New Friends, New Family, New Forever

The Candy Hearts: Part 2

Sarah's POV:

The girls and I are in Monica's kitchen discussing our bad history with boyfriends.

Rachel: "Ok, Roger was creepy, but he was nothing compared to Pete Carney."

Me: "Which one was he?"

Rachel: "Pete the Weeper? Remember that guy who used to cry every time we had sex.-*fake cries*-Was it good for you?"

Monica: "Yeah, well, I'll take a little crying any day over Howard-the-'I-win'-guy.-*imitates Howard*-'I win! I win!' I went out with the guy for 2 months. I didn't get to win once. Sarah, what about you?"

Me: "Well, you already know everything there is to know about my last relationship. We worked out well for two years. Then, he cheated on me with one of his coworkers, and I haven't seen him in 3 years."

Monica: "Yeah, what about those who came before him?"

Me: "There aren't any. Henry was my first and, with my luck, my last."

Rachel: "Oh, I'm sorry, Sar. God, how do we end up with these jerks? We're good people."

Monica: "I don't know. Maybe we're some kinda magnets."

Phoebe: "I know I am. That's why I can't wear a digital watch."

Monica: "There's more beer, right?"

Phoebe: "Oh! You know my friend Abby who shaves her head? She said that if you want to break the bad boyfriend cycle, you can do like a cleansing ritual."

Rachel: "Pheebs, this woman is voluntarily bald."

Phoebe: "Yeah. So, we can do it tomorrow night, you guys. It's Valentine's Day. It's perfect."

Monica: "Ok, well, what kind of ritual?"

Phoebe: "We can burn the stuff they gave us."

Rachel: "Or?"

Phoebe: "Or we can chant and dance around naked, you know, with sticks."

Monica: "Burning's good."

Rachel: "Burning's good. Yeah, I got stuff to burn. Sar, you in?"

Phoebe: "Oh, no. She's already done it."

Me: "Yeah, and it worked like a charm."

Rachel: "How do you know?"

Me: "Because 2 days later, I met Joey."

The girls all 'Aww' at my comment as I shyly laugh and smile. I know it's cheesy, but it's true. After Joey moved in with Chandler and I got to know him better, it started to feel like Henry was the bump in the road to my chance at a new beginning.

{Time skip}

I head down to the guys' apartment to ask how the double date went, but I already got my answer from seeing Monica in the doorway of her apartment, talking to Janice and Chandler.

Me: "Oh, my God."

Chandler turns to me with wide eyes while Janice turns to me with a wide smile.

Janice: "Sarah, can you believe this?"

Me: "No. I can honestly say I never saw this coming."

Chandler: "Ok, well, this was very special."

Monica: "Rach, come see who's out here."

Rachel comes out with a smile as she notices Janice.

Rachel: "Oh my god. Janice, hi!"

Monica walks into her apartment as I turn to Joey as he walks up to us.

Me: "Joseph, look who's here."

Joey does a double take toward Chandler and Janice.

Joey: "Whoa!"

Joey: "Oh, good, Joey's home now."

Janice: "This is so much fun. This is like a reunion in the hall."

Monica walks back out with her cordless phone.

Monica: "Oh, hi, Ross. Yeah. There's someone I want you to say hi to.-*hands Janice the phone*-He just happened to call."

Janice: *over the phone* "Hi, Ross. Yes, it's me. How did you know?"

Janice does her famous laugh as she walks away from Chandler. While her back's turned, we silently approach Chandler acting as if he was crazy to sleep with her. Chandler makes a gun gesture with his hand and starts blowing it at his brain. When Janice turns around, he points the gun gesture to Janice as a congrats gesture. When she turns back around, he turns his congrats-gun motion to the original gun gesture and pretends to blow the gun at her. After we all say our goodbyes to her, I drag the guys into their apartment by their ears.

Me: *like Ricky Ricardo* "Boys, you got some 'splaining to do."

They both don sheepish grins before shrugging their shoulders. Oh, they are so not getting off that easy.

{Time skip}

That night, after getting the full explanation from Chandler, I decide to assist Joey in helping Chandler dump Janice at the cafe. As usual, he's having second thoughts.

Chandler: "How can I dump this woman on Valentine's Day?"

Joey: "I don't know. You dumped her on New Year's."

Chandler: "Oh, man. In my next life, I'm coming back as a toilet brush."

Janice walks into the cafe with a bright smile.

Janice: "Hello, funny valentine."

Chandler: "Hi, Just Janice."

Janice: "Hello, Sarah, my future sister-in-law. And Joey, our little matchmaker. I could just kiss you all over, and I'm gonna!"

Janice kisses Joey all over before heading to the counter to order something. Joey and I sit down with fake smiles, quickly turning them into glares as we turn to Chandler.

Joey: "If you don't do it, I will."

Me: "And if I have to wear a dress with her fashion sense, I'll see you in court."

Knowing that we're both serious, Chandler nods in confirmation, so we walk off to sit at a table by the window. When Janice sits next to Chandler, she hands him a bag of candy hearts. Then, after receiving the news, Janice seems pretty good about it. Then, she gives him one last kiss before walking away, and Chandler looks after her in longing.

Chandler: "Call me!"

Joey and I give him a teasing thumbs up as he shrugs his shoulders like he did this morning. I laugh as we go over to comfort him. Yeah, he's a goofy, sarcastic mess, but he's my brother and best friend, so I have to defend him when he gets into things like this. Luckily, it didn't come to this, but I'd win that fight if it did.

End of Episode 6