A/N Folks, thanks a lot for your reviews! I am glad that you are still reading the story even though I had to abandon it for the past few weeks. I guess now there's no point denying it anymore - your guesses have been right! There was one review by 'Mondler2014' which questions I quickly want to answer since I can't message her: The title doesn't really have a specific meaning I guess, I was just really obsessed with the song at that point and I guess you can find elements in the story where the title applies. But I leave that up to you guys! And just to clear things up: no, there has not been a gap of 1-2 years between chapter eight and nine, sorry if that came off wrong. It was supposed to be a skip of approx. 3 weeks between them sleeping together and the graduation.
Anyway, obviously I couldn't let you wait that long after such a cliffhanger and I found some time to write, so please enjoy chapter ten! I haven't really figured out much but I think that the story might have about 15 chapters. As always, reviews are very much welcome because they result in me updating more frequently!
"We need to talk."
Chandler was way too occupied with thoughts about the job offer that were bound to change his future forever. He recalled the conversation that he had with Monica just a few weeks ago and mentally hit himself. Why did he promise her that he would never leave her? He hadn't even expected anything to come out of all these applications; hell, he didn't even know what it was that he wanted to do exactly. All he had cared about was to be able to spend as much of his time as possible with her, but apparently his destiny had other plans for him.
"Chandler? Are you still there?"
Her voice brought him back to reality as he nodded quickly, tossing the letter aside. "Yeah. Uh, so what is it you want to talk about?"
He noticed a soft intake of breath on the other line, but never in a million years would he have thought that her news would hit him a million times harder.
Monica was sitting in her dorm room, her text books spread across her table as she had been in the midst of preparing for her third and last year at culinary school. Amidst all the mess that was so untypical for Monica lay, neatly lined up next to each other, three pregnancy tests. And all of them were positive.
Her eyes were red and puffy from having spent the last two hours crying her heart out until she had finally found the courage to call Chandler. There was no denying it, she was pregnant. And Chandler had to know, even if it meant that he would freak out. She could sense that he sounded somewhat preoccupied, but she had to tell him now.
"I kind of want to do this in person. Do you have time to come over?" She played with the hem of her shirt, occasionally glancing over at the tests that showed her the unevitable truth.
Pregnant. Pregnant. PREGNANT.
Chandler took a deep breath, not sure why Monica needed to talk right now, but he figured anything was better to get his mind off the decision he had to make regarding his future. Perhaps it was the best idea to ask Monica for advice even though he already knew her answer. "Sure, I finished work before so I can get the car and I'll be at your place in 30 minutes. Sound good?"
"Yeah, it does. I'll see you then." She hung up immediately, her mind going a million miles a second. T minus 30 minutes until she had to tell him the truth. And it was one hell of a test for their young love. A test which she didn't know they would be able to pass.
[-]
Somewhat relieved but still extremely nervous, Chandler decided to stop at Burger King on his way to Monica. He just needed some junk food and he knew that Monica wouldn't say no either. Especially after what she was about to tell him wasn't something he would be too thrilled about either, he guessed from the tone of her voice. 'We need to talk' never means something good. If he didn't know much about relationships, that he knew. The heavenly smell that came out of the bag was the only good thing in his life at the moment and he continued to think about the phone call. What could Monica possibly want to talk to him about? Was she seeing someone else? Had she got tired of their relationship? Before he knew it he had arrived at the parking lot in front of her dorm building and he knew there was no turning back. Grabbing the food, Chandler locked his car and made his way over to her place ever so slowly. How did his life turn to crap without him noticing it?
Inside, Monica was pacing around, glancing at the clock every few seconds. He was late. If he didn't show up in the next ten minutes she knew she would explode. She had hid the tests that were wrapped up in toilet paper in the bathroom drawer, knowing that he would surely demand proof. That was, if he was able to talk afterwards. Just when she thought she couldn't take the tension any longer, she heard a knock on her door. This was it, no turning back.
"Hey," Chandler greeted her slowly, leaning in for a kiss that he wasn't sure she would return. When she did, he felt somewhat relieved, so he lifted up the bag of food and walked past her into her room. "I brought us some burgers and fries, I haven't eaten yet so I figured we'd do it together?"
Monica nodded absent-mindedly as she followed him. All she knew was that she needed to tell him quickly. She wasn't so sure whether he still had an appetite after what she was about to tell him.
"So, I have some news," she sat down opposite from him, knowing that her knees would give way otherwise.
Chandler nodded, but when he was about to reach out for a burger, Monica stopped him. He looked at her, somewhat dumbfounded, but obeyed. Clearly this was worse than he had assumed if she wouldn't even let him eat. He watched as she disappeared into the bathroom for a few seconds, then appeared again, her arms behind her back. Before he even had the chance to ask, she said the sentence that hit him like a million bricks.
"I'm pregnant."
He just looked at her, up and down, then up again, his eyes narrowing and his pulse reaching a speed that made his head spin. He thanked God that Monica had prevented him from eating, or otherwise he would now be choking on his burger.
"P-pregnant? As in... I just..." Apparently he had also lost the ability to form words. He just wanted to hit himself.
Monica was still standing in front of him, now shoving a white stick into his face, as if Chandler had even the slightest assumption that she had been playing a cruel joke on him.
"There are two more in the bathroom, they're all positive. In case you thought I wasn't entirely sure before telling you." Her arms were akimbo and Chandler swore he had never seen her like this before. It was only now that he noticed that she had been crying, and yet she still seemed so tough in front of him. If he had to use one word to describe how Monica appeared to him now, it would be frightening.
Chandler finally took the test in his hands that Monica had still been holding in front of his face, just to satisfy her. As if him holding the stick would make things even more real. This already was as real as it could get. Real and fucking scary. Chandler had never felt so helpless in his entire life.
Monica sat down across from him again, eyeing him closely. The last she needed now was a boyfriend who just wanted to run away from things. Now was the time that she needed his support more than ever. When he was still staring at the test a minute later, Monica inhaled loudly.
"Chandler, what are we going to do about this?"
He finally looked up at her, his face still in disbelief. He was glad that he at least seemed to have found his voice again. "I... I'm not sure."
When he saw the hurt expression in her eyes, he knew that was not what she needed to hear right now. "Look," he took all of his courage and reached out for her hand across the table, taking it in his. "I know what both of us are thinking right now. That we didn't even plan this, that we are too young, that we don't even have a job, and so on."
Monica finally let him embrace her hand as she looked at him skeptically.
"But... I promise you that I will be there for you whatever you decide to do. Because I love you. And I know that we can do this. It's not going to be easy, but if you are willing to try this with me, I will not run away, okay?"
She bit her lip and shook her head, close to tears again. "Of course it's not going to be easy, Chandler, it's going to be fucking hard! It's easy for you to say, but I haven't even finished college! And I am the one who has to carry this baby for the next six months. I'm the one that they will look at and point, Chandler. Not you."
Chandler felt his heart break as he got up and walked over to his girlfriend, pulling her in for a hug. At first, he felt her pull away until she broke down completely and clung to his shirt, wetting it with her tears. "Sshh," he tried to soothe her as he continously rubbed her back, lost for words. After another few minutes of silence that was only interrupted by Monica's sobs, Chandler pulled away slightly and pushed some of her dark hair behind her ear. "Mon, do you even want to keep this baby?"
He didn't know why he felt this way, but it was the one question he was most afraid to hear the answer to.
When she nodded, a small weight had been lifted off his shoulders. And in that second, he knew that he already loved their unborn baby with everything he had.
"Good." Kissing her nose, Monica finally looked into his eyes again. "But how are we going to handle this? We don't have jobs."
Chandler nodded, remembering the letter he had received before. The letter that he had thought would completely turn their lifes around. Boy, had he been wrong. "I actually got a job offer in the mail today."
Monica's face lit slightly up, but Chandler's expression didn't mirror hers. "Why isn't this a good thing?" She was now scared to hear the answer. Chandler took a deep breath and touched the top of her nose, wiping away a tear. "It's in Chicago, Mon."
The lump in Monica's throat got impossibly bigger as she got up quickly, running over to the bathroom when Chandler heard her throw up. He waited a few seconds until he decided to follow her, kneeling down next to her on the bathroom floor as he pushed her hair back. When she was done, she timidly looked into his eyes. "Did you think about taking it?"
Chandler bit his lip as he looked into her eyes slowly. "I did. For like a second. But now that I know about this," he reached out his hand and gently put it on Monica's still flat stomach, "no way I am leaving you two."
Chandler saw her smile for the first time that day and noticed how much he had missed that smile. "I will find something in New York, I promise you. I mean, for now I still have that job at the ad company and my trust fund and I am sure our parents are going to help us out too until I find something. Just don't worry too much, okay? We'll make it work."
Monica nodded slowly, knowing they still had a lot of problems to deal with in the near future, but the fact that Chandler was staying and supporting her and their baby already meant the world to her. "Thanks, Chandler."
He smiled at her sheepishly and kissed her forehead, cupping her face in his hands. "I thought you were going to break up with me," he finally admitted.
She looked at him and saw that he looked genuinly worried. "And that would have been worse than this?"
"Much worse."
Letting out a soft laugh, she shook her head and pulled him in for another hug. "Never in a million years, Chandler Bing."
"That's what you say now. Just wait until this little one is born."
Monica's eyes met his and she couldn't help but smile. He was right. Everything would be okay.
A/N Way too corny. Right? Right?!