Carol Loves Ross…a prequel to Friends..Carol Willick was smart and attractive, but something was missing from her life. This is the romance of Carol and Ross.

Carol sat by her dorm room window and looked at the rain. On her bed was her lacrosse mallet. She couldn't believe what a lousy day it was. The weather seemed to fit her mood. She had gotten a test back in English Literature and she didn't do well on it. Her roommate Lisa had gone away for the weekend and she was left alone. Maybe a walk in the rain might make her feel better after all, after all it wasn't raining that bad. As she strolled by the playing field, she noticed a group of girls were playing lacrosse today after all. She opened up her bag and pulled out the mallet. This is what she needed to get out of her funk.

Immediately she ran to join the game.

Carol was always very athletic. In high school, she was on the volleyball and basketball teams. She never went for all those girly girls who were cheerleaders or homecoming queens. She was a girl who appreciated someone who thought that women were more than objects. She had one boyfriend, Josh, and they had stayed together up until the time that Carol left Virginia for New York. Josh wanted them to stay together and go to Georgetown, but Carol knew there that there was something more out there for her. That is when she decided that she would apply to NYU , she also didn't tell him but she thought her and Josh's relationship had gone as far as it could go. Adelaide and George were very proud of their daughter's decision to travel to New York. This is where Carol Willick would find herself.

Carol fell in love with New York. There was always something to do. You could go to a museum or to the theatre. Even though she never acted, Carol enjoyed exploring the NY theatre scene. When she was bored, she would also dabble in her painting as well. But there was one sad fact, even though Carol had a lot of friends, she was lonely. Could it have been that she made a mistake giving up Josh? Josh was a loving boyfriend who would do anything for her? There was just something that was missing from their relationship.

Carol put her mind back into the game, she had missed the last goal. Why was she thinking this way? Was it time to find the next great love of her life? Little did Carol realize that she would get an answer sooner than she thought.

As Carol stood on the sidelines lost in thought, she felt someone run into her. He obviously wasn't paying attention with his nose in a book. Before she knew it, the clumsy oaf had tripped over her. Carol looked down at her soaked clothes and screamed, "You asshole, can't you take your nose out of that damn book long enough to see where you are going?'

The boy looked up to see who was yelling at him. He immediately hid as he realized this was a beautiful girl. She had shoulder length blonde hair and a shapely little body. This was not the best way to make a first impression. His roommate said he needed to find a chick and get some.There was a girl he liked back home, but he would never have a chance with her so he decided to find a girl at school.

The stranger got up. Carol looked at the guy. He seemed to be very shy, but there just seemed to be something about him. Carol always thought that you could tell a lot about a person by the way their eyes looked. Carol noticed his eyes were a deep brown but they seemed to be hiding a need. These were eyes that seemed to be looking for something as well. Still on the ground, the stranger pulled Carol out of the mud.

Uhm uhm I'm sorry." he stuttered.

"That's alright I kind of wasn't paying attention to what I was doing either."Carol apologized. Carol noticed the book he was reading. "So, what was so interesting about the book you were reading.?'

"Well it has a lot of theories in it about life before the Ice Age, you know prehistoric life." he explained.

"Oh I see," Carol looked at him a little strangely. She looked at the guy again. He was kind of cute with that whole Miami Vice look and the stubble on his face. Not Don Johnson or Bruce Willis handsome, but there was definitely something she could get used to. "Oh I 'm Carol, Carol Willick ." she smiled.

He looked into her blue eyes and realized that this woman liked him. She actually thought enough of him to smile at her."I'm uh uh Ross….Ross Geller."

"Pleased to meet you Ross,"Carol said. "Hey I have an idea why don't we go and get some coffee somewhere I have been playing all afternoon and I really could use it to warm up."

"That sounds great," Not far from the field was a coffee house. Carol sat down while Ross got them each a coffee. She kept looking at him and those eyes.

"Why do you keep staring at me. Is there something on me.?" he asked.

"No I just was noticing your brown eyes, I always notice eyes on a guy first. I think they are a window to the soul." said Carol.

"Are you an art major or theatre?" asked Ross.

"Heavens no, but I love both of them. I am an English major with a minor in elementary education." explained Carol. "You?"

"Well I started as a music major, you know with a band and everything , but now I seem to be gravitating towards paleontology. The study of dinosaurs and stuff."

"Really how fascinating?" exclaimed Carol.

"Yea it was pretty lame what we named our band, Way/ No Way. But we still do play a little. In fact we have a gig tonight. Why don't you come to hear us?" Ross said. "It's at the Asian Student Union."

"I guess I can take a little time off from my poetry project." said Carol. "Sure I'll come. Carol got up and started to walk away. "Bye Ross."

Carol looked over at the guy one last time. She started to feel something but didn't know how to explain it. Could this be the next great love of her life?