Almost Midnight, December 31st 1993.

Pam sat in the far corner of Kelly Kapoor's basement, sinking far into the uncomfortable couches she was sat on with a book in her lap. Beside the book, higher up her lap, was a napkin full of rainbow popcorn she was taking a bite of every few pages.

Her first high school party and she was spending it reading. Seemed about right.

It's not necessarily because she was making an effort to not talk to anyone, even though she kinda was, it was more the fact that she hardly knew anyone there to talk to. She recognised most of them, from classes and their popularity status around the school, but only knew a very few. And the people she did know we're off doing their own things anyway.

She knew Kelly, hence why she was at the party in the first place, but she was too busy trying to catch the attention of Ryan, and she knew Ryan, but he was occupied with half trying to avoid Kelly and half indulging in her attempts of flirtation. She knew Phylis, but she was in the corner with Bob Vance, her older boyfriend, and she knew Angela, but she'd only seen her once before she disappeared and Angela didn't like her that much anyway.

So she sat in the corner alone instead. She didn't particularly mind.

When Kelly asked her to the party, which according to her was going to be the party of the year (Ironic, considering it was a New Year's party) she was a little reluctant to go. Parties weren’t exactly her thing, she was far too shy, and not knowing anyone had been a bit of a deterrent, but then she remembered that Kelly, so far, was her only proper friend in high school, so not going wouldn't be a very nice thing to do.

When Pam finished junior high her family moved away to Scranton, leaving behind all her other friends in her original home town. It was rough, and the first few months of high school were hellish. The only people Pam had met or spoken to at that point were Angela, her lab partner in chemistry, who did not seem to like her one bit, and Phylis, who was nice if not a little passive-aggressive sometimes, but who she wasn't actually close enough to sit with at lunch, until for one history project, an assignment on a royal figure (Something of which Pam loved and already had an absurd amount of knowledge on), she met Kelly, her randomly assigned partner.

Pam had taken an instant liking to Kelly, solely on the fact that even when Pam started rambling a bit about royals, Kelly listened to her and let her talk instead of cutting her off, and even after Pam shared, or rather info dumped, her knowledge on the topic, Kelly still did her share of the work. Kelly took a liking to Pam because she seemed interesting, albeit a little quiet especially when compared to Kelly, and when she did speak she had a lot to say. Kelly liked that in a person, as she herself had a lot to say.

And from that project forward, they were friends. They ate lunch together every day, they say together in the classes they had together (History, P.E and textiles), they stood up for each other when they were harassed around school (Although that was usually Kelly sticking up for Pam, no one was brave enough to ever pick on Kelly) and sometimes even hung out together on the weekends, making trips to the mall or just sitting watching movies.

Through Kelly, Pam had the unfortunate luck of having to hear a lot about, and then meet, Ryan. Pam didn't like Ryan all that much. What Kelly saw in him, she'd never know, but if he was the person her now best friend chose to like, she was going to make an effort to support her, even if he did make her feel a little sick sometimes.

The clock struck eleven, one hour to go.

Pam turned the page, just getting into what she knew was the good bit (She'd read the book many times) and shoved another handful of popcorn in her mouth, rather ungracefully when the song "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" came on, blaring through the obnoxious speakers the Kapoor's owned.

Pam smiled to herself and began to hum along. Her father was a big Meatloaf fan, and she didn't mind his music either, though this one was the one she was most familiar with. Unable to help herself, she began to sing under her breath.

"Meatloaf," A voice she'd never heard before, a voice that was definitely not Kelly or Ryan or Angela or Phylis, said, shocking her out of her little trance. She stopped singing in an instant and shut her book forcefully, almost sending her napkin of popcorn flying. She looked up, her eyes wide as saucers.

He, whoever he was, was tall, towering over her from her sitting position. His hair was going in all directions and he wore a flannel shirt over seemed to be a The Incredible Hulk t-shirt and jeans. He had a prominent nose and his eyes seemed as wide as hers. He looked a little dorky, but somehow it was the cool kind of dorky. The more Pam looked at him the more familiar-looking he became, but she reasoned that with the height he seemed to have, he would probably be hard to miss.

He sat down next to her on the couch, keeping a slight gap between them. Pam blinked, remembering that he had said something. “Pardon?”

“The song,” He laughed breathlessly, “It’s a Meatloaf song.”

“Right. Yes, it is. Good song, huh?” Pam said, hand gesturing somewhere out to the centre of the party, in the direction of the makeshift dance floor and a majority of the speakers.

“It’s a great song,” He said with a sense of certainty, “One of my favourites.”

Pam nodded. “It’s one of mine too, probably in my top ten.”

“See, it’s in my top five so… I beat you," He joked.

Pam laughed, unable to help herself. "Well, can't argue with that logic. I'm Pam." She stuck out her hand for him to shake.

He took it and shook twice before letting go. His grip was firm. “I’m Jim. It’s nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too Jim."

"So, how do you know Kelly?”

“We met in history and so far she’d my only proper friend here. What about you?”

“I’m on the basketball team with Ryan, and through him met Kelly.” Right, that’s where Pam recognised him from. She’d been dragged to her fair share of basketball games with Kelly when she wanted to gawk over Ryan some more. She wasn’t that interested in basketball, but she found it a little amusing watching high school boys case a ball up and down a court for a half-hour.

“Right, I think I’ve seen you play once or twice,” Pam said.

“Yeah, makes sense I guess if you’re going to the games, I’m usually on the whole time. I think I’ve seen you play volleyball once or twice when I've tagged along with my brothers, sometimes they watch their girlfriends play. You’re on the team, right?” Jim explained.

Pam nodded. “Yeah, I’m on the team.” She would have asked Jim who his brother’s girlfriends were, but she reasoned that there was a decent chance she wouldn’t know who they are anyway. She didn’t interact too much with most of her teammates, especially the older ones.

“That’s a relief because it would have been really awkward if you weren’t.” He flashed her a wicked smile, and Pam felt her stomach flutter slightly.

They fell into silence, and Pam started to pick at the hardcovered corner of her book as the awkward crept in. Jim rubbed his hands together and ran them through his hair a few times, trying to smooth it down.

“Do you want to dance with me?” He asked suddenly, turning to Pam.

Pam looked up at him with a confused look. “What?”

“Do you want to dance with me? This song is awesome for dancing, so why don’t we?” 

Pam shook her head. “I don’t dance.”

“Oh, it’s easy. You don’t have to like, dance dance. You can just jump up and down if you want. Come on, I can teach you if you’d like,” Jim persisted, nudging her lightly with his elbow.

“It’s not that I can’t dance, any person can dance. I just don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not exactly the type that’s a dancer. Especially at parties. I’m hardly even the type for parties, let alone dancing ate them.”

“Well, I’m the time for dancing,” Jim said.

Pam sighed. “I’m not stopping you. If you want to go and dance you can. You don’t have to sit here with me if you don’t want to.”

Jim shook his head instantly. “Nah, I dance at parties all the time, but it’s a rare occurrence I meet pretty girls in the corner. I think I’ll stay,” He said. Pam blushed, and Jim cleared his throat. “Besides,” he added, more as an afterthought, “I wouldn’t want to leave you here sitting alone. It’s a party, you should be enjoying yourself.”

“Thank you, Jim, that’s sweet,” Pam said, grinning shyly behind her curled strand of her hair hanging out of her ponytail.

The cheap disco lights Kelly had flashed their way, and for the first time, Jim managed to catch a glance of Pam. He knew he’d seen her around, at volleyball games and around school, he’s pretty sure he’d even caught sight of her in a basketball game, but up close he really could appreciate how pretty she was.

The thing with Pam is that she wasn’t the showstopper type of beautiful like all of those cheerleaders and popular girls, she was more the simple, effortless, girl next door kind of beautiful. Normally, Jim went for the showstopper beautiful, but Pam’s type of beautiful was drawing him into her.

But not only was Pam beautiful, but she also seemed interesting too, intriguing. He didn’t know much about her, safe from the very few details she’d chosen to share with him, but he wanted to know more. He wanted to become her second real friend here.

Pam was dead silent as he stared her down, shy under his intense glance. Heat was rising up her ears the longer he looked at her.

“Hey, we sort of match,” Jim said suddenly, breaking the silence once more.

Pam looked down at what she was wearing, white blouse, cream cardigan and skirt compared to his print shirt and jeans, and looked back to him, an eyebrow raised. “In what way do we match?” She giggled.

Jim laughed and rolled his eyes jokingly. “My shirt and your skirt sort of match, they’re the same sort of colour and they’re both plaids.”

Pam nodded and laughed again. “Yeah, I guess they are then.”

And once more, the silence fell among them, but this time it wasn’t necessarily awkward, it was just intense.          

Ten…

The sudden yells of their classmates broke them from their stupor, and both jumped and looked around. The old, ancient, tv in the corner started playing the countdown.

Nine…

It was at this point in the night that Pam remembered the New Years traditions and tales, that the person you’re with at when the clock strike twelve is who you’re supposed to be spending the next year with. Not that she knew Jim at all, but if she was going to spend the next year being friends with him, she certainly wouldn’t mind.

Eight…

One thing was on Jim’s mind, the tradition of kissing someone at midnight. Not that he’d ever go to kiss Pa, as much as he may have found himself sort of wanting to, but he’d only just met her and he certainly didn’t want to scare the poor girl away.

Seven…

Pam smiled at him nervously, and Jim smiled back. Another thing he found himself really liking about her was her smile. It sent something off in his heart, something he could pretty much only describe as happiness.

Six…

Pam’s stomach was a fluttering ball of mush, she could feel it. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she could feel the remaining heat there from earlier. She didn’t know whether she was nervous or excited.

Five...

The cheering got louder as halfway to the new year hit, and Pam and Jim subconsciously moved closer to each other. They had no intentions by it, they had no ulterior motives, they weren’t even aware they did it. They were just excited.

Four…

Jim didn’t believe in love at first sight, and this situation was anything but love at first sight. He wasn’t in love with Pam, even if she was making him feel some kind of way, because he just met her and he didn’t know anything about her. What he could describe her was more what one could consider the desire to get to know at first sight. The desire for friendship.

Three…

The seconds that before now were going in slow motion suddenly sped up.

Two…

Everyone’s screaming numbers suddenly got louder.

One…

Everyone cheered, screaming ‘Happy New Year’ at the top of their lungs. People paired off to kiss and hug, and everyone made their rounds around the room to talk to everyone else. Pam laughed in delight, and without thinking, threw herself at Jim in a hug.

He hugged her back, holding her close as he all but scream “Happy New Year” in her ear. She screamed it back when she pulled away, and they laugh despite themselves, elated at everything happening around them.

“Wanna come talk to people with me, or are you not one for that either?” Jim asked teasingly after a few moments.

Pam rolled her eyes. “Sure, I’ll come talk to people with you, I’m not that anti-social.”

Jim laughed and stood, holding out his hand to her. Pam took it and once standing, held his arm, not wanting to lose herself in the crowd she’d only braved by herself twice so far that night, once to find Kelly and once to get more popcorn.

And after they spoke to everyone, they returned to sit on that couch, talking and getting to know more about each other until Jim’s mom came to pick him up. 1994 was off to a good start.

Almost Midnight, December 31st 1994

For the second year in a row, Pam found herself at Kelly’s New Years party, but unlike the year prior, where she spent most of it in the corner alone, she was closer to the centre of the party, leaning against the snack table with Angela as they watched Jim and Dwight respectively dance, or at least try to dance in Dwight’s case.

Since meeting Jim, Pam’s friendship circle had grown, having been introduced to many of his friends and now hanging out with them on a regular basis. The week they went back to school Jim had found her in the hall, introduced her to his friend Dwight who apparently also knew Angela (Both Pam and Jim were convinced something more was going on there, but neither mentioned it), and they’d become friends, which as a result brought Pam and Angela closer.

Through Jim, Pam had also met Andy and Karen, who were both also in the year above her. In the early days of their new friendship, they’d eat together a few days a week, usually leaving Kelly, Pam and apparently now Ryan (A lot had happened at the New Years party of 1993) to their own devices. Gradually the few days a week became most days, and then had become all days once they all got closer. 

Their group didn’t stop growing from there, with Phyllis eating with them more and more and bringing Bob with her, who then brought along Micheal, Stanley, Creed and Meredith, and through Kelly and Ryan came Toby, Daryl, Erin and Gabe. Micheal brought Holly along, Angela introduced them to Oscar and Kevin and soon they found themselves quite a large group of friends, sitting outside on the picnic tables every lunch and hanging out pretty much every weekend, whether that be all together or just in smaller groups.

So when Kelly announced she was throwing her New Years party once again, everyone was extremely excited about it, jumping right on board with offers to drink food and drinks and help organise.

(Pam reasoned that, hey, at least she knew most, if not a decent chunk, of the people at the party this year. All of them now at least knew a decent chunk of them, because she was pretty sure even Kelly didn’t know a majority of the people who showed up the year prior).

And so Pam found herself actually out at the dance floor, talking to her friends that passed her on the way to dance or get food as she chatted to Angela, even if most of her focus was on Jim as he danced like a maniac to some other Meatloaf song (Because apparently Kelly also had a liking for Meatloaf. Who knew?)

Jim. Since meeting him at the party he’d become her best friend. They were basically inseparable, you could never find one without the other. There was just something different about him that made them click instantly, and as time went on and they learnt more and more about each other and grew closer and closer, they continued to click every day. Pam could say with honesty that without meeting Jim, she didn’t know where she’d be. Certainly not in the centre of a party with a large group of friends, that was for sure. 

It was crazy just how much she cared for him, how much she loved him and how much he managed to shape her life in only a year.

And no, she totally did not have a crush on him. Shut up.

As the song turned over the next one, Jim paused his dancing and excused himself from Dwight, weaving through the crowd to get to Pam. It was Paradise By The Dashboard Light, it was their song, and he needed to find her and get her to dance with him.

(He knew it probably wouldn't work, he’d been trying to get Pam to dance with him all year. At his birthday party, at her’s, at every school dance the school had held since Winter break, at the house party Andy threw and then at the one Micheal threw and she still hadn’t, but it was worth a shot. None of those times was their song playing, and who would she be to refuse their song?)

Pam. Pam was his best friend, unparalleled to no one. What they had and what they continued to have every day was something that was untouchable, something that no one else to come close to. He could say with certainty that he loved her, whether that be platonic or otherwise (There was certainly an otherwise in the equation), and without her, he didn’t know who he’d be. They were a package deal, hanging out all the time or at the very least talking in some way at any given moment and honestly, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Hey Bees,” He said when he reached her, throwing his arm around her shoulders and effectively cutting off whatever Angela was saying, “This is our song.”

Pam’s ears pricked, and she smiled up at him. “It is too. Happy anniversary Halpert,” She said, her smile turning cheeky. Angela rolled her eyes and walked away to find Dwight, not in the mood to deal with Jim and Pam being Jim and Pam at that moment

Jim choked on the air, a flush rising up the back of his neck. She was going to be the death of him, that was for sure. “Happy anniversary to you,” He chuckled nervously, missing the way Pam went red. “You’re dancing with me.”

Pam’s eyes widened. “I don’t think I am,” She said, shaking her head.

Jim sighed, not ready to give up. “Oh come on, please? I know you ‘don’t dance’ but this is our song and it’s our anniversary. You have to dance with me.”

“Do I really?” Pam giggled.

“Yes, yes you do. At least come to the dance floor with me and let me dance around you. Please?” He all but pleaded with her.

Pam sighed. It never took long for her to give in when his voice went like that. “Fine, but only because it’s our anniversary.”

Jim’s face lit up. “Really?”

“Yes, really. Let’s go before I change my mind.”

Not wanting to waste a second more of the song, he grabbed her hand and dragged her into the middle of the dance floor, letting her stand mostly still as he danced in circles around her, pulling out his most embarrassing dance moves to make her laugh. 

He smiled even wider when he noticed her start to sway along with the music, and did a spin so he landed facing her. “You’re dancing.”

Pam stopped swaying immediately, a smirk on her face. “I am not.”

“You so were. Pam Beesly was dancing, I got Pam Beesly to dance at a party. No achievement I will ever get will top this one moment.”

Pam shoved his shoulder, laughing loudly. “Shut up. I was not dancing. I was… swaying.”

“Oh swaying a hundred percent counts as dancing,” Jim protested, shaking his head at her.

“It does not.”

“It does too.”

“Does not.”

“Does too.”

“Doesn’t.”

“Does.”

Pam shook her head and laughed again, looking down at her feet. She knew he was never going to give up, and honestly, neither was she. Jim continued his dancing around her, and Pam started swaying once more, grabbing his wrist mid spin (Jim’s go-to dance move when trying to make Pam laugh was the spin because she once said it made him look a bit like a baby deer trying to find its footing) once the song had finished.

“Hey, our song is over. I don’t have to dance anymore,” Pam said, tilting her body in the direction of where she was standing before.

“I’ll come with you,” Jim said in an instant, moving her hand from his wrist into his own to retract their path through the pulsing crowd.

Pam smiled at how sweet he was, her heart skipping a beat. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, you can keep dancing. I don’t want to ruin all your dancing fun.”

Jim paused, pulling her into him a little as Kelly and Ryan ran past, going in the direction of the downstairs bathroom. They shared a look, knowing exactly what that meant, and burst into giggles, though quickly sobered when he remembered what Pam had said.

“Beesly,” He started, “You are like the definition of fun. Besides, I’ve hardly seen you all night, I’ve missed you,” He said, his voice full of sincerity.

On the outside, Pam rolled her eyes slightly, patting his arm and telling him how sweet he was and that she’d missed him too, but on the inside, she was melting, totally warmed by his words. They stared at each other, smiling like idiots as they were reminded of the night they met, and before either knew it they found themselves sitting back on the couch in the corner, watching the party unfold in front of them.

“Hey, we sort of match,” Jim said suddenly, turning to her with a wide grin on his face. He shuffled closer and grabbed her hand.

Pam smiled. “Okay Jim, I get it, you goof. Need I remind you that we literally coordinated our outfits so we would match.” It was true, a few nights before she’d called him for advice on what to wear, why she went to him instead of any of the girls she didn’t know, and he’d suggested they match again, to make it feel like the first time they met. Pam had agreed, and so they pulled out the closest thing to exactly matching they could get.

Part of it was for the fun, to mess with their friends, but deep down they both knew it was so much more than that. And somewhere in the back of their minds, they had the desire to do things like that all the time.

Jim wore jeans, Pam wore a denim skirt. Jim wore a striped sweater, Pam wore a striped long-sleeved top. Jim wore black combat boots, Pam had ones exactly the same. The only way their outfits majorly differentiated was the fact that Pam had a lot of jewellery on, including a choker as her own little personal rebellion (Pam’s parents didn’t like chokers) and butterfly clips holding together the braids that lead up to her ponytail.

"I know, but that’s the fun of it,” Jim said, shrugging. He took a deep breath before continuing, the weight of what he was about to say having sat on his heart for a year. He knew he was about to spill his heart out to her, it had been bubbling all night.

“You changed my life that night Pam, you know that, don’t you?” When Pam shook her head, he continued. “Well, you did. I remember seeing you sitting alone in the corner and the entire night I kept inching closer, in a totally non-creepy way of course, because I hated the fact that you were alone in the corner and I wanted to talk to you, see if I could get you to join everyone else. And then I heard you singing and I knew I had something to start off, and I just went for it. Pam, I’m so glad I did. The more we spoke the more intriguing you became and I just knew that I wanted to become your second real friend here, and I thank my lucky stars every day that that Meatloaf song brought us together. You’re my best friend Beesly, I don’t know who I’d be or what I’d be doing if it wasn’t for you. I know this is probably a lot to dump on you but..”

“I feel the exact same,” Pam interrupted with tears in the corner of her eyes. “Jim, I’m so glad you came to speak to me that night, and I’m so glad that you were my second friend here. You’re my best friend too, I love you.”

Jim let out a breath, his hands shaking a little. “I love you too Beesly.”

Before anything else could be said, Erin came running up to them, Andy on her tail. “There you guys are, we’ve been looking for you everywhere!” She said loudly, a little out of breath.

“Yeah, the countdown’s about to start. Come on,” Andy finished for her before they took off.

As if on cue, the first number rang out.

Ten…

Jim and Pam looked at each other, eye’s wide. They hadn’t realised the time.

Nine…

They jumped off the couch and dashed through the crowd to find the rest of their friends, all huddled around the tv.

Eight…

Jim tugged Pam closer into his side. 

Seven…

Pam squeezed his hand in response.

Six…

Jim thought about kissing Pam but quickly came to the decision that after the heart to heart they just had it would probably kill him.

Five…

Pam thought about the possibility of Jim kissing her, or just kissing himself herself, but decided against it because Jim was her best friend, and he didn’t see her that way.

Four…

Jim smiled down at her and then to the rest of their friends, happier than he’d ever been.

Three…

Pam smiled up at him and then to the rest of their friends, marvelling in what her life had become.

Two…

A quick whispered ‘I love you’ between them.

One…

The entire room erupted, cheers of ‘Happy New Year’ chorusing throughout. Pam turned to Jim, her smile taking up almost her entire face, his quickly turning just as wide. She held her arms out to him, almost in an ‘I don’t know’ kind of a way as she silently laughed. Jim shook his head, meeting her shining eyes and picked her up in a hug, spinning her in circles as he kissed her cheek a few times, whispering “Happy New Year Bees,” into her ear.

“Happy New Year Halpert,” She whispered once he’d stopped spinning, still holding her off the ground. She kissed his cheek in return before he set her down.

They stared at each other for a few moments, red in the face and a little unsure where to go from there, perfectly content just staring at each other. Everything felt like it was going in slow motion before Kelly came barreling over, tackling Pam in a side hug. With that, the spell was broken and everything sped up again. Pam hugged Kelly back, and Jim went over to hug Kevin.

And as they both went around hugging everyone, they both promised themselves something. 1995 was going to be their year..