Sorry I've been away for a while.. but hey, I'm back now with this chapter. Its a smaller one compared to the previous ones but I hope you all like it. Please Read and Review!
Phoebe and Rachel were on the way to their Literature class. When Rachel got in after spending the weekend with Ross, Phoebe was out with her boyfriend, Mike who also studied at Yale. When Phoebe got back from her date, Rachel was already asleep. So they didn't really have the chance to talk before the Sun rose.
"So.. how was your weekend?" Phoebe asked giddily.
"Ah.. it was the best, Pheebs. We kinda relived our first date at Central Park, except this time, we did kiss" Rachel said. Phoebe rolled her eyes on her friend's answer.
"So what was the big surprise?" Phoebe asked, remembering Rachel's excitement when Ross mentioned about a surprise.
Rachel stopped. Her lips were slowly curling upwards. Phoebe, knowing her best friend was definitely reminiscing the events, decided to cut her some slack. On the other hand, Rachel remembered how he looked into her eyes the whole time he sang the song for her. She also made a note in her mind to ask Ross for a recording of the song.
After a few seconds, Phoebe flicked Rachel on the head to bring her back to reality. "Hello.. Surprise?"
"He wrote me a song, Pheebs" They started to walk again. "He played it for me on his guitar. Oh.. and his voice, Phoebe.. he is too good, you know. He told me he has a band with Chandler, his room mate" Rachel said proudly.
"Whoa Rach.. You're dating a Rock Star it seems" Phoebe said, genuinely feeling happy for her.
"Yeah.. but enough about me. Tell me what you did while I was gone? Did you miss me?"
Phoebe smiled naughty. "Well.. I would have. But Mike kinda made it hard to even think about you. Everything was so hazy and my head stopped working, if you know what I mean"
"PHOEBE! That sounded so dirty" Rachel exclaimed playfully hitting her on her arm.
"Oh.. You're one to talk" Phoebe smirked back. They laughed and entered the classroom.
(...)
Rachel was waiting for Phoebe in the mess at the table. She was reading a magazine to kill time. She jumped when she heard someone sitting right next to her without asking for permission. She jerked her head to look at the person.
"Hey Rachel. I missed you, you know. I just came back to college.. and I came straight to see you"
Rachel rolled her eyes. She kept her hand on her heart, mocking. "Aww.. It makes me feel so special, Mark" She said sarcastically. Mark was in her fashion class.
She started to get up and move to another table. But Mark got hold of her arm. "Hey! You kn-" He was quickly cut by Rachel.
"Leave my arm!" She threatened.
"Oh well.. you sure didn't say that the last time we were together" Mark had a dirty grin on his face.
"Oh yeah? Don't you think I know you added something in my drinks to get into my pants?" Rachel yelled, pulling her arm away from his hold. She was fuming. Yes she did flirt with Mark at the Pre-summer party they all attended, but that was all friendly. Mark took it in the wrong way, and tried to take her advantage. But with her stay in Long Island and meeting Ross, she had completely forgotten the events of the night.
All the people in the mess had their eyes fixated to the scene, afterall Rachel did say that out loud. There was dead drop silence in the hall. Even Phoebe had joined Rachel till then, but decided to stay silent for the while.
Mark was embarassed by her outburst, infront of almost half the college. "Yes Mark.. I do have friends that truly care for me. If it wasn't for Kiki, you really would have had your own way with me, wouldn't you?"
"I'm sorry, Rachel" He said, hanging his head down.
"Oh come on. You don't even mean it" Rachel said.
"I do. I mean.. I heard you got a boyfriend in NYU"
"Your point?" Rachel asked rudely.
"I came to ask you if we could be friends" Mark asked. Rachel saw that he really felt bad for what he did. At that moment, Phoebe kept her hand on her shoulder from behind. And being large-hearted as she was, she decided "Alright Mark.. let's start a fresh then. I hope you don't let me down this time"
"I won't. I promise" He said offering her his hand. She shook hands with him and walked away with Phoebe.
We see a close up of a guitar and rocking chords playing.
"This seriously sucks dude" Chandler said. He, Ross, Joey and Gandalf were all in Ross and Chandler's dorm, practicing a new song. Apparently, Chandler did not like what Joey suggested for the opening chords.
"Guys.. Even I'm not satisfied with the rhythm" Ross said slowly.
"Come on.. Let's go party. I'm telling you, Buds.. you wouldn't have had so much fun" Gandalf said, clearly not interested in the practice.
"Hey! And why don't you both show what will go with it, han?" Joey challenged.
"Hey Ross, why don't you play the song that you wrote for Rachel? That was pretty good"
"Dude.. you wrote a song for her?" Joey exclaimed happily. "That's so cool"
"And gross" Gandalf added.
Ross shot Chandler a look. "Yeah.. I mean.. I was writing for the band, but I could not keep Rachel out of mind, you know. So that song is basically for her" He turned to look at Gandalf. "Just so you know, she loved it" Ross said making a face, proud of himself.
"Whatever" Gandalf said frustrated. He was always a party freak. He could not get girls to like him, so he spent almost all his time planning ideas for wild parties.
"I'm hungry. Let's go get something for dinner, you guys" Joey whined.
"Okay" "Cool with me" "Ye-" Ross was interrupted by his phone ringing. He walked over to his study where it was kept. He smiled looking at his caller ID.
"Guys.. This would take a while. Why don't you carry on and I'll join you guys later?" Ross suggested, picking up the phone.
"Come on. We can't argue with him when he has that smile on his face" Chandler said, opening the door.
"I know, he's completely smitten, if you ask me. Who is this Rachel girl, anyway?" Gandalf asked, never having been met her.
"Ah Dude.. she's this chick we met in the vacations.. At this new bar on the 5th. She's hot" Joey said, in his typical style.
Chandler shot him a look. "You know your best friend loves her. How can you talk about her like that?"
"Oh sorry.. And Gandalf.. Rachel's cousin, Jessica.. like Wow" Joey said. Gandalf smiled. Chandler chuckled as they made their way to the mess.
"Hey you" Ross greeted his girlfriend in their signature style.
"Hey you. How are you?" Rachel asked sweetly.
"I'm good. We were practicing for our band, you know" He replied, plopping down on his bed.
"You know.. I was telling my best friend, Phoebe about the song and your band. She said I was dating a Rock Star" Rachel told him, playing with her hair.
"Yeah?" Ross said smiling.
"Yes I mean.. You're my Rock.. I know I can always count on you to support me.. and you're my shining star. Why not?" Rachel said, only half-jokingly. They both chuckled.
"So.. how was your day?" Ross asked.
"It was good. I mean.. I did have a fight.. kinda" Rachel answered, thinking back to the events in the mess.
Ross sat straight on his bed. "Whom with?" He asked.
"Arghh.. this guy.. Mark.. he's also a fashion major. There was this thing we needed to clear out. It happened at a party before the vacations" Rachel said, not knowing how Ross would react.
"Sweetie, what happened at that party?" Ross asked concerned.
"Ross.. just know it was before I even met you, okay?"
"Tell me" Rachel could feel the urgency in his tone.
"We flirted a little at the party. Maybe it was the alcohol. But after sometime, he added something in my drinks I guess.. so that he could have.. you know.. I mean.. that's what my friend, Kiki tells me. She helped me out of the party, before anything could happen" Rachel confessed.
"That's sick of him" Ross was infuriated. He could not imagine Rachel with another person, although there was nothing between them.
"Ross.. calm down. He apologised. He looked pretty embarassed too" Rachel explained.
"Yeah right" Ross did not buy it. "Did he touch you today?"
"What?" Rachel was confused with his question.
"Rachel.. I need to know"
"He got hold of my arm, if that's what you're asking"
Ross closed his eyes and punched his fist into the head board. "Rachel, sweetie.. please tell me you'll stay away from him"
"Ross.. You're being unreasonable"
"Am I? Am I? Am I out of mind? Am I losing my senses?" Ross said crazily, in a squeaky cum angered tone.
"I'd say" Rachel could not believe him.
Ross closed his eyes and sighed. "Rachel.. Don't get me wrong, okay? I'm just looking out for you. I doubt he has good intentions with you" Ross explained.
"Well, guess what.. I am a big girl. I don't need anybody telling me what I should do" Rachel argued.
"I know but.. I, I hate that I'm not there to help you if something comes up" Ross said calming himself.
"Ross.. there's nothing to worry about. Trust me" Rachel reassured. "Rossy... now give me a smile before saying good night" Rachel said in a baby voice, knowing he would do anything for her.
"Rach you know I can't say no to anything you ask" Ross said chuckling.
"I know, sweetie.. that's why I love you" Rachel said sweetly.
"Love you too" Ross replied back.
Rachel hung up and looked at her phone funnily. At that moment, Phoebe came back after taking her shower and noticed her friend. "What happened?"
"I don't really know" She answered softly.
"What do you mean?"
"Ross got mad when I told him about the whole 'Mark' incident" Rachel said.
"And it is bothering you because..." Phoebe said expectantly. Rachel shot her a look. "Oh come on, Rach. He's your boyfriend. He is supposed to feel that way. If he didn't care at all, that's when you bother"
"I know what you mean but.. arghhhh.. I don't know how to explain. This was a side of him that I never got to see before" Rachel tried explaining to Phoebe.
"Was there a Mark before?" Phoebe argued. "I'm telling you, you're wasting your time worrying about this. Just chill"
Rachel could see her friend's point. She nodded her head and Phoebe continued. "So tell me when am I gonna meet him?"
"I don't know... Hey! What do you say I ask him to drive down here this weekend?" Rachel suggested.
"I'd say.. why not? Maybe we can go out on a double date. I'll ask Mike" Phoebe agreed with excitement visible in her tone.
Rachel chuckled. "That's all we do lately" She said thinking back to the last weekend when they went on a double date with Chandler and Monica.
"So it's a yes?" Chandler was talking to somebody on the phone. By how it looked, he looked pretty happy. "Thanks a lot, Man"
"This saturday it is"
"Yea-yeah.. we'll be there at 6"
He turned to look at the direction of the bathroom and yelled. "Dude, we got a spot"
"What are you talking about?" Ross yelled back from the bathroom.
"We can perform at the Hard Rock Cafe. Isn't it great?" Chandler shouted.
Ross came out in a towel wrapped on his waist and half of his face covered with shaving gel. "You're kidding, right?" He could not believe him.
"No, I just talked to this person. He said we can perform this saturday" He said walking over to him and playfully punching Ross' stomach.
"This is awesome. It's like our first huge gig" Ross said before doing the lame cool-guy handshake with Chandler.
"Totally" Chandler said with equal enthusiasm. "You go get ready while I tell Joey and Gandalf. See you at lunch" Chandler got out of their room. Ross went back to the bathroom.
(...)
It was later that evening when all the four band members were in Ross and Chandler's room. They were thinking of what songs they were going to play for their Saturday evening.
"How much time do we get, Chan?" Gandalf asked.
"They said 20 minutes at the tops. The professionals perform after 7.30 so..." Chandler answered.
"Alright.. Let's do at least one solo each" Ross suggested. "What do you think?"
"Yeah.. and then we can do a rock or even a trance, all four of us" Joey chipped in.
"Yeah that'd be about 20" Chandler agreed.
"Great! What do we say, you guys?" Ross asked making a fist in the air.
"Way, No Way" Everybody said in chorus.
Rachel was sitting on her bed, reading a book. She was waiting for Ross' call. She knew he would call because he promised. Earlier in the evening, when she called, he didn't pick but quickly texted that he would call her ASAP. Her eyes were getting heavy when she felt her phone vibrating. Her eyes popped open and she went outside the room in the corridor so that Phoebe did not wake up. She pressed the answer button "I thought you would not call"
"How could I not? I promised you" Ross answered in a parody tone of some song.
"What's with you?" Rachel asked, walking towars the balustrade and keeping her elbows on it.
"Huh? Oh.. Chandler pulled some strings and guess what? Our band is performing at the Hard Rock Cafe this saturday" Ross exclaimed.
"Wow Sweetie.. that is so great" Rachel said proudly.
"I know. Please tell me you can make it" Ross almost begged for her presence.
"Yea-yeah.. I mean.. I already told Pheebs that we would go out on a double date with her boyfriend and herself.. but what the hell! This is great opportunity for you, I couldn't miss it" Rachel said happily.
"Ah.. that's so very sweet of you, Rach. But you know, you can bring them along if you want. Just call Monica when you reach, I'll hand her all the passes" Ross suggested.
"You would seriously do that?" Rachel asked.
"Oh yes.. Each of the band member gets 3 passes. Mon can use Chandler's" He explained.
"This is awesome. So.. is this why you cut my call in the evening?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah.. we were rehearsing. It was a crazy evening. In fact I never got the chance to have dinner cos I knew you'd be waiting" Ross told her.
"Ross.. you could have called tomorrow, you know. You should not have skipped your dinner" Rachel scolded.
"Rach.. I think you should know you're way more important than some worn out sushi" He said only half joking. She laughed. "God, I love that sound" Ross said.
"What sound?" Rachel asked.
"Your laugh.. I wish I was with you to see your angelic face" He said from his heart.
"Aww honey.. are you missing me?" Rachel said in a baby voice.
"You're damn right I am" He exclaimed. She chuckled.
"I'm missing you too, you know" She said with a frown.
"Rachel?" Both heard someone. Rachel turned around to see Mark walking towards her.
"Who's that?" She heard Ross.
"Uhh.. Nobody" Rachel answered, knowing Ross would flip out if she told him.
"Hey.. I hope I'm not interrupting anything" Mark said, pointing to her phone.
"Wha- oh.. no.. No! Umm.. I'm just talking to a friend" Rachel said.
"Rachel.. you seriously think you can fool me" She heard Ross again and her eyes got big. "At least cover up the speaker if you don't want me to hear"
Rachel kicked herself in her mind. "Oh.. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Good night"
"Alright.. Friend!" Ross angrily mocked her and hung up quickly. Rachel looked at her phone, realising what she just said.
"Is everything alright?" Mark asked.
"Yea-yeah.. totally. Everything's fine" She said, waving her hands in a way like it wasn't a big deal.
"I was meaning to ask you this in the class.. but you were in such a hurry that I didn't get a chance to talk to you-"
"What is it?" She cut him.
"I was hoping if we could do Professor Fitzgerald's project together" He asked expectantly.
"Oh"
"That is not a happy OH" Mark pointed out nervously.
"No, no.. it's just that I already asked Kiki to be my partner" She explained.
"Ohhh... alright"
"Yeah"
"So... Was this 'friend' actually the boyfriend from NYU?" Mark asked.
"Wha-" She chuckled nervously. She shrugged and continued "Okay.. you caught me! Yeah.. it was him.. His name's Ross" Rachel confessed.
"Good for you"
"How did you get to know about him anyway?" Rachel asked, obviously thinking back to their fight in the mess when he mentioned something about Ross.
"Well.. You are the most popular girl. Your secrets spread like a rage virus around here" Mark said jokingly.
"Yeah" She chuckled. Her phone rung again. It was Ross. She looked up at Mark. "I gotta take this. Good night" She said, walking towards her door and answering the call.
"Hello?" Silent. She could hear him breathing deeply on the other side. "Ross?"
Rachel started to walk back into her room as she was feeling cold, eagerly waiting for her boyfriend to say something. On the other hand, Ross waited a few moments before speaking.
"Listen.. I'm sorry I hung up the way I did, without saying a proper good night" Ross apologised. Rachel smiled. He could be so adorable at times. He was the sweetest thing on this Earth.
"Ross.. you don't need to apologise. I would have called you even if you hadn't" She said softly, getting underneath her blanket.
"Really?" He said expectantly.
"Yeah.. I mean.. I-" She couldn't find the right words.
"What?"
"Ross.. it was Mark" She blurted out.
"You mean the Jerk 'Mark'?" Ross said, his tone changing.
"Yes.. but it's all good. He was just out for a walk and he came to say hi when he saw me" She explained
"So why did you lie, Rach?" He asked.
"I didn't think it was a big deal"
"Oh.. She didn't think it was a big deal" Ross said crazily.
"Alright! Who are you talking to when you do that?" Rachel smirked in a whispering cum yelling tone. She was making sure not to wake Phoebe up. Meanwhile Ross buried his head in his pillow and groaned. Both remained silent for a few seconds until Rachel spoke. "Why does this bother you, Ross?"
"Don't you know that already?" Ross laid on his side before questioning rhetorically. She did not say anything. "I love you, Rachel. I mean- you're this unbelievably beautiful girl.. I'm afraid someone's going to steal you away from me and.. let's face it.. I'm an average looking g-"
"Hey!" She exclaimed. "You have no right to say that about my boyfriend" Rachel said, to make the moment light. This earned her a chuckle from him.
"You're the best boyfriend ever. You're good-looking, Ross. And even if you weren't.. That would not have made a difference to me. You know why? Because you have a good heart. Not even one guy exists in this whole God-damned world, who comes close to you. You get it?"
"Yeah alright... Yes" He said confidently.
"Good. Now promise me we won't discuss about Mark again. I mean- I couldn't care less about him, Ross" She said, making a point.
"Okay. I promise. And you know I don't make false promises" Ross assured her.
"I know, sweetie. I know you don't" She said softly.
"Alright, let's call it a day. Chandler just threw his shoe on to me for speaking so loudly" Ross said. She laughed.
"Well.. You deserved it" She said jokingly.
"Good night, Rach. Sweet dreams"
"My dreams are about you, Ross. They couldn't get any sweeter" His heart melted hearing those words come out of her mouth.