6Author's Notes: Inspired by some shopping I did today. Anyway, Gabe, for some reason, is ridiculously difficult for me to write.
Disclaimer: Standard comment about how I don't own anything...
If The Dress Fits
The end of work had found Pam, rather than in the tiny apartment she shared with Roy, wandering the stores of the Steamtown Mall. Roy was having some of the guys over to watch a football game (one of the bigger ones of the season, Roy claimed). She knew it would be loud and full of things that were no interest to her, so she decided to spend some time to herself. Roy has protested at first but eventually gave in, and so here she was.
Once the time had finally arrived, she'd realized that she had no idea of how she wanted to spend it. When she and Roy had gone out and done something, it was usually something that Roy picked. She could have taken her sketchbook somewhere quiet and worked for a bit, but that was what she always did. She wanted to do something different, so she had ended up at the Steamtown Mall with no particular purpose in mind.
She wandered into a dress boutique. She didn't know what she was doing here; it was a pricey place, and she rarely wore dresses. But she reasoned with herself. It wouldn't hurt to buy just one. And it might be fun to bring some variety into her wardrobe and wear a dress every now and then.
She picked one out and headed into the dressing room. Once she had it on, she looked at herself in the mirror. She frowned instantly. This wasn't her. She was quiet and hated being the center of attention; she didn't wear dresses like this. She hurriedly changed back into her regular clothes and left the dressing room.
"You know, Hollyday, I'm glad we went with your idea. The mall's been fun," Michael commented as they left the Cinnabon stand.
Holly smiled, "Yeah, I figured it would be. I mean, our first date was at a mall."
"And from there we moved onto mini golf."
Holly smiled at the memory.
"Oh, look," Michael said, pointing to something, "A wedding dress shop."
Holly giggled, "We're already married, silly."
He dragged her inside anyway.
"Hello," a sales attendant greeted them immediately, "Looking for the perfect dress?"
"Um –" Holly began.
"Yeah, we are," Michael responded, "Can you show us what you've got?"
Holly looked at Michael, then smirked.
"Well, we have some new arrivals that you may be interested in over here," the attendant said, leading them to a certain section, "Have you two set a date yet?"
"Next June," Holly said, struggling to keep a straight face.
"Ah, so, we have some nice summery ones over here," she pointed to a few.
"Those look…like what we'd be looking for," Michael replied, "You should try one on, Holl."
Just then, another customer entered the shop.
"I'll leave you two to that," the sale attendant smiled, "You two let me know if you need anything."
Holly and Michael entered the dressing rooms. Holly, dress in hand, giggled, "I still can't believe we did this."
Michael laughed.
"Here," he said, handing her the dress.
She pulled him into the room with her. She pulled off her clothes and put on the dress.
She smiled, "So?"
Michael looked at her in wonder, "God, you're so beautiful."
She blushed.
Suddenly, he smirked, "And while you look good in that, I can't help but wonder what you'd look like without it.
"Oh sir…I think you already know."
When they left the dressing rooms, walking hand in hand, the sales attendant didn't comment on how long they'd been in there, nor did she seem to notice Michael's rumpled attire.
"Hey Erin," Gabe greeted her that night as she entered her apartment.
"Gabe," she smiled, her face a mixture of cheerfulness and nervousness, "I didn't realize you'd be here."
"Yeah. Well. You gave me a key. And I thought I'd meet you here since we're going to movies tonight," he explained, the slightest hint of defensiveness slipping into his voice. His eyes fell on the shopping bag that she was carrying, "What's in the bag?"
"Oh. Um. I bought a dress," she looked thoughtful for a moment, "Maybe I could wear it tonight."
"I don't know, Erin," Gabe frowned, "It's the movie theatre. And if you wear that, I'm going to look underdressed."
"Right. Of course."
"So go put that away and we'll go, ok?"
She entered her bedroom and hung the dress up in her closet. She ran her finger over it, almost longingly. She sighed and looked forlorn for a moment, and then she smiled. She went back to the front room to rejoin Gabe.
"You know," Jim remarked, smiling, "You could honestly go to this thing in sweatpants and still be the prettiest one there."
Pam laughed, rolling her eyes, "Right."
"Hey, I speak the truth, Beasley."
"Yeah, well, it's Halpert now," she grinned, "So suck it."
"What are we? Twelve?" Jim laughed.
"Twelve year olds can't be married, Jim," she replied in mock exasperation. She spotted a store and pulled him inside.
"Hey," Jim said a few minutes later, "what about this one?"
Pam considered it, "I go back and forth between liking it and thinking it's too much for me to pull off."
"No way," Jim assured her, "If you like it, I think it'd look great on you."
"Yeah?"
"Absolutely yeah."
She smiled, "Maybe this'll be the one."