Friday
Rachel woke up to her cell phone ringing like crazy, "Hello? Hold on." She sleepily got up and opened the door. "Monica, it's 3 in the morning," went back to her bed.
"Rach, Ross caught me and Chandler kissing," Monica announced, making Rachel bolt up in shock.
"What?"
Trying to catch her breath, Monica sat down and got the glass of water Rachel had on her nightstand, "We were at the park earlier, making out."
"Underneath the tree?"
"No, that's your spot!" Rachel shot her a look. "We were near the bench and neither of us knew Ross was under the tree. Before we knew it, he was standing in front of us!"
"And then?"
"And then he sighed and left. Chandler went after him… it's been an hour and he still hasn't contacted me!" her tears were slowly cascading down her cheeks.
"Mon calm down… it'll be fine. Ross can't control how you feel." "Rach, I don't even know if Chandler will fight for us. Does he even love me? I've said it once before but he didn't reply."
Rachel hugged her best friend; she seemed inconsolable, "Shhh, Mon… this is Chandler we're talking about. He's not expressive."
"He said 'I love you' to Janice," Monica whined.
"Janice is different. You'd have to give her what she wants so she can shut up."
"What if Ross kills Chandler?"
"Ross wouldn't do that."
"How did you know?
"Because he went for his sister's best friend," Monica smiled at Rachel's remark. "And cheated on her," Rachel added with a sarcastic smile.
Monica took a breath and wiped her tears, "You're right…"
"Mon, calm down. I'm sure it's fine. Now will you please get some sleep? I have an exam in," she checked her watch, "five hours and if I fail it, you and Chandler will never hear the end of it."
"Okay, fine…"
Rachel moved a bit and made space for Monica on her bed. She turned off the lamp shade on her side while Monica laid down, facing the opposite side staring into space.
"What if Ross tells Chandler to move to Nepal?"
"Monica, sleep!" Rachel demanded with her eyes closed.
Monica arose from the bed and found herself alone in the room. It was 10am, as she checked the clock. 'Rachel would be home in a while,' she thought.
As soon as she decided to stand up, she heard the doorknob twist and in came Rachel, smiling.
"Hi Mon," she greeted.
"You look so happy. What's up?"
"James knew I had an exam today so he left a rose near my locker with a note saying good luck."
Monica sat up and grinned at her, "Wow, that's sweet of him!"
"So, any sign of Ross or Chandler today?" she asked.
Rachel sat across her best friend after fixing her things, "Chandler called this morning to check how you were."
"Did he say anything about last night?"
"He just told me to tell you that he's alive and that he'll call you later!"
"Did he sound bad? I mean- was he upset or-"
"He sounded the same, Mon. I don't think Ross did anything to him!"
"He shouldn't have. I'll sit on him if he did."
"Yeah Mon, cause you still weigh more than him," she sarcastically replied, "Look, Ross isn't that mean. I'm sure he understood everything!"
"Rach, I'm his sister. You never saw him MAD!"
"I think I have," she replied, sadly looking at her.
Monica suddenly remembered the last weeks of Ross and Rachel's relationship, "Oh Rach, I didn't mean to-"
"Mon, it's fine! It's in the past," she said, forcing a smile.
Monica smiled at her, "If it helps, he never threatened to kill you."
They started laughing.
"What? When did Ross want to kill you?"
"When we were young, I broke his dinosaur collection."
"You sat on them?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah," Monica chuckled, "accidentally."
Later that afternoon, Ross found himself sulking under the tree once more. It was becoming more often these past few days that he sat there. When he and Rachel broke up, he hardly even passed by… it was too painful… too many memories resurfaced and opened the wounds in his heart. Only after a few months did his wounds begin to heal. Once in a while, he would frown in reverie of the past, but most times he'd smile thinking of the moments they've shared.
"Ross?" a woman from behind greeted him.
Ross turned to look and surprisingly found her there.
"Rach! Hey…"
"I thought I'd find you here," she smiled, sitting beside him.
He smiled at her in return, moving a bit for her to sit. 'Wow,' he thought, thinking of the last time they sat there together.
"How are you?" she asked.
"Monica and Chandler?"
Rachel nodded.
"Still shocked… Did Monica go to you last night?"
"Yeah and she was in panic. She thought you'd kill Chandler."
He grinned, "I thought I would. But then that would be unfair!"
"Yes it would be. And besides, Monica didn't kill you when she found out about us," trying her best to sidestep the awkwardness of the topic.
"Yeah she didn't. Thank God she wasn't fat anymore," he chuckled, "I remember that day. She was so mad at me!"
"Ross, you don't smile when you see your best friend secretly sneaking into your brother's room at 2 am," she stated, making Ross laugh.
"Hey, I didn't even know you were sneaking into my room. I was asleep!"
"Of course you did! You told me right after we left for Long Island to sneak in when Monica falls asleep."
He laughed hard, "So much for having a 'secret relationship!'"
Rachel paused, "I don't consider it that… we were only together for a week when she caught us."
"Yeah but I've been wooing you for months," he uttered, "Monica didn't even mind me when I told her I liked you."
"Because she didn't think I would fall for you!" Rachel stated. She paused in thought, 'where the heck am I getting here?' "So why didn't you kill Chandler?" she asked, wanting to change the subject.
Ross scoffed, "He said he loved Monica."
"He did?"
He nodded, "Unless Monica told him to tell me that."
She chuckled, "Why would she do that?"
He grinned, easing his way through awkwardness, "Cause that's what I told her when she caught us."
Rachel couldn't utter a word… Monica never told her that. She only heard and knew how Ross' felt almost two months after they got together.
"But anyway, I believed him so I had to let him go," Ross said, catching her attention.
"What- what made you-"
"Believe?" she nodded and he continued, "I dunno. I guess I saw it in him. He seemed different from the Chandler that I knew. Yeah, he never had 'the women' like Joey, but he was just different. He sounded so sincere, so confident about it. He was even smiling when he told me that! I mean, I was furious at him!"
Rachel looked at him, realizing why Monica accepted their relationship. He, in return, gazed at her deep blue eyes. For a few seconds, reality disappeared. They were both drawn to each other like a moth to a flame in a trance only to be broken by… Ross' cell phone.
'Damn' he thought.
"Hello?" he answered, knowing who it was. "Oh hey," he concealed Sarah's name, whom he had to meet that day, "Okay I'll see you there in five minutes."
Rachel smiled at him… she wasn't stupid; she knew who he was talking to. His voice was too calm for a guy to be on the other end of the line.
"Rach, I-"
"Go ahead, " she smiled.
He gazed at her once more, smiled and kissed her forehead, "I'll see you!"
Watching him leave made her sigh. For a moment there, she thought he wouldn't leave. But who was she for him to stay? He had a life without her now… The old Ross would… 'Stop being selfish Rachel,' she scolded herself. She should actually be happy and supportive of him.
Rachel just leaned on the bark of the tree and looked up the sky. That place was just… unexplainable. She remembered the last time she was there, just after winning her dance competition.
Rachel looked around the huge gym, trying to find Ross' face in the sea of people. She was too nervous to calm down. The competition was about to start and they were the third in line to present. Having Ross there was another thing, it was to know whether or not they can still be together.
"Rachel!" Monica screamed from behind.
Rachel turned to see her with Joey and Phoebe waving, and decided to approach them.
"Good luck Rach," Monica said.
"Thanks… Where's Ross?"
Sensing how vulnerable her state was, Phoebe tried to butter her reply, "He's coming, Rach! I know he is."
"He's not here!" she retorted, on the verge of tears.
"Chandler isn't here too. They're probably on their way."
"Oh God," Rachel started to cry, "I ruined it."
"Don't cry Rach," Monica hugged her, "not now, the competition's about to start and they need you there. You have to be strong."
"I don't care about them," she bawled, "It's my fault… and Ross won't forgive me for this!"
"Rachel he will," Phoebe comforted her.
"I just called Chandler and he's with Ross. They're on their way," Joey said as he came back.
"He is?" Rachel looked up at him, with all the hope she had.
"Yeah, they're a few minutes away!"
Rachel debated If Joey was indeed telling the truth, but before she could ask him again, a fellow cheerleader approached her and told her to go back.
"Good luck Rach!" they all screamed.
Minutes before their turn, Rachel was in panic mode. She still couldn't find Ross!
"Ladies and Gentlemen," the announcer hollered. It was their cue to position themselves at the center of the coliseum.
As soon as she got to the front, she looked at Monica, questioning her where Ross was. Monica smiled and pointed towards the door…
Ross and Chandler were on their way down to Monica. He waved at her and she smiled.
Gaining the confidence she needed as he came, she danced her best and showed to everyone how hard they practiced for that competition. In the end, they earned the first place trophy of being the state champion.
Rachel was at her best mood. She was ecstatic! Ross, on the other hand, was remorseful. He wanted to die at the thought that he was with her.
They were in their spot, right beneath the willow tree.
"Ross?" she asked, getting his attention.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry about last night… I just… I don't know what happened, and I didn't mean what I said, I-" finally tearing down the wall that stood between them.
Ross smiled at her and kissed her nose, "I know. I'm sorry too!"
Rachel smiled and kissed him, biting his lower lip which made him laugh.
"Rachel," he glared at her.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too," he replied, kissing her passionately.
Ross felt fear thinking that everything was about to end. Chandler and Joey, who eventually found out, told him not to tell Rachel. In fact, they even had a trail on how to stop Rachel from finding out. 'Whatever she doesn't know won't hurt her,' they told him.
He kept fighting the demons that haunted him about the night before. The only woman he loved more than anything in the world was saying the three words that sent shivers down his spine. Rachel was his pillar of strength, his goddess, his everything. The thought of losing her was death in the making.
As soon as they broke the kiss, unaware of what was going in Ross' mind, Rachel dreamily looked at him and wiped his lip, "Where were you last night?"
"Um…" Ross was taken off-guard, "I went out with Chandler. Why?"
"Nothing, I called like a million times. I was just wondering if you were there all along…"
"Rach, I would've answered it if it was you. I should've just stayed home!"
"Honey, you still came this afternoon. It doesn't matter," she smiled at him.
He forced a smile at her, trying to erase his lingering thoughts.
"Did you have fun?"
He simply shook his head, "I kept thinking about you… and I eventually got drunk."
She grinned, approaching his lips once more, "Now let's have fun."
Ross caressed her neck, and she closed her eyes as she felt his touch. "Let's go up to my room," he suggested after nibbling the lobe of her ear.
She simply smiled and pulled him as she stood up.
After a passionate night that he longed for, Rachel fell asleep on his chest.
Ross couldn't close his eyes, fearing the images that entered his mind.
He wanted to tell Rachel, but somehow he knew she wouldn't understand. He didn't want another break-up… the thought of living one more day without her was already terrible… what more a lifetime?
'But she deserves to know,' he thought to himself. The sound of her breathing tensed him even more… he knew he couldn't live a lie.
For hours he pondered on what to do and what to say to her. He then decided to tell her as soon as he can the following day, but he woke up to an empty bed.
That day… he lost his courage. He shouldn't have stayed mum about it, because she eventually found out.
"Rachel?"
"James, hi!" she turned and greeted him.
He walked towards her under the tree, "Is this bunch of grass taken?" he joked, pertaining to the space beside her.
She giggled, "I think the ants won't mind."
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I was just with Ross. He finally found out about Chandler and Monica..."
James smiled at her, understanding what she was trying to say. They were bothe silent unitl, "Weren't you two a couple?" he politely asked.
"Yeah… how'd you know?"
"Rachel, the whole world knows that," he grinned. "But wouldn't it be awkward going out with him tomorrow?"
"I don't think so," she assured him, "we're just friends now. And besides, the girl he's dating is my friend."
Their conversation trailed off…
Behind James and Rachel, Ross watched. He decided to come back after and ditch Sarah… but he saw her with James. So instead of approaching her, he did otherwise and called Sarah again.
This fic's about to end :( Ihope ya'llare enjoying it though.. do leave me a review :)
