A/n: This is the first thing I have ever written for the Community fandom. I was inspired by re-watching season one like a million times and my undeniable love of Abed/Annie. I apologize if this is awful. Thank you.
To Abed, Annie Edison is a secondary character (and he likes it that way). At first he tries his best to avoid her - mostly for Troy's sake. According to every soapy high school drama he's seen girls are the number one cause for broken friendships. Annie is pretty and scary and he might like her so he stays far, far away. It's an inevitability that Troy and Annie end up happily ever after. A classic soap staple: the jock and the smart, pretty, ambitious, possibly frightening girl next door. It's hard to ignore her though. She sits diagonally across from him in the group, so of course he has to look at her sometimes (it's common courtesy to look at someone when their talking). They also sit next to each other in Spanish where he can see her pencil caps and everything. So eventually he has to take notice of her because she thinks their "friends", and you can't say no to someone with a perfectly executed Disney face.
Anyway... she likes Jeff now.
Jeff. Jeff. Jeff. Jeff.
Her brain had been stuck on repeat for the duration of the summer. Her kiss with Jeff had practically overshadowed her breakup with Vaughn (who, no doubt, was already playing hacky sack with a less well-groomed version of herself). She stayed in bed ignoring various gang fights outside her window, and dreamt of lips on hers. He didn't call for the entire month of July (something Annie should have taken as a warning sign, but being in such a state of lovestruck obsession did not see), but it never dampened her spirits. The anticipation for the start of the school year was so great that it made her want to dance around to eighties pop in her pajamas or something equally ridiculous. She pictured the first day of classes: her with a stylish new backpack and Jeff Winger with his tallness and effervescent charm. It's only when she feels her fist connect with those dreamy pearly whites that she realizes that all of her dreams were for naught.
When he finds out about the kiss he doesn't know how to react. Albeit he never knows how to react to anything without using a witty pop culture reference, but still. Everything is going fine (he found that George Clooney impersonator after all) until it isn't anymore. All he can register is Jeff's bloody nose and Annie's hurt expression. He wants to say something like Typical plot twist. Opposites attract. Seen it a million times, but he can't. All he does is wonder how something like this can happen to such a nice person.
She ends up crying of course. Shut away in a supply closet near the drama rooms where no one would be able to find her. Her shameful sobs blend in perfectly with the tearful monologue being performed in the next room over. She hates herself for crying because this is what Old Annie would do. This year she was supposed to be someone new. Someone fascinating and mysterious and together. She isn't supposed to be pouring her heart out in front of copy paper. Why is she so clueless? She should have just gone with Vaughn to Delaware. There are no Jeffs and Brittas in Delaware.
There's a knock on the door, and she holds her breath. Is it Jeff coming to apologize to her? She's painfully aware of the mascara smudged across her flushed cheeks like war paint, and how red and swollen her eyes are. She can never cry prettily like actresses in movies. There's never any snot when they cry which had always intrigued her. Was there some fancy trick to not getting all gross when you cry? If there is she would like to know.
Another knock. This time it sounds like the theme song to Cheers. She opens the door and finds Abed with one hand in mid-knock. She lets out a noise that sounds like a ravaged squeaker toy.
"Hello," he says because he can't think of anything else comforting to say.
"Did Shirley send you down here to find me?" she asks, an edge to her voice that really shouldn't be there. It's Abed after all, and she likes being nice to him. "Thanks, but I'm not going back in there. I'd rather stay in here and... sniff glue."
"Sounds fun." He looks over her shoulder as if something more interesting than paper towels is lurking within. "I just wanted to see if you were okay. This sort of thing can have a negative effect on people."
She stares at him for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Well obviously. I've spent the entirety of my summer mooning over a guy who..." She trails off, not wanting to finish her sentence. The whole thing is ridiculously silly, and she wishes Abed would go away so she can wallow in her own self-pity some more.
"I don't like it when you're sad," he says standing still like a statue, both hands casually wrapped around his bag strap. His face is characteristically emotionless. "You should try smiling some more."
"How can I smile when this is happening to me?" She's waving her arms around like Old Annie. "I always fantasized about being in a love triangle, but now that I'm actually involved it's sort of grating on the nerves."
"Yeah," he says with a nod. "Like the Ross, Rachel and Emily triangle. Remember when he said Rachel's name at the altar? And then she wouldn't let him talk to Rachel anymore, but they get divorced anyway..."
"I always felt bad for Emily," she cuts him off with her unpopular opinion. "Ross and Rachel were destined to be together and she just happened to get in the way. It's not her fault really. What did she ever do to deserve being tossed aside like that? She's not a bad person, you know. She just wants to be liked."
"There are people who like Emily," Abed says. "A lot of people actually. She has friends who appreciate her for who she is. Even though she may come off as intense sometimes she's actually very nice to be around. Can you tell that I'm referring to you in this scenario now?"
She nods. "I kind of thought so."
She lets him guide her to the cafeteria where they eat Ding Dongs out of the vending machine and talk about the cultural importance of John Cusack until she feels herself smiling again.