Disclaimer: This work is protected under the parody clause of copyright law. I do not own the characters, the creative content of the show Community, or the fandom.
Spoilers: Up to and including Season 3 finale.
Annie hadn't come back out after their fight last night. Abed hadn't knocked or tried to apologize or anything, really. He knew now what Annie was hiding but he didn't know why she was mad at him. Shouldn't he be mad at her for going out with another guy after all the things happening with them? He wasn't but he felt like he probably should be. And he did feel something about it, he just didn't know what. It was an unpleasant feeling like a dullness, or a dead weight in his chest. He tried not to think about it.
Instead, he planned.
It seemed to Abed there were three ways to define a relationship: You were sleeping together but not seeing each other; you were seeing each other but not sleeping together; or you were in a relationship, both seeing each other and sleeping together. He knew Annie and Vaughn weren't sleeping together but it was only a matter of time. Pop culture had taught him the third date was when people finally slept together but this was Annie, he figured even with their history he had a minimum of four dates to make his move.
This was important. If Annie and Vaughn were just seeing each other and Abed made a move then he was just presenting her with another option. However, if they went past that fourth date and, almost certainly, consummated their relationship he would be breaking up a couple which, even in the most beloved romcoms, was very bad form. So it was set. He had until the fourth date.
He sat at the dining room table with a new notebook. He stroked the cover gently. Nothing was as promising as a new notebook waiting to be filled with possibilities and adventures. And this could be the most important notebook he would ever write in. Of course, he always thought that but this time it could be really true.
He opened the cover and uncapped his pen. At the top of the first page he wrote One:
-Half an hour later he was still there working out the finer points of his plan when Annie's door opened. It was around ten in the morning which was pretty late for Annie. She stopped when she saw Abed at the table.
"Morning," he said without looking up.
"Morning," she replied warily as she made her way to the bathroom.
She came out later fully dressed and ready for the day. She went to the kitchen. Abed closed his notebook and put it away, actively avoiding a confrontation if she accidently saw its contents, before joining her in the kitchen.
"Do you want some breakfast?" She asked with her head in the refrigerator.
"I had Lucky Charms," he said as he leaned against the counter.
"I'll rephrase," she said. "Do you want some real food? I was going to make eggs and macaroni."
Abed quirked his head at her. He didn't respond so she straightened and turned to look at him. "Abed?" She said nervously.
"Macaroni is my favorite," Abed said. "Why are you making my favorite?"
Annie sighed and closed the refrigerator door. She put the eggs on the counter. "Because you like it, and I was mean to you last night," she admitted. "And I kind of like it too," she mumbled hurriedly.
"I'm glad you like it too, Annie," Abed, as usual not missing a word of dialog, "but you don't need to make me an apology breakfast. I'm not mad at you."
"I appreciate that, Abed, but you should be. I yelled at you and I stormed off and I avoided you all night," she rambled as her eyes welled with tears. "And I felt bad the whole time and I don't want you to hate me…" She was still babbling when Abed wrapped his arms around her in a hug. She stiffened in surprise.
"Annie," he said as she began to sniffle into his chest. "You're important to me. If I didn't hate you when you broke my specialized Batman DVD, yeah I know all about it," she sniffled again and he went back to his point, "then I'm not going to hate you for yelling at me in a kitchen." She nodded and sniffled a little more and he let her go. "I would like to help you make breakfast," he said as he looked at her.
"Okay," she smiled weakly.
As they cracked eggs, and shredded cheese, and boiled water they sang together. The sang anything that popped into their heads. It was a strange amalgam of soundtracks. They were on the song at the end of The Breakfast Club while they waited for the noodles to cook.
"Don't, don't, don't dooooon't!" They were leaning over, singing as loudly as possible into each other's faces. They descended into the La-lalala-la-lalalas as the timer went off. They mixed the cheese sauce and pasta, then plated it with the eggs. They went out to the table.
"I always used to eat in front of the TV," Abed said as they sat.
"You still do," Annie said, gesturing with her fork. "I bet you ate Lucky Charms and watched something this morning."
Abed nodded. "I did. But I used to eat all my meals in front of the TV. Even when I had someone to eat with, like Troy. "
"So what changed," she asked as she took a bite. Say what you will, but Abed knew how to make macaroni.
"You moved in," he said as he looked at his plate and ate.
Annie looked up. "I'm sorry," she said instantly. "We can eat in front of the TV if you want."
"What?" Abed looked up.
"I didn't mean to make you change," she said.
"I think we're having a miscommunication," Abed said as he set down his fork. "I was just commenting that this is something I never used to do. I meant it as a good thing. It's helped me interact more with people on a level devoid of media. It was a big step for me."
"So you're not mad about it?" Annie asked in a small voice.
"I was trying to say 'thank you'," Abed said. "Sometimes change is good, even if it is scary."
Annie stared at him blankly and blinked. Abed smiled and looked back down at his plate. He started eating again.
A few moments later he heard Annie start eating again too. Time passed that way, in comfortable silence, for a few more minutes before Abed said, without preamble, "So when is your date?"
A fork clattered to the floor. Abed looked up. Annie's face was red and uncomfortable and she was staring at him. He quirked his head to the side. When she didn't move he reached down and picked up her fork. He blew on it a few times, inspecting its cleanliness, and tried to hand it to her. When she didn't move to take it he shrugged and put it on the table next to her plate. He continued to look at her.
"Uh," she stammered finally, "tonight, at seven."
Abed nodded and resumed eating.
"Abed," Annie asked, "are you okay?"
"Yup," he said as he finished his last bite, gathered his plate, and walked off to deposit it in the kitchen.
"I'll do the dishes," she yelled.
"Cool." He said as he crossed the space between the kitchen and the blanket fort. "Cool, cool, cool."
He took out the notebook. He had to finish planning because he didn't have much time. He thought he'd have at least a couple of days but apparently Vaughn was eager to have Annie back. And of course he was, why wouldn't he be? She was Annie. Abed paused to consider his actions. Did he really have any right to go through with this plan? After all, Vaughn was exactly the kind of guy he would expect Annie to fall for. He was traditionally handsome and laidback enough to counter her need to control things. There was a list of similar things running through his head but he tried to block it out and take Troy's advice.
Instead, he went back to the notebook. He had until she left to get it all figured out and then he had to execute it when she got back. He stared scribing.
A/n: I know, this one is short, and I'm sorry! I'm working on chapter 15 and if I get it done before next monday I'll post 12 for you :) Thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, and favorites this story. I would love to hear from all of you!
FierceNerd14 - Thank you for the enthusiastic support!
Brittany's diaries - You are a faithful reviewer :) I've been playing with the idea of brining Rich in but it will be a while before I do.
Gab-Bri-Elle-Magi - Abed appreciates you cheering him on.
moonsilver09 - Soon you will get several chapters explaining what has been going on with Annie while all this stuff has been going on with Abed. Don't worry!
yellowcrayon7 - Abed doesn't do anything by halfs so, as you see a glimpse of in this chapter, admitting his feelings is going to be a production!
