The following morning, Annie was awaken by the smell of scrambled eggs and fresh bread. When she was a child, her mother would cook the family a big breakfast every Saturday morning. As she grew up, she started volunteering most mornings at local organizations, so the tradition became infrequent. When her parents divorced and she entered high school, they stopped all together. Annie joined cheerleading, and it took up every Saturday morning that she had left. Her mother didn't really feel like cooking a huge meal, and Annie didn't really notice. They had stopped feeling like family years ago, and worked like a machine now. A pretty painting that had no underlying significance.

One of the best things about being a mother for Shirley was making breakfast for her family. It gave her a chance to pamper her husband and get her children well-fed and on their way to school. While Britta would complain about gender roles and all, Shirley loved cooking in general. It had been passed down through generations in her family and it didn't make her any less of a strong, independent woman. She had managed to prove that to herself during the trial separation from Andre. While in the beginning she was crying herself to sleep quite frequently, she never let her children see her falter. They expected her to continue being their rock of support, and she wasn't about to let them down. "They're children and I want them to stay that way as long as they can. If I force them to look at the realities of life too soon, they might become jaded adults and resent the institution of marriage all together. I don't want to be at fault for that," she told her mother over a cup of coffee one afternoon. Despite her reunion with Andre, she would never forget that feeling and it would continue to exist throughout the core of her being for the rest of her life.

As the study group slowly wandering towards the kitchen, still in their pjs and wrapped in blankets, a smiling Andre and Shirley welcomed them to a beautifully set table, covered in food. When everyone was seated and choosing through the varied options of foods, Annie chimed in,

"Oh, Jeff's not here. Does anyone know where he is?"

Grabbing 2 rolls from the middle of the table, Andre paused and said,

"He left a note saying that he was going for an early morning run and that he would be back soon. We didn't say anything… well because.."

Shirley grabbed her husband's hand gently and finished his thought

"Well, we thought you already knew honey. Seeing as we peeked in your room this morning and found the note on the pillow next to your head."

Turning red, Annie said,

"Oh that? We just shared a bed, guys! Nothing happened! Its just, we thought since we were planning on going hiking, it would be better for us to get a goodnight's rest. Nothing else, don't worry!"

"Yano, this is kind of like that one episode of Dawson's Creek…"

"Oh I'm sure you guys got PLENTLY of sleep last night," Britta snickered.

"Britta, honey. Children at the table. We can mock Annie later."

"Oh I'm just kidding. She knows I'm just kidding. You know that Annie right?"

Interrupted by the door opening, a flushed and sweaty Jeff walked towards a group of eyes that suddenly turned his way.

"Well speak of the devil. Join us, Jeff. We just started to eat right now."

"Ah, thanks Andre, But I think I'm going to hop in the shower. You guys continue to talk about my amazing body though, great topic of conversation."

Walking towards the room that he had shared with Annie the night before, he started to remove his headphones, when he overheard Britta shouting

"Way to be a gentleman, Winger."

"Bite me Blondie."

Laughing at his comeback, silence proceeded. But when he stepped out of the shower there was a note pinned to the towel.

"Ew. Already have. NO THANK YOU nipple-play. Anyways, you seem to already found someone to do that for you, congrats."

The hike ended up being an absolute disaster. As expected, Jeff and Annie barely said a word to each other, except when they started to argue about which direction they should take next. Jeff spent most of the hike complaining about having to trek up a mountain to only have to trek back down afterwards. Troy, Abed, and Britta were getting extremely tired of their bickering and the tension, that they had started to come up with a plan to ditch them when it started to drizzle. Halfway into getting rained on and realizing they were lost, Britta slipped and sprained her ankle, forcing Jeff to carry her all the way back the cabin, despite the complaints of Troy.

If Annie had any reservations about this, she didn't say them. She was too busy arguing with Jeff about what way would taken them back to the cabin. Early into the hike, Annie had taken the lead, being the most experienced in the wilderness. She pointed out what plants to stay away from and she found the easiest way for them to cross a steam they had come across. After the rain continued pouring down and Britta fell, Annie attempted to find her bearings and locate their route home. The rain continued and so visibility was extremely limited, not to mention it was starting to get dark. Out of sheer impatience, Jeff took the compass out of Annie's hands, shouting to get heard across the loud storm.

"Okay Annie Oakley, seeing as the wilderness explorer in you has obviously taken a break. I'm going to get us back to camp. Britta needs to elevate this and we can't stay out here too longer, we'll get sick and we're hours away from a decent hospital."

"Jeff I can do this. Just let me look at my compass one more time."

"NO. Just keep quiet and follow me. I think I remember how to get us back."

"UH. Coming from the person who didn't even want to be here in the first place? I'm the one with years of girl scout training and personal experience in the forest. We should listen to me."

" Personal experience? Okay Jane Goodall, I'm not listening to you, we're walking away and you are going to let me get us back before I leave you here."

"Stop calling me names, Jeff. I will do no such thing! I can lead just as well as you can! Maybe even better, you have no training at all and what if you take us into a cave with a bear in it or something?"

"Annie I swear, if you don't stop talking."

"I can do this! Why don't you.."

Suddenly Abed and Troy shouted,

"GUYS. The cabin is literally across this field, we can see it behind that large tree."

They quietly walked towards the cabin, tension filling the air that it made it impossible to ignore.

As soon as Jeff set Britta down on the couch, Troy was setting pillows under ankle and placing a packet of ice on it as well. It was his fault that she had fallen and he felt incredibly guilty. He had been trying to jokingly push her out from under the tree that was sheltering them from the rain when she slid on the wet ground. Britta meant a lot to him and he couldn't bear to see her in pain. She had reassured him that it wasn't his fault and that she wasn't upset, but that did nothing to ease his guilt. He would have to make it up to her, somehow.

"I want to make this up to you. Will you go out to dinner with me? Or at least let me cook for you or something."

"You don't exactly have a kitchen yet Troy. But if you come over to my place, I'll let you surprise me with your best vegetarian dish okay?"

Troy quickly smiled and proceed to help Britta towards the extra restroom so that she could take a quick shower and change her clothes.

"We should probably all remove our clothing as well before we get sick."

Abed suggested as he started to untie the laces of his soaking wet shoes. He looked towards Annie, who arms crossed, was just about to burst with anger at Jeff. This could only end really badly or really well for them in Abed's eyes. He had gotten to know Annie rather well the last couple weeks and he knew that she wasn't about to take Jeff's actions lying down. He understood where she was coming from, but also saw this as another part of her personality. As an individual who is easily vexed, she wouldn't have just let his arrogance go, especially with their history. After what happened between them last night? He was interested to see what the outcome would end up being, although secretly he already knew.

"Listen here, Jeff. I'm really upset at.."

Before Annie could finish her sentence, Jeff grabbed her hand, pulling her into their room and slammed the door behind them. In the living room, Abed and Troy stood with their eyes wide open and their mouths shut, as they heard the lock of the door click loudly.

"What is your problem? You've been nothing but rude to me all day. You don't trust my navigation skills or judgment. I'm tired of you treating me like I'm a child who can't do anything right. You may not want anything to do with me, but that doesn't mean you can downplay my achievements. I'm proud of my wilderness knowledge, which more than you can say."

Annie glared at Jeff as she started to remove her jacket and throw it in a pile on the floor. She didn't care how disorganized the pile look, she had just about had it with Jeff and after this trip, she wasn't sure she ever wanted to speak to him again.

"Stop acting like a brat when you don't get your way. It was cute at first and now it's just starting to get annoying. If you don't want me to treat you like a child, learn to not act childishly, Annie. It's not very becoming."

Sitting on the bed, Jeff removed his shoes and socks. Refusing to look at the woman across from him, he awaited her response. Angry women were one of Jeff's top ten greatest fears, and he was sure he had pissed her off with his last statement.

"That is the stupidest argument I've ever heard. Are you sure you were a lawyer, Jeff? From the looks of it, you weren't a very good one. You weren't even able to argue your way out of this trip."

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. I'm going to let it go for your own good."

"Whatever Jeff. As soon as we get to Greendale, I'll be out of your hair for good. I'm done with this."

Getting up from the bed, he walked towards Annie, looking her in the face,

"Say that again, Edison. I dare you. Your empty threats mean nothing right now seeing as you're trapped in this cabin with me for the rest of the weekend and I'm your ride home."

"I'm leaving. I'll sleep next to Abed tonight and I'll get a ride back with Shirley when we leave. I can't even look at you."

As she started to walk out of the room, Jeff pulled her arm and suddenly his lips crashed into hers. The kiss was strong and passionate, filled with a longing that she could definitely reciprocate.

"Don't even think about walking out of that room."

They pulled in once again, letting their hands roam all over each other's bodies, only moving away to quickly remove the leftover clothing that still clung to them.

Outside, Shirley had stepped out her room to investigate what had happened. She heard shouting coming from Annie and Jeff's room and was alarmed to find out that Britta was injured and somehow still attempting to shower. She had decided to walk towards the hallway containing the room to stop Annie and Jeff when there was silence. At that point, she turned away from the door and walked back towards the living room, shaking her head side to side.

"They're totally doing it. I bet you 20 bucks they finally caved."

"No one is going to bet against you, Troy," she said as she threw her hands up in the air and walked back into the master suite.

Back in the locked room, Jeff and Annie had landed onto the bed. Pulling away from her, he stopped to look into her eyes. Pressed against her tiny frame, Annie was looking right back at him with those large doe eyes. In the dimly lit room, she was glowing. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her and never stop. This moment was everything he could possibly want. After years of meaningless hookups, he knew there was something more to this. Was he about to marry the girl? No, but he was suddenly very scared of losing her. She was definitely pulling away and he seemed to be powerless to stop it. Her hair, still wet from the rain, clung to the side of her face and he softly pushed it away from her, once again falling into her lips. Warm, and with a slight taste of mint, his tongue had a mind of its own. Moving towards her neck, softly placing kisses everywhere he could reach. Annie, quietly moaning in between each kiss, was lost in the moment. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess and she couldn't form a complete sentence. She knew it would be a horrible moment to have a conversation with Jeff, but there was so much she wanted to say to him. She ran her fingers across his back, pulling him into her deeper. She felt his bulge pushing against her and she couldn't control herself anymore. She pulled at his jeans, attempting to unzip them, reaching her hands towards the precise location that would have him screaming for more.

She had done her research at Dildopolis to say the least. He had suspected something during the Dungeons and Dragons games, but this just proved his theories. As he felt her hands clutching him, he moaned in pleasure. Running his hands up her thigh, he didn't know what was coming over him. His rational side was yelling to stop what he was doing, to think of who it was and what he was doing to her.

Cliffhanger! Hah, I'm totally sorry to leave you hanging there, but I still have to see in what direction I take this. I might have one more chapter or two, let me know what you think and I'll be posting soon enough.