Monday
"Joe, I don't think I should go out with Sarah anymore," Ross said, sitting right beside Joey underneath the tree.
Taking a bite from his meatball sub, Joey asked while chewing, "Huh? The hot chick? Why?"
"Cause she was Rachel's co-captain!"
"So? What's that supposed to mean?"
"See, the difference with us is, I care about how women feel…"
"Hey!"
Ross glared at him as if saying 'yeah right.'
"Okay fine, fine. But Rachel already knows about the two of you. She even suggested a double date! And Ross, you've dated her twice already."
"Yeah but-"
"Ross, if she said it was okay, then it's okay. You can't sacrifice someone just because you think your ex is affected by it. Did she tell you sincerely that it was okay to date her hot teammate?" Ross rolled his eyes, "Yes… she even explained to me how nice Sarah was."
"Then go for it! The way I see it, Rachel's moving on man. I guess you should too!" he said, standing up.
Left all alone under the tree, he started pondering on whether or not he should still take Sarah out. 'Okay, maybe she's okay with it… I mean, she did sound fine,' repeating to himself.
He leaned on the trunk and looked at the sky.
Many times before, he and Rachel used to do the exact thing. Meeting up during their breaks, they would hang out under the tree and look up the sky, talking about their future together. He smiled in reverie, 'Those were the days.'
That tree was too memorable to forget. It was in the park right in front of Ross' dorm, not far from Rachel's too. Used to be a daydreaming spot by day, a make-out site by night… and that's how it went for over a year.
"So how did it go last night?" Phoebe asked Rachel, entering her room and finding Rachel reading a magazine on her bed.
"It was torturing!" she replied, looking up at Phoebe.
"It was that bad?" sitting on Rachel's bed, "but you seemed happy when you got back last night!"
"My parents gave Ross a hard time. My mother kept on hinting that we should get back together, my father was killing him like always, and my little sister was flirting with him."
"Jill?"
"Yes!"
Phoebe covered her mouth, "Oh my."
"No biggie, she always does that to Amy's exes. And I kind of expected it since Ross was her crush since she was in 8th grade."
"How about the Geller's?" Phoebe followed up.
"It was lovely," she paused, "too lovely."
Phoebe looked at her friend, lost in thought, "You miss him, don't you?"
"I do," she paused once more, "I miss them so much!"
"Rachel, I said 'you miss him,' not them!"
"Phoebe!"
"Okay, okay… did you ask him how his date went?"
"I did."
"And?"
"And he seemed uncomfortable telling me about it!"
"Well duh, she was your co-captain."
"Pheobes, I don't think he remembered that."
"What? Okay maybe Ross isn't the type who would hurt you deliberately, but he's still a guy Rach."
"I know, but I really don't think he remembered..."
"How do you know?"
"Cause long before we broke up, I remember him saying that he was gonna give my co-captain his leg just so I won't be spending too much time planning the dance competition and spend time with him. When I reminded him last night about Sarah's injury, he simply got lost."
"Oooh…" Phoebe cooed, "Ross isn't that bad after all."
Rachel went back to reading, leaving Phoebe in thought. "So is he serious with Sarah? I mean, he hasn't been serious for quite a while now!"
"I honestly don't know, but he looked more contented with her than the rest of women he dated."
"I suppose. You and Sarah have so much in common," Phoebe stood up.
Rachel sat up and dropped her magazine, "What?"
"Look, you're both beautiful cheerleaders… she just has an annoying bright yellow-blonde hair."
"Phoebes-"
"I'm just saying that she's Ross' type. If he can't settle with you, might as well go for someone like you."
She paused and felt her heart stop upon hearing her friend's words. 'So is this finally it?' she queried to herself, 'closure?'
"I can read your mind by the way," Phoebe floppily commented, getting a glare from Rachel.
