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ugh. Jim and Pam being this close but still avoiding their feelings for each other hurts so good. 'There’s a memory that Jim tries hard not to linger on, of her outside her dorm room, twisting her hands and smiling up at him.“Five minutes is enough time to figure out you like someone.”' This part killed me. I can't wait to see what happens, how they finally manage to get together. This story is so good, so well written, I get so excited when it's updated!!

Author's Response: Thank you so much, that’s really lovely to hear! :) Really pleased you’re enjoying it (despite all the pain haha). Thanks! 

This story is killing me with all this tension. Jim and Karen are clearly not on the same page. She wants to be Ms. Motivated and everything. She wants jim to be that guy with her, but it's clear he doesn't want to be that kind of guy. What really stikes me is that it feels like Karen is always pushing down Jim's feelings. It almost feels like she's gaslighting him. Telling him this is how he should be feeling about something. She wants him to be something he's not. She has a vision of what he should be for her and she wants that regardless of what he wants. Hopefully I comes to realize that sooner rather than later.

So Pam had a traumatic experience that made it so she didn't want to pursue art anymore. Sounds like something from college days.

Jim, she said she didn't want his number. Seriously when are these two going to stop lying to each themselves. I'm not sure if it's the idea of Pam dating that has Jim in a bother or Pam dating Ryan. Maybe both. Feels like a set up for more tension and chaos before we're done, that's for sure.

Author's Response: Thank you! And haha, sorry - the tension is really fun to write though. 

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Ughhhhh the so close yet to far energy is on point! I'm really liking the back and forth structure of this story. Very well strung together, like the cocktail mix detail.
And the S1&2 energy is there in this AU in the college bits where you can just feel how perfect they both are for each other but their own insecurities is keeping them apart.
Also reallllyyyy love how you write jim/pam.

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Aw college Pam, and college Jim, and college JAM! It’s so cute! I love how well I can visualize JF/JK in this too. Sometimes in AU, regardless of how well everyone stays in character, I’ve found it’s hard to really fully “see” Jenna or John’s portrayal in the story. But there’s something you’ve tapped into that I admittedly can’t describe but it’s just a simplicity and quintessential jam that I’m absolutely digging.

Author's Response: Thank you! That’s really kind of you to say :) I have to say, I was initially unsure about college JAM, but there are so many good fics out there that I changed my mind. Really glad you’re enjoying so far! 

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Hey! You have a new fic! I love it, you have a real talent to capture the nature of Jim and Pam. I love that you're not including Roy and hopefully not so much Karen.

I can't wait for an other chapter and do you plan to keep updating the your other series of one-shots?

Author's Response:

Thank you so much! That’s really kind :) And haha there will be some more Karen to come, but hopefully not too much... 

Thanks for asking about the other series too - I’ve not got any immediate updates planned while I focus on this fic, but: it’s quite handy having it as a series of one-shots that I can come back to! So I may add more at a later point if I have any more inspiration. 

Thanks for reviewing! 

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Yikes. What a mess!

You did a really good job here illustrating how they just kind of missed their moment – just a perfect storm of some well-intentioned and unhelpful interference from their friends, fear, care for and attentiveness to each other causing them to overcorrect for that fear, some self-defeating assumptions, and some unfortunate vomit and Karen-related happenstance. It’s brutal, and it does a really good job building up how they’ve managed to keep each other in this holding pattern for so long, both in terms of not moving forward and not being able to let go.

Also – really like that you gave the cocktail mix from the last chapter some history.

(I appreciate the warning about Pam/Ryan. I’ll gut through it. And the idea of Ryan as an opposite style of boyfriend to Roy sounds worth exploring.)

Author's Response: Thanks very much! And yeah, I always think there’s something much more tragic about love stories where it’s a series of small things/events just not quite working out, rather than one big thing. I thought Something Borrowed did that very well. 

Great banter between Jim and Pam. It's clear they have a really strong friendship and it means a lot to both of them. Really getting the feel that Pam would like more, but she can't have it, so she tamps it down and takes what she can get. Though there's some hints of trials she's gone through in the past. Jim thinking things like she can stay optimistic despite her past, her having similar thoughts. Great way to keep the interest going. Though it also adds some foreboding to find out what they're talking about.

Like others I'm curious about the whole Ryan thing. It seems Ryan is superficially interested in Pam, which reads true for him. Pam reads as being friendly but not interested in anything else. So another thing to wonder about.

In Vino Veritas there Jim saying you love Pam. Especially if Karen is flaking out on you. Really seems like the Jim/Karen relationship is on its last legs. It seems Karen knew this night was big for Jim and she intentionally blew him off. Hey Jim, look, a big red flag snapping in the breeze.

Looking forward to more.

Author's Response:

Haha - ‘a big red flag snapping in the breeze’ really made me chuckle. Although I guess not actually that funny in practice. I am glad you’re intrigued by the Ryan/Pam, and Pam’s back story :) I can reassure you that there won’t be that many hidden depths to Ryan in this fic, since it is Ryan we’re talking about. 

Thanks so much for reviewing! 

i love this AU! So creative!

Author's Response: Thanks very much! That’s really kind :) 

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I'm loving the angst and the build up! So much happening, so much history. All very promising. The Ryan angle you have hinted at also has me very intrigued.

These were two really great chapters. The college interaction was cute. And the party one was just so much S2 relate where these two are just so happy and easy with each other. Perfect amount of angst and fun. Really hooked!!

Author's Response:

Thank you so much! Haha I’m really glad you’re hooked - I’m having a lot of fun writing it. There will be more Ryan, and more history to come...

Thanks for reviewing!  

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Very cute way for them to meet up. They've got a ton of chemistry right from the off and it's a lot of fun to read. Still a few hints of insecurities and awkwardness, but they're still young. Really fun to get some back story on them like this. Looking forward to seeing where the rest goes from here as I've never seen the movie this is based on.

Author's Response: Thanks very much! And I have to admit, it's probably not going to stick super closely to the movie, so that might not tell you much anyway. Thanks for continuing to review :) 

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I hear a Taylor Swift song playing - You Belong with Me-

Nice play making us think Pam and Jim were together.
Nice callbacks throughout - Chilis waitress and the shredder and all the party and all the rest.

SB - I read the book ages ago and saw the movie and seeing John play Jim was very interesting so I could see where the inspiration comes from.

Enjoying it so far and looking forward to where it goes.

Author's Response: Haha, the title is actually from another Taylor Swift song (The One), but You Belong With Me totally makes me think of Jim/Pam/Karen. Thanks so much for reviewing - really glad you're enjoying! 

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I realllyyy like this set-up. Have always wondered what an AU with pining Pam and a stuck Jim would be like. I really like the few very subtle ways in which pam/roy and jim/karen have been paralleled from S1&2. And the roommate + college context just makes it more interesting!
I love how you've written jim/pam here. Looking forward to this!!!!

Author's Response: Thanks very much! I'm so glad to hear that - I found the Jim/Karen/Pam storyline a bit difficult to watch at times, so was hesitant about this...but also wondered about the pining Pam & stuck Jim. And I've recently discovered there are so many good college Jim/Pam fics out there. Thanks for reviewing!