Fic: Unplanned Sequel I Wrote Because I Love Katya This Big!

[elsiesnuffin]

Title: Unplanned Sequel I Wrote Because I Love Katya This Big
Spoilers: Probably season 2?
Word Count: 4556
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine.

Author‘s Notes: I‘m not actually linking to this on M/M, because in addition to bascially being a present to my cheerleader/ number 1 gif-giver, it seems like a total vanity project to write a sequel to a tiny thing I wrote a long time ago that people (including me) don‘t remember. I had a conversation with teruel_a_witch last week where I basically said that it annoys me when people ask for sequels to things. Which is a totally jerky thing to think, let alone say. If people are asking for sequels, it‘s hypothetically because they like your writing. So after looking over stuff that I’ve posted in this fandom, I told her the only thing I could write more for would be the ’21st Birthday’ series I wrote in the spring. She picked #4, which was easily the most depressing of those, although none of them were really uppers. I was apparently going through some sort of funk when I wrote them. I think I’m going to retroactively blame it on my actual birthday occurring close to the same time. So, I wrote her a sequel. And I re-read the whole series to make sure I wasn‘t repeating myself. I broke two different rules for her. I pasted the first (depressing) original part right on the front of this. Is that still plagiarizing? Ooh, and I’m maybe working on the other thing we talked about. I’ll see how wisely my time gets spent this week.


“Okay, so what are you going to order for your first drink?” Britta asked as she played with the cardboard table tent in her hands.

Annie shrugged before giving Britta a nervous look. “I have really never done this.” She raised her eyebrows. “What do you suggest?”

Britta chuckled before turning more fully toward Annie. “Annie, there is no right answer here. It’s all about personal taste.” Annie frowned and thought fleetingly about downloading a bartender’s helper to her phone, since her choice of drinking buddy was going to be no help at all. “So, why did you just want it to be the two of us?” Britta asked after a moment’s awkward silence. She cocked her head to the side, a curious expression on her face. Annie faltered for a moment, not sure how to word the impulsive decision she’d made that afternoon to keep her birthday a secret from the group.

“I…” Annie took a deep breath, her entire body winding up with the stress of the guilt she was feeling. “I just didn’t want this to turn into a repeat of Troy’s birthday.” She exhaled, hoping Britta would understand without her having to explain more fully.

Britta stared at the surface of the bar for a moment before turning sharp eyes on Annie. “Do you mean Jeff and me making out?”

Annie absorbed the shock and pain quite well, considering. She clenched her teeth briefly before looking over a Britta with a practiced look of surprise. “Oh, did you?” Britta rolled her eyes. “What? Britta, I honestly had no idea that had happened.”

“Well,” Britta shrugged. “It didn’t mean anything.” She set the table tent back upright. “I just didn’t want you to think that it was a thing or…” She shrugged again in the silence.

“Why would I care?” Annie asked, sounding lame even to her own ears. Britta rolled her eyes again at the younger woman. “Okay, well I may have cared at one point about that.” Britta chuckled darkly. “But that was a long time ago.” She shook her head. “I just…Troy’s birthday ended up being everyone alone and sad and I didn’t want Shirley to feel bad, and…” Annie trailed off with a shrug of her own. “I thought it was better that it was just one on one.”

The bartender, a short man with thick fingers and a five o’clock shadow, came over and asked what they wanted. Britta turned to look at Annie, who only looked back helplessly. She rolled her eyes and laughed, before turning back to the bartender. “I’ll have a vodka neat, four olives. She’ll have a white Russian.” He nodded before disappearing.

“White Russian? That’s good?” Annie asked after a moment’s pause.

“You’ll like it,” Britta answered, glancing up at the television that was bolted to the wall. “It tastes like melted ice cream.” She glanced back at Annie, who had placed her hands primly on the bar. “So, you didn’t want everyone to come, why did you choose me?”

Annie bit her lower lip. Honestly, she wasn’t sure. She wasn’t very close to the blonde, and in many ways, was terrified of her. Britta was everything that Annie wasn’t, that Annie could never be. She was independent and free-spirited. She cared about really deep things like world hunger and the suffrage of minorities. Britta was the woman she wished she could be. It didn’t have anything to do with the fact that, somewhere deep in her brain, if Britta was with Annie all night, it meant she wasn’t with Jeff. Well, at least it wasn’t a conscious thought that Annie had dwelled on all afternoon.

“You’re kind of everything I would like to…be,” Annie answered haltingly.

Britta groaned. “Ugh, you’re not going to start singing Bette Middler to me now, are you?” she asked with a grimace. Annie just looked at her, completely confused. “Never mind. God, I am so old.” Britta’s phone vibrated, skittering across the bar. The blonde grasped it and flipped it open. She rolled her eyes at the text message and grinned slightly before typing in a response. She closed the phone just as their drinks arrived and Annie watched as Britta took a sip from hers before lifting her own glass and taking a tentative sip. Britta had been right, it was sweet, almost sickeningly so. Her phone vibrated again and Britta picked it up eagerly to read her new message. She smirked at the screen and typed something else, then closed the phone again.

“So, who’s texting you?” Annie asked after a beat.

Britta rolled her eyes and waved her hand condescendingly toward her cell. “Ugh, Jeff.” She sucked an olive into her mouth and chewed it. Annie waited for more of an explanation, but got none. “So, what do you think of The Red Door?”

“You mean L Street?” Annie shot out without thinking and then put a hand over her mouth in surprise.

“Whatever,” Britta grumbled, tipping her glass up and emptying it.

Annie phone chirped from her purse and she pulled it out to check the screen. It was a text from Jeff. She felt a swooping sensation in her chest and flipped it open.

Happy b-day! Y didnt u tell me?

Annie frowned and her entire body deflated momentarily. She glanced at Britta, her eyes narrowed. “Why did you tell Jeff it’s my birthday?” she asked, her voice full of quiet desperation.

Britta’s eyes widened. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, I guess.” She frowned in confusion.

“He wanted to know why I was out drinking with you, so I told him.” She shrugged. “Sorry, I didn’t know you would care.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why do you care?”

Annie couldn’t even place all the feelings she had welling up inside of her. It would take a great deal of time to label and sort them all. There was definitely jealousy there, at the forefront. The idea that Jeff apparently was so often texting Britta that she wasn’t phased by it at all. There was also petulance, which she felt very aware of. It felt as if mom was having a private conversation with dad while little Annie sat on her oversized stool drinking her milkshake. There was a nagging feeling in her chest that Annie had actually asked Britta of all of them because it was a way of actually being closer to Jeff without actually having to ask Jeff. Asking Jeff would be ultimately heartbreaking, and Annie was far enough outside of the situation that she could see that ahead of time. If she thought it was awkward and stilted with Britta, it would be ten times worse with Jeff. Not only would there be the awkward conversation, but on top of that would be the elephant in the room that was her attraction to him and his heretofore unacknowledged attraction to her, which may very well just be all in Annie’s head.

“I don’t care,” Annie lied through her teeth coolly as she lifted her drink to her lips again and took another drink. Although she was aiming for indifference, Annie could tell from Britta’s expression that she had overshot it and had instead landed on angry defiance. She let her mouth quirk up on one side, an unspoken apology on her face. “I’m just…can we not talk about Jeff? Please?”

Annie’s eyes were inexplicably drawn toward the door. It had opened and Annie immediately recognized the form that entered the dim light of the building. His arms were tight at his sides, hands shoved into the pockets of his dark jeans. Annie heard a whimper and realized with embarrassment a second later that it had come from her. Britta glanced over at Annie guiltily before turning back toward Jeff and he gave the slightest sign of recognition when he spotted them. He landed on the other side of Britta and leaned over in front of her.

“Hey, Annie.” He smiled at her. “Happy birthday.”

Annie felt the chill of the glass on her fingers, the tightness of the high heeled shoes she’d slipped on impulsively before leaving her apartment. She watched as Britta, almost in slow motion swiveled her entire body away from Annie and toward Jeff. They sat like that, huddled together in quiet conversation for several minutes. Annie turned to face forward and felt bile rising in her throat as tears pricked her eyes. “Britta,” she trembled in a small voice, mortified at how child-like she sounded. Both of them turned to look at her questioningly and slightly irritated. Annie leaned toward Britta on her stool, keeping her voice as low as possible. “Why did you invite him?” she hissed.

Britta looked over her shoulder at Jeff for a moment before facing Annie again. “C’mon, he’s a fun drunk,” she answered with a shrug. Jeff smirked at Annie from over the blonde’s shoulder.

“No, he’s not,” Annie replied bluntly, leaning away from them in anger. “He’s annoying and condescending, and together? You guys are insufferable.” She swallowed the rest of her drink and slid off of her stool as primly as she could.

“Whoa,” Jeff spoke up as he stood up and approached her. “I didn’t realize you would get so pissy about me joining you.” He turned back and glanced at Britta before turning his attention back to Annie with raised his eyebrows. “I just wanted to wish you happy birthday.”

Annie smiled sarcastically up at him. “Thanks,” she spit out with a shake of her head. “I think I’m gonna go.” She gestured in the direction of the door for a moment. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

She turned and walked as gracefully as she could manage to the door. She knew the tears would be coming any second, because her head was starting to hurt in that very familiar sense. Annie buttoned her coat before pushing out into the cool night and walking toward her car quickly. The door opened behind her and Jeff was by her side seconds later, his long legs having helped him catch up to her.

“Hey, what’s up?” he asked cheerily.

Annie glared up at him before trying to pick up her speed. “Did you and Britta rock-paper-scissors to see who had to come out here and try to cheer me up?” she asked keeping her eyes trained on her car.

“Not quite,” he replied. “Can you stop walking for a second here?”

So she did. Annie stopped dead, turning to face Jeff. “What?”

Jeff frowned down at her, letting his eyes tell her he thought she was crazy. “I seriously don’t understand what you’re so mad about here.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “If it’s that big of a deal for you, I can leave though.” Annie felt the eruption before it happened, but was helpless to do anything about it. She let out a loud aggravated scream before bringing her hands up to cover her face. “Hey, are you upset about something?” he asked brightly.

“I just wish,” Annie started unsurely as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I just wish that today wouldn’t have turned into the Jeff and Britta show like everything else does.” Jeff cocked his head to the side, his expression unreadable. “It’s like…you are apparently texting her constantly and then you jump when she says to come down here and…” She trailed off sadly.

Jeff rolled his eyes at her and Annie held back the urge to smack him in the nose again. “For your information, I texted Britta to ask who got sent home on ‘Top Model’ and I came down here because it’s your birthday and I wanted to see you.”

“Which is why you barely said a word to me before sitting down next to her,” Annie shot back, letting her anger get the better of her. “It’s always about Britta, isn’t it?”

“Jesus, Annie.” Jeff rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “Can we not do your weird high school drama thing please?” Annie gave a short nod before turning and continuing to her car. “You know that if I had sat down next to you, we wouldn’t have heard the end of it from Britta all night.”

“You would never sit next to me,” Annie shot back. “Because you’re terrified of anyone getting the impression that you might actually have feelings for me that extend beyond that of a classmate.”

“Yeah, well that’s because you’re a kid.” She stopped and turned toward him slowly and could see the change take over his face, could tell he wished he hadn’t said it. He closed his eyes for a moment. “Annie…”

“You have made this birthday really special,” she noted in a trembling voice. “Can I go now?”

“Annie,” he grumbled, his voice rising in volume. “Can we please just give it a rest with the whole…” He gestured between them. “…thing?”

Annie frowned at him. “In case you haven’t noticed yet, I kind of like you Jeff.”

“Well, you shouldn’t.” His answer was instantaneous.

“Ugh,” Annie groaned in frustration. “Because you’re too old for me.”

“No,” he answered with a shake of his head. “Because you’re too good for me.” Annie rolled her eyes and him and Jeff gave her a serious look. “I’m serious, Annie. I’m a…selfish, cynical asshole.” He shoved his hands into his pockets again.

Annie waited for him to say more, but nothing came. They each stilled in the parking lot, ignoring the hoots and hollers of passing drunks. “Well then. There it is,” she murmured quietly to herself.

“Come back inside,” he implored, giving her what he clearly thought was an adorable look.

She gazed at him evenly, waiting for him to settle into silence before she spoke again. Summoning all of the strength she had in herself, Annie shook her head slowly. “No.”

“Annie.”

“No, you’re right.” She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat and gave him a tight, sad smile. “Goodnight, Jeff.” Annie spun away from him and continued to her car slowly. She knew he was watching her, but didn’t look back.

**********

He’d called her a kid.

He’d called her a kid and then had basically told her she needed to get over him because it wasn’t going to happen.

Annie pulled her car into the spot at the rear of the parking lot and slowly climbed out. She wasn’t in any hurry to get upstairs, but had nowhere else to go. She trudged toward the outdoor staircase that was used for second floor access. At least that way, she didn’t have to meander through the cramped shelves in Dildopolis. The paper bag in her left hand felt heavier than she knew it really was, and Annie found herself tightening her grip on the object inside to ensure it didn’t fall from her grasp.

Overall, it hadn’t been the worst birthday of her life. That honor was still reserved for her fourteenth, in which she had two of the fifteen girls she’s invited actually show up. It had been demoralizing to an extent Annie hadn’t been sure had existed.

Until today.

Okay, so maybe a tie for worst birthday.

She hadn’t even noticed the person on the stairs until she was already on the first one and then jumped when she realized who it was. “Hey,” he said in an easy tone that came from years of attempting to charm women that weren’t prepared for it.

“What do you want, Jeff?” She could feel the headache forming between her eyes and wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed, get some sleep and pretend that this day hadn’t happened.

“Have you been driving around this entire time?” Jeff asked, ignoring her question as he glanced at his watch.

“I’m not drunk, if that’s what you’re wondering.” She moved casually up another step. “I had like half a drink. Whatever buzz I had is definitely gone now.”

“White Russians suck,” he replied.

“Yeah,” Annie agreed with a nod. She cleared her throat. “You didn’t need to come here to make sure I was okay, Jeff.”

“Maybe I was in the neighborhood doing some shopping,” he retorted quickly with a nod toward the entrance to the store. “I heard about their sale on lubricants and had to get down here.”

“Ew,” Annie muttered before climbing another step. “Well, I’m home. So you can go back to the bar and do whatever it is you…” She trailed off, not knowing how to end that sentence without sounding like a jealous teenager. One glance at Jeff told her that stopping hadn’t helped her in that mission. He grinned at her in an almost lazy manner, fully trusting his ability to charm her.

She really wished it wasn’t working.

“You want some company?” he asked with a nod toward the paper bag she was holding.

Annie glanced down before shaking her head. “No, that’s okay. I’m really fine, Jeff.” She offered him a tight smile. “I’m sorry for…what happened earlier.” She climbed another step, expecting him to slide over for her to pass. When he didn’t, she sighed and finally held his gaze. “You really can go back to Britta,” she continued, trying not to let her irritation show.

“Britta annoys me,” he replied as he rose to his feet and gestured for her to lead the way to her apartment. Annie eyed him uncertainly before slowly moving up the rest of the flight of stairs. “So, this place is nice.” His voice had that overly-cheery quality to it again. The one that made her want to bury her elbow in his gut. He was patronizing her. After everything else that had happened between them that night, Jeff had the wherewithal to patronize her, treat her with sarcasm.

Treat her as if everything was still the same between them.

She reached the landing and yanked the door open before gesturing for Jeff to go ahead of her. Instead, he raised a hand over her head to press the door back further and directed her inside. Annie met his gaze for second before moving down the dim and dingy hallway. “Are you worried about being murdered in this building, Annie?” Jeff asked then and she could hear from his tone that he was being at least partially serious.

“I’ve got four different locks on my door,” she replied as they approached her door. He reached out and pulled the paper bag from her grasp and Annie looked up at him uncertainly. She waited for him to nod before she dug into her coat pocket to retrieve her keys and set to work unlocking her door. Jeff leaned closer to her and Annie stiffened as his scent enveloped her.

“That guy is staring at me,” he murmured to the back of her head and she turned her head to look down the hallway. Mr. Kastronos was indeed standing at the end of the hall, just outside his own apartment, watching them quietly. “I bet he smells like sausage,” Jeff noted softly and Annie let out a chuckle before ushering him into the finally open apartment. “This place is tiny,” he said as soon as she flipped the light on.

“I don’t have that much stuff,” Annie argued lightly with a shrug. Spying something she’d left on her bed earlier while getting dressed, she stalked past him to pick up the garment that was strewn there, trying not to be obvious about it.

“Annie,” Jeff said. “I’ve seen a bra before.”

She frowned. “Not one of mine,” she shot back as she stuffed it inelegantly into the top drawer of her dresser.

“Um, yes I have.” Annie dropped her mouth open in shock.

“When?” she demanded.

“Do you not remember that time we all got naked together in the study room looking for your pen?” he asked by way of answer, his eyebrows raising significantly.

“Wait, you peeked?” she accused. She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Yeah,” he replied as if it had been a stupid question.

“Jeff,” she hissed and he shrugged.

“If it makes you feel better, I peeked at Shirley too.” Annie gasped.

“I can’t believe that you would do that,” she said.

He laughed at her then. “Why can’t you believe that?” he asked. She sputtered wordlessly in response. “Instead of being incensed that I looked, you should really be worrying about that fact that Pierce probably did too.” Annie’s eyes widened. “Yeah,” he agreed with a slow nod.

“Ew,” she whined as she moved toward her kitchen, where Jeff met her with the paper bag. She opened her cupboard and extracted a drinking glass before looking over as he pulled the bottle from the bag.

“This is actually not that cheap,” he noted in surprise as she handed him a glass. He looked at her other hand. “Where’s your glass?”

“I don’t drink,” Annie answered with a shake of her head and Jeff furrowed his brow. “It’s part of the recovery process.” She shrugged. “I don’t really drink.” She opened her mouth to say more.

He sighed. “You live in the Greendale ghetto and you bought a thirty dollar bottle of vodka that you aren‘t going to drink? Why?”

“Just…in case?” Annie replied, glancing up to see Jeff’s reaction. His expression became concerned and he let out a quiet sigh. “I’m not going to have some kind of relapse because you don’t want to have sex with me, Jeff.“ He stiffened, and both of their eyes widened. “Sorry, that isn’t…I shouldn’t have phrased it like that.” She grimaced at her own words. Why did she have to make everything awkward between them all the time? Why couldn’t she just leave well enough alone? “Jeff, I think you’re amazing. And… I know you think that …us is a terrible idea and you probably don’t even feel that way about me…” His expression hardened. “But that doesn’t change the way I feel about you,” Annie continued and took a deep breath.

She let out a sigh.

Would it be rude to turn the lights off and crawl into bed right now? Jeff could show himself out. Her neighbor probably wouldn’t murder him in the hallway. Annie glanced up at him unsurely only to find Jeff watching her intensely, seeming as if he was doing a complex math problem in his head. She swallowed over the lump in her throat and saw Jeff’s expression make a minute change. He placed his glass on the counter and stepped toward her. It took all of Annie’s will not to shuffle backwards.

“Annie,” Jeff said in a soft voice, stooping low enough to be almost at eye level with her. She held her breath. “I came to the bar to see you.” Annie inhaled sharply. “I wasn’t going to ignore you,” he exhaled.

Oh god.

He was going to kiss her.

Wasn’t he? It felt like he was going to kiss her. But…did she want him to kiss her? No, not in this way at least. He was pitying her. That was how he’d ended up at her apartment in the first place. He felt guilty for being a jerk on her birthday and was going to try to resolve whatever awkwardness there was between them before school tomorrow. It would be too easy to kiss him, allow herself to be swept away by the sensations that she still remembered so well. But then what would happen? Things would go back to status quo.

“I think you should go,” Annie murmured, finally stepping away as she averted her eyes from him.

They stood quietly in her kitchen, a foot of space between them, and she listened to Jeff breathe in and out. “Do you want me to go or do you just think I should?”

She cautiously met his eye and licked her lips. “I…think you should?” His eyes narrowed ever so slightly and Annie felt something tighten in her belly. Jeff let his mouth quirk up on one side. “This isn‘t funny!” She stomped her foot and Jeff glanced downward.

“You’re wearing heels,” he noted, more to himself than to her.

“Yeah,” Annie agreed. “I wanted to feel like a grown-up.” She sighed loudly.

“Annie…..” Jeff brought a hand up to scratch at his stubble-laden cheek. “Do you really think that I would have driven all the way here without knowing why?” She furrowed her brow in confusion. “That I would think about kissing you if I didn’t want to?”

Was she still breathing?

She couldn’t tell.

“I don’t know,” Annie answered honestly. “No?” He moved toward her, dipping his head down to hers. ’I have an addictive personality,” she muttered a second before his lips landed on hers. Jeff pulled away, looking at her quizzically. “It was Troy and then it was pills and then it was Troy again,” she explained quickly, the words tumbling out of her mouth almost against her will. “I just wanted to warn you that you might be the next victim,” Annie breathed out as her eyes searched his.

Jeff’s eyebrows rose. “I’m not already the next victim?”

“And the other problems aren’t going to go away, either."  Annie shook her head. “You are still a jerk and I’m still a kid. ”

“I don‘t think so,” Jeff argued with a smirk. “You’re wearing heels.”

“I’m just going to get harder to shake,” she cautioned him.

He blinked slowly. “I’m aware of your personality, Annie.”

“And you still want to kiss me?” she asked with wide eyes.

“Stop making me think about it,” Jeff replied. He leaned down. “Happy birthday,” he murmured.

And then he couldn’t talk anymore.