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Rachel passively picked up stray paper plates and cups, all the remains of the New Year's Eve party that Monica had insisted she hold at the apartment again. Because the one from five years ago was so great? Rachel had asked her after hearing the news. Rachel still remembered New Year's five years ago, nursing a split lip after a disastrous evening waiting for Paolo the Italian Guy – his full name since Rachel couldn't place his proper last one.
She was still smarting from being told that she was a 'gossip', which was true but still hurt to hear Monica and the others laugh about it. I do not gossip, Rachel stewed, aimlessly reaching for plastic cutlery on the balcony. She could hear Joey call out his traditional, 'How you doin' to one of the final female party guests. Avoiding Joey was another reason to pretend to clean the area. He had been her New Year's kiss, after being pressured (by him) into kissing someone at midnight. Joey had quickly cited her complicated history with Ross as the reason why her only viable choices were him or Chandler; Rachel played along, not wanting to be the only person in the room not kissing someone at midnight. Out of the corner of her eye, as Dick Clark called out the final countdown on the TV, her attention diverted to Ross, who was standing with Phoebe. If Ross had been standing alone, Rachel could have stolen away with him to the bathroom or some other area, not to kiss but just to hide out. But with Phoebe kissing Ross, Rachel felt her fate for the moment had been sealed.
It was a nice enough kiss if Rachel had thought about it, maybe a bit too strong coming from Joey's end, and it would have ended perfectly if he would have just let the moment rest. Instead he asked, if it 'did anything for her', prompting Rachel to back away very quickly. By then the guests were beginning to leave, midnight had come, and 1999 was upon them.
"Want some help?"
A familiar and friendly voice brought a smile to Rachel's mouth. "Well since you're offering," Rachel said, passing Ross a large bag filled with trash. "I would love a break."
"Sure," Ross smirked, quickly grabbing up the remains on the balcony while Rachel sat on one of the chairs.
"I guess Monica roped you into cleaning duty too."
"She's got a final job for everyone – except for all of the guests that don't live in the building."
Rachel nodded her head. "That was a great resolution you made back there – wanting to do something new every single day."
"Last year was just so, so complicated," Ross explained, taking a seat next to her. "The divorce isn't final yet, my living situation is a mess, I'm not working…"
"Hey," Rachel stopped him, raising an index finger. "I bet in six months, you will be back at the museum – or somewhere better, and not be living across the hall with Chandler and Joey. Not that I don't enjoy seeing you live close by," she added quickly.
Ross playfully bumped his knee with Rachel's. "Thanks. It's just so crowded over there – that space is not meant for three people."
"You don't have to tell me that, I lived there," Rachel laughed, referring to the short stint of apartment switching that took place the previous year. "I'm surprised Mr. Treeger hasn't condemned that section of the building yet."
"It has some good moments; I get to spend more time with you guys." Ross twiddled his fingers on the armrest. "You know I wouldn't have gotten through everything with Emily these past few months if it wasn't for you all."
Rachel took a deep breath. "Even me?" she asked hesitantly.
Ross pivoted to meet Rachel's eyes. "Especially you."
Rachel reached for Ross' hand. "I feel like I caused so much drama for you last year. Introducing you to Emily because I was blowing off a promise I made to my boss, going to London and the honeymoon, sticking around as a third wheel in…in whatever life you were trying to create with her."
Ross squeezed Rachel's hand. "I created my own drama by rushing into things with Emily – we went away for a weekend after our first date! Who does that?"
"Well, if you meet the right person…."
"Emily was not the right person for me," Ross cut in. "If she was, I would have said her name at the wedding – whether you were there or not. Either way, it would have ended badly."
Rachel squeezed Ross' hand back. "I would have left for you, so that you and Emily could have had a future."
Ross coughed. "I can't have a future without you in it – as a friend," he added quickly, not wanting to scare her off.
"I feel the same way," Rachel said, still holding his hand. "Letting you go, would have been the hardest thing to do."
"But you would have?"
"Because I thought it was what you wanted."
Ross shook his head. "Having you in my life, is worth the second divorce, which will hopefully be finalized this month so that I can put it past me and start over. I've never had an overseas divorce before."
"That's one more new thing," Rachel smiled. "Plus, you're guaranteed fifty bucks from Chandler – there's no way he's not gonna be able to not make fun of us."
"Best bet ever," Ross laughed, hi-fiving Rachel. "Have you given any thought to your resolution yet?"
Rachel pursed her lips together. "I think Monica already decided it for me."
"No way," Ross waved his hand in a 'stop motion'. "You get you choose your own resolution. And I do not think you are a gossip."
"Really?" Rachel asked, perking up.
"You care about your family, your friends, and your coworkers. You like to talk a lot sure, but gossip has an extra layer of malicious intent that you don't have," Ross explained. "You're more of an information sharer than anything."
"Like Ted Koppel?" Rachel asked.
"Well I think you favor more human interest stories than he does," Ross added gently.
"I am interested in humans," Rachel admitted, nodding, not detecting Ross' light teasing.
Ross tried hard not to laugh at his friend. "So I saw you and Joey kissing when the ball dropped."
"And I saw you with Phoebe," Rachel countered.
"Should I be buying a wedding present for you and Joey anytime soon?" Ross joked.
Rachel scrunched up her nose. "No way. Although I think I found my resolution for the year." Ross waited for Rachel to continue. "I want to be single for a while, even if it's only for the month."
"Any special reason why?"
"Well, I spent so much of last year, thinking about 'us' and shoehorning myself into a relationship with someone – anyone, that I didn't spend much time just thinking about what it means to be alone."
"You were alone for a while when you moved here a few years ago."
"I was, and then I met Paolo. But this month, I really want to focus on what I'm looking for in someone."
Ross nodded. "Well I hope you find what you need."
"Me too." Rachel opened her mouth to say more, but was cut off by Monica.
"Just how much of the mess is the balcony anyway? You two have been out here forever!" Monica shouted.
"We're just about done," Rachel called out. "We should probably get inside."
"Agreed," Ross said, grabbing the bulk of the trash, eying Chandler going through the garbage disposal near the sink. "Hey I just realized again, if I kissed Phoebe, and you kissed Joey, that means that Chandler kissed…."
"Oh stop," Rachel quickly brushed him off, opening the door with her free hand. "Their kiss was just as meaningless as everyone else's."
"You think so?" Ross asked, gesturing to Chandler sticking his hands into the disposal to dig out the remnants of the party. "Chandler is working pretty hard in there."
"Well Monica runs a tight ship," Rachel reasoned. "Jobs for everyone."
"Yeah," Ross said, still not convinced. "If Chandler ever did try anything, do you what I would do?"
"Something new that you've never done before?" Rachel suggested.
Ross shook his head. "Some things are just too impossible to be true."
Rachel and Ross gathered the trash bags and walked down to the main trash chute in the building, neither one noticing Chandler and Monica sharing glances at each other over a collection of music CDs.
For the group of six, the year would be filled with new possibilities, people, and places, but one thing would remain the same, they would still be in each other's lives.