Tabitha was at her mom's house, watching 'New Girl' with her mom. It was a show that the two of them loved and they both had nothing else to do that night so they decided on watching it. Plus Tabitha got a rejection letter from one of the colleges she applied to. And that meant she was kind of feeling down in the dumps. 

Her mom brought up the idea of watching that show Tabitha told her about which cheered Tabitha right away. Tabitha had watched all of the show already and it immediately became her comfort show. She had told her mom about it a few times since she knew that her mom would like the humor and the romance in the show. So she was happy that her mom wanted to finally watch it with her.

They were only on season two, but it seemed like her mom was enjoying the show. "So mom, whose your favorite character so far?" Tabitha asked from her place curled up with a blanket beside her mom on the couch.

"Honestly, I can't choose. It's between Nick and Schmidt." Victoria replies with a smile on her lips. "Oh! And CeCe. Those are my top three favorite characters of this show."

"Mine has to be Nick." Tabitha admits, her lips forming into a smile. "He's such a relatable character in my opinion and he's hilarious." She also thought that Nick was kind of cute but she wasn't going to admit that.

The mother-daughter duo looked at each other in confusion when the doorbell suddenly rang. Tabitha checks her phone that rests on her lap, noticing it was 9 pm. "Were you expecting someone this late?" 

"Nope." Victoria shakes her head. "Can you answer the door?"

Tabitha groans. "Why can't you do it?" She pulls the blanket closer to her, leaning back against the couch. "I'm all comfy."

Victoria points at her. "You're closer to the door."

Tabitha huffs, her shoulders dropping in defeat. "Okay, fine." 

She gets up and walks into the foyer which was the entryway of the house. She checks through the peephole in the door before she opens it. She tilts her head to the side, looking back at her mom with furrowed eyebrows. 

"It's EJ." She glances back out the peephole, frowning upon seeing he kind of looked upset. "He looks sad."

"This is my cue to leave." Victoria got up, pausing the tv. "But I am gonna continue watching this in my room."

A small chuckle left Tabitha's lips as she nods. "I'm not surprised."

While Victoria went to her bedroom Tabitha unlocks the door and opens it, sending EJ a welcoming smile. "EJ, hi. I wasn't expecting you." She furrows her eyebrows, staring into space while tilting her head to the side. "Or was I?" A cringed expression forms on her face, shaking her head. "Wait, did we have a date night planned? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to forget-"

"Tabs, don't worry, you didn't forget a date night." EJ assured her.

"Good." Tabitha's lips curl upwards a bit but she looks at him with a confused expression since she still didn't know why he was there. "Then what are you doing here?" She quickly adds, "Not that I mind you being here." 

She didn't fail to notice that he had the Duke hoodie his dad gave him draped over his shoulders when she looked at him. She wondered if that's why he was there, to talk to her about what happened with him and his dad. 

"I just...I need someone to talk to about something kind of important. You were the first person that came to mind when I thought of who to go to." EJ confessed.

Tabitha feels her face heat up and she's touched by the fact that he thought of her first and went to her first out of everyone else he knows. "Okay, um, come in." She opened the door the rest of the way, stepping to the side to let him in.

EJ sent her a thankful smile and she closed the door as he walked in the entryway. They went over to the living room and while sitting on the couch EJ took the Duke hoodie off of his shoulders. Upon noticing what show she was watching, EJ chuckles lightly. "You're watching 'New Girl' again?" He looks at her with a teasing smile. "What is it, like, the fifth time you're watching it all the way through?"

"The fourth time!" Tabitha corrects him, pointing at him. "It's a good show!" 

EJ nods, his lips forming into a small smile. "Yeah, it's pretty good."

"So, uh, congrats on getting into Duke." Tabitha smiles, trying to tell him that she wanted to know what happened with him and his dad without actually saying it. "That's what you always wanted."

"Yeah," EJ sighs, glancing at the Duke hoodie that was now in his lap. "But I didn't exactly get in."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Tabitha tilts her head to the side. "Didn't your dad say you got in?"

EJ scoffs. "Only 'cause he made it happen."

Tabitha's eyes widen in realization. "Oh."

"I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly grateful for the privilege, but..."

Tabitha nods, understanding what he's trying to say. "You didn't earn it."

"Exactly." EJ nods in agreement, turning to his right to face her and bringing his right leg up on the couch as he turns. "It just that my entire life has been mapped out for me for as long as I can remember. You know?"

"Not at all." Tabitha chuckles, shaking her head. He raised his eyebrows in question, silently encouraging her to explain and she does. "I never really know what's going to happen in my life..."

"The only things I have ever been sure of was the fact that I'm never getting over my stage fright and that Maeve was always going to be my best friend. I've never even been for sure if my parents were ever going to stay together after they started arguing a lot so it wasn't that much of a surprise when they got a divorce."

EJ stays quiet as she speaks, paying attention to her. He liked getting to know her more and he liked that they were comfortable enough with each other that they could talk to each other about stuff like this. Tabitha smiles a bit. "I kind of like not knowing what's going to happen next because it makes things more interesting, but sometimes it's frustrating not figuring out what you're going to do in the future." EJ didn't fail to notice her smile falling when she adds, "Like whether you're going to get into a college you had in mind or not."

"Did one of those colleges you applied to respond back?" EJ inquired, tilting his head to the side.

Tabitha sighs, staring at her lap as she fiddles with her hands. "Yeah. Not the response I was hoping for."

EJ frowns, taking that comment was telling him she didn't get in. "I'm sorry, Tabs. I know it sucks," He reaches forward to put his right hand on top of her hands which stopped her from fiddling with her hands. She looks up at him and he sent her a small smile. "But you still haven't heard back from the other colleges which means you still have a chance at getting into one of them."

"Yeah," Tabitha couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips. Whenever EJ smiled at her she always felt all giddy inside even if she was upset or wasn't in the best mood. He just had that effect on her. "I guess you're right."

"So, EJ, what do you see when you look at your life?" Tabitha asked. When he looked at her with confusion she smiles and closes her eyes. "Close your eyes."

EJ raises an eyebrow at her, tilting his head to the side. "Why?"

Tabitha lets out an annoyed huff but doesn't open her eyes, emphasizing the nickname 'Eej'. "Just close your eyes, Eej."

EJ chuckles and closes his eyes. "Alright, why are we doing this?"

"What do you see when you look into your life?" Tabitha repeated the question she asked a few seconds ago.

EJ is quiet for a few seconds before he responds with, "I see a guy who cheated at Water Polo." His shoulders drop in defeat as he continues. "And a guy who tried to bribe Miss Jenn into giving him the role of Troy."

A sad sigh left his lips and he shakes his head, opening his eyes to see she still had her eyes closed. "And many more. Tabitha, what's the point in this?"

Tabitha opens one eye, putting her right index finger in front of his lips to shush him. "I'm getting to that. It's my turn now."

EJ stayed silent, staring at her with furrowed eyebrows. He was confused at why they were doing this. This just brought up the fact that he's a bad person and it made him feel even worse pointing out everything he had done wrong.

Tabitha pulls her finger away from his lips and says, "When I look at you, I see a guy who saved my life."

EJ's lips curl upwards, remembering the day he saved her from getting hit by a car. Neither of the two knew how much impact they would have on each other's when they met each other. They didn't even think that they would be friends since they were completely different. Little did they know at the time that they would be dating each other.

"I see a guy who became someone I care about a lot," Tabitha continues, her lips forming into a smile. "I see a guy who was nice enough to buy one of our best friends' a plane ticket to see the 'HSM' show."

EJ shakes his head. "That was your idea though."

"Yeah," Tabitha opens her eyes and looks into his. "But you didn't have to go along with it. The fact that you also thought Gina deserved to see the show proves that you have a good heart."

EJ smiles at her, feeling butterflies in his stomach. Tabitha smiles back at him. "I also see an insanely talented guy. Like, your vocals?" She mimics the sound of an explosion, taking her hands away from EJ's since they were still holding hands to make a mind-blown gesture which made EJ chuckle. "My mind was blown when I heard you sing 'Gaston'. You have an incredible voice."

"Thank you. You also have an incredible voice." EJ comments. "And you're amazing at the piano."

"Thanks." Tabitha smiles widely. "So, EJ," She reaches forward, putting her hand on his that rested on his right leg and she intertwines their fingers together. "The point is that you're a great guy. You just make mistakes. Like the words of Hannah Montana, 'Everybody makes mistakes."

EJ chuckles lightly and squeezes her hand gently. "Thank you." Tabitha shakes her head, waving a dismissive hand to show it wasn't a big deal. "No, seriously. It means a lot to me that you think about me that way."

Tabitha feels her face heat up and she looks down shyly. "You're welcome. I mean, all I did was speak the truth."

"Well, it's my turn now." EJ told her.

Tabitha shakes her head. "Nuh-uh. This thing was a one-way street."

EJ chuckles. "Not for me."

"Okay, whatcha got?" Tabitha sighed, glancing back at him. She knew he wouldn't give up so she just went along with it.

"When I look at you," EJ smiles at her. "I see a beautiful and talented girl who conquered her stage fright."

Tabitha couldn't help the wide smile that tugs on her lips. She ducks her head down, her hair falling in front of her face and she hoped it hid the bright shade of red that she knows was now on her face.

"So, um, do you wanna stay over a bit longer?" Tabitha asked after a few moments of silence. She looked at him, finally getting the courage to do so even though she knew there was still blush on her face, just some of it had gone away.

"Yeah, sure." EJ replies and gestures with a nod of his head to the show that was paused on the tv. "We can watch your show if you want."

Tabitha grins. "Yes." She and EJ got more comfortable, sitting next to each other, facing the tv. He now had his arm wrapped around her shoulders and she glanced at him with a teasing smile. "Stop acting like you don't like 'New Girl'. I know you do."

"Okay," EJ sighs, pretending to be upset. "You caught me." He smiles a bit. "It's actually a pretty good show."

"Yeah, I know." Tabitha nods. "That's what I've been trying to tell you all the times I try to get you to watch it with me." She picked up the remote and pressed play.

****

The couple was halfway through season three of watching 'New Girl' when EJ noticed Tabitha was quiet. Normally she would say the same line one of the characters would say because she watched it so many times to remember some of the lines or she would be laughing along with him at something funny the characters did.

EJ glanced to his right, just then feeling something heavy on his shoulder. A smile tugged on his lips to see that Tabitha had fallen asleep. He didn't know how but she looked so cute when she was asleep. He got his phone out of his pocket, checking the time. It was late and he probably did need to get home.

He didn't want to wake her so he carefully lifted her head off his shoulder and stood up. He put his phone in his pocket and grabbed the remote to turn off the tv. He looked over at Tabitha to see she had moved to lay down in her sleep. He picked up a nearby blanket and put it on her, making sure it covered her and made it where it rested on her shoulders. But before he did that he picked up his Duke hoodie and then wrapped it around her shoulders over the blanket.

He decided on leaving his Duke hoodie with her, knowing that she would like to wear it since she liked wearing his hoodies. One day she was wearing one of the hoodies he normally wears which made him smile when he noticed. She had hung out the night before with him and she was cold so he let her use a hoodie. Yeah, he didn't get that hoodie back for a few days. But that was fine because he was happy that she was happy and she looked really cute in his hoodies.

He got his phone out as he walked out the door and he locked the door as he left. He sent her a text to let her know why he left and that he enjoyed hanging out with her and the late-night talk they had. He was tempted to add in 'I love you' but they haven't even said that to each other yet and he figured it's probably not a good idea to say it through a text the first time.

He has wanted to say it to her so many times. He was just too scared. Scared of rejection, scared of her not feeling the same way, and scared of ruining what they already have. But perhaps they both will get the courage soon to say those three little words to each other.

A/N yes I did make the crackship & I'm so proud of myself it looks so good ! you guys nelswell are literally so cute, I love them.