You say hello,
inside i'm screaming "I love you"
You say goodnight,
in my mind I'm sleeping next to you...

When Jim walked in at 9:30, she was already there. Finally, after a week of being gone, she was there. Jim couldn't help but grin like an idiot. "Hey, welcome back!"

...You gave me the best mixtape I have,
And even all the bad songs a'int so bad.
I just wish there was so much more than that
About me and you...

By 10:00, Kelly was driving him crazy. When she wasn't looking, he put in the ear buds to his iPod and just drowned her out. She didn't notice. He had a special playlist for songs that Pam had recommended to him.

...You talk to him,
And it burns me like the sun.
You talk to her,
You say that you feel like he's the one.
I talk to me,
But you can't feel the pain I'm in...

Between Kelly's incessant chatter, trying to play matchmaker, and Roy stealing all of Pam's attention, today wasn't turning out as well as he had hoped. When he saw Roy and Pam eating lunch together in the break room, that was it. He went to his car, lay down in the backseat, and just slept. It was all he could think to do. Well, it was all he could think of that wouldn't get him arrested. He had no idea how long he was down there, but when he snuck back up, no one had noticed. When he got back to "his" desk, he brought up a new email message. Brenda from corporate. She was nice. She was...not engaged.

...No I can't find the words,
Cuz I lost them the minute
They fell out my mouth
Yeah it's love and I'm in it...

"You have seven unheard messages", the robotic voice grated on Jim's nerves. The voice that followed, however, was a different story. The same idiotic grin that started his day also ended it, and he really hoped that Brenda wouldn't call.

Maybe it's just meBut you seem finally happy.I don't think I've seen your face Just glow like a neon sign.

When Jim heard Pam doing her talking head, he stopped.  "I'm pretty happy lately," he heard her say.  "I'm getting married soon, and I'm getting along with everyone at work."  Jim sucked in a breath of hair.  It was painful--literally painful--for Jim to hear Pam talk about getting married.  When Pam married Roy, his chance to be happy, his only chance of maybe one day getting married, would die.

He was still standing there when Pam walked out of the conference room, and when she did, the pain stopped.  She was beaming, and Jim knew she was truly happy.  And maybe that had to be enough.

I can't live if you're not happyAnd I can't live if you cryBut I can live without youIf it makes you smile.

When he saw her looking at a box of wedding band demos, he clenched his jaw.  But he walked up and smiled and joked and watched the videos with her. If this is what she wants, he resolved, then I won't try to stop her.

I can't wait to see your eyesAnd I can't wait for you to shineBut I can wait for you if all you need is timeFor you to think things over.

When he saw her standing, face aglow with moonlight and joy, he forgot his resolution.  And when she rejected him--twice--he cried.  But he gritted his teeth again, because she didn't dney that she loved him.  And maybe all she needed was a little time. 

 

Well I tripped, and I fellInto a hole I know so well,And I don't think I'll beLeaving for a while.And this lump beneath my skinIs a hole I let you inAll it took was justYour red-lip biting smile.

It was the smile.  Jim was strong.  He had moved on; accepted that she only thought of him as a friend.  He started dating Karen.  He came back to Scranton a changed man.  He walked into the office.  He saw her smile.  He had to remind himself to breathe.

How could she have this effect on him?  It wasn't fair.  He had moved on.  Why did she have to smile?

Damn, damn, damnI love youLike the stars That shine above youLike the groundThat you're laying onWhile looking up at me. 

Pam hugged Jim, breathed in his smell, never wanted to let go.  She had a plan.  She rehearsed what she would say.  she asked him to coffee so she could say it--"I'm in love with you too." 

When he told her he was dating someone else, she never even missed a beat.  "We're friends.  We'll always be friends."  She wasn't sure why she said itShe knew that it was true.  But it wasn't good enough.  She wanted to be...more than that.  God, karma sucked.