CHAPTER 7

"Rachel wait" a great puff of air gets caught in my throat when his voice calls my name and I think I may choke in that very moment.

"yes?" I say turning around with a faked indifferent expression in my face. Again, I'm such a good actress.

"what are you doing here?" he finally asks.

"emmm, we are having our house painted…weren't you here when Monica mentioned it before?" I say frowning in pretended confusion.

"yes, but I mean why? If I remember correctly you said you never wanted to see me again" his confidence as speaking strikes me. I had never imagined him being this strong-minded.

"yes, and don't you think I've changed my mind" I reply with his same arrogance, I'm not willing to be the weak one here ha!

"then why are you here? Don't you have other friends to annoy?"

"oh, I see that makeover camp you went to didn't work on your rudeness"

"no, I saved every bit of it for you"

"how nice of you" I say sarcastically. "what are you doing here anyway? I thought you had already moved to your college"

"not until next month"

"bummer"

"so…it seems I'll have to deal with you the next three days?"

"I'm afraid so, I don't like it either but you happen to be my best friend's brother"

"Unfortunately, I don't get why Monica is still friends with you, she is so different from the kind of person you are"

"you better not get in that subject" I say pointing my index at him "And if I annoy you so much just shut yourself in your room like always, I'm sure your dinosaurs toys missed you very much" I say with a bitchy smile as I turn around and initiate my way to Monica's room. I don't look back nor do I hear any response from him. it looks like I've won this battle.

I get in Monica's room and exhale all the air that had been trapped in my lungs during our argument. This keeps getting harder and harder.

"Monica, I'm camping out in your room for the next three days, you're in charge of bringing me the food when I'm hungry" I inform her as soon as she opens the door to her bedroom.

"what happened now?" she says exhaling noisily while closing the door behind her.

"your brother, that happened. He is still picking on me!" I say standing up from her bed and crossing my arms over my chest.

"did you follow his lead?"

"of course!"

"then don't come complaining"

"what! what do you expect me to do, shut up and listen how he insults me?"

"exactly, if you keep adding fuel to the fire this situation can go on forever"

"well, he'll have to stop first, I'm not letting him call me names and get away with it"

"ugh, you two are such children" she says shaking her head from side to side while sitting on her desk chair. I sit back on the bed, right in front of her.

"he IS the child, I should be the angry one in this play after what he did to me, don't you think? not the other way around"

"yeah okay, but don't start again, I've heard this story dozens of times already, will you try to act civilly the next time you see him? and if he keeps picking on you just ignore him, don't play along okay?"

"okay…" I say resigned "but…Can we at least dine out before going to the movies tonight? I don't want to face him again today"

"sounds fine with me"

"you can invite your boyfriend if you want" I say, smiling at how her face lights up.

"thank you" she says beaming with happiness "I'm gonna call him right now. Are you gonna invite Chip too?"

"I guess so…I don't want to be the third wheel"

…

After Monica and I grab dinner at a pizza place, we head towards the cinema. When we are almost at the entrance of the building I notice how Monica quickens her pace until she stops before a guy, who encircles his arms around her waist and kisses her with ardour, So that must be Chandler…

I slowly reach them and uncomfortably wait for them to stop the kissing.

"Hi" he says once they have stopped, not breaking the embrace for a mere second.

"so you are Chandler I suppose, nice to meet you" I say with a smile and extending my hand to him, which he grabs and shakes frantically.

"and you are the hermaphrodite" he says, obviously kidding but my smile fades faster than a shooting star.

"Chandler!" Monica reprimands him.

"sorry, I was kidding, I know it's not true, in fact I helped Ross make up the rumor" he says in smirks.

"thank you for that" I say with a deadpan expression. I can feel rage burning through my veins, but I control it, for Monica's sake.

"you'd better stop talking now" Monica whispers. "what movie should we watch?" Monica quickly says to cut the tension.

"I-I`m sorry…I didn't mean to bother you, I-I tend to joke too much when I'm nervous" he says with uneasiness.

"that's alright" I smile briefly, Let's give him the benefit of the doubt.

After this unfortunate incident that almost made me want to pouch him in the face, we hold a surprisingly nice conversation that immediately changes my conception of him. he is actually really nice once he has overcome the initial tenseness and I must admit I like Chandler for Monica, in spite of the first not-so-good impression, he seems to worship her very much.

As expected Chip arrives fifteen minutes later so when we get inside the theatre the lights are off and we've missed the trailers. Fifteen minutes into the movie I lose all interested, action movies are not my thing. Bored, I cannot help but glance at them from the corner of my eyes throughout the movie. They look so adorable; they've barely kept their eyes fixed on the screen for longer than five minutes; I can even hear the sweet nothings they are whispering to each other.

A hand copping my right boob drags me out of my thoughts. I look down at the hand and then I turn to look at my left where my dear boyfriend is sitting. I find him gazing at the screen while putting a bunch of popcorns in his mouth with his other hand. He doesn't even look at him, Romanticism at its finest.

"seriously?" I say as I slap his hand off my boob.

"what?" he says frowning, oblivious to why I'm giving him such a serious look.

"nothing" I say as I cross my arms over my chest and direct my eyes back to the screen while my head screams in frustration. Then I look back at Monica and Chandler, they are lost into each other's eyes as if the people around them didn't exist. Why can't I have that? Uh?

We get home little after midnight and to my relief everybody is sleeping. We put our pj's on and lay in our respective beds before initiating our usual pre-sleeping chat.

"so what do you think of Chandler" she asks smiley as she lies on her side and looks at me with hopeful eyes.

"emmm…leaving out the first few moments of meeting him…I think he is a pretty nice guy"

"yeah don't take that seriously, he becomes a mess when he is nervous"

"I could see that yeah, but he seems nice, I can say he reciprocates your love" I say winking my eye.

"you know…tomorrow it's our fifth month anniversary" she says, with that characteristic in-love smile.

"wow already? Congratulations sweetie"

"yes, and he is preparing something special for me at his place"

"oh please don't tell me you're gonna leave me alone" I say pouting.

"…I'm so sorry Rach…I…can't you hang out with your other girlfriends tomorrow night?"

"with those bitches? I'd rather stay home" I say, not able to hide the disgust I feel whenever they come up in a conversation.

"what about Chip" I fell into silence. Should I tell her?

"not a good idea…I-I…I think I'm gonna break up with him…"

"WHAT?" she exclaims, lifting her body to look at me in surprise

"I just…watching you two tonight opened my eyes Mon, I'm not in love with him, not even close, he makes me feel like a piece of furniture when I'm with him, and I'm rather tired"

"are you serious about this"

"yes, very serious"

"I'm happy for you then, you deserve better, Chip might be handsome and all that but he has no brains"

"thank you" I mumble with a brief smile.

"when are you…breaking up with him?"

"probably after Stephanie's party…I don't want to be the center of attention at the party and that's what would happen if I do it before"

"well…I'm glad to see you are so determined, and…if you want me to I can tell Chandler to postpone our date…it's not a big deal"

"oh no, don't be silly, I'll figure something to do, shopping is still up though right?"

"of course! And…I also need you to do me a favour" she says biting her lip as if she was afraid to say what she is about to ask.

"what is it?"

"can you find out what's Ross doing tomorrow night?"

"excuse me?"

"what if he happens to show up at his house? He doesn't know I'm dating Chandler and if he finds out without me telling him first he will want to kill him"

"I understand but sweetie you're missing a small detail here, I don't get along with your brother, how on earth am I going to ask him such thing?"

"pleaaaase Rach" she begs again, giving me a sad look.

"can't your boyfriend tell him not to come tomorrow?" I try to find every possible solution that could save me from having to confront Ross again.

"he can, but it may look suspicious…please, it's just a question" I roll my eyes.

"ugh…okay, I'll try, but I can't promise you anything!"

"thank you thank you thank you!" she says jumping from her bed and hugging me.

The next morning, before we are about to leave to do some shopping Monica drags me downstairs without giving any explanation.

"okay he is alone, ask him now" I hear Monica say as we stop right outside the kitchen. I turn around to look her, totally freaked out by her words.

"what! now?" I exclaim in a jolt of alarm. oh my god I'm so not prepared for this right now.

"yes, he is having breakfast, it's the perfect moment" she says as she gives me a little push towards the door.

"wait wait wait! H-h-how do I ask him?" my body fills with terror just thinking I'm gonna have to face him in a matter of a few seconds.

"I don't know, you're the one good at this, make something up!"

"ugh okay-okay…but just so you know, I hate you for making me do this" I say before turning around, taking a deep breath and entering the kitchen.

I immediately freeze in my tracks when I find him in front of the stove, cooking pancakes. Although that's not what has surprised me and left me spellbound, but the fact that he is doing all that shirtless; yeah shirtless! Exposing his bronzed skin and toned muscles. When did he get those anyway? The only sight of this awakens every single sleeping hormone in my body. I hate him! I try to compose myself and pretend as if I hadn't seen nothing…anything…oh god.

"Hi" I say as I pass by him on my way to the glass cabinet. Cup of water…he and I all alone in the kitchen…this whole situation feels like a Deja-vu; actually I wish it was one of those other times.

"Hello…" he says hardly looking at me. I cannot do this, how am I going ask him what his plans for tonight are when I'm supposedly not interested in anything that involves him? I simply can't, it's crazy!

I'm about to lose my nerve but to my surprise he speaks again "do you want some pancakes?" Was he just nice with me?

"you're offering me pancakes?"

"yes…why are you so surprised?" he says while putting the pancakes on a plate. When he turns around to walk to the table my eyes move to his abdomen by instinct, and when I realize what I'm doing I force them away as I blush in embarrassment. please let him not have noticed it

"well…it's just odd coming from you…"

"I'm simply trying to bear with you, for my sister's sake. We have to see each other for a while so it'd be better if we respected each other, don't you think?"

"yeah…you're right" astonished, that's how I am right at this moment.

"so, Do you want some? they are not poisoned if that's what worries you"

"no I'm fine..,but thanks" he shrugs his shoulders as he sits at the table. Okay, let's do it now and run out of here, otherwise I'm not gonna be able to say a single word.

"Ross can I…ask you something?"

"sure…"

"are you…doing something tonight? I mean…like going out?" he looks at me a bit estranged; I'm actually surprised his reaction wasn't bigger.

"I don't think so…I've got things to do, why?"

"oh nothing…" think something, think something! "…just wondering if your social life was as sad as always, bye" I say as I quickly head to the exit. god, that was so mean… why couldn't I think of anything else? I'm so stupid!

"God you owe me a big one after this Monica" I say as soon as I'm safely away from the kitchen. I didn't even have time to see his reaction, but I already know he is going to get back at me for this, one way or another.

"so what did he say?" she asks expectant.

"he said he has things to do so he won't go out tonight, you're safe"

"thank you!" she says hugging me with enthusiasm.

"can we go now? I REALLY need some fresh air"

…..

Shopping was the perfect therapy after the unpleasant situation of this morning. It managed to evade me from everything else for a few hours. However, when we get to Monica's a wave of regret washes over me again. I shouldn't have said such thing to him…let alone when he was attempting to make things work between us, or at least avoid more hostile situations. I think I should apologize to him, yes…I need to apologize…but how? When? Where?

Once in her bedroom we drop the dozens of bags on the floor.

"I cannot believe I ended up buying so much stuff, my dad is gonna kill me when he sees the hole on his credit card" I say as I start to get the clothes off the bags and place them over Monica's bed.

"don't worry, he is used to it by now" Monica jokes and I give her a little push.

"thanks for helping me choose the dress by the way"

"no problem, it's a gorgeous dress and looks fantastic on you, you're gonna steal so many thunders AND hearts at that party"

"aww you're so sweet, although I really, really hope that's not the case, the least I want now is more attention, I'm still a bit scared to go and see they still remember the stupid rumor"

"you'll see no one remembers a thing, it's been over two months!"

"I hope you are right…anyway, nervous for tonight?"

"a little bit" she says with a shy smile. "Have you finally made any plans for tonight yourself?"

"nah…but don't worry, I'll stay here and read a book or something"

"okay…but please, pleeease make sure no one sees you are here, As far as they know I'll be hanging out with you"

"I won't leave this room, I promise"

"thank you"

"now, I'm gonna go for a swim while you get ready okay? I wanna try my new bikini before the summer comes to an end"

"okay, but be here before seven!"

"promise" I say as I grab my towel and my new fuchsia bikini.

I open the backyard door, towel in hand and yearning for some relaxing time, but my luck loves making me suffer so guess who is standing by the swimming pool holding a pool cleaner? Exactly. I'm starting to believe someone is playing a joke on me and all this will appear in some TV show by next month. For a second I hesitate whether I want to sunbath after all…he will probably be there making harsh remarks about me… or maybe this is my chance to apologize…okay, let's do it.

I quietly close the door to the backyard and he notices me right away but he decides to ignore me. Awesome! I leave my towel on one of the deck chairs and stand there aimlessly. Then I realise my mind has gone blank while I've been staring at him for quite some time; since when watching a guy in swimming trucks affects me so much? I really don't understand myself. I only thank god he is giving me his back and cannot see how flustered I am at the moment. I take a few calming breaths before walking to where he is, but it doesn't work to get rid of the knots in my stomach and it takes a while for my mouth to pronounce words.

"what are you doing?" stupid question I know, but I had to break the ice by some means.

"isn't it obvious?" he says in a sharp reply without stopping his cleaning duty. This is going to be hard.

"Ross…can I talk to you for a second?" I say grabbing the device from his hands so he'll have to stop and look at me.

"about what?" he says, finally turning to face me, my hormones immediately react to his closeness and I have to make a huge effort to focus on what I want to say and not on what I want to do, or touch for that matter.

"about this morning…"

"okay…speak" he says after a small pause.

"I…I-I just wanted to…to…" I try to say but cannot go on, not when he is observing me from head to toes as if he were inspecting my body "what are you doing?" I harshly say placing my hands on my waist to emphasise anger.

"I'm sorry I was just… you look so beautiful" his unexpected words make my heart skip a beat and I forget whatever I was going to say. Did he just compliment me? I can feel my heart thumping uncontrollably inside my chest and blood throbbing through my ears. Did I hear well?

"what?" I manage to say. I'm dumbfounded, astonished, thrilled? You name it.

"I said you look beautiful…that bikini, it really fits you" I looked down at my body and blush furiously. I know I'm wearing a bikini, yet I feel completely naked under his intense stare.

"well…thank you…" I say clearing my voice and looking up again to meet his eyes, but he is still looking at my body. Oh gosh, stop it now!

"and…you certainly don't have a penis for what I can see" his soft voice saying those things is turning me on so damn much that it's getting harder for me to keep composed and oblivious to his words.

"no I don't" I say in a whisper, silence surround us while he keeps looking down at my body and I trying to block the increasing heat I'm feeling. "are you done?" I say trying to sound indifferent.

"yeah…" he says clearing his voice and finally returning his gaze to my face "sorry…and don't worry, you are beautiful, but your hideous personality makes you look like a wrinkled old lady in my eyes" he says with a triumphant smile. I suddenly feel like I've been pushed from a plane without parachute and all I want to do is yell at his face all kinds of things. However, instead of that my rage comes out through my hands as I angrily push him with all my strength to the swimming pool. I grin as I see in slow motion how he beats his arms to prevent the fall, but then a strong grip on my wrist pulls of me and I feel how a sudden coolness covers my skin. I'm rather disoriented for a moment but then I realise I'm inside the pool too.

"you idiot!" I cry out when I find his grinning face in front of me. I swim the last few inches that apart us and attempt to duck him under the water in revenge. Wrong move, he soon grabs my wrists and immobilizes me.

"what are you trying to do, uh?"

"See if I can wash off your stupidity" I snap as I try to escape from his grip.

"good idea, let me try that" he says before pushing me down into the water, so quickly that I almost choke.

"you're such an ass-hole!" I manage to mutter before he deeps me in water again. I revolve and revolve to free myself but it's useless.

"stop it jerk!"

"wow, it looks like your mouth is very dirty" he says as he sinks me once again.

"okay okay okay! I give up" I say in between coughs "I give up…but let me go, my wrists are hurting" I say faking pain. He finally releases me, and I take advantage of the moment to quickly place my hands on his head and push him downwards. Fuck him if he thought I was going to quit that easily.

I rapidly swim away to reach the steps and leave the pool but a hand traps my ankle and drags me back to him. damn it! I hardly have time to react when he grabs me by my shoulders and pins me up against the wall of the swimming pool.

"now what, you can't move, can you?" he says with superiority.I shoot him a fuming stare.

"let-me-go"

"what if I don't want to?"

"that my knee and your crotch will have a less than pleasant encounter" I warn him with a wicked smile. He immediately places one of his legs in between mine, getting rid of the space between our bodies to fully immobilize me. I don't like this. Our bodies slightly brushing and his face being mere inches from mine makes me more nervous –and hot- than I can put into words.

"try that now" he challenges me. He is so close I can feel his breathing in my face when he talks to me.

"congrats, I can't move, you have proved you're stronger than I am, will you let me go now?" I say, trying to hide the uneasiness that this closeness provokes on me.

"Why are you so nervous?" he asks.

"I-I I'm not nervous"

"y-y-yes you are" he says imitating me. "do I make you nervous?" he whispers in my ear. Can I just die please?

"you? make ME nervous? Ha!"

"then why are you trembling?"

"I'm not trembling; in fact I'm perfectly fine" I say with a smirk.

"so am I…"

"no wonder, I bet being this close to me was always one of your all time dreams, well enjoy while you can" I say provokingly.

"are you sure it's not the other way around?" he says raising an eyebrow.

"you wish! You're so wrong if you think I'm gonna fall for you just because you're hot now"

"…you think I'm hot?" my eyes widen in surprise. oh gosh, did I say that? I take it back I take it back!

"no…" I move my eyes away trying to hide my embarrassment. great!

"yes you do" he says with a smile, such beautiful smile that it makes butterflies grow in my stomach even thought I'm deeply angry at him. I hate this!

"so what?, it doesn't matter 'cause inside you're still the same geek guy everybody feels pity for"

"no problem, I haven't changed my mind about you either, how many guys have you teased this summer by the way?"

"ugh, you're such a jerk!" I shake my body to release myself, but as much as I try it's impossible "I can't believe I wanted to apologize to you before"

"you wanted to apologize?" he says in a chuckle.

"yes! I actually felt bad for having insulted you this morning when you were being nice to me, but I guess it was a momentary thing because you're still the same idiot"

"I got it from you, I guess idiocy is contagious" he says shrugging. I feel so indignant right now that it makes my strength grow and I manage to push him away and kick him in his sensitive area, which triggers a painful shriek from his throat.

"enjoy your bath" I say as swim away and leave him there twisting in pain. I don't feel happy about it, but he earned it!

I grab my towel and leave the backyard as fast as possible; I'm so mad right now I could break into pieces whatever object that may get on my way.

"what's that face?" Monica ask when I walk through her door and she sees my irritated expression.

"ugh don't ask" the least I want right now is to talk about him. "oh my god Monica, you look amazing" I say when I finally observe her calmly.

"thank you" she says smiling from ear to ear.

"Chandler's jaw will make a hole on the floor when he sees you"

"shut up" she says shyly.

"are you leaving already?"

"yes, in thirty minutes…my parent went out with some friends so you'll just have to be careful that Ross doesn't see you"

"oh that won't be a problem. I so do NOT want to see him"

"okay, well…are you sure you know what you have to do?"

"yes, make sure no one sees me…It's not that difficult Mon"

"sorry" she says in a chuckle "I'm just so nervous"

"aww calm down Mon, I'm sure this night will be unforgettable for you"

"I'm sure too" she smiles "so…I think it's time for "us" to leave" she says looking through her window.

"well, have fun honey!" I say as I give her a hug "and I want to know everything when you come back"

"sure! Thanks, bye"

I had planned everything pretty well: I had brought food, drinks, magazines and even books to spend the night locked in Monica's bedroom and make as little noise as possible. However, I didn't think it through completely… it didn't occur to me that when you drink…you need to pee as well. And here I am, damning Monica for not having a bathroom in her room. But I'm so scared to leave the room and find him that I haven't even considered going to the bathroom, until I can't hold it anymore and I really need to go. I silently crack the door open and peek to check he is not around. Thankfully the corridor is in complete darkness so I quickly tiptoe to the bathroom as if I were running away from a murderer. I get into the bathroom and lock the door as I let out a sigh, feeling temporarily safe.

"what are you doing here?" I turn around beyond stunned and find him in front of the washstand looking at me wide-eyed. I cannot blink, I cannot breath, I cannot find words to excuse my presence. Oh god, what if he asks about Monica!

"I-I…I…" damn it! think coherently! Say something!

"have you come to kick me again? because I'm served, thank you" he says straight-faced.

"no, of course not" I nervously say.

"weren't you supposed to be with Monica? Where is she?" there it is, oh god. Dear mind of mine make something up! Something believable!

"yes…yes I was but…I-I left earlier…"

"why?" he says getting closer to me.

"because…I needed to talk to you…" what?

"again? seriously Rachel I don't understand you, first you say you never want to see my face again and yet you keep appearing everywhere, what would you possibly want to tell me now?" he says as he gets even closer, I take some steps backwards, keeping the distance between us, until my back comes up against a surface and I have to stop. Who the hell put that door there? "are you gonna speak or what? if you have something to tell me, whatever it is, say it now. I'm tired of this situation I want to get over with this already" I gulp the giant lump in my throat as I try to come up with something but the pressure of the moment makes my mind work slower and the silence starts to become agonizing. Say something for god's sake! And don't make this worse!

"look Rach if you came to insul-"

"I love you okay!" I hear myself shouting. I go instantly pale when I see his shocked expression and rehear my own words. I cannot have said that! My eyes widen as my hands fly to cover my mouth, as if that would bring my words back and fix the situation. But no, I've said it and he has heard it, and I feel like dying right in this spot. I close my eyes and pray to disappear. I'm definitely the stupidest human on earth!

I'd love you read your opinions! And thanks for reading.