`THE NEW MONICA`

BY CREASSYA
 
 

This takes place after Emotional Roller Coaster. Chandler and Monica got to know each other a little better. Chandler is going through a transitional phase, and is beginning to realize a lot of things about himself and others around him. A new school year has arrive and the girls are no longer freshmen, and the guys are now in their junior year.
 

Monica looked at herself in the mirror, with a new air of confidence. It was the first day of school, and she was ready. Rachel had helped her pick out school clothes to match her new image. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror, wishing time would speed up. There was one person in particular that she was excited to see. She hadn't seen him all summer because he was forced to spend the summer with his mother in Rome. She wondered how he would react to her new look. She really didn't care too much about what anyone else would think. As she was twirling around, looking at herself from every angle, Rachel appeared in the doorway.

"Mon, let's go." Rachel said smiling.

"Lincoln High, here I come!" She said walking out of her room.

Monica instantly got stares from people as she, Phoebe, and Rachel, entered the school. Phoebe went to homeroom, while Monica and Rachel went to their lockers. Seconds after she got to homeroom, the teacher told her to report to her guidance counselor about her schedule. When she left, everyone looked at each other in surprise, except for Rachel, who was smiling.

Monica was fifteen minutes late for English because her schedule was messed up and so were other kids schedules. She slowly walked into the classroom, and all eyes fell on her, including the teacher that she had last year, who was in the middle of a sentence when she entered. She was happy to see that Chandler was in her class again this year for English. She also saw Sarah sitting in the second seat from the door.

"May I help you young lady?"

"Mr. Styles, it's me, Monica Geller. Sorry I'm late, but I had to get my schedule fixed." She said handing him an excused late from the guidance counselor.

"Oh, okay." He said looking at her as she took her seat.

Chandler had his eyes glued to her for the entire class period. He couldn't believe that was Monica. He wondered how much weight she had lost over the summer break. He thought that she was pretty while she was fat, but now she was gorgeous.

While Monica was doing her work, Sarah tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to face her.

"You look so pretty. I just wanted to tell you that."

"Thanks a lot."

"And also, Chandler's been staring at you since you walked in." She said smiling.

Monica looked over in Chandler's direction and waved at him. He smiled and she continued to do her work. This is amazing, she thought to herself. The guys who were making fun of her before were gawking at her when she made her entrance into the classroom. She was so happy that she wanted to scream.

Chandler watched her as she crossed her legs. She was wearing a tight fitted blue shirt, with a red skirt. He tried turning his attention back to his school work, but it was impossible. She was distracting him without even knowing it. He noticed that his friends were staring at her when she first came in. He looked around to see if they were still staring at her, but they weren't. He was the only one with his eyes locked on her.

When class was over, he hurried out of the room to talk to her. She sat in the front of the room next to the door, and he sat in the back near the window. He caught up with her as she slowly walked down the hall.

"Hey Mon."

"Hi Chandler."

"You look....amazing." He said.

"Thanks. So, how was your summer?"

"Awful."

"Oh, sorry to hear that."

"I see that you had an okay summer."

"Yeah, I did."

"That's good. I'm having a back to school party this weekend. You coming?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't miss it."

"Good. I'll see you later." He said grinning.

Monica watched him as he walked away. He had a coolness about him that made him irresistible, not to mention, his charm and good looks. She loved when he put his hands in his pockets all the time. She figured that it was by force of habit, and she wondered if he was aware of how often he did it. She thought it was cute. She watched him as he turned the corner. She turned around and noticed that two guys were staring at her. She smiled and walked down the hall to her locker.

At the end of the day, she met Phoebe and Rachel at Phoebe's locker. It was such a strange day for her. She had been asked out by four guys, when normally guys ignored her. She still found it hard to believe that Chandler talked to her now, and was inviting her to parties. She appreciated him more than the other guys who now took notice of her, because he noticed her when she was fat. They were becoming friends, and that made her happy, even thought he showed no romantic interest in her. She was thrilled to have the kind of friendship he was offering.

Later that night, Chandler and Joey were sitting in Joey's room watching TV and talking about who they wanted to invite to Chandler's back to school party.

"Dude, did you see Monica today?" Joey asked.

"Yeah, she's in my English class again this year."

"Is she looking hot or what?"

"Yeah, she is."

"You invited her right?"

"Yeah."

"Niiice!"

"Don't get any ideas Joey."

"Ideas about what?"

"C'mon Joey."

"What, you mean about asking her out?"

"Yeah."

"You like Monica?" Joey asked.

"What?"

"Okay, now who's playing dumb?" Joey said.

"I like her as a friend."

"It makes sense now. When people said anything negative about her, you got offended, even before she lost weight."

"I did not. I just thought they were being mean."

"You got a crush on Monica."

"Whatever Joey."

"Hey, I don't blame you." Joey said grinning.

When Chandler returned home, he sat at his desk and thought about what Joey had said. He smiled to himself realizing that he did have a crush on Monica. It was weird because it came from out of nowhere. He wanted to hear her voice all of a sudden and wished that he had her phone number.

Monica sat at her window sill and began to write in her diary.

Okay, were do I start? Well, the first day of school turned out to better than I expected. I still can't believe that I was asked out by four different guys, who were all cute. I was flattered to be asked out, but it's all so superficial when you think about it. Nobody really gave a damn when I was fat....except for Chandler that is. He took time out to make sure that I was okay when his friends were making fun of me. That day was so embarrassing for me. I was so close to tears, but willed myself not to cry in front of the class. I knew that if I turned my head to look at him, I would have surely burst into tears and ran from the room that day. I never expected him, of all people, to come to my rescue. It totally surprised me. I always thought he was gorgeous, but didn't think that he was that sweet. When he came over to my house the next day to see how I was, he squeezed my hand when I was on the verge on crying. I didn't want him to let go. It meant a lot to me that he cared. The night of the party, I got a real glimpse of the real Chandler, he didn't allow anyone else to see. It seemed as though he had everything, but I realized that he didn't want everything. He wanted to be understood by his mother and father, and he wanted friends that he could be himself around. I had only talked to him like that once, and I found out a lot about him. I found out that he was just as sad as I was, which was something he was so good at hiding from everyone.

When he was talking about how he wished that he and his Mom had a better relationship, I felt really bad for him. He sounded so sad when he told me that she often times put her boyfriends feelings ahead of his own. He also told me in confidence that his father's gay, and that when he and his mother found out, he abandoned them. He said that he looked forward to school because it was an escape from his depressing home life. This is a guy who's gorgeous, popular, and can have any girl he wants, but none of that matters to him, which surprised me. I felt honored that he confided in me about those things, and that I was the one only one who knew what was going on inside his head. He shared things with me that he didn't even tell his closest friends, or girlfriends. I wanted to hug him when he was talking about his Mom. Not just to be in his arms, but to comfort him.

I wonder what he's doing right now. I also wonder if we'll become good friends. I certainly wouldn't mind. I wouldn't mind having him as a boyfriend either, but that's never gonna happen, so I'll settle for being his friend. It couldn't hurt. He seems to be pretty understanding and sweet. Besides, it'll be nice to have a guy friend for a change.

Monica

Three weeks later, Chandler saw Monica walking down the hall with John Sanders. Chandler didn't have anything against him, but he didn't trust him. He was the type of guy who smiled in your face one minute and stabbed you in your back the next. Monica looked as if she was about to drop her books, so Chandler walked over to them and took them out of her hand.

"Thanks Chandler." Monica said smiling.

"Hey Chandler." John said.

"Hey."

Chandler started a conversation with them, and wondered why John didn't help Monica with her books. The way that John was looking at her, Chandler could tell that he only interested in one thing, and it wasn't her personality.

"Hold on, Rachel's waving at me." Monica said walking down the hall towards Rachel.

"So, you like Monica?" Chandler asked.

"Yeah, she's gorgeous." He said grinning.

"Yeah, inside and out."

"I'm not concerned with the inside part."

"You're not?"

"Of course not. I don't look for brains."

"I'm not talking about brains. She's a sweet person." Chandler said.

"Whatever. You think she's easy?"

"What?"

"Oh don't play that role with me Chandler. I know how you are. You've had lots of girls. You know these things."

"Monica's not that type of girl."

"Have you tried her already?"

"No."

They stopped talking when they saw Monica walking towards them. While Monica seemed to be taken in by John, Chandler stared at him as if he were about to hit him. Neither Monica nor John noticed this. Chandler wanted to warn her about him, but how?
 
 
 

COMING SOON........

FIERCELY PROTECTIVE