Haunted, Chapter Two
"Lost"
"I'm sorry, Phoebe, can you say that again?" Rachel sat down on the sofa, then turned her head when her husband came into the room. She waved him over frantically, then flipped on the speakerphone.
"I said, I think I saw Chandler today."
Ross looked at Rachel, then back at the phone. "Pheebs, Chandler is dead, remember?"
"It was him! I could tell. And he-he looked at me--and he had a strange look on his face. Should we call Monica and Joey?"
"No! No, not yet. Pheebs, it's not that we don't believe you, it's just that, well--"
"You see dead people a lot," Ross finished.
"Whatever. I think you two should come out to New York anyway. Then you can see for yourselves."
Ross and Rachel looked at each other warily. "We'll see, Pheebs," Rachel said, before hanging up with her.
***
Chandler found himself wandering around in his old neighborhood the following afternoon. He stood in front of the building where he had spent some of the best years of his life, and was amazed at how it hadn't really changed. It was as if nothing horrible had ever happened. He shook his head, and made his way into Central Perk.
The familiar atmosphere of a life long-ago lost overwhelmed him with every step he took into the shop. He looked over at the corner where he and his friends used to hang out, and saw that is was occupied by a new group of twenty-somethings. He shook his head, recalling the last time he had been in the shop.
~1998~
"So what do you guys wanna do for Phoebe's birthday?" Joey asked. The group, minus Phoebe was seated in their regular spot.
"I dunno. Maybe a small party on Friday night?" Rachel suggested.
"Friday? There's no way we can put together a party in two days!" Monica said quickly.
"Well, there's no way *you* can put a party together in two days," Ross laughed.
"Shut up! Two days? Who are we gonna invite?"
"It'll just be us," Rachel said.
"I dunno," Monica replied, the wheels in her head already turning.
"What do you think, Chandler?" Rachel grinned.
"Oh, no, no, no. I am not taking sides here."
"You have to take sides, you are dating ME!" Monica warned.
Chandler shook his head, "Forget it. I uh, I gotta get back to work. This stupid project has to be in by the end of the week..."
"Wait, you are actually gonna work?" Ross laughed.
"Somebody has to," Chandler shot Ross a look, kissed Monica, and strolled out of the coffee shop.
~2013~
Chandler blinked back into the present, and sat down heavily on a chair in the corner of the shop.
Nothing was ever the same after that weekend.
*
~Cambridge, Massachusetts~
"Do you think we should make a trip down to the City?" Rachel asked the following evening.
"I dunno," Ross replied, shrugging.
"It was just weird, ya know? I mean, Phoebe always acknowledges the fact that she is talking to a dead person. She seemed so convinced..."
"I suppose it's possible. I mean, they never found his body," Ross reasoned.
Rachel shivered at the thought. "Yeah, but if wasn't killed that night, then where was he?"
Ross had no answer for that.
*
~New York City~
Phoebe walked the same route every day for the next week, hoping to see Chandler again. But she never did. She sighed, and wondered if Ross and Rachel were right. Maybe she was seeing things. She just wanted everything to be like it was. But after that weekend, everything changed. Monica withdrew from the group completely. She eventually married a man named Steven, and they had a daughter, Christine, together. But the marriage only lasted five years. Phoebe had a feeling that Monica would never re-marry. Ross and Rachel leaned on each other for support following Chandler's death, and eventually, fell in love again. They got married in 2004, and had two kids, Jonathan and Dana. Ross took a job with Harvard later that same year. Joey stayed with acting until his thirty-fifth birthday, then realized that his heart was no longer in it. He took over his father's plumbing business, and now lived in Queens with a wife and four kids--Robert, Christopher, Annabeth, and Chandler. Joey told Phoebe once that he named his son Chandler so that he would always be there, with him. Phoebe had smiled sadly, and told him that it was a great idea.
Phoebe was so lost in thought, that she failed to hear the voice calling her name.
"Phoebe?"
"Huh? Oh my God! Monica!" Phoebe hugged her old friend tightly.
"Are you okay? You looked kind of lost."
"Yeah. I was just thinking about...stuff. How are you? Where's Chris?"
"With her father," Monica said bitterly.
"Oh. But that means you're free for lunch, right?"
"Yeah! Where do you want to go?"
"Would you mind if we ate in the Villiage? There's something I want to do."
"Sure," Monica shrugged.
"Great! Let's go!"
*
"Would you like some more coffee sir?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, no, thanks," Chandler smiled warmly. He sighed as the waitress walked away. He should probably leave soon. But he found that he really wanted to stay inside the cozy cafe. He knew that once he stepped back out onto the street, that his reality would come back to him, and he would have to try and push all of this to the back of his mind. His life after his friends were killed was almost more like a dream-world. It didn't seem real. He loved Erin, and he loved the kids, but there was always something tugging at him. Something making him wonder what really happened that night. He carried their memories with him everywhere he went. Moving back to New York in 2005 was one of the most difficult things he'd ever had to do. He had convinced himself that he could never live here again. That he could never walk the streets of Manhattan, without the memories of a former life hauting him. But somehow he made it, he stuck it out, more for Erin and the kids than anyone. Erin had been very understanding of his losses, and did not argue when he asked to name their kids after his friends. Their oldest daughter, Rachel Phoebe, kept switching back and forth from her first name to her middle name, always unsure about which one suited her best. Chandler smiled, and thought that it was a very Phoebe-esque quality to have, even though his daughter was currently in a "Rachel" phase. Chandler and Erin had twin boys five years after Rachel was born, and named them Ross and Joey. When Erin got pregnant a year and a half later, Chandler wondered what they would name it if it was a boy. He didn't think Monica would have appreciated him naming a son after her. As luck would have it, Erin had a girl, and she was named Monica Elizabeth. Chandler smiled at the thought of his children. He was happy that his friends would be able to live through them, in a way. He wondered if they knew somehow, and if they were pleased with his decision.
*
Monica and Phoebe walked to the door of Central Perk, and hesitated. Neither woman had been in the coffee shop since that day, and both wondered if they'd be able to handle it. Finally, Phoebe sighed and shook her head, before opening the door, and stepping inside.
***********************
"Lost"
"I'm sorry, Phoebe, can you say that again?" Rachel sat down on the sofa, then turned her head when her husband came into the room. She waved him over frantically, then flipped on the speakerphone.
"I said, I think I saw Chandler today."
Ross looked at Rachel, then back at the phone. "Pheebs, Chandler is dead, remember?"
"It was him! I could tell. And he-he looked at me--and he had a strange look on his face. Should we call Monica and Joey?"
"No! No, not yet. Pheebs, it's not that we don't believe you, it's just that, well--"
"You see dead people a lot," Ross finished.
"Whatever. I think you two should come out to New York anyway. Then you can see for yourselves."
Ross and Rachel looked at each other warily. "We'll see, Pheebs," Rachel said, before hanging up with her.
***
Chandler found himself wandering around in his old neighborhood the following afternoon. He stood in front of the building where he had spent some of the best years of his life, and was amazed at how it hadn't really changed. It was as if nothing horrible had ever happened. He shook his head, and made his way into Central Perk.
The familiar atmosphere of a life long-ago lost overwhelmed him with every step he took into the shop. He looked over at the corner where he and his friends used to hang out, and saw that is was occupied by a new group of twenty-somethings. He shook his head, recalling the last time he had been in the shop.
~1998~
"So what do you guys wanna do for Phoebe's birthday?" Joey asked. The group, minus Phoebe was seated in their regular spot.
"I dunno. Maybe a small party on Friday night?" Rachel suggested.
"Friday? There's no way we can put together a party in two days!" Monica said quickly.
"Well, there's no way *you* can put a party together in two days," Ross laughed.
"Shut up! Two days? Who are we gonna invite?"
"It'll just be us," Rachel said.
"I dunno," Monica replied, the wheels in her head already turning.
"What do you think, Chandler?" Rachel grinned.
"Oh, no, no, no. I am not taking sides here."
"You have to take sides, you are dating ME!" Monica warned.
Chandler shook his head, "Forget it. I uh, I gotta get back to work. This stupid project has to be in by the end of the week..."
"Wait, you are actually gonna work?" Ross laughed.
"Somebody has to," Chandler shot Ross a look, kissed Monica, and strolled out of the coffee shop.
~2013~
Chandler blinked back into the present, and sat down heavily on a chair in the corner of the shop.
Nothing was ever the same after that weekend.
*
~Cambridge, Massachusetts~
"Do you think we should make a trip down to the City?" Rachel asked the following evening.
"I dunno," Ross replied, shrugging.
"It was just weird, ya know? I mean, Phoebe always acknowledges the fact that she is talking to a dead person. She seemed so convinced..."
"I suppose it's possible. I mean, they never found his body," Ross reasoned.
Rachel shivered at the thought. "Yeah, but if wasn't killed that night, then where was he?"
Ross had no answer for that.
*
~New York City~
Phoebe walked the same route every day for the next week, hoping to see Chandler again. But she never did. She sighed, and wondered if Ross and Rachel were right. Maybe she was seeing things. She just wanted everything to be like it was. But after that weekend, everything changed. Monica withdrew from the group completely. She eventually married a man named Steven, and they had a daughter, Christine, together. But the marriage only lasted five years. Phoebe had a feeling that Monica would never re-marry. Ross and Rachel leaned on each other for support following Chandler's death, and eventually, fell in love again. They got married in 2004, and had two kids, Jonathan and Dana. Ross took a job with Harvard later that same year. Joey stayed with acting until his thirty-fifth birthday, then realized that his heart was no longer in it. He took over his father's plumbing business, and now lived in Queens with a wife and four kids--Robert, Christopher, Annabeth, and Chandler. Joey told Phoebe once that he named his son Chandler so that he would always be there, with him. Phoebe had smiled sadly, and told him that it was a great idea.
Phoebe was so lost in thought, that she failed to hear the voice calling her name.
"Phoebe?"
"Huh? Oh my God! Monica!" Phoebe hugged her old friend tightly.
"Are you okay? You looked kind of lost."
"Yeah. I was just thinking about...stuff. How are you? Where's Chris?"
"With her father," Monica said bitterly.
"Oh. But that means you're free for lunch, right?"
"Yeah! Where do you want to go?"
"Would you mind if we ate in the Villiage? There's something I want to do."
"Sure," Monica shrugged.
"Great! Let's go!"
*
"Would you like some more coffee sir?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, no, thanks," Chandler smiled warmly. He sighed as the waitress walked away. He should probably leave soon. But he found that he really wanted to stay inside the cozy cafe. He knew that once he stepped back out onto the street, that his reality would come back to him, and he would have to try and push all of this to the back of his mind. His life after his friends were killed was almost more like a dream-world. It didn't seem real. He loved Erin, and he loved the kids, but there was always something tugging at him. Something making him wonder what really happened that night. He carried their memories with him everywhere he went. Moving back to New York in 2005 was one of the most difficult things he'd ever had to do. He had convinced himself that he could never live here again. That he could never walk the streets of Manhattan, without the memories of a former life hauting him. But somehow he made it, he stuck it out, more for Erin and the kids than anyone. Erin had been very understanding of his losses, and did not argue when he asked to name their kids after his friends. Their oldest daughter, Rachel Phoebe, kept switching back and forth from her first name to her middle name, always unsure about which one suited her best. Chandler smiled, and thought that it was a very Phoebe-esque quality to have, even though his daughter was currently in a "Rachel" phase. Chandler and Erin had twin boys five years after Rachel was born, and named them Ross and Joey. When Erin got pregnant a year and a half later, Chandler wondered what they would name it if it was a boy. He didn't think Monica would have appreciated him naming a son after her. As luck would have it, Erin had a girl, and she was named Monica Elizabeth. Chandler smiled at the thought of his children. He was happy that his friends would be able to live through them, in a way. He wondered if they knew somehow, and if they were pleased with his decision.
*
Monica and Phoebe walked to the door of Central Perk, and hesitated. Neither woman had been in the coffee shop since that day, and both wondered if they'd be able to handle it. Finally, Phoebe sighed and shook her head, before opening the door, and stepping inside.
***********************