Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and this is purely for enjoyment. No profits will be made.
Hey! I am gonna make this move along a little more quickly, because I am kinda getting tired of it and it's not getting a huge response but it takes a long time to write out. Please review! Thanks!
Chapter 5: Growing Closer
Monica and Chip had been going out for two months now, much to everyone's delight, except for Chandler's. He didn't even understand why Chip was invited to the party. Chandler dodged the happy couple as often as he could and he even started working late. For Chandler, it seemed as though he was being slowly pushed out of the group and Chip was taking his place. There was Phoebe and Joey who were always together, Rachel who was Monica's roommate, and Ross who was Monica's sister. Now Chip, Monica's boyfriend. Chandler didn't have a place anywhere. So Chip was slowly becoming a less funny, less sarcastic, and much less smart and sweet Chandler.
One day, Chandler was sitting in Central Perk, all by himself. Then Chip, Monica, and Ross walked in, laughing about a movie they had just seen. Seeing this, Chandler finished the last sip of his coffee and left. Chip, of course, didn't notice that that guy "Chauncey" had just left, but Monica had and so she looked to Ross to try and determine what was up with Chandler. He had been doing this a lot lately, but Monica didn't know why. She didn't know how Chandler felt about being ousted by the group and she didn't know that Chandler hated Chip more than hell itself. Most importantly, Monica didn't know how Chandler felt about her.
"I'm just gonna go see what's with him. Can you get me a coffee?" Ross explained and asked as he left Central Perk in search of the runaway friend.
Monica and Chip sat for a few minutes, both waiting for the other to get the coffees. Monica assumed that Chip would be a gentleman and do it, while Chip was too lazy and decided to wait until Monica got the beverages.
"Monica, I'm waiting." Chip said impatiently when he realized Monica was becoming too comfortable on the couch.
"What?" Monica asked. She couldn't believe that he was expecting her to be his servant; he was the guy, this was a date. Whenever she was with Chandler, Ross, or even Joey, they would always get the drinks for the girls; and it wasn't as if she was on a date then!
Chip made a motion with his hand, pointing towards the counter. Monica sighed as she stood up to get the drinks. This was just too much. Lately, she had noticed that Chip had expected her to do things for him. But those other times, she hadn't minded. She liked playing hostess, but she didn't like this. She decided to let it pass, for now anyway. She was going to movie premiere in a few days and she didn't want to be dateless. She inwardly scolded herself for using him, and she couldn't believe that this was what she had come to. She tried to reassure herself by saying that she really liked Chip and saw a real future for them. It was only partly a lie; she really did like him, but unfortunately, she knew there was no future in store for them.
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Ross finally caught up to Chandler as he was opening the door to his apartment. Chandler looked tired and frustrated and not at all like the old Chandler.
"Dude, what's going on?" Ross asked.
"Oh, hey Ross. Nothing really, just got a lot of work to do." Chandler let out a sigh and walked into the apartment. He put his briefcase down and got a bottled water from the refrigerator.
"No, Chandler. Something's wrong; I can tell. You've been too distant lately." Ross was curious to know the motives for Chandler's strange behavior.
Chandler knew he was caught, but he wasn't ready to start talking. There was no way that he would tell Monica's older brother and his best friend that he was harboring an all consuming crush for Monica. And he couldn't admit that he felt lonely now that Chip had joined in.
"You want to know the truth?" Chandler asked already knowing the answer but buying time so he could make up a good lie. Ross nodded so Chandler continued. "Okay, then. I might be getting a job promotion, but it depends on how well I do in work for the next couple of weeks. So right now, I just really need to concentrate on what I'm doing and I can't hang around you guys because I know I'll just get distracted." Chandler tried to tell if Ross bought it.
"Oh okay, well congratulations man. I'll let you be. See ya around." Ross smiled but knew it wasn't the truth. He needed to know what was going on but he realized this was going to take some time. Ross closed the door behind him and Chandler breathed a sigh of relief. He was in the clear, for now. And the strange thing was that Chandler missed being part of everything, but he knew he just couldn't be around when Chip was there. There was something suspicious about that guy and Chandler intended to find out what it was.
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Monica surveyed the room, prepared to tell everyone about the movie premiere that she had tickets for. She counted five heads, six including her own. A few months ago that would have been all she needed, but now she knew someone was missing, and of course it was Chandler.
"Hey, guys, where's Chandler?" Monica asked her friends who were gathered around in the living room.
"Who's Chandler?" Chip asked. The other five looked at him incredulously. Seeing their faces, Chip laughed uneasily and when everyone had turned away, he made one of those looks saying, 'Jeez, what's up with them?'
"He's probably just working on his computer. I'll go get him." Ross offered. Had everyone forgotten to invite him tonight? Ross felt awful, Chandler was turning into Kip. He was being gradually phased out. And although it was being done unwittingly, Ross was overcome with guilt.
Monica couldn't believe that she had forgotten to tell Chandler. Sure, she hadn't seen much of him lately, but he was still her best friend. She hoped Ross would be able to find him and bring him over. And just a few minutes later, Ross came back, dragging Chandler in.
"Hey, Chandler. Where have you been?" Phoebe asked. He felt like a stranger.
"Oh, I just have been really busy with work." Chandler sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. Ross was about to go sit on the couch with the others, but when he saw Chandler sit there, he did the same. Chandler noticed Ross's gesture and made an effort to smile.
"Okay, so guys the reason I wanted you all here is because I just got tickets for everyone to see the premiere of the new movie "Star Tracks" in New York. It's on Friday night at eight. What does everyone say?" Monica looked expectantly at her friends, all of whom seemed thrilled, except for Chandler, who looked as though he was thinking about something really important. All of the friends told Monica they could go, but Chandler remained quiet, so Monica walked up to him.
As soon as he felt Monica coming, Chandler tensed up. Why was she so gosh darn beautiful? He knew he had to accept her invitation.
"Chandler, can you come?" Monica said quietly as she knelt down beside him. She looked up at him and he noticed her eyes seemed sad.
"Of course I'll come." When Monica heard this, she practically jumped up and into Chandler's lap. She didn't know what got into her all of the sudden. But she was just so glad that Chandler appeared to be back to normal.
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!" Monica shouted and gave him a kiss on the cheek. It seemed innocent to her, but she had no idea how much that affected Chandler. He smiled as she walked off, but his smile faded when he saw her sit down next to Chip. Chandler hated that guy.
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"So, Monica, how are things going with your new boyfriend?" One news reporter asked Monica. They surrounded her, and right now she wasn't really in the mood to be asked questions about her personal life. But Monica put on her best fake smile and prepared herself for a long night. They had only been at the premiere for ten minutes and already all of her friends had disappeared; even Chip who was supposed to stay with her tonight.
"Oh, everything is great. We're having a great time." Monica said as enthusiastically as she could.
"Is it true that you two dated in high school?" Another reporter questioned.
"Well, no. We knew each other, but I wouldn't say we dated." Monica didn't want to admit that Chip made fun of her in high school for being overweight. So far, all of her weight issues were still under wraps.
"Where is he now?" A third reporter asked. Unfortunately, Monica didn't have an answer to the latest question, so she made one up.
"Oh, he just went to the bathroom, he should be back shortly." She smiled once more and excused herself. Monica needed to get away from it all so searched the crowd for anyone she knew as she made her way to the bathroom. Just as she was about to reach the bathroom, she saw Chandler and waved to him. He waved back and approached her. But what Monica saw behind him made her feel sick. It was Chip, but he wasn't alone.
Just as Chandler reached her, Monica grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the spot where Chip was. Chandler noticed that she seemed to be on a rampage, and when he saw where they were headed, he understood. He should have seen this coming.
Monica tapped on Chip's shoulder, eager to break up this little make out session. He turned around and had that classic "deer caught in the headlights look". Chandler resisted the urge to punch him. He couldn't stand the guy because he hurt Monica. He could tell she was trying to hold in tears. She couldn't believe this.
"Oh my god, Monica, I'm so sorry. It just sort of happened." He kept looking from Monica to the blonde, but when he saw how mad Monica was, his eyes stayed on the blonde. Pretty soon, all of the cameras came running to see what all the commotion was about. This was not what Monica needed.
"You were using me, weren't you Chip?" Monica's voice reflected pure hatred.
"No, Monica, I swear." He pleaded.
"Please, Chip, don't let me stop you. I thought you had grown up since high school, but I guess I was wrong. Continue, please." Monica motioned towards the girl. Chip couldn't think of anything better to do, so he sat back down and started making out with the girl again. Monica ran away, followed by Chandler and all of the paparazzi of New York City. She ran right into the bathroom, hoping she'd be safe in there.
When Chandler saw where she had gone, he hesitated in following her into the ladies room. But he knew she needed a friend right now, so he strolled right in. Luckily, the cameras didn't follow. Chandler looked under each stall, but he couldn't find a pair of feet, so he tried calling out her name.
"Chandler, what are you doing in here?" Monica asked, although she was glad that he was there.
"I'm looking for you Mon." Chandler followed her voice to the stall she was in and he knocked for her to open up. "Please come out." He pleaded with her.
"No, I can't. I'm too embarrassed." Realizing she wasn't coming out anytime soon, Chandler decided he would crawl under the door. He was fully aware of how unsanitary this was, but he didn't care enough about his suit, and he cared too much about the well being of his friend, Monica.
"Chandler, what the hell are you doing? I could have been going to the bathroom." Monica said sternly, but she was happy he had gone to such great lengths to comfort her.
"I took a risk." Chandler smiled causing Monica to smile too. She noticed just how great his smile was. It always made his eyes just appear even bluer. "How are you doing Mon?" Of course he knew she wasn't doing well, it was a stupid question to ask, but in this type of situation, it was always the first question asked. But Chandler wasn't prepared to hear her answer.
"Well, pretty good, actually. Considering I was just totally humiliated and this will be all over the news tomorrow. But really, I'm not too bad. I was kind of tired of being with Chip. He was too immature and I think I sensed all along that he had ulterior motives. It's just too bad it turned out this way." Monica wasn't even crying and Chandler could tell that she was being honest. Monica continued, "Chandler, I'm not buying that crap about your job. Cut the bull, what's really going on?"
Now that Chip was out of the picture, Chandler felt that he could be partially honest. "Well, I just sort of felt like with Chip being there, I was kind of being forgotten. Like seven was too much. And I just couldn't stand that guy, so I tried to stay away from him." Chandler refused to look at Monica; now it was time for him to be embarrassed.
"Oh, Chandler, I am so sorry you felt that way. You are way more important to me than Chip ever was, and I don't want to lose you." Monica gave Chandler a good, long hug. She felt so sorry for him.
"Thanks, Mon. That really means a lot to me. I don't want to lose you either." Then there was an awkward silence. It had to have been the longest silence in the history of silences. Not having anything better to say, Chandler asked a stupid question. "I have a question for you. Why was Chip even invited to that party a few months ago?"
"Oh, my parents brought him along, hoping we could get together. Guess they'll be in for a big surprise tomorrow when they find out." Monica laughed, relieved that he had found something to say. Chandler glanced at his watch and realized that the movie would be starting soon.
"We should probably go." Chandler said as he stood up from the bathroom floor. He knew he was going to need lots of antibacterial gel right about now. Monica got up off of the closed toilet seat and Chandler noticed that she must have put fifteen of those paper covers down before she sat. He laughed inwardly at her neurotic cleanliness, but then realized he was just as bad when it came to germs.
Monica and Chandler left the bathroom arm in arm. They both realized that they were about to have a renewal of their friendship. And they both realized that they might even want more than that.
To Be Continued? What do you think? Should I? Or should I just leave it open ended like this?
