Disclaimer: Don't own any of it. The show, characters, or lyrics.
Authors Note: Let it end there? A worthy idea I suppose, but n'ha. I'm a sap. I like the overly happy endings, so I'm going to hammer this story out until it has one. You can pretend it ended there though! Plus, I really feel like Kelly & Ryan are a very realistic couple. A complete girl's girl & a sarcastic, cynical semi-every guy. Opposites attract. I know that, first hand, lol. In love, you to take the good with the bad, and the completely annoying XD
Once again, mucho thanks for all the reviews, and sorry for the day-delay in a fresh Chapter! Hectic day yesterday…I hate Tuesdays. This is a slow Chapter… hardly any angst, but I feel it's important to the furthering of the story, so here she is.
WARNING: Ryan has a heartfelt reunion this Chapter….//snicker//Without further ado….
Chapter 10
As the plane came down.
// Individual shot Ryan//
"Corporate called me Saturday morning. I thought I was going to get the boot, but they actually offered me their sincerest apologies on what Michael and Dwight put me through. They reminded me that office relationships were not shined upon though. Doesn't matter. I don't have a relationship anymore. At all. Anyway, they thought I was going to quit, so they sent me a big fruit basket, and begged me to stay. They promised that Michael was going to have to go to anger counseling, or something like that. They just didn't understand when I told them that I prefer hatred when it comes to him."
"I'm done. So done."
Done. How could she be done? He had just started to feel this deeply about her, or just realized it anyway, and now she wanted to be nothing. Just his luck. He lives through all her insanely clingy and infuriating Kelly-isms and right when he actually needs her to be there, she's the one who shakes him off. The world has no justice. Dunder-Mifflin had taught him that lesson well.
All this is still running through Ryan's head as he makes his way to Scranton Tuesday morning. He hates going there, but apparently they need him to reconnect with the staff there, since there is so much hostility. He dreads it, since all they're hostility is directed upon him. All of them, every single one of them hate his guts.
Not that he's ever given them any reason not to. He's been there almost two years, and never really connected with anyone, other than Kelly. Plus, there's that sarcasm thing and all. They just don't get it. His friends always found it endearing. It got him beat up in school, and even though he was pretty popular, and Student Body President, he remembered somebody writing 'smart ass' over his name on all his campaign posters.
Oh well. It's who he was. At least he wasn't a super freaky crazy like practically everyone at the Scranton office.
"As you all know, boy wonder will be here today around lunch to 'make nice' " Michael announces to the staff, gathered in the conference room. " I apologize to you for the inconvenience that him coming here will cause. Obviously corporate is more interested in his personal happiness than our productivity. It makes me wonder if they buy his suits and pay for his hookers as well."
"He needs no help in the hooker area Michael" Dwight says coughing and making a glance toward a sullen Kelly.
"Are you making an insinuation? " Kelly asks curtly.
"Do not take offense. I blame none of these actions on you. You are an unwilling player in larger very sick game. Take your anger not out on me. I shall be your avenger. I plan to single handedly disassemble his reign of terror. With Michael of course. "
"I don't want you to do anything for me!" Kelly insists, "Just forget everything"
"Kelly, Kelly. You're so cute. Like a cute, naïve little tadpole." Michael smiles "But here at Dunder-Mifflin, though we are a friendly laid back bunch. We got to let the world know we're prepared to kick ass when ass needs to be kicked. And Ryan, he's just a big ass."
"Could you possibly use a different word?" Angela complains moodily.
"Sorry. Beat ass. We will beat ass when ass needs to be beaten. That sounds better right? Yeah. I like that better. It's a good slogan."
"Let's make shirts" Jim quips humorously.
Michael points. "Stellar idea."
Dwight sulks. "I thought it first. Except I thought hoodies."
"Hoodies? Dwight. God. You're a wuss."
" Can that please be on the back of his shirt?"
"Must I really be in here for this? I have a call on hold." Stanley complains irritably.
" Go on back to you're call Stanley, when Ryan gets here, I'll tell him to tell that sweet little daughter of yours I said 'hi'. Yeah, that's right Stanley; I went there, you know why? I had to go there." Stanley is glaring at him. "I had to go there, because sometimes Daddy needs to get rough with the kids to make them understand the seriousness of a situation. I mean do you want your daughter to end up like…. you know…"
Michael coughs incessantly, and finally Kelly gets up and goes out in a huff.
"Go cry it out " Michael encourages as she walks out " Just do it quietly, we're planning in here."
"I suggest we call our group of avengers 'Michael's Army'. MA for short." Dwight suggests.
Jim hates that he gets something that Dwight says, but Harry Potter is cool, even is it's one of Dwight's favorites.
"Because, I love you."
-------------------------
"You love me." He said placing his hand over her heart "I feel it."
-------------------------
"Just don't give up on us now"
Not even retreating to the break room and re-touching her nail polish could keep Kelly's mind off of what had happened. She had been dong a good job, keeping a strong front all day long. She had heard that really sad Coldplay song, the one about losing 'something you can't replace' and had only felt like crying a little bit. Not only was it a depressing song, but Ryan had also loved that band. Kelly was never really into them, they were no O-Town or anything, but the lead singer was married to Gwentyh Paltrow, and she thought Apple and Moses were adorable names for kids.
But then Michael and Dwight had to call the entire office to the conference room to plan Ryan's 'doomsday' or something like that. The insensitivity of some people. It wasn't even like they really cared about what was going on between her and Ryan, which was nothing now, all they cared about was how he had went from being a temp to being Michael's boss in the blink of an eye.
To make matters worse, Toby was being all weird to her. He was avoiding her like the plague, and hadn't even noticed that she was wearing a brand new yellow blouse today, with frill and everything. She guessed he was just being nice, trying to giver her space and all, but still it would be nicer if wouldn't look at her with those looks her was giving her. She couldn't figure out if they were looks of guilt or pity. Pity was probably the best choice, since he had absolutely nothing to be guilty for.
She blew on her rosy nails lightly. Life sucked. This was worse than when Paris and Nicole stopped being friends. Who was she kidding, it was like way worse. The door opened and Toby walked in with apoilte nod and smile. Great. More awkward silence.
"Hey" She said as he sat down at the table "Why aren't you in there giving Michael you're t-shirt size or something?"
"I got kicked out for breathing too loudly." Toby smiled.
Kelly couldn't help but laugh a little bit, despite the uneasiness that loomed.
"Plus, as the human resources representative, I really shouldn't be condoning such behavior anyway. I mean, plotting against the corporate manger? That's out there, even for Michael."
"Yeah. I wish they would all just get over it. Like I have" She lied.
"So…you heard from him at all?" Toby asked, tapping his fingers a bit nervously.
"Uhm. Not since Friday." Kelly said discreetly, not mentioning his nighttime visit. It hurt her to remember it, so she defiantly didn't want to explain it.
"I'm really sorry...about everything." Toby said sincerely.
"Don't apologize. Please. You had no idea that he would be waiting out there in the parking lot to totally ambush me."
"Uhhh…yeah." He looked away from her, and Kelly silently wondered if she had a hair out of place.
"I mean, it was pretty intense.. It was so weird. I think he'd been waiting there just hoping I would come out. And he had this crazy story about a love note he wrote me or something with an apology, which is total bull spit, because that is so something I would have noticed, and it is so unlike him. He never even called me for crying out loud, why would he think I would believe he wrote to me? "
Kelly jabbered on, momentarily lapsing back into normal habits, despite the intensity of this situation. Still, it felt good to actually talk about it out loud.
"And then he's telling me that he's in love with me and—" Kelly stops, and brings her hand abruptly under her nose, to stifle emotions she hadn't even felt arriving until she got to that sentence.
Toby sighed.
"Kelly I need to—"
"All right people, let's look alive. The enemy has entered the perimeters. Places please." Dwight shuffles in demanding.
"Places?" Kelly asks
'Yes. Had you shown team initiative and stayed in the conference room, you would know that we had a plan of massive proportions. One that is going to be the plan to beat all plans."
"Which is..?" Toby inquires, though in way, he doesn't even care.
"Ignore him." Dwight smiles wickedly.
Kelly and Toby display blank looks.
"Ignore him?" Toby asked, while Kelly actually hoped she had the will power to do that, but not because it was Michael's plan.
"Of course. It is a task everyone has completely agreed upon. We will work as usual, and even if he attempts to speak to one of us; we will not breathe a word back. We all hope you will comply as fully as everyone in the conference room agreed to." Dwight explains, he then turns to leave, but quickly adds "By the way, the shirts are going to be aqua. It was Creed's suggestion, and we already voted."
Ryan comes through the door his head down, rubbing his neck tensely as he is accustomed to. Dwight looks toward the camera and winks.
Ryan hasn't even been the room one second when Jim looks up from his work.
"Good afternoon Ryan, I really hope you had a good drive. Michael's in his office, he would be over-joyed to see you now."
Dwight fumes, and knocks his chair over, mumbling something about the whole plan being ruined in mere seconds due to incompetence, and then adding something about lost t-shirt privileges.
//Individual shot Jim//
" I know, I know. I should show a little allegiance here, but, come on… It was so easy. How could I not do it and live with myself? I think I saw Dwight cry a little, maybe. So it was totally worth it."
It's a bit later in the day, and Kelly is trying to work at her desk. Ryan has been there for a while, in Michael's office. She wonders exactly what's going on in there.
"I hope he's not too mean to him" She says aloud, but totally didn't mean to.
Toby looks toward the front, but the blinds are closed so neither of them can see what is going on in the office.
Dwight appears near them smiling maliciously.
"If I know Michael, and believe me I know Michael, then he is putting a up an icier barrier than the Artic it's self. Ryan will not emerge from that office the same person. He will be forever changed by what happens in there."
Toby and Kelly exchange semi-terrified looks.
"Oh Ryan!" Michael wails, and is attached awkwardly to Ryan's middle, while Ryan just stands still as stone. "I've missed you sooooo much! I miss our closer-than brothers friendship, the chatting, the hanging, the coolness that was 'us.' I just want it back!"
"I've told you five times now Michael, I do forgive you, completely."
"Even for calling you a punk? Because that was really low? And, I've said some worse things behind your back. Like that time on the phone, Angela really didn't have on a tight skirt…I was talking about you."
"Ow." He says, though of course, it's no shock…at all.
"I know. But I can change. Me without you just isn't right. We may have switched roles here, but I can hang with that, if we can just still…'be'"
" It's okay. No matter what has happened. We will always 'be'…something."
"I'm so glad to hear you say that" Michael says releasing him, drying his eyes with a tissue "And I wasn't crying there, I think I'm allergic to your fabric softener or something."
"Yeah. Well, anyway Michael, I'm going to need you to brace yourself for some news though."
"Oh god."
" I'm staying down here for the next few days to go over the years most important reports with you—"
"You need a place to crash? Because I've got an extra bedroom, we can stay up late talking in my room, and I could grill us some peanut butter and marshmallow paninis on my George Foreman and-"
"Michael corporate is paying my hotel expenses. Thanks anyway though. No, what I need to tell you is that after this week, I'm not going to be coming back down here anymore, at all. I've got it set up through corporate where all our conferences are going to be over calls, and if a physical body is ever needed down here, they've hired me an assistant especially for that. His name is Harvey."
Michael looks like somebody has kicked him the face.
"B-B-ut, you said we we're cool. I apologized, for everything. You…hate me that much?"
"No Michael. This is one hundred percent not about you, I promise."
"It's Dwight isn't it? I'll take care of him. He will never bother you. I'll make it so you never have to see his beady little eyes again, so neither of us do-"
"Michael, it's not about Dwight. It's about Kelly." Ryan says, though he didn't want o have to say her name. He should have expected it though, it being Michael and all.
"Kelly, what did she do? You aren't racist are y-…OH! I see…" Michael says managing to catch his error. "Well….I can take care of her some way, I'm sure. I'll just figure out what I was going to do with Dwight and do it to her."
"I don't want you to do anything to Kelly, okay? But, it is hard for me to be around her, I'll admit that. I think it's best for us both if I'm not around here, at all."
"But I'll miss you." Michael openly protests.
"I know. It just…you wouldn't understand. It hurts me, honestly physically hurts me to see her now that I know I've lost her. And I know it'll kill me to see her with Toby once they start up, whatever they're starting."
"Toby?! You're worried about him? B.F.D. Fight him for her."
"I—it's just not going to work. I would fight for her, if I thought for a second it would change her mind, but…"
"Ryan…every man has a Kelly."
"Yeah, you've told me that before, ad as much as I hate to say it, I've thought about it a lot, and I think I know what you mean…You're saying that every man has that one girl in his life that he takes for granted. The one who he doesn't even realize is everything he wants until he doesn't have her anymore. Every man has that woman .The one that gets away."
Michael nods philosophically. "That is exactly what I meant."
Both sit in silence for a moment, Ryan actually looking like he respects Michael for the first time ever.
"Bring it in." Michael says, opening his arms up for a wide bear hug. And for once, Ryan brings it in, without protest.
// Individual shot Michael//
"I actually just meant that every man had a woman in his life period, but I like the way Ryan put it too. It's just a wordier, and completely different way of stressing my point. Either way, I'm glad my superior intellects on the world of women can help my young friend. I'll morph him into a Michael Scott yet. Well, not the 'real deal. There can only be one me."
Darryl walks near the shot, and he can be heard mumbling, "Thank the lord"
Michael smiles heartily at the camera, taking it as a compliment.