Title: Turn Left
Character(s)/Pairing(s): J/A, brief study group appearances
Spoilers: Up to 4.13
Rating/Warnings: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own Community.
Summary: A simple change in direction alters the course of Jeff & Annie's day.
Notes: Shout-out to the Doctor Who episode of the same name for the idea (alas with less giant spiders & timey-wimey).

Turn Right

Annie slid into the passenger seat of Jeff's car, delicately resting a blue and white striped gift bag on her lap. "Thanks for picking me up," she smiled, locking her seatbelt into place. "I was hoping you hadn't gone yet."

"No problem," replied Jeff. "Did you find out what the banging noise was near your engine?"

"I'm pretty sure it was Abed."

"He finally morphed into a Transformer," Jeff nodded in mock-seriousness. "He'll be thrilled."

"Let me re-phrase," she laughed, "I'm pretty sure it was Abed's doing. He and Troy had a Dark Knight marathon yesterday and guess whose car they decided to turn into a Batmobile."

"Holy way too much time on their hands, Batman."

"It's OK, I'll call Triple A in the morning." She flinched as a singer wailed their way through a song on the radio. "Or maybe I'll just call them now and they can save us from that dying cat?"

"… And that was Mark Cherry with 'Getaway'," the DJ's voice blared from the speakers. "Next up, a classic hit from Simon & Garfunkel…"

Grunting in annoyance, Jeff flicked it off. "Plug your phone in, we'll listen to music off that."

Annie eyed him suspiciously. "Why can't we use yours?"

"I don't have any music on mine."

"Too many apps, huh?"

"… No."

"Whatever you say, Candy Crush."

Jeff glanced at her while she scrolled through her playlists. "You got Pierce a gift I take it?" he said, noting the bag.

"Well, yeah. It is his belated graduation party after all." She pressed shuffle and leant back in her seat. "Wait, you didn't get him a present?" Annie scoffed at him as he shrugged his shoulders. "Jeff! You can't show up at a party without a gift."

"Or what? The party police will arrest me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Or your friends will give you the judgey-face. Oh yeah, don't you worry. Britta's been teaching us, mister," she added off his eyebrow raise.

"If you think that's supposed to somehow compel me then you're barking up the wrong tree. Wait, scratch that, the wrong orchard." Jeff pulled up at an intersection, waiting for the other vehicles to pass.

"The Greendale mall's just on the left there," Annie pointed out. "We'll make a quick detour, grab Pierce a gift, you can buy a conscience and we'll be on our way."

"Annie, come on, it's Pierce we're talking about," Jeff complained. "Do you remember what he gave me for graduation? A brief handshake and a faded business card for his Laser Lotus temple. How could I ever repay him?" he deadpanned.

"By being a good person to an old man," she stated, peering up at him. "What about if I were the one graduating? How much effort would I rate?"

Jeff couldn't help smirking. "I guess I'd break a light sweat."

"So how about you sweat for Pierce? … Or something less gross sounding." She noticed an opening in the traffic. "What's it going to be, Jeff? Left or right?"

Tapping his hands on the wheel, Jeff contemplated his options before hitting the indicator. He didn't make eye contact with Annie as he turned right.

With a small sigh, Annie folded her arms and glanced out the window. "I wonder what the other timeline would have been like," she murmured.

"Nice to know you can transform into people as well as machines, Abed…"

As another all-too-similar song began to play, Jeff dropped his head back onto the headrest. "I realize you're mad at me, Annie, but this is the third Taylor Swift song in a row," he complained. "Can't you just punch me and call it even? Although avoid the face if you can."

"It's on shuffle you big baby, I'm not doing it on purpose," Annie replied, before begrudgingly skipping the tune. "And I'm not mad at you, I'm just disappointed."

"Ugh, God. That's worse. That's something a mom would say."

She scrunched up her nose. "Let's just forget the mom comparison shall we?"

"Can we just forget everything and go back to the place where you're not torturing me with country music and attempting what I'm assuming is a judgey-face?"

Annie toyed with the ribbon on her gift. "I just think a present would have been nice, that's all. I mean it's not only for graduation – Pierce will be gone soon."

Jeff checked his progress on his GPS. "You make it sound like he's dying, not just going on an extended vacation with Gilbert." He paused. "Although in Gilbert's case I can see how that could be like slowly dying."

"He'll be gone for six months, Jeff!" Annie looked at him imploringly. "I know you two weren't always on the best of terms…"

"Try hardly ever."

"… But he did have his moments of being like a weird father figure to you didn't he?"

"Annie," Jeff warned, "can we not do this right now?"

"What about the barbershop?" she replied, ignoring him. "I remember you telling me you actually liked going there 'shooting the crap' with him."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah once or twice. It's not like I'm about to get us matching fishing rods and tickets to a baseball game all boy howdy like."

"Well unless you're in a Little Rascals revival I wouldn't think so either," she retorted. The music cut out as her phone started to ring, causing her eyes to widen. "Oh, it's only Britta," she said with a small hint of relief, looking at the caller ID.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

"Nope," she answered in a rush, picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"I'll bet she didn't get Pierce a gift," Jeff mocked.

Annie held up a finger to shush him before giving him a self-satisfied grin. "She heard you and said to 'tell pointy face' she made a travel guide for Pierce of all the places she's been to."

"How is that better than my nothing?" He laughed as he heard a faint squawk of protest down the line. "Well all I can say is that I hope Pierce has fun finding the best places to stalk Radiohead and buy baggels."

"Are you on your way with Shirley?" Annie asked Britta, nodding along to her response. "… She made a brownie bouquet for him? Aww!"

Jeff frowned. "Hang on, why is Britta still in the car with Shirley? I thought you said they couldn't pick you up because they were already there?"

"… I don't know, maybe another twenty minutes?" said Annie into the phone, her cheeks reddening slightly. "Yep, all good… Mmm-hmm he, um, the eagle has definitely landed…" she murmured. "It's not a falcon… Because that's not the saying… Yeah, well you can't trust everything you hear in New York, Britta," she glanced at Jeff, who was narrowing his eyes at her. "Gotta go!" she said brightly. Hanging up, Annie re-connected the phone and put on a new song. "It's not Taylor this time, I promise."

"That's not what I'm concerned about."

"It's not Kiss From A Rose either, don't worry," she babbled. "Although there could be some other Seal-related songs on here, I'm not sure."

"Hmm, what about Fly Like An Eagle?" he replied in an accusatory tone. "Or should I say, Fly Like A Falcon?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Annie." Pulling over to the side of the road, he stopped the car and faced her. "Why were you speaking in not-so-secret code with Britta, and why am I some form of bird?"

Tucking her hair behind her ear, Annie gave him a shamefaced grin. "OK, so I might have told a teeny-tiny lie about needing a lift to Pierce's party, but we all just wanted to make sure you actually showed up." She waved her hands half-heartedly in the air. "Surprise!" Annie slowly lowered her arms when Jeff remained quiet. "You're mad aren't you?"

He shook his head. "Not mad just… disappointed."

She registered a small flicker of hurt in his eyes and bit her bottom lip. "It's just that you haven't been to a few group things lately. I know they were just movie nights or lunch at Senor Kevin's but we missed you, y'know?"

"You did?"

"Duh-doy." Annie reached out to lightly touch his arm. "I'm sorry you're disappointed with us – we just didn't want this to turn into another 'Single Malt Platinum Boobs and Billiards Club' situation."

"Wow, it really does sound ridiculous when you say it out loud," Jeff mused. "And I'm not disappointed in you guys, I'm disappointed in myself." He grimaced. "Or another turn of phrase that doesn't make me sound like I'm in an after-school special."

"You're disappointed in yourself?" she repeated in surprise. "Why?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "For letting it get to a point where you guys still expect this douchey behavior from me."

"If it makes you feel any better you did improve for a while," she smiled. "But then the last few weeks since the semester finished you've been a little distant."

Jeff picked at something invisible on the steering wheel. "I guess I just thought that I'd start preparing myself for the worst before it actually happened. Rip off the Band-Aid and get it over and done with it."

"Before what happened?" she said, confused.

He gave her a small smile. "Before school started up again and you guys got to hang out without me." Jeff shook his head in amusement. "Can you believe I legitimately wondered what the theme of the first dance back would be? Like seriously, I would rather set my designer clothes on fire than attend another one of those things."

"It makes sense that…"

"Or even give Leonard piggy-back rides to and from classes," he interrupted.

"Well, I can see how…"

"I mean I would even rather shave off my hair than… wait, no, I've gone too far. Let's stick with the clothes thing." He patted his head self-consciously.

Annie folded her hands in her lap. "Are you done?"

"I think so."

"What I've been trying to say is that just because you're not in the study group anymore doesn't mean you're not in the study group."

"That's really profound, thank you," he teased, smirking when she poked him in the ribs "I'm sorry, continue."

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "We're best friends, Jeff. Always. We're going to need you, and you're going to need us, that's just the way it is. Nothing's going to change." Annie leaned in conspiratorially. "And you didn't hear it from me, but I've heard rumors that the first dance back is 'Lord of the Deans'."

"Does that mean Lord of the Dance or Lord of the Flies? Because either way that's terrifying."

"No one knows." She smiled at him. "See? Nothing's changed." Her phone started to ring, showing 'Tobey' on the caller ID. Annie hurriedly ignored it but not before Jeff got a good look.

"Tobey huh?" he said, aiming for casual. "Why didn't you want to answer?"

"It's just a guy from my forensics class, he probably wanted the summer reading list. It's no biggie." She checked her watch. "We should get going again if we don't want to be too late."

"Wait, that name's ringing a bell. Is he the short one who ate lunch with you sometimes? The one with the dents in his face?"

"… Do you mean his dimples?"

"Dents, dimples, let's not get too poetic about it." He turned the key to start the engine, making sure the road was clear. "Tobey, huh?"

She pursed her lips. "Yeah, we've established that."

"Cool. Cool, cool, cool."

"See, this is why I didn't want to answer the call. I knew you'd get weird."

"I'm getting weird?" he scoffed. "You're being the weird one, ya weirdo." Jeff cringed at how he sounded. "Alright, maybe it's not just you." They drove in silence for a few minutes but Jeff couldn't rid himself of one persistent thought. "So… do you think you'll invite this Tobey guy to study with everyone?"

"Jeff, come on," she sighed.

"All I'm saying is that I'm sure Pierce's old seat is perfectly comfortable."

"Well that's good because I already asked Leonard to take your spot." She gripped the dashboard in a panic as Jeff accidently swerved the car in alarm.

"God, don't even joke about that, Annie. That cockroach is going to outlive us all." Annie's phone began to ring once more. "Is that the Tobe-meister again?"

"Tobe-meister?" she dragged out disdainfully. "Seriously?"

"I regret nothing."

"Hey Troy," said Annie pointedly, answering the call. "I've put you on speaker, what's up? Are you and Abed there yet?"

"Not yet," Troy replied through his speaker, his voice tinged with static. "We got a bit lost."

They heard Abed speak up in the background. "We shouldn't have turned left. I don't think we were supposed to go this way."

"Just use the GPS on one of your phones," Annie reminded them. She frowned as Troy's voice faded out. "I can't hear you properly. What did you say about a beagle?"

"Did the eagle land in his car to get you?" Troy said loudly. "I mean," he faltered, "his or her eagle car?"

"Yes, the eagle slash falcon is present and accounted for, Troy," Jeff drawled. "It was touch and go for a while there but I managed to solve your CIA code." They heard more crackling on the line. "What the hell are you guys talking through? A tin can?"

"It's… MotorSung… can't afford… GIANT CLOWN!"

"… have to go!" Abed's voice called out.

Jeff and Annie looked at one another as the boys abruptly hung up. "That was odd," said Jeff.

"I know," Annie replied.

"I mean giant I can handle, because hello," he gestured at his body. "Statuesque God right here. But the clown part stings a little."

Annie buried her face in her hands. "Just keep driving, Mr Modesty."

A barrage of colorful flashing lights assaulted their eyes as they drove into the parking lot of the party venue. "What was Pierce's theme?" Jeff asked in bewilderment, staring through the front windscreen. "My Super Sweet Seizure?"

"Giant clown," said Annie.

"Come on, am I going to cop this all night?"

"No, I'm serious," she replied, pointing near the entrance. "There's a clown on stilts over there." She gasped in astonishment. "And I can see a dessert buffet inside! This party's gonna be off the hook, yo!"

Jeff regarded her in amusement. "Off the hook?"

"I regret nothing."

They stepped out of the car and Jeff locked the doors. "There's Shirley and Britta," he said, nodding to a cluster of guests. "I suppose we should make an appearance." Jeff held out the crook of his elbow. "Milady?"

Just as Annie was about to play along, her phone beeped with a message. Reading it to herself, her face went from surprised to blushing. "Oh," she murmured.

"You've just been selected as the lucky winner of one million euros in the scammers sweepstakes?" he asked hopefully.

"Not quite," she replied, meeting his eyes with a conflicted stare.

"The Tobe-meister then." Dropping his arm, Jeff shoved his hands in his pockets. "Awesome."

Annie's fingers hovered over the keypad. "He wanted to know if I'd like to meet up for coffee tomorrow."

"Annie it's OK, you don't have to explain anything to me. It's none of my business."

She gave him a pointed gaze. "Because that's worked so well in the past."

Jeff had the good grace to appear sheepish. "You should go," he said softly. "Go drink, have fun, talk about his super-cute dimples," he added teasingly.

Annie smiled back briefly. "Maybe I will," she nodded. "I mean sometimes coffee is just… coffee," she added, typing in her reply. "Right?"

"Exactly," said Jeff.

Tucking her phone away, Annie walked a few paces towards the flashing light spectacle before realizing Jeff wasn't following her. "Are you coming?" she queried, noticing he had his own phone out.

"I'll catch up in a sec," he replied.

"Now's not the time for texting or Candy Crush, Jeff."

"Hey, the only candy I'm after is on that dessert table, yo." They shared a smirk, Jeff's fading as Annie turned her back to walk away. Holding up his phone he watched as she hugged Britta and Shirley. "Giant, idiotic clown," he berated himself.

With a deep sigh he slowly walked up the path.

Turn Left

Annie noticed an opening in the traffic. "So what's it going to be, Jeff? Left or right?"

Tapping his hands on the wheel, Jeff contemplated his options before hitting the indicator. He could practically sense the pride radiating off Annie, as he turned left.

With a small contented sigh, Annie folded her arms and glanced out the window. "I wonder what the other timeline would have been like," she murmured.

"Nice to know you can transform into people as well as machines, Abed," he teased.

Taking a sip of his coffee, Jeff carefully placed the takeaway cup in a holder as he navigated his way out of the mall parking lot. Annie drank a mouthful of her own latte while clutching Jeff's newly bought gift in her other hand.

"Annie, why are you smiling at the wine like it's giving you compliments?" asked Jeff.

"I'm just happy that's all," she replied. "And Pierce will be too."

Jeff tried to shrug it off. "It's one bottle of alcohol. Pierce has a whole cellar full of the stuff."

"Yeah, but this one is from you." She shook her head. "I know you two stubborn idiots would never admit it, but deep down inside I think there's some affection there between you."

"I do feel that sometimes, but then I realize that it's probably just indigestion."

Scoffing, she gently lay the bottle down on the floor between her feet. "Whatever you say, Jeff. I mean, you know why he gave you that Laser Lotus business card at your graduation, right?"

"Because he was supposed to bring me a pony but was struck down with Chang-nesia?"

"No, because it was his way of reaching out to you." Annie licked some froth off her lips. "He won't have Greendale anymore to bond with people so he's trying to find other places to maintain the connection." She smiled. "He's worried about feeling left out again, but that's just silly."

"Right," Jeff quietly replied. "Imagine thinking that."

Sensing something was amiss; Annie reached out and touched his arm. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," he breezily replied, "but my ears aren't." He tilted his head towards Annie's phone. "Are we going through all of Taylor Swift's eighty-three break-up anthems or…"

"Hey! I'll have you know that T-Swift is a national treasure."

"T-Swift? Is she in a gang now?"

"Yeah and we're going to gang up on you for being a music snob!" Annie poked his arm. "Don't think I haven't seen the albums stashed away in your apartment Mister 'I'm so cool that I own Wham! on vinyl'."

He hid a smirk. "That evidence will never hold up in court."

"Come on," she teased, needling at him. "Sing a verse for me! You can't just leave me hanging on like a yo-yo…"

"You know what? Maybe I will because anything would be better than this howling right now," he laughed, keeping one eye on the road while trying to yank her phone out.

Protesting, Annie playfully grabbed his arm while trying to stop him but his elbow connected with her cup. "Oh no!" she yelped, watching helplessly as coffee splashed all over her cell and dripped down the middle of the car.

She stared at Jeff, who had come to a stop at a red light. "Well," he began, wiping a few drops of liquid off his arm. "That's one way to get some peace and quiet."

"I'm so sorry," Annie cried, attempting to wipe up the mess with some tissues from her purse. "I know you hate getting your car dirty."

"Annie it's OK," he replied, "there's no need to apologize, it was an accident. I think your phone might have copped the worst of it anyway."

Mopping it up as best she could, Annie pressed a few buttons on her cell but the screen remained black. "You don't happen to have any rice handy do you?" she joked.

"Yeah I keep it in the glove compartment in case of sushi or cell phone emergencies." He glanced at her. "Were you expecting any important calls?"

"No, not really. Maybe just a study catch-up session, but it's nothing life-altering."

"Don't worry, I'll take you to the store to get it looked at tomorrow," he offered, pressing on the accelerator as the light turned green.

"Jeff you don't have to do that."

"It's fine, I'm not doing anything important. Besides, your car isn't working, remember?"

Annie shifted awkwardly in her seat. "… Oh yeah. I forgot."

Hearing his phone ring, Jeff fumbled around in his pocket before handing his cell to Annie. "It's Britta," he said, eyeing the screen. "Can you put it on speaker? And if she's calling to say how lame the party is, we're turning around and going home OK?"

"Britta, hey, it's Annie," she said warningly. "Jeff's driving so you're on speakerphone. What's up?"

"Oh… um, hey Annie," Britta replied. "I tried to call you on your cell but it went straight to voicemail. I just wanted to check up on the… falcon. But, uh, I'm guessing it's… fine?"

"Falcon?" said Jeff, furrowing his brow. "What are you… Ugh, please don't tell me you goons finally caved and found a way to get Pierce one of those birds you have to blindfold or they'll claw your eyes out? The man is only one evil pet away from becoming a Bond villain."

"She meant eagle, don't worry," said Annie.

"And that's better because?"

"Becauuuuuuuse… it's American Eagle, like the store!" Annie stammered. "I got Pierce a shirt!"

"No it's falcon," Britta protested. "The saying goes 'the falcon has landed'. Trust me, I learnt it in New York," she added sagely.

"Heaven help me I need to get out of this car," Shirley's voice muttered in the background.

Jeff glanced at his phone in confusion. "What the hell are you guys on about? And why are you still in the car? I thought you were there already."

"They are, don't worry. They're just mucking around," said Annie, pushing random buttons on the cell. "Bye you two wacky funsters, we'll see you soon!" She fumbled around with the phone trying to get back to the home screen.

"I'm pretty sure Shirley said 'car', Annie," said Jeff, giving her a sidelong glance. "What aren't you telling me?"

But Annie was engrossed in something she'd discovered. "More like what aren't you telling me?"

"Huh?"

She held up his cell to where she'd accidentally clicked on the photo gallery. "You keep claiming you're not a sentimental sap but look how many pictures you have of us all on here!" she cooed, taking a closer look. "Wow," she said, peering at a few blurry, wonky ones. "Have you been to Britta's photography class?"

Rubbing his forehead, Jeff tried to hide his embarrassment. "Alright, so I have a few photos, so what? Maybe I'm just an undercover spy keeping tabs on you all."

"Yeah because this one of half my arm is really incriminating." She scrolled through a few more, noticing the most recent ones were at the meal they'd shared after his graduation ceremony. "It's strange," she noted, smiling at one of the whole group, "you think we would have noticed at some point."

"Oh you notice, trust me. It's just not for the reason you think I'm on the phone all the time."

Her mouth dropped open. "Do you mean to tell me that all those times we thought you were obnoxiously texting you were actually taking mementos? Jeffffff…" she beamed.

"It's not all the time. And do not give me the 'aww' treatment," he warned. "I'm not some sneezing panda on a YouTube video."

"It's a shame, though."

"What is?"

"You don't actually have any of yourself with us on here. There's just a lot of the group… And quite a few of me," she added shyly.

Jeff stared straight ahead at the road. "Well I guess they're just something nice to look back on while I'm out doing the lawyer thing on my own."

"You've been wanting to do the lawyer thing again for quite a while now, though," she gently reminded him.

"I know. It's just different." He drummed his fingers on the wheel. "Maybe I'll get a butt flag to hang in my office for old time's sake. I can fly it at half-ass whenever I lose a case."

Thoughtful, Annie tucked his phone next to his leg and patted his knee. "Don't think you can escape us that easily, Winger. You're going to have to visit Greendale more than you think."

"Oh yeah?" he replied, a smile forming on his lips. "How so?"

"Well, Garrett still needs to be saved."

"That is true."

"And I'm on the debate team again this year, so you'll have to come and watch me slaughter everyone with my intelligence and wit."

"And your modesty," he added.

"Plus there's always a dance to…"

"Actually you know what? I think I'll be fine without the school. Yep, all cured." He laughed as she gasped at him in mock-indignation.

"Giant clown."

"Gee, thanks."

"No, seriously!" Annie suddenly yelped. "There's a giant clown headed this way, look out!"

Swearing, Jeff veered off the side of the road as an oversized inflatable clown blew across the road after it had escaped its ropes from the party supply place on the street adjacent. Slamming on the brakes, Jeff screeched to a halt, narrowly missing the few cars around him that had done the same. Annie let out a shaky breath, gripping onto Jeff's arm after he'd thrown it out to protect her.

"Are you OK?" asked Jeff, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. "Were you hurt?"

"I'm alright," she replied, slowly letting go of him. "You?"

"Near-clown-death experience," he muttered. "I don't think I need to be concerned about leaving Greendale if crap like this is going to keep happening."

Annie felt something cold seep through her stockings before realizing what it was. "Um, Jeff, you know how you were cool about that coffee spill before? Well there might be another drink incident to add to the list."

Wincing, Jeff looked down to see the broken wine bottle soaking his car interior. "I had to pick the red wine didn't I? And now we're back to square one with the gift."

"Not necessarily," Annie mused, gingerly moving her feet away from the shards of glass. "How about you return the favor Pierce did with you and give him a card of your own."

"I'd love to, Annie, but I left my Scientology invites in my other wallet."

"I'm sure you have a card from some bar you always go to, and then tomorrow I'll help you pick out another present."

He started the car, figuring they'd clean up the mess once they got to the party. "Wait is that before or after we fix your phone?"

"It shouldn't matter," she shrugged. "I've got the whole day free anyway." She paused. "I mean I know you said you do too but you don't have to…"

"No, that sounds good." Jeff smiled at her. "We can make a day of it. Maybe grab some coffee or whatever…"

Annie grinned back at him. "I promise to actually drink all of it this time and not decorate your car with it."

"Great. It's a date." He swallowed roughly. "… You know what I mean."

"It's a coffee date," she offered. "Completely different. I mean coffee's just coffee, right?"

"Right."

"Cool."

They each stared nervously out the front window before Jeff spoke again. "Dinner could just be dinner too. I mean I'm just throwing that out there…"

Annie smirked, knowing Jeff was doing the same. "You've got yourself a deal." Hearing a text message alert on Jeff's phone, Annie reached down and saw that it was from Troy. She laughed when she read the message. "Apparently we need to get to Pierce's party 'like right now' because there's 'dope-ass giant clowns' walking around on stilts."

Groaning, Jeff took his phone and threw it into the backseat. "Is it too late to claim we got lost and couldn't find the place?"

"It is."

"We could say we were abducted by aliens?"

"Just keep driving you clown."

"Yes, Milady."

"Shut up, Milord."

End