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"ross kissed me!" rachel announced to the girls sitting around the living room. ella, phoebe, and monica looked up at rachel in excitement and immediately started freaking out. "okay, alright. we want to hear everything. monica, get the wine. ella, unplug the phone. rachel, does this end well or do we need to get tissues?" phoebe started ordering everyone as the gasps and 'oh my gods' continued. "oh, it ended very well," rachel smiled brightly barely able to contain the story much longer. "do not start without me. do not start without me," monica ran back into the living room with the wine and glasses. "okay, alright, let's hear about the kiss. was it like, was it like a soft brush against your lips? or was it like a, you know, a 'i gotta have you now' kind of thing?" phoebe immediately asked, all of the girls leaning in to hear every detail. "well, at first it was really intense, you know. and then, oh, god, and then we just sort of sunk into it," rachel gushed about the geller as she reenacted the scene. "okay, so, okay, was he holding you? or was his hand like on your back?" phoebe continued to lead the questions. "no, actually first they started on my waist. and then, they slid up, and then, they were in my hair," rachel mesmerized the girls with the details as she continued to act it out. "ohh," the girls collectively sighed staring at rachel in awe.
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"how about mockolate mousse?" monica pitched to phoebe and ella who were sat at the kitchen table. "it's not—it's not very thanksgivingy," phoebe pointed out. "okay, how about pilgrim mockolate mousse?" monica aggressively altered the title. "what would make it pilgrim?" ella squinted her eyes at monica. "we'll put buckles on it," monica frustratedly answered. "hey," rachel walked into the apartment and greeted the girls, joining them at the table. "did uh, ross call?" rachel nervously threw out. "no, i'm sorry," monica clenched her teeth. "why didn't he call? he's gonna stay with julie, isn't he? he's gonna stay with her and she's going to be all, 'hi, i'm julie, ross picked me, and we're gonna to get married, have a lot of kids and dig up stuff together'," rachel mocked the innocent woman. "no offense, but that sounds nothing like her," phoebe naively shook her head. ✧ "ok, this is pumpkin pie with mockolate cookie crumb crust. this is mockolate cranberry cake, and these are mockolate chip cookies. just like the indians served," monica placed the desserts on the kitchen table, all three girls going in to try the sweets. "oh my god." "oh my god good?" monica asked rachel bright-eyed. "oh my god, i can't believe you let me put this in my mouth," rachel stood up and went to spit out the treat in the sink. "what did we ever do to you?!" ella spit the pie into a napkin. "oh, oh sweet lord! this is what evil must taste like!" phoebe followed behind rachel to the sink.
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after the list incident between ross and rachel, the rest of the friends (excluding ella) discussed the situation at the coffee house the following morning. "my diary! my diary, that's brilliant. i should have told her it was my diary, she never would have made me read her my diary," chandler blurted out. "you know, that's true. you'd be a great person to have around the day after an emergency," monica sarcastically patted chandler's knee. "i cannot believe ross even made this list. what a dinkus," phoebe thought aloud. "hey, cut him some slack. it was chandler's idea," joey obliviously revealed. "what?!" "oh good, i was hoping that would come up," chandler rolled his eyes as he face-palmed. "this was your idea? ella is going to kill you," monica switched her tone from shocked to assertive. "which is why she is not going to find out," chandler pointed his finger at joey, joey raising his arms in surrender. "what were you thinking?" phoebe disappointingly shook her head. "alright, let's get some perspective here, okay? these things, they happen for a reason," chandler squirmed in his chair as he tried to defend himself. "yeah. you!" "alright, pheebs, back me up here, okay? you believe in that karma crap, don't you?" chandler tried to look for a scapegoat. "yeah, by the way, good luck in your next life as a dung beetle."
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later that day ella, monica, chandler, phoebe, and joey walked into the apartment to a very strange scene. it was pouring outside and all that could be heard from inside the apartment was ross yelling a new, more positive list. "hey, ross! what are you doin'?" joey smiled brightly opening the drapes. "hey, joey. you wanna open the window?" ross sarcastically yelled as he stood in the pouring rain. "oh yeah i do." "what are you doing out there?" chandler asked once ross was back inside. "i am, uh, i am..." ross tried to get out. "oh, you must be freezing. you know what you need? how about a nice steaming cup of hot mockolate?" monica chimed in fakely trying to cheer him up. the group then sadly watched rachel and ross go back and forth about the list. "no, you don't, ross. imagine the worst things you think about yourself. now, how would you feel if the one person that you trusted the most in the world not only thinks them too, but actually uses them as reasons not to be with you," rachel tried to explain to him, herself being on the verge of tears. "no, but, but i wanna be with you in spite of all those things. you know, this wouldn't even have happened if chandler hadn't convinced me to make that list," ross attempted to help his case. ella's face immediately dropped. chandler was why her sister was so heartbroken? why would he even think of doing something so hurtful? ella just quietly and emotionlessly walked out of the apartment into her own with none of the friends even noticing. "i never know how long you're supposed to wait in this type of a situation before you can talk again, you know?" joey awkwardly tried to break the silence after the argument had ended. the only response he got was ross blankly looking back at him. "maybe a little longer." ✧ "what happened back there?" joey asked ella as he and chandler walked back into the apartment after the argument. "chandler...i cant believe you came up with the idea for that list," ella sat in astonishment at their kitchen counter. "and that's my cue to go," joey immediately walked back out the apartment to avoid another couple's fight. "what do you have to say for yourself?" ella stood up from her chair. "i'm so sorry. i didn't think rachel would find out—" "what if you were choosing between janice and i? would you have made such a horrible list?" ella threw at him. "even if i did, i would choose you. i'll always choose you!" chandler exclaimed as ella began packing what was very clearly an overnight bag. "i can't even deal with this right now, i have to make sure rachels okay," ella frustratedly finished packing and made her way across the hall.
❁ 1253 words a/n: i can't believe im finally making progress with the rewriting of this book
