I am so sorry for the lack of updates! I recently started a new chapter in my life and have gotten very busy. I will try to update when I can...

May 1988

Monica sat in front of her vanity, brushing her chestnut curls. She had waited so long for this and what made it even more spectacular was that she had an actual prom date, a boy named, Roy. They were in the same English class together and he asked. She had been floating when he asked. He was big, just like she was. In fact, his nickname at school was Donkey Lips. Monica and Roy joked about perhaps getting matching shirts that said their respective nicknames, but decided not to at the last moment. He was nice though and funny. She was thrilled and had it not been for Ross impeding on her getting ready time, it really would have been perfect, but Ross had decided to come home that weekend. Something about studying for finals and not wanting to deal with Chandler; although she was beginning to doubt the validity of his complaints as Ross was planning to room with Chandler the next year which she found confusing.

"If you hate him so much, why are you gonna room with him next year?" Monica asked, still staring at herself as she put her hairbrush down and began to apply her make up. Ross was lying on Monica's bed, tossing one of her stuffed animals up in the air and catching it.

"He asked...during Spring Break, he asked. Well, he didn't ask but he said we were gonna be roommates."

"You could've said no."

"I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"I just...I thought about it too but...even his girlfriend was telling me that I couldn't say no. She said I was good influence on him. Not sure how much I buy that."

"His girlfriend sounds like an enabler."

"I think she just wants to save him. I think we all just want to save him. I feel bad for him."

Monica gave a small smile as she continued to apply her make up. She didn't want to think about Chandler. She wanted think about prom. She wanted to think about the dance, her friends, Roy, everything. This was the moment, the final moment. She had put so much importance on this one dance. Some might call it silly, but she didn't care. She wanted so badly to make this night of her life.

Rachel finally arrived wearing a blue dress with puffy sleeves and when Monica went to greet her, her dad brought out the camera, recording everything. It was annoying and Rachel and Monica kept running away from her dad to avoid the camera. Soon, they retreated the pantry, they hadn't been there in years.

"Our senior prom...tonight, oh Mon, this is going to be fantastic."

"I know," Monica said.

"Okay, here's the plan though," Rachel began, raising her finger and Monica's heart dropped. She had been excited when Rachel had said they should go to prom together. Ellie and Laurie had thought it was ridiculous, but Monica held out that hope.

"Really, Rachel? We have a month left of school. We're going to separate colleges. People know we're friends. Can't we just be friends tonight without all the silly rules?"

"Just...okay, tonight. Chip rented a hotel room."

"Are you really going to give your flower to him?"

"Okay, sweetie...first, stop calling it that, second, okay, he's had my flower a lot. Hell, he has a bouquet."

"I know, but..." Monica said, looking at the ground as she dug her food into the hardware floor. "It's just...you've had...what about-"

"Nothing happened," Rachel said, her tone rather flat. Monica let out a sigh, she wished Rachel would admit what had happened or at the very least confirm it. It was a horribly kept secret.

"Rachel."

"Mon, no...just no. I would..."

"You know I know."

"Not now."

"Okay."

"And I know...but let's talk about tonight. You and me. It's gonna be fun, but Chip got a hotel room and what's gonna happen is we will take a limo to the pre-party at Michelle Burke's house and then I'm gonna go with Chip, Mindy and Nancy and everyone and then you can go with Michelle and Ellie and Laurie and your dates and then..."

Just then a knock on the pantry and Monica's mom opened the door, grinning at them wildly. Monica rolled her eyes.

"Girls, Roy is here."

"Roy's here?" Monica asked.

"With Chip?" Rachel asked but Monica didn't listen, she was racing out of the pantry towards the living room with her dad still videotaping. Chip was a big guy, smiling and happy. Monica liked him. He was nice and kind. He made her feel beautiful. She liked that.

"Roy," Monica said as she happily threw her arms around him.

"Mon...whoa, you look hot," Roy said, which made Monica blush.

"Excuse me, I'm right here," Jack said, lowering his camera and glaring at them. Monica let out a giggle.

"Dad, come on. Turn off the camera."

"I want to capture this, honey. This may be a very important video, one day," Jack smiled.

"Dad," Monica rolled her eyes, she really wished her dad would put down the camera. It was annoying.

"Where's Chip? Why isn't he here yet?" Rachel asked, walking towards him.

"He'll be here, okay. Take a chill pill," Roy said as he leaned in to fix Monica's corsage, pinning it on her. As he did, she could feel his hand touching her boob. Her face turned even more red as she let out a giggle. She turns towards Rachel and leans towards her ear.

"He touched my boob," Monica whispered which made Rachel giggle as well, but that moment was short lived. Rachel's face fell as she let out a pained sigh.

"Okay, where is Chip? I can't go to my own prom without a date. I can't. It's too late," Rachel said, tears filling her eyes.

"Well, if you're not going then I don't want to go either," Monica regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. She had wanted to be her own person. They were graduating soon. She would be going to Culinary School, Rachel would be staying Long Island going to college in Long Island. Monica was moving into the city, she was moving on, away from Long Island. She was going to leave the suburbs, never to return.

"Oh, I'm gonna kick Chip's ass," Roy suddenly said as he stormed off. Monica and Rachel followed him towards the living room. Monica looked over her shoulder as she reached the couch to see where her dad was with camera. She saw him and her mother talking to Ross. She shook her head. Of course they'd be focused on Ross during her prom, they were always focused on Ross.

"Where is he?" Rachel cried.

"He will be here," Monica said.

"When?" Rachel asked. "So, I'm not going to prom. Nancy and Mindy and Sharon and are gonna rub it in and I'm gonna be a loser-"

"Who the hell cares? It's prom, it's a dance. No one cares. Come. You'll both be my dates," Roy said, angrily.

"Or...well, maybe Ross can go with you," Monica said.

"Ewww, Mon...I don't want to go with your brother."

"He's in college."

"He's a geek."

"Okay, okay...or Chandler, Ross' roommate? It won't take that long for him get here from Long Island."

"Monica, that would be even worse than going with your brother."

"Rach."

"Let's just go," Roy said. "This is ridiculous. It's a stupid dance."

"Then why are you going?" Rachel asked.

"Because I wanna get laid," Roy said, rather matter of factly. Monica let that sink in and gave him a look. Roy was nothing if not honest. Rachel kept crying and Monica felt bad. She hated seeing Rachel upset.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom, I'll be right back," Rachel said, walking off, still crying. Monica began to walk towards her when she felt Roy grab her arm and pull her back.

"What?" Monica asked.

"This is stupid. Are we really not going to go because Rachel is upset?"

"Well, she's upset."

"If it was the other way around. If I wasn't here and Chip was, do you honestly think Rachel would decide not to go to prom to stay with you?"

"No," Monica said, rather softly. Her heart sank a little, knowing Roy was right. "And she's even planning on ditching us once we get there."

"Exactly."

"But she's at my house."

"So...if she wants to go that bad, she can ask your brother."

"I really wanna go."

"Me too."

"I'm not giving you my flower, you know that. Right?"

"You gotta stop calling it that. "

"It's symbolic."

"It really isn't."

"I'm glad I'm going with you, though," Monica said, giving a slight smile. She knew what she needed to do, she would give Rachel and ultimatum. Either Rachel go and ask Ross to go to the prom with her or not go at all...or go with her and Roy. She walked slowly towards the bathroom and knocked on the door. Rachel opened the door, her face stained with tears, her mascara running down her face.

"I'm not gonna get to go prom. The final dance."

"Alright, Rach...look, I wanna go. I really, really wanna go."

"Really?"

"Yeah...so...here's the deal. Either you can stay at home which will stuck or you can come with Roy and I...or you ask Ross," Monica said, it felt slightly empowering standing up to Rachel.

"I don't wanna stay home and I don't wanna hang out with you and your friends."

"Ow."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Well, then you have one other option."

Rachel looked at Monica and then at the mirror. She reached for a tissue and gently wiped her eyes. It seemed that she was really thinking about this option.

"He is a college guy."

"He is."

"He's still...it's Ross and...it wouldn't be that bad to go with your brother. I mean..."

"You'll look cool. He's in college."

"It's still Ross."

"Well, we could also call Chandler. Chandler has the Corvette."

"Love the car, but there is not a chance in hell."

"Duly noted...he is an asshole."

"Definitely. Would Ross go with me?"

"Ask him."

"Would he shave his lip hair?"

"Maybe if you ask him nicely."

"He looks like Mr. Kotter."

"I know."

Rachel looked at herself again, letting out a long, drawn out sigh. Monica wished she could read Rachel's mind.

"Hmmm, okay...yeah...alright...yeah, let me get cleaned up. I'll ask Ross. Yeah, I can ask Ross. I don't wanna miss prom. Ross is better than nothing."

"Exactly," Monica said as she reached over to hug Rachel and walked out of the bathroom to join Roy on the couch. She had contemplated going to find Ross, but decided against it. She figured Rachel could ask on her.

Turned out though, Monica didn't need to even worry about Ross and neither did Rachel. Chip showed up about ten minutes later and soon the four were ready to go. They rushed out of the house without looking back. That had been Monica's idea. She knew her parents would be trying to get more video footage. She had even seen her dad's camera as they ran to the door, but they were already late. Prom awaited them.

Preprom was at Michelle Burke's house. As soon as they arrived, Rachel and Chip left Monica and Roy and went to join Nancy and the rest of those popular girls. That wouldn't dampen Monica's mood as she walked towards Ellie, Laurie and their dates. Laurie's date was Will and Ellie's date was a guy named, Andy. He was in their class. It was a good group. A perfect six, Monica thought. It didn't matter if Rachel didn't speak with her for the rest of the night. She was exactly where she wanted to be.

"Monica, there you are," Michelle said, walking towards her with a huge smile on face. "Where were you?"

"Rachel had issues. Chip was like ten minutes late and she had a meltdown," Roy said.

"Really?" Michelle asked, rolling her eyes.

"I know. Can we all just agree that Rachel Green is the worst," Ellie said.

"I can," Will said.

"Guys, come on. You look beautiful, Michelle," Monica said.

"Thanks...okay, let's get going," Michelle said.

"I wanna to take more pictures," Michelle's dad said as he walked towards them. "Michelle, one with your friends."

"Dad, come on," Michelle groaned as Richard began ushering the group to stand together.

"One picture, hi Monica. You're here," Richard said.

"Hi, Mr. Burke," Monica smiled.

"Richard, call me Richard. Mr. Burke makes me sound old," Richard said.

"I could never do that," Monica said.

"Dad, you're being weird. Can we just take the picture and go," Michelle whined as the group posed together. It was going to be an amazing night, Monica would make sure of it. Of course, Rachel had vanished now safely with the popular girls but she didn't care. She was with friends, her friends.

The dance itself was amazing. She and Roy danced together, she laughed and had a surprisingly amazing time. It almost made her a little sad to leave high school which sounded so strange. She had never thought she'd feel okay in high school, but she had finally found her place. She had her friends.

The after prom parties. That's where the memories are usually made. Fantastic memories that will be shared forever between friends. Memories that can never be revealed to any parent. The after prom was held at some kid's house. Monica wasn't even sure who the kid was, just knew his parents were out of town and there was booze. Monica found herself laying by the pool with Ellie, Laurie and Michelle, a couple bottles of wine between them. They were all sufficiently drunk watching their dates play around in the pool.

"I am so drunk," Michelle giggled.

"I know...you know who's cute?" Laurie asked, slurring, "your dad."

"What?" Michelle asked.

"Yeah, your dad is so hot. Like I'd totally do him," Laurie said.

"Ewww, gross," Michelle said.

"You know, he is not bad," Ellie said as she poured herself another glass of wine.

"Oh, that's nasty. Oh, gross," Michelle said as they laughed. Michelle's dad was handsome, although Monica would never admit that publicly. There wasn't enough alcohol in the world for her to admit that.

"Hey, do you think we'll all continue being friends after we graduate?" Monica asked, wanting to change the topic.

"Yeah, why wouldn't we be?" Ellie asked.

"I don't know. We're going to separate colleges," Monica said.

"We're gonna be in the city. We are so gonna hang out," Laurie said.

"I hope so, I'd miss it if we weren't friends," Monica said.

"Let's make a pact. No matter where we are or what happens, on our twenty first birthdays, we're spending it together, " Laurie said.

"Deal," Monica said as she was joined in by the other girls as they each clicked their cups filled with wine and drank.

"Monica," Rachel was sobbing as she stomped towards them. She hadn't even noticed Rachel approaching her, but there she was, standing there, crying. What could possibly be wrong? Monica had thought Rachel would be having an amazing night, earlier in the evening, during the dance she had been crowned Homecoming Queen which Monica knew was her dream.

"What are you crying about?" Ellie asked.

"Was your tiara too small to fit on your enormous head?" Laurie asked.

"Nice job, jellybean," Ellie grinned.

"Thank you," Laurie said.

"Monica, I need to talk to you," Rachel said.

"Really?" Monica asked, she was comfortable, so not in the mood to listen to Rachel.

"Come on, I need to talk to you," Rachel whined.

"Why does she need to go with you? You're the Homecoming Queen, go talk to your popular friends," Michelle said.

"Can I talk to you later?" Monica asked.

"No, you need to talk to me now," Rachel said. "It's important."

"Fine," Monica let out a sigh as she got up.

"Wait, Mon," Ellie began.

"I'll explain it later," Monica said as she stumbled towards Rachel. Rachel grabbed her arm and the two walked off to private area of the backyard. Monica hoped this would be quick.

"Chip is cheating on me. I just walked in on him hooking up with that Amy slut and-"

"Rachel."

"What?"

"I'm...I'm having fun," Monica said, her mind clouded by the booze but she was truly not in the mood. "I'm sorry he's cheating on you but Chip is a jerk. You know that. I wanna go have fun with my friends. Please. Please let me not have to follow the list of rules to be your friend for one night. I'll follow it again tomorrow. I'll follow it until we graduate and you will never have to speak to me again."

"Why wouldn't I speak to you again?" Rachel asked.

"'Cause we're going to separate colleges and then you can find another fat chick to be your pretend friend so you look like a nice person," Monica spat out, it had to be the alcohol. The alcohol was making her say this. These feelings that had long been buried. Rachel looked like Monica had just slapped her. She took a deep breath and wiped the tears away from her face. The look on Rachel's face scared her a little.

"Monica, you are not, nor have you ever been my pretend friend. You're my only friend."

"You never act like it."

"You don't get it."

"No, I don't."

"Can I tell you a secret?" Rachel asked.

"Huh? Sure."

"There's part of me that wishes that Ross really had come with me tonight."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Crazy."

"You like my brother?"

"I like your family. I like how warm and nice and happy it is. I like...I like it. I-I wanna come for Thanksgiving instead of spending it with my family. You are not a fake friend. You're my sister. More my sister than my actual sisters."

Monica was taken aback by that as Rachel immediately hugged her. Monica hugged back. Her friendship with Rachel was so strange, so odd. She was never sure where they stood, but it felt nice to be considered a sister to Rachel. Maybe they would continue being friends after college after all. Rachel gave Monica a smile, turned and began to stumble off in the direction of the house, presumably to go find Chip. Monica stumbled off towards Ellie, Laurie and Michelle. The three girls continued to drink, talk about the future. It was coming quickly. Soon, they would all be graduating and Monica would finally be leaving Long Island for New York City. She just hoped that Ellie, Laurie, Michelle and hell even Rachel would be part of that future in the city because they had made Long Island a bearable place to spend the last eighteen years.