A/N: Thanks for the reviews! D
"Time Bomb"
It had been almost three weeks since he transferred from Scranton, and it was his first day on the sales' team of the Stamford branch of Dunder-Mifflin.
It didn't take Jim very long to realize that Stamford was a totally different world than Scranton. People actually sat around at their desks and got their work done. The office manager participated in appropriate managerial behavior. The receptionist was also an older woman named Mary, who actually resembled Phyllis if he really thought about it. The more he thought about it, the more Scranton became absurdly comical in his mind.
His desk was behind a man who had introduced himself as Andrew Bernard, a graduate of Cornell. To his behind, there was a pretty girl similar to his age named Karen Filippelli. She had a tiny dish of chocolate kisses on her desk, and he helped himself to one.
"Okay," she said as he turned back around. "Nice to meet you."
Jim turned around and raised his eye brow. "Sorry. I'm Jim."
"Karen Filippelli. It's nice to make your acquaintance."
And that was that.
Starting now, I'm starting over
I'm going to sleep with the next person I meet.
His emotions had gone from incredibly sad, to equally angry. He threw himself into his work and took no time to think about Pam and the emotional rollercoaster she was sending him on. Even when they were hundreds of miles apart, she still had a way of sneaking into his head. The smallest of details would remind him of her, and no part of his mind was letting him move on in any sort of fashion.
On his third or fourth night at Stamford, Andy offered to take Jim out to show him around, and every signal in Jim's head shouted "no". Going against his better judgment landed Jim in a seedy bar that appeared to be serving to underage girls. It was then and there that Jim decided that there was no way that he was going to make friends in his new place of work.
Oh no! Was it worth it?
Jim first heard that Pam had left Roy when Kevin called to discuss fantasy football teams.
"So, did you hear?" Kevin asked.
"Hear what, Kev?"
"About Pam."
Her name still made his blood turn to ice, and not in a good way. "What about, Pam?"
"She dumped Roy. Just a few days ago. I guess they're not getting married anymore, either," he added as an afterthought.
"Well, that's too bad," Jim lied, rubbing a hand on his face. "Too bad."
"Yeah, too bad for the band," Kevin sighed sadly. "We were really putting all of our eggs in Pam's basket."
'You and me both,' he thought miserably.
Tick, tock.
You're not a clock.
You're a time bomb, baby.
A time bomb.
Driving home, Jim really had no idea how this news was affecting him. On one hand, he was thoroughly shocked. He never believed that Pam would have been the one to call things off with Roy. He also had at least a bazillion questions to ask her about everything, and he knew that she would really be needing emotional support at this time. On the other hand, he couldn't help but feel a little bit placated by the fact that he wasn't the only person in pain. As much guilt as he felt with that thought, the relief was worth it.
This definitely was not, by any means, moving on.
Pulling into the driveway, he realized that it was times like these that Jim wished that he had a roommate to talk to. Someone who was on his side unconditionally 100 of the time. Instead, he was forced to go home alone to the tiny rented house that still smelled like the people who lived there before and didn't quite feel like home. He would probably wind up calling his mom. He hadn't talked to her in a few days, and she was really worried about him living alone in a new city.
You set the watch.
You're just in time
To wreck my life.
He looked around the blank living room, taking deep sighs and trying to catch reign on his emotions. At that very specific moment, he hated his life, he hated his job, and he hated Pam for making him hate everything. He let out a frustrated half yell, swinging his fists onto his old white couch. Hot tears began running down his cheeks, the kind that burned his throat and made him want to cry even more. He choked out exhausted sobs as he slumped over onto the couch, and soon fell asleep in a huddled mass.
So starting now, I'm starting over.
I'm throwing bottles.
I'm taking showers.
I'm going to sleep.
A/N: So I guess this is going to kind of go along with how things went on the show, except for the end. I'm kind of hoping to get a better view of the Karen/Jim relationship, as you'll be able to see with the next chapter (which is my favorite thus far). I really like Karen/Jim and I think they had potential.