My Heart Won't Let Me

Second Best

Chapter 4

'Second Best'

Joey woke up the next day with a massive headache. He blinked his eyes groggily, adjusting his vision to the bright room, wondering what had exactly possessed him to get drunk the night before. But then he remembered the phone call. He remembered being so upset because apparently, Rachel was trying to avoid him. He remembered being jealous of Ross, because Ross got to be the one Rachel trusted to confide in, someone she had chosen to lean on, and someone she sought comfort in instead of himself - the supposedly boyfriend.

Last night, wanting to hopefully forget the aching in his heart - ignoring the agonizing feeling of being her second best - he went to a local bar. He didn't remember much after his fifth glass, he didn't even remember how he got home last night. Who the hell brought him home last night? He wondered. He was pretty sure he was so drunk, he'd never made it home by himself. And then he froze in his spot as the realization came upon him.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

He braced himself for the worst and slowly turned his body around, facing the other side of his bed - praying to every God there were that he didn't make a stupid mistake last night. He couldn't trust his drunken self. He had a pretty bad history of bringing home strangers when he was this drunk before and that was what he feared the most. His worst scenario of all.

Did he sleep with someone?

Did he cheat on Rachel?

It took him a while to prepare himself for the worst and when he finally turned his body around and found the other side of his bed empty, he released a breath he didn't know he was holding, silently counting his lucky stars and feeling thankful that he still had his self control after what had happened last night.

He might be upset, he might be jealous, and he couldn't deny it, he was a little bit angry at how she had chosen to avoid him, but he'd never wanted to hurt her this way. He didn't want to hurt her at all.

He sighed in relief and he glanced at the alarm clock.

12:17 p.m

Deciding to finally get up and take a shower, Joey padded his way to the bathroom, but before he could barely step his feet into the living room, he was greeted by the smell of coffee and a worried smile.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like crap." Joey returned the smile weakly and then he took a seat at the barstool. "So, uh, you brought me home last night?"

"I have no choice. You're so drunk, I doubt you'll make it home by yourself."

"Thanks man." Joey offered his best friend another smile.

There was a reason why he often considered Chandler as his own brother. Growing up in a house full of women, Joey longed to have a brother figure in his life and he was glad to find one in Chandler. Ross was his best friend, but Chandler was more like a brother to him. They both meant a lot to Joey, but having so much time sharing a house with Chandler through ups and downs made their bond stronger. Joey knew he could always count on Chandler and last night proved him just that.

"Sure." Chandler shrugged and then he offered Joey a cup of coffee. "Trouble in paradise?"

Joey huffed. "No, just a bad day." Joey sipped his coffee and lied.

"Are you sure?"

For a moment there, Joey wanted to tell Chandler everything. About the phone call, about how it seemed like she had avoided him, and about his newly profound jealousy toward Ross. He wanted to tell Chandler every single thing that had been bothering him since last night, but then he decided not to. Joey might have considered Chandler as his own brother, but Ross was Chandler's brother-in-law, and the last thing he wanted was for Chandler to be caught up in the middle. He couldn't do that to any of them, so he closed his mouth.