Okay.. Hi, I could not be more sorry for not being able to update for almost 4 months now, but I have been real busy.. and while I was away, I thought to compensate for that, so I started writing another story for Ross and Rachel, will proof read it and post the first chapter around Christmas. Till then, continue with Eternal Love, I hope you like this chapter. Read and Review :)
P.S. this absence of Ross and Rachel stories is bugging me now.. People, please start writing and express your love for them!
It was saturday. Rachel, Phoebe and Mike were in Mike's car. Rachel didn't take her car along as she expected to spend the next day with Ross. She was excited to see Ross performing on stage. When she thought about it, he was an all-rounder as he was incredibly smart, played the basketball and was in a band. What other things had he hidden from Rachel? But she could care less, because he was a person with a good heart. Whenever she would think if this was real, if Ross was real, if they were real, she just pinched herself. And as she came back to reality...
"Okay.. we're here!" Mike announced.
"Already?" Rachel asked.
"Jeez, Rachel.. it was a 1 hour drive. What more do you want?" Phoebe asked rolling her eyes. "I hope this boyfriend of yours is good so me and Mike can enjoy our saturday night"
"It's Mike and I" Rachel corrected. Phoebe turned her head to shoot Rachel with a look. "Sorry" Rachel said sheepishly, looking down and smiling to herself about Ross' charm. All of them got out of the car while Rachel called Ross. She frowned when he didn't pick up. She realised he must be busy so she called Monica, who said she'll be out in a minute. They waited for a few seconds when Rachel spotted Monica. She started walking towards her."Monica!"
"Rachel.. hey!" They hugged, much to Phoebe's disliking. "How are you?"
"Good. Come here.. this is my best friend, Phoebe and her boyfriend, Mike" "Guys.. This is Ross' sister, Monica"
"Hi" Monica shook hands with the both of them.
"Hey Mon.. why didn't Ross pick my call?" Rachel asked, while the four walked into the cafe.
"Oh they all are busy rehearsing in the green room. Chandler just waved to me from like.. 100 miles away" They all laughed. Monica showed the passes to the bouncer and they entered the area. They all sat on a table. "I'm glad you came on time. I was getting bored here" Monica said to Rachel.
"Well it's kinda his big night. I couldn't miss it for the world" Rachel said sweetly. Monica smiled. She turned her attention to Phoebe and Mike. She tried to initiate a conversation. "So what are you two studying at Yale?"
"Umm.. I'm studying accounting and Mike here is studying Law" Phoebe answered proudly. Mike nodded.
"Wow. That's great" Monica said.
"Rachel has told me so much about you. You're exactly like she said" Phoebe told Monica.
"Thanks.. I hope all the good things" Monica said shyly. Rachel kept rotating her eyes throughout this whole conversation to get a glimpse of Ross. Monica noticed it. "Looking for somebody?" Rachel blushed and smiled.
"Well I don't think you'll be able to see him before his performance" Monica said. Rachel frowned. Everybody fell into a silence. Phoebe and Mike were in their own world for a while until..
"Uhh.. How did the band get a chance to perform here?" Mike finally broke the silence.
"Actually.. Chandler's mom talked to the owner a few months back. Finally they got a chance" Monica told them the gist.
"Cool" Mike said. "Sounds like Chandler's mom is a magician. I mean.. this is like the coolest place for your first performance"
"Yeah.. you can say that. When your mom is Nora Bing, you're pretty much a child with the silver spoon" Monica said only half jokingly. This got Rachel's attention. "You're kidding right?"
"About what?" Monica said confused.
"Nora Bing is like my favourite author. If I don't make it in fashion, I'm telling you I'll be an author and she's my inspiration" Rachel explained. Phoebe laughed. "Ask her how"
Rachel turned to look at her friend and shot her a look. "Oh please Rachel.. Don't give me that look. You know you couldn't even complete your Literature assignments without me"
"Well" Rachel banged on the table. "No one cares about the 16th century. I-I will write my own stories" She said rolling her eyes. Everyone else laughed. Rachel sent out an expression that she was not amused by all the laughing. Suddenly she felt someone hug her from behind and she didn't take time to guess. "Hey you" He whispered in her ear. She kept her hand on his arm and looked up to see him smiling down at her.
They kissed softly. "I thought I won't see you before your performance" she pouted while getting up and hugging him properly. "I couldn't perform without seeing my lucky girl now, could I?" He said sweetly. They pulled away and she let him sit on her chair while she positioned herself on his lap. She kept her arm around his neck and ruffled his hair. "Sweetie.. this is Phoebe. I told you about her, didn't I?" Ross nodded and shook hands with her. "You look cuter in reality" Phoebe said. Ross was confused and turned to Rachel. "Oh honey.. she saw your picture in the frame on my bedside table back in New Jersey" He smiled. "Thanks" He said to Phoebe. "This is Mike, my boyfriend" She snaked her arm around his. They both waved a Hi due to the distance. "Listen you guys.. I'm sorry we couldn't go out on that double date. Rachel told me about it" Ross said to Phoebe and Mike.
"No need, Man. We're always up to listen to some good music. Maybe next weekend, we can all go out for that double date" Mike said.
"Ooo ooo.. Mike plays the piano" Phoebe said with excitement. "Really? I'd love to listen" Ross said.
"There you are, Man. You couldn't wait until the end of performance to see her, could you?" Joey came towards the table. Ross just shrugged.
"Hey Rachel" Joey waved to her. "Hi"
"I'm tellin' you.. you have done somethin' to him" He said pointing to Ross. Rachel just smiled looking at Ross. Joey spotted Phoebe and turned his charm on. "How you doin'?"
Phoebe looked at Ross as he shook his head with his eyes closed. She turned to look at Joey. "I'm doing good. How are you?" Joey gasped dramatically and ran away from the table, not believing that some girl would not fall for his charm. Poor Joey!
"I'm sorry.. That's just Joey being... Joey" Ross said to Phoebe, helping Rachel up. He turned to her. "I'll see you after the performance, Rach"
"Wait" He looked at her while she was fiddling with her purse. She got something out "Here. Give me your hand" Ross was confused but did what he was told. She tied a bracelet sort of thing on his wrist. It was a black beaded one. He observed his wrist closely when she was done. "I got it for you" He looked up. "This will add to your Rockstar look tonight" She kissed him on the cheek. "Good luck, sweetie" Everybody just watched the love birds. "Rock the stage, bro" Monica said. Ross nodded and walked away from the table.
(...)
The performance was done. The audience loved the band. Everyone was screaming their lungs out 'Way, No Way' They even asked for more when the band members bowed down. They could not extend their stage presence because the professional band was waiting to do their settings on the stage. Rachel, Monica, Phoebe and Mike were all happy and proud to be there as the band's special guests. After the performance, everybody except Joey was sitting around a table, celebrating the night. Joey came with three girls in his arms "How do you think I'm doing?" He smiled cheesily. Everybody just looked at him and broke into laughter. He went dancing with all of them.
"Looks like he gave his three passes to complete strangers" Chandler whispered to the whole group. They all laughed.
"Totally hot strangers, dude" Ross added. This earned him a smack on his chest from Rachel who was sitting next to him."Oww"
"That served you right, big bro" Monica smirked. Ross just made his hands into fists and hit them twice. Monica just made a face. "That's mature"
Rachel just looked at the interaction. "What.. what does this mean?" She took a sip from her Martini. Ross just shrugged.
"Back when we were kids, this was what Ross did when he wanted to say the 'F' word in front of Mom and Dad" Monica explained.
"Dude.. Seems like you got no guts as a kid" Gandalf said. They laughed.
"Yeah.. make me the butt of your jokes today" A not so amused Ross said taking a sip from his bottle of beer. "Aww.. Come here" Rachel kept her arm behind his neck and the other on his cheek. "Sorry Rossy" Ross' eyes got wider than normal as he looked at everybody, embarassed by the nick name she just used.
They kept to themselves for a while. Monica could not help but notice how cute they looked together. "Would you look at them?" She smiled and whispered to Chandler "I'm so happy for Ross"
"I know. Whenever I see them together, I get reminded of the chat I had with Ross on our 6-month anniversary" Chandler said.
Monica turned to him "What.. what was it?" He looked at Ross and Rachel talking among themselves. "Well.. he said he wanted to feel the same way about somebody" He turned to look at Monica "as I felt about you" He smiled and kissed her hand.
Monica was amazed by this revelation. "He really said that?" Chandler nodded. "That is so sweet of him" She looked back at the happy couple. Ross whispered something in Rachel's ear and she giggled uncontrollably. "I really think he found the one" Chandler said. "Don't you think?"
"Just like us" Monica agreed and they kissed.
Meanwhile... Phoebe and Mike were a little too drunk to even realise that they were surrounded by people. They were making out.
Gandalf eyed the three couples and cleared his throat. "I guess I will excuse myself. I'm feeling left out" When he saw nobody even turned their heads to look at him, he muttered under his breath "Like you even care"
Phoebe and Mike pulled away. She clapped her hands to get attention from both the couples. When she saw everybody was looking at her, she started "Now that we are only couples here, let's do something coupl-y"
Everybody just looked at her. "A little more enthusiasm, people" She said rolling her eyes. They turned their eyes towards Mike with a look that said 'what's up with her?' He shrugged "isn't she lovely?"
"Alright.. tell me how did you two meet?" Monica took the initiative.
"Funny story" Phoebe exclaimed. "I was standing in queue in the mess at Yale. The attender gave me a steak. I asked for something vegetarian as I'm a vegan. He said everything was finished. Mike overheard our convo and offered his salad to me"
"Yeah that's how we met and I believe I should thank Rachel that she had an assignment to do.. that's when I asked Phoebe if she would like to join me at my table, she agreed" Mike added his own version.
"You're welcome" Rachel smirked, raising her glass.
"That's great" Ross commented.
"Well.. your story isn't too bad, Ross" Phoebe stated. "Rachel told me how you requested to play a song for her"
Ross and Rachel looked at each other and smiled. "You really did that?" Ross nodded. "Well that angle of the story even I didn't know about" Monica said as a matter of fact.
"What song did you play?" Monica asked intrigued.
"You light up my world by One Direction" Ross and Rachel spoke at the same time.
"That's a lovely song" Mike said. Chandler and Monica nodded.
(...)
They had a lot of fun dancing, eating and drinking. It was 11 at night. They were all outside saying goodbyes. Monica and Phoebe really hit it off. "It was nice to meet you. I really hope to see you soon" Monica told her.
"Yeah.. Even I had a great time. Bye" Phoebe said. They hugged and Phoebe turned to Rachel who was hugging Ross by his waist. "Are you sure you're not coming with us?"
"Yeah.. Ross will drop me" She looked up at him. "Won't you honey?"
"Of course, sweetie" He looked at Phoebe and Mike. "Don't worry about her. Hey why don't you come to my dorm with us? We could make a night out of it" Ross suggested.
"Actually I have this family lunch tomorrow. I can't skip that" Mike said.
"Oh okay.. Nice to meet you, Man" He patted on his shoulder. Phoebe and Mike left.
"So I'm out of my room for tonight as well" Chandler said. "Is this going to be a weekly thing?" Monica slapped him playfully.
"Ha" Ross exclaimed, pointing towards Chandler, earning a slap on his arm from Rachel. "What is with you today?" He said. "Well.. He's sacrificing his room for us, you should be thankful"
"Ha.. ha" Chandler did the same thing as Ross did. Monica and Rachel laughed.
Ross and Rachel made their way towards the parking area hand in hand. Ross looked down at Rachel. "So what do you want to do now?"
"What? Now?" Rachel said.
"The night is still young, you know" Ross said.
"Well.. I don't know.. Maybe we could just go have coffee. I'm actually feeling a little cold" She said rubbing her arms.
"Oh I have the perfect solution for the cold" Ross said hugging her by the shoulders. Rachel instantly leaned her head onto his shoulder and hugged him by the waist. They continued to walk like that until they reached Ross' car. They got into the car and drove to Central Perk.
(...)
They sat on the love seat by the window, remembering the last time they were here. It was the first half of their first date, when they revealed their feelings for each other. They considered themselves blessed to have these 3 months together, hopefully with many more to come. Both knew what was going on in the other's mind. They were in a comfortable silence until Ross finished his espresso and broke the silence. "Oh.. I completely forgot.. Mom and Dad's 25th anniversary is coming up. They are having a party this thursday. They would love for you to come"
"Uhh.. I don't know Ross. I mean.. Long Island is further away from Yale than here and I have a presentation on friday" Rachel frowned.
"Oh" Ross was visibly disappointed.
"But hey! I'll try shake things up a bit" She said keeping her hand over his on the table. "I'll let you know" Ross smiled faintly at this. He kept his other hand over hers. She got a look at the bracelet she got him. She held his hand with both of her hands and played with it. "You like it?"
"Ofcourse I do, Rach. Why do you ask?" Ross asked.
"I didn't think you would" Rachel said softly, looking down, still fiddling with the bracelet.
"Rachel.." he said sternly, knowing she was bothered. She looked up to see him waiting for an answer. "I gave a similar bracelet to my first boyfriend, Chip. He immediately gave it to his gay friend as he thought it was a harm to his manliness" Ross laughed. Rachel was not amused. "You think it's funny?"
He controlled his laugh. "No.. hey" He kept his index finger below her chin to make her look at him. "Hey! I don't think I need to prove to anybody how manly I am" He looked at the bracelet and back at her "As long as you are okay with it, I think we'll be just fine" This got a chuckle from her. He always knew just what to say to make her feel better. "Can I make you another one?" She asked expectantly.
"Whatever makes you happy" Ross said. Rachel was surprised by his reaction. She thought he won't encourage her. She bent down to kiss his hand which was still sandwiched between hers.
(...)
"Aren't you gonna spend the night with me? I have to meet Kiki at noon" Rachel asked Ross who had come to drop her to Yale. It was 2.30 in the morning. They had to come back early as Rachel got a message from Kiki that they needed to complete their project on Sunday because Kiki was going to visit her grandmother in the hospital for a few days.
"I really think Phoebe won't like that" Ross said.
"Come on" Rachel whined. "Tell you what.. Why don't I go check to see if she's even there? I really think she is with Mike" Rachel said as a matter of fact.
"You got a deal, Greene" Ross gave her a thumbs up. "Get ready to do as I say then" She said while getting out of the car. Ross gave her a smile.
After 10 minutes or so, Ross saw Rachel coming back towards the car. He pressed the button to pull the window glass down. Rachel bent towards him and supported herself on her elbows. "You better park this car of yours, Mr Geller. Miss Buffay, as we speak, is busy doing something important with Mr Hannigan, in his room" Rachel said in a seductive tone.
Ross decided to play along. "May I have the pleasure to do the same thing with you, Miss Greene?" He asked, closing the distance between their faces. Rachel giggled and Ross got his answer.
The next day, Ross and Rachel were sound asleep under the covers when Rachel's phone started ringing. She fumbled on her side table to pick her phone, her eyes still closed. Ross' heavy body against her didn't help much. She opened her eyes to look at the screen
"Why is Phoebe calling me?" She whispered softly. Strange, she thought. Little did she know that when she will answer the phone...
"What the hell do you think you are doing, Rachel Karen Greene?" Rachel's eyes became wider than usual.
"What.. wha-what am I doing? What are you talking about?" Rachel asked confused. The volume also woke Ross up. He lifted his head to see what the fuss was about.
"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! What's Ross doing in our room?" Phoebe questioned.
"He stayed here last night when he came to dro-" Rachel stopped mid-sentence when she realised something. "How do you know Ross is here?"
"Rachel, did you hit your head with a hammer and just forgot you have a room mate who happens to have a key too..." Rachel was confused. Phoebe continued. "I came back from Mike's just 10 minutes earlier and I saw you cuddly sleepers on your bed!" Phoebe said crazily. Rachel quickly got up and sat straight. "Wait.. where are you right now?"
"Out in the corridor" Phoebe answered.
"Why didn't you just wake us up then?" Rachel questioned.
"Because I didn't want to see your naked boyfriend" She answered. "Now stop asking questions and go get your boyfriend dressed" Phoebe threatened.
"Alright.. alright" Rachel said hanging up the phone. She turned to her side to see Ross "Morning Sweetie"
"What's up?" Ross asked.
"No big deal" She got up from the bed and tossed him his clothes. "You better dress up or else Phoebe will pound on you" Ross chuckled at her joke.
"Hey.. it's no joke" Rachel said half serious, half jokingly. Ross gave her a strange look and Rachel walked towards the bathroom.
Ross was putting his shoes on when he heard a knock on the door and someone yelled "Can I come in now?" He got up to open the door to find a not so happy looking Phoebe. She walked past him and threw her bag on her bed. At this very moment, Rachel came out with her bathrobe on. "Calm down, Pheebs. It's not a big deal"
"Not for you ofcourse" Phoebe said.
"Oh come on" Rachel said. "What.. what is it?" Ross said.
"You didn't tell him?" Phoebe asked Rachel. She shrugged her shoulders. Ross was getting more confused by the second.
"Well.. I saw you and your girlfriend sleeping under these covers a few minutes back" Phoebe explained. Ross gasped funnily. "I had to shield my eyes and run out of this room"
"Phoebe.. we're all adults here. Would you please grow up?" Rachel pleaded.
"I will ask you the same thing when you find me and Mike in a similar position" Phoebe said rhetorically.
"Oh my god" Ross was still shocked and he became a statue, with one shoe in his right hand. Rachel rolled her eyes. Just when Phoebe calmed down, a bolt of lightening struck in Ross' behaviour. She walked over to him and held his left hand in hers. "Would you please breathe?" He looked at her, trying to process what she just said. He shrugged and came back to senses. "I'm sorry Phoebe you had to see that" Phoebe just groaned.
Ross took Rachel outside. "I thought she knew we both were in your room. Why did she come unannounced?"
"When I saw she wasn't here, I assumed she was with Mike and invited you in" Rachel said, still thinking it wasn't a big deal.
"How can you not be affected by this?" Ross asked Rachel, eyeing her behaviour.
"Why.. are you ashamed to be seen with me like that?" Rachel argued, crossing her arms on her chest. Ross was taken aback by her question. "No.. Rach" He stepped forward. "It's.. that's our moment.. its just between us, you know. And I don't want to share it with anybody else. No matter how minute it may be.. Now I know she's your best friend but there are some boundaries as well"
Rachel loosened herself. "I know Ross. But we can't do anything about it now, can we? I'm sorry I didn't let her know that you were in there. Can we just drop the topic now?"
"Yeah, okay" Ross gave in to her wishes. She stepped forward to hug him. "If it means so much to you... I promise I'll be more careful next time" Ross smiled kissing her hair.
There you go... Please don't forget to review! Thanks for reading.. :))