PART EIGHT
Chandler stared at his computer, scared to death of what he was about to tell Lizzie; scared of what her reaction might be when he told her he was in love with somebody else.
He logged on as his ID, 90CMB, and saw that Lizzie was online and waiting for him. He slowly typed:
Hi Lizzie. It's been a while.
A message immediately flashed back saying:
I know. I need to talk to you about something.
Chandler heaved a sigh of relief. More time to think about what he was going to tell her. He typed back, muttering his message aloud as he did so. "What's up?" He frowned in confusion at the response:
Why weren't you at the fountain that night?
"I was there!" Chandler cried, typing out his response. The reply came up as:
No you weren't. I would have noticed.
"I'm telling you, I was there that night, and you were the one who didn't come!" Chandler's brow furrowed as he thought back to that night. No one had been there. Lizzie's next reply confused him even more:
Well, I WAS there! That is really strange we didn't see each other.
Chandler thought of his next response. He wasn't ready to tell Lizzie about Monica yet, so he continued to respond in the same way. I know. That was VERY strange. Anyway, how have you been? He typed.
Chandler's heart leaped at the response, and he gave a happy sigh of relief.
I have a confession to make. I've met somebody else. I'm so sorry, I don't want to hurt you but I really like this man.
"Actually, the same thing has kind of happened to me." Chandler muttered as he immediately typed back, feeling like a weight had just lifted from his shoulders.
You're joking! Oh I'm so relieved. I didn't want to hurt you. The message flashed back a second later.
Chandler shook his head and smiled. "I didn't want to hurt you either." He said, typing back. He read the response that came:
After talking to you, I didn't think there could be anyone else I could connect with so well. Then I met this man…
Chandler grinned and thought. Oh well, might as well talk about each other's loved ones. He typed back: I feel the same way about this woman I met.
He read the response: Is she pretty?
"Very!" Chandler said, typing back.
This man doesn't look too bad either. I think I'm in love with him. She responded.
Chandler smiled a little. "Well, surely you can tell him that?" he said, typing.
He'll panic.
"Why would he panic?" Chandler asked, puzzled.
He might think it is too soon for that. I just don't want to freak him out.
Chandler raised his eyebrows at the response. Lizzie's boyfriend sounded very much like himself. "I guess we're all alike." He muttered, laughing to himself. That's a pity he typed back.
I think it's his past that has made him feel like that. His dad stars in a drag show in Las Vegas, his mother writes erotic romance novels and makes a fool of herself on TV.
Chandler fell off his chair, hitting the floor with a thud. "It's got to be a coincidence!" he cried, leaping up and sitting back down on the chair again. "This is Lizzie I'm speaking to, not Monica!" Nevertheless, he typed back: May I ask what his name is?
The response caused Chandler to fall out of his chair again. Chandler, it read.
Chandler swallowed hard, hardly believing what was happening. It all made sense now. There were the similarities between Lizzie and Monica. They were all the same person! The confusion over the meeting at the fountain, of course Monica won't have seen 'Tom' for Chandler himself was Tom!
Now knowing what to do next, Chandler continued to type to his 'Lizzie'. "So you love Chandler, huh?" he said, smiling happily.
Yes I do.
"When did you realise you loved him?" Chandler said softly, waiting for the response.
Monica sat and thought about her answer to that question. Now that she knew she loved Chandler, it was easy to know when. I was starting to fall for him when we were at this restaurant together. He gave me a hug in the hallway and it felt so comforting, so sweet.
The response that followed made Monica smile:
I fell in love with this woman from the moment I met her. I just didn't realise it until now. In fact, as I'm speaking right now, I realise I love her even more.
"That woman is very lucky to find you." Monica said, typing the response.
I think Chandler is very lucky to have YOU. The response flashed back to Monica.
"How can you be so sure of that?" Monica asked.
I just know. By the way, did I ever tell you what my ID means?
Monica smiled a little at the apparent change of subject. No. She typed back.
The number, 90, is the amount of shots my favourite basketball player netted in a single game and the three letters are my initials…
Monica looked nervously at this message. Until now, she assumed 'Tom' was genuine. How could his initials be CMB? "I thought your name was TOM." She muttered, typing with trembling fingers.
Is your real name Lizzie? The message seemed challenging, and Monica swallowed nervously. Hesitating, she typed: No. It's actually Monica.
Ah-hah! The message flashed back.
"Well, what is yours then?" Monica whispered, her voice shaking as she typed.
Oh wouldn't YOU like to know…the message appeared.
Monica was beginning to get angry. How dare this man tease her like this?
What is it?! She typed frantically.
The message that followed still didn't give her the answer she wanted. In fact, it scared her to death.
First of all, I think you should know that I'm standing right outside your door…
Monica stayed in her seat, terrified to move. Her first instinct was to call for Rachel to come out of her bedroom, but what could she do? Then three soft knocks came from the door. She stared at her computer and what she saw nearly made her fall to the ground in shock, for it said:
In answer to your question, CMB stands for…………Chandler Muriel Bing.
Monica gasped and stared at the door. The familiar, cheery voice called, "So, are you letting me in or not?"
She ran over to the door and opened it. Seeing Chandler standing there, smiling softly at her and holding his laptop in one hand, made her eyes water with tears. She flung her arms around him, and cried on his shoulder with happiness. "I can't believe it…I can't believe it's you…" she muttered.
Chandler put his laptop on the floor, and cupped her face in his hands, wiping the tears off her face with his fingers. "Hi Lizzie." He said, grinning a little. "I'm Tom."
"When did you realise?" Monica whispered, gazing into his eyes.
"How many Chandler's do you know who have a drag queen father and a erotic mother?" he asked, laughing. Then his face turned serious. "So you're in love with me." He added.
"…all that you said in those messages…were they true?" Monica asked, blushing.
Chandler nodded. "Yes. I love you and always will." He told gently. He leaned in and kissed her. Monica returned the kiss without reluctance and when they finally broke apart, she stroked his cheek.
"Who would've thought we'd be reunited over a radio station?" she asked, laughing. "Despite all that, we only lived a few blocks away from each other! It must be…
"Fate?" Chandler finished for her, "You're forgetting about how we met." he added, "Fate brought on by a basketball." He chuckled.
"What about that fountain, huh?" Monica asked, kissing him softly on the lips. "That was crazy. Why did neither of us realise it?"
"I don't know…" Chandler shook his head in amazement.
"Why didn't you tell me about that rose?" Monica smiled at him, "Rachel told me."
"Well…I was shy and stupid." Chandler replied, blushing a little.
"You know I still have it?"
Chandler widened his eyes. "You do? Wow, I didn't realise it meant that much to you."
Monica pulled him into the apartment and shut the door. "Of course it did." She said, kissing him again. "I love you." She whispered.
"I love you too." Chandler whispered back. "I guess I'm a 'loving' sort of man." He added, looking meaningfully at her.
"So, your parents haven't affected you?" Monica asked, giggling.
"Not right now."
"Wow, you two can't keep away from each other for a minute, can you?" a voice said behind them. They turned around to see Rachel smiling at them. "It's only been a hour since your date ended!"
Monica checked her watch. "Wow, it seems like ages from then."
Chandler smiled. "Yeah, we've had a lot to talk about since, haven't we?"
Rachel stared at them and shook her head. "Love affects your brains. What are you talking about?"
"It's just as you said Rachel," Monica told her, her hand squeezing Chandler's, "its just fate."
THE END
:well that's it! That's the end of TOW it is just fate. Apart from that little error in part seven, which I edited later, I hope you enjoyed this story!: