Joey is coming over today to meet my friends. I'm panicking a lot, so that's normal.
I hear a knock on my door. It's Joey, I pull him swiftly inside and shut the door.
"Did anyone see you?" I press.
"No," he says, thrown off by my erratic behavior.
"Okay, good. Listen, so about my friends... well, okay... they're so nice, they are the best, but they might... well, I don't know, they -" I begin trying to prepare him, but I have no idea what to expect either.
Joey walks over to me and runs his hands down my arms to calm me down - it works.
I stop talking and look into his eyes.
"It's going to be great," he encourages.
"I know - I mean, I hope so-" I start again.
He presses his lips to mine and now I really relax. I let out a satisfied sigh when he draws back.
"Why are you so nervous? Am I that hard to like?" he grins at me, letting his hands fall off me.
"No, you're too easy to like. I think my friends might be a little more judgmental than normal because of how we started, you know?" I finally get my words together.
He nods.
"I get it, I'll probably be the same way when I introduce you to Luke," he comments which makes me feel less crazy.
I smile.
"I'm excited to see you a total mess like me," I tease.
"Don't think I can get to your level," he mocks.
I glare at him kiddingly.
"Okay, let's do this," I decide.
We walk across the hall and I knock on the door. We wait a second.
"What am I doing?" I suddenly realize and then I open the door and walk right in.
Joey follows me in.
Everyone is sitting in the living room and looks up as we enter.
"We were wondering who knocked," Monica laughs.
"Yeah - wasn't thinking... um, this is Joey. Joey, this is everyone. Monica, Phoebe, Ross and Rachel," I point them all out as they all stand and walk over to greet Joey properly.
Rachel looks too excited and I realize I should have at least prepared Joey for the fact that she's a huge soap opera fan.
"I'm sorry - I love DOOL!" she exclaims, losing her composure after only a few seconds.
"Oh yeah?" Joey smiles.
She rushes over to him and takes his hand, forcing him into a hand shake. He doesn't seem bothered even though I begin nervously sweating.
"It's so cool you're a doctor on the show!" she continues.
Joey smiles wider.
"I know, right!?" Joey surprisingly matches her enthusiasm.
"Really, could I ask you a few questions?" she says quietly, but we all hear.
"Okay, I think this handshake is done," I command and pull her hand away from his.
"We told her not to ask you a million questions sorry," Monica steps in.
"That's okay - I love talking about the show," Joey responds.
"See!" Rachel yelps.
Monica glares at her.
"Well, later. We want to get to know you Joey, here take a seat," Monica offers.
We all move to the kitchen table. Joey and I sit down and Rachel runs to grab the seat next to Joey, but Ross, Phoebe and Monica weirdly stay standing.
"So, where are you from?" Monica asks.
"Queens," Joey answers.
"I'm from Long Island," Rachel interrupts happily.
"Cool," Joey responds to her.
Monica squeezes Rachel's shoulder - trying to hint to her to shut up. I see Rachel frown, getting the hint.
"You have any siblings?" Monica continues.
"Yeah - I have seven sisters," he shares.
"Wow, that's a lot," Monica comments.
"And Monica is my little sister," Ross presses loudly.
"Yeah and I'm not related to anyone!" Phoebe announces even louder.
Joey nods uncomfortably and I'm slowly dying from how weird this is going.
"Um, you know, I think we can all act a little more... I don't know - normal?" I suggest.
Everyone gives me a look, making me more nervous.
Phoebe walks over to Joey now.
"You know Joey, I love people... so much that I love to see multiple people at once," she tells him.
I let me head fall into my hands.
"Do you like doing that?" she questions him.
"Uh... no? Well, what do you mean?" Joey answers confused.
"You know what I mean!" Phoebe dramatically raises her voice again.
"Guys!" I yell, pleading to them with my eyes.
Ross nods at me, as if he knows how to handle this.
"So Joey, I'm a paleontologist... meaning, I only focus on the facts. The hard facts, the history," Ross states sternly.
My head is shaking, I'm so beyond embarrassed.
"Okay...cool?" Joey answers hesitantly.
"Can I talk with my friends in the hallway please!" I demand and stand from my chair.
Joey waits at the table, while everyone else follows me into the hallway.
We close the door.
"Okay maniacs, you need to stop," I order them harshly.
"Chandler, we're trying to protect you," Monica argues.
"I can get the truth out of him," Phoebe jumps in.
"No, no - there's no truth to get out of him. Okay, you know what, new idea. How about we all assume Joey actually likes me and cares about me until proven otherwise. Can you guys just support me please... I really like him," I request seriously.
Everyone's expressions lighten.
"We always support you honey," Rachel comments.
Everyone nods in agreement.
"Let's welcome Joey into our lives," Monica determines.
"Thank you," I reply.
We walk back inside and Joey is nervously fiddling with his hands at the table alone.
"Hey Joey, we're sorry about all that. Can we start over - I'm Monica," Monica says nicely and puts out her hand.
He shakes her hand.
Everyone surrounds the table and we start over.
My friends thankfully act normal and it goes really well. Joey seems to fit in with my friends and we have a great time.
Monica even makes lunch for everyone and we enjoy a nice meal together. I honestly couldn't be happier.
A few hours later, we finally end the day. Ross and Phoebe head home and Joey and I head back across the hall.
When we get inside, I can't stop smiling. I'm so happy that Joey met my friends and it went well... eventually. I think they truly like him and I like him and he likes me. I can't believe this.
He notices me excessively smiling.
"What?" he smirks.
"Nothing," I shrug, still smiling way too wide.
I walk over to him. He start smiling too.
I hold his face in my hands and then kiss him. He happily wraps his arms around me.
"What?" he asks again when I'm still smiling like a lunatic.
"Thank you - for meeting my friends," I say.
"Why wouldn't I?" he smiles.
I shrug. He kisses me again.
"So, am I staying over?" he asks.
"You better," I warn.
"Good," I states simply and then picks me up unexpectedly.
I wrap my legs around him and laugh as he carries me into the bedroom.
A few days later, Joey introduces me to Luke.
Luke acts like a perfectly normal human, unlike my crazy friends. It goes great, we order some pizza and chat. He's a really nice guy.
At the end of the night, I'm lying in bed with Joey and we're watching some movie. I can barely concentrate on the tv though because I'm reveling at the fact that I'm here. In Joey's bed, with his arm around me, my face snuggled against his chest and I have all the time in the world. I'm not worrying about leaving before the morning or whether I can kiss him or not. I'm allowed here, I'm allowed to kiss him whenever I want.
I sit up and kiss him... because I can.
He smiles at me.
"You like the movie?" he asks.
"Eh," I shrug.
"Oh right, you don't like movies," he says, reminding me of that awful time.
"I love movies... with you," I smile, hoping he accepts this.
He smiles and then leans into my lips again.
"I'm really happy," he shares unexpectedly.
"You are?" I ask, my heart bursting from his words.
"Yeah."
"Me too," I say.
I slide back into his arms, feeling overwhelmed by happiness.
I think this settles it, I'm committed.
The End.