Title: The One Where Ben Is Eighteen.
Author: theyellowumbrella
Show: Friends.
Pairing/Characters: Monica/Chandler, Mike/Phoebe, implied Ross/Rachel, Ben, Jack, Erica, Emma, Joey.
Summary: "Instead of going out and partying like everybody else did, Ben Geller decided to celebrate his eighteenth birthday a little differently."
Note: I wrote this a while back but I was going through some writing, looking for something to finish off and I came across this. I thought, why not? so I've just finished this. One shot.
Ben Geller looked down at his phone for the seventh time that night. It was another birthday text from one of his friends. He checked who it was this time. Frank Jr. Jr. He forgot that the triplets couldn't make it to his eighteenth birthday party and that they would all check in online or send him a text.
"Who's it this time?" Mike asked, annoyed at the interruption.
"Frank Jr. Jr." He mumbled, much to the delight of Phoebe.
"Yes! Tell them I say hi." Ben nodded, and then continued to unwrap his present. It was the very first Black Ops game that he had been trying to get for a while. The rest of the Call Of Duty collection were also there. He could tell Mike had picked out these presents, because last year they'd bought him a rubber duck, a foam mallet and a homemade comic book called Science Boy. He'd later found out that his dad had written Science Boy.
He opened the card Phoebe had written out for him, decorating it with pictures of bunny rabbits. There were 50 bucks tucked inside of it, obviously as an extra gift. "Thanks, guys." He repeated, just the same as he had with his mom and Susan and his dad.
"Open ours next, Ben!" Erica exclaimed, trying to hide her excitement.
He let out a chuckle at his little cousin. She had been bouncing up and down all day, bickering with Jack and they even played a game of Saints Row 2 on his PS3. Jack, on the other hand, had been staying quiet. He was hidden away in a corner somewhere, and he had his crayons with him and he had been sitting, fixed in that one position for hours.
"Not yet, Ben. Emma, you go first, yeah?" Jack said, gesturing to the oblong parcel that was dumped beside Emma.
"Oh, yeah. I remember you saying you wanted this but were never aloud it when I was younger. Thought I'd give you it." She mumbled and passed the present to Ben.
He slid his finger underneath the sellotape and it tore open. He could see some blonde hair peeking out of it and got excited. Was it a hot chick mannequin? He couldn't of been more wrong. It was a mannequin, yes, but not the kind he was hoping for.
It was a life-sized Ken doll that he had been dying to get since he was younger than the twins. As he'd grown up, he pretended he thought Barbies were stupid, but really, he still wanted one.
He couldn't contain his emotions, and he pulled Emma into a hug. They'd hugged once or twice before, when Ross and Rachel got engaged, when some guy tried to beat her up at school, but nothing like this. He rested his head in the crook of her neck and smiled. She'd remembered him moaning on about it when she was around two, and he didn't understand how.
"Thanks, Emma." He murmured softly. Everybody else was staring at him as if he was crazy, and yes, maybe he was, but he didn't care.
"Thank Mom. She found it." Emma replied, and then sat down on the sofa again.
He grinned at Rachel, who then chuckled and said, "Sweet talked Zelner, oh and Ross, or should I say, Ron, you have to take Zelner's kid around The Museum of Natural History or something like that." A smile appeared on Ross's face. Zelner's kid was funny, and he loved dinosaurs. Him and Ross got on great.
"Wait- I thought you worked in fashion?" Joey stated confusedly, raising his eyebrows.
"Aha, yes. But he knows some people in Indonesia..." She didn't finish, because now everybody was confused. "...that can get their hands on life-sized Ken dolls."
"Ah, okay." Everybody chorused, and then went back to the present-opening.
"Okay, Ben, you can open ours now." Jack said, and placed an A3 piece of paper on top of his present. Ben reached over for the parcel first, unwrapping it only to see a life-sized Barbie doll.
"To go with your Ken." Erica said, and they all burst out laughing, including Ben. He picked up the paper, seeing the words '200 reasons why I love my brother Ben' printed across the top in wobbly writing. He chuckled, and skimmed over it all, smiling every now and then.
"Thanks, Jack. You too, Erica. So, that's everything. Look, I just wanna say thanks to everybody because...no matter what happened, you were always there for me. When I went through my addiction phase, each and every one of you stood by my side, refusing to let me get through it alone. And when I got into a rage and became really violent, you all stood up for me. You did what families do; you were there to protect me and that means so much to me. And for eighteen years, the six of you; Dad, Aunt Monica, Uncle Chandler, Aunt Rachel, Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Joey, you've all put up with my shit and I can't thank you enough for that. I know we're not all related, but you guys are the best extended family I could ever have asked for. I know that in life I'll never be alone because I'll have you guys there to stand up for me and tell me it'll all be okay when chances are, it won't."
They all embraced Ben in a hug, tears running down each of their faces as they thought to themselves, "We really are a great family."