F•R•I•E•N•D•S - 2nd generation

The One With Where Jack Doesn't Know her Name

"So, I had this weird dream last night." Scott started when they were having coffee at the Starbucks. "I was making out with this hot super model, you know?"
"That's not weird, everyone has a dream like that." Jack said.
"Yeah, everyone has a dream like that." Alison said and Erica looked at her. "What you never dreamt of you and Kendal Jenner?"
"Uh, no."
"I guess not everyone has that dream."
"Mine was Cara Delevingne." Emma said.
"Uh, she would probably be my second option." Alison answered.
"Anyways, that was not the weird part." Scott kept going. "So I was making out with her, who by the way was Candice Swanepoel, and out of no where my room walls fell and a TV host appears saying 'It looks like that our today's experiment failed. You lost. Cheater!' and this woman came out and slapped my face saying 'I trusted you, ten years of marriage mean nothing to you?' Then, I realize that I'm naked in front of all those cameras and everyone starts to laugh at me and I woke up."
"Uh, maybe it's because you secretly married someone and you're feeling guilty now." Jack said.
"I think that someone is having a hard time giving credibility to his male part." Emma sang drinking from her cup.
"What? No." Scott said.
"Well, everyone laughing at you naked? My dream reader says that this could be insecurity in bed." Alison said.
"Look, I'm not insecure in bed. I'm great in bed."
"How was your date last night, Mr. Great-in-bed?"
"Well, good. Until the part where she said she was going to the bathroom and never came back."
"Maybe that's why you are insecure in bed." Alison said.
"I'm not insecure in bed." Scott shouted. Everyone inside the coffee house looked at him. "It's a game. We're playing a game." He looked back at the others. "Great, now I'm really gonna be insecure in bed."
"Look at that girl." James said to Jack.
"Uhh. Hot. Too bad you can do nothing." He answered getting up.
"What? Why?"
"You're asking Emma out today, forgot?"
"Oh, yeah."
Jack smiled and went towards the girl in the balcony.
"Hey..."
"Oh my God, Jack Geller."
"That's me." He said smiling.
"We had science class together on High School. During the four years. Remember me, right?"
"Of course, how could I forget?" He answered hugging her. "I, actually, came up here to ask if you wanna go have dinner sometime. You know, to catch up."
"I'd love to. What about tonight?"
"That'd be perfect. Meet me here at eight."
"Okay."
"I have to go back there. I'm with some people. See you later."
"See you."
Jack went back to where the others were.
"Do you know that girl's name?" He asked desperately looking at Erica.
"How'd I know her name?"
"She knew my name. She said we went to High School together and had science class every year with each other but I don't remember her."
"No." Erica said looking at her. "I don't know who she is."
"Crap. I'm going out with her tonight."
"You're going out with her and you don't know her name?" Scott asked.
"Yeah. You still have our High School yearbook, right? I need to see it."
"No, I don't have it."
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't."
"Crap. Crap. Crap. I need to learn her name."
"Good luck." Emma said.
"You know what? I had a genius idea. Emma and James, you come with me and I pretend it's a double date. So you can ask her what her name is and it won't seem awkward at all because you never went to our high school."
"Why Emma and James? I wanna see how this goes." Alison said.
"Because..."
"Either way, I can't tonight, already have my own date." Emma declared.
"With who?" Jack asked.
"This guy that moved in to the apartment in front of mine. David."
"Come on, Em. Come with this guy, then. I need your help."
"Take Alison with you. She doesn't know Alison."
"Yeah, take Alison with you." Alison said.
"Okay, so James and Alison."
"I can't tonight, actually. I... I have a date too."
"You've got a date, James?" Emma asked.
"Yeah. This girl that I met the other day in the... supermarket. Jealous?"
"More like surprised."
"Why'd you be surprised?" He asked slightly confused.
"You don't seem like the type of guy that 'does dates'."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing." She said drinking from her cup.
He stared at her for a moment but before he could say anything else, Scott said:
"Then, I'll go. Me and Alison."
"Okay. Great. Ready at eight. Down here."
"Done."
"Everyone has a date tonight." Emma said. "That's funny."
"Uh, I don't have one." Erica said.
"Oh, so you go on dates? I just figured you didn't because you never have any." Jack said.
"Cut it out, Jack."
"Anyways, guys, I need to go. I have this project that I was supposed to finish yesterday but I didn't so I have to finish it today and send to my office before my date. See ya."
"Bye, Em."
"I'm going too. My astrology said I'd receive important news today and It's not here that this is gonna happen. I'm gonna go home and stand by my phone the rest of the day. Bye."
"Bye, Ali."
Emma and Alison left and Jack turned to James.
"James, why don't you come with me to get a muffin?"
"I don't want a muffin."
"Yes, you do. Come."
Jack pulled James in the balcony's direction.
"You don't have a date."
"No..."
"You got jealous of Emma!"
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did. Good luck finding a date tonight."
"I'm not."
"You're not?"
"Yeah."
"Oh my God."
"What?"
"You're worst than I thought. Oh my god... you are in love with her." Jack realized that he was speaking a little too loud and whispered the last part. "You are in love with Emma."
"No, I'm not. No. No. No..." Jack stared at him. "I don't fall in love. If you want that much, I'll find a date tonight and prove to you that I'm not in love with no one."
"Let's see how that goes." He said smiling.
"You know what? I'm gonna get laid tonight. I'm gonna prove to you that you're totally wrong. I don't have a crush, and I'm defiantly not in love."
"If you say so."
"Stop smiling."
"Sure."
"You're still smiling."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you're."
"You're in love with my cousin."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you're."
James turned and left the balcony.
**
"Erica, I'm leaving. Ok?" Emma shouted while she walked towards the apartment's door.
"Ok. Good date."
Emma opened the door.
"Hey." David said.
"Hi." She smiled.
"You ready?"
"Yes... yes, let's go... where are we going?"
"It's a surprise." He said smiling.
**
"Hey." Scott said arriving at the coffee house.
"Oh, so you brought no flowers to me? We're on a date and you brought no flowers." Alison said.
"We're not in a real date."
"Try to explain that to our future children, mister."
"So, you, guys, the only thing you have to do is ask her name, okay?"
"Yeah."
"Ok."
"Hey, Jack!"
"Hi! So, this are my friends that I told you about."
"Hello. Scott and Alison, right? Nice to meet you guys."
"Yeah. I'm sorry but I didn't really catch your name." Scott said.
"You didn't tell them my name?" She asked smiling and looking at Jack.
"Of course I did, Scott is just messing with you. He's trying to be funny."
"Oh." She said faking a laugh and the others did the same. "I need to go to the restroom really quick and then we can leave."
"Sounds good to me."
"Ok."
She left and Scott looked at Jack.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know what to say."
"Great, now none of us can ask her name. This will be the best date ever." Scott said. "Sadly, this might be true."
"Uh, uh! I'm gonna call her 'sweetheart' this way I don't have to say her name." Alison said,
"This is actually a good idea." Jack said. "I call darling out."
"Sweetheart." Alison said. They both looked at Scott.
"I'm not... ok, I'll take 'love'."
**
James turned the TV on.
"Pick me, choose me, love me." The sound exploded.
"That's ridiculous. I don't do love. Jack is just messing up with my head..." he looked at the TV. "What? He didn't pick her? How could he do that? She loved him... ok, this is starting to get weird. I'm gonna go out and find a date. Prove that Jack was wrong. I do not fall in love." He got up and grabbed his coat. "Who am I talking to anyways?"
He left the apartment.
**
"Oh, sweetheart, this restaurant is very good. Did you choose it?" Alison asked.
"Yeah. Jack said he wanted to know better one in the neighborhood so I brought you guys here."
"Great choice, darling."
"Have you decided on what you are having?" The waiter asked.
"Hum, I want the New York strip steak." Jack said.
"Excuse me, could I see your vegan menu?"
"We don't have a vegan menu."
"But you don't have any vegan food in your regular menu."
"We don't have vegan food at all."
"Look, Alison, why don't I ask the chicken with mashed potatoes and you keep the side salad?" Scott said.
"Yeah, you can keep mine too if you want. I'm so sorry, Jack didn't tell me that you were vegetarian."
"I'm vegan. But that's ok, sweetheart. It's not your fault."
The waiter left.
"So, you went to high school with Jack?" Scott asked.
"Yes. Go, crows."
She laughed and Jack laughed with her.
"When did you move to New York?"
"A couple of years ago. To college. And then I just stayed. I love the big city."
"Oh, sweetheart, when Jack told me your name I loved it. How did your parents choose it?"
"It's a pretty common name." She said smiling. "I guess they just loved it too."
"Yeah, you're probably right. Or they hated it."
"What?"
"Yeah, you know. Maybe they didn't like the name."
"Why would they give me a name that they didn't like?"
"Vengeance. Maybe they didn't like their own names."
"What's wrong with Owen and Mary?"
"Nothing, nothing. But you never know."
"Okay..."
"So, darling, any tips for someone new in town?" Jack asked putting his hand over hers and looking into her eyes.
"Uh! Uh! You should go to the zoo where I work. It's really good." Alison said.
"I wasn't talking to you, Ali."
"Oh, ok. But it's a good zoo."
He looked back at the woman whose hand he was holding.
"So..."
"Isn't this nice? I mean, me and Alison, Jack and you. We all in a double date."
"Yeah. It's amazing." Jack said breathing deeply and looking at Scott.
"So, love, what's your favorite thing about yourself?"
"Uh! Is it your name?" Alison asked.
"Well, I really like my name but I wouldn't say it is my favorite thing. My favorite thing..."
"Anyways, it was a stupid question. Moving on, what do you think about doing a game?" Scott interrupted her.
"Yeah, say something with the first letter of your name." Alison said.
"Read my mind." Scott said. "Snake."
"Aliens. Now you."
"Hum..."
"You know what, I need to show her something. We'll be back in a minute ok?"
"Ok, but you're next." Alison said.
They left the restaurant.
"Do you think they're coming back?" Scott asked.
"Defiantly not."
"Do you wanna leave this restaurant?"
"Yeah, it's the worst restaurant in the entire city. She has a really bad taste. Let's go."
**
"So, everything was going great. She went home with me after dinner." Jack told Erica, Scott and Alison inside the apartment in the next morning. "When we were in bed, I remembered her name out of no where and said a little louder than I should have: Laurel."
"Cut it out! Laurel Nobels?" Erica said.
"That's what I thought too! But she looked at me and said 'what?' and I said 'nothing, I said nothing' and she said 'you said Laurel? Do you know my name?' and I said 'of course I do not-Laurel' and she said 'I can't believe this.' Well, it ended up that Laurel Nobels was her high school best friend, she was actually Hanna Wesley."
"Hanna? Time was good to her." Erica said.
"After that she left."
James got into the apartment. The others looked at him.
"Is Emma here?"
"Hum, no." Erica said getting up of the table. "She's still on her date."
"Uhhhh, this one seems to be going pretty good for her." Alison said.
"Yeah." Erica smiled. "Why? Is it something important?"
"Uh, no, not really. I'll just talk with her later."
"Ok."
"Uh, Jack can I talk to you for a minute? In the hallway?"
"Sure. I need to tell you this story tho..."
They got into the hallway.
"There's something wrong with me."
"What do you mean?"
"So, last night, I went to a bar. I got this super hot girl's phone number. But you know what I did when I got home? I threw it away."
"What? Why?"
"I... I don't know."
"Uhhhh, I know. You are in love with my cousin."
"I am not in love with her. I just keep thinking about her and I wanna be with her."
"Maybe you should look up what love means."
"I am not in love, I... might like her."
"That's a start. Ask her out."
"I will. When she comes back..."
The apartment's door opened and Emma got out of it, kissing David.
"Oh, hi, James, Jack... this is David. David, James and Jack."
"Hey." David said.
James stared at him for a second.
"Hi." Jack said.
"Hey." James said finally.