A.N. Sorry for the wait, but I'm doing the best I can, I promise. Here's chapter seven, hope you like it. Thanks for the great reviews and encouragement to continue! (Could have lived without the death threat, but whatever, at least I've got a following, haha.) Please read and review!!! Thanks guys.
Xoxo, Maddy.
I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower,
Makes you talk a little lower about the things you could not show her…
"Will!" Rachel shouted, jumping up from her position on the steps of their dorm.
"Hey Rach," he greeted, lugging a navy canvas duffel bag out of the trunk and heading for her.
"Monica has class until 3 so I promised I'd flag you down and give you a proper NYU welcome," she said.
"That was very nice of you," he teased. "So, am I staying in your room?"
"Yeah. You can have my bed," Rachel replied, looking at him pointedly. As in, you won't be sleeping in hers, was the unsaid implication. "I'm staying with our friend Hailey down the hall."
"Sounds good. Lead the way," said Will. He followed Rachel up the three flights of stairs and into the dorm room that she shared with Monica. He nearly laughed out loud when he she opened the door, it was so reflective of their personalities that there may have well been a masking tape line down the middle (and he guessed there actually may have been, at one point or another.) One side of the room was frilly and pink, from the plush down comforter to the beaded bedside lamp, and covered in clothes, books, and CDs. The other side was meticulously neat, much simpler but stylish in a less obvious way; the bed was covered in a vintage quilt of soft blues and yellows, and where Rachel had tacked magazine advertisements and Vogue covers, Monica had hung photographs in funky, painted frames; Will was less than enthused to find that several featured Chandler.
"So which side is which?" Will joked, prompting a sarcastic smile from Rachel.
"Ha, ha. I'm not done cleaning, obviously. I'll get my stuff out of the way before you have to sleep here tonight."
At that moment, Monica walked through the door from class.
"Rachel! You promised you'd clean up, you promised, Will is-"
"Here," said Will, waving from his partially obstructed position behind Rachel.
"Oh my god, Will!" Monica said happily. They hugged and kissed quickly.
"How was your drive?"
"Not too bad, until I hit the city. I thought the whole New York City aggressive driver thing was an exaggeration, but apparently I was wrong."
"That's what Ross says," Rachel agreed.
"Hit any cabs?" teased Monica.
"No, just an old lady on a bike."
"Perfect aim from the baseball star."
"She was asking for it," he joked. The three of them sat down and talked for another hour, about the old high school gang and about how everyone was doing at college. Rachel checked her watch and jumped up at 4:30.
"Oh, wow, we're going to be late," she said, grabbing her sweater.
"Late for what?" asked Monica, propped up on her elbows on her bed.
"Tennis team's first match of the season, duh… Ross is waiting for us down at the courts."
Monica reddened and shook her head violently, hoping Rachel would see and Will wouldn't, but just the opposite happened.
"I didn't know you were such a tennis fan," Will said, directing his comment to Rachel but looking at Monica.
"I'm not, Chandler plays third singles…" Rachel trailed off, finally realizing why the topic was uncomfortable. "But he probably isn't expecting Mon to be there, so I'll just go meet Ross and watch for a while… no big deal… see you guys later," she said less than smoothly, mouthing an apology to Monica before running out the door.
Monica smiled at Will, and he forced a smile back and laced his hand through hers.
"So… was she right that Chandler isn't expecting you?"
Monica shrugged. "I don't know. Whatever, you're here, I want to spend time with you. Want to get dinner soon?"
"Sure… I know you want to spend time with me, but, I was just wondering what the situation was with you guys."
"The situation is one of friendship," she said firmly. "He might be expecting me at his first match, but only the way he's expecting Rachel."
"I don't believe that for a second. Not the way he was looking at you, the way he was…" Will trailed off.
"The way he was what?"
"The way he was kissing you, that night," Will finished quietly. Monica watched him, unsure of whether he was truly hurt or just jealous. He was studying a scuff mark on the toe of his sneaker intently, and looked like he was trying to decide whether or not to say something else.
"Will?" she asked. He looked up at her. "I don't want you to worry about that," she said. He opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him quickly with a kiss. The kiss intensified, and then she felt his lips on her neck and tangled her hands in his hair, and had a feeling they wouldn't be going anywhere for a little while.
After Chandler's match, he grabbed dinner with the team, and saw Rachel eating with some of her hallmates across the cafeteria. He excused himself from the victory party (everyone was on a high from their 5-0 win) and sat down at an empty seat next to her.
"Hey, champ," she greeted.
"Hey Rach, how's the pizza?"
"Not bad tonight."
He nodded, surveying the group she was with; Hailey, Daniel, Michael, Guy-With-Red-Hair who's name he always forgot, Catie and Luke. Freshman halls were infamous for eating together and Rachel and Monica's definitely didn't break the stereotype. Actually, the only times the girls weren't eating with their hall mates were the nights they were hanging out with Chandler and Ross.
"Chandler, heard you guys won today," Daniel called.
"Yup- but it was only a scrimmage."
"Good job anyway," said Hailey brightly. Chandler grinned and thanked them- they were all good kids. The only one out of the bunch he didn't like was Luke, and that was probably only because he hit on Monica the first weekend of school.
"So… where was Monica this afternoon?" he asked casually.
Rachel looked at him pointedly. "You know where she was."
"With Will. Yeah. I just thought she'd come watch for a while."
"I think she wanted to but she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Because of New Years and all."
"What happened New Years?" Catie asked interestedly.
"Nothing," Chandler and Rachel said at the same time. "Anyway, I better get back to the guys. We're having a party at the tennis house downtown tonight- you guys are all welcome to come if you're not doing anything," Chandler offered. The girls agreed quickly, and the guys tried to conceal their own excitement at the invitation; it really paid to have friends who knew upperclassmen.
"See ya later Chandler," said Rachel.
"Yeah- hey, make sure you invite Monica. And Will, of course," Chandler said, with only minimal sarcasm.
"Are we all going?" asked Hailey as he left.
"Obviously," said Rachel.
"You're sure you want to go?" Monica asked Will for the hundredth time.
"Yes. I want to get to know your friends and see how you NYU kids party," Will replied, walking up behind her at her dresser as she clasped a necklace. He rested a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, I know you want to go. And where you want to go, I want to go."
Monica smiled, but a part of her wished he would stop being so nice all the time. It made it harder for her not to hate herself for having doubts, and for that initial moment every time they kissed when she wished he was someone else. It lasted for less than a second, but it was undeniably there.
"Well, how do I look?" she asked, turning to let him survey her.
"Beautiful, as always," he said, pulling her towards him. "You wear more make-up now," he murmered into her hair.
"Rachel's influence," she said. "Too much?"
"No. No, you look older, that's all. Older, but still breathtaking." He kissed her and she squeezed her eyes closed and kissed him back. She was going to get over Chandler if it killed her.
Chandler sat on the sofa with some of his teammates, checking out the turnout of the party. Not bad, almost fifty people had gathered, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Ross was hanging out with Rachel and Hailey and their friends in one of the corners, and he gave them a small wave. Monica walked with Will behind her, clasping his hand reassuringly.
"Hey, isn't that your little girlfriend?" asked Jake.
"She's not my girlfriend," Chandler muttered.
"I thought once you got rid of Evelyn Queen of All Things Bitchy you'd be all over that," Mike said, gazing at Monica appreciatively. "Who's that she's with?"
"Her boyfriend."
"Ooohh, shot to the heart," Jake said apologetically, patting Chandler's back.
"Shut up," he said as Monica approached, Will having gone into the kitchen with Ross to get them drinks.
"Hey guys, congratulations," she said.
"Thanks," Chandler said.
"Where the hell were you? We thought we could count on you to head the fan club this year," Jake joked, poking her in the ribs.
"I had a guest this afternoon, otherwise you know of course I would have been cheering the loudest," she said with a smile.
"How is the guest?" Chandler asked.
"He's fine," she mumbled. "Sorry I missed it."
"Whatever," he said. She looked at him, hurt. "It was just a scrimmage. I figured you had something better to do." Will came up and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Or should I say someone?" His friends snickered, and Monica glared at him.
"Chandler, you remember Will." They shook hands.
"How do you like NYU so far?" asked Chandler, forcing friendliness.
"It's pretty cool," Will said. "Heard you won today, congratulations. Do you guys have a good tennis program?"
"Not bad," Jake said. "Where do you go?"
"UConn," said Will.
"He plays baseball," Monica said with a hint of pride.
"Nice, I used to play little league," Chandler said. Will missed his condescending tone, but Monica didn't.
"Hey, let's go back to Ross and Rachel," Monica said to Will, tugging at his shirt sleeve.
"Okay. Nice to meet you guys, and to see you again Chandler."
"Back atcha," Chandler said, pointing his finger at him. Monica turned to look at him over her shoulder and shook her head. He pretended not to notice.
Several hours and many, many beers later, Chandler watched Monica and Will dancing across the room and wondered if this was how Monica felt when he was with Evelyn. Will was holding her tightly, and making her laugh. He wasn't supposed to be the one who make her laugh. Rachel came over and grabbed the bottle from his hands and took a drink.
"Hey, whatchou doin?" he slurred.
"I think you've had plenty," she said.
"Whatever," he mumbled.
"Dance with me," she ordered.
"N'way."
"Come on. I know you won't remember being the creepy leering guy in the corner, but the rest of the people here will," she teased. She lowered her voice. "Please don't do this to her."
"Do what? She seems fine," he said bitterly.
"You had your chance. Let her be happy. At least tonight."
"I didn't have a chance. Rach, I never got a chance," he said softly, his point effective even though some of his words ran together.
Rachel sighed. "One dance, Chandler."
He looked at her through slightly unbalanced vision. "Fine. But I'm not a goodancer when I'm sober," he slurred. She laughed.
Monica watched Rachel and Chandler dancing over Will's shoulder. Or rather, she watched Rachel leading and Chandler stepping on her toes, but at least they were laughing. Chandler was totally wasted, she could tell just by looking at him. He met her gaze across the floor and waved weakly. She waved back, for a moment her anger at his earlier behavior melting at his drunken smile. He was cute when he was drunk.
"You almost ready to call it a night?" Will's voice brought her back to reality and back to the realization of what a terrible person she was.
"Yeah. Ready whenever you are," she said, and pressed her lips to his. This whole kissing him whenever she felt guilty thing was becoming a reflex. He led her to the door when the song ended, and she waved to Rachel and said bye to Ross on the way out, and left a party without saying goodbye to Chandler for the first time since she'd known him.