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gifted-burnout-archive · 4 years

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Jim’s Best Friend

Part Ten - Gambling More Than Money

Word Count: 3640

Author’s Note: EEk! Casino Night time! So excited!

WARNING: Cheating.

For previous chapters, click here.

April, 2006.

You sat in the office, sorting through the files you had to look at that day, the rest of your colleagues settling down as well, when Mr Schrute decided to walk in looking like a penguin: full tuxedo, bow tie, too long trousers.

He hung his coat up by Pam's desk, and Jim sauntered over, hands in pockets.

"Excuse me. How long is the wait for a table for three?" Jim asked with all seriousness, gesturing to you and Pam as he spoke. Dwight straightened up, far too unhappy for so early in the morning.

"I would never, ever serve you. Not in a million, billion years." Dwight stared Jim down, and then glanced at Pam.

"It's a nice tux." She offered the compliment.

"I know, it belonged to my grandfather. He was buried in it so... Family heirloom." Dwight fixed his bowtie, and the three of you just took a moment of silence to process that information.

"So... Did... Did Dwight dig up-" You started, and Jim looked back, shaking his head. Not because you were wrong in your line of thinking, but rather he just didn't want to think about it anymore.

In the next five minutes, as you all settled in to your desks, Roy turned up, giving Pam a quick kiss and beginning so chatter about the night ahead: Casino Night in the Scranton Business Park, a fundraiser for some unknown charity, but the entire warehouse staff were spending the day setting it up.

"So, what's the deal? We've gotta pay for our own drinks? That's lame!" Roy exclaimed, and Pam quickly defended.

"Come on, it'll be fun! And besides, I'm a roulette expert." She wiggled her shoulders, getting a smile out of you and Roy.

"Impossible!" Dwight called from his desk, which he stood by as he sorted through files. "Roulette is not a game of skill. It is a game of chance."

"I can always kind of win at roulette." Jim said casually, not looking away from his screen.

"Oh really? Mm-hmm?" Dwight said, sitting down. He was clearly not amused. "How would you do that?" He asked, and you glanced up.

"Mind control." You answered for Jim, on the same wavelength. Dwight chuckled, looking between the pair of you.

"You can't be serious." He said, but when Jim returned it with a blank stare, Dwight's smile dropped. "Are you serious?"

"Ever since I was a little kid, like eight or nine, I could sort of control things with my mind." Jim shrugged, and you did your best not to smile.

"I don't believe you. Continue." Dwight was staring directly at him, intrigued in that half-creepy way only Dwight could be. Jim sighed.

"It was just little things, you know? Like I could make something shake. Or make a marble fall of the counter, you know. Just, little things." Jim said, and you nodded along. Dwight scoffed.

"Hah! That's ridiculous. You know what? Why don't you move that coat rack? Or..." Dwight looked around, seeing you replace your pencil holder near the edge of your desk. "Or knock Y/N's pencil holder to the ground." Dwight demanded. "Excuse me, everyone! Attention in the office, please! Jim is about to prove his telekinetic powers, and he needs absolute silence." Dwight announced, looking over at Jim. "Go ahead."

"Okay... I'll try." Jim said with a nod, his mood sombre. He twisted his chair to face you and Pam, holding one handing up and directing it towards the coat rack. With an exhale, he pointed his finger, and you all waited in silence, watching the coat rack.

Suddenly, it began to move, and Pam's eyes darted from Jim to the coat rack in surprise. Jim's attention then switched to your pencil holder, and as the coat rack stopped moving, your pencil holder begun inching closer and closer to the edge of the desk.

"Jim, can you-" You started, the cup tipping over and onto the floor. Dwight just watched in silent amazement.

"My God..." Dwight brathed out.

You and Pam sat together in the conference room, facing the cameras, and without a word you both lifted items: an umbrella and a strand of thread attached to your cup holder, both trying to hold back the laughter that threatened to erupt.

"What are you doing?" You asked Pam, heading up to her desk with a fresh cup of coffee.

"Oh, nothing." Pam said softly, and you leaned over the desk, reading a label on one of the video tapes.

"Till Death Do Us Rock..." You said aloud, and within a second Jim was by your side, inspecting the scene.

"They're wedding bands." Pam explained, the two of you letting out a joint 'ah'. "Roy was supposed to pick the band but he's concentrating more on the bachelor party now." She added, picking up the box of video tapes and going to stand, put them away. Jim held a hand out to stop her.

"Wait, wait, where you going?" Jim asked. "I mean, even if you don't hire a band, you still have to watch the bands." Jim lifted a tape out, and held it in Pam's face. "Pam, these are people who have never given up on their dreams. I have great respect for that." Jim nodded, and Pam started to giggle.

"And yes, they're all probably very bad." You added, a smirk across your lips. "And that'll make Halpert feel better about not having dreams." You nudged him and he laughed, and Pam gave in.

"There's a KISS cover band in here."

"Let's do it." Jim decided, beckoning to pair of you to follow him into the conference room. And while Dwight sat outside, trying to make his bobblehead move with his mind, you were lounging in one of the conference room chairs, Jim changing the video tapes.

"Wow, I don't know how you're going to decide." You remarked, and Pam looked back at you with her endearing smile, enjoying the fun that came with planning a wedding instead of the stress.

"They are all extremely good." Jim commented too as the fourth tape was inserted and read.

"I think I should hire them all." Pam nodded, fake serious in tone. "Do like Lalapalooza. Three stages."

"Your mom would love that." Jim said, making Pam laugh. His face lit up when she did, and you got up, heading towards the door as the next band started to play. The others didn't notice, Jim providing head Judge Pam with information on the next band, named 'Scrantonicity'.

"Oh, shit, wait. Y/N, wait!" Pam spoke up, pointing at the screen, and you turned to look. "That's Kevin."

"What?"

"On the drums, on the drums!" Pam squeaked, and Jim's jaw dropped.

"Oh my God! That's Kevin." Jim confirmed it, and you couldn't help but laugh, walking out of the room to your desk with a smile on your face. You sat down, dialling Patrick's work number, hoping to get him during his lunch break.

"No personal calls, Y/N." Dwight scolded, and you glanced over.

"Jim may be able to move things with his mind, but you haven't even seen what I'm capable of." You warned, sighing as the phone went straight to voicemail. It had been doing it a lot lately, but Patrick was a busy guy.

"Do I look alright?" You asked Patrick as he parked the car, and you ran a hand through your curled hair once more. Patrick smiled at you, pressing a kiss to your cheek. Pam had made you promise to dress up a little with her, so you swapped the work attire for a black dress that hugged your figure and heels just a touch taller than usual. You felt good, and the kiss of approval from your boyfriend, who had dressed nicely in a button down shirt and fitted trousers, was all you needed.

The pair of you got out of the car, Patrick quickly typing away on his phone before offering you his arm, and you took it, letting him lead you inside. The warehouse was full of people from across the business park, and you took Rick's hand and led him towards a large gathering of your colleagues, though Michael and Dwight were nowhere in sight.

"Evening everyone! Thought I'd introduce you guys to Patrick. Patrick, this is the office!" Everyone said hello, Jim coming over and handing his friend a beer. "So, you know Jim. This is Stanley, and Kev, Ryan and Kelly back there, Meredith, Phyllis and her partner Bob, Oscar and Angela, and this is Pam." You went round, giving Pam a hug yourself as you reached her.

"It's so nice to meet you Patrick, you seem to make Y/N very happy." She complimented, and Rick went to respond when his phone buzzed. He looked and muttered a soft 'shit'.

"I'm so sorry Y/N, it's work." He apologised, but you gestured for him to take it, and smiled at Pam once he had headed out.

"He's so cute! Did Jim really make it happen?" She teased you, and you couldn't stop the blush rising to your cheeks as you nodded. Pam smiled in response and led you over to Roy and Darryl so you could say a quick hello.

A half hour later, Jim sat across the poker table with Pam, a ten of spades being placed down as the river card in Poker. Pam couldn't stop the smile that crossed her face, shaking her head a little in excitement.

"Yeah, right." Jim spoke up, looking at her with disbelief.

"Yeah, right what?" Pam feigned innocence.

"What was this?" Jim asked, copying her previous action and causing her to laugh.

"I have good cards." She smirked.

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm. And I'm going to take you all in." Pam announced to the table, matching Jim's total chip count.

"Wow..." Jim said as Pam placed her chips in, and looked her in the eye. "I think you're bluffing." he decided, and the pair continued a few more seconds of smiles and funny looks until Jim just couldn't take it any longer, tossing the last of his chip in to match her bet and breaking eye cotanct in the process.

"Yeah, I think she's full of it." Kev said with suspicion, and she mouthed a 'sorry' to Jim as she turned her cards.

"Straight."

"Three nines."

"Congratulations Pam!" The table clapped, Pam collecting up her chips and Y/N wandered past, stopping by Jim.

"You haven't seen Rick around, have you? He's just sort of disappeared on me..." You asked, trying to hide the worry in your voice. Jim shook his head, glancing back at Pam and leading you away from the table.

"No stress, we'll find him, maybe he just needed some fresh air?" Jim suggested, and you nodded, heading towards the back exit. Before you could leave, Jim caught your arm.

"Y/N, you look really nice tonight." He complimented you, and you smiled, squeezing his hand before heading out the door and coming face to face with Jan Levinson.

"You're... Y/L/N, right?" Jan asked, and you nodded, glancing around but seeing no sign of Patrick.

"Yes. Y/N Y/L/N.. Thank you for coming all the way down from New York." You said, and Jan beckoned you closer.

"You smoke?" She asked, and you thought on it for a moment before accepting the cigarette and taking a long drag, handing it back.

"Could I talk to you about something, Miss Levinson?" You asked, and Jan smiled softly.

"Call me Jan, please. And of course."

"Well, at the Women in the Workplace meeting we had, I overheard you on the phone talking about a project. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but if Dunder Mifflin International is still a project corporate is investing in, I'd like to put my name forward." You weren't quite sure how you had mustered up so much courage, but it seemed to impress Jan.

"That's... Great initiative, Y/N. It's a scouting mission mostly, though. Not so much as a foreign branch as foreign clients." Jan corrected, and you quickly replied.

"I speak Spanish, and coversational French. If you need someone."

"What sparked the interest? Aren't you Michael's little prodigy?" Jan quizzed, and you sighed.

"I've been in Scranton for six years now, and when Jim told me he was accepting the transfer to Stamford, I was motivated to get off my backside." You said honestly, Jan handing you the cigarette again. "I don't think I'll work with any other company, so I might as well try for better pay here, right?"

"Indeed... Good to hear that Jim is accepting the position too..." Jan blew out the smoke, and sighed. "Why did I sleep with Mi-"

"Hey, Y/N, can we talk?" Patrick appeared out of nowhere, interrupting Jan's thought.

"Rick, not right now? Jan was talking?" You tried to hint, but Jan shook her head.

"I'll put your name in with New York, Y/N. I should be heading anyway. Nice to meet you, Patrick." She said with a nod, stubbing out the cigarette and walking over to her car. Patrick pulled you inside and upstairs.

Jan's car drove past a pickup truck, seated inside was Roy, with his fiancée Pam stood at the window.

"Sorry babe, I'm just beat." Roy emphasised the last word, and Pam nodded.

"It's okay. I'll see you at home." Pam assured him.

"Okay. Don't try to lose too much money, alright? Cause we still want a honeymoon?" Roy joked and the two shared a laugh as Jim walked round the corner, looking for Y/N. "Hey Halpert! Keep an eye on her, all right?" Roy called to him, and Jim nodded.

"Okay. Will do." Jim promised, and Roy drove off into the night. Pam walked over to Jim, arms swinging. "Hey, how's it going?" He asked.

"Good. Especially after I took all your money in poker." Pam teased, and Jim let out a low-effort laugh.

"Yeah... Uh." Jim thought for a moment, and realised he still hadn't told anyone by Y/N about Stamford. It would only be fair if Pam heard it from him first. "Hey, can I talk to you about something?" Jim asked.

"About when you want to give me more of your money? Did you wanna do that now? We can go inside, I'm feeling kind of good tonight." Pam joked with him, biting her lip as she smiled.

"I was just um..." Jim started, but seeing that smile, and that girl in that dress, telling her about his transfer was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I'm in love with you."

"... What?"

"I'm really sorry if that's weird for you to hear, but I need you to... Hear it." Jim breathed out slowly as he spoke, looking down at his shoes. "Probably not good timing, I know that. I just-"

"What are you doing?" Pam asked, a look of fear and confusion across her face. "What do you expect me to say to that?"

"I just needed you to know. Once." Jim stuffed his hands deeper into his pockets. Pam couldn't meet his gaze.

"Well, I, um... I... I can't." Pam said, fidgeting, and Jim nodded. "I don't... And Roy, and Y/N." she started.

"I know..." Jim kept his gaze down.

"You have no idea..." Pam began, but Jim cut her off.

"Don't do that."

"... what your friendship means to me. And honestly, Jim, I think you're wrong." The words came out suddenly, stopping both of them.

"What do you mean, I'm wrong? I've been in love with you for almost four years." Jim said it softly, doing his best not to get frustrated, and Pam looked him in the eyes.

"Do you seriously not see how she looks at you?" Pam spoke quietly, and Jim met her gaze. Pam took a step back, "You don't... You really don't."

"What are you talking about Pam?" Jim gave up trying to decipher phrases, and Pam just shook her head, starting her walk down to the road, hailing a taxi. "Pam! Don't do that... You know I want to be more than this." Jim followed her.

"I'm really sorry, Jim... If you misinterpreted things between us, but you need to figure this out on your own-" Pam started once more.

"Just don't..." Jim sighed, getting the message, or at least part of it, loud and clear, before walking back towards the building. He needed to be alone, and repelled by the noise and laughter that came from the warehouse, Jim made a quick turn and headed into the front door, taking the stairs up to the office.

A place to think, to process, to hide. Pick up the pieces of a broken heart without judgement. But as he got through the door, he heard loud voices, muffled by the walls and doors in the way. And he would never admit that he wanted to see how someone was suffering just as much as he was, but his curiosity took over, and he walked further into the office, spotting Patrick pacing around the kitchen, Y/N stood by the door. He moved closer to hear it all better.

"And you just had to wait until now to tell me? After I had just introduced you to the entire office as my boyfriend?" You asked, raising your voice a little. It's not like anyone would hear.

"What was I supposed to do? Tell you in the car?"

"Yes Patrick!" You exclaimed, and he sighed.

"Listen, we don't have to end this badly, Y/N." Patrick tried to rationalise with you, and you let out a laugh. "It's not like we were planning more than a week ahead."

"Right... Really glad I didn't think about a future with you." You snapped, taking a seat. "But I did, and I..." you felt your eyes watering, and you took a deep breath. "But you know what? Fuck you, fuck Jennifer, I hope you're happy together. No more need to lie for my sake." You announced, and Patrick looked away.

"We were barely anything, Y/N."

"Still sucks to be cheated on, Patrick."

"Like you haven't cheated on me!" He yelled suddenly, and you stood up to defend yourself.

"No! I haven't! What would give you such an idea?"

"Don't lie, I saw the way you were looking at Jim all night." He spat out, and you stepped back. Jim?

"Jim... Jim Halpert? My best friend? My co worker, who is in love with someone else?!" You rolled your eyes. "God Rick, don't shift blame onto me with that bullshit. You've spent this entire night ignoring me and texting your ex, planning a booty call the second you dropped me off home."

"She's not my ex... You are." Rick silenced you, and you bit your lip to counteract the stinging in your eyes. "Do you really not realise how you look at him? Even when I'm around. All the touches and the winking and the hugs. No wonder half your colleagues were surprised I existed."

"You cheated on me! My friendship with Jim was never a threat to us, but you HAVING SEX WITH JENNIFER IS!" You reiterated it, plain and simple, shaking your head in disbelief. He had been seeing her all this time, and only today, when Jennifer got impatient on waiting for you and Patrick to break up amicably did the ass finally have the balls to do it. "Just... Delete my number, Rick. I hope you and Jennifer have a great life, fuck you both."

Patrick stormed out past her then, Jim moving back to not be noticed as Patrick marched out the office, slamming the front door in the process. Jim took a second, and hearing quiet sobs from the kitchen, he decided to head in. You could be heartbroken together.

You looked up as he entered, wiping the tears from your face and smiling as wide as you could.

"Hey, Halpert. What are you doing up here?" You asked, but Jim gave you a look, and you knew he had heard everything. You smile disappeared, sighing and looking down as Jim sat down beside you. "Heard all of it?"

"Enough..." Jim said, taking your hand in his. "But if it helps, Pam rejected me, so two broken hearts..." He whispered, and you looked up, reaching over to hug him tightly.

"I'm so sorry Jim..." you sighed, and he broke the hug with a nod.

"You know, she said she couldn't because of Roy... And because of you." Jim scoffed, wiping away a tear. "I honestly think she's convinced you like me."

"Patrick said the exact same thing..." You commented, and the pair of you laughed. "People have been losing their minds tonight, it seems."

"Yeah... I'm going to Stamford now. No point staying here really..." Jim sighed, and you nodded.

"Jan is putting my name in with New York for the Europe scouting mission..." You told him, and the pair of you sat in the silence for a little longer.

"Things will get back to normal, right?" Jim asked, and you looked up at him. "I don't want any of this to have ruined... What if I've lost Pam to this, for good?" His voice wavered, and you shook your head quickly.

"Like Pam would want to lose you... It'll be okay Jim... It has to be." You assured him, and he smiled a little.

"Want to head home? Ice cream fest and movies until we crash?" He suggested, and you nodded. He helped you up, holding you for a moment more to hug you. It felt nice, warm, safe... His threw his arm over your shoulders, and the pair of you walked out the office, turning off the lights as you went, and getting into Jim's car.

You may have been heartbroken, but there was nothing in the world Jim couldn't make better.

Tags: @imsuperawkward

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