....................................................................................................................
“Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam.”
“Why hello Pam. I was wondering if you could help me with something.”
A smile spread across Pam’s face at the familiar voice on the other end of the line.
“Certainly. What can I help you with?”
“Well, I’m having this little problem at my office. I think there might be rats in the air vents and I need the number for an exterminator.”
Pam’s eyes slid over to meet Jims. She giggled as he tilted his head toward Dwight ever so slightly, who she noticed was listening intently to their phone conversation.
“And why would you think there would be rats in your office?” Pam asked while grinning at Jim’s serious expression. She figured he must be a pro at poker with his amazing ability to keep a straight face.
“Well, I thought I heard little noises in the vents in my bosses room—” He had barely finished the sentence when Dwight jumped out of his chair and bolted the two steps it took to get to Michael’s office, throwing the door open as he shouted Michael’s name.
Jim and Pam hung up their phones as Pam erupted into laughter after seeing Dwight sweep everything off of Michael’s desk, throw a chair from the corner on top, climb up on that and began taking ceiling tiles out, with what looked like an attempt to crawl into the ceiling. Michael, meanwhile, had been sitting at his desk on the phone and was now yelling at Dwight while he grabbed onto Dwight’s feet and was attempting to pull him out of the ceiling.
Jim swiveled his chair back to face Pam, and leaned back with his hands behind his head, proud of his handiwork, which made Pam laugh even harder.
Sure, Jim pulled pranks for his own amusement too, but the real reason behind everyone of them was to get a smile, or even better, a laugh, out of the pretty brunette behind the front desk.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
“So a group of us is going to grab a bite to eat,” Jim said as he leaned against the front desk. “Wanna come?”
A smile flitted across Pam’s face as she pulled on her coat. She thought about how nice it would be to actually get to hang out with Jim outside of the office.
“I wish I could, it’s just—”
Pam was cut off as someone barged through the front door.
“Jesus, Pam. Are you ready yet?”
Pam glanced down at the floor, before finally meeting her boyfriend’s eyes.
“Yes, I’m coming.”
She took a few steps in Roy’s direction, before turning slightly and giving Jim a wistful smile.
“Have a good weekend Jim,” she said softly.
Roy looked from one to the other, before glaring at Jim.
Grabbing Pam’s arm, he pulled her out the front door, letting it slam behind them.
Jim’s eyes narrowed as he watched them leave. He slumped back against the front desk and let out a sigh.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he took a few minutes to collect himself. It was bad enough that the girl of his dreams had a boyfriend, but was one hundred times worse when that boyfriend was an ass like Roy. Jim didn’t understand how a sweet, gentle woman like Pam could have ever gotten together, much less stay together, with an aggressive, crude man like Roy. It made him worry a lot, and hope that Roy wasn’t as much of a jerk behind closed doors. For Pam’s sake.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
“What the hell Pam?!” Roy shouted as he slammed the front door behind them.
Pam was grateful that he had at least waited until they were home to start shouting.
He grabbed Pam’s arms and spun her around to face him.
“Are you fucking him?!” He yelled in her face as he shook her, some spittle landing on her cheek.
“What? No! How could you think that?? We’re just friends!”
“That didn’t look like a ‘just friends’ intimate conversation I walked into! I knew something like this would happen. I should’ve done something to stop it sooner!”
“Roy,” Pam said, trying to stay calm as his hands continued to crush her arms. She was positive he’d leave bruises. “Jim is my friend. We’ve been friends for a long time. That’s all he is to me. I love you,” she pleaded.
Roy glared at her, before pushing her, sending her stumbling halfway across the room until she hit the living room wall. She gasped as her back slammed onto the light switch. Before she could move away, Roy was towering over her again.
Wham.
He slapped her across the cheek, sending her flying to the ground.
“Stop whoring around,” was all he said, before spinning around and heading in the direction of the kitchen, probably to get a beer.
Pam sat stunned on the floor, holding her cheek.
She should’ve known better than to make Roy wait while she talked to Jim. She should’ve known better than to not be talking to Jim when Roy would be marching up to get her after work. She should’ve known better.
Finally picking herself up off the floor, she slowly moved to the kitchen to get dinner started. Better not tick him off even more by making him wait for food. Peaking into the kitchen, Roy was nowhere to be seen. She heard the TV turn on in their bedroom.
Letting out a sigh, she opened the pantry and began pulling out ingredients for dinner. Better to let him cool off. She knew in a few hours he’d apologize to her, and be sweet and caring and hold her like he loved her. It was just those few moments of rage she had to survive through to get to the happy times.
She let her mind wander to Jim, and wondered what it would be like to share her life with him. They’d never fight, at least not like this. He would probably never even raise his voice at her. Ever. A small smile spread across her face.
“Baby, bring me another beer,” Roy yelled from their bedroom, pulling her from her dream.
Grabbing one from the fridge, she went to give it to him, but paused as she caught her reflection in the mirror in the hall. Bringing her hand up, she gently traced the bruise that was beginning to form on her left cheek.
At least it was the weekend, she thought. By Monday, if it hadn’t faded completely, she’d easily be able to hide it with makeup.
“Baby!” She heard Roy whine from the back room.
Pam forced a smile onto her face, acting as if nothing had happened earlier, as she entered the bedroom with the beer. It was going to be a long weekend.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: I don't own The Office or any of its characters.
AN: This is the first story I've written for The Office and I have it posted on fanfiction.net under the penname Western too, so if it's familiar to any of you guys, that's why. One of my readers suggested posting it on here, so I did (and have discovered a wonderful site with plenty of Jam stories to enjoy as well!). Anyways, hope y'all enjoy the first chapter. Thanks for reading!Chapter End Notes:
Sooo, any thoughts? Thanks so much for reading! I'll post the next chapter soon if there's people who actually want to read it. Thanks!
