Hello! I'm back again! My life was been chaos, so I can't promise weekly updates as before. But I will try my best to update this story as regularly as possible! I hope you enjoy this more "dramatic" chapter! I also added an Easter egg in this and in the next chapter, so if you find it, let me know :P
Chandler stood in his bedroom, wondering about his life. He wasn't being too serious when he'd given Ross dating advice about Rachel. However, it somehow resonated with something inside him. What if what he'd told Ross applied to himself? He had been so quick to judge Ellie and decide he didn't want to be her friend, or something more, that perhaps he wasn't trying at all to see how she really was.
And at the same time, it felt weird. During the years spent at boarding school, Chandler had been used to being bullied and having zero luck with girls. Not to have girls interested in him, like it was now happening. Maybe this was his opportunity to have a girlfriend finally. After all, Chandler was taking advantage of being in a different school to try to change everything he didn't like about himself.
And one of those things was never having had a girlfriend. Being with Ellie could be his chance to finally be with someone and not feel so left out compared to other teenage boys. And it could boost his self-esteem for a while, making him believe he wouldn't die alone. However, considering everything that could happen, Chandler was nervous about the relationship turning either right or wrong.
"What are you thinking so deeply about?" Chandler's mother asked as she entered his room, interrupting his thoughts.
Chandler quickly adjusted himself on the bed, trying to pretend he'd been busy reading his comics.
"Nothing. Just about school work," Chandler lied to his mother. He definitely didn't want his mother to know about his love life.
"Oh, come on, dear. I know that face. Who is the lucky girl who's consuming your thoughts?" His mother asked, giving him a knowing look.
Was it that obvious? Or was his mother just excellent at her work? Either way, Chandler figured it wasn't worth lying to his mother. She would eventually find out by herself. So, Chandler sighed deeply, preparing himself for the conversation with his mother.
"Fine. I'm confused about a girl..." He started. Then, he told his mother about Ellie and their relationship. He explained how he'd kissed her and then tried to break up with her and how bad he felt about it. Chandler also told his mother about Ross's crush on Rachel and the advice he'd given Ross, although it hurt his pride to tell his mother it had been based on her writing. Chandler would never again make such an admission to his mother. He also told his mother about Rachel's boyfriends and how her relationships impacted the group.
"So, the problem is that I don't wanna end up in any of those sceneries," Chandler concluded. "I don't wanna be with Ellie, and then getting so absorbed in having a girlfriend that I start to ignore my friends. But if things go wrong, I don't wanna end up whining all the time as Ross does," Chandler finished, less doubtful about sharing his problems with his mother.
His mother gave him one of the smiles she reserved for talking about irrealistic love sceneries.
"I knew I'd raised you to be such a gentleman!" His mother said, giving him a tight hug.
"So, first, sweetie, it looks like you might care about that girl more than you show. And if you do, and you know you acted wrong, you should apologize," She said in a calm and caring voice.
"But what if she doesn't forgive me?" Chandler asked. "Or what if she does and being her boyfriend isn't what I expected?
"You only know how it will go if you try it, sweetie," his mother stated, now caressing his hair. "And as for becoming your friends, if you're worried about it, it means you are already trying not to be like them," She added.
Chandler stood silent for a second, taking in all his mother's advice and enjoying their closeness. Something that he could never remember happening.
"Thank you, mom," Chandler said, still s bit pensive. For the first time, his mother had given him acceptably good advice.
Deciding to accept his mother's advice, Chandler took the first chance he could. So the next day, when the chess club finished, Chandler stayed longer than usual until he and Ellie were the only ones remaining in the room.
"Hey, Ellie," He started, slightly nervous. But the girl did not respond to him. Since he'd "broken" off with her, Ellie had been ignoring him. But he continued anyway.
"Look, Ellie, I know you're upset with me, and I totally understand it. But I need you to know I am truly sorry for how I treated you," Chandler continued softly, which conquered some of the girl's interest. He took it as a sign to continue.
"I really regret playing with your feeling the way I did. I never wanted to send you the wrong signals or messages on purpose. I shouldn't have kissed you and then tried to ignore you."
"Then why did you do it?" Ellie asked, in an austere tone, although a smile threatened to escape her sealed lips.
"I... I don't really know. I had never kissed a girl before, and you liked me... And I guess deep down liked you but wasn't ready to face those feelings," Chandler confessed.
"Ohh! I knew you liked me, Chandler! I told you I was the love of your life!" Ellie exclaimed in her usual excited way, making Chandler smile. Maybe her quirky personality was something Chandler liked about Ellie.
"Yeah...," Chandler continued. "But I also want to tell you that I am ready now. I accepted my feelings. But I need to know you've forgiven me,"
When Chandler finished talking, Ellie was already beaming at him.
"Only if you promise you won't do it again," She offered.
"I promise," Chandler responded. Then he continued, more nervous than he'd been at the beginning of the conversation,
"In fact, Ellie, I wanted to ask you..., I want to know if you would like to be my girlfriend."
"Oh my god! Yes! Yes!" Ellie yelled, already throwing herself on top of Chandler.
And then, this time, knowing what was going through his mind, or at least have a slight idea, Chandler grabbed Ellie for a kiss. And maybe it was not a grand romantic declaration of love like in his mother's books, but Chandler didn't need nor wanted it to be. It was great that way.
The past month had gone perfectly for Rachel. Things were going great between her and Chip, and Rachel's cheerleader friends were impressed by Rachel dating one of the cutest and oldest boys in the school.
After a full day of classes, Rachel looked forward to her date with Chip. She went to drop her books in her locker and took the chance to reapply her lip gloss using the small mirror she kept in it. Then, she closed the locker's metal door, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the boy behind it.
Standing in front of her was Liam. Liam Collins, the guy who'd stolen her heart and then broken it. Rachel wanted to look like she hated him, but she probably only managed to give him a surprised look. They hadn't spoken in months, since their breakup almost half a year ago.
"Hey, Rachel," Liam started. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He asked.
"What are you doing here?" Rachel tried to ask in a frigid tone, even though her voice shattered.
"I still love you, Rachel!" Liam stated.
The sentence made Rachel stop where she was. It had been the last thing she expected to hear from Liam's mouth.
"You what? Why are you telling me this?" Rachel finally reacted.
"I thought I did the right thing when we broke up, but then, I've been seeing you with all those other boys, and I hate it. I want to be the one you're with," Liam said.
Rachel couldn't decide what to feel. Liam had been the first boy she ever really liked and thought she loved. But he had broken her heart. And now, he was telling her he wanted to be with her again? She knew she should not give in to it; she had a boyfriend. But at the same time, she couldn't deny she didn't have some remain feeling for Liam. Rachel's thoughts were messed up.
"You can't do this," Rachel said, trying to maintain a plain tone. "I have a boyfriend."
"Ditch him. I know you still love me too."
"It's not... You break my heart, and then you expect me to dump someone who hasn't hurt me to come back to you?" Rachel shouted at Liam.
Rachel couldn't move. She felt both mad and attracted to Liam. Mad because he'd had the boldness to come there to say that to her when he knew she was with someone else, but at the same time attracted because she still remembered the good times when they'd been close.
Liam started to walk toward her, and Rachel didn't push him away. He kept walking until he was in her personal space, almost touching her.
"Please, Rachel. I'm so sorry. I know. I messed up, but I realized how wrong I was. We were great together once. Why can't we go back to being like that?"
"Can't you see that you hurt me? I'm with someone else. I might have loved you once, but we're over now," Rachel said, tears starting to run down her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Rachel. I really am. Can't we try again? I promise I won't hurt you again!" Liam insisted with pleading in his eyes.
Rachel wanted to push Liam away, but she didn't find the strength to do it. He was so close to her that she could lose herself in his blue eyes. The same blue eyes she'd once been lost in. For a second, Rachel allowed herself to remind herself of the times they'd spent together, the way he kissed her. And without realizing it, she shifted her gaze to Liam's lips.
And before she could process what was happening and stop it, they were kissing. But it wasn't like before, sweet and gentle. She didn't respond to it at first, but when she did, it was tainted by hurt and despair.
As soon as her mind processed what was happening, Rachel pushed Liam away.
"I hope you can change your mind, Rachel," Liam said before turning around and leaving.
Still confused about what had happened, her feeling spiralling like a whirlwind, Rachel gathered her books from the locker and turned around to go home. If she thought her day couldn't get worst, she was wrong. Standing by the gym door was Heather, the head cheerleader.
Rachel panicked at that moment. Heather was one of the girls who gossiped most in the group and was in some of Chip's classes. What if she had seen Rachel kissing Liam? Would Heather tell chip? But she couldn't ask Heather if she had seen it because if she hadn't seen anything, Rachel would be revealing what had happened.
Trying to seem casual, Rachel passed by the girl as if nothing had happened. She just hoped the entire school wouldn't know about it by morning.
