Finally Found.- Chapter 1: You Don't Know Me.
Authors note: Okay, well this is my attempt at a shamelessly slushy, romantic C'n'M story :D I've had the urge to write this for ages but I've never quite got round to it until now. The backstory is that everything is the same up until the beginning of season 4. The only thing that's different before that is Chandler has been dating a girl called Alice and they've just broken up as he found out that she was cheating on him. This starts from the beginning of season 4, when the gang are in Montauk and everything from here on in goes my way ;) Okay, you know how Courteney's hair looks in 402, the bob? I love that hairstyle, she looks beautiful so in MY story her hair looks like that throughout the whole of season 4 cause I really didn't like it when she got it cut really short :p *stops rambling* Sorry ;) This story is dedicated to everyone I love at the CCAMB :)
Disclaimer: The characters (except Alice) used in this story are the property of Bright, Kauffman and Crane. I don't own them sadly but I really wouldn't mind owning Courteney...
"How you holding up soldier?", the silence of the empty beach was broken by her soft voice behind him. He turned and looked at her, a half-hearted smile forming on his face.
"Mon, what are you doing out here?"
"I wanted to see how you are... and plus Joey is driving me crazy. He refuses to accept that I will *not* play one on one strip poker with him"
Chandler laughed knowingly and patted the sand next to him, indicating her to sit down.
"Are you sure you don't mind me being here? I mean, if you want to be alone, I don't mind, just say..."
"Mon!", he interrupted her and grinned, punching her in the shoulder playfully, "You're rambling again. Of course I don't mind you being here, gives me something a little better than those storm clouds to look at."
"Chandler", she berated quietly and blushed, turning to look at the ocean. There was silence for the few moments that neither of them knew quite what to say. He knew that she didn't want to push him into talking about it. He loved her for that.
"I just don't get it", he started. If there was one person he was going to talk to about this, it was going to be Monica. He didn't expect Joey to understand, no girl had ever cheated on him... that he knew of. "I thought things were going really well... obviously I was wrong."
"No!", Chandler was surprised with the furiousity that she said it. "Chandler, there is no way that I'm going to let you sit there and think that it was all your fault. She was bad news... to be quite honest I don't know why you ever went with her in the first place."
"I thought she liked me..." She looked over at him and he looked so sad, so genuinely confused that all she wanted to do was pull him into a big hug and not let go.
"I know...", not knowing what else to say, she put her hand over his and entwined their fingers together comfortingly. "You don't deserve that Chandler... you're such a great guy."
"Thankyou."
She smiled, "No problem."
"No seriously... thankyou Mon.", he looked over at her and she noticed that he looked geniunely touched. His eyes had a little of the old sparkle back and his lips were pulled into a grateful smile. "What would I do without you huh? Hug me.", it wasn't a question, it was a statement and she moved forwards into his open arms, resting her head on his shoulder and pulling him in closer to her.
They stayed like that for a little while, watching the ocean, wrapped up the warmth of each other and the soothing sound of their beating hearts. It was Monica that felt the first spot of rain and she looked skyward at the charcoal black clouds, the sun wasn't even peeking through anymore as there was no break in the gloom. "Um, Chandler?", she muttered and she hadn't even finished the sentence before the heavens seemed to open. The rain came splashing down in huge drops, completely soaking anything in it's path, including a frantic Chandler and Monica. They ran along the beach, Monica gripping his hand and pulling him along behind her. Neither of them were sure when they first started laughing but by the time they reached the beach house, they were in fits of giggles, gripping each other to keep standing and gasping for air. His stomach aching, he leaned back against the wall and tried to calm down, quietly watching her. Her dark hair was plastered to her head, the occasional drop of water sliding off the end of her scrunched nose. He couldn't help thinking how cute that was, the way she scrunched up her nose when she laughed.
"What are you guys doing out here?", Rachel's voice cut through his reverie and his eyes darted to the open door where she stood, a look of mild amusement on her face. "God, you're soaked! Where you on the beach?"
"Yeah, we got caught out", Monica giggled again and patted Chandlers chest in a friendly way as she passed him. "Okay, well I'm gonna beat you to the shower". She grinned and entered the house, having been given a wide path by Rachel, who didn't want to get wet.
"Mon, wait! I wanna ask you something!", Rachel quickly followed her, leaving Chandler stood by himself on the porch. He no longer cared about the rain as he figured there was no possible way that he could get any wetter. He heard Rachel hounding Monica about something to do with Ross before their voices died completely and he smiled knowingly. Everybody seemed to go to Monica with their problems, she had a depth of understanding and compassion that Chandler had never encountered with anyone else. Thinking about her standing there, water dripping from her clothes and hair, her face flushed from laughing and her blue eyes dancing with amusement made him feel funny all of a sudden... lightheaded in a way. There was no single person on earth at that moment that he adored more. He didn't even have enough time to analyse this feeling for it to scare him as the screen door crashed open and there Joey stood, the phone gripped in his hand.
"Dude, Alice is on the phone for you... I don't know how she got the number man, sorry."
"Alice?", Chandler turned to him in a geniune moment of confusion, "who's Alice?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I can't *believe* her!", Ross shifted in his seat and took a sip of coffee, his usual lost, innocent little boy look plastered across his face. "She wanted me to take full responsibilty for everything! Can you believe that?!"
Chandler had now pretty much managed to completely block him out, as well as all the other familiar sounds of Central Perk, the friendly chatter, the coffee cups clinking, the sound of the milk being steamed. His mind was on one thing, and one thing only... Monica. He'd been thinking about little else since that day on the beach. He couldn't figure out what was the matter with himself. Everytime he'd been near her or spoken to her in the past couple of days he'd felt flushed, embarrased, clumsy and he could always sense his cheeks burning red and his heart beating that little bit faster. He wasn't stupid, he recognised all the symptoms, he just couldn't believe that this was all happening with Monica... *Monica*. The girl he'd known for more than ten years, one of his best friends, Ross' little sister. Sure, she'd always made him feel slightly giddy when they were younger, but that was when he didn't know her very well... and she sure had been something to look at. She still was. Infact, Chandler thought that she was more beautiful now than she had ever been. Those eyes... that smile... that soft, dark hair...
"Chandler?!", Ross poked him in the side gently, his eyes narrowed. "Have you been listening to a word I've been saying?!"
"Y... yeah, yes! Of course I have!", Chandler stammered, forcing on a smile. Dammit, he'd been doing it again.
"Okay, then what was I talking about?"
"Yoooou... were talking about... Rachel.", Chandler figured that it had to have been *something* to do with Rachel, it always was.
"Lucky guess man", Ross leaned forward and placed his coffee cup on the table. "Seriously though, what's wrong with you? You've been really distant and... weird since Montauk."
Chandler tried to hide his guilty face. Ross wouldn't figure it out would he?... Nah, there's no way he'd guess that Chandler, his best friend since college had developed a secret, all-consuming crush on his beloved little sister. That's if it was just a crush... Woah, Chandler didn't even want to *venture* into that territory...
"Is it Alice? Are you still upset over her?"
"Ummm... yeah, I guess", there it was, Chandler thought, the perfect excuse to mope about and feel sorry for himself.
"Dude, don't let her do this to you", Ross looked concerned. "Hey! I know, I'll go get Joey and we can all go to a strip club, how does that sound?"
"Nah, it's okay Ross. I think I'm just gonna go home and change into my sweatpants, chill out for a little while." Chandler stood up but felt Ross' hand grip his wrist.
"Chandler, not the sweatpants! You broke up with Alice like a week ago, you're going into phase one pretty late aren't you? I thought you'd decided to side-step it altogether."
At that moment the door to Central Perk opened and Chandler felt his heart go crazy and leap into his throat. She walked in, spyed them immediately and smiling, made her way to the couch.
"Hey guys", Monica said cheerfully and took the seat on the left of the couch. "What's going on?"
Chandler stared at her, his heart still beating a mile a minute and his mouth so dry that he didn't think he'd be able to speak at all. She looked amazing, her shiny, dark hair cut into a bob that framed her beautiful face, her electric blue eyes fixed on his and her mouth curved into that fabulous smile that he loved so much. He was saved by Ross who answered the question for her. "I'm trying to persuade Chandler to come to a strip club with me and Joey, y'know to help him get over Alice."
"A strip club?", Monica wrinkled up her nose in distaste. "That is so tacky, but okay, whatever you want... and Chandler honey, I thought you were feeling better about that?" She looked at him, her face concerned. All he could think about was how much he wanted to hug her, hold her close to him, feel her breath on his neck and then lean in and softly brush his lips against hers... He physically shook himself to try and snap out of it and realised that he still hadn't answered her question.
"Um, yeah... I don't know", he muttered, staring at the floor. He felt trapped and over-emotional. "Look, I'm... I gotta go, see you guys later." He let his legs that felt heavy and sluggish lead him to the door, knowing that Ross and Monica were no doubt sharing a confused look behind him. He didn't stop until he was safely outside and out of sight where he leaned against the wall and breathed slowly, his heart still thudding in his ears. He was in trouble, and he knew it...
"What was that all about?", Ross looked at his sister inquisitively, looking at the door where Chandler had exited.
"I don't know...", she answered. "But I'm really worried about him..."
"You give your hand to me,
And then you say "hello",
And I can hardly speak,
My heart is beating so,
And anyone can tell:
You think you know me well,
But you don't know me.
No, you don't know the one,
Who dreams of you at night,
And longs to kiss your lips,
Longs to hold you tight,
Oh I am just a friend,
That's all I've ever been,
Cause you don't me."
"You Don't Know Me", by Jann Arden. Lyrics written by Cindy Walker and Eddy Arnold.
Authors note: Okay, well this is my attempt at a shamelessly slushy, romantic C'n'M story :D I've had the urge to write this for ages but I've never quite got round to it until now. The backstory is that everything is the same up until the beginning of season 4. The only thing that's different before that is Chandler has been dating a girl called Alice and they've just broken up as he found out that she was cheating on him. This starts from the beginning of season 4, when the gang are in Montauk and everything from here on in goes my way ;) Okay, you know how Courteney's hair looks in 402, the bob? I love that hairstyle, she looks beautiful so in MY story her hair looks like that throughout the whole of season 4 cause I really didn't like it when she got it cut really short :p *stops rambling* Sorry ;) This story is dedicated to everyone I love at the CCAMB :)
Disclaimer: The characters (except Alice) used in this story are the property of Bright, Kauffman and Crane. I don't own them sadly but I really wouldn't mind owning Courteney...
"How you holding up soldier?", the silence of the empty beach was broken by her soft voice behind him. He turned and looked at her, a half-hearted smile forming on his face.
"Mon, what are you doing out here?"
"I wanted to see how you are... and plus Joey is driving me crazy. He refuses to accept that I will *not* play one on one strip poker with him"
Chandler laughed knowingly and patted the sand next to him, indicating her to sit down.
"Are you sure you don't mind me being here? I mean, if you want to be alone, I don't mind, just say..."
"Mon!", he interrupted her and grinned, punching her in the shoulder playfully, "You're rambling again. Of course I don't mind you being here, gives me something a little better than those storm clouds to look at."
"Chandler", she berated quietly and blushed, turning to look at the ocean. There was silence for the few moments that neither of them knew quite what to say. He knew that she didn't want to push him into talking about it. He loved her for that.
"I just don't get it", he started. If there was one person he was going to talk to about this, it was going to be Monica. He didn't expect Joey to understand, no girl had ever cheated on him... that he knew of. "I thought things were going really well... obviously I was wrong."
"No!", Chandler was surprised with the furiousity that she said it. "Chandler, there is no way that I'm going to let you sit there and think that it was all your fault. She was bad news... to be quite honest I don't know why you ever went with her in the first place."
"I thought she liked me..." She looked over at him and he looked so sad, so genuinely confused that all she wanted to do was pull him into a big hug and not let go.
"I know...", not knowing what else to say, she put her hand over his and entwined their fingers together comfortingly. "You don't deserve that Chandler... you're such a great guy."
"Thankyou."
She smiled, "No problem."
"No seriously... thankyou Mon.", he looked over at her and she noticed that he looked geniunely touched. His eyes had a little of the old sparkle back and his lips were pulled into a grateful smile. "What would I do without you huh? Hug me.", it wasn't a question, it was a statement and she moved forwards into his open arms, resting her head on his shoulder and pulling him in closer to her.
They stayed like that for a little while, watching the ocean, wrapped up the warmth of each other and the soothing sound of their beating hearts. It was Monica that felt the first spot of rain and she looked skyward at the charcoal black clouds, the sun wasn't even peeking through anymore as there was no break in the gloom. "Um, Chandler?", she muttered and she hadn't even finished the sentence before the heavens seemed to open. The rain came splashing down in huge drops, completely soaking anything in it's path, including a frantic Chandler and Monica. They ran along the beach, Monica gripping his hand and pulling him along behind her. Neither of them were sure when they first started laughing but by the time they reached the beach house, they were in fits of giggles, gripping each other to keep standing and gasping for air. His stomach aching, he leaned back against the wall and tried to calm down, quietly watching her. Her dark hair was plastered to her head, the occasional drop of water sliding off the end of her scrunched nose. He couldn't help thinking how cute that was, the way she scrunched up her nose when she laughed.
"What are you guys doing out here?", Rachel's voice cut through his reverie and his eyes darted to the open door where she stood, a look of mild amusement on her face. "God, you're soaked! Where you on the beach?"
"Yeah, we got caught out", Monica giggled again and patted Chandlers chest in a friendly way as she passed him. "Okay, well I'm gonna beat you to the shower". She grinned and entered the house, having been given a wide path by Rachel, who didn't want to get wet.
"Mon, wait! I wanna ask you something!", Rachel quickly followed her, leaving Chandler stood by himself on the porch. He no longer cared about the rain as he figured there was no possible way that he could get any wetter. He heard Rachel hounding Monica about something to do with Ross before their voices died completely and he smiled knowingly. Everybody seemed to go to Monica with their problems, she had a depth of understanding and compassion that Chandler had never encountered with anyone else. Thinking about her standing there, water dripping from her clothes and hair, her face flushed from laughing and her blue eyes dancing with amusement made him feel funny all of a sudden... lightheaded in a way. There was no single person on earth at that moment that he adored more. He didn't even have enough time to analyse this feeling for it to scare him as the screen door crashed open and there Joey stood, the phone gripped in his hand.
"Dude, Alice is on the phone for you... I don't know how she got the number man, sorry."
"Alice?", Chandler turned to him in a geniune moment of confusion, "who's Alice?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I can't *believe* her!", Ross shifted in his seat and took a sip of coffee, his usual lost, innocent little boy look plastered across his face. "She wanted me to take full responsibilty for everything! Can you believe that?!"
Chandler had now pretty much managed to completely block him out, as well as all the other familiar sounds of Central Perk, the friendly chatter, the coffee cups clinking, the sound of the milk being steamed. His mind was on one thing, and one thing only... Monica. He'd been thinking about little else since that day on the beach. He couldn't figure out what was the matter with himself. Everytime he'd been near her or spoken to her in the past couple of days he'd felt flushed, embarrased, clumsy and he could always sense his cheeks burning red and his heart beating that little bit faster. He wasn't stupid, he recognised all the symptoms, he just couldn't believe that this was all happening with Monica... *Monica*. The girl he'd known for more than ten years, one of his best friends, Ross' little sister. Sure, she'd always made him feel slightly giddy when they were younger, but that was when he didn't know her very well... and she sure had been something to look at. She still was. Infact, Chandler thought that she was more beautiful now than she had ever been. Those eyes... that smile... that soft, dark hair...
"Chandler?!", Ross poked him in the side gently, his eyes narrowed. "Have you been listening to a word I've been saying?!"
"Y... yeah, yes! Of course I have!", Chandler stammered, forcing on a smile. Dammit, he'd been doing it again.
"Okay, then what was I talking about?"
"Yoooou... were talking about... Rachel.", Chandler figured that it had to have been *something* to do with Rachel, it always was.
"Lucky guess man", Ross leaned forward and placed his coffee cup on the table. "Seriously though, what's wrong with you? You've been really distant and... weird since Montauk."
Chandler tried to hide his guilty face. Ross wouldn't figure it out would he?... Nah, there's no way he'd guess that Chandler, his best friend since college had developed a secret, all-consuming crush on his beloved little sister. That's if it was just a crush... Woah, Chandler didn't even want to *venture* into that territory...
"Is it Alice? Are you still upset over her?"
"Ummm... yeah, I guess", there it was, Chandler thought, the perfect excuse to mope about and feel sorry for himself.
"Dude, don't let her do this to you", Ross looked concerned. "Hey! I know, I'll go get Joey and we can all go to a strip club, how does that sound?"
"Nah, it's okay Ross. I think I'm just gonna go home and change into my sweatpants, chill out for a little while." Chandler stood up but felt Ross' hand grip his wrist.
"Chandler, not the sweatpants! You broke up with Alice like a week ago, you're going into phase one pretty late aren't you? I thought you'd decided to side-step it altogether."
At that moment the door to Central Perk opened and Chandler felt his heart go crazy and leap into his throat. She walked in, spyed them immediately and smiling, made her way to the couch.
"Hey guys", Monica said cheerfully and took the seat on the left of the couch. "What's going on?"
Chandler stared at her, his heart still beating a mile a minute and his mouth so dry that he didn't think he'd be able to speak at all. She looked amazing, her shiny, dark hair cut into a bob that framed her beautiful face, her electric blue eyes fixed on his and her mouth curved into that fabulous smile that he loved so much. He was saved by Ross who answered the question for her. "I'm trying to persuade Chandler to come to a strip club with me and Joey, y'know to help him get over Alice."
"A strip club?", Monica wrinkled up her nose in distaste. "That is so tacky, but okay, whatever you want... and Chandler honey, I thought you were feeling better about that?" She looked at him, her face concerned. All he could think about was how much he wanted to hug her, hold her close to him, feel her breath on his neck and then lean in and softly brush his lips against hers... He physically shook himself to try and snap out of it and realised that he still hadn't answered her question.
"Um, yeah... I don't know", he muttered, staring at the floor. He felt trapped and over-emotional. "Look, I'm... I gotta go, see you guys later." He let his legs that felt heavy and sluggish lead him to the door, knowing that Ross and Monica were no doubt sharing a confused look behind him. He didn't stop until he was safely outside and out of sight where he leaned against the wall and breathed slowly, his heart still thudding in his ears. He was in trouble, and he knew it...
"What was that all about?", Ross looked at his sister inquisitively, looking at the door where Chandler had exited.
"I don't know...", she answered. "But I'm really worried about him..."
"You give your hand to me,
And then you say "hello",
And I can hardly speak,
My heart is beating so,
And anyone can tell:
You think you know me well,
But you don't know me.
No, you don't know the one,
Who dreams of you at night,
And longs to kiss your lips,
Longs to hold you tight,
Oh I am just a friend,
That's all I've ever been,
Cause you don't me."
"You Don't Know Me", by Jann Arden. Lyrics written by Cindy Walker and Eddy Arnold.