"What? No way!" Jim drops his cards on the table, grudgingly shoving a stack of poker chips toward his younger brother, Josh. Jonathan and Mark do the same.

"Ha-hah!" Josh grins, leaning forward in an exaggerated motion as he sweeps up the chips. "Yeah...how d'you like me now, suckas!"

"Oh shut up." Jonathan snaps good-naturedly, prompting Mark to laugh as he takes a swig of his beer. Jim, too, can't help but chuckle.

A brief silence falls as Josh gathers the cards together, preparing to shuffle them and deal the next hand.

"So..." Jon glances at Jim. "How's it going with Katy?"

Jim immediately averts his eyes. "It's...we broke up, actually."

"Oh, man, that really sucks." Josh shakes his head, offering up a sympathetic tilt of his head. "...You okay with it?"

All Jim can do is squint at him, fairly certain he should be insulted by the fact that his brother had automatically assumed Katy had been the one to end it. "I broke up with her -- so yeah, I'm okay with it."

He wishes that brittle edge hadn't crept into his voice, because he knows Josh hadn't intended to strike a nerve; more than that, he can see from the way Jonathan's eyes are narrowed that the tone hasn't slipped past him unnoticed.

"So what happened?" Jon asks, absently moving his beer bottle to the side.

"Eh..." Jim picks up the deck of cards, shuffles them unnecessarily. "She just wasn't...right for me, I guess."

"Wow." Josh looks genuinely surprised. "I thought it was pretty serious."

Jim can't help but remember the way Katy had leaned toward him ever so slightly as they watched Pam and Roy sway in one another's arms, before she asked, "So...do you think that'll ever be us?"

He still cringes when he thinks about how brutally honest he'd been: "No."

The memory makes him shake his head slightly, that grittiness finding its way into his voice once again. "Yeah.... Apparently, so did she."

Josh raises his eyebrows, nods sympathetically.

Jon's still watching his face closely. "So what about her wasn't 'right'?"

Before Jim can answer, Mark puts a hand over his mouth, mumbling, "She wasn't Pam."

Jim shoots him a dirty look, then shakes his head. "Shut up."

Josh is looking even more interested now. "So wait a second...did something happen with you and Pam?"

"No." Jim's quick to answer, hoping to god Mark will keep his mouth shut. He'd been just shaken enough and just drunk enough the night after the Booze Cruise to have spilled it all to Mark -- everything from the fact that he'd blown it out on the deck to Katy sealing her own fate by forcing him to fucking toast the fact that Roy had finally set a date.

Knowing there's a date now is oddly like finding out in advance that some inevitable catastrophe is certain to strike and being utterly incapable of doing anything about it. It's only been two days, but already he's gripped by the unabating need to do something -- anything to keep it from happening.

But he's beginning to realize that just struggling to stave off the panic is about all he can manage right now.

"Seriously, Jim." Jonathan's voice brings him out of his thoughts. "What's the deal?"

"Nothing." He shrugs in annoyance. "Why does there have to be a deal? I broke up with Katy because we didn't have anything in common, and -- "

Mark interrupts him. "And she forced you to give a toast when Roy set the date. ...Bitch, seriously. I don't blame you, man."

"Whoa, wait a second...." Josh shakes his head, putting the cards on the table and holding up a hand. "She made you give a toast to Roy and Pam? What the hell did you say?"

Before Jim can answer, Jonathan intercedes. "Hang on...did you say he set a date? As in a date for the wedding?"

"Yes -- to both." Jim's voice is terse. "And seriously, I don't wanna.... I mean, it happened; it's done. Moving on."

Mark tips his beer bottle toward Jim. "Damn straight."

Josh isn't convinced. "But wait a second...you're okay with that? I mean, you're just gonna...let her go off and marry Roy...?"

"Give it a rest, Josh." Jon mutters under his breath.

"No." Joshua shakes his head. "Seriously, Jim , aren't you gonna --"

"Look." Jim's struggling to hang on to his patience. "First of all, it's not like I 'let' her do anything. And second, I'm not exactly thrilled with the turn of events, no, but I'm also not an idiot. She's engaged; she's getting married in a few months. End of story. ...Now, will somebody please -- for the love of god -- deal the next hand?"

Jonathan's the first to respond, picking up the deck of cards and deftly shuffling them before he begins to dole them out, his hands moving with the unstudied grace of someone who's done this a thousand times.

They're midway through the third hand when Jim's cell phone rings; he jumps, and Jonathan raises an eyebrow, asking, "Katy...?"

"I doubt it." Jim mutters without even thinking first, reaching into his pocket to retrieve his cell phone, its illuminated screen making him freeze: Pam.

Both his brothers and Mark are watching him, taking in his reaction. Then Josh asks, "Is it Katy?"

Jim shakes his head, ignoring the question as he waves a hand, then stands up, turning his back and putting his index finger to one ear, the phone pressed against the other. "Hello?"

"Hey...it's me. I mean, it's Pam." He's caught off guard by how flustered she sounds, and his curiosity is instantly piqued. After all, it's nearing 7:45 on a Friday night, and they rarely call each other on the weekends -- less and less lately, now that that palpable something that's always emanated between them has become almost impossible to ignore.

For that matter, they've hardly even spoken since the Booze Cruise, and he's not even sure he's sorry about that. Or at least, he hadn't been sure before now.

"What's up?" He hopes he sounds casual as he lifts an arm, rubbing the back of his head nervously, taking a few steps away from Mark and his brothers' prying ears.

"I, um...I'm really sorry to bug you like this -- "

Before she can even finish, he hears himself say, "No -- no problem, really" -- and instantly wishes he could take it back, because he's sure it sounded way too desperate.

She hesitates, then continues: "Well I'm kind of...stuck at the grocery store."

He waits for her to go on, and when she doesn't, he can't help but grin. "Okay, you're gonna have to give me a little more than that, Beesly. What, was there a peanut butter spill on aisle six? Saran wrap traps in the deli?"

"Shut up!" She laughs and he's immediately relieved, though her voice is a bit more subdued when she goes on. "My car won't start, and...well the thing is that Roy's out of town, so...."

"Oh." He speaks quickly, almost a knee-jerk reaction to the sound of Roy's name on her lips, as if he has some instinctive need to stop her from saying anything more.

An awkward silence falls before he suddenly snaps out of it and realizes just what this means. "Oh! Oh -- yeah, you need me to come get you then, right?"

She gives a short little laugh. "Yeah, that'd be great -- if you're not busy, I mean -- "

He doesn't let her finish. "Please. My little brother just called my bluff and took all my money."

Again she giggles, and he feels that familiar little twinge low in his gut. "So where are you?"

He can't help but notice that she sounds markedly relieved when she answers, "Scott's."

"Okay. I'll be there in ten minutes."

There's a brief silence on the other end of the phone, and then, the warmth in her voice catching him off guard: "Okay. And hey - thanks."

"No problem. See you in a few."

When he snaps his phone shut, he turns to find Josh, Jon, and Mark watching him expectantly, clearly waiting for him to say something.

"...What?"

Jonathan sighs. "Look, I'm not...trying to tell you what to do, but seriously, Jim -- this has bad idea written all over it."

"What're you talking about?" Jim's immediately defensive.

"I'm talking about running to Katy's rescue two days after you broke up with her -- I mean, it's asking for trouble." Jon shrugs. "If you're serious about breaking up with her, then you've gotta just leave her alone; otherwise, she's gonna think there's a chance."

Josh nods in agreement. "He's right; leave her alone. ...Seriously, if she's stuck somewhere, I'll go pick her up -- "

Jim blinks, then cuts him off. "It wasn't Katy; it was Pam."

Jonathan's eyebrows rise; Josh, too,draws back in shock, immediately asking, "Seriously? What's going on?"

"She's at the grocery store and her car won't start." Jim looks away as he turns in a circle, absently patting his pockets then running his hands down his chest as he tries to get his bearings. I need to change, shave...god, no time to shave; I'll just --

"And she called you...?" Jon looks skeptical.

"Yeah. Roy's...out of town."

"Ah." Jonathan nods knowingly, which for some reason annoys Jim, prompting him to fire out, "What?"

"Nothing." Jon shakes his head.

Jim knows where this is going -- and he really doesn't care to hear it again. So he waves a hand, striding up the stairs to his bedroom, where he impatiently yanks open a drawer, snatching up an old University of Scranton sweatshirt.

Much to his dismay, his brothers follow, Joshua coming into the room behind him, Jonathan leaning in the doorway.

Josh takes a swig of his beer, then points the bottle at Jim. "I'm telling you - this is your last chance, man; you need to tell her."

"No, you don't." Jonathan interrupts, shooting Josh a sharp glare. "She's engaged, remember?"

Jim ignores them both, opening another drawer and digging for an extra hoodie.

Josh returns his older brother's stare. "So what? She hasn't taken any vows, so -- "

"So even though she set her wedding date two days ago...what, she's still fair game?" Jon scoffs. "Nice reasoning there, Josh."

Jim still doesn't respond, sitting on the bed and leaning to tie his shoes, even as Josh sinks down on the mattress beside him.

"That's not how it is." Josh turns to Jim earnestly. "Listen, it sounds stupid to say, but it's really now or never...you know? I mean, it's not like you can just bust out with an 'Oh, by the way, I've been in love with you for years' after she's married...right?"

Their eyes meet, and Jim's desperately wishing that Josh hadn't said that...because it makes so much sense; more than that, it gives him a reason to hold on to hope...is just one more justification for why he shouldn't let another opportunity pass him by.

But then, Joshua's always been the idealistic one of the three; he's the one who's always been a believer in the glass that's half full, always seeing the promise that chances offer, never the risk.

Jonathan, on the other hand, is the quintessential oldest child -- wary, pragmatic, very much in favor of stepping carefully. Given the fact that their dad had died when Jon was thirteen -- Jim ten, Josh eight -- Jon's almost resigned wariness is understandable.

Jim sometimes wonders exactly where he falls on that philosophical scale.

Jon's voice cuts through his thoughts. "Right, Josh -- that's really...sound logic there. Quick! Spill your guts right before she gets married!"

He shakes his head, then looks pointedly at Jim. "Trust me, it won't end well; it'll just make things worse."

"You don't know that." Josh protests.

Jim stands then, shaking his head before he turns toward the door. Just as he brushes past Jonathan, he calls over his shoulder, "I'll see you guys later."

"Jim -- " Jon begins, but Joshua cuts him off.

"Remember what I said!" He calls out. "You'll never know if you don't -- "

Jim's grateful that Josh's sentence is lost as soon as the door slams behind him, and as he strides quickly to his car, he's acutely aware of that twist in the pit of his stomach, a thin veil of sweat on his upper lip in spite of the cold.

The thing is, there's been this weird distance between them in the few days since that godforsaken Booze Cruise, and he can't put his finger on exactly why -- or rather, he can't rationalize it away like he usually does when it comes to all that's left unsaid between them.

Of course, the easiest, most logical explanation had been the fact of Roy so publicly setting a date -- but then, if they're really "just friends," why would there be awkwardness? If their dynamic were purely platonic, would she have stared so intently at him as he'd stumbled his way through the speech Katy had forced him to give? Wouldn't she have approached him after the fact, maybe hugged him, thanked him for what he'd said about her being his best friend...?

Instead, she'd avoided his eyes for the remainder of the night, sticking close to Roy -- who, ironically, was the one to seek Jim out after the toast.

He'd stood at the bar waiting impatiently for a drink he knew couldn't possibly be strong enough when he'd suddenly heard Roy's familiar voice behind him: "Hey, Halpert...."

He'd turned almost warily, caught off guard when Roy rested a heavy hand on his shoulder, sincerity coloring his expression. "Thanks for that -- the toast, I mean."

It was moments like those that made Jim wonder just what he'd done to deserve this particular shade of hell. "Eh -- don't worry about it."

"No, seriously." Roy had been in that stage of drunkeness wherein emotions are heightened, ordinary moments tinged with a significance far beyond their actual merit.

And even though Jim was aware that this particular moment could well warrant Roy's emotion, he'd been equally aware that the source of Roy's sudden sensitivity had less to do with the speech Katy had forced him to give than with the number of snorkel shots he'd imbibed just prior to the big moment.

Still, he tried to meet Roy's eyes before glancing quickly away; because somehow he couldn't stand to witness the haze of muted joy that smeared Roy's features.

"That toast...." Roy shook his head, weaving a bit on his feet. "Thing is, Pam's never really...had a lot of close girlfriends. And you really just...kinda make up for all that...y'know?"

Jim blinked, that ache smarting even more than it had before. So Roy thinks I'm the equivalent of one of the girlfriends she never had...?

He'd searched Roy's expression -- looking for the slightest hint of malice, perhaps a passive aggressive dig because Roy suspected all that he really felt for Pam. ...But there was nothing there, just a sincerity that made Jim feel momentarily guilty.

Because obviously, Roy had no idea.

And so he'd been left haunted by the way she'd looked at him out on the deck, a maddening mix of innocence, fear, and something almost pleading in her expression.

It had all been a blur - a sickening, fast-moving haze: the way Pam's eyes had held his, the inflection in her voice as she'd murmured, "I don't know...sometimes I just don't get Roy." ...How she'd immediately looked up after that revelation, as if she expected him to say something, do something.

But he'd been paralyzed.

Then there was Katy relentlessly pushing him to make a toast, literally shoving him to his feet. On a good day it would've been a nightmare, but following those heady moments out on the deck...? It was brutal. Because for a brief instant as he'd stood there with one hand on the railing, gazing down at her in a haze as she hesitantly acknowledged the distance between herself and Roy, he'd genuinely believed that this was the moment he'd been waiting for; now was the time that she'd realize how amazing their connection really was...that she'd been wasting so much time with the wrong man.

That he'd be toasting her and Roy's engagement twenty minutes later was one of the ironies he was sure he'd never really understand.

But he really can't afford to think about it now -- any of it.

He flicks his windshield wipers on, their blades easily shoving the snow to either side of the glass. He's absently clenching his jaw, the memories and the questions and the hope so vivd that he has no choice than but to drown them all out.

As he pulls into Scott's grocery store parking lot, he's done an admirable job of attempting to convince himself.

But all of his well-intentioned, self-aware resolutions ultimately fall flat in the face of the reality he can't seem to escape: ...God, I'd do anything if she'd just give me a chance. Maybe Josh was right; maybe this is a sign...maybe it'll be tonight.

He can no longer hide from the fact that his thoughts have -- yet again -- morphed from Katy to Pam. He has to take a deep, steadying breath before he steps out of his car and heads toward the brilliantly lit grocery store...her small frame huddled just inside one of the front windows as she watches, waits.