The fact that Jim had coached the first team to have ever made it to the state playoffs made him pretty popular in the hallways of ET Memorial. The day after their big win, he was met with more high fives and back slaps than he’d ever had before. If he was being honest, he didn’t hate it. He was proud of his team and the work they had put in and he was competitive by nature, so winning always gave him a little serotonin boost. He knew they still had to get through the playoffs, but for now he was basking in this one accomplishment.
The bell rang to begin the first period of school. His students filed into their desks, pulling out their books to begin their 15 minutes of free-reading time. Out of habit, he wandered to the back door and looked across the hall to Pam’s classroom. She briefly met his eye and gave a slight smile as she began addressing her own class.
A voice sang quietly from the back row from arguably one of his favorite students.
“Halpert and Beesly, sittin’ in a tree…”
“Hey Jordan,” he chided. “More reading, less heckling your English teacher.”
Jim knew by kissing Pam after a packed basketball game, students were going to see him. He knew they would tease him. He was ready for that and frankly he didn’t mind. He had a good relationship with most of his students and knew it was all in good fun.
But he wasn’t prepared for what came next.
“Yeah,” a kid in the corner muttered to his friend. “What’s it like taking Coach Anderson’s leftovers, Halpert?”
The student had said it under his breath. But Jim definitely heard him. And Jim definitely did not like it.
“Jackson.” He said it firmly, gritting his teeth. He was trying with everything he had to stay level-headed despite the anger now coursing through his veins. “See me after class.”
Inside Jim was seething. Pam was nobody’s “leftovers”. She wasn’t the Chinese food you couldn’t finish that sat in the back of your fridge, forgotten. She wasn’t something that could just be discarded when you were done. No, she was beautiful and smart. She was kind, and warm, and talented. She wasn’t leftovers and she sure as hell wasn’t Roy Anderson’s anything.
All of that aside, now he also knew Roy was sharing personal details with students that frankly should not be shared. Students knowing Jim was dating another teacher was one thing, but this was completely different. This was unacceptable.
He did his best to get through the rest of his morning before lunch. He warned the boy from his first period class that if he heard another word out of him of that nature that he would have to get the principal involved. But that didn’t stop the churning in his stomach and the disdain he felt for Roy. The problem was that Jim was very non-confrontational. He didn’t want to approach Roy about it and he didn’t actually want to get Jan or Michael involved. But boy, did he wish he could pop Roy square in the jaw and not lose his job.
Pam had to stay in her classroom over the lunch period to help a student with her art project, so Jim walked to the faculty lounge by himself. He rounded the corner to the lounge and saw Roy sitting alone at the nearest table, a turkey sandwich in his hands. Jim skidded to a stop, threw his hands up, and turned around to leave, muttering a small “Great…” under his breath. He couldn’t look at Roy right now and stay civil.
“Nice win yesterday, Halpert.” The sarcasm was dripping from Roy’s lips. “Bet Reed wasn’t the only one who scored last night, though.”
Oh, hell no.
Jim whipped back around. “Listen, man, I wasn’t going to get into this with you, but now…”
Roy feigned a look of surprise and lifted his hands up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Jim rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Anderson. Quit talking to your players about things that are absolutely none of their business. Frankly it’s not even your business. Jackson Allen referred to Pam as your ‘leftovers’ to me, during my class today. That’s completely inappropriate, dude.”
A snide smile came across Roy’s lips and Jim felt his fists clench.
“Well, he ain’t wrong,” Roy muttered.
Now Jim was seeing red. “Excuse me?!”
“You heard me, Halpert. She was screaming my name before she ever said yours.”
Jim shook his head and laughed in disbelief, grateful they were the only two in the room. But he wasn’t about to get in a pissing contest with Roy Anderson in the faculty lounge.
“I feel really sorry for you, man,” Jim said, beginning to calm himself. He stuck his hands in his pockets. “It must really suck to work at a high school when you’re still stuck in your own high school insecurities.”
Roy scoffed at him.
“But, you know?” Jim continued. “Mostly I pity you because you let an amazing girl like Pam Beesly slip through your fingers. Twice. And that’s gotta hurt.”
The slightest flicker of regret flashed on Roy’s face before he attempted to cover it with a look of indifference. Jim stepped closer and lowered his voice to almost a whisper.
“And from what I understand, there wasn’t much for her to scream about anyway.” He shrugged toward Roy with raised eyebrows and turned to leave, but stopped before he hit the hallway. “Oh,” he said, turning back around. “And if you don’t stop talking to your students about my personal life I’m going to have to involve Jan.”
He exited the room and let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding and smile crept into his face.
—————
“You said that to him?!” Pam gawked, a mouthful of ice cream.
“Yep. Part of me is not super proud of it, but a bigger part of me wished I could have snapped a picture of his face after I said it,” Jim laughed.
They were sitting on Pam’s couch that night after Pam called Jim saying she had an emergency. That “emergency” was that she bought a bunch of frozen food at the store and her tiny freezer couldn’t fit it all unless they finished off the three cartons of half-finished ice cream she had in there.
She placed the now-empty carton of Rocky Road on the coffee table and dropped her spoon down with a clink!. She leaned back against the cushions and placed her hands on her stomach with a groan.
“I’m not sure this was such a great idea.”
Jim lifted a heaping spoonful of Cookies and Cream into his mouth. “I think this was a great idea,” he muffled past the ice cream.
She gave a half-hearted chuckle and Jim saw her face fall, just slightly. She brought her knees up to her chest.
“Hey,” he said softly, setting his carton next to hers on the coffee table and scooting closer to her on the couch. He dipped his head so he could meet her eyes. He had sensed something from her when he first told her what Roy had said. A twinge of hurt, which made him wish he actually had clocked Roy in the face back at the school like he wanted to.
“You, Pamela Beesly, are nobody’s leftovers.”
She looked at him and shrugged one shoulder. “I know.”
“He’s an ass.”
“I know,” she smiled weakly at him and kissed him softly. Her lips were still cold and sweet from the ice cream. “I’m just upset that I’m letting something he said get to me. Doesn’t feel great to be talked about like that, I guess. And to a student, no less.”
He nodded and looked down. “Think we need to tell Jan?”
She shook her head. “No, there’s no point in making this bigger than it needs to be. I’m just glad you were there to stick up for me. My knight in shining armor,” she cooed.
He chuckled and ran a hand down the back of her hair. “There are a lot of things I don’t love about Roy Anderson, but I’m pretty grateful he was too dense to see what he had right in front of him. Makes it possible to be here right now gorging myself on ice cream with you. And I never plan to let you go, ever. You’re stuck with me, Beesly.”
“Thank you,” she smiled and ran a hand down his cheek. “But you should know I’m never eating ice cream, ever again.”
“More for me then” he laughed against her lips.
He kissed her gently for a few minutes, hoping she understood just how much he meant what he had said. With every kiss he needed her to know she was wanted. More than that, he wanted her to know she was needed.
When they finally broke apart he searched her eyes.
“You okay?” he asked tenderly.
She smiled, eyes gleaming. “More than okay.”
That night as he laid next to her in bed, he watched her take deep, sleep-filled breaths. He would do anything for this woman. She could ask him to rob a bank and he would be pulling a ski mask over his face before she could even finish her thought. They had only been together about six months but he could hardly remember life before her or entertain any thought of a future without her.
He wrapped an arm around her and locked his fingers through hers as she slept, like sea otters do in order to keep from drifting away from each other. She was it. The beginning and the end. And there was no way he would ever let her get away.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Some of you mentioned Roy in your reviews. Well, he’s baaaaaack...
Chapter End Notes:
Special thanks to ThePinkButterfly for talking me down on this one, because I *really* wanted to have Jim punch Roy in the face. Haha but then Mr. Halpert would probably lose his title of English teacher, and I’m quite fond of English teacher Jim. ;)
