Annie let out a sigh of relief when she found the living room empty later that morning. She started making pancakes, the smell of which awoke Abed. He trudged out of his room, still blinking away the remnants of slumber.

He sat on the barstool and watched her for a second before speaking. "So your date must've been pretty good last night, huh?"

Annie looked up at him and blinked animatedly. She couldn't get herself to admit that she had nearly forgotten about her date with Timothy. Her entire night had been cast aside when Jeff's presence blindsided her; not to mention the fight she had picked with him. "He's funny and nice. He also asked me out again." Annie blushed and was relieved that she could feel excitement for the prospect.

Abed nodded and it had the same effect on her as usual, so she continued on as if to her own defense. "I mean, he's an intern like me, so there is no real conflict. Plus, it's casual. It's not like I'm expecting anything substantial."

Abed nodded and started to assemble himself a plate. "I just wouldn't have figured him as your type." He shrugged as if overruled.

"Oh, and what would you say is my type, pray tell?" Annie clicked.

"Older and emotionally unavailable."

Despite Annie's irritation at how on the nose Abed was, she laughed darkly. "Yeah, well, as well as that has worked for me in the past, I've decided to try something that isn't doomed at the starting line." Abed shrugged again. "By the way, why did you invite Jeff over? I thought we agreed not to invite people over?"

Abed took a big bite of his syrup-drenched pancakes. "No, you said you didn't want me to invite the group over and even though I never agreed to it, I don't. Also why can't I invite Jeff over for a movie marathon? He's my friend and I don't think I should have to fill out a form to invite someone to my apartment."

Annie was surprised by the outburst. Abed didn't usually argue about things he wasn't passionate about; in other words, if it had nothing to do with film or television, he didn't care. "I go out of my way to give you notice whenever I stray from our routine and I would appreciate a similar courtesy."

"I don't make you give me notice, Annie. You decide to do that on your own. Besides, if you had been given any notice would you have changed anything? Jeff equals no goodnight kiss with Timothy?"

Annie's mouth was agape, but when she stuttered for words, Abed continued and held out a hand to hush her. "Look, Annie, you do what you want to do, but you and I have already had this conversation. You're not avoiding the group. You recently visited Shirley, I heard you on the phone with Britta the other day, and you haven't started ignoring me. Who does that leave?" He breathed, Annie felt embarrassed and childish. "I'm not here to lecture you; I don't fit that role. I don't need to know your reasons, just know that you're not fooling me. If you need to be away from Jeff right now, I can allow that; which is why I invited him while you were out, but don't force your own stuff on me. Deal?"

Annie nodded silently. "Okay, good." She ignored her own mortification and began cleaning up the dishes. "Annie." She hesitantly turned around. He handed her a few letters. "These are for you." She looked at the top of the stack; it was a thick envelope from Colorado Tech. She tried to not show her anticipation and continued flipping through the letters, still keeping a finger on the one she was dying to open. "Anything interesting?" He watched her with a significance that let her know that he understood to some extent what she was hiding.

"Not really." She lied and hurried to her room where she sat on her bed and called Britta making plans for lunch the next day, all while looking at the envelope sitting on her desk. After an hour she leaned over and tentatively opened the envelope.

Jeff practically crawled into Britta's bar. He hadn't even sat at the bar by the time Britta had his scotch ready for him. "You look like shit."

Jeff nodded and sipped. "I feel it too." He looked down and tapped the glass. "I think Annie is angry with me." He sighed and tried not to look as bothered as he felt, even if things seemed to be temporarily fixed between them, he could feel an even larger issue pulling the strings.

Britta smiled to herself, catching on quickly. "What did you do this time?"

Jeff shrugged. "Abed invited me over to the apartment to watch some movies."

"And you thought it would be the perfect time to corner Annie for wanting some space?" She said smugly as if she didn't need the confirmation.

"It would've been, but she wasn't there." Britta nodded him on. "So, she came back from her date-"

"Wait." Britta stopped wiping the bar down and made eye contact with him. "Annie was on date? Good for her." Jeff grunted and Britta smiled. "So let me guess, you did that thing where you get unrightfully jealous and abrupt, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jeff avoided her eyes.

"Sure, because you never did that with Vaughn or Rich or The Black Rider or any guy who ever looked at Annie for more than 20 seconds? None of my business, though." She shrugged and continued to seem busy, wiping down the only spotless corner of the bar.

"Listen here, Judy Greer. I wasn't jealous of any of those guys okay, none of them were good enough for Annie and you know it."

"But that's not our call to make, Jeff. Annie is allowed to do what and who she wants." Jeff shook his head at that thought. "And don't kid yourself, Jeff. Rich was a doctor for Christ's sake. A kind doctor, with dimples, straight teeth and an easygoing attitude. As far as his paper qualifications go, I'm surprised they aren't raising 2.5 kids and a chocolate lab in the suburbs right now. Not to mention, that no one has ever been good enough for Annie in your eyes. Even Gandhi would fall short of your qualifications."

"You think Annie would want to date a man who goes on hunger strikes in a diaper?" Britta rolled her eyes. "Excuse me for being a good friend."

"Hmm." Britta hummed the preface to an inkling that Jeff knew she would undoubtedly share.

"What?" Jeff groaned, already regretting it.

"Nothing, really. I just don't recall you being that dedicated as a friend to the rest of us. In fact, I only know you as Jeff Winger, the expert on not meddling. Shirley got back together with her cheating ex, silence from you." She pointed at Jeff to emphasize her point. "Troy and I start dating, again nothing. Pierce dates a call girl, Pierce dates a corporate spy, Abed starts dating Rachel, I date a corporate manifestation, nothing. The only time you seemed interested in being a 'friend' like that to me was when I started seeing Vaughn in our first year, back when you were pursuing me." Jeff's eyes widened, but Britta huffed sarcastically. "But that's just probably me oversimplifying again, right?" She nodded to his empty glass. "So, another?"

"Yeah." Jeff mumbled, bothered by Britta's random and unexpected insight. She could be smart over some of the most frustrating things.

As she poured, she spoke softly, looking at his glass the whole time. "Don't force her Jeff. We all know Annie well enough to know that she doesn't do anything without reason. This must be important to her, so as her 'friend' it should be important to you too."

"But I'm the only one she's ignoring. Can't you get how annoying that is?" He didn't feel annoyed, so much as defeated.

"Maybe, she is angry at you. It probably is intentional." Britta admitted.

"What part of this is supposed to make me feel better?"

"This one." She leaned in and spoke in a pleading but concise tone. "If Annie is angry at you and you feel distance that is her trying to gather some perspective to forgive you. If you push her, she will never have the chance to get over her anger and you could actually end up damaging things between you both in the long term."

It was easy for Britta to say, because unlike Jeff she hadn't felt missing Annie. He knew that she was making a really good point, but he didn't know how long all this would take and living without Annie was the kind of pain that he would usually see Annie about for comfort. He wasn't the best at just bearing his hurt and without her; it was all he could do. It drove him crazy. "Where are you learning all this crap?" He said affectionately.

Britta was refilling a drink for one of her regulars, one of the two other people sitting at the bar besides Jeff. "Hello, Pscyh. Major. Believe it or not, those concrete slabs they call textbooks, have a lot of helpful information."

"The same textbooks that you once claimed said I might want to sleep with my estranged father at our reunion?"

Britta smiled sheepishly. "That may have been an issue with misinterpretation."

Jeff nodded. "Well, that's good to know." Britta glared at him. "Hey, I know it is your passion, which is great and all, but I would rather think that you screwed up as an amateur, than think that that is the kind of crap being fed to future shrinks."

Britta smiled. "And with that I'll assume what you really meant to say was, 'Britta, keep up the good work. I support your scholastic endeavors and understand that although you have room to grow, you have already learned a great deal.'"

Jeff finished his drink in one gulp. "Damn, I sound smart when I start drinking." He grinned cheekily.

"Don't use it as an incentive to get shit-faced." Britta stopped wiping the bar and tried to share a rare, but real moment with Jeff. "It will work itself out. If you really want to help it along though, you might remember how highly Annie values honesty." Jeff didn't know how to react to that, mostly because he had no idea what the hell it meant. Britta cleared her throat. "Besides, what the hell are you doing here? Don't you have some papers to grade or something?"

Jeff smiled. "Oh, Britta. Summer school is the blow-off semester."

Britta scoffed. "It must be nice for the laziest worker in the world to have job security, just because his boss started a fan club in his honor."

Jeff smiled at the sarcasm and served it back. "Coming from the diligent Cinderella who has wiped down the same spot for the past 15 minutes, ignoring the rest of the dirty bar."

She guffawed in response. "How many times do I have to tell you, I hate the comparison to Cinderella because of its antiquated constraints for women?"

Before Britta could continue what was sure to be a 30 minute long rant, Jeff wailed. "Ugh, no! None of this."

She scowled and refilled his glass. "I guess I shouldn't expect you to care; not while being the all too proud owner of a penis." Jeff grinned, which made her scowl deepen. "Or at least what you dare to exaggerate as one."

He mock laughed. "So, if I understand you correctly, you are saying that I couldn't possibly be a feminist just because I am a man?" Jeff could tell, by the deer-caught-in-headlights look on Britta's face, he had trapped her. "How very politically incorrect of you! Besides, I don't see how you could have an issue with Cinderella, being as its one of the first movies exposed to young girls that passes the Bechdel test." Jeff said smugly and waited for the reaction he knew was coming.

Britta stared aghast. "How in the hell do you even know what the Bechdel test is?" He chuckled, but she continued. "And being shouted at by one-sided demands, without really getting to respond, shouldn't be considered a conversation, okay?" She finished with a huff.

He took a sip and quirked his mouth into a partial smile and grimace from the burn of the amber liquid coating his throat. "Well, then by those standards, having been both your dear friend and friend of the benefit variety, are you saying that we have never had a conversation these 5 years?"

Britta blew a raspberry at him and tossed the wet bar towel on him. He nearly shrieked in recoil and that was enough of a win for her, even if she lost any points from verbal sparring. "Hey, new shirt!" Jeff broadcasted. "You, G-D-B!"

Despite herself Britta couldn't help but laugh. "You are such a dick, Winger."

"And you said it was exaggerated."

"Just because you are one, doesn't mean you possess one." Britta went around the bar refilling some glasses and called behind her shoulder. "Go home and think about how best to express honesty."

Jeff still didn't understand what she meant. "You got a concrete slab I could borrow to decipher it for me?" He shook his head and paid his bill. He was more thankful than he would let on; the Annie abandonment had left him all out of sorts, but it was nice to know there was still some enjoyment to be had at Britta's expense.

On Sunday Annie dressed in some simple cut off jean shorts that gripped her legs mid-thigh with a tight purple t-shirt and some old converse. She met Britta at the mall food court, excited for a casual lunch. Britta met her at the Orange Julius with skinny dark denim jeans, chunky ankle boots and her leather jacket.

Annie looked at Britta in shock. "It's nearly July; how are you dressed like that and not sweating to death?" Britta opened her mouth briefly, but Annie continued. "You realize that dudes are going to check you out and objectify you, regardless of what you wear, right? Might as well be comfortable." The younger woman shrugged.

Britta rolled her eyes. "It's not that, Annie. I'm just more comfortable like this." Annie smiled and nodded; she couldn't help but think that this was Britta's equivalent to her 'battle armor', it kept her guarded and on her toes. "So, why didn't you mention that you went on some hot date on Friday?"

The brunette, who was looking down at her smoothie and fiddling with her straw, lifted her head in surprise. "How do you know about that?"

The older of the two shrugged. "I think the real question is how do I only know about it now?" Her friend stared back, unappeased. "King Douche may have mentioned it."

Annie looked back down at her drink. "Oh, so you talk to Jeff often?" The moment the words escaped her mouth, Annie hated herself for them. There would always be a jealousy when she thought of those two, especially after their engagement. She quickly tried to recover. "I mean, I feel like I've completely ex-communicated myself from the group. It's nice to know everyone is keeping in touch, although apparently not at the Save Greendale meetings." She said the last part accusingly.

Britta plucked a fry from her tray and talked through the side of her mouth as she held her hands up in surrender. "Hey, we still attend; it's just that you are the only motivated one who keeps the group on track and without you, we are all kind of lost." Annie smiled at that. "So, come on, do I have to drag details from you?"

"I didn't want to make a big deal about it; it was only a first date."

"Tell me about him."

Reluctantly, she smiled. "His name is Timothy and he's really sweet, he's also funny, but in a witty way, not a goofy way." The blonde nodded. "He's got these dimples." Annie sighed. "We both work at CBI and we have had this subtle flirtation going on for the past couple of weeks and he asked me out for drinks."

"What did you wear?"

"That purple dress and some strappy heels."

"The dress we found last month?"

"Yep."

"I loved that one on you. I wish I could wear purple."

Annie laughed. "Why don't you? That dress would look great on you."

Britta laughed. "Come on, Annie, it's me we are talking about. If I wore something that colorful, I wouldn't even look like myself. Nah." She shook her head. "I'll stick with the dark grays and black. Anyway, how did it go?"

"It was fun; he is super easy to talk to, there were no lulls, which I think is some sort of miracle, considering how out of practice I am. He was a real gentleman too; he pulled out my seat and everything." It seemed as though Britta might utter something vaguely 'femi-nazi' esque, so Annie quickly continued. "And at the end of the night, he even walked me to the apartment."

"And, what happened?"

"Nothing much." She said shyly and Britta shoved her arm in response. "Okay, we kissed." She couldn't believe she was blushing, but a coy giggle still slipped out.

"And?" Her friend leaned in.

"It was nice and really, I guess I would say, sensual." She breathed. "It didn't last very long, we were interrupted."

"No! Let me guess, Winger?" She nodded. "That dumb bastard. He totally ruined the mood, didn't he?"

"Not at first. I didn't mind him clearing his throat." Britta looked annoyed. "Or him, trying to introduce himself." The annoyance grew to bafflement. "What really pissed me off was that he held the door and asked me if I was coming in, like I was on the clock or something." Britta now looked outraged.

"He did not!"

"He totally did. It was so embarrassing, and to make matters worse, he completely alienated Timothy, he didn't even make the move to shake his hand when I introduced them."

"How classless! What did you do?"

"I closed the door between us and said goodnight to Timothy, then I went inside."

"Good for you. I can't help but think that the story doesn't end there?"

"Of course it doesn't, it's Jeff we're talking about. He totally gave me the third degree and then called my date 'Tiny Tim'."

Britta groaned. "Ugh, what a douche!"

Annie nodded. "It is what it is. He didn't seem to scare off Timothy though, before he left he kind of asked me on a second date."

"Kind of?"

"It's an inside joke, but I think he might take me out to dinner." Annie took a bite of her now lukewarm hot dog.

"Well, that's good, right?" Annie nodded. "Inside jokes too? That seems promising."

Annie took a sip of her smoothie. "It's just nice to be around someone who makes it known that he likes me." She looked away, feeling ashamed at how telling that statement was. She couldn't see the look of empathy on Britta's face. "I mean, nowadays so many guys like to play games, you know?" Annie tried to amend her previous statement.

"Yeah, you know I was just telling some idiot the other day how important honesty is." Annie quirked her brow in curiosity, but Britta just shook her head and changed the subject. "So, I know the group is an exhausting, soul-sucking force, but will we see you at Shirley's 4th of July BBQ?"

"Of course." Annie smiled. "Holidays are always reserved for family."

Britta couldn't help but smile at Annie's genuine love for their little group. Moments like these reminded Britta that the Study Group was the closest thing Annie had to a family, which made her realize how brave this whole distance thing really was. Annie had very few people in the world to rely on, but she was determined to not cling to them and instead expand her life and circle of friends. "Why don't you bring Timothy?"

Annie looked flabbergasted. "Not likely. I think I'd bring Starburns first." Britta laughed. "Timothy and I have only been on one date and even though I know he would fit well in the group, I can't imagine ever being ready to introduce anyone to you guys, at least not formally. Plus, everyone is way too critical."

Britta mock gasped. "Critical, us?" They both laughed.

Jeff woke late on Sunday and saw one text waiting for him, it was from Britta. It simply read:

"You are such a douche!"

-B

He had no idea to what she was referring, though he couldn't help but think that either way, it was probably deserved in one form or another.