Author's Note: Sorry about not posting anything in forever! This here is a one-shot but I will update my chaptered stories later, I promise! Anyway, I'm not even sure how this story came about, I just kind of started writing some ideas I had and forming sentences with them, added in some Mondler friendship (I really love how close they are, even before they dated which is when this is set), and this is what it turned into. I kind of like it, haha. Also, it's my first story in present tense. Written in Chandler's point of view. Please review!
A sudden blast of freezing cold air stings at my skin as I step outside the door to the building and straight into winter. The icy rain falls on my head. I shiver and think about going back inside, into the warm, but then I choose to ignore that thought, since I don't think I'm ready to go back in there yet. I need time to think, and to just walk around. I have times where I just feel incredibly vulnerable and, in a way, exposed, and I really don't want to face any of my cheerful, curious friends right now.
I walk all the way to the old playground in the park nearby. It's deserted at this time of night; no parent in their right mind would let their child out in the dark in New York City. I would always come here at night as a child, but then I guess my parents were never really in their right minds. This playground was always where I'd come when I was upset about something, or when I wanted to "run away". And for that, it's still good: to escape life. I guess it makes me feel like a kid again, and sometimes that's a good thing. People don't realize how hard it is being a grown-up.
I walk to the swing set. It's covered in frost and rain, but I wipe it with a used Kleenex and that's good enough for me. I sit down and lightly swing back and forth, enjoying the fresh (though freezing) air against my skin. I feel peaceful, and I notice that it has stopped raining temporarily. Still, I dread the prospect of having to talk about things. I know I'll eventually have to go back and face everyone, and I don't know how I'm going to explain where I've been without sounding pathetic, but I don't want to think about that now, so I shut my eyes and imagine I'm somewhere far away from here. It's working, but all of a sudden I'm ripped out of my fantasy world.
"Chandler?" I hear Monica's voice and open my eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey, Mon." Were it anybody else, I would be angry at being interrupted, especially when I'm feeling like this. But since it's Monica, and she's so worried about me, I let it go.
"What happened? Why are you here?" She looks at me and I can see the concern in her eyes. I know she really cares.
"I needed to be alone for a while. It's not that anything happened, I just felt… overwhelmed." Monica nods sympathetically, and I know she understands. This is one of the things I love about Mon: she gets you and she doesn't need to ask any more questions. We share a kind of unspoken connection that neither of us have with any of the others. Suddenly, I remember where I am.
"What about you, huh? Why are you here?" She looks down at her feet and shuffles uncomfortably, digging her hands further into her pockets.
"Yeah, same reason. Plus, Rachel was driving me crazy." I shrug and chuckle lightly, and she shivers.
"You cold?" She nods. "Come here." I pull her onto my lap and she snuggles into me gratefully, wrapping her arms around my torso. I put my arms around her and rest my chin on her head. I kiss the top of her head with my blue lips. She gives a content little sound, almost like a purr, and I have to smile. I think about how much easier life is when you have great friends to help you through it, and I thank my lucky stars I have Monica. Because, even though we don't talk about it, we know exactly how the other feels, and a friendship like that is pure gold.
Author's Note: Hope you liked that! Leave a review and tell me what you thought.