Story Notes:
This is my first story! Eeek!
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.
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 takes place after Jim and Pam have been dating for about a month and a half. Pam apparently doesn't understand what real romance is, after being with Roy for so long.
9AM, she walked into the office, hung up her coat, and sat down at her desk without giving him even the slightest glance. He dropped his head into his hands and roughly rubbed his face. God, I still can't believe this is happening.
A mere 12 hours ago, they were headed back to Pam's apartment after a lavish dinner at one of the most expensive restaurants in town. Pam had gotten all dressed up, and Jim had actually combed his hair. The dinner conversation was pleasant enough, with some amusing anecdotes from the day and a few sweet moments of reminiscence. But once they reached the car ride home, the pleasantness had completely disappeared.
Jim looked over at her in the passenger seat and smiled, but once he saw how somber she looked, his smile straightened into a slight frown and he furrowed his brow. "What's wrong?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
"Nothing" she replied coldly.
He was so confused. "Beesly, I know you better than that. What's the problem?"
"Really. Nothing." She sighed, then something inside her snapped and she whipped her head around to look Jim in the face. "What the hell, Jim?"
Shocked, he just stared at her for a few seconds before turning back to the road. I definitely don't want to die without knowing what she's so pissed about. Facing dead forward, he asked, "Pam, what are you talking about? I can't explain myself--if I even need to--unless you tell me why you're freaking out at me."
"How could you not know, Jim? We've been together for what, almost two months? You seriously still think I want to go out to these silly, overly-fancy, tight-laced restaurants? Come on, look at all the other women who were in there. They were there with their husbands, celebrating some special event. They were wearing thousand dollar dresses and mink coats. You really think that's who I am?"
Jim was stunned. They sat at a red light, and he felt absolutely horrified. He couldn't believe she was getting upset over a nice restaurant. A bit more angrily than he had intended, he asked, "What, Pam, do you want to order pizza every night? Should I only take you to Taco Bell or Subway? What do you want from me? Are you seriously upset about this?!"
Pam was pushed even further by his disbelief. "You think I'm kidding. Fine. Fine, Jim. Why don't we go to the Ritz next Saturday. Better yet, let's pop into the city tomorrow night and check out Bobby Flay's new restaurant. I'm sure he'll greet us himself!" Her voice had gotten louder than she realized, and she took a deep breath to try to calm down.
They were rounding the corner onto her street. Jim didn't even know how to respond to the crazy that was coming out of her mouth. He pulled into her driveway and turned off the car. They sat in silence for a few moments before he said, "I'm sorry. I just don't understand why this would upset you. I thought you liked going to nice places. You said it gives you a chance to wear clothes you can't wear to work. But I guess truthfulness comes in spells for you."
That hurt her even worse than the fact that he didn't understand why she was upset. She unbuckled her seat belt, opened the door, and got out of the car. She slammed the door shut, and walked up to and into her apartment without turning around.
"Damn it!" Jim shouted, and slammed his hands on the steering wheel. He drove home angrily, and hated sleeping alone that night.
And now, she refused to even acknowledge his presence. He looked up several times throughout the first few hours of the morning, but nothing. No peek, no glare, just the top of her head or the side of her face. He tugged his fingers through his hair, wondering what he was going to do.
Next thing he knew, his phone was ringing. "Jim Halpert," he answered.
He heard a familiar voice on the other end. "Can I talk to you? In the parking lot." God, he'd missed that voice. He had a hard time not hearing it for the 20 minutes she was in the shower every morning, besides this one. And now, after more than 12 hours? He was in audio heaven. "Yes," he responded, "I'll meet you out there in 3 minutes." They both hung up.
She stood there, arms crossed tightly over her chest, but slightly shivering because she left her coat in the office. He walked up to her, took off his jacket, and draped it over her shoulders. She grasped it with one hand and said "Thanks." She knew the ball was in her court, so she let everything flow out. "Jim, I'm so sorry. So, so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. After being with Roy for so long, and then being alone, I don't even know what romance is. And I think I just felt like if we're going to all these nice places, you must love me more than ever. And I don't know if I deserve it. I mean, I broke your heart..."
Jim interrupted, "And then you fixed it. Pam, I can't believe you couldn't tell me this. And this isn't romance, Pam, this is love. I love you so much that I want you to feel like the most important person in the entire world. I don't care about the women wearing the expensive dresses, because you are so much more beautiful than any of them."
She took a step toward him, and him toward her, and she tilted her head up as he softly laid his lips on top of hers. She closed her eyes and savored the feeling she'd missed all night and morning. She touched her hand to his chest, and felt him shivering.
"Come on, let's get you inside. I don't want you dying of hypothermia before we have lunch."
Chapter End Notes:
So the end definitely turned out more cheesy and fake romantic than I had hoped or planned, but I'm hoping next story will be more realistic and sweet than this one. :)
shelleykrasinski is the author of 1 other stories.
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