She was sitting on his floor in front of him. Jim had his legs spread in a wide V allowing her to sit closer to him. She was laughing and leaning into him with every new face he made. She grabbed at his shirt and rested her hand on his thigh, and he thought about how inappropriate this would seem to anyone that walked in on them.
“Would you still love me if I looked like this?” Pam brought her top lip up to her nose and squinted her eyes.
“Would you still love me if I loved you and you looked like that?” He sounded a little disgusted.
Her face went back to its normal shape.
“Why do you always do that? That’s not how you play the game!”
“Oh, I didn’t realize that we had agreed upon a set of rules.”
“Just answer with a yes or no!” She laughed.
“Okay, okay. Let’s go again.”
She scooted closer to him until her knees were touching the inside of his thighs and he squirmed a little, but she didn’t seem to notice.
“Would you love me if I looked like this? He asked as he pulled at his eyelids.
“No.”
“Yes!”
“You know I hate when people touch their eyes.”
“There was no eye touching, just eyelid pulling.”
“Close enough.”
She leaned back and reached into her pocket. Her shirt lifted up and her pants slipped just a little and he averted his eyes even though all he wanted to do was look.
“Would you still love me if I married Roy?”
His face went blank and she saw the color drain from his face. Not the reaction she thought she would see. She wasn’t sure if it was the one she was hoping for because when it came to Jim she was never really sure about anything.
“Wow,” he whispered.
She slipped the ring onto her hand and cautiously held her hand out in front of him.
“He asked last night.”
He took a hold of her shaking hand and his thumb traced over the diamond.
“Wow,” he repeated with even less emotion than the first time.
“The ring is even the right size,” she said trying to sell the idea more to herself than to him.
He hooked her fingers with his own and he still couldn’t look her in the eyes because if he did he knew he’d say something he’d regret.
“Say something.” Her voice was shaky.
“What did you say?”
“I told him I needed time to think about it. So what do you think? Would you still love me if I married your brother?”
He wasn’t sure if he could open his mouth without getting sick. Could he really lie to her? He knew though that he would still love her either way. He should probably just suck it up and lie. If only he could just say it, my brother isn’t good enough for you.
Her phone buzzed across the coffee table and she quickly reached for it.
“Hi.”
He was unnaturally happy that she wasn’t happy when she picked up that phone.
“Hey, babe. Did you tell him?”
“Yeah, I just told him.”
“So does that mean you’re accepting my proposal?”
“No, I just need to think about it a little longer.”
That was a good sign, had to be. He wasn’t really sure what he was hoping for though. For her to choose him instead of his brother? She didn’t even know that he loved her and she would never do something like that. He couldn’t live with himself if she did but he wasn’t sure how he would live with himself if she was married to Roy.
“Don’t do this to me Pam.”
“No, I...” she said quietly as she turned away from Jim.
She got up from the floor and walked into his bedroom and closed the door. He sat on the floor completely void of thoughts and instead a stream of images of Pam flooded his mind.
He had to tell her.
She slowly opened the door and smiled brightly at him.
“I said yes. I’m going to be a Halpert!”
And he couldn’t tell her anymore.
“Congratulations. That’s... great. Just great.”
“Roy wants to talk to you.” She held out the phone for him.
He knew it was coming. How could he get out of this?
“Hey!” He wondered if the fake enthusiasm was too much.
“Hey, don’t tell Mom and Dad yet.”
“Uh, I wasn’t going to.”
“Good, because I was wondering if you could make reservations for Tuesday somewhere nice for us and we could tell them over dinner. I need you to call Pam’s parents too and get them there without making it seem suspicious. So reservations for 7.”
“I actually have to do a lot of work this week and I don’t really have any free time.”
“Come on Jimmy. That’s why I need you to help because I have a work thing too. If you’re going to be my best man you’re going to need pick up some of the slack.”
Jim knew Roy was grinning, probably proud of himself. Thinking that he was sneaky about asking Jim to be his best man.
“I’d love to, but I’m really busy all week. I can make the reservations, but I don’t think I can make it.”
“Pam needs you there.”
He looked up at Pam standing in his kitchen with two beers in her hand still smiling at him.
“Fuck.”
“So you’ll be there?”
“What day again?”
“Tuesday.”
“Don’t you think Friday would make more sense if her parents have to drive in?”
“Good thinking. What would I do without you?”
Pam walked towards him and took her seat right between his legs again. She offered him a beer and continued to smile. She looked so happy, but maybe he could make her happier. He was an awful brother for even thinking that, but it was a thought he had a few times a day.
“I’m not sure.”
“Call me later and let me know the plans and have fun with Pam today. Keep her busy. I need to get some stuff done today.”
His fist balled up when he said that, because he said that a lot. Keep her busy, like she was a child he was babysitting and not his best friend.
“Okay, bye.” He hung up before Roy had a chance to say something that would set him off even more.
“So you’ll be at the dinner?”
“I’ll be there.”
“Good, because my dad is going to be pissed.”
She clinked her beer bottle against his and took a generous drink and Jim took one equally as large. Maybe he’d get so drunk tonight that he’d tell her that he was in love with her. Maybe she’d get so drunk that she’d tell him that she was afraid Roy wasn’t the one.
She leaned forward and so did he. She let her forehead rest against his and she closed her eyes.
“You never answered me. Are you still going to love me?”
“I’ll always love you, no matter what.”
He kissed the tip of her nose and sat back and took another big gulp. He would just have to suck it up because that little kiss on her nose was as close as he would ever get to her lips. Why couldn’t he be the other brother?
Author's Chapter Notes:
Another extreme AU... I swear I have a non-AU in me, somewhere. But for now here's a quick intro to the story. Pam tells Jim she's engaged.
Chapter End Notes:
...and now you're thinking 'when you said extreme AU I thought you were joking.' I joke not my friends. If you're sticking with me past this chapter then next chapter Pam kisses Jim.
