Thank you all for the sweet words! Your reviews are good help and source of inspiration to keep on writing.

Cybermals: thank you! I would love to write more but as for today I doubt so, I'll be very busy till November the sooner. I could start a new one but I wouldn't like to update it every few months so I want to wait till I'm completely free to start a new one. I will read and review your fics as soon as I'm done with my fic, promised! Thanks again for reviewing.

MorganlovesFriends: haha thanks ;)

MonicaLouiseManson: thank you sweetie! I'm glad you like my fic. Thanks for your words supports. It doesn't really bother me if someone criticises my way of writing, I know I'm not a professional. What matters to me is the fact that people follow and like my stories.

Debbiefriendsfan: I don't know if it's going where you think it's going…where do you think it is going? LOL I'd love to know :P thanks for reviewing!

Abbie:no it wasn't the end! Here is the next chapter and I think there will be another two after this one. Thanks for R&R.

2good2betrue: thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you still like my story. As I told Cybermals I'd love to write more but my spare time will be inexistent from next month on, I'll try my best though. you have no idea how happy it makes me the fact that you guys want me to write more stories, thank you!

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CHAPTER 14

Fifth day into the new course and I'm already yearning for a vacation. I walk through the hallways of my High School feeling stranger than ever; I don't belong here anymore, I keep telling myself. As usual, every person I come across smiles at me or tries to initiate a conversation, only due to the fact that I'm the popular cheerleader everyone would love to hang out with. Thank god it's Senior year and everything will be over soon! I look everywhere, hoping to find Monica and have a chat before parting for our first class. My feet suddenly block the moment I spot Mindy in the distance and I almost trip over when I try to sneak away unnoticed.

"Rachel wait!" she calls my name right when I've turned over my heels. "can I speak to you for a moment?" Mindy says with piercing seriousness as she reaches me.

"no" I respond nonchalantly as I continue my way towards my class.

"we're gonna talk even if you don't want to" she hisses through her teeth as she grips my arm and forces me to stop.

"what do you want Mindy?" I snap, not bothering to hide my deep aversion towards her. "What could you possibly want now?"

"I want to know what the hell was it that you told Barry!"

"I haven't talked to Barry in weeks, was that all? Okay, bye" I say as I reinitiate my way, however she places herself in the middle and stops me once again.

"liar! You told him something about me, otherwise why would he refuse to go out with me, huh?" she says in her loud annoying voice.

"…maybe he thought you were too fake for him?" I respond with a casual shrug.

"you bitch!" she shouts and adds several other nasty adjectives I decide not to listen to.

"are you done?" I say ignoring her words. I turn around and retake my way again, but to my misfortune she doesn't give up.

"If I ever find out you had something to do with this I'll-"

"you will what? kill me? please" I say rolling my eyes.

"no, but I'll come up with something, don't worry about that" she threatens, but all it makes me feel is pity for her.

"grow up Mindy, don't blame on others what's actually your fault, and good bye" I put an end to our conversation and finally walk away from her while she keeps yelling senseless things to me.

(…)

"I miss your brother" I helplessly say to Monica as I sit weightlessly on my bed.

"I miss my boyfriend" she says in equal tone of misery.

"at least you were able to enjoy the entire summer with him, I only had 2 weeks" I complain, sounding like a little girl who has been taken away her favourite toy.

"two weeks during which you lived in my brother's bedroom" she points out arching her eyebrows as she sits in front of me.

"Is that a complaint? Because you know you'd do the same with Chandler if you had the chance"

"not at all, I just…find it amusing how you've gone from total enemies who can't stand seeing one another to inseparable lovebirds who don't even break apart to go to the bathroom"

"we do not go to the bathroom together!"

"oh you know what I mean!"

"okay…so we live in each other's pockets, What's the big deal?" isn't it what normal couples do anyway?

"none, as I said it just amuses me"

"by the way, thanks for coming over, you cannot imagine how bored I was, I even organized my shoes by colors and shapes" I say pulling a face.

"that sounds like fun!"

"of course you'd say that, it's something you would do for fun" I say rolling my eyes and she sticks her tongue out at me.

"let's play some game board or whatever" she suggests.

"no, let's talk"

"about what?"

"about the guys, Shall we go see them this weekend?" I ask hopeful, which apparently makes Monica giggle.

"I want to too, but it's kinda soon…they left a week ago Rach"

"it's that so? It feels like months" I whinge. "what, why are you smiling?" I say when I meet her giddy face again.

"nothing it's just- I've never seen you this…hooked on somebody, it's unbelievable" she says shaking her head, and for some reason, my cheeks get a reddish shade almost immediately.

"it's love I guess" I say in a shrug, a shy grin covering my face.

"it is, my friend." she says grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze. Silence surround us for a moment while Monica eyes me hesitantly, as if wanting to ask something but not having the guts to do so.

"now let's play something, I'm bored" I break the silence, seeing she is not willing to share whatever that is crossing her mind.

"yes! let's play truth or dare!" she suggests with surprising enthusiasm.

"okay…"

"you go first, Truth or dare?"

"mmh…truth" I say.

"have you and Ross…you know, done that yet?"

"that's a question" I say in a chuckle.

"I know, but I've wanted to ask you and had no idea how…" her shyness makes me smile.

"Do you really wanna know? I mean, it's your brother…"

"I could pretend I don't know who your boyfriend is for a while"

"alright…yes, we have" I say with a grin. "well, we actually did that before everything else" I add with a nonchalant chuckle. Her eyes widen in shock.

"oh my god, really? I thought my-, y-your boyfriend would be more 'shy' in that area" she says without blinking.

"trust me, he is nothing near that word, I was beyond surprised, he was so confident and oh my god does he know how to turn me on, he is so-"

"okay okay okay! that's enough info" she quickly stops me. I immediately giggle at her disgusted expression.

"I was going to say that you have a very talented brother" I add with a grin.

"good, I'm happy for you and I hope everything works out for you two…because if you ever break my brother's heart I-" she says rising a finger.

"Monica stop right there" I order offended. "Why would you even think that I would do such a thing to your brother?"

"I-I don't know…I'm just…dreading this could be a fling for you, my brother is really in love with you Rach" Monica says, and even though I know she doesn't mean any harm I can't help but feel a bit offended.

"so am I!" I exclaim "I've never felt this before, Mon. It is true I've had several flings with other guys before but that's because I never loved them! but now with Ross I've discovered what 'loving someone' really is, and I love him more than you can imagine, so if our relationship ever gets jeopardized it won't be because of me, that I'm sure of" I say dead serious almost angry at her for questioning my love towards her brother.

"okay okay…you convinced me." she says with a smile "I'm sorry" I return the smile and motion my hand resting importance to the issue.

"now you go, truth or dare?" I ask.

"dare"

"I dare you to come with me to Manhattan right now" I say without even thinking.

"deal, let's go" Monica says giving a energetic clap as jumping from the chair.

"really?" I ask taken aback, not having expected such immediate response.

"yeah! You're not the only one eager to see her boyfriend" I smile widely as I also stand up form my bed.

"awesome! let's go!"

(…)

Monica and I arrive at NYU past 10pm. We stroll around the place for a moment before heading towards the room Chandler and Ross share. Being Friday night, the common areas of the dorms are lively and packed with people. We observe them fascinated; they act and look so different from the people in our high school.

We run into Chandler in one of the hallways and after witnessing a nothing prudish smooch I decide to leave the darlings alone. My heart begins to beat fast when I spot Ross right outside his room, looking all handsome and college-guy. Several whistles come my way, but I completely ignore them while I walk toward Ross wearing a smile of happiness. When I'm close enough to him I realise he is animatedly talking to a girl. Who the hell is she?

"Rachel!" he exclaims in surprise when he finally sees me. I grin as I accelerate my pace towards him and eagerly wrap my arms around his neck. He hugs me tightly in return.

"well, I see you're busy now, we'll talk later" I hear the girl say.

"sure, bye!" Ross says before turning to me and looking at me with his gorgeous brown eyes as if he was gazing at a vision. "What are you doing here?" he says without blinking.

"I came to visit my boyfriend, who I've missed terribly much" I say in a girly voice as I lean on my toes with the intention to give a peck to his lips. However, he traps my lips and kisses me with a fervour I wasn't prepared for and my knees go weak right away.

"I missed you so much" he murmurs when we part. "I can't believe you're here, I thought you were grounded"

"and I still am, but I make my own decisions, remember?" I wink my eye.

"and I love you for that" he says gleeful before kissing the tip of my nose.

"who was that, by the way?" I ask pointing my finger towards the direction the mystery girl took.

"oh, that's Julie" Julie? Why does that name sound familiar? And why was she pretty? This place was supposed to be full of unattractive lesbian girls!

"What were you guys talking about?" I ask casually as though I wasn't particularly interested, but truthfully I'm having the hardest time trying to tame this jealousness that has surged in me.

"nothing, just some extra-scholar activities, boring stuff…let's get into my room" he says breaking the embrace to grab my hand and guide me inside his room.

"I see you've brought ALL your dinos with you" I point out as he closes the door and hugs me from me behind.

"Well, I couldn't bring YOU with me so…" he cutely whispers in my ear. I smile and turn around to kiss him rather heatedly.

"so you came all the way to Manhattan alone?" he asks after a make out session that has brought us to his bed.

"no, Monica came with me" I respond as I snuggle into his arms.

"what? Monica is here? Where is she?"

"I left her with Chandler"

"did she agree to stay with Chandler or you paid her?" he asks in a chuckle and I smirk at how unaware of everything he is. I hesitate for a moment; he deserves to know already, doesn't he?

"tell you a secret?" I say, turning to look at him.

"yeah"

"Chandler and Monica are dating" I murmur with a grin. His face goes instantly pale, which makes me regret my confession. Monica is going to kill me.

"WHAT! Chandler is sleeping with my little sister!" he burst out red of rage as he sits up.

"I didn't say that! and chill babe, they're dating"

"isn't it the same?"

"well…not necessarily"

"please…"

"alright, what if they're sleeping together! They're in love"

"ha, I have my doubts"

"why? you haven't even seen them together. They're adorable"

"sin-since when has this been going on?"

"for…over half a year now, isn't it amazing?"

"meh…I can't believe Chandler is doing it with my little sister" he repeats.

"well…you're sleeping with your sister's best friend, where is the difference?" I laugh.

"she is...my little sister" he shrugs. I roll my eyes.

"Monica is not 'little' anymore honey, you should be happy for her"

"I am, but I'll have a bone to pick with him later" he says serious.

"no! you better keep the secret! I promised them I wouldn't say anything"

"alright…but man, I can't believe this"

"ugh, let's drop this, I want to know how your first week went" I ask as I run a hand through his short locks. His previous expression of anger soon softens until a smile reappears.

"Incredibly well! it's so nice to meet people who share your same interests and don't judge you for them. I'm cool here Rach" he says proudly and I laugh amused.

"glad to know more people agree with me" I say, adding a sexy wink. "what about girls? Did you make any of them fall in love with you yet?" I ask playfully, but I'm ready to stab him if he says yes.

"let me think…yeah, there's been a few who have hit on me" he says nodding. I slap his chest with more strength that I intended to and he burst out laughing. "You know you're the only one I have eyes for silly" he says as he squeezes my ass and kisses my lips.

"not even for that beautiful Julie?" I ask rising an eyebrow in a query way.

"Julie who?" he says frowning, faking confusion. I give a small chuckle "now seriously, girls treat me nice here…but there's no one that can be compared to you" he says looking straight into my eyes and my smile grows even more.

"could you be any cuter?" I say, rubbing my nose with his before sinking in a tender kiss. "thank you" I whisper as we break apart.

"what about you? did you break a lot of hearts this week?"

"no"

"liar" he says tickling my side. I let out a loud giggle before blocking his hands.

"well, the usual ones you know, people in high school doesn't change but anyway, why don't we leave this for later and enjoy ourselves before these two return?" I suggest and he gladly welcomes my suggestion.

"good idea" he says pulling me down for a kiss. Soon enough, our clothes are scattered all over the room and our bodies ready and eager to join.

"what?" he asks, wondering why I'm giggling to myself.

"…we're about to make love on a bed, that's so unlike us" I say in a chuckle.

"there is always a first time for everything" he whispers with a mischievous smile before stealing a kiss from my lips.

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"hey Rach" I hear Mindy's voice. Not you again! I say to myself.

"hi Mindy" I say inanimately as I observe her take the seat in front of me. Why? why? why! why?

"where is your inseparable Monica?"
"she is sick"

"oh, poor girl" Could you possibly sound faker?

"why are you here?" I ask with a straight face. And when the hell are you gonna leave me alone once and for all?

"I just wanted to talk to you, how is Ross doing, by the way?"

"he is fine"

"I bet he is, it has come to my ears that he has been having a lot of fun lately" she says with a bitchy grin.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that he has been spending A LOT of time with a girl from his class" her bitchy grin still there. "but you know, it's only normal…He is hot and popular now that he is among his kind, the paradise of geeks! Girls must be drooling all over his feet, don't you think?"

"Mindy…when are you going to stop making up crap?"

"I didn't make it up, I know someone at NYU who knows Ross" I roll my eyes, getting more and more irritated by her.

"well, tell your source to mind their own business" I don't care if I sound arrogant, she needs to shut up!

"alright, don't believe me…but I have proofs, he has been sleeping around with his geeky girl friends while you're here being all saint and unlike Rachel" I contain my air, trying to conceal my increasing desire to punch her.

"yeah right, whatever you say Mindy, I gotta go, bye bye" I say as I pick up my things and leave the canteen in a rush, wanting to escape from her and her contaminating words.

(…)

"here you have today's notes" I say as I sit on Monica's desk chair. "How are feeling today?"

"much better, thanks" she says sitting up on her bed "what's up?" Monica asks with a frown.

"nothing"

"nothing? You look as if there were no more Gucci in this world"

"not even a closet full of new clothes would cheer me up right now"

"okay, seriously what's wrong?" I let out a puff of air before answering.

"it's Ross...it's our two months anniversary and he hasn't even called yet…do you think he has forgotten?"

"I'm sure he hasn't, and now that you mention it I talked to him this morning and told me to tell you that there's something waiting for you in his room"

"why did he call you and not me!" I complain.

"don't you wanna find out what he left for you?"

"oh yeah!" I exclaim, not having entirely heard her words before. I send her a smile before I leave her bedroom and walk to the next door where Ross' bedroom is. I open the door and a wave of sadness hits me right away. Everything looks so cold, different from when he was there. The bedcover has changed and there are barely any dinosaurs left on his shelves. Of course, he brought them all with him. A rectangular pink box resting on his desk catches my attention. I get closer and smile when I read my name written on top of it. Hardly taking any seconds to wonder what's inside the box I open it and my jaw drops instantly; A pair of gorgeous red high-heeled Gucci shoes are inside. It takes me a while to register the fact that those are real Gucci shoes but when it hits me a cheerful scream exits my mouth.

"Oh my gosh" I sigh as I hold them in my hands and inspect every corner of that fashion masterpiece.

"I hope this can make up for my absence. Miss you, Love you, R" I read on a little note that was under them.

"no it doesn't! I want YOU here Silly!" I say aloud rather frustrated. As amazingly beautiful those shoes are, I'd rather be with him this very moment.

"so you don't like the shoes?" I'm startled by his voice sounding behind me. It takes me some time to turn around, thinking that the sound of his voice had been a product of my imagination. But I turn around, and my heart skips a thousand beats when I see him standing by the door, all smiley and handsome, and holding a bunch of lilies.

"Ross!" I practically scream as I run and jump onto his arms, with so much strength that he ends up loosing his balance, the bunch of lilies flies off his hands and we both fall to the floor, Ross banging the side of his head against the wall on the way.

"ouch!" he whines as he brings one of his hands to his head.

"oh my god oh my god I'm so sorry honey!" I say, quickly sitting up on his stomach and hastily rubbing the damaged side of head with my hand.

"it's okay" he says, squeezing his eyes several times to make the pain go away "just remind me to bring a helmet next time" I chuckle at his silliness.

"no, next time tell me you're coming!" I say slapping his chest. "I was already getting mad at you"

"how come?" he frowns.

"I thought you had forgotten our anniversary…" I say pouting.

"I don't forget ANYTHING that is related to you honey" he says sweetly. I smile and see him squeeze his eyes again.

"does it hurt?" I ask worried.

"a lil bit" I bite my bottom lip feeling regretful. "maybe a healing kiss will make it better" he adds with a cute smile.

"coming right away" I sensually say as I bend over and kiss the side of his head a few times. "done"

"I meant on the lips though" I roll my eyes amused.

"of course you did" I say as I bend over again and taste his lips. Having been apart for so many weeks keeps me glued to his lips to taste them long enough, therefore our kiss continues for a while.

"mmmh I've missed these kisses" he says in a soft moan.

"well, Let me go tell Mon I'm not returning to her bedroom and I'll give you some more" I say with a naughty smile.

"won't be necessary, she knows I'm here" he says as we stand up from the floor.

"she does? and she didn't warn me, I'm gonna kill her!"

"if she had told you it wouldn't have been a surprise, come here" he says, lifting me in the air and taking me to his bed while I giggle. Why? happiness perhaps. He sits me on his bed and moves towards his desk to pick up the Gucci shoes. As if we were characters in a tale, he kneels down before me while I grin from ear to ear. "let's see if they fit you" he says as he takes off my boats and carefully places them on my feet. "perfect" he murmurs. I look down at my feet not entirely satisfied.

"not so much with these jeans though, I'll be right back" I say as I quickly exit his bedroom and make my way into Monica's. "Monica quickly, where do you have your strapless black dress?"

"it's in the closet, why?" she asks frowning. But I ignore her question and immediately run towards her closet to pick out her dress. "oh my god, Where did you get those shoes!" she exclaims.

"I'll tell you all about it later" I respond as I get rid of my clothes in a split second and put the dress on while Monica keeps questioning stuff I barely hear. I smile. Now this is the right outfit to go with my beautiful Gucci shoes. "thank you honey, bye" I quickly say as I return to Ross'. The moment I enter I see his jaw drop to the floor and his eyes widen as two big golf balls. I smile proudly as I sensually walk towards him, feeling like a runaway model. "what do you think?" I whisper as I wrap my arms around his neck and teasingly brush his lips with mine.

"Perfection, that's all I can say" he says as he takes a step backwards and observes me in detail, which makes me blush heavily, although I have to admit I like it. "you look beyond beautiful" he murmurs as he places his hands on my waist and slides them down, drawing with them the curve of my hips and then pulling me closer.

"thank you" I murmur back before kissing his lips briefly. "I love the shoes by the way…you have good taste" I say with a smirk.

"I know" he says proudly. I chuckle.

"but you shouldn't have bought them, it must have cost you a fortune"

"It's okay, I work at the campus now, I can afford it for my princess" he sweetly says and to thank him I kiss him hard, passionately.

"you look so hot in that dress…but…would you let me take it off?" he asks in a irresistible, sexy voice while his fingers draw little circles in the small of my back. As if I could say no to such question.

"I'm all yours, do whatever you please" I say with a grin as I extend my arms sideward. He eyes me with amusement and desire all at the same time as he gets closer, wearing a naughty grin. This is going to be a great anniversary after all.

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"Are you alright?" I ask softly, puzzled by his quietness. Two months have passed since the last time I visited him and I've hardly seen him since. Despite talking daily on the phone I cannot help but feel downhearted. I need him here; I need to feel his arms around me again, to kiss his addictive lips, to hear his voice next to me and not through the damn phone. However, due to his busy college life and my selfish and over-controlling dad our encounters has reduced to one or two in a month and…although I haven't been able to admit it to myself, the lack of time to see one another has drift us apart a bit.

"I am" he answers. I let out a sigh; a weird sensation setting inside me. "then why don't you want me to visit you?" I ask with sadness. "I haven't seen you in nearly a month" I complain.

"I do want to see you honey, Don't get me wrong, it's just that…I've tons of essays piled up on my desk and the tests right around the corner plus some other activities…I don't want you to come here and feel abandoned" he says with honesty, and I know he is right, but I NEED to see him or I'll go crazy!

"what other activities?" I ask out of curiosity.

"…college activities, just random stuff" he explains, but I notice a hint of nervousness in his voice that makes me frown. "I'll be home in three weeks time, and we will spend Christmas together, whether your father allows it or not, okay?"

"alright…"

"I cannot wait to see you again Rach, I love you" I feel a small smile form in my lips for the first time in weeks.

"I love you too, come home soon please" I beg against the receiver as if it was his own mouth before mine.

"I'll be there before you realise, good night sweetie"

"bye" I say in a sigh. I put down the phone confused and sad. To be honest, I thought he'd ask me to go right away. I lie back on the couch and close my eyes, fighting back the tears that want to break through my eyelashes. To worsen my state; Mindy's word over the past few weeks come rushing to my head, words that I had thought as senseless up to this moment but now…now what if she is right? What if he is with someone else and that's the reason for his weird behaviour?...no! Ross would never do that, he is not like the rest…right?

I let out a scream of pure frustration as I bring my hands to my head, which is invaded with a throbbing headache that doesn't let me think clearly. Tired of all this, I stand up from the couch and run towards my bedroom. I don't care if I have to spend the weekend in his room watching him work, I'm going to Manhattan. I'm determined.

Whether good or bad, I'm going to find out what's going on TODAY.

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I had to end it there, don't kill me! haha hope you enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to reading your opinions, and what do you think it's going to happen next? :P thank you!