Pamela Morgan Beesly had been driven to the edge. Not the suicidal edge, fortunately enough, but an edge of some kind. She was so sick of watching Jim and Karen smile and simper at each other across the office, eating lunch together, kissing each other. She missed Jim's friendship so much— he would barely even look at her unless he had to. She had no friends in Scranton, and her relationship with Roy was far too toxic, even she realised that.

So one day, rather like a fraying rubber band, she snapped.

"Pamalama-ding-dong!" Michael's annoying voice crept into her ears. She looked up, jaw clenched. "Yes, Michael?" She muttered.

"I'm just surprised that you haven't given me my expense reports yet, you know, since I am so desperate to fill them out for the company." He said. Pam blinked, shaking her head. She had forgotten to hand them over to him first thing this morning. "Sorry, Michael, it slipped my mind."

"That was very unprofessional of you, Pam." Angela chimes in, in the background. Pam swivels to look at her sharply. "I don't think this is any of your concern." Pam snaps loud enough for most of the office to hear. All eyes turn to them, including Jim and Karen. 

Angela scowls deeply. "Pam, I really don't think-"

"You know what?" Pam rose from her chair, staring daggers at the rest of the office. "I quit. That's fucking it. I quit!"

Michael's eyes widen. "Pam, you can't quit without handing in a 2-week notice-"

"I just did." She said fiercely. Pam slammed her hand on her desk, then began to gather up her things. Jim rose from his chair, looking worried. Karen scowled at him, clearly warning him. Jim didn't look at Karen, though. Pam looked at him, and for a moment, her heart stopped. It had been ages since he had looked at her like that. It was only then that she remembered that he wasn't hers, and he never would be.

Pam glared at him, then at the cameras, before continuing to gather her things. The whole office was silent. She slid her coat over herself, trembling, though she attempted to hide it. She knew the cameras would probably follow her all the way to the parking lot, but she didn't care. She began to walk to the door, but before she left, she turned to look at the office. "Goodbye." She just said, and walked out, tears in her eyes.

***

Pam sobbed for a few hours when she got home. What had she done?! She had just quit her job for such a small reason!

But slowly, she realised that it wasn't a small reason. It was many huge reasons, such as her terrible boss, her strange coworkers, the boring work, and most importantly, having to watch her ex-best friend and the man that she loved be with another woman. Pam closed her eyes and collapsed onto her bed. What would she do now?

Pam racked her brains. She thought of nothing. After a while, she decided to pick up her phone. She switched it on and saw a 10 missed calls from Jim, and 14 messages from him. Reluctantly, she read through them.

JamesHalpert😊: Pam where r u???

JamesHalpert😊: Pam!!!!!!

JamesHalpert😊: PAM ANSWER YOUR PHONE!!!

JamesHalpert😊: Are you okay????? Where are you??????!??!?!?!?! Pls message me!

JamesHalpert😊: BEESLY THIS ISN'T FUNNY

JamesHalpert😊: Pam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JamesHalpert😊: You don't have to come back but pls tell me you're okay!!!!!!!!!

JamesHalpert😊: ANSWER YOUR PHONE! I need to talk to you!

JamesHalpert😊: Pam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JamesHalpert😊: I'm calling the police if you don't answer me!

JamesHalpert😊: okay that might be a bit excessive sorry

JamesHalpert😊: BUT PLEASE CALL ME BACK!

JamesHalpert😊: Pam where are you?!?!?!?

JamesHalpert😊: PAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!

She sighed, and turned her phone off. It was sad how this was the most attention he had shown her in months, and that was only because she was leaving. Pam paused, her brain whirring, before she switched her phone on again, and she started to look for cheap plane flights to elsewhere.

***

It had been a week since Pam had stormed out of Dunder Mifflin Scranton, and gossip was travelling very easily. Jim was in the breakroom when he heard his coworkers whispering to each other.

"I think it's because of Jim and Karen."

"I thought it was just because of Roy, honestly."

"I heard she's in love with Jim and she hates Karen."

"I think these are all true!"

"Kelly, shut up!" Oscar hushed his coworker when he saw Jim staring daggers at the gaggle of gossipers. "It's none of our business why Pam left," Jim said gruffly. His heart was aching sorely. Karen had barely spoken to him since. Jim had never felt this much pain before in his life. He still didn't know where she was- none of the office did. He just hoped that she was okay, because everyone including Karen knew that Jim was still in love with Pam Beesly, no matter where she was.

***

"I've never seen you around here before," the man said, grinning at her. "Are you new around these parts?"

It had now been a month since Pam's departure from Dunder Mifflin, as well as Scranton. She had packed up, sold her place, and moved to Riverside, California. It wasn't the safest place, but the houses were fairly cheap, and Pam always had her wits about her. She had managed to pick up a stable job as a waitress in the day times at a quaint little cafe just outside the main city, and on the weekends she had started to attend art classes. She bought an art tablet and a stylus with the excess money she had picked up from selling her old apartment, as well as some new watercolours. 

Pam had decided to go for a whole new look. She started to wear a lot more makeup and had cut her hair shoulder-length, which suited her nicely. She wore slightly skimpier clothing too, but nothing extremely daring, unless she was going out for the evening- which she happened to be this evening.

The club was not Pam's usual scene, but perhaps it was time to prove that she really was Fancy New Beesly. 'I'm evolving, Pam,' Jim had said to her on his first day back from Stamford. 

'Well, maybe I'm evolving too. Suck on that, James Duncan Halpert.'

She turned to look at the stranger, smiling. She was sat at the bar, working her way through her second martini. "What a coincidence, yes I am new." She slid her drink away from the man. He watched her with an amused expression. "Worried I'm going to slip you something?" He offered.

Pam smiled wisely. "You never know around these parts. I might be a rookie, but I still know a thing or two."

The man smiled back, taking a seat beside her. "Very smart. What's your name?"

"Pam. You?"

"Lorenzo," He offered her his easy smile again. Pam found herself turning red under the club's thumping, blaring lights. His pearly white smile reminded her of another man, though she ignored the thought. "That's a nice name," Pam says, crossing her legs. She was wearing a black dress that stopped just below the knees. Slightly adventurous, she was willing to admit.

"Thanks. You too. So," Lorenzo began, "Where are you from?" 

"Well up until about a month ago I lived in Scranton, Pennsylvania."

Lorenzo's eyes widen a little, and he looks somewhat amused. "That's quite a while away. Did you come by plane?"

"Yes. And what about you? How long have you lived here?" She asks, allowing herself a quick sip of alcohol.

Lorenzo asks the bartender for a gin and tonic before looking back at her.

'Jim liked gin.' Pam thinks to herself.

"Me? Oh, I've lived here my entire life." Lorenzo responds. "Yeah, I was born and raised in Riverside. I love it here." He receives his drink and sips it, hardly wincing. Pam grins. "Impressive stuff."

"What?" He asks innocently.

"Oh, don't give me that. You know what you just did." She says. She subtly shifts slightly so that a little more cleavage shows. He notices, but doesn't let his eyes linger for too long. "I don't. Do you mean the thing with the gin? Oh, that's just a skill I've acquired along the way."

Pam laughs. "Wow, charming and talented. Don't always see both of those things in a guy," she sips her drink. She manages to pick up on her phone buzzing in her purse, and she reaches in to take it out, turning it on. Lorenzo watches, feeling somewhat lackadaisical as he watches her on her phone. He wonders if she has a boyfriend. You'd have to be crazy to pass her up, he thinks.

JamesHalpert😊: Where are you these days?

She tenses, before deciding to be honest with him.

PamBeesly🎨: I've moved to California. Currently in a club. How is Karen?

She obviously doesn't want to know how Karen is. She wants to know how he is. She wants to know if he thinks about her like she thinks about him, late at night. But, Goddammit, she's not going to ask him that.

JamesHalpert😊: Doesn't sound like my Beesly.

PamBeesly🎨: I'm not yours anymore. I stopped being yours when you left me all alone in Scranton. And besides, like you said, I'm evolving.

JamesHalpert😊: Did you just steal my line?!

PamBeesly🎨: Maybe. So what if I did? You stole my heart and now you don't want it. I think that's only fair.

Pam turned off her phone. She didn't want to hear anything else from him tonight. She looked up at Lorenzo, who was staring at her expectantly. She knitted her eyebrows. "Hey. Do you want to come back to my place?"

Lorenzo grinned. "That sounds great."

***

Later that night, a naked Pam sat up and looked at the man asleep beside her. She liked Lorenzo, she really did- but he wasn't her Jim. She picked up the phone and switched it on, seeing one unread message from him.

JamesHalpert😊: I love you. I love you so much. I can't breathe when I think about you. I want you.

She closed her eyes, and held the phone close to her chest.

"I love you too." She whispered, but no one heard her.

Jim swivelled his chair around to look at the reception desk. There sat Maiya, the new receptionist. She offered him a warm smile, which he reluctantly returned. Maiya was a nice girl, pretty young though. She reminded him a little of Karen; she was not only mixed race, but she also wore a lot of pantsuits and thicker makeup than Pam. But she, unlike Karen, had curls. They were darker than Pam's curls, but still curls.

Pam.

It had been over a few months now. 

Jim and Karen had drifted apart over the past few months, ever since Pam had exited, and they both knew why. But neither of them said anything. They didn't need to. However, they were still together, as far as Jim was concerned.

Maiya was nice, a good receptionist, but everytime she picked up the ringing phone and said "Dunder Mifflin, this is Maiya" he had war flashbacks to a certain cardigan-clad artist. His heart ached just thinking about her.

He thought back to that one night when he had sent her the messages proclaiming his love for her. She hadn't responded to that, and they hadn't texted each other since. Maybe it was for the best.

Every so often, Roy would come up to the office, or Michael would take the workers down to the warehouse for one reason or another, and Jim always made accidental eye contact with him, without fail. It was awkward.

Despite being very different, Roy and Jim both had something in common; they both loved Pam Beesly. Though Jim loved Pam more, he could argue.

Jim had been very surprised when he had read that she was in a bar, of all places, and especially in California too. 'She really is evolving,' he thought to himself. 'I will admit that I'm proud.'

And he was. Just because he didn't want them to be apart didn't mean that he wasn't proud of her for going out and doing this. Jim always got excited when Pam showed courage. He wanted her to be more confident. He wondered if she would be shy and timid in the bedroom too, or if she would be a different kind of girl. Well. Only Roy could answer that one.

He wondered if she still thought about him. He relaxed in his chair, looking over at Ryan. Little bastard had taken his seat. But like he himself had said, Jim was a nice guy, and he wasn't going to argue with him over a damn seat. That would be childish, and Jim was now the assistant regional manager. Sorry, Dwight. 

Ever since the big promotion, Jim had tried to act more professional. He had covered up his forearms, and he barely pranked Dwight anymore. The office was pretty disappointed. All of them (apart from Dwight, of course) had been pretty excited at the news of Jim's return, since that meant more pranks and more fun in the office. Since Jim had left, the air in the office had been clouded in upset, particularly in the area of the receptionist's desk. They had been really despondent when it turned out that Jim had changed his tune entirely.

Jim missed that whole pranking lifestyle. Part of him wanted to go back to it. He rubbed his eyes, stretching his long legs out in the chair. Karen glanced over at him momentarily before she looked back at her computer, still wanting to blank him.

He yawned. It had been ages since he had slept well. He remembered Pam's cute little advice about 'a full 8 hours'. He now realised just how correct she had been. It had been really cute when she had called after him. "Don't fall asleep at your desk!" She had said. God, she was adorable.

Without thinking, Jim got to his feet and headed in the direction of the annex. Kelly peered over at him, her face lighting up when she saw him. "Oh my Gosh! Jim!" She hopped up from her chair and collided with him. He chuckled, awkwardly patting her. "Hey there, Kelly. How are you?"

"I'm great! Has Ryan been talking to you about me?" She asked quickly, letting go of him. Jim paused, pretending to rack his brains, before he said "not really, sorry."

"Oh, right." She looked upset, but not surprised. "He's just playing hard to get." She insists. "Anyway, did you want something?"

"I, um, I actually came over here to talk to Toby." At the mention of his name, Toby turned to look at him. "Hello Jim."

Kelly nodded. "Oh okay." She sat down again. Jim went over to Toby, his hands wedged in his pockets. "Hey Toby. Uh, listen...I was just wondering...I know that Pam isn't part of the company anymore...but I was just wondering...would it be possible for you to tell me her new address if you have it?"

Toby flinched at the mention of her name. "I don't think that would be possible, Jim...even if the company did know, then we wouldn't be able to disclose that kind of information to you without a reason or permission from the person in question, which...none of us have permission from Pam. She hasn't spoken to me since her departure."

Jim froze momentarily, before he nodded. He suspected as much, but it was always worth a shot. He reviewed his options in his head, then smiled weakly at Toby. "Alright. Thanks man." He swept away back to his desk quickly before Toby could accept his thanks and considered his options again.

***

Pam was lying on her Queen sized bed, her eyes shut. After her sexual encounter with Lorenzo, they had gone out for breakfast and she had given him her number. She had promised to call him. It had been 3 weeks. She had not called him since the meal. 

She was wearing nothing but a sky-blue tank top and fluorescent pink shorts. She was sweaty and out of breath. She had gone for a run around the block, and was boiling as well as exhausted. She panted for a while, feeling much like a dog. Her eyes were screwed shut.

She thought about Jim. Jim arm gently brushing against hers. Jim running his hand through her hair. Jim's lips against her. Jim cradling her body. Jim's hand slowly moving down...

Much like her fantasy, Pam found her hand slowly snaking down her body and gradually dipping into her shorts...

A knock on the door forced Pam to rip her hand away from her nether regions and sit up, looking surprised. Who was that?

She began to panic. Her parents knew her new address, but they had not informed her that they were coming over. It could be Lorenzo but why so suddenly? Wouldn't he have also given her some notice before coming over?

Pam liked this neighbourhood, and she had made some new friends, sure. But it was dangerous late at night. Scary. Unpredictable. 

She stood up, the floorboards beneath her feet creaking far too loudly for her liking. Pam grabbed the baseball bat beside her art easel and crept to the door, breathing heavily. She looked inside the peep hole-

And dropped the bat straight to the floor as it clattered loudly. She slowly opened the door. There, stood before her, was Jim Halpert. Pam stared at him for a good few seconds, before falling backwards as the world around her went dark.

***

"Pam! Pam! Pam!" 

She groaned loudly as she regained consciousness, her eyes slowly opening despite her vision being incredibly bleary. She saw Jim in her sight and almost fainted again. "Jim...stop saying my name..." she muttered, rubbing her eyes weakly. "Oh thank God you're okay," she feels him taking her into his arms. 

"What are you doing here?" She whispers, staring up at him. Pam wondered if she had actually passed out after going on such a lengthy run and the Jim that she saw before her was a hallucination or a figment of her imagination. "I was just...coming to see if you were okay."

"It's none of your business," Pam insists, but she's feeling far too weak to move out of his arms. "But...I suppose I appreciate it. Thank you for coming...I think. How did you even find my place?" She asks softly.

"I had to do a hell of a lot of asking around, I'm willing to admit. I asked Toby first but he said he couldn't tell me anything even if he did know your address. Then I met up with your sister, who I asked next, and she slapped me across the face when I asked. Said something about me breaking your heart. I got nothing out of her. Then I asked your Mom, who also slapped me across the face. It seems to be a thing that runs in the Beesly family on the female side, slapping me."

She pushes out a feeble laugh.

"She also didn't tell me anything. Lastly I asked your dad, who was a lot more civill. He finally gave me your address, after I did a lot of toadying." Jim admits.

There's a silence as they look at each other, Pam still lying in Jim's arms weakly. "...you're here." She whispers.

He smiled softly. "Yeah...yeah, I'm here." He tenses, his eyes wandering a little. "...Pam, I-"

"-No, don't say anything, Jim." Pam shifts out of his arms and she stands up, attempting to regain her strength. "I know what you're about to say, and I don't want to hear it. You don't get to say any of that shit to me anymore! You're with Karen! You have made my life a living hell! You don't get to tell me you love me anymore!" She screamed.

His eyes widened.

"...I was just going to say that I think you should put a bra on, I can, uh, see a little too much."

"What?!" She looked down and remembered that she had taken her bra off after the run for comfort. She could see her own nipples through the light blue material. "Shit," she muttered and scowled at him. "Don't start looking, Halpert."

"As if I would," he says, only half-joking. He doesn't tear his eyes away from her face, though he really wants to look...elsewhere. "Uhm, but, other than that... I think we should talk."

Pam sighed, folding her arms over her chest. "I think you're right. Hmm. If we're gonna do that, though, I should get you a drink. Tea or coffee?"

He grins. "Grape soda."

She attempts to hide her smile, but fails. "Yes, sir." On her way past him into the kitchen, her hand gently brushes against his groin. He jumps, but she only offers him an innocent smile. He wonders if that was a mistake or on purpose. He doesn't mind either way; all he knows is that there is something he would rather do than just talk to Pam Beesly.