SF Chapter 66: Friends Pilot III
After Daniel left, Monica went out shortly after with Paul.
Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe stayed on the couch, watching TV. Meanwhile, Ross tried to strike up a conversation with Rachel.
"So, Rachel, what are you up to tonight?"
Sitting at the kitchen table, she lifted her head and gave him a slightly crooked smile. "Well, I was supposed to be headed for Aruba on my honeymoon..."
"...so, nothing," she replied after a pause.
"Right. You're not even getting your honeymoon." He made a pitying face, but quickly realized what he had just said.
"God. No, no," Ross corrected himself, "Although, Aruba. Heh. This time of year? Eh."
Not really helping much his case.
Ross changed the subject, trying to fix the awkward atmosphere he had created. "Anyway, if you don't feel like being alone tonight... Joey and Chandler are helping me with my furniture."
"Yes, and we're very excited about it," Chandler remarked, as the other two walked closer.
"Actually, thanks, but I'm just gonna hang out here tonight," Rachel replied. "It's been a long day." She forced a smile.
"Oh, sure. Okay," Ross nodded awkwardly. Then he turned to his friend. "Pheebs, you wanna help?"
"Oh, I wish I could, but I don't want to," she blurted out flatly.
They all looked at her for a moment, then shrugged, not finding it that strange coming from Phoebe.
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Sometime later, Daniel opened the door to Monica's apartment and walked in, heading toward the couch.
Rachel, who was sitting on the sofa, turned her head, saw who had just arrived, and commented, "Chandler and Joey went to help Ross with the move..."
"Phoebe probably went home," she added, not entirely sure about the slightly unusual girl.
"Oh, I know," he nodded. "Ross told me about it, and I said I'd help. In fact, I am helping him right now."
Rachel blinked, making a confused face.
Daniel raised one finger. "I learned from my dad that for most things you don't know or you don't like to do, you just 'call a guy.' I hired a handyman to help him."
"I've known the trio for a short time, but I'm pretty sure I'm the one helping the most right now."
She gave a small smile. "They don't exactly seem like the reliable type when it comes to assembling furniture."
"Yeah." He paused for a moment, then pointed to the table beside the sofa. "I just came to grab my laptop and my drafts. But..."
"...I can keep you company, or leave you alone. I know you've had quite a day."
Rachel ended up starting a conversation. "So, I don't remember seeing you when I was younger."
She explained, "Monica and I were close from childhood all the way through high school..."
"I live in Los Angeles, and our families never really made an effort to stay in touch," Daniel replied, sitting on the sofa.
"I think you did the right thing today," he stated, looking into her eyes.
"You do?"
"Of course. Marrying a guy who looks like Mr. Potato Head would've been stupid."
Rachel rolled her eyes, adjusted herself on the sofa, but let out a small chuckle.
Daniel spoke more seriously this time. "It required a lot of courage to throw everything away and do what you believed was right for your own life." But he added, "...and a few egocentric tendencies."
"Okay, Freud, so I was a little egotistical?"
"I assume the wedding was expensive, a lot of people were there, and you had years of history together... yeah, 'a little' is the right word."
"You're incredible at comforting people," she nudged him sarcastically.
Daniel didn't feel any guilt, but continued more helpfully to her, "You must be feeling many kind of fears, but one of them is totally unfounded. You'll find someone better."
"How are you so sure?"
"You met me, Ross, Chandler, and Joey. You've already met four better options."
"I won't say who the best one is," he said, but comically pointing at himself with both index fingers.
"And those are only the examples you met today. So you don't have to worry. You're 24. That's not 'missed your chance' territory, that's 'just starting the pilot episode'."
Rachel laughed, a little in disbelief at the boy's shamelessly confident behavior. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a big head?" she mocked.
"Yeaah," he replied, making a face as if it were obvious. "But out of respect for your day, I didn't want to turn it into a sexual conversation."
"What?" she blinked, but after a moment she caught the innuendo and started lightly hitting his arm.
"You're ridiculous..." she scoffed, though she was laughing.
"Yeah, I hear that a lot too," Daniel agreed again, putting on an outraged expression. "Don't know why," he snorted.
Then the apartment door opened. Rachel, seeing that it was Monica with Paul, threw herself onto Daniel so they could hide.
The couple walked past them and went straight to Monica's bedroom without noticing the duo.
Rachel stood up and let out a sigh of relief.
"What was that?" Daniel tilted his head. "You know it would've complicated things a lot more if Monica had seen us in that position than seeing us... talking?"
"I didn't want to ruin their mood," Rachel argued.
He stood up. "Anyway, good night, Rach."
She shook her head and decided to go to sleep too, "Night, Dani."
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The next morning, Rachel asked excitedly, "Isn't this amazing?" as she poured coffee for Chandler, Joey, and Daniel, who were sitting at Monica's kitchen table.
"I mean, I've never made coffee before in my life." She smiled proudly.
"That is amazing," Chandler replied flatly.
"Rach, I think you should learn first before you start doing anything," Daniel remarked, making a disgusted face after tasting her coffee.
"Okay, Mr. Smart Mouth, how should I do that?" she inquired, sounding slightly annoyed.
"How should I know? I never make coffee." He shrugged.
But right after that, he called the café downstairs and asked them to deliver coffee and some muffins.
"But he knows how to use the cheat code called money," Chandler pointed out with his usual sass.
Moments later, Monica's bedroom door opened, and she and Paul walked out. They both said hi, and walked to the door.
While she was saying goodbye to Paul, the quartet subtly pulled the table so they could get a better view of the interaction.
"I had a really great time last night," Monica commented, smiling.
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
"We'll talk later, okay?"
"Yeah."
She closed the door and leaned against it for a brief moment, wearing the expression of a girl completely smitten.
"That wasn't a real date..." Joey said, nodding in approval. Then he smirked. "What the hell do you do on a real date?"
She lowered her smile slightly and pointed at him. "Shut up and put my table back."
The doorbell rang, and Monica quickly opened the door. "Yes, I was already missing you too."
"What?" the guy at the door frowned.
"Oh, that's our breakfast," Daniel said.
After closing the door, he nudged her. "Mon, you're already seeing the wine guy - are you trying out the coffee guy too?"
He received a hard pinch in return.
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