Wow, thank you so much for all your kind words! It's really encouraged me to continue this story.
Monica tapped her foot nervously as she glanced at the clock yet again. The final bell had rung fifteen minutes ago. She knew that it was predictable for Chandler to be a little late, but she was not a patient person and with every minute that passed she felt more sure that he just wouldn't show up at all. Frowning, she turned her concentration away from the clock and instead decided to do some of her own studying to distract herself. She opened her bright purple notebook to the most recent page, and tried to absorb the information she needed to know for her psychology quiz the next day. However as she looked over her own handwriting, she realized she wasn't reading it at all, she was thinking about Chandler.
With a frustrated sigh Monica closed the notebook, biting her lip. She didn't know why, but the idea of tutoring him made her incredibly anxious. It wasn't because she knew he'd be difficult to tutor- no, she could handle stubborn- it was more the idea of having to spend time in close proximity to him. It was a strange feeling for her, because she had known Chandler for a very long time. She was never particularly close with him, but they had grown up on they same street and he was best friends with her older brother, Ross. The two boys had been inseparable. They were always riding their bikes together during the summer, and making up stories about finding dinosaur fossils near the creek behind the Geller's house. Then when the boys both entered high school, their friendship slowly diminished. Chandler began to care less and less about school, and Ross- well, Ross still cared a great deal about dinosaurs. So Chandler became part of the slacker crowd, while Ross excelled in his academics. Now Ross was away at college studying to be a paleontologist, and Monica hadn't seen Chandler around their house in years. Still, she had grown up with him, knew him for years as the goofy kid who fell over a lot and made stupid jokes when he was nervous. There was no reason for her to feel nervous to be around him now, but she was all the same.
Monica's train of thought was suddenly interrupted when another notebook was slammed down next to hers. She looked up to see Chandler giving her one of his crooked smiles as he shrugged off his leather jacket. She smiled back at him briefly before wrinkling her nose in disgust.
"You're late, smokey." She scolded him. He frowned slightly as he slumped down in the chair across from her, glancing quickly at the clock.
"We said to meet in the library after school. It's after school, and I'm here." He shrugged nonchalantly.
"It's twenty-five minutes after the final bell." She stated matter-of-factually.
"Well, ah, I had to pee." He lied blatantly, a twinkle in his eye.
"Yeah, whatever. Look, I don't have time to waste so I would appreciate it if you would arrive quicker next time, okay?" She said shortly. For some reason his indifference irked her, the nerves were now totally gone and replaced by subtle anger. Here she was, offering her time willingly to help him and he couldn't care less.
"Yeah, okay." He said, raising his eyebrows and his hands at the same time. "So, what are we going to learn first, teach?"
"Don't call me that." She snapped, then breathed deeply to calm herself. "Sorry. Take out your Econ textbook."
"Yeah," He said slowly, looking a bit sheepish. "I don't have that."
"Fine, we'll use mine. Come here." She sighed and gestured for him to sit beside her so they could both look at the material. He slid his chair around the table until it was next to hers, then leaned forward so he had better access to the book. Monica instantly became very aware of how close Chandler was to her. His arm was rested on the side of his chair, parallel to her own arm rested on her own chair, and the two of them were almost touching. She noticed how his brown hair hung his face, over his mischievous blue eyes that looked very tired close up, and how he smelled of coffee and stale cigarette smoke. That last detail wasn't particularly appealing to her, but for some reason his sudden closeness had washed all of her initial anger towards him away. She felt transfixed by him.
Then Chandler let out a loud, obnoxious sneeze, and Monica was shaken out of her reverie. She jerked away, surprised by the noise, and nearly fell out of her chair. Chandler stared at her with wide-eyes before the two broke out into simultaneous laughter. The whole moment was completely ridiculous, and helped ease the tension quite a bit. Monica didn't feel as on-edge anymore and was able to dive into the designated chapter for Economics, without too much resistance from Chandler.
After about an hour of listening to Monica talk about Economics far too enthusiastically, Chandler reached his limit. He had tried his darnedest to really pay attention at first, to try and assimilate as much information as possible, but his brain just wasn't able to focus any longer. He nodded along to whatever she was saying, but all he was really thinking was how captivating her eyes were. They were a fantastically bright shade of blue, but it was more than just the colour of them that intrigued Chandler. It was how expressive they were, and how they amplified the stories she told with her words. They drew him in and enchanted him,Chandler couldn't help the power they seemed to hold over him. And now they looked annoyed.
"Chandler!" Monica said, sounding exasperated, those blue eyes lighting up with vexation. "Have you been listening to a word I've said?"
"Uh," Chandler cleared his throat, and straightened up. "Maybe?"
"Great." She rolled her eyes and slumped back in her chair. "You haven't learned anything and we're pretty much out of time."
"No, that's not true!" He rushed to reassure her. "I learned some. I just lost track somewhere around something about Market Equilibrium?"
"Great." She repeated with a sigh. "So you learned about a fifth of what I talked about today. And that wasn't even a full chapter." Her brow furrowed and she closed the book, standing up as she packed away her stuff. "Look, if you really don't care about your grades, fine. I'll just have to tell Ms. Oakley to find someone else who doesn't mind wasting their time to teach you."
"No!" Chandler protested, a little too eagerly. He cleared his throat and tried to sound more casual. "I mean, no, I'm sorry. I don't mean to waste your time. I'll be more focused next time, I promise."
Monica chewed the inside of her cheek and stared at Chandler with one eyebrow raised. Finally, she gave in. "Okay. But I mean it, if you don't take this seriously than I'm not going to bother helping you. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am," Chandler grinned, and laughed when Monica glared at him for the nickname. "I'll make sure to bring a bigger coffee to our next session."
"Bring me one too and I'll forgive you for this time." She said with a smirk, those blue eyes twinkling at him. Chandler could only nod, and watch as she walked out the door. He couldn't help the giddy smile that crept onto his face, and found himself looking actually looking forward to their next session.
A/N: I'm sorry this chapter is so short! I'm pretty busy with school right now, so it's been hard to find the time to write. But I wanted to get something out because you all have been so kind. I hope it wasn't too boring. Please R&R! :)