Shout out to my first reviewer: leopardmonkey. Thanks so much! And here's the next chapter. Enjoy :)
"That's not so nice," Shirley comments.
"Thanks for your support, Shirley," Britta scoffs.
"So wait, let me get this straight," Pierce interjects. Everyone at the table groans. "The water filter and the brother from another father-"
"Mother, it's mother," Troy sighs.
"Your mother? She's doing well. Anyway, they're shacking up, right?"
"Who says 'shacking up' anymore?" Annie comments.
"All the cool people. But the water filter and the queer were shacking up earlier and now the water filter's water is gonna break, right?"
"Did that garbage actually make sense to anyone else?" Jeff asks incredulously. The group nods in assent.
"See, I'm not the old and crazy one," Pierce says smugly, pointing at Shirley through his hand.
"Britta, you lied to me," Troy whimpers. "You said it would be a good surprise."
"No, I didn't, I just said it wouldn't be bad," she reminds him.
"Jeff getting you pregnant isn't bad?" he counters.
"Well, a baby is a gift…" Shirley interjects.
"Shirley, I don't think that's what Troy needs to hear right now," Annie cautions her gently. Troy stands abruptly.
"I don't need anyone speaking for me, okay?" he cries before walking away. Britta stands and calls after him. When she receives no response, she hurries after him.
"You see Annie, I was right about them being together," Abed states emotionlessly. She rolls her eyes, somehow adorably.
"Oh, come on Abed. Every good relationship has its tiffs," she chuckles lightly.
"Who says 'tiffs' anymore?" Pierce quips. Annie glares at him.
"Well, Jeffrey, look at what you did," Shirley says angrily.
"Me?" he asks incredulously.
"Jeff?" Annie asks in the same tone.
"Annie, you stay away from him," she warns. "Look at what he has done to poor Britta," she lilts pitifully.
"Look Shirley, Britta is an independent woman. I didn't do anything to her. Stop trying to pin the blame on me and make me look like the villain. This isn't the 1950s anymore," he reminds her.
"If it were," Pierce interjects. Annie throws her spoon at him in order to stop him from finishing that sentence.
"I see," she begins shakily. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go, ah, powder my nose," she clearly lies, hurrying off in the opposite direction.
"And then there were four," Abed murmurs under his breath, watching the actions at the table intensely. Pierce sat across from Jeff, the seats on either side of him now empty, as was the seat between Abed and Jeff. The table seemed empty with almost half of the group gone. Pierce stood up and wandered off, leaving the other three to ponder why he left and where he was going. "And then there were three," Abed mutters to himself.
"Are you okay, Annie?" Jeff asks again.
"Of course," she laughs nervously. "Britta's just probably pregnant with what's probably your baby, but yeah, I'm totally fine."
"Annie," Jeff sighs. His voice bears a tone of… compassion? Sympathy? "I'm sorry. I know that this is unexpected. Seems like something unexpected happens every week. But we're a family. Families deal with problems. We're going to make it out of this. Together."
"Yeah," she agrees solemnly.
"Besides," he scoffs. "She probably just britta'd the test results somehow." Annie smirks slightly.
"I'm going to go to the bathroom," she excuses herself.
"And then there were two," Abed mumbles, eyeing Jeff cautiously.
"I should go after her, right?" Jeff clarifies. Abed does not reply, knowing that Jeff already knows the right answer. "Right," he follows after Annie.
"And then there was one," he muses. "I wonder what the others are up to," Abed ponders. He glances around the restaurant, trying to see any of his friends. He catches a glimpse of Troy and Britta. Knowing their conversation will probably end up being the most cliché, he decides to eavesdrop on their conversation first anyway. He slowly approaches the two of them, tuning into what they are saying.
"I'm sorry," Britta apologizes, probably for the fourth time.
"You don't have to apologize for your past," Troy assures her. "It's just going to take some getting used to."
"I totally understand that. I couldn't believe it at first either. But there is a possibility that I'm not…" her voice trails off. Abed smirks at Britta's fear of the word 'pregnant.'
"I know," he says somberly. "Do you want to be...?"
"I don't know," she sighs. "Not if it's Jeff's," she laughs light-heartedly. Troy smiles.
"What if it's mine?" he prompts.
"Are we ready for that?" she counters.
"I don't know," he sighs.
Abed steps back, slightly stunned. Is there a possibility that it is Troy's? Abed honestly did not expect that. He knew there was a possibility of it happening someday, but not anytime soon. Not until after graduation. Abed did not what to think about after graduation, though, so he moved on to Shirley, who was on the phone.
"I just don't know what to do," she groaned into the phone. "I'm surrounded by these young people all the time, and I see them making so many mistakes. They could be ruining their entire lives with one of these mistakes. It just worries me," she sighs. "Yeah, I know. But they're my family, and I have to watch out for my family." Abed was already bored with this conversation. It was touching, of course. Shirley was naturally maternal, no surprise there. Abed spots Pierce wandering around the restaurant. Abed approaches him hesitantly.
"Hey, A-bed," Pierce greets him cheerfully.
"Hey, Pierce. What are you doing?"
"Nothing, I thought I saw a-"
"Okay, just checking up on you. I should be going now," Abed interrupts him tonelessly. Pierce nods and smiles slightly, not even noticing he was interrupted because he is so focused on whatever he is doing. Abed moves on to the last pair, Jeff and Annie. On his way to them, he notices that Troy, Britta, and Shirley are back at the table. Pierce begins to make his way over to the table as well.
"What are we, Jeff?" Annie asks him, seemingly choking up.
"I don't know, Annie. Friends, for now, I guess. I just need to see where this whole thing with Britta goes. Not that it's going anywhere romantically," he catches himself. She nods understandingly. "You're pretty amazing, Annie. I don't deserve you."
"You don't give yourself enough credit, Jeff," she replies. He smiles a genuine smile.
"I get by," he concludes, holding his hand out to her. "Milady," he offers.
"Milord," she places her hand in his, allowing him to lead her back to the table. They each take their seats. Abed smiles, watching them from a small distance.
"I guess this is always how it is," Abed muses. "Me on the outside, watching. Never really fully participating."
"It's nice, isn't it?" Dean Pelton concurs. "Although, when you do participate, you need to make a good entrance. You have to put a lot of thought into what you wear."
"Or listen for just the right moment. It's the timing."
"Either way, it has to be dean right," Craig concludes.
"Hey, where's Abed?" Abed hears Jeff ask. Abed knows that is his cue.
He walks over to his seat and sits down. "We all good?" he inquires the group. Everyone nods in agreement.
"Sorry about such short notice on the Chang in schedule, but the bus leaves in about an hour," Chang informs them.
"Cool," Abed chirps. "Cool cool cool."