Chapter 18- Best Friends First

Author's Note- Hey everybody! Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter, I love all of you! ;) So, I just got a Tumblr recently, if you guys would follow me, which would be awesome. My Tumblr name is the same as my pen name; iluvwillschuester. Sorry that it took over a week to update; my basketball season just started and the semester just ended…so it was a really busy week. Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)


It was three days after Pam had yelled at Jim over the phone, making their fight even worse. They had been avoiding each other at school and staying with their respective others. Jim had never been so ashamed in his life. He couldn't believe he told Pam he loved her –over the phone, of all places. He was hoping that Pam believed him when he said that he meant as a friend, or else he was screwed. If she told Roy, then things would never get better for him. Riley waved a hand in front of Jim's face and laughed. "Are you okay? You were like zoning out."

Jim smiled at his girlfriend. "Sorry, just thinking about other stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Riley asked, looping her hand into his. They were sitting in Jim's basement, half-watching a rerun of Modern Family.

Jim shook his head, hoping that the thoughts of Pam would go away. "Not that important kind of stuff," he replied.

"Mmkay," Riley nodded. "Do you ever go in that old tree house that's in your backyard?"

Jim's head snapped up, surprised. "No, not really…why?" he replied. He hadn't gone in there in three weeks, since Pam and him got into their huge mess.

"It looks cool," Riley commented.

Jim grinned. "Do you want to go in there?"

"Sounds good to me," Riley agreed.

"Alright, come on," Jim said, pulling her up. The two bounded up the steps, hands intertwined. "Our shoes are by the back door," Jim mentioned.

Riley nodded and slipped on her Converse, following her boyfriend out the door. "It's nice out here," Riley announced. It was a perfect fall day; leaves were falling and the sky was a canvas of colors.

"Sure is." Jim walked over to the ladder and motioned for Riley to go up. "Ladies first."

Riley climbed up the ladder very slowly as if she thought falling would kill her. Jim wanted to laugh, thinking of all the times that Pam scrambled up that ladder as if her life depended on it. Once Riley climbed onto the platform, Jim swiftly climbed up the ladder and hopped up next to Riley. "It's so cool up here!" Riley exclaimed, glancing around.

Jim shrugged. "I guess, I've had it forever." The tree house hadn't really changed much over the years; there was still the beanbags and a few kids toys along with some photos of the boys. Riley stood up and walked from picture to picture. "It's like taking a walk down memory lane," Jim laughed.

"How old were you here?" Riley asked, pointing to a picture. Jim squinted at the picture of him and Tom playing basketball on a Little Tikes hoop.

"I must've been like four," Jim replied.

Riley nodded. "You were adorable."

Jim blushed, balancing his weight from foot to foot. He noticed Riley inspecting a picture of a seven-year-old Jim and a familiar redhead. Jim immediately panicked and prayed she wouldn't recognize Pam. "Who is that little girl with you?" Riley wondered. "Your old girlfriend?"

Jim could feel his face heating up and Riley smirked. "A-a cousin. She's a cousin of mine," Jim lied.

"You guys looked like good friends," Riley commented. She paused, glancing at the picture again before turning to face Jim. "She looks kind of familiar but I have no idea why."

"Hmm, there are a lot of redheaded girls in this world," Jim joked.

Riley laughed. "But you do like brunettes better, right?"

Jim smiled, uneasily. "Of course." He wrapped Riley into a big bear hug and placed his head on top of hers. He was facing the picture and biting his lip, he stared at the picture until Pam's green eyes became fuzzy. He remembered taking that picture. They were seven and were in Jim's backyard, having a family barbecue. Jim smiled at the memory, until the pain of the new Pam sliced through him. He pulled away from Riley quickly, as if he'd just been shocked.

"Are you okay?" Riley asked, concerned.

"I'm fine," Jim mumbled.

"Is it the championship game nerves? Because I know you're going to do great," Riley assured him. It was Monday and the big game was on Friday. The whole team had been practicing non-stop and for the star player, Jim, it was a huge deal.

"Thanks," Jim said. He glanced up at the ceiling and grinned when he saw engravings from Tom, Pete, and himself from years and years ago. Riley followed his gaze and laughed.

"Did you guys make those?"

Jim nodded. "Yeah, as you can tell…my penmanship as a five-year-old was pretty amazing," he joked, playfully. Riley laughed and traced her finger on the words engraved in the ceiling. Her eyes darted over to an arrow that was engraved next to a picture.

"What's the arrow for?" Riley asked, pointing.

Jim's face paled. He'd totally forgotten that a few years after he and Pam engraved their names into the wall, they drew an arrow next to the picture that hid the names. He remembered that just a few days ago, Jim had told Riley that he didn't even know Pam. That he didn't even know her. Jim didn't know a lot about relationships but he knew that lying was bad. Really bad. So, knowing this, Jim spoke up. "I honestly…don't remember," Jim mumbled.

"Is there something behind the picture?" Riley questioned. Jim shook his head but Riley was already moving the frame.

"There's really nothing…"

Riley put the picture down and glanced at the wall. "Jim and Pam," she read. Riley turned around to look at Jim. The first thing her eyes met was the picture behind him…the one of a younger Jim and Pam. Riley's emerald eyes grew wide with realization. "Who's Pam, Jim? For real."

"I-I…" Jim started. He knew there was no way out of this one, he had to tell the truth. "The girl in the picture."

"The redhead?"

"Yes, the redhead," Jim replied.

"And I'm going to guess she's not your cousin," Riley interjected.

Jim sighed. "No, she's not."

Riley hesitated. "Is she that girl with Roy? The one that you said you didn't even know?"

"Um, yeah…that would be Pam," Jim mumbled.

"What is going on, Jim? Really. I don't like to be lied to, especially by my boyfriend," Riley demanded.

"It's not really a big deal, nothing important," Jim muttered.

"Well, all these 'nothing important' things that you're hiding from me, keep adding up," Riley shot back. "Please tell me," she said, softly, calming down a bit.

"Pam and I are –I mean- used to be best friends. Since we were five and we met…pretty much inseparable. Even in high school and middle school…until she started dating Roy. She became…you know, popular. We got into a few little fights and then a few days ago, a big one. Now, things are done between us. We're not even casual friends," Jim explained, sadly. "See? Nothing important."

"That is important…to you," Riley replied. "I can tell. That's why you've been sort of distant lately, isn't it?"

"I guess," Jim mumbled.

"You like her, don't you?" Riley asked.

"Pam?" Jim repeated, dumbstruck.

"I saw it in the way you looked at her and the way she looked at you. Remember how the first time I met you; I thought you were dating Pam?"

"Yeah…"

"It was because of that and when I asked you, you got this faraway longing look in your eyes…like you wished you were," Riley explained. Jim didn't reply, just glanced at the old engraving. "You used me, didn't you? To make Pam jealous."

"No! No, I didn't!" Jim stammered. "I swear, Riley. I really do like you."

"And I really like you too," Riley whispered. "But that's all it was. 'Like' not love. I think you might like me but you love Pam."

"I-I don't love Pam, I don't even like her," Jim argued.

"Yeah, you do," Riley said. "And that's what's hurting you the most. The fact that you're stuck in the past and she's not even looking back. But she is, trust me. I know that she probably is going crazy without you. And Roy's an ape, she'll realize this soon…and come running to you."

"I'm really sorry, Riley, I really am," Jim apologized. "I don't even know how to be a boyfriend, honestly."

"You have to be a best friend first," Riley smiled. She leaned over and kissed Jim on the cheek. "I'll see you around, Jim."

"Where are you going?" Jim asked.

"Home," Riley replied.

"Are we…done?"

"Dating, yeah. Being friends…I hope not," Riley replied.

Jim smiled. "In that case, see you around."


So what did you think? Good or bad? Boring or interesting? I'm so sorry that it took two weeks to get this up, I just started my own basketball season, I was sick, and the semester was ending. So yeah, I was busy. But I'll try to update within a week, I promise. Please leave a review letting me know what you thought of this. Also, if you have a tumblr, please follow me, I'm iluvwillschuester. I post Jam and Office stuff as well as Glee and Wemma stuff. R&R! ;)