I raced up the stairway, not even stopping to catch my breath. I had to find her. Had to tell her. It was a stupid plan; it had been since the beginning. Why'd I even make it up? It was supposed to be a surprise. … Well, she's in for a definite surprise… that is… if I get a chance to explain. God damn it, Richard's such a nice guy! Why does he have to be a catch with the ladies? And why was he still going after Monica, he knew I love her! I wish I could kick his ass… yeah, that'll be the day.
As I ran faster my heartbeat quickened. What if she wasn't there? What if she had left to be with Richard? What if… well what if she didn't love me anymore? Oh God… I couldn't… wouldn't be able to handle that…
I finally made it up to our floor. I practically flew, running to get to the door. As I ran, I stopped in my tracks and was shocked to see Joey already there, standing outside his door which was across the hall.
"Dude, it's too late," he told me.
"Wha-what do you mean?" I asked him.
He explained to me how Monica had had her suitcase all packed and had left, crying. All because of me… I loved her! Now I was never going to get a chance to tell her ever again, or get to show her. This is the only woman I can see me living a normal life with… if she leaves then I doubt there will ever be another woman in my life. I was going to propose… how can you propose when there's no girl to propose to dammit? This was all happening so fast… I needed to sit down. Joey told me she went to her parent's house. I bet she'd get over me then… then go with Richard… I knew she'd go back to him. He's smart, handsome, charming, everything a girl can ask for. And what am I… a good friend…
Joey told me that she had said not to call her, but he advised me to do so anyway.
"I can't believe I screwed this up," I said, tears beginning to come to my eyes.
"I am so sorry, man," he told me, placing a hand on my shoulder.
My fingers fumbled in my pockets, hands shaking, as I pulled out the key to our… well, it very likely could just be my apartment now.
As I opened the door I was shocked to see dozens and dozens of candles placed everywhere in sight around the apartment. And there, amongst the midst of the candles was Monica…
She looked gorgeous. Her black hair reflecting off the candlelight, making it even more soft and silky than it already was. Her rosy checks and red lips blushed in the darkness. And her eyes… her eyes weren't glowing with hate or sadness… they were glowing with love. Joey told her… it was so obvious now.
"You wanted it to be a surprise," she said in a hushed voice, tears beginning to appear at the frame of her eyes.
I turned back to Joey. He raised his eyebrows and gave me an encouraging smile. With that, he shut the door, leaving the girl that I loved and me alone. I turned back to her, her eyes still fixed upon me. I slowly began to make my way towards her.
"Oh my god," I said in a shaky voice, realizing what I was about to do.
Or, surprisingly, what she was about to do. She slowly kneeled down in front of me, catching me totally off guard. More tears were coming to her eyes, and she tried to wipe them away with the sleeve of her shirt. She looked up at me with even more love in here eyes.
"Chandler," her voice even shakier than mine, "in all my life I never thought I would be so lucky as to fall in love with my best… my best... There's a reason why girls don't do this!" she finally said loudly, not being able to continue as more tears came to her eyes.
"Ok, ok I'll do it!" I said, kneeling quickly down to her level and taking her hands into mine. God I loved her hands so much, they just fit so perfectly into mine. "I thought… wait, I can do this," I said, bringing a hand to my face. After wiping away the few tears I looked back at her. I'd never loved her as much as I did now. "…I thought that it mattered what I said or where I said it. Then I realized the only thing that matters is that you… you make me happier than I ever thought I could be, and if you let me I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel the same way." She was crying even more now. Calmly I reached into my pocket. She held her face in her hands, concealing her smile and her tears of joy. I slowly took out the engagement ring that me and Pheobie had bought. Slowly, I uttered these five words: "Monica… will you marry me?"
She let her hands drop from her face revealing a large smile, and she had checks that were stained by tears now. She let out a small giggle and simply answered: "Yes."
I smiled, not able to believe that this was all happening. She extended her hand and I slowly slid the beautiful ring onto her finger. I kissed her, it was a gentle kiss but one that said that we loved each other. I couldn't believe I was going to spend the rest of my life with her… I love her so much. Nothing could've ruined this moment.
"I knew you were likely to take a wife!" she said, still crying, after we finished our kiss.
We embraced, me starting to cry a little too. I felt like the luckiest guy in the world…
"Can we come in yet; we're dying out here!" Joey's voice yelled as it rang through our front door.
We stood up together as Monica yelled, "Come in! Come in!" Phoebe, Joey, and Rachel piled into our apartment. Anticipation hung on their faces. "… We're engaged!" Monica yelled with much joy in her voice.
Our three close friends cheered as Monica and I ran to them, all of us embracing each other. I was so lucky to have friends like them. I had five best friends, and now I was marrying of them. Could I ask for anything more perfect in my life?
"Oh this is the least jealous I've ever been!" Rachel stated as soon as the hug ended, she amazingly beginning to cry too.
We were all about to hug again when all of a sudden Phoebe stepped back, with worry on her face.
"On no! Oh wait this is wrong! Ross isn't here!" she said, realizing our single flaw.
We all stared at each other, wondering what to do. Ross had been my best friend since high school. I really didn't want him to miss out on this, especially since it was his sister getting engaged to his best friend!
"… Oh hell, he's done it three times, he knows what it's about!" Rachel finally said.
We all decided she was probably right, so we hugged again. This was so great. I looked at Monica, her eyes meeting mine. I saw so much love in them, and I knew she saw the same in my eyes. I smiled at her and in return she gave me a gorgeous smile in return.
It was all so perfect.
