Monica heard his quiet plea to be let in and she froze. Questions raced through her head as she became filled with worry and doubt. What if she opened the door and everything changed? Her friendship with Chandler was everything and she couldn't risk it. They kissed in a moment of emotional vulnerability, it probably meant nothing to him. But she knew they needed to talk and clear the air to save their friendship. She stood and turned the lock on the door. Monica stepped aside to let him in and watched Chandler look up at her before he got up slowly. She could tell that he was hungover and nauseous as he walked into her room and laid on his back on the floor almost immediately. "I'm just gonna lay here for a while while we talk if that's okay" he muttered.
"Still hungover?" she asked, lying next to him after she closed her door again to keep her friends from listening. "It seems like you had fun last night."
Chandler stared up at her ceiling trying to keep his breathing steady when he felt like the room was spinning. He should have waited until he wasn't hungover to have this conversation that Monica seemed to be stalling, but he had to do this now. "Oh yeah, you know me, getting drunk with a stripper is just a typical Friday night for me."
She chuckled at his sarcasm and silence fell between them. It wasn't the usual comfortable quiet pauses they had. The air was filled with tension and pure awkwardness because neither of them knew what to do or say next. It was almost like walking on a field of eggshells. There was a long, delicate conversation they needed to have.
Ross stared at his sister's door as he ate his toast, "What do you think they're talking about in there? Because I doubt it's just about a movie. I mean did you see the way Chandler ran in here?" He shook his head almost disapprovingly.
"They haven't seen each other in two weeks, they're probably just catching up" Rachel shrugged putting the orange juice back in the fridge.
"Please, with the way he came in looking for her it seemed urgent. I can't imagine anything he has to talk to her about would be that important." Ross continued to stare at the door as if it was going to give him the answers to his questions.
Chandler decided to break the silence first because he just couldn't take it anymore, he had to say anything to fill the dead air between them. "So, last night we went to the club and Joey forced me into the private room with Kathy- I mean the dancer and I had maybe two too many shots" he rambled the story of last night. "Really the last thing I remember is her undressing me" Monica stopped him from saying more by putting her hand on his mouth. "Why do you keep doing this?" he mumbled into her palm.
"You talk too much sometimes" Monica moved onto her stomach, inching closer to him as she moved her hand down to his chest. "Usually, if you kiss a girl, run away, and sleep with a stripper, you don't come back and tell her the details." She felt him tense under her fingers and knew the conversation was unavoidable.
He chuckled awkwardly, glancing down at her hand and bit down on his bottom lip feeling guilty. "Technically, you kissed me first and for the past two weeks I've been trying to figure out why, but I've also been too scared to find out" he confessed.
Monica moved even closer, laying her arms across his chest and resting her chin down on top, "I thought you were getting over Janice for the past two weeks."
"I was for a few days, but I was also thinking about you…" he trailed off. "I just want to know, why did you kiss me?"
What was she supposed to say to this? 'Because I think I'm in love with you, which is crazy because you're my best friend?' She didn't think she had the courage to tell him the truth. Monica pushed off of him and scooted away, crossing her legs. "I kissed you because of the heat of the moment. I felt bad for you and being so close and emotional, it felt right at the time, but I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that. You'd probably kiss Rachel under that amount of emotional distress" she attempted to laugh it off.
Chandler sat up, resting on his elbows, his stomach felt like it was trying to climb out of his throat. Feeling even more nauseous than before, he shifted uncomfortably. "You felt bad?" he mumbled. The past two weeks he ran every scenario in his head, even outlandish ones like, the Monica that kissed him was just an evil clone trying to mess with him. But nothing prepared him for that. Chandler knew that his chances with Monica were practically in the negatives because it was so low, but he didn't want pity. Kissing him because she felt bad, was worse than just insulting him. "Well, I'm glad we talked about it. Got it out of the way…" he trailed off as he started getting up.
Monica grabbed his arm to stop him, noticing the sadness in his eyes, "I didn't mean it like that. Besides you kissed me back, obviously we were just in that moment together. I don't want this to come between our friendship."
"I don't either, and it won't. We agree it was a one-time thing so don't even worry about it" he tried his best to smile. If he was honest, a sickening hangover while his heart was breaking wasn't the best combination. "Are you okay? Because you looked upset when you saw Kathy and I thought it was because of us and I just feel bad-" she had cut him off.
"I'm not upset, I was just surprised to see that you got that far with a stripper. I mean good for you…" she lightly punched his arm, "friend." Monica wasn't sure she could be friends with him in the same way anymore. Even now, when hearing that it was a one-time thing for him, she just wanted more. More of him. Their closeness. Time together. He didn't want that though. He wanted to forget it and be friends. It was going to be hard, but she couldn't lose him indefinitely. "We're going to be okay, right?" she asked as she let go of his arm and watched him.
"We're okay, Mon" he reassured. "I just really need to lay down right now" he chuckled before bending down, kissing her forehead gently as a goodbye. Chandler left her room and noticed everyone else had left for work, he was calling in sick today.
Monica wasn't okay. She wasn't okay with Chandler kissing her like that and going off to sleep with a stripper. She wasn't okay with both of them sweeping it under the rug like it was nothing. And she wasn't okay with not being able to talk to anyone about this. She spent all day at the restaurant thinking about him. She wanted to just forget it all and move forward like Chandler wanted, but it seemed impossible. The chefs in her kitchen could tell she was on edge today and spent the whole shift staying on her good side, which she was grateful for. How is it possible that her goofy friend Chandler was now occupying her thoughts more than anything else?
Chandler laid in bed and refused to let himself cry over this. He knew this was coming. He knew she didn't feel the same way as he did, so why was he so upset? Lying and hiding this from Monica was extremely hard. Even if she didn't feel the same way, shouldn't she know how he felt? She deserved to know his feelings, if it made her uncomfortable then he would know to keep his distance. His head pounded and he covered his face with a pillow to block out the light. Right now he needs sleep.
What he assumed was hours later, given that the sun in his window was gone, he woke from his nap and looked up at the disturbance at his door. Joey.
"Hey man, You feeling any better? I'm going to the bar with the xerox girl if you wanna come" he smirked slightly. "She could be your rebound girl from Janice" he suggested. "Well and the stripper, but that doesn't count."
"Why doesn't she count?" he asked, sitting up. His head felt a bit better and he wasn't nauseous anymore. Maybe he could have a beer or two.
Joey laughed, "you were so hammered last night, I mean anyone could score that drunk."
Chandler just shrugged dismissively as he got dressed. He and Joey went out to the bar, meeting Chloe there. He promised himself he wouldn't get drunk tonight and just ordered a beer. Chloe called him a party ruiner, but he didn't mind the mild insult if he could even call it that.
When Monica got home, Rachel was sitting on the window seat. She walked over to her friend and sat across from her. "Rach, are you okay?"
Rachel turned her attention to her friend and shook her head, laying her head down in her lap. "Ross and I had a big fight about stupid Mark and he's not answering his phone" she frowned. "I told him that I wanted to take a break, but I don't want to…"
"Wait, can you start from the beginning?" Monica gently stroked her hair to calm her. She listened to her friend tell her about the fight in detail as they sat on the window seat together. Monica tried calling Ross again, but he didn't answer.
"Why isn't he answering? I mean it's not technically a break-up, is it? A break is just some time apart, so we're going to be okay right Mon? I don't want to break up."
Monica shook her head quickly, "no it's not an official break up. Just leave a message and go to his place in the morning and talk to him about it. I'm sure he's at home just trying to process everything" she tried to comfort Rachel as best as she could. "It's not over."
"It's over," Ross told the guys, sitting by them at the bar. "She wanted to break up, so it's just over. I can't believe this."
Chandler got Ross a beer of his own as he listened to his story, "she said she wanted a break, maybe it's not over over…just over for right now?" he suggested.
"Yeah, maybe just call her. Talk it out when you're not so huffy" Joey glanced at Ross's angry stare.
Ross shook his head and sipped at his beer, messing with the paper label. "I don't think that's a good idea. She was pretty mad. Which is ridiculous because Mark is clearly hitting on her."
Chandler rolled his eyes at his friend. This whole situation seemed ridiculous. "Look Ross, you're in a relationship with a great woman, who loves you. Okay? Don't be stupid and throw that away for some stupid conspiracy theory. Rachel isn't with Mark, she's with you" he put his hand on Ross's shoulder.
He pushed Chandler's hand off, shaking his head. "It's not a conspiracy theory. And we're not together anymore. Honestly, she's probably riding Mark's dick right now" he scoffed.
Joey tilted his head, looking at Ross with disgust, "that's what you're thinking about? You need to relax." He ordered Ross another beer.
Chandler shook his head, putting some money down for the beers. "I'm turning in early. Sorry about the break-up" he muttered to Ross.
"Wait, what about Chloe?" Joey pouted slightly.
"Uh," he looked at the woman dancing in the middle of the bar eyeing Ross, "I'm not really in the mood. But you guys have fun okay?" Chandler left the bar, heading back to the apartments. He looked at his feet as he walked up the stairs, bumping into Monica, "sorry" he chuckled. Seeing the laundry basket in her arms, he tilted his head, "it's kinda late for laundry."
"Yeah, I just needed something to clear my head for a bit, Did you hear about Ross and Rachel?" she asked as they walked down the stairs together.
Chandler nodded as he followed her, "yeah he told me and Joe about the break-up. I just left the bar actually. He was kinda being annoying. No offense."
Monica chuckled, going into the laundry room. "None taken? But it wasn't a break-up, Rachel just needed a little time away from him." She placed her basket on one of the machines and started to separate her clothes.
"That's what I told him! He wasn't listening, he's convinced that it's over. I'm kind of worried how this is going to change everything." Chandler hopped onto one of the machines, sitting on top and letting his legs dangle.
"What do you mean?" she asked as she put in her quarters.
Chandler shrugged, leaning back on his palms. "When my parents got divorced they always fought for my love. It was weird. What if they break up and it breaks up the group? I guess that's always the risk of dating a friend."
She started the machine and stood in front of him, almost nervous that he found out about what she's been feeling. "Do you think it's possible for friends to date and have it, I don't know, actually work out?"
He smiled at her question and looked at the ceiling as he tried to think of an answer. "I think, friends who are very close can date and have it work out, but it depends. Like the whole Harry met Sally thing, if a guy is only friends with a girl to sleep with her, I don't think he's a very good friend. I'm friends with Rachel and Phoebe and I don't have any interest in them. They're great and they're like my sisters. But if two friends just happen to have a deeper connection and they fall in love with each other, I think it could work if they're willing to take that risk. I know all of you girls are only friends with me to get in my pants" he joked to break the serious tone he created.
Monica tilted her head slightly with a smile when she noticed he didn't list her name. That couldn't have been a coincidence, but maybe it was. "You don't see me as a sister?" she asked, acting offended.
Chandler's eyes widened slightly when he realized his mistake, "uh of course I do I just forgot about you. There are six of us. I can't remember everyone all the time, that's too many names."
She couldn't stop herself from giggling at his rambling. "I'm right in front of you, how could you forget?" She watched as Chandler held his breath when she stepped closer. "Are you only friends with me so you can sleep with me?"
"No," he said honestly. "You're my best friend, after Joey, I wouldn't want to mess up what we have." Chandler smiled at her innocently.
Monica stared at him, trying to read his mind if she could. She could see in his eyes that he was scared, hiding it behind a smile. His shoulders were tense and his knuckles were white on the sides of the washing machine. Monica tilted her head with a small smile, she realized that he had feelings for her, and he was scared of ruining their friendship just like she was. They were both scared that if they took the risk of becoming more, one of them would end up hurt. He was feeling everything that she had been. She could tell him that it was okay, that she liked him too, but this was Chandler. She had to be delicate and careful with this.
He messed up. Monica was just staring at him after he let it slip that he has feelings for her. He needed to get out of here as fast as possible. It felt like his whole world was going to implode by the way she continued to stare, just smiling that sweet smile of hers. Chandler looked at the door, hoping he could run before Monica pieced it together. Sliding down off the machine as he cleared his throat, "it's late, I should go. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"
"Yeah okay, see you tomorrow," Monica smiled to herself. She should wait for a better time before saying anything, but she needed him to stop overthinking. "Hey Chandler?" she said, making him stop in the doorway, but she kept her focus on the laundry, "I wouldn't want to mess up a friendship either…but at some point, I have to think that it would be worth the risk." Monica didn't look behind her, but she knew Chandler was staring. "Goodnight" she giggled to herself.
"Night…" he mumbled, still staring at the back of her head. Slowly, he walked away from the laundry room and headed back upstairs to his apartment with Monica's words reeling in his head. Was she talking about them? Did she have feelings for one of her friends? It had to be Joey. She did have a crush on him when he first moved in, but he thought those feelings went away. But maybe they didn't and she was just embarrassed. Although if it was him, and she thought it was worth the risk, then maybe it was.
"You slept with Chloe!?" Joey gaped at Ross.
Ross sat in Joey's recliner with a sigh, "I know, I messed up. I feel awful! But Rachel called and came over this morning and she said she wants to get back together so that's good right?"
"Not if she finds out about this," Chandler muttered. He swiveled back and forth in his chair, almost bored. Ross's bad life decisions were hard to focus on when he just wanted to talk to Monica about what she meant last night. He thought he could figure it out on his own, but ended up thinking about it all night.
"He's right, she can't find out it'll just hurt her. Have you thought about the trail yet? It'll be worse if she finds out from someone else."
Ross almost laughed at Joey, "trail? There's no trail."
Chandler shrugged, "I don't know Ross. If she tells Issac, and Issac tells his sister Jasmine who works with Phoebe, she's obviously going to tell Rachel. Then Rachel is going to get mad at you. Wait till the timing is right, but if you want to tell her, tell her before the trail does."
His smile faded when he put the trail together. Quickly, he stood and walked out, completely panicked, "I have to stop the trail!" he said hastily.
Both of them watched him before turning to each other. "You were with him last night, why didn't you stop him?" Chandler turned to fully face Joey.
"I kinda met a girl. She was really handsy," Joey smiled at the memory of the night before.
"Please stop talking" he cringed at the thought. "I need to talk to Monica" he muttered as he got up. Chandler didn't even know if Monica was home, but it was worth a shot. The endless loop of, 'it would be worth the risk', needed to end soon or he would go insane.
Joey raised his eyebrow "you've been talking to Monica more than usual lately" he pointed out.
"What can I say, she gives good advice. She's just been talking to me about break-up stuff" he lied so Joey wouldn't bother to follow him across the hall. Chandler noticed the living room and kitchen were both empty but saw a light from under Monica's door. "Mon?" He gently knocked on the door before going in.
"Yeah?" Monica looked up at Chandler as he closed the door behind him. "Is everything okay?" she tilted her head looking at him. She wasn't sure if it was just because she knew he liked her back, but he looked even more adorable than before. He still had bedhead, his hair sticking in different directions.
"Everything is fine" he stepped forward cautiously. Chandler scratched the back of his head, gripping at his hair for a second as he tried calming his nerves. It seemed like ripping off the band-aid was the only option he had now. He had to tell her to know if she was talking about him or someone else. "So last night when I was talking about friends having a deeper connection…" he turned to the door to make sure it was closed. "I was thinking about us when I said it. When I told you that I was in love with someone else when I was with Janice, I was talking about you. I've never really felt like this for anyone before."
Monica smiled, pulling her legs to her chest and laying her cheek down on her knees. "Chandler?"
"Wait, I think I should just get everything out before you yell at me" he started shifting his weight on his feet back and forth. "I didn't say anything before because, well you were with Richard and then I tried getting over you by dating Janice but it didn't work. Plus I just didn't want to ruin what we have, our friendship means a lot to me. Then last night, what you said I was thinking about it all night…I know you had a crush on Joey when he moved in..."
Monica got off of her bed and grabbed his shoulders before he could say anything else. "Chandler, what I said had nothing to do with Joey." She moved her hands down his arms and grabbed his hands in hers. "Can I talk now?"
He squeezed his eyes shut to prepare himself to get rejected by the most perfect person he's ever known. "Yeah of course" he muttered.
She gently gripped his hands as reassurance, "You're the guy I go to when I'm feeling down because you know me better than anyone. When I'm with you I feel so safe and comfortable. I kissed you that night because I feel the same way" Monica gently pushed his messy hair back, making it stand up more. She bit her bottom lip for a moment to keep herself from chuckling at him. "I think you're handsome, smart, funny, and caring… and a really good kisser."
"A good kisser?" he smiled. "Really?"
"That's all you got from that?" she chuckled, shaking her head. "I remember you said the woman you loved thinks of you as a pathetic mess? If you were talking about me, then I hate to tell you how wrong you are."
Chandler looked at his feet. Usually, he hated asking for any sort of compliment, but he needed to know what she thought. For most of his life, he's heard the people closest to him talk about how horrible he is with women. They tell him about how weird he is, which he can agree with. Most of it is jokes, but he knew that's what they were thinking. "You don't think I'm pathetic?"
"No, sometimes you're a bit awkward, but I think it's endearing. I wouldn't call you pathetic at all" she looked up at him.
They both looked at each other, just looking into each other's eyes and smiling like they were silently sharing secrets. Chandler grabbed her waist and pulled her closer, making her gasp in surprise. He rested his forehead on hers as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Kissing her nose, her cheek, the corner of her mouth, he teased her as he closed the small gap in between them. Monica pulled down on his neck, pressing her lips on his. She didn't think it was possible, but the second kiss was even more magical than the first. Chandler was even more enthusiastic to return it as he walked to the bed, without breaking the kiss. Her knees hit the mattress and she tugged him down with her, giggling when he caught himself with one hand, hovering over her. His eyes scanned down her body as he lifted the bottom of her shirt slightly.
Monica watched his hand and gently pulled him closer, "is it me or does this just feel right?" she hummed.
"So right," he agreed, connecting their lips again. He smiled into their kiss, pushing her shirt up further. Something about this felt so natural, neither of them expected it to be this easy. Chandler sucked her bottom lip, making her moan and allowing him to deepen the kiss further.
Suddenly, there was a knock on Monica's door that broke their kiss apart. Both of them froze, for a moment, they just stared at each other and wondered what they were going to do. Chandler moved next to her as she fixed her shirt. "Come in" Monica called, flattening her hair down.
Phoebe walked in with Joey behind her. "Have you seen Rachel? We haven't seen her all day" she sat on the other side of Monica and looked between her and Chandler. "What are you two doing?"
"Nothing, we're just talking about…Rachel too. I haven't seen her since this morning" Monica shrugged. "She told me she was going to talk to Ross before work."
"Yeah, she did, and then Ross came to us and told us she wanted to get back together. We haven't heard from either of them since. You think they're doing it?" Joey smiled.
Monica cringed, shaking her head "No."
The front door of apartment 20 swung open with force, making them all jump. "Come on Rach please talk to me!" Ross begged.
Joey closed Monica's door, sensing the couple on the other side needed privacy. "I found her," he whispered as the other three moved closer. They pressed their ears against the door and listened to their friends argue.
"I thought she said everything was okay," Monica said confused.
"No, I made a mistake! It was just a mistake and I'm sorry" Ross pleaded.
Rachel sighed wishing she could believe that it was that simple. "You slept with someone else and call that just a mistake?"
Phoebe and Monica gasped together and pressed their ears closer to the door. "He was drunk and upset," Joey explained from behind them.
"You guys knew?" Monica turned to Chandler and his eyes were filled with guilt. She furrowed her eyebrows and hit both of the guys on the back of their heads. "Why didn't you say something?"
"I wasn't thinking about it" Chandler muttered, rubbing the back of his head where he was smacked. By the blush on Monica's cheeks, she knew what he was talking about. The four of them focused on the argument again, listening to Ross and Rachel yell at each other. They heard Rachel hit Ross with a newspaper and Chandler backed away from the door. Hearing his friends fight like this was terrifying. Kissing Monica was the happiest he's felt in months, and she was right it felt so amazing just to hold her. But if dating a friend could lead to where Ross and Rachel are right now, he didn't want that.
"We shouldn't listen to this anymore, I'm going out there" Joey grabbed the door handle before Monica stopped him.
"We can't. They'll know we've been listening." Monica moved back to her bed to sit down as Joey whined about being hungry.
Monica sat against the headboard with Chandler next to her. Joey sat by the door listening to the conversation about ordering pizza, and Phoebe was laying on the floor with her eyes closed. Monica guessed she was doing some sort of relaxation method that she didn't understand. She checked her clock on the bedside table and sighed seeing it was getting late, they'd been here for hours hearing the fight continue in the other room. She just wanted to talk to Chandler about where they were in their relationship, but not in front of Joey and Phoebe. Monica scanned the room to see if they were paying attention, she opened her bedside table drawer and pulled out a notepad and a pen.
"Aw man, I want pizza" Joey frowned, sitting next to Monica on the bed.
"We can order you a pizza when we get out of here," he reassured. Joey sighed and looked at the ceiling and started listing his favorite pizza toppings. Chandler looked down when Monica poked his side and saw the yellow legal pad she put between the two of them. He read the simple "Hi" written on it and smiled. Chandler tilted his head slightly and took the pen from her hand, "hi" he wrote back.
Monica smiled, happy he was willing to play along with her plan of having a private conversation with him. "I want to talk to you privately, and this is the best I could come up with," she wrote.
He chuckled slightly at her as he took the pen back and scribbled, "what did you want to talk about?" He handed the pen back to her as Joey and Phoebe started their own side conversation about what makes the perfect pizza.
"Us." Monica wrote simply before giving him the pen.
Chandler raised an eyebrow at her skeptically and wrote, "good or bad?"
She smiled at his question and picked up the pad to write a longer response in her lap. "I just want to know where we are. If I'm being honest, hearing Ross and Rachel fight like this is scaring me. What if we end up like them?" Monica passed it back to him and rested her head on his shoulder and played with the fingers on his left hand so he could write.
He sighed, rereading her question a few times as he twirled the pen in his fingers. He's been asking himself this same question for the past few hours and still didn't have a good answer. There was no guarantee that they wouldn't end in a big explosion like them. It's why they've both been hesitant to even say they have feelings for each other. They didn't want to have all of their friends locked in a room while they yelled and threw things at each other. Chandler wrote down the only answer he could think of, "we won't. I understand your fears, I feel the same way, but we shouldn't compare ourselves to them. We're different. I want to take this risk with you Monica, but only if you're 100% in it with me."
Monica watched him write and she nodded in agreement as she took the pen, flipping to a new page. "You're right, we shouldn't compare. I don't want everyone to know yet, their opinions might get in the way of us focusing on each other, which I think we need to do on our own. Plus with this big fight, I don't want to add in on all of this drama. Can we maybe keep this to ourselves for a while?"
Taking the pen enthusiastically he wrote, "you mean delay Ross finding out that I'm dating his little sister? Yes please."
She covered her mouth to keep her laughter quiet. "I didn't even think of that," she whispered.
"Think of what?" Joey looked at both of them just as Chandler quickly turned the page to a blank one.
"Uhh...We're playing hangman" Chandler drew a hangman set up and seven dashed lines.
Joey furrowed his eyebrows, leaning over and looking at the paper, "what's the category?"
"Movies." Chandler wrapped an arm around Monica and held her closer.
Phoebe moved to the bed, sitting on the other side of Chandler. "I wanna play. What's the genre?"
"Action Adventure."
Phoebe and Joey paused to think of letters or movies that fit in the seven letter space. Monica looked up at Chandler, glad that he thought of a cover so quickly. She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked at the hangman on the paper. Monica smiled, "is it Die Hard?"
Chandler sighed, putting the pen down in defeat, "how did you know that?"
"Lucky guess, it's not like it's the only movie you and Joey talk about or anything" Monica rolled her eyes.
"It's the greatest movie ever made" Joey defended. "We should watch it after this."
"It's three in the morning Joe" Chandler mumbled.
Phoebe grabbed the notepad from Chandler to make her hangman and Monica's eyes widened at the previous pages with their conversation falling forward. She quickly took the notepad from Phoebe as she sat up in the bed. "Maybe we should check on them," she said quickly as she got out of bed.
"Hey, I had a great idea" Phoebe frowned.
Monica put the notepad away before going to the door. "Sorry, but honestly I'm really tired and as much as I enjoy my room being a hideout, I'd like it back. Besides, they've been quiet for a while now." She opened her door a little and saw her dark apartment and Rachel sleeping on the couch. "She's asleep," she whispered.
Joey grabbed his shoes, "finally. Goodnight Mon," he said softly, slowly walking out with Phoebe.
Chandler grabbed his shoes and stood by her bed with a small smile. "You know, at this hour I never know if I should say goodnight or good morning…"
"Or you don't have to say either and just stay with me?" Monica offered.
"Where's Chandler?" Joey looked around the hall, "he followed you outright?"
Phoebe shrugged, "I saw him grabbing his shoes. I'm sure he'll come soon" she yawned. "I'm going home, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Wait, I'll go with you, it's too late to be going out alone" Joey walked down the stairs with Phoebe. "There have been so many breakups lately" Joey muttered.
"Yeah, well I knew Janice wouldn't work out, and Richard was kinda inevitable. Ross and Rachel I didn't see coming" Phoebe admitted. "I thought they were soulmates."
"I'm glad Janice didn't work out, but her cheating on him was not the way I wanted it to go" Joey mumbled as he held the door open for her.
She shrugged, walking down the sidewalk to her building. "Chandler told Rachel that he loves someone else anyway. He was probably already moving on before he even realized it. Do you know who he was talking about? He tells you everything."
"I didn't know Chandler could love anyone" he chuckled. "I always imagined him being the type that you know…" he trailed off trying to think of the words for it.
"Ends up alone?" Phoebe finished for him with a chuckle. "Yeah me too."
"You want me to stay here? Overnight?" Chandler asked her, putting his shoes back down.
Monica smiled as she nodded, "can't a girlfriend ask her boyfriend to stay with her?" she said quietly. Chandler noticed she was nervous to say it out loud, and he had to admit it was weird to hear. "The night is almost over anyway…" she tucked her hair behind her ear.
"What did you call me?" Chandler tilted his head, looking at her with a smile.
She rolled her eyes when she realized what he was doing, "boyfriend," Monica wrapped her arms around his neck. "You are my boyfriend aren't you?"
Chandler only hummed in response as he pulled her closer. "You know, when I imagined our first night together we were alone."
Monica chuckled, pulling him down to the bed again. "I think the next few weeks, trying to find alone time is going to be difficult. We just need to come up with a system or a schedule."
"That sounds great, but it's late…can we come up with it tomorrow?" Chandler yawned as he laid down next to her. "Or I guess today" he mumbled. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close to his chest. "I'm just happy we can be together, that's all that matters to me right now" he sighed.
She smiled, nuzzling into him further, "yeah we can talk later" she agreed. They were both quiet, just enjoying each other's company for the first time as an official couple. Chandler kept his arms around Monica, holding her close like she could disappear from his grasp at any moment. It was hard for him to believe that this was real. Monica was in his arms, feeling safe. She looked up and gently kissed his jaw. "Chandler?" she mumbled, hoping he was still awake.
"Yeah?" He whispered back.
"What are we going to say to the others when you wake up in my bed tomorrow?"