One Last Night ( Joey x Phoebe )

'I Want You to Want Me'

Four hours before dawn

I Want You to Want Me by Cheap Trick is her favorite song. And now it's playing.

She asks me to dance with her, and I say yes.

"I love doing crazy things with you."

I nod.

We are not dancing like a couple at all. There is no romance. But we are just dancing crazily as if the world were running out of joy and we had to enjoy as much as we still can.

"I love how you dance."

"Everybody loves how I dance." She smiles at me, her teeth shine brighter than sunlight.

"Shall we stop dancing for a while? I'm running out of breath."

She laughs, "Sure!"

Her cheeks flush in red everytime she is tired, and I find it adorable. I shouldn't let her dance four hours before the Sun appears. She might get very exhausted and can't wake up tomorrow, but she says she will be fine.

"Joey, remember the night you kissed me when I realized I was already thirty one?"

"Of course."

"Thank you for kissing me. That meant a lot."

It was the most prodigious courage I'd had all my life. Aforetime, I had ninety-nine reasons for kissing her without telling her how I really felt. But the night she cried and complained about how much her life sucked when she wasted a year and hadn't done a few things she wanted to do before thirty one, I volunteered to walk her home and ended up kissing her.

Risky as it was, I kissed her anyway. All I could think of was that I really had to do it; Chandler, Monica, or Rachel didn't notice how disappointed her eyes looked, but I did.

February 2000

"I can't believe it. This is so unfair!"

All I could see was her poor little face with tears in her eyes. God! I wanted to dart across the coffee table, hold her in my arms, and wipe those tears off of hers, just to make sure she would feel a bit better because of my warmth. I would say I blamed every single one in her family that had always ignored her delicate feelings and abandoned her. She was just a girl living alone in a big city. The only one thing that I felt so thankful for was that she had become my friend, that we hung out almost everyday, so I could see her, knowing that she was alright.

Phoebe doesn't deserve anything she's faced all along. She is one of the most optimistic people I've ever known, but sometimes, she can't handle all the fucked-up incidents so well.

"Pheebs, it will be okay." And I really meant it, I swear to God.

"Will it? Will it? How would you feel if you found out you were thirty one?"

Anger in her voice didn't upset me at all, but a little shake that sounded almost like she was about to cry. Poor Phoebe.

I know It seemed like I was a baby who couldn't handle things so well, but If I only knew that Phoebe couldn't either, I would not plead for anybody's any attention whatsoever.

She whined and complained about what she hadn't done before thirty one yet. One of them was that she had never had a perfect kiss.

It sounded impossible because she had dated a couple of guys that she cried in front of me when they broke up. I thought she used to be in love, but I was literally wrong. How could I not know?

After spreading her feelings all over Monica, Rachel, Ross, Chandler, and me, Phoebe called it a day and said that she wanted to be alone. Having known her for almost a decade, I could perceive every thought within her gestures. I knew that she didn't want to be alone, really. She wanted someone, just one of her friends, not five of us in one room. So I volunteered to keep her company after she stormed out of Central Perk.

I ran as fast as I could until I found her in a dark alley.

"Phoebe!"

She turned around; her hair smoothly fluttered (and her blonde hair is the most beautiful thing, ever). Phoebe was staring at me, seemingly questioning my confusing facial expression. "What?"

"Close your eyes." This was the best I could come up with.

She lifted her eyebrow a little and that made me shivering inside my spines. Please close your eyes, my darling.

Thereafter she closed her eyes; I could see her long lashes laying there, perfectly made. I had always befriended a gorgeous, kind-hearted girl with incredibly human traits in her personality, I realized.

I decided to confront her, grab her shoulders and touch her firm lips with mine. We kissed. Technically, our third kiss.

The softness of her lips was everything I could ever ask for. Now I realized that I was not only giving her her first perfect kiss, but it was also the first of mine too.

I held her head with my hand, wanting to transfer her warmth and sincerity so best as I could. We had been kissing (in total public) for a minute; then she pulled her face off.

"Joey," I could see that she cried even harder, "it's the best thing I've ever had, really. Not only from you, but from everyone I know." She said, tenderly, with a sweet smile.

"Pheebs, I'll always be there for you, just so you know." I grabbed her shoulders tighter. "Don't cry. My heart's broken every time I see you crying."

She tried to stop the pouring tears, struggling. And I found her gestures adorable.

"Joe, can I ask you for one more thing?"

"Yes, of course, my friend."

Phoebe smiled a little. "Can you kiss me one more time?"

I froze, standing still and squeezing her shoulders nervously. Pheebs likes me? The way I like her? I didn't know what to do or say next because the only thing I longed to do now was kiss her right away, kiss her like I'd never kissed anyone before, kiss her until death tore us apart.

"Joey?"

I kissed her again, but this time, it felt hotter and a little bit hornier. We both held each other's backs, and not soon, I realized that I pushed her against the wall, pressing my lips into hers aggressively.

"Joey, please, stop."

I looked right into her eyes. I could see her appreciation, but no love.

"I thank you so much for having done so many good things for me including that sweet kiss. You're the best friend I could ever ask for."

Then she walked to her apartment and that kiss had never been mentioned by any of us anymore. Not even once. Until now.

Now

"You deserved a perfect kiss, Pheebs."