Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and this is purely for enjoyment. No profits will be made.
Finals are done! Thank goodness because I was about to go crazy. This chapter is short, but the next ones will be longer. And the song later on is really bad- I have no idea how to write songs-lol. Anyway, I am so happy that it's summer, and hopefully I'll be able to write and read lots of fics!
Chapter 4: Priorities
Their hug was soon interrupted by shouts of "Surprise". Both Monica and Chandler were caught off guard and whipped their heads around. There stood the other four friends plus Monica's parents, Gunther, and a few people Monica had not seen in years. Monica wasn't sure whether to be thrilled that everyone was here, or disappointed that she didn't just get to hang out with Chandler and have a quiet and relaxing evening. During these past few months, she certainly hadn't had much time to relax and un-wind. Now she was in a room full of people who wanted to party. She had done enough of that in LA, but still, she was very happy that her friends hadn't forgotten about her.
"What are you all doing here? I thought you guys couldn't make it!" Monica cried. The tears were pouring from her eyes freely.
"Monica, we couldn't miss your homecoming for the world! We cancelled everything we had, because we love you and we missed you!" Ross felt that as her brother, he should explain it to her. He said this as he approached her and gave her such a big and enthusiastic hug that her feet were raised from the floor. He put her down so that everyone else would be able to welcome her personally.
Rachel was next, and she too hugged her friend.
"Mon, oh my goodness, when you were on the cover of US Weekly, everyone at work was talking about you. We were like, the talk of the espresso maker."
"We?" Monica looked at Rachel sensing a little bit of her celebrity obsession.
"Duh! I was so popular because I was best friends with a famous model!"
Joey looked at Rachel impatiently, waiting to talk to Monica. He knew she could take forever, so he took matters into his own hands.
"Come on, Rach, you're hogging her. It's my turn." Joey pushed Rachel aside so she stumbled over a chair, while still retaining a little grace. Rachel looked around nervously, but was relieved when she realized that no one saw that.
"Monica, I am so happy that you're famous now too! We'll be like two famous friends or something, and we can talk about famous stuff." Joey squealed excitedly.
"Yep Joey." Monica pacified him with her answer, although she wasn't really excited about it. All of her life she had wanted to become famous and have a great job, but now that she did, part of her wished that she were back to her old job. At least then she would have privacy and her friends. She would be able to get a boyfriend who wasn't just using her for publicity. Monica's thoughts were interrupted by Joey's continuation.
"Oh, and Mon, we can be in a movie together! That would be so fun!" Joey was already imagining the possibilities.
"Joey, I'm a model, not an actress. I can't act, sorry sweetie." Monica admired his enthusiasm and felt bad for letting him down. She saw how his face fell, and instantly regretted saying it. She should have just led him on, even though that wasn't the honest thing to do. Phoebe sensed his disappointment and initiated the "boob rub". She pushed her chest into his back. Monica quickly caught on, and did the same to Joey's front. Feeling considerably better, Joey went off in search of those "little hot dog thingies".
"Welcome back Monica!" Phoebe had waited patiently, and now that it was her turn, she was going to make Monica remember it.
"Hey Pheebs, how…" Monica was cut off by Phoebe whipping out her guitar and beginning a song.
"Monica's been gone for long
And that's why I'm singing this song
She has made me lots of mula
It's Monica-kalula!
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la"
Phoebe continued to hum until Monica stopped her after a few moments. Monica had no idea what Phoebe was talking about-her song made no sense.
"What?" Monica looked at Phoebe with a very confused face.
"Oh, the song?"
"Yeah…" Monica hinted for her to continue.
"Well, you see, since you became famous, I have had so many more massage clients and I have made tons of money. All thanks to you, so I wrote you a song!" Phoebe stated proudly to Monica. She was just like a little child when they first learn to tie their shoes, beaming with pride.
"No problem Phoebe, but how did I help you?" Monica asked.
It was obvious that Phoebe did not want to answer this question. "Well, I sort of wrote one of your quotes on the window at work." Phoebe said this extremely quickly and under her breath, but Monica was still able to make it out.
"You what?!?! What quote?"
"Well, that you, the world famous model, goes to this place to get her massages. So I told a teensy lie. No harm, no foul, right?" Phoebe looked up from the ground hoping Monica wouldn't be livid. She wasn't able to read Monica's face so she added, "I'll let you in on the profits if you want."
Monica relaxed and reassured Phoebe. "Don't worry, I'm not mad, and I don't want any of the money either. I'm just glad you didn't embarrass me."
"I would never do that Mon!" Phoebe stated matter of factly.
Monica eyed her warily, it was very Phoebe-esque to do something like that and Monica was so relieved that she hadn't. Now, more than ever, Monica had to be very careful about her reputation, and already, she hated feeling this shallow.
And all this time, Chandler was standing off to the side a bit, watching as everyone surprised Monica. After Phoebe had walked off, Monica turned around to face Chandler. She walked up to him with a smile on her face.
"Why did you do that Chandler, you had me so worried that everyone else had forgotten about me?" She playfully smacked him on the arm.
"Honestly Mon, I didn't know about this."
"Really?" Monica was confused. Why wouldn't they tell Chandler?
"Yea, I thought that were all busy, so I had a quiet evening planned for us. You know, movie and dinner. But wow, isn't this a great surprise?" They way Chandler said "great" made it seem as though he were trying to hard to sound cheerful. Monica neglected to notice this. Chandler was just about to ask her if she wanted something to drink when another guy approached.
"Excuse me, Monica, I don't think you'll remember me, but, anyway, it's me, Chip Matthews, from high school." The handsome stranger entered the conversation and Monica's eyes were immediately drawn to him. She didn't remember him being so gorgeous. She focused all of her attention on him and the events in the room began to fade.
"Oh my god, Chip. I can't believe it. How are you?" Monica couldn't believe that she was talking to Chip Matthews, the most popular guy, ever. All through high school she had dreamed about this, but never had her dreams been quite like the reality she was living now.
"I'm great! And you must be too. I can't believe that like my best friend in high school has become a model." When Chandler heard this, he rolled his eyes. He knew for a fact that she wasn't friends with Chip. He had ignored her because she wasn't popular, and now he was coming back so he could date a model. He was like a glass bottle; Chandler could see right through him. But unfortunately, Monica could not.
Please review! And by the way, this chapter was kind of just setting things up for the next ones. Thanks!
