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The office Christmas party had gotten a little out of control this year. Not only had the punch been spiked with about 6 bottles of vodka, but somehow, Michael had convinced most of the members of the office (who had undoubtedly had a few too many glasses of punch) that the party would be much more fun if they went down the street to the park and played tag in the snow. Surprisingly, even Oscar and Stanley seemed to be enjoying themselves as they walked down the street toward the local park.
Jim had not had much of the punch, immediately tasting the overwhelming vodka, but he did have enough to give him a slight buzz. Though he wasn’t exactly sure that Michael was correct in his assumption that playing tag would be the best course of action currently, he had decided he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to watch Dwight run around in the snow and look ridiculous. Pam on the other hand, had enjoyed two full glasses of the rather potent punch, and was having some difficulty walking in a straight line. Jim walked beside her, holding her arm to steady her.
“Woah there Beesly, or should I say Drunky” Jim said, steadying her as she crossed an ice patch on the sidewalk.
Pam laughed a little louder than normal, drawing a few looks from Phyllis and Creed who were walking in front of them.
“Wow. You maybe had a bit too much Christmas punch” Jim said, feeling a slight buzz of his own taking a stronger hold.
“Nope, there’s never too much punch,” Pam said, her words slightly slurred.
“We’re here!” Michael shouted from the front of the group, “Okay, now who’s going to be ‘it’? It can’t be me because tag was my idea so I don’t have to be ‘it’ first.”
Dwight immediately attempted to be the one chosen to be ‘it’ the first round, but Michael eventually settled on in Kevin as the lucky winner.
“Okay, ready, Go!” Michael shouted while running away from Kevin as quickly as possible. Dwight managed to get about ten feet away before tripping and falling over a downed tree branch. Pam was immediately sent into a fit of giggles, which Jim shortly joined.
“Come on, we’ve gotta run, Kevin’s coming!” Jim yelled, suddenly aware that Kevin was coming in their direction. He grabbed Pam’s arm, and though she was still in a stitch of laughter, he managed to pull her out of Kevin’s reach. They continued to run to hide behind a small group of trees.
“Okay, seriously Beesly, you suck at tag. The point is to run away, not stand still and laugh,”
“Shut up” she said between giggles, “I can’t help it Dwight tripped and fell flat on his face in the snow!”
“Shh! I hear something,” Jim said, placing his finger on his lips. She placed her hand over her mouth to attempt to contain her fit of giggles. Suddenly they saw Creed run by being chased by Oscar, who was apparently ‘it’. Unfortunately Oscar noticed that Jim and Pam were standing there, closer to him than Creed, and he changed direction heading toward them.
“Come on!” Jim said, grabbing Pam’s hand again and they started off. Oscar was gaining on them, when suddenly he felt Pam’s hand slip out of his own. He turned in time to see her sprawled out on the ground laughing hysterically. His immediate impulse was to go to her and make sure she was okay, but then he saw Oscar tag Pam and knew he had to run for it before she caught up to him.
He ran to a nearby rock where he would be able to see more clearly what was going on. He saw Pam get up, still laughing to herself and head toward the nearest patch of bushes, where he could see Phyllis attempting to hide. Pam tagged her quite easily and turned to run back to the rock where Jim stood. Phyllis stood and began moving in the opposite direction in search of a new victim.
Pam reached his hiding place and smacked his arm, “Gee thanks,” she said panting to catch her breath, “so nice if you to leave me for dead back there.”
“Hey, this is a matter of life and death Beesly, you were slowing me down” Jim said, grinning mischievously at her.
“Nice.” She said, and turned and began jogging off in another direction.
“Where are you going?” Jim said
“I thought I was slowing you down Halpert,” she shouted over her shoulder.
And suddenly out of nowhere he felt a pair of arms encircle him along with a scream of “AAAARRRRGH!” in his ear. His feet slipped and he was suddenly in the snow, pinned down by an unknown person.
“Hahahaha!” Michael laughed in his ear, “Gotcha! You’re ‘it’ Jim! No tag backs!” and with that Michael leapt up with the agility of a younger man and ran off to his retreat. Jim began to pull himself up off the ground and he heard Pam laughing a short distance away. He was completely covered in snow, and as he stood and began to brush himself off when he realized why Pam had scampered away so quickly before. She had seen Michael coming and left him for dead.
He looked up and shouted to her “Oh, it’s on now Beesly”, and watched for a moment as she ran quickly away from him, laughing merrily. As he began running after her, it struck him how ridiculous this whole thing was, but he had to admit he was having a really good time. Though she eluded him for a few moments, he caught up to her pretty easily. She was hiding behind a large tree and when he leapt toward her she jumped out of the way around the tree, just missing his grasp. She darted around the tree, trying to avoid his long arms, still unable to control her laughter. He saw the joyful mischievousness in her eyes and it only made him grin wider.
Suddenly, she ran away from the tree, into the open field area, as if trying to escape by surprising Jim through her sudden movement. Instead, he sprinted after her, catching her easily. She was laughing harder now, knowing he would catch her momentarily. He reached out and tackled her to the ground, cushioning her fall with his own arms. Suddenly there they were, and there she was, lying there laughing uncontrollably in his arms. He laughed with her, but soon the mirth dissolved and he found himself realizing that his face was only a few inches from hers. She seemed to realize it too, her laughter dying off, though a smile still remained on her lips.
He could only stare at her. His slight buzz made him bolder than usual, giving him the strength to look at her longer than he would normally allow himself. Her smile was still broad, as if daring him to do something impulsive, something he would undoubtedly regret later when Roy decided to rearrange his face. Her breathing was still heavy, and her cheeks were flushed making her look so alive. When his eyes met hers full on, he was shocked by the daring look in her eyes. She did not look away from him like she usually did. It was refreshing to look her straight on, without pretense, to really see her. Her eyes were so full of the things that she had never said, and could never say, but he could see them all in that moment. She wasn’t hiding her thoughts away, preventing them to surface, but instead allowing them to paint vivid pictures that flit across the surface of her eyes of what could be. The depth of her passion for life was so visible in her eyes, and though he knew some of this was just the alcohol, he was certain he was seeing her for who she really was, who she could, should, be. He was seeing a side of her that Roy never saw, which made his heart beat even faster.
Her eyes left his briefly and darted to his lips, lingering there for only a moment before returning to his eyes. It was as if she was daring him to kiss her. And oh how he wanted to, and part of him was kicking himself for not having had just one more glass of punch at the office. One more glass and he could have kissed her without another thought, but his inhibition was still in tact…for the moment anyway. Though he wasn’t sure how many more of her bold and daring looks he could take.
He knew he should help her up so they could continue with the game, but he didn’t want to give up this moment…not yet. He rarely got moments like this with Pam, so he was going to take advantage of every second.
His eyes traveled her face and he noticed a clump of snow that was tangled in her hair, and he reached his hand out to break it away from her curls. His fingers brushed her cheek slightly, and she inhaled sharply at his touch. His eyes darted to meet hers, afraid that maybe he had crossed some invisible line, that he had gone to far this time. But instead of seeing fear and panic in her eyes, he was met with something completely different that he couldn’t completely describe. He found shock mingled with what he thought was something bordering on amazement. But there was something else. Something deeper, more vibrant. He was almost certain he could see desire swimming in the depths of her eyes. He knew his will wouldn’t hold much longer; that he would have to give in to his impulses before long.
“Hey you guys!” Michael shouted from behind a group of nearby bushes, “Are we playing or what?”
And with that the moment was gone. They avoided each other’s eyes as Jim stood and helped her to her feet. When his eyes found hers again, she returned his gaze as she always did, with so much hidden behind a closely guarded wall. And so they were back to where they always were. Jim looked down at his pants which were covered in snow and began brushing the snow away. Pam followed his lead, cleaning the snow off her own clothes to avoid the awkwardness that filled the space between them.
He looked up at her again, and her eyes met his, guarded Pam in charge again. Feigning nonchalance, though fully appreciating the subtext of his words he said “You’re it, you know”
Her eyes softened slightly as she contemplated his words. “Yeah,” she responded quietly, her eyes betraying her struggle to prevent the raw emotion from surfacing again, “I know.” And with that, she turned and headed toward where Stanley and Oscar were hiding behind a nearby tree, leaving Jim alone in a snowy field under a vast and empty sky.
End.
Story Notes:
This is something that just popped into my head today that I had to write. I guess I'd place it sometime before the cameras showed up.
It's not exactly fluff, and not exactly angst. So make of it what you will.
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.
It's not exactly fluff, and not exactly angst. So make of it what you will.
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.
Chapter End Notes:
Thanks for reading! Reviews are the best!
As a side note, for some reason, I find oneshots much easier to write than multi-chapter works, but I am still working on Stronger and Certain for anyone who's wondering.
As a side note, for some reason, I find oneshots much easier to write than multi-chapter works, but I am still working on Stronger and Certain for anyone who's wondering.
PBeesly Sweater is the author of 10 other stories.
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