A/N: the facts may be messed up…I don't know a lot of factual stuff about The Office. What I do know is that Pam & Jim are meant to be. So R&R please! I always do the same.

Song by Fall Out Boy...I do not own The Office or its characters.

When I wake up

I'm willing to take my chances on

The hope I forget

That you hate him more than you notice

It was eight oh six and Pam wasn't there yet. Odd, Jim thought, but he booted up his computer anyway. She hadn't missed a day of work in...Well, he couldn't quite remember. But she was always punctual. That's really what he liked about Pam - she was so reliable. It was a long weekend after all, they had Friday off, and Pam seemed giddy. She told him that big things would happen this weekend. That was her wording. "Big things". The curiosity was getting to him. His clock turned to eight oh seven. Where was she? Just then, the door opened and Pam entered. Jim casually turned her way. She grinned. Pam hardly ever grins at work, let alone cracks a smile. Unless Jim was the one who smiled first. Jim cocked an eyebrow but Pam rushed behind her desk. She was biting her lip in anticipation.

"What's got your panties in a twist?" Dwight asked her, approaching the desk. "You were about" he checked his watch, "seven minutes late."

"Dwight, I don't think you're using that expression right." Pam said, looking up at him. He stumbled for a minute.

"That's what she said!" He stammered. He laughed in spite of himself and Pam just looked on, confused. He nodded a few times and quietly returned to his desk. Pam caught Jim's eye and motioned him over. Casually, he stepped out from behind his desk and leaned an elbow on hers. She raised her shoulders in pure delight and pulled an envelope from her purse.

"Remember how I told you this weekend was going to change my life?" Jim turned his head to the side, keeping their eye contact.

"Yeees..."

"Well," she presented him with the envelope. She grinned again. What was with that?

"What's this?" Jim said, slowly taking it from her hands.

"A party. I'm taking the internship!" She couldn't contain her glee. She squealed. Jim laughed.

"That's great! What made Roy change his mind?" With that question came a pause.

"We're 'taking a break,'" Pam clarified. Jim's face dropped.

"Pam- I'm so sorry, I-"

"No apologies." She leaned in closer to him. So close he could smell her chapstick. He tried not to look at her lips. He glanced into the cameras. Was she going to kiss him? No. Instead, she admitted, "It was my idea." With that confession, she giggled. Jim's eyes widened.

"Good for you!" Was all he could manage. Pam nodded.

"But, it doesn't officially begin until after I leave." Pam continued. With that, Jim's face truly dropped. "Long distance relationships...whatever..." she waved her hand, dismissing it, "we'd be together, but not really together."

"So kind of a break?" Jim tried to figure it out.

"Kind of." She shrugged. "Anyway, party's this weekend, my house, it's gonna be awesome. You have to come!"
"Since when do you say awesome?" Jim teased. There was a pause.

"Since I got happy," Pam replied thoughtfully.

I wrote this for you (for you, so)

Do you need him?

I could be him

I could be an accident but I'm still trying

And that's more than I could say for him

It was Friday, the tunes were blaring and Jim could hear them from his car. He could hear the bass; feel the already cool wind on his face. He arrived at nine, the party started at eight so he figured he'd arrive just before the peak. He parked his car next to the others and got out, slamming the door and peering through his back window at the dozen daisies laid in the backseat. He thought about bringing them for a moment and figured, what the heck, as he grabbed them and shut the door. As soon as he approached the party, he felt like a teenager ready to pick up his prom date. Lots of older, buffer, drunker guys were hanging out there. He made his way through the outdoor setting, past the outdoor bar, inside, where he greeted a few girls talking to each other. He nodded to them, but continued down the hallway, searching for Pam ho was no where to be found. Suddenly he heard voices coming from the backroom.

"We can handle thiis," a slurred voice said. "Don't thhhiiink yerr leavin' mehh" it said.

"SHut up." came the sharp reply. "This is a going away party. I don't want to talk about this."

"Well, weeer have too," said the slurred man, "weeerre gonna get marrrried."

"Were. Yes, Roy, were." Pam replied. Jim figured out it was Pam and Roy fighting. "I'm leaving. I'm leaving this town, this job and I'm leaving you. I just need time to think-" She was caught off by the sound of broken pottery. Jim burst through the door. A broken purple vase lay at Pam's feet. Roy was stumbling over to her, but Jim took her arm.

"Hey. Do you need some help?" He asked quietly. She shook her head and they exited together.

Where is your boy tonight?

I hope he is a gentleman

Maybe he won't find out what I know:

You were the last good thing about this part of town

Walking down the silent hallway, Pam held back tears. It was so embarrassing. Embarrassing and disappointing. Tonight was supposed to be perfect. But it was just a mess. Jim led her to a deserted porch, where they could watch Roy's friends and their butchy girlfriends drinking from the open bar. Real romantic.

"I brought you these," Jim said timidly as he put the daisies toward her. "I wasn't sure what type of flower you liked," he stuttered, "but they reminded me of you." Pam smiled a small smile. She looked into his blue eyes.

"Thanks. They're my favorite." She sighed and sat down on a bench. Suddenly she couldn't hold back any longer - the kindness of his approach, the embarrassing situation - she sniffed and a waterfall of tears fell down her face. Jim looked stricken. He took a seat beside her, wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly. Pam wiped her face and looked up.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," She said in broken speech. Immediatly Jim interrupted, insisting it wasn't a problem. But Pam stopped him. "This whole thing with Roy...it ruined a lot of stuff. And tonight..."

"Don't worry about it," Jim said as he wiped a tear from her face and simultaneously put a piece of hair behind her ear. Pam's heart jumped with the touch. No one touched her that tenderly in a very long time. Jim stared down at her with full eyes and Pam could feel tears forming. Everything suddenly seemed perfect. "I'm going to miss you when you're gone," Jim said so quietly that Pam wasn't sure if she heard him right. "In the office...but not only there..." He was almost whispering or talking to himself. Pam nodded.

"I know what you mean," she said, smiling sadly, "but I'm following my heart. I'll keep in touch."

"I know you will," Jim said, as he turned his face to the moonlight.

Someday I'll appreciate in value,

Get off my ass and call you

In the meantime I'll sport my brand new fashion

Of waking up with pants off at four in the afternoon

It was two weeks. Exactly fourteen days since Pam left. Jim had to search for a reason to get out of bed, to get dressed and go to work. He didn't realize it before, but Pam was really his inspiration for going to work. He suddenly couldn't handle Dwight or Michael or any of the idiotic things that went on day to day. It made him wonder what he was doing with his life. If Pam was following her dreams, shouldn't he be following his? He took too many sick days to remember in the past few weeks. In fact, last week he was at work only twice. The days kind of blurred together. He watched a lot of daytime television, staying up late at night, waking up midafternoon, sweaty and half dressed. He was disgusted by himself, but he was too bashful to try and contact Pam. Daily he looked at the scrap of paper - the pink stationary she left him with her cell and email on it. But she promised she'd call him. He wanted to still be casual, funny, halfway flirtatious. But with their last conversation, how could he? Could he go back to being flirtatious funny Jim? Did he have to be serious and committed Jim? Cause he wouldn't mind. He definitely wouldn't mind. But right now it was too confusing. He'd just wait for her to call.

Do you need him?

I could be him

I could be an accident but I'm still trying

And that's more than I can say for him

It was day sixteen when his phone rang. He was used to letting it ring, so he just let it go. When his machine picked up, he heard a sigh. "Hey," came the tentative greeting. "I figured you'd be back from work...but maybe you're out..." it was Pam. For the first time in days, Jim raced to get up. He scrambled through his things in the room - his blanket, empty bags of chips, cereal bowls, DVDs, before he found the phone. He pressed "talk"

"Pam?" His voice was rushed.

"Oh hey!" She exclaimed, excited. "Did you just get home? You sound breathless."
"Oh something like that," he replied, sitting down on the floor. "So tell me, how's life?"

"It's amazing here, Jim," a part of his heart dropped. So he kind of wanted to hear that she hated it and was coming home. "I never knew I loved art so much. Seriously. It's great."

"I'm so excited for you," and he really was.

"How's the office?" She asked him with a laugh in her voice.

"Great. Excellent. Fantastic." He replied.

"How's the long distance thing going?" He asked after a few more minutes of small talk. She sighed again. He hated that sigh. It was kind of hapless.

"Horribly. I want my space. Roy won't leave me alone. He still thinks we're getting married."

"I'm so sorry." He was sincere but not sappy. It felt good to hear that in his voice. The truth was, Pam was kind of lonesome. She wanted to hear Jim's voice but made herself wait at least two weeks, to make sure she still wanted to talk to him. She did.

"I blocked his calls," she sounded guilty but pleased. Jim laughed.

"So hey, have some time for Scranton this weekend?" Jim tentatively asked. Pam's heart jumped

"Of course." She exclaimed.

Where is your boy tonight?

I hope he is a gentleman

Maybe he won't find out what I know:

You were the last good thing about this part of town

It was exactly seven and Pam was waiting in a booth for Jim. She arrived at least ten minutes early. She fidgeted with her glass, her necklace, nervously gripping the locket. This was torture. Absolute torture. Finally, Jim walked in. Pam was breathless. She forgot that she loved him. It was just his look - his disheveled collared shirt, half tucked into his pants, his hair looking like he just rolled out of bed but tried to fix it before he came in. It was so effortless - it was so cool. Pam missed that in a guy. Roy was just effortless - stained tee-shirts...smelling of barbeque chips...she shuddered. And the guys in her art internship were mostly gay.

When Jim stumbled in, he was still messing with his hair. He knew he should have showered. Instead he walked straight toward Pam, grinning. He forgot how cute and petite she was - how he needed to make her laugh, to hear her giggle and to see her smile up at him. He forgot that that's what he lived for.

"Hey," He said as he sat across from her.

"Hey to you to," Pam greeted him, smiling. She stirred the ice in her drink with her straw. "My internship ends in two weeks."

"So soon?" He asked, leaning into the booth.

"Four weeks. Then..." She trailed off. She sighed. Jim raised an eyebrow.

"I got a job offer. It's about an hour from here."

"From Scranton? That's great!" Jim exclaimed, laughing. Pam giggled.

"I know. I can...come by whenever I want." She patted herself on the back for using such evasive language. She could "come by" not "visit Jim" but simply "come by." She looked down and back up and Jim, fluttering her eyelashes for a minute. Was this really Pam? Pam who was awkward and tied down...was this Pam who was flirting with longtime officemate? Yes. Pam answered herself. Yes it is.

"I got to admit," Jim began, "I felt kinda depressed when you left. The office sucks." This made Pam giggle again.

"I'm so glad to be gone." Jim opened his mouth to answer but the waitress intruded. He ordered a drink and turned back to Pam.

"And how's your LDR?" Pam looked up at him questioningly.

"LDR?"

"Long distance relationship?" Jim concluded. He laughed. "Yeah, it's kinda dorky..." She dismissed the joke.

"Roy was a waste of my life. I told him it's over."

"And all those wedding plans gone to waste..." Jim scoffed. Pam laughed and hit his forearm. Her hand lingered on his skin. They looked at each other.

"The truth is, I've really missed you." She said quietly.

"I've missed you too." Jim replied. He leaned over the booth and allowed his lips to briefly touch hers. When he pulled back, Pam was staring up at him with a faint grin on her face. Jim had the same dream like quality in his. "I know you said long distance relationships suck...but would you be willing to try one with me?" He asked her. She slowly smiled.

"I think we can make it work," she said before she caught his lips in a kiss.

Where is your boy tonight?

I hope he is a gentleman

Maybe he won't find out what I know

You were the last good thing

About this part of town