In a panic, Annie phoned her friend. "Gloria, Chandler didn't come home again. Have you seen him?"

"No!" She was shocked. "I-I thought he was tutoring Joey at your place."

"Here? No, we haven't seen or heard from Chandler since he sneaked out this morning. Do you have any idea where else they could have gone?"

Gloria hesitated. "I don't know. Maybe the library?"

"You don't know for sure?"

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't really pay attention to what Joey said because I was busy with the girls at the time. I only remember Joey saying that he had a date after his tutoring this afternoon; I told him not to stay out late because it's a school night."

"Well, can you give me the number of the library, so that I can call them to check?"

"Sure. Dina, get me the phone book!" While waiting, she asked Annie, "Have you already checked with Chandler's other friends?"

"No, we don't know their last names or phone numbers. What about Joey's friends? Do you think they might be at Vinnie's place?"

"I don't think so. Vinnie's at work now. Um, here's the library's number."

A short while later, Annie called the library. The clerk at the front desk said that the names sounded slightly familiar. "Let me check the sign-up sheet we have for the... Oh wait, I think I see one of them now."

Chandler left the study room to take a smoking break.

"He has brown hair and blue eyes. Green? Oh, maybe. I can't see him that closely." The clerk stood up and beckoned to Chandler. "Excuse me. You're Chandler Bing, right? There's a phone call for you."

"For me?" Chandler took the receiver, while the clerk motioned for him not to use the phone too long. "Hello?"

"Chandler! I've been worried sick!"

"Oh, hi Annie. How did you find me?"

"I had to ask Joey's mom for help, and she told me that you were tutoring Joey. Why didn't you come home? Or at least call?"

"Well, 'cause Mom grounded me, and I wanted to see Joey."

"Joey could have come here, if you'd just told us. You shouldn't keep sneaking off."

"Look, I just don't want to talk to Mom, okay?" He didn't want to argue, either, and he was growing impatient for a cigarette. "I'll be home at around six. Bye."

"Chandler!"

He gave the phone back, then walked outside to smoke.

The clerk was about to hang up, but Annie protested loudly, "Chandler, come back here!" Shushing her, he said, "Ma'am, I'm sorry, but we can't tie up the main library line too long, especially if you're going to argue. If you need to speak to him, then can you come here in person? No, I don't think he's going to leave. His friend is still here and so are his books. Yes, I can give you directions."

As Chandler smoked, he pondered what exactly he was going to say to Annie later and how he would try to make up with his mother. He didn't really forgive her yet, nor feel in the mood to fake an apology. But he had to, if he wanted to spend time with Joey. With a sigh, Chandler put out his cigarette, then hurried inside the library again to resume tutoring.

Chandler was still checking over Joey's algebra problems when there came a knock on the door, and Annie entered the study room.

"There you are!"

A general "Shh!" came from the library staff and patrons, so she shut the door and lowered her voice. "Chandler, you come home right now."

"No! No, I have to tutor Joey."

"Your mother's waiting out in the car. Come on."

"No! Joey needs me." Chandler even took hold of his arm. "Tell her."

Joey felt caught in the middle, but he asked awkwardly, "Please? Just a few more minutes? I really need help."

Annie sighed and shrugged. "Fine. Five minutes. But I'm staying right here so that you can't sneak out and disappear again. You are in so much trouble, Chandler!" She grabbed a chair and sat down.

Chandler resented Annie's presence, and he became self-conscious as he helped Joey correct his algebra problems. After a moment, he wrote to Joey on a piece of scrap paper, "I'm sorry Joe. I wanted to stay and work on Shakespeare too."

Joey wasn't sure why Chandler didn't want Annie to overhear this, but he wrote underneath, "It's okay. I guess I'll just leave for my date early."

Chandler wrote back, "Maybe we can get together on Friday instead?"

"Yeah, if your mom will let you. We'll still go to the Halloween party."

Annie didn't suspect their secret conversation, but she fidgeted and fumed about all the things she was going to say to Chandler. When five minutes was over, she stood up and sternly announced the time. "Come on. Your mother's waiting."

With a sigh, Chandler stood up and stuffed his books into his backpack. "Uh, you have a good time on your date, Joe."

Joey nodded and said, "Good luck with your mom."

"Thanks."

Annie started to say goodbye to Joey too. "I'm sorry that you had to be in the middle again, but--"

Chandler interrupted her by suddenly turning back and hugging Joey tightly. Even if they weren't alone, even if people thought he was gay, he just didn't want to leave yet.

Joey blinked, but patted his back reassuringly. "You'll be okay."

"Chandler," Annie grumbled with annoyance. "No more stalling. Let's go."

He pouted, then reluctantly let go and followed her.

Annie called back a soft goodnight to Joey, before shutting the study room door.

On their way out of the library, she asked under her breath, "Why weren't you at school when I came to pick you up, Chandler? Did you skip out of your class?"

He answered, "No, I just hid out in the gym, under the bleachers, and smoked."

"Chandler!" The librarians and patrons all shushed her, so she lowered her voice, and hurried them outside. "I was worried sick. And you sneaked out this morning too. Don't you ever do that again."

"Hey, you're not my real mom!

Annie would have objected, if not for the fact that she remembered Chandler saying this same thing to his father's boyfriend, more than once. He said it with all the drama and resentment of an afterschool TV special about divorce, but Annie had a feeling that he was quite sincere.

In the parking lot, Nora waited in the car and kept looking at her watch. Instead of her usual flamboyant dress, she was wearing dark glasses and a drab coat; she was not in the mood to be recognized by a fan or be asked for her autograph now.

Finally she spotted Annie and Chandler coming over, so she got out of the car. "What took you so long?"

"He wanted to finish tutoring Joey."

Nora sighed and opened the back door of the car. "Get in!"

After Chandler got inside, Nora insisted on joining him in the back seat instead of going back to the front, and she locked the doors pointedly.

Then Annie got in and started the car.

As they drove away, Nora scolded Chandler, "Is this where you were yesterday? You'd rather hang out in the library than come home and have dinner?"

Chandler forced himself to make nice. "I-I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"You bet you won't. You're grounded for a month now."

"A month?" Then he'd miss the Halloween party.

"Yeah. And I want the full names and addresses of all your other friends too. Then we're going to call each of them to make sure you're not giving us fake information. I may be new to Queens, but I'm not stupid!"

"I know, I know. I won't lie, Mom, and I'm sorry. But I can't be grounded for a month. I still need to tutor Joey."

"You can tutor him at our place, where we can keep an eye on you."

"He's not my boyfriend!" he insisted, getting upset again.

"That's not what I meant, Chandler. I realize that you're not making out with him, but I don't want you to go sneaking off again, without a word or a note or a phone call. I mean, what next? Were you gonna not come home at all tonight? Make us worry to death and call the police?"

"No, I wasn't gonna stay out, Mom. I just wanted to see Joey."

"Why couldn't you do that at our apartment?"

"Because we were fighting, and you embarrassed me--"

"I said I was sorry for that! I made a mistake."

"I know." He hesitated and frowned. "It's just, I didn't want him to come and drool over you, like Jack and everybody else did. I-I just want one friend to like me for me."

Her face softened somewhat. "You've got plenty of friends, Chandler. They didn't come over because of me. They didn't even know me. They met you at school, and they liked you."

He shook his head doubtfully. "No, they just liked my jokes, and my new clothes, and my video games. Now they like you too, and pretty soon they'll figure out who you are, so then it'll be the Mistress Bitch incident all over again."

"Don't be paranoid, Chandler. They seemed like nice boys, not superficial. Besides, even if something embarrassing did happen, you're not going to stay at that school for long anyway. You're still on the waitlist for that private school."

"Yeah, and then I'll have to start all over. Please, Mom. I-I just wanna see Joey."

"You really like him, huh? I mean, as a friend, not just a tutor."

He looked at his feet and admitted softly, "Yeah."

She thought it over and sighed, while Annie parked the car by the apartment building. Then they all got out and headed upstairs together.

Inside, Nora finally said, "Well, if you want to keep tutoring him, then you're going to have to tell us first. You understand? Work out some regular schedule with Joey so that we'll know when and where you are every night."

He nodded.

"And you've got to show me some respect because, like it or not, I'm your mother."

"I-I know." He added hopefully, "So you won't ground me?"

"No, you're still grounded, for all your sneaking around, but I'll make an exception for tutoring Joey. So, are you going to let me meet him this time, Chandler? I'd like to apologize to him for Monday night."

Chandler reluctantly agreed, since Joey had promised not to stare at his mom. "Okay. I'll ask him to come over on Friday night. But please don't stay too long. We still gotta get some work done."

"Fine. I can work on my book some more. But I want you to introduce me first, okay? I should get to know him, since he's your friend."

"You won't embarrass me?"

She sighed and seemed exasperated. "All right, no baby pictures, and no mention of your middle name."

"Good." Chandler started to go to his room, to change for dinner.

His mom told him, "Oh, we had to call in the locksmith today, and you're not getting the lock back on your door until I can trust you again. Plus, Annie's going to drive you everywhere while you're grounded, and if you try giving her the slip again, then you're not gonna get to see Joey either."

"Oh."

Nora noticed that Chandler looked really worried by that threat; maybe he would take his punishment seriously, then. "All right, go get ready for dinner, and then you're going to write me that list of friends before you do your homework."

"Um, okay." He went into his room and put down his backpack dejectedly. He might not be able to go to the party after all, if Annie was driving him everywhere. And with Annie being friends with Gloria, that made it harder to sneak out or pretend that Chandler was just tutoring Joey at the Tribbiani house.

So maybe Chandler would have to spend the next few days sucking up to his mom and begging her to make another exception.

Meanwhile, Joey took his backpack with him and met Alice for their date. They went to a local fast food joint before going to the park and making out on a bench. Joey also knew of a gazebo where they could have sex if they were quiet and no one else was already there. It would be better if one of them had a car, or their parents weren't home, but no such luck.

Joey soon charmed Alice into going to the gazebo, but he was distracted by thinking of why Vinnie wanted to buy a car for them. He also remembered that Vinnie had wanted to watch him, and that Chandler actually had watched him with Angela Delvecchio. So Joey quickly finished and began to clean up. He told Alice, "It's a school night, anyway, and my mom wants me to study more."

"Okay, Joey."

He walked her home and kissed her goodnight, then headed back to his house. For the first time in years, the sex had only been "nice" for Joey, and not up to his usual standards of pleasure. He sighed and just tried to shrug it off.

"Hey, Ma, I'm home."

"Joey, did Annie come find you?"

"Oh yeah. She picked up Chandler at the library."

"Good. She sounded so worried, and I really thought that you'd gone to Chandler's place."

"Sorry. No, uh, he didn't want me to go there because he was still upset with his mom. But I talked to him and told him to try making up with her."

"Do you think he'll listen to you?"

He shrugged. "I hope so. Anyway, I'm gonna go study some more now."

She was pleased by his new work ethic. "Okay, Joey. Goodnight." She then decided to call Annie for an update on the Bings.

In his room, Joey did make an effort to study, but he felt restless and tempted to call Chandler, to ask him how things went with his mom. Then he thought about calling Vinnie too, but he worried that they'd fall into their old habits again and discuss sex. So Joey just had to give up and go to bed.

At lunch on Thursday, Joey asked Chandler how things went, and he said, "Well, I apologized to her, but she's still punishing me for sneaking out. She took all my video games and cigarettes and everything."

"Really? Wow."

Chandler quickly added, "But we can still see each other, Joe."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, are you busy Friday night? She wants to apologize to you for Monday, and then I can tutor you."

"Okay, that's fine. Hey, can you still go to the Halloween party?"

"Maybe, but I gotta do some major groveling first, so she won't be mad anymore. Maybe you can help me convince her."

"I'll give it a shot I guess. But listen, if you can't make it, I'll figure out some other way to fix you up, then."

"Yeah, but I'd really like to go to the party with you. Should I wear a costume?"

"Costume? Nah. Jeanie sometimes likes to wear spooky makeup or something, but mostly it's just an excuse to party."

"Oh, okay. So no showing up with a bedsheet over my head."

"Nope. So I'll see ya Friday."

"Yeah. Thanks, Joe."

Joey avoided another hug from Chandler, then got up and returned to the cafeteria.

Vinnie asked him, "So he's gonna tutor you again?"

"Yeah, tomorrow night."

"Really? Wouldn't you rather be out on a date?"

"Yeah, usually I would. But since you and me are gonna be busy Saturday, and Jeanie's party's on Sunday, that only leaves Friday night."

"Oh. Okay." Vinnie felt happy that Joey had kept his promise to reserve Saturday for him.

Joey smiled and brushed his arm. "We're gonna have a great time, huh? Manhattan, baby!"

Vinnie laughed, and they talked more about their weekend plans.

That evening Joey visited Vinnie at work, and they hung out. Then they went home to Vinnie's house to study. This time Joey didn't try to encourage Vinnie to date, because clearly Vinnie was not ready to discuss such things. But Joey also decided to be more careful and not snuggle with Vinnie on the bed, either. He was trying to find a new balance to their friendship.

On Friday night, Joey decided to walk to Chandler's apartment, and he was nervous when he saw Nora again. She was so hot, and Joey had to look down at his feet to keep from leering at her.

Nora thought he was doing this out of embarrassment. "Joey, I'm sorry about the other night when I barged in. I hope your grades didn't suffer because of it."

"No, uh, I actually passed my Shakespeare quiz all right."

"Oh good. Won't you sit down?" She had Annie make snacks and bring them over.

Joey took a seat, and glanced at Chandler to read his face. Chandler was tense too, and he sat close to Joey on the couch.

"He really needs me," Chandler said, still worried that his mother might make good on her threat to not let him see Joey anymore. "If he doesn't work hard, he might fail his classes and have to go to summer school."

Nora asked Joey, "Tell me about yourself. I understand that your sister was dating Chandler for a while."

"Uh, yeah, but they broke up--"

Chandler firmly cleared his throat because he didn't want to discuss Mary Angela. "Mom, Joey's got seven sisters. Can you believe that?"

Nora blinked in astonishment. "So it's eight kids all together? Oh my!"

"Yeah, we're Catholic," Joey said. "We've got, like, hundreds of cousins too."

They chatted for a while before Chandler finally ventured, "Um, Mom, there's a Halloween party on Sunday night. I wanted to go with Joey."

"A party? Did you forget that you're grounded, mister?"

"I know, but can't we make an exception? I haven't been sneaking out anymore, and I told you that I went to Jack's on Tuesday."

"I know, but I don't think I can trust you yet."

"It's not like I have anywhere else to go, or a car. And you've got everybody's phone numbers."

Joey did not understand these references, but he tried to help anyway. "I'll take care of him, Mrs. Bing. My mom would be mad at me if Chandler disappeared again, and made Annie upset. Don't worry."

Nora pointed out, "It hardly seems like punishment if I give in after only a couple of days."

Chandler pouted, while Joey just patted his shoulder and changed the subject. "Maybe we should go study now."

"Okay."

Joey grabbed his books and went to the dining table, while Chandler got up with a sigh and followed after him.

Nora watched Chandler's dejected face, then headed to her office. "Well, I'll get to work too." But she called Annie in to refill her drink and to talk.

"He really seems attached to Joey."

"Yes, but they're only friends, ma'am. I think it's nice, actually. You know how hard it is for Chandler to get close to anybody, with all his jokes and defensiveness. He's still not over the divorce."

"I know. I suppose a close friend would be less expensive than therapy," Nora joked. "Well, I'll think it over."

Saturday morning, Joey and Vinnie left on the bus to Manhattan. It was exciting to take their first unsupervised trip away from home, even if it was only for a day. At first the boys went around touring all the sights in Midtown, and Joey especially enjoyed sampling foods from the various street vendors.

Then they found a movie theatre that was having a Halloween weekend marathon of gory horror flicks. Unable to resist, they used their fake IDs to get in, and then bought a huge tub of popcorn to share.

By the time they'd finished their fourth movie, it was late in the afternoon, and they needed to walk off all the food and soda. Joey consulted their map to check their bearings and then he noticed something. "Oh, there's Frankie's tailor shop."

So they went in to say hello, as Joey's dad had told them to do.

Joey began politely, "Hi, Mr--"

"Please, no Mister here. Everybody calls me Frankie."

"Okay, Frankie. I'm Joey Tribbiani, and this my friend Vinnie. You know my dad in Queens."

"Oh, Tribbiani! Yes, yes! I've known your father since he was your age, and now I'm doing the tuxes for his own daughters' wedding! Can you believe it? Time goes by so fast."

"Yeah, it's great. We're are all excited."

Frankie asked Vinnie, "And what about you, young man? I assume you're going to the wedding too. Do you need a tux?"

"Nah, my family goes to Luigi in Queens."

"Ah, too bad. I mean, he does all right with the suits, but I have the personal touch."

Vinnie struggled to not to openly roll his eyes at this, and he said, "Well we gotta go now."

Joey started to say his own farewells, too, but Frankie said, "What, so soon? No, no! You boys should stick around for a while. I mean, as long as you're here, Joey, I can take your measurements."

"Nah, not right now."

"Come on, it'll save you another trip out here. I'm not busy right now."

"Isn't it too soon? I might grow out of the tux by the time of the wedding."

"No, no! I can make allowances for that. I know how fast your father grew. Come here, I've got my tape measure." He insistently pulled Joey over in front of the mirrors, then started to measure him around the chest and arms.

Vinnie found a chair and sat down to wait, but he folded his arms with annoyance. As he watched Frankie measuring Joey, he started to get a weird feeling; there was something kind of creepy about Frankie constantly posing and touching Joey.

Then Frankie knelt down and said, "I'm going to do your inseam now," but he did much more than that.

"Hey! Stop that!" Vinnie got up and pulled Joey back.

Frankie tried to bluff, though. "No, no. Relax, boys. That's just how we do pants."

"No, it isn't!" Vinnie answered.

"That Luigi knows nothing about a snug fit!" Frankie told Joey, "Ask your father. That's how we always do his pants."

Joey looked confused and for a moment wondered whether Vinnie might be overreacting due to his love and jealousy, but soon he decided to just go with his own instinct. It was weird and surprising to feel some guy cupping him intimately. "I don't think I want that tux after all."

"Let's go!" Vinnie said firmly, and they stormed out together. They ran several blocks away from the tailor's shop, before stopping to catch their breaths.

"That creep!" Vinnie finally said.

Joey got out their map again and decided to catch the first bus home. Once they got back to Queens, they told the story to Joey's dad, who said, "But that's how they do pants."

Vinnie was stunned and said, "No, ask my dad, and my brothers. Nobody ever measures them like that."

So Joey Sr. called to ask, and he was quite shocked by the De Lucas' reply. "Oh my God. Whoa. Joey, I'm so sorry."

Mr. De Luca was upset enough to come over to the house and take Vinnie home. "You said that they were gonna be safe by themselves, but look at what happened!"

"I'm sorry. I really thought--God, all my suits!" He looked horrified and worried that he'd start losing even more of his hair.

The men began to argue in Italian, while Joey moved closer to Vinnie and put an arm around his shoulder with gratitude. "You saved me, huh?"

Vinnie nodded and held onto him protectively.

Mr. De Luca finished his rant with, "And we should call the cops on him!"

"All right, all right! And I guess I better use your tailor for the wedding too. I'm so sorry."

"Come on, Vinnie, let's go home. I don't know if I can even tell your mother about this. But no more trips by yourselves. Not till you're older."

Vinnie looked disappointed, but obediently left with his dad. As they walked down the neighborhood street, Mr. De Luca kept muttering under his breath about perverts and homos, unaware of how it would make his son feel. Vinnie was filled with self-loathing.

Next chapter, some repercussions, and the Halloween party. Should I give a first name to Mr. De Luca? I originally thought that he'd be too minor a character to bother with, but maybe not.