Thanks everyone who reviewed! :) I wanted it to seem like an episode and have Jeff not say much or argue until Britta showed up. Their bickering is just too fun, though it's definitely a Jeff/Annie story.

This chapter is a bit different. It kind of got away from me and developed a life of its own … but there is an epic winger speech to look forward to. Enjoy!

Annie stood in the costume closet in the drama department looking at a messy array of masks, dresses, boa's, shoes and props. She didn't know quite what had come over her. Just walking into the room she had felt too exposed. Even walking down the hall she got ogled and found it wasn't as nice as she had thought it would be.

As she considered some of the costumes she came across the Santa outfit from last Christmas and remembered it with a smile. It was actually pretty amazing to be so persuasive over someone who was so often the persuader with so much influence over other people. She hardly even had to try, just use a little bit of something that he never saw from her. Why wasn't she so confident now? Aside from not being brainwashed, she didn't know.

There came a quiet knock on the door.

"Come in,"

Britta hurried in and looked at her with a little sigh. "Don't let Jeff make you feel bad for doing what you want. He can't tell you what to wear."

"Maybe I don't want to wear it."

"It was your idea!" Britta leaned against the door for a moment. "And it is a fantastic one. Do you remember what you said to me to convince me it was?"

"That women should be able to wear whatever they want without fear of harassment or judgement, and it's not fair that if a woman dresses a certain way, she's judged and stereotyped."

"Exactly."

"Yes, and I still believe that! I just … I don't like that sort of attention. I didn't realize how much of it I would get, and I don't like it."

"That's giving them all the power, Annie."

She sighed, crossing her arms. "It's not if I just don't want to show so much skin."

"What's the difference between this dress and anything else you wear? A cardigan?" Britta asked.

"I still wear what I want and am strong and empowered. You don't have to show everything to make a point."

"Annie, you are a young woman. There are places women aren't even allowed to show their faces. Or their arms. There are places women are treated no differently than property, our government is trying to tell us what we can and can't do with our own bodies! It's disgusting that —"

"Britta!" Annie groaned.

"No, you need to hear it. You are a woman with emotions and smarts and strength and yes, Annie, sexuality. It's not exploitation or degrading to use that to our advantage. It may just be Halloween and a stupid party at a school that I feel sorry for like it's a baby chick at a corporate farm whose only purpose for living is to become a McDonalds chicken nugget," She took a breath, "But you had a spark inside you and I am not going to let you back down. You need to own your body and not care. So what if guys look at you and whistle? Let them. Don't pay any attention. When they see you being confident and not seeking their approval, like all women should be instead of dressing like this to get attention, they might just take a second to think. They probably won't. But they might."

Annie felt her heart pound just a bit more, it was actually pretty nice to hear Britta be so passionate in such a quiet and understanding way. And it made sense.

"Enjoy the company of our last Halloween here and embrace your freedom for the millions of women who can't!"

.

Britta and Annie walked into the auditorium arm in arm, "I already gave them all crap for you, Annie. They have no right to be so judgemental." She whispered, squeezing her reassuringly as a lot of eyes fell on the pair.

It felt strange at first to be the obvious talking point, but within a few minutes she was dancing with Britta and Abed and even Shirley took her hands and they twirled. Troy came over to dance with her and Annie got the feeling that he wouldn't be trying to dance with Britta, since she would not accept advances (or, 'almost-advances' as she liked to think of them since Troy was Troy) from anyone tonight. And that in itself was empowering for Annie. She saw Jeff leaning against the wall watching them dance, but she didn't make eye contact. She wasn't doing this for Jeff and he could stare all he liked. She didn't want him to stare though.

Actually she kind of did. She wanted him to see her in a new light. He probably wouldn't, like Britta had said, he probably didn't get the message and was looking at her outline and figure and all her skin, but she didn't care. Maybe she wanted that a little too. She felt good, and that's all that mattered.

Annie walked into the empty study room on the Monday morning following the dance, feeling like a new chapter of her life had begun. She had closed a confusing one with her statement on Friday, and though she felt oddly refreshed, she didn't know exactly which one she was opening now.

"Ah. So your new look isn't permanent?" Jeff said as he sauntered in.

She looked around, surprised, "Why are you here so early?"

"I'm not early, I'm right on time."

Annie rolled her eyes and walked over to her seat. "No. It's not permanent. It was a one time, statement sort of thing that I did for myself." She was wearing a loose fall sweater with a button up underneath and dark tights with one of her longer skirts, she hadn't actively chosen an outfit that was so covered, but she realized then that subconsciously maybe she had. "It doesn't even make a lot of sense to me now, because I think women are more powerful when they don't show everything. But I don't know," She shook her head, "It made sense at the time."

Jeff looked at her curiously, his phone in hand but not paying it any attention. "I'm sure you don't care what I think."

She thought about that for a moment. It might be nice to have a guy's perspective, even though he certainly wasn't objective, but she sighed. "What do you think?"

"I think, I understand where you were coming from on Friday. Why you thought that wearing that made you powerful because you could, and in a way it does. I get that. Women should be able to wear what they want. But guys are stupid. Most of the time, we have one thing on our minds, and if you want to be taken seriously, like the strong, intelligent woman that you are …" He paused, choosing his words and avoiding her eyes, "If a female lawyer came in wearing a feminine dress or showing cleavage, no matter how good she was, nobody would take her seriously, not even other women. That's just the way it is. I'm not saying you can't be taken seriously if you show skin or are feminine, only that it's harder. It's harder for you because a) you're a young woman, and guys have superiority complexes, and b) you're a really attractive young woman. When guys first see you they notice your body, and your pretty face, and your doe eyes. And most of the time, that's all they'll notice. But if they get to know you they see that you're really smart. Which intimidates them. Then if they really get know you, they see that you're also sweet and vulnerable and compassionate and powerful, which makes them crazy.

Most guys look for any excuse to knock a woman down who they think might threaten their masculinity – not by being masculine, exactly, but by being confident and making him feel like he has no influence over her." Jeff took a breath but didn't take his eyes off her, "And women, by way of a world shaped by men, have some funny notion of jealousy between them, and the need to compete and judge. I'll tell you Annie, if all the strong women in the world, like you and the lawyers I used to know and even Britta, if everyone got together and got along, it would be a woman's world. Because in the end, all any guy wants is a girl. At first it's a girl, or girls, to sleep with – and as long as there's women out there with low self esteem who let themselves be taken advantage of, guys will keep thinking we have the edge – but deep down, every man wants a good woman to love. Every. One. Of us."

She sat there, in surprise. The man had a way with words. He was looking right at her, honestly and calmly, and it made her heart pound.

"Jeffrey!" Shirley's cooing voice said, snapping them out of their gaze upon each other, "That was lovely,"

Annie looked away as Shirley came over to her seat, and Jeff leaned back in his chair. Throughout his speech, he had progressively straighten up and leaned toward her.

"Yeah, Jeff," Britta said in surprise, "It kinda was." She walked to her spot too. Annie hadn't noticed anyone come in, but Britta and Shirley had obviously been standing behind Jeff listening, and Troy and Abed had appeared in their spots, looking with raised brows at the pair. She felt a little embarrassed, she thought that had been a private moment.

Jeff looked around, also oblivious to their entrances, and cleared his throat. "Yeah, well. It's true." Then he looked down and began playing with his phone.

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Okay, positive or negative, please please tell me your thoughts! Thanks for the reviews so far, it's so nice to hear what you think :)

I don't know where this came from, it just wrote itself. Even I don't know quite how I feel about what Jeff says. It's not me giving Annie advice, it's a male who has the hots for her, of course the way he thinks isn't going to be the same as me. And I'm not Annie, so I wouldn't react or do the same things she does. Mostly I'm concerned with it being in character, and if it makes you think, even better! :) I would highly recommend checking out the "You Don't Own Me" PSA (regardless of nationality or gender) to gauge your own views on the subject. Make Britta proud!

(I ended up writing more stuff that follows this, but it's not something that is "realistic" cause it's so focussed on Jeff/Annie. Still, I might post it because it's fluffy and ca-uuuute!)