Oh come on, I really did try to update ASAP and it still took me like 6 days. I'm mad at myself too. Well, here I am: (and to any people who like Harry Potter here, this is a totally shameless plug for my fic Find A Way, which is HP and is based on reversing the sad thing that happened at the end of the fifth book. It's what has kept me from updating chapter 3 and this one sooner, and please read it :D if you wanna that is…) Well on with the story, I still don't own Friends, the characters, most of the surrounding areas and stuff… You get the point. Oh yeah and it's Sunday in the fic. And another thing, I know that Central Perk was some other place back in this time but pretend that it was still Central Perk back then. So:
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In the morning, everyone was quiet and barely spoke. Chandler wouldn't meet Rachel's gaze, Rachel was too caught up in her thoughts to even talk; Ross just felt uncomfortable and somehow caught up in all the tension and Monica was still upset about Rachel's feelings for Chandler. Basically, no one talked except to say good morning to the Gellers or when someone needed the salt. For any of them, this was a strange occurrence. Usually, you couldn't shut them up.
"So what do you guys wanna do?" Rachel asked, kind of awkwardly.
"Hey, what about that place beside Central Park that just opened?" Ross jumped in.
"Oh yeah, Central Perk or something. I heard they make great cappuccinos." Monica said.
"Well, cappuccinos sound good." Chandler finally talked.
"Then let's go. It's nice out, you guys want to just walk there?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, sure, ok" Came scattered replies from the three.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The foursome came into the coffee place and looked around. Nobody looked up when the little bells on the door jingled, announcing the friends' arrival. There were tables spread out through Central Perk and in the middle, there was a sofa and two loveseats around a coffee table. Everything was a nice, calm, beige colour.
After looking around for a bit, the four headed towards the sofa. One of the loveseats was occupied by a perky looking woman, around Rach and Monica's age, who was biting her blonde hair and writing something that looked like a song. She had a guitar and she played some chords, as if testing them out, once in a while. A dark haired man around Chandler and Ross's age was occupying the other seat. He was intently watching what the guitar girl was doing. By Rachel's standards, the guy was pretty hot.
Even after they sat down on the sofa, none of the occupants of the loveseats looked up at them. Everyone seemed to be preoccupied with doing nothing in the coffee shop.
"May I help you with anything?" The four were startled to see a grouchy-looking man standing over them impatiently.
"Um four cappuccinos." Rachel said quickly.
"Hey Carl can you get us two?" The guitar girl finally looked up. Carl, the grouchy-looking man, nodded and disappeared behind the counter of the shop.
"He there makes THE best cappuccinos anywhere!" She exclaimed to the group. "I'm Phoebe."
"Joey." The man beside her reached out to shake everyone's hand.
"Hey, I'm Rachel." She was followed by an interested 'How YOU doin?' from Joey, at which Rachel giggled a bit.
"Ross."
"Chandler."
"Monica. Nice to meet you two."
"Do you guys live around here?" Rachel asked.
"Well I live across the street from the Park. Pheebs, she…" He paused, looking at Phoebe to explain.
"Oh yeah. Um see my mom committed suicide when I was 13 and I've lived with this guy but well he committed suicide too… Then I tried aromatherapy and I met Joey here. We were in a French club!" She exclaimed, getting excited. "Ooh it was so much fun! Bonjour." She said in a semi French accent.
"Yeah but tell me, what's the fun in a French club if you don't French kiss?" Joey said, looking as if he was making the most accurate and serious point ever. Chandler and Ross shrugged and half nodded, agreeing.
"Anyway and then this place opened up and now we barely leave here." Phoebe beamed at her listeners. "Ooh and I'm writing this song right now! Wanna hear it?" Before they could reply, she said, "It's called Smelly Cat.
"Smelly cat, smelly cat,
What are they feeding you?
Smelly cat, smelly cat,
La la la la
"They won't take you to the vet,
You're something not their favourite pet,
You may not something la roses
And you're no friend to those with noses
"Smelly cat, smelly cat,
What are they feeding you?
Smelly cat, smelly cat,
Something la la…"
"I'm not totally done writing it, but I think it's coming along quite well, don't you?" She looked at them for support.
"Oh yeah, of course, it's great…" Came rushed replies from the rest.
"I used to sing with Leslie, she was my best friend and then she decided she'd rather write, y'know, jingles, so whatever." Phoebe said, obviously irritated. Just then, Carl came up to them with their cappuccinos. "Took long enough." She snapped. He gave her the cappuccino and she took a sip. "Aww thanks, that's so sweet of you!" She said sweetly to Carl, everyone freaked out with her sudden mood change.
"Um you're welcome Weird Girl." He walked away after giving everyone else their drinks too.
"Aww he has a nickname for me!" She sighed while everyone exchanged looks.
"Right." Rachel said quickly. "Anyway, so you two are in here all the time?"
"Just about." Joey said.
"Well this place is pretty close to mine, if you ever wanna come by, we could all hang out." Rachel said.
"Oh I don't think I can…" Joey started.
"My parents are gonna be gone for a month starting today."
"Did I say I don't, cause I meant of course I can!"
"Ooh yeah that'd be fun, we could have a sleepover!! Ooh a sleepover!! I LOVE sleepovers!!" Phoebe said, practically jumping up and down on her seat, getting way over excited.
"You wanna go now?" Rachel proposed.
"Yeah sure." Everyone agreed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They arrived at the Greene mansion soon after.
"Wow…" was all Chandler was capable of saying, gawking at the huge house with an open mouth. Ross and Monica have seen the house before but were still in awe.
"Man… you must be RICH!" Joey exclaimed.
"Well not so much, we inherited this house–" Rachel said, embarrassed.
"Oh come on, you're rich like hell." Monica said, interrupting Rachel and she blushed.
"I have NEVER seen a house this big in my whole life." Phoebe commented absentmindedly.
After getting over the general shock, they came in. Rachel's parents had already left. The friends played pool for a while, talking about whatever came to mind. Finally, it was night and everyone was tired, so the girls and guys split up into two rooms on the opposite ends of the hall upstairs.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So, girl talk! Haven't done that in a while." Phoebe said, motioning for the girls to sit in a circle. "Ooh, ok so what do you think of the guys? Monica, you first."
"Umm well…" She blushed. "It's really weird… The night before I met Chandler, I had this dream about him. And it was him, for sure, he told me his name and all. And well, I like him a lot."
"Aww that means you guys are soulmates!!" Phoebe exclaimed happily to Monica.
"Rach?" Rachel was sitting there quietly.
"How come you never told me that?" Rachel said, kind of angrily.
"Well I…"
"If you told me, I wouldn't have…" She stopped.
"What?" Phoebe asked.
"Nothing, it's just that yesterday, I couldn't sleep and Chandler didn't either and we talked a bit and well he told me that Ross… is in love with me…"She trailed off. Rachel decided for Monica's good, to leave out some parts of last night.
"He told you??" Monica asked incredulously.
"You KNEW?" Rachel asked in disbelief.
"Well uh… yeah."
"This is interesting." Phoebe commented, watching them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So, any of those girls your girlfriends?" Joey asked Chandler and Ross.
"No but Ross is in love with Rachel." Chandler said, resulting in his head getting smacked by Ross, reminding him of yesterday and the Dasani bottle.
"In love? Really?" Joey asked.
"No!" The two boys stared at Ross. "Yeah." He whispered and they burst out laughing.
"Well she is a really fun person to talk to." Chandler said, immediately regretting it.
"Chandler, you barely talk to her." Ross said, eyeing his best friend suspiciously.
"Umm y-yes, o-o-of course, I n-never talk t-to h-her" Chandler replied, not looking at Ross and stuttering.
"Anyway, don't tell her. I don't want her to know yet." Ross said to Joey.
"Why not man?" Joey asked as if it was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard.
"Because. Just not now." Ross said, Joey shook his head at him and Chandler laughed nervously.
"She knows." Chandlers said extremely quietly and quickly, looking down.
"WHAT?" Ross yelled.
"I'm sorry but yesterday we both couldn't sleep at night and well we were outside talking and she was—and it just kind of slipped out." Chandler's voice was getting smaller and smaller.
"You were with her all night??"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down. It's ok, breathe." Joey said, holding Ross away from Chandler. "Look man, the way I see it, he did you a favour. Did she avoid you today? No. And she knows. That means she has feelings for you too. What's that mean?"
Ross waited for him to say something, and when he didn't, he said, irritated, "I don't know, what??"
"Well you gotta ask her out!" He said like it was the simplest thing in the world.
"I can't – I can't do that… Wait hold on. Chandler, why'd you tell her? How did the subject come up?"
"Umm…" Chandler started trying to lie but gave up and told them what happened.
"You like her too??" Ross asked angrily.
"Oh, this is gonna take a while." Joey sighed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey how about this. Rachel, who do you like more, Ross or Chandler?" Phoebe asked.
"I think Ross. I've known him for so long and he's just… a great guy." Rachel sighed.
"Aww…" Monica said, relieved and happy for Rachel and Ross.
"Well then we don't have much of a problem. Rach, you go for Ross and Mon, you go for Chandler and me, and I'll just be around to stop you guys from fighting. That work?" Phoebe sighed, glad to have it over with.
"Yeah." Monica and Rachel agreed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Look, Ross, just go for it. You've loved her since the ninth grade and I can't take that away from you all right? Having a crush and being in love with someone are different things." Chandler said.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Now go on and ask her out already."
"Now?" Ross asked nervously.
The guys groaned and pushed Ross out of the door and towards the girls' room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There was a knock on the girls' door and Rachel opened it.
"Hey Ross, what's up?"
"Um can I talk to you in private for a second?"
"Uh sure." They went out into the hall and both the girls and the guys pressed against their door to listen.
"So…" Rachel started, waiting for Ross to say something but he was uncomfortably fidgeting.
"Hey um I was thinking that m-maybe… d-do you wanna go out with m-me?" He looked up at her hopefully, unconsciously forming a puppy-face.
"I'd love to Ross! Aww" She hugged him, and could not help but think how cute he looked just then.
From both sides of the hall, the doors burst open from the pressure the people on the other side were putting on them. The four regained their composure and stood there looking embarrassed for a minute before going over to hug the new couple. Everyone, even Chandler, was happy for the two.
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Aah, I'm done. Next chapter is going to complicate things. A lot. Please, please review. Ugh and I'll TRY to update soon. Well, thanks for reading, and please just click that little purple button down there and be nice :).
