Disclaimer : I don't own Friends or anything associated with it :)

Hello again!! Well, this is my very first AU fic! And also, I'm only going to continue 'Everything' if people are still reading it. If not, then I'll probably stop updating that story! So if you want me to continue it, please say so and if enough people want to read it then I'll update. Anyways, back to this story! It's quite interesting, well to me at least. It was so much more fun to write this because basically, it's like a clean slate and I don't have to abide by any rules! Muahaha! This story is RR, CM and JP!! Although, it would be mostly RR and CM :) cuz I just love them too darned much :') Anyways, everything is pretty much self-explanatory. Oh, and the Lobster lovin' don't start till about the middle of this first chapter, and JP will be introduced in the next chapters so please be patient and read through it! Please, pretty please :)

Chapter 1: A Whole New Way of Life

As he chatted and walked with his sister in the streets of Greenwich Village, Ross Geller had a lot of thoughts swimming in his mind. He had just gotten a Ph.D as a paleontologist and was new at being independent. While he loved the idea of it, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He had just gotten back from an interview to work at the New York Museum of Prehistoric History, and he wasn't feeling great about it. This would be his first official full-time job. If he got it, it would boost his career a great amount.

"Don't worry about it, Ross." Monica, Ross's little sister, said reassuringly. Monica and Ross were typical siblings. Ever since they were kids, they would always fight for their parents' praise, but neither Jack nor Judy Geller showed any form of favoritism. Ross and Monica insulted and hurt each other constantly, they even told each other that they wished they had a different sibling from time to time, but both knew that the other didn't mean it. Deep down, they loved each other. They often fought, but they knew when to draw the line and they have always apologized for going too far. When it comes to other people siding against either one of them, the other party will quickly switch from an evil rival to a protective sibling. As they got older, the competitiveness faded out and their affection became more visible. "I'm sure they loved you! They will so hire you!"

"You really think so?" Ross asked hesitantly.

"Absolutely! And if they don't, then they're just plain stupid!" Monica smiled.

Ross hugged his little sister gratefully. "Thanks, Mon."

The Geller siblings were more or less on the same level of social standing back when they were at school. They were both smart, intelligent and friendly. Ross was mildly attractive because of the way he dressed and carried his hair, but now that he has matured a bit more, he had better fashion sense, a better build and overall, people seemed to notice his features a lot more. He has always been the shy type and wasn't too sociable, although he did have friends. Monica, on the other hand, interacted a lot more with her peers, but sometimes she got bashed about her weight. But like her big brother, she still had friends who took the time and got to know the real her. That was what kept her outgoing despite the occasional insults from the 'in crowd'. Near the end of her high school years, Monica gradually lost weight, and was now graduated with a Culinary degree.

A woman eyed Ross with a flirty look, something that Ross has become accustomed to these days. He was also used to guys occasionally hitting on his sister. They were still the same people, but things were a lot different for them back then.

Once, when Monica was 13 and Ross was 14, Monica started to cry because she overheard some boys make a bet about who could make her fall after just one push.

The little boy, Neil Robins, stood with his friends in the playground. "Guys, guys! Who do you think could push that girl once and make her fall over?"

"I can! Do you see how strong I am?" one of the boys said.

"Shut up, Mick. I'm a lot stronger than you!" Neil said.

Mick gave him an angry look."Nuh uh!"

"Yuh huh!"

"Okay, first of all, you both are stupid! Nobody could knock Monica Geller down! She's like 200 pounds! That's heavier than my dad!" another boy said.

"You're just jealous because you're weaker than us, Alan!" Mick yelled.

"Whatever, she's a cow, and nobody could knock her down!" Alan said.

A few feet away, little Monica started to cry. She felt hurt that boys could be so mean. Ross noticed her little sister crying and ran towards the boys, screaming, "Hey! Who're you calling a cow?!"

Neil and Mick ran away, scared by the boy who was a year older than them. Alan, however, stood his ground. "Well, she is a cow!"

"Shut up!"

"No!" Alan punched, who immediately fell to the ground. Neil and Mick came back to watch the fight as a crowd started to gather around them and chants of 'Fight! Fight! Fight!' echoed around the playground. Ross punched Alan square in the face, which resulted in a nosebleed. He was about to punch him again, when he heard the approaching voice of the principal, all ready to call parents. The crowd around them started to flee, now it was only Monica, Ross, Alan, Neil, Mick and a group of girls that were about Monica's age.

The principal looked at Ross and Alan on the ground. "Well? Who started this?" Ross and Monica pointed at Alan, Mick and Neil pointed at Ross. Alan was too busy covering his nose. "I don't have time for this! Who started this and tell me the truth!"

All of a sudden the 'leader' of the group of girls yelled, "He did!" she pointed at Ross. "He punched Alan first!" As if on cue, the other girls also pointed at Ross.

"What? No, I didn't!"

"Alright, I am going to call your parents! You are in big trouble!"

Ross glanced at the girl who told the principal that he started it. She caught him looking at her and yelled. "What are you looking at, you geek!"

Now, years later, there they were, walking on the sidewalk of Greenwich Village, with strangers giving them interested looks. Wow, Ross thought. People are way too into looks.

"So, how's your new apartment with Chandler?" Monica asked as she and Ross reached the living room styled coffee house, Central Perk. "Did you guys finish fixing up the place?"

"No, not ye-" he started.

"What?! Why not?" Monica cut him off in a high squeaky voice. Her uncontrollable need to have everything perfect kicking in. "You two have been there for ages!"

"Monica, we've been there for two days!" Ross replied as he handed the man behind the counter some money for two cups of coffee. "Nobody can get all of that stuff done in two days."

Monica looked down shyly. "I-I know."

"Mon?" Ross asked suspiciously. "You want to organize our apartment, don't you?"

She looked up hopefully, trying to copy her big brother's puppy dog eyes. "Yeah, can I, please?"

Ross laughed, "Of course you could."

"Really? I mean, you know, you're not worried that I'll get all bossy?"

"I'm not worried, per say, I know that you're going to get bossy, but that's okay. I mean, if you could stand listening to my boring dinosaur talks then I should do the same by tolerating your perfectionism. Besides, Chandler and I could use the help."

"True, true." Monica laughed. "So when can we go there?"

"Actually, we could go there now. I mean, our building's right across from yours." he said as he grabbed his coffee and handed one to Monica.

"Hey, thanks, bro." she smiled gratefully. Monica knew that her cleanliness and bossiness was a lot to take, but she was very grateful that her brother understood all of this and accepted her just as she accepted him. I don't know why I ever wished that he wasn't my brother. "I really mean it."

"No problem." he replied as he held the door open for Monica, "Although, don't ever try my puppy dog eyes again. You've never been able to pull that off. I'd be amazed if anyone else ever did."

"Oh, shut up! Someone will get it someday!"

"Sure they will!" Ross rolled his eyes.

Chandler Bing sat at the couch that he and Ross had purchased for their new apartment. The place was filled with unpacked boxes and there was still plastic wrap around some of the furniture. They've been roommates and best friends since they first met in freshman year college, and now, their starting the independent life together. Growing up, Chandler always used humor as a defense mechanism. After his parents told him that they were divorcing on one certain Thanksgiving, he became a complete oddball. He had no girlfriends in high school since he attended an all-boys high school. None of the girls outside school would get a chance to know him since they don't go to the same school. He freaked people out with his jokes and he was pretty much part of the self-exile territory. That is, until he met Ross.

Ross was someone that actually understood why Chandler made so many jokes and didn't judge him through first impressions. Ross actually took the time to get to know him and that's when their friendship grew. Chandler felt really close to Ross and his family more than he did for his own family. During the holidays that Ross spent with his family, Chandler would tag along and be welcomed by the Gellers. Jack and Judy Geller welcomed him just like he was their own son, and Monica was always kind to him.

Ah, Monica. Chandler laughed the first time he saw her, although he never ever said that out loud. After getting to know her a little bit, Chandler had grown to love Monica's personality and slowly harbored a crush on her. That crush grew even more when she started to get more in shape, but kept her personality. That was something very rare to Chandler's knowledge. A girl who is pretty, nice and smart. Could she be more perfect? Chandler had voiced his feelings to Ross, knowing that before he ever tried to pursue anything with her, he should tell Ross. Chandler remembered how Ross was shocked, but after a bit of talking, gave him the green light, although Chandler still hadn't asked Monica out and it's been three weeks since that conversation with Ross. He was still contemplating how to do it. He wanted it to be just right.

"Hey, man!" Ross greeted as he and Monica entered the apartment.

"Hey!" Chandler replied, noticing Monica. "Hey, Mon!"

"Hi, Chandler! Hey, how is your job as an executive ...statistic ... data thing?" Monica stammered. "Sorry. What is it again?" she added apologetically.

Chandler laughed at Monica's attempt. "It's okay. Nobody gets it right. I'm a uh .. executive at statiscal analysis and data reconfiguration, and it's been good actually. I mean, you know, it's pretty boring, but the money's good and apparently the people there like me, so ..."

"Oh, that's great!" Monica smiled.

Chandler grinned idiotically and cleared his throat, "So um, how's the job at Iridium?"

"It's great! The people there are really nice, and there's always lots of cute guys!"

Chandler's face dropped a little, "Uh huh." he nodded.

Ross walked past him and whispered, "It's now or never, Chan." Then, he said in a louder voice, "Anyway! Monica came here to help us!"

Monica, hearing this, smacked herself in the head and said, "Oh yeah! Let's start!" she turned in full Monica cleaning mode as she unpacked some of the boxes surrounding the apartment and started organizing them and telling Ross and Chandler what to do. They started to unpack boxes, remove the plastic wrap from the furnishing, wiped them clean and set them up in a place favorable to the feel of the apartment. After a few hours of work, the apartment looked amazing.

"Oh my God!" Chandler whispered loudly. "Look at this place!"

"I know! Did we really do all this in-" Ross checked his watch, which read 8:30 pm. "Five hours?! We did all of this in five hours?!"

"See? I told you all the work would be worth it when we're done." Monica announced proudly. This was her favorite part of being clean. The part when you look at what you've worked for and realize that all that you did paid off nicely.

"Thanks for all your help, Mon." Chandler said sweetly.

Monica looked touched and approached his brother's best friend. "Aww, no problem!" she kissed him on the cheeks and went to the kitchen to get some water.

Right when Monica entered the swinging door of the kitchen, Chandler turned to Ross. "Oh god! My stomach did a backflip when she kissed me. What's wrong with me, man?"

"Nothing is wrong with you, Chandler." Ross assured. "You're just a guy who really likes my sister. And you better do it now, or you'll never get the chance to."

"You know, you seem incredibly supportive for a guy whose best friend has feelings for his sister." Chandler considered, just realizing this. He knew how protective Ross can be about Monica, and it seemed weird to him that Ross, of all people, was actually encouraging someone to go and ask out his baby sister.

Ross looked up at this and said in a serious tone. "If Monica goes out with any guy, I'd prefer it to be you, man."

Chandler was surprised at his answer and said in an incredulous tone. "Really?"

"Yeah." Ross smiled. "I mean, I trust you and I know you would take good care of her. She couldn't find a better guy."

"Wow. Th-thanks, Ross." Chandler made an awkward movement before finally hugging Ross. They patted each other on the back in a brotherly fashion.

Monica entered the living room and witnessed the little hugging session his brother and Chandler were having. She cleared her throat, which caused the two to break apart. "What's going on here? Guy hugging time? Want some privacy?" she teased.

"Oh, ha-ha." Ross mocked. "Anyway, I'm going to go for a walk and maybe get us some dinner. Why don't you two stay here and you know ..." Ross cleared his throat. "Okay, I'll be right back. See you two."

"Bye, Ross." Before Ross left the door, he looked back at Chandler and gave him the thumbs up. When the door shut, the two just looked at each other and smiled. It's going to be a long night, Chandler thought.

Ross walked out of the apartment building with a smile on his face. He wanted his best friend and his sister to get together. At first, the idea seemed appalling to him, but after a while, he looked at it in a different way. It was Chandler, his best friend, and he was a good guy. He deserved to find happiness, and Monica deserved someone like him. After all, Monica did have a crush on Chandler when they first met. It would be great if she still did. That way, it'll be a happy ending for them.

He continued to walk around the neighborhood and found a secluded area. Huh. Never seen this before. There was barely anything on that street besides some dim lamposts, a bus stop and a telephone booth.

Ross felt something wet drop on his shoulder and as he wiped it off, another one dropped on his head. It had started to rain, and he didn't have an umbrella with him. "Great." he muttered to himself. Ross ran to the telephone booth to protect himself from the rain. He couldn't afford to get sick now. He grabbed a few quarters from his pocket and dialed Monica's home phone number. Nobody answered. Oh right, she's still at our place. Ross sighed. He and Chandler didn't have a phone line set up yet. He'll just have to wait until the rain subsides.

As if out of nowhere, the door of the telephone booth swung open and a woman in soaking wet clothing rushed in, not noticing Ross standing there, rubbing his hands together for warmth. Ross was surprised and noticed that the woman didn't even see him there. She looked quite preoccupied. Awkwardly, Ross said, "Uh, hi."

The woman jumped, "Jesus!" she turned around and saw Ross right in front of her face.

Ross was stunned when he saw her face. Calling her beautiful would be an understatement. She looked gorgeous. Even with her hair all wet and her face drenched in rain, somehow, she managed to take his breath away. She had mesmerizing blue eyes and dark blond hair. The top of her head rose slightly above Ross's chin. She wasn't too short nor too tall. She looks perfect. Ross soaked in every ounce of this woman and finally saw that her eyes were bloodshot. She was crying.

"A-are you okay?" Ross reached out and tried to touch her shoulder, but she jumped backwards, terrified. "Whoa! It's okay! I'm sorry! I won't hurt you." he said soothingly. "What's your name?" he asked shyly, wanting to know more about her.

The woman calmed herself down from his soothing voice. She looked up at his caring eyes. They look so ... sincere. She thought. "R-Rachel."

Ross smiled at her warmly. He was glad that she seemed to trust that he wasn't going to hurt her. "Hi, Rachel. I'm Ross."

She just looked down, flushed. She started to cry again, as she shivered. Ross became worried. He didn't really know what to do with a crying woman that he barely knew. To his surprise, Rachel leaned forward and buried her face in his chest, crying and shivering softly from the cold. Ross, by instinct, took off his coat and placed it around the beautiful stranger.

Rachel reveled under the warmth that was suddenly put around her body. She cried softly from the night's events. She was still shook up from that whole experience, but while she cried in the arms of this kind stranger, she felt a bit safer, and for now, that was all she needed.

Monica and Chandler chatted about their jobs and their new outlook on life now that they're begining a phase of their lives when they're on their own. So far, things were going smoothly. Neither even noticed that it started to rain outside. They were comfortable around each other. Just talking.

Finally, Chandler couldn't hold it in. He had to let it out now. "Oh, hey, listen, Mon. Can I ask for some advice or something? I kind of have this problem."

"Okay shoot." Monica said as she and Chandler sat at the couch. "What's this problem?"

"Well, I kind of .. have feelings for this girl." Chandler started. He finally thought about how he would approach the subject. Maybe Ross was right. Maybe he just needed to do this. Like ripping the band aid off. But like ripping a band aid off, no matter how many times people say 'Quick and painless', sometimes it still is painful. He just hoped that this night would end painlessly.

"Hmm... So you have feelings for a girl, and what's the problem?"

"I don't know if I should ask her out or not."

Monica looked confused, "Well, why not?"

Chandler started to sweat, "Because she's pretty and smart and kind." He said this with sincerity and worry in his voice. He stared at Monica as if trying to let her know without words that it was her that he was reffering to. It was her that he was pining for. It was her and only her. "... and I don't know if she'd like me back."

Monica looked amused at this. She always thought of Chandler as a goofy boy, but she liked him very much. He had a nice personality and she thought that any girl would be lucky to have him. "Chandler, you're handsome and funny and caring, don't worry. If anything, I bet this girl really likes you too. I mean, who wouldn't like you?"

"Really?" Chandler asked, starting to have hope. "I'm that likeable?"

"Yeah!" Monica yelled as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Chandler smiled shyly as he looked down. "Thanks." he said, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

"No problem." Monica laughed. "So are you going to ask this girl out?"

"Maybe. I'll think about it."

"Okay, then. So what's her name?"

"Uh ... " Chandler said nervously. His hands sweating profusely. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Monica pressed. Chandler just shook his head. "Oh come on! Why can't you tell me?"

"Because ... It's you."

Well? Well? How was it?! Eek! Forgive me, I'm just excited because I really enjoyed this! I don't know if it's the same for you, so pleaseee tell me what you think! I really liked this. I think this may be the best one I've written so far, but I don't know. We'll see as the chapters go along then I'll leave it up to you to decide if it's good or not. Thank you, thank you, thank you! and another thank you for the people who wished me well on my head injury :) Next chapter will be up after my finals :) Please review, it will let me know that people are interested in this :)