I Volunteer | Jack Schlossberg | Friends to lovers

Forced proximity

The rest of August and September flew by. Work was hectic as the Profiles in Courage Awards were approaching. For weeks, Annie had been running around the library—and the city—making sure every flyer, every program, and every news outlet was accounted for.

Jack had continued to text her sporadically, like usual; a picture of a dog across the street with a sweater on, an idea he had for a new game that was half 'pin the tail on the donkey' and half darts, etc. Though she had mostly accepted that they would only ever be friends, it didn't lessen her feelings for him, and she still got butterflies whenever his name showed up on her phone.

On the morning of the event, the staff was wired—there were people in suits and heels running every which way. Annie had a set of tasks she was in charge of: making sure the special guests were in their seats, the speakers were on cue, and the press was prepped with quotes and information on the awardees.

Despite the craziness, she felt good. She felt ready. And she felt confident in her long, sleek, black high neck dress and black ballet flats. Her hair was up, putting her soft gold hoops on full display.

Around 4 PM, she was in the lobby running through the seating chart one last time with Susan, when she saw the Schlossberg family walk through the door together, all dressed in their best. Jack's navy suit complimented his tan beautifully, and he had let his hair grow out to the length she thought it looked best. She was willing to bet he hadn't gotten a haircut between the time she last saw him and now.

"Susan, are we feeling ready?" Caroline asked as the Schlossbergs walked over to where the two were reviewing the seating chart.

"Ready as we'll ever be!" Susan said with an optimistic yet tired smile.

Caroline turned to face Annie. "Annie, it's so nice to see you again." Caroline reached out to shake Annie's hand. "I haven't had a chance to check in with you—how have the first few months been for you?" Caroline slowed her handshake, but didn't let go of Annie's hand.

"They've been fantastic. I'm a lucky gal to get to come here every single day," Annie said sincerely.

"I like this one," Caroline said about Annie as she turned her head toward Susan. They all chuckled. "Well, we better get moving. See you all soon." The Schlossbergs all started to saunter off, except for Jack, who touched Annie's elbow and asked, "Can I borrow you for a minute?"

She told Susan she'd be right back and followed Jack around the corner to an unoccupied hallway. "Hi," he said with a suspicious smile.

"Hi?" she said, skeptically.

"Why do you say it like that?"

"I don't know, you have a weird energy about you right now," she said, waving her hands in front of his body.

"What, a man can't say hi to a beautiful woman?" he asked, scanning her dress with his eyes. "You look incredible, by the way."

"You look very nice, also," she said, incredibly flustered by his remarks. "That suit looks great on you." He smiled.

"So, can we go out after this? I know Alex and Michael aren't here this time, but we can still have a good time."

"Oh, uh... probably not. I'm paid staff now, so I'll be here late."

"Well, then so will I."

"Jack, no it's fine. I honestly just want to get this over with and then go home and sleep." It would've been easy for Annie to walk away from the conversation and avoid Jack's texts over the next few weeks, or until she wasn't sad anymore. While her feelings for him were still there, she was also hurting and needed space. But in that moment, she fought all of those instincts and decided to push away the desire to retreat from him—at least for now. "Are you feeling prepared for your speech this year?"