PART SEVEN
"Oh wow, you're going on a date with Chandler!" Rachel squealed as Monica came out of her room, ready to leave.
Rachel studied Monica's face, expecting it to be excited and nervous but certainly not worried.
"What's up?" she asked, "Aren't you excited?"
"Of course I am!" Monica exclaimed, "I'm just…" she stopped, biting her lip.
"You'll be fine," Rachel assured her, "Chandler doesn't bite!"
"Ok," Monica took a deep breath and opened the apartment door, leaving with a little glance at her computer.
Rachel frowned at the closed door, wondering why Monica had stared at her computer. She walked over to it and, with a moment's hesitation, turned it on. The first thing she noticed was a message flashing up on the screen:
You have new mail
Intrigued, Rachel found Monica's Inbox and saw a single message there:
90CMB
Hi Lizzie, I know we haven't spoken in a while but I need to talk to you about something. Be online tonight.
Rachel frowned at the message, confused. Who's 90CMB? She thought, and who's Lizzie? These computers are just so weird.
"I'm sorry Monica, but that movie was awful," Chandler groaned.
Chandler and Monica were walking back home. They had a great evening together, and Monica was only too sorry the evening had to end. Thoughts of Tom had left her mind the instant she had saw Chandler waiting for her in the coffee house. His hair neatly combed, and wearing a casual shirt and trousers completed the great look.
"Come on," Monica replied, laughing, "You enjoyed it! I could see you crying at the end."
"Well…" Chandler looked at her sheepishly, "I guess I've always been like that at happy endings. Just don't tell Joey, ok?"
"I promise."
They walked past Central Perk, and, after a glance through the window he had the shock of his life. "Oh…my…god." He muttered.
"What?" Monica followed the direction of Chandler's gaze and gasped. Through the window, they could see the back of Phoebe's head. She was sitting on a chair, playing her guitar and singing songs to the customers.
"Can you see Phoebe singing with a guitar in there?" Chandler asked Monica.
"Yes," Monica nodded.
"Ok."
They walked through the doors, catching the ending of some lyrics.
"Smelly cat it's not your fauuulllt!" Phoebe screeched on the high note, causing her friends to cover their ears.
"Um…Pheebs?" Chandler said, walking over to her, "What are you doing?"
Phoebe brightened when she saw them. "Hi! I'm doing some volunteer work here to entertain the customers. I was going to tell you, but then I thought I'd surprise you!"
"Well you certainly did that," Monica murmured.
"I always used to do it when I lived in Mexico…" Phoebe continued.
"Whoa Phoebe," Chandler interrupted, "You lived in Mexico?"
"Oh yes, and on the street."
Monica grabbed Chandler's arm, leading him towards the exit. "Maybe that's a story best left for another time," she said, "Bye Pheebs."
Outside, Chandler turned to Monica in amazement. "So, Phoebe's past is eventful." He said, grinning slightly.
"Oh that's just the beginning," Monica laughed, "She's even got a criminal record."
"Riiight." Chandler nodded, taking Monica's hand. He kissed it. "At least she's not boring," he joked.
He leaned in and kissed Monica's lips softly. "…And neither are you." He whispered, smiling gently at her.
Monica wrapped her arms around his shoulders and returned the kiss. It was longer than the last, and more romantic.
"So, how did it go?" Rachel asked the moment Monica came back. Monica blushed and smiled, sighing as she collapsed on the couch.
"It went well then." Rachel answered to herself, smiling at her friend.
"Very well." Monica sighed again.
"So, did he kiss you?" Rachel sat next to her, eager to hear all the details.
"Oh we kissed lots." Monica replied, blushing, "Although, I already knew he could do that…"
"You've kissed before tonight?!" Rachel exclaimed, "When?"
"That day I moved into that apartment. He helped me with the unpacking and then he kissed me."
"Oh wow." Rachel shook her head. "I knew you two were meant to be."
Monica sat up straighter, looking at her friend in amazement. "You did?!" she exclaimed.
Rachel nodded. "Remember that valentine you got in our first year of college?"
Monica smiled at the memory. She had found a freshly picked rose in her locker, but had never found out who had left it there.
"Well, Chandler left it there." Rachel finished.
"What? Oh my god!" Monica exclaimed, then frowned in confusion, "Wait a minute. That can't have been him. I remember because when Chandler and I met it was the night of Independence Day…Valentines Day had been months before…"
~~~~~~~~flashback~~~July 4th 1987~~~~~~~~
"So are you sure about not going?" Rachel asked Monica as they drove to the college party that was going to celebrate Independence Day.
"Yes." Monica sighed. "I'm just going to drop you off and then I'm going home. I've got a lot of work to do."
"But it's a party Monica!" Rachel exclaimed. "Even Ross isn't studying tonight!"
Monica parked into a space and stopped the car. "There you go," she said. "Have a good time and I'll pick you up later."
"Ok." Rachel shook her head and got out. "See you." She went inside a large hall, where the action was.
Monica waved and started to reverse out. Before she had time to think, a giant shape crushed the window to her right, shattering the glass. Monica sat back in shock, staring at the hole the shape had created in her window. She got out and saw what had hit it. A basketball. She groaned, picked it up and looked around for the owner.
"Oh…my…god. I'm so sorry." A voice cried out behind her. Monica spun around to see a young man around her age, panicking.
"I take it this is yours then?" Monica held out the ball to the man, and he took it sheepishly.
"Are you ok?" he asked her looking worried.
"I'm fine." Monica replied, and then she pointed to the window. "This is not."
The man grinned slightly. "I'm not good at my aim." He quipped.
"Just where were you aiming it at?" Monica asked, trying not to be amused by the man's humour.
He pointed in the direction of an empty bin down the road. "There wasn't any hoops so…" he shrugged and turned back to Monica. "I'm willing to pay for the damage I caused."
"You'd better be." Monica held out her hand and Chandler shook it. "I'm Monica Geller."
"Geller?" his eyes lit up. "I know a Geller. Ross Geller. Any relation?"
"No relation, but he's a friend of mine." Monica smiled, "How do you know him?"
He nodded. "I'm his roommate." He grinned.
"Oh then you must be Chandler!"
~~~~~~~~~Present~~~~~
"Remember now?" Monica asked Rachel, finishing the story.
Rachel waved her hand dismissively. "What you didn't know is that Chandler already knew who you were by that point." She raised her eyebrows suggestively.
"But…how?"
"Come on Monica," Rachel cried out impatiently, "Ross and Chandler had been roommates for almost two years. He would have seen your photo at some point. He obviously liked you."
"So, Chandler had this crush on me?" Monica asked, "Why didn't he just come and introduce himself instead of waiting for the opportunity to smash my car window?!"
"He was too shy!" Rachel exclaimed, "Besides, he didn't wait for the 'opportunity'. It really was just fate when he was aiming for that bin. He had no idea you were in that car…until you got out."
"How do you know so much about this?"
"Last year, Chandler got really drunk one night and blurted out the feelings for you he had at college." Rachel paused then continued; "He was so upset when you moved away after graduation."
Monica shook her head in amazement. "I had no idea." She said quietly.
"Come on," Rachel scoffed, "You two were inseparable. I noticed there were times when you both used to stare across the room at each other during the parties we had. It was like there was no one else in the room apart from you two."
"But those were just friendly moments," Monica protested, "Usually during a inside joke…" Then, she remembered, there were the other times. Monica remembered the New Year's party at the end of 1987. Chandler had nearly kissed Monica at midnight, only to be interrupted by a drunk Ross spilling punch all over them. "I guess there were times when we were close." She admitted.
"It's fate Monica," Rachel smiled and walked into her bedroom. "Its just fate. See you in the morning."
Monica thought of the valentine rose, how she had longed to know who it had been from and how after all this time it was still in the back of the closet in her bedroom. She stared at her computer. She knew what she had to do now. She had to tell Tom the truth. She couldn't keep pretending that she didn't love Chandler. There was also the unresolved issue of what happened by the fountain. She opened up her Inbox and saw the message that Rachel had read earlier in the evening. Immediately going online, she waited for Tom's response.
END OF PART SEVEN