Just Friends

The One With The Book Thief

sorry for not writing in a while! inspiration has been lacking!

enjoy this chapter!

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My heart faltered as I stared at the nearly cleared coffee table. I must have been standing in the same spot for a while, stunned. I felt Joey's hand on the small of my back, looking conflicted.

I slowly moved from my spot, my brain starting to work. I scrambled over to the table, pushing over magazines and other garbage to try and find my journal.

"No, no, no..." I muttered running my hands through my hair, my breathing picking up. I slowly sunk down onto the couch, my hands planted on my cheeks and my eyes widened.

I felt like it was a dream, like I was outside of my body. My skin went all tingly, and I blinked rapidly. The weight in the couch sunk next to me, but I didn't move from my position.

"You okay?" Joey asked, his hand sliding up and down my back comfortingly. I shook my head so slightly, that I wasn't sure if he had seen the movement.

"Are you sure it's not here?" Phoebe questioned, taking a spot on the other side of me and tilting her head forward slightly so she could be in my view.

"No, I checked. And double checked." My voice stayed monotone, my eyes still focusing on one spot on the table. The fact that my journal was lost still wasn't processing in my head.

"What's so special about that book? I know you were working on it for a while, but can't you just, like, rewrite it?" Phoebe asked, moving her hands around gently.

"Some of the stuff in there...was really personal." I gulped, closing my eyes. There was things in there about me, about my family...about Joey. If anyone read it...

"I'll ask Gunther, he might have seen someone take it." Joey suggested, standing up to make his way to the counter. I could hear Phoebe saying something next to me, but I couldn't process any of it. Joey made his way back to the spot on the couch after a minute.

"Gunther said he saw a woman, about our age with black, curly hair, come in and sit on the couch after we left." Joey told me in a soft voice. He slipped his hand down my arm, taking my limp hand and linking our fingers together.

"How does that help us?" I asked, slightly angrily, finally sitting up. I kept my grip on Joey's hand, not ready to let him go.

"Naomi, I won't stop looking for your journal until I find it. I know what it means to you." Joey looked at me sincerely, placing a kiss on the side of my head.

"Yeah, and neither will I. Or any of the others." Phoebe rested a hand on my shoulder, looking at me with a soft expression. It was then when I looked at them that I felt relief.

"Thanks, guys," I ran my hands over my face, letting out a deep breath. "Sorry I was so non-responsive for a while. I'm just...stunned."

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for." Joey leaned close to me, pulling me against his side. I smiled half heartily at him, kissing him gently on his cheek.

"Wait, where's my kiss?" Phoebe exclaimed jokingly, making me laugh. Joey joined in, and soon enough we were in a fit of laughter. I leaned in and kissed Phoebe on the cheek softly.

"We should go inform the rest about this. You and Phoebe make your way back to the apartment, and I'll go tell Gunther to keep his eye out for this woman." Joey told us, and we agreed, standing up and making our way out back into the brisk air.

"I wish I hadn't forgotten my journal in there. I'm so careless." I said regrettably as we walk a block to the apartment building.

"Don't say that, everyone makes mistakes." Phoebe said sympathetically to me, rubbing my arm. I leaned into her touch, smiling warmly.

We eventually made it up to the apartment, seeing Monica and Chandler in there already. I raised my eyebrow, taking off my coat.

"What are you guys doing?" Phoebe asked in a light tone, but obviously just as curious as me. I stayed silent, waiting for their response.

"Oh, uh, just hanging out." Chandler said carelessly, but I could hear the stutter in his voice and see the blush on his face.

"Hmm, okay. Chandler, can I talk to you out in the hall for a second?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips in an impatient way.

"Uh...sure." Chandler complied, getting up and cautiously making his way over to me. I gave Phoebe a look, and she nodded her head slightly. It was obvious she also had suspicions about Chandler liking Monica.

I pulled Chandler out into the hall by his collar, shutting the door behind us.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Chandler raised his hands in a surrendering motion, and I let go of him.

"What were you guys doing?" I crossed my arms over my chest, raising my eyebrow at him. If they were trying to hide something from me, they were going to be in some big trouble.

"Nothing, really. I mean, I invited her to hang out, and she accepted..." He said nervously, looking away from me. My face softened slightly, and my arms dropped. I knew this was hard for him. He had hard time with commitment.

I knew he had just broken up with a girl named Janice just before I had arrived. Apparently, they had dated a few times before, but this last time he really thought that it would work out.

Poor guy.

"Anyways, what are you doing back so early?" Chandler questioned, leaning against the wall for support. My heart dropped, remembering the past events.

"Uh...When Phoebe, Joey, and I left for our walk, I realized shortly after that I had left my journal in the coffee shop. We went back to find it, but we couldn't. Someone stole it." I explained, staring at the ground.

"Oh, Nai, I'm sorry," Chandler said in a soft voice, tilting his head slightly. "Do you know who stole it?"

"No, but Gunther told Joey that he saw a woman with black, curly hair." I told Chandler, and his eyes seemed to light up with recognition.

"Did she wear heels, and showed off her cleavage? Did she have the most annoying laugh and voice in the world? Did she wear bright lipstick?" Chandler questioned, each question his voice got louder. He ended up gripping my arms in over-excitement.

"I don't know, Joey's talking to Gunther about it right now. Why?" I asked, my eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"I might know who it is."

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do you know who the book thief is??

try and figure it out ;)

Xoxo, Alli