AN: This story will follow its own timeline – so though the same "events" might be mentioned, I'm not worried about what happened when and before what. All you need to know is that M&C never met each other – all else will be explained.
Monica took the bills from the machine and stuck her ATM card back in her wallet, groaning to herself as she glanced at the balance on her receipt. So much for her father's advice to put a third of every paycheck in savings – there was never even enough to cover rent and groceries, much less "invest in the future".
She glanced out at the pouring rain – then doubtfully down at the bags she carried – knowing there was no way she was going to get a cab in this weather. Sighing deeply, she bundled her purchases up as well as she could and fumbled with her umbrella, wondering why the storm had held off just long enough for her to leave work before it angrily dumped its fury on New York City. Typical, she thought wryly, as she fumbled with her umbrella and prepared to face the weather again.
She was so intent on getting her belongings organized in her arms and the umbrella ready to go up that she didn't notice the figure approaching her from outside – until he ran into the ATM vestibule, slipped on the wet tile and went flying across the floor and straight into her, sending her belongings flying as they both fell hard to the ground.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" he asked her nervously, gathering himself together and standing up before he offered her his hand to help her up.
"Umm…" Monica glanced around her, still somewhat dazed by the suddenness of the encounter, then looked back up into his anxious blue eyes. Quickly shaking herself out of her trance, she nodded distractedly as she instinctively took a mental inventory of her body to make sure everything felt like it still worked.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" he asked again, reaching out a hand as if to steady her. Monica nodded again, this time more sure of herself.
"Yes, I'm sure. You just surprised me is all," she told him, a slight smile touching her lips. He smiled back hesitantly, holding her gaze for a moment before he glanced awkwardly down at the floor and noticed the bags lying at their feet.
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry," he fretted as he bent down to retrieve the bag lying at his feet. "Nothing breakable, I hope?"
"No," she assured him as she took the bag he held toward her. "Just some books and a sweater for my room-"
Monica stopped mid-sentence as the lights flickered then went out, accompanied by a loud beeping from the ATM machines around them. An instant later, the beeping stopped and the room was illuminated again, this time by the emergency lights strategically located in the corners of the small room.
Stifling the urge to panic, Monica glanced around apprehensively as the room immediately seemed to become half the size it has been a moment before. She moved instinctively toward the door, intending to see if the lights in the building across the street had gone out, too, but she was met with total darkness, broken only by the headlights of the cars sitting in standstill traffic in the street. Against her better judgment, she pushed gently against the door, not surprised when she was met with firm resistance.
"Automatic locks?" the stranger behind her questioned softly, not sounding anymore surprised than she was.
"Yeah," Monica answered, turning around to look at him warily. "And it looks like the power's out everywhere." She sighed, thinking that this just went hand-in-hand with the horrible day she had already had. "I guess we're gonna be stuck here for awhile."
"Do you want to use my cell phone?" he offered, holding it out to her as if it were a peace offering. "Call your husband…boyfriend…"
"Um, I should probably call my roommate," Monica conceded, not bothering to tell him that she didn't have a husband or a boyfriend. She took the phone, smiling a thank you as she dialed her apartment with trembling fingers. She noticed that he turned around as she put the phone to her ear, trying to give her a little privacy. She smiled to herself, surprised at how chivalrous the insignificant gesture seemed.
"Hey, Rach? Yeah, it's me. Locked in an ATM vestibule…yeah. No, there's a guy here too. Oh, come on, Rachel. Well…yeah. Sort of. His name?" Monica paused, hoping he would take the cue and offer his identity. He turned slightly and threw her a cute grin over his shoulder.
"Chandler," he whispered confidentially, and Monica couldn't help but return the smile as she turned her attention back to her roommate.
"His name is Chandler. Yeah. So is everybody there? Yeah? Well, hopefully it won't be too long. I just wanted to let you know where I was. Okay. Okay. Bye."
Monica flipped the phone shut, and held it out for Chandler to take. "Don't you need to call someone?"
"Yeah…I should probably call my roommate. I was supposed to bring dinner home – he'll be more worried about where the pizza is than me, I'm sure," Chandler told her, shrugging charmingly.
Monica smiled slightly, then turned her attention to organizing her shopping bags against one wall. As he was dialing the number, she glanced back over at him and spoke up before her courage failed her.
"Hey…Chandler," she said, hesitant about speaking his name. He paused with the phone halfway to his ear, looking back at her with curiosity.
"Yeah?"
"Well…just in case your roommate is as nosy as mine is…my name is Monica."
Chandler grinned, nodding his acknowledgement of the introduction.
"Nice to meet you, Monica. And yeah, my roommate is that – Hey, Joe, it's me," he interrupted himself as he turned his attention back to the cell phone. "No, I haven't picked up the pizzas yet," Chandler said into the phone, winking at Monica as she turned to look at him. "Listen, Joey, I'm locked up in an ATM vestibule. Yeah, I know the power's out – that's why I'm locked in here. The doors locked automatically. No, I'm not by myself, there's a woman here with me." Chandler paused and glanced at Monica again, blushing slightly as he lowered his voice. "Yeah, very. Her name is Monica. Uh huh… No, I don't think the pizza place will deliver in the middle of a blackout in New York City, Joey. Go ahead and try if you want to…How do you think they're going to cook them with no power? Okay…yes, I'll believe you then. Yeah, see you later. Bye."
Chandler flipped the phone shut and looked over at Monica, who was turning red as she tried to keep from laughing.
"See, told you. Much more worried about the pizza than me."
Monica smiled, then glanced at her watch as she slid down the wall into a sitting position.
"So how long do you think we'll be locked in here?"
Chandler glanced at his own watch, then looked back at her with a shrug. "I don't know. I'm sure it won't take them long to get the power up again."
Six hours later…"And then, after I had already broken up with her like, three times, Joey – my roommate – sets me up on a blind date the night before Valentine's Day with a friend of his date…and it turns out to be Janice."
"Oh, no!" Monica exclaimed, covering her mouth with one hand as she laughed. "What did you do?"
"Well, we both spent dinner expressing our severe displeasure about the coincidence and taking cheap shots at each other…but then Joey and his date decided they were going to leave. Joey left me his credit card – so Janice and I got really, really drunk." Chandler paused, his face growing thoughtful. "You know, Joey 's probably still paying off that bar tab. Anyway, I woke up the next morning with this huge hangover – and Janice was lying next to me."
Monica's eyes widened as she got the implication of this, and she stared at him in disbelief. "You didn't."
Chandler chuckled dryly, shaking his head. "I'm still trying to convince myself of that. But anyway, Janice of course assumed that we were back together – and it was also Valentine's Day so that only made it worse. She kept talking about how "Fate had brought us together…"
"Well, it does kind of sound like it. I mean, first the internet thing and then a blind date at the restaurant? Maybe you really are meant to be with her," Monica told him, her voice taking on a thoughtful lilt. Chandler stared at her in disbelief, shaking his head furiously.
"Have you not been listening? We are definitely NOT meant to be together. Besides, I don't believe in fate."
"You don't believe in fate?" Monica questioned him, incredulous.
"No," Chandler answered with a shrug. "I mean, I believe in God and all that, but I don't think everything that happens is destined to happen, no matter what choices we make. I believe that I control my own destiny."
"Well, I believe that too, but I still think…I don't know, maybe it's just romantic, but I think that somewhere out there, there's one person that I'm meant to be with. You know, like a soulmate? And that no matter what happens, we'll end up together – in spite of, or because of, everything that might happen along the way."
Chandler shrugged, noncommittal, though for some reason her words sent his heart racing. "It's too easy. Besides, what if fate did want me to be with Janice, even though I can barely stand to be in the same room with her? Shouldn't I have a say in it?"
He sounded so sure of himself, but when Monica looked into his eyes, they told her a different story. She smiled to herself, amazed that she could tell so much about him, after knowing him for only a few short hours. This was better than any "date" she'd ever had – and it was hard to believe that just a few hours ago they had been total strangers.
"I'm not saying there's no choice in the matter, Chandler. I just think that everything happens for a reason."
Chandler watched her, captivated by the dreamy note in her voice. There was no doubt that he was attracted to her, and he couldn't help thinking that after tonight, he might believe in fate after all.
"So…why do you think "Fate" allowed the power to go out and the two of us to be stuck in here together all night?"
Monica shrugged, looking down at the floor. "I don't know. Maybe we'll never know."
"Well – what if it was because I am destined to be with you, and this is how we're supposed to meet?"
Monica looked up at him, grinning impishly. "That's quite a statement from someone who doesn't believe in fate."
Chandler raised his hands, returning her grin. "Hey, I'm just speculating."
Monica smiled back, but her retort was interrupted by the distinct sound of the locks clicking open, followed immediately by the flooding of light and the whirring and beeping of machines restarting. She glanced over at Chandler, noting that he looked slightly disappointed, and wearily pulled herself to her feet, reaching down to help him up.
"Free at last," she said softly, looking up into his eyes. He nodded, nervously scuffing his shoes against the tile floor.
"Yeah. Listen, Mon…would you, um – like to have coffee or something sometime?"
Monica grinned as she shrugged back into her jacket and gathered up her belongings. "So now you're helping fate out, huh?"
Chandler blushed and stuffed his hands down in his pockets, not sure how to respond. He'd never been good at this sort of thing.
"Tell you what," Monica continued, placing a hand on his arm. "Just to prove my point, we'll let fate decide. It's 11:30 now. I'll meet you for coffee in say, half an hour. We both show up…well, then I guess we'll know."
Chandler looked up at her, a smile lighting up his face. "Great, where?"
Monica smiled and headed for the door, turning her head to look back at him.
"That's where fate comes in."
"What? Monica, wait. Tell me where to meet you," he pleaded, walking after her as she headed for the street. "How am I supposed to find you if we don't go to the same place? I don't even know your last name."
"We'd better go to the same place then," Monica whispered, looking up at him and wondering if she was really willing to leave this up to chance. With one quick motion, she reached up to kiss him, instantly feeling a connection like she had never felt before. She pulled away, gave him one last quick smile and walked away, leaving him staring after her. He quickly ran back in to grab his coat and briefcase, determined to follow her and see where she was going. He would show up at the same coffeehouse as she did if it meant he had to sprint the whole way to keep up with her.
But as he turned to run after her, a bus came barreling down the street, hiding Monica's retreating figure from his view. In the half second it had taken the bus to pass, Monica had disappeared around a corner. Chandler ran down the street after her, but when he reached the corner, she had already disappeared.
Crossing his fingers and silently pleading with the universe to carry him in the right direction, he turned to the right and began to walk.
To Be Continued…Three guesses as to what movie inspired this – I think you'll probably just need one! But I needed something a little more lighthearted to concentrate on for a little while, and I think this could be a fun scenario. Let me know what you think!