〔𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 ; 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯〕
〔𝘪'𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵 2.0.〕

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FOUR MONTHS LATER





















 

WILLOW HALPERT PULLED INTO an empty parking space about five blocks from a giant skyscraper in which she worked in part-time. She planned to meet the documentary crew there prior to beginning work. Grabbing her purse and a black cardigan, Willow quickly crossed the street, narrowly avoiding a car passing by.

She could never get used to the bustling activity and loudness of New York City. Pulling the cardigan on, Willow began to walk fast toward her temporary workplace as not to be late for the crew. 

As she approached the building, she gave a small wave to the camera operators and boom mic handlers she recognized from back at home.

♡

"Yeah, I'm living in New York now. Well, I've been here for a few months. Before I left, I began to look into doing a summer art program here, and found out that the Pratt Institute had an affordable photography program three times a week from June 'till October, so I signed up. When I told Jan, she offered me a part-time position working for her at Corporate so I could afford to live in a hotel here. Guess I'm Willow Halpert 2.0. now." she joked at the end.

'Do you talk to anyone back in Scranton?'

"Oh, I know he's not there anymore, but I call Jim practically every night to gossip and rant. I also called Pam a few times, and Michael would call here to speak to me or Jan."

'How about Dwight? We know you two were close.'

Willow felt a pang in her stomach at the mention of him. "Uh, I don't talk to him anymore."

♡

Willow bid goodbye to the crew and walked inside the building, getting onto an empty elevator. Pressing the button for the fifty-fifth floor, Willow sighed to herself, replaying the talking head interview she just partook in in her mind. She was dreading any mention of Dwight after what happened only a few months ago, and after hearing the crew ask about him, she felt sick to her stomach and quite melancholy.

Trying to shake the feelings off, Willow got off the elevator and walked into the waiting area. She greeted the receptionist and made her way over to Jan's office.

"'Morning Jan." Willow yawned as she placed her purse on the front desk.

"Oh, hi Willow." Jan replied sluggishly.

"Do you need a coffee or something?"

"Um... sure. Two sugars."

"Okay." Willow walked off to the break room and began to make a pot of coffee for her and Jan. She sighed to herself, as she took out two coffee mugs while waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. 

Pouring coffee in both mugs, Willow reflected back a little bit on her life. How she went from being a secretary to becoming a saleswoman with her brother after needing a life change. And how she's practically back to being a secretary because she let some childish crush get her down. Nevertheless, she seemed only a tad bit happier, since her brother and best friend were now miles away.

Willow returned to Jan's office and placed a round, blue mug onto her desk. Jan gave a silent thank you before Willow rushed back to her own desk to pick up the phone (not before almost spilling her own coffee in the process).

"Dunder Mifflin Corporate Office, this is Willow."

"Willow! Hi!" 

"Um, hello Michael."

"If you do not mind I would love to speak to Miss Jan Levinson!"

"Sure, I'll put you through in a second."

"Very good!" Michael cheered before Willow quickly put him on hold. She pressed a button that rang to Jan's line.

"Jan, Michael Scott is on the line. Again." Jan let out a loud sigh at the statement.

"Put him through. This is the twentieth time he called this week, my God." Jan complained as Willow patched him through to Jan.

♡

Since Jan was occupied with a conference call with the managers at the Utica and Albany branches, Willow opened one of her desk drawers and pulled out a camera. The camera was fairly old (as it was borrowed from a friend) but functional nonetheless. Willow set up the camera to take a picture of her coffee for the week's assignment. 

Willow has always adored photography. As a kid she loved going to her uncle's house to observe and utilize the variety of old cameras he collected over the years. She adored using her old Polaroid camera to take pictures of nature and friends and objects in her house. 

She remembered back at Jim's party when Dwight questioned her about a small Polaroid of Willow and her three brothers tacked onto the wall adjacent to one of the light switches. She smiled as she remembered the day they took the picture and how genuinely interested Dwight looked when she told him that story. 

Her expression soon turned cold as little moments like that could no longer happen. She temporarily moved away for a reason; to get over Dwight. She needed to get away to clear her head, and with Jim taking a job in the Stamford branch and Pam coping with her breakup with Roy, she basically had no one left. So what does 'Willow Halpert 2.0' do? Sign the hell up to the first art class she sees in New York.

The days leading up to her departure were particularly hard. With Jim already at Stamford, Willow usually found herself hanging out at reception with Pam, since she'd almost cry every time she locked eyes with the salesman across from her. Even during the most inane conference room meeting, she'd leave when she saw him sit next to Angela, lying that she had to go to the bathroom or take an important sales call, asking Pam to tell her if she missed anything important.

She remembered looking Dwight straight in the face when announcing she was going to New York for four months; sort of a way to stick it to him that she no longer needed him. However, her heart would ache for him. With every call she cancelled from him to try and forget about him, the rejection still haunted her dreams. It sort of felt like a living nightmare.

Willow set the camera back down and began to distractedly organize some lone files on her desk. She took a sip and began telling herself to move on. Dwight is with someone else and she was going nowhere pining after someone who clearly was in a relationship. 

However, she couldn't help but miss him. And she hated herself for it.

♡

Dwight Schrute entered the lowly office and quickly walked over to his desk. Giving a polite nod to Ryan, he set his briefcase down and sat at his desk, logging into his computer. He felt himself looking over at the desk across from him; only to see that it was empty. A distinct memory from the Casino Night only months earlier flooded into his mind.

♡

Before he knew what was happening, Dwight felt Willow Halpert kiss him with passion and longing. He felt himself freeze at the sudden action. This had never happened to him before.She was so much different than Angela. One thing, she was a brunette. Duh. But, she was also fun, stubborn and probably understood him more than his closest friends ever have.

Closing his eyes, he began to kiss her back ever so slightly before the image of Angela fluttered into his mind. Not wanting to breech his fidelity to her, he quickly pushed the brunette off of him, a small feeling of regret in the back of his mind. 

Before Dwight could say anything else, Willow ran from him with tears in her eyes. He felt his stomach drop at the sight. He had to bite back the temptation to chase after her, remembering his original reason for leaving the makeshift casino. 

Before he could even try to go after her, he felt a small tap on his shoulder. Turning, he looked down to see Angela, a small smile on her face.

"I'd like to congratulate you on winning Craps." she said before jumping into his arms, kissing him feverishly. Normally he'd be just as enthusiastic as she was, but as he began to kiss her back, Willow's teary gaze filled his mind. Guilt plagued him even as he carried Angela into the backseat of his car and as they made love for the fifth time that week.

Sometimes he'd imagine an evening of love-making with Willow. But he knew that it could never happen, and quickly shook off any thoughts of that. Because his loyalty was to Angela. And that was all that mattered.

♡

For the past four months, that intimate moment with Willow would always cross his mind. He remembered being a bit sad to hear that she would be gone for four months. That and with Jim being gone as well, he'd think he'd be a bit more overjoyed, especially since Willow would occasionally assist Jim with his pranks. But, now that the temp took Jim's desk and Willow's was empty, the days would be a bit boring.

Sure, he was a lot more relieved that he wasn't going to be pettily pranked anymore, but he oftentimes liked the dynamic the siblings shared. That, and, you know, being with Willow in general. Still, he had a job to do. And right now, his job was to assist Michael.

Michael called Dwight into his office quickly that morning, panicking about something (what was new?). 

"Can you tell who's gay and who's not?" Michael asked as the both of them stared through the blinds of the office, observing the employees.

"Of course." he answered confidently. 

"What about Oscar?"

"Absolutely not."

"Well he is." 

"Well he's not dressed in women's clothes, so..." Dwight imagined Willow scolding him for the comment. A small smile tugged at his face as Michael let out a loud sigh.

"There could be others... I need to know. I don't want to offend anybody else."

"You could assume everyone is, and not say anything offensive." Dwight suggested, thinking of Willow again. 

"Yeah, I'm sure everyone would appreciate me treating them like they were gay." Michael complained. There was a pause as both men continued to look out of the window of Michael's small office. Dwight would glance over at Accounting and see his girlfriend working hard as she always did. However, he found himself analyzing the empty desk of a saleswoman off in New York. 

"Do some research. Find out if there's a way to tell by just looking at them." Dwight's thoughts were interrupted by Michael.

"Jim told me you could buy 'gay-dar' online." Dwight suggested.

"That's ridiculous."

"Yeah probably. He didn't tell the truth a lot. And his sister always went along with it."

'And she was so lovely,' Dwight thought to himself. 'No. Well, yes. But Angela is much more lovely.'

"Let's call him and get the website."

"Definitely."

♡

The day ended after a three hour chaotic conference room meeting Michael had in an attempt to save face about Oscar's outing with his sexuality. Dwight packed up his briefcase and put his suit jacket over his shoulder. Taking a glance at Willow's desk, he followed a few of his co-workers out of the office and into the elevator. 

Exiting the elevator and walking toward the parking lot, Dwight ran into Angela on the way out.

"Come to mine." Angela whispered.

"Um, I'll come in an hour. I need to check on Mose and the animals." Dwight responded as he walked off to his car. 

What he said was not necessarily a lie, as he had a sort of routine he followed every night after work; he just wasn't really in the mood for anything at the moment.

Dwight started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. While concentrated on the road, he felt for his cellphone and flipped it open, dialing a familiar phone number. 

Before it could reach a second ring, the call immediately went to voicemail.

"Hi, you've reached Willow Halpert. I can't come to the phone right now, but leave me a message and I'll call back as soon as I can!"

Dwight flipped the phone shut and tossed it in the seat next to him. This was probably the eleventh failed phone call he tried to make to Willow since she left. He didn't even know why he tried to even call her in the first place. He knew he would hear that same voicemail greeting every time. He knew he would hang up without saying anything to the voice that would not call back. He could tell she was purposefully cancelling his calls. But through all that, he still wanted to at least hear how she was doing.

'Enough of that. Angela. Angela... Love making night with Angela.' Dwight thought to himself. He could still see Willow's smiling face in the back of his mind and her glassy eyes that night he ripped her heart out.

He couldn't stop thinking about Willow, and he was unsure why. But despite that, he sort of wanted to continue.