♡

THE ONE WHERE ZARA WANTS MAGIC BEANS.
EPISODE FOUR.

♡

Zara was exhausted come to the end of the day, where her arms were full with work to mark and monthly reports to fill out for parents. By the time she arrived at Central Perk, the rest of her newly discovered friends were already chatting away.

"Hey, hey, sorry I'm late," said Zara, running into the boys. "Oh, are you guys leaving already?"

Joey held up three tickets. "Game night!"

"Zara, let me help you," Ross offered.

"Oh, thanks," Zara smiled, relieved that someone took the folders from her arms as Ross dumped them on the coffee table for her. "I'm exhausted."

"Tough day?" Monica asked.

"What's tough about Kindergarten?" Chandler questioned.

Zara shot him a disappointed look, watching as his smile vanished. "Have you ever managed a class of six-year-olds before, Chandler?"

"I can't say that I have," he replied.

"We can help, though," Joey offered, far too eagerly.

"Can you?" Zara shot him a look. "Counting to ten seems too hard for you, Joey."

Joey frowned. "I can show you—"

"Hockey," both Ross and Chandler decided.

"We'll help you," Phoebe reassured Zara.

"Thanks," Zara said, grateful for them. "I appreciate it but it's all confidential."

The three men went to leave, but then Rachel appeared, waving a piece of paper as she announced her first payslip. A chorus of cheers echoed from the friends as they all waited eagerly for Rachel to open the envelope.

"Look," Rachel showed them. "There's my name. Hi, me."

"I remember the day I got my first paycheck," Phoebe told them. "There was a cave-in in the mines. Eight people were killed."

"Wow," said Monica, surprised. "You worked in a mine?"

"No, I worked at a dairy queen," Phoebe answered. "Why?"

Zara pressed her lips together to hide her laughter as she recalled her first job being at a roller skate rink. Back then she had a bit of an attitude and was fired after a few weeks for snapping back at a customer — hence why she liked working with children; they might be little terrors, but she had a way with them that surprised even herself sometimes.

"Oh! Isn't this exciting?" Rachel exclaimed, still clutching at the payslip.

"Just wait until you see the pay!" Zara told her.

"I earned this," Rachel continued, finally opening the payslip. "I steamed milk for it. And it was totally..." she stared at the amount. "...not worth it. Who's 'FICA'? Why's he getting all my money? I mean, what...? Chandler, look at that."

Chandler took the piece of paper, reading the amount. "Oh, this is not that bad," he tried reassuring Rachel, handing the slip to Joey.

"Oh, you're fine for a first job," added Joey.

"You can totally live on this," Ross reassured Rachel.

Phoebe finally received the payslip as Zara became too impatient, craning closer to the blonde to see the numbers herself. For once, Zara felt a little bad for Rachel.

"Yeah," said Phoebe.

"I've had worse," Zara told Rachel.

"Hey, by the way," said Ross. "Great service today."

They all agreed, reaching deep into their pockets for any spare notes or coins as they left it on the table for Rachel. Rachel, unhappy, slammed her hand on the table to take back her payslip before leaving.

"Hockey!" The boys cried once again, deciding to leave.

Zara tried to resist the urge to roll her eyes at them as she twisted in her seat in the hope that Rachel was getting her a coffee. It would be her hundredth coffee for the day, but she couldn't make it till bedtime without another one or two.

"Rachel?" Someone beat her to it.

Frowning, Zara eyed the three who had just come in with numerous shopping bags. They did not fit in with Central Perk and they seemed to know that too.

"Oh my God!" Rachel exclaimed upon seeing them.

There were a series of squeals, reminding Zara of the young girls in her class. The three met Rachel, where the four hugged.

"I've seen birds do this on wild kingdom," said Monica.

"Welcome to my classroom," Zara added. "You'd think I'd be used to it."

They listened into the reunion with the friends shocked to see Rachel working in a coffee house. Of course, the squealing didn't stop as they each shared their news.

"Look," Phoebe caught their attention. "Look. I have elbows."

Both Monica and Zara joined Phoebe in screaming that received a look from the four behind them. 

♡

Zara wanted to smoke so bad, but she was trying her hardest not to give in to her addiction. Right now, she needed a cigarette as she organised the files to hand out on Monday at school.

Both Monica and Phoebe had the great idea of making Tiki Death Punch, believing it to be a perfect distraction for Zara. The two made the cocktails while Zara put away her work for the weekend. They were having a sleepover with the three planning on distracting Zara enough so that she wouldn't smoke.

"Hey, Rach," said Monica as Rachel came through the front door. "How was it with your friends?"

The three faced each other, mimicking the screams with their hands in the air. Rachel shot them a look, clearly unamused.

"Okay, how would you like some Tiki Death Punch?" Monica asked instead.

"What's that?" Rachel questioned, moving closer to look.

"A classic from college," said Zara with a smirk.

"Zara and I lived on this stuff," added Monica, laughing as she held up the blended drink ready to pour it into the glasses that Zara had set out. "It's rum..."

"Okay," Rachel said as she snatched the blender jug from Monica and a straw from herself, where she then started to drink.

Zara laughed. "I defiantly like you more now."

"We thought we'd have kind of a slumber party thing," Monica explained. "You know, to help Zara, too. We got some trash magazines. We got cookie dough. We got twister—"

"Which I will destroy you all at," Zara added as the phone started to ring.

"Oh, and I brought operation," Phoebe shared with them, picking up the box as she moved to show Rachel. "But I lost the tweezers so we can't operate," then her eyes popped wide as if she had just come up with an idea. "But we can prep the guy."

"I have tweezers we could use," Zara offered.

"Yay," said Phoebe. "Great."

"Rach, it's the visa card people," Monica hurried to her friend with the phone.

"Oh, God, ask them what they want," said Rachel.

"Could you please tell me what this is in reference to?" Monica asked on the phone, then she turned to Rachel again. "Yes... they say there's been some unusual activity on your account."

"But I haven't used my card in weeks," Rachel argued.

"That is the unusual activity," said Monica.

Zara pressed her lips together, finding that she was about to comment on the matter and that wouldn't help their slumber party. Rachel, however, looked exhausted at the trouble as she stood.

"Look," Monica said. "They just want to see if you're okay."

"They want to know if I'm okay?" Rachel repeated, starting to unravel. "Okay, they want to know if I'm okay. Okay, let's see...well, the FICA guys took all my money. Everyone I know is either getting married or getting pregnant or getting promoted. And I'm getting coffee, and it's not even for me. So if that sounds like I'm okay, then you can tell them I'm okay, okay?"

"Yikes," said Zara. "I thought this slumber party was against smoking but maybe Rachel and I should go share one..."

"No!" The three snapped at Zara.

"Uh," Monica held the phone to her ear again. "Rachel has left the building. Can you call back?"

"All right, come on," continued Rachel, setting up the twister mat. "Let's play twister."

She looked like she was about to cry, which Zara didn't like. Seeing that caused the three to hurry over, eager to cheer up Rachel in whatever way that they could. But it didn't last long as they ended up sitting on the sofa with Phoebe on the coffee table as they drank.

"You should feel great about yourself," Monica told Rachel. "You're doing this amazing independent thing."

"Monica, what is so amazing?" Rachel questioned, not seeing it. "I gave up, like, everything. And for what?"

"You are just like Jack," Phoebe pointed out.

"Jack from downstairs?" Rachel guessed.

"No, Jack and the Beanstalk," said Phoebe.

"Ah, the other Jack," Monica said.

"God I should have known that," muttered Zara, sarcastically.

"Yeah, you should of," Phoebe agreed. "See, he gave up something but then he got those magic beans. And then he woke up and then there was this big pant outside of his window full of possibilities and stuff. And he lived in a village. And you live in the village."

"Okay, but Pheebs, Pheebs..." Rachel tried. "Jack gave up a cow. I gave up an orthodontist. I know I didn't love him."

"See, Jack did love the cow," Phoebe said.

"But Jack got rich," Zara pointed out. "From the beanstalk of possibilities and stuff he rescued the hen that laid a golden egg each day."

"That's true," Rachel paused for a moment, deep in thought, and then she flung her hands, becoming frantic again. "But, see, it was a plan, you know. It was clear. Everything was figured out. And now everything's kind of like..."

"Floopy?" Phoebe finished.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed.

"You're not the only one," Monica tried to make Rachel feel better. "I mean, half the time, we don't know where we're going. I mean, you just got to figure at some point, it's all going to come together. And it's just going to be....un-floopy."

"Like that's a word," Phoebe scoffed.

Monica shook her head at Phoebe but the three's attention fell back on Rachel again.

"Okay, look, but Monica, what if it doesn't come together?" Rachel questioned.

Monica fell silent with Zara choosing that moment to sip her drink in her attempt to dodge the question. It wasn't like Zara had the best of lives: she had no family nor a love life, but she still had a good job and apparently some great friends.

Monica looked between the other two friends. "Pheebs? Zar?"

"Don't look at me," said Zara.

"Well," Phoebe tried under the pressure. "Cause you just like... I don't like this question."

Zara sighed, twisting in the chair as she faced Rachel herself. "Look, it's simple: life goes on," she offered a smile with the words but it didn't look as friendly as she hoped. "You fail, but you carry on and try again. It's all you can do."

"Okay, see, see, you guys," said Rachel, still not persuaded. "What if we don't get magic beans? I mean, what if all we've got are...beans? You know?"

Zara fell silent at that with it as a reminder that she was teaching and not writing. Had she missed her magic beans by not taking the plunge and writing her children's book?

"I thought this was supposed to help me not smoke!" Zara exclaimed, feeling the need to smoke more than ever now.

But Zara even surprised herself as she did not touch a single cigarette as much as she wanted to. Instead, she found herself laying on the floor with a second glass of punch. Her mind was stuck on a constant loop with Rachel's question.

Phoebe was on the floor next to Zara, who was laying on the twister mat, and Monica was on the chair, eating the cookie dough with Rachel lounging on the sofa.

"Oh..." Rachel eventually spoke. "I'm so sorry, you guys. I didn't mean to bring you down."

"No, you were right — I don't have a plan," said Monica.

"Who does?" Zara questioned out loud, laughing. "I thought I'd be a best-selling author by twenty-five, and married."

She still had a year to go, but those two milestones were very unlikely.

There was a knock at the door with a voice declaring pizza that caused Zara's stomach to rumble.

"Oh thank God," said Rachel, standing to get the door. "Food!"

"Phoebe?" Monica questioned. "Do you have a plan?"

"I don't even have a 'pla'," answered Phoebe, sipping her drink through the straw from where she laid.

It turned out the pizza they had ordered was wrong, which didn't approve their night as Rachel looked ready to start crying again. Sighing, Zara continued sipping her drink, using the beverage as a solution to smother her desire to smoke.

"Wait," said the pizza delivery boy. "You're not G. Stephanopoulos?"

"No," Rachel told him.

"Oh man, my dad's going to kill me!"

Then he'll be a murderer just like my Dad, Zara thought to herself, chuckling slightly as Phoebe and Monica shot her a confused look.

"Wait!" Monica then cried, having stood up from her chair as she hurried to the door. "Did you say G. Stephanopoulos?"

"Yeah," the boy answered. "This one goes across the street. I must have given him yours." The boy started hitting himself, causing Zara to laugh while drinking. "Bonehead! Bonehead!"

It caught Zara's attention enough that she stood, making her way over with Phoebe.

"Is this a small Mediterranean guy with curiously intelligent good looks?" Monica questioned.

"Yeah," he realised. "That sounds about right."

"Was he... was he wearing a stunning blue suit?"

"And a power tie?" Phoebe questioned.

"No," he answered. "Pretty much just a towel."

"Oh, God," Monica placed a hand on Phoebe.

"So you guys want me to take this back?"

"What? Are you nuts?" Monica turned on him, snatching the pizza. "We've got George Stephanopoulos' pizza!"

"Who again?" Zara questioned.

"You were too busy smoking to notice," Phoebe told her, then saw Zara's eyes shoot wide at the word smoking. "Whoops, sorry."

"Come see!" Monica told Zara, handing Phoebe the pizza as she snatched Zara's hand, dragging her towards the window. Then she picked up the binoculars, peeking through at the neighbours opposite them.

"I see pizza!" Monica declared.

"Let me see!" Zara said as Monica handed her the binoculars.

"I want to see! Let me see!" Phoebe cried.

"Hold on," said Zara. "Where am I looking?"

"There," Monica pointed, which didn't exactly help. "The third floor up, fifth window along."

Zara squinted her eyes, trying to follow the directions and then a small sound in realisation echoed around the apartment. There was an extremely attractive guy wearing nothing more than a towel, who happened to be eating their pizza.

"Our pizza looks good," Zara commented.

Phoebe shook her head, taking the binoculars from Zara. "That's all you have to say?"

"Hello?" Rachel called out. "Who are we spying on?"

"You know the white house advisor?" Monica turned to Rachel, answering the question for both Rachel and Zara. "Clinton's campaign guy. The one with great hair, sexy smile... really cute butt?"

"That's where he's familiar from!" Zara realised.

"Oh, him!" Rachel caught on too. "The little guy! Oh, I love him!"

Rachel picked up two slices of pizza, hurrying over as she handed Zara the spear slice before looking at George herself.

"Wait," Phoebe told them. "I see a woman."

"Tell me it's his mother," Monica pleaded.

"It's defiantly not his mother," Phoebe stated.

"Oh, no..."

"Wait," said Phoebe. "She's walking across the floor. She's walking... She's walking...She's going for the pizza..." then the binoculars fell with Phoebe's voice rising. "Hey, that's not for you, bitch!"

Phoebe covered her mouth, moving away from the window as the other three struggled to hide their giggles in response.

However, it didn't end there as the slumber party continued on the balcony with the four bringing out blankets and more punch. They shared the binoculars, passing it between themselves as they all stared at George.

"Lights still out?" Monica questioned, returning with more punch.

"Yeah," Rachel answered.

"Well, maybe they're napping."

"Oh, please," Rachel laughed. "They're having sex."

"Shut up!" Both Phoebe and Monica shouted.

Zara spoke over the commotion: "I wish I was!"

"Oh, rebound time?" Phoebe grinned with a wink.

"Not yet," Zara told them, frowning at the thought of her ex that made her take another sip of her drink that Monica had just filled for her.

"So..." said Rachel. "What do you think George is like?"

"I think he's shy," said Monica.

"Yeah?" Phoebe questioned.

"Yeah," Monica poured herself a glass of punch. "I think you have to draw him out, and then... and when you do, he's a preppy animal."

The other three laugh, seeing that.

As more punch was consumed, the conversation was shifted, along with their seating as they shuffled around. Both Zara and Monica ended up sharing a chair together with Zara's legs hanging over her friend's lap as they both giggled together.

"Okay, I got one," said Monica, looking at Phoebe. "Do you remember that vegetarian pate that I made that you loved so much?"

"Uh-huh," said Phoebe.

Behind them, Rachel started to chuckle as the three turned to look at her.

"Well, unless goose is a vegetable..."

"Oh! Oh!"

"Monica!" Zara gasped before laughing, knocking her drink slightly.

"Okay, fine, fine," Phoebe said. "Now I don't feel so bad about sleeping with Jason Hurley."

"What?" Monica questioned, shocked. "You slept with Jason?"

"You'd already broken up," Phoebe pointed out.

"How long?" Rachel asked.

"Just a couple hours," Phoebe brushed it off.

Zara sniggered into her drink again.

"Oh, that's nice."

"Okay, okay, I got one," said Rachel, sitting up as the pillow fell from behind her. "Anyway, the Valentine Tommy Rollerson left in your locker was really from me."

Monica turned to Rachel, eyes growing wide. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, hello?" Rachel said. "Like he was really going to send you one. She was a big girl."

"Really?" Monica laughed. "Well, at least big girls don't pee in their pants in seventh grade."

Rachel gasped. "I was laughing. You made me laugh!"

"Oh, boy," said Zara. "I'm back in class suddenly."

The two started arguing, but then Phoebe caught their attention as she declared that George was back. All four of them hurried to the edge of the balcony with Monica drunk enough to question where they were looking.

"Right where we've been looking all night," Phoebe told Monica.

"Oh, he's so cute," Rachel commented.

"Oh, George, baby, drop the towel."

The four started chanting the words, falling silent as the towel did fall. Zara's eyes widened at the sight, where even from afar, it was impressive.

"Wow," they echoed.

♡

EPISODE SIX

♡

Zara was doing good. And why was that? Well, she currently had one hand full of popcorn and another holding a programme. Next to Zara in the theatre house, Rachel was just as enthusiastic as Zara was.

"Oh, look! Look!" Rachel leant over, showing them the programme. "There's Joey's picture! This is so exciting!"

"It is, isn't it?" Zara grinned, starting on her popcorn.

"You can always spot who's never seen one of his plays before," Chandler pointed out behind them. "Notice. No fear, no sense of impending doom."

"The exclamation point in the title scares me," said Phoebe. "You know, it's not just Freud, it's Freud!"

"You know," Chandler leant forward, popping his head between Monica and Zara as he looked at Zara. "I'm a tad surprised you wanted to come."

"Are you kidding me?" Zara twisted to face him. "Seeing Joey suck in a play? It's like Christmas came early."

Then the lights started to dim with Zara offering both Monica and Rachel some of her popcorn. If the play was that bad, then she planned on throwing it at Joey after just to wind him up a little.

"Shh," Ross told them. "The magic is about to happen."

The play did not let Zara down, but she was not as cruel as you would think. Zara hid her laughter by continuously eating the popcorn. As Joey started singing, Rachel's hand dived into the sugary snack, trying to mask her own laughter too.

Come to the end, they were the only six that had stood to applaud the play.

Then, however, five moaned as soon as they left the stage.

"I don't know about you," said Zara, grinning. "But that was the best play I've ever seen."

They sat back down, too exhausted to even reply to Zara's enthusiasm.

"Oh, God," said Rachel. "I feel violated."

"Did anybody feel like they wanted to peel the skin of their body to have something else to do?" Monica questioned.

"Nope," Zara answered. "You guys are mean."

"Zar, you only enjoyed the play because Joey sucked at it."

"Exactly," said Zara with a wink.

"Ross, ten o'clock," Chandler spoke behind them.

"Is it?" He questioned as Rachel stood. "Feels like two o'clock."

"No, ten o'clock," Chandler repeated, knocking his head in the direction of the pretty brunette that sat alone.

"What?" Ross questioned.

Zara shot Ross a look. "Dude, really?"

Monica rose an eyebrow at Zara. "Dude?"

"All the kids say it at school," Zara shrugged.

"There's a beautiful woman at eight, nine, ten," Chandler stressed, using his arms to indicate where he was gesturing.

"Hello," Ross finally saw her.

"She's amazing," Chandler gasped. "She makes the women I dream about look like short, fat, bald men."

"Well, go over to her," Monica suggested. "She's not with anyone."

"Please do," added Zara, eyeing the girl herself. "Or I might just go over myself."

That caused everyone, but Monica, to look at Zara as if they were surprised by what she had said. Zara, however, was too busy finishing her popcorn.

"Oh, yeah, right," said Chandler, choosing to focus on Monica. "And if I beat Zara to it, what would my opening line be? 'Excuse me..."

Then he blubbered, causing Zara to look back at him with an exasperated look.

"Keep going and she might run in my direction," Zara told him.

"Come on, she's a person," Rachel encouraged. "You can do it."

"Please," Chandler argued. "Could she be any more out of my league? Ross, back me up here."

"He could never get a woman like that in a million years," said Ross with Chandler patting his back in gratitude, and then his eyes fell on Zara. "Zara, however, with the leather jacket, I think you might have a chance."

"Oh, oh," said Phoebe. "But you know, you always see these really beautiful women with these really nothing guys. You could be one of those guys."

They all agreed with Phoebe, where even Chandler seemed optimistic with that as they encouraged him.

"Oh, God," Chandler started to stand. "I can't believe I'm even considering this. I'm very, very aware of my tongue."

"Come on," Ross patted his back. "Come on."

"Here goes," Chandler decided, leaving them to talk to the woman.

The rest of them stood, trying their hardest not to watch as both Phoebe and Zara pretended to be looking at the programme. Their eyes peered over the top of the programme, watching the exchange happen.

But, then, Joey came through the curtain with the friends attention falling on him as they all greeted him. For someone who had just been a part of an awful play, he had a surprisingly cheery smile on his face.

"Was it good?" He questioned.

"Fantastic," Zara told him.

Joey looked shocked at that, not trusting Zara. "Really?" 

"I didn't know you could dance!" The rest chimed, trying to save Joey from Zara saying anything else.

"Come on," Joey didn't believe them. "It wasn't that bad. It was better than that thing with the trolls. At least you got to see my head."

"I want to see the thing with the trolls," Zara stated.

"You're right," the other's replied.

"Saw your head," Ross added.

"She said yes!" Chandler rushed back over. "She said yes!"

"Great!" They all chimed.

"Awful play, man," Chandler told Joey. "Whoa."

"I know," said Joey, agreeing. "Zara liked it."

Zara shrugged, knowing that if she liked something when it came to Joey, then it was simply because he had been awful at something. Honestly, he wasn't that bad of an actor, it was just the jobs he got that made him worse.

"Her names Aurora," Chandler now told them. "And she's Italian. And she pronounces my name Chand-ler. Chand-ler. I think I like it better that way. Oh, listen," he reached into his pocket, handing Joey some pieces of paper. "The usher gave me this to give to you."

"What is it?" Rachel asked.

"Estelle Leonard Talent Agency," Joey read out loud. "Wow, an agency left me its card. Maybe they want to sign me."

"Based on this play?" Phoebe questioned with Zara thinking the same thing, but then, Phoebe changed the tone of her voice having realised her mistake. "Based on this play!"

♡

In the seat of Central Perk, Zara had her laptop open. It was an old temperamental device, but it was all she could afford compared to those fancy-getting-thinner-by-the-day laptops. But Zara had a secret: since the slumber party, Rachel's words had stuck that gave her the push she needed to dive into the deep end of writing a book.

Zara was determined, but for now, it was her little secret.

"What are you doing, Zar?" Monica asked.

"Oh, nothing much," said Zara, smiling. "Just planning classes for around Christmas."

Of course that caused the four to leave Zara alone, having come to realise that if she was working, then she tended to get a little stressed and mean. Rachel had previously been on the end of that, which had resulted in the girl crying.

"Hey, kids," Chandler greeted them, entering the coffee house.

"Hi, Chandler," Ross spoke for them since Monica was having her palm read by Phoebe and then Zara was busy focused on her laptop. Joey... well, Joey was Joey.

Chandler perched on the edge of the chair Zara sat on, taking a peek at her screen as she quickly closed the device before he could see her plans. 

"Zara's looking at porn!" Chandler accused.

Zara rolled her eyes. "Mature, Chandler."

"Well," he said, running a hand through his hair as he turned to the rest of the group. "I can't believe I've been here for over seven seconds and you haven't asked me how my date went."

That caused a response from the friends with Zara feeling guilty since she had forgotten.

"How was your date, Chand-ler?" Monica asked.

"It was unbelievable," Chandler told them, standing up in his excitement. "I've never met anyone like her. She's had the most amazing life. She was in the Israeli army..." to where Chandler then went off, explaining his date. "We talked till about two. It was this perfect evening...more or less."

The mention of Rick came up, which confused the group.

"Who's Rick?" Joey questioned.

"Her husband..." Chandler told them.

"Ew!" The five chimed.

Zara's nose curled, shaking her head at the girl; of course, she was too good to be true.

And it got worse as Aurora was not divorced nor widowed, but then it turned out that Aurora had a boyfriend called Ethan.

"What?" They echoed.

Zara laughed. "Oh, poor you, Chandler."

"I'm sorry it didn't work out," Monica told him.

"What not work out?" Chandler questioned. "I'm seeing her on Thursday. Didn't you listen to the story?"

"Didn't you listen to the story?" Monica fired back. "I mean, this is twisted. How could you get involved with a woman like this?"

"I had trouble with it at first too," said Chandler. "But the way I look at it: I get all the good stuff. All the fun, all the talking, all the sex. And none of the responsibility."

"So you're her mistress?" Zara summarised, smirking.

"This is every guy's fantasy," Chandler said.

"That is not true," Phoebe argued. "Ross, is this your fantasy?"

"No, of course not," he responded. "...yeah. Yeah, it is."

Chandler patted Ross' shoulder.

"So you guys don't mind going out with someone else who's going out with someone else?" Monica questioned.

"I couldn't do it," Joey answered.

"Good for you, Joey," said Monica.

"When I'm with a woman, I need to know that I'm going out with more people than she is," he responded.

Zara rolled her eyes at that. "You make me question my choices every day, Joey," she told him, wondering how she could have been so foolish. "But, then again, I was drunk, so that's why I stooped so low with you."

Drunk and heartbroken.

Joey simply pouted, crossing his arms as if he was sulking.

"Well, you know," Ross forced the conversation to change, trying to save things. "Monogamy can be a tricky concept. I mean, anthropologically speaking..."

They all pretended to fall asleep at that.

"Fine, fine," said Ross, agitated. "Now you'll never know."

"We're kidding," Monica told him, playfully. "Go. Tell us."

They all encouraged Ross to tell them.

"All right," he gave in. "There's a theory put forth by Richard Leakey..."

For a second time, they pretended to fall asleep.

♡

They eventually made it back upstairs with night falling upon them, where they came home to find that Rachel had cleaned the apartment. She looked ecstatic with herself as she let out a "ta-da" despite unknowing that Monica wouldn't like her things moved.

"Are we greeting each other this way now?" Chandler asked. "Because I like it."

"Look!" Rachel approached them, arms wide. "I cleaned! I did the windows. The floors. I even used all those vacuum attachments except for that little round one with the bristles. I don't know what that's for."

"Oh, yeah, nobody knows," said Ross. "We're not supposed to ask."

"Well, what do you think?" Rachel asked them.

"Oh, Rachel," teased Zara, sitting down on the sofa as she placed her laptop on the coffee table. "You're in for it."

"What does that mean?" Rachel questioned.

"Very clean," Chandler added.

"Really, it looks great," Monica tried but she sounded strained and then her eyes fell on her green ottoman. "Oh, I see you moved the green ottoman."

"Uh-oh," everyone said.

"Here we go," Zara whispered to Ross next to her. "I'm getting a flashback to my college dorm."

"How did that happen?" Monica asked Rachel.

"I don't know," Rachel answered, unbothered. "I thought it looked better there. And also it's an extra seat around the coffee table."

"It's interesting," Monica agreed, not meaning it. "But you know what? Just for fun, let's see what it looked like in the old spot," then she moved it back to where it originally was. "Just to compare. Let's see," Monica stood back. "Well, it looks good there too. Let's just leave it there for a while."

"I can't believe you tried to move the green ottoman," Phoebe told Rachel.

"That's rule number one, Rach," Zara grinned. "At least you didn't put a cup down without a coaster."

"Thank God you didn't try and fan out the magazines," Chandler added. "She'll scratch your eyes right out."

"Guys, I am not that bad," Monica defended herself.

"Yeah, you are, Monica," Phoebe told her.

"I moved into our college dorm room and you made me cry!" Zara reminded Monica, laughing. "And I don't cry easily!"

"Remember when I lived with you?" Phoebe said, looking at Monica. "You were like a little...you know..." and then she mimicked the theme music from the film Psycho.

"That is so unfair!" Monica complained.

"Oh, come on," said Ross. "When we were kids, yours was the only Raggedy Ann Doll that wasn't raggedy."

"Okay, so I'm responsible," Monica decided. "I'm organised. But, hey, I can be a kook."

She sat down on the chair opposite them, trying to act chill about it, but Zara knew she was squirming on the inside.

"All right, you madcap gal," Ross said. "Try to imagine this. The phone bill arrives but you don't pay it right away."

"Why not?" Monica asked.

"Because you're a kook," Ross answered. "Instead, you wait until they send you a notice."

"I could do that," Monica tried.

"Okay, okay," Rachel stood and then sat on the edge of the coffee table with Ross. "Then you let me go grocery shopping. And I buy laundry detergent. But it's not the one with the easy-pour spout."

"Why would someone do that?" Monica exclaimed as everyone looked at her. "One might wonder."

"Zara's left a glass on the coffee table," Chandler joined in as Zara pushed her lips together to hide her laughter. "There's no coaster. It's a cold drink. It's a hot day. Little beads of condensation are inching their way closer to the surface of the wood."

"Is now a good time to mention that I spilt a drink earlier?" Zara added.

"Stop it!" Monica shouted.

Chandler looked impressed with himself.

"Oh my God," Monica finally realised. "It's true. Who am I?"

"Monica, you're Mom," Ross answered first.

Monica gasped with Phoebe continuing her imitation of the Psycho theme tune.

However, the conversation ended as Joey entered on the phone, seeming excited about something as they all waited for him to finish.

Then, finally, he hung up. "That was my agent."

Even though Zara didn't like him, she still found herself smiling.

"My agent," continued Joey. "Had just got me a new job in the new Al Pacino movie!"

That caused a chorus of responses with everyone truly surprised with the news, but they were beyond happy for Joey. Ross hugged Joey as the other's stood, edging closer.

"What's the part?" Monica asked.

"Can you believe this?" Joey dodged the question. "Al Pacino! This guy's the reason I became an actor. 'I'm out of order, you're out of order! This whole courtroom's out of order!'"

"Maybe don't do that on the job," Zara warned him.

"Seriously, what's the part?"

"Just when they thought I was out, they pull me back in!"

"Come on," said Ross. "Seriously, Joey, what's the part?"

"Uh..." the smile disappeared as he then turned away to mumble his answer.

"You're... what...?" Rachel, like the rest of them, couldn't understand.

Joey looked down at the floor with his hands on his hips. "I'm his butt double, okay?"

Zoey cracked up at that, having thought it was something ridiculous.

"I play Al Pacino's butt," he confirmed. "He goes into the shower and then I'm his butt.

"Oh my God," Monica slipped up.

"Come on, you guys," said Joey. "This is a real movie, and Al Pacino's in it. And that's big."

"On, no, it's terrific," Chandler said. "After all your years of struggling, you've finally cracked your way into show business."

Zara chuckled at that, having hoped someone would beat her to it to the jokes, and of course, it was Chandler. There was so much temptation for Zara to join in.

"Please don't say anything, Zara," Joey told her.

"Oh, nothing mean," Zara promised, smirking. "But I'm sure you'll make a real ass of yourself."

Chandler offered her a high-five, which Zara couldn't ignore as the two laughed amongst themselves. Maybe they were a little immature together.

"Okay, fine," Joey said, ignoring them. "Make jokes. I don't care. This is a big break for me."

"Yeah, you're right, it is," Ross agreed. "So, you going to invite us all to the big opening?"

♡

"I have news! I have news!" Zara announced, entering the apartment late one night since she had been busy typing away at the coffee house as soon as she had finished work. However, she came in to find the friends sitting in the living room with an upset Chandler. "Oh, no. What happened?"

"Aurora and I are over," Chandler told her.

"Oh, Chandler," said Zara, sitting down on the sofa next to Phoebe. "I'm so sorry."

"Look at it this way," Ross said, from where he shared the same seat with Chandler. "You dumped her. Right? This woman was unbelievably sexy. And beautiful, intelligent, unattainable...Tell me why you did this again?"

"Forget all that," Zara cut in. "If it wasn't right, then it wasn't right. You're just one step closer to finding the right one now."

Chandler scoffed at that. "Do you really believe that?"

"I'm trying to," Zara smiled at him. "Derek might have screwed things up, but I have faith that there's a guy or a woman out there for me."

Right now, though? Something fun, something casual seemed best for Zara as she felt ready to start putting herself back out there again.

Chandler didn't have a chance to rely on as the door opened again with Joey entering — a walking reminder of Zara's failed love life. Even though he was simply a one-night stand, Joey still played a heavy hand in Zara's romances. But... Zara wanted to try again; find something with no feelings attached until she felt ready to stand on two feet again.

"Hey, movie star," they greeted.

"Hey, weren't you the guy who plays the butt in the new Al Pacino movie?" Monica questioned as Joey sat down in the chair opposite them all.

"Nope," Joey answered.

"No? What happened, big guy?"

"Big guy?" Chandler repeated, looking at Ross.

Zara bit her tongue, resisting the urge to take the opportunity to tease Joey. He looked sad — puppy sad — which made it too hard for Zara to be mean.

"It felt like a big guy moment," Ross defended himself.

"I got fired," Joey told them.

"Oh..."

"They said I acted too much with it," he explained. Zara couldn't help but think: I'm not surprised? You're a bit of an ass? "I told everyone about this. Everyone will go expecting to see me..."

"Joe," Rachel leaned forward, offering him a smile. "No one will be able to tell."

"My mom will," he argued.

"There's something so sweet and disturbing about that," Chandler commented.

"You know, I've done nothing but crappy plays for six years," Joey continued, sulking. "And I finally get my shot, and I blow it!"

"Maybe this wasn't your shot," Monica tried to make him feel better.

"Yeah," Ross agreed. "I think when it's your shot, you know it's your shot."

Zara fell silent, thinking about her secret project that she had wanted to share; it felt like her shot and she was willing enough to give it a good go. But what if she ended up just like Joey?

"Did...did it feel like your shot?" Ross questioned.

"Hard to tell," Joey replied. "I was naked."

"I don't think this was your shot," Phoebe told him. "You don't get just one shot. I believe big things will happen for you. You've got to just keep thinking about the day that some kid will run up to his friends and go 'I got the part! I got the part! I'm going to be Joey Tribbiani's ass!'"

"You think?" Joey smiled, standing as he moved across the sitting area to hug Phoebe. "That's so nice!"

"I'm sorry, Joey, I'm going to go to bed—"

"Wait," Rachel spoke up. "Zara had news!"

They all started to gush, questioning Zara as to what her news was. Under the attention, Zara had become shy, which wasn't usually like her. Suddenly announcing it seemed like a curse; what if they laughed or what if she failed?

"Oh... I don't know," said Zara, nervously. "It's nothing."

"Now you have to tell us," Monica told her friend.

"Is it something bad?" Phoebe questioned.

"It's not another prank, is it?" Joey frowned. "I didn't appreciate the mayo doughnut."

Zara's lips twitched with a smile at the memory of Joey's expression once he had bitten into the doughnut. Usually, Joey could eat anything, but he couldn't quite stomach that doughnut.

"Okay," Zara now said, realising she had put her foot in it. She shot a glare at her friends, unknowing if she could trust their reaction. "If I tell you, then no laughing, okay? I mean it. You won't like me when I'm pissed."

"We'll take your word for it," Ross said.

"I kind of want to see an angry Zara now," Chandler admitted.

"I don't," Joey declared, eyes wide in fright.

"What's the news?" Rachel prodded.

"Okay, so..." the friends all leaned closer, eager to find out. "The other week Rachel's words at the slumber party got to me—"

"Oh, God," said Rachel horrified. "I'm so sorry."

"I want my magic beans," Zara announced.

The three guys looked confused at that, where one look from Zara kept them quiet.

"I'm writing a children's book," Zara finally told them.

There was a series of responses that were all positive words that cheered Zara on. It made her smile to hear as her shoulders sagged in relief, having believed that they wouldn't have responded how she hoped. If it was Derek, then he would have laughed at her.

"That's amazing," Monica was beaming. "What's it about?"

"Yeah, tell us," Ross encouraged with everyone else agreeing with the two.

Zara let out a long breath and then told them about the idea that had been brewing inside her mind for a while. It felt a little weird talking about little Ruby Hart, who was the daughter of two supervillains, but raised in an orphanage, and then she starts superhero school where she discovers her family secrets as she struggles to fit in, as well as finding herself.

But they never mocked her — they never laughed. If anything, they were so supportive to the point that Zara was more stunned than anything.

And all Zara could think was: thank God I moved in with Monica.

♡

These chapters are so long and they take ages to write! If it's too long then I'll have to change to 1 episode per chapter! Let me know what you would prefer!