Disclaimer: I do not own Friends.
Fall 2005-City of Greenberg, just outside of New York City. I know it's not a real city, but this is fiction.
Ross drug his body out of his 1991 Nissan Centra and shuffled his feet toward the high school. The high school was perched on top of a hill, high above the town. It was the crowning achievement of Sir Richard Clark, the mayor of Greenberg almost ninety years ago. It was three stories filled with classrooms, a huge gym, many offices, and long hallways.
It was the hallways that scared him so much. He would rush from one class to the other as soon as the previous class ended. He always made sure to get to school right when the bell rang, so he wouldn't have to walk around aimlessly, thinking everyone was examining him.
He finally graced the door with the palm of his hand and dragged it open, his energy almost depleted. He had just woken up, however his mind had exhausted him with thoughts of teasing and loneliness.
School had officially begun and time would progress much more slowly now.
"Watch out!" A girl proclaimed, bumping into Ross. "Walking would be nice." He heard her murmur as she whipped her hair in his face and her and her friends giggled loudly while walking away.
"And it begins." Ross slumped his head to the ground and continued shuffling his feet toward his first class of the day. A time when he could get away from the social pressures of school-Physics.
The first classes of the day went on without any problems. Now it was time for lunch.
Ross gathered his food from the lunch line, wincing his eyes in disgust at the food they were serving. Normally he would go home for lunch to spend a little time in solitude, but this time he was meeting someone for lunch. A girl named Heather.
He cherished the time he spent with Heather. He felt like he could truly relax and be comfortable around her.
Heading towards the table she was sitting at he noticed her casually sweep away a few strands of honey blonde hair from her face. She had a beautiful complexion, and a rare innocence.
Almost angelic.
Before he knew it, his shadow had blanketed her figure and dissipated the light that loomed around her.
"Hey," he said shyly, circling around to the opposite side of the table. "What are you reading?" He whispered, noticing the thick yellow book laying flatly on the table.
"Oh nothing important. It's called Sidewinders. It's Sc-Fi." She explained, slightly embarrassed of the material before her.
Once she had book marked her page, she neatly placed it in her backpack and focused her attention on Ross.
"So, how have you been?" She said with the sweetest voice and a smile that could melt the sun.
"Okay, I guess. I can honestly say the first day of school is the worst." He moaned at the end of the statement and signed heavily, praying the day would end soon.
"I don't know, I think the first day is refreshing. Brings you back to reality."
She had a point. School did have that effect. Time to focus on college.
"It's just that, if you think about it, this is only the first day of an entire year. It's back to square one. And I particularly don't like "square one." Ross retorted, laughing nervously. He needed to bring his feelings to the surface. He needed to vent.
And Heather was the perfect person to talk to. She would never judge him. Never make any accusations or hurtful comments. Only listen intently and give Ross friendly advice.
She was like a therapist in that way.
"We could go back and forth with this topic the whole day. So I'll end with this. Ross, in a few months you'll be going off to Yale or Harvard or wherever you want to go and highschool will be over. Enjoy it now, while you can." She reached over and gracefully touched his hand, sending a jolt of energy streaming through his body, causing him to gulp in order to open up his throat.
"Th-thanks." He stammered, his face turning a bright shade of red.
"You're welcome." She was cheerful and optimistic in nature and this was just one example. "Lets go outside and relax in the sun before class starts."
Eventually class did start and the day ended peacefully for Ross. He had made it through the first day of school, thankfully.
Once out of class, he headed straight for his locker, keeping his head low so as not to make eye contact with anyone.
Upon retrieving his books, he quickly shut his locker and paced rapidly toward the front double doors.
"Hey Ross!" A familiar voice boomed throughout the bustling crowd of people trying to fit through the doors. Nobody bothering to wait for their turn to exit the school.
Nobody caring that much.
"Hey Ross, stop!" The voice sliced through the crowd, awaking Ross' ears and alerting his mind.
Who could possibly be calling him. It was a rarity for his name to be called by anyone in the school.
He turned around hesitantly, not believing the person was calling after him. He didn't want to make a fool out of himself.
Finally making the 180 degree turn, he was greeted with a prideful Monica staring at him blankly.
"Didn't you hear me calling you?" She asked, completely unaware of the way Ross' thought process worked.
Monica had always been popular. She was always well liked. She excelled at everything and never took "no" for an answer. She was stubborn in that way.
The one thing she had that most of the other popular girls didn't, was that she was real. She told it how it was and that was it. She wasn't one to "beat around the bush."
"I was draining everyone out. It's been a long day." Ross rubbed his eyes and moved his hands through his shaggy, dark brown hair.
"You're always tired. Listen I need a favor..."
"Isn't that a surprise." Ross cut her off, knowing full well that was the only reason she would ever talk to him during school hours.
Monica waived off the comment, completely missing how deep the situation really was.
"Anyway, as I was saying, I need a favor. Could you pick me and Rachel up from cheerleading practice today?" She squeezed her hands together in a praying gesture, hoping he would help her out.
"Why don't you ask Phoebe? Wait, doesn't Rachel have a car?" Ross purposefully pushed the conversation further, hoping for a rise.
"Ross come on. Pheeb's car is in the shop and Rachel's parents took her car away from her." She stopped and waited for a reply. Receiving a raised eyebrow she proceeded to convince Ross. "Look, you should know by now that you're the last person I'd ask for help. Please."
That wasn't the best route to take.
The comment stung. It used to be he'd be the first she'd come to for help or advice.
It had finally come to this. She needed to be out of resources. When desperation had been the only thing left. He was that desperation solution.
With those words, his heart went into a small depression and he suddenly didn't have the energy to argue anymore.
The worst part of it all was that Monica had no clue about his feelings. She figured what little was said was best for everyone.
With him feeling like his life had meant nothing, an icy coldness had spread throughout his body. The wall around his fragile exterior was growing rapidly everyday.
Highschool had changed his sister dramatically. Her whole perspective on life was flipped upside down.
"Yeah okay, I'll be there." His face dropped and he slumped even more, trying to make himself unnoticeable.
"Yes! You're the best." And with that she pranced off smiling gleefully, never noticing the strained expression plastered on her brother's face.
To Be Continued...
Okay, that chapter, to me was pretty bad. I had no rhythm. There was no substance. Anyway, please review. Thanks.