Despite always being made fun of for it, Monica loved to wake up early in the morning. She enjoys being up before anyone else, having extra time in her day to do everything she had planned, and the general feeling of productivity and being on top of things– but when she wakes up and sees the empty space in the bed next to her, she wishes she never woke up at all.
Somehow, the most inexplicable, unimaginable thing ever happened last night: Monica and Chandler slept together.
How did she let this happen? She could use the wine as an excuse, but she knows neither of them had all that much alcohol in the first place– it was all completely out of their own volition. Instead, she blames it on the heat of the moment.
That's all it was! It was dark and we were sad and it just made sense.
She should have shut the whole thing down right after she kissed him. She should have kicked him out, run her warm bath, and let her skin prune up until the sun rose– but she didn't. Instead, she had sex with the first guy she saw because she got stood up by her date. Monica hated herself for how easy she was to bed; but that brought up another thought, the realisation that while it was Monica who initiated the act, Chandler was the one to continue it. He was just as blameworthy as she was– and it made her wonder exactly what his motives were. Was he just looking for an easy lay after his own personal heartbreak? Monica knows that despite some of Chandler's questionable actions, he would never do such an awful thing; but she can't think of any other reason he'd be willing to sleep with her.
And now, she had to grapple with the aftermath of their affair. Monica had sex with her best friend of several years; with her brother's best friend since college; with her neighbour across the hall. Chandler was already many things to Monica, and now sexual partner was one of them. No– they only had sex once, there was no reason to give him such a grand title just yet, but then what exactly did this make him?
Monica made her way to the living room, somewhat expecting Chandler to be brewing coffee in her kitchen, asking what was for breakfast, or talking about whatever scary dream he had. But the apartment was just like her bed, silent, and with no sight of Chandler. It was early, so thankfully that meant Joey wouldn't have noticed him sneaking back into their apartment. However, that made her wonder if Chandler purposefully woke up before she did to avoid being seen, or if he quickly escaped because he regretted their night together just as much as she did. She hasn't had many one-night stands, but she knows that they usually at least stay for breakfast– maybe she shouldn't be surprised that Chandler, of all people, would run out as quickly as possible.
Ugh, stop thinking about him!
She just needed to focus on herself right now– repeating those words in her head, she carried out her daily routine. After brushing her teeth, taking a cold shower, and changing into a fresh pair of clothes– Monica finally felt clean, having scrubbed herself of most of the guilt she harboured. Most girls wait a while after a breakup before sleeping with another guy, and all Monica needed was five minutes after a phone call; but this wasn't a relationship, it was three dates and a dream– does this loophole excuse her impulsive actions?
She pours herself a bowl of cereal, too lazy to cook anything more fulfilling, and yet again makes do with her solitude. Monica really hates being alone. With an apartment as big as hers, she wishes for there to never be a dull or quiet moment; so she always invites her friends over for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or for nothing more than to enjoy their presence. Perhaps that's why she was so quick to let Chandler into her bed– she knows that sex will keep him around. Except it clearly didn't work, because he was out of her apartment before she could even say "good morning".
Unable to trust herself in the empty confines of her home, Monica decides to head over to Central Perk and join her friends for a morning coffee. Being a Sunday, she didn't have very many plans. During stressful times like this, her first resort would be to vent to Rachel about her boy troubles– but this wasn't just any boy, this was Chandler, so she'd have to take this to her grave.
After leaving her apartment and slowly making her way down the stairs, she noticed all of her friends were already gathered in the little lounge they always kept reserved– all but one. Phoebe, Rachel and Ross sat together on the couch with the couple's arms linked together. Rachel must have been waiting for Monica, because she did a double take once she finally saw her roommate enter the coffeeshop.
"Monica! How was your date?"
Everyone turned their attention to the girl of the hour, and she's forced to come up with a story of how she spent her Saturday night. Just how truthful can she be?
Before she's able to come up with a good fable, Phoebe points towards Monica's neck. "So, you must have had a great time, huh~?"
At first she was confused, but very quickly, Monica realised she somehow missed crucial evidence that incriminates her. A shade of red almost as bright as her sweater spread across Monica's face, as she pulled her turtleneck higher to cover up the bruise just under her jaw that was supposedly left by her date. She let out a nervous chuckle that seemed to confirm everyone's suspicion. This was bad! How was she so distracted by her thoughts that she couldn't even notice the blemish right on her neck?
"Woah woah woah, is that from the guy you've been seein'? You finally did it with him?" Joey leaned over in his armchair to closely inspect the bruise. He was always curious as to how Monica and his other female friends could wait multiple dates before sleeping with their partner.
"No, Joey, she fell down the stairs. Can we talk about something else?" Ross pleaded. He was all for being open with his friends, but he hated when Monica was the topic of conversation– it was simply uncomfortable having to hear about your sister's sexual interactions.
Phoebe gleefully ignored his request. "Tell us everything!"
Monica sat down at the table next to the couch. "Well, you know…it was good." She lied.
Rachel wasn't satisfied with her answer. "Good? That's all?"
Monica was always one to gush about her dates, and explain in great detail just how great– or badly– they went. Everyone would have to clear out their morning schedule to make way for Monica and her ramblings of "Oh, he was so kind!" "Oh, I shouldn't have said that" "Oh, do you think he'll call me?" and every other comment that even slightly entered her mind. So, when everyone knows she's been excited for this date all week, and all she had to say was "It was good", people grew suspicious.
"I mean– there's not much to say. We went out, had dinner, and– I don't think he's going to call me back, honestly" she continued.
"Why wouldn't he call you back if you two had sex?" Asked Rachel. With the conversation deepening, Ross had to cover his ears and muffle out all further discussion.
Monica wished she could answer Rachel's question, but there was only one person who could, and he wasn't around. She looked down at her lap and fiddled with her thumbs. "I don't know. He kind of left without saying anything."
Rachel, as always, was quick with her sympathy; rubbing Monica's arm and going on and on about how this guy was the scum of the Earth and didn't deserve her. Ross chimed in with threats of violence that no one could take seriously, and Monica found light amusement in the irony of the situation– because at any moment, the "scum of the Earth" could walk right in and join their conversation and no one would know. As much as Monica wanted to steer away from him, she couldn't help but fixate on Chandler's absence. It was no coincidence that the one day he decided not to go to the coffee house was the day after they slept together.
Monica began workshopping the question in her mind; how could she ask about his whereabouts without sounding suspicious? Hesitantly, she speaks up,
"Soo… where's Chandler?"
"He's tired– said somethin' about staying up super late." Joey answered. How lucky Chandler was to be able to get by with such a simple lie.
"You think he's still reeling over the cheating thing?" asked Ross, which opened up a conversation surrounding Chandler's most recent relationship, and now Monica couldn't tell which discussion was more unbearable.
As hard as he tried to keep a smile on his face, everyone knew how much Chandler had been struggling recently. It's hard to be cheated on– and in Chandler's case, it's even harder to be cheated on three different times. So maybe that's what he was doing right now; he was crying over his ex-girlfriend, not avoiding Monica! She shouldn't be happy about that, but her posture relaxed as she thought of the possibility of Chandler not caring at all about their encounter. Neither of them should care.
"Heeyy, speak of the devil!" Joey announced. Everyone turned their heads to see that the final friend had finally arrived, and must have had a rough night given the messy hair and deep eyebags.
"Yes, yes, good morning, children." Chandler addressed in his usual fashion, waving to everyone in the room but one. He slowly moved to the centre of the lounge area, unsure of where to sit. With the couch housing three people and Joey taking up the armchair, there was only one place to sit– the side table, next to Monica.
She observed him closely as he hesitated to pull out the chair next to her. He looked around one final time, to see if somehow the couch had magically grown a new seat, and it unfortunately did not, so he was forced to sit next to who Monica assumed was the last person he'd like to see right now. He pulled out the chair with a fair distance from Monica and sat down, trying his best not to make any sort of eye-contact with the girl who was very obviously staring at him.
"Woah! You look awful!" Phoebe's concern didn't translate very well with the big smile on her face, as if failing to suppress a laugh.
"Thanks…so much." Chandler groggily replied. The exhaustion was evident in his voice, which confirmed Monica's hypothesis of Chandler waking up substantially earlier than she did– like many other things, she yearned to know why.
"Morning?" Ross was stuck on Chandler's greeting. "It's barely morning! You woke up very late!"
"No way, Ross! Really?" The sour boy retorted.
"You also woke up later than usual, Monica! What's going on with you two?" Ross interrogated, and while everyone else had assumed he was asking them separately, both Chandler and Monica grew nervous at the mention of them being together. Thankfully, Rachel came to the pair's rescue, excusing their behaviour by pointing out their individual recent struggles in the dating scene.
It was obvious how hard Chandler tried not to look at Monica, and she wondered if in his peripheral vision, he could see her anxiously staring and waiting for him to announce "Monica Geller is a wicked woman who tricked me into sleeping with her! Burn her at stake!".
"So, what were you guys talking about?" Asked Chandler, running his hand through his hair– a habitual action that rarely ever changed anything about his appearance.
The group looked around nervously, meaning Monica no longer stuck out like a sore thumb. They all knew how adamant Chandler had been about not talking about his relationship, or any other struggle he's ever endured, so it was now everyone else's turn to come up with some sort of grand lie.
"We were talking about Monica's date!" Phoebe lied, and if she wasn't already, Monica began praying for lightning to strike down and kill her.
Chandler's eyes widened and his body tensed up– that's what Monica thinks she sees, maybe she's imagining things.
He spoke with a hint of hesitance in his voice. "Hm. You must have had a lot of fun."
"Yeah…" Monica sincerely hoped this would forever be the end of conversations surrounding her and her dating life.
She can't say for sure, but Monica could see the confusion in their audience's expressions. Monica usually rambles in-detail about her dates and Chandler usually asks question-after-question– whether it was out of genuine interest or a search for the opportunity to make fun of Monica's dating failures– their incredibly short interaction was out of character for them.
He fidgeted with the buttons on his cardigan and sat with his leg crossed over the other, taking up as little space as possible; he looked around at his surroundings, which Monica recognized as one of his tell-tale signs that he wanted nothing more than to leave. One of the Central Perk's waitresses came to deliver everyone their coffee, and placed both Monica and Chandler's drinks on the table to take when they were ready. They both reached for their cups, and in doing so, Monica's hand grazed against Chandler's. He quickly rescinded his hand back as if Monica were made of lava. This action did not go unnoticed, with Joey holding a curious look.
"Sorry– M..." Chandler's tongue gets stuck on her name, "-her hands are really cold, for some reason." He still managed not to spare her even a glance.
"Oh my god, it's those cold showers! I don't know how she does it!" Rachel complains. Monica would laugh if it weren't for the crushing confirmation of her concerns; after finally sleeping with Monica, Chandler was completely and utterly disgusted by her.
Could it be that Monica was bad in bed? She didn't live up to his expectations? Or simply the fact that she so easily let him in between her legs, all because another guy stopped giving her his attention? Whatever it was, he was completely icing her out. Monica hoped that Chandler in his usual calm manner wouldn't make a big deal out of their situation; but when he's shaking his leg and tapping his fingers like he's waiting for the day to end, she knows she messed things up. By confronting him, she runs the risk of driving him further away- the only option that she has left is to simply match his energy, move on as if he were just another guy in her life. If that's what Chandler wants, that's what Chandler will get.