INTERIM LOVER, ryan howard.

023 ⋮ castle under siege

ㅤㅤㅤ"Give me your phone."

Even through his drunkenness, Ryan could hear the edge of her voice, complying immediately. Rachel texted Kelly, letting her know that she would have to find her own way home.

She tossed him back his phone and car keys, turning to the door.

"El, wait."

She let out a breath, and turned back to his electric blue eyes. "What is it?"

He leant over his seat, planting a kiss on her lips. It felt natural, like coming home from a long day at the office. As if his heart was thawing with the little contact between them.

At first she felt herself lean towards him, craving the touch, then she remembered where she was. She pulled away, breathlessly, eyes wide with regret. Rachel stepped out of the car wordlessly and sped down the dimly lit street.

—

"I want us to make it," Pam nodded, though she looked extremely apprehensive. "I want a fresh start."

"That's awesome. That's what I want," Roy agreed.

The girl smiled. "Alright, but for us to make it, there can't be any secrets between us."

"I didn't do anything," he started defensively. "Ask anyone, I totally could have and I didn't at all."

Pam didn't really enjoy the tone that he was giving her, but she continued. "Remember that casino night about a month before we were supposed to get married? I kissed Jim."

The burly man blinked a few times, then searched for a hint of humour on her face. But it seemed that Pam was being dead serious.

"What?"

"He told me how he felt and I guess I had feelings too, and we kissed."

"Halpert came onto you?"

"No, just listen. Rachel said that sometimes you need to follow your instinct to see if you're right—"

"Rachel encouraged this?" A column of smoke was being emitted from his ears, his face was getting redder by the second. Pam had seen her share of angry Roy, but it didn't make it any less frightening.

"Don't yell—"

"Don't yell?" he snarled. In another second, he'd grabbed his pint of beer and hurled it at the wall before them.

Pam stood abruptly, her decision was final. "This is over."

Roy buried his head in his hands, defeated. Four years of his life, and she'd gone ahead and cheated on him. Four years of caring for one girl when he had so many other beautiful women after him.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. He screamed with every item he threw. Kenny had decided to join him for no reason, but Roy needed to relieve his pain. Yes, someone had to pay.

Starting with Jim Halpert and Rachel Munroe.

—

KEVIN
Yeah, I saw the fight. Pam said something quietly, then Roy said "I'm gonna throw my beer at the wall"... I'm sure they're fine though. Roy's a great guy.

—

"Yeah, I was there last night. It was crazy," Oscar was telling her in a low voice. She figured if she couldn't befriend Angela, she might as well befriend the one person she couldn't stand; the gay man who knew all the office gossip.