AN: This story is about Ross and Rachel but it will include Monica and, eventually, Chandler. It's AU, but I will use some ideas from the show. It will start with Ross taking Rachel to prom, then it will continue from there. I know Ross and Rachel going to prom may have been done before, but keep reading. My story is different. I hope you enjoy reading it. Reviews are greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: Friends does not belong to me.

Rachel woke up to the buzz of her alarm clock with a smile on her face. All she had to do was make it through one more day of school. She couldn't wait; tonight she would have the perfect prom night. She had the perfect dress, the perfect shoes, and the perfect boyfriend, Chip Matthews.

Rachel got dressed for school and headed downstairs. She ate her breakfast quickly because the less time she spent with her two annoying younger sisters the better. She grabbed her bag and headed out the front door. She waited on her front steps and, before long, Chip drove up the driveway to give her a ride to school in his sports car.

...

The day went by very slowly. Between trying to pay attention in math and daydreaming in science it felt like days before she finally got out of class. When the bell rang, signalling the beginning of lunch, Rachel walked the school halls to the cafeteria. Everyone's eyes were on her as she walked by. Everyone at Lincoln High knew her name. Girls were jealous of her, and guys wanted to be with her.

Rachel spotted her friends, Mindy, Leslie and Melissa, at their usual table in the cafeteria. But then she saw Monica sitting alone. Monica was not like Rachel's other friends. She wasn't at all shallow; she was kind and considerate of others. She was a great friend to spend time with when she wanted a break from talking about shoes or boys with her other friends. Rachel decided she wanted to sit with Monica for lunch.

...

The rest of the day went by just as slow as the morning. But, soon enough, it was time for her to go to Monica's house to leave for prom. She, Monica, Chip and Monica's date would be meeting there and then they would all head to prom together.

Rachel thought back to when she and Monica were younger. They used to plan what they would wear to prom and what their prom dates would be like. She walked up the Geller's front steps. She was already in her prom dress with her hair and make-up done, ready to have the night she had dreamed of for so long. She rang the doorbell and Monica's older brother, Ross, answered the door.

Ross' breath caught in his throat when he saw Rachel at the door. She looked so beautiful all dressed up for prom. He had had a crush on Rachel since the ninth grade, now he was in his first year of college and he still liked her. It seemed like everyone knew Ross liked her; everyone except Rachel. He knew that Rachel, probably, only saw him as Monica's geeky older brother. He had never been popular in high school, since he loved science and was never on any sports teams. Having Rachel so close to him, at the door, made him nervous.

"H-hi Rachel, come in. Monica shouldn't be too long, she's just up in her room finishing getting ready," Ross forced himself to say.

Rachel didn't have to wait very long in the foyer because soon Monica came down the stairs. She was dressed in her prom dress ready to leave. Rachel thought to herself that even though Monica was slightly overweight she looked fantastic.

"Wow, Mon you look so great!" Rachel exclaimed as Monica got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Thanks. You look great too!" Monica complimented back. They hugged and then sat in the living room while they waited for their dates to arrive. Ross wasn't sure what to do so he joined the girls in the living room. After a short time the doorbell rang and Monica's date, Roy Gublik, arrived. Then about half an hour went by and Chip still hadn't shown up.

"You have to leave soon if you're going to get there on time," Judy told the girls.

"Why isn't Chip here? I can't go to prom without a date," Rachel said, her eyes full of tears. Monica handed her a tissue and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. Jack had an idea, he took his son aside.

"Ross, why don't you offer to go to prom with Rachel?" he suggested to Ross in a whisper, knowing Ross liked Rachel.

"She won't want to go with me. She wants to go with her boyfriend, not a dork like me," Ross answered back in a whisper.

"You won't know unless you ask," Mr. Geller stated. "You can borrow my tux. Just go ask her."

"Fine, I'll do it," Ross said as he went upstairs to change into his father's tux. A few minutes later he came back down dressed in the black suit carrying a bouquet of flowers he took from a vase on the stair landing.

"Rachel, here comes your knight in shining armour," Jack announced as Ross reached the bottom of the staircase. Rachel looked up from wiping her tears to see Ross in a tux.

"R-Rachel, I can take you to prom, if you'd like," Ross said timidly. Rachel considered his offer for a moment. On one hand Ross hadn't been very popular in high school so she didn't want to be seen with him. But, on the other hand he was very sweet and it was probably better to show up with someone rather than no one at all.

"Okay, Ross I'll go with you to prom," Rachel said. Ross handed Rachel the flowers, then Judy quickly took pictures of each of the couples before they left. The hall was just up the street; they decided to walk.

...

They got to the building and the music could be heard from outside. They entered and looked around. The room was dark except for the dance floor lighting and a few dim lights over the tables. The round tables, with chairs, were around the perimeter of the dance floor for people to sit at while they ate and drank. There were platters of food and drinks set out on more tables around the room. The large hall was packed with students dancing, chatting and having a good time with their friends and dates. Monica and Roy went off onto the dance floor promising they would catch up with Ross and Rachel later.

"So, what do you want to do?" Ross asked Rachel shyly.

"Can we just sit down for a minute?" Rachel asked quietly. She was on the verge of tears. Ross, seeing her expression, didn't answer he just nodded and then followed Rachel to the tables and chairs. Rachel sat down while Ross stood beside her, not knowing what to do.

Once seated Rachel couldn't hold back her tears any longer, she let the salty tears run down her face. She put her head in her hands and leaned her elbows on the table. She cried as she thought about being stood up by Chip. She wondered why he didn't show up. Maybe he just couldn't make it for some reason. She thought to herself. She couldn't help but think that he didn't show up because he didn't love her anymore. She felt humiliated. Her perfect prom was ruined.

Ross didn't know what to do. He couldn't stand seeing her so upset over Chip. What does she see in this guy? He obviously doesn't understand how good he has it, having a girlfriend like Rachel. Most guys would kill to take a girl like her to prom. Why can't she see that? Ross thought to himself. He felt like he needed to comfort Rachel somehow. This is her prom she should be having fun not crying over her jerk of a boyfriend. Ross sat down in the chair next to her. After a few minutes he gently stroked her back in slow, soothing circles. Rachel was surprized to feel him touch her. She sat up and looked him in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I'm such a mess," Rachel said miserably, through her tears. Ross could see the hurt in her eyes.

"It's okay to cry. He's your boyfriend and he didn't show up for prom. All I can say is: he's a jerk, he's crazy for standing you up," Ross said confidently.

"Thank you Ross," Rachel replied sweetly. She had never really noticed what a great guy Ross was. He was so sweet to offer to take her to prom and then console her about Chip. Monica had told her, a little while ago, that Ross had a crush on her. That made her think: was he just being nice or trying to get Chip out of the picture?

"I think you should forget about Chip and just enjoy yourself. You shouldn't mope around on your prom night," Ross said softly. Rachel agreed. Even if the night hadn't gone as planned she should still enjoy herself.

"Why don't we find Monica and Roy and then we can start dancing," Rachel suggested.

"Sounds good," Ross said in agreement. Monica and Roy didn't take long to find. They were both at a table full of snacks. Ross and Rachel approached them.

"Hi guys. I'm sorry I haven't had time to talk, Rach, are you okay?" Monica asked Rachel kindly.

"I'm feeling better. Ross cheered me up about the whole Chip incident," Rachel said happily. Monica smiled at Ross.

"Well, it's good to hear you're better. Come on let's dance the night away!" Monica said excitedly. The four of them went onto the dance floor and danced for quite a while. Rachel was surprized that none of her other friends came over to talk to her, but she didn't care because she was having a great time.

After all the dancing the four decided to take a break and sit down with a drink. The guys went to get punch for their dates. Monica and Rachel finally had time to talk about Chip. They talked over the possibilities of why he didn't come and about what it meant. Rachel felt good after her talk with Monica. She wondered what her other friends would say when they found out about Chip. She already knew one thing: they wouldn't say anything as nice as Monica had said.

The guys returned with the drinks and they all drank them while chatting and laughing. They were all having a great time. But, little did they know Chip did show up after all and he was watching Ross with Rachel. Chip was furious that Ross had come with her when he knew she had a boyfriend.

After having played fast songs for most of the night the DJ put on a slow song. Roy asked Monica to dance; Ross and Rachel sat alone at the table while the couple made their way to the dance floor. The floor was filled with couples. Rachel looked at them all and thought about how she would have danced with her boyfriend to this song.

Ross wanted to dance with Rachel. But he was nervous to ask, mainly because she had a boyfriend, it wouldn't be right. But, her boyfriend wasn't there. What he didn't know couldn't hurt him, right? Ross decided one dance should be fine. He got up from his seat and stood in front of her. His presence snapped her out of her daydream of dancing with Chip.

"Rachel, do you want to dance?" he asked nervously.

Rachel thought for a second. Was it right to dance with Ross if she had a boyfriend? But she quickly decided that Chip stood her up he didn't deserve her loyalty towards him.

"Sure," she answered. Ross took Rachel's hand as they walked onto the dance floor. She put her arms around the back of his neck and he gently placed his hands on either side of her waist. They swayed slowly to the music. After a while she leaned in so her head was against his chest. Ross hesitantly hugged her close as they continued to dance.

Meanwhile, Chip was watching the whole thing.

...

Roy was picked up by his mom from the hall, but the other three had to walk home. Rachel's house was around the block from the Geller's house, so Ross offered to walk her home. Monica said good bye as she reached her house; Ross and Rachel continued down the street.

Rachel and Ross walked silently side by side. Their arms brushed every once in a while. It felt natural and comfortable being alone together. They were a few houses away from Rachel's when Rachel stopped and turned towards Ross.

"I wanted to thank you for being so nice to me tonight. You gave me a prom I will never forget," Rachel stated with a smile.

"Don't mention it Rach, I'm glad you ended up having a good time. I'm sorry Chip didn't come. He made a bad choice by not taking an amazing and beautiful girl like you to prom," Ross answered shyly. Rachel smiled at him; with just those simple words he made her feel happier than she had felt all night. Her face became serious as she looked into his eyes. He took a step closer to her as he leaned in for a kiss. Their lips were inches apart when they heard a voice.

"Hey Rachel, where have you been all night?" Chip asked. Rachel and Ross quickly stepped apart as they turned around.

"I could ask you the same question," Rachel answered, bitterly.

"Listen, Rach, how about I walk you the rest of the way to your house and I'll explain everything to you tomorrow?" Chip suggested kindly. Rachel felt guilty for going to prom with Ross instead of Chip. So, she agreed to let him walk her the rest of the way. Rachel didn't say anything she just let Chip take her hand as they began walking.

"Bye," Ross said quietly, without anyone else hearing. He watched Chip and Rachel before he turned and walked in the opposite direction. The street was dark except for the streetlights as it was around midnight. All Ross could think about was Rachel, on his walk home. He was so close to kissing her. He would probably never get a chance like that again. He was just around the corner from his house when he heard running foot steps behind him. He glanced back over his shoulder to see Chip running towards him.

"You didn't think I'd let you get away without talking to you, did you?" Chip said aggressively. Ross became nervous.

"Listen, I'm sorry-" Ross began before he was cut off by Chip.

"Oh, okay, you're sorry? Sorry doesn't make up for you taking my girlfriend to prom and then practically kissing her, while you knew she had a boyfriend!" Chip yelled.

Without warning Chip lunged forward and punched Ross.