I just realized that in the synopsis for the show's finale, Nick and Jess booked the cruise, but I'm not changing it in the story

Cruise

CHAPTER 2

"We PROMISE we won't make it weird."

"Yeah! Nick and I can stay calm and act like friends."

"Oh, so you have to act like my friend? We're not really friends?"

"That's not what I—never mind."

8:30 AM, and they were all boarding the cruise ship. Showing their tickets, they boarded, and were all given room keys. An attractive looking man escorted them to their room. Unfortunately, the room wasn't what they were expecting. It was small. And it was meant for all six of them.

"We're sharing one room?" Winston cried, shaking his head. "Come on! There's like so space in here. Where... where am I going to do my jigsaw puzzles?"

The attractive man smiled and said, "Well, there's tons to do on the ship, so all you've got to do is sleep here, and in the morning, you can spend the day in paradise. There are plenty of tables on the other decks where you can do all the jigsaw puzzles you want, sir."

Winston smiled to himself a little bit, feeling assured that he would have his time and space for jigsaw puzzles when they got to roam around the ship.

"Is there anywhere else we can sleep?" Jess asked, scratching her head. "I don't know if I can cram myself in this tiny room with all these people."

"Unfortunately, no, you can't exchange your tickets so late in the trip, I'm sorry," he said, sighing. "But, my staff suite is quite sweet. If you wanna crash there one night, feel free to come by whenever you want, doll." Jess smiled to herself, blushing. She also knew that Nick was hearing the whole thing, and the thought of him being jealous sort of made her happy.

"Wow... Jeffrey," she said, reading his name tag. "That's so sweet of you. I think I might actually take you up on that offer some time. A staff suite seems sweet, it really does. I like your puns, too!"

Jeffrey grinned and said, "Awesome. Can I get a name from you?"

"I'm Jess Day," she said sweetly with a smile.

"Jess, that's an adorable name," Jeffrey said, smiling back at her. "I should probably get back to work. If you see me around, talk to me."

They all started to walk into their tiny room.

"That Jeffrey dude was like straight up flirting with Jess!" Coach exclaimed, grinning at Winston. "Do ya think that Nick was jealous?"

"Knowing Nick, probably," Winston replied, nodding his head. "He might not say anything about it, though, because he made that promise not to make this trip weird for everyone else."

"Yeah," Coach said, nodding as well. "Where is he, anyways?"

"JEFFREY!" Nick yelled, running after the employee. He turned around and raised his eyebrows, unsure of why he was yelling.

"Um... hey. You're one of the people that was with Jess, right?" Jeffrey said with a smile. "I see you still remember my name. May I help you?"

"Why are you flirting with Jess?" Nick demanded. "Why her? Yes, she's beautiful and amazing, but there was a hot model standing right next to her. Most people go for the model instead of the average school teacher!"

"Well, she stuck out to me," Jeffrey said, shrugging. "The other girl? Well, I thought she was dating that guy with all the moles on his face."

"Schmidt?" Nick asked, his eyes widening. "Oh! No, no, no, they're not dating. Well, they were, but then it got all messy and they broke up, but that's not what I'm here to say. I'm here to tell you to stop flirting with Jess!"

"I'm not gonna stop flirting with her, dude," Jeffrey said. "I like her. Do you have a problem with that, sir?"

"Yes, I have a problem with that because... um... I'm her boyfriend," Nick lied. "I'm her boyfriend, and I don't like it when other guys flirt with her, so back off. Stay away from my girlfriend. Don't betray the bro code, brother!"

"Oh man, I didn't know that she's your girl!" Jeffrey cried. "Hey, I'm sorry for flirting with her, then. I didn't know, I swear. You should've spoken up when we were back there. I'll stay away from her, kay?"

"Thank you, but I didn't wanna make a scene in front of everybody," Nick lied again, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I didn't wanna ruin the trip already, because as you can see, I'm kinda a jealous guy. I don't want Jess to freak out, so can we please keep this thing between us guys? Just don't tell her."

"I get it," Jeffrey said, nodding his head. "I won't tell her, and I'll stay away. Thanks for telling me, man. I really should get back to work... so, see ya later."

"Hey, I think we need some cans of beer over here if we're gonna make this night fun," Schmidt spoke, scratching his head. "Does anyone have any beer?"

"Why?" Cece asked, jumping off her bed and facing him with a smile. "You're not planning on playing True American in this tiny space, are you?"

"Pshh, no," he said in a mock-lying voice, causing the both of them to laugh just a little. "As fun as True American is, I don't think a night is complete without a little bit of beer!"

"Can't go one day staying completely sober, can you?" she teased.

"What!? Of course I can!" he argued, folding his arms.

"Cece, I need to talk to you! Hurry up!"

She shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't believe you, but I gotta go, Jess is calling. Stay sober if you can, Schmidt." Her hand gently brushed against his back before she walked away to find Jess, who was probably about to rant about her fractured relationship with Nick.

"I think... I think I can't give Cece space any longer," Schmidt confessed, turning to Winston and Coach. "I mean, I've been trying, but I can't do it. I still have feelings for her, guys! I have to win her back. I love her."

"Schmidt, look, it's great that you love her," Winston began, sighing quietly, "but you have to remember that you really hurt her, and she's got a boyfriend now."

"Buster, mmm, that boy is fine!" Coach exclaimed in his girl voice.

"Not helping, Coach," Schmidt said, folding his arms. "Winston, I know she has a boyfriend, and I've tried respecting that, but how can I do it any longer? I've wanted to do this for a long time to make it up to her, but I was trying to give her space. Now that I'm sure of how I feel about her, I think it's time I do it."

He whipped out a tiny, dark red box from his jacket pocket and showed it off to Coach and Winston. Their eyes went wide. Was that what they thought it was? It couldn't be! Winston knew he almost proposed to Cece once by skywriting it, but that was when their relationship was much less complicated.

"Damn..." Coach mumbled.

"Schmidt!" Winston cried. "You can't actually be serious, can you? If she says no and tells Buster about it, he's gonna be pissed. And you can't just spring that serious commitment question on her! You would be lucky if she takes you back as her boyfriend again!"

"What? This is about becoming her boyfriend again," Schmidt said, confused. "Oh! You must think this is an engagement ring, right? Well, it's not. I just needed a grand gesture. It's a ring, and that's all. But it's a special ring. We were out one time and she told me she really loved it."

"Aww, he remembers the little details that she loves!" Coach exclaimed, batting his eyelashes. "That's true love!"

"Isn't it?" Schmidt said proudly as Coach clapped.

Winston nudged Coach and said, "Stop it! Even if it's just some ring, it's still a big deal. You can't ask her out again an ask her to forgive you when she has a boyfriend. You're going to make a fool out of yourself if she says no, and then Buster's still gonna try to whoop your ass!"

"True, but I'm willing to risk it," Schmidt said, shoving the box back into his pocket. "If this possibly means having the chance to be with Cece again, then I am going for it!"

With that, Schmidt confidently walked out of the room.

Cece had advised Jess to try her best to move on from Nick, and in her mind, that meant going after the cute employee. Jeffrey had clearly taken a liking to her, and she was going to go for it. After all, it could be a good experience for her and her moving on abilities... but it could also make Nick jealous!

"Jeffrey!" Jess exclaimed, grinning. "Hey there, Jeffy Boy. How's it going?"

"Oh... um, I'm good," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Wanna go get some drinks?" Jess asked, still smiling at him. "I'd maybe like to spend the night at your special suite like you offered." Her tone sounded quite flirtatious to Jeffrey, which confused him, because he thought she was dating Nick.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Jess," Jeffrey said, shaking his head. "I like you and all, but you have to stay away from me."

"Stay away?" Jess asked, her stomach dropping. She felt like she was getting rejected. "Did I miss something? I thought things were good between us!"

"I thought so, but I think you need to back off," Jeffrey said, growing annoyed. "You know, it's not cool to flirt with other guys while you have a boyfriend! God! I have to go take care of some work. Don't bother talking to me until you have yourself sorted out." Annoyed, he walked away from her.

Boyfriend? How could Jeffrey think she had a boyfriend? She turned around, confused and upset, but then it all clicked when she saw Nick sitting there and laughing like an idiot. He quickly stopped when Jess looked at him. She approached him angrily.

"Nick!" Jess yelled, folding her arms. "What the hell did you say to Jeffrey?"