Disclaimer: I don't own Friends.

A/N: Wow. Ten reviews for one chapter? Dude, you guys are too good.

It's official: I've started writing a new Friends fic, God help me.

XXX

"I had a great time, Mon. Thanks for taking me," Rachel said as she and Monica crossed the border back into New York.

They'd spent the next day of their weekend shopping, milling around town, and then tanning at the beach. It was still chilly out, since it was only the end of May, but Rachel was happy with the slight brown color she'd gained on her skin.

They hadn't talked about Ross.

"Well, happy birthday, Rach. Don't say I never did anything big for you," Monica joked, keeping her eyes on the road. "And this gift you can't exchange."

Rachel huffed. "I don't exchange gifts!…That often."

"Well, your real birthday is in four days."

"Yup."

"You're gonna be twenty-one."

"Yup."

Monica looked at her, then grinned. "My little girl has grown up so fast."

"Stop it," Rachel said lightly, smiling as she looked out the window.

"You know what else is coming up soon? I mean, really soon?"

"What's that?" Rachel asked with interest.

"The party. Tomorrow night is the party my parent's are throwing," Monica reminded her, her eyes twinkling. "And a certain person is going to be there. A person you haven't seen in nearly a week. A lot can change in a week, now, can't it? I hope you're still going."

Rachel sighed. "Of course I'm still going."

"And are you going to tell…a certain person about a certain feeling you've been having lately towards them?"

"You know, subtly really isn't your thing, Mon."

"I'm trying to be respectful," Monica defended. "So, are you gonna tell him?"

Ah, if only you knew how badly that question has plagued my mind, Rachel thought darkly. The only thing she'd been able to think about since her sudden epiphany as she and Ross walked down the street the night before his graduation was if she was going to tell him, and when, if she decided she was going to. Rachel knew he'd had a crush on her for a long time, but had sufficiently ignored that fact up until recently. Now, it was something she was reminded of constantly.

The scary part of it all was the feeling of uncertainty that seemed to follow her everywhere; not knowing how to handle herself, now that she realized she was, and had been for some time, falling for a sweet, kind guy who'd been falling for her since high school.

The really scary part was that the uncertainty was turning out to be just as thrilling as the knowing.

"Rach?"

"What?"

"I asked, are you scared to tell him?"

Rachel took a moment to consider that question just a little more.

She smiled. "No."

XXX

Chandler cried out in pain as he exited the bathroom and promptly tripped over Ross' miniature model of a T-Rex. He picked up the two-foot dinosaur and stared at it. "You have got to be kidding me," he said to himself, glancing around the apartment for any sign of his roommate.

He and Ross had been in the apartment for a little over a week, and were still in the stages of unpacking (Chandler set down the model, shaking his head). He had an interview in three days at a company that did data reconfiguration, though he wasn't too thrilled about it. He didn't really want to go into this business, but he and Ross were strapped for money, and for now, he could live with this job.

Ross was finally offered a full-time job at the museum, so he spent a lot of his time there, which was fine with Chandler, because it meant Monica could come over and they could make out in the living room without having to worry about her older brother walking in on them. Sure, they'd only been there for a short time, but the freedom of having their own place was still new and fun.

Monica. Monica, Monica, Monica. Chandler still sometimes wondered how he had lucked out by getting a girl like her. Sure, she was sort of bossy. And kind of controlling. And needed everything perfect. And couldn't stand to lose.

But she was hot.

Now, he felt bad that he'd thought so little of her when they'd first met. He'd been a superficial ass. Yet somehow, she'd grown on him to the point where he'd found himself liking to see his best friend's little sister more than his best friend.

Chandler wanted to call her. He'd been wanting to call her all weekend, ever since the moment she and Rachel had pulled out of the Geller's driveway on Friday. But, his girlfriend had made it very clear that he couldn't contact her at all. She'd said it was a girls-only weekend.

Pondering what a girls-only weekend entailed, Chandler sat down on the one chair that wasn't occupied with a box. Ross entered the apartment suddenly, and Chandler was about to greet him when he realized his best friend was mumbling to himself.

He stood from the chair and approached the other man. "Ross?…You okay?"

Ross blinked and looked at Chandler, then shook his head. "Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking."

"Do you normally think out loud?"

"What?"

"Never mind." Chandler checked the time on his watch.

Ross noticed his impatient behavior. "What's up, man?"

"Aren't they supposed to be back, like, two hours ago?" he questioned.

"Yeah, but they probably wanted to unpack first," Ross rationalized. He didn't mention that Chandler had just brought up the one subject he'd been trying to avoid for the past week. Thoughts of Rachel flooded his mind.

As if God was granting some sort of wish, the door opened, and both men turned to find Monica standing in the doorway, Rachel just a few steps behind her.

"Monica!" Chandler yelled, jumping up and down like a little kid before rushing forward to embrace her. She laughed, and as he pulled away, keeping his hands firmly on her waist, he said, "Does this seem needy?"

"Did you miss me?" she asked.

"No." Chandler grinned, stepping away and waving to Rachel, who had entered the apartment and was conveniently looking anywhere but at Ross, who couldn't keep his eyes off her. He only looked away to give a distracted hug to his sister.

"So, how 'bout I take you to reacquaint yourself with my room?" Chandler questioned his girlfriend in a not-so-subtle way, glancing furtively towards their two friends.

Monica took a moment to look at Rachel, and they had a conversation without words. Chandler had always wondered how girls seemed to read each other's minds. Rachel nodded, and Monica smiled at Ross before leading Chandler into his room, away from the mounting tension.

Rachel cleared her throat uncomfortably. When she'd agreed to come with Monica to the apartment, she'd been under the impression that Ross would still be at work.

Obviously, that was not correct.

"How was the weekend?" he finally asked.

"It was good," she responded immediately. "They had really good Clam Chowder." What a stupid thing to say, she thought with an inward groan.

Instead of laughing at her stupidity, Ross smiled a bit. "Well, I hear that's what Cape Cod is famous for." He rocked on his feet. "So, haven't seen you since graduation."

"Oh, yeah, I've been, uh, busy," Rachel said.

"How's your family?"

"Oh, everyone's good. Jill and Amy are gone for most of the summer. My mom's…well…herself. How's, uh, your mom and dad?"

"They're good. My mom's sent over a lot of stuff for the apartment, as you can see." Ross gestured around the cluttered room.

He smiled a little as Rachel eyed the room carefully. He wished he could ask her what she'd been thinking about the past week; if she'd been thinking of him. He wanted to tell her she'd been all he could think about. He still wanted to know what she had been ready to say before Carol had interrupted them.

"So, how's the real world treating you?" Rachel questioned easily, becoming more comfortable with the tension between them. Might as well get used to it, she figured.

"Kind of sucks, but it's also great to have our own place."

Rachel plastered a smile on her face. "Seen anyone from school yet? Any break-up parties? Carol?" she added at the end, her voice rising in fake-cheerfulness.

Ross raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no, just Chandler, and he's kind of unavoidable. And, uh, I don't have a reason to see Carol." Maybe this was it. Maybe she was going to tell him now.

"Well, you two seemed pretty chummy the night before your graduation." Rachel had no idea why she was being so bitchy all of a sudden, but she'd been holding in her Carol frustrations for over a week, and she needed to vent them.

Ross was slightly taken aback by her sudden attitude. "Wha-no, she was just saying goodbye."

"Really, Ross?" Rachel's voice held something more than just annoyance; now it also had a hint of curiosity.

Wanting to test her a bit, Ross eyed her. "So what if she was asking me about something else? It isn't any of your business."

"I know that!" Rachel defended weakly. "It's just, she, and, she just, ugh! Why won't you just answer the question directly?"

"Why do you care so much?"

"Just, please Ross. Are you back together with her?"

Ross mulled over those words, staring at Rachel in a new light. She was jealous. She was jealous of his ex-girlfriend. "Well," he began, wanting to see her reaction, "she wanted to get back together."

Rachel took a step back, one that was hardly noticeable, but a step back nonetheless. Ross had to admit he was pleased at her shocked expression.

"Oh," she said slowly. "So, you told her…you'd think about it, or something?"

"No," Ross replied, just as slowly as she'd asked. He took a step towards her, taking a breath. She was nearly backed up against the door.

She looked surprised, but her shoulders sagged, almost in relief. "Why did you say no?" she asked, almost at a whisper.

Ross let his brown eyes probe her blue ones, savoring this unseen moment of Rachel's jealousy. He'd dreamed of this type of situation. And now, it seemed as if another dream was about to come true.

"Because," he started softly, letting the word travel at a snail's pace from his mouth, "because-"

"Ross, your best friend is disgusting!" Monica yelled, rushing out of Chandler's room, her boyfriend hot on her heels.

Chandler grinned. "Oh, sure, in there I'm your boyfriend, out here I'm your brother's best friend."

The couple stopped when they saw the heavy scene they'd just interrupted. Ross let out a long sigh, shaking his head and wondering why he even bothered. He gave a parting look to Rachel, and then went to his room.

Rachel watched after him, blinking slowly. Monica's eyebrows rose.

"Why do I have a feeling we missed something extremely large and life-changing?" Chandler asked jokingly.

XXX