Fic: There's No Tomorrow (6/?)
Fandom: Community
Title: There's No Tomorrow
Character/Pairing(s): Jeff, Jeff/Annie
Rating: PG
Summary: Jeff is forced to live the same day over and over again.
Disclaimer: Community wishes...no, I wish.
A/N - From thejesterking's groundhog day prompt for Ficcy Friday from ages ago. So it's been what, two months? Sorry about that guys, I'll try being less tardy. Also, just a warning, Jeff gets kind of suicidal in this chapter.
Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five
CHAPTER SIX
Day Fourteen
Jeff's morning morning routine, used to make sense to him. He did everything in a certain order because it's what he knew. It was a habit. It just made everything easier for the day, and it was probably the most organized he'd ever been about anything. Recently however, his life had become rather bleak, and all his usual habits seemed pointless when they were repeated day after day after day without changing. He never realized how dull it was doing the same thing every morning until he had no other option. So, for the first time since he had become a lawyer, Jeff's morning routine went like this:
1) Throw his alarm clock against his wall.
2) Put on whatever clothes were nearest to him, regardless of whether he looks good or bad. (In this case it was sweatpants and an All 5 Dances T-shirt, which normally Jeff would consider really bad).
3) Leave the apartment to go live another pointless Thursday that would end the same as ever other day. With another Thursday.
This new, shorter morning routine got him to Greendale a little earlier than usual. Of course, none of this mattered because some time around day ten he'd gone extra early to see what the difference would be.
This morning was just like day ten. That ginger kid that Jeff saw everywhere was staring at a poster on the wall. Garrett was arguing with some other nerd about some logic in Star Wars. Jeff had joined their argument on day twelve. Turns out the other nerd won. The human being was being followed by some stoners, and every time he turned around they froze and acted casual. Like it even mattered, it's not like the human being could see them properly. Of course, Jeff didn't mention this to them because they if they didn't care on day eleven, they wouldn't care now.
This is what his life had become. Ignoring his usual snarky inner self because everything he did was pointless. Two weeks. That's how long he'd been trapped in this never ending Thursday dream. He had a bad feeling that it wasn't going to end any time soon. This was his life now. Living in the same stupid day forever. And forever was starting to become his least favourite word.
XXX
Jeff's morning classes were spent staring into space while everyone else listened and gave him funny looks for his lack of shower, and his ridiculous choice of clothes. Yes, Jeff was aware that he looked homeless. No, he didn't care. He wasn't gonna say it though. When he said it yesterday they just did a 'he's crazy' look and shrugged him off. Whatever. What did any of these people know anyway? They had Fridays to look forward to.
Abed noticed Jeff's depressed mood from the moment he walked into pottery, maybe even before that, considering it was Abed. Jeff dragged himself to his seat, and dropped himself down, without an acknowledging Abed's presence. Abed probably thought he was dead, or was a zombie or something. Jeff resumed staring into space to pass the time, while the rest of the world lived their lives, unaware of his hell.
Abed tilted his head with curiosity and watched Jeff for a minute. "What's wrong?"
"Why would anything be wrong, Abed?"
"You're not well dressed as usual, and you forgot to shave this morning, and you didn't style your hair...and you smell."
Jeff blinked. "Yep. That's me."
Concern flashed briefly across Abed's face. "Are you sick?"
"No."
"Did some one in your family die?"
"No."
Abed paused trying to think of what other possible explanations there were for Jeff's behaviour. "Did the love of your life marry some one else."
Jeff gave Abed a side-eye. "No" He growled, sharply.
"Then what's the problem?"
"It's Thursday" Jeff sighed.
"Yeah, but it's Friday tomorrow. You love Fridays."
Jeff let his head drop forward in annoyance. "Well until it actually becomes Friday, I will continue not showering, and shaving, and styling my hair."
"Britta said she stopped showering for a week once when she was protesting against her water being shut off. But her water was shut off because she forgot to pay her bills, so I don't think it worked. Also, it's not like she could shower even if she wanted to.." Abed trailed off. "Are you protesting?"
"Yes, Abed, I'm protesting" Jeff grumbled.
"What are you protesting?"
"The universe."
Abed opened his mouth to ask another question, but right on cue, Jeff heard the sound of heels clacking across the floor. Then, "Professor Snape, yes like the Harry Potter character, although I'm warning you now. Any Harry Potter jokes and I'll tell Professor Holly you were ghosting." Jeff groaned quietly to himself. He was sick of her too. Not that she was overly annoying or anything, cos he was pretty sick of everything, but he'd made a habit our of sleeping with Snape. And after about four days of hitting that he got bored. And then he realized nothing fulfilling would ever happen to him. And then it was today and he decided he just wasn't gonna try anymore. And she was another stupid reminder of all that.
He wasn't gonna try because the only way out of this whole mess was to simply stop existing, and that was something Jeff simply could not do.
XXX
Day Fifteen
He made a noose.
He woke up, walked to the hardware store in stripy boxers and a bathrobe, and bought a long-ass, thick rope. He picked the one that he thought hurt less around a neck, since he'd suffered enough. He tied a noose, and hung it up but couldn't bring himself to actually do what he'd bought the rope to do. Instead he went to Greendale. Late, and gross as per usual.
Annie berated him for being late. In his mind he snarked at her about how his education wasn't her concern. He was too dead inside to actually say anything though. He just sat blankly and took it. This made her worry. The group always worried. But it always played out the same. Jeff said he was fine. They disagreed. Jeff promised he was fine. They suggested he go to the doctor. He gave in and went home to stare at his stupid noose that he was too afraid to wrap around his neck.
He wondered if this is what it took to get a Friday. Or maybe he wouldn't, maybe this would be the end. It didn't really matter. The outcome would always be the same.
He didn't hang himself that day, but he didn't think it would be long until he changed his mind.
XXX
Day Sixteen
He did everything the same as the morning before. The noose hung down, taunting him. He thought of other ways he could do this. The head in the oven thing didn't sound so bad anymore, but he didn't own a working oven. Pills...maybe. But he still had a little vanity left, and come on, pills were so boring. And unoriginal. The wimp's suicide he thought. Jeff Winger deserved something with a bit more of a bang.
He thought of guns and knives but those sounded long and painful. Poison? Probably tasted gross. Drowning? No, he'd have nightmares in his afterlife.
It was at that point that Jeff decided he was being too picky. It didn't matter how he did it as long as he succeeded in doing it. The noose would have to do.
He chickened out again in the end, but at least he knew how he'd do it for sure. In the back of his mind his old snarky self pointed out that he was procrastinating with killing himself.
Pft, what did that Jeff know? All he cared about was his awesome hair.
XXX
Day Seventeen
He actually got up the courage to put the noose around his neck. He didn't jump off the chair though, but he felt a little more confident knowing he was making progress. It was weird feeling proud of wanting to end your life a little bit more.
Then again, what choice did he have? It was this or Thursday. Again. And again. And again.
He pulled the noose off and went to Greendale. His mood was considerably better than the last few Thursday's, because now he knew if he really really wanted to, he could. This didn't mean he was happy though. The day was still pretty crappy, just like every day. It was just a teeny bit better.
XXX
Day Eighteen
To shake things up a bit, he sat in Britta's seat for study group, just to see what the change would be. She frowned at him for about five minutes, without blinking too. It was actually really impressive. When she realized the staring wasn't working she just said a sharp "move." Jeez, no one appreciated any change around there at all.
To make things worse, since he was too depressed to skip class with Annie, Biff kept meeting her outside the Anthropology classroom to check on their date, because she wasn't in the cafeteria as usual. This meant that every day Jeff had to stand there watching them rub their stupid date in his face, while Shirley grinned for Annie and Troy 'ooh-ed' like he was in middle school.
That day, when Jeff put the noose around his neck, he actually jumped off the chair.
And...woke up the next morning.
On a Thursday.
Alive.
The weirdest thing was, killing himself made him positive that he really wanted to kill himself.
XXX
Day Forty Seven
On day nineteen, he jumped off a building. Day twenty, he jumped off an even taller building. Day twenty one, he decided to screw being boring and try the pills. He tried a few more generic suicides before he started getting creative.
On day twenty five, he went sky-diving again but 'forgot' to use his parachute. On twenty six, he started a fight with a the homeless guy who lived a block away from his apartment complex. The guy stabbed him. That one lasted quite a while and hurt like hell, so Jeff decided no more stabbings. Day twenty eight, he tried a cookie mix Shirley had suggested to the group once, with added poison. While he ate the cookies he lamented on the fact that he'd lived a full non leap year February in Thursdays. Day thirty one, was even more depressing because now there were seven different months to choose from.
Killing himself was no longer something he was trying to do to get out of his endless loop of Thursdays. He had reached a point where suicide had become more of a hobby. And he was actually starting to lose interest.
He took up other hobbies. On day thirty four, he bought orange paint and painted his entire apartment orange. He didn't even like the colour orange, it was just the cheapest colour. He guessed it was probably because nobody liked the colour orange.
On day thirty seven, he started a bonfire in the park. He got arrested for it. That was actually kind of a boring day.
On the big four-oh, he spent the day reading the last three Harry Potter books. He wondered why Voldemort was so desperate to keep himself alive. Immortality wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
He managed a whole other week of doing random stuff everyday until the depression kind of boomeranged back again. Only this time he actually knew he couldn't kill himself so it was even more depressing. He was trapped.
So he sucked it up and went to Greendale, in the hopes that maybe whatever mystic thing was doing this to him decided to cut him some slack and change something. It didn't. Go figure.
XXX
"You know, it's about time, Jeff" Abed said as they walked to the study room, from pottery class.
"Is it?" Jeff asked in a bored tone.
"Yeah. I've been waiting for some character development from you. I thought you were reverting back to how you were when the show began, but now I think you still have a chance. Your actions haven't been affected by a female in a while, this is the perfect development for you." Abed, said, just as every other day.
"Great" Jeff grunted as he took his seat. He could feel Shirley and Annie's concerned looks on him. It was the clothes. He was wearing a bathrobe, sweatpants and slippers his mom had sent him last Christmas. He probably looked a little homeless. Oh well, what was new? To be honest he was more surprised that Abed hadn't mentioned his strange attire. It was like he'd subconsciously gotten bored of asking why Jeff wasn't well groomed everyday. This would have given Jeff hope that something was changing, had he not given up hope already.
"How was pottery?" Annie asked, trying not to look too worried about Jeff. He ignored her. In his time killing himself and doing random pointless stuff, he'd somehow convinced himself that he was mad at her for being so damn cryptic and confusing with him. It took two to tango, and whenever they tangoed she got mad, so he'd decided that it wasn't his fault. She was just crazy. He usually forgot all of this when she looked at him with big concerned eyes. He didn't worry about it too much though. He'd be annoyed at her again by the time the day was up. That's how it worked in never-ending Thursday land.
"We had a substitute called Professor Snape. I think Jeff should date her."
Jeff rolled his eyes. Even though he knew what his friends were gonna say, it didn't make them any less ridiculous.
"Snape?" Annie asked, as always.
Jeff groaned loudly so they'd all shut up. Of course, with this group of people it only attracted curiosity, which meant more talking.
"Jeff are you okay? You've been acting weird since pottery" said Abed.
"He's fine-" Pierce began, but was interrupted by Jeff slamming his hand against the table angrily.
"No!" Jeff shouted. "No 'He's fine. He's probably just upset that you guys are forcing him to date a woman. Let him be with who he wants to be'" He said in a deep voice that was supposed to be Pierce. He turned to Annie. "And no 'He's not gay, Pierce'" this time in a high pitched voice. "And no 'You'd know' or 'speaking of gays'." He turned to face the door just as Troy and Britta strolled in together. "And for the love of god, Troy, it's it's step, reverse turn, heel pull, grapevine, step, heel turn! Not step, heel turn, step, reverse turn, heel pull, grapevine! You've been doing this class for a year now, why can't you get any of the damn steps right? And Pierce, none of us are going to your son's wedding. And Shirley may say she can't find a babysitter, and Britta and Abed may say they have to work on a project. And Troy may say he has a thing, that no one seems to question even though they sound like the most made up plans ever! They may say all that stuff, but what they really mean to say it they don't wanna go with you. The only person who's actually busy is Annie, who has a date with a douche with the most stupid name on the planet! I mean, come on! You think Britta's parents smoked pot, well his parents had to be on LSD to name their son Biff!"
Jeff gasped for air for a moment, realizing the last parts of his rant had been said with only one breath. The group fell into the most awkward silence known to man. Troy and Britta still standing in the doorway, now frozen with fear. Annie and Abed had wide-eyed expressions, and Shirley looked filled with motherly concern. The only person who wasn't freaked out by Jeff was Pierce, who was frowning with insult.
"That didn't even sound like me" He scoffed, which broke the tension a little. Jeff was still pretty wound up though.
"Yes, Pierce! Because that's what the aim of that rant was! To sound like you!" Jeff shouted.
"Jeff-" Annie began warily.
"No! No, I don't want to hear whatever worries you guys have, because you know what? I've heard them all before, like a billion times. I hear them every day because every stupid day is Thursday! And no I'm not mixing up the days, and my calender isn't broken, it's just Thursday! Every day! Every day I wake up and it's today! It's this stupid day over and over and over again and it never ends!" He was standing up now, waving his arms around frantically for emphasis.
"Jeff-" Annie tried to cut in again, louder this time. The rest of the group looked terrified of him now, like he was an axe murderer or something.
"No, Annie. don't worry about it. It doesn't matter" Jeff said. He tried to sound carefree but it came off more insane than anything else. "No matter what I do today, no matter if I kill myself, I'll wake up tomorrow and it will be today again, and none of you will remember a thing. Nothing's gonna change. If I smash this chair-" He said picking up his chair, everyone sat back in their seats with even more fear. If that was even possible. "-tomorrow, it will still be here, good as new!" Jeff said. And proceeded to do as he had warned.
As he smashed his chair to bits there were screams from Annie, Britta and Troy.
"Jeffrey, what has gotten into you? You can't do that, that's school property!" Shirley yelled, like a mother yelling at her son.
Jeff shrugged. "It's still gonna be there tomorrow. You'll see." Then he sighed and began to walk out of the study room. There was silence as he walked away, and just as he reached the door of the library he faintly heard Abed saying "this is just like-" But Jeff was out the door before he caught the end of that sentence.
XXX
It took about 40 seconds after Jeff left the library for him to hear the sound of Annie's voice calling after him. He sort of expected it, but he had hoped to walk away fast enough to avoid all the caring. Hating everything was easier when she wasn't a part of it. Plus, she'd probably just end up saying the usual 'go see a doctor' and 'we're worried about you'. He'd heard it all before, and not just in a manner of speaking.
"Jeff!" She called after him again. "Wait!"
He sped up his walk, but it didn't quite work. She ran in front of him, and stepped in front of him whenever he tried to swerve by her.
"Can you just stop and listen to me for a second, please?" She asked, formidable face an all.
"I already know what you're gonna say, so...no" He said curtly, and tried to side-step her again. She let him this time, but continued walking slowly behind him.
"Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day?" She called out as he stormed away. Jeff wasn't quite sure what she was getting at, but for the first time in 47 days some one said something Jeff wasn't expecting to hear, and that was refreshing. He turned around hesitantly, to see her watching him with a questioning expression. "Well?" She asked.
"I don't think so, why?"
"Abed mentioned it after your little freak out and I just thought.." She trailed off and stared at the concrete floor under her feet. "I have it at home, I can come over to your place and we can watch it" She said slowly, sort of swaying nervously. "I think it would help you."
"Why?"
"Just...trust me. You should watch it" She said with a nod. She walked up to him and put both her hands on his forearms. "Go home, I'll get the movie from my apartment and meet you there."
Before Jeff could agree or tell her not to waste her time, she was already walking away to her crappy car.
Title: There's No Tomorrow
Character/Pairing(s): Jeff, Jeff/Annie
Rating: PG
Summary: Jeff is forced to live the same day over and over again.
Disclaimer: Community wishes...no, I wish.
A/N - From thejesterking's groundhog day prompt for Ficcy Friday from ages ago. So it's been what, two months? Sorry about that guys, I'll try being less tardy. Also, just a warning, Jeff gets kind of suicidal in this chapter.
Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five
CHAPTER SIX
Day Fourteen
Jeff's morning morning routine, used to make sense to him. He did everything in a certain order because it's what he knew. It was a habit. It just made everything easier for the day, and it was probably the most organized he'd ever been about anything. Recently however, his life had become rather bleak, and all his usual habits seemed pointless when they were repeated day after day after day without changing. He never realized how dull it was doing the same thing every morning until he had no other option. So, for the first time since he had become a lawyer, Jeff's morning routine went like this:
1) Throw his alarm clock against his wall.
2) Put on whatever clothes were nearest to him, regardless of whether he looks good or bad. (In this case it was sweatpants and an All 5 Dances T-shirt, which normally Jeff would consider really bad).
3) Leave the apartment to go live another pointless Thursday that would end the same as ever other day. With another Thursday.
This new, shorter morning routine got him to Greendale a little earlier than usual. Of course, none of this mattered because some time around day ten he'd gone extra early to see what the difference would be.
This morning was just like day ten. That ginger kid that Jeff saw everywhere was staring at a poster on the wall. Garrett was arguing with some other nerd about some logic in Star Wars. Jeff had joined their argument on day twelve. Turns out the other nerd won. The human being was being followed by some stoners, and every time he turned around they froze and acted casual. Like it even mattered, it's not like the human being could see them properly. Of course, Jeff didn't mention this to them because they if they didn't care on day eleven, they wouldn't care now.
This is what his life had become. Ignoring his usual snarky inner self because everything he did was pointless. Two weeks. That's how long he'd been trapped in this never ending Thursday dream. He had a bad feeling that it wasn't going to end any time soon. This was his life now. Living in the same stupid day forever. And forever was starting to become his least favourite word.
XXX
Jeff's morning classes were spent staring into space while everyone else listened and gave him funny looks for his lack of shower, and his ridiculous choice of clothes. Yes, Jeff was aware that he looked homeless. No, he didn't care. He wasn't gonna say it though. When he said it yesterday they just did a 'he's crazy' look and shrugged him off. Whatever. What did any of these people know anyway? They had Fridays to look forward to.
Abed noticed Jeff's depressed mood from the moment he walked into pottery, maybe even before that, considering it was Abed. Jeff dragged himself to his seat, and dropped himself down, without an acknowledging Abed's presence. Abed probably thought he was dead, or was a zombie or something. Jeff resumed staring into space to pass the time, while the rest of the world lived their lives, unaware of his hell.
Abed tilted his head with curiosity and watched Jeff for a minute. "What's wrong?"
"Why would anything be wrong, Abed?"
"You're not well dressed as usual, and you forgot to shave this morning, and you didn't style your hair...and you smell."
Jeff blinked. "Yep. That's me."
Concern flashed briefly across Abed's face. "Are you sick?"
"No."
"Did some one in your family die?"
"No."
Abed paused trying to think of what other possible explanations there were for Jeff's behaviour. "Did the love of your life marry some one else."
Jeff gave Abed a side-eye. "No" He growled, sharply.
"Then what's the problem?"
"It's Thursday" Jeff sighed.
"Yeah, but it's Friday tomorrow. You love Fridays."
Jeff let his head drop forward in annoyance. "Well until it actually becomes Friday, I will continue not showering, and shaving, and styling my hair."
"Britta said she stopped showering for a week once when she was protesting against her water being shut off. But her water was shut off because she forgot to pay her bills, so I don't think it worked. Also, it's not like she could shower even if she wanted to.." Abed trailed off. "Are you protesting?"
"Yes, Abed, I'm protesting" Jeff grumbled.
"What are you protesting?"
"The universe."
Abed opened his mouth to ask another question, but right on cue, Jeff heard the sound of heels clacking across the floor. Then, "Professor Snape, yes like the Harry Potter character, although I'm warning you now. Any Harry Potter jokes and I'll tell Professor Holly you were ghosting." Jeff groaned quietly to himself. He was sick of her too. Not that she was overly annoying or anything, cos he was pretty sick of everything, but he'd made a habit our of sleeping with Snape. And after about four days of hitting that he got bored. And then he realized nothing fulfilling would ever happen to him. And then it was today and he decided he just wasn't gonna try anymore. And she was another stupid reminder of all that.
He wasn't gonna try because the only way out of this whole mess was to simply stop existing, and that was something Jeff simply could not do.
XXX
Day Fifteen
He made a noose.
He woke up, walked to the hardware store in stripy boxers and a bathrobe, and bought a long-ass, thick rope. He picked the one that he thought hurt less around a neck, since he'd suffered enough. He tied a noose, and hung it up but couldn't bring himself to actually do what he'd bought the rope to do. Instead he went to Greendale. Late, and gross as per usual.
Annie berated him for being late. In his mind he snarked at her about how his education wasn't her concern. He was too dead inside to actually say anything though. He just sat blankly and took it. This made her worry. The group always worried. But it always played out the same. Jeff said he was fine. They disagreed. Jeff promised he was fine. They suggested he go to the doctor. He gave in and went home to stare at his stupid noose that he was too afraid to wrap around his neck.
He wondered if this is what it took to get a Friday. Or maybe he wouldn't, maybe this would be the end. It didn't really matter. The outcome would always be the same.
He didn't hang himself that day, but he didn't think it would be long until he changed his mind.
XXX
Day Sixteen
He did everything the same as the morning before. The noose hung down, taunting him. He thought of other ways he could do this. The head in the oven thing didn't sound so bad anymore, but he didn't own a working oven. Pills...maybe. But he still had a little vanity left, and come on, pills were so boring. And unoriginal. The wimp's suicide he thought. Jeff Winger deserved something with a bit more of a bang.
He thought of guns and knives but those sounded long and painful. Poison? Probably tasted gross. Drowning? No, he'd have nightmares in his afterlife.
It was at that point that Jeff decided he was being too picky. It didn't matter how he did it as long as he succeeded in doing it. The noose would have to do.
He chickened out again in the end, but at least he knew how he'd do it for sure. In the back of his mind his old snarky self pointed out that he was procrastinating with killing himself.
Pft, what did that Jeff know? All he cared about was his awesome hair.
XXX
Day Seventeen
He actually got up the courage to put the noose around his neck. He didn't jump off the chair though, but he felt a little more confident knowing he was making progress. It was weird feeling proud of wanting to end your life a little bit more.
Then again, what choice did he have? It was this or Thursday. Again. And again. And again.
He pulled the noose off and went to Greendale. His mood was considerably better than the last few Thursday's, because now he knew if he really really wanted to, he could. This didn't mean he was happy though. The day was still pretty crappy, just like every day. It was just a teeny bit better.
XXX
Day Eighteen
To shake things up a bit, he sat in Britta's seat for study group, just to see what the change would be. She frowned at him for about five minutes, without blinking too. It was actually really impressive. When she realized the staring wasn't working she just said a sharp "move." Jeez, no one appreciated any change around there at all.
To make things worse, since he was too depressed to skip class with Annie, Biff kept meeting her outside the Anthropology classroom to check on their date, because she wasn't in the cafeteria as usual. This meant that every day Jeff had to stand there watching them rub their stupid date in his face, while Shirley grinned for Annie and Troy 'ooh-ed' like he was in middle school.
That day, when Jeff put the noose around his neck, he actually jumped off the chair.
And...woke up the next morning.
On a Thursday.
Alive.
The weirdest thing was, killing himself made him positive that he really wanted to kill himself.
XXX
Day Forty Seven
On day nineteen, he jumped off a building. Day twenty, he jumped off an even taller building. Day twenty one, he decided to screw being boring and try the pills. He tried a few more generic suicides before he started getting creative.
On day twenty five, he went sky-diving again but 'forgot' to use his parachute. On twenty six, he started a fight with a the homeless guy who lived a block away from his apartment complex. The guy stabbed him. That one lasted quite a while and hurt like hell, so Jeff decided no more stabbings. Day twenty eight, he tried a cookie mix Shirley had suggested to the group once, with added poison. While he ate the cookies he lamented on the fact that he'd lived a full non leap year February in Thursdays. Day thirty one, was even more depressing because now there were seven different months to choose from.
Killing himself was no longer something he was trying to do to get out of his endless loop of Thursdays. He had reached a point where suicide had become more of a hobby. And he was actually starting to lose interest.
He took up other hobbies. On day thirty four, he bought orange paint and painted his entire apartment orange. He didn't even like the colour orange, it was just the cheapest colour. He guessed it was probably because nobody liked the colour orange.
On day thirty seven, he started a bonfire in the park. He got arrested for it. That was actually kind of a boring day.
On the big four-oh, he spent the day reading the last three Harry Potter books. He wondered why Voldemort was so desperate to keep himself alive. Immortality wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
He managed a whole other week of doing random stuff everyday until the depression kind of boomeranged back again. Only this time he actually knew he couldn't kill himself so it was even more depressing. He was trapped.
So he sucked it up and went to Greendale, in the hopes that maybe whatever mystic thing was doing this to him decided to cut him some slack and change something. It didn't. Go figure.
XXX
"You know, it's about time, Jeff" Abed said as they walked to the study room, from pottery class.
"Is it?" Jeff asked in a bored tone.
"Yeah. I've been waiting for some character development from you. I thought you were reverting back to how you were when the show began, but now I think you still have a chance. Your actions haven't been affected by a female in a while, this is the perfect development for you." Abed, said, just as every other day.
"Great" Jeff grunted as he took his seat. He could feel Shirley and Annie's concerned looks on him. It was the clothes. He was wearing a bathrobe, sweatpants and slippers his mom had sent him last Christmas. He probably looked a little homeless. Oh well, what was new? To be honest he was more surprised that Abed hadn't mentioned his strange attire. It was like he'd subconsciously gotten bored of asking why Jeff wasn't well groomed everyday. This would have given Jeff hope that something was changing, had he not given up hope already.
"How was pottery?" Annie asked, trying not to look too worried about Jeff. He ignored her. In his time killing himself and doing random pointless stuff, he'd somehow convinced himself that he was mad at her for being so damn cryptic and confusing with him. It took two to tango, and whenever they tangoed she got mad, so he'd decided that it wasn't his fault. She was just crazy. He usually forgot all of this when she looked at him with big concerned eyes. He didn't worry about it too much though. He'd be annoyed at her again by the time the day was up. That's how it worked in never-ending Thursday land.
"We had a substitute called Professor Snape. I think Jeff should date her."
Jeff rolled his eyes. Even though he knew what his friends were gonna say, it didn't make them any less ridiculous.
"Snape?" Annie asked, as always.
Jeff groaned loudly so they'd all shut up. Of course, with this group of people it only attracted curiosity, which meant more talking.
"Jeff are you okay? You've been acting weird since pottery" said Abed.
"He's fine-" Pierce began, but was interrupted by Jeff slamming his hand against the table angrily.
"No!" Jeff shouted. "No 'He's fine. He's probably just upset that you guys are forcing him to date a woman. Let him be with who he wants to be'" He said in a deep voice that was supposed to be Pierce. He turned to Annie. "And no 'He's not gay, Pierce'" this time in a high pitched voice. "And no 'You'd know' or 'speaking of gays'." He turned to face the door just as Troy and Britta strolled in together. "And for the love of god, Troy, it's it's step, reverse turn, heel pull, grapevine, step, heel turn! Not step, heel turn, step, reverse turn, heel pull, grapevine! You've been doing this class for a year now, why can't you get any of the damn steps right? And Pierce, none of us are going to your son's wedding. And Shirley may say she can't find a babysitter, and Britta and Abed may say they have to work on a project. And Troy may say he has a thing, that no one seems to question even though they sound like the most made up plans ever! They may say all that stuff, but what they really mean to say it they don't wanna go with you. The only person who's actually busy is Annie, who has a date with a douche with the most stupid name on the planet! I mean, come on! You think Britta's parents smoked pot, well his parents had to be on LSD to name their son Biff!"
Jeff gasped for air for a moment, realizing the last parts of his rant had been said with only one breath. The group fell into the most awkward silence known to man. Troy and Britta still standing in the doorway, now frozen with fear. Annie and Abed had wide-eyed expressions, and Shirley looked filled with motherly concern. The only person who wasn't freaked out by Jeff was Pierce, who was frowning with insult.
"That didn't even sound like me" He scoffed, which broke the tension a little. Jeff was still pretty wound up though.
"Yes, Pierce! Because that's what the aim of that rant was! To sound like you!" Jeff shouted.
"Jeff-" Annie began warily.
"No! No, I don't want to hear whatever worries you guys have, because you know what? I've heard them all before, like a billion times. I hear them every day because every stupid day is Thursday! And no I'm not mixing up the days, and my calender isn't broken, it's just Thursday! Every day! Every day I wake up and it's today! It's this stupid day over and over and over again and it never ends!" He was standing up now, waving his arms around frantically for emphasis.
"Jeff-" Annie tried to cut in again, louder this time. The rest of the group looked terrified of him now, like he was an axe murderer or something.
"No, Annie. don't worry about it. It doesn't matter" Jeff said. He tried to sound carefree but it came off more insane than anything else. "No matter what I do today, no matter if I kill myself, I'll wake up tomorrow and it will be today again, and none of you will remember a thing. Nothing's gonna change. If I smash this chair-" He said picking up his chair, everyone sat back in their seats with even more fear. If that was even possible. "-tomorrow, it will still be here, good as new!" Jeff said. And proceeded to do as he had warned.
As he smashed his chair to bits there were screams from Annie, Britta and Troy.
"Jeffrey, what has gotten into you? You can't do that, that's school property!" Shirley yelled, like a mother yelling at her son.
Jeff shrugged. "It's still gonna be there tomorrow. You'll see." Then he sighed and began to walk out of the study room. There was silence as he walked away, and just as he reached the door of the library he faintly heard Abed saying "this is just like-" But Jeff was out the door before he caught the end of that sentence.
XXX
It took about 40 seconds after Jeff left the library for him to hear the sound of Annie's voice calling after him. He sort of expected it, but he had hoped to walk away fast enough to avoid all the caring. Hating everything was easier when she wasn't a part of it. Plus, she'd probably just end up saying the usual 'go see a doctor' and 'we're worried about you'. He'd heard it all before, and not just in a manner of speaking.
"Jeff!" She called after him again. "Wait!"
He sped up his walk, but it didn't quite work. She ran in front of him, and stepped in front of him whenever he tried to swerve by her.
"Can you just stop and listen to me for a second, please?" She asked, formidable face an all.
"I already know what you're gonna say, so...no" He said curtly, and tried to side-step her again. She let him this time, but continued walking slowly behind him.
"Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day?" She called out as he stormed away. Jeff wasn't quite sure what she was getting at, but for the first time in 47 days some one said something Jeff wasn't expecting to hear, and that was refreshing. He turned around hesitantly, to see her watching him with a questioning expression. "Well?" She asked.
"I don't think so, why?"
"Abed mentioned it after your little freak out and I just thought.." She trailed off and stared at the concrete floor under her feet. "I have it at home, I can come over to your place and we can watch it" She said slowly, sort of swaying nervously. "I think it would help you."
"Why?"
"Just...trust me. You should watch it" She said with a nod. She walked up to him and put both her hands on his forearms. "Go home, I'll get the movie from my apartment and meet you there."
Before Jeff could agree or tell her not to waste her time, she was already walking away to her crappy car.