Life in a Flash: Chapter 2: Uproar
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Chandler stopped about 20 feet from the water to shed his t-shirt, exposing his not-so-bad looking chest.
He grabbed his board from the sand and paddled out into the ocean waves.
Once he got out far enough, he sat up on his board, looking out into the world past the sea.
xxxxxx
Meanwhile, coincidentaly, both Rachel and Ross had confrences in Long Beach on the same weekend, and the rest of the gand had tagged along for a short vacation.
Phoebe, Joey and Monica had nothing to do all day while both Ross and Rachel were busy, so they decided to hit the beach, check out all the hot Californians, perfectly tanned.
Monica and Phoebe were tanning and Joey was sitting next to them, checking out all the women, when he noticed a man out in the water, just sitting on a surf board.
He looked deathly familiar, and Joey knew he knew who he was, but it wasn't someone from recent times.
It was somebody from the past.
"Monica, Phoebe, check this out." He said, looking down at them.
"Joey, I don't want to give you my opinion on some girl. You can do that by yourself." Monica said, still not sitting up.
"No really, look." He urged.
"Oh my god, what do you want Joey?" Phoebe said as she and Monica sat up to look at whatever it was.
"Out there, that guy on the surfboard." Joey pointed out where the man was now getting ready to ride a wave.
"Oh my god! That's Chandler!" Monica screamed.
"What in the world is going on!" Phoebe said as she stood up.
"What do we do?" Joey asked.
"Let's go talk to him." Phoebe said.
"No, we can't. We're not even sure if that's him. Let's just watch him and see where he goes." Monica said.
xxxxxx
After several hours of surfing, Chandler and Merrick were both exausted.
They were both out in the water, lying on their boards, looking up at the crystal blue sky.
"Don't we have a game tonight?" Chandler asked, looking over towards Merrick, who had his eyes closed.
"What?" He asked.
"A game, a hockey game. Don't we play tonight?" He asked again.
"Yea I think so."
"Well then that means we have practice in like, an hour." Chandler said, sitting up.
Merrick continued to look up at the sky. "Yea, we should get going!"
Chandler laughed and they both started to paddle to shore.
xxxxxx
"He's coming in!" Joey said.
"Yea, I have eyes too Joe." Monica said.
"Well what do we do?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know, should we follow him?" Monica asked.
"Yea, let's see where he lives, then come back later." Phoebe said.
xxxxxx
Chandler and Merrick reached shore and picked up their boards, ready to head back home.
"Do you even know who we're playing tonight?" Merrick asked.
"No clue." Chandler replied.
Merrick looked behind them and noticed three people following them.
"I think we got people trailing us." He said.
"What?" Chandler asked, turning around.
"I think their following us." Merrick said again.
"No, I think their just going home. You know, like us?"
"Meh." Merrick said as they reached their apartment building's back door.
xxxxxx
"Well, that was short lived. We could have followed them and still just sat where we were." Monica said as they walked past Chandler and the other man.
"So, when are we gonna come back?" Joey asked, reaching the car.
"Well, we have to tell Ross and Rachel about this." Phoebe said.
"Let's just go back, get cleaned up, tell them, and come back tonight." Monica replied.
"Sounds good to me." Joey said and started the car.
xxxxxx
"Oh, that was a great game!" Chandler yelled, lifting his bear high in the air.
They did this after every game.
They threw a party at their apartment, with the entire team.
Which meant 20 full grown men, plus random others, all in their place, drinking.
"You're damn right it was!" Merrick yelled.
"Jimmy, you are one HELL of a goalie! We kicked Oregon's ass!" Another team member yelled, rubbing Jimmy's round, buzzed, head.
xxxxxx
Joey, Phoebe, and Monica had replayed their day to Ross and Rachel, and after much disscusion were standing in front of Chandler's apartment building.
"Well, let's go." Rachel said.
They all walked inside and, after Ross got Chandler's apartment number, were headed to the fifth floor.
They all cramped inside of a small elevator, begging for it to move faster.
The bell dinged and they walked out, headed for apartment number 55.
It was eight doors down on the right, but they could hear loud music and yells of people from where they stood.
They all looked at each other before Ross took the lead and headed for the door.
Ross and Joey stood in front while everybody else stood behind them.
Joey took a deap breath and knocked on the door.
xxxxxx
Chandler was standing in the kitchen, refilling his little red cup with the beer keg.
He quickly downed it in one easy gulp and was just about to fill it up again when there was a knock on the door.
He looked around, waiting for somebody to get it but nobody did.
"So I'll get the door then?" He yelled, walking his very wobbly body over to it.
He fumbled with the handle for quite some time before he could get it to work.
"Success!" He yelled, twisting it and pulling it open.
He stumbled backwards, pulling the door all the way open, almost falling down in the process.
Chandler looked at the five people in front of him, expecting them to do something.
"Where the hell have you been?!" Phoebe yelled.
Chandler's eyes went wide from the sudden outburst of this woman and the thunder it created in his head.
He paused before talking. "I'm sorry can I help you?" He drunkenly slurred and swayed back and forth.
"What do you mean can you help us? It's us Chandler!" Ross yelled.
He once again he just starred at them, nothing clicking in his brain. "Oh, would you like to come in?" He said, stepping sideways, motioning the the party.
"Yea! Join the par-tay!" Merrick yelled, obvioulsly drunk, just as everybody else was.
"Chandler? What the hell is going on?" Monica asked in a hushed voice.
"Well, you see, this is a party, so-" He was cut off by Monica, yelling this time.
"Chandler, where have you been for the past six years?!" She screamed, making Chandler step back from the noise of her.
"Right here?" He asked as the alcohol started to get the better of him, making it increasingly difficult to stand on his own two feet.
He started swaying heavily and grabbed onto the door to keep from falling.
"He's gonna fall down." Ross said to Joey.
"And there he goes." Joey said back as the the door swung backwards, taking away Chandler's support system, and he crashed to the floor beneath..
xxxxxx
(later that night)
After Chandler had passed out, the group had talked to Merrick and explained the whole situation.
He let them stay the night, even though they all had hotel rooms to stay in.
They just didn't want Chandler to dissapear again.
Merrick had gone to bed long before everybody else, Chandler was still out cold, although, they had moved him to one of the couches they had, and everybody else was asleep in random places.
Monica was the first to wake up the next morning.
She looked around the strange apartment, wondering where she was.
The events of yesterday all came back to her and she got up to look at the couch.
And indeed, there he was, still out, but there.
Joey was next to wake up.
He looked up to see Monica standing next to him, looking down at something on the other side of the couch, he too had forgotten about yesterday, until he got up and stood next to her to see what it was she was looking at.
"I can't believe this." He said.
"I know, we finally found him." Monica agreed.
She reached down and brushed his cheek with the back of her hand, making him stir lightly in his sleep.
"Why do you think he left in the first place?" Joey asked.
"I wonder if he even knows." She replied.
Rachel could hear light talking and opened her eyes to see Joey and Monica across the room, talking while looking down at, Chandler.
She sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"This is so weird." She said as she approached them.
Joey and Monica just nodded.
Both Phoebe and Ross woke up at the same time, just as Merrick was walking out of his room.
"Whoa, mornin everybody." Merrick said, walking over to the kitchen.
Everybody followed him into the kitchen, taking a seat at the table.
"Nice place you got here." Ross said, desperate to start a conversation of some sort.
"Yea, Chandler found it, we were poor when we bought the place, but we opened the bar and got a lot of money to fix it up." Merrick replied.
"So how long have you guys known each other?" Monica asked.
"Oh, I'd say about six years." He said as he went to open the blinds and windows, letting the sun fill the apartment.
The sun hit Chandler's face and he coughed in his sleep.
Everybody looked towards him as he slowly sat up and rubbed his face.
He just starred out the window and then looked to everybody else.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"We were kind of hoping you could tell us that." Rachel said.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't you remember us Chandler? Are you really that shallow to just forget about us?" Monica asked, standing up from the table.
"Am I supposed to remember you?" He asked.
"I can't believe this. You just leave and then six years later, we find you and you act like you don't even know us? We had no idea where you were." Phoebe said.
"I've been here. Where else would I be?" He laughed.
"In New York, where you live! Or should I say lived?" Ross yelled.
"I should just leave you guys alone." Merrick said, grabbing his keys and quickly exiting the apartment.
"Look, I'm sorry you guys, I just don't remember you." Chandler said, standing up.
"Well just try ok?" Joey yelled.
"Ok you know what, we're just gonna take off." Monica said. "I'll leave you the number of the hotel we're staying at. But we're only gonna be there until Sunday. My name's Monica Geller, just ask for me if you call."
And with that, they were all gone.
T B C
xxxxxx
Chandler stopped about 20 feet from the water to shed his t-shirt, exposing his not-so-bad looking chest.
He grabbed his board from the sand and paddled out into the ocean waves.
Once he got out far enough, he sat up on his board, looking out into the world past the sea.
xxxxxx
Meanwhile, coincidentaly, both Rachel and Ross had confrences in Long Beach on the same weekend, and the rest of the gand had tagged along for a short vacation.
Phoebe, Joey and Monica had nothing to do all day while both Ross and Rachel were busy, so they decided to hit the beach, check out all the hot Californians, perfectly tanned.
Monica and Phoebe were tanning and Joey was sitting next to them, checking out all the women, when he noticed a man out in the water, just sitting on a surf board.
He looked deathly familiar, and Joey knew he knew who he was, but it wasn't someone from recent times.
It was somebody from the past.
"Monica, Phoebe, check this out." He said, looking down at them.
"Joey, I don't want to give you my opinion on some girl. You can do that by yourself." Monica said, still not sitting up.
"No really, look." He urged.
"Oh my god, what do you want Joey?" Phoebe said as she and Monica sat up to look at whatever it was.
"Out there, that guy on the surfboard." Joey pointed out where the man was now getting ready to ride a wave.
"Oh my god! That's Chandler!" Monica screamed.
"What in the world is going on!" Phoebe said as she stood up.
"What do we do?" Joey asked.
"Let's go talk to him." Phoebe said.
"No, we can't. We're not even sure if that's him. Let's just watch him and see where he goes." Monica said.
xxxxxx
After several hours of surfing, Chandler and Merrick were both exausted.
They were both out in the water, lying on their boards, looking up at the crystal blue sky.
"Don't we have a game tonight?" Chandler asked, looking over towards Merrick, who had his eyes closed.
"What?" He asked.
"A game, a hockey game. Don't we play tonight?" He asked again.
"Yea I think so."
"Well then that means we have practice in like, an hour." Chandler said, sitting up.
Merrick continued to look up at the sky. "Yea, we should get going!"
Chandler laughed and they both started to paddle to shore.
xxxxxx
"He's coming in!" Joey said.
"Yea, I have eyes too Joe." Monica said.
"Well what do we do?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know, should we follow him?" Monica asked.
"Yea, let's see where he lives, then come back later." Phoebe said.
xxxxxx
Chandler and Merrick reached shore and picked up their boards, ready to head back home.
"Do you even know who we're playing tonight?" Merrick asked.
"No clue." Chandler replied.
Merrick looked behind them and noticed three people following them.
"I think we got people trailing us." He said.
"What?" Chandler asked, turning around.
"I think their following us." Merrick said again.
"No, I think their just going home. You know, like us?"
"Meh." Merrick said as they reached their apartment building's back door.
xxxxxx
"Well, that was short lived. We could have followed them and still just sat where we were." Monica said as they walked past Chandler and the other man.
"So, when are we gonna come back?" Joey asked, reaching the car.
"Well, we have to tell Ross and Rachel about this." Phoebe said.
"Let's just go back, get cleaned up, tell them, and come back tonight." Monica replied.
"Sounds good to me." Joey said and started the car.
xxxxxx
"Oh, that was a great game!" Chandler yelled, lifting his bear high in the air.
They did this after every game.
They threw a party at their apartment, with the entire team.
Which meant 20 full grown men, plus random others, all in their place, drinking.
"You're damn right it was!" Merrick yelled.
"Jimmy, you are one HELL of a goalie! We kicked Oregon's ass!" Another team member yelled, rubbing Jimmy's round, buzzed, head.
xxxxxx
Joey, Phoebe, and Monica had replayed their day to Ross and Rachel, and after much disscusion were standing in front of Chandler's apartment building.
"Well, let's go." Rachel said.
They all walked inside and, after Ross got Chandler's apartment number, were headed to the fifth floor.
They all cramped inside of a small elevator, begging for it to move faster.
The bell dinged and they walked out, headed for apartment number 55.
It was eight doors down on the right, but they could hear loud music and yells of people from where they stood.
They all looked at each other before Ross took the lead and headed for the door.
Ross and Joey stood in front while everybody else stood behind them.
Joey took a deap breath and knocked on the door.
xxxxxx
Chandler was standing in the kitchen, refilling his little red cup with the beer keg.
He quickly downed it in one easy gulp and was just about to fill it up again when there was a knock on the door.
He looked around, waiting for somebody to get it but nobody did.
"So I'll get the door then?" He yelled, walking his very wobbly body over to it.
He fumbled with the handle for quite some time before he could get it to work.
"Success!" He yelled, twisting it and pulling it open.
He stumbled backwards, pulling the door all the way open, almost falling down in the process.
Chandler looked at the five people in front of him, expecting them to do something.
"Where the hell have you been?!" Phoebe yelled.
Chandler's eyes went wide from the sudden outburst of this woman and the thunder it created in his head.
He paused before talking. "I'm sorry can I help you?" He drunkenly slurred and swayed back and forth.
"What do you mean can you help us? It's us Chandler!" Ross yelled.
He once again he just starred at them, nothing clicking in his brain. "Oh, would you like to come in?" He said, stepping sideways, motioning the the party.
"Yea! Join the par-tay!" Merrick yelled, obvioulsly drunk, just as everybody else was.
"Chandler? What the hell is going on?" Monica asked in a hushed voice.
"Well, you see, this is a party, so-" He was cut off by Monica, yelling this time.
"Chandler, where have you been for the past six years?!" She screamed, making Chandler step back from the noise of her.
"Right here?" He asked as the alcohol started to get the better of him, making it increasingly difficult to stand on his own two feet.
He started swaying heavily and grabbed onto the door to keep from falling.
"He's gonna fall down." Ross said to Joey.
"And there he goes." Joey said back as the the door swung backwards, taking away Chandler's support system, and he crashed to the floor beneath..
xxxxxx
(later that night)
After Chandler had passed out, the group had talked to Merrick and explained the whole situation.
He let them stay the night, even though they all had hotel rooms to stay in.
They just didn't want Chandler to dissapear again.
Merrick had gone to bed long before everybody else, Chandler was still out cold, although, they had moved him to one of the couches they had, and everybody else was asleep in random places.
Monica was the first to wake up the next morning.
She looked around the strange apartment, wondering where she was.
The events of yesterday all came back to her and she got up to look at the couch.
And indeed, there he was, still out, but there.
Joey was next to wake up.
He looked up to see Monica standing next to him, looking down at something on the other side of the couch, he too had forgotten about yesterday, until he got up and stood next to her to see what it was she was looking at.
"I can't believe this." He said.
"I know, we finally found him." Monica agreed.
She reached down and brushed his cheek with the back of her hand, making him stir lightly in his sleep.
"Why do you think he left in the first place?" Joey asked.
"I wonder if he even knows." She replied.
Rachel could hear light talking and opened her eyes to see Joey and Monica across the room, talking while looking down at, Chandler.
She sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"This is so weird." She said as she approached them.
Joey and Monica just nodded.
Both Phoebe and Ross woke up at the same time, just as Merrick was walking out of his room.
"Whoa, mornin everybody." Merrick said, walking over to the kitchen.
Everybody followed him into the kitchen, taking a seat at the table.
"Nice place you got here." Ross said, desperate to start a conversation of some sort.
"Yea, Chandler found it, we were poor when we bought the place, but we opened the bar and got a lot of money to fix it up." Merrick replied.
"So how long have you guys known each other?" Monica asked.
"Oh, I'd say about six years." He said as he went to open the blinds and windows, letting the sun fill the apartment.
The sun hit Chandler's face and he coughed in his sleep.
Everybody looked towards him as he slowly sat up and rubbed his face.
He just starred out the window and then looked to everybody else.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"We were kind of hoping you could tell us that." Rachel said.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't you remember us Chandler? Are you really that shallow to just forget about us?" Monica asked, standing up from the table.
"Am I supposed to remember you?" He asked.
"I can't believe this. You just leave and then six years later, we find you and you act like you don't even know us? We had no idea where you were." Phoebe said.
"I've been here. Where else would I be?" He laughed.
"In New York, where you live! Or should I say lived?" Ross yelled.
"I should just leave you guys alone." Merrick said, grabbing his keys and quickly exiting the apartment.
"Look, I'm sorry you guys, I just don't remember you." Chandler said, standing up.
"Well just try ok?" Joey yelled.
"Ok you know what, we're just gonna take off." Monica said. "I'll leave you the number of the hotel we're staying at. But we're only gonna be there until Sunday. My name's Monica Geller, just ask for me if you call."
And with that, they were all gone.
T B C