jam oneshots | for the soul~

high school AU.

your favorite otp? now they're in high school!
Pam is a slightly chubby art/theatre kid who is bullied by Roy and Darryl for her weight.
Jim is a tall, lanky nerd with confidence issues, anxiety, no friends and a bad stutter.
What happens when they meet?

"Hey, Beesly!" Roy hollered, charging up to her. "How was your summer? I see you've gotten fatter over the break." He snickered. Pam ignored him, still walking to her registration class. "Yo, don't ignore him!" Darryl snapped, suddenly smacking her books out of her hands. Pam's face crumpled and she bent down to pick them up and was pushed to the floor.

"Don't bother, fatass." Roy laughed. "You're fucking useless, you know. You're gonna end up fat and alone, you disgusting pig." They both laughed. Pam sniffled and wiped her eyes.

"H-Hey!" A voice said. They all turned to see a tall boy staring at them. "S-Stop t-that! I-I s-saw w-what you d-did..."

Darryl and Roy exchanged nasty grins then looked back at the boy. "And who are you?" Roy asked. 

"J-Jim," He responded. "Y-You should r-really s-stop bullying h-her..." Darryl laughed. "And you should really fuck off, kid. This fat cow ain't worth getting beat up for," he smirked. Jim walked right up to Darryl, staring him down. Roy and Darryl were both strong and buff, but neither were taller than or as tall as Jim.

"Beat it," Jim snapped, suddenly without any stutter in his voice. "And d-don't you talk to her like that again, or else you'll r-regret it..."

Darryl and Roy looked at each other, then took a final look at Pam. "You got lucky," Roy spat, then stormed off to registration, followed closely by an equally angry Darryl.

Jim looked at Pam. "Gosh...a-are y-you alright, Miss?" He bent down. Pam looked up and met his eyes. "Oh...yes, thank you, sir..." Jim gazed into her eyes and suddenly blushed. "Y-You're w-welcome, M-Miss...w-what's y-your n-name?"

"I'm Pam Beesly," she said softly, gathering up her books. "And you're...Jim, right?" 

He smiled and nodded. "Jim Halpert. I-It's nice to m-meet you...how o-often d-do they d-do this to y-you?" Pam smiled sadly. "Quite often...and it's always about my weight, too..." she looked down at herself. "I mean, they're right. I am fat...but I wish they wouldn't comment on it all the time..." 

"H-Hey, y-you're not f-fat..." Jim said gently as he helped her up. "In fact, I think you're very pretty..." Pam giggled. "No one has ever said that to me before...thank you, Jim. So what is Jim short for?"

"James. I-I d-don't l-like it though, s-so I g-go b-by Jim..." he replied, rubbing his arm. Pam grinned. "Well, I like both. Anyway..." she looked around. "Oh, gosh! The bell has already gone...I'm gonna be so late!"

"S-Shit, me too," Jim nibbled his lip. "Pam...uh...s-should we skip? T-The janitor's c-closet is never used...maybe we c-could g-go there?...O-Only if y-you w-want to, of c-course!"

Pam paused, rubbing her chin. "I've never skipped before...but I don't want more people to comment on my weight gain, so...sure, I'll skip with you." She smiles at him. Jim turns red again and returns the smile. "F-Follow me," he says and walks off. Pam follows him.

They arrived at the janitor's closet a minute later. Jim opens the door cautiously, but it was empty, bar a few cleaning supplies. He went inside the narrow cupboard, signaling for Pam to follow him in. Pam did so, swiftly shutting the door behind her. Jim felt around for the light switch.

"Jim! That's my boob!"

"O-Oh my G-God, I'm s-so sorry, I-I'm l-looking f-for the l-light!"

"I know...be careful though!... Oh, here it is." Pam switched on the light. She glanced at Jim, who was bright red. "I-I really am sorry..." he mumbles.

Pam smiles softly. "It's okay." she looked around. "... cozy, in here, isn't it?" Jim nods. "I've h-hidden out in h-here from bullies b-before. B-But n-never with s-someone e-else..."

"I see...ah, Jim? May I...ask you about something?"

"Shoot." He sits down on the floor and smiled up at her.

Pam did so too. "Why, uh...why do you have such a bad stutter?... I hope that's not a rude question-"

"Oh...n-no, it's okay...I...I have a-anxiety." Jim mumbled, rubbing his arm. "It started around about when m-my d-dad passed..." he bowed his head. "The world just got...darker...h-he was...a really b-big inspiration to me. I really looked up to him..."

"...Gosh, I'm so sorry to hear that, Jim....w...when did it happen?" She asked, taking his hands in hers. "A couple of years ago...he got liver cancer...he was a really heavy drinker, you see...we always told him to stop, but he...he wouldn't listen." A tear rolled down his cheek. Pam wiped it away gently. "It's okay," she said softly. "I'm sorry I asked..."

"No...It's probably best that I talk about it to someone I trust...that's why I don't like therapists. Or many new people...I feel like they're silently judging me. It's so awful. No one r-really understands me."

"So you're saying you trust me?" Pam grins weakly. Jim smiles. "Yes. I do." He says. "But we barely know each other!" She argues.

"Alright...t-then l-let's get to know each other...well....my full name is James Duncan Halpert...I really like Star Wars...uh...I l-like to read...I h-have n-no friends...and I'm in 11th grade."

"That's incorrect. You do have a friend- me!" She smiled. Jim smiles back, red in the face. "Really?"

"Yup. Anyway...My full name is Pamela Morgan Beesly...I really like to paint and draw...I also like musicals...I played Fantine in Les Mis once...I have a friend called Jim...and I'm in 10th grade."

"S-So you do w-want to b-be my friend?" He asks quietly. Pam smiles. "Of course I do. You seem really cool, Jim. We should hang out more," she says, and he feels his heart soar as he beams widely ar her.

"...We should." 

3 MONTHS LATER. 

"Hey, Jim!" Pam calls her best friend from across the hallway. "Meet in the closet?" 

"S-Sure, 10 minutes sound g-good?"

"Yep!" She gathers up her books and dashes to the janitor's closet, eager to see her friend. The door opens a minute later, and Jim is standing in her presence. He grins. "Hey, you!" 

"Heyo. Shut the door, it's too bright out!" She says with a giggle. Jim does so, and switches on the light. "Why d-didn't you t-turn on the light? Have you just b-been sat here in the d-dark?" He asks, sitting down beside her. Pam shrugs. "I wanted to wait for you." She smiled, and Jim does too. "So," Jim begins, running a hand through his hair, "what's new with you?"

"Well..." Pam grins, turning red, "I got a boyfriend!" She gushes. Jim's face falls. "Oh." He mumbles, visibly saddened. She doesn't notice.

"Don't ask why I even wanted a boyfriend," she says, "But now I have one. Though you may not like who it is..." Pam rubs her arm, and her sweater looks baggy on her. Jim twitches. "W-Who is it?"

"...Roy Anderson."

There's a long, piercing silence, and Pam knows exactly why. 

"...Jim, I know a few months back he-"

"Pam, what the actual FUCK?!" His stutter evaporates. "Just a few months ago, that prick was bullying you mercilessly about your appearance, calling you fat, and a pig, and now you're dating him?! Why!? He doesn't deserve someone as amazing as you, and that's a fucking fact." He's red in the face and blazing.

She scowls. "Jim, you don't know him like I do-"

"Don't give me that bullshit." He folds his arms. "He's a dick. You and I both know that." Pam begins to look equally as mad. "Stop trying to make this something it's not! Why do you care anyway?!"

"Because you're my b-best f-friend and I don't want to see him exploit and b-break you!" 

"You're full of it, Jim! Really fucking full of it!" Pam rises to her feet and storms out, slamming the door behind her.

And that was the last time they saw each other during High School.

15 YEARS LATER.

Pam shuts off her computer and looks over at Jim with a smile. "Almost ready to go, babe?" She asked softly. Jim catches her eye and nods. "Yeah, I am." He smiles back and turns off his computer too. 

The pair grab their coats and reassemble in the elevator. As the doors close, Pam glances up at her tall, handsome boyfriend and begins a conversation she hadn't wanted to think about in a long time. "Jim, do you ever think about high school?" She asks. "Or...more specifically...our friendship...?... Although it was shortlived, it has to be said."

The elevator begins to travel and Jim responds after a second. "I tend to block it out as much as possible, but it sometimes pops back up as a nasty, frightful and haunting memory." He pauses, seeing her face, and cracks. "Of course I do. They were the best months of my life because I knew you." He boops her nose, and Pam giggles. "You're such a dork." She murmurs with a slap of his arm, but she's clearly pleased with his response. 

"You were also a massive dork in high school, to be fair," Jim states, hooking his arm through hers as the elevator comes to a halt. "Maybe not as big as me, with my stutter, though."

"Pssh, that stutter was the cutest thing about you."

"You were the only one who thought that. And besides, it wasn't cute," Jim insists as the doors open. "It made me look stupid." He pauses, gazes at Pam for a few beats, then begins to leave the elevator as she follows. "Another reason why I love you is because you helped me with my anxiety during the few months that we were best friends. It didn't exactly clear up my stutter, but...my life was bearable with you in it, bab. You...you have no idea..." he chuckles softly. 

Pam stops walking and looks up at him, a soft look of love etched upon her beautiful face. "I'll always help you out, Jim. Even if we ever break up...God forbid...I will still always continue to support you in whatever you do, because you're my best friend, my boyfriend, and my soulmate, and I love you so very much." She squeezes his arm supportively, and for a split second, Jim's face falls and he looks like he's going to burst into tears. But he's too much of a man to let that happen, so Jim simply smiles bittersweetly. 

"I love you too, Pam...now...uh...let's go home." he kisses her forehead gently, then links arms with her again and walks out the Dunder Mifflin building. They both notice Roy watching them as they walk past, helping Darryl load crates, and neither say anything- they don't have to. It's obvious just by the simple gesture of arm linking that Jim and Pam were in love, and had been ever since they met, all those years ago. 

a/n: probably not my best work and I may have been able to expand more on this idea, but it's not bad. school is starting up again soon, so I might post even less, which is...basically no posts. We'll see what happens, though. bye! xx