Quick note: this take place during season 3, after Michael moved Ryan back to where Kelly sits.

Ryan walked in quietly, hoping she wasn't in yet. He snuck around the edge of the cubicle, and … Damn. How early did she get to work?

"Oh my God Ryan! Did you watch American Idol last night? Jordin Sparks won! She's so awesome! I'm glad Blake lost, Jordin was sooo much better. And, Ryan did you hear-"

Ryan tried to keep his moan silent. He had been attempting to get there before Kelly in the mornings, so he would get to miss some of her endless gossip. But somehow she always managed to be sitting there, bursting with chatter, when he walked in.

He was pretty sure she was doing it on purpose.

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It was nearly lunch, and he was doing his best to close a sale with the Scranton Coal Mine gift shop. It was small (come on, it was a shop for coal souvenirs,) but it would be his biggest sale yet. Well, his only sale yet.

"Ryan! Oh my God I was looking at a baby name site, and I found the best name ever! Matisse Bella Lux! Isn't that the sweetest thing ever? Or for a boy, Afallon Kendal! Isn't that like, so awesome?!"

Ryan cringed. She was always talking to him about baby names, and if it wasn't that, it was what her dream wedding would be like, or vacations that sounded so romantic. And if he pretended he didn't hear and kept his back to her, he would feel her eyes burning through the back of his head.

He finally gave up trying to ignore her. "Ms. Fredricks, could you please hold on a second?" He covered the mouthpiece of his phone, and spun around to look at Kelly. "Kelly, could you please be quiet for a couple minutes, I'm trying to close a sale."

She glared at him for a minute, then rolled her eyes and returned to her computer. "Fine. I get it. I see money is more important to you than our kids."

Ryan returned to his sales call. "Yes, Ms. Fredricks. Well, we can offer you half price shipping if you order now." Suddenly bubble music was blasting out of Kelly's speakers. She always played Caramelldansen when she was mad at him. She knew it drove him insane.

"Hello? Hello?" Ryan yelled futilely into the phone. The gift shop manager had hung up on him. He couldn't even sell to a gift shop. He finally gave in.

"Kelly, do you want to go out for lunch?"

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Four fifty-five, and everyone was packing up. Ryan, despite his day, was in a good mood. He was going out to a new bar in Carbondale with his friends from business school, Kelly would be having dinner with her parents so she wouldn't be able to call him… this would be a good evening.

She was just walking out when she stopped and turned around to face him. "Ryan, I forgot to mention, you can come over to my parents house with me tonight, because they want to see you again! Isn't that awesome?" She grinned at him, waiting for him to respond.

"But, I had plans… I can't stand my friends up!" He tried to find and excuse that would satisfy her, even though he knew only death would for her justify turning her down.

"Come on Ryan, please?" Kelly begged, but he could see a malicious glitter in her eyes. He knew he wasn't going to win.

He gave up and asked what time he needed to be over there.

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