The One With Joey's Reaction
Chapter Two
Continued from: The One With Ross' Reaction
This chapter contains spoilers for season eight (in general) and MAJOR spoilers for episode #816 in particular. Do NOT read if you do not wish to be 'spoiled'!
By: Jana~
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--Joey forced himself to go home. He couldn't stay at Central Perk forever, and he knew that, but going back to the apartment he and Rachel had shared for so long was becoming almost painful. He missed her living with him. He missed smelling her subtle perfume as she breezed out the door in the morning, usually running late for work.
All of that was in the past. He would never have that with her again… unless… if he told her about his feelings, and she felt the same… then they dated, and got married--
His wishes of events to come was abruptly put to a halt as he opened the door to his apartment, only to find Rachel there…
"Rach?" his voice sounded shakier than he'd meant it to…
"Hi sweetie…" she replied casually… "Have you seen my pregnancy book?"
He had… but he couldn't tell her that. When he'd discovered she'd left it, on accident he assumed, he'd taken it to his room and snuggled up with it…
*You're a lovesick, pathetic fool, you know that, right?* his brain mocked him…
"Uh, no, I don't think I have…" he answered her… "Did you maybe take it with you?"
She shook her head as she searched under the couch cushions… "No. It's not over there…"
"Speaking of over there…" he started as he pretended to help her look… "How are you liking it over there?"
"Eh…" she replied with a shrug of her shoulders… "It's stuffy over there. I feel like I'm living in a museum."
He chuckled when she did, then his expression grew serious… "Y'know, if you ever want to move back, for whatever reason… you can."
She stopped her search and smiled at him… "Thanks."
He just shrugged, giving her his typical lopsided grin, then he went back to helping her look for the book…
After several minutes with no success, Rachel plopped on the recliner and sighed…
"Maybe it is over there. I'll have to look again…"
Joey sat on one of the kitchen counter stools and faced her…
"If I run across it, I'll let you know." He offered, and she nodded…
"So, what's new?" she asked, her bright smile lighting up her face…
*What's new?* he asked himself… *Oh, nothing, except, I'm in love with you…* But he couldn't say that. He wasn't ready to say anything yet… "Nothing much. You?"
"Well, the baby kept me up last night cause she was kicking me so hard!" she chuckled… "But other than that, nothing."
There was an awkward silence that fell between them, and he fidgeted slightly… the action noticeable to Rachel…
"You ok? Is something bothering you?" she asked, concerned…
"No, no…" he lied… "Everything's fine. It's just-- Well, I was wondering-- The thing is…"
Rachel laughed… "What's up Joey?"
He smiled… "I was just wondering if you would maybe… want to go to dinner with me tomorrow?"
"Sure! Where at?"
"I was thinking we could go to our place…"
"OUR place?"
"Well… ummm… err…" he stammered… "I mean… meant… OUR place as in the place we went to the other night."
"Oh yeah! That place was good! Ok! It's a date!" She stood up and headed for the door… "Wish me luck on my book-finding expedition!"
He grinned and nodded… "Good luck."
"Hey!" she added as she got to the door… "This is Ross' line of work… finding stuff… maybe I could get him to look for me!"
"There ya go!" he replied enthusiastically…
She smiled and waved as she left, closing the door behind her…
Joey sunk into his chair and sighed… "Now, I just gotta figure out what I'm going to say…"
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--Joey sat across from Rachel at the bustling restaurant, feeling nervousness like he'd never felt before. Anxiously, he waited for the waiter to finish rattling off the specials…
"Ok, thanks…" Joey smiled politely at the waiter… "Can you give us a second?"
The waiter nodded and turned to leave, then turned right back around again… "Second's up!" he announced, smiling at his little attempt at humor… Joey just glared at him… "Not that kind of table…" the waiter muttered, his smile dropping slightly… "Ok, then!"
When the waiter walked away, Rachel leaned across the table to address Joey…
"Sweetie? You ok? You seem upset…"
"No." he answered, a little colder than he'd meant to… "No…" he said again with a smile… "Just have a lot on my mind…"
"Well, you wanna talk about it?"
"Actually…" He looked down at his water glass… "I did have something I wanted to talk to you about…"
She smiled… "Ok."
He looked up, but seeing her sweet smile made him almost lose his nerve, so he looked away again… "We've known each other… how long?"
"Seven…" she gave her answer thought… "No, eight years."
"Yeah…" he smiled and nodded, then took a deep breath and forced himself to look into her eyes… "Rachel, I think I'm falling in love with you."
The smile slowly dropped from her face as she digested his words… "What?" she asked, more for a lack of what to say than because she didn't hear him the first time…
"I'm falling in love with you, Rachel."
Briefly, she wondered if he was joking, but his expression told her he wasn't. She stammered as she tried to think of what to say to him…
"It's ok Rach, you don't need to say anything, ok? I know how huge this is… you take all the time you need…" He picked up his water glass and took a sip, waiting for her to say something, but the longer she took, the more anxious he became… "Ok, you gotta say something…" he told her…
"I don't-- I just-- When?"
*When?* he asked himself… "Does it matter?" he asked her, his voice almost a whisper…
"No… I guess-- Umm…" she struggled with how to respond… "I just-- I don't know what to say…"
"Just say whatever is in your heart…" he replied, his smile slight and tense…
She took his hands in hers… "Joey, I love you, but--"
"But…" he repeated, closing his eyes, his expression pained…
"Joey?"
"Hey, ya'know, it's ok…" he told her… "That was pretty much what I figured you'd--" he felt tears stinging his eyes… "I gotta go." He took his hands from hers and stood…
"Joey, wait…"
"It's ok, Rach…" he dropped his napkin on the table… "I'll see ya later…"
With that he darted out the door, leaving a confused Rachel alone.
She stared at the door for what seemed like hours, tears falling freely from almost the moment he left the restaurant…
TO BE CONTINUED…