♡

THE ONE WITH NO LABELS.
EPISODE THIRTEEN.

♡

Zara stood at the Central Perk counter with Monica, Rachel and Phoebe as they were meeting Phoebe's boyfriend for the first time. So far, Zara wasn't too sure what she thought about him.

"Tell them the story about your patient," Phoebe encouraged, smiling happily. "Who thinks things are like other things. You know? Like when the phone rings and she takes a shower."

"That's pretty much it," Roger clarified.

"What a story," said Zara, forcing a laugh.

"Oops."

"But you tell it really well, Sweetie," Roger reassured Phoebe.

He kissed her cheek as Phoebe mumbled a grateful reply while shooting a happy look at the three. Though, Zara felt her smile was getting faker by the second.

"Now go away so we can talk about you."

"Okay, I'll miss you."

Roger left them to it as the four huddled closer together. Maybe Zara didn't like Roger, but Phoebe did so that was enough to make Zara happy.

"Isn't he great?" Phoebe said.

"He's so cute," Rachel replied. "He seems to like you so much."

"I know," Phoebe agreed. "I know. He's so sweet, oh, and so complicated, you know? And for a shrink, he's not too shrinky."

"So you think you'll do it on his couch?" Monica questioned.

"Oh, I don't know. I don't know. I think that's a little weird. It's vinyl."

"Sometimes a little weird is good," Zara told Phoebe.

The three laughed at that before they moved back to their usual sitting area with Rachel returning to work, asking if the guys wanted anything else.

"Yes, could I have one of those..."

"No, sorry, we're all out of those," said Rachel, ignoring Chandler as Zara laughed before sitting down on the armchair with Monica perching on the end. That morning, Chandler had accidentally seen Rachel's boobs. "Anybody else?"

"Did I, uh, did I miss something between...?"

"No," answered Chandler. "She's still upset because I saw her boobies."

At least they had this for the shrink to focus on. Zara was worried that Roger might just figure out that Chandler and Zara were sleeping together.

"What were you doing seeing her boobies?" Ross questioned.

"It was an accident," Chandler clarified. "It wasn't across the street with a telescope and doughnuts." Or fortunately not Chandler leaving Zara's bedroom. He had disappeared to get ready for the day before appearing for breakfast, where the two were to hang a little before work just as friends, but Rachel and Chandler had their incident.

"Okay, okay," said Rachel. "Could we change the subject, please?"

"Yeah, 'cause, hello, these are not her boobies," Phoebe said, pointing to Rachel's chest. "These are her breasts."

"Okay, Pheebs," Rachel said. "I was hoping for more of a change."

"I don't know why you're so embarrassed," Chandler continued. "They were very nice boobies."

"Nice?" Rachel questioned. "They were nice? I mean, that's it? I mean, mittens are nice."

"Okay. Rock. Hard place. Me."

Zara shot Chandler an amused look as Roger laughed, but then Zara's eyes flickered to Rachel. "Ignore him, Rachel," said Zara, quickly. "I've seen your breasts too and they're unforgettable, honey."

"You've seen Rachel's boobies too?" Chandler and Ross both questioned.

"We live together," Zara and Rachel answered.

Monica laughed. "It happens more than you think, actually."

"You know," Roger cut in, eyes on Chandler as the two guys sat in a silent shock. "You're so funny," then he turned to look at Phoebe. "He's really funny. Of course, I wouldn't want to be there when the laughter stops."

"Whoa, whoa," said Chandler. "Back up there, Sparky. What did you mean by that?"

Zara frowned, biting down on her lip to stay silent.

"Well, it just seems as though that maybe you have intimacy issues," explained Roger as Zara bit down harder on her lip. "That you use your humour as a way of keeping people at a distance."

Did Chandler do that? It made sense but the two were close and intimate in a way their friends didn't even know. Though, when they weren't having sex, it did just seem as if they were friends. Neither wanted to bring feelings into the mix as maybe they were too afraid or not ready for something like that.

"Huh," said Chandler. "I mean, hey, I just met you. I don't know you from Adam." That was true. "Only child, right?" Zara frowned, eyes narrowing at Roger. "Parents divorced before you hit puberty."

"Uh-huh," Chandler replied. "How did you know that?"

"It's textbook," Roger said.

Chandler's head turned, eyes falling on Zara, who looked about ready to say something but Monica had a firm grip on her arm. Fortunately, Joey chose to come in at that moment.

"Hey, you guys," Joey greeted. "You all know my dad."

They all greeted Joey's father with Zara offering him a welcoming smile.

"Hey, how long you in the city for?"

"Just a couple of days," Joseph replied. "I got a job midtown. I figured I'm better staying with the kid than hauling my ass back and forth on a ferry."

Staying with Joey... Zara couldn't even look at Chandler, where the two knew that it meant they wouldn't be able to sneak around while Joey's father was around. The thought caused Zara to slump in her chair.

"I don't know this one," said Joseph, eyes falling on Roger.

"Oh," said Phoebe. "This is my friend Roger."

"Hi," Roger shook Joseph's hand.

"Hey, good to meet you, Roger," then Joseph leant closer to Phoebe. "What happened to the puppet guy?"

Joey shook his head. "Dad."

"Oh, oh. Excuse me," Joseph realised, turning his attention to Ross. "So, Ross, how's the wife?" Ross moaned as Zara couldn't help but laugh. "Chandler, quick, say something funny!"

Chandler didn't even utter a word.

"Okay," Joseph's eyes fell on Zara. "Zara, tell me, have you been giving my son hell?"

"Of course, Joseph," Zara winked at the father, grinning brightly.

♡

The following day, Zara sat on the armchair with her laptop open on her lap as she typed away. Next to her, Chandler perched on the end of the chair as he stared down at the screen, trying to read as quickly as she typed.

"Please tell me Ruby gets adopted in the end," Chandler said.

"Maybe not in this book," said Zara, pausing as she typed. "It depends on the end. At the moment, I'm torn between two different directions."

"Like what?" Monica asked.

"Either it's a happy ending with Zara getting adopted or she realises that her father is the villain behind the first war."

"Oh, I like it," said Rachel, grinning. "You could write a second book."

"Maybe," Zara agreed. "There's potential for a series."

Though, Joey then came in looking crestfallen that caught all their attention. He sat down on the sofa with them with Monica handing him a jar of peanut butter as he explained what he had found out about his father. Even Zara felt sorry for him.

"He's, like, actually some spy working for the C.I.A." said Joey and then smiled as he opened up the jar. "That would be cool. This blows."

"Yeah, I know," Rachel agreed. "Why can't parents just stay parents? You know, why do they have to become people? Why do they have...?" Zara scowled up at Chandler, realising that he was staring at Rachel's chest. "Why...can't you stop staring at my breasts?"

"What?" Chandler responded.

Rolling her eyes, Zara shoved Chandler off the armchair as he stumbled from the side, almost falling to the ground as Rachel moved out of his way. Chandler frowned at her, opening his mouth, but thought it was best to not say anything since it was risky.

"A good enough look the other day?" Rachel questioned.

"All right, all right," Ross cautioned from where he sat next to Joey on the sofa. "We're all adults here. There's only one way to resolve this. Since you saw her boobies, I think you're going to have to show her your pee-pee."

Zara laughed, shooting Ross a ridiculous look. "Pee-pee?"

Rachel, however, was nodding in agreement.

"You know, I don't see that happening," said Chandler.

"Come on," Rachel encouraged. "He's right. Tit for tat."

"Go on, Chandler," Zara smiled at him, but he ignored her.

"Well, I'm not showing you my tat."

The intercom buzzed then as Chandler returned to the armchair, finally meeting Zara's gaze as his eyebrows rose in silent questioning. Downstairs, it was both Phoebe and Roger as Zara found herself groaning, a little too eager to return to her book.

"Oh good," said Chandler sarcastically. "Rog is here."

"What's the matter with Rog?" Joey asked.

"Ah, it's nothing," Chandler reassured. "It's a little thing. I hate that guy."

"So do I," Zara announced.

"So he was a little analytical," said Ross. "That's what he does. Come on, he's not that bad."

But it only got worse as Zara ended up joining Ross and Chandler at the dining table to where Roger sat with them. Honestly, Zara was happy just heading to bed incredibly early, but she felt a little bad leaving Chandler. Zara simply focused on her book instead, using it as a distraction.

"That's where you're wrong," Ross shouted at Roger. "Why would I marry her if I thought on any level that she was a lesbian?"

"I don't know," Roger replied. "Maybe you wanted your marriage to fail."

Chandler stood, patting Ross on the back.

"Why?" Ross questioned. "Why would I? Why? Why? Why? Why?"

"I don't know," Roger answered. "Maybe...maybe low self-esteem. Maybe to compensate for overshadowing a sibling. Maybe..."

"Wait," Monica joined them. "Go back to that sibling thing."

"Well, I don't know," said Roger. "It's conceivable that you wanted to sabotage your marriage so that the sibling would feel like less of a failure in the eyes of the parents."

"That's... that's ridiculous," Ross clarified. "I don't feel guilty for her failures."

Monica gasped, moving away from her brother as she joined Roger's side. "So you think I'm a failure?"

"Isn't he good?" Phoebe said.

"No, no, that's not what I was saying," Ross reassured.

"In all these years, I thought you were on my side but maybe what you were doing was sucking up to mom and dad so they'd keep liking you better."

"Hey, I married a lesbian to make you look good!"

"I'm so glad I don't have any siblings," Zara confessed.

"Is that true, Zara?" Roger questioned, causing Zara's face to pale. "Phoebe told me about your book. You know, it's not going to magic you a childhood, right?"

"What... what do you mean?" Zara's voice was barely audible.

"Ruby's an orphan," Roger explained. "One parent is dead and the other a villain. Not only are you an orphan yourself, Zara, but your father has a criminal background. Ruby is the childhood you wanted; you're writing yourself the happy ending you never had."

The laptop lid closed as Zara stared at Roger with her lips pressed tightly together. He simply smiled, unbothered to the bubble of emotions that were brewing inside of Zara. If it wasn't for Phoebe, then Zara would have blown up on him.

"For your information," said Zara, furious. "My birth mother is not dead."

"But the father is behind bars?" Roger questioned.

"So what if he is?" Zara snapped. "It has nothing to do with my book."

"Are you sure, Zara?"

Zara frowned, refusing to accept that her middle-grade book had spiralled from the missing elements of her childhood. Ruby was not Zara's hero.

Instead of replying, Zara vanished as she headed outside to sulk on the balcony. A part of her longed for a cigarette, but she didn't want to give Roger the satisfaction of another problem to analyse.

The window opened with Chandler and Monica climbing out to join Zara. Though, Zara had nothing to say to them as she didn't want to talk about it. Her childhood was something that Zara could make the occasional joke or comment about, but not a heavy conversation as if it was the route to her problems.

"Please don't question my childhood," Zara told them.

"We won't," Chandler said, where Zara could tell he wanted to hold her. "Monica's come to realise something."

"I hate that guy," Monica clarified.

There was a hint of a smile at that. "Welcome to the club."

♡

It was a relief when Phoebe and Roger broke up, as well as Joey's father leaving so that Chandler and Zara could continue. Though, things got worse as Joey ended up peeping on Zara in the shower, thinking it was Rachel that resulted in her throwing a shampoo bottle at him.

Come to that night, Zara ended up sneaking back over to Chandler's room, unable to get enough when they had been apart for a while.

"So Joey saw your boobies?" Chandler questioned as she closed the door.

"Yes," said Zara, folding her arms over her chest. "Are we having sex or are you sulking?"

Chandler laughed but it sounded fake. "I'm not sulking," he told her but they both knew he was lying. "It's not like he hasn't seen them before."

"Are you jealous, Chandler?"

"Not at all," Chandler reassured. "You pushed me for staring at Rachel!"

"'Cause, you were looking at her!" Zara exclaimed, quietly.

"So you were jealous."

"I wasn't sulking about it, though."

"No, instead you pushed me!"

Zara groaned. "Can we just have sex now? I wore the underwear you like..."

Chandler perked up at that, desperately hurrying to Zara as his hands reached for her waist, pulling her closer to his bed. Laughing, Zara ended up joining him on the bed as she straddled his lap, head tilting downwards as their lips connected.

"You know," said Chandler after a moment. "I quite like a jealous Zara."

Zara rolled her eyes at that. "Just shut up and kiss me."

And Chandler did just that.

♡

EPISODE FOURTEEN.

♡

It was the day before Valentine's Day and Zara was working on her novel at the coffee house. Zara wanted to get another chapter finished before she had a break for a couple of days, though there were always distractions.

"Still, it's nice to have a date on Valentine's day," Phoebe joined them, capturing Zara's attention. The three (Joey and Chandler were sat with Zara) greeted their blonde friend.

"Phoebe, you can go out with a creepy guy any night of the year," Monica told her. "I know I do." Then her eyes fell on the two guys. "Hi."

"Hi," they replied.

"Please tell me this isn't Roger you're talking about," Zara frowned, eyes falling on Phoebe.

Phoebe didn't reply that was enough for Zara to work out the answer to that as she sighed, believing Phoebe deserved someone a lot better.

"What are you guys doing tomorrow night?" Rachel asked.

Both Chandler and Zara had secretly planned on getting a hotel together, where they might go out for dinner before but that was a little too much for their routine. Still, they both planned on having a lot of sex with no mention of feelings.

"Actually, tomorrow night depends on how tonight goes," Joey answered first.

Zara shot Chandler a look of frustration.

"Oh, listen, about tonight..."

"No, no, no," Joey cut him off. "Don't you dare bail on me. The only reason she's going is because I'm bringing a friend for her friend."

"Yes, I know, but her friend sounds like such a..."

"Pathetic mess," Joey finished. "I know. Come on man, she's needy, she's vulnerable. I'm thinking cha-ching!"

"Sorry, what?" Zara rounded on Joey, absolutely furious. "Have you not learnt anything, Joey? And I was actually starting to consider you a friend."

Zara closed her laptop, excusing herself for the toilet. Angry tears blurred her vision, realising that she hadn't just been a one-night stand but a pathetic mess — an easy pull, where Joey hadn't cared about the consequences of messing with someone who was vulnerable.

But things got worse as Chandler found Zara upstairs after, sharing some unexpected news with her.

"Instead of cancelling, you suggested that I could join you and Joey on your double date with my fake boyfriend?" Zara summarised, laughing at how ridiculous it sounded. "I'm not going."

"Please," Chandler pleaded. "I know Joey messed up and I hate that you're upset, but I have no way to get out of this—"

"Just say no," Zara told him.

"If I say no to every date, then someone will suspect something," Chandler argued. "I didn't even know dating was off-limits with this." His hands gestured between the two. "It's just casual, right?"

"Yeah..." Zara agreed, sighing. "I guess you're right, but there's no Charlie, Chandler!"

"Right, so he stands you up and then I'm that much of a good friend that we go home."

"Fine," said Zara. "But I hope whoever this girl is stands you up too. And don't expect me to be nice to Joey."

"You can terrorise him as much as you want," Chandler promised.

♡

Maybe Zara had planned on terrorising Joey all night, but she certainly had the urge to annoy Chandler a little. It was too easy as Zara overdressed herself a little with a snugly fit black dress that dipped low behind her back, revealing the fact that she had no bra on.

The dress left both Chandler and Joey a little speechless that made Zara feel smug. Together, the three had hailed a cab to take them to the restaurant. Zara noticed that Joey was busy so she leant closer to Chandler.

"Guess what," Zara whispered.

"What?" Chandler questioned, turning his head to meet her gaze.

"I'm not wearing anything underneath," Chandler fell silent, eyes dropping downwards as Zara crossed her legs. His fingers went to his shirt, pulling the tight collar away from his throat as Zara laughed.

"What's funny?" Joey questioned.

"Apparently my life," Zara answered. "Since you seem to constantly be in it."

Joey sighed. "Zara, about what I said—"

"I don't want to hear it."

"No, I don't blame you," Joey agreed. "But I am sorry, Zara. You weren't a pathetic mess to me. I-I didn't even get the impression that you were going through something. I'm just sorry, okay? I hate that I upset you, Zara. You might not think the same, but you're my friend."

Zara was a little speechless as her head turned away from Chandler to Joey, having not expected him to apologise to her or even acknowledge that he had done wrong. "Joey..." she eventually spoke. "I might not like you, but you're my friend too."

Joey smiled at that. "I'll take that."

"And apology accepted," Zara decided. "But you and I are gonna have a serious discussion about how you treat women."

The three ended up first at the restaurant as Zara stared at the empty seat next to her, knowing that it would remain empty for the rest of the night. Still, Zara still wasn't thrilled about the fact that Chandler's date was likely going to turn up.

Zara had ordered herself a drink, feeling like she might need quite a few tonight.

"How do I look?" Joey asked after checking his reflection in a knife.

"Um," Chandler leant forward. "I don't care."

"That's Lorraine," Joey stood up, having spotted his date.

"Okay, now remember—" Chandler joined him, standing up. "No trading. You get the pretty one, I get the other one."

Zara glared at Chandler.

"Hi, Joey," the woman greeted him with a hug as Zara stood, a little mesmerised herself with how stunning Lorraine was. "Well, well, look what you brought. Very nice." Then her eyes fell on Zara with her smile widening. "Gosh, aren't you stunning?"

"Isn't she?" Chandler agreed, smiling as Zara's eyes popped wide. Realising his mistake, Chandler stumbled with his next words: "As a friend, I'm so happy for Charlie as he's a very lucky guy."

Lorraine laughed at that, oblivious just as Joey was. Still, though, Zara couldn't help but stare at Chandler, a little surprised and touched at his words.

"My friend's just checking her coat," Lorraine told Chandler before turning to Joey. "Joey, I'm going to go wash the cab smell off my hands. Will you get me a white Zinfandel? And a glass of red for Janice."

Janice...

Zara felt her stomach drop, refusing to believe that it was that much of a small world.

"Janice?" Chandler questioned.

"No..."

"Janice?" It was both Chandler and Zara this time.

"Oh...my...God."

"Joey," said Zara. "Make that two white Zinfandel. Actually, perhaps a bottle or two."

"Hey, it's Janice," Chandler said, glaring at Joey.

The evening got worse as Chandler and Joey disappeared to the bathroom as they left Zara alone with Janice and Lorraine, who were both questioning her about where Charlie was.

"Oh, he's probably running late," Zara shrugged, clutching onto her drink tightly. "You know, he's a doctor, so things are always busy with him."

"Oh, a doctor?" Janice said. "Handsome?"

"Yeah, he is," said Zara. "He's funny, too, and surprisingly sweet."

When the two returned, things were going extremely well for Joey and Lorraine as dinner came to an end. Zara felt ridiculously tipsy as she sat sulking, holding her glass as Chandler and Janice were sat silently.

"You know, ever since I was little, I've been able to pick up quarters with my toes."

"Yeah, good for you," Joey replied. "Uh...quarters or rolls of quarters?"

That caused Chandler and Zara to both glance over at him.

"By the way, Chandler..." Zara started to drink as Janice spoke. "I cut you out of all my pictures so if you want, I have a bag with just your heads."

"That's okay," Chandler answered.

"I'll have them," said Zara, smirking. "I can play darts or cover the apartment with Chandler's heads. Monica and Rachel will love it."

Janice laughed. "Oh, I do like you, Zara," she told her before her attention fell on Chandler again. "Are you sure? Because you could make little puppets out of them and you could use them in your theatre of cruelty."

"We can't do that," Joey said.

"What? What can't you do?"

"Uh... can I talk to you for a second over there," Joey said to Chandler before flashing Zara a smile.

The two disappeared again, leaving Zara alone with Janice and Lorraine again.

"Something's different," said Janice, facing Zara. "Are you sure Chandler's not seeing anyone?"

Zara scoffed at that. "Who could Chandler possibly be seeing?"

Janice's eyes narrowed. "You know, when you moved in with Monica, I was worried," she confessed. "Maybe I was right then to be worried."

"What do you mean?" Zara questioned.

"Can we have three chocolate mousses to go, please?" Lorraine asked the waiter.

Then, Joey was returning with an apologetic smile at Zara before he left with Lorraine. Zara stared after him, mouth falling wide open at the reality of being left with Chandler and Janice.

"So..." Chandler walked towards the two, who both had their arms folded across their chests now.

"Just the three of us," Janice realised.

"Oh, what a crappy night."

"Although... I have enjoyed the fact that your shirts been sticking out of your zipper ever since you came back from the bathroom."

Zara laughed with Janice at that. "I saw it too."

Chandler excused himself from the two as he turned to do up his flies with Zara shaking her head at him. Then, finally, he joined the two back at the table again.

"So..." Janice said. "How long has this been going on between you two?"

Chandler let out an awkward chuckle. "Has what been going on?"

"You and Zara," Janice clarified.

"Me and Chandler?" Zara scoffed, reaching for her wine glass again. "I told you, I got myself a doctor."

"Who has not turned up," Janice noted. "And you look as miserable about me being here as Chandler does," then she smirked, finger flickering between the two of you. "If you're not together, then you're sleeping together."

"No..." Chandler's voice trailed off, being awful at lying. "Zara and I? Sleeping together! As if that was true..."

"Chandler, you idiot," Zara frowned at him as Janice laughed again. "God, I need another drink."

"Speaking of drinks," Chandler held up a credit card. "Joey left us his credit card. Another drink? You got it. Some dessert? A big-screen TV?"

"I will go for that drink," Janice announced.

"You got it," Chandler repeated. "Zara, do you still want that drink?"

Zara shrugged. "Why not?"

♡

Zara yawned, rolling over as Chandler's arm slid around her in his sleep. Still half-asleep, Zara found herself cuddling up to him more, leg sliding over his upper thigh.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

At that voice, Zara shot upwards with her irises growing wide. Then, she turned around, where Zara's eyes fell on a happy Janice and a shocked Chandler. Janice's fingers were playing with Chandler's hair, completely oblivious to their reactions. Zara met Chandler's gaze, where the two shared a horrified expression. Glancing down, Zara clutched the covers to her chest, realising she was naked.

Just like Janice was.

"Oh my God," Zara whispered. "No."

That echoing laugh fell from Janice's lips. "Yes."

"Did we..."

"I don't know," Chandler realised. "I don't remember."

"Neither do I," said Zara, struggling to recall the night.

Janice laughed again, offering the two a smug smile. "I guess I won't tell you then."

Zara wasn't sure what to say or do about the situation. It wouldn't be the first threesome in her life, but it was certainly the most unexpected and it wasn't like Chandler at all. So maybe they hadn't. Maybe they had just fallen asleep naked.

Zara had no choice but to stay shut away in Chandler's room as she waited for a better time to sneak back to her room. However, it gave Chandler the responsibility of losing Janice. And that was proving difficult than either of them thought.

♡

Their Valentine's Day plan of just sex ended up being ruined with Janice as Zara found herself sulking later that afternoon. Monica and Rachel were out as Chandler hurried into her room, closing the door behind him.

"Okay, I know this is bad—"

"Janice thinks you're back together!"                                                                                         

"I don't see why she would think that after..."

"We didn't, okay?" Zara shook her head. "Just because the three of us were naked in bed together, doesn't mean anything happened."

"I'll take being naked as a pretty good sign, Zara."

"Well, I don't! I sleep naked, remember?"

"How could I forget?"

Zara finally looked at him, seeing that hint of a smirk and gleam in his eyes that made her frown. "No, Bing," she told him. "You don't get to have sex until you fix this."

"How can I fix this?" Chandler asked.

"Don't let Janice think that you're back together," said Zara. "Break up with her."

"On Valentine's Day?" Chandler shook his head. "I already broke up with her on New Year's Eve."

"Then I guess you're sleeping alone tonight, Chandler," Zara told him.

Chandler sighed. "Why do you even care? It's not like this is anything official between us."

"So you want to see other people?" Zara questioned, frowning as she turned away from him.

"Zara, are you crazy?" Chandler walked towards her, gently taking her hand as she met his stare again. "I can't even look at any woman the same since I first saw you. Maybe I don't want a relationship with you because I have a habit of screwing things up and I like you enough to not want that."

"I don't want my heart broken again," Zara told him, honestly. "I can't do labels, Chandler. But... this isn't just a fling for me anymore. I couldn't stand the thought of you going on a date with another girl last night."

"I could tell," Chandler pulled her closer to him, appearing amused. "The whole no panties and jealously sulking all night was really attractive. I'll end things with Janice, Zara, but I don't want this just to be fling either."

"Then what is it?" Zara questioned.

"Just us," Chandler offered. "No labels. No strings. Just us."

Zara smiled. "I can do that."

"Can I still have a kiss?"

"Nope," said Zara, beaming as Chandler pouted. "End things with Janice first and then I'm all yours."

♡

Chandler ended up meeting Janice at Central Perk as Joey stayed with him to help encourage Chandler into doing it. So far, Janice had already gifted him candy hearts.

"Okay, Janice," said Chandler. "Hey, Janice. Look, there's no way for me to tell you this. At least, there's no new way for me to tell you this. I just don't think things are going to work out."

"That's fine," Janice answered, not completely surprised.

"It is?"

Janice hummed in agreement. "I saw the way you looked at Zara, Chandler," she told him, which turned into her laughing again. "Last night, I might as well have disappeared."

"It's not like that—"

"You and I both know she's going to end up breaking your heart," Janice cut him off. "But I know that this isn't the end for us."

"Oh, no you see," said Chandler. "Actually it is."

"No, it isn't," Janice disagreed. "Because you won't let that happen. Don't you know it yet? Zara will break your heart and you'll come running back to me. You always do, Chandler Bing."

Janice left, leaving Chandler a little speechless, already starting to doubt things with Zara before they had even begun. But Chandler didn't want to run.

Chandler had forgotten that Joey had been there listening as his eyes now landed on his friend, seeing him sat in a state of shock. A burst of awkward laughter slipped past Chandler's lips as he walked over to where Joey sat, shoving his hands deep in his pockets.

"How much did you hear of that?" Chandler asked.

"Everything," Joey replied, eyes becoming even wider with each second. "You and Zara? Since when?"

"Uh, since my mom came to visit," said Chandler, sitting down next to Joey with a sigh. "You're not mad, are you?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" Joey laughed. "This is the best news ever! We have to tell—"

"No, no," Chandler panicked. "You can't tell anyone, okay? It's just between us, Joey. If people find out, then it gets too much, and neither of us wants that."

Joey's eyebrows furrowed. "So it's a secret?"

"A secret," Chandler nodded in agreement. "I know it's asking for a lot, but can you do that for us?"

"You really like her, don't you?" Joey realised.

"I do," Chandler smiled. "I really do and it terrifies me."

"Aw, congrats, man," Joey said, wrapping his arms around Chandler. "Don't worry about me, okay? I can keep your secret. But, uh, things aren't awkward between us, are they?"

"Awkward?" Chandler laughed, pulling away from his best friend. "Why would it be awkward?"

"Well... 'cause, you know, Zara and I slept together," mumbled Joey. "Now the two of you are sleeping together."

"No, it's cool," said Chandler, shrugging. "It only makes me a tad self-conscious about myself, but it's not awkward."

"Well, you must be doing something right," Joey reassured, chuckling, and then smiled at Chandler. "So, Zara's incredible, isn't she? Like really good."

Chandler frowned at his friend. "Don't push it, Joe."

Joey raised his hands, falling silent at that.

♡

The night with Janice is going to be an ongoing thing throughout this book, where I might eventually announce what happened that night. You all love Chandler and Zara so much already and haven't even given Joey a chance, bless him! (I actually feel the same and now questioning my plan)