Between Us~Chapter 5~Just A Kiss
Yeah, I got a lot less reviews for the last chapter. Is this story started to suck already? If you want me to continue, then review. If u don't, I'm gonna assume you hate it. Well, I'll also assume that if u leave a bad review, obviously…hehe so either way… Oooh, funny story!! Ok, not really funny, but that's ok. Anyways, I bought the Chicago soundtrack last week and I've never seen the movie or the show. Hehe, I'm so pathetic. Mark my word, I will see it! Oh, and I also got my Season 3 DVD's!! They came a day earlier than the release date! I felt very special. I've watched it a bit this week…I still have 2 episodes left on the first disk. Oh and Julie and I were talking about different ages of people who write fics, and now I'm really curious. So if u write fics and wanna tell me how old u are, that would be nice. It's just like…one of those…general wonderment things, ya know? Like don't feel compelled to tell me. If u think that's weird then wow, cuz I think about weirder things than that, believe me. (Ha, yen, u know…cuz it's like one mind and all. Ya, I had to mention u somewheres in my a/n or I would've gotten an earful…)
Disclaimer: And the tale of the pez dispenser is over:-(. Don't have anything more to say about that. So, I tried to think of a good disclaimer last night and I couldn't. All right, I don't own any of these characters, except for Leslie. *yawns* How boring?
Monica held the black cordless phone against both her right ear and shoulder, as she unpacked cooking supplies.
"There's seriously nothing in this apartment!" Monica complained.
"He's a guy," Leslie answered on the other line, "What did you expect?"
"Well, I thought he'd at least his own plates!"
"He's a guuuuuuuy," Leslie sang.
"Yeah, but he used to…"
"That was then."
"Yeah..."
"You okay?"
Monica straightened up. "I'm fine!"
"Okay…"
"Better than okay!"
"Right, you're fine."
"Exactly."
There was a pause in the conversation.
"I'm gonna miss you."
Monica smiled sadly. "I'm gonna miss you, too."
"If you ever need anything, give me a call. And if anyone ever does anything to you, I'll be over there in a flash to kick their ass."
Monica chuckled and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Thanks."
"Call me later?"
"Of course."
"Okay then, bye!"
"Bye."
Monica pressed the off button on the phone and stared at it for a moment. It was strange to know that Leslie would only be her friend through the phone now. But still, she was with her real friends now. She was with the same friends that had always held her heart. She looked up and studied the apartment. She had made a few changes already. For instance, she hung up new, flowered curtains, and a few scattered pictures. She was sure Chandler didn't appreciate her changes, but he never protested. Monica decided that she wouldn't think about Chandler's reaction, unless he made his feelings known to her. Besides, Chandler probably could care less. He was, after all, as Leslie put it, 'a guy'. They didn't care about those things, right?
A few minutes later, Monica returned to unpacking, but was interrupted when Chandler entered the apartment. He smiled at Monica and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"How was your day?"
"Great!"
Chandler was surprised by her enthusiasm. "What'd you do?"
Monica looked away sheepishly. "Unpacked, cleaned."
"Ohhh ok. Now I see why it was such a great day."
"I'm gonna let that slide, just this once, since you're letting me live in your home.
"Hey, it's both our homes now. But thank you."
Chandler put his briefcase down on the floor next to the kitchen counter, and began to sift through the mail that he had brought upstairs. A few seconds later, Monica glanced down at the briefcase and then eyed him expectantly. Chandler looked up from his mail and raised his eyebrows.
"What?"
Monica moved her glance back down towards the case. "Nothing."
Chandler sighed, grabbed the briefcase, and moved it next to the door.
"Thank you!"
Chandler mumbled in response. He knew to expect things like that from her. After all, she was still Monica.
*~*~*~*
The next night, Monica looked around Ross and Rachel's house, carefully scanning for any misplaced objects. She wished she hadn't allowed Ross to talk her into this. She wasn't ready! She had only been back in New York for a few days. Ross laughed and shook his head woefully.
"Mon, the house is fine."
"I…I know," Monica said, as she straightened a picture on the wall.
"Besides, it's not like it's your house."
"Yes, but she'll still blame me for everything."
"Mon—"
Monica turned away forcefully, unwilling to hear the rest of Ross' speech. Maybe he was right. Perhaps her mother wouldn't care what the house looked like. For once, Monica actually hoped that she would focus on the insignificant things. If her mother centered her attention on that, then Monica figured she wouldn't spend her time focused on Monica's disappearance. After all, a daughter returning suddenly after three years of absence isn't exactly an offense that's easily forgiven and forgotten. There was a knock on the door and Ross opened it. Monica could hear a faint complaint coming from her mother's mouth and a garbled response from her father. Her mouth went dry as the footsteps reached closer and closer to the living room. For so long she had sought out her parents' approval, and she had lost it for sure now.
"Ross dear, why don't you take our coats upstairs like a gentle—" Judy stopped mid-sentence when she entered the living room. "Monica?"
"Judy, where'd you go?" Jack entered the room obliviously, but suddenly caught on to his wife's reason of shock. "Monica?"
Monica smiled timidly and licked her lips. "Mom, dad."
Ross entered the living room and sensing the tension, enthused, "Hey guys, look who's here!"
Jack and Judy turned towards Ross with questioning looks on their faces. Monica, however, remained rooted in her spot. She never knew what to say or do around her parents, and this time was no exception. Instead, she waited nervously for someone to say something.
"Why don't we all have some dinner," Ross offered meekly.
Judy nodded and left the living room. Jack stared at Monica for a few more moments and whispered, "We thought we'd lost you." Monica, stunned at his words, just stared at her father as he made his way to the dining room.
"You okay?" Ross asked as he rubbed Monica's shoulders soothingly.
"Yeah," she answered absently.
"They just need some time to get used to the fact that you're here."
Monica nodded in response.
"Come on." Ross latched on to her arm, and practically had to drag Monica into the dining room.
There was silence all around the table as the four family members picked at their food. Although they had many fights in the past, there was never such an awkward air around them. Now that there was, it felt so uncomfortable that Monica could barely breathe.
"So Ross," Judy finally attempted, "Where's Rachel and the kids?"
"Oh, they went to spend some time with Rachel's mom."
"That's nice."
"So who made the food?" Jack chimed in, "I'm assuming not Rachel."
Ross shook his head. "Monica did."
Jack nodded slowly, and without looking at Monica replied, "It's very good."
Then, that uncomfortable silence returned. The same silence that made Monica's heart speed up and palms turn clammy. It wasn't like her parents not comment on anything. It was almost as if Monica wasn't even there.
Finally, the dinner ended, leaving none contented physically or emotionally. Although her parents and she wanted to leave, Ross insisted that they stay for coffee and dessert. Finally, fed up with the silence and lack of answers, Judy stood up suddenly.
"Why'd you leave?" she demanded.
"I—I don't know."
"That's not a reason!"
"I know."
"You could've at least kept in touch! But you didn't leave us an address or anything! We had no idea what happened to you!"
"I know. It was stupid. I'm sorry."
"Sorry can't undo it."
Monica bit her lip and turned away from her parents.
Judy's tone suddenly softened dramatically. "Where's he now?"
"We got," Monica looked down at her feet, "We got divorced."
Her parents stared at Monica for a few moments, and then Jack approached her and timidly put his arms around her.
"We're so sorry," he whispered, "You're still our daughter and we love you."
Monica pulled back and searched her father's face. "Really?"
"Of course!"
Judy nodded and silently hugged Monica. Even though she was still obviously angry, there was more to be settled before anger. Judy broke the embrace and ran her hands through Monica's hair curiously. "Are those gray hairs?"
*~*~*~*
When Monica returned to her and Chandler's apartment, she ran into the bathroom and searched frantically though her hair. Upon hearing her speedy entrance, Chandler left his bedroom, and stood in the bathroom doorframe worriedly.
"You okay, Mon?"
"Yeah, yeah," Monica replied distractedly as continued running her hands through her hair.
"So what's with the hair?"
"My mom told me she saw gray hairs!"
Chandler laughed and pulled her into a hug, in order to calm her down.
"Don't worry about it."
"Will you look for me?"
"Monica—"
She gave him a pleading look, and his heart melted immediately. He hated the power she had over him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't say no to her. Monica kneeled on the floor, and bent her head, allowing her dark hair to cascade over her face. Chandler kneeled down behind her and moved forward so that his lips were just a few inches from her neck. He then began to timidly run a finger through her hair. He closed his eyes and took in the flowery smell of her hair. It was the same smell that he reminded him of her and especially of that night in London, eight years before. He took in a shaky breath and continued searching, while scolding himself for feeling attracted to Monica.
"Well, I don't see anything," he answered hastily after a minute.
"You barely searched! Look again."
Chandler sighed, and put both hands in her hair, as his heart sped up. It was just her hair—why was it doing this to him?
"You—you have a lot of hair."
"Yeah I know. It's a pain in the ass to deal with in the morning. Guys have it lucky, ya know? You barely have any hair at all. In fact, if you wanted to, you could shave it all off!"
"Well, I like long hair."
"For yourself?"
Chandler paused, flustered. "No!"
"Oh, ok. Just checking." Monica then began to giggle.
"What?"
"I'm just picturing you with long hair."
Chandler laughed a bit, breaking his uneasiness a bit. "Ok Mon, I think you're clear."
Monica sat up quickly, causing the back of her body to lean against Chandler's front. Chandler, caught off guard by that action, inhaled sharply. Monica turned around and frowned at Chandler's startled face.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Okay…"
"All right, I'm gonna go to bed!"
Monica looked at her watch. "It's only nine. Sure you don't wanna watch a movie or something?"
"Nope, I'm wiped."
"Aww…all right then."
Chandler learned in to give Monica a kiss on the cheek, but unaware of this, she turned her head, causing their lips to brush lightly, but leaving an intense spark. For a few moments, they both stared into each other's eyes, unaware of anything, but their feelings. Then, blinded by desire, Chandler moved in again, kissing Monica with growing hunger. Somehow, her arms found their way around his neck, caressing it softly, as his moved up and down the small of her back. This was what he wanted--to kiss and hold and touch Monica once again. The feeling of her body against his sent him into another universe. Suddenly, one of the floorboards creaked, bringing Chandler back to the harsh reality. He hastily broke their kiss and moved away nervously.
"I—I--Oh my God Monica—I'm so sorry! I'm so—"
"It's okay."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
He then ran into his bedroom and slammed the door. This wasn't supposed to happen. Monica was his best friend. He couldn't allow anything to get between that, especially when she was in such a critical state. Not only that, but he had a girlfriend! He hadn't thought of Jill once since Monica had returned home, until now. Still, he was able to shrug off that guilt. It was just a kiss, it only happened once, and he would never allow it to occur again. Plus, he was sure Jill had at least kissed another guy while she and Chandler were dating.
Meanwhile, Monica watched Chandler enter his room in shock. Feeling her legs go weak, she sat down on one of the stools and brought a finger to her lips dreamily. It had been so long since she kissed a guy and felt such excitement. The feeling of his hands caressing her back and his tongue in her mouth had left her reeling. How could she just go back to be friends with Chandler? She wondered if she'd be able to look at him in the same light ever again. Sure, they had been together in London, but it had taken her so long before she could be around Chandler without wanting to attack him. Well, if she could do it once, she could do it again.
"Still," Monica whispered, "I forgot how good of a kisser he was."
Ok, please REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! If u don't I'll…I'll…pull a Blueyes!!!! (not that that's a bad thing, lol) I'll umm…give Monica umm…a mysterious tropical disease that causes her to feet that smell worse than a wet monkey and umm…have Chandler's evil twin come back to murder him and then take his place!! Hmm…sounds more like a Simpson's Halloween special, doesn't it?