Hey everyone, I'm back! As you all (hopefully) know, my last story was
"Bad Company" (which by the way is not based on the movie), and it went
over so well I thought I'd try again. Thanks for all the support.
This story is based in, well, I guess anytime you want it to be, except Monica and Chandler never met, Ross and Rachel never met . . . let's just say Chandler, Phoebe, Rachel, and Joey all know each other, but all of them do not know Monica and Ross. Actually, Ross and Chandler did go to college together in this one but they drifted apart afterwards. Sorry it's so confusing, but hopefully you'll catch on eventually.
I'm at my dad's right now, and unfortunately I'm forced to have a life ;), so the chapters most likely will not be posted daily, but I'll try my best to get them to you ASAP. Unless of course you don't like the sounds of this story, in which case I'll take it off and try another route. =D
Anyway, thanks again, and review!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Friends or any of the characters in it. I also do not own Jennifer Aniston, Jim Carrey, or the movie Bruce Almighty. I haven't even seen that movie yet, but it looks really good, don't you think? I do own George though. So there. ;)
Someone to Lean On Chapter One: Right Place, Wrong Time
"Hey Joe, I'm headed downstairs to get some coffee, you want to join me?" Chandler Bing asked his roommate as he walked by him in the kitchen.
"Nah, 'Baywatch' marathon," Joey replied as he gestured at the television.
Chandler grinned. He knew his friend would never miss an opportunity like that. "Alright then, I'm leaving. I'll probably be back before I go out tonight."
"Hot date?"
"Yeah right," Chandler laughed. "I'm seeing a movie with Phoebe."
"Oh, okay, well have fun." Joey grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sprinted back into the living room just as 'Baywatch' came back from a commercial break.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Chandler noticed her the second he walked in the doors of Central Perk. Her hair, long and sleek, shined in the dim lighting of the coffee shop as if a hundred overhead fixtures were pointed at it. Even from where he was standing, he could tell she had a gorgeous shade of blue eyes, and her smile was bright when she thanked a waitress for bringing her coffee.
He stopped in the doorway, mesmerized by her beauty. He couldn't help staring. Eventually he heard knocking behind him and was suddenly aware that he was blocking the entrance. Chandler stepped aside to let the people through and apologized.
Slowly making his way over to the woman, Chandler wondered to himself what the hell he was doing. This wasn't like him, he didn't even know this girl. She could be married for all he knew. Heck, she could even be one of Joey's many girlfriends. Every girl in the city seemed to know Joey someway or another. Chandler shook these thoughts out of his head as he finally reached her.
She was sitting at a table by herself and looked up at him when he extended his hand to her. "Hi, I'm-I'm Bing."
The woman stared at him, a puzzled look on her face. "Excuse me?"
"What? Oh, no! Crap. I'm Chandler, just Chandler. I mean, Bing is my last name." He mentally kicked himself. He should never be allowed to talk to anyone, ever.
She grinned, finally understanding that he was just nervous. She took his hand. "Monica Geller."
"Geller? Spelled with an 'e'?" When she nodded, he continued. "I went to college with a Ross Geller."
"Oh, wow, that's my brother," she laughed.
He grinned. "It's a small world."
"Sure is. Hey, you want a seat?" she asked, gesturing to the chair across from her.
"That'd be great, if you don't mind."
"No, not at all." She watched as he sat down across from her. Then, immediately, she panicked. What if he found out? What if he walked in here right now and saw her sitting with another man? 'No, that won't happen,' she reassured herself. George had never been here, and probably never planned on setting foot inside such a cheerful place.
"So, do you live in the village?" Chandler asked after getting settled and ordering a decaf. He wasn't sure if it was the best conversation starter, but it was good enough. He was thankful that he was even able to form words at this moment.
"Yeah, actually, I live in the apartment complex across from here. What about you?"
"Right upstairs." Chandler pointed upward.
"Oh, yeah, that's what I figured. I saw you coming down the steps, but thought I'd ask anyway," she smiled. "Do you share an apartment?"
"Yep, I live with my friend Joey Tribbiani. You know him?"
"No," Monica replied.
"Oh, good." Chandler let out a sigh of relief. "And then my other friends, Phoebe and Rachel, live right across the hall."
"That must be great, having all your friends around you like that."
"It's pretty cool. You live by yourself?" Chandler figured this question would be good enough to find out if she had a husband, live-in boyfriend, lesbian lover . . .
"No, I have a roommate," was Monica's only reply. "What do you do for a living?"
"Data processing. Not too exciting but it pays the bills."
She grinned. "I'm a chef. It's something I've always wanted to do. Actually I'm switching over to an upper-scale restaurant soon . . ." She continued talking, lost in her need to communicate with someone who didn't yell in response to her every word.
They talked for a while - an hour and a half to be exact, and they soon realized that they had a lot in common, were both single (at least she wanted to be, but Chandler didn't have to know that), and each acted somewhat attracted to the other person.
Finally, Chandler glanced at his watch. "Damn, look at the time. I promised my friend Phoebe I'd meet her at the movie theater."
"Oh, okay." Monica was definitely disappointed, but she hid it well.
"I'm so sorry, I really would like to stay and talk longer, but . . ."
"Oh, no, it's fine. I totally understand." Monica plastered a smile on her face.
Chandler nodded and apprehensively stood up. "Alright, well . . . do you think maybe we could go out sometime?" He surprised himself by asking that question. Despite all that the two had in common, he had earlier decided that this would be it. He knew that would be best for both of them. She was obviously not the type who usually dated him, at least not for long (that 'type' was every girl he had ever gone out with, except for Janice. But even they hadn't stayed together). And he simply didn't feel up to getting his heart broken once again.
But in the end his need to be with someone won over instinct, and he popped the question, not really expecting her to agree.
She smiled again, and this time her smile was real. "That would be great. Here's my phone number-" she stopped talking immediately, remembering something important. What if George answered? He wouldn't be happy. "Actually, maybe I should take yours? I just realized, I'm getting hired at that new restaurant, like I said, and I'm not sure what my hours are going to be yet."
"Okay, yeah, here you go," Chandler glanced around and finally chose a napkin off of the table. After borrowing a pen from Gunther, one of the head waiters., he wrote his number down clearly, handing it to her.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Monica watched him as he left the building after saying their goodbyes. Then she sighed and sat heavily back onto her seat.
"Oh, god, what am I doing?" she asked herself under her breath. She knew she wasn't prepared for the consequences if George aver found out. But she also knew that she really wanted to see Chandler again. He was a great guy, she could tell just by spending that much time with him. He was just about everything George wasn't.
Monica decided she would do anything possible to keep George from discovering this secret of hers. Anything.
She sighed once again and stood, readying herself to go back across the street to her apartment, where the man who ran her life was waiting.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey Chandler!" Phoebe greeted him at the entrance to the movie theater, in a good mood as always.
"Hey, Pheebs. Have you decided what you want to see?" he asked as they walked through the automatic doors.
"Yeah, I think so. Does 'Bruce Almighty' sound alright?" Phoebe said, pointing at that movie's poster. "I'm a fan of Jennifer Aniston."
"That sounds good. I've wanted to see it for a while. Aniston's pretty good, but what about Jim Carrey?" Chandler handed over the money to the clerk and she in return handed him two movie tickets.
"Are we talking about attractiveness, here?" Phoebe questioned. Chandler didn't reply as they walked toward the theater, so she glanced over at him. He was looking distantly off into space, and she nudged his arm. "You okay?"
Chandler looked at her. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'm just thinking."
She smiled. "You met someone, didn't you?"
He stopped outside the theater and turned to her, "How do you know these things?"
"I can just tell," she replied. "Now, tell me about her!"
"Phoebe, we're about to see a movie, do you really think now is the best time to gossip?"
"Of course! Besides, it's not really gossip. I just want to know!" Phoebe grinned and leaned up against the wall next to him. "So, first of all, where did it happen?"
So, while the beginning credits of the movie began to roll inside the theater, Chandler explained every detail to his friend, who was listening earnestly.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Monica slowly unlocked and opened the door to her apartment. It was almost pitch black inside, being evening and the blinds down, so she switched on the nearest light.
"George?"
Silence.
"George?" she asked again, this time a little louder, and he suddenly came storming out of the kitchen.
"Where have you been?!?" he yelled.
Monica flinched from the tone of his voice and hoped he wouldn't see through her façade. "I ran into an old friend at the coffee house today. She had a lot to say."
"Yeah. I guess so. Women really shouldn't be allowed to have friends, they talk too much," he grumbled sternly, heading back out to the kitchen.
Monica ignored his comment, knowing it wouldn't do any good to argue. She didn't feel like fighting tonight. 'Why am I with this asshole?' she thought, then immediately answered herself. She was afraid of what he would do to her if she attempted to leave him. He had already made threats before, and Monica knew the man well enough to be positive he wouldn't hesitate to follow through with them.
As she was hanging her light jacket on the coat rack near the door, Monica saw the soft light from the open refrigerator glowing in the dark kitchen. Abruptly it slammed.
"Monica, get in here!" he roared from the other room.
Monica desperately wanted to run. Just turn and flee from the room, down the hall and out onto the sidewalk. Maybe there she would find some reprieve. But, she knew instantly that this wasn't an option. She had nowhere to go. Ross was in some far off place digging up dinosaur fossils, and her apartment was the very place from which she wanted to escape.
She knew she could go to her parent's, but there she was sure there would be questions, and she didn't feel like answering questions. Ross was the only one who knew about her and George, but he only knew that they fought once in a while. Monica didn't want to go through the process of explaining that to her parents.
So, she obeyed his order, hesitantly entering the kitchen. "What is it?"
"How could there be no beer? Did I not tell you to pick up more beer on your way home?" He was fuming with anger, she could tell, and she found herself silently praying he would just knock her out or something - get that part over with. She was sick of the mental abuse, dreading it even more than what was to follow.
"I'm sorry," was her only reply.
"Oh, yeah! I believe that!" he said sarcastically. Then he dove into a seemingly endless lecture about how she was always forgetting things, and how she needed to have more respect for men - especially him.
Monica clenched her fists tightly, wanting to be somewhere else right now. She struggled to ignore him, but what he said was so loud and so clearly stated that it was hard to think about anything else.
Okay so I know it ended pretty strangely, but if you want to hear more, please review! Even review if you don't want to hear more. Tell me what was wrong with it. Thanks!
Also, I never really figured out if in Friends, their apartment complex is right over Central Perk, or across the street. But in this fic it's right over it, sorry if I'm wrong.
This story is based in, well, I guess anytime you want it to be, except Monica and Chandler never met, Ross and Rachel never met . . . let's just say Chandler, Phoebe, Rachel, and Joey all know each other, but all of them do not know Monica and Ross. Actually, Ross and Chandler did go to college together in this one but they drifted apart afterwards. Sorry it's so confusing, but hopefully you'll catch on eventually.
I'm at my dad's right now, and unfortunately I'm forced to have a life ;), so the chapters most likely will not be posted daily, but I'll try my best to get them to you ASAP. Unless of course you don't like the sounds of this story, in which case I'll take it off and try another route. =D
Anyway, thanks again, and review!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Friends or any of the characters in it. I also do not own Jennifer Aniston, Jim Carrey, or the movie Bruce Almighty. I haven't even seen that movie yet, but it looks really good, don't you think? I do own George though. So there. ;)
Someone to Lean On Chapter One: Right Place, Wrong Time
"Hey Joe, I'm headed downstairs to get some coffee, you want to join me?" Chandler Bing asked his roommate as he walked by him in the kitchen.
"Nah, 'Baywatch' marathon," Joey replied as he gestured at the television.
Chandler grinned. He knew his friend would never miss an opportunity like that. "Alright then, I'm leaving. I'll probably be back before I go out tonight."
"Hot date?"
"Yeah right," Chandler laughed. "I'm seeing a movie with Phoebe."
"Oh, okay, well have fun." Joey grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sprinted back into the living room just as 'Baywatch' came back from a commercial break.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Chandler noticed her the second he walked in the doors of Central Perk. Her hair, long and sleek, shined in the dim lighting of the coffee shop as if a hundred overhead fixtures were pointed at it. Even from where he was standing, he could tell she had a gorgeous shade of blue eyes, and her smile was bright when she thanked a waitress for bringing her coffee.
He stopped in the doorway, mesmerized by her beauty. He couldn't help staring. Eventually he heard knocking behind him and was suddenly aware that he was blocking the entrance. Chandler stepped aside to let the people through and apologized.
Slowly making his way over to the woman, Chandler wondered to himself what the hell he was doing. This wasn't like him, he didn't even know this girl. She could be married for all he knew. Heck, she could even be one of Joey's many girlfriends. Every girl in the city seemed to know Joey someway or another. Chandler shook these thoughts out of his head as he finally reached her.
She was sitting at a table by herself and looked up at him when he extended his hand to her. "Hi, I'm-I'm Bing."
The woman stared at him, a puzzled look on her face. "Excuse me?"
"What? Oh, no! Crap. I'm Chandler, just Chandler. I mean, Bing is my last name." He mentally kicked himself. He should never be allowed to talk to anyone, ever.
She grinned, finally understanding that he was just nervous. She took his hand. "Monica Geller."
"Geller? Spelled with an 'e'?" When she nodded, he continued. "I went to college with a Ross Geller."
"Oh, wow, that's my brother," she laughed.
He grinned. "It's a small world."
"Sure is. Hey, you want a seat?" she asked, gesturing to the chair across from her.
"That'd be great, if you don't mind."
"No, not at all." She watched as he sat down across from her. Then, immediately, she panicked. What if he found out? What if he walked in here right now and saw her sitting with another man? 'No, that won't happen,' she reassured herself. George had never been here, and probably never planned on setting foot inside such a cheerful place.
"So, do you live in the village?" Chandler asked after getting settled and ordering a decaf. He wasn't sure if it was the best conversation starter, but it was good enough. He was thankful that he was even able to form words at this moment.
"Yeah, actually, I live in the apartment complex across from here. What about you?"
"Right upstairs." Chandler pointed upward.
"Oh, yeah, that's what I figured. I saw you coming down the steps, but thought I'd ask anyway," she smiled. "Do you share an apartment?"
"Yep, I live with my friend Joey Tribbiani. You know him?"
"No," Monica replied.
"Oh, good." Chandler let out a sigh of relief. "And then my other friends, Phoebe and Rachel, live right across the hall."
"That must be great, having all your friends around you like that."
"It's pretty cool. You live by yourself?" Chandler figured this question would be good enough to find out if she had a husband, live-in boyfriend, lesbian lover . . .
"No, I have a roommate," was Monica's only reply. "What do you do for a living?"
"Data processing. Not too exciting but it pays the bills."
She grinned. "I'm a chef. It's something I've always wanted to do. Actually I'm switching over to an upper-scale restaurant soon . . ." She continued talking, lost in her need to communicate with someone who didn't yell in response to her every word.
They talked for a while - an hour and a half to be exact, and they soon realized that they had a lot in common, were both single (at least she wanted to be, but Chandler didn't have to know that), and each acted somewhat attracted to the other person.
Finally, Chandler glanced at his watch. "Damn, look at the time. I promised my friend Phoebe I'd meet her at the movie theater."
"Oh, okay." Monica was definitely disappointed, but she hid it well.
"I'm so sorry, I really would like to stay and talk longer, but . . ."
"Oh, no, it's fine. I totally understand." Monica plastered a smile on her face.
Chandler nodded and apprehensively stood up. "Alright, well . . . do you think maybe we could go out sometime?" He surprised himself by asking that question. Despite all that the two had in common, he had earlier decided that this would be it. He knew that would be best for both of them. She was obviously not the type who usually dated him, at least not for long (that 'type' was every girl he had ever gone out with, except for Janice. But even they hadn't stayed together). And he simply didn't feel up to getting his heart broken once again.
But in the end his need to be with someone won over instinct, and he popped the question, not really expecting her to agree.
She smiled again, and this time her smile was real. "That would be great. Here's my phone number-" she stopped talking immediately, remembering something important. What if George answered? He wouldn't be happy. "Actually, maybe I should take yours? I just realized, I'm getting hired at that new restaurant, like I said, and I'm not sure what my hours are going to be yet."
"Okay, yeah, here you go," Chandler glanced around and finally chose a napkin off of the table. After borrowing a pen from Gunther, one of the head waiters., he wrote his number down clearly, handing it to her.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Monica watched him as he left the building after saying their goodbyes. Then she sighed and sat heavily back onto her seat.
"Oh, god, what am I doing?" she asked herself under her breath. She knew she wasn't prepared for the consequences if George aver found out. But she also knew that she really wanted to see Chandler again. He was a great guy, she could tell just by spending that much time with him. He was just about everything George wasn't.
Monica decided she would do anything possible to keep George from discovering this secret of hers. Anything.
She sighed once again and stood, readying herself to go back across the street to her apartment, where the man who ran her life was waiting.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey Chandler!" Phoebe greeted him at the entrance to the movie theater, in a good mood as always.
"Hey, Pheebs. Have you decided what you want to see?" he asked as they walked through the automatic doors.
"Yeah, I think so. Does 'Bruce Almighty' sound alright?" Phoebe said, pointing at that movie's poster. "I'm a fan of Jennifer Aniston."
"That sounds good. I've wanted to see it for a while. Aniston's pretty good, but what about Jim Carrey?" Chandler handed over the money to the clerk and she in return handed him two movie tickets.
"Are we talking about attractiveness, here?" Phoebe questioned. Chandler didn't reply as they walked toward the theater, so she glanced over at him. He was looking distantly off into space, and she nudged his arm. "You okay?"
Chandler looked at her. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'm just thinking."
She smiled. "You met someone, didn't you?"
He stopped outside the theater and turned to her, "How do you know these things?"
"I can just tell," she replied. "Now, tell me about her!"
"Phoebe, we're about to see a movie, do you really think now is the best time to gossip?"
"Of course! Besides, it's not really gossip. I just want to know!" Phoebe grinned and leaned up against the wall next to him. "So, first of all, where did it happen?"
So, while the beginning credits of the movie began to roll inside the theater, Chandler explained every detail to his friend, who was listening earnestly.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Monica slowly unlocked and opened the door to her apartment. It was almost pitch black inside, being evening and the blinds down, so she switched on the nearest light.
"George?"
Silence.
"George?" she asked again, this time a little louder, and he suddenly came storming out of the kitchen.
"Where have you been?!?" he yelled.
Monica flinched from the tone of his voice and hoped he wouldn't see through her façade. "I ran into an old friend at the coffee house today. She had a lot to say."
"Yeah. I guess so. Women really shouldn't be allowed to have friends, they talk too much," he grumbled sternly, heading back out to the kitchen.
Monica ignored his comment, knowing it wouldn't do any good to argue. She didn't feel like fighting tonight. 'Why am I with this asshole?' she thought, then immediately answered herself. She was afraid of what he would do to her if she attempted to leave him. He had already made threats before, and Monica knew the man well enough to be positive he wouldn't hesitate to follow through with them.
As she was hanging her light jacket on the coat rack near the door, Monica saw the soft light from the open refrigerator glowing in the dark kitchen. Abruptly it slammed.
"Monica, get in here!" he roared from the other room.
Monica desperately wanted to run. Just turn and flee from the room, down the hall and out onto the sidewalk. Maybe there she would find some reprieve. But, she knew instantly that this wasn't an option. She had nowhere to go. Ross was in some far off place digging up dinosaur fossils, and her apartment was the very place from which she wanted to escape.
She knew she could go to her parent's, but there she was sure there would be questions, and she didn't feel like answering questions. Ross was the only one who knew about her and George, but he only knew that they fought once in a while. Monica didn't want to go through the process of explaining that to her parents.
So, she obeyed his order, hesitantly entering the kitchen. "What is it?"
"How could there be no beer? Did I not tell you to pick up more beer on your way home?" He was fuming with anger, she could tell, and she found herself silently praying he would just knock her out or something - get that part over with. She was sick of the mental abuse, dreading it even more than what was to follow.
"I'm sorry," was her only reply.
"Oh, yeah! I believe that!" he said sarcastically. Then he dove into a seemingly endless lecture about how she was always forgetting things, and how she needed to have more respect for men - especially him.
Monica clenched her fists tightly, wanting to be somewhere else right now. She struggled to ignore him, but what he said was so loud and so clearly stated that it was hard to think about anything else.
Okay so I know it ended pretty strangely, but if you want to hear more, please review! Even review if you don't want to hear more. Tell me what was wrong with it. Thanks!
Also, I never really figured out if in Friends, their apartment complex is right over Central Perk, or across the street. But in this fic it's right over it, sorry if I'm wrong.