Easy Lover – She's the Kind of Girl You Dream of

A/N: I'm soooo happy!!! And I mean, seriously, happy. I literally squealed today. I can't remember another time in my entire life that I've squealed. Yeah, so happy holidays! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, but I do own: a shell necklace, sand, a crazy bunny pen, a monkey necklace, duckie slippers (thanks Yen!! Love ya!), and (insert drum roll here) MY DRIVERS LICENSE!!!!!!! Woot and…stuff… ;)

A week had past. Chandler turned his back on Rachel whenever she tried to apologize, and continued to refuse all of her phone calls. He was aware that he was being harsh, but her words had truly hurt. Still, he knew he was being immature about the entire situation. Obviously, Rachel had been wrong. Monica said that he had a chance. That meant she was waiting for Chandler to ask her out – didn't it?

But she could have been lying. She was probably just trying to spare his feelings. Yet, there was something inside his heart telling him that her words were genuine. Perhaps it was fate, or maybe it was just his heart's desire to believe her promising words, but a part of him knew they were true.

There was turmoil within him – between his heart and his mind. His heart was telling to pursue Monica's confession, but his mind was arguing that it was all too good to be true. So far, his mind was winning. He had never loved somebody as much as he loved Monica. Chandler wasn't sure if he would be able to face the pain of rejection. Not rejection from her, anyway.

So, it was only when Joey approached him during lunch that he finally found himself again within the world. He was actually grateful for the interruption. All of his contemplation felt as if it was leading nowhere – he was still ambivalent.

"Hey Chandler."

"Hey."

There was a pause.

"You okay?"

Chandler scratched the side of his head uncomfortably. "Ya."

Joey raised his eyebrows. "Is this about Rachel?"

Chandler shrugged. He didn't feel like being lectured on how he should make up with Rachel. He would – but not quite yet. There were other things he needed to work out first.

"She's really sorry, ya know?"

"I know," he snapped.

Instinctively, Joey moved away slightly from Chandler. Chandler sighed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I have a lot on my mind."

"Still hung up on 'you know who'?"

Chandler groaned.

Joey nodded. "I know the feeling."

Chandler looked up, slightly surprised. "Rea – really?"

"Nah, but it felt like the right thing to say."

Chandler laughed and shook his head.

"I don't see why you're so hung up on her, anyway."

"Why not? She's amazing."

"Really?"

"Yeah! I mean she's smart, she's funny, she's beautiful, she's classy, she's diligent…"

"Okay, I don't need her résumé here."

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, just…try to get her out of your head. There are plenty of hot chicks around. I mean…" Joey looked around, until he found a tall blond woman eating a salad at an adjacent table, "The producer. Now she's hot."

"You mean Phoebe?"

"Yeah. Her name is Phoebe! Right!"

Chandler shrugged. "It's just…can I confess something?"

"Sure."

"You have to swear not to tell anyone!"

"I swear, I – I swear!"

"Okay. Well, after I, uh, stormed out on Rach... Well, I found Monica and we…got to talking. She, uh, she told me she thought that, uh, I had a, uh, chance with her."

"Well, umm," Joey cleared his throat, "That's great, I guess."

"You don't believe me?"

"No, no, I believe you."

"So, you don't believe her?"

Joey looked down sadly. "No."

"But…she could be telling the truth! I mean am I that ugly?!"

"No, it's not that. It's just – she isn't the type to settle –"

"Oh, don't start giving me that!"

"Look, Chandler, I know for a fact that she leaves guys after one night! She'd probably just use you, like she uses everyone else."

"That's not true!"

"Oh yeah?! Then why did she leave me?!"

Chandler opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it quickly. He sat back, dumbfounded. "Wha – what?"

Joey sighed. "Look, I didn't wanna tell you, but…"

"But what?!"

"I, uh, I might have slept with Monica."

"You might have?"

"Well, no, I did."

Chandler mouthed wordlessly.

"Look, Chandler, before you get all upset – it didn't mean anything! It didn't mean anything to me, and it sure as hell didn't mean anything to her!"

"What do you mean?"

"You know how I'm always walkin' out on women before breakfast?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, uh, apparently, she was a step ahead of me. I woke up at 6 AM and she was already gone!"

"When…when was this?"

Joey bit his lip. "The second week."

"You knew I liked her…but you slept with her anyway?!"

"Look, I mean…we weren't that close…yet."

"I can't believe this."

"Chandler, it didn't mean anything…"
He laughed sardonically. "Well, you brought it up, didn't you?!"

"I didn't bring it up because I have feelings for her! I brought it up because…because I'm ashamed…"

"What?"

"I'm ashamed that a woman walked out on me okay? I mean that was what I always did. It hurts, Chandler. It hurts a lot. Even though I don't really care about her. It made me feel like I wasn't good enough. Good enough for her, good enough for anyone. I'm just trying to save you from that! …Just like Rachel was trying to do."

Chandler looked down at his feet.

"Talk to her?"

Chandler knocked timidly on the trailer door, with Joey following close behind. He waited nervously as he heard some shuffling from inside and then saw the door slowly open. He shrugged and half smiled. Rachel stepped back and let him inside. Slowly, he looked around the small room. He hadn't been inside Rachel's trailer before. It was unkempt, but homey, nonetheless. It comforted him, somehow.

"I'm sorry about –"

"No," Rachel interrupted, "I'm sorry for being so blunt. I – I didn't mean that."

Chandler shook his head sadly. "Yes you did."

"I – "

"It's okay, really. I know you're just trying to keep me from getting hurt."

"Yeah, I – I really am."

Chandler nodded. "Thanks. And I'm sorry about overreacting. I tend to do that, from time to time."

Rachel smiled. "Of course, we all do – especially me."

He chuckled.

"But I mean I want you to know that I care about you. A lot. I didn't mean to say something that would make you think otherwise. You're a really good guy, and I don't want to see you get hurt. I've seen a lot of men get their hearts broken. Hell, I've even broken a few hearts back in the day…"

Joey laughed. "Only a few?"

"Oh, you should talk."

Joey's smile quickly turned into a frown. "Yeah…"

Rachel shook her head and turned back to Chandler. "I've had my heart broken myself. It's part of living. I guess I shouldn't have said anything and should have let you live for yourself."

Chandler nodded. "It's okay."

Rachel smiled at him, before capturing him in a tight hug. He kissed her forehead and smiled down at her, before breaking apart.

"I've only known you for a few months, but somehow you've managed to wheedle your way in there, Chan. Maybe it's the stupid humor."

Chandler mocked insult. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

Rachel punched him lightly on the arm. "So, you do whatever you want okay? Joey and I will both be behind you one hundred percent."

Chandler nodded and whispered, "It'll go away. It's just a silly crush, anyway."

Rachel smiled and Joey let out a sigh of relief. Rachel hugged him once more and he smiled reassuringly.

However, even though he could pretend to not care about Monica on the outside, inwardly, he had caved long ago. She had captured his heart. He knew it was only a matter a time before he gave in all together.

A/N: OMG I'm so happy! I passed on my first time and everything! *squeals some more* Okay, I'll stop. Please leave me a review, (and try not to spoil my happiness) thanks!