thanks for all the reviews so far! and a big thank you to Idnaoj80 for suggesting that jim go on a date with kelly :) this was pretty fun to write!

title taken from: "The Judge" by Twenty One Pilots

It had been almost 2 days since Jim had asked her out. (Not that she was totally sure he really did ask her out, but there was insinuation in his words nevertheless.)

He seemed completely over it - neither had mentioned the incident, and remained very good - best? - friends, anyway, but Pam just couldn't stop thinking about it. She chalked it up to the fact that she hadn't been asked out in nearly 5 years (aside from gross friends of Roy's, but she was pretty sure they meant it as some kind of mean joke.)

(Of course it wasn't, and a large part of her knew that, but she ignored her instincts. We're just friends.)

She had indeed texted him about the party, and was looking forward to it. (A little surprising, since for the most part she wasn't fond of parties. Maybe it would be different in College. Maybe it would be different with Jim.) He was driving, since he was familiar with the directions, which, as he'd jokingly pointed out, left Pam free to "get completely wasted."

As it was on Friday, there was a whole 2 days before the night. Pam grew more excited about it with each day that passed. She'd even told her mom about it during one of their phone calls.

Roy didn't know about it, and she didn't really have any intention of telling him. He'd probably be mad she was going to a party with a guy, and then she'd feel guilty for even considering going, and then she'd turn down the opportunity. (That was usually how these things went, with Roy.)

It was 5pm, and her classes were over for the day. She was waiting in her room with Kelly (who was preoccupied, texting furiously on her phone) for Jim to finish with his last class so they could all go eat together in a little restaurant off-campus. Dwight was invited, but he gave a vague answer about having to check on "the farm", so Pam guessed he wasn't coming. Ryan, as usual, hadn't given a straight answer, so it was a mystery as to whether he'd show up or not.

Suddenly, Kelly piped up. "What's the deal with you and Jim?"

The question threw her. "Sorry, what?"

"Like, are you two dating?" She tossed her phone to the opposite end of her bed, and stared intently into Pam's eyes. "Is it some kind of, like, friends-with-benefits deal, or-"

"No!" She interrupted, shaking her head forcefully. Kelly had to be delusional. "There's nothing. I'm dating Roy."

"Ok, cool." A smile grew on Kelly's face, and she seemed a bit shy all of a sudden. "So would it be okay with you if I ask him to hang out sometime?" She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear.

"Sure." Pam shrugged, trying hard not to laugh: There's no way Jim would go out on a date with Kelly. He's sweet and all, but he's just not her type.

"Great!" Kelly grinned. "I'm gonna ask him tonight, at dinner."

"Isn't Ryan coming?"

"No, I don't think so. He couldn't decide whether to go or not, so he said he'd only come if the weather was under 68 degrees. It's, like, 62, so he won't be there."

"Okay." Ryan was one of the weirdest people she had ever met.

Jim texted her as soon as he was finished with the class, telling Pam and Kelly to meet him outside the building, round the corner where he and Pam had ate lunch together the last time.

It was a rather cold evening, even though the sun was sill out, so Pam wore her pink coat and hoped it didn't look too childish.

Kelly refused to bring a jacket, insisting that that "is no way to catch a man, Pam!"

The wind was particularly biting, even for September, and Pam knew Kelly was shivering as soon as they stepped outside. Jim was waiting where he said, hands in his pockets, with his head bowed down against the wind.

"Hey," Pam called, once she and Kelly were a few feet away.

His head snapped up at the sound of her voice. Grinning, he quipped: "What took you so long?"

"Shut up," Pam scoffed at the same time as Kelly's "Sorry, Jim!"

The two exchanged a look - "what's up with her?"

"Uh, anyways." Jim gestured away, over the hill. "We should get going."

"Sure, Jim." Kelly smiled sweetly and followed him.

Pam walked further behind her friends. Kelly seemed pretty fixated on Jim, and although she knew for definite nothing would come of her asking him out, she still felt it would be nice for her to just give them some space, at least for the evening.

If Kelly noticed she was walking a few paces behind, she didn't say anything, focusing more on chattering on about her day, and whatever else came to her mind.

Jim turned round more than once, though, shooting Pam a confused sort of look - "what's wrong?". Pam just shrugged in response, and Jim got dragged back into conversation with Kelly.

Jim called a taxi as soon as they were up the hill, and shoved his hands in his pockets while they waited for it to show up.

"My feet hurt so bad." Kelly groaned, lifting a heel-clad foot in the air and twisting to inspect it. "I can't believe you guys made me walk up that hill wearing these."

Pam wanted to remind her that no one had made her wear the heels, she'd picked them out specifically "for Jim", but she kept her mouth shut.

"It's kind of cold out here." Kelly tried again to get Jim's attention, rubbing her bare arms for emphasis. When he didn't respond, she added pointedly: "I sure wish I'd brought a jacket."

Jim seemed to realise he could no longer ignore her hints without being blatantly rude, so begrudgingly he offered her his coat.

"Oh, thank you!" She gushed, making no move to accept it.

He rolled his eyes to Pam, but faked a smile to Kelly and draped the coat over her shoulders. She smiled simperingly up at him, and opened her mouth to say something else when Jim suddenly exclaimed "Taxi's here!" and stalked off.

"It's working," Kelly sing-song-ed to Pam. She didn't even seem to care whether Jim could hear her or not.

The restaurant was surprisingly nice for a cheap off-college-campus place. Pam, Kelly, and Jim had to wait around for a minute before the waiter found a suitable table. While Jim was occupied with Kelly, Pam bounced up on her tiptoes to look around.

Most of the people eating there were around college age, with odd-looking adults milling around. Pam recognised one boy from History - what's his name again? she thought, frantically. She noticed the small rainbow pride badge pinned to his teeshirt, and immediately it came to her -Oscar! He was with some boy Pam didn't know, but looked around the same age.

She turned to tell Jim about it, but realised he was still talking to Kelly, so she decided just to tell him later.

The waiter showed up again just moments later and directed them to a table on a raised area near the back - a half-booth, with two chairs on the outside. Kelly rushed to sit in the chair on the outside, dumping her purse on the chair next to her so that Jim and Pam had to sit across from her.

(As she'd confess to Pam later, it was a trick to "mimic the feeling of a real date", and would apparently make Jim more accepting of the idea of going on a proper date with her.)

Jim's knee bumped hers when he sat down. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Pam smiled, and playfully bumped her knee back against his in response.

(She ignored the surge of warmth she felt when he bumped her. It means nothing.)

Kelly folded Jim's coat over the back of her seat, and promptly opened the menu. She barely glanced at it before declaring: "I'll have a salad."

Pam raised her eyebrows, but fixated on her menu nonetheless. The food looked cheap, especially with her college discount, and she decided to order spaghetti. Jim knew what he wanted, too - a hamburger. Kelly waved the waiter over and they ordered, glad to have the rest of the time before the food arrived to just talk together.

Sensing that Kelly was about to open her mouth again, Jim quickly asked: "So, Pam, how was your day?"

"It's been good," she smiled, pushing her hair back behind her ear. "Highlight of the day was definitely History, though."

"Oh my God, yes." Jim shook his head, laughing. "Dwight was extra ridiculous today."

"Sometimes I doubt he's actually real."

"He probably isn't. He's probably like, a robot of some kind."

"With parts made in Japan." Pam joked, knowing he probably wouldn't get the reference.

"Mr. Roboto." Jim shook his head at her, grinning. "I'm disappointed, Beesly."

"It's a classic." Pam defended it, but couldn't keep a grin off her face.

"What is that, like, an 80s movie or something?" Kelly asked, having not spoken for a while.

Jim seemed a little surprised Kelly was still there, having focused so much of his attention on Pam in the last minute or so. "Uh, no, it's just some song. It's pretty awful, actually."

"Liar." Pam shoved him lightly on the shoulder. "It's the best. I'm gonna have it played at my funeral."

"Weirdo." Jim said, but grinned down at her.

Kelly saw the lull in their conversation as a chance to speak again, and directed the conversation back to whatever it was she and Jim had been talking about earlier. As she wasn't really a part of the conversation (in Kelly's eyes, at least) Pam busied herself with her phone.

Roy'd been texting her during History, and she'd ignored his texts in favour of laughing at Jim's impression of Dwight, so she answered his most recent one.

FROM: Roy Anderson

TO: Pam

u should visit at the weekend

If she was honest with herself, she truly didn't see any merit in driving all the way back home for the weekend just so that Roy could recount his drunken college days for her.

FROM: Pam

TO: Roy Anderson

Sorry, can't. There's a party on Friday night, I don't know when I'll get back to my room. It wouldn't be great for me to drive, I don't think.

She hovered her thumb over the little icon before making up her mind. Roy was miles away, and she was in college, dammit. He surely couldn't expect her to drive down every weekend just to see him for a couple of days.

(Maybe that was how most couples did long-distance. Maybe it was how she should have been doing long-distance. Of course she felt guilty for not putting 100% of the effort into the relationship, but it'd been 5 years and she was in college far away from home and the more time she spent away from him, somehow the less appealing a relationship with him seemed to be.)

Pam hesitated a moment, watching the little dots appear at the bottom of the screen to show he was typing back, and quickly tapped out:

FROM: Pam

TO: Roy Anderson

Sorry again!

She locked her phone and put it on silent, stuffing it into her pocket. Roy could wait.

"… Anyway, so Ryan and I are sort of…. Complicated right now." Kelly was finishing telling Jim some long-winded excuse about why Ryan wasn't eating with them. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, leaning her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands.

She removed them only moments later, however, as the food had finally arrived. The waiter distributed the meals and, as was the custom, asked them all if there was anything else they would like to order at the time, and advised Jim that his plate was hot; he shouldn't touch it.

As soon as he was gone Pam tucked into her spaghetti, realising all at once that she really was quite hungry after a long day, even though they were eating dinner relatively early in the evening.

Kelly shuffled around a crouton on her plate before piping up again: "Wow, this sure is a lot of food." She laughed, although Pam knew it was fake, the type she used around Ryan. "I don't even know if I'll be able to eat all this."

It's a salad. Pam thought, privately rolling her eyes at her friend. It's not that filling. You'll probably manage. Nevertheless she kept her thoughts to herself, just looked back and forth at Kelly and Jim as they talked, most of the conversations pretty benign and ordinary, as usual.

Occasionally, as though feeling bad for her being left out, Jim would try to engage Pam in whatever (mostly one-sided) conversation he was having with Kelly, but Pam could hardly get a word in edge-wise so just retreated back to her food.

(It was sweet of him, she couldn't help but notice. He tried to never let her be left out in their group, even though she was the most ordinary and quiet one there. Even when talking to Dwight, he would always try to find a way to include her somehow.

Roy never done that, she knew. It wasn't really his fault; she tended to blend into the walls at school, and gave one-word answers when he and his friends spoke to her, when they were out. She was always nervous and a little annoyed at her boyfriend for not trying much, for not really realising she was there, with him.)

They had finished their meals and split the bill, walking out again into the cold evening. Kelly had Jim's jacket still wrapped around her shoulders - she put it on herself, as soon as they got up to leave, not really giving Jim a chance to ask for it back - and Pam pulled her coat closer to her body, shivering a little in the biting air.

The sun was about to set, and it was getting pretty dark even though it was still relatively early in the night.

Jim called a cab once again, and stood next to Pam while waiting, rather than Kelly, much to the latter girl's annoyance.

"Hey, uh…" Jim began after a few minutes, lowering his head to speak to Pam in private. "I'm sorry, if this was weird tonight. I don't know what happened, but-"

"No, it's fine." Pam waved a hand to him dismissively. "It wasn't weird. I… It was nice, I thought."

"Great," Jim said, but he seemed confused. He seemed like he was about to say something else, but the cab pulled up and was interrupted by their companion's squeal of "shotgun!"

The three walked in silence most of the way down the hill. It was pretty dark by that time, and cold enough that their breath made clouds in the air. Pam felt bad for Jim, who was clearly shivering, but they were near their building anyway and soon would be able to warm up again.

They agreed to take the elevator up, even though climbing the stairs wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience. Jim pressed the button for Pam and Kelly's floor but not his own, and walked with them down the hall to their room.

"Thanks for tonight," Kelly sighed, leaning against the door. "That was really nice for you."

(Kelly, of course, had planned the dinner and arranged it all herself.)

Jim made a confused sort of face, but went along with it. "Uh, you're welcome, I guess."

Kelly turned to Pam and shot her a pointed look, out of sight of Jim, before asking sweetly: "Pam, can I please talk to Jim in private?"

"Sure." Pam nodded, hating the way her voice stuttered a little, even with just that one little word. She gave Jim a polite sort of smile, pushed down the handle of the door, and mouthed "text me" to him before she shut the door, blocking her two friends both from sight and sound.

She grabbed a hair tie from her bedside table and tried not to think about what they were talking about, just outside her door.

(She always liked to tie her hair up before going to bed, because when she didn't, her hair looked comparable to a lion's mane when she woke up the next day. Her hair was so frizzy that she usually had to use one of those long, elasticated ties that were normally used as hair bands, as most other ties just snapped in her hair overnight.)

Her old nightie was the first thing she grabbed in her closet that even remotely resembled pyjamas, so she hurriedly threw it on, paranoid that Kelly (or even, God forbid, Jim) would burst into the room.

Thankfully that didn't happen, so Pam just sat on her bed with her legs crossed, waiting for Kelly to return so she would have a safe exit to the the bathroom across the hall.

After what seemed like hours but was probably only a matter of minutes, the door handle slowly pulled downwards and Kelly entered the room. She wasn't even looking at Pam, but she had a wide-eyed sort of look to her. Pam prepared herself to comfort her upset roommate after being rejected by their friend, and even started preparing a speech about how their incident shouldn't make anything awkward, but apparently none of that was needed.

"Pam," Kelly said softly after a moment, sounding as though she was in a daze. "He said yes!"

"I - um, I'm sorry, what?" Pam struggled to get the words out. Jim said yes to a date with Kelly?

Kelly flopped down on her bed dramatically, resting a hand over her heart. "I asked him out to lunch tomorrow, and he said yes, Pam!" She seemed to be growing more excited with each word.

"I mean, I was so smooth, you know? Like, I just asked him to lunch, and he said yes, and I didn't even scream Pam, I swear, I was so cool about it. Anyway, I was like, 'so, we should hang out' and he was like 'yeah, totally' and I can't even breathe! Oh, Pam, it was so amazing. I'm so happy!"

"That," Pam began, but it felt like the words were choking her. "Um, that's great, Kelly." She mustered up a smile.

Kelly hadn't even noticed. She was too busy braiding her hair, her fingers moving quickly and methodically.

"I'm gonna go brush my teeth, get ready for bed." Pam announced, awkwardly, standing and shoving on a pair of slippers.

"Sure." Kelly shot her a brilliant grin.

Pam rushed out the door, practically slamming it shut behind her. She crossed the hall to the bathrooms, glad that for once, no one was in there with her.

Despite her haste she had somehow managed to grab her phone. She set it down on the cold marble bunker, next to the sink but far away enough that it wouldn't get water spattered on it. She squeezed some paste onto her toothbrush and scrubbed, hard.

Her phone buzzed. Even though it was on silent, the vibrations on the marble surface echoed through the bathroom. Pam snatched it up quickly.

FROM: Jim Halpert

TO: Pam

i guess kelly's told you already?

She set it back down, finished brushing her teeth, and promptly texted back.

FROM: Pam

T O: Jim Halpert

yeah. she's really excited.

She sent it and immediately worried if her tone was too harsh, so quickly sent another one, this time more light-hearted.

FROM: Pam

TO: Jim Halpert

you really laid on the charm, didn't you?

His response was practically immediate.

FROM: Jim Halpert

TO: Pam

the halpert charm is irresistible

Pam scoffed out loud, forgetting for a moment that he couldn't hear her.

FROM: Pam

TO: Jim Halpert

yeah, right. some people are certainly immune

She took her phone and toothbrush and paste and headed back to the room, where Kelly was applying some sort of electric green face mask. She greeted her with a mere nod, as the mask was seemingly too tight to allow for any speaking.

It was only then, a couple minutes since sending the text, that Pam realised the connotation. She was immune to the Halpert charm - she'd turned him down. Would he think she was making fun of him; bragging that she'd rejected him?

FROM: Jim Halpert

T O: Pam

you mean dwight, clearly

Thank God, she thought.

im on school holidays now, but am going abroad soon so i might not be able to update for a few weeks :( i'll hopefully get another chapter out before then, though. :)