"It's The Line Backer!" Joey shouted at the TV. Man, it was SO obvious.

"I'd like to solve," the woman on the TV said. "The Lone Ranger." Everyone cheered as it came up on the board as correct.

"Yea right," Joey muttered. It was like the whole Count Rushmore thing. Wheel of Fortune must just decide which answer to go with depending on what the person said. He sighed and flipped it off. He was craving a dawnie, but it was very late, and he knew the Perk was closed. He sat there in the dark pondering what he could get to eat at this time of night. He heard fiddling at his front door then, and he leaped up and grabbed the frying pan off the stove, holding it like a weapon. His door opened, and a stumbling figure fell through it cursing.

"Emma?" he asked.

"Aahh!" she screamed at his voice. She flicked the light on to reveal him standing there holding a frying pan.

"What the hell are you doing coming in at..." he looked at his watch, "almost one thirty am, huh?"

"Jist having shum fun," she slurred.

"Have you been drinking?" he demanded.

"Nooooo," she denied. Then she burst into giggles.

"Oh sweet Lord," Joey muttered. He went over to her. "Come on. Let's get you to bed." He led her across the floor carefully and she tripped multiple times getting there. She fell face first onto her bed, and Joey left her there like that. He shut her door and stood there wondering if he should tell her parents. Then again, she was an adult. He just hoped she hadn't gotten into too much trouble.

Erica

Sleep was just not coming to her. She couldn't stop smiling to herself and blushing in the dark. Robbie had finally kissed her earlier, and the whole experience had been amazing. Sure she had kissed a guy before, but not like this. She closed her eyes and relived it again, feeling that sensation when he leaned in and cupped her face. It had been so lovely. The only blip in the evening was when Emma had come into the restaurant with who she presumed to be Chad, and she had kept staring over at Robbie. Erica was glad Robbie didn't look back, but it still had bothered her. Emma had proceeded to drink then, and Erica wondered how her night had ended. Her phone lit up then, and she frowned, wondering who was writing her this late. She rolled over to check it.

Still thinking about it Robbie had written. Erica giggled to herself. So he couldn't sleep either.

Me too :)

It was amazing.

Totally ;)

When can I see you again?

Meet me on the roof.

Now?!

Yes!

Erica pulled herself out of bed and threw on some clothes. She crept out of her bedroom and the apartment with stealth. She was the first one on the roof. There was a small breeze, but it wasn't cold enough for a jacket. Summer was around the corner.

"Hey," Robbie said, coming out the door. She turned and smiled at him. It was light enough to see his face.

"Hi," she replied.

"So the roof huh?" he teased.

"Of course! I hear that's where my Uncle Joey taught your Dad how to ballroom dance," Erica said, her eyes twinkling.

"Oh my God!" he laughed. "I forgot about that!"

"If it has my uncle's stamped approval for a romantic atmosphere, then I'm okay to use it," she went on. Robbie came up to her then.

"Luckily for you, my Dad taught me how to dance," he told her.

"You'll have to show me how," she responded.

"I'm okay with that," he smiled. "Any reason to hold you close is enough for me." Erica blushed inside. He took her hands then and showed her how to dance. Erica kept laughing as she screwed up the moves constantly. She didn't care though. Neither did he. After a while they wound up just kissing each other ferociously and forgetting that the world around them even existed.

Channie

She groaned and got up. There was no use in trying to sleep when you were just staring at the damn ceiling. She shuffled out into the living room and sat on the couch, rubbing her neck. It would hurt when she was anxious, and she was really anxious right now. Tomorrow she was taking Ben to meet her parents, and she was freaking out. She hadn't really had a serious relationship that was healthy before. Images of Jake crowded her mind suddenly, and she was too late at blocking them. His leering face made her cry and gasp for air. She hadn't told anyone about him because he had been older than her by eight years, and she was only 16. She had been so sure she'd loved him. Then his true colors came out after five years of being on again off again. She squeezed her eyes tight and willed it all away, and slowly, it did. She made him a tiny, minuscule dot in the farthest corner of her brain, and then she could survive another day without bringing it to the forefront. She fingered the scar on her abdomen absently. Ben had asked her where that had come from, and she had told him a story about how she had leaned on broken glass trying to climb into a window at some abandoned building she and her friends had wanted to check out. She couldn't tell him the truth. She didn't know if she ever could. It would be admitting she was weak, and that was just not something she was willing to ever do. She could thank Jake for that attitude.

Emma

She awoke around five a.m. and didn't know where she was. Then her room became clear, and she knew she had made it home safely. She sat up, groaning. Her head was pounding. Had she gotten drunk? She struggled to remember. Flashes of images went through her mind. Her seeing Robbie with Erica. Her feeling jealous. Chad being angry that she wasn't paying attention to him. Chad telling her to go home. Her trying to open the damn door...
"Oh man," Emma moaned. She had upset Chad! She had let her jealousy take over and ruin their date! She needed to fix it. She started to get up before realizing how early it still was. He'd be asleep like a normal person. She fell down onto her back and covered her face with her hands. She also needed to apologize to Erica. She had been a real bitch. What was wrong with her?! She could fix this. She could. She would.

Frank

He was in the back getting ready to go out when he heard the voices. He paused, listening.

"So, did you get lucky?" Jamie was asking.

"Nope. Bitch got hammered. Kept yammering on about some guy named Robbie. I tried to get her in the mood, but she just wouldn't let it go," Chad complained.

"That blows, man," Jamie laughed.

"All in good time. I expect she'll come apologize and cry about how horrible she was, and then she'll ask what she can do to make it up to me, and I'll tell her what I want," Chad explained. "It's perfect really. Guilt sex is pretty good too."

"Damn, man!" Jamie chortled. "Wish I was as good as you."

"You'll learn, my padawan," Chad laughed. They moved away, and Frank couldn't hear them anymore. He felt sick. He had to talk to Emma. She wasn't due to come in until later. He hoped he could catch her before she saw Chad.

Ross & Rachel

"Seems our daughter got drunk last night," Ross said, looking at his phone. Joey had texted him.

"What?!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Yea. She came in at one thirty in the morning," Ross went on. "Joey put her to bed."

"Oh, Emma," Rachel moaned. "Should I talk to her?"

"Maybe don't? It might just embarrass her. She is 22 after all."

"I guess. Man, we used to do stupid things like that at her age didn't we?" Rachel laughed.

"Oh totally," Ross grinned. "She has a brain. I'm sure right now she's vowing to herself she'll never get that loaded again."

"Should I give her a hangover tip?"

"Nah. Let her suffer through it," Ross replied. "That's a lesson in itself."

"Hmm okay," Rachel said. She pulled out her phone when Ross had gone upstairs.

Bananas she texted Emma. She didn't know why, but they always worked for her.

Thanks Mom Emma wrote back. She knew what she was referring to, Rachel was fairly confident.

Monica & Chandler

"Erica is in love," Monica commented having just finished reading the novel her daughter had sent her.

"Oh, really?" Chandler asked. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Yes. Turns out Treeger's son is 'ah-MAZ-ing,'" Monica quoted.

"Huh," he replied.

"Chandler," Monica said.

"What?"

"Our children are going to fall in love. You have to be okay with that," she laughed.

"I didn't say anything!"

"You don't have to. It's all over your face. I know you want to protect Erica from men, but she's gonna do it anyway, and you should be supportive," Monica chided.

"It's just...she wasn't that interested during high school, and I thought I got lucky," Chandler explained. Monica laughed out loud.

"She was busy with her studies! She had no time for boys. She's now 20 and finding someone who is responsible and not whimmy," she told him.

"I just want to keep her at, like, age six," Chandler said. "She was so little and innocent..."

"They grow up, Chandler," Monica said softly.

"I know."

"She'll be all right. Now, let's hurry up and get going. We are supposed to meet Phoebe and Mike remember?"

"Yea." Chandler watched as Monica finished getting ready. He didn't know how to explain how he was feeling.

Channie

"Stop worrying," Ben said, placing his hand on her jiggling leg. They were at a restaurant waiting for her parents to arrive for lunch.

"Easy for you to say. I already met yours," she commented.

"I wasn't nervous then either. You're a great girl. I knew they'd love you," he smiled.

"I don't think it matters if you're a great guy or not. My parents are...oh my God, there they are," she said, seeing them.

"Good luck," he said, teasing.

"Hello!" Alice called, swooping in and hugging Channie. Frank leaned over to shake Ben's hand. Alice gave him a hug too while Frank hugged Channie. Then they all sat.

"So," Alice said. "You and Ben. Wow that's really something." She giggled in that way that Channie knew meant she was nervous.

"Yup," Channie nodded.

"So, so, is it like...serious?" Frank asked in his jittery voice.

"We think so," Channie nodded, looking at Ben, who was suddenly at a loss for words. She nudged him.

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "It's serious."

"Oohh," Alice crowed. "We're so happy for you!"

"Really?" Channie asked, surprised.

"Of course! Sweetie, we were so worried you weren't going to meet anyone," Alice explained. Channie blushed at this.

"Yea," Frank laughed.

"So, Ben, what do you do?" Alice asked.

"I'm a journalist. I write for a paper," Ben replied.

"Ohhh wow!" Frank squealed. "Hey, hey I have a story you could write!"

"Oh my God, no, Dad," Channie tried to cut in.

"Oh yea?" Ben asked, intrigued.

"Yea! Like, restaurants should have figured out how to put all their condiments in one dispenser, right? I mean, it would give you more room on table!" Frank laughed. He gestured to their table.

"Huh," Ben said. Channie covered her eyes with her hand. Her dad could be so embarrassing sometimes.

"Oh, oh honey," Alice said. "You should bring Ben out to the house so we could show him where you grew up!"

"Maybe another time?" Channie asked. Ben was clearly enjoying himself. His smirk was making that clear.

"Yea! I still carry around her first poem she ever wrote me," Frank said, pulling it out.

"Dad!"

"'Daddy is faddy cos he eats too much baddy but I lovey him anyway,'" Frank read. He burst into more laughter. Channie wanted to die on the spot.

"See it's funny cos Frank isn't fat at all," Alice joined in. "She was trying to be sarcastic. Always sarcastic this one!" That's how the rest of lunch went. Channie's parents indulged Ben with embarrassing stories, and Channie wanted to disappear. When it was over and she and Ben were walking back to her apartment, he suddenly burst into laughter.

"What?" she demanded.

"Daddy is faddy!" he roared.

"You know what? Shut up!" she cried, hiding her face.

"Oh my God! That was the best lunch I've ever had," he said. "I'm serious! I love your parents."

"I don't know how I feel about that," Channie admitted. He pulled her into a big hug.

"You should be happy," he told her. "I don't think many guys would find your parents as lovely as I do."

"You're right," Channie muttered. Jake hadn't. He hadn't even met them and he was disgusted by them just from what he'd heard.

"Come on. Let me buy you a baddy so you can feel better," Ben teased, referring to ice cream. She socked him in the arm in return.

Leslie

She was tidying up when the handsome guy approached her.

"Hey," he said, smiling. "I'm Gus."

"Leslie," she replied. He shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Leslie," he said.

"You too," she nodded.

"So what do you do after a shift?" he asked. They had started early that morning and were off at two to make room for the evening shift.

"I go home. Read a little. Maybe write," she shrugged. "You?"

"I go to this amazing karaoke place and sing my heart out," Gus laughed. "Wanna come?"

"Me? Oh, I don't sing," Leslie answered, blushing. Only in the shower anyway.

"Oh come on. I bet you have an amazing voice," Gus urged. "Just come watch then."

"I...all right," she agreed. He was lovely to look at, and he seemed nice. Why not give it a try?

"Great," he grinned. He helped her put her coat on. They left chatting about the shift and what song Gus was going to try to convince her to sing.

Frank

"Emma, hey!" Frank called, catching her in the back. "Have you talked to Chad yet?"

"Yea," Emma said, looking at him. "Why?"

"Oh. I just...well, don't do it," Frank said.

"Don't do what?" Emma asked, confused.

"Don't sleep with him," Frank answered.

"Frank!" Emma exclaimed. How did he know?

"Trust me. Just...don't."

"Frank, you can't tell me what to do and what not to do with my dates," Emma barked.

"He's going to dump you after," Frank tried as she pushed past him. She stopped and turned to face him.

"I don't know what world you're living in, but not everyone is an asshole," she snapped. She turned and stalked off. Frank chased after her.

"I heard him," he said. "He was bragging to the guys that he was going to score and then let them date you."

"Frank, that's disgusting, and I don't believe it for a second. You're just jealous!" Emma shouted. They were squared off by the exit now.

"I'm...I'm not j-jealous," Frank said. "I'm not! It's true! I heard them!"

"You're a liar, Frank," Emma sneered. "I can't believe I even talk to you." She stormed off, furious. Frank felt brokenhearted. This was exactly how he saw this conversation going. Now he didn't know what to do.