AN: Man alive, you people rock with reviews on this fic! LoL. I guess you can see how a big response inspires, lol. I SWEAR I am working on the others as well…eh, I kinda hit a wall with a couple of 'em, lol. Anyhoo, I am gonna add some actual dialog to this story, if you can believe it.
On a totally unrelated note, do any of you know how to cook a ham? LOL.
The Theory
~Chapter III~
The silence in the room was so thick, and so stiff, that the simple rattle of a jiggling doorknob startled them all completely. The knob turned, and the door swung open slowly, creaking exactly where it always did; the five friends turned, and watched Chandler walk in—and once again, they were unprepared for what stood before him.
His eyes were vacant; his face, expressionless. His shoulders were slumped in a miserable resignation—he looked like a man who had just Lost Everything.
Little did they know, that he truly believed that he had.
"Chandler, thank God," Monica was the first to speak, "are you okay?"
When Chandler didn't reply, Monica stood up and walked toward Chandler. He backed up, and shoved his hands deep into his pockets, his eyes glued to the floor.
"Chandler, about what happened earlier…we didn't…it was just a game," Monica was practically whispering, as the others stood and approached the scene.
Still, Chandler said nothing; his silence was deafening, and was putting everyone on edge. Another minute of silence passed, before Phoebe finally broke it.
"Chandler, talk to us, please. Just tell us what we did! Did you break up with Kathy because of what we did?" Phoebe, in a panic, threw out the theory that they had all been throwing around earlier.
At the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name, Chandler winced visibly. He took another step back, and swallowed down the bad taste that had formed in his throat.
"Chandler, please say something!" Ross' tone was slightly harsher than he'd intended it to be, most likely because his nerves were so frayed. None of them had gotten any sleep the night before, and now Chandler was standing here, making them all nervous with his odd behavior. He saw his sister and the others flinch as he spoke, and knew immediately that he had made a horrible mistake.
Chandler finally looked up at Ross and the others, and as he did, a single tear escaped from his now-glassy sea blue eyes, and rolled unchecked down his face. His gaze shifted from Ross to Monica, the latter of whom was already in tears with Chandler.
Chandler's dry lips finally parted, and he simply whispered a one-word question.
"Why?"
His friends looked at him with a horrible pity—Chandler suddenly felt the urge to run, but he needed to know; he had to do this now, because he may never get another chance.
For their part, the other five simultaneously looked down at the floor, as all of them dared the others to speak first.
"Chandler, we—it was a stupid thing to do…we never meant it as a…we didn't realize it—" Monica stuttered out every thought that came to her, but suddenly, no excuse, no reason seemed good enough.
"I trusted you," Chandler's voice was cold, but eerily quiet, "I trusted your friendship…"
"Chandler, it wasn't anything against you," Joey ran his hand through his hair nervously, "It was a stupid bet that got out of control. The girls were convinced that they could get you to cheat on Kathy—"
"Yes, I know," Chandler cut Joey off, making it clear that he understood the rationale.
And now the others were at a loss. Chandler understood why they did it, so why was he still so upset? What had they done to him that was so bad…so unforgivable?
"Did you and Kathy break up?" Rachel asked softly, after a short minute.
"Yes," Chandler spat.
"Wh-um, why? Did we—"
"Did you have something to do with it?" Chandler's smile was as cold as his voice. He waited a few seconds, looking at each of them, before answering. "No. She was sleeping with someone else. Rather ironic, don't you think?"
"Wow, Chandler, we are sorry—um, when did—"
"Why do you care?" Chandler's voice was shaky and uneven, and he leaned heavily on the front door, as though he suddenly had no strength left in him.
"Chandler, we're your friends, of course we care," Monica stated, as though it should be perfectly obvious.
Chandler laughed bitterly, and shook his head. He was suddenly very tired. He wasn't quite sure what he was feeling anymore, but he still had doubts about the people standing in front of him.
"Why do you think that's funny? Is that why you got so mad? You thought we were doing this to hurt you?" Monica asked, suddenly angry with Chandler for reacting the way he did.
"How could you ever think that it wouldn't?" Chandler furrowed his brow, confused by Monica's question, and her sudden change in tone.
"Chandler, you're taking what we did personally—" Monica shook her head.
"Why wouldn't I? You were messing with my mind—with my heart. Why wouldn't I take it personally?"
"Chandler, please just let it go! It was nothing! It meant nothing!" Monica wasn't quite sure why she was yelling, but the wounded look on Chandler's face suddenly caused her to retract.
Another dead silence. Finally, Chandler stood up straight, and placed a shaky hand on the doorknob.
"It wasn't nothing to me. But if was really so trivial to you, then you've answered my question," Chandler's voice had fallen again, and his voice was low and raspy.
"Chandler, she didn't mean—" Joey rolled his eyes at the strange circular nature of this conversation; they seemed to be getting nowhere.
"No, Joey, don't," Chandler turned to Monica, "You know Monica, it's funny—it's funny that you should be the one to say that to me. I mean, I've always wondered whether Phoebe liked me…and sometimes I even wondered about Rachel. But I always thought you and I were good friends. I always thought you cared about me."
"Chandler, what are you talking about? I do care about you!" Monica began to panic, as the realization of what she had just done finally began to sink in.
"Friends aren't supposed to treat you like this," Chandler shook his head, "I'm tired of being the invisible one, the one you step on, the one you take for granted," Chandler's voice was grave and lined with frustration. The others were stunned speechless.
"I've already given Treeger my notice," Chandler looked at Joey as he spoke, and Joey's eyes lit with panic. "Don't worry, the rent's paid up for two months. You should be able to find someone else by then," Chandler opened the front door.
"Chandler, don't do this—this is crazy," Joey moved to follow Chandler.
"Don't," Chandler warned Joey, then looked at the others, before sighing deeply. "I'm tired," he finally said softly, "I'm going to bed. Leave me alone," Chandler walked out, slamming the door, and leaving his shell-shocked former friends in complete silence.
AN: Okay…maybe about one or two more chapters…do you think I can crank out an entire multi-chapter fic in one night? LOL.