Temporary (Jim Halpert)

Chapter Six: Hook Up

       An unfamiliar alarm rang beside Audrie's head. A chill swept over her and she cuddled closer to the thin blanket before rubbing her eyes and sitting up. Her heart raced a moment as her eyes gazed over the unfamiliar room she awoke in, before she remembered what had happened last night; her anti-valentine's day plans, the blizzard causing her car to get stuck, and Jim letting her sleep in his room for the night. Fingers running through her hair, she glanced over at the clock beside her to check the time, only to be met with the fact that it was currently an hour before the two of them needed to be in the office. Audrie's eyes grew wide. Scrambling her way out of bed, she tried racing to the door. Instead, she tripped over one of the legs of the pants she had borrowed. With a groan she pushed herself up from the floor, and hurried her way down the steps and back into the living room.
      Too tall for his own couch, Jim's legs were draped over the arm rests. Head cocked to the side because of one too many pillows underneath his neck, and a blanket laid half on the floor and half on his body. Loose hairs atop his head were scattered about like static, and hair was matted to the top of his forehead and hung over his eyes. Light snores escaped his lips. The position looked uncomfortable, but his face remained peaceful. Peaceful until an anxious Audrie entered the room.

"Jim, wake up!" Audrie shouted, leaning over Jim to shove his right shoulder.

    The sudden noise and touch caused Jim to clutch onto the blanket in his lap, and jolt awake and upward. His sudden jolt forward cause the two's heads to collide. The two of them let out a groan in unison. Audrie straightened her back and held a hand over her eyeball, while Jim fell back onto his pillows and held a hand over his forehead.

"Holy shit, I'm so sorry." Jim uttered with a sigh of pain. "Are you okay?"

"Fine and dandy." Audrie replied, giving a thumbs up with one hand and leaving her other still over her eye. "How about you?"

"Well, now I'm awake."

"Awake. Halpert, that reminds me. We have like an hour to get to the office. I still have to see if I can shovel my car out, go home, shower, grab breakfast, get dressed.."

    Audrie listed each part of her morning routine to Jim with anxiety growing bigger and bigger inside of her. He merely stood from his spot and put two hands on each of her shoulders, and tried to tell her to calm down. He grabbed a half dead phone off his night stand, and started dialing somebody. Audrie tried to quiet down as she noticed him making a call, but still scrambled about the house collecting her things and trying to brush through her hair with her fingers.

"Yeah, hey, Michael. It's Jim. Audrie's car is stuck in the snow, and I'm going to go help her shovel it out. Which means we'll be a little late coming in today. Hope that's alright."

    A few nods and a couple one word replies later, Jim returned to the living room with an ended call and a smile. He called for Audrie who was rushing about to get ready in the bathroom with what she had, and she came running into the living room with her pile of half damp clothes.

"So, I called Michael and just told him your car was stuck and we'll be late." Jim explained with a yawn. "It's that easy, Richards. Now take some deep breaths, and let's go get your car out of this ice."

    With a deep breath in, Audrie thanked him. Her shoulder's relaxed. Instead of wasting more time with worry, the two of them put on their coats and shoes, and prepared for the winter weather awaiting them. As the two exited the building, they weren't met with such a bitter winter as they had expected. Light snow flurries swirled to the ground, and a chunk of ice still remained stuck to one of Audrie's back tires. The girl sighed at the site, and shuffled her way to her vehicle with Jim following behind her with a snow shovel. The two had picked and chipped away at the ice, but had little luck with it. Jim sighed after twenty minutes of chipping, and gave up.