her to jump down his throat but he couldn't find a trace of disbelief in her expression and the realisation made him tense.
"Wait-" he took a step towards her, "you know?"
She swallowed thickly at his judging expression, folding her arms stubbornly across her chest, "of course I know."
She'd picked up on the signs long before they'd started dating -it was why she introduced herself- and Rory had been open to admitting he had a problem. At first she'd just wanted to offer her support but when feelings had started to develop between them she hadn't seen any harm in taking it slowly.
Clearly that was a foreign concept to the man standing opposite her but then again he wasn't exactly known for his sensitive caring nature.
"This may come as a shock to you-" she kept a firm stance, holding his gaze, "but in a normal functioning relationship people share personal details."
He was flabbergasted by the admittance but immediately defensive under her attack, "exactly how 'normal' and 'functioning' is it if one person is hooked on drugs. Seriously... what the hell are you thinking, why would you even go there?"
"Because I know what it's like!" She stuck her lips out in protest, trying to to get him to understand. When she had started her downward spiral she'd had no friends, no family to support her and she knew first hand just how lonely it was on the bottom. "I can help him, I know I can."
He didn't know whether to laugh, cry or be inspired by her naivety. Maybe he was just too old and jaded but seeing Rory buying two bottles of pills didn't look like an addict trying to give up, if anything it looked like he was stockpiling.
"Trust me on this-" he forced what he hoped was a softer tone, "he has no intention of getting clean... he's using you Annie."
Her hands instinctively flew to her hips, insulted and offended by the accusation."Well, I guess you would know the signs-" she threw back, daring him to challenge her. It wasn't as if he was perfect, he was continually manipulating her and the group just to get what he wanted... how did that make him any better than Rory?
"What's that supposed to mean?" He grew defensive again, feeling a rush of anger well up. He had never intentionally led her on, in fact after they'd kissed he'd done everything in his power to dissuade the attraction. She had no right to throw it back in his face, especially now.
"Come on Jeff..." she goaded, inching forward, "haven't we been here before? You don't want me but you don't want me to be with anyone else... sound familiar?"
He stiffened, suddenly uncomfortable under her scrutinising gaze.
Ok fine, so maybe he was jealous... but admitting to it was only going to complicate the situation. He needed to get the conversation back on track, to the real reason he was concerned which had less to do with jealousy and everything to do with her safety. "Annie listen to me, I don't want to see you get hurt... that's all this is about."
Her voice scratched painfully in her throat as she gazed up at him, "then you should stopped being my friend three years ago."
"Annie..." he breathed out, feeling a sick sense of guilt knot in his stomach. Britta was right. He'd stayed away because he didn't want to see her get hurt but keeping his distance had inevitably had the same effect. He was a jerk, a stupid, selfish, arrogant jerk... and he reached out brushing her cheek, trying to ease the pain in her eyes.
Despite every effort she could feel her anger melting away and she hated herself for being so weak around him. What was she doing? She liked Rory and Jeff had made it perfectly clear time and time again nothing was going to happen between them. He was only doing this now to prove he had control and when he started to lean forward she pulled away angrily.
"You know what... this is about your ego- " she stepped back, grasping at the door handle, "you think it's me, but you're the one who needs to grow up Jeff!"
The door slammed shut and he tore a hand through his hair letting out a frustrated groan.
Perfect.
Couldn't have handled the situation better if he'd tried.
Fuck.
He needed to come up with a plan B, fast.
