Jeff glanced at his lit-up phone upon entering his office after his final class of the day. Other than his lunch with Mark, the day had passed in utter monotony. Cheryl had texted him to confess she'd be running a bit late for The Vatican. He wasn't surprised; she had a case going to trial Monday morning and unlike his days as a former lawyer, Cheryl always put in the time. He locked his screen and found himself forced to stare back at his anxiety-ridden expression. He stifled his twitching urge to pester his purposefully disheveled hair, and he certainly couldn't allow himself to go home and change. He had no reason to; it was just casual drinks after all.
He quickly graded a few late assignments and played on his phone until he was sure he would arrive a few minutes late, determined to avoid the large and jovial greeting he knew Annie would inevitably receive to celebrate her return.
He walked in the familiar dive bar and grimaced at the realization that his eager eyes immediately searched for and successfully found Annie. She was animatedly speaking to the Dean and Frankie, her eyes briefly darting to him at his entrance as she nodded in response to the latter, before continuing her conversation. Britta approached their table, a tray of drinks in her hand. Duncan quickly offered his assistance in passing out the refreshments.
Jeff found his way to the bar, discreetly ordering a single shot and speedily slamming it before it could catch his friends' attention.
"I saw that." A melodic female voice warned.
He shrank ever-so-slightly when he turned to face his playful accuser. Even in the poor lighting, her dark skin was flawless as her bright honey brown eyes and vibrant smirk regarded him. "Hey Mel," He smirked guiltily and pleaded. "Don't tattle on me." His eyes gestured in Frankie's direction.
Mel shook her head. "I am not getting her riled up tonight. Besides, you are a grown man," For good measure, she slightly narrowed her eyes. "Still, keep an eye on that." She nodded towards the empty shot glass, appraising him with contagious confidence. He smirked, charmed by how effortlessly she could chide him without needing to lecture. "Plus, from what Frankie's said, I can guess you're going to need that."
"Meaning?" He inquired as he nodded to the bartender, ordering two drinks.
She shrugged her shoulders in deceptive innocence. "It's nice, finally meeting the infamous Annie Edison."
He nodded, his expression calm though his eyes had tightened. Melanie continued with a smile. "I've never seen Frankie like this; she's in full mentor mode."
"Annie has that effect on her," He simply answered.
Mel nodded. "Annie definitely seems to have an effect on everyone."
Jeff swallowed a huff of irritation. He never would've figured Frankie for a gossip, though there truly was no guessing what kind of pillow-talk passed between those two. Luckily, his drink came at that moment, saving him from responding as he thanked the bartender and opened up his tab.
"So, how soon until I can meet the rest of the Study Group?" Mel inquired hopefully, looking at the group slowly near their table.
"Within the next few weeks from my understanding. Everyone should be back by the new year." He contentedly said. Despite his inner turmoil over his first reunion, Jeff was truly looking forward to seeing all his friends. He wanted to see Troy and Abed finish each other's sentences and get a warm hug from Shirley; he even wanted to see pictures of her kids, that's how much he missed them all. He wasn't even sure how long the reunion would last. Shirley had been living out of state for the past few years, and he knew how difficult it was for her to make time to visit. It also seemed that Abed was doing quite well in L.A. and Jeff doubted his absence was taken lightly from his several projects.
He sipped on his scotch. "Annie didn't come here for the memorial, though." Mel looked back at Jeff. "She's actually been transferred, indefinitely."
"Oh, well, you and Britta must be happy to have her back for good." Her tone was entirely congenial and that made Jeff all the more wary.
He couldn't necessarily agree with those feelings as he was still grasping on just how to navigate through his self-inflicted tension. A nod seemed the safest response. "I can't believe it's been five years." He smirked. "Pierce definitely wouldn't have been your favorite person."
"So, I've been told." Her voice was soft with humor.
"But, he had his moments. It was rare, in the most random of times, he would accidentally impart wisdom, or he'd stumble through learning a lesson. He was proud, but I think he just wanted to belong to something." Jeff cleared his throat as it tightened. "Or somebody; you know, he was married seven times." He shook his head. "I honestly can't believe he met seven different woman who accepted."
"Maybe he was really just a romantic." Mel said before sipping her beer.
"Somewhere deep at his core." He agreed with a nod.
"Well, I can't wait to hear the stories." She remarked as she began heading towards the tables.
Jeff followed, taking his seat. Mel sat beside Frankie who just seemed to be finishing her conversation with Annie on her other side. Chang seemed to be chomping at the bit on Annie's right, beyond eager to quickly cover the past three years.
Jeff noticed the way she had pulled her hair up, fastened with a pen, a few silky tendrils peeking out as they framed her soft complexion. The mahogany strands stretched and rested against her collarbones, acting as way to measure the elegant reach of her neck. It seemed odd what a difference it made in her appearance. He remembered thinking something eerily similar nearly a decade before, as they both had pored over their debate arguments, and it shocked him how immediately his view of her had changed forever. Only this was not an eighteen-year-old that he had suddenly realized was an attractive young woman; she was an actual adult now and he could not cease being caught off-guard by the constant evolution of her beauty.
Before Jeff could realize just how dedicated his gaze was, he noticed Annie begin to stand as The Dean approached him, trying to take the seat at his left. He barely had a second to admire the sight of her standing in her black pencil skirt, when he had to reach his hand out to block the seat beside him. "That's Cheryl's seat." He said and immediately noticed how her eyes turned to him as he spoke to Craig. Annie's unobscured blue eyes made him feel exposed, so he quickly turned to the intended listener of his statement.
The Dean pouted for a moment, but decided on the seat next to it, just beside Chang. Annie made her way to the bar and Jeff forced his eyes away, looking at Britta who sat down next to him in the seat Duncan had saved for her. Jeff couldn't help but give the two a little side-eyed glance, which he surrendered three seconds later when he noticed Mel sitting beside them giving him the exact same look.
"So, where is Cheryl?" Mel asked, looking at the empty seat beside him as a quiet settled around the table.
"On her way, probably." He sipped his scotch. "She just wanted to get in some extra prep before Monday." He set his drink down on the table. "I don't think she'll be too long." Annie came back to the table, full drink in hand. As she sat down, Jeff cleared his throat, the tone of his voice projecting more levity. "So, who would like to begin the interrogation?" Eyes turned back to him. "For Annie?" Something flashed behind her eyes, though she seemed to note the humor in his lifted brow.
Chang quickly took the bait. "What's it like, working at the F.B.I.? Or are you even at liberty to answer that?" He smirked and sipped his cocktail. "Also did you happen to see any familiar faces on those wanted lists? Just curious how things have been with you."
Annie laughed it off and gulped from her cocktail. "It's been amazing. I kind of feel privileged by how smoothly everything came together, but I guess I have my internship to thank for that. Every day is something new; things have been pretty easy since I fell into a routine. Well," She sighed. "At least back in D.C." She shrugged with a smile. "I'm sure I'll catch up soon enough."
"Please, after one day you're going to have people coming to you for answers." Britta assured with a playful scoff. "You're coming from a bigger pond; that'll earn you some respect from the start."
Duncan gave Britta a side smirk. "I agree. It sounds like they wanted to bring you in because of your reputation."
Annie was taken aback that the kind and genuine tone of his voice made any chance of innuendo impossible. "Thanks. I think I'll be able to figure it out. I'm actually excited for the added challenge. I can't wait to meet my new co-workers; it's fun to figure out everybody's strengths and eccentricities."
"Well, we definitely aren't lacking in the latter." Frankie's eyes were on the Dean as she teased with an ease that caused Annie to smile. Mel laughed gently beside her, and Annie could notice the slight surprise in Frankie's eyes as she smiled to herself.
"Can't argue with that." Jeff added. "Eccentricity runs through Greendale's veins."
Britta was beaming as she took in all the faces around before giving the bar a onceover. "I can't wait for everybody else to get here." She laughed. "Look at how big our table has already gotten. We might have to rent the bar out to fit us all in."
"Put it on Troy's tab." Jeff smoothly asserted.
Britta rolled her eyes. "I'm just trying to picture it. It's been so long since we were all together."
"Five years." Jeff said with a shake of his head. "I mean seeing Troy when he came back from his voyage was great, but he didn't stay for that long." That had been nearly a year and a half before. "Abed hasn't been back since he left and even though Shirley's in town a few times a year, she's usually pretty busy spending time with family." He gave a huff of a laugh, and his eyes brightened as he remembered Troy's final day at Greendale, the last time they had all been together. He was looking at Annie and it reminded him of their silly alliance; it was always effortless, that indescribable unison whenever they teamed up. "We haven't all been together since Hot Lava." Annie's eyes shined back at him in recognition as she laughed. He smirked to himself.
"Hot lava? Sometimes it feels like I'm walking in on you speaking in code." A beautiful woman with strawberry blonde hair, green eyes and a confident strut said with a smirk, quickly taking the seat beside Jeff.
Jeff felt a tonal shift, like seeing the lights come up after last call. Subtly, he turned his attention to her and briefly explained. "We were just reminiscing about the day Troy left Greendale." He hesitantly glanced back at Annie. "Cheryl," He gestured. "This is Annie; Annie, this is Cheryl."
Cheryl gave the younger woman a nod and polite wave as she sipped on the cocktail that Jeff had waiting for her. Frankie quickly turned and narrowed her eyes at the Dean. "Hot Lava?"
He ever-so-slightly squirmed. "It was Abed's idea to send-off Troy. I couldn't say no to him."
Britta cleared her throat. "Actually, it was his way of entangling himself in denial to help with real-life hallucinations that were negatively effecting his already troubled emotional state; a pattern Abed has with loss."
The Dean glared back at her. "Well, obviously I didn't know that at the time, Britta. No one did."
"I did." She said smugly as she gulped from her beer. "But no one wanted to listen to me. As memory serves, everyone turned on me." She turned to her right and her expression soured towards Duncan, pointing at him with her beer-holding hand. "Even you were going to push me."
Duncan's eyes revealed that he wanted to apologize but couldn't help reminding her. "It was $50,000."
"What?" A chorus erupted from the newer members.
"$50,000?" Frankie huffed, her voice leveling out as she glared at Craig. "How could you allow that?"
"He announced the reward at the last minute. He told me it was a comic book and then revealed the value over the P.A. system, what could I do?"
She shook her head. "What was the property damage?"
Britta smirked. "Nothing really, just some furniture moved to some weird spots. We got it cleaned up in no time."
Mel smirked, looking at Britta. "So, Abed created this whole game to try and keep Troy?" She nudged Frankie and beamed. "That's kind of sweet, you have to admit. It sounds like nothing too awful happened." She looked down and her smile turned melancholy. "Small price to pay for memories." She brightened, her eyes regarding the entire group as she laughed. "You guys really ran the school."
"Ran?" Jeff exclaimed in mock offense. "Present tense! Call us the Greendale Seven, plus," He seemed to take a second to mentally calculate their subtraction and additions. "Four; minus one? Greendale is our playground." He noticed Frankie's terse expression. "Respectfully." He amended and Cheryl laughed before sipping her drink. He smirked at her.
Annie tried to ignore the sharp, seemingly random pain in her stomach. She sipped her drink and took a second to mop away her currently immeasurably murky feelings. "Yeah, but it's not quite the same." Attention turned on her. "I guess I can't speak for Troy and Abed, or Shirley, but seeing Greendale today strictly as a visitor, it felt different." She thought for a second. "I can't quite describe it."
"That makes perfect sense." Frankie nodded. "Returning home for the first time can be a bit disorienting, especially if it's been a few years. A lot has happened since."
"A lot really has happened." Chang asserted, before sipping on his Long Island Iced Tea. "I'm currently a student, again."
"What happened?" Annie's brows pulled together.
Frankie set down her on-the-rocks margarita to gesture as she explained. "He's been temporarily put on suspension." She shared a knowing glance with Annie. "Behavioral issues."
"It's okay, Frankie; I'm not ashamed." He lifted his chin theatrically with the transparent hope of inspiring confidence. "I went through a bad break up." He exhaled. "And my mourning process was to sit in the library in my pajamas, crying as I scrolled through his Instagram page." He nodded. "It was rough."
"I was willing to wait for it to blow over, but one day, some student, who Ben still refuses to name-"
"I ain't no narc!" He called out before taking a gulp of his drink.
Frankie continued, undeterred. "Well, they decided that he needed booze to help advance the healing process." She sighed. "So, he made a mess of books in the library and was literally seconds away from tearing pages out of a dictionary when I walked in." She turned her focus on Chang. "Ben and I have no qualms about the incident; seeing as I can understand that he needs to deal with this loss, and he can recognize that I cannot allow a teacher to deface school property without serious reprimand."
"It took us a couple of weeks to get to this point." Chang nodded. "She was a bit irritated with me for scouring through the bi-laws to learn that since the incident took place while I was a teacher, only my academic employment could be suspended, not my academic enrollment. So, I started taking a few classes. I'm actually learning a lot." He smiled.
"At Greendale?" Annie asked in playful disbelief.
"He's actually one of my better students." Jeff remarked, causing Annie's gaze to find him again.
She noticed Cheryl's infectious smile and nonchalantly looked over at Frankie. "Seriously?"
"I know." She nodded. "Technically, he shouldn't be socializing with one of his students, but seeing as there is no threat of preferential treatment, if work gets done and there are no complaints all around, I don't see the point in pulling Ben out of a learning opportunity he's excited about. That's pretty much the exact opposite of my job. Not to mention, it is exceedingly difficult to keep up with all the histories around here, though I know Jeff and Ben have a long, convoluted one."
"Hey, you want to talk about long, convoluted histories?" The Dean's voice rang out loudly. Many people tensed, but two in particular felt their guts clench. Jeff and Annie tried not to notice how their eyes met. He continued. "Duncan and Chang both used to have restraining orders against one another." He turned his attention to both men. "I am right in assuming that you no longer do, right?"
Duncan nodded, confidently speaking. "That was taken care of officially quite a while ago."
Chang mumbled under his breath. "Sure, exactly, or you know, maybe we're still seeing how things go."
"Come again?" Duncan inquired.
Frankie finished her earlier explanation. "Ben is right; I was annoyed at first, but it just doesn't feel like Greendale without Benjamin Chang." Chang and Annie both aww-ed; the former dabbing at his eyes with a cocktail napkin. Frankie cleared her throat, feeling foreign in sentimentality. "Though, I have to say, on paper, he's as much of a human liability as I've ever seen calculated on a spreadsheet."
"Why do I feel like she's made a habit of such calculations?" Duncan murmured quietly to Britta, who tilted her head in consideration.
"All the same, I'll take the compliment." Chang beamed, sipping on his drink. "So, now I am a student, for at least, the next-" He looked at Frankie.
"Week," he spoke at the same time as her.
"Month." Her expression seemed to imply that Chang knew how long his suspension would be and was most likely hoping to negotiate.
"Right," He animatedly nodded. "Month. Then I might finally be able to return." His eyes seemed to hold a deeply entrenched pain.
"Return?" Annie's instinct was to look at Jeff, though she couldn't help but wonder if her eyes needed to continue confirming that he was actually there, so close, just across a table, after so much time.
He shook his head and rolled his eyes, feeling encouraged by Annie's amused smile. "The Teacher's Lounge. It's been changed to more of a Staff Lounge, so Duncan, Britta and I have lunch together sometimes and he feels left out."
"I feel abandoned." Chang whined, actively oozing for pity.
"Welcome to my world." The Dean whined before obnoxiously slurping his Mai Tai.
Jeff rolled his eyes, acknowledging Chang. "Well, next time keep some of your crazy at home and then you won't have to be put on time out." Jeff suggested sharing a look with Chang. They had been through way too much ridiculousness together, for Jeff to not be able to call Chang out on his bullshit.
Chang nodded, sipping his drink. "I've learned my lesson…" He paused. "I really did this time, I think."
"And I can't wait to see it pay off in a month's time." Frankie encouraged in a voice that could have seemed patronizing, if not for the kind glance she shared with him.
It was around this time that the group became splintered into a few different conversations. Duncan turned to Frankie, further inquiring about her earlier allusion to compiling a spreadsheet gauging human encumbrances. Mel quickly bit back with a line about not turning her girlfriend into one of their 'observations'. Britta and Frankie laughed at how she had taken greater offense than the actual subject of the conversation. The Dean and Chang began chatting over the new Physical Education teacher that had been hired; an apparently, very attractive male in his late 30s, whom, they both were sure, had noticed them.
Annie felt entirely lost in the conversations going on around her, but she experienced some comfort that now she had the chance to get to know Cheryl without too much notice from anyone else. She pressed a mostly honest smile to her face and quietly centered her own thoughts.
Cheryl was drinking when Annie used her softest tone to ask her, "So, how did you two get together?"
Jeff searched Annie's cheerful voice for an accusation and found none. Cheryl answered. "I started taking a class at Greendale."
"Ooh, a torrid teacher-student affair." She looked at Jeff. "Did the Dean make you fill out the contract again?"
"Oh, please. I wouldn't go that fa- Wait, there's a contract?" Cheryl looked to Jeff at her side who solemnly nodded. She smiled. "It's nothing quite as dramatic. I'm not even taking his class, though I did audit it once."
Annie's face practically puckered. "Yikes. I did that for a little bit. Pretty upsetting, huh?"
"Hey," He perked up. "I've gotten better, not to mention it was a vastly different situation." He looked at Cheryl. "Annie was the only person I knew that was audacious enough to audit a class that she was enrolled in."
The past tense made her feel as if he was speaking of the dead. She shrugged and spoke. "If it's any consolation, I got what I deserved."
"Then you and I remember that day very differently." He said directly to her, causing her a small smirk. He looked back to the woman beside him. "She got an A- and a caused a school-wide riot, literally."
Cheryl's eyes bulged. "Oh, please." Annie took a sip of her drink before projecting her defense. "It was a baby riot, especially by Greendale's standards. The students wanted it. It had been peaceful for so long, they were practically fiending for it." Cheryl's eyes reached maximum bulging capacity as they looked back at Annie. "And…" She enthusiastically hyped up. "Jeff forgot to mention the real reason I rioted. He had just revealed that minuses don't exist. It was just the faculty's way of getting back at students they don't like."
Cheryl went agape. "On second thought, I'm on her side."
"Seriously?"
"Of course. That's a petty way to get back at a student, despite all their hard work." She continued playfully. "Besides, she said it was only a baby riot."
"Thank you." Annie bobbed in excited agreement. "Anyway, sorry for my interruption. You were saying…"
"Oh, I'm not really a student. I take an Arts class to unwind, but I recognized Winger in the cafeteria, so I decided to sit in and see what he'd been up to these past few years."
"Oh," Understanding flashed behind Annie's eyes. "So, you already knew each other?"
"Once upon a time." She laughed softly before clarifying. "We worked at the same firm years ago."
"Oh, so you're a-"
"Lawyer, yeah." She wore a playful grim expression. "Unfortunately; please do your best not to hold it against me." A soft chuckle. "Jeff and I rarely crossed paths, which I certainly didn't mind then. He used to be quite a character."
Annie nodded. "I remember."
"I was surprised to see he'd changed so much."
"Um, I'm still right here." Jeff interjected, long forgotten, doing his best not to ruminate on the true reason for the change, the woman speaking to his girlfriend.
"I'm sorry." Cheryl patted his knee. "I was pleasantly surprised to see that you'd grown so much." He smirked.
Annie shook her head. "So, what Art class did you take?"
"Pottery."
The younger woman nearly snorted on a sip of her drink, earning a soft, chiding, "Annie," from Jeff.
"What?" Cheryl asked, perplexed by the interaction.
"Pottery, huh?"
"Yes." She hesitantly answered. "I wanted to unwind, but I have next to no artistic ability. I figured if I mess up a painting, people will be able to tell, but if I mess up a vase, I can always say it was meant to be an ashtray."
"Smart." Annie praised. "I wouldn't have pegged you for a smoker."
"I'm not." She offered and both women laughed.
"Out of curiosity, did Jeff ever tell you about when we took pottery our first year?"
"Annie." He warned again, this time his voice came out a bit sterner.
Cheryl shook her head and Annie continued. "Oh, you'll love it. Especially the part where he was kicked out."
"Don't."
"Too late, Jeff." Cheryl laughed. "I have to know now."
"So, there was this guy, Rich." Jeff scoffed at the way Annie over-enunciated the ridiculously simple name in a way she had never done for him. For a brief moment, he wondered if she still had a small crush on the perky doctor. She continued. "Tall, blonde, sweet and oh, he had these dimples." She reminisced dreamily causing a similar expression on the nodding Cheryl. Jeff couldn't help but now wonder if she only had a small crush on him. "And he was so good with his hands."
Jeff gave her an accusatory look. "What?" She slightly balked. "He was a surgeon and a natural in class. Do you remember those vases he would make? They were truly stunning."
"They were okay." He insisted.
Annie rolled her eyes. "Well, Mr. Competitive, here-"
"Me, competitive? That's rich coming from you. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Two words: Model U.N." Annie had the sense to look a bit fearful, her eyes filling with a sense of dread at the mention. It was brave for him to even mention, as neither one of them came out of that story looking at all respectable.
Cheryl looked on, surprised at the outburst, but Annie stubbornly pushed on. "Well, Jeff being oh-so-Jeff was dead-set on being the residential handsome thirty-something with a prestigious career."
"Not true."
"And hated seeing Rich be so much better at something than him, so he became a tad-bit obsessed."
"Obsessed with what?" Cheryl asked.
"Proving Rich to be a phony. Though in hindsight, who seems phony? The guy with the high-stress job who excels at his 'blow-off steam' class or the guy who can't handle being beaten in his 'blow-off' class?"
At first, Cheryl was sure Annie's words were too harsh, until Jeff interrupted the silence, entirely unfazed. "Say what you want, he threw the fricking hump!"
"And?" Annie scoffed.
"Only intermediates and pros know that move."
"So, how do you?" She antagonized.
"I Googled pottery."
"Mmm hmm." She sarcastically hummed. "And there is no way he could've done the same thing?"
Jeff bit back a response, finally realizing that the possibility was very likely.
"I don't understand. What does this have to do with him getting kicked out?" Cheryl asked.
"Are you familiar with the one rule in Greendale's pottery class?"
Cheryl nodded and Annie stayed silent, confirming the woman's suspicions with her silence. Cheryl started to smile. "NO!" She looked back at Jeff.
"I was trying to make him throw the hump." He offered in a lame defense.
Annie giggled and nodded, quickly taking a sip of her drink. "So, Professor Holly kicked him out of class and since Jeff couldn't leave it at that, he began belting Unchained Melody." Cheryl laughed deeply and Annie could feel her cheeks start to sting from her own grin. "Professor Holly just came at him, fully rabid."
Cheryl gulped her drink, hints of laughter lingering in her bright eyes. "Okay, so now I'm invested, what about the Model U.N.?"
For the first time in the night, Jeff and Annie shared a look of mutual hesitation; the former cursing himself for shooting his own foot. He took a steady sip of his drink and then a deep breath. "Well, while I admit I didn't handle my rivalry with Rich all that maturely, I wasn't the only one to harbor a grudge against a nemesis-"
"Ha, nemesis?" Annie scoffed, some part of her desperately stalling, not really wanting to think about her Model U.N. fiasco. "He honestly just wanted to be friends with Jeff. It was a one-sided competition."
Jeff ignored the interruption and pushed on, speaking directly to Annie. "I dealt with it much better than you did with yours." He forced himself to look back over at Cheryl. "There was this girl named Annie Kim-"
"I wouldn't if I were you." Annie warned.
"Why not?" He smugly asked.
"Because I'm not the only one who looks bad in that story." She boldly insisted, internally recalling how Jeff had to run away when the auditorium looked at him with disgust after his outburst.
And he instinctually stopped, not because of what she said, but because he remembered sitting with her on the couch in the study room, promising that he would start treating her like an adult. He wondered if she remembered that fractured confession of his feelings. What really plagued his thoughts was wondering if they were still those same people more than seven years later.
Cheryl cleared her throat. "I have to know; what happened with Annie Kim?"
Jeff felt like a deer caught in headlights and was grateful when Annie took the lead of the conversation. She offered a soft half-smirk. "Abridged version: This girl stole my idea to implement a Model U.N. at Greendale and when we competed, I ended up throwing a bit of a tantrum and it was really embarrassing. Jeff had been enabling my bad behavior up until that point, and didn't look so good himself," He left out a silent sigh of relief, thankful she'd gone easy on him. "Safe to say we both humiliated ourselves in front of a lot of people. Definitely not one of my finer moments."
"Nor mine." Jeff added, wearing a bit of shame in his countenance.
Annie shrugged at Cheryl. "But, I got out pretty lucky in the end, because I had a great team and we all collaborated really well, securing us the win." She took a sip of her drink. "I didn't necessarily earn it, but I learned my lesson," She smugly smirked. "And I'd like to think Annie Kim did as well. It taught her not to steal my ideas for brownie points."
Jeff couldn't stop himself from smiling at Annie's somewhat adorable arrogance as he rolled his eyes at her.
"What a silly place it is." The transparent affection in Cheryl's voice left no doubt about how easily she had been won over by the ridiculous community college.
The younger woman nodded in utter agreement. "I feel so grateful that Greendale accepted me." Annie meant it literally; she remembered just how hard it had been to find a school that didn't view her as a liability after the disastrous conclusion of her final year of high school. "I can't imagine what my life would've been like if I had gone anywhere else."
"You nearly did." Jeff broke the brief silence, and Annie quickly met his gaze. "You almost left us for City College, remember the hijacked space simulator?"
Annie nodded guiltily, looking back at Cheryl with a simple shrug. "Still, I love Greendale, but I'd be lying if I said it hadn't often been to the detriment of my pride." She shook her head. "They had just turned our flag into a butthole."
Cheryl laughed and nodded with complete comprehension. "I understand the need to be proud of your school."
"Well, I soon learned I couldn't be proud to go to City College, especially after the whole charade they went through during second paintball." Jeff nodded. 'Second Paintball?' Cheryl mouthed and Jeff nodded again as if to say he'd explain later. "Not only were they cheaters, but they were also a bunch of sore losers."
Britta overhearing, heartily agreed, raising her glass. "Since our school flag is a butthole, theirs should've been a toilet."
Annie shared an amused smirk with Jeff, before raising her glass in solidarity. "Hear, hear."
Everyone took a sip from their glasses.
"Does that make Pierce a turd?" Jeff suddenly asked and noticed the collective sound of several people choking on their drinks. "No, honestly, stay with me. If we're the butthole and they're the toilet; then our win against them during our second year, which was brought to us by Pierce Hawthorne, is analogous to him being the deuce that ultimately ended up dropping on their plans, clogging their toilet."
"Save some of that poetry for the memorial." Annie sarcastically teased.
Britta nodded. "Is it terrifying that I understood that? And that I also actually agree?" She laughed.
Frankie grabbed her attention. "Well, I didn't, and I think I'm going to need a translation or at least, some further interpretation."
Annie laughed, figuring Frankie had to have known little more than the bare amount, no doubting regarding days of past lawlessness and unchecked shenanigans as The Dark Times. "Okay, so during our second year of Greendale, we were given the chance to play paintball assassin, again. This ice cream company was sponsoring the event and when they announced the prize, everything changed."
After a couple hours of animated conversation, the energy began to simmer down as it was nearing the end of the night. Frankie and Mel had been the first to leave, quickly followed by Chang and the Dean. Cheryl went off with Duncan and Britta to close out their tabs.
Annie leaned in a little bit, forcing a soft smile as she spoke to Jeff. "Looks like you got pretty lucky." He looked up in confusion. "Cheryl," She clarified. "She's funny and nice, plus a total hottie." Jeff offered a mute nod. "Looks like you haven't lost that Winger charm altogether."
"Nah," He shrugged. "I always keep some spare on a dusty shelf in my closet on the off-chance I need it."
"Well, consider your allowance well-spent." She wanted desperately to be this girl she was pretending to be. Annie needed to be happy and enthusiastic for Jeff, especially after the part she had played in hurting him in the past; so, she knew she could force smiles and ignore aches, because it was the least she owed him.
"Yeah," He absentmindedly nodded. "Sometimes you can be caught by someone when you're least expecting it." The moment the words left his mouth, he knew it wasn't Cheryl he was talking about, but refused to let the realization marinate in his thoughts for a second more.
Jeff felt a pit festering in his gut but knew the reason to be entirely illogical. It was good that Annie supported his relationship with Cheryl. It was just how a friend would act, yet after all this time, Jeff didn't know how to see her as only that. He had known that regardless of how Annie acted or felt about Cheryl, either way he would been perturbed, because it was Annie.
Cheryl came back over. Annie stood and offered her hand. "It was really nice to meet you, Cheryl."
The other woman took her hand and shook it with an instinctual, professional concision to her movements that Annie immediately recognized to most likely be a symptom from her profession. "Likewise; ever since Britta first ranted about you, I've been hoping to meet." She smiled, not even the slightest bit aware of the deceptively sharp edges behind her seemingly blunt words. "I'm sure she's absolutely thrilled to have you home."
She nodded with a forced grin. "Yesterday was like Girls' Night and the tone definitely hasn't changed much. We've had a lot to catch up on." Annie couldn't help but nudge her head in the direction of Duncan and Britta chatting at the bar, her eyes wide at the sight.
Jeff offered her a genuine grin. "I know," He shook his head, "But it seems to be going well."
Cheryl nodded. "They really seem to enjoy each other's company."
Annie bobbed her head. "I agree, it's just so interesting how different they both are from when they first met, which is what makes it work, I guess."
Jeff tried not to think how much they all had changed since first meeting. He shook off the clench in his gut to notice the ever-remaining flush in Annie's cheeks. "I don't mind." He laughed. "I have new teasing fodder for Britta now."
Annie scowled at him. "Don't. Let her have this one." She looked over to the other woman. "Right, Cheryl?"
The other woman good-naturedly nodded. "I agree. You can't always tease Britta." She thought for a second. "Of course, besides her pronunciation of bagel."
"Oh, the worst!" Annie laughed, before the subject of their teasing came over and snagged Cheryl's attention.
"Those drinks have shot right through me, want to come with me to the bathroom?" Britta nodded at Cheryl.
She nodded back. "Good idea. I doubt I'll withstand the drive home." She softly touched Jeff's shoulder. "I'll be just a minute."
He gave her a brief nod. "I'll be waiting here." He awkwardly offered.
Annie watched the two women walk off, surprised that Britta had seemed to finally start applying Shirley's lesson from nearly ten years ago. She nudged Jeff, forcing a playful attitude. "It's nice to know that Britta told her all about me." Annie wistfully looked in the direction the two women had gone off in. "Damn; it's like I've been replaced or killed off." She brightly laughed, but Jeff could see behind the taunt, she was actually offended.
It wasn't fair of her to tease him for not being the one to bring her up. She had no right to presume that it all, that every moment they'd spent together simply wasn't worth mentioning to him. It had taken all of his sense and all of his hurt not to talk about it, to not bring her up in conversations, or think about how he'd never felt higher than when she looked at him with pride and affection. "Merely written out for time." He spoke steadily, the stoic edge in his voice just sharp enough to prod her for calling attention to his lack of Annie-themed nostalgia and reminiscing.
Annie pushed away the pain from her doe eyes, aware that in his, she deserved no fond recollections. She had nothing to say in response and luckily wasn't given the time to reply as the bathroom door opened and the two women exited. Within a second, Cheryl was back at his side and Britta was already standing with Duncan.
Annie was grateful to see Britta waving her over. "Well, goodnight." She gave them both the briefest of glances before running up to meet Britta and Duncan.
"She's sweet." Cheryl said to Jeff.
He stretched, refusing to acknowledge the sting he felt in his chest for that final jab, before donning his jacket. "Yeah," He laughed, more to himself, almost offended by the oversimplification of the enigma that had been plaguing him for the past three years. "She's that, alright. To a fault sometimes, here and there it got us in trouble."
"Like with the space simulator because of the flag?" Cheryl guessed.
He nodded. "Not her sweetness so much, though certainly her sensitivity. A few other times her bleeding heart would win us the day."
Cheryl was surprised by the fondly irritated tone that imbued the certainty of his descriptions. "So, was she the one that ratted you guys out to the Dean?"
Jeff didn't try to shield his guilt. "No, that was actually me."
"And you let everybody think it was her?" She playfully accused. "Shame."
"For like a few hours, at most." He shook his head. "I quickly owned up to it."
"From what I remember, you were callous to a fault; I can imagine that caused problems, here and there." The glint in her eyes shielded her words from any true condemnation.
He nodded. "More than I can admit, yet I always ended up doing some work."
"Yeah, right." She accused, remembering how quick he always had been to weasel his way around work. "Barely enough to work up a light sweat, I'm sure."
His eyes were indiscernible to her for a fraction of a second before he said, "I'm capable of quite a lot, even that level of effort."
Cheryl laughed and felt the effervescence of her single drink still lingering in her chest, even an hour later. "Is that an offer?" She smirked. "You could always follow me home."
Jeff wanted to have no qualms about accepting her invitation, but he couldn't shake away the clenching that had seized his gut from the beginning of the night. "I would very much like to take you up on that, but I'm actually exhausted." He could see the building question in her eyes, but he just settled with telling her the truth. "I didn't eat enough today and after that second drink I've got the worst headache."
"Second?" She inquired. "I thought you only had one."
He genuinely looked embarrassed. "I kind of slammed one when I got here. It seemed efficient at the time." He laughed.
"You still think you're invincible, don't you?" She shook her head, eyes alight with humor.
He decisively whipped his head. "On the contrary, I just happen to give myself vivid reminders that I'm not."
"So unintentional masochism in the pursuit of eternal youth?" She accused.
"You know, I feel so much more constricted when you put labels on me." He teased.
"Fair enough. Well, fine, old man. Nurse that headache of yours with plenty of water and sleep."
He leaned in and planted a chaste kiss on her lips and pulled back. "A lawyer and a physician," He shook his head in awe, "If only you hadn't called me old, I might've thought you a genius, now I'm sure you're mad."
"Then it's clear I'm in good company."
He laughed as they exited the bar and headed out into the parking lot. "How about breakfast tomorrow?"
She narrowed her eyes for a moment as they stopped in front of her car. "Call it brunch, because I am sleeping in tomorrow." She punctuated her sentence with the chirping to signal that she had unlocked her doors.
"Understood." He was aware of the protocol. She would be up before 10 in the morning but wouldn't be ready to acknowledge anything until noon. He'd stop by with coffee and croissants. "I'll see you tomorrow." He kissed her softly before opening her door for her as he pulled away. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." She sighed as she got in the car.
Jeff couldn't help but completely feign ignorance. He did have a headache, there was truth in that, but he wasn't able to admit that his thoughts seemed temporarily incapable of focusing on more than one person at the moment. He wouldn't promise attention he couldn't provide.