A/N: This is my first Mondler fanfiction, so I really hope you enjoy it! I would appreciate it if you would leave feedback to let me know if you want me to continue this story. Now I have a feeling you didn't come here to listen to me talk, so let's get to it!

CHAPTER 1

"You tried your best, honey. We don't blame you for the mediocre meal," Judy Geller unsuccessfully attempted to console her daughter, oblivious to the opposite impact the words may have on her daughter.

Monica frowned at her mother's predictable angle on the situation. She desperately needed to escape her judgmental parents and their snobby guests. Rachel had left an hour ago, but Monica was forced to stay because of her parents.

"It's okay. I'm sure there's a McDonald's drive through calling out my name," Monica half-heartedly joked before standing up and grabbing her purse. She nodded at her mother to say goodbye and headed back to her apartment.

Monica returned to an empty apartment with a message from Ross on the phone. "Mon, it's Rachel. I just wanted to let you know that I'm spending the night at Ross's. See you tomorrow!"

She contemplated walking across the hall to Chandler and Joey's or driving to Phoebe's, but eventually figured that a few glasses of wine would do the trick. Maybe more than a few.

TWO HOURS EARLIER

Monica scurried around the kitchen in her parents' house stirring ingredients, checking the oven, and basically just assuring that everything was in its place. She was a nervous wreck, to say the least. Her parents had offered her a catering job for a dinner party they were hosting.

"Mon, it's going to be fine. You're an amazing chef and everyone is going to love your food," Rachel tried to calm her down. She had brought along Rachel to waitress, but mainly for moral support.

The truth was that she would've rather had Chandler there, but Rachel had the excuse of waitressing, and she couldn't imagine Chandler as a waiter. If Monica was being completely honest with herself, she'd had a crush on him for a long time, as in ever since she first met him while she was in high school. That hadn't gone too well, but they were good friends now and she wasn't going to jeopardize that.

"Monica dear, how long will the lasagna take to cook?" Judy walked in to check on her daughter. She had been skeptical about hiring Monica, but the catering companies she was familiar with cost a fortune, so she settled with Monica.

Immediately Monica's eyes widened and heart began to race. "Lasagna? No one told me I was supposed to make lasagna. I was supposed to make lasagna? Mom, answer me!" she rambled frantically.

"Sweetie, it was in the message I left you. Don't worry, I have backup," Judy said as she walked to the freezer and pulled out two large frozen lasagnas. Great, her own mother had prepared for her failure.

Chandler and Joey relaxed in their Barcaloungers and watched an awful movie Joey had landed a small role in. It was about a centaur family who gave birth to a human. It followed the human as it grew up and eventually fell in love with a centaur. Joey played a centaur called Laurence. Needless to say Chandler was shocked that the movie had made it to theaters.

After the human and the centaur shared their first kiss, Chandler decided he needed a break.

"Joey, want a beer?" he asked, rolling out of the chair. Joey didn't answer. He appeared to be very engaged in the movie. Chandler rolled his eyes and walked to the fridge.

All of the sudden, the door opened and Monica barged in, stumbling around. Chandler held her arms for a moment to steady her. Joey paused the movie and turned around to face them.

"Can I use your bathroom? Mine disappeared," Monica slurred out, visibly drunk.

"Mon, are you drunk?" Chandler asked, sounding a little concerned. Monica didn't get drunk very often, but when she did, it was because she was very upset about something.

"Nope. I only had one actual glass," she responded.

"How many times did you refill it?" Chandler questioned.

"Seven, eight, I don't remember. Doesn't matter," Monica answered, and Chandler sighed. Usually he would just make an inappropriately timed joke to clear the air, but this was different. This was Monica.

"I have to sit down," Monica suddenly declared, looking sick. Chandler led her to his Barcalounger and she immediately plopped down.

"So, are you gonna tell us what happened or not?" Joey asked curiously.

"I didn't hear her say lasagna!" Monica answered, confusing Chandler and Joey. They gave her a look and she elaborated.

"You know how my parents wanted me to cater their dinner party? Well, apparently I was supposed to make lasagna, but of course I stupidly didn't listen to the message again. But don't you worry, there's a happy ending. My mom knew I'd screw up so she had frozen lasagnas waiting in the freezer," she explained.

That explained why she was drinking. Her parents had always been hard on her, always favoring Ross. Chandler easily related to parental issues. He wasn't even sure whether he was supposed to call his father 'mom' or 'dad.'

"Hey, let's look on the bright side," Joey suggested, clearly before he knew what the 'bright side' actually was. Monica swung her head around to face him. She was clearly wasted. Chandler wasn't sure he'd ever seen her quite sodrunk.

"This can't possibly happen twice because they won't ask you to cater ever again!" Joey exclaimed, proud of himself for coming up with an explanation.

By the look on Monica's face, she obviously did not see that as the bright side. Even so, neither Joey nor Chandler was expecting what she said next.

"You see, this is why I'm in love with Chandler and not you." Apparently, Monica hadn't fully realized what she'd admitted, because she began rambling more about her parents and cooking, but Chandler and Joey sure had.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Joey practically yelled. "Hold up. You're in love with…with him?" The way Joey said this might have offended Chandler if he wasn't already in shock.

Monica didn't answer. She appeared to have fallen asleep on the Barcalounger.

"Dude!" Joey whisper-yelled, trying not to wake Monica. Chandler was speechless. How was he supposed to handle this? Of course he loved Monica, but only as a friend. If he'd known about her feelings he would've…well, he didn't know what he would have done.

"Maybe she just said it because she was drunk?" Chandler offered, but he knew it was a long shot.

"Come on, Monica's hot. Why are you making excuses? I certainly wouldn't mind if she was in love with me," Joey told Chandler.

Chandler glared at his dim friend. "Because we're friends! Why does she have to go and ruin everything?" It seemed he was about to have one of his infamous freak-outs.

"Maybe you should cut the girl some slack. Not her fault she's in love with you," Joey attempted to rationalize with his friend, although he wasn't sure how.

Chandler sighed. He knew he couldn't blame her. To be honest, he wasn't sure what Monica saw in him.

"Should we take Monica back to her apartment?" Chandler asked, anxious to drop the subject.

Joey stared at his friend for a few moments before shaking his head. "Let's just let her sleep here. I mean, unless you want to carry her."

Chandler nodded and walked into his bedroom without another word, shutting the door behind him. Joey watched his friend in disbelief before heading to his own room.

Monica awoke with a thrashing headache and little recollection of what had taken place the night before. After her vision returned to normal, she realized she was not in her own apartment.

"Morning, sunshine," Joey greeted her from the kitchen. Monica slowly stood up and sat down on the stool at the counter, rubbing her eyes.

"So, uh, what exactly happened last night?" asked Monica, embarrassed.

Joey grinned. "Wait, you don't remember?" he clarified, and she shook her head. "Chandler, she doesn't remember anything!" Joey screamed excitedly, almost causing Monica to fall off the stool in surprise.

The door to Chandler's room opened and he walked out. His eyes were droopy and face was white. Either he was sick or he had been up all night.

Chandler widened his eyes. "You really don't remember last night?"

"No," Monica answered suspiciously. "What's the big deal? What did I do?"

"No, I mean, uh, nothing," Chandler sputtered out, mentally slapping himself before regaining his composure. "I mean, you just came over here and talked about cooking."

Monica eyed them both, but she was too hung over to push any further. "I think I'm going to head back to my apartment and clean myself up."

Once she had left, Chandler spoke up. "We can't tell her."

"No, Chandler, please," Joey whined. "I hate secrets."

"No, it'll ruin our friendship. It could even ruin the friendship of all six of us. Do you really want that?" Chandler argued.

"I guess not," Joey said, pouting.

"Then let's just keep this between us, okay?"

"Fine," Joey agreed reluctantly. "But for the record, I think this is really stupid."