AN: Well, here's the second chapter! Thanks so much for the supportive reviews Jayne Leigh, rachelgreengeller, mondlerlove, LucyGoose, Kristy.
rachelgreengeller: I never consciously thought about Chandler confiding in Ross more than Joey when I was writing the first chapter. The way I saw it, Chandler didn't mean to tell Ross instead of Joey- it just slipped out because he was angry that Ross wouldn't leave him alone. There is probably going to be some future Chandler/Ross bonding, because I was always upset that there wasn't much in the actual sitcom.
mondlerlove: No, he hasn't broken up with Kathy…yet. I actually liked Kathy, but she's not gonna stay.
LucyGoose: Wow! Thank you for your astonishing review! I hope I don't ruin something good with my lack of technical knowledge. I've done research, but it's not the same thing as being familiar with this sort of thing. I'm glad you like how I wrote the characters- I was worried about Ross especially, as I will be focusing a lot on him in the future. Yes, it will be Mondler, although it will probably focus on the group dynamic more than their romance.
Kristy: It is more upbeat, I guess. I don't know that much about leukemia, but I've done research, so hopefully I'll do alright. I was concerned about writing Chandler. I'm not so good with his kind of humor, especially in writing. I'm more spontaneous and I have to be in the moment, so I'd appreciate any constructive comments about in-characterness.
I probably wasn't that clear earlier, so…here goes. This fic takes place about two weeks after TOW Chandler in a box. I'm pretty much ignoring what happened after that. Chandler's relationship with Joey is fragile at the moment, because even though Joey did forgive Chandler for kissing Kathy, their friendship isn't quite back to normal yet.
Chandler was lying to Joey in the beginning of Chap. 1 when he let Joey believe that he'd had another fight with Kathy, because he didn't want to worry anyone by telling them he could have leukemia. Kathy and Chandler haven't broken up yet. Although it's totally irrelevant, Kathy and Chandler have slept together and Monica did give Chandler that sex "lesson."
This fic is going to be Mondler, or at least pre-Mondler, which in my case means a lot of extremely un-subtle hints toward future Mondler.
As for this chapter specifically, it's pretty much pointless. It includes a filler scene that isn't really necessary, along with an update on how things are going with everyone a couple of days after the end of the first chapter. No direct and very little indirect Ross or Phoebe. No Joey at all, really.
That was an insanely long post, so on with chapter 2: In Which Lucy Glass Makes A Cameo Appearence.
Rachel was beginning to wonder if three of her friends had joined some sort of cult. First Chandler had been acting moody and sullen, and now Ross and even Monica seemed to have been sucked into what Phoebe had taken to calling 'the mire of despair'. When Rachel came home from work, Monica was determinedly scrubbing the bathroom floor, and Rachel couldn't help but note that the living room, kitchen, and even the balcony had reached a new level of immaculateness.
Ross' behavior was even worse, because it was so much more unusual. While Monica always cleaned when upset, Ross usually whined about what was bothering him until everyone had long since stopped feeling sorry for him. Now, however, he was rarely talking at all; he didn't even respond when Rachel had gone so far as to ask him how things were at the museum. It was scary to realize that she would much rather long discussions about the newly-added feature in the Jurassic period display then this.
It was quite clear to Rachel that the problem branched from whatever was bothering Chandler, but she hadn't been able to confront him as of yet. He hadn't been over for breakfast for the past three days, and had been conspicuously absent from their weekly Media Appreciation Night (which usually consisted of them renting several movies and generally mocking them, with the jibes led- naturally- by Chandler).
Gunther had reported that Chandler had been spotted in the coffeehouse, but that he'd ordered his coffee to go. Joey had reported that Chandler left early for work and went straight to his bedroom when he got home. What they ('they' being Phoebe and Rachel, since Joey was always scouting for Chandler and Mon and Ross were completely out of their minds) agreed on was that him going to work on time was the weirdest part, since it was completely unprecedented. It was one of those unchangeable things that all six of them were aware of: Monica hated dogs dressed up in baby's clothes; Ross hated The Flinstones; and Chandler hated his job, although he hated the fact that no one noticed if he didn't come in till after lunch more.
Phoebe's diagnosis was that it was a side-effect of eating meat, and that Rachel would soon get pulled into the mire as well. According to Phoebe, she was "already experiencing symptoms."
Lucy Glass talked at a truly alarming rate. Chandler suspected he would have known half of the girl's life story by now, if he had been able to understand what she was saying.
However, Lucy didn't get the chance to tell him the other half, as Monica appeared in the doorway, looking surprised to see a girl perched on Chandler's barka-lounger. In the moments in which Lucy stared curiously at Monica and Monica stared back, Chandler suddenly took in how this must look to Monica. Both of them half-dressed with bed head. Before he could point out that this was another one of Joey's girlfriends (leaving out the 'another' part for Lucy's benefit), the blonde smiled.
"Hello. You must be Kathy. I've managed to pry it out of Chandler. You're different than I expected, you know. I don't mean that in a bad way-"
"Um, Lucy?" Chandler interrupted. Monica looked shocked at the speed Lucy was talking, but Chandler's mind had automatically began to absorb this new form of speech after only an hour with her, decided to intervene. "This is Monica, my friend. Mon, this is Lucy, Joey's new girlfriend. He had to go to an early audition and I was keeping her company."
"Oh all right." Lucy seemed unruffled by her mistake. She finished off her pancakes and dumped her bowl in the sink. "Well, I really have to get to work- that new office building on 69th street- there have been ads everywhere- tell Joey I'll be by at six tonight, okay? We've got dinner reservations and they won't hold our table for long. I'll go change in the bathroom and be on my way."
As soon as the door closed behind her, Monica whirled on Chandler.
"So you've already told her more about what's been going on with you in the past week then you have us?"
Doesn't waste any time, does she?
"What are you talking about? I haven't told her anything." Monica glared at him, and Chandler, desperate for something to do with his hands, poured a little extra milk into his cereal.
"Kathy? You told her about Kathy!" Monica stared him down, hands clenched into fists at her side.
"Well, she asked me why I was here- she said Joey told her I'd be out with my girlfriend- and I said Kathy was visiting her parents. That's how she learned Kathy's name. I don't know where she would get a detailed mental image from that single sentence, and I don't care." Chandler didn't particularly feel like responding to the part where Monica had implied that he'd been avoiding them. Because that was an accusation completely without substance. Well, true substance. Well, there was a reason he chose not to respond.
"Chandler, that's not even the issue! You've been avoiding us, and I want to know why!" Chandler desperately wished that were the issue. He'd already argued against that issue. That issue could be written off as Monica being paranoid. This on the other hand….
When he didn't respond, Monica cleared her throat menacingly, and he would have said he glared at him again, but it was more like one continuous glower. Thankfully, he was saved by Lucy entering from the bathroom, fully dressed and a ball of clothes under one arm. She grabbed her purse and left after one hasty (well, for normal humans; almost slowly by her standards) reminder to tell Joey about the dinner reservations.
"Well, Chandler? Where have you been?"
Crap. She's like one of those pit bulls. Once they get a hold of something, they won't let go no matter what. And people say I'm being stupid for hating dogs.
Chandler stirred his now soggy cornflakes so fiercely that he created a whirlpool.
"Aw, shucks, did I miss curfew again? Pleeease don't ground me- I spent all week picking out my clothes for the party on Saturday."
Monica chose to ignore the sarcasm for once, which was unfortunate, as he'd actually been hoping to distract her with his finest weapon this time. "I didn't mean just last night. No one ever sees you anymore. You've completely changed your schedule; the only one of us that ever catches a glimpse of you is Joey, and that's because you two are roommates."
"So I haven't been over for breakfast the past couple of days, so what? And we've missed each other at the coffeehouse; it's just a coincidence. Three days of coincidences isn't enough to call a changed schedule. I've just been busy at work."
"Sure, okay," Monica said, shaking her head in derision. "Because you love your job soooo much."
"Look, it's a job. I don't have to like it the way all the rest of you guys like yours. Not everybody loves their job. In fact, everyone I work with hates their job." Chandler was beginning to feel frustrated. This 'staying away from everyone' shit had seemed easy in theory. He knew why he was doing it, and even if no one else what Ross did, they were supposed to understand.
When he showed no signs of cooperation, Monica sighed in disgust. "Fine. I guess I'll see you…no wait, I won't." She left the apartment, slamming the door behind her.