Annie groaned as she felt her body, specifically her shoulder, shake. She was so warm and comfy. All she wanted to do was sleep.

"Annie, get up." she hears someone say.

Just five more minutes, she drowsily thought.

"Annie! Get Up!" she heard again more forcefully.

Annie suddenly opened her eyes as she remembered where she was. She looked up to see Jeff standing over her, looking none too pleased to see her. "Jeff."

"What are you doing here?"

"I…I…" She tried to explain why she had again let herself into his apartment, but it suddenly seemed like such a stupid reason.

"Well!"

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to try and fix things after what happened. Abed said I had to restore balance between us so I came over to do that but then you weren't home and I didn't want to stand out in the hallway so I can in and I was tired so I closed my eyes for a moment and then-."

"Annie!" She abruptly stopped talking as the anger on Jeff's face seemed to reluctantly subside. "You're babbling. Take a breath and tell me why you came over here."

Annie took a moment to breathe deeply and compose herself before continuing. "I came here so you could see me naked."

"Wait, what?" Jeff said in confusion.

"Jeff, we couldn't even look at each other at brunch because of what happened. And according to Abed, the only way we can move on is if you see me naked too. So I came here to make us even."

Jeff eyes ran down the loosened collar of her coat, seeing that more skin was exposed then there ought to be. "Wait, did you come all the way over here in nothing but a trench coat?"

"Yea. I didn't think that one through, but I figured if I jumped right in I'd do it before I became too terrified." Her hands shook slightly as they started unknotting the belt. "So let's do this so we can-."

Jeff quickly grabbed her hands and pulled them away before she could open her coat. "Annie, stop. You don't have to do this."

"Jeff, we have to be even so we can move past this."

"Annie, I don't want to see you naked."

She paused as she looked up at Jeff, not sure if she should feel relieved or insulted. "What?"

"Annie, I don't want you doing this just to prove something, or because Abed said I should see you naked to make us even. If I'm going to see you naked it should be…" He paused in his speech, again realizing he probably said too much. "Just, keep your coat on."

She looked at him curiously before she sat down, ignoring certain things he said while focusing on others. "So…you don't want to see me naked."

"Not like this. Not when it's just because you feel guilty because you saw me naked." He sat down next to her, trying to focus on anything but the strip of exposed skin that ran from her neck to her cleavage. "Look, I'm not mad or embarrassed that you saw me naked. I mean, it's not like it was the first time that happened. Or did you forget my ridiculous pool game strip down?"

"It's kind of hard to forget," Annie said, with only a hint of embarrassment at the memory.

Jeff smirked at her, feeling a bit of pride in spite of himself. "The point is, I'm not embarrassed by what you saw last night. I feel a bit bad for you though. You did run out of here pretty quick."

"Well…ok, yes, I was embarrassed. But…I wasn't as embarrassed as I would have been a few years ago. It was both seeing you naked and being caught in your apartment that made me run.

Jeff's face grew more serious as she brought her break in up. "Annie, I want to make it clear that I wasn't mad that you saw me naked. What got to me was you breaking into my apartment in the middle of the night. I know we're friends, but there still has to be a sense of boundaries between us. How would you have felt if you woke up and I was in your place like that?"

Annie shuttered as she really thought about how she would have felt if their roles had been reversed that night. After two years of living in fear of thieves and degenerates breaking into her place in the middle of the night (and that fear still prevalent even after she moved in with Abed and Troy), she knew it would have gotten to her if she woke up and someone was unexpectedly in her home, even if it was a friend.

"Your right, I would have felt uncomfortable if someone had broken in, even if it was you. I know what I did was wrong. I just wasn't thinking. All I could think about was winning that scavenger hunt." She frowned deeply as she hung her head. "I guess I really haven't changed, haven't I."

"What are you talking about?"

Annie picked her head back up as her eyes met Jeff's. "Jeff, I want to be someone who thinks about others, and doesn't just focus on myself and my own ambition. But no matter how hard I try I keep falling back to where I only think about myself."

"Annie," Jeff said as he absentmindedly stroked her cheek. "You're one of the most selfless people I know."

"What about when I almost had everyone fail Spanish just so we'd stay in the same class together? That was pretty selfish."

"Yea, it was. But that was years ago. And we've all done stupid things we're later not proud of. I mean, I prolonged a school wide pillow fight and endangered Troy and Abed's friendship just to get out of class."

"I wouldn't call that your best moment. But you got them to work it out in the end. That counts for a lot Jeff."

Jeff kept his face blank as he reflected on what she said. For a moment he considered telling her that it was her words that caused him to realize what he was doing to the boys was wrong. Or that she had inspired him to start writing (admittedly very infrequent) in a journal. But he decided to keep it to himself, feeling uncomfortable at revealing just how much he took her opinion of him to heart. Instead he just decided to say a generalization on his feelings. "I guess. Maybe it just takes a while to figure out who we are."

Annie grew apprehensive as she took in Jeff's words, since they reflected thoughts she had had for a while now. In the last month she had been thinking a great deal about where her life was going, and the direction she wanted it to go in. After giving it a lot of thought, and sampling a different direction from what she had done since starting college, she felt she was ready to make a major change in her life. But she knew it would be better to discuss this decision with someone, and it seemed like Jeff was the person to discuss it with.

But just as she was about to begin telling him, he said to her "Though I think some people send too much time analyzing themselves. Then they never get anywhere in life. Just pick a path and commit. You are what you are and that's all."

He snickered at what he thought was a clever realization, but failed to notice the look of hurt that formed on Annie's face. Though he didn't mean it, he had inadvertently offended her for doubting where her life was heading and wanting to make a change. But, that's what Jeff did. Hurt others by only focusing on himself.

"I should go," she said as she stood up.

"Is everything ok Annie?"

Oh, now you notice something's wrong, she thought. "I'm fine. I just don't want to keep sitting here in just a trench coat. And I should get ready for bed so I'm not sleeping in class tomorrow."

"Ok," Jeff said slowly. He guessed that there was more to her abruptly leaving then she was letting on. But he decided not to say anything. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night Jeff. Your spare key is over there on the counter." With that she purposely walked out of the apartment and out of the building.

Once she got in her car she put both hands on the steering wheel, taking deep breaths. She knew Jeff had changed a lot in the past three years. And that most of those changes had been for the better. But sometimes she thought that they had been closer when they were first getting to know each other (specifically before the tranny dance kiss) then they were now. They hardly ever really talked anymore. And when she did try to talk to him he did or said something that showed he just didn't get it. It made it hard to confide in him when she didn't feel he could put her before himself.

She had honestly really wanted to run this life altering decision by someone else, since it could affect the rest of her life. And she really wanted Jeff to be the one that she confided in and obtained advice from. But when she needed him the most he just proved he wasn't someone she could talk to. And instead she now had to make this decision by herself.

But, she thought, maybe this is something I have to make by myself. That's what an adult does. They make decisions on their own, without the approval of others. Maybe that's the mark of growing up. To think for yourself without letting the opinion of others affect you. So in a way maybe Jeff really did help her, since he inadvertently taught her this life lesson.

Just then she smiled, as without warning she had the answer to her question. She knew what she wanted to do with her life. If she was honest she had known it was something she wanted to do for a while. She had just been too afraid to pursue it.

As she started her car to head home she knew she would eventually have to thank Jeff. After all, he had led to her making this decision. In more ways than he himself knew.

The End

This story line will continue in the sequel 'An Unavoidable Collision of Two Forces'.