4

Jasmine paced around the apartment, making sure everything was in order. She rearranged everything, double-checked that the place had been cleaned, hid Carmen's pile of dirty laundry, and put her dog in her room for good measure.

Carmen sat there on the countertop drinking a wine cooler, taking this whole scene in.

"I thought you said dinner with your brother went well?"

Jasmine jumped, before looking at her, "Yeah, but his boyfriend and a couple of his friends are coming over. Something tells me it's going to be harder with them. Especially since they know our history."

Carmen scoffed, "Yeah, you've got a recovering pill popper with control issues, a 30-year-old pothead activist, and an eccentric film student. Sounds impossible. But I guess I could take the film student off your hands, if you wanted me to."

Jasmine rolled her eyes, "For the last time, you're not going to try to get your way with my brother's boyfriend."

"Of course not, but I can dream about it, can't I?" She asked, smirking,

"You're unbelievable," Jasmine mumbled, as she made her final touches to the apartment, before she considered it done.

Carmen observed this, waiting a few minutes before she spoke again, "I'm no expert or anything, but maybe you should just own up to the fact that you've made mistakes and do better, if you want the people in Troy's life to like you. That'll win a lot more points with them than a clean apartment."

"The clean apartment is easier, though," was Jasmine's response.

Now it was time for Carmen to roll her eyes, "If that lasagna didn't smell so damn good, I'd leave this shitshow."

About fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Jasmine was the one to open it, to find two women, a blonde in a leather jacket and a brunette wearing a tight sweater, standing in front of them.

The brunette gave an exaggerated smile, before introducing herself, "Hi! I'm Annie, Troy's roommate. It's so nice to finally meet you, Jasmine."

Jasmine took her hand, and then the blonde's, who also spoke, "I'm Britta. Troy's friend and soon-to-be therapist. I'm a licensed psychology major."

Jasmine nodded, as Carmen came into the room and whistled, "Are you sure these are Troy's friends? Look more like models instead of community college students."

Jasmine let out an uncomfortable laugh, especially when Annie blushed, "This is Carmen, my roommate. She is um… very forward."

Britta shrugged, "I like honesty. It's more than the government can say, hiding what's happening in…"

"Okay!" Annie interrupted, clapping her hands, "Troy and Abed are running a little behind, but said we can get started. What would you like us to do?"

This was something Jasmine hadn't prepared for, but decided to go with it, "Just make yourselves at home. We can visit for a bit."

Carmen went with them, asking, "Do you know how far away they are?"

"You never know with them. For all we know, they could just be having a water gun fight in the blanket fort again," Britta said.

Jasmine furrowed her brow, which Britta immediately responded to, "Oh, honey I forgot you don't really know Troy. Yeah, him and Abed are always going on little adventures and doing something like that. They live in their own little world most of the time."

"Yeah…" Annie agreed, giving another smile to break the tension, "But they're really happy. Like, the best couple we know."

"The only couple we know," Britta said with a scoff, "Unless you count our friend Jeff and his therapist as a couple. Or Jeff and his six-thousand-dollar suit."

"Or Shirley and Andre," Annie added, her face flattened.

"Yeah, right. I forget about them." Britta responded bitterly.

"Something tells me this girl's bent out over Jeff," Carmen whispered on the side to Jasmine. Jasmine just shrugged.

They all sat down, Britta and Annie on the couch and Carmen in her respective chair. Jasmine quickly excused herself, to toss the salad and check on the lasagna that was in the oven. When she came back, she found the women laughing loudly, as Carmen poured Britta a glass of wine. At first, she stayed behind, eavesdropping in on how different the women acted when she wasn't around.

"So wait, you and Jeff were talking about the same bar all night?" Carmen asked, "Ugh, you sound like the worst couple. Even when you're not together. No offense."

"None taken. We are terrible," Britta cackled, taking the full glass of wine, "Annie, are you sure you don't want some?"

She shook her head, "I'm good. Designated driver. But Carmen, you're a crime scene technician, right? I'm sure you've seen a lot around Dildopolis."

"That cultural sinkhole? It keeps me employed. Don't tell me you lived there."

"I used to, before Abed said I could move in with them. Living with them is a lot nicer than wondering whether or not you'll get stabbed."

Carmen took another gulp of wine, "This Abed seems like an angel. Too bad more men can't be like him."

Britta laughed, clinking her glass with Carmen's, "Right? I'll drink to that!"

That's when Jasmine came in, and her guests lost the wide smiles they were wearing.

"I'm sorry, Jazz, but I'm adopting Troy's friends as mine. They're too great," Carmen said, still smiling a little.

Jasmine wasn't sure what to say to this, so she just nodded, "Dinner will be ready in about 25 minutes. Could someone text Troy and Abed to see when they're getting here?"

"Oh! Abed messaged me not long ago," Annie informed her, "He said that while they were driving by, Troy saw a dog on the side of the road and pulled over to pet it. He sent a picture too."

Carmen smiled warmly, "I saw it. I can't believe you don't have any pictures of him, Jazz. He's adorable."

Jasmine grimaced, "Yeah, he's adorable until he gets fleas and lice from touching every creature. That happened a few times when we were kids."

Annie frowned, "The dog was a neighbor's… He'd actually wandered out earlier and they found him."

"Whatever. They'll be here soon," Britta said, more abrasively.

Jasmine didn't stay, but instead went back into the kitchen, trying to not mind that they went back to their regular conversation the moment she left the room.

It didn't take much longer for her brother and his boyfriend to arrive, their hands interlocked as Jasmine opened the door for them. The first thing that Jasmine noticed was not her brother, but the intensity in the other boy's eyes, as they ran over her in an almost mechanical fashion. It almost looked like he was doing a complete body scan… To find any perceivable flaw of hers. It was intimidating.

Troy shot Jasmine a smile, bouncing as he let go of Abed's hand to give her a hug, "I'm so glad we get to do this!"

Jasmine smiled back, letting go of Troy to look towards his boyfriend, whose face was still blank. Troy placed his hand on his arm, "Jazz, this is my boyfriend, Abed."

Abed didn't go for a hug, but instead a handshake. He didn't make direct eye contact with her, as he said in a clear, monotone voice, "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Jasmine said, a bit unwary.

Troy's hand rejoined Abed's again, as he gave another big smile. He looked to see the women sitting on the couch, "Britta, you're drinking a lot of no-no juice."

She squinted, but still smiled a little, "You can call it wine, Troy."

Britta got up and sat in the chair adjacent to Carmen, so Troy and Abed could sit together on the couch. Jasmine observed, as Troy hugged Abed's arm, sinking his head into his shoulder with a giddy expression. Abed looked unshaken, but he laced his fingers with his.

Carmen shifted a bit in her seat, "I'm Carmen, Jazz's roommate. Make yourself at home and forget whatever she says about coasters. You guys are very cute together, by the way."

Abed tilted his head to the side, "You and Jasmine seem like an unlikely pairing."

"Why is that?" Carmen asked.

Before she could get an answer, Annie broke in, "Okay, now that Troy and Abed are here, let's play some games until dinner is ready."

"Do you guys have Chutes and Ladders?" Troy asked, "Or Hungry Hungry Hippos?"

Britta smirked, "Maybe we should find something that all of us would like to play. You know, as adults."

"Just 'cause I like Ducktales and didn't get car insurance doesn't mean I'm not a grown up."

"You don't have car insurance, Troy?" Annie asked.

"My bumper's held together by duct tape. What do you think?"

While they held this conversation, Carmen and Jasmine dug out the board games they stored in the closet. They didn't realize that Abed was behind them, until he spoke, with a game in his hand.

"How about Taboo? Is everyone okay with that?"

They sat around the coffee table, getting in pairs of two. Troy and Abed were together, naturally. Britta and Annie paired up, and Carmen and Jasmine were looped together. Carmen and Jasmine went first. Carmen read, and tried to make things very obvious, but Jasmine failed to guess any without Carmen saying the forbidden words. They ended up only getting one, and they were lucky to get that. It brought out Jasmine's competitive side, and left her frustrated. This was not her game, and in her mind she was convinced that if she couldn't do it with her best friend, no one else could do better.

Britta and Annie did better, but only slightly. It didn't help that Britta pronounced half of the words wrong, Annie had a competitive streak similar to Jasmine's, so she cursed a little when the timer was up, and they'd only gotten three words. Annie's frown ended, when she smiled a bit.

Her question was addressed to Carmen and Jasmine, "Are you ready to see magic?"

Troy guessed every single one of the cards Abed had, without him having to say more than a few words. They worked at lightning speed, between the inside jokes and film references. For a couple, Abed just had to give Troy a look and he knew what he was referring to. At the end of their turn, they did a special handshake, laughing.

"Troy and Abed playing Taboo!" They sang, with a perfect synchrony.

Troy leaned back into Abed, his expression still bright, "This was fun."
Jasmine rolled his eyes a fraction. Yeah, fun for you, she thought.

Then she noticed Abed observing her again. He did the same quick scan, noticing her expression, but then stopped as soon as Britta said something he took his focus on everyone else. Jasmine couldn't help but take a turn in watching him. How he held Troy's hand, kept his arm around his shoulders, kissed the top of his head as he told a story that didn't make sense to everyone else. It seemed like Troy was the one thing that softened him.

Then there was her brother, with his big, dopey smile, looking at Abed like he walked on water. When Abed spoke, he hung on every word he said. He listened intently, as Abed went on a five-minute monologue about the differences between Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek, and why both have equal merit in pop culture.

Troy didn't interrupt or let anyone else speak over him. He waited, until he was done to say, "You are so smart, baby."

Then he kissed him shamelessly. It was a long, passionate kiss. One that made Carmen chuckle and say, "I'll have what he's having."

This is when Jasmine left, to take out the lasagna.

While Jasmine was out of the room, Abed shot a glance at Carmen, "You're bisexual, aren't you?"

Annie's mouth opened wide, as she gasped, "Abed!"

Carmen didn't seem nearly as fazed, but instead smirked, "What gave it away?"

"Several things, really. The asymmetrical haircut, heavy eyeliner, and the leather boots are a stereotype for sure, but what really gave it away were the comments you made to both me and Annie."
"And me," Britta added.

"No, not you," Abed said. Without missing a beat, he continued, "I'm bisexual myself. Most people don't realize that because Troy's my forever partner. But it's easy for me to tell when someone else is."

"Built in Bi-Fi. That's amazing," Carmen said, genuinely impressed, "The next time I go to a bar to pick up dates, can you come with me?"

"Sure, but on Fridays Troy and I…" Troy squeezed his arm, their agreed signal for when Abed misread something, "I see… Sometimes I misread social cues."

Carmen was informed ahead of time that Abed was on the spectrum. Jasmine made a big deal about it, a much bigger deal than she should've made. She didn't mind it, especially now that she genuinely liked him as a person. "Sometimes, yes, but I'm kind of serious. You're cool, Abed. And Troy, you're as cute as a button. Together, you guys are unstoppable. I want to take you to bars with me, or just anywhere. Annie and Britta, you can come too."

Jasmine stepped back in, placing the lasagna in the middle of the set table, "It's ready."

They all sat down around the table, talking amongst themselves as they began to eat. They maintained pleasant conversation amongst each other. Annie talked a bit about her volunteer work. Carmen and Jasmine talked about their respective jobs. The guests bantered back and forth, all having fun at no one's expense. Everything was lovely, until it wasn't.

"This is vegetarian, isn't it?" Britta asked, cutting in apart with her fork.

"Yeah…" Jasmine said, trying to remember if she did put meat in it or not.

"How come you wear leather, but you don't eat meat, Britta? It doesn't make any sense," Troy said.

Jasmine laughed a little, letting the comment slip, "Not much makes sense to you."

She knew, the moment it left her lips, that she took it too far. The guests all looked uncomfortable, as they took bites out of their dinner. Abed stared straight into her, gripping his fork tightly.

Troy just looked at her, with big, hurt eyes, "What?"

"No-nothing, Bubby." She tried to dismiss it, sweetly.

"It wasn't nothing," Troy argued, his tone low, "I'm not an idiot."

She sighed, "Troy, I don't know what to tell you. You graduated high school with a 1.7 GPA. Your banner at your graduation party said, 'We didn't think you'd make it this far.' I'm sorry, but it's hard for me to…"

"To not see me as stupid?" Troy finished.

"Honey…" She trailed off, before she took a breath. Everyone else was locked into place, anticipating her response, "Yes. If I'm being honest."

Troy hitched a breath, putting his silverware down, "Okay. Thanks for being honest, I guess."

Abed put a hand on Troy's back. He directed his gaze towards Jasmine, "I'm not going to let you sit here, and make the love of my life feel worthless. I've been observing you all night, and from the looks of it, Troy's not missing out on anything from you. You're the one missing out on him. Troy is smart, but he's more than that. He's compassionate, he's open-minded, he's much better than you. Troy was abused as a kid, and you did nothing," He took Troy's hand, as it shook, "He's much stronger than you'll ever be. And he's got many more people who love him."

He exchanged a look with Troy, and they stood up.

"Troy!" Jasmine called out.

Troy didn't even address her, his eyes downcast as he took Abed's hand. Abed turned to Carmen, "You are a lovely person. I hope to see you again."

Carmen nodded, giving them a small smile, "Don't be a stranger."

After the door shut, Britta and Annie both looked around awkwardly. Annie was the one to say, "Yeah, I think we better go too. This was… it was something."

"Wait, before you go can you give me your numbers? Also text me Troy and Abed's numbers. Maybe we could meet up sometime." Carmen offered.

"Yeah, sure," Annie said, almost absent-mindedly.

"Totally," Britta added, already writing her info down, "I hope things work out."

They left awkwardly, leaving the two roommates alone, sitting at the full dinner table with half-eaten food. It was a long moment, before either of them even thought of speaking.

"You really outdid yourself this time, Jazz," Carmen mumbled, before she got up.

"I didn't mean to…"

"Yeah. Yeah, you did," Carmen interrupted sharply, "I get that you went through stuff too, and it sucks, but after meeting Troy… it's made me realize that you have no excuse. For being the way you are. How you act has nothing to do with your shitty upbringing, how you left things with Derek, or why you've ruined every single friendship you've had. It's just who you are. And you need to work on yourself, or else I might have to leave too."

She exhaled, as Jasmine was left speechless, "I just need a moment."

She stood up and retreated to her room, leaving Jasmine there alone at the table, to think over everything.