Roxie Bing | she's the one

(1.10) The One With The Monkey (Part 1)

"Guys, there's somebody I want you to meet." Ross announced as he came around Monica's apartment door with a monkey perched on his shoulder.
Everyone gushed over the cute pet apart from Monica, who was completely revolted and opposed by the idea.
"It's been kind of quiet since Carol left." He excused.
"Well, why don't you just get a roommate?" Monica questioned.
"I think you just reach a certain age when having a roommate is kind of pathe -" Ross cut himself off when I noticed everyone exchanging offended glances.

***

We were all slumped in the coffee house when Joey came in and complained about how he hadn't got the role of Santa at a local store this year, and instead had to be one of his helpers.

"Hey, do you guys know what you're doing for New Years?" Rachel came over and asked and we all groaned. "What is wrong with New Years?"
"Nothing for you. You have Paolo. You won't have to face the pressures of this holiday. The desperate scramble to find anything with lips just so you have something to kiss when the ball drops." Chandler ranted.
"Well, for your information, Paolo will be in Rome for New Years so I'll be just as pathetic as the rest of you." Rachel assured us.
"Yeah, you wish." Phoebe scoffed and I chuckled.
Chandler sighed. "I'm just sick of being victim to this Dick Clark holiday. I say this year, no dates. We make a pact. The seven of us, dinner."
Everyone nodded along with a smile until Chandler said that he'd hoped for a little more enthusiasm at his idea.
We all cheered and clapped and smiled.

***

It was a while later and Phoebe had been singing and performing at Central Perk for what felt like forever.
My eyelids felt droopy as I sat on the floor and rested my head on Joey's leg.

I only perked up when I noticed that there was two men a few metres away talking loudly over Phoebe playing.
"Excuse me, noisy boys!" Phoebe had said.
She began to demand a reason for their rude discussing over her set and it was clear that the man who was trying to answer her felt awkward and intimidated as she yelled.
"That guy is going home with a note." I muttered.

The stuttering man stood up before talking. "I was just saying that I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life." He admitted before awkwardly rambling a bit more.
Phoebe announced that she was taking a little break from her set and immediately walked to where he was sitting and struck up a conversation.
Joey nudged me. "Hey, he's going home with more than a note." He winked.

***

We were sitting around in Monica's apartment while Phoebe spoke about David, the guy she'd met at the coffee house.
"I just want to be with him day and night and night and day, and special occasions."
My brother pointed at her in an accusing way. "I see where this is going. You're going to ask him to New Years. She's going to break the pact!"
Phoebe stood up ready to defend herself. "No, no!" She insisted before sighing. "Could I just?"
Chandler shrugged. "Yeah, because I already asked Janice."
Everyone groaned and gasped.
"Come on. This was a pact. This was your pact." I snapped at my brother.
"I snapped, okay?"
"But Janice was like the worst break up in history!" Monica pointed out.
"I'm not saying it was a good idea, I'm saying I snapped!"

***

"Okay, what does the phrase 'no date pact' mean to you?" Ross was asking Monica as they entered the coffee shop.
"I'm sorry. It's just that Chandler has somebody and Phoebe has somebody, I thought I'd ask Fun Bobby."
"Your ex boyfriend Fun Bobby?" Chandler questioned her and Monica nodded.

"So on our 'no date' evening, three of you now have dates?" Ross questioned.
"Uh... four." Rachel said awkwardly.
"Five." Joey chimes in.
"Six." I admitted, pitying Ross at this point as he held his head in his hands.
"Sorry. Paolo's catching an earlier flight." Rachel shrugged.

Joey stared at me. "Wait, you have a date?"
I chuckled. "Yeah."
"Who?"
"I met this guy at a photography class a couple of nights ago. He's not my type, he's a bit awkward and nerdy, but he was sweet. His name is George." I filled the group in.
Joey raised his eyebrows. "Right."
"And what about you? Who's your date?" I asked him.
"I met a really hot single mum at the store." He told me.

Our conversation was interrupted when a man that I wasn't familiar with raced in. "Phoebe. Hi." He abruptly greeted her.
"Hey, Max. Do you know everybody?"
"No." He said and it was clear he had no interest in knowing who any of us were. "If you see David, tell him to pack his bags. We're going to Minsk."
"Minsk?" Phoebe gasped. I watched her face drop at the news.

A/N: I split this episode up into 2 parts but I'm excited to write the next chapter! Exciting stuff coming!

Next chapter on Wednesday!