Annie seemed distracted throughout their entire class on Monday, and the rest of the group was concerned. Not only because of her, but Jeff hadn't shown up that day as well, and no one had heard from him. As the group made their way to the study room, Troy sighed and looked at Annie, "Girl, what is up?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're Jeff's best friend. Where is he? Is he ok? Has he been to your store?"

She rolled her eyes and took her seat, "I don't know. He quit his job on Saturday, so maybe he decided he doesn't need to finish his degree."

"What?" They said in unison, all turning to look at her.

"Is that why you were in such a bad mood when you came home on Saturday night?" Abed asked, causing Troy to give him a 'look' and a gentle shove. "Oops."

"Where'd you go Saturday night?" Shirley asked suspiciously.

"And why weren't we invited?" Pierce scoffed.

Annie frowned, looking exhausted and irritated, "Jeff took me to this work event on Saturday, asked me to talk him up to his bosses, then quit. Just on the spot."

"That's… Weird…" Britta said, her face betraying that maybe she knew more than she was letting on. Annie stared at her, eyebrow raised and said, "What do you know."

"Me? Nothing, ever. I'm Britta, and I'm the worst, what would I kn-"

"Cut the crap, Britta."

"Okay fine. He text me about quitting his job and that he wasn't going to be in class today. Said he had some things to do. That's ALL I know."

"Wait Jeff took you to a party at his job?" Shirley said, looking appalled. "With all those sleezy men he says he works with?"

The roommates all rolled their eyes, and Troy interjected, "Annie's an adult, Shirley, what she and Jeff do without us is their business. Also, he text YOU, Britta?"

"Troy!" Annie shrieked as Britta scowled. "We don't DO anything."

"Of course you don't." Pierce laughed, "Jeff's gay."

Annie put her head in her hands and Shirley side eyed her as she tsked, shaking her head. Britta looked around the table and rubbed the back of her neck, "I don't know if this is the right time to say this, but I actually fell asleep in class and would love a copy of someone's notes."

. . . .

After they finished studying (talking about Jeff), Annie quickly grabbed her belongings and stormed out of the library, Britta hot on her heels. The blonde huffed behind her, clearly not expecting to be going as fast as she was, "Annie, wait!"

"What, Britta? I have to go to class."

"Annie, it's November, I know by now that you don't have class until three."

"Two." She grumbled, stopping just outside the door of the building, the cold wind blowing their hair in their faces.

"Whatever." Britta sighed, dropping her hands to her sides in a defeated manner. "What's going on? You can tell me. I already know it's something weird that you think I'm going to judge you for, but-"

"Jeff kissed me Saturday night."

"-But I spoke too soon. He did what?"

Annie rolled her eyes and moved to sit on a bench, "Well, I mean I kissed him first."

"What?!"

"If you're going to act like this, I won't continue sharing with you."

"I'm sorry." Britta said, putting on a fake smile and sitting beside her friend. "So… you kissed Jeff? The same Jeff that wears sunglasses inside and thinks that looking good is a personality trait?"

Annie deadpanned to her, and Britta recoiled, holding her hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, it's just… I really thought that it would be different, by now? I mean, I thought he liked me, but maybe I just can't read signals very well?"

"Oh, no." Britta scoffed, rolling her eyes. "He likes you."

"Then why did he apologize after we kissed?"

"Duh doy. BECAUSE he likes you. He's probably never liked anyone that didn't stare back at him from a mirror before, he may not know what to do with himself."

Annie furrowed her eyebrows and stared at Britta, not following. Britta rolled her eyes again and put an arm around Annie, "Look, you're young. People like Jeff don't know how to be vulnerable and open to the possibility of another person being able to stand them. He knows people think he's hot, and he's fine with it, but you actually like him. What can he do about that other than freak out? I'd be freaked out if I was as much of an ass as he is and still managed to get the affection of a smart, beautiful person too."

Annie laughed for the first time that day, and she leaned into her friend. "It's pretty obvious?"

"Yes. It's disgusting. You guys have a stupid amount of chemistry. The cup thing was too much though, I'm shocked we were able to hide it from Shirley and Pierce. I don't know how your boss didn't cut her eyes out."

"Erin said it's cute." Annie said quietly, blushing. "So… should I just call him? Wait for him to call me?"

"Honestly, ignore him for now. Let him freak out a little bit. He'll come around once he realizes that he's an idiot."

Annie laughed again and pulled her coat tighter around her. "Thanks Britta."

"Don't mention it. Ever. I still don't like him."

. . . .

Jeff felt like he was going insane. It had become glaringly obvious that he was absolutely losing his mind, and all signs pointed to him nearing a mental breakdown. A) Quitting his job without notice? Without a plan? Wild. B) Caring more about a group of people he'd only known a few months than people he'd known for years? Unlike him. C) Thinking that maybe, possibly, he was in love with someone that could very likely love him back? Outrageous. None of this was anything he'd do in his right mind, and yet here he was- outside at 7am on a Tuesday, running like there was no tomorrow because he hadn't slept and he couldn't sit still and he didn't want to be inside. He'd already clocked four miles and had no intention of stopping, he figured if he stopped reality would catch up to him and he might have to process his emotions like a human being. Not the Greendale kind, but the flesh and blood type. Taking deep and even breaths he looked around, realizing he hadn't actually made a plan of where he was going, so he wasn't really sure where he was. He wondered if Annie was at home. Maybe she was working. Maybe he could just text her or call her and find out, but that would probably be too easy.

He shook his head and stopped at the next corner to pull out his phone. Panting heavily, he did his best to steady his breath as he hit the call button.

. . . .

Annie thought Troy and Abed were being weird, and she couldn't really get them to crack. They had left school early, and since she had gotten home they had been cleaning and whispering to themselves, occasionally glancing her way. She tried to ignore them and focus on her schoolwork, but it was getting annoying very quickly.

"What is going on, guys?" She tossed her book aside on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest. "You're acting weird, and not the good kind."

"We're not acting weird," Troy said with a grin. "We're just getting ready to go out."

"Where are you going, and can it be any sooner? I'd love to get some work done."

"We'll be leaving momentarily. We just have a few finishing touches to add."

Annie raised an eyebrow at Abed as the buzzer sounded, and Troy and Abed raced to go down to answer. She was extremely confused, more so when they returned moments later with bags of take out.

"I thought you were going out?"

"We are." Abed nodded. "This is for you."

"And now that it's here, it's time for us to go."

The duo smiled at her and raced out of the door, slamming it behind them. She was bewildered by their behavior, but stood to examine the food that they'd left on the table. Not bad, she thought; lasagna, wine, warm bread rolls. Not very their speed, but she was grateful they'd thought of her (even though it was… a lot of food). A knock at the door pulled her away from her imminent dinner, and she sighed as she went to let the boys back in.

"Did you forget your-" She stopped short as she pulled the door open, looking bewildered at the person in front of her. "Keys…"

"Hey." Jeff said softly, looking nervously from her to the flowers in his hand. She raised an eyebrow and leaned against the doorframe, "Jeff? What's going on?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. He wrinkled his forehead in surprise, he had definitely assumed this was going to be a lot smoother than whatever he was currently doing.

She looked at him quizzically and took a step closer to him, "Are you okay?"

"Honestly, no." He said quickly, meeting her gaze with a renewed passion. "No, I'm not. And that's why I'm here."

"Well, what's going on?"

"I can't sleep," he mused, his eyes never leaving hers. "I haven't since I quit my job, since… Saturday. I haven't thought about what I'm going to do for work, if I want to finish my classes, and honestly none of that even compares to the fact that all I can think about is you, and that the way I feel when I'm around you is the best that I've felt in years."

Annie didn't say anything, for possibly the first time since he'd met her she was absolutely speechless.

"I didn't say anything on Saturday because… I honestly don't know what I'm doing…" he continued. "But I do know that I want to keep figuring it out with you. Knowing you has made me a better person. I think about other people, I notice them and things about them, I CARE about them and their opinion of me. And I don't want to stop."

The look he was giving her begged for an answer, but still she remained quiet, mouth hanging open slightly in shock. He took a few deep breaths, looking at her intently, "I know I've read somewhere to let silence do the heavy lifting, but I think everything I've laid down is pretty big. And, honestly, I'd understand if you don't feel the way I do. I don't have a lot to offer and I'm kind of an ass, but I know that if I never said anything to you, I'd regret it for the rest of my life."

Annie laughed softly, touching her hand to her brow in a way that made her look as though she was overwhelmed (well, she probably was). She looked up at him and gave him a thin-lipped smile, "Did you send the food here?"

He nodded, never breaking eye contact with her.

"Is this... a date?"

He nodded again, smiling, "If you're willing, of course."

"This is the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me."

"That can't be true, you lived above Dildopolis."

"You've never seen Troy and Abed clean, it's unnerving." She laughed again and took a step forward, "You know… all those cups I've given you and I've still never told you my favorite part of the day."

"Yeah?" He smiled softly and ran his free hand up her arm, gently squeezing her small bicep affectionately, "Tell me your favorite part of the day."

"The moment you show up." She whispered, leaning into him and sliding her arms around his waist. "Every day I feel like I'm holding my breath until you walk in, and then suddenly I can breathe again. I can feel your energy the second you're in the room with me and there's nothing else like it. You're electric."

Jeff smiled down at her, softly stroking her back as she lifted her eyes to meet his, "If Abed were here, he'd tell us that this is the part where we're supposed to kiss."

"While I'm glad Abed isn't here, I absolutely agree with that." He grinned and leaned down slowly, gently cupping her face in his hand, "and if you tell him I agreed with his thought process there will be hell to pay."

"Hey-" She gave him a flirtatious smile, "I want to cash in on my favor."

"Anything, m'lady."

"Shut up and kiss me."

She didn't have to tell him twice as he pressed his lips against hers, his heart pounding so loud he felt there was no way she couldn't hear it.

Epilogue

Jeff had decided that he should finish his classes at Greendale (he had, after all, already paid for them and passed his midterms). The study group had been thrilled to have him back, and that he and Annie had finally gotten over themselves and told each other how they felt. Pierce was, of course, shocked, and had whispered to Britta that Annie was clearly a beard (because there's no way someone as smart as Annie wouldn't see that Jeff was a loser). Shirley was a little hesitant but came around after Britta had reminded her that judgement was reserved for the lord and Shirley had to cross herself and agree. The group dynamic remained nearly unchanged, which Abed attributed in part to Jeff just being an extension of Annie (which neither of them were thrilled about), but they were happy not to have everyone be weird around them as they held hands or arrived and left together in Jeff's Lexus.

He also had reached out to Mark, letting him know he was more than happy to join him at his new firm if he still wanted him there ("Uh, fricken obviously, Winger!"), and he was due to start in January with their first client, Professor Kingsley (who, as it turns out, was still loaded regardless of her villainous ex). Jeff had never been happier, and he was even willing to ignore the dejected looks he'd get from the dean, though Annie was having a harder time deflecting his jealous barbs at her.

A week before the end of classes, Jeff and Annie were walking towards class when he noticed the Secular Winter Festivities Dance posters on almost every locker and bulletin board. He stopped to look at one and chuckled. Annie looked up at him with a smile, "Something funny, friend?"

"I just was thinking about how I'm four for five on these dances. Are the shirts just one size?"

"I'm sure for you the dean will be out of anything other than a small." She laughed, swinging his hand gently. "Were you planning on going?"

"I mean, maybe if someone asked me."

"Oh, well, I'm sure you won't have to wait too long. From what I've heard you're quite the catch."

"Me?" He feigned shock and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. "I'm honored to be gossiped about."

Annie smiled and sighed contently, happy that she didn't have to keep writing on cups anymore to let Jeff know how she felt. She gave him a gentle squeeze and pulled him towards their class, "Going my way?"

"Literally always."