Jeff did end up stopping by the dance before going out to L Street, and he hated admitting that it was fun getting to know Troy and Abed a little better (and he hated even more that he had three brownies. He was going to have to add in an extra mile on his runs the next few days). All in all, he wasn't totally upset to have gone, although he did leave pretty much as soon as the dean had noticed he was there. He did, however, feel a little strange upon arriving at the bar where some of his friends from work (sans Alan, thankfully) were meeting him. They were all excited to see him and envious of his 'extended vacation', but they were happy for him. He smiled and made small talk and watched each of his coworkers unsuccessfully hit on pretty women at the bar, but it all felt a little emptier to him than it used to. Jeff could only assume it was from the brownies, maybe he was in a carb fog. He also didn't stay long there, leaving at 10:30 and heading home, much to the dismay of the guys. It was all for the best though, since he wanted to get up early to start his new exercise routine.
Jeff did find it a little strange, however, that the entire time he was out he didn't get a single woman's number. He hadn't even tried.
. . . . .
Monday rolled around and Jeff slipped into Starbucks around 8:45, wondering to himself why he was so early since his class didn't start until after 10. Oh well, he was already there, and he was already smiling as he locked eyes with his friend behind the counter.
"Wow, Jeff Winger, in the flesh." Annie smiled, looking a little more weary than he'd seen her look previously but cheery nonetheless, writing on a cup and setting it on the bar. "How was the dance?"
"It was, as predicted, very weird."
"But Shirley's brownies are so good, huh?"
"Oh my GOD." Jeff groaned, handing her a five. "Do not let that woman bake around me ever again. I cannot let all the hard work I put into this-" He gestured vaguely to himself, "go to waste."
"Of course, of course." She nodded, sticking his change into the tip jar. She did it now without even thinking, and he realized he didn't know when they had started having these transactions without any questions. He knew his americano would be on the handoff in moments, and she knew all his change belonged to the team. "I heard you didn't stay long."
"Uh yeah, my coworkers had invited me out, so I just stopped by before going to meet them."
"Well hopefully you can stay longer next time. Who knows, maybe I'll show up."
"Oh, maybe I'd stay a whole hour then." He smiled down at her, still not moving. She raised an eyebrow at him and looked behind him, "Hi Bob, we're brewing a fresh batch of blonde for you right now."
Jeff was rocked out of his little bubble as he turned to look at the old man behind him (who looked none too pleased at having to wait so long). "Uh, sorry, she's my classmate."
"Yeah well she's also working, maybe talk to her in class."
"Fair point." Jeff turned back to her, handing her another five, "I'll see you in class."
"Of course." She winked, turning away to grab the old man's coffee. "Your americano is down there. I'll see you later."
He smiled and walked away, just far enough to still be able to hear Annie tell Bob that the tall guy in front of him had paid for his coffee and Bob grumble about how it was the least he could do for wasting his time. Jeff smiled to himself and grabbed his drink, giving Annie a wave before leaving the store. As he walked outside he looked down at the cup, as he'd noticed something off about it out of the corner of his eye. He gently pulled the sleeve down and a puzzled look crossed his face as he looked at (clearly) Annie's writing on the cup, a large, sprawled font reading "Purple" with a smiley face.
Jeff laughed softly and pulled out his phone to snap a photo of the cup. He sent it to Annie with the caption, "New nickname?" and got into his car to head off to school.
He was parked outside (in the student lot, much to his chagrin) playing bejeweled when his phone chimed. His heart skipped a beat (again, much to his chagrin) when he saw Annie had replied. He opened his phone, vaguely registering that this was their first ever text conversation, to see that she had written him what he'd consider a novel.
'Last week when you said we barely knew each other I disagreed, but figured I would entertain your thirst for knowledge and tell you my favorite color '
Jeff smiled, looking at the cup again. 'Did he have a favorite color?' he pondered as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He liked wearing grey and blue, but mostly because he looked so damn good. Blue was a safe favorite color. Grey was… weird. Did he like green? He didn't even know, but he text back, 'Purple is a great accent color'.
He got out of the car, thankful his coffee was double cupped so he could leave the message in his car and not get shit on by Britta. Or Shirley. Or Duncan. Hmm. He squinted in the light, putting his aviators back on and heading towards his class, not noticing that he had chosen the way in that went directly by Annie's locker until he saw her. Smiling as he noticed her pull out her books for class he walked up and leaned against the row of metal doors. "Good morning, again."
She jumped slightly but recovered quickly, "Hey, Jeff! Why are you being stealthy?"
"Uh… I didn't think I was, but I'm sorry?" He frowned a little and sipped his drink. "Heading my way?"
"Always, since your only two classes are with me."
"I'm just lucky I guess." Jeff smiled again as she blushed and turned to walk away, "Grey."
"What?" She turned to give him a puzzled look. "My favorite color is grey."
She laughed softly and hugged her binder to her chest, "An interesting choice. Makes a great accent color. You ready to do our project today?"
"Ye-yeah." He nodded nervously, looking down at her. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Oh I just noticed you only had your empty binder with you, so-"
"Oh, no, I just didn't want to carry all the stuff in my car."
"Mhmm." She nodded, giving him a smirk. "I'm excited to see these good-looking posters."
He smiled softly as they walked to class, not saying anything the rest of the way. Shirley squealed as they walked in, patting the chair next to her (he assumed for Annie). She slid into the seat and started making small talk while Jeff chose to sit beside Pierce, much to his surprise.
"Winger!" Pierce exclaimed, a huge smile on his face, "To what do I owe the honor of you sitting beside me?"
"I was just curious…" Jeff began quietly, "As our project manager-"
Pierce puffed up at his sudden promotion.
"Did you happen to get extra supplies? I'm concerned I don't have enough."
The older man scoffed loudly, grabbing his bag, "Who do you think I am, Jeff? Of course I brought extra supplies." He opened his bag and held it out to Jeff to observe the contents (which included several different acrylic paints, brushes, markers, post it notes, and a bottle of scotch).
"Wow you really thought this through, didn't you?"
"Liquid creativity can open the mind to so many possibilities… Especially sexual possibilities, which is perfect for this course."
"Is it though?" Jeff gave a tight-lipped smile as his brow furrowed. "Also, did you happen to get poster board?"
"I bought a roll of butcher paper, it's in the study room with our group name on it."
"We… have a group name?"
"Hawthorne's Helpers!" He grinned, looking extremely pleased with himself. Jeff deadpanned at him, and Troy turned around, "Pierce, we've told you that's not the name of our study group."
"Yeah," Abed interjected, also turning around. "We're torn between League of Legends and Scott's Tots, in reference to The Office."
"How is that even a debate, guys?"
"Well, Troy and I are currently the only one's voting."
"As you will continue to be." Britta snapped, turning to glare at them. "We don't need a group name, we are all just friends and Jeff."
"Hey!" Jeff and Pierce exclaimed together. "Jeff is our friend. Also it's nice to finally be recognized as a friend."
Britta rolled her eyes and turned to look ahead as Professor Kingsley entered the room, wearing a very tight skirt and her hair up in a high ponytail, grabbing the attention of every man in the classroom. Jeff thought it was remarkable a woman her age could pull off all the outfits she wore, but he considered it a blessing that he was never bored in her class. He smirked slightly as he noticed the women in his study group gawk at her, and he settled in for what was sure to be an interesting lecture.
. . . . . .
It took much longer than anticipated for the group to make their two posters. Britta and Jeff both thought they had done a great job, but Shirley and Annie kept giving them pointers and feedback and making changes to the point that they decided to simply start over. Pierce had become a burden, again, making a big deal about every time they had to write "intercourse" or "sexual bliss" on the posters, and Troy and Abed had left long ago to get pizza for them (as it was clear they would not be leaving in time for lunch).
"Why do the colors matter!" Britta exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation. "Why do we have to color code them? Colors don't have a gender, the 'female' side doesn't need to be different shades of pink, Shirley!"
"I just think that it will make it easier to differentiate the opinions that we're presenting!"
"Shirley, everyone in class will know the backwards thinking poster is yours, you are the only one in class with any sexual hang ups!" The blonde growled at her, causing Annie to blush and Shirley to narrow her eyes.
"I don't think that believing sex should be between a married couple is a hang up, Britta! Unlike being unable to commit to any sort of relationship! Or not being able to say the word 'penis'!"
"Ha!" Pierce laughed from his seat at the table (he'd been banished from the poster making process). "Penis."
"Uh…" Jeff raised his eyebrows and looked around, "I don't think any of this is really relevant, but also, I must know who is unable to say the word 'penis' because we are all literal adults."
"I can say the word PENIS!" Annie exclaimed, still red in the face. "I was eighteen when that happened, Shirley, I don't understand why we're bringing it up now!"
The three women started arguing loudly, pointing fingers and paint brushes at each other and their posters. The entire thing was giving Jeff a headache on top of his extreme discomfort of knowing that they were all… so fucking weird. Delightful, and nice, and good looking (wait, he stopped himself), but still absolutely weird. He sighed deeply and held up his hand, moving it in a conductor's swoop, closing his fingers together in hopes it would cease the chatter of his study group. He smirked at the silence the movement brought, but his smile dropped quickly as he looked up to three menacing glares and Pierce's slack jawed stare.
"Uh… This is all great, and cathartic, I'm certain… But it is now two pm, and we haven't even begun our second round of these posters that are due on Wednesday. Is there any way that we can put a pin in the grievances until after they're done? Cause I'd like to go home at some point. There's a new episode of Chopped on at 8 and I'd hate to miss it."
The room was quiet but for a moment before the girls erupted again.
"I'll put a pin in your ass, Jeffrey, don't think I won't!"
"We'd all like to go home, snob."
"Maybe if you'd help a little instead of us doing all of the work we could get out of here!"
"I said earlier we should have opened the scotch." Pierce grumbled as Troy and Abed walked in with two boxes of pizza.
"Wooow…" Troy said nervously, his large smile not reaching his eyes. "We're… starting over?"
The girls all shot him a glare and Jeff quickly jumped in, "We have all decided that a little more effort needs to be put into this, since Annie and Shirley have done so much research. Are you guys interested in getting this done with us? I know you're presenting, but if we all chip in we can all enjoy the pizza while it's hot."
They all were silent, and awkward for a few moments before Britta sighed deeply and rolled out a new sheet of butcher paper. "I'm sorry, I know I haven't been as… amicable as usual."
The others groaned and Troy rolled his eyes so hard his head lolled back.
"AND-" Britta continued, ignoring them. "I am ready to start over, using any colors that we all feel will be best for the project."
"I don't mind working on the poster." Abed said, tilting his head toward the mess on the table. "Where should we start?"
"I still say with scotch." Pierce grinned at them, pulling the bottle from his bag. The group all admonished him, and Annie looked up at Jeff with exhausted but grateful eyes, mouthing a gentle, "thank you" before pulling her hair back into a ponytail and rolling up her sleeves. He smiled at her as she picked up a brush, and thought maybe he'd make it home in time for Chopped… but he could live with it if he didn't.
They wrapped up their project around four, and Jeff felt zapped by having been at Greendale for nearly six hours. The group decided that they should store the posters in Jeff's car, as he did the least amount of work (but also had the least number of things and/or people in his car to dirty them). His friends all looked as drained as he felt, but still were smiling as they left school, waving their goodbyes as they headed their separate ways. Annie had offered to help Jeff to his car with the posters (which he allowed, only because he knew she was terrified of anything happening to her project).
"So, remember, on Wednesday you can just text me when you get here, and I'll come grab the posters." She eyed him suspiciously as she gently tucked the project into his backseat, taking care of them as if they were a living thing. She took a deep breath and stood back, looking up at him. "I… uh… I appreciate you stepping in and helping us get this figured out today. It turned out pretty well."
"Yeah, yeah, no biggie. I just wanted to get out of here."
"Sure." She smiled, looping her thumbs through the straps of her backpack and rocking forward slightly. "I know you're starting to care about them."
"I care about passing this class."
"And Chopped."
"And Chopped." He laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Do you, uh… need a ride?"
"Oh! Oh, no- I, I drove here this morning, my car's just-"
"Yeah, no, totally." They were both smiling, staring at each other awkwardly before Annie quickly sucked in her breath and waved, "I'll see you later!"
"Tomorrow."
"Yeah!" She turned, walking away quickly, looking over her shoulder only once. "Tomorrow!"
Jeff smiled and shook his head as she left his line of sight, and he wondered if she was right. Maybe he could get used to having friends. He felt… nice, all the time. And he hadn't really felt that before. Either way, he thought as he got in and turned on his Lexus, he could get used to whatever he was feeling.
A/N: I hope you all are enjoying :) I actually met my partner at Starbucks, and I'd get little notes on my cups :)
