soulmates. ― chandler bing

― 05 | THE TRAIL

❝MORNING YOU GUY­S ... Wait, Monica? Why exactly are you cleaning the ceiling?", I greeted the girls in our living room, which meant Rachel and Phoebe were sitting on the couch, while my sister was cleaning the ceiling. "Should I tell her?", Phoebe whispered letting go of Rachel's hand. "Tell me what?", I looked at Rach, who seemed exhausted. "How was your dinner? Did anything happe–?" Monica's eyes jumped and she looked directly at me, which meant not to say another word. Rachel said, Phoebe should tell me, she had to go now, it was nearly half past eight. She left and Phoebe started, after Monica finally stopped cleaning our plaster. When we left the apartment to the play yesterday, where Joey nearly had gotten the main role, the ceiling was fine. The thing about that play was, that Joe had told us, he already got the role, while he only was in the first recall. Monica, Phoebe and I already had got tickets in the believe to see Joe on stage, but he didn't get the job, nevertheless the play was good, though.

          "Well, you know that your brother and Rachel should have had their anniversary dinner yesterday? Yeah? Well, they kind of broke up instead." She knew, I would interrupt her, so she just continued as fast as she could. "Good news is Rachel wants to make up, so she is on her way to meet him." I sat there quite shocked, the only word, that could escape my mouth was, a silent "How?"

          I can still remember every bit of it now. Rach had this colleague called Mark, and even though they were just friends, my brother had been jealous, like all the time since she started working there. The dinner should have, obviously, been in the evening sometime, but Rachel called Ross that it was a very hard day at work, because a product got wrong shipped or something ... okay, maybe I don't remember every bit. Ross, as stubborn as he is, still wanted a dinner, so he picked some food, a basket and twenty minutes after the phone call, he stood next to Rachel's desk. The following part is a bit blurry. I think he set something on fire  ... probably the flowers. Rachel threw him out of her office and he waited in our apartment. When she finally came home they started fighting who had which right, and who's fault was what, and what do I know. After the fight, Rach was so annoyed and mad that she wanted a break, whereupon Ross left. But actually Rachel never wanted break, that's what she told Mark when he came over. Yes, Mark came over. But just to help, although at the end he made everything worse. Because Ross called to tell her, he didn't want a break either. They had nearly made up when Mark talked in the background, and Ross, who of course feared the worst, hung up right away. Rachel had tried reaching him, though. No success.

          After that story I needed food, it was like nine in the morning. Please tell me we got breakfast. Opening our fridge I noticed the sad offer, so I decided visiting Joey and Chandler. Please let them have more food, please let them have more ... Who am I kidding. I will visit Joey, of course they have food. "Ugh, these two confuse me ... Okay, no, hands down, they ALL confuse me." Still, I was hungry, so not even my confused emotions held me back. I was just about to knock, when I heard a pretty loud conversation in the apartment upon me. My ear was pressed against the door as I heard my brother Ross. It was quiet for a second, then, "... more important question, how dumb are you?" That was Chandler. What is going on in there? Fortunately, Chandler and Joey had a loud voices, so I at least could understand what they were saying. Ross on the other hand hadn't a loud voice, so it was quite a puzzle to follow the conversation. I heard some other voice again. Ross? And that was Joe's, but what were they saying? Could you please talk loud and clear for everyone who is trying to listen to this from other rooms? Thanks.

          "You should totally be honest with her, but not if it gets you in trouble!" Obviously Joey had said that. "... she doesn't find out some other way. Did you think about the trail?" I could literally see my brother's confused look, when Chandler asked him, because I made the same one.

❝TRAIL ..WHAT TRAIL?❞

          I heard a quiet gasp. "Yes, the trail! You always have to think about the trail!" I was just about move a bit away from the door – because you know, listening to other's people's conversations through a wall feels a bit odd – when I realized, that I didn't know what the problem was yet. What is this whole trail thing about? What had even happened in the time he hung up on Rachel till now? Did they have time to talk or...? Continuing to listen to their conversation was the only reasonable solution. Well that was a mistake. Just when I leaned my head on the door again, Ross opened the door from the inside and I fell directly in my brother's arms.

          "Uhm, I just wanted ... to knock?", I whisper quickly, it was more a question than a sentence. Okay, okay, I have to think of something, come on... Idea! I let go of my brother, asking, "What are you doing here? Rachel left like ten minutes ago to meet you! What did even happen yesterday?" He looked at me shocked. "She what?" As fast as he realized what I had said, he was gone. Joey starred after him, well at least the door, for a while, like his mind did tell him something. "Joe?", he still didn't look at me. "So you guys have any food?"