As the season began to change and the group approached mid-terms, they finally decided on a date for their 'family dinner' (and they had invited Pierce, who was still upset about his lack of input). Trobed had offered up their apartment so that they could potluck their dinner, and Shirley was THRILLED to be able to bring her famous pecan pie, as well as her famous pumpkin pie, now that they were in season. Annie seemed flustered at having to host (even though SHE had not offered up their apartment, she still felt it was her responsibility to make sure that the group had a good time), and had told everyone not to arrive before six (which everyone but Jeff ignored).
He knocked on the door at six-thirty, a box of microwave popcorn under his arm, a sixpack in one hand, and a bouquet of daisies in the other (he assumed it was the polite thing to do, since the apartment residents were all very different). Sighing deeply he realized he could already smell how many miles he was going to run in the morning, and his mouth watered slightly as the door swung open to reveal a frazzled looking Annie, her cheeks flushed and her hair up in a messy but very attractive ponytail. Jeff raised an eyebrow at her appearance and smiled, gently holding the flowers out to her, "M'lady."
The exhaustion in her eyes seemed to lift and she grinned, clutching the flowers to her chest and taking a deep breath. "Hi."
"Am I… the first to arrive?" He said, already knowing the answer.
"Unfortunately, everyone is already here, I've been rushing to get everything set up. Thanks for following directions, and please! Come in!"
She stepped back so that he could wander in, looking around at the complex little apartment. It was obvious that two adult children lived here, but he found the touches of maturity made it look… just as he imagined? He smiled and couldn't help but think that while clearly no one ever got laid in this apartment, everyone always had a good time. "Your apartment is… something."
"Mhm!" She bemused, motioning for him to follow her and raising her voice, "I'm sure Troy and Abed would love to give you a tour!"
It felt like a moment before the two swooped upon him, excited to have a new person to show off to. "Jeff! Welcome!"
"Hi-"
"The tour!" Abed cut him off, motioning first to a scale model of the boulder scene from Indiana Jones. "First, you'll notice the model."
Jeff nodded as Abed released the boulder, which Troy caught quickly and returned to it's rightful place. "And here is the bathroom, there is our bunkbedroom, that door is Annie's room, and that-" He motioned to several large bookcases, "Is our movie collection."
"We have over 200 movies." Abed nodded.
"We're collectors."
Jeff tried to smile as he looked over their heads to see Annie grinning from the kitchen, putting her flowers in a vase as Shirley pulled something that smelled divine out of the oven.
"That's uh, great." He nodded, looking back to the two young men who seemed desperate for some approval, "I brought things."
He handed the beer to Troy and the popcorn to Abed, causing both of their eyes to glaze over excitedly. They did their handshake and sped off towards the kitchen, he assumed to put the gifts away. He turned to look at the photos on the wall and smiled softly, thinking about how they weren't kidding- this really was a little family. There were photos of the three roommates, the group, just Troy and Abed- he wondered if he'd ever make the wall before scoffing and shaking his head. Who the hell was he? Make it to the wall. Whatever.
Jeff was stirred from his thoughts by someone handing him a beer, and he looked down to notice Britta watching him with a raised eyebrow. "Winger."
"Perry?" He grinned at her. "We're going by last names now?"
She shrugged, pursing her lips and looking at the wall with him. "You brought Annie flowers?"
"I felt it was more her speed than Bud Lite and popcorn."
Britta smirked, still not looking at him, "Her favorite flowers."
"Again, only polite to bring the hosts a gift."
"Mhm."
He looked down at her quizzically and took a swig of his beer. "Have something on your mind?"
"Lots of things." He noticed she slurred her s's slightly and wondered how many beers she'd had already. "I know I'm not nice to you. And I still don't trust you, completely anyway. But I'm glad you're part of our group. I'll never say it again, and if you tell anyone I did- I'll lie."
Jeff smiled and nodded, turning back to look at the others, "Understood."
"Jeffrey! Britta! Dinner is ready, come sit!"
The two made their way to the round table and took their seats, Britta half-heartedly offering to help Shirley and Annie bring the food to the table as Pierce snored so loudly he woke himself up.
"Hey! What- Oh. Jeff and Britta are here, we can start."
"Pierce," Annie rolled her eyes and set a dish of macaroni casserole on the table, "Britta's been here as long as you have, she's just been awake the whole time."
"I've been awake! I just wanted to make sure you all weren't ignoring me, like you did when you planned this… shin dig."
"Pierce, we only didn't include you in the group chat because your phone doesn't support group messages." Troy sighed and started piling food on his plate as Annie and Shirley sat down, Annie beside Jeff and Shirley beside her. He smiled at her as Troy continued arguing that every time Pierce responded to their group-chat they all got sperate messages and it was impossible to keep track of everything he was saying.
"Oh my GOD." Britta swooned, eyes rolling into the back of her head as she shoved yams into her mouth. "Shirley, this is so good."
Shirley crooned as she made a plate, thrilled that someone was enjoying her food (Jeff assumed that she didn't realize Britta was high as hell, which was extremely enjoyable to watch). Annie smiled softly as she looked around the table, her eyes meeting Jeff's last. He smiled and held her gaze momentarily before he felt Abed's eyes on him, and he looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "What do you think of our apartment Jeff?"
"It is…" He nodded, looking around and grabbing a spoonful of green beans (the healthiest thing on the table, regardless of the fatty bacon tossed in with it), "Very you."
Abed and Troy grinned, excited that he had finally come over. "Cool. Cool cool cool cool."
"This is your first time here, right Jeff?" Britta said through a mouthful of food in a tone that suggested her question had ulterior motives.
"Well- inside." Annie said without thinking, eyes widening immediately after as the others (sans Pierce) looked at her quizzically, and Jeff hurriedly continued, "Yeah, it's my first time here. First time hanging out with all of you outside of school, actually. It's almost like we're all real friends now."
The group laughed and turned back to their food, talking about the weather and what they were all going to do for Halloween next week. Jeff sighed, feeling content and relaxed. He smiled as he stretched his legs out a bit ahead of him and glanced over at Annie when his feet met hers. Her face didn't indicate that she noticed, but her mouth turned upward in a small smile as she rested her feet on his.
After they'd finished eating and watching Die Hard (but only the first one, because Annie had work in the morning), the group slowly started to say goodbye. Shirley first, taking with her a few slices of each pie for her boys and Andre, and then Pierce, who claimed to have a date ("Not that any of you would know that, since you don't include me in the group chat." "Pierce, it's okay if you lost the receipt and couldn't return her for a different date." "Shut up, Jeff, you're gay!"). Britta was curled up on the couch, eyes almost shut as she continued eating what was left of the yams, and the guys debating whether they could start Die Hard 2 without getting too excited and keeping Annie up all night. Jeff and Annie were sat beside each other in two uncomfortable chairs, her reading over some notes and him on his phone, both stealing looks at each other every so often. After Pierce left Jeff decided that he, too, should be on his way, and he stood and looked fondly at his friends.
"This was really nice."
"Yeah." Annie smiled up at him. "It was. It's been a while since we've done this."
"Yeah." Abed nodded, "Everyone hasn't been over together since we helped Annie move in."
"Ah. Good times." Troy laughed, looking back at them. He raised an eyebrow at Britta, who had started snoring softly. "Are we just gonna let her stay here?"
"Well, we aren't going to let her drive." Annie scoffed, getting up and heading to her bedroom. She emerged a moment later with a blanket and threw it over her blonde friend. "It's fine. Just make sure if you guys go to sleep you double check the front door, remember what happened last time."
They all nodded solemnly at each other, leaving Jeff staring at them confused and bewildered. He cleared his throat and motioned to the door, "Well, again, this was fun. I'll see you all Monday?"
"Yeah." They chorused, and Annie smiled, linking her arm through his, "I'll walk you out."
"All the way across the living room? Annie, you spoil me." He smirked at her and she rolled her eyes as they made their way to the door. "I'd have walked you down, but since you're content with the door, I'll leave you to it."
His smiled faded and she laughed at him, leaning against the door frame. "Thanks for the flowers. They're pretty."
He shrugged, "Daisies are the friendliest flower."
Annie raised an eyebrow at the reference, wondering when he'd managed to watch You've Got Mail, and smiled, "Yeah. They are."
"Have a great night, Annie."
"You too, Jeff."
On the Sunday after Halloween (the group had all gone to the school's Halloween dance in Cowboy costumes. It was both the best and worst Halloween Jeff had ever experienced, and he wouldn't have traded it for any other event he'd been to) Ted had text Jeff to check his email (which he'd done, begrudgingly) and he found that he'd been neglecting to respond to the invitation to Harold's retirement party. In part because he hadn't seen the email, but also in part that he didn't want to go. He'd been thinking about Mark's comments a few weeks ago (not with any seriousness, so that he wouldn't get too frustrated, but it had graced his mind a few times), and in thinking about it he had also been thinking about not going back to his old firm regardless of whether he took Mark's offer. His time at Greendale had been short, but impactful, and it made him want to do something better that defend sleezebags all the time. Not to mention, he liked not working 50+ hours every week, and he imagined if he went back to work, he'd start that up again and then he'd never have time to see his friends.
Which… Was odd, he thought, furrowing his eyebrows. How many grown ass adults base their job on how often they'd see someone they just met more often? Or, uh, people, they'd just met. He sighed and skimmed over the email again, raising his eyebrow at the RSVP line that asked if he'd be bringing a plus one. Hmm. A smile graced his face and he decided that regardless of not wanting to go to a work event, there was no reason not to enjoy a black-tie party with a pretty lady.
