Chapter 2:

The phone in the dorm of the guys rang. "Hello?"

"Hi, Chandler." Monica wasn't very fond of Chandler since he called her fat last thanksgiving. However, she decided that with them being so close to each other all the time because they are at the same university and because he's Ross's roommate, she could better try to move on and give him a second chance. It was after all ten months ago and she doubted he would remember it.

"Good morning Monica."

"I wanted to ask if you guys would want to join us at breakfast." She heard some mumbling on the other line. "Yeah, we'll be at your dorm in ten minutes."

"Alright, bye!" She put the phone down and turned to Rachel. "I would get dressed if I were you. The guys will be here in ten minutes."

"God, Monica, it's Sunday. This is the third day in a row we're waking up at eight in the morning. Couldn't I at least have Sunday to sleep longer?"

"You better get used to it, 'cause we're gonna be waking up at seven-thirty tomorrow for our first classes. Now get dressed before the guys are here. You've got about eight minutes left."

Rachel got up with a groan and started to shuffle around in their dorm to the closet. She picked a shirt and baggy pants. Monica had a wide, black shirt on and big, blue jeans with a belt so it wouldn't fall off. These were actually still new. She bought them around a month ago, but with the speed she was losing weight, she would have to buy every week new clothes. "Mon, we really have to go shopping again. You can't keep walking around with clothes that are way too big for you."

"I don't know, Rach. I don't have enough money to buy new clothes again. It's really expensive to do so often. Plus, it's actually quite comfortable and they don't show the pounds that I still have to lose."

"You've worked so hard already. You should be proud of your results so far and show them to the world. You already look amazing!"

Monica blushed at her words. Just then, they heard a knock on the door of their dorm. Monica went to the door and opened it. All three of the guys stood in front of her. "Let me just grab our key and then we can go." Rachel already got outside and Monica came after her with the key. They went downstairs and began to wait in line for their breakfast.

"The usual?" Monica immediately recognized Phoebe's voice. This was only their third day and Phoebe already knew they always got scrambled eggs for Rachel. "Yes, please."

"So, tomorrow is your first day, right? Are you nervous?" She asked while grabbing some eggs.

"Yeah, I am, but it really helped that we explored the building a bit. I know now that I at least won't be lost my first day", Monica said. Phoebe gave Rachel her plate "Well, have fun today while you still have some free time!"

"Thanks!" They walked past Phoebes part of the buffet and went to the fruit part. Monica took an apple and went to get a bun. When everybody got their food, they went back to their now regular table at the window. Yesterday, they had gotten to know Joey a little better and he's actually really sweet. He sure does eat a lot. Right now, he has more on his plate than all of the others together. How he remains in such a good form is a mystery.

"What are you guys planning on doing today?" Chandler started.

"I noticed I forgot some of my dinosaur collection I wanted to have at my dorm, so I'm gonna go to my house after breakfast and get them. I should be back around noon."

"My dad wants to do a good luck party for college with our family on a cruise ship, so I can't make it back 'till dinner", Rachel said.

"My friends from acting class and I had planned to meet up today, so after breakfast, I'm gonna hang out with them."

"Do you also have something planned?" Chandler asked Monica. "No, looks like it's just gonna be the two of us today."

After breakfast, everybody left and Monica and Chandler went back to the guy's dorm. "So what do you wanna do today?" Monica asked when they went inside. "Well, we actually don't know each other that well. Do you wanna take a walk and just get to know each other a little better? The weather is perfect today."

"Yeah, I'd like that! Let me just grab my stuff and we can go."

"Alright, I'll wait at the head entrance."

"I'll be there in five." Monica went to her dorm and got her purse with her key and some practical stuff. She got downstairs and saw Chandler waiting for her at the entrance. She walked to him and they went outside together. "So, um…" Chandler started. Monica looked at him "Yeah…". They both chuckled nervously. "I'm so sorry. I'm really bad at this. I'm probably gonna say something stupid or sarcastic or make a joke. You'll probably never gonna want to hang out with me after today because I'm so annoying and –"

"Chandler", Monica interrupted while placing her hand on his arm to mention him to stop. He startled slightly at the feeling of her hand on his arm, but let it stay there. He looked at her. "I'm really bad at this too. I mean, the only friend I'm still in contact with and I actually ever had is Rachel."

"Well, at least that's two things we have in common. We don't have many friends and we suck at making them." Chandler concluded. Monica smirked and let her hand drop off his arm. They continued walking and she asked, "Are you still in contact with any of your high school friends?"

"No, I haven't seen them since graduation. My only real friend I have is Ross. Joey is actually pretty cool, so I think we'll be friends too. And now I kinda consider you as a friend too. Is that okay?" He looked at her with a tentative smile.

"Yes, of course." Monica smiled. "I think once you get to know Rachel and you can look past the spoiled part, you're gonna like her too. She can be really sweet. After all, she stood by me through high school and we're still great friends."

"Yeah, maybe. I don't know her really well. Actually, Ross had a crush on her for a while, but then he met Carol and now he's all over her all the time."

"Really? He had a crush on Rachel?" Chandler nodded. "Wow, I can't believe I didn't notice it. Although, his relationship is going really good now. He can't talk about anything else at family dinners."

"I think it's really great how you two have this bond that even when you don't have to, you still chose to hang out together."

"Yeah, well, he's pretty great. Do you have any siblings?" Chandlers face dropped slightly, but he just shook his head. "What was that like? When I was younger, I always wanted to be an only child so my mother would look at me and see me as her miracle child instead of Ross."

"You're very lucky to have a brother like Ross. So, do you want to grab something to drink?" Monica was surprised by the sudden change of subject. She decided to let it go and pointed to a cozy bar at the corner of the street. "Could I have a jolt cola and…?" He looked at Monica and she finished "and a bottle of water please." The barista took the drinks out of the fridge. "Do you wanna split the bill?" she asked.

"No, I'll pay for both of them." Chandler immediately said. "Are you sure? I have some money with me so I can pay for my own drink", Monica commented.

"It's no big deal." He handed the money to the barista and took the drinks off the counter. They decided to sit on a bench outside in the park that was right next to the bar. Monica sat down and Chandler handed her water to her. "Thanks for my water!" He waved to gesture it wasn't a biggie and sat down next to her. They sat there together in a comfortable silence enjoying their drinks for a while. "You know, I really enjoy spending time with you." Chandler broke the silence. Monica smiled and nudged him gently. "Me too." The smile he gave was really sincere and it gave her a warm feeling she couldn't really place. Their eyes locked for a moment and they drowned in each other's blue eyes. Their moment broke abruptly when a soccer ball hit the bench just beside Chandler. After some time, they decided to go back to the building to get some lunch.

"Hey, guys!" Ross came to them "Would you mind if I sit with Carol for lunch? She just got here."

"No, go have fun! We'll see you later," Monica said.

They took their lunch and went to their regular table. Since this is the first time they were eating alone, Chandler noticed just now how little she actually ate. He knew she had lost a lot of weight, that was kinda obvious. He didn't know how she felt about everything, so he decided to try to be subtle. "If you want some of my potatoes, you can always take them." Monica looked up from her plate to his plate and then to him. She saw what he thought through his worried eyes. "No, I'm good. Thanks." She gave him a little smile and continued to eat her food. She felt his eyes on her, studying her. She took her glass and looked into his eyes when she lifted it to her lips. He tried to cover he was staring, but she saw him give up when he realized she already knew he was. He continued eating his own food, but couldn't resist glancing towards her every now and then.

They cleared their table when they were finished and went upstairs. To avoid walking in on a possible make-out session between Ross and Carol, they decided to go to Monica's dorm. When they got in Chandler noticed just how clean and organized everything was. Monica went to sit on her bed and mentioned him to join her since there weren't any chairs. He sat beside her and started "So, you're doing the Culinary course, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's actually really cool! I've only tasted your mac and cheese, but I'm sure everything else you make is equally delicious. Probably even more so."

"Thanks. I'm glad you liked it."

"While we're on that subject. I just really wanted to apologize for last year." Monica looked at him confused. "It's just when we were done eating and Ross and I were washing the plates in the kitchen we were talking about our fake ID's. He wanted to ask out Rachel that night and he said that his, and your, parents wouldn't mind if I stayed. After that, I said something horrible and I thought you hadn't heard it, but when your mother said your name and I looked behind me, I noticed you standing in the doorway and I knew that you must've heard. I feel horrible every time I think about that night. I just really wanted to apologize, because that is the least I can do." He noticed her eyes were watery. He tentatively reached out an arm and when she put her head on his shoulder he embraced her. "I'm so sorry."

"No, it- it's okay. Re- really." She said while her voice began to break and his shirt began to feel a little wet because of her tears. "The doctors wer- were telling me I should start to- to lose weight when I was a- about thirteen years old. Y- you helped me to fin- finally listen to th- their advice." Her tears were now streaming freely over her face. Chandler didn't really know what to do. He was very bad with girls and even worse with comforting. He pulled her a bit closer and threw his second arm over her shoulder blades. He gave her a gentle squeeze and was trying his very best to hold back his own tears. This was all his fault, was constantly playing in his mind. He desperately wanted to ask a question and when she calmed down a little bit, he decided to go for it. "Is- is it because of me that you aren't eating much right now?" She remained still for a moment and then slowly nodded her head. "Yes, but it wasn't just you. I was sick of being fat and I tried several times to lose weight, but I always relapsed. Your comment always plays in my head when I want to eat too much."

"I'm so sorry. If I hadn't been such a jerk and just had spent time with you, I would have discovered how amazing you are." Monica scoffed. "Please, like you would want to hang around with a girl that's twice, maybe even trice, your size." He knew that no matter how hard he would argue about this point, she would always find something negative about herself why he wouldn't hang out with her, so he tried to steer the conversation in a slightly different direction. "I don't know if you want me to, but I just feel really guilty and I really want to help you. Is there anything I help you with?"

Monica just shook her head. She was determined to get those last pounds off. She only got six more to go and then she'd reach her goal. She couldn't stop now. "Alright, if you need anything, whether it's a conversation or a hug or some help with something, you know where to find me." He felt Monica pull back from his shoulder and he let her sit up. She wiped her cheeks dry with the sleeve of her sweater and looked at him with red eyes. She gave him a small, appreciative smile. "Thanks, I'll keep it in mind. Wow," she started to chuckle "I really hadn't prepared for this today. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate it that you apologized for it, but I would really like to talk about something else right now."

"Yeah, sure! Do you know what the first thing was I saw when I came in? Your dorm is really clean!"

Monica smiled widely. "Yeah, I like keeping things organized and clean. It gives me a feeling of being in control. If you need any help to reorganize your sock drawer or something, I'm more than happy to help!" He chuckled. Although they didn't know each other that long, they really felt comfortable with each other.