Winter Wonderland

Nervous feelings

Chapter 3.

Rachel was standing outside of Monica Geller's front door having difficulty standing still. She ran her hand through her hair, fiddling with the ends while gazing at the door in front of her. "Is this a good idea?" she trials of to herself nervously biting her lower lip.

Yesterday at Central Perk, Rachel was invited to Monica's annual Christmas dinner. It surprised, yet thrilled her. After the awkward incident with Joey, Monica guided Rachel to the couch and started talking to her with the others joining their conversation. The group of five people she earlier was watching through the window, felt like home to her. They made Rachel believe that leaving Barry and moving to New York was the right decision. They radiated feelings of safety, devotion and loyalty and Rachel loved the emotions that began to settle in her body. A smile was placed on her face that afternoon. A smile that wouldn't leave her lips.

Now, Rachel was standing in the hallway in front of Monica's apartment door. The smile that earlier brightened her entire face was now replaced with an increased heart rate and a fluttery feeling in her stomach. Rachel clutched her bag tightly to her chest. She wasn't nervous about the dinner, she was nervous about facing him again. Yesterday they only shared a few glances at each other. No one dared to say a word. Rachel didn't feel awkward around him, the problem was that she didn't know how to act around him. However, one thing she couldn't forget was the small smile that spread across Ross' lips causing his eyes to shine when Monica invited Rachel to her Christmas dinner. His smile was glued to her memory. It made chills run down her spine. Every time she closed her eyes, a clear picture of him, trying to hide his smile, was all she could see. She couldn't stop thinking about him no matter how hard she tried to, and that scared her.

Without her notice, Chandler and Joey exited their apartment across the hall from where Rachel is standing.
"Hi there Rachel! Having trouble knocking on the door?" Chandler asked behind her with a grin causing Rachel to jerk by surprise.
"Oh hi! no.. Eeh, I was just about to" she answered with a chuckle while her chin slightly dipping down.
"No need for that" Joey said walking past her breaking through the door. "Heeey everybody! Let's eat, I'm starving!" Joey excitingly shouted with a huge smile on his face, making everyone inside Monica's apartment jump by surprise.
"We never lock our doors....." Chandler whispered to Rachel while putting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her forward.
Rachel's smile was again placed on her lips. She walked inside the apartment with Chandler close behind her.

Inside the apartment, Rachel spotted Phoebe and Ross sitting on the couch watching tv.
Joey was already by Monica's side in the kitchen excitingly waiting for all the food.

"Rachel! Hey!" Monica shouted from the kitchen waving with a spatula in her hand. "Hi, thank you for inviting me! I appreciate it a lot!" Rachel replied with a grateful smile while standing by the kitchen counter. "Wow, Your apartment is beautiful Monica" she gushed. "Aww, thank you sweetie! Yeah, I love it. All five of us does, actually." she chuckled, "And I'm sure you are going to love it as well" she added with a wink. "Hi, Rachel! You look beautiful." Phoebe said approaching Rachel with a warm hug.
All of Rachel's nerves were now gone. She felt so welcomed, like she was a part of the group, even though they've met the previous day.

"Ross! Why don't you show Rachel around while I finish prepping all the food?" Monica asked her brother.
Ross was still sitting on the couch, but his eyes were now directed at Rachel. She gulped. She loved his eyes.

Rachel watched his every move. Ross slowly walked towards Rachel with his hands in his pockets, locking his eyes with hers. After a few seconds, Rachel broke their intense eye contact and looked down. She felt how her cheeks began to burn.
"Hi Rachel," Ross softly said while rubbing the back of his neck, smiling shyly. She looked up. "Ross, hi", Rachel grinned while fiddling with her hair. They were standing by the kitchen counter gazing at each other. No one said a word. Suddenly after a few seconds, Ross gently took Rachel by the hand. "Let me show you around", he said grinning and started to tour her around the apartment. He showed her Monica's room, the bathroom and the guestroom. The entire time, Rachel couldn't stop thinking about her hand in Ross'. They fit perfectly together she thought.
"And yeah, this is the living room and there's the kitchen. The apartment is quite small but we love it" Ross cleared his throat while returning his eyes to hers. Rachel smiled. "Yeah, it is lovely here" she agreed. She glanced down at their hands. Her hand was still tightly held by Ross. Ross was smiling shyly at Rachel. "Rachel -"

"Aaa look, you guys are standing under the mistletoe! Now you have to kiss! Yay, this is so exciting! " Phoebe shouted overjoyed interrupting Ross. Rachel froze and her eyes widened. "Are you sure that's not basil?" she shuttered embarrassed while glancing around the apartment trying to avoid eye contact with Ross. Thousands of thoughts rushed through her.
Suddenly, she felt an impact of two soft lips on her cheek. Her already burning cheeks began to heat up even more and chills rushed through her entire body. Head to toe. She locked her eyes with his. Ross began to blush himself, surprised by his actions. But after a few seconds, his lips broke into an amused smile and his eyes began to shine with happiness. Rachel was smiling too. Her smile grew so big that she thought her face was going to split in two.
"Aww, you guys are cute!" Phoebe said, embracing them both in a big hug. Joey and Chandler joined the group hug as well. "Wait! Wait!" Monica shouted from the kitchen dropping her spatula in the sink before sprinting towards her friends.
"Welcome to the family Rachel. Our lives are crazy. You are going to love it!" Monica said while tucking Rachel's hair behind her ear.

------------------
Yay, chapter 3! I hope you like it!