A/N: The idea for this hit me a couple of days ago
A/N: The idea for this hit me a couple of days ago. I was listening to the song, and it really seemed to fit. Some of these moments were actually on the show, some were mentioned, and some are my imagination. I do not own The Office, nor do I own The Nicest Thing by Kate Nash. I do, however, own my obsession with both.
All I know is that you're so nice
You're the nicest thing I've seen.
I wish that we could give it a go,
See if we could be something.
Pam sat at her desk, trying to concentrate on organizing the cards on her computer screen. She laughed at herself. Something was really wrong if she couldn't even focus on Solitaire.
She looked at her left hand. Her ringless left hand. She had called off the wedding only a few days after Jim had left; she couldn't marry someone knowing that she was in love with someone else and that they had felt the same way. But Jim never came back. She missed him more than anything, but she didn't want to be the one to initiate contact; she had hurt him enough already.
I wish I was your favourite girl,
I wish you thought I was the reason you are in the world.
I wish I was your favourite smile,
I wish the way that I dressed was your favourite kind of style.
When she saw Jim walk through the door, she smiled, ran up, and hugged him. It had been months since she had seen him. Even if things had been terribly awkward, she still wanted him to be her best friend.
When Karen followed him, she knew things would never be the same. Karen was tall, brunette, beautiful. She walked with confidence and wore very professional looking dress pants. Worst of all, she saw the way that Jim and Karen looked at each other, and she didn't need anyone to tell her that they were dating. But Jim still did.
"Hey, um, I just wanted to let you know that I started seeing someone."
"It's fine. We're friends. We'll always be friends."
She hated the word as it came out of her mouth. Friends. She wanted to be his friend, but that wasn't all she wanted.
I wish you couldn't figure me out,
But you always wanna know what I was about.
I wish you'd hold my hand when I was upset,
I wish you'd never forget the look on my face when we first met.
The new employee walked up to reception. Pam looked at him over her desk. He was tall, lanky, with a large nose and slightly messed up hair. Pam smiled.
"Hi, you must be Jim," she said, extending her arm for a handshake.
"That's me," said Jim. "Jim Halpert."
"I'm-"
"Ah, the new prisoner!" yelled Michael, walking out of his office to greet Jim. "Hey," he said, putting his arm around Jim, "I'm Michael Scott, the boss around here." He turned to the rest of the office. "Everyone, this is Jim."
"Hi, Jim," a few employees called out. The rest just turned back to work. Suddenly, Michael's phone rang from inside his office.
"Argh, my phone," said Michael, "Pam, show Jim his desk." He ran into his office and shut the door. Pam stood up and grabbed Jim by the shoulder.
"Remember this time," Pam muttered, looking over her shoulder at the broad-shouldered man behind her, "Because it's the last time you'll ever have before you knew your deskmate Dwight."
"Noted," said Jim, smiling. She led him to his desk.
"Question," said Dwight, turning to Jim. "Are you an ex-convict?"
"I don't think so, no," said Jim. Pam giggled, then returned to her desk.
At lunch, Pam sat in the break room with her yogurt - mixed berry. She had never tried mixed berry yogurt before, and she decided to take a risk. Just as she was about to take the first bite, Jim walked in.
"Hey," said Pam, waving.
"Look, I don't know how I know this," said Jim, smiling, "But that mixed berry yogurt you're about to eat is expired." Pam rolled her eyes. That was ridiculous. She checked the expiration date, only to find that it was about two weeks passed.
"Oh my gosh," she said, looking up at Jim. "How did you know that?"
"I just did," said Jim, smiling. Pam stood up and threw away the yogurt. She turned to Jim just as he started to leave. Watching him leave, she noticed that he was actually kind of cute. But her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. It was Roy.
I wish you had a favourite beauty spot that you loved secretly,
'Cos it was on a hidden bit that nobody else could see.
Basically, I wish that you loved me,
I wish that you needed me,
I wish that you knew when I said two sugars, actually I meant three.
"Hey," said Pam, walking into the break room where Jim was fixing himself a cup of coffee.
"Hey," Jim replied, turning to face her.
"Look," she said, not knowing what to say, "I know I've said this before, but I'm really, really sorry about what happened. I just…" she was at a loss for words. Roy had found out about the Casino Night kiss that Pam and Jim had shared, and earlier that day, he had acted on his anger. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
"Don't worry about it," said Jim. "Hey, if you want, I'll make you a cup of coffee. Just to symbolize our okay-ness."
"That would be great," said Pam, looking over Jim's shoulder at Karen, who was on the phone, probably closing a sale. She really was a great salesperson. Jim started to make the coffee.
"Anyway, I ended things with Roy," said Pam, uncomfortably. "I mean, he could have really hurt you."
"Right," said Jim, smirking.
"What?" said Pam.
"For how long this time?" asked Jim. Pam sighed.
"We're done. Permanently."
"Right." The coffeemaker beeped. Jim pulled out the pot and poured a cup of it. He stirred in the milk, then turned to Pam.
"How many sugars do you want?"
"Two," said Pam. She hated asking for three, because she liked to tell herself she was being somewhat healthy, but she figured he knew her well enough to throw in the extra.
Jim put in two sugars and handed the cup to Pam.
"Thanks," she said.
"No problem," he said, smiling.
"And I really am sorry," she said.
"Okay," he said. Karen walked into the break room. He turned around.
"Hey, " he said. Karen grabbed his hand, then smiled.
"Glad you're okay," she said. "That was crazy."
"Yeah, I know," said Jim. They walked out of the break room, leaving Pam with her coffee, which wasn't sweet enough.
I wish that without me your heart would break,
I wish that without me you'd be spending the rest of your nights awake.
I wish that without me you couldn't eat,
I wish I was the last thing on your mind before you went to sleep
Pam rolled over in her bed, trying to fall asleep. Jim and Karen had left for New York to go for job interviews. She knew that if Jim got the job, he would take it, and if Karen got it, he would move to be with her. Either way, she would never see him again.
Serves me right, she thought, hating herself for turning him down that night, almost a year ago. She looked up and checked the clock. It was only eleven thirty.
Pam dragged herself out of bed and slumped to the kitchen, hoping to find a snack. She looked in her fridge. Her stomach dropped when she saw the twelve or so mixed berry yogurts. The only reason she liked them was because they reminded her of Jim. But that was the last thing she wanted now.
She looked for something else to eat. All she could think about was Jim and Karen, how the had spent a romantic night together in New York, how they were probably retiring to a hotel room right about now. The thought of it made her feel sick. She closed the fridge.
She saw, on her counter, a little chocolate coin. She remembered the note she had slipped into Jim's briefcase with one of those before he left for New York: Don't forget us when you're famous. Why had she done it? It would only make Karen even more suspicious.
Maybe it was never really meant to be, she thought, crawling back into bed. I guess I'll just have to move on. He had loved her once; she doubted it would ever be that way again. She closed her eyes and tried to think of other things, things she knew would help her sleep, like ocean waves. Oceans. Beaches. Beach Day and the embarrassing speech that only made Karen tighten her grasp on Jim, pulling him farther away from her. She sat up and checked the clock. Eleven forty. She collapsed back onto the bed. This was going to be a long night.
Look, all I know is that you're the nicest thing I've ever seen;
Pam walked into the conference room for her Talking Head. She knew it was coming; after all, she was the woman that a man who was never coming back had once loved. She had prepared a big speech the morning before, hopefully not a pathetic sounding one. This was her chance to announce that she would be alright, even if she wasn't sure of that.
"We just never got the timing right…"
Pam heard herself speak but barely believed it. She had given up and announced defeat so many times when she was with Roy; she never wanted to do it again. But maybe it was necessary if she was really going to move on.
I wish that we could see if we could be something.
Jim opened the door of the conference room while Pam was still talking. She stared at him, the last person she expected to see.
"Sorry," said Jim to the cameraman. He nodded, and Jim turned back to Pam. "Hey, Pam, are you free for dinner tonight?"
"Yes," said Pam, not really sure of what was happening.
"Great. It's a date." He walked out of the room. Pam turned back to the camera, smiling in shock. Suddenly, she forgot the rest of what she was gong to say, or why she had written it in the first place.
"I'm sorry, could you repeat the question?"