A/N: Hey all! I spent the last three days trying to come up with an Office Fic. I wrote about five and then deleted them all because I couldn't get them to satisfaction, or I'd get overly frustrated. And then I wrote this in about a half hour. It's based loosely on a song that I was listening to and thought that it could work for Jim and Pam. Although, the song is quite short and only gave me ideas for the beginning, middle, and very end, but nothing to connect the three, I had to improvise a lot, and therefore that's why I don't call this a song fic in any way. So here's hoping I did a good job of this. For some reason, I couldn't get myself to delete this one, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: As always, I still don't own The Office or it's characters

Stay

Jim stuck his hand in his pockets and walkedhurriedpast the reception desk. It was all he needed to add to his raging headache - to fill his mind with those words...the words that would eventually kill him if he listened long enough. Once at his desk, he quickly put on his headphones, turning on his ipod.

"You cant listen to that here." Dwight said quickly. "This is work, Jim, in case you haven't noticed."

Jim made the music go louder, until it hurt his ears. And then he pointed to the sides of his head as he shook it, mouthing the words, 'I...cant...hear...you!'

And he really couldn't. Dwight went on, obviously getting infuriated, but all Jim could make out was his mouth going on and on.

He just wasn't in the mood. Not anymore. Pranks seemed pointless. Jokes just lame. Too much had changed now.

"No way, lavender? Oh, that would look great! What about for the maid of honor?"

How was it that an ipod's volume at the max still couldn't zone out Kelly's voice? Groaning, he turned to the computer. Maybe if he got absorbed in a rousing game of solitaire, the office would fade away until it was almost tolerable. Maybe he could take the day off. It was a Friday - he'd have a three day weekend. Checking the clock, he saw that it was only ten thirty. He had been gloomy and aggravated enough all day to pull off a cold in front of Michael.

And yet it didn't seem worth the effort. Sitting here was fine. Quickly, without Dwight seeing, he unplugged his phone. There, now he would have nothing to interrupt his drowning.

Drowning...in what? Shaking his head, he cleared that thought too. He didn't want to think deeply today. He had thought long enough to give him this head ache. Now he just wanted to stop. Stop it all. To forget everything.

That trip to Australia never looked so good.

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"Hey Jim." Pam said in her cheerful voice as she walked in the lunch room. Seeing her made him throw his sandwich pack in the bag - he wasn't hungry any more. Grabbing his coke, he twisted it in his hands.

"Hey." Came his simple reply.

But she seemed bothered by him. "What's wrong?" She asked, sliding in to a chair across from him with her bag of chips.

He shrugged. "Nuthin."

"Seems it. You've been acting...weird."

"Got a headache, that's all. Storm outside isn't helping the mood either."

She shook her head. "No, it's not that."

He perked an eyebrow, urging her to continue. How would she know?

"You've been acting like this for a while now. What happened to the happy-go-lucky Jim that we all know and love?"

He looked up at her in surprise, just long enough to see her eyes go wide, then blush as she ducked her head.

"Maybe where the happy-go-lucky Pam is." He muttered, not realizing it at first that he had actually said it outloud. Now it was her turn to be taken by surprise.

"What do you mean? I'm happy. I'm still cheerful."

But he just shook his head, as he stared at his coke. "No your not. But hey, we shouldn't get in to this. It's none of my business anyway." With that, he stood up and started to walk away when he stopped at her voice.

"No! No, Jim, I want to hear what you were going to say. Why don't you think that I'm happy?"

He sighed, turning back. "You don't really want to hear what I have to say."

"Yeah Jim, I do. I really do. Tell me."

"I don't want to get in the middle of it. If you're really happy, then I don't want to make you down."

"But you said I'm not happy. Why aren't I?"

With a silent groan, he walked back to her so she stared up at him directly. "Because you know you'll regret this one day-"

"Wait, regret what?"

"You know what. The wedding. Marrying Roy. You'll regret it. Because Roy isn't the man for you. You know deep down that he isn't. But he's safe. You're not risking losing anything from him. And you put in all this time in with him. You don't want to think that all those years were a waste. You saw it through with him for this long, you feel stuck. But that's not real love, Pam. That's just playing it on the safe side. There is a part of you that don't want that life. That wants to take chances. That waits for the day when you get the courage up to fulfill all your dreams. I know you. I know your dreams. How you have always wanted to be a comic drawer. And how living in New York secretly excites you. And that part is going to surface one day. And then you'll regret your decisions of now. But that's just me. It don't matter what I think. If you truly believe you'll be happy with this, go for it. Don't let me stop you."

He hadn't looked at her. So when he did now, he saw her mouth ajar, her whole face registered in shock. And then her head started to slowly shake back and forth. "You're wrong." She said in a deadpan voice, her face very serious now, his words sinking in and defense taking over. "You're wrong. All wrong."

He shrugged. "Maybe I am. But I don't think so."

"You are!" She said louder, standing up, her cheeks going red. "You don't know me! I mean, how many times have you actually seen me outside of work? Like twice? Maybe three times? And they were still with everyone here! You know nothing! You've never even seen me in normal clothes! My closet's not all filled with grey skirts and peachy pink colored cardigans! You don't know what I like to do when I'm at home, or what my routine is or my favorite..." She stopped. For she was going to say her favorite book, her favorite movie. But he did know those. He knew her tastes in music, what she did when she got bored...

"Perhaps I don't." Jim said, just as serious as she, his gaze never leaving her eyes now. "Or perhaps you say this because you only hear what you want to. Because you're trying to be blind to everything going on. But what's more important here - does he know?"

He was implying Roy, she knew he was. So why didn't her mouth fly open again, words fluttering out in defense of her soon-to-be husband? Perhaps because she couldn't?

Her face suddenly fell, going a strange pale color.

He gently placed his hand on her wrist in light comfort. "Hey look, I'm leaving for Australia soon. But if you need anything..." His voice simply stopped at that.

What did that mean? That he'd help her until she left? Reminding her that he wouldn't be here forever to help her? Or that maybe he'd stay? No, he wouldn't stay. Not for her. He had been looking forward to this way too long.

But before she could ask for clarification, as if she would, heturned and left, Pam not daring to stop him again.

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