What If Chandler Bing Didn't Exist...? [F.R.I.E.N.D.S]

Chapter Three: Hotel Strange?

'Hi, I'm Chandler; I make jokes when I'm uncomfortable.' - Chandler Bing, The One With The Proposal

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As I drove up to the lane of the hotel, it was pitch black and the flashlights on my car were shining brightly against wall of the hotel. The car wheels on the wet gravel made a sound and wished for the best that the tyre didn't tear. I looked at the hotel and something didn't look quite right. It was too small to have been a hotel.. but I saw the words right there in the top left - HOTEL. I gave a little sigh as I took out my umbrella and opened it disappointingly. How did I ever get in this mess? Then it just came screaming back at me.. the fight. The rain was still pelting down like crazy and I rushed undercover inside the hotel. 

I peered inside and closed up my umbrella to see a lady, smiling at me.

"Hi, can I help you?"

I was a bit startled at first, but I finally managed to get my mouth to move.

"Um, yes. Can I please have a room for the night?"

"Let me just check..." She walked over to a bench. "Come over here to the registering and I'll see if I can hook you up."

I smiled and scoffed a bit. "With a woman?" I said in a deep voice while acting cool. Well.. what I thought was cool. 

She gave me a look which made me realise that she didn't want to play any jokes right now. I made a nervous chuckle.

"Hi, I'm Chandler; I make jokes when I'm uncomfortable," I held out my hand for her to shake, but she just left me hangin'. I gave an uncomfortable cough and looked away.

 "I'm sorry sir, there aren't any available rooms."

"Say what?" She caught me by surprise. I leaned in as if I didn't hear correctly. "See, there was this policeman guy that was outside and it was raining and the road was blocked so he told me to come here."

"I'm sorry, but there aren't any available rooms for the night." 

"Wait, wait, is this because of that joke I made? Cause I didn't mean any of that. See, I'm married." I showed her the ring that Monica placed on my ring finger on our wedding day. The flashback just appeared in my head like it was just yesterday. My face saddened as I twisted the ring around my finger, and I could see that the lady was just staring at me.

She opened her mouth but hesitated, but I guess she really wanted to know. "I know this is none of my business... but why are you here without your wife?"

"Because we had a fight..." I replied, still wondering how it ever happened.

"Ohhhhhhh," she sounded as if she figured something out.

"What?" I was curious. Why did she sound as if she knew why I was here?

"Uh, nothing, nothing." She replied quickly, but gave a hint of a smile, as if not wanting me to find out.

"Let me just check again.."

"Yeah, yeah, you do that.." I said pointing to the register.

"Well, you're just in luck, we do have a spare room. Number 17." How did I not see that coming? Other than that I was shocked and was so stunned. That was the date that Monica and I got married. Surely it was just pure coincidence... Right?

Just that moment, the telephone rang and the lady picked it up. She looked at me and held her finger up. "Just one second."

Though the call was not on speaker phone, I could still hear some muffling and the words were cut off. "Who is it, Darth Vader?" I scoffed.

She glared back at me with her cold stare still listening to the caller. I couldn't make out what she was trying to say cause all she said in this side of the call were 'Mhmm,'s and 'Yep,'s and just nodding. Occasionally, I could see that she was peering at me and when I turned to look closer to see why, her eyes were in a different position - not looking at me. I began to be suspicious, but I think she knew that I was starting to become impatient.

"Yeah, he's here." She whispered quietly to the phone and put it down. I couldn't help but over hear.

"What do you mean, he's here?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, sorry, we were talking about the guest before. He is a special guest and came from the other side of the world." She was thinking fast, but it was really believable. 

I just nodded dumbly and replied with a simple, "Oh, ok." Still a little rattled from all of this I rubbed my face hoping to calm down and relax a bit.

I saw the lady get the key and began walking to a hallway and looked at me. "Right through here."

My legs began to work as I walked towards her and she pointed to a room. "This is where you are going to be staying." I walked inside the room and looked around. It reminded me a bit of the apartment. It had a sort of homey look to it. I put my hands on my hips casually and looked back at the lady. "Not bad, it's a pretty decent room."

She smiled. "Ah, yes, we provide the very best for our guests..." It might have just been me or because I was tired, but she had a sort of sparkle in her eyes that glinted by the light. I squinted, just to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating, but it went away. I walked up to her and she gave me the key to the room.  

"Thank you Ms...?"

"Barbara, my name's Barbara."

"Thank you Barbara," I smiled and she walked off. I closed the door and got ready for bed. 

***

I laid in my bed looking at the ceiling, still listening to the thunder and lightning going on outside and thought about what I should do tomorrow. I crossed my hands together and I felt the ring from my wedding day. I looked at the shiny diamond in the middle and it reminded me of Monica - how clean she was and how clean the diamond was. I smiled as I remembered the times when she fussed about things. It was so cute how she cared so much of little things. I guess I admit it. I miss Monica. She is my wife after all. Tomorrow, I'll say sorry, and hope that things will go well from then on. I smiled at myself as I slowly drifted off to a deep sleep.

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Hey guys! Another chapter is finished and hope you enjoyed it! Do you think that Chandler will apologise..? Or maybe something might stop him? Some questions for you to venture and plus, they add mystery to the book! ;) And I hope you're getting the little jokes I made throughout the story!

Please COMMENT/VOTE/FOLLOW if you want a chapter dedicated to you! Don't be shy! All comments are appreciated and votes are as well! I will try and update at least once every 3-4 days. I think that's all.. thank you so much for reading!