A/N: I know I say this in every single note, but it deserves to be said over and over again, thank you so much to all my readers/reviewers! This chapter is on the longer side, if I'm remembering right it might even be the longest one to date on this story. While I was proofreading I realized it's also probably one of the first chapters that have a good mix of pairings. The whole group is a major one, but also the friendships between just the girls, just the guys, Roschel, and of course Mondler. It's really what I had in mind for this story, so it worked out pretty well that this one had a little bit of everything. But enough with my ramblings, I'll let everyone get to it before this also becomes the longest note. Let me know what you think, and enjoy!

Chandler couldn't push aside the unnerving feeling he'd had since yesterday morning. He wasn't sure what happened at breakfast that seemed to shift Monica's mood, but now he was stuck having to wonder what he could have possibly done wrong. The thought also crossed his mind that maybe there was nothing wrong, maybe it was just the way his mind worked when he had something good going for once, and he was just reading way too much into it.

"Alright, see you soon." Chandler said, hanging the phone back up on the wall before walking out into the living room where Ross and Joey sat playing video games. "That was Rachel. She said they are leaving in a couple minutes, so we probably have at least twenty minutes before they even step foot out of her house." He joked, getting a chuckle from both of them.

"I'm gonna grab a shower quick before they get here." Ross said, setting his controller on the coffee table as he stood up.

"Dude." Joey said, looking up at him from the couch. "Y'know she has a boyfriend now, you don't have to keep trying to impress her."

"I'm not trying to impress her, I'm just sweaty so I wanna shower."

"All we've done since we got up was play Duck Hunt on the Nintendo." Chandler pointed out.

"Yes. And I get nervous about keeping my high score when I'm playing, which makes me sweat." Ross said, speed walking out of the room before they could mock him more.

"Hey." Joey said, a grin spread across his face. "Wanna mess up Ross' high score while he's gone?"

"Oh yeah." Chandler said as he climbed over the back of the couch and sat down, grabbing the controller to resume the paused game.

"Do you think he is ever gonna get over Rachel? You'd think after all this time he would have given up, I know I would have."

"Joe, any girl that doesn't cave the first time you ask them out, you've already forgotten about by the next day."

"Still, doesn't it seem crazy that it's been like, what, over two years now, and he's still hung up on her?" Joey asked, getting a shrug in response. "Like with you and Monica, you're not still pining over her. You accepted it was never going to happen and you moved on."

"Yeah, that's what I did." Chandler said, looking back at the television.

"And good thing too, now you get to be friends with her without all the problems that people that are dating have."

"Well, I wouldn't say we don't have any problems." Chandler said, setting down the controller and sitting back on the couch. "The last couple days Monica has been acting differently."

"How so?"

"I don't know, something just feels off between us. Like I expected her to be the one to call and say they were on the way, but it was Rachel."

"What does that matter? She probably called because she is the one driving."

"I guess it doesn't matter. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but she was acting distant all during class yesterday too. I'd try talking to her, or making a joke, and she would hardly even respond."

"I wouldn't take it personally, man. Girls always get into weird moods, she's probably just having guy trouble or something." Joey said, patting him on the shoulder. "I'd ignore it, and just be happy you're not her boyfriend so you don't gotta take care of it."

"Yeah." Chandler said with a fake laugh, turning his attention back to the game.

Over across town the girls pulled up to a gas station, thanking the few drops of gasoline left in the tank for getting them there while the light flashed empty. Rachel drove up next to the pump, parking much too close.

"Mon, you got enough room to get out on that side?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, sure." Monica said, looking at the close proximity. "I'll just climb out the window if I have to."

"Here, tell them we're at pump four." Rachel said, handing her over a ten dollar bill.

"All right." Monica said, opening her door slowly and squeezing out.

"Oh, I wanna come in too." Phoebe said, hopping out from behind the driver's seat.

"Do you have to use the bathroom?" Monica asked as Phoebe came up beside her and they started walking through the parking lot.

"No. I'm just thinking if she pumps gas anything like she drives I'd rather be as far from the car as possible." Phoebe said, making her chuckle as they opened the doors and went inside.

Monica stepped up to the counter as the person in front of them left, setting the money on the counter. "Ten on pump four, please." She said, the cashier grabbing the cash and entering it into the machine.

"Receipt?" She asked, holding it out to her.

"Thank you." Monica said, taking it from her and giving a thumbs up to Rachel who was waiting to start pumping.

"We should get some snacks in case Chandler doesn't have anything to eat at his house."

"Yeah, good idea. Knowing him he probably has a bunch of expired leftovers in his fridge." Monica said, the both of them walking around the store to look for things to buy.

After they stocked up on a variety of foods to bring with them, they checked out then headed back out into the parking lot. Walking up to the pump they noticed Rachel standing outside, her back resting up against her driver's side door.

"Rach, why aren't you back in the car yet?" Monica asked, both of them coming up to her.

"Yeah, it's freezing out here." Phoebe said.

"Are you okay?" Monica asked, noticing a hurt look on her face. When she didn't respond she followed her gaze over to a motorcycle that was parked a couple pumps over.

Phoebe caught on and looked over as well, her mouth opening in surprise. "Is that Chip?" She asked, looking at the guy as he climbed back onto the bike and another girl wrapped her arms around him.

"I can't believe he would do this to you." Monica said, looking back at her friend. "I'm so sorry, Rach."

"It's fine." Rachel said, finally looking away from him. "Let's just go."

"You are sure?"

"Yes." Rachel said, opening her door. "The guys are waiting for us."

"Rachel." Phoebe started.

"I'm okay, really. Let's just get out of here." She said, climbing into her seat and slamming the door shut.

Both girls hurried back into the car, Phoebe taking the shopping bags with her into the back seat. Without a word Rachel started the car and took off out of the parking lot, going out to the street and coming up on a red light. She stopped the car and they all sat there, hoping the light would change soon and break the complete silence of the stilled car. Noise did fill the air, but in the form of Chip's motorcycle pulling up right beside the passenger side.

"Of course." Monica said to herself, rolling her eyes at the fact it was being rubbed in her face again. She glanced over at Rachel, a tortured look spread across her face as she tried not to look over at them. She looked back at the bastard that was hurting her best friend, and the slut from their school that knew he had a girlfriend. "Pheebs, how attached are you to your iced tea?"

"Why?" Phoebe asked, noticing the expression on Monica's face as she looked back at her while rolling down the passenger window. "Oh." She said, removing the lid and straw from her cup before handing it up to her.

"Hey, Chip." Monica yelled, getting his attention.

"Monica, Monica, what are you doing?" Rachel said, looking over at her.

"This is for hurting our best friend." Monica said, chucking the full cup of liquid at him.

"Green light." Phoebe said, pointing to the light. "Go, go."

Rachel took off quickly and left him far behind while he tried to clear all of the sticky substance from his face. "You two are crazy!" She yelled as she looked at both of them in the mirror, a smile forming on her face the more she thought of it. "And I love you guys." She added, getting a hand set on each shoulder from her friends.

Not long after they entered into a neighborhood that began with a stone entrance, each house they passed inside was just as beautiful as the one beside it. Driving up a ways they came up to a house with a brick mailbox, the numbers matching the ones on the sheet of paper in Rachel's hand.

"This is Chandler's house?" Phoebe asked, admiring it as they pulled into the driveway.

"I hope so, it's the address he gave me." Rachel said, putting the car into park and turning it off.

"Man, had I known I'd become friends with a bunch of rich kids I would have asked to transfer schools earlier."

"Phoebe, I'm not rich." Monica pointed out.

"Your toilet doesn't have a pedal you step on to flush it, you're rich to me." Phoebe said, taking off her seatbelt and climbing out with the shopping bags.

Monica did the same, closing her door behind her as she stared at the home in front of them. The Chandler that she had gotten to know didn't live in a place like this, at least not in her mind. She was not shy about being around rich people, hell, Rachel had been her best friend most of her life and her house was even fancier than this one. But Chandler was so down to earth, and she couldn't remember him once talking about money aside from the occasional joke. She thought she knew the exact person he was, now she was starting to realize she didn't really know anything about his life.

"Mon, you coming?" Phoebe asked, both her and Rachel looking back at her as they started to walk up to the front door.

"Yeah." Monica said, following behind them as they got up to the door and rang the bell.

"Hey." Joey said, answering the door. He stepped aside and left room for them to all pass by. "Come in, we're in the living room."

Monica walked in last behind them all, glancing around as they headed into the living room. "Where's Chandler?" She asked, noticing he was the only one who wasn't in the room.

"He went to get a dustpan to clean up the broken controller." Joey said, nodding to the coffee table where scattered shards of plastic laid.

"What happened to it?" Phoebe asked.

"We messed up Ross' score while he wasn't in the room, and when he came back and saw it he threw the thing down on the table so hard it busted into pieces." Joey said, laughing as he explained it.

"Ross." Monica said with a scolding tone, looking over at her brother. "You broke Chandler's controller?"

"I didn't mean to, the thing just exploded when I dropped it onto the table, and I already apologized."

"Well you can pay him back for it now with your leftover birthday money."

"Don't worry about it." Chandler said, walking back into the room with a dustpan and small brush in hand. "Seeing his reaction when his high score was gone was more than worth it. Besides, that controller had a sticky T pad anyways." He said as he cleaned up the broken pieces.

"When I brought up the controller sticking you said I was crazy, that the controller was fine." Ross said, looking over at his friend as a smirk spread across his face. "Yeah, keep smiling. I'll break the good ones next."

Chandler's smile dropped, then he walked to the trash and threw out the pieces. When he walked back he looked over at the girls, glancing mostly at Monica. "You have any trouble finding the house? You called like half an hour ago."

"We stopped at the gas station, and we got a little side tracked looking for snacks." Phoebe said, looking over at Rachel.

"Among other things." Rachel whispered, taking a breath.

"Snacks?" Joey asked, kneeling on the couch to try and get a better view of the bags in Phoebe's hand. He watched as she dug through one of them, pulling out a snack size bag of Doritos and tossing it to him. "Oh, thanks." He said, turning around and sitting on the couch as he opened them up.

"Do you have anything to drink?" Rachel asked, glancing over at Chandler

"Ah, I got sodas, or water." Chandler said. "What are you girls feeling like?"

"I was thinking something stronger than that."

"My mom locked up her liquor cabinet because we kept stealing the good whiskey while she was gone."

"Wow, I bet she was mad when she figured that out." Ross said.

"Yeah, but only because there wasn't any left for her to drink when she got home." Chandler said, shrugging. "But come to think of it, her boyfriend's son stayed here last week and he left a couple cases of beer in the fridge out in the garage."

"Where's your garage?" Rachel asked.

Ross stood up from the chair he was sitting in and looked over to her. "I know where it is, I'll show you." He said as he gestured for her to follow him, which she did.

Chandler waited till they were out of the room then looked back at Monica, talking quietly. "What's going on with Rachel?" He asked, Phoebe answering him when Monica didn't say anything.

"We saw Chip on the way over here."

"Let me guess, he wasn't really helping his grandmother move?"

"Not unless his grandma looks suspiciously like Erin Meyers, and likes to ride on the back of his motorcycle with her arms wrapped tightly around him."

Out in the garage Rachel lifted out one of the cases of beer, setting it on top of the shelf next to the fridge. She tore open the side of it, pulling out one of the cans and opening it up. She took a few quick swigs of it before looking back at Ross who was staring over at her.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Are you okay?" Ross asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm perfect." Rachel said, putting on a fake smile. "Tonight should be perfect too, we're all here to have a good time. I shouldn't have to worry about any being tied down by anything. Not to school, not to my parents, and definitely not to men." She said, stepping toward him and resting her free hand on his shoulder while grasping the fabric of his shirt as she spoke. "I just wanna have some fun tonight, let off some steam, y'know, get crazy."

Ross swallowed hard, nodding his head as he looked at how close she was to him. "That, that sounds nice."

Rachel loosened her grip and patted on his shoulder a couple times. "Grab that other case too, we're gonna need it." She said, turning back and grabbing the open case. She tucked it under her arm then started to walk back into the house.

"Got it." Ross said, pulling the other case out of the fridge and hurrying to catch back up with her.

Back in the living room Phoebe walked over and took a seat next to Joey on the couch, putting the bags on the coffee table to show him all the stuff they got from their gas station trip. Chandler noticed Monica start to walk over toward the couch as well, but he stepped in the way before she could, and kept her out of ear shot from the other guests.

"Hey. Is everything alright?" Chandler asked, lightly setting his hand on her arm.

"Yeah." Monica said, shrugging. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know. It just seems like you've been," He paused, thinking of a word. "Different."

"Nothing's different. Things are exactly the same as they have always been, and I'm assuming that's how they are gonna stay."

"I'm sorry, but that answer sounds like it has some hidden meaning behind it, and since I can't figure it out could you do me a favor and let me know what's bothering you, please?"

"Not everything is a secret, Chandler."

"Now what does that mean? What is going on?"

"I told you, everything is fine." Monica said, walking away from him and over to the couch.

"Mon," Chandler said. He wasn't sure if it was too quiet for her to hear him, or she was choosing to ignore him. Either way, their conversation didn't help him feel any better about the whole situation.

"Who wants a beer?" Rachel asked, walking back into the room with Ross.

"I'm gonna hold off awhile, I promised myself I'd wait till I was in my forties to start drinking before five pm." Phoebe said, looking at the clock. "But check back with me in twenty minutes."

"I'll take one." Joey said, taking the can from her.

"Yeah, me too." Monica said, holding out her hand and taking one as well.

"Monica!" Ross and Chandler said in unison, both in a scolding tone.

Chandler glanced awkwardly at his friends as they all looked over to him, wondering why he was reacting so much. "Monica's drinking, woohoo!" He said, pumping a fist to fake excitement. "I, ah, I didn't think she was going to. It's gonna be fun to see."

"It is." Phoebe said. "Drunk Monica is the best, so much better than regular Monica." She said, getting a glare from Monica.

"You've drank before?" Ross said, sounding less enthused by the second.

"Chill out, Ross, I know you've drank before too." Monica said.

"Have not."

"So last Fourth of July when you came back from the firework show you didn't throw up in the toilet for an hour, then spend the rest of the night passed out on our bathroom floor?"

"I had too much cotton candy, it gave me a stomach ache."

"Ah, ha, and what about all the beer bottle caps I found in your jeans when I washed them?" Monica pointed out, her brother looking down at his feet shamefully. "Exactly." She said, popping open the cap on her can and taking a sip.

Chandler looked over at her a moment. "I'll take one of those too." He said as he took a step towards Rachel. "Actually, I'll take the whole case."

"Your parents never taught you how to share, did they?" Phoebe asked.

"I mean I'll take the case to the kitchen and put it in the fridge." Chandler said, grabbing it from his friend. "And if everyone is hungry I can order some pizza for dinner, help coat our stomachs a little." He said, everyone agreeing. "Okay, Ross and I will put these cases in the kitchen fridge, and Joey, you can come help us order the pizzas."

"You need Joey's help to order pizzas?" Rachel asked, looking over at him curiously.

"Well, he's the expert." Chandler said, all three of the guys walking to the kitchen. "Rachel and Chip are over with."

"What?" Ross asked, turning around and almost dropping the case of beer he was holding.

Joey quickly grabbed ahold of it and took it out of his hands. "Maybe should have waited till these were in the fridge to tell him that." He said, opening the fridge and setting it inside.

"Wait, are you serious? They broke up?" Ross asked while Chandler walked over and set the open box in the fridge, grabbing out two cans before closing it.

"That's what the girls said while you were in the garage with her." Chandler said, handing him one of the beers. "Apparently Chip cheated on her."

"That's why she was acting so weird in the garage."

"Weird? Weird how?" Joey asked.

"She was acting all upset, then when I asked her if she was okay she lied and said she was, even though I could tell she wasn't."

"Women are great at that trick." Chandler said, glancing out into the living room at Monica.

"Then she was telling me that she wanted to have fun tonight, without being tied down by anyone else."

"Dude, you're in." Joey said.

"What?" Ross asked, confused. "In what?"

"It's time for you to swoop in." Joey said, gesturing his hand like swooping. "You gotta make sure now that Chip is out of the picture, you are the first guy that Rachel sees."

"But she already saw both of you guys too."

"Not like sees, sees. The first guy that she sees having a relationship with after him, the one that she can see being everything that Chip's not."

"He's right." Chandler said, chiming in. "She just had her first big break-up, she's distraught. So you are there for her, and you pick up the pieces." He said, setting his hands on the back of Ross' shoulder and ushering him out of the kitchen. "Now go get her."

Ross walked slowly back into the living room, noticing Rachel sitting on the arm chair while the other two girls sat on the couch talking. "Hey, Rach." He said, kneeling down next to the chair. "I heard about you and Chip, I'm really sorry he did that to you."

"You two told everyone?" Rachel said, glaring over at her friends.

Phoebe glanced awkwardly over to the kitchen where Joey was on the phone. "I should go let Joey know I don't eat meat, so he can order me a vegetarian pizza."

Monica watched her friend stand up then did the same. "And I should go too in case she needs help explaining to Joey what a vegetarian is." She said, both of them hurrying out of the room.

"I'm sure you didn't want everyone to know, but I'm glad we do. I can't imagine you having to go through this alone." Ross said, setting his hand on her knee sympathetically. "I'm always here for you if you need anything."

"There is something you can do for me actually."

"Yeah, what's that?" Ross said, a small smile forming.

"Could you grab me another beer? I already finished this one and it gave me a bit of a head rush, I don't really wanna walk to the kitchen right now."

"Ah, yeah." Ross said, standing back up. "You can have this one." He said, handing her his.

"You aren't going to drink it?"

"Chandler handed it to me, but I don't think I wanna drink tonight."

"If you're not drinking to keep an eye on Monica, I'll warn you she doesn't do anything crazy when she's drinking. All the times she has drank have been around me."

"All the times?" Ross asked.

"Now is when I'd normally come up with a story to lie and cover for her, but since she told you guys about Chip I think we're pretty much even."

"If we're both being honest I'm not that worried about her, I know she's smart enough to handle it. I just don't feel like drinking, in case it becomes one of those nights I don't want to forget."

"Well, tonight is definitely a night I wanna forget." Rachel said, popping open the new can of booze.

The rest of the evening went by fairly smoothly, all things considering. The gang had gathered back in the living room for their big pizza dinner, and followed it up with a few hours of poker, then talking when they grew bored of cards. As it ticked past midnight they all decided it was a good time to head off to bed, that, and the worry if Rachel had digested any more liquor their night would end in a trip to the emergency room. The boys went to the bedrooms upstairs, Chandler using his room and leaving each guest room for the other guys. The girls took the pool house, Monica agreeing to sleep on the sofa couch in the living room of it so both her much tipsy friends could have their own room for the night.

Not long after they all separated Ross went back downstairs to get a glass of water. On his way to the kitchen he stopped, looking out the glass patio doors. He squinted his eyes, walking closer to them to look outside before opening one of the doors.

"Rach?" Ross said, stepping outside onto the cold cement.

"Hey, Ross!" Rachel said, smiling back at him from where she was sitting on a pool lounger.

"What are you doing out here?" Ross asked, closing the door behind him and walking further outside.

"Monica was in the bathroom washing her face before bed, so I snuck into the house to use the downstairs one."

"That doesn't explain why you are sitting outside."

"Oh, when I came back out here it just looked like such a nice night out that I wanted to sit and enjoy it." Rachel said, patting on the lounger next to her. "Come enjoy it with me."

"Rach, it's freezing cold out."

"Then you can hold me and keep me warm."

Ross paused, taking a second to talk himself out of the idea of that before continuing. "As appealing as an offer that is, you should really get back inside and get to bed." He said, holding his hand out to her. " Come on, I'll help you."

"Fineee." Rachel whined, taking his hand to pull herself up. As soon as she got to her feet she started to lose balance and he caught her in his arms, then she grinned up at him and held onto him tighter as they started to move. The whole walk back to her room felt like a challenge, her being little help to Ross as she stumbled every few seconds while she stared at him instead of watching where she was going.

"Here we go, we made it to your room." Ross said, leading her inside the bedroom he had carried her bags from her car into after supper.

"This isn't my room." Rachel said, looking around. "Where's my Shaun Cassidy poster?"

"We are still at Chandler's house, this is your room for tonight."

"Oh, okay." Rachel said, reaching a hand back and slapping the bedroom door closed.

"It's a room next to the ones you are sharing with Monica and Phoebe, so maybe less of the door slamming shut."

"Sorry." Rachel said, putting her index finger to her lips. "Shhh."

"Only a few more steps, okay?" Ross said, walking her over to the bed and helping her down onto it. "I'm gonna take your now very dirty slippers off." He said, looking at the black bottoms of her white slippers. "I think these were meant more as an indoor footwear." He said, pulling each of them off before helping her lay back on the bed.

"Thank you." Rachel said, gazing up at him as he looked around the room.

"It looks like someone already got you some water, so make sure you drink it." Ross said, scooting the glass closer to her on the nightstand. "And I'm not sure where Chandler keeps any aspirin, but I'll ask him in the morning and bring some down for you."

"Ross, I'm trying to thank you."

"You're welcome." Ross said, finally looking down at her. "You want the covers on you?"

"Sure." Rachel said, waiting for him to grab the blankets beside her before leaning her head up towards his.

Ross caught a glance of her lips heading towards his and jerked his head to the side to avoid them, then when she set a hand on his face to try and turn it back he stood back up quickly. "Rach, we can't do this."

"Why not?" Rachel asked, looking up at him.

"You're not thinking straight right now."

"What are you talking about?" Rachel said as she sat back up, kneeling on the bed and setting her hands on his shoulders to keep her balance. "I've never thought straighter."

"You can't even sit up straight, there is no way that is true." Ross said, watching her as she stared down at his lips again. "We can't. I'm sorry, I just don't think this is a good idea. With everything that happened with Chip, and all the drinking, you're feeling vulnerable and I just don't feel it would be right. I'd feel like I'd be, you know, taking advantage of you."

"Taking advantage? I'm giving you the advantage, enjoy it!"

"Look, I'm sure it would be great, really really great-" He paused, taking a moment to kick himself for turning this down. "But I think one of us has to be thinking clearly right now."

"This isn't fair. Chip can sleep with other people, so why can't I too?"

"Because, I'm not just other people to you." Ross said, taking her hands off of him. "Get some sleep, Rach. It will all seem better in the morning." He said, turning away from her and leaving the room before she had time to say anything else. He closed the door softly behind him, holding onto the doorknob a few extra seconds while he took a deep breath.

"What are you doing coming out of Rachel's room?" Monica asked, looking over at him from where she was making up the couch bed.

"Ah, I was helping her back to bed. She came into the house to use the bathroom, I was worried she had too much to drink to make it back here safely." Ross said, walking over into the living room with her.

"That's really sweet, thank you for helping her." Monica said, grabbing her pillows and tossing them on the bed. "I feel so terrible for her, she really liked him."

"She shouldn't have, that guy is a jerk. She needs to be with a guy that knows what he has when he's got it, and one that will be completely honest with her about everything."

"You really think anyone is completely honest with the person they are with?" Monica asked, sitting down on her bed.

"I don't know." Ross said with a shrug. "They should be. Don't you think?"

"Yeah." Monica said, simply.

"Well, I'm gonna get to bed." Ross said, pointing toward the door. "I'll wait till tomorrow to give you your lecture about drinking."

"I'll mark it on my calendar." Monica said, smiling at her brother. "Night."

"Goodnight." Ross said, heading out of the pool house and leaving her sitting alone.

Once silence filled the room she was left to only her thoughts. To the rest of the group tonight had been a fun time with friends, but to her it was not even close to that. She had used all her energy avoiding Chandler, and pretending that nothing was wrong. She could tell he knew she was lying, if the way he kept looking over to her wasn't a big enough clue, he had also gone out of his way to ask her several times. She felt bad for shutting him out, but the whole time she couldn't decide if it would be proper to tell a guy she had only been dating for a month now that she wasn't happy with how closed off he was when it came to his personal life. She really cared for him, and she was sure he felt the same way, but some part of her worried that if she brought up a problem that it could complicate what they had together, and he might want out. Another part of her worried if he was really ever in it like she thought he was. If he wasn't willing to share details of his past with her, was he willing to share any of his life with her?

Her brother's words echoed in her head. He was right, it should be as easy as just being honest with the person you are with. With that thought she stood up, grabbing her housecoat and putting it on before heading out of the pool house.

She hurried into the house, not only because of the chill in the air, but also so she wouldn't be seen out anyone's window as she snuck inside. Once inside she crept quietly through the darkened downstairs, finding her way to the staircase and walking up them. When she got into the hallway she realized a problem she hadn't thought all the way through before she made the journey in here, she didn't know where his bedroom was.

'Just another thing I don't know about him.' She thought to herself, getting ready to give up and go back to bed when she heard a door click open. Hiding behind the banister she watched as Chandler walked out of what she was assuming was a bathroom by the big mirror on the wall, and back into the room across from it.

She waited a moment to make sure neither of the other guys came out into the hallway to see what the noise was, then she ran gingerly over to his door. She considered going right inside to avoid getting caught, but she couldn't bring herself to barge into his bedroom, so she settled for a very light knock.

"Come in." Chandler said from inside his room and Monica took that as her cue to go inside, shutting the door right behind her. "Oh, I assumed you were Joey asking me if he could finish the rest of the pizza." He said, glancing over at her as he set his newly discarded jeans in the hamper leaving him in only his boxers and tee shirt.

"I'm sorry, I can come back if you're changing." Monica said, trying to look only above his shoulders.

"It's fine, this is what I sleep in." Chandler said, taking off his watch and setting it on his dresser. "What are you doing up in the house? I thought you already went to bed."

"I was going to, but then I washed up and talked to Ross awhile, then I just kept thinking about things." Monica said, biting at her lip nervously.

"I know you said everything is okay, but I know something is bothering you." He said, walking over and stopping right in front of her. "So, what's wrong?"

Monica swallowed hard, looking straight into his eyes as she spoke. "Why don't I know anything about your life before we met?"

"There isn't anything special about it to tell you." Chandler said, trying to brush it off.

"Seventeen years of your life, and there is nothing you want to tell me about?" Monica asked then he shrugged as if none of it mattered. "Were you lying when you said this, us-" She paused, gesturing between the both of them. "Were you lying when you said that you were in it for the long run?"

"Mon, what are you talking about?" Chandler said, sounding hurt that she could think that. "Why would I have been lying about that?"

"Because most boyfriends don't hide their entire past from their girlfriends, most of them tell them about their parents careers, or where they live, or just anything about them. So if this all isn't as serious to you as it is to me, and you are just messing around, then please, just tell me right now."

Chandler reached over and grabbed her hand, taking it into his. "Come here." He said, walking her with him to the bed and sitting the both of them down on the end of it. "I'm not just messing around with you, I care about you too much for that. I didn't tell you about my mom, or my life in general really, because-" He paused, taking a deep breath. "Because, that kind of stuff is a sore subject for me. My parents, and my life growing up, it was a mess. And I spend most days doing everything I can think of to push those memories away. I guess I didn't think about how important those things would be to share with you, and from now on I'm gonna try my best not to keep them from you." He said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my mom being an erotic writer." He said, smirking over at her.

Monica looked over at him with her teary eyes, shaking her head as she chuckled. "Now that you say it I can understand why that might have been hard to tell me." She said, then gazed over at him as he reached up and wiped a tear away from her cheek. "I'm sorry I freaked out on you."

"It's all right. But if this is gonna work you're going to have to be honest with me too, you can't freeze me out like you did the last couple days."

"I won't." Monica said, the both of them smiling at each other before he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "While we are being honest, I'm sorry I spoiled the weekend."

"It was still alright, at least I won nineteen bucks in poker."

"I meant the other weekend you had planned."

"What do you mean?" Chandler asked, confused.

"Yesterday when you asked about this weekend, I knew that you only meant me coming over."

"You did?"

"Yeah." Monica said with a nod. "I guess I just got scared about being all alone with you in an empty house."

"Do you not feel comfortable with being alone with me?" Chandler said, taking his hand off of her while he waited for her reply.

Monica was quick to take his hand back into hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "No, I feel more comfortable with you than anyone else."

"What is it then?"

"I'm not sure I can trust myself when I'm around you." Monica said, getting a confused tilt of the head from him. "I really enjoy where we are in our relationship right now, but the way I start to feel when you're kissing me, or when you touch me, it makes me want more."

"Are you," Chandler paused, thinking a moment as a smile formed on his face. "You're saying you want to sleep with me?"

"Could you not be such a guy about this?" Monica asked, laughing at his smirk.

"I'm not." He defended, his grin even bigger than before.

"You are still smiling!"

"Sorry." Chandler said, dropping it. "It's hard to stop after hearing that you want me."

Monica shoved him playfully with a chuckle. "I'm leaving."

"Can't resist me?" Chandler asked, giving her his best smolder. With an eye roll she got ready to stand up, then he reached out and stopped her. "Mon, I'm just kidding around." He said, resting his hand on her back and rubbing it lightly as he spoke again. "So, why are you so worried about being alone with me if you want, if you want that?"

"As much as I want to, and as much as my body tells me I want to, I don't think I'm ready yet." Monica said, looking away from him as she said the next part. "I've never actually, I've never done it."

"You're a virgin?" Chandler asked, stopping the movement his hand had been making.

"Not just any virgin, one that never even had a relationship, or a first kiss before you." Monica said, finally glancing back over at him. "You really lucked out getting me as your girlfriend, right?" She said sarcastically.

"I think so." Chandler said, smiling over at her. "Because I'm a virgin too. And not just any virgin, one that never even had a relationship, or a first kiss before you."

"Yeah, right." Monica said, turning her face away from him to hide her embarrassment.

"Mon, I'm not kidding." He said, reaching up and gently pressing his fingers on her cheek to get her to face him again. "I've spent my whole life being an awkward mess around girls, I couldn't even work up the nerve to talk to someone I liked. I didn't think I would ever find another person I was comfortable enough around to start a relationship with, much less anything else." He said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Not until I met you."

"You're serious." Monica said. Not as a question, only as a realization.

"I understand what you are feeling, because I am feeling it too. But I want you to know that I am never going to push you to do anything before you are ready to, you can set the pace."

"Really?"

"Yes, of course. When I invited you over here this weekend I never even expected sex, I just wanted to be with you."

"You weren't expecting anything to happen?"

"Well, expecting and daydreaming about are two different things." Chandler said, the both of them smirking at each other. "But no, I never once thought if you came over that meant we had to have sex. You can come over anytime you want and I will never make you feel like we have to do anything, we can be alone together kissing and touching without it turning into more than that."

Monica stared over at him, touched by everything he had said to her. "Thank you for understanding." She said, smiling as she leaned in to kiss him tenderly. "I should get back to the pool house."

"Why, am I getting you all hot and bothered again?" Chandler joked.

"Chandler." Monica said, fake scolding him.

"I should tell you, if you want me now you could easily have me."

"I'm not sure this honesty thing is best for us."

"What? I'm just mentioning it because I've been told I get overly friendly when I'm drinking, just ask Joey."

"I don't even want to know how he knows that." Monica said, the both of them smiling at each other a moment.

"I'll walk you out." Chandler said, taking her hand again as the both of them stood up and walked over to his door. Before she could open it he pulled her close to him, leaning in to give her another kiss. "Sorry, I told you the booze does this to me." He said, kissing her again as he opened the door.

When they pulled apart and opened their eyes they both caught sight of someone standing in the hallway, staring back at them with wide eyes.

"Oh, oh!" Joey said, pointing between the both of them several times. "Ohhh-" He started again, before the both of them pulled him by his arms into Chandler's bedroom. When he wouldn't stop freaking out Chandler tackled him onto the bed and covered his mouth.

"Yes." Chandler admitted, removing his hand. "Yes."

Joey sat up on the bed, pointing to Chandler as he climbed off of it. "You." He said, pointing over at Monica. "And, and, you?"

"Yes, but you cannot tell anyone!" Monica said. "Only Rachel knows."

"How? When?"

"It happened at the homecoming dance." Chandler said.

"The homecoming dance!" Joey exclaimed, Chandler gesturing for him to quiet down.

"The reason we didn't tell anyone was because we don't want Ross to find out."

"I have to tell him." Joey said, standing up quickly before being shoved back down onto the bed by both of them.

"No, no, no." Chandler said. "You can't tell him."

"Oh come on, don't we have too many secrets already?" Joey asked, sounding annoyed.

"What other secrets do you guys have?" Monica asked, curiously.

"Ah," Chandler paused, trying to come up with something so they didn't have to spill the 'Ross liking Rachel' secret. "Joey has a stuffed penguin he sleeps with at night."

"Hey, leave Hugsy out of this!" Joey said.

"I'm sorry." Chandler said. "But we just aren't ready to tell him yet, things are going really well for us."

"Just promise you won't tell him, please?" Monica asked.

Joey took a deep breath. "All right." He said, looking at the both of them. "Man, this is unbelievable! I mean, it's great, but-"

Monica cut him off as she smiled over at her boyfriend. "I know, it's great." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.

Joey grimaced, looking away. "Ah, I don't want to see that!"