Threatened
Chandler has a date with a beautiful woman and from that moment on he finds himself immersed in a dilemma that, when trying to solve it in the appropriate way, introduces him into a whirlwind of situations, some embarrassing, others intimidating and painful, that he had to unravel, but mainly it brought him the unexpected departure from his best friend.
I hope you catch them, and that you tell me his opinions, through them I know if I'm on the right path.
Remember English is not my native language, I hope the translation is correct, check it, but sometimes I miss some incorrect personal pronouns for the phrase, sorry.
I reiterate, I do not own the characters of Friends I only rely on them for the pure pleasure of writing stories without any economic interest, and Monica and Chandler they inspire me
CHAPTER 1
Friday March 18
It was a normal morning for the gang, as always it had started with a group breakfast in Monica's kitchen. Pancakes with blueberries, everyone's favorite.
"Mon, do you have a night shift today?" Rachel asked.
"Yes, and since it's Friday it's going to be long" she answers.
"And Richard is going to pick you up at the exit?" This time Phoebe asked.
"No, on the days when I have night shift he takes the opportunity to meet up with his friends to play poker, smoke and drink whiskey"
"And what do you two plan to do? well, besides…" Phoebe asked again, but this time addressing Rachel and Ross
"Let's go to the movies, and have dinner before…" Rachel replied, laughing.
"I'm not asking Joey because it's clear as day, but you Chandler, do you want us to go to the movies?" Phoebe told him.
"No Phoebe, I'm sorry, I have a date…"
Everyone looked at him surprised.
"What's wrong, can't I have a date? "It's not such strange."
"No, the strange thing is that you haven't said it before, in general you come dancing with joy for having a date," Ross commented, laughing.
"I don't always do the same thing. I am a train driver who can skip a station"
And who is the lucky one, where did you meet her?" Monica asked, intrigued and a little jealous, she was his best friend, he always told her everything first.
"Her name is Liz, she's a doctor, and I met her at the tennis club bar… she also plays tennis" Chandler said with a smile.
"When did you meet her? Phoebe asked.
"On Sunday afternoon, you were all busy and I went to play tennis, and at the bar we started talking, she gave me her phone number, nothing more," Chandler explained.
"Why did it take you so long to invite her?" Rachel asked.
"I already told you, she is a doctor and she has to cover guards, just today she was free"
"And what's she like, she has a good body, she is well equipped?" Joey asked with a lustful smile.
"Yes Joey, she is beautiful, long light brown hair, tall like Phoebe, green eyes, she is sexy and very nice" Chandler described her with a smile.
"You don't want me to go, or let me know when you're going to run away," Joey said with a laugh that everyone joined in.
Chandler gave them an icy look.
"And where is the date going to be?" Monica asked.
"I made a reservation at "Chess Augusts" a co-worker told me that it is very good, especially for dates, it is quiet, it has booths on the sides that are more intimate and in the center there are few tables…" Chandler explained.
"I wanted to meet it," said Monica, "but Richard told me that he went with some friends and the food wasn't good"
"Mon, I'm not exactly going for the food"
Chandler replied with a mischievous smile.
"You should keep this in mind if you want to impress her, you are not a good gourmet, but maybe she is and will notice the difference" Monica replied.
"Who told you that I'm not a good gourmet, just like you I know how to appreciate good food" Chandler replied.
"Jeez," said Monica, "the only thing you like to eat is macaroni with cheese and sausage, or grilled cheese."
"It's not the only food I like, but when you're 7 years old, it's the maid's day off, it's 10 at night, you're alone at home and no one gave you dinner, you learn to cook for yourself and the easiest thing was the macaroni, of which there were always boxes, cheese and sausages, which was the protein that mom bought for me because you only had to heat them"… "obviously over the years I learned that there are other foods, it's just that "the macaroni brand" stays with you forever . As surely you have the favorite dish that your mother made for you in your sensory memory, the only difference is that I made this one myself," Chandler said.
Everyone stayed silent, they just learned about another episode in Chandler's complicated childhood. Monica never said anything to Chandler, but for everything his mother should have done and didn't, she would like to kick Nora's ass.
Night came, Chandler picked up Liz and once in the restaurant they sat in one of the booths, Chandler sat with his back to the entrance door. The place had a dim light that invited you to lower your voice and enjoy the company.
He liked Liz, she had a good mood, a sweet and sometimes mischievous smile, her voice was soft, Chandler thought the date was going to work.
They were reading the menu when behind him he heard the Maître indicate a waiter. "Johnny, here's Dr. Burke, takes him to the usual table"
Chandler was surprised, kept his head on the menu, and saw Richard pass by accompanied by a tall, young-looking blonde woman, whom he was holding by the waist.
The waiter took them to a booth, on the other side of the restaurant and a little further back. Richard sat with his back to the entrance door, so he couldn't see Chandler, but he was able to observe the couple's movements.
Chandler's head went into confusion, according to Monica he would be playing poker, and he didn't like this restaurant... but there he was with another woman! …Plus he seemed like he was a regular customer.
Chandler couldn't stop watching them, which obviously distracted him from his date. He saw that the woman caressed Richard's hand and he took it, kissed her knuckles and intertwined her fingers.
"This looks really bad," Chandler thought.
The conversation with Liz was interrupted every so often by Chandler's permanent distraction.
"Chandler, something's wrong with you, look, if you're not comfortable, we can leave," Liz said.
"Oh! no, no, sorry, a friend's boyfriend came in with another woman and surprised me," Chandler replied.
"Look, obviously that bothers you, because we don't finish this meal and go somewhere else to have a drink," Liz said.
"Yes, you're right, I'm being rude for not giving you all the attention you deserve, sorry"
As soon as they finished the plate, Chandler paid and they left, but not even the fresh air from the street could cool his head.
When he arrived at his apartment, Joey evidently had not returned, Chandler took off his jacket and tie, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and sat down on the couch.
"What the fuck was I going to do!"
Monica was crazy about Richard, they had been dating for 2 months, and even then, until that day, liked the man very much, he felt that Monica had found the right one to fulfill her dream of getting married and having children, and for Chandler the most important thing in his life was for Monica to be happy.
If he spoke, Monica would lose what seemed to be the love of her life, he would make her unhappy, he would make her cry, he didn't want to see her cry and he didn't want to be the messenger of bad news.
Maybe that woman was nothing important, Richard also seemed very in love with Monica, maybe it was just a silly thing that some men tend to do. Although he was sure that if he were the one with Monica he would never do that to her.
He went to his room, but that night he had trouble sleeping, his head was boiling, what to do?
At the end, in the morning, he decided not to say anything, maybe it was stupid and could ruin Monica's relationship.
Saturday March 19
They all had dates on Friday night, so they all had a late breakfast.
Chandler looked a little tired and haggard, and he wasn't talking much.
"Looks like our boy had a great date, he left you exhausted" Joey said laughing out loud.
"Yes, the date was really surprising," Chandler replied.
"How was the restaurant?" Monica asked.
Chandler thought quickly, if Monica told Richard that he had been to the same restaurant things could get complicated.
"No, I listened to your advice and we went to Jabu," Chandler replied.
"Oh! Seriously, they say it's fantastic, top-notch food, for me it would be fulfilling a dream to work there! What did you eat?"
Chandler looked at her without raising his head from his plate, and he said, "Macaroni with cheese and sausage"
Everyone laughed and Monica gave him a Geller look.
"You're a fool, tell me what you ate"
The truth was that Chandler, in the midst of the mental confusion of the unexpected night, did not even remember what he had ordered, "I ate a very delicious fish," an invention, "but since the name of the dish was in French, for me it is unrepeatable."
"And it was good, it was tasty," Monica asked.
"Yes, it was delicious, we both liked it a lot," Chandler replied.
"Yes, for sure, it is one of the best restaurants in the city," explained Monica.
When they returned to apartment 19, Joey immediately asked Chandler, "And how is Liz in bed?"
Chandler looked at him surprised "Joey, it was our first date, we didn't sleep..."
"Why not? "I sleep on almost all of my first dates," said a surprised Joey.
"Well, not me," Chandler answered with some annoyance.
"OK, then why do you have that face and those dark circles…" Joey said.
"Because the food didn't go down well with me, and it was difficult for me to sleep"
"You should have told Monica that, since according to her Jabu is the best…" Joey said.
"I didn't want to disappoint her, plus I already had a somewhat bad stomach from lunch, maybe it was that, I can't blame it on the last thing I ate yesterday" Chandler answered and went into his room to finish the conversation and lie down on the bed to try to get some sleep.
I know that some of you will think, again Richard in an AU, I understand it, but for this story I needed a strong opponent and no one better than the one who was, for several seasons, Chandler's nightmare. No other Monica boyfriend, not even one new and unknown, among those of us who love Mondler, would have had the necessary power of a good opponent