Ross and Rachel's friendship continues to build leaving Monica a bit jealous. Ross introduces them to his friend Chandler. (Chandler and Monica, and Ross and Rachel.)
Brighter Stars
Hours later, they were still lying talking on Ross's bed. Ross was even more surprised that she was opening up to him of all people. Judy had come by several times and heard them talking, so she decided to leave them alone. She told the movers to put her stuff wherever they thought that it looked best.
Judy knocked quietly on Ross's door after walking by for what seemed the millionth time that night.
"Ross? Dinner's on the table." She said through the door.
Once Judy had left, Ross got up and opened his door.
"No thanks. I'm not really hungry." Rachel answered quietly.
"Are you sure? I could bring some up for you and then help you unpack your stuff." Ross said timidly.
"That would be great." Rachel said. "You mind if I stay here until I get back?"
"Oh, by all means. I'll be back in two minutes." Ross said as he closed the door after himself.
Ross walked downstairs and into the kitchen
"Rachel's not eating, son?" Jack asked him.
"Yeah she is. I'm just going to bring our food upstairs." Ross said as he picked up two plates and cutlery, and began to load the plates.
"Our?" Monica questioned.
"Yeah I'm going to eat with her."
"Well me too! Then I'll help her unpack." Monica said eagerly.
"Uh, nono. She just wants me. She wants to talk to me, and then she asked me to help her unpack so…" Ross said quickly.
"Oh. I understand." Monica said dejectedly
Ross rushed out of the kitchen and up to his room where Rachel sat rifling through a load of magazines that sat on his desk.
"Yeah dinosaurs, I know." Ross said as he closed the door with his foot and set down the plates.
"I noticed." Rachel said. "Mmm. It looks good."
"Don't start without me, I'll be right back."
Ross came upstairs a minute later with two glasses of orange juice and LaPooh.
"LaPooh!" Rachel said as her dog jumped up onto Ross's bed and lay beside her.
"Let's eat." Ross said taking a seat on the floor.
"This is the first time I've eaten in three days. I never noticed how hungry I was." Rachel said through a mouthful of chicken.
"Me neither!" Ross joked as he noticed that she was almost done and he had yet to take his second bite.
"Do you want more?" He asked her.
"I think I can get it myself." Rachel said as she got up with her plate in hand.
"Alright." Ross responded.
Three plates later, Rachel declared with a small burp that she was full.
"FINALLY" Ross joked. "Let's go check out your room. Come on LaPooh."
He got up and held out his hand to help Rachel up. She grabbed his hand and held on for a lot longer than she needed to. They could both feel the warmth and comfort of each other's presence. After a moment's silence, Ross asked her,
"Scared?"
"Uh-huh. Just a little." Rachel nodded.
"Well, come on then." Ross said as he pulled her, all the while holding her hand as if she were a little girl crossing the street with her father.
They walked slowly to her room, hearing the floorboards creak below the weight of their feet. Ross walked ahead and pushed open the door.
"It's… nice." Rachel declared with a nod. "A lot of space."
"Yeah right. Compared to your old room?" Ross asked.
"Well… no. Let's get started, shall we?" Rachel asked.
"Definitely." Ross answered.
While they worked they continued to talk, and they didn't mind working. Whenever Rachel would pull an object out of a box that reminded her of her family, she would be silent for a minute as she remembered. During these pauses, Ross would continue to unpack, and not interrupt her.
"Huh." Rachel muttered thoughtfully.
"What?"
"I have too many clothes. It won't fit in the closet." Rachel said
"Well, I have a lot of extra closet space, if you want to put it there. My friends will think I'm really weird, but I can live with that." Ross said,
"Well, I guess I can do that until I find another solution." Rachel said quietly.
"Alright. Other than that, I think we're done! Whoohoo!" Ross exclaimed happily.
"Great. Whoa! It's 2 o clock already?" Rachel noted.
"Come to think of it, I am pretty tired. I'll hang up your clothes in my closet, than go to bed." Ross said with a yawn.
"Okay." Rachel replied.
"Are you going to be alright by yourself?" Ross asked.
"Well…" Rachel started to say
"Hold on a sec. I think I've got a sleeping bag. I can sleep on the floor if you want." Ross suggested.
"I have a double bed." Rachel gestured to her bed.
"You want me to sleep in the bed with you?" Ross asked, surprised.
"Is there something wrong?" Rachel asked.
"No, just let me get my PJ's on." Ross answered.
Minutes later Ross returned with an oversized shirt and boxers on. He crawled into bed beside Rachel.
"Good night." Rachel said to him
"Good night." He answered sleepily
Ross was asleep instantly, and while Rachel tried to sleep, she couldn't. An hour later Ross woke up to a restless Rachel beside him, staring at the empty ceiling.
"Can't sleep?" Ross asked her quietly.
"No. Strange room." Rachel answered.
"Hold on a sec." Ross said, climbing out of her bed. He left the room and returned immediately with a sheet in his hand. He climbed up onto the bed and began sticking glow-in-the-dark star stickers on the ceiling.
Rachel watched as he stuck them on and climbed back in bed beside her.
"Thank you." Rachel said as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.
I'm floating down a river
Oars freed from their holes long ago
Lying face up on the floor of my vessel
I marvel at the stars
And feel my heart overflow
Two weeks without my lover
I am in this boat alone
Floating down a river named 'emotion'
Will I make it back to shore?
Or drift into the unknown?
I'm building an antenna
Transmissions will be sent when I'm through.
Maybe we'll meet again further down the river,
And share what we both discovered…
Then revel in the view.
They finally both fell asleep.
The next day when Rachel woke up, she found the bed empty beside her, and heard voices coming from downstairs. She knew that Monica was at school and that both of her parents were at work, so she wondered who Ross could be talking to. She pulled on a pair of jeans and an oversized T-shirt and began to head downstairs slowly, listening to their conversation as she crept slowly down the stairs. She smoothed over her hair, and headed into the living room where Ross sat with a friend.
"Hey, Rach. How are you feeling?" Ross asked as he jumped out of his conversation.
"I'm good." Rachel answered.
"Whoa, who died?" His friend asked with a small laugh.
"DUDE!" Ross snapped at him as Rachel's lower lip trembled slightly. His friend took a second and his face turned red.
"Oh my god. I am so sorry. I use humor as a defense mechanism, and I don't realize but sometimes it hurts people, and I am such an idiot." He said as he put his head down in his hands.
"Rachel, Chandler, Chandler, Rachel." Ross introduced them.
"It's okay." Rachel said quietly. "There's no way you could have known."
"Yeah, but I'm an idiot for saying something like that and not even knowing--" Chandler started
"Yeah, you are." Ross joked as he lightly punched Chandler.
Chandler punched him back, and soon they were in a full-fledged fight rolling around the carpet while laughing.
"Men." Rachel said as she laughed slightly and shook her head.
"Oh. I forgot you were here." Ross said sheepishly. "Chandler, get off me you juvenile. We're too old to fight." He finished smugly.
"Right." Chandler sneered.
"You want some breakfast, Rach?" Ross asked her kindly.
"Sure. That would be great." Rachel answered.
"Actually, You know Ross I haven't eaten yet, so that's be nice for me too." Chandler said. "Now run along my servant."
Ross punched him one last time before he went into the kitchen to cook up breakfast.
"So…" Rachel said as she sat down beside Chandler on the couch. "You a friend of Ross's?"
"No. We hate each other, but we spend every day together." Chandler said.
"You're really sarcastic." Rachel noted.
"Yeah I know. I HATE that." Chandler nodded. "No, me and Ross are best friends at college… but this is the first time I've been to his house."
"Really? Have you met his little sister?" Rachel asked.
"No. I heard she was fat though." Chandler said.
"No. not anymore. She lost the weight." Rachel corrected. "So how did you meet Ross?"
"We're roommates, and we both play in the same band." Chandler said.
"SHUT UP CHANDLER!" Ross yelled from the kitchen.
"Okay, enough on that subject." Chandler winked at her.
"Chandler, you can help me here, you know?" Ross said from the kitchen.
"I know." Chandler said as he continued to sit.
"I'll help you out." Rachel said as she began to get up.
"No, Rach. I'm fine. Chandler…" Ross began to say.
"You just said you were fine!" Chandler complained.
"Okay, you know what? We'll both go." Rachel said as she pulled Chandler off the couch. "Let me just go clean up."
Rachel left to use the washroom, and Chandler went into the kitchen to help Ross make scrambled eggs.
"So, that's her, huh? The one you've been obsessed with for years?" Chandler asked.
"Shhh!" Ross shushed him, then whispered, "It's just not the right time. She's going to be living with m e. It'd be too weird."
"I see." Chandler said as he began to make toast.
Rachel came back a minute later just in time catch breakfast hot. They all sat down at the table and ate in comfortable silence. Ross kept unconsciously darting glances at Rachel from across the table before Chandler finally kicked him to stop.
"OW!" Ross yelped.
"Oh, I'm sorry. That was an accident." Chandler emphasized on 'accident'.
"What time is it?" Rachel asked suddenly.
"Well, it's a bit late for breakfast, but… it's 2 o'clock." Ross said.
"I slept that long?" Rachel asked. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Because you were sleeping so soundly, I didn't want to wake you." Ross said.
"What time is Monica coming home?" Rachel interrupted
"She has a spare last period, so she should actually be coming home really soon. Hey, maybe you can actually meet her, Chandler" Ross added excitedly
"Yay." Chandler said sarcastically. "I SERIOUSLY don't know why I do that."
Just then the door opened and Monica's voice came floating down the hallway.
"It smells good! What's cooking?" Monica asked.
"Hey Mon." Ross said as he pushed aside his food and went to greet her in the hallway. Chandler followed behind him. "This is my friend Chandler."
Monica took off her large dark sunglasses to get a better look at him, and found herself smiling. He had clear blue eyes, and an amazing smile. She found herself immediately attracted to him. She plopped her small backpack and purse on the floor, took off her jean jacket revealing a white tank top, and went to shake his hand. His hand was cool, but gave off an eccentric warmth at the same time.
"Hey, I'm Monica." She smiled a bright white smile at him.
"H-hey. I'm uh," Chandler had to take a deep breath to calm down. "I'm Chandler." He smiled as the sunlight from the open door basked around her making her seem like a goddess.
Ross and Rachel watched off to the side with slight smiles on their faces also. Something about the goofiness of Monica and Chandler made them smile.
When Monica turned to close the door after her, Chandler smoothed over his hair and straightened his shirt.
"How you feeling, Rach?" Monica asked as she walked by Chandler to hug Rachel, leaving Chandler smelling the vanilla scented air behind her.
"I feel better." Rachel said as she fell into the hug.
"I became the most popular girl in school today when everyone found out you were living with me." Monica shook her head in disbelief, but wore a small smile on her face. "I got all these for you." Monica pulled out a pile of notes and cards from her back pack and handed them to Rachel.
"Aw." Rachel sniffed.
"The big heart one is from Chip." Monica pointed.
"Oh." Rachel said as she picked it out and tossed it in the garbage.
Ross hid a smile and gave Chandler the thumbs up sign, while he distractedly smiled back.
"You want to go hang out in my room?" Ross whispered in Rachel's ear. "We can give them some privacy."
Rachel nodded slightly.
"Okay, let's go." Ross took her hand and led her upstairs behind him.
Rachel smiled apologetically at Monica who was staring after them with a look of envy on her face.
"What's wrong?" Chandler immediately asked.
"Well, me and Rachel used to be best friends and do everything, but ever since she moved in, she's always been with Ross." Monica pouted.
"Well, maybe there's a reason behind it." Chandler pointed out.
"What do you mean?" Monica asked.
"Well, Ross has liked her for more than 5 years, maybe he finally feels like he's connecting to her in some way. She's not being a bitch to him anymore." Chandler stated.
"Ross likes Rachel?" Monica asked loudly.
Chandler quickly covered her mouth with his hand, and listened for a second to hear if they might have heard, but al he heard was the TV blaring upstairs.
"You didn't know?" Chandler removed his hand from over mouth slowly.
"No! He kept complaining about what a bitch she was. I thought he hated her." Monica laughed. "But that is so sweet! I didn't know that. He told you that?"
"Yes." Chandler said, "Yes."
"I guess we leave them alone then!" Monica said. "Let's go somewhere." She grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door before he could protest.
"It's kind of quiet down there." Rachel pointed out about a couple of hours later
"Maybe they're doing something I don't want to know about." Ross said as he sipped at his beer calmly.
"Well, I want to know." Rachel said deviously, as she leapt off of Ross's bed.
"Well…" Ross began to protest. "Wait up!" He said as he jumped out of his chair and chased after her down the stairs.
"They're not here." Rachel frowned as she stood in the center of the dark living room.
"Huh." Ross said as he peeked out of the drapes. "Chandler's car is gone."
"Huh." Rachel smiled. "I wonder what they're doing…"
Monica and Chandler sat in the local mall sharing a pizza with the works.
Monica was slowly working on her second slice while Chandler grabbed for his fourth.
"What did you say to her?" Monica laughed.
"I told her that if she wanted it, she could go run after the garbage truck." Chandler grinned as Monica burst out laughing.
"Well, well." A voice said from behind them. Monica turned to look at them and the smile dropped off of her face.
"H-hey." Monica said nervously.
"Getting fat again Monica?" One of the girls that were all dressed in cheerleading outfits said to her, as they all laughed.
"And what's this? Paying a guy to take you out? Looks like you're finally getting somewhere you fatso." The girl that stood in front mocked her.
"Mandy, don't. Not here." Monica said with a note of fear in her voice.
"Oh, not in front of your paid date?" Mandy teased her cruelly.
"She didn't pay me to take her out. I asked her to come here." Chandler spoke up.
"And a cute one as well." Mandy flirted with Chandler and walked over to ruffle his hair.
He threw off her hand, and Mandy backed away, flustered.
"And how is your geek brother Ross doing? Get any worse? Actually, I don't think that's possible." One of the girls at the back said, sending them laughing again.
Monica was looking down at the floor with tears in her eyes, struggling not to let them out.
"Oh, what's wrong Monica? Are you going to cry?" Mandy mocked sympathy.
"No." Monica's voice trembled.
"Leave her alone." Chandler commanded.
"Oh, sticking up for her now, are we." Mandy asked. "Oh, did she happen to mention what happened last week at school?"
"Mandy." Monica's voice broke as a tear slid down her face. "Stop it now."
"Oh, you want to tell it?" Mandy asked.
Monica shook her head as Chandler looked on pityingly.
"The ugliest and fattest guy asked you to prom as a joke and you said yes? How stupid did you feel when he dumped you 20 minutes later and told you it was a joke in the middle of the cafeteria while everyone watched? And how about when he high-fived all of his loser friends?" Mandy asked while the girls behind her giggled.
Monica jumped up, knocking over her chair and sending her pizza flying onto her, which left Mandy and her friends laughing harder. The tears were flowing freely now, and she grabbed her purse and ran out of the pizzeria while the whole place laughed at her.
Chandler gave Mandy a final evil glance before hurrying to catch Monica. He caught up to her in the parking lot, where she had fallen on the ground and was sobbing hysterically.
"Monica, Mon. Are you alright?" Chandler asked her, worried. He leaned down to help her up, but she pushed him off and grabbed onto a car for support.
"I'm fine." She huffed tearfully and began to walk away from him.
"Monica." Chandler raced after her and grabbed her arm and turned her around.
"Chandler, I want to get out of here! Just let me go! The last thing I need is your sympathy." She angrily tore her arm away as the tears continued to flow.
"My car's over there." Chandler pointed.
"I don't want to go back with you." Monica shook her head as the sobs began to take over her again.
"What? Why not?" Chandler asked gently as he lifted up her chin with a finger.
"Because I'm humiliated. I can't look you in the face. I lost all that weight, and all they do is make fun of me more, and I can't take this anymore!" Monica sobbed hysterically.
"They're jealous because you're so beautiful." Chandler said gently to her.
"No. They're making my life miserable. Everyone does." Monica moaned.
"Monica, listen to me." Chandler took her by the shoulders, but Monica pushed him off.
"Good job Monica!" Mandy yelled across the parking lot. "Push away the only guy that will ever look at you!"
"Hey." Chandler began to walk angrily over to Mandy.
"She's running away! You better go catch her." Mandy pointed.
"Shit." Chandler took off after Monica who was already across the parking lot.
He continued to chase her through a residential street, gaining a bit on her every minute.
"Monica stop!" Chandler gasped breathlessly as she turned a corner. He turned the same corner a few seconds later, but didn't see her anywhere.
"Monica?" Chandler yelled as he stopped for the first time since the beginning of the pursuit. He looked around him at the houses, and sighed disappointedly.
He sat down, discouraged and put his head in his hands. He was sweating heavily, and his breath was short and quick. He stood up and walked around the block, but didn't find her. He disappointedly walked back slowly to the mall where he had parked his car. The lot was almost empty, as the mall closed at 7 every night. He looked around once more into the fading sunlight, and got in his car and drove back to Ross's house.
Back at Ross and Monica's house, Ross and Rachel were playfully having an arm wrestle on Ross's bed.
"I win again!" Ross flexed his muscles.
Rachel sighed in defeat.
"One more round, please?" She begged him.
"Fine, one more." Ross agreed. They both stuck out their arms to wrestle, but as Ross began to gain on her, she brought out her other hand and tried wrestling him with both.
"Ahh!" Rachel screamed as even with two arms Ross was winning. She stood up and pounced on his back, causing his arm to twist around weirdly.
"Ow!" Ross shouted playfully as his arm went down, and Rachel shouted victoriously.
"No! That doesn't count!" Ross whined as Rachel pumped her arms in victory.
"Sure it does!" Rachel smiled.
"Fine another game. Anything goes." Ross said.
"No" Rachel said.
"Why not? Afraid I'm going to win?" Ross asked her.
"No…" Rachel said, unsure.
"Oh come here and play!" Ross said as Rachel jumped over his bed onto the other side.
He jumped right back over and cornered her.
"NO! You can't make me!" Rachel laughed as Ross tickled her. She tried to run away but Ross pushed her lightly onto the bed, and landed on top of her. He stared intently into her eyes, and Rachel gulped.
"Ross!" Chandler entered, pushing the door open. "Oh, guys I'm sorry." He said as he saw their position.
"Oh, no." Ross said as he climbed off of Rachel. "We were just having an arm wrestle."
Rachel nodded slightly, unable to take her eyes off of Ross.
"Well, have you seen Monica?" Chandler cleared his throat.
"We thought you were with her." Ross said.
"I was, well, hold on, let me check if she's here." Chandler said nervously as he closed the door behind him and went to check all of the other rooms.
When he came to the last one, he found it locked.
"Monica. Please open up." Chandler leaned his head against the door.
"Go away." She said from inside.
Chandler nodded slightly, confused. He walked back over to Ross's room, and found Ross and Rachel sitting on the bed watching TV.
"She's in her room guys, but I have to go, I'll see you guys later. By the way, when's prom night, Rachel?" Chandler asked
"It's in two days. This Saturday night." Rachel answered automatically.
"Okay thanks." Chandler said as he closed the door behind him once again.
"Bye!" They both yelled through the door. Chandler walked slowly down the stairs, all the while watching Monica's room, to see if it would open.
He got to the bottom of the stairs, and walked out, closing the door softly behind him.
As soon as the door downstairs had closed, Monica crept out of her room with a tear stained face and dirt covered clothes. She went into Rachel's bedroom at the other end of the hallway, and stared out the window as Chandler's car roared out of the driveway and disappeared down the street. A fresh set of tears had begun to fall, and she quickly wiped them away, and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
"I have to get to bed." Rachel said tiredly.
"Okay." Ross nodded.
"Where are your parents by the way?" She asked him.
"They went out to dinner with some people. They should be back before midnight." Ross said as he stared at the TV.
"Okay. Night." Rachel said.
Ross jumped up to let her out and kissed her on the forehead as she left.
"Good night Rachel." He said as he smiled after her and closed his door.
The next day, Monica went to school with a heavy heart. She avoided everyone in the hallways, and ate her lunch in a stall in the bathroom, while people came in and out, staring in the mirrors, and doing their business.
Suddenly, a familiar voice floated through the washroom and the familiar giggles followed it. It was Mandy.
Monica cursed silently to herself, and put her feet up so that they wouldn't see that anyone was there.
"Does this lipstick look good on me?" Mandy asked as she checked herself out in the mirror.
"Oh yeah, definitely." Her friend responded.
"Oh, remember that guy we ran into yesterday at the pizza place that was with fatso?" Mandy asked.
"Yeah." They all said.
"Well, when I got to school this morning, he was at the front door. He told me he made a stupid mistake by going out with fatso. He said he never realized that she was once fat, and he asked me out!" Mandy said excitedly.
Monica felt her heart fall with a heavy thud, and the tears started to burn again. Her breathing became shallower and louder. Mandy and her friends noticed and turned around to stare at the stalls in disgust.
"I think someone's taking a number two." Mandy grabbed her nose and high-tailed out the bathroom, and all her friends followed her.
Monica's feet dropped to the floor, and waves of pain went floating to her, but she wasn't paying attention. How could she have ever thought that Chandler could be interested in her? "That shallow jerk." She muttered to herself. She heard the first bell to signal that fourth period was starting, but she ignored it. She sat there in the stall until the bell signaling the end of school day rang two hours and forty minutes later.
She finally came out of the stall and looked at her puffy red eyes in the mirror. She didn't care anymore. She grabbed her backpack from the hangar in the stall and went out. She was immediately surrounded my hundreds of students who were happy that it was Friday night, and there was a weekend to look forward to.
She pushed through everyone with her head down, and went outside in the brightness of the day. She squinted from being in the dark washroom for hours, and began to walk slowly down the front steps, when she bumped into Chandler… with Mandy.
"Sorr--" She began to say, but when she saw who it was, she stopped abruptly, and held back the tears that were brimming at her eyes once again.
"Hey there, fatso." Mandy said as she pulled Chandler's arm tighter around her.
Chandler looked apologetically into her eyes, and he noticed that she was about to cry.
"Let's go Mandy." Chandler said pulling her away before she could see Monica cry again.
Monica ran blindly across the schoolyard and went straight home.
"My god, Monica! What's wrong?" Rachel immediately jumped up when Monica came bursting through the front door crying. Rachel and Ross had been sitting wrapped up in each other's arms in front of the living room TV when Monica ran in.
"I-I fell. I wanted to run home and clean up my cut before it got infected." She said.
"Okay, where is it?" Ross asked as he stood up beside Rachel and adjusted his shirt.
"I-it's nowhere." Monica rushed upstairs.
"Okay." Ross and Rachel both said at the same time, causing them to laugh. They sat back down simultaneously on the couch, and laughed again.
"Hey, prom is tomorrow, isn't it?" Ross asked her.
"Yeah." Rachel nodded sadly.
"How about we go? I mean, it would be great for me to see my old school, and you could go back for the first time... since…" Ross trailed off.
"Together?" Rachel asked him.
"If you wanted to." Ross said nervously.
"Sure." Rachel smiled.
"Great. It's settled then." He smiled back down at her and wrapped his arm around her again as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
They sat back down on the sofa, and their thoughts went everywhere but to Monica.
When Monica awoke the next day, Rachel was knocking on her door.
"Monica! I'm coming to the prom with you!" She said excitedly as she ran over to the bed and flopped down beside a groaning Monica.
"I'm not going." Monica said.
"Why not?" Rachel asked.
"Because I don't have a date." She mumbled.
"So? You can go stag! A lot of people do!" Rachel shook her.
"Are you going stag?" Monica asked.
"Well… no, but I am going with Ross." Rachel said.
"What?" Monica happily bolted out of bed.
"Well, he asked me, and I thought it might be a good idea." Rachel said.
"Okay. Fine I'll come." Monica said. "It might get my mind off of things."
"Great!" Rachel clapped her hands excitedly and ran out the door
Monica groaned and tried to fall back asleep, but found herself unable to. She finally got up and tiredly walked into the bathroom to take a shower.
When she came out, Rachel was eagerly waiting for her.
"I thought you could wear this." Rachel held out a long pale blue dress. "It'll bring out your eyes." She smiled at her.
Monica stared at the gorgeous gown, speechless. SH grabbed the gown away from Rachel and gave her a big, tight and long hug. When she pulled away, Rachel's eyes were moist.
"I'm sorry for not being a best friend these last few days." Rachel said.
"With this dress, you're forgiven." Monica laughed and hugged her again. "What are you going to wear though?"
"Come here." Rachel motioned and brought Monica into her room. She pulled out of her closet a long, elegant and equally beautiful khaki dress. It was slinky and low cut in the front and back with a long slit up the side of the leg.
"Oh my god." Monica breathed. "You have got to let me borrow some of your clothes!"
"Do you think Ross will like it?" Rachel asked.
"Are you kidding? He would still love you if you wore a paper bag!" Monica blurted out, then quickly covered her mouth.
A minute of uncomfortable silence followed.
"Well, let me take a shower and eat, then we can do each other's hair and get ready!" Rachel said excitedly.
"Already? What time is it?" Monica asked.
"It's one" Rachel answered.
"We have five hours!" Monica said tiredly.
"Yeah well, that's the perfect amount of time. We'll be lucky if we have a minute to spare."
Five hours later, Ross was waiting patiently downstairs in the living room wearing a black tie and jacket, with khaki pants to match what Rachel said she would be wearing. He had been ready for over an hour and was ready to go, and the flowers for both his sister and date were going to wilt soon. Finally, he heard movement coming down the hall, and Monica came down the stairs. Her long black hair was flowing behind her and dropped like coals in snow on her pale blue dress, which matched her eyes identically.
As soon as Monica was down the stairs, Rachel began to descend. Her tanned legs peeked out of a slit in her dress, and Ross felt his mouth literally drop open as she walked down the stairs with her long blonde hair teased and let loose around her neck. Her dress left little for the imagination, but Ross was absolutely stunned by her beauty.
Monica leaned over and snapped his jaw shut. He glanced at her quickly and smiled at her.
Ross reached his hand up to help Rachel down the last three stairs, and kissed her on the cheek as he handed her one of the bundles of flowers. She smiled shyly at him, and he handed Monica the other bundle.
"Let me get some pictures." Jack shouted off to the side.
Ross was totally oblivious to the blinding lights of the camera, and his goofy smile. He led both of them outside to his car. Monica immediately took the back seat, letting Rachel be near Ross.
"Wow." Ross said as he started his car.
"You too." Rachel smiled and touched his arm, sending jolts of warmth through both of their bodies.
Monica smiled to herself as Ross peeled away from the house.
"Sorry I couldn't get a limo girls. It was too short notice." He said.
"I don't mind." They both said at the same time, and smiled.
They arrived at the school not a minute later, and Ross parked the car in the school parking lot, and looked around at the familiar surroundings. He led Rachel by the arm into the building and Monica followed closely behind. They entered into the gymnasium, and were surprised to see that there were so many people there already even though it had only started 20 minutes ago.
"Chandler!" Ross yelled as he saw Chandler dancing with a girl in the center of the dance floor.
Monica shrank away immediately as Chandler headed over, leaving Mandy to dance with another guy.
"What's up man?" Chandler asked as if nothing was up.
"Not much." Ross said. "That your date?" He pointed at Mandy.
"Yeah, that's her." Chandler said. "What about you?"
"Well, she's the person surrounded by all those people over there." Ross pointed at all the people fussing over Rachel.
"Good luck dancing with her, man." Chandler laughed, then he noticed Monica. "Hey Mon."
She didn't answer him, but she shrank behind her brother's back.
"Mon? What's wrong?" Ross asked her.
"Nothing." She mumbled into his back.
"Chandler!" Mandy yelled across the room.
"Gotta go find my date." Chandler laughed as he bounced away.
"Funny seeing him here." Ross nodded to himself.
"Hey Ross." A girl came up to him.
"Hey Kimmy! You recognize me without the Afro and mustache?" He asked her playfully.
"Sure! You look great." She said. "You want to dance?"
"Well, my date seems occupied, so sure. I'd love to." He said as he offered her his arm and she linked her own through, leaving Monica standing there alone.
"Who's your date?" Kimmy asked him.
"Uh, Rachel Green." Ross answered.
"Really? How's she doing?" Kimmy asked him.
"I think she's doing better." Ross said as a slow song came on and he began to dance slowly with her.
Rachel looked over to find Ross to dance but saw him dancing with someone else, so she sighed and went to walk over to Monica who was also standing alone.
"Hey Rach." Chip cornered her.
"Ugh hi." Rachel sighed.
"How are you?" He asked her.
"I'm good I guess." She said as she tried to find an escape.
"Watch out!" Somebody yelled as a guy went crashing into Chip, sending him flying to the floor.
"Oops" Rachel giggled and stepped over him to go over to Monica, who was sadly watching Chandler plant butterfly kisses of Mandy's neck.
"Is that Chandler?" Rachel asked in surprise.
"Yup." Monica answered.
"And MANDY?" Rachel asked, even more surprised.
"Yup." Monica answered again.
"Ugh, she's a slut." Rachel responded, not noticing how upset Monica was.
The slow song ended, and a barrage of fast songs played. Monica and Rachel walked around, talking to people, while Ross talked to people who he hadn't seen for almost a year. Rachel and Ross hadn't seen each other since they split up at the beginning of the evening, and it was already an hour and a half into the dance.
"Where's Ross?" Rachel asked Monica who seemed to have gotten more and more miserable since they had left the house.
"Over with that group of girls." Monica pointed.
"Wow, he's pretty popular." Rachel said.
"Well, it's probably just that he's a college man." Monica said
Another slow song began to play, and Monica sighed. It seemed like all they played were slow songs, and since she was alone they seemed to last twice as long.
Ross looked over at Rachel over the heads of the girls around him and signaled her over.
"Do I finally get to dance with my date?" Rachel asked.
"If you want to." Ross smiled at her.
She grabbed his hand and lad him to the center of the dance floor, under a large glowing star. She pulled him close to her and rested her head in the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled her as close as he could, and held her that way while they gently swayed to the music.
30th of April
Seems like it's turning
But a house above the ocean
Where our kids can laugh and play
I called you from Paris
To tell you that I
Put our names on the observation deck
Of the Eiffel Tower
Remember those nights
Playing Summer Wind on the jukebox
Of the bar we used to go
We made out in the bathroom
Then you walked me to my house
I tried to convince you not to go home
Monica stood alone again off to the side and watched as Chandler danced with Mandy again. Chandler caught her watching them, and tried to avert his gaze but found himself unable to take his eyes away from the hollow and haunting look in her eyes.
If only, I had more time
I'd take you where you wanted to go
It really isn't the same without you here
If only, I had one wish
I'd want a million trillion lifetimes
That I could spend with you
Fall in love with you
Again and again
1st of November 1998
I was thinking of what to say
When I would call
Come over to my house
Cause you're the one for me
We'll drink cheap wine and
Watch for shooting stars
Ross reveled about the feeling of having Rachel in his arms. He remembered their first night together not a week ago where he stuck the glow in the dark stars on her roof. He smiled down at her just when she glanced up at him, remembering the same thing.
Remember our first apartment
Our couch was never big enough for two
Still we'd fall asleep in each other's arms
And wake up on the floor
Now looking back it was made
For me and you
If only, I had more time
I'd take you where you wanted to go
It really isn't the same without you here
If only, I had one wish
I'd want a million trillion lifetimes
That I could spend with you
Fall in love with you
Again and again
The song ended and Ross and Rachel split unwillingly, and gazed into each other's eyes before someone asking for attention on the stage interrupted them.
"That is not Chandler, is it?" Ross squinted.
"It is." Rachel said as she still held Ross's hand.
Monica watched in horror as Chandler grabbed the microphone and began to talk.
"Hey guys, how are you tonight?" He asked the crowd that was watching him.
He got a few cheers from the audience and continued.
"As some of you may know, I'm in college and I'm here because I asked Mandy to come to prom with me, and she willingly came, and broke up with her boyfriend to be here tonight with me." Chandler said.
Mandy gazed up at him happily and let out a small scream, while Monica turned away disgusted, prepared to leave.
"But," Chandler continued quickly, seeing that Monica was edging her way to the door. "I want you to all know that this was a joke. I never liked Mandy."
Mandy gasped and she backed away from the stage.
"Yeah, I just thought it'd be really funny if the way she treated people was turned on her." Chandler laughed. "Look at her face, she's blotchy!"
Monica looked on happily as Mandy finally got what she deserved.
The laughter started somewhere in the middle, and soon everyone was laughing and pointing at her, including her friends.
"And Monica," Chandler continued, "I am so sorry if I hurt you. I never wanted to but after she treated you that way that night, I just had to do something about it." He said as he stared at her directly in the eyes.
Monica gasped and a slight smile started to form.
Everyone had stopped laughing and was staring at either Monica or Chandler as they gazed at each other.
Rachel and Ross stared in awe, biting their bottom lips, waiting to here Monica's response.
"Monica, I'm sorry, and if you can find it in your heart to forgive a guy who is madly head over heels for you, then please, say something." Chandler said nervously.
Monica was silent for a minute while everyone held their breath, waiting for her response.
"I forgive you." She smiled sheepishly.
"YOU SUCK!" Mandy yelled at Chandler
"It doesn't fell too good, does it?" Chandler asked her. "Next time, think about how this felt before you do something to someone again. And if you ever tease Monica again, I'm going to have to hurt you." He said semi-serious. "And she is not fat! Do you not see the beautiful young woman standing over there? She's thinner than you!"
Mandy gasped and stormed out of the gymnasium as laughter that would change the rest of her life followed her.
"And with my request to the DJ, I would like to hear another slow song." Chandler said as he jumped off the stage into a crowd of appreciative applause. He walked straight through the crowd and to Monica, who stood alone in the iridescent glow of the star in the middle of the room. He walked right over and kissed her full on the lips, while everyone continued to clap, including Ross and Rachel as they whistled and hollered at them.
The slow song that Chandler had requested came on, and he and Monica began to sway
I've been sitting here
Trying to find myself
I get behind myself
I need to rewind myself
Looking for the pay back
Listen for the play back
They say that every man bleeds
Just like me
And I feel like number one
Yet I'm last in line
"You're so beautiful." Chandler whispered in Monica's ear.
"Thank you." Monica shivered.
I watch my youngest son
And it helps to pass the time
I take too many pills
To help to ease the pain
I made a couple dollar bills
Still I feel the same
Everybody knows my name
The sad way I lie
A lot of folks offer me
It's hard to hang out in crowds
Ross and Rachel stood near them, trying to concentrate on watching Monica and Chandler, but failing. Their attention kept going back to the way the side of Rachel's face leaned against the side Ross's. Or how Ross arms kept creeping up and down her back, sending shivers shooting up and down her spine.
I guess that's the price you pay
To be some big shot like I am
Strange lands and one night stands
Still I can't find love
And when it all comes tumbling down
I will always be around
People don't know about the things I say I do
They don't understand
About the issues I've been through
It's been so long since I've been home
I've been gone
I've been gone for way too long
Maybe I've forgot
All the things I miss
Oh somehow I know there's more to life than this
Chandler kissed Monica again softly and she responded the same way. They weren't really paying attention to the music, just themselves and the way their bodies were swaying together.
I said it too many times
And I still stand firm
You get what you put in
And people get what they deserve
Still I ain't seen in
No I ain't seen mine
I've been getting
I've been walking down that line
So I think I'll keep walking
With my head held high
I keep moving on
And only god knows why
Only God, Only god
Only God knows why
Take me to the river
Yeah, take me to the river
"You want to go?" Chandler asked her softly.
"Yeah.' She nodded.
Chandler waved at Ross and signaled that they were going, and he nodded to them as he smiled.
Monica leaned against Chandler and walked outside to his car, and found that the tires were slashed and someone had keyed his car so that it said, "FUCK YOU."
"Well, I guess that's the price I pay." Chandler said calmly as he turned them both around and back into th school. They found Ross and Rachel taking a break from the dance floor outside the gym.
"My tires are slashed." Chandler said calmly. "Are you guys planning on leaving soon?"
"Actually, we were just about to go." Ross nodded and motioned for Rachel to come.
Rachel followed them all outside and she got in the front seat beside Ross, while Chandler and Monica stayed in the back, cuddling.
Ross sighed and drove them all back to his house.
"Chandler, you can spend the night if you want. You can call a tow truck in the morning." Ross said tiredly.
"Sounds good." He nodded.
"Not in Monica's room." Ross added.
"Damn." Chandler muttered jokingly. "Don't worry, I knew that."
Ross reached their house and they all climbed out. It had been a long night and they were all tired.
"Good night guys." Monica smiled at them and kissed Chandler slowly as they went inside. She headed straight up to her room to take off the dress and the uncomfortable shoes.
"Yeah, Ross I'll be in your room." Chandler sensed that they needed to be alone.
"Sure man." Ross barely noticed him.
"So, did you have fun tonight?" Ross asked Rachel.
"Yeah, I had fun. I got to go to my senior prom." Rachel nodded.
"That's good." Ross said.
"So, good night I guess." Rachel said as she backed up abruptly and ran up the stairs, leaving Ross leaning against the banister at the bottom of the stairs.
Ross shook his head in an effort to clear his head from that night's thoughts and slowly headed up the stairs. He paused after every step as if he were thinking heavily about something. By the time he had reached the upstairs hallway, Monica's and Rachel's lights were off. He walked to his room and heard Rachel sobbing from inside.
"Rach?" Ross knocked quietly on her door.
"Yeah?" Rachel tried to keep her voice steady.
"Can I come in?" Ross asked her.
"If you want to see a train wreck, sure." Rachel said quietly.
Ross opened her door and turned on the lights and watched the figure on the bed move up and down rhythmically with the sobs.
"Rachel, what's wrong?" Ross asked her as he went to sit beside her on the bed, rolling her over so she was looking up at him.
"Being there tonight, I just realized that nothing is ever going to be the same again. I'm never going to have a normal life." She sobbed.
"Of course you will." Ross ran his fingers through her hair, pushing it off of her wet face.
"No I won't." I'll never have the same friends, I'll never live in my old house, I'll never go away to college or anything." She cried into her pillow.
"I'm sure going away to college can be arranged, and as for friends, I'll always be here for you. SO will Monica. You never have to worry about that." He smiled down at her as she continued to weep.
Rachel smiled gratefully up at him through her tears.
"And you don't look like a train wreck." Ross said to her.
She gazed up into his eyes and watched as he leaned in closer to her and kissed her softly on the lips.
"I-I can't." Rachel jumped back quickly.
"I'm sorry, that was out of line." Ross stuttered.
"No, I'm sorry." Rachel said.
Ross got up without a word and headed out the door, turning off the lights on his way off and entering his room.
"Hey man." Chandler said sleepily.
Chandler was sprawled across his whole bed so after he had changed Ross grabbed a pillow from his closet and headed to sleep on the downstairs couch.
He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but was awakened a half an hour later when he heard the front door close.
"Hey, who's there?" Ross asked sleepily. There was no answer so Ross got up to look and saw that the front door was unlocked. He ran upstairs, all of a sudden awake, and went to Monica's room. When he saw that she was sleeping, he went into his parents room, where they were both sleeping. He ran to his room next, and seeing Chandler lying in his bed, he feared the worst as he opened the last door. He opened it slowly and flipped on the lights and his face fell. Rachel's bed was neatly tucked in and her teddy bear lay on top. He ran downstairs at full speed and out the front door.
"RACHEL!" Ross screamed at the top of his lungs.
He looked down both sides of his empty street, and ran as fast as he could down towards the main street. He arrived on the main street just as a bus was pulling away from its stop. He ran towards the bus and ran along side it, glancing in the window, when he saw her watching him from the back seat. He held his hand flat against the window as he ran as fast as he possibly could alongside it.
"RACHEL!" He yelled again to her as he tried to keep alongside the bus that was going 40 miles per hour. The bus started to gain and Ross slowed down, out of breath, as Rachel watched from the back window and a tear slid down her face.
"Rachel, come back!" He yelled as loud as he possibly could before the bus disappeared around a corner and out of view, possibly forever.
Please Review, and I'll continue as soon as I can.
rossandrachelforever
Brighter Stars
Hours later, they were still lying talking on Ross's bed. Ross was even more surprised that she was opening up to him of all people. Judy had come by several times and heard them talking, so she decided to leave them alone. She told the movers to put her stuff wherever they thought that it looked best.
Judy knocked quietly on Ross's door after walking by for what seemed the millionth time that night.
"Ross? Dinner's on the table." She said through the door.
Once Judy had left, Ross got up and opened his door.
"No thanks. I'm not really hungry." Rachel answered quietly.
"Are you sure? I could bring some up for you and then help you unpack your stuff." Ross said timidly.
"That would be great." Rachel said. "You mind if I stay here until I get back?"
"Oh, by all means. I'll be back in two minutes." Ross said as he closed the door after himself.
Ross walked downstairs and into the kitchen
"Rachel's not eating, son?" Jack asked him.
"Yeah she is. I'm just going to bring our food upstairs." Ross said as he picked up two plates and cutlery, and began to load the plates.
"Our?" Monica questioned.
"Yeah I'm going to eat with her."
"Well me too! Then I'll help her unpack." Monica said eagerly.
"Uh, nono. She just wants me. She wants to talk to me, and then she asked me to help her unpack so…" Ross said quickly.
"Oh. I understand." Monica said dejectedly
Ross rushed out of the kitchen and up to his room where Rachel sat rifling through a load of magazines that sat on his desk.
"Yeah dinosaurs, I know." Ross said as he closed the door with his foot and set down the plates.
"I noticed." Rachel said. "Mmm. It looks good."
"Don't start without me, I'll be right back."
Ross came upstairs a minute later with two glasses of orange juice and LaPooh.
"LaPooh!" Rachel said as her dog jumped up onto Ross's bed and lay beside her.
"Let's eat." Ross said taking a seat on the floor.
"This is the first time I've eaten in three days. I never noticed how hungry I was." Rachel said through a mouthful of chicken.
"Me neither!" Ross joked as he noticed that she was almost done and he had yet to take his second bite.
"Do you want more?" He asked her.
"I think I can get it myself." Rachel said as she got up with her plate in hand.
"Alright." Ross responded.
Three plates later, Rachel declared with a small burp that she was full.
"FINALLY" Ross joked. "Let's go check out your room. Come on LaPooh."
He got up and held out his hand to help Rachel up. She grabbed his hand and held on for a lot longer than she needed to. They could both feel the warmth and comfort of each other's presence. After a moment's silence, Ross asked her,
"Scared?"
"Uh-huh. Just a little." Rachel nodded.
"Well, come on then." Ross said as he pulled her, all the while holding her hand as if she were a little girl crossing the street with her father.
They walked slowly to her room, hearing the floorboards creak below the weight of their feet. Ross walked ahead and pushed open the door.
"It's… nice." Rachel declared with a nod. "A lot of space."
"Yeah right. Compared to your old room?" Ross asked.
"Well… no. Let's get started, shall we?" Rachel asked.
"Definitely." Ross answered.
While they worked they continued to talk, and they didn't mind working. Whenever Rachel would pull an object out of a box that reminded her of her family, she would be silent for a minute as she remembered. During these pauses, Ross would continue to unpack, and not interrupt her.
"Huh." Rachel muttered thoughtfully.
"What?"
"I have too many clothes. It won't fit in the closet." Rachel said
"Well, I have a lot of extra closet space, if you want to put it there. My friends will think I'm really weird, but I can live with that." Ross said,
"Well, I guess I can do that until I find another solution." Rachel said quietly.
"Alright. Other than that, I think we're done! Whoohoo!" Ross exclaimed happily.
"Great. Whoa! It's 2 o clock already?" Rachel noted.
"Come to think of it, I am pretty tired. I'll hang up your clothes in my closet, than go to bed." Ross said with a yawn.
"Okay." Rachel replied.
"Are you going to be alright by yourself?" Ross asked.
"Well…" Rachel started to say
"Hold on a sec. I think I've got a sleeping bag. I can sleep on the floor if you want." Ross suggested.
"I have a double bed." Rachel gestured to her bed.
"You want me to sleep in the bed with you?" Ross asked, surprised.
"Is there something wrong?" Rachel asked.
"No, just let me get my PJ's on." Ross answered.
Minutes later Ross returned with an oversized shirt and boxers on. He crawled into bed beside Rachel.
"Good night." Rachel said to him
"Good night." He answered sleepily
Ross was asleep instantly, and while Rachel tried to sleep, she couldn't. An hour later Ross woke up to a restless Rachel beside him, staring at the empty ceiling.
"Can't sleep?" Ross asked her quietly.
"No. Strange room." Rachel answered.
"Hold on a sec." Ross said, climbing out of her bed. He left the room and returned immediately with a sheet in his hand. He climbed up onto the bed and began sticking glow-in-the-dark star stickers on the ceiling.
Rachel watched as he stuck them on and climbed back in bed beside her.
"Thank you." Rachel said as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.
I'm floating down a river
Oars freed from their holes long ago
Lying face up on the floor of my vessel
I marvel at the stars
And feel my heart overflow
Two weeks without my lover
I am in this boat alone
Floating down a river named 'emotion'
Will I make it back to shore?
Or drift into the unknown?
I'm building an antenna
Transmissions will be sent when I'm through.
Maybe we'll meet again further down the river,
And share what we both discovered…
Then revel in the view.
They finally both fell asleep.
The next day when Rachel woke up, she found the bed empty beside her, and heard voices coming from downstairs. She knew that Monica was at school and that both of her parents were at work, so she wondered who Ross could be talking to. She pulled on a pair of jeans and an oversized T-shirt and began to head downstairs slowly, listening to their conversation as she crept slowly down the stairs. She smoothed over her hair, and headed into the living room where Ross sat with a friend.
"Hey, Rach. How are you feeling?" Ross asked as he jumped out of his conversation.
"I'm good." Rachel answered.
"Whoa, who died?" His friend asked with a small laugh.
"DUDE!" Ross snapped at him as Rachel's lower lip trembled slightly. His friend took a second and his face turned red.
"Oh my god. I am so sorry. I use humor as a defense mechanism, and I don't realize but sometimes it hurts people, and I am such an idiot." He said as he put his head down in his hands.
"Rachel, Chandler, Chandler, Rachel." Ross introduced them.
"It's okay." Rachel said quietly. "There's no way you could have known."
"Yeah, but I'm an idiot for saying something like that and not even knowing--" Chandler started
"Yeah, you are." Ross joked as he lightly punched Chandler.
Chandler punched him back, and soon they were in a full-fledged fight rolling around the carpet while laughing.
"Men." Rachel said as she laughed slightly and shook her head.
"Oh. I forgot you were here." Ross said sheepishly. "Chandler, get off me you juvenile. We're too old to fight." He finished smugly.
"Right." Chandler sneered.
"You want some breakfast, Rach?" Ross asked her kindly.
"Sure. That would be great." Rachel answered.
"Actually, You know Ross I haven't eaten yet, so that's be nice for me too." Chandler said. "Now run along my servant."
Ross punched him one last time before he went into the kitchen to cook up breakfast.
"So…" Rachel said as she sat down beside Chandler on the couch. "You a friend of Ross's?"
"No. We hate each other, but we spend every day together." Chandler said.
"You're really sarcastic." Rachel noted.
"Yeah I know. I HATE that." Chandler nodded. "No, me and Ross are best friends at college… but this is the first time I've been to his house."
"Really? Have you met his little sister?" Rachel asked.
"No. I heard she was fat though." Chandler said.
"No. not anymore. She lost the weight." Rachel corrected. "So how did you meet Ross?"
"We're roommates, and we both play in the same band." Chandler said.
"SHUT UP CHANDLER!" Ross yelled from the kitchen.
"Okay, enough on that subject." Chandler winked at her.
"Chandler, you can help me here, you know?" Ross said from the kitchen.
"I know." Chandler said as he continued to sit.
"I'll help you out." Rachel said as she began to get up.
"No, Rach. I'm fine. Chandler…" Ross began to say.
"You just said you were fine!" Chandler complained.
"Okay, you know what? We'll both go." Rachel said as she pulled Chandler off the couch. "Let me just go clean up."
Rachel left to use the washroom, and Chandler went into the kitchen to help Ross make scrambled eggs.
"So, that's her, huh? The one you've been obsessed with for years?" Chandler asked.
"Shhh!" Ross shushed him, then whispered, "It's just not the right time. She's going to be living with m e. It'd be too weird."
"I see." Chandler said as he began to make toast.
Rachel came back a minute later just in time catch breakfast hot. They all sat down at the table and ate in comfortable silence. Ross kept unconsciously darting glances at Rachel from across the table before Chandler finally kicked him to stop.
"OW!" Ross yelped.
"Oh, I'm sorry. That was an accident." Chandler emphasized on 'accident'.
"What time is it?" Rachel asked suddenly.
"Well, it's a bit late for breakfast, but… it's 2 o'clock." Ross said.
"I slept that long?" Rachel asked. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Because you were sleeping so soundly, I didn't want to wake you." Ross said.
"What time is Monica coming home?" Rachel interrupted
"She has a spare last period, so she should actually be coming home really soon. Hey, maybe you can actually meet her, Chandler" Ross added excitedly
"Yay." Chandler said sarcastically. "I SERIOUSLY don't know why I do that."
Just then the door opened and Monica's voice came floating down the hallway.
"It smells good! What's cooking?" Monica asked.
"Hey Mon." Ross said as he pushed aside his food and went to greet her in the hallway. Chandler followed behind him. "This is my friend Chandler."
Monica took off her large dark sunglasses to get a better look at him, and found herself smiling. He had clear blue eyes, and an amazing smile. She found herself immediately attracted to him. She plopped her small backpack and purse on the floor, took off her jean jacket revealing a white tank top, and went to shake his hand. His hand was cool, but gave off an eccentric warmth at the same time.
"Hey, I'm Monica." She smiled a bright white smile at him.
"H-hey. I'm uh," Chandler had to take a deep breath to calm down. "I'm Chandler." He smiled as the sunlight from the open door basked around her making her seem like a goddess.
Ross and Rachel watched off to the side with slight smiles on their faces also. Something about the goofiness of Monica and Chandler made them smile.
When Monica turned to close the door after her, Chandler smoothed over his hair and straightened his shirt.
"How you feeling, Rach?" Monica asked as she walked by Chandler to hug Rachel, leaving Chandler smelling the vanilla scented air behind her.
"I feel better." Rachel said as she fell into the hug.
"I became the most popular girl in school today when everyone found out you were living with me." Monica shook her head in disbelief, but wore a small smile on her face. "I got all these for you." Monica pulled out a pile of notes and cards from her back pack and handed them to Rachel.
"Aw." Rachel sniffed.
"The big heart one is from Chip." Monica pointed.
"Oh." Rachel said as she picked it out and tossed it in the garbage.
Ross hid a smile and gave Chandler the thumbs up sign, while he distractedly smiled back.
"You want to go hang out in my room?" Ross whispered in Rachel's ear. "We can give them some privacy."
Rachel nodded slightly.
"Okay, let's go." Ross took her hand and led her upstairs behind him.
Rachel smiled apologetically at Monica who was staring after them with a look of envy on her face.
"What's wrong?" Chandler immediately asked.
"Well, me and Rachel used to be best friends and do everything, but ever since she moved in, she's always been with Ross." Monica pouted.
"Well, maybe there's a reason behind it." Chandler pointed out.
"What do you mean?" Monica asked.
"Well, Ross has liked her for more than 5 years, maybe he finally feels like he's connecting to her in some way. She's not being a bitch to him anymore." Chandler stated.
"Ross likes Rachel?" Monica asked loudly.
Chandler quickly covered her mouth with his hand, and listened for a second to hear if they might have heard, but al he heard was the TV blaring upstairs.
"You didn't know?" Chandler removed his hand from over mouth slowly.
"No! He kept complaining about what a bitch she was. I thought he hated her." Monica laughed. "But that is so sweet! I didn't know that. He told you that?"
"Yes." Chandler said, "Yes."
"I guess we leave them alone then!" Monica said. "Let's go somewhere." She grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door before he could protest.
"It's kind of quiet down there." Rachel pointed out about a couple of hours later
"Maybe they're doing something I don't want to know about." Ross said as he sipped at his beer calmly.
"Well, I want to know." Rachel said deviously, as she leapt off of Ross's bed.
"Well…" Ross began to protest. "Wait up!" He said as he jumped out of his chair and chased after her down the stairs.
"They're not here." Rachel frowned as she stood in the center of the dark living room.
"Huh." Ross said as he peeked out of the drapes. "Chandler's car is gone."
"Huh." Rachel smiled. "I wonder what they're doing…"
Monica and Chandler sat in the local mall sharing a pizza with the works.
Monica was slowly working on her second slice while Chandler grabbed for his fourth.
"What did you say to her?" Monica laughed.
"I told her that if she wanted it, she could go run after the garbage truck." Chandler grinned as Monica burst out laughing.
"Well, well." A voice said from behind them. Monica turned to look at them and the smile dropped off of her face.
"H-hey." Monica said nervously.
"Getting fat again Monica?" One of the girls that were all dressed in cheerleading outfits said to her, as they all laughed.
"And what's this? Paying a guy to take you out? Looks like you're finally getting somewhere you fatso." The girl that stood in front mocked her.
"Mandy, don't. Not here." Monica said with a note of fear in her voice.
"Oh, not in front of your paid date?" Mandy teased her cruelly.
"She didn't pay me to take her out. I asked her to come here." Chandler spoke up.
"And a cute one as well." Mandy flirted with Chandler and walked over to ruffle his hair.
He threw off her hand, and Mandy backed away, flustered.
"And how is your geek brother Ross doing? Get any worse? Actually, I don't think that's possible." One of the girls at the back said, sending them laughing again.
Monica was looking down at the floor with tears in her eyes, struggling not to let them out.
"Oh, what's wrong Monica? Are you going to cry?" Mandy mocked sympathy.
"No." Monica's voice trembled.
"Leave her alone." Chandler commanded.
"Oh, sticking up for her now, are we." Mandy asked. "Oh, did she happen to mention what happened last week at school?"
"Mandy." Monica's voice broke as a tear slid down her face. "Stop it now."
"Oh, you want to tell it?" Mandy asked.
Monica shook her head as Chandler looked on pityingly.
"The ugliest and fattest guy asked you to prom as a joke and you said yes? How stupid did you feel when he dumped you 20 minutes later and told you it was a joke in the middle of the cafeteria while everyone watched? And how about when he high-fived all of his loser friends?" Mandy asked while the girls behind her giggled.
Monica jumped up, knocking over her chair and sending her pizza flying onto her, which left Mandy and her friends laughing harder. The tears were flowing freely now, and she grabbed her purse and ran out of the pizzeria while the whole place laughed at her.
Chandler gave Mandy a final evil glance before hurrying to catch Monica. He caught up to her in the parking lot, where she had fallen on the ground and was sobbing hysterically.
"Monica, Mon. Are you alright?" Chandler asked her, worried. He leaned down to help her up, but she pushed him off and grabbed onto a car for support.
"I'm fine." She huffed tearfully and began to walk away from him.
"Monica." Chandler raced after her and grabbed her arm and turned her around.
"Chandler, I want to get out of here! Just let me go! The last thing I need is your sympathy." She angrily tore her arm away as the tears continued to flow.
"My car's over there." Chandler pointed.
"I don't want to go back with you." Monica shook her head as the sobs began to take over her again.
"What? Why not?" Chandler asked gently as he lifted up her chin with a finger.
"Because I'm humiliated. I can't look you in the face. I lost all that weight, and all they do is make fun of me more, and I can't take this anymore!" Monica sobbed hysterically.
"They're jealous because you're so beautiful." Chandler said gently to her.
"No. They're making my life miserable. Everyone does." Monica moaned.
"Monica, listen to me." Chandler took her by the shoulders, but Monica pushed him off.
"Good job Monica!" Mandy yelled across the parking lot. "Push away the only guy that will ever look at you!"
"Hey." Chandler began to walk angrily over to Mandy.
"She's running away! You better go catch her." Mandy pointed.
"Shit." Chandler took off after Monica who was already across the parking lot.
He continued to chase her through a residential street, gaining a bit on her every minute.
"Monica stop!" Chandler gasped breathlessly as she turned a corner. He turned the same corner a few seconds later, but didn't see her anywhere.
"Monica?" Chandler yelled as he stopped for the first time since the beginning of the pursuit. He looked around him at the houses, and sighed disappointedly.
He sat down, discouraged and put his head in his hands. He was sweating heavily, and his breath was short and quick. He stood up and walked around the block, but didn't find her. He disappointedly walked back slowly to the mall where he had parked his car. The lot was almost empty, as the mall closed at 7 every night. He looked around once more into the fading sunlight, and got in his car and drove back to Ross's house.
Back at Ross and Monica's house, Ross and Rachel were playfully having an arm wrestle on Ross's bed.
"I win again!" Ross flexed his muscles.
Rachel sighed in defeat.
"One more round, please?" She begged him.
"Fine, one more." Ross agreed. They both stuck out their arms to wrestle, but as Ross began to gain on her, she brought out her other hand and tried wrestling him with both.
"Ahh!" Rachel screamed as even with two arms Ross was winning. She stood up and pounced on his back, causing his arm to twist around weirdly.
"Ow!" Ross shouted playfully as his arm went down, and Rachel shouted victoriously.
"No! That doesn't count!" Ross whined as Rachel pumped her arms in victory.
"Sure it does!" Rachel smiled.
"Fine another game. Anything goes." Ross said.
"No" Rachel said.
"Why not? Afraid I'm going to win?" Ross asked her.
"No…" Rachel said, unsure.
"Oh come here and play!" Ross said as Rachel jumped over his bed onto the other side.
He jumped right back over and cornered her.
"NO! You can't make me!" Rachel laughed as Ross tickled her. She tried to run away but Ross pushed her lightly onto the bed, and landed on top of her. He stared intently into her eyes, and Rachel gulped.
"Ross!" Chandler entered, pushing the door open. "Oh, guys I'm sorry." He said as he saw their position.
"Oh, no." Ross said as he climbed off of Rachel. "We were just having an arm wrestle."
Rachel nodded slightly, unable to take her eyes off of Ross.
"Well, have you seen Monica?" Chandler cleared his throat.
"We thought you were with her." Ross said.
"I was, well, hold on, let me check if she's here." Chandler said nervously as he closed the door behind him and went to check all of the other rooms.
When he came to the last one, he found it locked.
"Monica. Please open up." Chandler leaned his head against the door.
"Go away." She said from inside.
Chandler nodded slightly, confused. He walked back over to Ross's room, and found Ross and Rachel sitting on the bed watching TV.
"She's in her room guys, but I have to go, I'll see you guys later. By the way, when's prom night, Rachel?" Chandler asked
"It's in two days. This Saturday night." Rachel answered automatically.
"Okay thanks." Chandler said as he closed the door behind him once again.
"Bye!" They both yelled through the door. Chandler walked slowly down the stairs, all the while watching Monica's room, to see if it would open.
He got to the bottom of the stairs, and walked out, closing the door softly behind him.
As soon as the door downstairs had closed, Monica crept out of her room with a tear stained face and dirt covered clothes. She went into Rachel's bedroom at the other end of the hallway, and stared out the window as Chandler's car roared out of the driveway and disappeared down the street. A fresh set of tears had begun to fall, and she quickly wiped them away, and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
"I have to get to bed." Rachel said tiredly.
"Okay." Ross nodded.
"Where are your parents by the way?" She asked him.
"They went out to dinner with some people. They should be back before midnight." Ross said as he stared at the TV.
"Okay. Night." Rachel said.
Ross jumped up to let her out and kissed her on the forehead as she left.
"Good night Rachel." He said as he smiled after her and closed his door.
The next day, Monica went to school with a heavy heart. She avoided everyone in the hallways, and ate her lunch in a stall in the bathroom, while people came in and out, staring in the mirrors, and doing their business.
Suddenly, a familiar voice floated through the washroom and the familiar giggles followed it. It was Mandy.
Monica cursed silently to herself, and put her feet up so that they wouldn't see that anyone was there.
"Does this lipstick look good on me?" Mandy asked as she checked herself out in the mirror.
"Oh yeah, definitely." Her friend responded.
"Oh, remember that guy we ran into yesterday at the pizza place that was with fatso?" Mandy asked.
"Yeah." They all said.
"Well, when I got to school this morning, he was at the front door. He told me he made a stupid mistake by going out with fatso. He said he never realized that she was once fat, and he asked me out!" Mandy said excitedly.
Monica felt her heart fall with a heavy thud, and the tears started to burn again. Her breathing became shallower and louder. Mandy and her friends noticed and turned around to stare at the stalls in disgust.
"I think someone's taking a number two." Mandy grabbed her nose and high-tailed out the bathroom, and all her friends followed her.
Monica's feet dropped to the floor, and waves of pain went floating to her, but she wasn't paying attention. How could she have ever thought that Chandler could be interested in her? "That shallow jerk." She muttered to herself. She heard the first bell to signal that fourth period was starting, but she ignored it. She sat there in the stall until the bell signaling the end of school day rang two hours and forty minutes later.
She finally came out of the stall and looked at her puffy red eyes in the mirror. She didn't care anymore. She grabbed her backpack from the hangar in the stall and went out. She was immediately surrounded my hundreds of students who were happy that it was Friday night, and there was a weekend to look forward to.
She pushed through everyone with her head down, and went outside in the brightness of the day. She squinted from being in the dark washroom for hours, and began to walk slowly down the front steps, when she bumped into Chandler… with Mandy.
"Sorr--" She began to say, but when she saw who it was, she stopped abruptly, and held back the tears that were brimming at her eyes once again.
"Hey there, fatso." Mandy said as she pulled Chandler's arm tighter around her.
Chandler looked apologetically into her eyes, and he noticed that she was about to cry.
"Let's go Mandy." Chandler said pulling her away before she could see Monica cry again.
Monica ran blindly across the schoolyard and went straight home.
"My god, Monica! What's wrong?" Rachel immediately jumped up when Monica came bursting through the front door crying. Rachel and Ross had been sitting wrapped up in each other's arms in front of the living room TV when Monica ran in.
"I-I fell. I wanted to run home and clean up my cut before it got infected." She said.
"Okay, where is it?" Ross asked as he stood up beside Rachel and adjusted his shirt.
"I-it's nowhere." Monica rushed upstairs.
"Okay." Ross and Rachel both said at the same time, causing them to laugh. They sat back down simultaneously on the couch, and laughed again.
"Hey, prom is tomorrow, isn't it?" Ross asked her.
"Yeah." Rachel nodded sadly.
"How about we go? I mean, it would be great for me to see my old school, and you could go back for the first time... since…" Ross trailed off.
"Together?" Rachel asked him.
"If you wanted to." Ross said nervously.
"Sure." Rachel smiled.
"Great. It's settled then." He smiled back down at her and wrapped his arm around her again as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
They sat back down on the sofa, and their thoughts went everywhere but to Monica.
When Monica awoke the next day, Rachel was knocking on her door.
"Monica! I'm coming to the prom with you!" She said excitedly as she ran over to the bed and flopped down beside a groaning Monica.
"I'm not going." Monica said.
"Why not?" Rachel asked.
"Because I don't have a date." She mumbled.
"So? You can go stag! A lot of people do!" Rachel shook her.
"Are you going stag?" Monica asked.
"Well… no, but I am going with Ross." Rachel said.
"What?" Monica happily bolted out of bed.
"Well, he asked me, and I thought it might be a good idea." Rachel said.
"Okay. Fine I'll come." Monica said. "It might get my mind off of things."
"Great!" Rachel clapped her hands excitedly and ran out the door
Monica groaned and tried to fall back asleep, but found herself unable to. She finally got up and tiredly walked into the bathroom to take a shower.
When she came out, Rachel was eagerly waiting for her.
"I thought you could wear this." Rachel held out a long pale blue dress. "It'll bring out your eyes." She smiled at her.
Monica stared at the gorgeous gown, speechless. SH grabbed the gown away from Rachel and gave her a big, tight and long hug. When she pulled away, Rachel's eyes were moist.
"I'm sorry for not being a best friend these last few days." Rachel said.
"With this dress, you're forgiven." Monica laughed and hugged her again. "What are you going to wear though?"
"Come here." Rachel motioned and brought Monica into her room. She pulled out of her closet a long, elegant and equally beautiful khaki dress. It was slinky and low cut in the front and back with a long slit up the side of the leg.
"Oh my god." Monica breathed. "You have got to let me borrow some of your clothes!"
"Do you think Ross will like it?" Rachel asked.
"Are you kidding? He would still love you if you wore a paper bag!" Monica blurted out, then quickly covered her mouth.
A minute of uncomfortable silence followed.
"Well, let me take a shower and eat, then we can do each other's hair and get ready!" Rachel said excitedly.
"Already? What time is it?" Monica asked.
"It's one" Rachel answered.
"We have five hours!" Monica said tiredly.
"Yeah well, that's the perfect amount of time. We'll be lucky if we have a minute to spare."
Five hours later, Ross was waiting patiently downstairs in the living room wearing a black tie and jacket, with khaki pants to match what Rachel said she would be wearing. He had been ready for over an hour and was ready to go, and the flowers for both his sister and date were going to wilt soon. Finally, he heard movement coming down the hall, and Monica came down the stairs. Her long black hair was flowing behind her and dropped like coals in snow on her pale blue dress, which matched her eyes identically.
As soon as Monica was down the stairs, Rachel began to descend. Her tanned legs peeked out of a slit in her dress, and Ross felt his mouth literally drop open as she walked down the stairs with her long blonde hair teased and let loose around her neck. Her dress left little for the imagination, but Ross was absolutely stunned by her beauty.
Monica leaned over and snapped his jaw shut. He glanced at her quickly and smiled at her.
Ross reached his hand up to help Rachel down the last three stairs, and kissed her on the cheek as he handed her one of the bundles of flowers. She smiled shyly at him, and he handed Monica the other bundle.
"Let me get some pictures." Jack shouted off to the side.
Ross was totally oblivious to the blinding lights of the camera, and his goofy smile. He led both of them outside to his car. Monica immediately took the back seat, letting Rachel be near Ross.
"Wow." Ross said as he started his car.
"You too." Rachel smiled and touched his arm, sending jolts of warmth through both of their bodies.
Monica smiled to herself as Ross peeled away from the house.
"Sorry I couldn't get a limo girls. It was too short notice." He said.
"I don't mind." They both said at the same time, and smiled.
They arrived at the school not a minute later, and Ross parked the car in the school parking lot, and looked around at the familiar surroundings. He led Rachel by the arm into the building and Monica followed closely behind. They entered into the gymnasium, and were surprised to see that there were so many people there already even though it had only started 20 minutes ago.
"Chandler!" Ross yelled as he saw Chandler dancing with a girl in the center of the dance floor.
Monica shrank away immediately as Chandler headed over, leaving Mandy to dance with another guy.
"What's up man?" Chandler asked as if nothing was up.
"Not much." Ross said. "That your date?" He pointed at Mandy.
"Yeah, that's her." Chandler said. "What about you?"
"Well, she's the person surrounded by all those people over there." Ross pointed at all the people fussing over Rachel.
"Good luck dancing with her, man." Chandler laughed, then he noticed Monica. "Hey Mon."
She didn't answer him, but she shrank behind her brother's back.
"Mon? What's wrong?" Ross asked her.
"Nothing." She mumbled into his back.
"Chandler!" Mandy yelled across the room.
"Gotta go find my date." Chandler laughed as he bounced away.
"Funny seeing him here." Ross nodded to himself.
"Hey Ross." A girl came up to him.
"Hey Kimmy! You recognize me without the Afro and mustache?" He asked her playfully.
"Sure! You look great." She said. "You want to dance?"
"Well, my date seems occupied, so sure. I'd love to." He said as he offered her his arm and she linked her own through, leaving Monica standing there alone.
"Who's your date?" Kimmy asked him.
"Uh, Rachel Green." Ross answered.
"Really? How's she doing?" Kimmy asked him.
"I think she's doing better." Ross said as a slow song came on and he began to dance slowly with her.
Rachel looked over to find Ross to dance but saw him dancing with someone else, so she sighed and went to walk over to Monica who was also standing alone.
"Hey Rach." Chip cornered her.
"Ugh hi." Rachel sighed.
"How are you?" He asked her.
"I'm good I guess." She said as she tried to find an escape.
"Watch out!" Somebody yelled as a guy went crashing into Chip, sending him flying to the floor.
"Oops" Rachel giggled and stepped over him to go over to Monica, who was sadly watching Chandler plant butterfly kisses of Mandy's neck.
"Is that Chandler?" Rachel asked in surprise.
"Yup." Monica answered.
"And MANDY?" Rachel asked, even more surprised.
"Yup." Monica answered again.
"Ugh, she's a slut." Rachel responded, not noticing how upset Monica was.
The slow song ended, and a barrage of fast songs played. Monica and Rachel walked around, talking to people, while Ross talked to people who he hadn't seen for almost a year. Rachel and Ross hadn't seen each other since they split up at the beginning of the evening, and it was already an hour and a half into the dance.
"Where's Ross?" Rachel asked Monica who seemed to have gotten more and more miserable since they had left the house.
"Over with that group of girls." Monica pointed.
"Wow, he's pretty popular." Rachel said.
"Well, it's probably just that he's a college man." Monica said
Another slow song began to play, and Monica sighed. It seemed like all they played were slow songs, and since she was alone they seemed to last twice as long.
Ross looked over at Rachel over the heads of the girls around him and signaled her over.
"Do I finally get to dance with my date?" Rachel asked.
"If you want to." Ross smiled at her.
She grabbed his hand and lad him to the center of the dance floor, under a large glowing star. She pulled him close to her and rested her head in the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled her as close as he could, and held her that way while they gently swayed to the music.
30th of April
Seems like it's turning
But a house above the ocean
Where our kids can laugh and play
I called you from Paris
To tell you that I
Put our names on the observation deck
Of the Eiffel Tower
Remember those nights
Playing Summer Wind on the jukebox
Of the bar we used to go
We made out in the bathroom
Then you walked me to my house
I tried to convince you not to go home
Monica stood alone again off to the side and watched as Chandler danced with Mandy again. Chandler caught her watching them, and tried to avert his gaze but found himself unable to take his eyes away from the hollow and haunting look in her eyes.
If only, I had more time
I'd take you where you wanted to go
It really isn't the same without you here
If only, I had one wish
I'd want a million trillion lifetimes
That I could spend with you
Fall in love with you
Again and again
1st of November 1998
I was thinking of what to say
When I would call
Come over to my house
Cause you're the one for me
We'll drink cheap wine and
Watch for shooting stars
Ross reveled about the feeling of having Rachel in his arms. He remembered their first night together not a week ago where he stuck the glow in the dark stars on her roof. He smiled down at her just when she glanced up at him, remembering the same thing.
Remember our first apartment
Our couch was never big enough for two
Still we'd fall asleep in each other's arms
And wake up on the floor
Now looking back it was made
For me and you
If only, I had more time
I'd take you where you wanted to go
It really isn't the same without you here
If only, I had one wish
I'd want a million trillion lifetimes
That I could spend with you
Fall in love with you
Again and again
The song ended and Ross and Rachel split unwillingly, and gazed into each other's eyes before someone asking for attention on the stage interrupted them.
"That is not Chandler, is it?" Ross squinted.
"It is." Rachel said as she still held Ross's hand.
Monica watched in horror as Chandler grabbed the microphone and began to talk.
"Hey guys, how are you tonight?" He asked the crowd that was watching him.
He got a few cheers from the audience and continued.
"As some of you may know, I'm in college and I'm here because I asked Mandy to come to prom with me, and she willingly came, and broke up with her boyfriend to be here tonight with me." Chandler said.
Mandy gazed up at him happily and let out a small scream, while Monica turned away disgusted, prepared to leave.
"But," Chandler continued quickly, seeing that Monica was edging her way to the door. "I want you to all know that this was a joke. I never liked Mandy."
Mandy gasped and she backed away from the stage.
"Yeah, I just thought it'd be really funny if the way she treated people was turned on her." Chandler laughed. "Look at her face, she's blotchy!"
Monica looked on happily as Mandy finally got what she deserved.
The laughter started somewhere in the middle, and soon everyone was laughing and pointing at her, including her friends.
"And Monica," Chandler continued, "I am so sorry if I hurt you. I never wanted to but after she treated you that way that night, I just had to do something about it." He said as he stared at her directly in the eyes.
Monica gasped and a slight smile started to form.
Everyone had stopped laughing and was staring at either Monica or Chandler as they gazed at each other.
Rachel and Ross stared in awe, biting their bottom lips, waiting to here Monica's response.
"Monica, I'm sorry, and if you can find it in your heart to forgive a guy who is madly head over heels for you, then please, say something." Chandler said nervously.
Monica was silent for a minute while everyone held their breath, waiting for her response.
"I forgive you." She smiled sheepishly.
"YOU SUCK!" Mandy yelled at Chandler
"It doesn't fell too good, does it?" Chandler asked her. "Next time, think about how this felt before you do something to someone again. And if you ever tease Monica again, I'm going to have to hurt you." He said semi-serious. "And she is not fat! Do you not see the beautiful young woman standing over there? She's thinner than you!"
Mandy gasped and stormed out of the gymnasium as laughter that would change the rest of her life followed her.
"And with my request to the DJ, I would like to hear another slow song." Chandler said as he jumped off the stage into a crowd of appreciative applause. He walked straight through the crowd and to Monica, who stood alone in the iridescent glow of the star in the middle of the room. He walked right over and kissed her full on the lips, while everyone continued to clap, including Ross and Rachel as they whistled and hollered at them.
The slow song that Chandler had requested came on, and he and Monica began to sway
I've been sitting here
Trying to find myself
I get behind myself
I need to rewind myself
Looking for the pay back
Listen for the play back
They say that every man bleeds
Just like me
And I feel like number one
Yet I'm last in line
"You're so beautiful." Chandler whispered in Monica's ear.
"Thank you." Monica shivered.
I watch my youngest son
And it helps to pass the time
I take too many pills
To help to ease the pain
I made a couple dollar bills
Still I feel the same
Everybody knows my name
The sad way I lie
A lot of folks offer me
It's hard to hang out in crowds
Ross and Rachel stood near them, trying to concentrate on watching Monica and Chandler, but failing. Their attention kept going back to the way the side of Rachel's face leaned against the side Ross's. Or how Ross arms kept creeping up and down her back, sending shivers shooting up and down her spine.
I guess that's the price you pay
To be some big shot like I am
Strange lands and one night stands
Still I can't find love
And when it all comes tumbling down
I will always be around
People don't know about the things I say I do
They don't understand
About the issues I've been through
It's been so long since I've been home
I've been gone
I've been gone for way too long
Maybe I've forgot
All the things I miss
Oh somehow I know there's more to life than this
Chandler kissed Monica again softly and she responded the same way. They weren't really paying attention to the music, just themselves and the way their bodies were swaying together.
I said it too many times
And I still stand firm
You get what you put in
And people get what they deserve
Still I ain't seen in
No I ain't seen mine
I've been getting
I've been walking down that line
So I think I'll keep walking
With my head held high
I keep moving on
And only god knows why
Only God, Only god
Only God knows why
Take me to the river
Yeah, take me to the river
"You want to go?" Chandler asked her softly.
"Yeah.' She nodded.
Chandler waved at Ross and signaled that they were going, and he nodded to them as he smiled.
Monica leaned against Chandler and walked outside to his car, and found that the tires were slashed and someone had keyed his car so that it said, "FUCK YOU."
"Well, I guess that's the price I pay." Chandler said calmly as he turned them both around and back into th school. They found Ross and Rachel taking a break from the dance floor outside the gym.
"My tires are slashed." Chandler said calmly. "Are you guys planning on leaving soon?"
"Actually, we were just about to go." Ross nodded and motioned for Rachel to come.
Rachel followed them all outside and she got in the front seat beside Ross, while Chandler and Monica stayed in the back, cuddling.
Ross sighed and drove them all back to his house.
"Chandler, you can spend the night if you want. You can call a tow truck in the morning." Ross said tiredly.
"Sounds good." He nodded.
"Not in Monica's room." Ross added.
"Damn." Chandler muttered jokingly. "Don't worry, I knew that."
Ross reached their house and they all climbed out. It had been a long night and they were all tired.
"Good night guys." Monica smiled at them and kissed Chandler slowly as they went inside. She headed straight up to her room to take off the dress and the uncomfortable shoes.
"Yeah, Ross I'll be in your room." Chandler sensed that they needed to be alone.
"Sure man." Ross barely noticed him.
"So, did you have fun tonight?" Ross asked Rachel.
"Yeah, I had fun. I got to go to my senior prom." Rachel nodded.
"That's good." Ross said.
"So, good night I guess." Rachel said as she backed up abruptly and ran up the stairs, leaving Ross leaning against the banister at the bottom of the stairs.
Ross shook his head in an effort to clear his head from that night's thoughts and slowly headed up the stairs. He paused after every step as if he were thinking heavily about something. By the time he had reached the upstairs hallway, Monica's and Rachel's lights were off. He walked to his room and heard Rachel sobbing from inside.
"Rach?" Ross knocked quietly on her door.
"Yeah?" Rachel tried to keep her voice steady.
"Can I come in?" Ross asked her.
"If you want to see a train wreck, sure." Rachel said quietly.
Ross opened her door and turned on the lights and watched the figure on the bed move up and down rhythmically with the sobs.
"Rachel, what's wrong?" Ross asked her as he went to sit beside her on the bed, rolling her over so she was looking up at him.
"Being there tonight, I just realized that nothing is ever going to be the same again. I'm never going to have a normal life." She sobbed.
"Of course you will." Ross ran his fingers through her hair, pushing it off of her wet face.
"No I won't." I'll never have the same friends, I'll never live in my old house, I'll never go away to college or anything." She cried into her pillow.
"I'm sure going away to college can be arranged, and as for friends, I'll always be here for you. SO will Monica. You never have to worry about that." He smiled down at her as she continued to weep.
Rachel smiled gratefully up at him through her tears.
"And you don't look like a train wreck." Ross said to her.
She gazed up into his eyes and watched as he leaned in closer to her and kissed her softly on the lips.
"I-I can't." Rachel jumped back quickly.
"I'm sorry, that was out of line." Ross stuttered.
"No, I'm sorry." Rachel said.
Ross got up without a word and headed out the door, turning off the lights on his way off and entering his room.
"Hey man." Chandler said sleepily.
Chandler was sprawled across his whole bed so after he had changed Ross grabbed a pillow from his closet and headed to sleep on the downstairs couch.
He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but was awakened a half an hour later when he heard the front door close.
"Hey, who's there?" Ross asked sleepily. There was no answer so Ross got up to look and saw that the front door was unlocked. He ran upstairs, all of a sudden awake, and went to Monica's room. When he saw that she was sleeping, he went into his parents room, where they were both sleeping. He ran to his room next, and seeing Chandler lying in his bed, he feared the worst as he opened the last door. He opened it slowly and flipped on the lights and his face fell. Rachel's bed was neatly tucked in and her teddy bear lay on top. He ran downstairs at full speed and out the front door.
"RACHEL!" Ross screamed at the top of his lungs.
He looked down both sides of his empty street, and ran as fast as he could down towards the main street. He arrived on the main street just as a bus was pulling away from its stop. He ran towards the bus and ran along side it, glancing in the window, when he saw her watching him from the back seat. He held his hand flat against the window as he ran as fast as he possibly could alongside it.
"RACHEL!" He yelled again to her as he tried to keep alongside the bus that was going 40 miles per hour. The bus started to gain and Ross slowed down, out of breath, as Rachel watched from the back window and a tear slid down her face.
"Rachel, come back!" He yelled as loud as he possibly could before the bus disappeared around a corner and out of view, possibly forever.
Please Review, and I'll continue as soon as I can.
rossandrachelforever