"You should definitely go with the Snickers," says a friendly voice Pam's not used to hearing.

She fumbles with her coins before turning to face him. It's Ryan, standing a little too close to her. "Hey, sorry I'm taking too long to decide."

"Nah, it's fine, I actually kind of wanted to talk to you," he responds slightly awkwardly.

"Oh?" She's never much cared for Ryan, but these days she'll take any friendship she can get. "Sure, what about?"

"Jim," he replies simply. Her eyes go wide for a split-second before she nods and he continues, "Something happened between you guys, right?"

"Oh, no, I mean--" she replies rather frantically, stumbling nervously over her words.

It's enough of an answer for Ryan. "Okay, well, whatever happened I think you should talk to him. I know we've never really been friends or anything, and I think you kind of dislike me, but sitting in Jim's old desk and everything, it's been hard not to notice... the looks... and tension..."

"Did Kelly put you up to this?" Pam interjects, eager to transfer some of the pressure away from herself.

"Does it really matter if she did?" he coolly replies, clearly frustrating her. He pauses. "Well, Kelly actually said something more alongs the lines of 'Oh my gosh Pam and Jim would be so cute together, he should totally go out with her since they have, like, history and she's single now and I mean Karen is nice and all, but I think Jim likes Pam, like, way more. Don't you think Ryan oh my god you should talk to Pam and see if she likes him!'"

She chuckles lightly because him imitation is rather spot-on and meekly replies, "I'll think about it."

"I think you should," he says rather firmly. He sees she's looking a bit frantic and smiles warmly. "And that's from me, not just Kelly. But she agrees... so does Phyllis and..."

"Okay." She attempts a laugh. "I get it."

"You'll talk to him?"

"I said I'll think about it." She looks up at him with a sort of half-smile and he laughs lightly. He nods and walks off, and Pam is left alone again.

--

"Yeah, Ryan told me to talk to Jim." She pauses, her eyes slightly glossy. "I guess I must be pretty obvious if Ryan felt the need to interfere."

--

Her fingers lightly skim the kitchen countertop and she bites her lip, still debating whether or not to approach Jim. He is at the fridge, apparently looking for his lunch. It used to be so easy to talk to him, and she wonders how it ever was. It's nice to pretend she doesn't know what happened to make things so difficult now.

"Um, Jim?" she asks cautiously, her fingers still tapping on the counter.

He looks briefly to her as he takes out a trusty ham and cheese sandwich. "Yeah?"

"I was, uh--" She looks at her Keds and considers saying something about the weather. As tempting as that may be, she resists. "I was wondering if maybe we could talk sometime? Like, outside work?" Her voice is timid, tinged with what might be hope.

"Oh," is all he manages in reply, taking his sandwich to the table to occupy himself. Anything to avoid looking at her. "Um, sure, I guess," he mumbles, taking a bite.

"I just want to talk about, you know... things..." She trails off almost wistfully. Her eyes are on the fridge, but she's not really looking at it. She catches his nod, but remains momentarily silent. After a pause, she adds, "I mean, I know you probably have plans with Karen and--"

"Yeah," he interjects, more to remind himself. He's thoughtful for a moment, taking careful bites of his sandwich, despite having lost his appetite. He struggles to swallow and adds, "But I have time for a friend."

Her face lights up slightly and she decides to take a seat in front of him to work out plans for coffee.

--

"Pam asked me out for coffee. Not entirely sure what that's about because... I don't know, I guess things have been kind of weird between us. But... we'll see." He shrugs at the camera.

--

"Hey, can I talk to you?" he asks Karen as they're getting their coats. She nods and lets him lead her aside. "I'm going to get coffee with Pam after work, she said she had some things to talk about, so I'm going to be a bit busy this evening. Do you want to hang out later, or...?" He figures if he plays this off as an entirely casual and friendly thing-- which he assumes is what this is supposed to be, anyway-- then maybe Karen won't make a big deal about it. He knows that she is (rightly) quite anxious about anything Jim does concerning Pam.

"Oh," she responds, her lips pulling into a tight smile. "Yeah, okay. I was thinking of renting a movie tonight so maybe you could come over and watch afterwards?"

"Yeah, totally. Sounds good." His voice is a bit too anxious for Karen's liking, but she decides to let this one slide. This isn't really the place to make a scene, and she knows Jim is touchy about her being too protective. There's nothing there between him and Pam; nothing at all. No need to get catty.

"I'll see you later," she finally says, giving him a quick kiss and a flirtatious smirk. Who was Pam to her, anyway?

He simply smiles and lets her go, waving cheesily as she walks out the door.

"So," he says slowing, turning back to the receptionist's desk. "I believe we have a date, Miss Beesly?"

--

They go to Starbucks because Scranton doesn't have much else to offer. She objects when he tries to pay for her coffee.

"So what did you want to talk about?" he asks as soon as they're seated. Their earlier conversation in the car had been much lighter in nature, avoiding topics of any importance, and this sudden shift puts the knot back in her stomach.

"Oh, uh..." she says, stalling. She takes a deep breath and stares at her coffee cup. "It's just... I don't know, I guess I feel kind of stupid." He furrows his eyebrows and nods for her to continue. "Like... after that night, I was really confused... and then..." She giggles nervously, wishing she were more brave and could just say what she feels. Because this is really important, and she needs to tell him. "When I decided to end things, it had to be about me. I had to do it because I knew Roy and I would never work out. But when I was getting my new apartment and everything, I kept thinking..." She stops, unable to continue. "Nevermind, this is stupid, it doesn't even matter."

He struggles to look at her and says, "It sure sounds like it matters." He attempts a smile.

She shrugs, letting out a deep breath and takes a sip of coffee before continuing. "It's just--" She shuffles her feet. "It was really hard, but I kept thinking 'well, I have Jim.' But I didn't; you left. And I know Karen's better than me, but-- just, how did you get over me so fast? That sounds like really vain or selfish or whatever but it just seems kind of unfair, I guess. Like I did all this stuff and I'm finally single and you don't even want me. It's just made me feel really stupid and I guess I just want to know why..." She trails off, shrugging nervously. When she finally looks at him, he's gaping rather incredulously at her, and she lets out a giggle before she can help it because it's such an unexpected reaction.

"Is that what you think happened?" he asks seriously. She just kind of stares at him. "Pam, I'm only with Karen to get over you."

Now she's the one gaping. "Oh... ?" she murmurs, her whole body trembling.

"Come on, Pam, I've been in love with you for what, like six years?" He stops suddenly, realizing his choice of tenses, and tries to speak again and finds he can't.

She's wide-eyed, still shaking, and completely unable to formulate a coherent thought. "That's... um..." she mumbles, her words coming out cracked and frail.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," he manages, his voice creaking.

"Why?"

"Why? Um... well, we're finally to the point where things aren't completely awkward and now..." He trails off, fidgeting with his hands in his lap.

"Why haven't you said anything, though? I mean I tried to ask you out and everything... You never even gave me a chance." She sounds almost desperate, her voice quiet and confused.

"Are you implying you'd want to be given said chance?" he musters nervously.

She contorts her face and replies with a fragile, "You're with Karen."

"Yeah, I am," he replies almost angrily. "But I'm not in love with her."

She bites her lip, unsure of the protocol for such a situation. "So wait," she says mostly to herself. "You're... you're still..." She's biting her lip harder, eyes glossy.

"What, Pam?" He's struggling for composure, rather desperate, and she can only think of one time he's ever looked like this before. "Just tell me what you want. I can get over this and be over this or... there are other options..."

"What are my 'other options'?" she asks meekly, attempting a smile.

"Alright, Beesly. Option 1) I break up with Karen, and then I can be with you. That's the only other option. There are only two options."

"Two options; that's not very many options." A small smile creeps across her lips. "So is option 1 my second option, then?" He thinks carefully before nodding apprehensively. "I don't think option 1 is very fair to Karen, but it sounds like a lot of my fantasies..." She giggles nervously when she realizes what she's said, and erupts into laughter when she sees Jim's wide eyes. It's a frantic, anxious sort of laughter and she finds she can't stop. "I'm sorry--" she manages, "I just-- Oh-kay..." She takes a deep breath and wills herself to be calm.

Then a truck busts through the window and somebody screams "Here comes Billy Joel!" and Pam dies. Ironically Only the Good Die Young plays at her funeral. Jim weeps and weeps and weeps and weeps.