Chapter Two
Insert Disclaimer
AN: Okay, this part is pretty farfetched – but bear with me. And yes, this story is obviously based on the movie "Serendipity" – shameless rip-off, I know, but I tried to make it at least a little original. ;-)
It soon became apparent from the frequent glances Monica threw over her shoulder that Chandler wasn't following her. She wasn't sure whether to feel exhilarated by the prospect that it would truly be up to fate to bring them together again, or disappointed that he hadn't tried harder to keep her from slipping away. Sighing deeply, she took the back entrance to her apartment building, glancing at her watch as she climbed the stairs. She still had fifteen minutes until their scheduled midnight meeting, and she had known when she walked away from him that it would be the restaurant downstairs that she would casually walk into at midnight. Since it would take her less than two minutes to get from her apartment to Central Perk, she had time to freshen her hair and makeup, and maybe even change clothes.
She was already berating herself for her romantic whims…she should have at least told him her name! Maybe she'd been spending too much time with Phoebe lately – this seemed just the kind of thing her whimsical friend would cook up. Knowing there was nothing she could do now but show up at the coffee house, Monica pushed aside her doubts, refusing to think about the possibility that she might never see Chandler again.
He'll be there, she promised herself as she opened the door to her apartment, which appeared to be empty. Central Perk was one of the few coffee shops in the area that stayed open past midnight, so that greatly increased the probability that he would choose that one.
And if he didn't, she reminded herself again, she had called home with his cell phone. If he wanted to find her badly enough, he could get the number.
She shrugged off the slight feeling of guilt that she was playing fate with a backup plan already in mind, and walked into her bedroom to survey her closet, wondering distractedly where Rachel had disappeared to in the few short minutes since the power had been restored. Probably with Ross, Monica decided, knowing her edgy roommate would never stay by herself in a dark apartment with no power, and feeling oddly relieved that she had the apartment to herself for the next few minutes.
Monica quickly chose a simple but attractive skirt and sweater to change into, discarding the damp clothes she had worn for the past few hours. Hoping it wasn't a pointless endeavor, she headed for the bathroom to repair the effects of the rain and wind on her hair – relieved when her reflection revealed that it wasn't as bad as she thought.
With one last glance in the mirror, she shrugged off the last twinges of insecurity about her appearance and headed for the door. 11:57. It had taken longer than she expected to get ready – she'd have to hurry. She didn't want to keep Chandler waiting.
Confident that her future was waiting just downstairs, Monica hurried down the stairs, a smile playing on her lips. It would be so romantic to tell their children…how they met by chance because a freak storm knocked out the power, and when they met outside the door to Central Perk at exactly midnight, they both knew…
"Oh…sorry," Monica apologized automatically, her daydream ending abruptly when she unexpectedly ran into someone outside the door to her building.
"It's okay, Mon," came the puzzled voice of her brother, causing her to lift her head and smile in relief that some crusty New Yorker wasn't going to blow her head off for not paying attention. "Where you going?" he asked her, his voice concerned.
"Date with destiny…" Monica murmured dreamily, flushing deeply when she realized she had said the words out loud. She caught Rachel's amused look, and tried to stammer an explanation before her best friend could begin plying her with questions.
"I mean…I'm, uh – coffee. Yeah," she proclaimed brightly, regaining her confidence. "I need some coffee."
"O-kay…" Ross answered, a "big brother" frown on his face. He studied her for a moment, then his expression changed to giddy look of false excitement. "Look who we ran into!"
Monica glanced behind him, suddenly noticing the man standing on the other side of Rachel. Recognition dawned quickly, followed by a feeling not unlike the anxiety she used to feel when she'd been caught sneaking into her parent's house after curfew.
"Oh! Dr. Burke…" she greeted him timidly, as she felt the heat rising into her cheeks. "Hi…"
If you were a beautiful woman who believed in fate…where would you go to drink coffee?
Chandler kicked at the ground in his frustration as he pondered the question, knowing there was very little chance of coming up with the right answer. At least not in the next – he glanced at his watch, his heart jumping as he processed the time – eight minutes. He collapsed onto a nearby bench, burying his face in his hands. So much for fate.
Inspiration hit quickly, and he reached immediately for the cell phone in his pocket. If anybody could get inside a woman's head, it was his roommate. Besides, he was getting nowhere fast on his own.
"Hey, Joey, I need your help." After briefly explaining the events of the evening and the terms Monica had placed on their coffee "date", Chandler took a deep breath and asked the crucial question: "You know this area better than I do. Where should I go?"
Joey started rambling immediately – Chandler caught "hot waitress" and "weird blond guy", but he completely lost his friend when he mentioned something about a smelly cat. Chuckling softly, Chandler interrupted the stream of seemingly incoherent talk, holding up a hand as if Joey was standing right in front of him.
"Whoa, Joey. Where is this place? Right on the corner? You think that's where she'll be? Lots of hot girls…okay, so what's this place called? Huh – that's clever. Okay, I'm on my way. Yeah, I'll tell you all about it when I get home. Thanks, Joey. Yeah – bye."
Chandler snapped the phone shut triumphantly, silently blessing his friend. Helooked around to get his bearings, then confidently headed down the street at a fast walk, suddenly positive that he had found the answer. Central Perk.
He almost walked right past it, as intent as he was on getting there on time. He realized it just in time, and turned to look at the darkened windows, trepidation and disappointment clouding his vision. With a sinking heart, he slowly read the words on the sign posted on the door: Closed Due To Power Outage.
He slumped against the wall of the restaurant, the hope that had filled him a few moments before gradually dissipating as he mentally cursed Joey for being wrong.
This was obviously not where she was waiting for him – but it didn't mean she hadn't shown up…somewhere. There was just as much chance she'd be in the restaurant down the street as there had been that she would be here. The thought reenergized him, and he struck the wall with his fist in determination, immediately regretting it as he winced and released a slight yelp of pain. Ignoring his bruised knuckles, he glanced quickly at his watch – 12:00 on the dot.
No time to waste. He started down the street at a steady lope, without so much as a glance behind him.
12:01. Upset by the delay Richard Burke had caused by insisting on attempting polite conversation with her, Monica hurried toward the restaurant, not caring that her father's best friend was staring after her, and would probably report her rudeness to her parent's tomorrow morning. No doubt her mother would have words for her, but at the moment Monica didn't care. She had dealt with Judy's disappointment in her before, and now she was at the point where she could convince herself she didn't care. Almost.
Please let him be here, please let him be here, please let him – Closed?
"Nooo!" Monica cried out in disappointment, stamping her foot in frustration. "Gunther!"
She glanced around, hoping to see Chandler approaching her, that adorable grin on his face as their eyes met. But he was nowhere in sight. She bowed her head and leaned against the wall, trying to swallow away her disappointment. She couldn't believe how ridiculous she had been – she had really expected him to be here.
Well, this was obviously a sign that they weren't meant to be. She didn't need Phoebe to tell her that much. She sighed, shaking her head slightly. She could have been happy with him. She knew it.
Monica stood up suddenly, realizing that she was being even more ridiculous now. Maybe it wasn't a sign that they weren't meant to be…maybe it was just a sign that she shouldn't have put so much faith in fate to begin with.
That thought awakened her stubborn nature – and her constant need to win at any cost. She wasn't going to give up so easily. There were other coffee houses in the city – he was waiting for her in one of them.
The decision was made without conscious thought. Glancing behind her at the lifeless coffee shop, she started down the street, determined to guide her own destiny.
A dejected Chandler entered his apartment a few hours later and threw his keys on the counter – not caring if he woke Joey up. He ran a weary hand through his hair and sighed deeply as he headed into the living room. He had a feeling he would dream of running through the streets of New York, searching for her. Maybe in his dream he would find her.
"Chandler?" The sleepy voice coming from Joey's doorway startled him, and he turned to look at his friend.
"Yeah – it's me."
"Did you find – uh, what's her name?" Joey asked, his voice slightly slurred by sleep. He rubbed his hands over his face in an effort to wake himself, then looked up at Chandler hopefully as he waited for the answer.
"Monica," Chandler answered shortly, letting his body fall onto the couch. "And no, I didn't."
"Oh. I'm sorry, man."
"It's okay, Joey – not your fault. I guess fate just has it in for me."
Joey sat down beside him on the couch, yawning deeply before turning his attention back to Chandler.
"Don't say that. Can't you call her and convince her not to believe all that crap about fate?"
"Well, I could. If I knew her number…or where she lived…or her last name." Chandler emphasized the end of the sentence, his tone reflecting his frustration. Joey nodded in silent sympathy. It wasn't like Chandler to get so riled up over a woman. Joey knew she must have been something to evoke this kind of emotion in his friend.
Joey thought as quickly as his sleep-muddled mind would allow, trying to come up with some kind of solution. He'd faced similar problems – he rarely knew his dates' last names! – but then again, he didn't usually have to go looking for the women he dated…they just seemed to find him.
Joey jerked himself back to the issue at hand: Chandler and his mystery girl. He didn't know her last name, or address, or phone number. Where else was he likely to find –
"Where does she work?" he asked quickly, proud of his mental breakthrough. Chandler glanced at him, his face brightening immediately.
"She's a chef! A chef!" he repeated, leaping off the couch in excitement. Just as quickly, though, his face returned to the glum expression he had been wearing a moment before. "An unemployed chef. She just lost her job because of a misunderstanding about some steaks."
"Oh…" Joey stared hard at Chandler, determined to find the solution. "Family?"
"A brother in New York – his name is like, Russ or something? - parents in Long Island. Doesn't help because I don't know their names either." How did they manage to talk for hours and reveal so few details about their lives?
"Um – roommate?" Joey asked hesitantly, drawing at straws. He already knew this was going to be a dead end, too, but he didn't like seeing Chandler so despondent.
"Yeah, she has one. Her name is um, Rachel, I think? Monica called her right after – " Chandler stopped midsentence, his eyes widening as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. "She used my phone, she used my phone!"
"Umm…yay?" Joey replied doubtfully, puzzled by the outburst.
"No, Joey, that means her number will be stored." Chandler quickly pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and starting pressing buttons. "Here it is, right…" His head dropped, a low groan escaping his lips. "Well, it would have been right here if I hadn't starting calling coffee houses all over New York! I erased the history," Chandler finished, slamming his fist into the couch. "How stupid am I?"
"Call the phone company," Joey told him indifferently, bored already by the ordeal and wishing for his bed. "Can't they look up the history?"
Chandler brightened for the third time – an emotional roller coaster, Joey thought ironically.
"I can access it on the computer," he told Joey, a note of excitement creeping into his voice as he imagined Monica's response to his phone call. "I'll get online right now."
Monica entered the apartment as quietly as she could, disappointed by the night's events. After easing out of her jacket and hanging it up, she carefully placed her keys in the tray on the counter and crept toward her bedroom, careful not to wake Rachel – and possibly Ross – up.
She hadn't even made it past the couch when Rachel's door swung open, spilling light out into the living room.
"Where have you been?" Rachel demanded, as Ross appeared behind her and squinted across the room at his sister. "You said you were going for coffee, not to Scotland!"
"I – Scotland?" Monica questioned, amused by the idea. "Why would I go there?"
"I don't know…" Rachel whined, walking into the living room and sitting down on the couch, crossing her legs under her. "So…why did you take off in such a hurry?"
Rachel's eyes widened and she pointed at Monica – who just raised her eyebrows at her roommate and wondered what might possibly be running through her head.
"You have a crush on Dr. Burke! That's why you were all weird when you saw him!"
"WHAT? Are you kidding me? He's Dad's age."
"Oh…well, good. But it was a guy, right?"
Monica sighed, glancing in Ross's direction before she shrugged.
"Yeah – it was. But…well, it didn't work out like I thought it would. I just want to go to bed now, Rach. We'll talk about it tomorrow – okay?"
Recognizing the distressed look on her best friend's face, Rachel reluctantly nodded her agreement.
"Okay, tomorrow. But I want every detail!"
Monica nodded, managing a tight smile and a "goodnight" as she headed into her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it, closing her eyes as tears threatened to fall.
"Okay. Phone number…" Chandler quickly typed in his cell phone number, pleased that he had begun paying his bill online and had discovered the capabilities of the site. "Outgoing calls…history…" Triumphantly entering the date he wanted, he leaned back in his chair and waited for the computer to do the work. A message popped up asking him to be patient – the process would take a moment - then a short list of calls filled his screen. He did a dance of excitement in his chair, then leaned forward to inspect the list, running his eyes down the times to determine which call was hers.
This list stopped abruptly with a call he had made from his office shortly before leaving for the day – the last call he had made before Monica called her roommate from the ATM vestibule. The next line explained why her call – and his consequent calls to Joey – were missing…and the italicized words made his heart pound painfully in his chest.
System down due to power failure. Calls cannot be retrieved.
Sorry for bringing Richard into the equation, but I needed a reason for Monica to be delayed and as I was typing, Richard just appeared out of nowhere. Then I decided it only made sense, since he's ruined all the important moments in the "real" series…So anyway, there's chapter two! Hope you enjoyed…