A/N: I was inspired to write this story after watching "TOW Rachel's Book" in the Season 7 DVD set (what can I say – season 7 ROCKED). Don't ask me why, or what was going through my twisted brain when I wrote this, but I think it can be contributed to a) boredom and b) an old FRIENDS obsession that never quite faded.
Just to be clear, Monica is in fifth grade (of course!) and ten years old. Rachel is already her best friend. I'm not sure, but I think Ross is around one year older than Monica, so in this story he is.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.
F.Y.I., this is a "missing scene" of sorts. Everything before and after the part in 1978 actually happened on the show. The entire story is basically Monica's brief flashback.
Chandler attempted to pull off the best fake smile he could. "Oh, I don't think I ever heard that story," he thought, silently mocking himself. Next time you want to say something, don't! Realizing with horror that Mr. Geller was about to continue, Chandler quickly commented, "What a sweet story."
Monica's pained grimace mirrored her husband's as memories came flooding back to her. "Well, at least you're not hearing it for the first time at your fifth grade Halloween party."
October 31, 1978
"So, Rach, what do you think?" An excited Monica Geller twirled around in front of the mirror, checking to see if she looked good in her chef outfit. She would have preferred something a little more, ahem, revealing, but unfortunately that wasn't possible. According to her mother, that sorceress costume had shown every pound of the weight she had gained over the summer. Monica hadn't really been bothered by the comment. A few extra pounds isn't that bad. I'll probably lose them before high school anyway.
Rachel Green pretended to be very interested in the wings that were part of her pink fairy princess costume. In all honesty, it was the most nerdy outfit she had ever seen. Really, who's a chef for Halloween? Not to mention that the jacket stretched slightly across her best friend's belly and the pants were a tad short. I knew I should have been the one to go shopping with her. Searching for the right words, Rachel answered slowly, "Well, it looks good, but, ah, your hat's on backwards."
"Really? It's in the same position as the one on the bag…" While Monica's back was turned, glancing at herself in the mirror, Rachel discreetly stretched out the jacket more and pulled down the pants a few inches. Not aware of what she had just done, Monica faced her friend, "I don't know what you're talking about, Rach. It's fine."
Rachel shrugged, feigning innocence. "Oh, uh, it must have been the light."
"Right…" Somewhat aware that Rachel was hiding something, Monica whirled around in a circle again, making sure the more popular girl in school got a good view. "So now how does it look?"
"It, uh, definitely suits you," Rachel replied sincerely. Even at age ten, Monica's cookies were the best she had ever tasted. Of course, she had to ask Mrs. Geller turn on the oven for her, but that was beside the point.
"Oh…thank you?" Monica frowned, unsure of how to take the comment. "Will it make Jimmie Soretti be sorry that he didn't invite me to his Halloween party last Saturday?" That was the whole reason she was having her party in the first place – to show him that she could throw a cool party and be the life of it at the same time.
Again, Rachel bit her lip, debating how to respond. Nope, no way around it but to flat out lie. "Oh yeah, definitely. I am so glad you made me invite him."
Missing the sarcasm, Monica smiled and hugged her startled best friend. "This is going to be the greatest party ever! Especially since you got all the cool kids to come!"
"Yeah, if you say so," Rachel uneasily hugged her best friend back. Once they parted, she reached for her "magic wand," a silver stick with a pink star and ribbons on top, that was on the bed. "Let's go downstairs – I think I heard the doorbell ring."
"Ross! You are not playing your stupid keyboard at my party!" Monica whispered angrily. She would have liked to scream at him, but couldn't with all the guests around her.
Ross sighed, then shifted the keyboard that he held in his arms. "Alright, but this is the last time I'm gonna offer. If you change your mind, that's too bad – "
Rolling her eyes, Monica cut him off, "I won't, trust me. Now just go before I tell Mom!"
:"Fine." Ross tried to maintain his dignity as he exited the living room and went back into the kitchen.
"And get your geeky dinosaur statue thing out of here!" Monica commanded, picking up the T-Rex off the table by its tail and tossing it into the kitchen after her brother.
"It is so not geeky."
"Right. And you're not a dork." Pleased with her retort, Monica danced her way back into the party. The living room was packed, teenagers moving to the beat of the Bee Gees, snacking on the various munchies she had made last night. As far as she was concerned, people would be talking about this party until the middle of next week. Spotting Rachel in the corner, dancing with another popular boy in their class, Monica hurried over to her. Shouting above the music, she greeted, "Hey Rach!"
Her attention still on the cute boy in front of her, Rachel answered, "Hey! Where have you been for the past half hour?"
"Stupid Ross stuff," Monica explained. That was all Rachel needed to know. She witnessed the daily squabbles the siblings shared, and could picture what the fight was like. Suddenly remembering something, Monica asked, "Have you seen Jimmie Soretti?"
Rachel smiled as she truthfully replied, "Yeah! He's over there," Rachel pointed in the general direction of the windows. "He's having a blast. I even heard him say that he loved your pumpkin cookies."
"Really?" Monica squealed, instantly delighted. When Rachel nodded, she restrained herself from hugging her, as that would definitely be not cool, she began to make her way over to Jimmie. Might as well give him a chance to apologize.
As she crossed the dance floor, she dully noted the thunderstorm that was quickly developing outside. A dark and stormy night on Halloween? Awesome! Thunder boomed, and a few people screamed. Cool! However, her pleasure was abruptly cut short as the lights flickered, then went out, the music along with it.
No no no no no! Monica inwardly wailed, This can't happen! Not at my party! Realizing that she was going to have to do something, Monica ran into the kitchen to find her mom.
"Ok, everyone, please remain calm and turn on your flashlight, or, uh, candle," Monica instructed. The folding chair she was standing on wobbled. Grabbing on to the top of the TV for support, she continued, "I am so sorry about this. I'm sure everything will come back on soon. But, uh, until they do…anyone have party game suggestions?"
"Spin the Bottle!"
"Truth or Dare!"
Monica winced as she heard her two least favorite games called out. She had never kissed a boy before – she did not want her first one to be with a boy picked at random. When it came to Truth or Dare, well, it wasn't so much the Truth part that bothered her. She still remembered the time Rachel dared her to run through the house stark naked. While Ross had his friends visiting.
Clearing her throat, she stuttered, "Well, uh, those are excellent games, but we, uh…"
Noticing her friend's distress, Rachel got up on the couch and shouted, "Those other games we can play at any regular party. This is a Halloween bash, people! Why don't we tell scary stories?"
Monica mouthed "thank you" to Rachel as kids began to agree on the plan. The best friends motioned for everyone to sit, and soon a circle of the entire party, about twenty kids, filled up the living room. Rachel and Monica sat on the couch, along with Rachel's previous dance partner and a boy Monica had been flirting with earlier that night.
"Who wants cupcakes?" Judy Geller asked brightly as she came into the living room, a flashlight in one hand and a tray of chocolate cupcakes with orange frosting in the other. Jack Geller followed, carrying another full tray. Monica groaned with humiliation. Not now, of all times… Telling stories was one of her father's favorite pastimes. If he got wind of what was going on, the entire group would leave with the knowledge that Ross pulled down her pants at her third birthday party, in front of fifty relatives. Or worse.
Which was why she put her head in her hands when she heard Jimmie, of all people, call, "Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Geller, got any good scary stories?"
Monica noticed her parents glance at each other, debating. She knew that they remembered her warning, or rather, plea. Don't embarrass me in front of my friends! Please! However, she could see that their loyalty was wavering. Kids began to voice their support with cries of, "Yeah!" and "Come on!"
"Alright, alright!" Judy shouted, then was greeted with applause and whoops. Flattered, she and Jack went to the couch. The two boys ruefully slid off, much to the dismay of both girls. The older couple seated themselves between Monica and Rachel.
Judy asked her husband, "Ok, what story should we tell?"
Jack thought for a second, then responded seriously, "Well, our engagement was pretty scary."
Laughter and "oooo"s came from the crowd before them, and none of the kids missed the death glare Judy shot her husband. Shrugging, Jack said, "What? I was just saying…"
"What happened, Mr. Geller?" Jimmie again, Monica thought spitefully.
Jack paused, gathering his memories. "You see, I was planning on asking Judy to marry me for a while." "Aw"s could be heard from the girls. Blushing, Jack continued, "But I wasn't sure when I should propose. Luckily that decision was soon made for me."
A voice in the crowd called, "You knocked her up?"
Monica's cheeks turned deep red. I want to die. She hid her face into a pillow as her father explained, "Well, yes. Usually we were very careful when it came to, uh, 'doing stuff.' Unfortunately, we unexpectedly came up empty handed that night."
"Stupid dog…" Judy muttered. When everyone looked at her, she clarified, "At the time, he had a golden retriever. It was incredibly playful that night. As a result, we later found my missing diaphragm in the dog's bed among his other chew toys, ripped apart and completely unusable."
There was silence. A few people chuckled nervously. Monica watched helplessly while some others snuck out the back door. She wished she could leave with them. My life is over.
"What! They wanted a scary story!" Jack Geller defended himself.
I had to fake sick the next day because of that 'scary story,' Monica thought angrily. Shoving that part of her life back into the far corner of her memory, where it belonged, she plastered on a smile. "Anyway…"