What's it Like to Live: Chapter 2: You have to see
(((((())))))
He never really thought about money as an issue.
Sure, he was rich now (he's a movie producer), but that didn't matter to him.
It was a job, nothing more, nothing less.
He was never one to bask in the luxuries of money or fame.
He knew that the five friends he left behind knew all about him.
About how famous he was, about how rich he was.
But they didn't know what had brought him to where he was now.
Lying face up on the rough carpet of his large expensive apartment, which he shared with a fellow producer.
It made him sad to think of the joy he could have shared with his friends when he had hit it big.
Instead, he had gone to a huge party, thrown by one of his friends, and had gotten totally wasted.
He was anything but proud of himself for what he had become.
He had started doing drugs as a way to get away from it all, to escape the rush.
But it had only brought him down, it weakened him, not physically, but emotionally.
He no longer cared what people thought about him, or what he did to himself.
He wasn't as self involved in his work as he used to be.
He had dug himself into, not a hole, but a bottomless pit, and he kept sinking lower and lower.
Nothing would ever be the same as it used to be.
A sharp knocking at the door brought him down from his temporary high, and he wrestled his way off of the floor.
He swung the door open, and on the other side stood a furious looking man.
"Where the hell were you?" He yelled.
"What are you doing here?" Chandler asked.
"I'm here to find out why you weren't at the wedding!" The man took a step into the apartment, making Chandler also take a step back.
"What wedding are you talking about?"
"Ross's wedding!"
"I don't see you in four years, and all you ded was come here to yell at me?" Chandler asked, starting to get angry.
"That's right! You got the invitation, why weren't you there?"
"I didn't get any invitaion Joe!" Chandler yelled.
"I can't believe this." Joey said quietly.
"What?"
"I even called, the guy said he would give you the message."
Chandler looked up at Joey. "What guy? Did you call here?"
"Yea, I think he said his name was Bobby, or Billy, or something."
"God damn Billy, I told him to write all of my messages down!" Chandler leaned against the wall.
"I'm sorry Joey, I didn't know about this. If I did, I would have been there." He said, taking a seat at the table.
Joey came in further and shut the door behind him.
"So, how's life been for you?" Chanlder asked.
"Well, it's actually been really good. I stared in-"
"The Backyard of Life." Chandler said, cutting Joey off.
Joey stared back at him.
"Yea, I saw it. It was great." Chandler smiled.
"I hear you've had it pretty good too." Joey said, sitting across from Chandler.
'Oh the things he doesn't know.' Chandler thought.
"Yea, I actually was offered to produce that movie, but I was working on-"
"Silent Ringing." Joey smiled. "Yea, I've seen all of the movies you've worked on. You're really good."
"Thanks, you are too." Chandler looked down at the table.
"So, who did Ross get married to?" He asked.
"Rachel." Joey smiled.
Chandler sadly looked down and picked at the corner of the table.
"Man, I wish I could have been there."
"Yea, it was great, so beautiful." Joey replied distantly.
The last of effects of the drugs started to wear off, and Chandler began to sweat, without those drugs in his system, he could no longer fucntion properly.
It was like being a car with no gas.
Joey looked over to Chandler and noticed something was wrong, but didn't want to bring attention to it.
"So, how is everybody else?" Chandler asked, trying to take focus off of him.
"They're all good." Joey said, trying not to single out Monica.
"How's Monica?" Chandler asked quietly.
"She's ok, been better." No use in trying to hide her.
"Why did you leave?" Joey asked.
Chandler sighed, "I don't know Joe, I really don't, but now I wish I had never left. I guess I just had to get away from her. Even before we had started officially going out, I knew that if we broke up, it wouldn't be good. I knew I wouldn't be able to stand being around her everyday."
"She was just, a wreck after you left. You know, you could have at least told us, or even just told me."
"I know Joe, and I'm sorry for leaving. But I had reasons. You can understand that right?"
Joey looked his friend in the eye, a different person sat before him, a man he did not know.
"I don't know." Joey said quietly. "I mean, I've had four years to get over it all, but, just coming here, and seeing you. It changes everything."
"I know what you mean."
Chandler's hands started shaking and he put them under the table, hiding them from Joey. He was becoming incredibly hot and he knew he had to get him out of the apartment.
"Well," Chandler said, looking to the clock on the wall, he saw that it was 11:30. "I've got to start getting ready for work."
"Oh, yea." Joey said, standing up and moving for the door.
"I'll see you around ok?" Chandler said, walking over to Joey.
"Yea." Joey said, unsure of what kind of good-bye gesture he should make.
Chandler sensed Joey's confusion and leaned in to hug him.
After the brief hug was over, Joey left, and Chandler bolted for the bathroom.
He slamed the medicine cabinet open, exposing all sorts of pill bottles.
He didn't know what was what at the moment, so he grabbed the one that stood out the most.
He shook a few pills in his hand, and shot them into his mouth.
Placing the bottle back in the cabinet, he turned around and started peeling his clothes off.
The shower was nice and clean, thanks to the maid that came by once a week to clean the apartment.
He opened the clear glass door and stepped into the shower that was covered with small, dark blue tiles.
Slowly, he turned the knob, and water poured out of the shiny, silver shower head, washing over his body.
Tiredly, he rest his head against the wall and placed his hands just above on the cool tile.
Seeing Joey had brought back a rush of emotions, that he was not prepared to deal with.
Sure he was happy that Ross and Rachel had finally tied the knot, but he missed it.
He always thought that the day those two got married, he would be there to see it.
In ten short minutes, it seemed that his whole life had been turned upside down.
(((((())))))
-5pm, Chandler's office-
He was sitting behind his desk, reading over some contracts, when his boss called him into his office.
Taking his glasses off, he stood up and walked out the door, heading down the hallway to where his boss worked.
He knocked on the door before entering.
"You wanted to see me?"
The large man looked up from his computer.
You couldn't really call him a boss, the only thing he did was find projects for the producers to work on, such as films, commercials, and other such things.
"Yea, Chandler, sit down."
Chandler walked over to the leather couch that was facing the desk and took a seat.
"You got something for me?" He asked.
"Yes I do, this is a big one, I can tell. You could get a lot of money out of this, open up a lot more business for you." The man said, turning in his chair so he coud face Chandler.
"Why are you so hesitant to get to the point Nick? What's wrong with this?" Chandler asked, sitting forward.
Nick scratched his buzzed head. "You'd have to move to Los Angeles for a year. And possibly stay longer for post production."
Chandler gave an easy laugh. "I'm fine with that, anything to get me out of that apartment. I'm getting sick of the place."
"Well great then!" Nick smiled and stood up to get something from a file cabinet.
The fact was, now that Joey had come by, it was likely that the rest of them would come to, and he didn't want to be there when they did.
He didn't want them to see him like this.
Nick turned around and threw him a big manila colored envelope.
"The script and some other things are in there. Read them over, if you still want this, you leave next Monday, we have a house and everything all waiting."
"Thanks Nick." Chandler said distractedly as he left the office, peering down into the evelope he held in his hands.
(((((())))))
Chandler opened the door of his apartment and to his amazement, Joey, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, and Monica all sat inside.
He threw the cigarette he was smoking in the sink and turned towards them. "What are you guys doing here?" He asked in an almost angry tone.
"Well," Ross started, standing up. "Joey said he stopped by here the other day, he said he thought something was wrong with you."
"What are you talking about?" Chandler scoffed.
"He said you were all sweaty and shaky. Said you didn't look that well and seemed distracted. So, we thought we'd come and check up on you." Phoebe said, standing next to Ross.
Chandler was becoming very aware that he was starting to sweat again, and he was already shaking, just like he had been since he left the office.
It had been hours since he'd had any pills.
He knew he was way past addicted, and the only thing to calm his nerves were the drugs that they kept in the medicine cabinet.
"Look, I'm happy that you guys got married, I'm sorry I missed the wedding, but I have nothing to say to you guys. What do you want from me?" He asked, starting to inch his way towards the bathroom.
"Why did you have to leave?" Monica asked in a small voice, still not looking up at him.
Chandler stopped moving and glared down at her. "Because of you." He spat out before continuing to move.
"I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back." He said, turning and speed walking towards the door.
He walked into the large bathroom, slaming the door shut behind him.
Racing over to the cabinet, he swung it open and grabbed the nearest bottle.
He popped the lid off and poured the pills straight into his mouth.
Not caring how many he took or how many were left, he slamed the bottled down on the sink and sat on the edge of the hot tub.
He hated this place, money had bought this place, back when he was happy.
As the minutes carried on, he was becoming increasingly dizzy and tired.
He spotted a needle on the toliet tank, something that would hopefully wake him up a little, and reached for it.
Looking around, he spotted a rubber strap on the floor and tied it around his upper arm.
He slapped his forearm, trying to make the vein bigger.
Slowly and carefully, he slid the needle in, letting the substance run throughout him.
It dawned on him that what he had just done was very stupid.
He had combined two different drugs, something that Billy told him never to do.
He knew he was going to pass out, and he didn't want them to find him lying on his bathroom floor.
Quickly, he tossed the needle in the trash and staggered over to the window.
He slid it open and climbed out onto the fire escape.
He always thought it was odd that his apartment had two fire escapes, but now he was thankful.
Falling down on the cold metal, he reached up to shut the window, making it less obvious that he had gone out of it.
He laid down on his back, looking up at the clear blue sky, full of sun.
Anybody else would have thought that it was a perfect day, anybody but him.
T B C
wow, this was a long chapter for me. I've got nothing to say, except that I fell down the stairs last night and now my butt hurts!! All my friends laughed at me, sad. Please review!!!
(((((())))))
He never really thought about money as an issue.
Sure, he was rich now (he's a movie producer), but that didn't matter to him.
It was a job, nothing more, nothing less.
He was never one to bask in the luxuries of money or fame.
He knew that the five friends he left behind knew all about him.
About how famous he was, about how rich he was.
But they didn't know what had brought him to where he was now.
Lying face up on the rough carpet of his large expensive apartment, which he shared with a fellow producer.
It made him sad to think of the joy he could have shared with his friends when he had hit it big.
Instead, he had gone to a huge party, thrown by one of his friends, and had gotten totally wasted.
He was anything but proud of himself for what he had become.
He had started doing drugs as a way to get away from it all, to escape the rush.
But it had only brought him down, it weakened him, not physically, but emotionally.
He no longer cared what people thought about him, or what he did to himself.
He wasn't as self involved in his work as he used to be.
He had dug himself into, not a hole, but a bottomless pit, and he kept sinking lower and lower.
Nothing would ever be the same as it used to be.
A sharp knocking at the door brought him down from his temporary high, and he wrestled his way off of the floor.
He swung the door open, and on the other side stood a furious looking man.
"Where the hell were you?" He yelled.
"What are you doing here?" Chandler asked.
"I'm here to find out why you weren't at the wedding!" The man took a step into the apartment, making Chandler also take a step back.
"What wedding are you talking about?"
"Ross's wedding!"
"I don't see you in four years, and all you ded was come here to yell at me?" Chandler asked, starting to get angry.
"That's right! You got the invitation, why weren't you there?"
"I didn't get any invitaion Joe!" Chandler yelled.
"I can't believe this." Joey said quietly.
"What?"
"I even called, the guy said he would give you the message."
Chandler looked up at Joey. "What guy? Did you call here?"
"Yea, I think he said his name was Bobby, or Billy, or something."
"God damn Billy, I told him to write all of my messages down!" Chandler leaned against the wall.
"I'm sorry Joey, I didn't know about this. If I did, I would have been there." He said, taking a seat at the table.
Joey came in further and shut the door behind him.
"So, how's life been for you?" Chanlder asked.
"Well, it's actually been really good. I stared in-"
"The Backyard of Life." Chandler said, cutting Joey off.
Joey stared back at him.
"Yea, I saw it. It was great." Chandler smiled.
"I hear you've had it pretty good too." Joey said, sitting across from Chandler.
'Oh the things he doesn't know.' Chandler thought.
"Yea, I actually was offered to produce that movie, but I was working on-"
"Silent Ringing." Joey smiled. "Yea, I've seen all of the movies you've worked on. You're really good."
"Thanks, you are too." Chandler looked down at the table.
"So, who did Ross get married to?" He asked.
"Rachel." Joey smiled.
Chandler sadly looked down and picked at the corner of the table.
"Man, I wish I could have been there."
"Yea, it was great, so beautiful." Joey replied distantly.
The last of effects of the drugs started to wear off, and Chandler began to sweat, without those drugs in his system, he could no longer fucntion properly.
It was like being a car with no gas.
Joey looked over to Chandler and noticed something was wrong, but didn't want to bring attention to it.
"So, how is everybody else?" Chandler asked, trying to take focus off of him.
"They're all good." Joey said, trying not to single out Monica.
"How's Monica?" Chandler asked quietly.
"She's ok, been better." No use in trying to hide her.
"Why did you leave?" Joey asked.
Chandler sighed, "I don't know Joe, I really don't, but now I wish I had never left. I guess I just had to get away from her. Even before we had started officially going out, I knew that if we broke up, it wouldn't be good. I knew I wouldn't be able to stand being around her everyday."
"She was just, a wreck after you left. You know, you could have at least told us, or even just told me."
"I know Joe, and I'm sorry for leaving. But I had reasons. You can understand that right?"
Joey looked his friend in the eye, a different person sat before him, a man he did not know.
"I don't know." Joey said quietly. "I mean, I've had four years to get over it all, but, just coming here, and seeing you. It changes everything."
"I know what you mean."
Chandler's hands started shaking and he put them under the table, hiding them from Joey. He was becoming incredibly hot and he knew he had to get him out of the apartment.
"Well," Chandler said, looking to the clock on the wall, he saw that it was 11:30. "I've got to start getting ready for work."
"Oh, yea." Joey said, standing up and moving for the door.
"I'll see you around ok?" Chandler said, walking over to Joey.
"Yea." Joey said, unsure of what kind of good-bye gesture he should make.
Chandler sensed Joey's confusion and leaned in to hug him.
After the brief hug was over, Joey left, and Chandler bolted for the bathroom.
He slamed the medicine cabinet open, exposing all sorts of pill bottles.
He didn't know what was what at the moment, so he grabbed the one that stood out the most.
He shook a few pills in his hand, and shot them into his mouth.
Placing the bottle back in the cabinet, he turned around and started peeling his clothes off.
The shower was nice and clean, thanks to the maid that came by once a week to clean the apartment.
He opened the clear glass door and stepped into the shower that was covered with small, dark blue tiles.
Slowly, he turned the knob, and water poured out of the shiny, silver shower head, washing over his body.
Tiredly, he rest his head against the wall and placed his hands just above on the cool tile.
Seeing Joey had brought back a rush of emotions, that he was not prepared to deal with.
Sure he was happy that Ross and Rachel had finally tied the knot, but he missed it.
He always thought that the day those two got married, he would be there to see it.
In ten short minutes, it seemed that his whole life had been turned upside down.
(((((())))))
-5pm, Chandler's office-
He was sitting behind his desk, reading over some contracts, when his boss called him into his office.
Taking his glasses off, he stood up and walked out the door, heading down the hallway to where his boss worked.
He knocked on the door before entering.
"You wanted to see me?"
The large man looked up from his computer.
You couldn't really call him a boss, the only thing he did was find projects for the producers to work on, such as films, commercials, and other such things.
"Yea, Chandler, sit down."
Chandler walked over to the leather couch that was facing the desk and took a seat.
"You got something for me?" He asked.
"Yes I do, this is a big one, I can tell. You could get a lot of money out of this, open up a lot more business for you." The man said, turning in his chair so he coud face Chandler.
"Why are you so hesitant to get to the point Nick? What's wrong with this?" Chandler asked, sitting forward.
Nick scratched his buzzed head. "You'd have to move to Los Angeles for a year. And possibly stay longer for post production."
Chandler gave an easy laugh. "I'm fine with that, anything to get me out of that apartment. I'm getting sick of the place."
"Well great then!" Nick smiled and stood up to get something from a file cabinet.
The fact was, now that Joey had come by, it was likely that the rest of them would come to, and he didn't want to be there when they did.
He didn't want them to see him like this.
Nick turned around and threw him a big manila colored envelope.
"The script and some other things are in there. Read them over, if you still want this, you leave next Monday, we have a house and everything all waiting."
"Thanks Nick." Chandler said distractedly as he left the office, peering down into the evelope he held in his hands.
(((((())))))
Chandler opened the door of his apartment and to his amazement, Joey, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, and Monica all sat inside.
He threw the cigarette he was smoking in the sink and turned towards them. "What are you guys doing here?" He asked in an almost angry tone.
"Well," Ross started, standing up. "Joey said he stopped by here the other day, he said he thought something was wrong with you."
"What are you talking about?" Chandler scoffed.
"He said you were all sweaty and shaky. Said you didn't look that well and seemed distracted. So, we thought we'd come and check up on you." Phoebe said, standing next to Ross.
Chandler was becoming very aware that he was starting to sweat again, and he was already shaking, just like he had been since he left the office.
It had been hours since he'd had any pills.
He knew he was way past addicted, and the only thing to calm his nerves were the drugs that they kept in the medicine cabinet.
"Look, I'm happy that you guys got married, I'm sorry I missed the wedding, but I have nothing to say to you guys. What do you want from me?" He asked, starting to inch his way towards the bathroom.
"Why did you have to leave?" Monica asked in a small voice, still not looking up at him.
Chandler stopped moving and glared down at her. "Because of you." He spat out before continuing to move.
"I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back." He said, turning and speed walking towards the door.
He walked into the large bathroom, slaming the door shut behind him.
Racing over to the cabinet, he swung it open and grabbed the nearest bottle.
He popped the lid off and poured the pills straight into his mouth.
Not caring how many he took or how many were left, he slamed the bottled down on the sink and sat on the edge of the hot tub.
He hated this place, money had bought this place, back when he was happy.
As the minutes carried on, he was becoming increasingly dizzy and tired.
He spotted a needle on the toliet tank, something that would hopefully wake him up a little, and reached for it.
Looking around, he spotted a rubber strap on the floor and tied it around his upper arm.
He slapped his forearm, trying to make the vein bigger.
Slowly and carefully, he slid the needle in, letting the substance run throughout him.
It dawned on him that what he had just done was very stupid.
He had combined two different drugs, something that Billy told him never to do.
He knew he was going to pass out, and he didn't want them to find him lying on his bathroom floor.
Quickly, he tossed the needle in the trash and staggered over to the window.
He slid it open and climbed out onto the fire escape.
He always thought it was odd that his apartment had two fire escapes, but now he was thankful.
Falling down on the cold metal, he reached up to shut the window, making it less obvious that he had gone out of it.
He laid down on his back, looking up at the clear blue sky, full of sun.
Anybody else would have thought that it was a perfect day, anybody but him.
T B C
wow, this was a long chapter for me. I've got nothing to say, except that I fell down the stairs last night and now my butt hurts!! All my friends laughed at me, sad. Please review!!!