I've realised that previous part was a bit duff. Rubbish, twaddle, beyond crap, you know… I don't think I put 100% into the part, my mind was on other things at the time. I just thought it would be a good way to get Joey into the story. There will be a lot more of him, and Phoebe, to come in the future. As for that challenge, yeah that was Matty. He had a bit of trouble with a parking meter, poor man, so someone had to help him out. Lol
Anyway, as I said, that part was bad. I apologise, I'm deeply disgusted with it. Part 4 is MUCH better believe me. It is the 'old me'. PLEASE REVIEW!!
TOW The Reunion
PART FOUR
Monica buried her head into her hands not wanting to look at the piles of bills stacked on the kitchen table. It was getting too much. If it wasn't the electricity bill that needed paying for it was the phone bill or the gas…she peeked through her fingers and stared at the top envelope on the pile. 'FINAL DEMAND' was printed in big bold letters on the front. If she didn't pay it by next week there would be no electricity.
"My god…" she moaned to herself, "What am I going to do?" The constant pressure of living alone was building to the point where she could no longer financially support herself. She thought of Phoebe Buffay and her 'roommates'. "I'm probably going to become one of them soon." She muttered. She placed the bills on the very top shelf, hiding them behind the cookie jar. She didn't want anyone to know her debts. She felt too ashamed.
The apartment door opened and Chandler walked in, looking dejected. "Hey Mon." he greeted sadly.
"What's up?" Monica asked, concerned.
"I missed my interview." Chandler explained.
"But…but how?" Monica stuttered, "You had lots of time left to get there!"
"Blame the stupid parking attendant." Chandler sighed.
"Oh…" Monica decided not to approach the subject, seeing that Chandler was obviously annoyed. "So…um…what are you planning to do next?"
"Apartment hunt." Chandler replied, "If I'm moving back to the city, I need a place to live. Hotels don't really appeal…especially their parking areas."
*****
"I know you're just going to say no again, but do you want to come with me to see Monica?" Ross asked Rachel later that day. The pair was sitting having coffee at Central Perk.
"No Ross," Rachel replied irritably, "I don't."
Ross held his hands up, taken aback by Rachel's mood. "Ok, ok," he said, "You don't have to come."
"Good." Rachel said, sipping her coffee and avoiding eye contact with Ross.
"Ok, look, what is going on here?" Ross demanded, "Why won't you speak to my sister? Tell me please."
Rachel sighed, "Ok, I'll tell you," she relented, "But you're not going to like what you're about to hear."
"I don't care," Ross snapped impatiently, "I just want to know."
"It started when Barry and I were just about to get married," Rachel explained, "Then, one week, Monica comes to stay with us in Florida for a few nights. Everything was ok until the second day. Monica comes up to me wanting to talk about something really important."
"Go on…" Ross encouraged.
"Well, she confessed something to me that at the time I just couldn't believe. I mean it was just so unbelievable."
"What?" Ross asked anxiously.
"Well, Monica said that Barry had come to her room the night before drunk out of his mind. She…she said…" she paused and swallowed hard.
"What?!" Ross demanded, "What happened Rachel?!"
"She said Barry started coming on to her real strong," Rachel whispered, "Kissing her and just being…inappropriate."
"He WHAT?!" Ross yelled.
"You don't understand! It was totally unbelievable!" Rachel protested, "It was only her word against his. I went to confront him about it and he denied it all."
"You believed him, didn't you?" Ross asked quietly, looking at Rachel in shock.
"Yes, I did. What else was I supposed to think?! Barry told me she had come on to him and he pushed her away. We went to confront her about it. She didn't say much. She just muttered something about 'betrayal' and 'trust' and stormed out. Next thing I knew she was back in New York. We haven't really seen each other since."
"So that's why Monica didn't go to your wedding." Ross realised.
"Well I couldn't invite her could I? Not after everything that had happened."
Ross shook his head. "I refuse to believe that my sister would try to steal Barry from you. I'm sorry Rach, but that's the way I feel. She just wouldn't do that."
"Don't you think I know that by now?!" Rachel exclaimed.
"What…what changed your mind?"
"Three years ago, Barry had an affair." Rachel said quietly.
"Oh…" Ross nodded, then frowned. "But…but you're still with him!"
"I forgave him," Rachel shrugged, "But things have never been the same again."
"I'm so sorry Rachel."
"Yeah well," Rachel sighed, "That's what got me thinking. If Barry can have an affair, he is definitely capable of seducing my best friend."
"But he wasn't successful." Ross reminded her.
"I know. Monica was a loyal friend and I blew it." Rachel admitted sadly.
"It's not too late," Ross consoled, "You can still put things right."
**** Four days laterChandler put the final picture on the wall and nodded, satisfied. He looked around the room, smiling at his new surroundings. After a useless search for apartments and no longer being able to afford a hotel, he was in Monica's spare room. The two of them had been decorating it non-stop for the past couple of days. He turned to Monica, who was straightening the bed covers.
"This was a great idea of yours to let me sleep here." He told her.
"Well, you needed a place to live, and I needed a excuse to finish decorating this place so it made sense." Monica replied, smiling up at him. She stood up, studying the pillows. "Are those clean enough for you?" she asked anxiously.
Chandler laughed, "They're fine Mon," he reassured her, "I won't be here long anyway."
Monica stared at him, pretending to be hurt. "You don't like it here or something?" she asked, trying not to laugh.
"Well, the colour scheme could use some rethinking." Chandler joked, gesturing to the purple walls.
"Oh!" Monica cried, shoving him on the bed and pinning him down. "You're paying for that!" she started to tickle Chandler's stomach.
"Hey!" Chandler yelped. He shoved Monica and rolled her over so that he was on top. "I know where you're ticklish," he teased. He gave Monica a mischievous look and started to lightly run his fingers under her arms. She started to giggle and tried to wriggle away, but Chandler prevented her from doing so and started to tickle her feet.
"Chandler! Stop it!" Monica shrieked, laughing harder. She grabbed Chandler's hands and soon they were caught in a deadlock, gripping each other hands and neither wanting to yield to the other.
"Wow Mon, you are freakishly strong!" Chandler exclaimed, looking down at her in surprise.
Monica laughed and looked into his eyes. "Maybe." She replied, pulling Chandler's arms closer to her so that they were wrapped around her shoulders. She let go of his hands and dropped her arms to the sides.
Chandler's lips were millimetres from hers. "You know…um…this may be slightly inappropriate." He whispered, gazing into her eyes.
"I agree." A voice said behind them.
Chandler snapped his head around and saw Ross standing at the doorway staring at them with a mixture of disgust and shock.
"Oh…hi Ross." Chandler smiled awkwardly, rolling off Monica immediately.
"Hi bro." Monica greeted, blushing.
"We were just…" Chandler swallowed nervously.
"Spare me the details." Ross groaned. He looked at Chandler suspiciously. "You wasn't…"
"No of course he wasn't!" Monica exclaimed. "We were just messing around."
"Ok." Ross looked unconvinced at first, and then rolled his eyes. "Whatever…just came to let you know that I won't be making dinner tonight. Rachel and I are going out."
"Rachel's still here?" Chandler asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Ross answered uncomfortably. Chandler and Monica exchanged a smile and stared back at Ross.
"So, you two are getting along well then." Chandler commented, grinning.
"We're just friends!" Ross protested, going on the defensive. "Anyway, see you two later." He walked out and left the apartment.
Chandler and Monica sat on the bed in silence. Finally, Chandler cleared his throat and turned to Monica. "Um…I guess I should go and get my stuff from the hotel." He suggested.
"Ok." Monica nodded, avoiding Chandler's gaze.
Chandler turned to leave, then hesitated. He turned around. "About what happened there…I would've kissed you if Ross hadn't interrupted us."
"I know." Monica said quietly, looking up at Chandler.
"It could've been the moment of course."
Monica immediately started to nod her head. "Just the moment." She confirmed.
"Right. See you." Chandler turned and walked out.
Monica fell back down on to her bed and sighed. Then the lights went out. "Oh no…" she moaned. "The bills."
END OF PART FOUR:I hope this was better! Please review.: