Can't Stop Loving You

Written by: Tenneil

Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me, but to Bright, Kauffman and Crane Productions and Warner Bros. Their use is not intended for profit, only for entertainment.

Summary: This story idea just came into my head when I couldn't fall asleep (boredom - the best inspiration!) a few hot summer nights ago (I'm from Australia),  lets just say the gang are in their early 30s, Chandler and Monica are married with their one year old son, Daniel, Phoebe and Mike are engaged, Joey is going out with a woman named Isobel (yes, Joey is going out with Isobel in my other fanfic, but I like the name, so I'm using it again, hehe) and Ross and Rachel are both single. Oh, and this is another Ross and Rachel fanfic, but Emma hasn't been born yet. Yeah, I'm a huge lobster fan ;)

"Dude, just tell her!" exclaimed Joey, placing his daily Central Perk coffee back onto the table.

"Yeah, how do you know she doesn't like you?" questioned Chandler.

"Because. I just do." replied Ross firmly. Yet the tone in his voice gave the impression that he wasn't really sure of anything.

"You guys are like, meant to be. Tell her! You have nothing to lose." said Joey.

Just then, Rachel walked through the Central Perk door, hearing what Joey said.

"Tell who, what?" questioned Rachel, taking a seat next to Ross.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." replied Ross.

"Ross is in love!" exclaimed Joey, then receiving a glare from Ross.

"Well, Joey and I have significant others to get home to, don't we, Joe?" said Chandler.

"No, we - oh yeah, we do." replied Joey.

There was an awkward silence between Ross and Rachel for a minute. It had been a while since they had actually had one of those hours on end conversations like they were best friends. With nothing to say, Ross gave Rachel a small grin. Rachel grinned back.

"So, who's this person you're in love with?" asked Rachel.

"No one you know. Forget what Joey said." replied Ross.

"Aw, c'mon! Tell me! It's been ages since we've talked!" exclaimed Rachel, playfully hitting Ross's leg. "What's her name?"

"I can't tell you that." answered Ross.

"Well, what's she like? How do you know her?" questioned Rachel.

Ross seemed puzzled as to why Rachel was flooding him with questions. 'I guess she's just being a friend' he thought to himself. "Well, we go way back. She's the most beautiful woman in the world. She has this huge heart; made of gold and I feel complete when I'm with her..." Ross trailed off. He felt like he could talk about her forever, but he didn't think Rachel seemed interested in what he had to say, yet Rachel was sitting there, listening intently to every word he spoke.

"No, keep talking..." said Rachel.

"I've never felt love like this before. She's like, the only person I've ever been in love with. I would give anything to be with her." said Ross, looking down at his hands. Rachel knew Ross was in love from what Joey had said, but after hearing Ross's words, she didn't think it was that deep, and Ross had made it crystal clear he was totally head over heals for this person. It had been a while since Rachel had felt the feeling of being in love and being loved in return and for some odd reason, she thought to herself, 'I want this person to be me.'

"Wow." was all Rachel managed to say. "You must really love her."

"It's hard not to love her." replied Ross. "So, you got anyone special in your life?"

"Nope. No one." replied Rachel.

"Well, there's someone out there who finds you special in their life. Someone really close to you..." Ross said, speaking softly.

"And how do you know that?" questioned Rachel, letting out a small smile.

"Because. I just do." replied Ross firmly. It was the only thing he was sure about.

"Speak of the devil..." said Chandler.

"Hey, it isn't nice to bitch about your friends!" exclaimed Rachel, entering Monica and Chandler's apartment. "What were you saying about me, anyway?"

"We were just talking about lobsters. You know, you and Ross." replied Phoebe.

"I was just with Ross at Central Perk. The guy is totally in love and he won't tell me who with. Do you guys know?" asked Rachel. Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey all looked at each other, smiling. "And what's with all the smiling?"

"Oh my God! I can't believe you still have no idea!" exclaimed Monica.

Ross couldn't help but keep loving her. He had loved her for quite sometime now and each day, it only became more certain he was falling more in love with this person. An old flame, perhaps. He loved her, she didn't know… Ross felt like it was high school all over again, but he loved the feeling of being in love with her.

"No, I don't, and I'd appreciate it if someone would tell me!" replied Rachel, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Sorry, we aren't allowed to reveal that information to you." replied Chandler.

"This is so unfair. How come you guys get to know, but I don't?" asked Rachel.

"Say pretty please and we'll tell you." said Joey.

"Can you even guess who it is?" Phoebe asked.

"Honestly, I don't have a clue, so please tell me who Ross loves!" exclaimed Rachel, impatiently.

"Rachel, Ross loves you!" replied Phoebe.

Authors Note: So, what did you all think of the first chapter? I hope you like it. I have many ideas for this story that I just need to get out of my head and onto ff.net :D It's funny what being bored can do to you, hehe. I know this chapter is quite short, but I wanted to leave it cliffhangery and I'll try and get chapter two up ASAP. If you all want me to, that is. Anyway, please review! All comments are welcome, but if you don't like my story, please don't be too harsh, hehe. Don't worry, this story will get better, hehe. I say hehe a lot, don't I?!