"The One with Cute Nearly-Naked Boy"

"I think I'm in Australia."

Rachel slumped against the wall and slid down. "What?" she asked.

"Australia. I think I'm in…Oh my…"

"What! What!"

"Uh…Tunnel!"

"Tunnel? You're on a pay-phone!"


Emma hung up the phone and thanked the woman who'd lent her the money. An angel had floated by her while she was talking to Rachel, but not even an angel was that perfect…or that nude.

Well, he wasn't really nude…he had shorts on, but his shirt was hanging in his hands and was dripping water across the airport floor. His sand-coloured hair hung in his eyes and, at its longest tip, grazed his shoulders. Emma's mouth hung open as she watched him walk by; he was a vision of beauty, a perfect sculpture; she didn't pay heed to the guttural sounds emitting from her throat. She followed the boy, looking like she was in a trance. He skin was dark from the sun, and Emma couldn't see any tan-lines anywhere.

He stopped at the baggage claim and waited. Emma stopped beside him and occasionally glanced his way. Her single suitcase was one of the first bags off and she picked it up quickly and pretended to be waiting for more. The boy was starting to shiver. He picked up a suitcase, looked at the tag, and put it back.

Emma didn't know exactly how long they stood there, but they were two of the last people. The boy stood empty-handed (except for his soaked shirt) and looked very upset. He looked up at Emma and smiled. His eyes were a clear, ocean-blue. "They lost your trunks too?" His Australian accent was thick and quite…attractive.

Emma was aware that she should respond vocally, perhaps with something witty. "No, I'm wearing mine," is what Chandler would have said. If she said that, the boy would probably be freaked out and leave. She would just say, "Yeah, it happens all the time."

"No, I'm wearing mine."

DAMN IT!

The boy laughed. Emma felt the blood rush to her cheeks. She didn't know whether or not that laugh was good.

"No, I mean they lost your luggage."

"Yeah, I knew that. And…yeah, they lost my snowboard."

Shut up, Emma.

The boy blinked, then shrugged. "I'm Kyle Wills." He held out his hand.

"Emma Geller. Geller-Green. Emma." She shook his hand nervously. His hand was slightly rough, and his grip was strong. Not painful, but…firm.

"Emma. You from New York?"

"Uh huh. I actually was supposed to be going to Paris, but I missed my stop."

"Oh yeah? No one woke you up?"

Emma blinked repeated, her brow furrowed. "Actually, I think they tried. Yeah, they did! Some stewardess asked me if I was staying through to Australia, and I…I nodded. Mind you, I was half-asleep, so I probably didn't even hear her…"

Kyle smiled. Emma could have melted right on the spot. "Listen, my sister lives about five hours away. I'm actually staying at her unit tonight. She's a bit of a battler, but she's got a phone and I can pay for the long-distance."

Emma had no idea what a 'battler' was, but she wasn't going to ask.

"Wow, that's really nice…but I should probably stay here and try to catch a plane out to New York or Paris…"

Kyle was peering at her closely. "You've never been here before, huh?"

"No…I've been to Canada!"

Kyle laughed. "Beautiful up there, huh? Is that where you snowboard?"

"I don't snow…Yes, yes, that is where I snowboard. And…and damn these airport people for losing my luggage! Damn them all!"

And I went too far.

"This isn't the first time they've misplaced mine. When I was in London two years ago, they lost my trunks…luggage."

"No, I knew what you meant."

Kyle sighed and started to head out. "Look," he said, turning back to face Emma. "Chances are your folks won't be here tonight, even if they managed to get a flight out. There's a cheap motel thirty minutes away that you could spend the night in. I could drive you to it."

"Oh…really? But I don't have any money."

"That's fine. I've got some money-"

"No! I don't want to owe you money and never be able to pay."

"It's fine." He smiled at Emma again, put his arm around her shoulder, and led her out.


"Breathe!" Phoebe was saying. "Breathe, breathe, breathe…there, do you feel better?"

Ross took his face out of the paper bag. "No! She's in Australia! That's even worse than Paris!"

"How? How is it worse?"

"Do you know how many handsome, muscular outdoorsmen there are in Australia? She's going to hook up with some crocodile wrestler and marry him and never come home-"

"Ross, she is not you!" Phoebe said, patting Ross on the top of his head.

Monica rushed out of Ross and Rachel's bedroom and ran into the living room.

"What's wrong?" Ross said.

"Rachel's crying and throwing things. She threw your Apatosarus model and broke it on the door."

Ross stood up, looking like he was about to panic. "She broke Alan?"

Monica raised her eyebrows. "Okay, that's the big picture. And you name your dinosaurs?"

He sat down and avoided her eyes. "No."

"God, I would love to be in Emma's shoes right now!" Lynn said, sitting beside Ross and putting a plate of cookies on the coffee table. "Australia! That is…actually, Paris is more appealing. But god, she is so lucky! Everything good happens to her! She wins the Paris trip, she's a good artist, Riley Davidson has a crush on her, she's in three Advanced Placement courses-"

"What?" Ross exclaimed, his voice rising a few octaves.

"She's in three AP courses. Come on Ross; your intelligence genes put her there."

"No, no," Erica said, patting her shoulder. "He means Riley Davidson liking her. And don't worry Ross, because she loathes him. It's like…like Joey and Janet."

"Janice?"

"Right."

"Oh thank god!"


A/N: Things you should know: I do not live in the United States of America or Australia. I live in Canada and am basing Emma's school system on the way mine works. For example, AP means Advanced Placement, which is for the smart people. So…yeah.