Reunion

"Hey Mon, did you get an invitation to the Lincoln High reunion this Friday, too?" Rachel asks as she enters the coffeehouse. Chandler looks at Monica, who is rolling her eyes. He was with her when she opened the letter two days earlier and she told him right away that she's not going. Chandler tried to convince her, but she made it very clear that she is not going to a reunion with people who bullied her all through high school. Chandler kind of got her point, he wouldn't want to do that either. He assumes Monica hoped Rachel wouldn't bring up this topic.

"Yes, I got it. But I'm not going."

"What? Why?" Rachel looks at her, not believing her.

"They all hated me. And I hated them. Why should I go?"

Rachel shrugs. "I guess you're right."

"Who's right?" Phoebe asks as she sits down on the couch.

"Mon doesn't want to go to our high school reunion."

"Why not? I would love to go to my high school reunion!"

"Pheebs, you didn't even go to high school," Ross says matter-of-factly.

"I know!" She rolls her eyes at Ross who doesn't seem to understand her at all. "That's why I would love it."

"Well, my old classmates didn't like me, Phoebe. They hated me and I don't wanna spend time with this kind of people."

"You should definitely go," Phoebe shouts. "Just imagine the look on their faces when they see you now. You look great now and they probably not so much. You could win this after all!"

Chandler chuckles at Phoebe's words. She used the right words to get through to Monica. Her face lights up and she nods. "You're right, Phoebe. I should go. They are gonna be so jealous. They will look at me and realize how much greater I am than them and then they'll cry and they …"

"Mon," Rachel says and waves her hand in front of Monica's face.

"Sorry," Monica blushes. "It's just … sometimes my fat self comes through."

"That's okay," Rachel giggles.

"Mon, I don't think it's important to show your classmates who you are today," Chandler says cautiously. Monica has told him many stories about her time at high school and therefor knows how mean her classmates used to be. He doesn't want her to get hurt.

"Of course I do," Monica says stubbornly. "You are coming too, Rach, right?"

"Oh yes, of course. Ross and I are going together." She looks at her boyfriend.

"Umm, Rach?" Ross begins. "I … I already told you like two weeks ago that I have this thing at the museum and you promised to come with me."

"No," Rachel moans. "It's the high school reunion, Ross. Don't take me to the museum, please!"

"I really have to go, Rach. But if you really wanna go to the reunion you can go with Monica and I'll tell my boss you are sick or something," Ross suggests.

"Oh, you would really do that, Ross? Thank you."

Ross shrugs. "It's okay," he sighs. Chandler chuckles. Poor Ross, Rachel is really good at wrapping him around her little finger.

"So the two of us are gonna go?" Rachel asks Monica, just to be sure.

Monica nods. "Of course we are! I can't wait." Then she jumps up. "I have to look for a dress. On Friday I have to look perfect." With that she runs towards the door.

"She is so competitive," Phoebe says. "It's unbelievable."

Chandler nods. "She definitely is." He couldn't think of her being any other way. Yes, she is competitive and sometimes she really annoys the crap out of him. But to him, she already is pretty much perfect. Not only on the outside, but especially inside. But of course Chandler doesn't say this out loud.

"Guys," Monica shouts excitedly. They just ate dinner at her apartment and Monica has finished washing the dishes now. "Today I finally found the perfect dress for tomorrow!"

Chandler realizes Rachel shooting a glance at Ross. "Umm, Mon?" She then asks.

"Yes?" Monica turns around, because she was already on her way to her bedroom to show everyone her new dress.

"I … I'm not going."

Monica's jaw drops as she looks at Ross and Rachel. "What?" she whispers.

"I … you know how Ross has this thing at the museum. And he said it wouldn't be a problem for me to go to the reunion but the thing is, I felt really guilty afterwards and I don't wanna spend the night without Ross."

Monica's shoulders fall and Chandler's heart goes out to her.

"Please, don't be mad, but I …"

"I'm not mad," Monica says in a whisper. "It's okay. I'm not gonna go either."

"What?" Phoebe and Rachel both say.

"I really don't wanna go all by myself. It won't be fun…"

"I understand that, but you were so looking forward to this. Come on, you can go there!" Phoebe tries to convince Monica.

"Or maybe someone will go with you, you can bring a guest," Rachel suggests.

"That's an idea," Monica's eyes fall on Chandler. "Please?" She asks.

Chandler sighs. "I … I would really love to, but I have to go to this meeting to my bosses house. He told us it's very urgent and we all have to come. Sorry, Mon."

"That's alright, Chandler. What about you, Phoebe? Joey?" She turns to her friends.

"Well, my Friday nights are pretty much all the same," Joey says.

Chandler rolls his eyes. "Does it include sex, Joey?"

"It pretty much doesn't include anything else… if you know what I mean." Joey winks.

Chandler decides to ignore his roommate.

"I have a date, Mon, I'm sorry," Phoebe says. "But if you want I can cancel it."

Monica shakes her head. "No, Pheebs, you don't have to do that. It's not that important anyway." She sighs and sinks down on the couch again. "I'm just gonna stay at home."

"Mon?" Chandler looks into her apartment and sees her sitting on the couch. She is wearing sweats and watching something on tv, but she turns around to look at him.

"Chandler, what are you doing here?"

"Put on your dress!"

"Why?"

"Because we are going to this reunion."

"We are?"

"Of course. You were so looking forward to it and I think you deserve to go. So I'm taking you."

A big smile appears on Monica's face and she jumps up. "Okay, I'm going to get dressed!"

Chandler smiles and walks over to the fridge to get a soda out of it. Then he sits down. The smile he had seen just a few seconds ago was the one he was waiting for since Rachel told Monica that she's not gonna go.

"Chandler?" Monica walks out of her bedroom and Chandler's jaw drops. She is wearing the prettiest dress he has ever seen. He wants to say something, but he's not able to and Monica looks at him with a confused look on his face anyway. "You said you had an important meeting at work today. Did it get cancelled?"

"Not really," Chandler shakes his head.

"So, are you just not going? What did you tell your boss?"

"Wow, Monica, you look beautiful. I guess your old classmates won't believe their eyes when they see you!" Chandler tries to change the subject.

"Chandler?"

"Yes?"

"What did you tell your boss?"

"I told him I have this really important family thing and a grandma who's visiting this weekend and … it was a good story. He believed it right away."

Monica shakes her head, not believing what he'd just said.

"Why did you do that?"

"I know how important the reunion is for you," Chandler simply says.

"Oh, Chandler, thank you," Monica wraps her arms around him and hugs him tightly.

"The truth is," Chandler continues. "I assume your classmates are gonna be really jealous and I can't wait to be unbelievably proud of you and happy because I'm your friend and they are not."

Monica chuckles. "You're so sweet, Chandler. But let's go. I don't wanna be late!"

"Wow," Chandler enters Monica's old school and his jaw drops. There are balloons, lights and posters everywhere. He doesn't know where to look first, because it almost is too much. Many people are standing together in groups, talking and drinking. "My high school didn't look like that. And we weren't allowed to drink alcohol at school."

Monica grins. She has her arm linked with Chandler's so he can give her reassurance. Being here with Chandler is even better than being her with Rachel and Ross, because she would have felt like the fifth wheel with her brother and his girlfriend. But with Chandler it will be fun, that's for sure.

A blonde woman approaches them, her make-up eye-catching.

"Hey, you two, welcome back to Lincoln High!" The smile on her face seems fake.

Monica remembers this girl from somewhere, but can't think of her name. "Thank you."

The girl puts her hand in front of Monica. "I'm Tiffany Luller and I don't seem to remember you, sorry."

Tiffany Luller, Monica fights the urge to roll her eyes. She remembers now. She's a year younger than her, but a lot meaner. Monica takes her hand. "Monica Geller."

Tiffany frowns. "Monica Geller, Monica Geller, … I've heard this name before, I know that much. Monica Geller? Um, sorry, I really don't know."

"That's not a problem. There are a lot of people here today."

"Yes, you're right. The bar is over there, enjoy the party you two," Tiffany says and points to the other side of the room. It's the first time she looks at Chandler, who hasn't said anything yet, and a big smile appears on her face. "Oh, and you are?"

"Chandler," Chandler says and puts his arm around Monica's waist pointedly.

But Tiffany doesn't seem to notice. Or she just doesn't care. "Nice to meet you, Chandler. Maybe we can talk later?" She gives him a wink and disappears.

Chandler turns to Monica. "Did you just see that? She obviously flirted. She flirted, with me!" Chandler is beaming.

Monica rolls her eyes. "She's a bitch. No wonder she couldn't remember my name, she only ever called me Fatty."

Chandler squeezes her shoulder. "Sorry, Mon. But if it makes you feel any better, you look terrific today!"

"Thank you. I'm gonna go to the bathroom, are you okay alone for a bit?"

"Sure. I'm gonna go over to the bar. Can I bring you something?"

"Yes, please. Just bring me something. You know what I like and what don't." Monica smiles. There is no one she trusts as much as Chandler. And not just with her drink. With anything.

Chandler looks after her as she leaves the room, then he turns to the bar. He's just looking through the menu when a voices catches his attention.

"Monica Geller – I know this name. I just can't remember her at all. It's weird. I'm normally really good at stuff like that."

Chandler looks around and sees Tiffany standing there with three other women.

"Monica Geller is here?" One of them asks. "You must have recognize her! It's Fatty, the girl who was a year above us and was like fatter than the four of us together!"

"No," Tiffany shakes his head. "You must be wrong. This girl was really nice to me and she looked okay. No way she's Fatty!"

"You're right. Fatty would never look good," the first girl says. "Maybe she just wanted to make fun of her and that's why she said she's Monica Geller."

All the other women nod. "That's actually really funny," the red-haired woman says. "But Fatty will always be Fatty. A fat girl who has no control over herself. She will always be a loser and ..."

Chandler sees red. He can't believe how the four of them are talking about Monica. "Excuse me," he turns around.

"Oh, Chandler," Tiffany says with a high-pitched voice and grabs his arm. "You came with the girl who said she's Monica, right? That was hilarious, were is she now?"

"Monica is in the bathroom."

"We already know she's not Monica, Chandler."

"She's Monica. And she is the most beautiful woman I've ever known," Chandler says angrily and pulls away from Tiffany. "But not only is she beautiful, she is also talented and worked so damn hard to become the woman she is today. She is the best friend someone could wish for, because she goes above and beyond for her friends. She is a wonderful human being and you are all nothing compared to her. Nothing!"

The four women and also a few people around them went silent during Chandler's speech. They look at him in shock, but suddenly the red-haired woman laughs and the other three join her.

"No way," Tiffany giggles. "You are not talking about the same Monica Geller. We mean this really fat girl, ugly and kind of a loser."

Chandler turns away and looks around the room for Monica. He finds her standing there with a man their age, talking and laughing.

"Hey, Mon, let's go. It wasn't a good idea to come here and I really ..."

Monica shakes her head. "No, Chandler! I just met Will, a friend of Ross'. He was picked at during high school, too, and we are having a really good talk."

Chandler sighs. After his encounter with these horrible women he doesn't really want to stay here longer than needed. But Monica has a big smile on her face and he was never able to refuse her anything.

She turns back to Will just as Chandler sees the horrible women approaching. He sighs. He can't take them again.

"You are really big, fat Monica?" Tiffany asks and Monica turns around, her mouth and eyes wide-opened.

"I better go," Will says and leaves.

"You are Monica? I still can't believe that. You look too skinny," Tiffany wrinkles her nose. "We just got to hear how great you are from your boyfriend ..." Her voice is dripping of sarcasm.

Chandler smiles and takes Monica's hand, but Monica pulls hers away.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Oh," Tiffany says and smiles flirtingly at Chandler. "I thought so." She turns to her friends and starts whispering.

"What did you tell them?" Monica turns around to see Chandler.

He shrugs. "The truth. How wonderful you are." Monica blushes.

"Well, so I think, not much has changed since high school," Tiffany looks back at Monica. "You are still the same loser than you were before."

"Hey, you ..." Chandler begins but Monica stops him by taking his hand.

"Listen, Tiffany, I might not have a boyfriend," Chandler squeezes her hand to reassure her. "but I have awesome friends who I know will be there for me. And they won't just be there for me in the good times when we are having fun, but especially during the bad times when it seems like I'm all alone. When I'm on the lowest I still know that there are five people who care about me and would do anything for me. How is that with you? Are you only friends as long as you have someone to pick at?"

Tiffany looks at the women beside her.

"And I might not have a job right now. But I'm sure I will find one again soon, because I know how good I am in what I do. Because I'm passionate about being a chef and I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be than in a kitchen. Do you have a job that most of the time doesn't even feel like one because you enjoy it so much?"

Tiffany shrugs.

"You told me I'm to skinny and probably you even think I'm ugly. But guess what? I will still be able to look at me in the mirror tonight and know that I'm the woman I want to be whereas you won't even recognize yourself after washing all the make-up off. I feel good when I look in the mirror in the morning, how about you, Tiffany?"

Tiffany blushes.

"If you excuse us now, I really want to start having fun with my friend." With that Monica turns her back on Tiffany and her friends and pulls Chandler with her to the middle of the room where some people already started dancing.

Chandler still hasn't said a word, he's just looking into Monica's eyes.

"What?" She asks.

"You are wonderful!" Chandler simply says.

Monica blushes. "Knowing you stood up for me kinda made me strong enough to do that." She takes his hand and puts it onto her chest. "My heart is racing though." She giggles.

"You are wonderful," Chandler repeats, still not believing what he's just witnessed.

"And you were right!"

"What?"

"Yeah, it wasn't important to come back here to show my old classmates who I became."

"It was fun though, right?" Chandler grins proudly.

"Definitely," Monica laughs and pulls him close to her. "It will take Tiffany and her friends a long time to get over this night."

Snowgirl01 had this idea and I really liked it. It turned out a bit different than she probably thought and even I imagined it different when I started writting it. But I liked the idea of Monica being the strong woman we know and not just hiding behind Chandler.

I haven't gotten lots of time to write lately and when I had the time, I didn't feel like writting. :( I hope this changed again now. Please tell me what you think about this one and if you're interested in more stories for this series or if it's getting boring...