Disclaimer: I do not own Friends, although I wish I did. And David Schwimmer is adorable, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox are beautiful.
The first time I laid eyes on Rachel Green was pretty much the best day of my life. Well, one of them, anyway. It would top our first kiss and the first time we made love, but those two days were pretty fantastic anyway.
Monica had come home from her first day of kindergarten with another friend in-tow. "Mom! This is Rachel! Her mother said she could come over!"
Mom was cutting my hair in the kitchen, and ran out to meet Monica's first friend. I was standing over the sink with an apron tied around my shoulders, wobbling on the plastic box that was being used as a make-shift stepping stool.
"Well, hello dear!" Mom's voice chimed through the house. "Aren't you a little cutie?"
"Thank you ma'am," Rachel's squeaky voice answered.
"Monny, wouldn't you like to wear pretty dresses like that to school instead of Rossy's old overalls?"
"No!" Monica stamped her foot. I smirked. "I'd get pasta sauce on it anyway!" I giggled.
"Who's that?" Rachel asked.
"Just my stupid brother, Ross," Monica responded.
"Hey!" I called out. "I'm not stupid!" The two girls ran into the room, and there I got my first glimpse of Rachel Green.
Her hair was the color of copper, and tied up into pig tails with pink ribbons. A big poofy blue dress with cap sleeves and white ruffles underneath, all topped off with the shiniest Mary Janes I had ever seen.
"If you're not stupid tell me how many stars are in the sky?" Rachel demanded of me, putting one tiny hand on her hip, the other pointing at me accusingly.
"Uh… uh…" I had forgotten everything I ever knew. It had to be somewhere in the back of my head. I tried counting the stars in my head. "A billion?" I guessed, shaking.
"I don't know, I never bothered to count them. I have better things to do," she replied. Mom and Mon started cackling like she was Wayne Newton in Vegas. I blushed fifty shades of scarlet.
"You're not that bad, Ross," Rachel told me, turning to Monica. "Is your brother a prince? Today you told me you were a princess."
"Oh, that was just pretend, silly!" Monica giggled, her baby double chin jiggling.
"How can you be so sure? My nanny says that princes show up in unexpected places!"
"Well, how can we test if Ross is a prince?"
"I know," Rachel's little lips had formed a mischievous grin.
"Mom, can I go play prince with them?" I begged, attempting to throw off the apron.
"Sure, Ross, I'm done with your hair," she told me, opening the fridge and pulling out a glass bottle. I hopped off the box and went over to Rachel.
"How are we going to find out if I'm a prince?"
Rachel grabbed my hand. "Come on, follow me!"
Those ten seconds when she held my hand were the most blissful ten seconds of my childhood. Our hands fit together perfectly, and I felt the heat. We reached the front lawn and Rachel let go. "Where is it?" she muttered, looking around.
"Where's what?" Monica squeaked, munching on a candy bar. Always eating.
"Here!" she bent down, showing her white frills. Straightening up, she turned around. "Kiss it!"
In her hands, was a slimy, green frog. "EW!" I screamed, and backed away.
"Scared of a froggy?" Rachel teased.
"No!" I manned up and walked toward it. "What do I have to do to prove to you I'm a prince?"
"Kiss it!" Rachel shoved the amphibian in my face, giggling.
"What?" I gasped. Monica was doubled over, shrieking and tears of hilarity escaped from her eyes.
"If you're really a prince, it will turn into a beautiful princess!"
"And if it doesn't…?" I was nervous as to what would happen if I failed. How would I look in her eyes?
"You can kiss me instead to see if I turn into a frog!"
My heart skipped a beat. All I wanted was to kiss her. I had often seen other boys in my class playing "house" or even "doctor" with the other little girls in my class, but no one chose to play with me. I was too "nerdy" and "lame" for anyone to want me. But this pretty girl did.
"Okay!" I exclaimed, planting a huge smooch on the top of the frog's head. Obviously nothing happened.
"Rachel!" Monica grabbed her friend's hand. "You have to kiss Ross!"
"I know!" Rachel pouted, but hid a sly smile. "You know you lied, Monny! You said you were a princess!"
"Nu-uh! It was just pretend!" Monica furrowed her brow at Rachel.
"Am I getting my kiss?" I whimpered, puckering my lips. A chill went down my spine- even though it was a warm day of about 79 degrees, my tee shirt and jeans suddenly felt like swimming trunks in the middle of a blizzard.
"Yeah, you have to kiss Ross!" Monica taunted.
"Okay, okay! Let's pretend that I'm a princess and you're a prince… what fairytale should we do?"
Even from a young age I knew how to please the women. "You choose, I don't care."
She seemed to enjoy that. "Sleeping Beauty! Aren't I pretty enough, Rossy?" she teased, tweaking my nose.
"You're very pretty," I told her honestly.
She looked into my eyes and gave a real smile. Monica seemed to disappear. I closed my eyes and leaned in. I could feel her breath on my chin as I bent down a little bit and stretched out my lips to meet hers. They were about to touch, I swear, when I heard something that would make me hate my childhood for a long time.
"Kids! Come in for dinner!" Mom wailed.
"Kiss ya later, Ross!" Rachel yelled, running in.
"Haha, Ross!" Monica jeered, following Rachel.
I shrugged my shoulders and kicked the dirt around. The frog had hopped away, ribbiting. It was laughing at me, I just knew it. A single tear dripped down my cheek. I wanted that kiss more than anything.
At least I got it about twenty years later. I constantly tell this story to Rach as we lie in bed, cuddling. She laughs and denies it, but there's the part of me that very well knows she remembers. But that's okay. It's a memory I'll have forever, and it has a very special place in my heart. A part of my heart solely devoted to Rachel Green, er, Rachel Green-Geller, my bride.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed, my lovelies! Reviews are appreciated, and drop me an inbox with potential story lines that you might enjoy reading about! thanks! neon-greenshoelaces x