Disclaimer: I don't own Community.

Summary: Annie realizes her crush on Abed Nadir has gotten completely out of control when even the mere mention of his name sends the butterflies in her stomach on a rampage. AbedAnnie, oneshot

Sooo, yeah. I've been kind of stressed lately so I suppose this is a kind of release of all that. I had a bit of time to myself without studying so I decided to type this short little thing up as kind of an exercise in stress relief, lol. I hope that everyone enjoys this little piece, because I just adore Annie and Abed together. Thanks so much for reading!

Inside My Head

Oh, she has it bad.

Annie prides herself on being logical. Well, most times, at least. Sometimes, her actions get away from her and she finds herself acting just as nutty as the rest of her study group - the fit during the Model UN debate and the pen incident are prime examples, as well as the time she trashed Trobedison's apartment just to cover up the fact that she broke -

Okay, maybe she shouldn't pride herself on being logical anymore.

But, seriously, she thought herself better than this.

Study group has always been something she looks forward to. It was something that she could come to and unwind after the countless classes, test after test after test, after the insanity of the various teachers at Greendale. Of course, their study group has their particular brand of crazy, but still, it is refreshing nonetheless.

And yet, now, study group has morphed into some kind of awkward monster.

Surely, it hasn't always been this way. Normally, it is all comfortable conversations that tend to teeter on the edge of insane, and everyone laughs and usually there's a big conflict, but it resolves itself in the end.

Normally, it is she and Jeff exchanging the most insignificant glances, and her heart beating faster for it.

Normally, it is Troy and Britta doing the same thing.

Normally, it is Shirley cheerfully smiling, Pierce making crude comments, Abed making movie references that border on the obscure, the Dean coming in randomly in a garish costume, Chang being absolutely insane...

Of course, normal is a completely subjective term.

So is abnormal, she guesses, but that is the one word she can use to describe everything she is going through right now.

Apparently, the universe has begun to play a silly little joke on her, mocking what she thinks of as normal and replacing it with abnormal and then smacking Annie on the head so she can't tell which is which.

She sits in her normal spot at the table, desperately trying to stay on task with her homework, but she hasn't picked up a pencil in the entire time she has been here. She hasn't even opened her book to the correct page. It stays open to some random picture of a tiger - she had taken Zoology on a very interested whim this semester - and she almost aws each time her eyes graze the page.

Her mind had wandered the entire time, focusing on random things. Like the conversations the others were having, though she hadn't decided to input anything into their discussions. She just can't find it in her to say anything, especially when...

"Abed!" Annie's heart leaps to her throat as Troy exclaims his best friend's name. "Inspector Spacetime tonight?"

That is another unfortunate consequence that has reared its ugly head. Her stomach is roiling, her heart thundering, her pulse bounding...all because someone did the very simple action of saying Abed's name.

Then Abed speaks, voicing his approval of Troy's suggestion, and the sound of his voice causes heat to rush to her cheeks.

She ducks her head further, hiding her cheeks from anyone's view. She hopes that their study session comes to a close soon, so she can rush off and hide for a bit. Prepare herself to head home to a house full of Abed Nadir.

His presence is everywhere, even when he's not there. His DVD collection, his favorite blanket, the space in front of the television he so often takes up, an oft-present bowl of buttered noodles, the space where the Dreamatorium once was...

Duh, Annie, she scolds herself, he lives there...just like you do.

And the fact that he's so close to her, just a few footsteps away on a daily basis, makes her heart skip.

She tries not to think of these things, tries to put them to the back of her mind. Annie fails, of course, and pinches the bridge of her nose with two fingers.

"Alright," Jeff says, rising from the table. "I think that's enough studying for today. I'm starving."

Annie is anything but hungry, but the temptation to leave here is just too great. Though she'd be closer to the problem at hand once arriving home, she'd at least have a smidge of distance from him.

Sometimes, that distance drives her crazy.

Okay, it might be all the time, nowadays.

Everyone rises from their seats, some following Jeff to wherever he wanted to go eat, and others wandering off by themselves - Troy and Britta, the main two. Annie just sits in her seat, and as if in a trance, starts to gather her things, sliding the books and notebooks and pencils and highlighters into her backpack. The monotony of this action is almost enough to calm her. She feels her pulse start to slow and thinks that maybe she'll be fine this time, until...

"Annie," the voice comes from right above her. She jolts at the sound and realizes that Abed had taken this opportunity to sneak up on her. He stares down at her, large eyes innocent and yet oh-so-perceptive. "Are you alright?"

Thud, thud, thud. "I'm fine, Abed." Thud, thud, thud.

Abed gives a short little nod. "You just haven't said anything all day. You never turned a page in your book, and you don't have that Zoology test for three weeks. I figured something was wrong."

She feels the flush take over her face. Annie shakes her head, and her voice comes out smaller than she'd intended. "Thank you for caring, Abed."

People say Abed's a robot - and he might be, a good percentage of the time, but he isn't as cut-and-dry as people make him out to be.

Annie thinks that's one of the things she likes most about him, and believe her, it's hard to pick just one.

Abed shrugs at her words. "Hard not to."

Thud, thud, thud.

"Let's go home, Annie."

Annie gives him a smile, and Abed doesn't even flinch as she hooks her arm through his.

Better words had never been spoken.

End.