A/N: Hey, guys. Um, this is my first Office fic, and I wrote it mainly because I'd really like to see it happen. :) I mean, it's about time Kelly stood up to Ryan.

Disclaimer: The closest I come to owning The Office is owning the DVDs...and technically, they're my dad's.

"I can't do this."

"Can't do what?"

"It's not fair to you, and it's really not fair to me."

"Wait, what are you saying? I broke up with Darryl so we could be together."

That was your choice. Don't put that on me. I'm just going on a little trip."

"Oh, can I come?"

"It's not that kind of trip. I'm going to Thailand with some friends from high school- well, a high school. And if I don't do it now I'll never get to go, and I'll always resent you for it. You don't want me to resent you, do you?"

So you're dumping me?"

"Let's be adults about this. Let's have sex one more time. And if you have any extra cash, that'd be amazing."

"…Okay."

'Okay?' Really? That's all I could come up with? As I looked back on my last words to Ryan, I mentally scolded myself for not telling that jerk what I really thought.

When he first asked me out, I was on Cloud 9. I mean, this young, sexy guy who is obviously pining over you asks you to go with him to a fancy French restaurant= everything looks totally awesome! And for a while, it was. Ryan didn't interrupt me, like most guys did; he really valued my opinions. I knew he thought about me all that time, I would catch him looking my way when the cameras were interviewing him. It was so sweet.

Then he started going out with his friends more. When I made plans with him, he forgot or canceled. Sometimes, when I called him, he would tell me that he was busy, but I could hear the TV in the background.

Honestly, though, I am an expert on guys. I knew that the only way to whip Ryan back into shape was to spend more time with him. So I made plans three times a week and called him at least twice a day. It was a great plan! But Ryan acted totally weird. He ignored my calls and never got back to me about dates. I practically only saw him at work.

After a month of this, I got really sick of his whole playing-hard-to-get act. One Friday, when Ryan left the office- without waiting for me- I followed him to his car. I told him straight-up that he was behaving like an idiot. I deserved more than an offhand trip to the movies once in a while. I got really into the moment. I felt like-like Scarlett O-Hara! I mean, I've never read the book, it's huge, but the movie rocked. I was brave and beautiful and sassy, just like Scarlett! And Ryan totally knew it. That night, he took me to this cute little Chinese place for dinner. For the next few weeks, it was all chocolates and roses. Scarlett O'Hara got to kick back and enjoy the ride.

He eased back on the star treatment after a while, though. But before it got serious enough for me to read him the riot act, Jan went all crazy. Everyone else must have screwed up the interview, and David Wallace gave Ryan the job. So I got dumped.

That sucked. Big-time.

It got better, though, when Darryl asked me out. He was sweet and definitely cute. He had that brat daughter, so he sometimes had to cancel plans, but he wasn't nearly as bad as Ryan. Things were good again. Then, of course, Ryan had to show up. The nerve of him to think he would be so easily forgiven! Uh-uh, this girl had learned her lesson. I was careful not to flaunt my relationship with Darryl, but I had to rub it in just a little. Served him right for dropping me like that. I mean, it took me forever to get over that guy!

When I heard about his little website scam, and about him getting arrested, I can't say I was surprised. Sometimes, in the beginning of out relationship, Ryan would tell me about his dreams. He would always say that he would make it to the top. He was really excited about enrolling in business school, said it would help his career. And he really was happy about the promotion…so I guess that it was just easy for me to believe that he would 'get to the top' any way he could. I'm sorry to admit that I cried a tiny bit over his arrest. I tried not to think about it, for the most part.

Michael always like Ryan. Too much. So he went out and hired him from the temp agency again. And oh, my god. Seeing him in person again, I thought I was going to fall over. But I kept my cool and kept my distance. I was with Darryl. I really liked Darryl. Ryan left. I kept telling myself this over and over.

A jerk. He left. Didn't deserve me.

On the other hand…

He did seem sorry for it. Maybe he had gotten smarter. After all, it would be pretty hard not to realize what a great catch I was at some point. Plus, I think that spending a few months in prison did good things for his body. I mean, in all those prison movies, the guy comes out looking real tough and hot and everything.

I fell for the whole act again. We had barely been going out a month when Ryan told me he was leaving for some trip to Thailand. Then he told me that he wanted to make love one more time (only he said it in a ruder way) and that I should give him any spare cash before he left. What an A-hole!

And all I had been able to say was 'Okay'.

That's all I had ever been able to say. I had to face the fact that from the beginning of this relationship-thing, I had let myself get walked on. There were a few brief shining moments where I tricked myself into thinking that I had gotten the upper hand, but I had been stupid to believe so. Ryan leaving for New York had been a blessing in disguise. I was just to stupid and naïve to realize it. Well, not anymore. Ryan was going to be here in ten minutes. After tonight, he would leave for Asia or wherever Thailand is, and probably forget all about me.

Except that I wasn't going to let forgetting me be so easy.

While I waited for Ryan to get to my place, I carefully reapplied my eyeliner and lip-gloss. I smoothed my dress, a purple strapless A-line. My whole outfit was color-coordinated, and accessories chosen carefully. My shoes were silver sandals with inch-high heels and little charms on the front. My earrings were silver hoops with miniature amethysts on the bottom section of the loop. Meticulously applied eyeliner was a dusky purple that got light higher up. I had swept my hair back into a ponytail fastened with a shiny silver barrette, with a few locks of hair loose around my face. No doubt about it, I looked amazing.

The doorbell rang at 8 o'clock. At least he had the decency to show up on time. Today, that is.

A deep breath, and then I answered the door. Ryan was standing in the hallway, hands shoved in his pocket. He was almost slouching- I hated that.

"Hey, Kelly," he greeted me, taking in my ensemble. I watched his eyes linger at a certain point of my body, and I felt disgusted. I couldn't believe I once thought that I was in love with this creep.

"Hello, Ryan." My tone was composed, as was my face.

Ryan made a move like he was going to come in, but I blocked the door. He looked up at me. "Um, can I come in?" he asked pointedly.

"No, as a matter of fact, you cannot."

"Kelly, what's-" he started, but he stopped speaking as soon as I punched him.

I'll admit, I don't have the best arm. I mean, it's not like I ever took karate or played sports or anything, it was a surefire way to ruin your nails. Nonetheless, a couple years of pent-up frustration can really be expressed in one good, solid blow.

Ryan staggered backward, and would have fell over if he hadn't steadied himself against the opposite wall. He was left half-standing, rubbing his jaw.

After a few choice curses- "Kelly, what the hell was that?!"

"Ryan Howard, you are a pathetic jerk, and you don't give a damn about me. You never worked at all in this relationship and treated me like a doormat. I let you, and that disgusts me- but not as much as you do. Go have a fun time in Thailand- it's far enough away that I'll never have to see your ugly face again! And your goatee made you like the devil!"

I took the briefest moment to savor his stunned face, then slammed the door shut, relishing the sound it made.

I walked back to my bedroom and changed out of my dress into a pair of Pink sweatpants and a grey tank top. I grabbed a jacket out of my closet, pulled it on, and headed toward the couch. Sinking onto it, covering myself in a soft blanket, I flipped on the TV. I scrolled through the channels until something caught my eye.

Perfect.

I pressed the button and Scarlett O'Hara's face filled the screen.

I felt good, better than I had in a long time. Revenge was awesome- almost better than a new pair of shoes. Not quite.

But close.

A/N: Okay, thanks for reading, hope you liked it. As always, reviews would be great. :)