sorry about the weird formatting error(s) in the last chapter! i'll probably find time to fix it when i'm back from my holiday. i hope it didn't make it read too weird! also, sorry in advance if this chapter seems a little rushed. i really wanted to get this one up before leaving, as i'm going tomorrow.

i finished my rewatch of the series! (the finale is so sad/nostalgic/bittersweet amiright?)

title taken from: "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Twenty One Pilots (yes, i know its not their original; yes, i really like 21p and a lot of lyrics have been used already but whatevs)

Jim's lunch with Kelly had certainly been… Interesting, to say the least. She'd asked specifically for him to show up at her room at exactly 5 minutes past 2, to knock only twice, and to wait outside the door when Kelly inevitably asked him to give her a couple extra minutes to get ready.

Apparently she hadn't briefed Pam on this, however, because she answered the door on the first knock.

She shot him a radiant smile when she realised who he was. "Hey," she greeted him, softly.

"Hey," he replied, trying to stop his grin from splitting his face wide open. He last saw her less than an hour ago, in History, but he was always glad to see her.

(Both physically and metaphorically.)

"Pam!" He heard Kelly's voice ring through the doorway. "Is that Jim? Don't let him in! Tell him to wait outside."

Pam rolled her eyes, but ushered him out. She shoved him out the door playfully, but when her hand touched his chest he felt a little thrill, and jerked away from her on instinct.

She looked a little put out for a moment, but in a split second was grinning up at him again, and she joined him outside the room.

"This date better be worth it," she joked. Jim wasn't sure where she was going with this. Could she really think he was well-suited to Kelly? Was this her way of wanting to ensure their "date" went well?

"What do you mean?" It was probably better to just ask her, he reasoned.

"Kelly's been preparing for this since 10am." She explained, a serious look on her face. Jim tried not to laugh at her apparent torture. "She's been talking non-stop the whole day about how excited she is."

"Really?" He attempted a jokey tone, but deep down, he was worried.

He'd never meant for their date to actually be serious. He'd accepted her offer because he thought it would be fun, and he didn't want to disappoint her. Besides, "dating around" was practically mandatory in College, right? One date didn't necessarily have to end up in a committed relationship. It was just fun.

(If he was honest with himself, he was still a little rocked from his conversation with Pam earlier in the week. "I'll need to ask Roy first. My boyfriend." Those words had haunted him since the moment she'd spoken them. Of course Pam had a boyfriend: she was great. Funny, smart, pretty, and kind… What guy wouldn't want to date her?)

"Uh, yeah." Pam laughed. "Don't panic though. She's…" She dropped her tone to a whisper, apparently worried that Kelly would overhear, even though they were on the opposite side of their door. "She's not that good at committing to things, I don't think. She's pretty infatuated with Ryan, and he's just not paying attention to her recently."

"Ryan's kind of a douche."

"I know, right?" She shook her head, and her tightly curled hair bounced up and down. Jim tried not to stare at her hair, but it always looked so pretty; it was hard not to. She had it pulled back with a black clasp, every day, and for whatever reason he found that quite endearing.

"So, uh…" Pam suddenly broke eye contact with him, staring down at her feet. "Where are you taking her?"

"Just a little coffee house, out of town. You've probably never heard of it."

"Really?" Pam frowned. "What's it called?"

He didn't even try to stop the triumphant grin that stretched across his face. "Starbucks."

"You're not funny." She rolled her eyes, but a little smile was playing at her lips.

(Not that Jim was looking at her mouth. He was just… Perceptive to these kinds of things.)

"Kelly seems to think I am."

"Watch it, or you'll become a bigger douchebag than Ryan."

Jim feigned overexaggerated hurt, and he would have felt silly (they were in a public place, after all, and anyone could walk down the hall at any time,) but doing dumb stuff like this was worth it just to see her laugh. "That hurts, Beesly. You wound me."

There was a moment, then, where Pam said nothing and just stared up at him, and it was as if time had stopped. She was so close. So close, he could see the light freckles on her nose and flecks of grey in her eyes, and he was afraid he might kiss her. He was afraid she might want him to.

"Jim, I'm ready!" Kelly slammed the door behind her and stood between them, and the moment was over, and Pam looked away.

Jim wondered how Kelly could possibly stand between them, how she didn't just burn alive with the crackling electricity that had been between them in that moment.

"You look great, Kelly." Pam said, her voice small. "I better go back inside. I've got reading to do, um, for class."

"Okay!" Kelly seemed to barely acknowledge what her roommate had said. "Me and Jim will be back… Sometime." She took Jim's arm and started to pull him away, in the direction of the stairwell, way too far away from Pam.

"Okay." Pam repeated softly. "Bye, Kelly. Bye, Jim." She stepped back into the room all too quickly, swiftly shut the door, and left Jim wondering if maybe she had felt it, too.

"How may I help you?"

"Can I have a coffee, please? Um, just a small… Milk, 2 teaspoons of sugar. Thanks."

The tired-looking server nodded and turned their attention to Kelly, awaiting her order. She only had to pause to think for a moment before ordering what was probably the most bizarre drink Jim had ever heard of.

"I'll have a half-caff half-soy latte grande with rose-scented syrup and vegan dark chocolate biscotti." She managed to get out in just a single breath. The server cast their eyes downward, sighing. "Don't skimp on the soy." Kelly added. "I'm on a diet."

"Is that all for you?" The poor guy asked.

"Yeah," Jim nodded curtly, but tried to convey his apology to the server through the small gesture.

The guy set about making the drinks, advising Kelly and Jim to "take a seat, because this is gonna be a few minutes".

Jim would have preferred to sit nearer the back, in a corner somewhere, away from all the noise and commotion and chatter coming from the other people sitting around, but Kelly insisted they sit close to the serving counter, so she could watch and ensure that no one messed up her drink.

"So, how are you?" Jim asked the back of her head.

"Good." She responded distractedly, craning her neck to see the back of the counter. "Dieting kind of sucks, though. Did I tell you I've been on a diet recently?"

"No, actually."

"Well, I am." She turned to look at him quickly, probably to check that he was still paying attention, before shifting round in her seat again to watch her drink being made. "I tried to get Pam to do it with me, to make things easier, but she said no."

"Oh?" He always listened when Pam was mentioned. He guessed it made him seem like some asshole who didn't care about anything else, but he didn't really mind.

"Yeah. And I even told her, you know, that Roy would definitely love it if she did it and, like, surprised him, but…" She sighed dramatically, shaking her head. "I guess she just doesn't care enough about her physical appearance. Not as much as I do, anyway."

"I guess." He couldn't help but think to himself, Roy should like her whether she's on some stupid diet or not.

(And he did mind that. Those kinds of thoughts came to him far too often, and he didn't even know the guy. It was just… Pam never seemed herself when she talked about him. She was more subdued, timid, than she was before. A couple of times, when they were joking around in class, her phone would buzz and when she checked it, it was as though her mood just dulled, somehow. She'd suddenly give some excuse to stop, or pretend to take notes, or otherwise ignore him for the rest of the lesson. Roy just seemed to have that effect on her.)

"Mine's done." Kelly piped up, breaking him out of his reverie.

He guessed his would only take a minute or so, and told Kelly he was going up to pay, and he'd get hers for her.

"Thanks, Jim." She smiled at him, and he smiled back, and he found it was actually genuine.

(He knew, even at this point, that he was never going to like Kelly in the same way he liked Pam. But Kelly was still his friend, and she was ridiculous, but even Jim could see that she had a good heart.)

"Here's your coffee, and your… Half-caff, half-soy whatever."

"Thanks." He dug around in his back pocket before pulling out a slightly crumpled $10 bill, and handed it to the guy. "Just, keep the change." He added, feeling sorry for him. He grabbed the two mugs and stepped back to the table.

Kelly immediately inspected hers, and once she was satisfied with the look of it, took a tentative sip. "Hot," she remarked.

No kidding. He thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Anyway," Kelly began. She leaned her elbows onto the table and set her chin in them, gazing at Jim under her eyelashes. "How have you been?"

He saw her last night, but he answered her question without sarcasm nonetheless. "Just classes, you know, History and everything. Talking to people from back home… Nothing much, I guess."

"Pam is always going on about the things you get up to in History. It sounds like you guys have a lot of fun."

Jim noted how genuinely happy she seemed for her friends. He'd been dreading the afternoon spent with Kelly, but all of a sudden this was seeming less like a date and more like a relaxed lunch spent with a good friend.

"Yeah, we - uh - we do." We. The word caught in his throat, perhaps because of the way Kelly described he and Pam: "you guys" made it seem as though they were one person, one being; together.

(He knew he was being a dumb sap, but he couldn't stop, and probably wouldn't even if he wanted to.)

They were finished and ready to go at half 3, and Jim stood at the table, shuffling his feet and waiting patiently for Kelly to bustle up her things, and they left.

To his surprise, Kelly didn't try to hold his hand or otherwise make any gestures that could seem to an onlooker even remotely romantic.

Instead, they actually just joked around, just like any good friends would do. Jim helped her into the taxi, and once they had made it back to the building and were climbing the stairs back to her floor, she even confessed to Jim: "This was a great date, and you're really nice, but… No offence, but I just con't see you in that way. You're too much of a friend to me."

He definitely wasn't upset.

They said goodbye at her door, and after only a few minutes, went their separate ways. Jim would have liked to see Pam again, as he was sure she would appreciate being filled in on what exactly happened during the date, but Kelly shut the door behind her quickly, and he guessed it would have seemed pretty rude to demand to be allowed in to speak to their mutual friend about the otherwise private lunch between he and Kelly.

So he just walked back to his room, paused for a second outside (he liked to prepare himself, before being around Dwight for any amount of time), entered, and flopped down on his bed. He ignored Dwight's incessant questions about where he had been and with who, instead checking his phone.

FROM: Beesly

TO: Jim

How was it? Kelly just got back! TELL ME EVERYTHING.

so, this'll probably be the last chapter for at least 2 weeks (unless the hotel has miraculously good wifi, but thats doubtful.) i will be back asap with new (prewritten) chapters, as i actually have a plan for this fic. wow.

guest reviews:

Guest: Thanks! I hope this is okay :)

rachelle: Thank you! It was a little difficult to put (most of) the characters from an adult, office workplace into a college type of setting, so I'm glad you think that!

Lexie (from chapter one oh god I'm so sorry i didn't respond sooner!): Thanks! :D at first I thought it might seem a little too weird to have Jim and Dwight as roommates, but I actually think they're pretty similar in a lot of ways, even if they don't see it themselves :)