– School Courtyard, Midweek
Jake finds Ronnie sitting alone, sketchbook closed — unusual. She barely looks up when he sits beside her.
"Hey. You disappeared after lunch." He told her
(shrugging)
"Didn’t feel like talking." She said
"Okay. Did I do something?" He asked her
(snapping)
"Why do you always assume it’s you?" She asked him
"Because when you shut me out like this, it usually is." He said
Beat. Silence stretches awkwardly. She walks away.
---
– That Night at Monica’s Apartment
Ronnie is curled up on the couch. Jake arrives to hang out with everyone but doesn’t sit near her. The gang senses the tension.
(to Monica, whispering)
"Oh no. Are they… de-coupling?" Chandler said to her
"Should I make popcorn or leave?" Joey said
"Neither. Pretend it’s normal. No sudden movements." Rachel told them
Ronnie and Jake spend the whole night pretending the other doesn’t exist.
---
– Ronnie’s Bedroom, Next Morning
She’s pacing. Red-eyed. Chandler knocks gently.
"You okay, kid?" Chandler asked her
"I said something mean. And then he didn’t chase me." She told him
"Maybe he thought you didn’t want him to." He says
(quiet)
"I wanted him to understand without me saying anything." She said
"Yeah, that’s not really how people work. Not even the good ones." He says
---
– Central Perk, Afternoon
Jake is sitting alone, sketching something. Ronnie walks in, heart pounding. She sits across from him.
"I didn’t mean what I said." She told him
"I didn’t know what to say." He told her
"I got scared. Things are good. And sometimes, when they’re good, I mess it up first before it can hurt me." She said to him
"I get that. I grew up doing that too." He told her
She looks up, surprised.
"But I don’t want to be another thing you run from. Not when we’ve come this far." He said
He slides a small folded sketch across the table — it’s of her, holding a match in one hand and water in the other. Under it, the words: “You don’t have to burn what you can carry.”
Ronnie (teary)
"You stayed." She whispered
"You let me."
---
✏️ Final Journal Entry – Season 4, Episode 1
> “I thought the fight meant the end.”
“But he didn’t fight to win. He fought to understand.”
“And I didn’t run. I reached.”
“Maybe this is what love actually looks like.”
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
