Roxie Bing | she's the one

(1.14) The One With The Candy Hearts

"You can not do this." Monica insisted to Phoebe as they walked in the coffee shop.
"Do what?" Rachel asked, curiously.
"Roger wants to take her out tomorrow night."
"No, Pheebs! Don't you remember why you dumped the guy?"
"Because he was creepy, and mean, and a little frightening. But still, it's nice to have a date on Valentines Day!" Phoebe defended.
"But Phoebe, you can hang out with a creepy night of the year." I chimed in. "I know I do." I rolled my eyes at Joey and Chandler who sat beside us.

"Anyway," Rachel turned her attention to the boys, "what are you two doing tomorrow night?"
"Well, tomorrow kind of depends on how tonight goes." Joey smirked.
"Listen, about tonight..." My brother started.
"No, no, no! Don't you dare bail on me! The only reason she's going out with me is because I said I could bring a friend for her friend!" Joey pleaded.
"I know, but her friend sounds like such a..."
Joey finished Chandler's sentence with, "pathetic mess, I know."
"Wait." I stopped them. "You're going on a double date?"
Joey stopped and looked at me. "Yeah." He clarified, before turning back carelessly to his conversation with Chandler.
I felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of my tummy but quickly dismissed it.

***

I turned the handle of our apartment and entered.
"Wow. You look radiant." I grinned at my brother who was stood by the sink in a smart suit.
"Well, thanks, little sis." He grinned back.
"Where's Joe?" I asked.
Chandler gestured to Joey's bedroom. "Still getting ready."
"Right. So, you and Joey, on a date, huh?" I tried to force a casual question out of my mouth but it came out awkwardly, causing my brother to look at me curiously.
"Yeah. You're not bothered, are you?"
My eyes widened and I forced a laugh. "What? No! That's ridiculous. Why would you ask that?"
Chandler shrugged, still looking at me as if he was trying to analyse everything I was saying. "I don't know. I mean, you did nearly kiss him at New Years, right?"
"Yeah, but that was nothing." I knew I was lying, but I wanted to be telling the truth.
"Okay. So long as it's nothing and you're not bothered."
"Yeah, no. Not bothered at all."

***

"How do we end up with these jerks?" Rachel huffed.
The four of us girls had been sat in Monica and Rachel's apartment sharing cringeworthy stories of ex-boyfriends.
"Oh!" Phoebe jumped up. "You know my friend Abby who shaves her head? She says that if you want to break the bad boyfriend cycle, you can do, like, a cleansing ritual, you know?"
"Pheebs, this woman is voluntarily bald." I pointed out, shoving the end of a pop tart into my mouth.
"Yeah! So we can do it tomorrow night. It's Valentines Day, it's perfect!"

After much discussion about what the ritual would involve, the conversation thankfully died off after we'd agreed to partake in it.

"So, Rox," Monica started, gaining my attention. "What happened with you and Joey the other night? He was upset."
"What? Why?" I asked, confused.
Monica shrugged. "Something about you saying he doesn't seem like he'd be a good boyfriend right now or that you don't think he'd be able to commit."
"Yeah, so?" I shrugged, shoving another pop tart in.
"So... it bothered him." Monica said.
"Yeah. It's like he's trying to prove a point to you about it." Rachel chimed in.
"Yeah, and trust us, Joey acts different around you." Phoebe added.
I rolled my eyes. "He's fine, he'll live. He isn't that bothered. I mean, look, he's on a date right now, isn't he?"
"Yeah, and are you bothered by that?" Monica looked for a reaction from me.
I shook my head and forced out a chuckle. "No. What else does one expect from Joey Tribbiani on Valentines Day? There's nothing between us." I insisted.
The three other girls exchanged a non-convinced look. "Okay."

***

I stepped out the shower the following morning and heard the sound of a laugh. A laugh that I really didn't want to be hearing.
"Please, no." I mumbled to myself as I tied my dressing gown around me and emerged from the bathroom.

"Roxie!" Janice cried out and ran to me, embracing me in an unwanted hug.
"Janice... uh, hi." I faked a smile, half-heartedly patting her on the back.
"Wow! This is so exciting, right?" She beamed.
"Yes, yes, very exciting." My brother rushed, clearly wanting her to leave the apartment as much as I did. "But you have to go."
"But I want to stay and talk to my future sister-in-law about how fate brought us back together!" She insisted.
"No, no. Roxie is busy, actually." Chandler told her, shooting me a look that begged for me to help him.
"Yes, yes, very busy." I nodded. "In fact I'm going to go and shower right now. Bye, Janice." I waved, tucking my head down and racing to the bathroom as she planted kisses on my brother.

***

I sat at the counter in the kitchen reading my book when Joey entered the apartment.
"Oh, hey." He smiled.
"Hey. It's been a couple of days since I've seen you properly. How was your date?"
He shrugged. "Good. I don't see anything there though."
"Oh."
"And how was your Valentines Day ritual?" He mocked.
I rolled my eyes and smirked. "Uh, we set fire to it. But we did meet some hot firefighters."
"Oh."
"Yeah." I added in, trying to figure out what the tension was between us.
"Anyway, here's something we can bond over," he started, "Chandler broke up with Janice. She's gone again!"
"Thank God." I smiled.
We high-fived over the counter.

Next chapter on Tuesday!!