sorry for the delay!

title taken from: "Dance Anthem Of The 80's" by Regina Spektor

Karen Filipelli was probably one of the coolest people Jim had ever met.

Her taste in music was great, she could hold discussion, and they had the same sense of humour. She was pretty and smart and nice and there was no reason not to like her.

He repeated this to himself as they drove, frowning at the message he had just received.

"i miss you"?

What the Hell was that supposed to mean?

How did she expect him to respond to that?

He clicked the lock screen off and slid his cell into the pocket of his rucksack once more, tuning back into whatever rant Karen was spouting about how her brother had spoiled The Force Awakens before she had the chance to see it herself.

"…And it's just, you know, it's freaking STAR WARS! And I had school until Christmas break, so obviously I wouldn't have had any time to see it, and of course he knew that, the little-"

"I'm guessing that drove a wedge between family dinner, then?"

"Not just dinner. I refused to acknowledge his existence until the day after New Year's."

"Harsh."

"Yeah. Well." She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel, squinting through the windscreen to watch the traffic lights. "He deserved it."

"Totally."

"Don't you dare mock me." She warned, just as the light turned green. The car jolted forward unexpectedly, and he couldn't help but wonder if she did it on purpose. "I could kick you out the car if I wanted to. Never argue with the driver."

"Got it." Their eyes met in the mirror, and she smirked at him.

When he shot her a grin in response, her expression softened to a smile, and he had to look away.

The car rumbled to a stop in the Dunder-Mifflin car park. It appeared most people living in this block were already here - he recognised a few cars, and most ideal spaces were used up.

Karen clicked the button on the ceiling to pop the trunk, then turned to face him with a cheeky grin. "Ready for another semester in this shithole?"

"Definitely." Jim lied, even though the nervous fluttering in his stomach suggested otherwise. He pushed the door open and stepped into the cold, crisp air.

Karen already stood, waiting, rucksack slung over one shoulder and clutching the handle of her small suitcase. She watched as Jim made his way round the car, yanked his own suitcase from the trunk, juggling his rucksack and case until he finally found his balance.

"Let's go."

He hadn't texted her back.

It was probably nothing - he was probably driving or busy or his phone was dead.

Really, she had nothing to worry about.

But he still hadn't texted her back.

Pam was beginning to wonder just how stalker-y it would be to show up at his door once she thought he'd arrived.

It was today, right?

She was unpacked by now, rereading a couple chapters from her textbooks to remember what she'd been studying before the break.

Kelly was set to arrive in the evening. It was strange to see her half of the room looking un-lived in, almost barren. Though her roommate could be a bit much sometimes, she was looking forward to her return.

Another half-hour ticked past. Pam checked her phone again. Nothing.

10 minutes. Nothing.

20 minutes…

…Okay, so maybe she could just go see if Dwight was back, and if by chance she ran into Jim then that'd be fine, too.

With a resigned sigh, she shut the textbook from the page she had been staring at for the past 15 minutes, stretched her legs, and stood.

This was perhaps the clingiest thing she had ever done, she mused as she closed the door behind her. There were a few people milling around in the hallway, residents mostly, with a couple parents here and there. Pam gave a polite nod to Angela, who shot her a glare in response. Some things never changed.

She decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator, partly to give her more time to think about what she might say to him. What did she really want to say? What did he want to say to her?

Another flight of stairs, and she reached the top. This corridor was less busy but somehow louder. It emanated an air of bustle and commotion. From the sound of things, it seemed as though some were still settling in.

Jim's door.

Correction: Jim and Dwight's door.

She rolled back on her heels, once, before stepping forward.

So the story was: she was going to see if Dwight was there, to ask about the upcoming lessons in their History course.

If Jim was there, she'd say hi, it was only polite.

If he wasn't, well.

Well.

It was this strategy that was running through her head when she knocked on the door, smart, stepping back to make room.

It was this strategy that was thrown out of her mind the minute Karen Filipelli opened the door.

?

?

?

"…" She tried, looking past Karen into the room. Jim's side, obscured by the open door. Dwight's side was bare - he wasn't back yet.

"Hey!" Karen shot her a pretty grin. "Pam Beesly, right?"

"What?" A third voice. Jim's.

Uh oh uh oh uh oh uh oh.

"Um, hey." She finally forced out, hating the way her voice sounded so small. She swallowed. Used her outside voice. "Hi, Karen."

"Pam?" Jim again.

She saw his foot first, stepping into the sliver of the room she could actually see. Then he took another step, and there he was.

Jeans and a grey sweater. Messy hair. From what, she wondered?

"Hi," she said again, stupidly.

It suddenly occurred to her that the last time they saw each other, in person, she could still feel the imprint of his hands on her waist, and her hands tingled after touching his chest. Sweater-covered chest. Like now.

Shut up, brain.

"What're you doing here?" He asked, simply.

Pam briefly checked his tone for any hints of suspicion or hurt or anger, but found nothing.

What was going on?

"Um." Her left hand gravitated to her neck, twisting the little horse charm on her necklace. "Sorry."

"You don't have to-"

"I was just looking for - for Dwight. I need - I wanted to know if he had any information on the course. For History. Class. 'Cause, you know how he is…"

"Yeah." He dragged out the word, surreptitiously glancing at Karen as if to say, can you believe this? "He's not here yet. I can tell you when he is, though."

"Great. Thank you!" She began to back out the doorway. "And um, nice to see you again. You - You too, Karen!"

"Uh, yeah. You too."

"We should talk sometime, Pam!" Karen called, as Pam was a couple feet away from the door. She hadn't turned back, but she could tell the other girl was still watching her back.

"Yep!" She answered, before quickening her pace and scuttering away.

Oh, God.