this is part one of two. :D i'm guessing you can tell where this is going...

also! this fic is only about 3/4 through my plan, BUT i'm thinking of posting a (separate) "alternative ending" to the fic - if anyone's interested, that is. the alternative ending would pretty much wrap almost everything up leading on from the end of the next chapter, and would probably be based somewhat on the finale of the UK Office. (though obvs i'm gonna be continuing this fic until i reach the proper end)

title taken from: "The Dreamer" by The Tallest Man On Earth. :)

"You're attending the party at Phyllis Lapin-Vance's house tonight." Dwight stated, even though it probably should have been a question.

"Yep." Jim replied, rifling through his rucksack for his Business class notes. "Why?"

Dwight didn't reply, simply making a scoffing noise.

Alright, then. Jim thought, refusing to acknowledge his roommate's weird behaviour. Instead, he focused on the night ahead.

There was still the rest of the day to come first - thankfully there wasn't too many classes today, but still - but he was already feeling pretty excited. It was his first "grown-up" Christmas party, after all. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but the night sounded promising anyway, and he knew it would be a fun way to finish up for the Winter break.

It was halfway through Business class, his first of the day, that things started to go wrong. Very wrong.

A text came in from his father, who almost never texted.

"Call me."

It was in the middle of his professor's lecture, so he decided that whatever the problem was would just have to wait until class was over.

As soon as the professor dismissed the class, he rushed outside and leaned against the opposite wall, dialling the number his father had sent the text from.

"Dad?"

"Hello." His father sounded a little nervous. "There's been an accident, with the car."

"What kind of accident?" He asked, slowly. He couldn't understand what this 'problem' had to do with him, or why his father had asked him to call so urgently.

"Nothing too serious." He assured. "Just a minor thing, but it's in the shop now." He sounded now as though he was deliberately hinting towards something.

"And…?" Jim prompted, as he still didn't really know what was going on.

"It doesn't look like we'll be able to pick you up from school for the Winter break." His father sighed down the line, and it was half-relief, half-apology.

Jim didn't say anything.

"We've been looking into things, and it seems that there are a couple of trains you could get, and there's also a bus, but that would mean that you would have to first go to the town…"

"I - Thanks." He stuttered. This… This was okay. He would find a way around this eventually. It would all be okay. "Could you text me the information on the transport stuff?"

"Absolutely!" His father exclaimed, his voice sounding one hundred percent relief, now. "Yes - and we sure are sorry, by the way. It's unfortunate, but don't you worry, you will be coming home for Christmas this year."

"Yeah."

"You won't be forced to stay in your dorm all Winter!" A lame joke, but Jim laughed anyway.

"Well, thanks anyway, Dad - I'd best be going now, I have to go back to my dorm quickly."

"Ah, yes, of course - that's fine. I'll get going, now. And I'll see you in a few days time, we'll be making sure of it!"

They exchanged their goodbyes, and Jim, still slightly in shock, clicked the lock screen on his phone and slipped it into his pocket.

He had been researching possible modes of transportation for the past 15 minutes straight, and Jim definitely needed a break.

So far, he had found absolutely nothing that his father hadn't already told him on the phone - the easiest way seemed to be taking a bus from the town to the nearest city, then taking either a train or a coach back home. (And, even at that, the journey would still involve a lot of walking…)

He decided the best thing to do at the moment was to take a short walk around the campus to relax a little.

He left the room, being sure to lock the door as Dwight was sure to not return until at least a couple of hours later, and leaving his phone on the bed.

The dorm area was quiet around this time of day, as most people were in class or eating early lunch. He ran into hardly any people on the short walk down to the main foyer, until he noticed someone standing by the corkboard on the far side of the room.

Something compelled him to approach the person, as she looked like she needed help. The only free space on the cork corkboard was up at the top, and she was having a bit of trouble reaching that high.

"Sorry, do you need help?"

The girl snapped her head around - obviously she hadn't heard him coming. She then let out an easy laugh. "Thanks."

He put out a hand to take the laminated paper from her, as well as the 4 thumbtacks, and reached up to begin pinning it to the board. It was only when he had finished that he stopped to read what she was advertising.

And suddenly, it seemed as thought the stars had aligned.

She was offering carpool, and the town she listed as the general destination was just a couple of miles from his own home town.

"What?" The girl asked, following his line of eyesight to the advertisement. "Did I make a typo, or something?"

"No, no." He shook his head, tearing his gaze away from the notice. "Just, um." How could he start this without sounding weird? "I was actually looking for a ride."

She raised an eyebrow, seeming skeptical.

"Like, my dad called this morning to say the family car's broken down, and they were supposed to be picking me up here. And I've been researching other ways to get home ever since, but it looks like you're going the same direction as I am, so…" He trailed off, hoping that his speech didn't sound too weird. As a last resort to sound genuine, he blurted out the name of his small home town, wondering if she had even heard of it.

She nodded slowly. "I think I know where that is." She then took a minute or so to think, hopefully about Jim's request.

He waited as patiently as possible, tapping one finger against the palm of his hand.

Finally, she settled on an answer. "Alright, then." She reached up to point at the laminated notice. "But, as I'm hoping you have read, I will be requiring gas money. And full control of my radio."

"Absolutely." He nodded erratically, feeling overwhelmed with gratitude. "Thank you, seriously - you've just saved me from a whole lot of unnecessary travel."

"You're welcome." The girl grinned, but then faltered. "Um, sorry, what's your name?"

"Jim Halpert. I think I've seen you around school a few times before, but I'm not totally sure who you are, to be honest." He shrugged it off.

"Karen Filipelli." She took Jim's offered hand and shook it. "So I'm guessing now would be a good time to exchange numbers, so I can text you later about times and stuff?" There was a slight nervous twinge to her voice, but she was obviously trying to remain coy-sounding.

"Oh, yeah, sure!" He unlocked his phone, watching as Karen followed suit, and proceeded to read out his number, slowly so she could insert it. Once she had done the same for him, they were left at an awkward standstill.

"I'm guessing I won't be needing this." She joked, gesturing to the notice.

"Yeah."

"Would you mind taking it back down? Just, I can't reach."

Jim did as she requested, handing it back to her with a flourish. "So, all the effort I put into pinning that up there was for nothing, huh?"

"Yep." She replied, popping the 'p'. "Sorry!"

She didn't sound sorry at all.

Jim later recounted the anticlimactic drama to Pam over their late lunch. When he had finished and revealed the name of his carpool, she frowned.

"Karen? Karen Filipelli?"

"Yeah." He spooned some macaroni into his mouth. "D'you know her?"

Pam nodded, brow furrowed. "She's in my Art class."

"She's nice, right?"

"I guess." She concentrated on her food. "I mean, we haven't spoken much…"

"Yeah… I'm glad she's offering me this ride, though. I would've hated to have to travel by train."

Pam made a noncommittal humming noise, moving a piece of chicken around on her plate with her fork.

After a few moments of silence, Jim decided to prod a little. Her constant lapses into complete silence were getting a little awkward. "So, are you excited for Phyllis' tonight?"

"I suppose." She shot him a half-smile. "It sounds like it'll be fun. Really, though, I'm just looking forward to going home for Christmas."

Jim nodded in understanding. "It'll be nice to see… Everyone. Again." He faltered, realising that "everyone" to Pam meant not only her family, but also her boyfriend. Crap. He really, really didn't want to bring Roy into conversation.

"Yeah. I think Roy might have something planned… He keeps sending me ambiguous emojis." She shook her head, smiling faintly at the antics.

(Okay, so he had that one coming.)

The lunch ended pretty abruptly after that - he just suddenly didn't feel much like eating anymore.