title taken from: "You! Me! Dancing!" by Los Campesinos! (which is such a good, happy, dance-y, PB&J song btw)

thank to everyone who's been reading/reviewing so far, and i hope you'll stick around for december :D

just reminding everyone again that i'm on hiatus for all of November due to NaNoWriMo, but i'll be back on the 4th of December with a new chapter!

The day - or night, rather - of the Halloween party was appropriately dark and stormy, and so, as she was halfway out the door, Pam made sure to grab a jacket, just in case.

She was wearing the same costume she had worn last year - although, as this was a new school with new people, she doubted it made a difference. It was pretty simple; just a black turtleneck, thick leggings, some cat ears and whiskers, but it was comfortable, and, as Kelly put it: "Not too slutty."

Kelly herself was wearing a costume similar to that of Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. Pam had helped braid her hair, as though they were in middle school or something.

They made their way to the elevators, Kelly chattering excitedly along the way. "… I have a feeling that tonight's gonna be a really good night, you know?" She was saying, shooting an anxious look to her companion. "It will, won't it? I really hope it'll be good."

"I'm sure it will." Pam gave her a reassuring smile. "Halloween's always fun, right?"

The guys were already there - Ryan too, surprisingly. Their backs were facing Pam and Kelly, and from the limited light let out by the flickering wall lamp, it was difficult to tell what they were wearing.

"Hey," she said, just to make them turn around.

Jim turned to the sound of her voice. "Oh, hey!" He seemed to be wearing normal, everyday clothes, though there were a couple of dark spots on his shirt.

Ryan donned a white teeshirt and black leather jacket, and his usual expression of perpetual boredom.

"Ready to go? We've been waiting for a while."

"Sure." Kelly spoke for them both.

They all took off into the impending blackness, slowly, Kelly immediately took hold of Ryan's arm and half-dragged him along with her, so Pam and Jim sort of fell behind, just as usual.

"I can't really make out what your costume is," Pam remarked, falling into step with her friend.

He gestured to the dark spots on his shirt. "I'm three-hole-punch-Jim. See?"

Pam rolled her eyes at his lack of effort, but eventually conceded. "Okay, it's pretty funny."

"Told you it'd be good!" He dodged her shove. "Anyway. I like your costume." He punctuated this with a short, albeit sort of misplaced, pause. "It's cute."

"Thanks," she directed her gaze at the ground, suddenly thankful for darkness that the night was offering them. She only allowed herself to look up once more when she was sure her cheeks had returned to their usual colour.

The party was actually a little busier than Pam expected - she had guessed it would be pretty small and boring, due to it being a student-body-organised event, but there were quite a lot of people there. Music was blaring, with the current song seeming to be - at least, according to the drunken howls of the few seniors present - Werewolves of London. Someone had installed a smoke machine in one corner of the small hall, giving the place a nice ambient aspect to it.

"Told you guys it wouldn't be totally lame!" Kelly exclaimed, mostly to Ryan.

"I guess," her date replied.

Pam continued her look around, trying to spot anyone she knew from classes. The only people outside their group who she was really friends with was Oscar, though she didn't spot him there. Kevin Malone, from Art, was there, talking in the corner with a couple of guys she'd never seen before, as well as a girl Pam only knew from her extensive reputation, Meredith Palmer. (Who presently was drunkenly attempting to dance up on an unsuspecting Junior.)

She was brought back to reality by a finger-snap from Kelly. "Um, hello?"

"Sorry. What did you-"

"Me and Ryan are going to dance, maybe do a lap of the place to see who we know." Kelly explained for apparently the second time. Her arm was placed firmly through Ryan's, almost like a prison guard escorting a convict to court.

"Oh, okay." Kelly took Pam's words as permission, and dragged her date in the direction of the central dance floor.

"Am I a horrible person if I say I feel bad for Ryan?" Jim asked, meeting her gaze.

Pam pretended to think it over. "Maybe. But that'll mean I am, too."

Jim laughed, staring directly at his feet. After a moment, he gestured towards the drinks table on the left side of the room. "Do you want a drink?"

"Sure," she smiled up at him.

He went off to get their drinks, dodging a large group of sophomores song the way.

Pam tried to tune into the music. Werewolves of London was over, a new song was playing - Faith. Kelly and Ryan were dancing in the middle of the throng of people - or rather, Kelly was dancing, and Ryan was just allowing her to lead him.

Jim returned a moment later, two plastic cups in hand, with a small stain on his shirt, near his shoulder.

"Couple of frat guys deemed it necessary to bump my drink." He explained, handing her the fuller one.

Pam shot him a bemused look before taking a tentative sip. It tasted sweet but plain, like the type of punch drank during fundraisers at her local church.

After a couple of minutes, Jim had downed his drink and was waiting patiently for Pam to finish hers. She did, with a slight shudder (it was incredibly sweet - it made her want to brush her teeth immediately) and looked up, expectantly.

"Hey," Jim began, as though he had been rehearsing what he was about to say since the start of the night. "Would you like to dance?"

Pam was taken aback. Slowly, she reached to set down her empty cup on the nearby table. "Um," she could feel his eyes on her. "Sure."

The current song seemed to still be halfway through, but regardless, Jim gestured for her to go with him to the dance floor.

The previous crowd had begun to disperse a little, and everyone who was left - Kelly and Ryan were nowhere to be found, unsurprisingly - were culminating in the very centre of the floor. Jim ended up leading her to a little spot on the outskirts, close to the crowd, but still far enough away that they wouldn't be pushed around by a bunch of half-drunk 20-year-olds.

The chorus of the song picked up again, and Jim took her hand.

Just be calm.

"I'm really bad at this."

He laughed, but she guessed he didn't believe her. "Good. I've been waiting forever to see some Beesly dance moves."

She rolled her eyes, but gripped his hand tight, and started to move. It wasn't great; she was probably no better than she was in middle school. But it was fun. For the first time in what felt like forever, she felt truly carefree.

Jim's dancing seemed to be no better than hers, but he suited it. All gangly arms and legs, as per usual.

"Yeah, it's sad that you think that we're all just scenesters

And even if we were it's not the scene you're thinking of"

Her breathing was already becoming pretty erratic from all the exercise, but despite this, she managed to say what was going through her mind.

"I love this!" She wasn't entirely sure if her cry was even heard over the music, but it didn't matter.

"Me too!" Jim replied. Even though he was having to shout over the song playing, there was something soft in his tone.

"Not sure if you mind if I dance with you

But I don't think right now you care about anything at all"

The song had reached it's bridge, and suddenly the room felt a lot quieter. Jim looked around, seeming confused, until finally, she heard it.

"Pam!"

"Hey, is that-" She cut herself off when she caught sight of him across the room.

Roy locked eyes with her and grinned, starting to make his way across the floor. "Hey!"

"Oh, my God!" She could hardly speak. "What - What are you doing here?"

"I felt bad about missing your birthday, you know. So, I drove up here to meet you." He wrapped her in a hug. He smelled the same way as he always did, and for a moment, Pam felt like she had never left high school, never left home.

"You're the best." She spoke over his shoulder.

"Well," he hugged her tighter, swaying them both a little. "I've been here for a while, actually. You weren't in your room, but your roommate was, so she said you were here."

"I'm really glad you're here."

"Me, too." They broke apart, Roy still grinning ear-to-ear. "Hey, let's get out of here."

"Sure!" She checked her phone was still in her back pocket and took his outstretched hand. They were almost to the door when she remembered.

"One sec," she apologised to her boyfriend, before rushing back through the crowd to Jim. He was rooted to the same spot he was standing in when Roy first arrived, but presently had his phone out.

"Jim," she called, though it sounded more like a question than anything. "Thanks… For tonight."

His face softened, but he barely looked up from his screen. "You're welcome. I'll… I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

She shot him one last grateful grin before returning to Roy, and together, they walked out into the night.

since the next chapter will be in December, i will be doing a sort of time-hop - chapter 23 will likely take place just after Thanksgiving break.

see you 4/12/15!