Monica’s Apartment – Morning
Everyone’s helping Rachel get ready. Ronnie sits off to the side in a dark blue dress — elegant, simple, still very her. She looks... different. Soft, but strong.
"Ugh! This dress is pink and itchy and screams “Barbie went through a breakup." Rachel said in frustration
(deadpan)
"You look like a disappointed cupcake." Ronnie told her
"You look radiant. Like a sad fairy princess with unresolved trauma." Phoebe told her
(to Ronnie)
"You okay?" Chandler asked
(quiet)
"Not panicking. Just existing. That’s progress." She said
---
Wedding Venue – Reception Hall
It’s crowded. Rachel looks miserable. Ronnie and Jake sit at the teens-and-stragglers table. Joey is already flirting with someone’s cousin.
(smiling)
"You clean up scary nice." He said as he looked at her up and down
"Don’t make me cry in this dress. It cost Monica too much to ruin." She told him
She sips soda. He offers his hand.
"Dance with me?" He asked her
"I don’t do dancing." She said
"Then we’ll stand awkwardly in the middle of the floor. People will think we’re cool." He said
They walk toward the dance floor. The music is slow. She doesn’t run. She just… lets herself be held. For once.
---
THE KISS
Later. Music fades. Jake and Ronnie are on the balcony outside the venue. Her heels are off. Her shoulders are bare in the evening breeze.
"You were amazing tonight." Jake tells her
"I didn’t cry. I didn’t hide. I even danced like... a human person." She said
He looks at her for a long moment.
"Can I kiss you now?" He asked her
Ronnie doesn’t answer. She leans in and kisses him first — gentle, sure, completely in her control.
(whispering):
"No more almosts." She said as she looked at his eye
---
Chandler’s Apartment – Late Night
Ronnie comes home. Chandler’s on the couch eating leftover cake.
"So? How was the trauma-fueled formal event?"he asked his sister
(soft smile)
"I danced. I kissed a boy. I didn’t disappear." She said
"You looked happy. That was new. And really, really good." He told her
He hesitates.
"It’s getting easier, isn’t it?" Asked
"Not easier. Just... possible." Responded
---
– Ronnie’s Journal
(She sketches her and Jake on the balcony. She writes beneath it:)
> “No panic. No mask. Just me.”
“And I stayed.”
---
– Central Perk
Joey brags about dancing with “two bridesmaids and a priest.” Rachel glares at Ross. Ronnie sips her coffee, quiet, calm, content.
(to herself)
"I like weddings now. Weird."
YOU ARE READING
After The Silence
Fanfiction(season 1-10) --- Ronnie Bing was never supposed to be noticed. But after a breakdown, an overdose, and a silent goodbye, she's learning what it means to stay alive. This is her story - the quiet kind of survival. Mature contact s6-7-8-9-10
