A/N: Hi again. So this is coming up pretty fast after the first chapter – they won't be this frequent in the future, I'm aiming to do a chapter for each new episode. I just had to catch up.

As before…

~SPOILERS AHEAD FOR 603~

You've been warned.

So I wasn't completely happy with Annie in this episode. For some reason the writers decided that Annie would decide, within 4 hours and while sleep deprived, that she should transfer to City College. Just like she did back in season 2 episode 4 with the space bus. That's not cool. Annie has stuck with Greendale throughout all of its crazy stuff for over 5 years now. She wouldn't abandon the school and her friends just because Greendale gave a degree to a dog, regardless of how much that would undercut all of her efforts. She'd help find a solution to the problem.

They also decided to not have Jeff follow Annie when she walked out. That spot is where this picks up, with some adjustments to how the episode reaches it's ending, before we get back into the 'new' stuff.

As always, enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Community any more than I did in the last chapter.

Annie pulled her magnetic pen holders from the door of her locker and shoved them angrily into her bag. Stupid Greendale. Stupid friends. Stupid Frankie.

Stupid Jeff.

How could they do that to her? Greendale gave a degree to a dog. A dog. And they want to defend that by, what? Not trying to find a clerical error, not trying to justify it, but attacking the character of the DOG! What was this, children's television? Greendale had always been weird, but this was pushing it too far, and… and…

She had a headache. Annie was used to a strict sleep cycle. Staying up late to finish papers was always accounted for and planned in advance. This had been out of the blue, and she was running on exactly zero hours of rest in the last 36 hours.

She rested her head against the cold metal. Headache be damned, this was the last straw… right? She'd put up with all the blow off classes, she'd ignored the anus flag, and she'd seen a list of janitorial jobs going back to 2004. But Greendale was supposed to be better than this now.

Only her argument ran out there. Because it was. Greendale was improving. Just because the whole dog thing came up today didn't mean that it was still a problem. Ruffles 'graduated' in 2008 – Annie hadn't even been here then. It didn't devalue any of her years of hard work, and it wouldn't happen in today's Greendale. Probably. Maybe that was their answer right there.

Annie sighed as she heard a familiar gait approaching. As much as she might have overreacted to the situation, it still hurt a little that Jeff didn't say anything when she'd left.

"Look Annie, I'm sorry." Well, that was a decent start. "I shouldn't have just let you walk out like that. That's not something friends do, let alone… you know."

She smiled at that.

"And you were right. Mostly. Greendale has been a toilet for years, but it's finally starting to turn around. If we have to bring it back to where it was five years ago to keep it alive, we might as well not bother with any of this. Greendale is our home – it's where we met the group, and it's where I met you. It deserves better than a slanderous video attacking a dog's sexual history." He grimaced. "Wow. That sounds even sillier when you say it out loud."

Annie chuckled, and moved into a hug. "I don't think I'm even really that mad anymore. Just tired mostly."

"Hey, you're the one that called us out here at three in the morning."

"You know the silliest thing?" she mumbled into his shoulder.

"Literally everything that's happened today?"

"Well yeah. But I was about to leave Greendale for good, just because of a dumb dog that I've never even seen before."

He hummed thoughtfully. "You're right, that probably is the silliest thing."

"Jeff." She stepped back and aimed a slap at his chest, but he caught her hand.

His face was serious now. "We're good right?"

"We're fine Jeff. Remember what you said? 'It's hard to do any real damage when you're building off of five years of close friendship and definitive, scientific proof of love'?"

"I said that?" He looked confused. "I thought that was internal monologue."

"Maybe it was, and I can read minds."

"Do you know what I'm thinking right now?"

"Uhh… You thought it was hot when I was yelling at you before?"

He squinted at her suspiciously, and she gave him a bright smile in return.

"But we should probably get back before everyone… well, before Britta gets suspicious."

He nodded, and turned them back down the hallway. "So, do you have any ideas about how we can get the school out of this mess without acting like raving lunatics?"

"Just before you showed up actually, yeah. We're going to need to find that dog, and Abed will need his camera. Oh, and you should probably let go of my hand before we head back in."

"Right."

The clock had just ticked over to six when, after twenty seven takes, they'd finally settled on one Abed was happy with. It wasn't perfect, but it was as good as it would be. Never work with animals or children isn't just a saying.

It had taken some convincing to get KZBC to run Greendale's add before City College's. They'd finally agreed in exchange for a live interview with the one and only Elroy Patashnik - apparently he had quite an international following, who would boost the network's site traffic or something.

Annie had convinced everyone that simply owning up to the fact would be the best move in the long run. Entering into a mud-slinging match with City College wouldn't end well for either school. And no dog as cute as Ruffles (or, the dog that looked similar that they'd found eating garbage outside) should have to be a part of that.

And so the group found themselves sitting in the student lounge in their pajamas, Britta passed out on the floor, watching television as students began to trickle in to start the day.

"You guys, I knew we could find a way to do this honestly." Annie said, smiling at the weary faces around her.

"You hoped!" Frankie said, rubbing her eyes to keep herself away.

"I hoped, and it worked!"

"Hope… points…"

"Hope points!"

"You do understand that what we did was also just the most prudent tactical move. Getting in front of the scandal, Letterman style." Jeff said, smirking at her enthusiasm.

"Yes Jeff, don't worry. I promise I'll never mistake you for having a heart."

Neither of them saw Frankie roll her eyes as they smiled fondly at each other. It was lucky Britta wasn't conscious really.

"Well I don't know about all of you, but some of us need our beauty sleep." Elroy said, stretching as he stood up. He gestured to Britta. "Tell her... tell her she can keep the pants."

Abed shook Britta awake as everyone stood up slowly.

"I think in light of the events of last night, it would be okay for you guys to have the day off." the Dean yawned out. "I'll see you all tomorrow. Jeffrey." He finished with an obvious leer and left, leaving Jeff even more confused than earlier.

"You coming Annie?" Britta called from the exit, leaning heavily on Abed's shoulder.

"Oh, uhh…" She looked to Jeff for an excuse to stay, but it was Frankie who responded first.

"I was actually doing to take Annie out for a drink to celebrate. I'll drop her off later on."

"Oh okay, have fun." Britta slurred, as Abed steered her out the door, giving Annie a confused look.

Annie shrugged apologetically at Jeff, and turned to Frankie. "So, you wanted to…"

"Oh, no I never drink. Anything that reduces brain function is something I try to stay well away from - drugs, alcohol, YouTube comments sections, you know. I just assumed that the two of you were looking for an excuse to slip out for some quick make-up sex, so I provided one."

"Umm."

"And don't worry. I assume that Britta doesn't know for a reason, probably your complicated romantic histories, so I won't say anything. You might want to let her know soon though."

"Umm."

"So, I'll let you get onto that, and I'll see you bright and early for the meeting tomorrow." With that, she picked up her bag and headed towards the corridor.

Jeff was the first to recover. "Uhh, so when did you figure it out?"

Frankie paused and turned back around. "Anyone paying attention could have figured it out today. But it wasn't too hard to pick up on. Between the four of you, at least one romantic pairing is very likely, and since none of you are gay from what I can see, that only leaves so many options. Annie and Abed are more like brother and sister, and you and Britta aren't stable enough to have anything work. I haven't seen Abed and Britta interact anything like that, which leave you two."

"So you just assumed we were together based on that?" Annie asked.

"At first, yes. It's not hard to tell from the way you interact though. I assume the Dean hasn't picked up on it because of his obvious bias, and the thought hasn't even entered Britta's mind yet. Now, I've got some invoices to email, and I need to set up Elroy's interview. If you'll excuse me."

With that, she walked out, leaving Jeff and Annie slightly shocked.

"So…" Annie began. "Are we really that obvious?"

"Well, Britta hasn't picked up on it yet, so it can't be that bad right? Frankie's just stupidly observant, like Abed." Jeff shrugged. "I did like her suggestion though."

"I think you owe me some breakfast first." She smiled. "I'm in the mood for some pancakes."

"You know I hate breakfast food."

"Get a fruit salad then, I don't care. I just need some syrup."

"Fine. But make-up sex after, right?"

"Right."

It wasn't until they were halfway through their meal that Annie realized she was in her pajamas in public.

When Britta finally woke up at eleven in the morning, her first thought was that she wasn't as hungover as she had been expecting. It was still bad, but the fact that she wasn't completely blinded by the light streaming in through the open window was a good sign. Abed must have forced some water into her when they'd arrived home.

She staggered over to the kitchen and climbed onto a chair to reach the painkillers. Annie insisted on keeping them on the very top shelf, probably out of habit, which meant that it took a lot of physical work to relieve a headache. Not the best thing when you aren't feeling great. Britta would have to look into creating a stash somewhere.

The tapping of a keyboard told her that Abed was working in his room, so she flopped down onto the couch and turned on the TV. There was usually something decent on CSPAN around now. She liked to make an exercise of debating any and every point brought up. It's not like she called in or anything, but it was a decent way to waste a few hours.

That's when Britta came to her second real thought of the morning. She didn't have her phone. It wasn't on the pullout, it wasn't on the table, and it wasn't in her… pockets. These weren't her pockets. These pants were several sizes too large and held up by nothing more than a drawstring. Had she lost her pants somewhere?

Oh god. It all came rushing back. She had… And her pants were… Crap.

She got up and knocked lightly on Abed's door. "Hey, Abed? You wouldn't happen to have my phone in here would you?"

He kept typing. "Nope. Did you have it this morning?"

"I had it last night at the bar, and I definitely had it when the Dean called us in, but after that…"

He turned his head. "You were too drunk to remember?"

"Well… yeah."

"So you don't remember how you po…"

"I remember that!" Britta exclaimed, her face turning a little red. "God Abed, it's a little embarrassing, can you not bring it up?"

"I don't see why it's a big deal. It's not uncommon for overly drunk people to…"

"Is that you not bringing it up?"

"Sorry. I don't know what happened to your other pants. You'd have to ask Elroy."

And so Britta found herself making the trip to Greendale on her first school-sanctioned day off in five years. Elroy had taken up 'permanent' residence in the parking lot, after the Dean had rezoned the disabled parking spots so that the Winnebago wouldn't be towed.

She dodged the swarms of cars looking for a spot, and knocked quickly on the door. Elroy answered wearing the same dressing gown he'd had on last night… this morning?

"Britta. I hope this is worth interrupting my nap."

He didn't look like he'd just woken up, so Britta peered around him into the small space. "I was hoping you had some idea about where my phone is."

"Yours is the Totorola? Interesting brand, can't see it taking off here."

"How did you… Have you been going through my phone?"

He gestured for her to come inside. "Not the information, the technology. It's an interesting piece of engineering – completely unstable and practically worthless in a functional sense, but interesting nonetheless."

His table was covered in a pile of disassembled electronic devices – phones, tablets, old circuit boards, even a pager. "Can I have it back?" she asked cautiously.

"Oh sure. I've made some improvements, if you don't mind. It should catch on fire a little less now." He handed over the phone.

"That's nice, I guess. But in the future, let me know if you're going to take my stuff."

"Sure thing. Oh, and can you give this one back to Annie? She left it on the table this morning."

Sure, he didn't pull Annie's phone apart. Stupid iPhone that costs two months' worth of pay.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

And that was that. Now she could head home and catch up on some sleep. She started to make her way back to her car, that she'd parked a couple of blocks down the street. Boy, Annie would be freaking out without her phone. All of her to-do lists are saved on there, and she likes to keep in contact with…

Everyone. All the people she knows. No. That would be bad. Very bad. There are lines you don't cross, and snooping through someone's text history was one of those. Definitely. Although, secretly hanging out with your friend's estranged parents was one of those lines too, and that hadn't stopped Annie. And eye for an eye right? Britta was entitled to one massive breach of trust too.

She already knew Annie's passcode – 1990. Not exactly foolproof, but Annie didn't use her phone for anything secure anyway. Settings, no. To Do List, no. Bejeweled, no. Messages. Here we go.

Compared to Britta's contact list, Annie's was enormous. STAPLES – trust Annie to have a school supplies company saved on her phone. Hmm, Rich…

-Had fun dredging the lake, maybe we can catch up at school some time?

Sent: Jan 4, 2011

So not Rich. Fat Neil? Surely not.

-You two able to make it to the game this weekend?

Sent: Mar 21, 2015

-Yes, Abed can't make it but we'll be there. Did you confirm Hickey yet?

Sent: Mar 22, 2015

Ha! Annie was still playing D&D with Fat Neil. And so was Abed apparently, and a third person. It wouldn't be Jeff, he thought the whole game was even sillier than Britta did. Maybe the boyfriend?

It was probably worth a check through Annie's messages to Jeff. Just for curiosity.

-Britta knows about parents, she's freaking out. What do we do?

Sent: Mar 17 2015

Hmm. Annie obviously didn't keep in much contact with Jeff outside the group. Good for her.

Which brought Britta to the most obvious contact – the one she probably should have started with: Guy with the Abs. That had to be the boyfriend, right? And Britta would need to have a word with Jeff about passing his shallow naming system on to Annie.

Britta's eyes widened as she read through the texts. This was not the kind of stuff she had been expecting to find on Annie Edison's phone. This was weirdly arousing and... Gross! Nope! Looking away!

She quickly flicked through the remaining messages, looking for any names, hints, anything. It wasn't all sexting – a lot of it was organizing dates (including playing D&D, hah!) and just general conversation. Nothing that would help with working out who the guy was – well, beyond the fact that he had abs, and that wasn't really that helpful. Trust Annie to work too hard at keeping a secret.

She locked the phone and put it back in her pocket and headed back to her car. That was enough snooping for one day, and she really wanted to get back to sleep.

Britta managed another three hours before Annie got home, looking a little flustered. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her phone on the kitchen counter, and went to check it. That was when she turned suspiciously to Britta.

"Britta. Why are my messages open?"

"Oh, um… I. Don't know?"

"Did you steal my phone!?"

Britta panicked a little. Angry Annie was terrifying. "No, no! Elroy did, or at least, he picked it up where you left it. I went to get mine back from him, and he gave me yours too."

"And what, you decided to go through my texts? How'd you even get into the phone?"

Abed's door opened. "I told you, a four digit pass code isn't secure, especially when you're using your birth year as a code."

Annie was fuming now. "That is so not the point right now. How am I supposed to trust you when you go through my private stuff at the first chance you get?"

"Well how am I supposed to trust you when you hang out with my parents for years without telling me!?"

She breathed heavily as Annie's face fell. "Britta…"

Britta walked over to her pullout and sat down, staring straight out the window.

Abed and Annie both approached carefully. "You know we didn't mean to hurt you with that, right?" Annie said.

Britta shrugged.

"We were trying to find the best solution for everyone, including you. I guess we got so caught up in it that after a while we didn't even think about how everything coming out would affect you."

"It just sucks, you know? I thought we'd all shared everything. Back when we did that polygraph, we were supposed to air all of our secrets. Wait, how come Pierce didn't use that to piss me off?"

"We never told Pierce, or Troy. They're both terrible at keeping secrets, and Pierce was already rich anyway. He wouldn't have understood." Abed replied.

It actually made Britta feel better to know that Troy hadn't been lying to her all through… whatever they had been doing.

"And we're sorry we didn't tell you then. But honestly, it would have been even worse coming on the back of all that other crap."

Britta sighed. "I guess. It's just going to take me a while to get over it."

Abed and Annie both nodded.

"Sure."

"Take as much time as you need."

Annie retreated to her room. Britta was a little more cut up about her trust in them than she had thought. The longer she and Jeff waited to tell Britta, the harder it would be, but telling her now could break her. It was going to be a delicate balancing act to find the right time.

And it was lucky she'd decided to split her regular-Jeff texts from her relationship-Jeff texts in her phone, or this afternoon could have gone very differently. She'd made him do the same just in case of situations like these. She'd been pleased when he'd chosen 'Girl with the Eyes' to identify her over her... other features, even if it was maybe a little obvious. He'd been going on about her eyes since first year.

She quickly messaged Jeff – correction, she messaged Guy with the Abs – about what had just happened, and then crawled into bed. Not that she hadn't spent the last couple of hours in bed anyway, but she needed some solid sleep to make up for all the time she'd lost this morning. Trying to sleep at 3pm wasn't an easy task, but when Annie put her mind to something, it got done. And telling Britta would be no exception.