Wrong Side Of The Tracks ©

(Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions and comments. I hope everyone is enjoying this fic so far. It's fun to write it. There will be more "Greed" to come soon, as well as "Sweet Dreams." And I may even continue a fic I started a LONG time ago, titled: "Operation: Jackpot." But I don't know if it's good enough or ready to be continued! Anyways, I'll get on with the fic now!!!)

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Chandler and Monica just simply stared at one another. One was in shock while the other ashamed. Chandler hadn't seen Monica since they were 17 and 19. She hadn't really changed after ten years. She was still very thin. She still had the same black hair and deep blue eyes. He half smiled.

"It's really good to see you." He said faithfully. Monica snorted.

"Yea, especially like this, eh?" She asked. Chandler laughed. A man with dark hair and a goatee walked over and put his arm on Chandler.

"Hey Buddy, who are these two and why ain't they stripping?" The man with the New York accent asked. Afterward, he let out a loud hyena laugh that made everyone's heads explode. (A/N: Actually, the man is Eddie before he went Crazy, lol. I don't know what accent he has, but he sounds a little NewYorky, eh? Just go with it!)

"Eddie, go back to the living room. These two aren't stripping." Ross firmly. He didn't know the blonde, but that was her life. This was his sister and his, uh, friend. Yea, that's right, his friend. Monica looked at her brother and narrowed her eyes.

"Yes we are." She said determinedly. Ross looked at her with great puzzlement.

"No, I don't think you are. Do mom and dad know what you're doing?" He asked in a big brother tone.

"No, they don't, and I don't plan on it either. Okay? I needed money. I got a job. And now if you excuse me, I have a job to be attending to. Come on Rachel." Monica said, making her way through the crowd of whooping men. Ross stopped Rachel with his gaze.

"You're not going to do it too, are you?" He asked with a bit of disappointment in his voice. Rachel shrugged.

"I need money too." She said in nearly a whisper. She looked down and then back at him, following Monica.

Monica and Rachel climbed upon the pig, dining room table next to Phoebe, whom hadn't gotten too far. Monica immediately began to swerve her hips and dip down making contact with just about every man in the front row. Ross stood in back, shaking his head in disapproval. Monica stopped giggling for a moment to study her brother's look. She suddenly got a weird rush of guilt wash over her, and went to step down. When doing so, she slipped on a tortilla chip and fell back, knocking her head into the table.

"Monica!" Ross yelled as he, Joey, Eddie and Chandler ran to her aid. By the time they got through all the men, Rachel and Phoebe had her sitting up.

"Ow." She said simply. Everyone sort of laughed, a little relived that she was okay. "How many fingers am I holding up?" Ross asked holding eight fingers up. Monica strained her eyes, and then finally came to a conclusion.

"Too damn many." She sort of giggled after that and stood. "God that hurt." She said looking at Chandler.

"Okay, due to recent events, we're going to call this evening short. Uh, we might reschedule but as of now, the party's over." Chandler said clapping his hands together. With almost inaudible moans and groans, the house emptied except for the 6 people. Rachel helped Monica with everything she needed and packed up their stuff.

"I'm sorry, guys. I guess we'll go." Rachel said. Chandler took Monica's hand.

"Mon, do you mind if I walk you home, just so we know that you made it home okay?" Chandler asked. Monica nodded. Chandler looked over at Joey and Ross. "You guys escort these ladies home as well, okay?" Ross and Joey nodded.

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Chandler walked back into his apartment about forty-five minuets later. Joey had gone home, but Ross sat on his couch with a beer watching himself on TV.

"You know, it's called Narcissism when you look at yourself like that?" Chandler asked in a sarcastic tone. Ross smiled.

"How did it go?" He asked. Chandler got a beer out of the fridge and sat beside Ross.

"Fine. We just talked about her and me and stuff."

"Oh, what a detailed conversation."

"Ross, you really don't understand what's going on with her." Chandler said rolling his eyes. Ross stood up.

"Well how the hell am I supposed to know? She's the one that NEVER calls. She's the one that NEVER writes. She's the one that became a STRIPPER." Ross shouted.

"And you wonder WHY she doesn't call or write! She had NO ONE! Ross, she has been all alone for three years now. Who is supposed to tell? You can see by the way you acted tonight why she didn't tell you she was a stripper." Chandler said harshly. Ross sat back down onto the couch.

"You're right. In many different ways. It just sucks that she couldn't talk to me. I wish I could have been there for her." Ross sighed. Chandler nodded.

"It's okay man. I invited her over and Rachel over for dinner tomorrow night. She's going to meet Erica." Chandler said happily. Ross looked at him funny.

"And how will you introduce her? 'Hey Erica, these are two of the strippers from my party last night." Ross joked. Chadnler shot him a look.

"No. I'm going to introduce them as what hey are: My two friends from high school." Chandler said setting his beer onto the end table. "I've got to get to bed." Chandler said standing. "Is Erica home yet?" He asked. Ross shook his head as he turned off the TV.

"Not yet. I'm going to get to bed too."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

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"So, what are their names?" Erica asked as she tossed the lettuce pieces into a brown, wooden bowl. Chandler came up from behind her and kissed her cheek as he set some plates in front of her.

"Monica and Rachel." Ross said from the other side of the kitchen as he diced some tomatoes. "We went to high school with them."

"Oh? And where did you see your long lost friends?" Erica asked in a bit of an accusing tone.

"Last night at the 7-11 on 80th." Chandler said simply. "Why?" He asked in the same tone.

"No reason." Erica said going back to her salad. Chandler looked at Ross and motioned for him to follow him out of the room. Once in the living room, Chandler checked to make sure that the kitchen door was shut.

"Did you tell Erica that Monica and Rachel were strippers?" Chandler asked.

"No." Ross said looking straight into chandler's worried eyes.

"Good." Chandler said as he walked back into the kitchen. Erica began setting the plates onto the table and Chandler immediately joined in. Erica smiled at her fiancé and got some cups to set beside the silver ware.

"So, what time will they be......"Before Erica could finish her sentence, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" She said excitedly as she ran out of the kitchen. Ross handed Chandler a glass of wine.

"So, here it comes." Ross said as he took a sip.

"No one ever expects the Spanish inquisition." Chandler mocked in his best "Monty Python" voice. Ross choked on his wine as he laughed. Soon Erica, followed by two women entered. Monica smiled at Chandler and waved. She leaned in towards Rachel and whispered.

"Hey, don't leave me alone here, okay?" She pleaded. Rachel smiled.

"Hi, guys." Rachel greeted warmly. Ross came over and kissed Monica's cheek, and then kissed Rachel's.

"Hey girls, glad you could make it." Ross smiled.

"Well Chandler, you said she was pretty, but wow!" Rachel said with her voice filled with honey. Erica blushed, but not for too long as Rachel took Erica's hand and looked at the ring on her finger. "Seriously, wow!" Erica jerked her hand away and smiled an annoyed smile.

"Let's eat, shall we?"

For the most part, the dinner went well. Monica and Rachel didn't complain about the overcooked meat or the practically fresh "steamed carrots." They were too busy chatting with Chandler and Ross about the days when they had been together. It wasn't hard to see that Erica was somewhat dispersed by the conversation. She actually felt left out in a, 3rd grade sort of way.

"And, and...." Ross managed to get out in between gasps for air within his laughing. "And then Chandler walked up to the girl and started kissing her, but it was really a.....a...a GUY!" He began laughing uncontrollably again with everyone except Erica.

"Crushes. God, It seems like we had a million of them, huh?" Rachel asked. "I used to have a crush on you, Ross. Just for like, a day though. It was after you came to visit from college." She smiled. Ross blushed.

"I used to like Chandler." Monica said boldly. She looked into his eyes as he did a double take.

"Really? I used to like you too." Chandler said looking back with the same admiration. Erica cleared her throat.

"Oh, those were some good times, eh?" Monica said leaning back in her chair. "How did we get where we are today? I mean, a million years ago I wouldn't think that today I would be a strip-a dancer." She corrected herself. Erica sat up slowly.

"A dancer?" She asked. She had finally found a way to dig into Monica. "Well, where do you dance?" She asked with an almost evil grin upon her face. Monica smiled back. She knew what Erica was trying to do. Monica had had her share of "Erica People" in her life.

"I dance in a ballet." She lied. Chandler began to chug his glass of wine.

"Oh? And that keeps the money coming, I suppose?" She asked.

"For now." Monica said glaring at her. "It's only temporary. Until I become a chef."

"Wow. A dancer turned chef. Interesting. You could write a book." Erica said as she leaned back again. "So, are you going to keep us guessing or will you show us a dance move?" Monica hesitantly stood up.

"Uhm, what do you want to see?" She asked.

"I don't know, you're the dancer."

"Fine, you want to see MY dance moves? Here you go." Monica said shortly as she began to dance gracefully. She was very gifted in dancing. Especially ballet. She curved slowly and showed her flexibility well as she lifted a leg high above her head and back down. She bent down next to Rachel's ear in a dance move.

"Ballet for 4 years." She smiled as she stood back up. Ross, Chandler and Rachel clapped for her as she sat down, and Erica backed down dejectedly.

"Well. As fun as this evening has been, I think it's time to call it a night." Erica said standing. "It was very nice to meet both of you."

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It was about 8:00 pm when Ross walked Rachel to the door of her little apartment.

"Thank you for walking me home, you really didn't have to." Rachel said. Ross shrugged.

"Well, there seemed to be some tension at dinner and I didn't want to be there as Chandler and Erica talked. Plus, you looked like you needed a ride." He said leaning against the wall.

"Wow. I can't believe Chandler is getting married." Rachel said staring into space. "I hope they love each other." She said looking down at the ground.

"Why do you say that?" Ross asked.

"Well, I was actually married for a little over a year. But we split quickly and, I lost everything. Including my gravy boat." Rachel said a bit upset. Ross looked at her waiting for her to explain what a gravy boat had to do with the significance of this story. She smiled. "It's a long story." She sighed.

"You said you liked me." He said, his head obviously in a different world. Rachel smiled.

"Yea, in like, college. You're my friend now." She said punching him lightly in the arm.

"Yea. I guess so." He said sadly. Rachel half smiled at him.

"Hey." She almost whispered. "Being friends is a good thing."

"Yea. I know. It's great." He said trying to sound more upbeat.

"Ross, do you like me?" She said in a teasing tone. Ross nodded sheepishly. "I know that you like me. But Ross, I'm at a point in my life where having a boyfriend just isn't an option. I'm not saying you don't have a chance." She paused and smiled. "Or that I don't like you. But I want you to know that this is a very selfish year for me. I am focused on me and me only." She sighed after seeing how sad he looked.

"Rachel, don't worry about it. I mean, I can live. I'm human. I will survive." He forced himself to laugh. "I'm not even asking anything from you." He cleared his throat. "Just, after you are done with your year, will you give me a call?" He asked. Rachel nodded. Ross waved and left the building.

MEANWHILE.....

"Erica, what is wrong?" Chandler asked as he watched Erica bang dishes around in the sink. She turned around quickly.

"Nothing. Why would anything be wrong?"

"Well you've been like this since dinner. Do you not like Monica and Rachel? Were you uncomfortable?" He asked. She turned around again

"Chandler, it was like a friggin' Beverly Hills 90210 reunion episode!" She said ruthlessly.

"What? We were talking!"

"Oh, come on! I wasn't welcome there! I had nothing to do with your flock of seagulls hair cut, you kissing a guy OR your crush on Miss Ballet over there!"

"Why are you attacking me about something that happened ten years ago?" Chandler asked calmly. Erica sat down in a chair.

"I felt threatened. They have been your best friends since middle school. I'm newer in your life. I am afraid of you turning against me."

"Honey, they're my friends, but you're my fiancé. I'm kind of stuck with you for life." He said flatly. She smiled.

"Really?"

"Really. Don't feel threatened. Okay? I love you."

"I love you too." Erica stood up and kissed Chandler for a long moment. But Chandler couldn't help wondering why the last thing he could think of was Erica, and someone else was on his mind?

XOXOElizabethXOXO

More To Come!!! Suggestions welcome! (Actually, suggestions NEEDED! PLZ HELP!)