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Story Notes:
So this is my first real attempt at some angst, and I must say I'm pretty excited.

Story and Chapter titles are from Straylight Run's "It's for the Best"

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Chapter Notes:
This first chapter just kinda sets the stage for what's to come...so keep reading, I know its not super thrilling right away. More to come as soon as I can write it!
“Hey Beesly,” Jim said smiling as he walked into the office stopping at reception to place his coat on the hanger there, “you ready for this weekend?”

She smiled warmly at him. “Yeah, I’m really excited.”

He nodded and walked to his desk. He knew that Pam was really excited for the upcoming county art festival the coming weekend. She had been looking forward to meeting some local artists, and potentially finding out about art classes in the area. Jim had strongly encouraged this, saying it would be a really great opportunity for her when she initially expressed hesitancy with the idea. So now, the day before the festival, she seemed thoroughly excited, and Jim was excited for her. She was finally allowing herself to branch out a little into something that she genuinely loved to do.

Around 11:00, right as Jim was planning on making his way up to Pam’s desk to steal a jellybean, Roy walked into the office, heading for reception. Jim stayed rooted to his chair, endeavoring to stay focused on his computer screen. He generally tried to avoid overhearing their conversations because eavesdropping often caused him unnecessary pain, but his ears perked up at Roy’s raised voice.

“Babe, I promised Kenny that we’d go with him up to the lake this weekend.” There was a pause before Roy continued, pleadingly, “Jamie will be there two, you two can hang out.”

“Roy, you knew I really wanted to go to this art festival. You’ve known about it for weeks,” Pam returned in an exasperated voice.

“Yeah, but I thought maybe you could go next time. I mean, aren’t they like, every few weeks?”

“No,” Pam retorted, clearly growing more and more exasperated, “this one is only once a year, and it would be a great opportunity for me to get some information about those art classes I’ve been wanting to take, not to mention meet some other local artists.”

“Pammy, I really don’t understand why you need to take art classes, especially since the art thing probably isn’t going to pan out long term anyway. Plus, I know we’ve really wanted to get away for a while, so a weekend at the lake would be perfect.” Roy said in a semi-pleading, semi-patronizing tone as he leaned over her desk.

There was silence. Jim knew that Pam was on the verge of tears of anger and sorrow at Roy’s insensitivity, but he didn’t dare look up. Rage at Roy welled up inside of him. How could he so quickly toss aside something that she was so obviously passionate about? How could he be so ignorant of her desire to be more than just a receptionist for the rest of her life?

“Fine,” Pam said, in a small, defeated tone, “we’ll go to the lake.”

“Awesome! I’ll go call Kenny right now. He’ll be so pumped. It’s gonna be sweet Pam!” Jim heard the sound of Roy walking out the door to the elevator, no doubt on his way to call Kenny and celebrate.

He stole a glance over at her desk. She hung her head, and he couldn’t see her face, but he knew that she was probably fighting back the urge to scream or cry. God he hated Roy for doing this to her. How could he not realize what his words meant to her?

Knowing that she would want some time to regroup, he looked back to his computer screen and continued to work on getting the numbers up to date on his sales records though his mind was engaged with thoughts of what types of pain and torture he might inflict on Roy, given the opportunity.


Later that day, he had found her in the break room, staring blankly at the can of coke on the table in front of her as she absentmindedly pulled at the chain around her neck.

“Hey” he said.

“Hey” she responded, her head snapping up toward him. He could see the evidence of her defeat all over her face and it nearly broke his heart. God he hated Roy right now.

“You okay?” Jim asked, knowing full well that she wasn’t, but that she’d probably deny that anything was wrong.

“Yeah, I just…” she paused, as if contemplating how to phrase the rest of her statement, “I’m not going to the art festival this weekend,” she finished.

“Oh,” Jim said, trying to sound surprised, asking “why not?” though he knew the answer.

“Just, well, Roy made plans with Kenny to go up to the cabin, so we’re doing that instead” she said, trying to sound nonchalant and unaffected, but Jim knew her well enough to detect the pain in her voice.

She lowered her eyes to the table again, “plus, I mean, there’s no reason to think that this will really help me in the long run.”

Jim wanted to shout out, ‘You are an artist! Roy is an ass for ever suggesting that you couldn’t achieve what you wanted! Don’t ever let him make you feel less than you are!’

But instead he just responded: “Oh”.

Pam continued to fiddle with her necklace, pulling it back and forth along the length of the chain, while she stared at the table as if inspecting it for any speck of dust that might be present. Then Jim noticed her face contort as if she was trying to hold back a fresh onslaught of tears. His immediate impulse was to run over and put his arms around her, tell her it was alright, but instead he just sat down in the chair next to her, feeling powerless to stop her tears. She sniffed slightly, and Jim decided he couldn’t take it anymore, and extended his hand and placed it over hers on the table. Her head snapped up, and her eyes found his, as if she was shocked by his gesture. Jim didn’t care.

“Hey” he said gently, “You are an artist. You sketch like crazy here at work, and I’ve seen that enormous pile of post-it notes you’ve stashed in your desk, so don’t even try to tell me you aren’t constantly spending the time you’re supposed to be answering phones on your sketches instead,” he said, his lips curling into a slight smile. Though he had wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be okay, he knew had to resort to humor instead to try to alleviate her pain.

“Trust me, I would not have anyone else to be responsible for so artfully crafting and designing the exquisite examples of my own professional handiwork of putting all of Dwight’s office supplies in jello.” He said cocking his head to the side, giving her a small wink.

At this, Pam smiled a little. Jim thought he even heard a little laugh. He paused for a moment, sensing in the space between them, a growing tension at her recognition that he really did understand, and that he was there to support her, regardless of what Roy thought. In those moments of growing tension floated all of the things that he couldn’t bring himself to admit to her. Things he thought she knew, but he knew could never be uttered.

With a small smile on her lips, she pulled back her hand and said, “Thanks, I should probably get back to work.” And with that she wiped her face with her hands, stood up and strode out of the room.
Chapter End Notes:
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