Chapter 3. New Roommates and A Fridge
But after that night, Joey couldn't have Chandler sleep over anymore, because a fire at the Phoebe and Rachel's apartment forced them to move in with their friends. The girls fought over who could stay where, but finally Rachel stayed with Joey, and Phoebe settled for Monica's obsessively clean guest room. Rachel and Monica had once switched apartments with the guys before, and hated it, but this time Rachel didn't mind the smell or the messiness of Joey's place. Maybe Chandler's old bedroom was just that much more tolerable than Joey's, or maybe Rachel just really did not want to move in with Ross.
Ross started dating a student named Elizabeth, despite the twelve-year age difference and despite the fact that he could get fired from NYU. They seemed to be turned on by the forbidden element to their relationship.
Meanwhile, as a favor to Joey, Chandler got back in touch with Dana Keystone, a friend from college who was directing a new Al Pacino movie. He had once gone out with Dana, which made Monica jealous, but Chandler saw her anyway for Joey's sake, and he even let Dana believe that he was brokenhearted over her rejection in order to score Joey an audition. He was a great friend.
But suddenly, Chandler wasn't so nice anymore. Joey's fridge broke, and Chandler refused to help Joey buy a new one. Joey figured that all his other friends would probably refuse to pay half, because they had never thought of him as their responsibility, but Chandler of all people should have been a sure thing.
So Joey had to eat all of his food before it spoiled, making himself a little sick, while Chandler got into the fierce competition to find Rachel a date. He and Monica pitched their incredible-smelling guy Eldad against Phoebe's rich guy Patrick, but both sides lost because Rachel got fed up and decided to go to her charity ball alone.
Feeling jealous and insecure, Ross impetuously decided to go away on spring break with Elizabeth.
And the fridge remained broken.
Joey had tried the whole gang, except Monica, and failed, so he asked Rachel what exactly she intended to do, living in an apartment for maybe months without a fridge. Eat out all the time? Have no cold drinks? Waste food and throw out leftovers? Try to squeeze her stuff into Monica and Chandler's fridge?
Rachel saw Joey's point, but she still felt that her paying for half was unfair, since she'd only just moved in; she finally suggested that they bring Phoebe's fridge over to Joey's place, since it was just sitting unused while their apartment was repaired. They told Phoebe the plan, and she agreed to it, since she wanted to hang out more at Joey's place anyway, instead of being suffocated at Monica's.
"Monica and Chandler's," Joey corrected.
"Monica's," she scoffed. "He's just another guest at Hotel Monica, cowering to her freaky neatness."
Joey didn't appreciate the dig at Chandler, but he was relieved to not need to ask his family for money; if he did ask, they might try again to convince him to go into the family pipe-fitting business. Chandler had always understood that dread and taken care of Joey, when others might have said, "What's the point of you living here if you're not going to help me with the bills?"
Joey realized sadly that Chandler wasn't going to take care of him anymore. He knew he had to grow up sometime, but he hadn't thought it would be in a crunch like this. Well, at least his problem was solved until Phoebe and Rachel moved back to their apartment and took the fridge with them; hopefully, Joey wouldn't be so short of cash by then.
So Phoebe, Rachel, and Joey all pitched in to pay for movers to take away the old fridge and bring the "new" one over from the charred apartment. Thankfully, only the bedrooms had been damaged in the fire, and not the kitchen.
Once the fridge got installed and started to get cold inside, Phoebe suggested restocking it with food.
"Yeah, okay." Rachel started to get her purse.
"Let's make a list!" Monica eagerly got out a notepad. "Then you won't forget anything. Let's start with you, Joey. What do you need?"
"Me? Uh, no thanks. I'm still full from eating all that food the other day."
"Oh, come on, Joey. You need beer at least. Listen, don't worry about the money; it's on me, since we're already feeding you anyway."
Apparently she still thought of Joey as a quasi-kid that they were supporting, even if Chandler didn't; maybe Joey shouldn't have just assumed that Monica would also refuse to help him pay for the fridge.
In any case, Monica made out a list of groceries, then headed off to the nearest store with Phoebe and Rachel, who jokingly asked whether "Mom" would pay for their groceries too.
Ross was still on spring break, so Joey and Chandler were left alone. They went back across the hall to the big apartment, got some beers from the fridge, and put them in a cooler of ice. Then they sat drinking and watching the TV in silence.
Finally, Joey couldn't help but say something. "I guess, um, I should thank you too for buying my food. You and Monica probably have a joint bank account or something."
Chandler looked at him at last. "What? No way! We're not married yet. Just a couple."
"Oh, okay."
But Chandler knew what he meant. She would want a joint banking account someday, she would want to get married, and she would want babies. It was understood, though he avoided thinking about it.
His hand brushed against Joey's when they both grabbed for another beer from the cooler.
"Sorry!" Joey pulled his hand away, and for a moment he could have sworn that he saw Chandler blushing in return. Maybe Chandler still had that crush on him, even now.
"That's--that's okay," Chandler swallowed nervously and withdrew his hand too. "You take the last one, Joe."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks." So Joey took the last beer. "Listen, um, I'm sorry I asked you to pay for half of the fridge. I know you don't live with me anymore. I mean, I wouldn't have even asked you if Rachel had said yes."
Chandler understood, and felt apologetic too. "I, uh, I wasn't trying to be mean, you know? It just made me realize, um..."
Joey shook his head. "You don't have to explain. I told you myself, 'No more charity for me. All you and Monica now.' Right?"
"Right." But Chandler didn't sound wholly convinced. "Look, I guess--I guess I encouraged you to ask me, Joey. I mean, letting you come over in the middle of the night to watch our cable. Letting you steal our food. Offering you money when you didn't get that twin study at NYU."
"Nah, that's nothing. I shouldn't have asked you to get me that audition through that girl Dana. I'm sorry."
"That's all right." Chandler patted Joey on the leg with his hand, and they met each other's eyes in silence.
Just then, they heard the girls coming back from shopping, and they quickly pulled away from each other. Phoebe and Rachel headed into the other apartment with their bags, while Monica came in long enough to ask the guys to help unload the groceries into the fridge.
They obediently got up and joined the girls across the hall.
***
Life went on like normal, and Joey and Chandler kept burying and ignoring their crushes on one another, knowing it would place them in a difficult position with Monica and their other friends. Crushes always eventually faded away, didn't they?
Soon Joey got an audition as the lead in a new TV series about a cop and his robot sidekick. He made the call-back list, but the second audition time got changed, and Chandler failed to leave him the message. Joey got upset with him, and Chandler tried to apologize, but Joey stayed angry, feeling almost betrayed. That part meant a lot to him, because of the money and independence it would have brought.
Luckily, Joey got another chance at the part, and Chandler came through for him this time, so all was forgiven. They were happy and hugging again, just like old times. They could remember being in each other's arms many times before, and suddenly they realized how tightly they held onto each other now.
Joey looked at him hesitantly. "Hey, do we do this too much?"
Chandler agreed and nervously pushed Joey away from him. These embraces must have been the reason why he had developed a crush on Joey in the first place. Still not looking at Joey, he cleared his throat and said that maybe the gang should all go out to dinner to celebrate Joey getting the part.
"Yeah. Yeah, that would be great."
So they went on, ignoring the feelings trapped below the surface.
But after that night, Joey couldn't have Chandler sleep over anymore, because a fire at the Phoebe and Rachel's apartment forced them to move in with their friends. The girls fought over who could stay where, but finally Rachel stayed with Joey, and Phoebe settled for Monica's obsessively clean guest room. Rachel and Monica had once switched apartments with the guys before, and hated it, but this time Rachel didn't mind the smell or the messiness of Joey's place. Maybe Chandler's old bedroom was just that much more tolerable than Joey's, or maybe Rachel just really did not want to move in with Ross.
Ross started dating a student named Elizabeth, despite the twelve-year age difference and despite the fact that he could get fired from NYU. They seemed to be turned on by the forbidden element to their relationship.
Meanwhile, as a favor to Joey, Chandler got back in touch with Dana Keystone, a friend from college who was directing a new Al Pacino movie. He had once gone out with Dana, which made Monica jealous, but Chandler saw her anyway for Joey's sake, and he even let Dana believe that he was brokenhearted over her rejection in order to score Joey an audition. He was a great friend.
But suddenly, Chandler wasn't so nice anymore. Joey's fridge broke, and Chandler refused to help Joey buy a new one. Joey figured that all his other friends would probably refuse to pay half, because they had never thought of him as their responsibility, but Chandler of all people should have been a sure thing.
So Joey had to eat all of his food before it spoiled, making himself a little sick, while Chandler got into the fierce competition to find Rachel a date. He and Monica pitched their incredible-smelling guy Eldad against Phoebe's rich guy Patrick, but both sides lost because Rachel got fed up and decided to go to her charity ball alone.
Feeling jealous and insecure, Ross impetuously decided to go away on spring break with Elizabeth.
And the fridge remained broken.
Joey had tried the whole gang, except Monica, and failed, so he asked Rachel what exactly she intended to do, living in an apartment for maybe months without a fridge. Eat out all the time? Have no cold drinks? Waste food and throw out leftovers? Try to squeeze her stuff into Monica and Chandler's fridge?
Rachel saw Joey's point, but she still felt that her paying for half was unfair, since she'd only just moved in; she finally suggested that they bring Phoebe's fridge over to Joey's place, since it was just sitting unused while their apartment was repaired. They told Phoebe the plan, and she agreed to it, since she wanted to hang out more at Joey's place anyway, instead of being suffocated at Monica's.
"Monica and Chandler's," Joey corrected.
"Monica's," she scoffed. "He's just another guest at Hotel Monica, cowering to her freaky neatness."
Joey didn't appreciate the dig at Chandler, but he was relieved to not need to ask his family for money; if he did ask, they might try again to convince him to go into the family pipe-fitting business. Chandler had always understood that dread and taken care of Joey, when others might have said, "What's the point of you living here if you're not going to help me with the bills?"
Joey realized sadly that Chandler wasn't going to take care of him anymore. He knew he had to grow up sometime, but he hadn't thought it would be in a crunch like this. Well, at least his problem was solved until Phoebe and Rachel moved back to their apartment and took the fridge with them; hopefully, Joey wouldn't be so short of cash by then.
So Phoebe, Rachel, and Joey all pitched in to pay for movers to take away the old fridge and bring the "new" one over from the charred apartment. Thankfully, only the bedrooms had been damaged in the fire, and not the kitchen.
Once the fridge got installed and started to get cold inside, Phoebe suggested restocking it with food.
"Yeah, okay." Rachel started to get her purse.
"Let's make a list!" Monica eagerly got out a notepad. "Then you won't forget anything. Let's start with you, Joey. What do you need?"
"Me? Uh, no thanks. I'm still full from eating all that food the other day."
"Oh, come on, Joey. You need beer at least. Listen, don't worry about the money; it's on me, since we're already feeding you anyway."
Apparently she still thought of Joey as a quasi-kid that they were supporting, even if Chandler didn't; maybe Joey shouldn't have just assumed that Monica would also refuse to help him pay for the fridge.
In any case, Monica made out a list of groceries, then headed off to the nearest store with Phoebe and Rachel, who jokingly asked whether "Mom" would pay for their groceries too.
Ross was still on spring break, so Joey and Chandler were left alone. They went back across the hall to the big apartment, got some beers from the fridge, and put them in a cooler of ice. Then they sat drinking and watching the TV in silence.
Finally, Joey couldn't help but say something. "I guess, um, I should thank you too for buying my food. You and Monica probably have a joint bank account or something."
Chandler looked at him at last. "What? No way! We're not married yet. Just a couple."
"Oh, okay."
But Chandler knew what he meant. She would want a joint banking account someday, she would want to get married, and she would want babies. It was understood, though he avoided thinking about it.
His hand brushed against Joey's when they both grabbed for another beer from the cooler.
"Sorry!" Joey pulled his hand away, and for a moment he could have sworn that he saw Chandler blushing in return. Maybe Chandler still had that crush on him, even now.
"That's--that's okay," Chandler swallowed nervously and withdrew his hand too. "You take the last one, Joe."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks." So Joey took the last beer. "Listen, um, I'm sorry I asked you to pay for half of the fridge. I know you don't live with me anymore. I mean, I wouldn't have even asked you if Rachel had said yes."
Chandler understood, and felt apologetic too. "I, uh, I wasn't trying to be mean, you know? It just made me realize, um..."
Joey shook his head. "You don't have to explain. I told you myself, 'No more charity for me. All you and Monica now.' Right?"
"Right." But Chandler didn't sound wholly convinced. "Look, I guess--I guess I encouraged you to ask me, Joey. I mean, letting you come over in the middle of the night to watch our cable. Letting you steal our food. Offering you money when you didn't get that twin study at NYU."
"Nah, that's nothing. I shouldn't have asked you to get me that audition through that girl Dana. I'm sorry."
"That's all right." Chandler patted Joey on the leg with his hand, and they met each other's eyes in silence.
Just then, they heard the girls coming back from shopping, and they quickly pulled away from each other. Phoebe and Rachel headed into the other apartment with their bags, while Monica came in long enough to ask the guys to help unload the groceries into the fridge.
They obediently got up and joined the girls across the hall.
***
Life went on like normal, and Joey and Chandler kept burying and ignoring their crushes on one another, knowing it would place them in a difficult position with Monica and their other friends. Crushes always eventually faded away, didn't they?
Soon Joey got an audition as the lead in a new TV series about a cop and his robot sidekick. He made the call-back list, but the second audition time got changed, and Chandler failed to leave him the message. Joey got upset with him, and Chandler tried to apologize, but Joey stayed angry, feeling almost betrayed. That part meant a lot to him, because of the money and independence it would have brought.
Luckily, Joey got another chance at the part, and Chandler came through for him this time, so all was forgiven. They were happy and hugging again, just like old times. They could remember being in each other's arms many times before, and suddenly they realized how tightly they held onto each other now.
Joey looked at him hesitantly. "Hey, do we do this too much?"
Chandler agreed and nervously pushed Joey away from him. These embraces must have been the reason why he had developed a crush on Joey in the first place. Still not looking at Joey, he cleared his throat and said that maybe the gang should all go out to dinner to celebrate Joey getting the part.
"Yeah. Yeah, that would be great."
So they went on, ignoring the feelings trapped below the surface.