Chapter Text
Pam Beesly stared into the camera.
"If you're watching this..."
She paused and glanced up at the person behind the camera before trying again.
"If you're watching this, I'm sorry."
She had to get out of there.
Her cheeks flushed red, heat radiating from them in shame. Was it shame? She wasn't sure.
She had no right to feel... jealous? Was that what this was? Jealousy?
Jim was with Karen... and Pam? Well, she was totally single and watching her best friend drift away from her in real time. It was only a dance, but it was the principle of the thing. She wanted him to be happy, she really did, but the fact that he was going to be happy without her in his life, that stung.
She had no right to expect anything else other than friendship. She rejected him. Jim had poured his heart out to her, and she rejected him. Twice. She had missed her chance, and she had nobody to blame except herself. If he wanted to completely cut her out of his life, then so be it.
She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, and she needed to stop that. So, she decided to go for a walk before hopping in a taxi. It would clear her mind, and she would feel better after it.
She had made it a few blocks when she saw the silver-blue car. It was parked beside an alleyway, and Pam recognised it immediately. Had he broken down? He must have left early - he had definitely attended the wedding itself, but maybe he snuck out afterwards to get back to Sasha?
Maybe she could help? Pam glanced in the car - no one there - and made her way around it to see if she could find him. There he was! Hunched over something on the ground. She moved closer, her voice raised slightly to be heard over the city's soundscape.
"Toby? Do you need some help with yo--"
The words died on her lips as he turned and her gaze met with Toby's. His expression was one of utter shock, and as her gaze moved downwards, her brain registered what was on the ground. She couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.
A young woman, lying motionless on the ground. Her long blonde hair was partially obscuring her face, and her eyes were closed.
Pam took an instinctive step backwards, a mixture of the cool breeze and fear sobering her up quickly.
"What... What are you doing?"
"Pam..." He walked toward her, and Pam stepped back again to a vain attempt to create more distance between them. Toby's initial shock had faded, quickly replaced with a casual expression, as if he had simply bumped into an old friend on a night out, but this was far from it.
Pam's mind flashed back to the news reports that mentioned a car of a similar colour and model in witness statements. News reports that also mentioned the cause of death of the victims - deaths that were occurring at an increasingly alarming rate. Everyone in the office had speculated about who it could be, but it had all been light and fun - you never expect it to happen to you, right? There was always a degree of distance when it comes to things like this, but... This time...
"You're... the Scranton Strangler."
Pam surprised herself with how quiet the voice that left her lips was. It could have been due to the fact that she had put the pieces together in real time. Or it could be due to how nauseous she felt in this current moment.
Toby grew closer to her with every step, and Pam was quickly running out of space.
"You don't understand. I don't mean to do it - it just kind of... happens."
He shrugged with that trademark nonchalance that Pam was used to seeing during their work days, but now it chilled her to the bone. How could he be so calm about all of this?
Wait.
He wasn't denying her statement, so that meant...
Pam stepped backward once again, and her back collided with the side of the car. An audible thud echoed through the night air. It winded her a little as her mind raced to find a way out of this.
A horrible thought crossed her mind.
If she was to die, right now, who would miss her?
Her parents, her sister, the rest of her family? She had called off the wedding to Roy, so she had probably burnt a bridge there - even if he was being nice to her right now. She had friends, but nobody who was that close, nobody except...
Jim.
She felt a pang of emotion in the midst of the chaos. Would he even realise her absence now that he had Karen in his life? Did Pam even deserve his concern after all the pain she had put him through?
Her feet moved on pure instinct. The escape attempt around the back of the car and into the relative safety of the main street was short-lived, especially with her heels inhibiting her, and she felt a steely grip dragging her back before she could even react.
He spun her around to face him, and as Pam looked into Toby Flenderson's eyes, she made a whispered plea that was soaked in fear.
"Please don't hurt me."
His expression faded into something else. It was the same harmless half-smile that Toby had perfected over the years, but now it signaled something much more sinister. He brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, cupping her cheek gently as he spoke.
"Oh Pam, I could never hurt you."
Jim couldn't stop himself from glancing over at the receptionist's desk.
It was the day after Phyllis's wedding, and everyone had managed to drag themselves into the office, except for the lucky few like Toby and Creed who had booked their vacation days well in advance.
The only person notable by their absence was Pam, and Jim couldn't focus.
The image of her hurriedly leaving the reception hall played on repeat in his mind, an expression that he couldn't quite decipher evident as soon as their gazes had met.
Jim had wanted to go after her, to make sure that everything was alright between them, but Karen had been his date to the wedding, after all. He couldn't leave her on her own while he attempted to find Pam. He had a feeling that his girlfriend wouldn't approve - not in those surroundings, at least.
So, he allowed himself to settle for clearing the air when they were back at work the following day... but Pam hadn't arrived.
Time ticked on, reception remained empty, and Jim grew restless.
This wasn't like her. If she couldn't make work - if she was sick, or something had happened - she would have always sent him a quick message, because it was usually a rarity. Pam was usually punctual and reliable, and when she wasn't... Well, there was probably a good reason for it.
There was another theory, however. One that Jim didn't want to admit was a possibility. That their friendship had grown so distant that Pam was punishing him, or simply didn't care enough about him to let him know if something was wrong with her.
He really hoped that this wasn't the case.
Avoiding Dwight's eagle-eyed gaze, he punched a text into his mobile from his desk, pressing send before he talked himself out of the action.
[Hey Pam. Are you alright? Just wondering because you're never this late. If you're hungover after last night, just let me know and I'll make up some excuse for you with Michael.]
Jim paused momentarily before sending another quick message, hoping that he wasn't overreacting about all of this. There was probably a very logical explanation for her absence.
[I'm sorry about last night.]
If that was the case, then why did his heart ache?