Stay With Me (chapter 3)

Joey/Chandler (Friends)

"Can we just turn that off?" Monica asked from the kitchen, referring to the TV which showed the latest news about the disaster around World Trade Center.

"You know, it's actually very important and quite interesting," Ross said, not looking at his sister, as he was sitting on the couch next to Rachel.

"I agree with Monica," Phoebe said and got up from her chair in the kitchen. "It's really depressing."

"We've been watching it for hours now. It'll continue to be awful." Monica's voice was irritated but also sad. She busied herself, so she wouldn't focus on the screen.

In the armchair close to the TV, Chandler had pulled his legs up. He stared blankly at the screen, once in a while forgetting to blink. Since he and Joey lost contact, his cell phone had been stuck in his hand, and he hadn't been able to do more than three-word sentences. He felt hollow – like nothing mattered, except for Joey being stuck in the ruins.

"Yeah," Rachel sighed, "Mon, you're right. Let's just-"

"Oh, shut up!"

Everyone stared at Chandler after his outburst. He hadn't changed position or expression. He just continued to be a wreck of emotions.

They were all frozen and silent for a moment. Ross and Rachel looked at each other, surprised. Monica suddenly spoke from the kitchen.

"It won't make things easier-"

"I DON'T CARE!" Chandler flipped his feet onto the floor, looking in Monica's direction furiously. God, she always wanted it her way. She shouldn't tell him what was easy and what wasn't.

Again, the room was filled with a silent awkwardness. Monica turned around, carefully meeting Chandler's eyes. They were on fire.

Phoebe was the first one to begin to speak, keeping her voice low and gentle.

"Maybe we should call for a pizza." She turned to Monica, as she nervously wringed her hands together.

"I second that," Ross said to break some of the ice, looking at Phoebe, then Monica. He felt Rachel's hand on his shoulder in the same moment, probably telling him that he made the right decision.

Taking one quick look at the TV, Chandler got up from the chair, tugging the phone into his pocket.

"I'm just gonna go... do something," he said lowly, feeling guilty for yelling, as he walked across the room to the door.

A mess of his name being said in different ways filled the air.

"Please stay," Monica pleaded, taking a few steps towards Chandler, as he reached the door.

He eyed her angrily and yet sadly. It was hard for Monica to read. He flipped the door open, leaving without a word.

Sitting in the hallway on the single step, Chandler glared at the floor. His hands rested loosely in his lap. Once in a while, he could hear voices coming from Monica's and Rachel's apartment but apart from that, everything was quiet.

He eyed his and Joey's apartment door. No way was he going in there by himself. It was just too hard. He didn't want to see the place be all without Joey and yet so full of him. The thought that Joey might not come back was just simply unbearable. And not being able to speak to him was even worse. Maybe Joey was already dead. Maybe he wasn't. There was no way to tell.

Lost in thought, he suddenly heard a door open, but he didn't look up. Rachel's kind voice was there in a second.

"Hey there," she said softly, closing the door to the bright apartment whose light had filled the hallway for a short moment.

Chandler didn't say anything. He just kept looking at the floor miserably.

But his view was suddenly blocked by Rachel's legs, as she squatted down in front of him. She placed a comforting hand on his knee, and he looked further down not to meet her eyes that were full of pity. He felt bad for telling her to shut up earlier.

"He'll be alright," she said all of a sudden in a low, soothing voice.

It didn't comfort Chandler that much, though. He just kept looking down, fiddling a little with his fingers.

"Come back inside." Rachel rubbed Chandler's knee a little. "We'll get some pizzas and watch a movie. What about Die Hard? You guys like that, right?"

The title of Joey's favorite movie caused Chandler to meet her eyes briefly before looking back down. Tears were forming in his eyes, as he ran a hand through his hair. He didn't want to cry in front of her like a wimp.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." Rachel seemed to notice how he had been touched by her words.

Chandler simply sniffled.

"Chandler?" Her voice was even gentler than before. "Chandler, honey, it's gonna be alright." She rubbed his knee again, but when no reaction was given, she moved up to him and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close to her chest.

Not reacting further, Chandler just leaned onto her and let some silent tears fall. They slid down his face, and he made no effort to wipe them away. He felt weak. He felt exhausted. He was hurt.

And even as Rachel was this close to him, the only person he could think of was Joey.

Monica put the last pizza box onto the kitchen table, turned around and watched the heavy-dark room for a moment. The TV screen was the only source of light, but it was bright enough to walk around without tripping on something.

Rachel had gone to bed about an hour ago, and Ross and Phoebe had just left the apartment silently. Because in the armchair, Chandler had pulled his legs over the armrest and was now fast asleep. He had only eaten half as much as he used to, seeming unbelievably tired, and this concerned Monica a lot.

She moved to the chair, taking a look at her sleeping friend. He looked peaceful after all. She smiled sadly and pulled out a blanket which she carefully covered him with. He didn't seem to notice anything at all but just kept snoring lightly.

It hurt to see Chandler like this. Monica couldn't think of a time where he had been this depressed ever. This just proved how much Chandler cared for Joey, how close they were. They really loved each other. She knew they did.

Please, Joey, be alright. Be strong. Chandler needs you.

She studied Chandler for just a little longer before she turned off the TV and went to bed, making sure that Chandler's cell phone was in reach on the table.

"... The morning's here... Sunshine is here... The sky is clear..."

The words came out more like hoarse croaks than actually singing. Joey was too tired to sing properly. He basically did it only to stay awake and to try not to focus too much on the fact that everything around him was getting darker and that for every minute he started to feel more and more numb.

"The morning's here... Get into gear..."

Joey coughed so the dust swirled in front of his face. He was freezing and yet feeling sweaty, constantly trembling even though he was trying to stop.

It had been hours – hours of pure frustration, hours of tears, hours of pain and hours of loneliness. He hadn't stopped thinking about Chandler, how they had been on the phone together earlier. Though, he tried not to think too much of when the final call had died. It hurt too much.

Blinking heavily, he breathed out. Actually, he was not in too much pain at the moment, but his limbs were awfully asleep, and it felt as if he had gotten a fever.

Everything was just so quiet that it was scary. The only voice he seemed to hear was Chandler's in his mind – Chandler calling out for him, telling him to come home, pleading and begging. And every time, he had to tell him that it was no use – that he wasn't getting out of there.

It was no use. He could just as well close his eyes and go to sleep and never wake up again. But then again, he wanted to fight it. He wanted to go home and hold Chandler in his arms. He wanted to show him that everything was alright – that they could go on and forget about this.

He drew a breath.

Suddenly, he could hear something that he hadn't been able to hear for hours. Voices. Clear voices. They were above him, and he furrowed his brows. Could it be true? Were there actually people up there? Voices were suddenly so new to him.

A thin cone of yellow light went through one of the small cracks. There was definitely someone up there. Automatically, he smiled.

Chandler shot up from the chair immediately when his cell phone started ringing. He picked it up from the table quickly but had to gain some sense after feeling horribly dizzy. He turned on some light, as the phone managed to ring once more before he answered.

"Hello?" His voice was tired but still eager.

In the same moment, Rachel and Monica came out of their rooms, stopping just outside the doors. They had both been wakened by the ringtone.

"Yes?" Chandler said, looking at the girls and pausing for a brief moment before letting out a breath of pure relief. "Thank god!"

Monica met Rachel's eyes. They were completely aware of what was going on, and therefore they came closer to Chandler, already smiling widely.

"Where... Alright, where're you taking him?" Chandler gazed into nothing. "Alright, I'll be right there." He hung up and looked at the girls, flinging out his arms and grinning, his voice full of joy. "They found him."

Covering her mouth, Rachel let out a squeak.

"Yes!" Monica exclaimed in the same moment, her voice high-pitched.

Both of the girls fell into Chandler's open arms, hugging him tightly.

Chandler almost found himself sobbing happily. It was too good to be true. Someone had actually found Joey. He felt his heart leaping.

The girls let go of him again.

"We're going with you," Monica said, smiling widely.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed, "I'll just call Ross." She already turned to get the phone.

"And I'll call Phoebe!" Monica went for her cell phone.

Chandler let out a chuckle and smiled at his friends.

"He's gonna be happy to see all of us, I'm sure." Tears were filling his eyes. This time, they were tears of happiness.

"Joey, will you just stop mocking me about the tie?"

"What? I'm just saying it looks a bit old school!"

"Well, it is an old tie but I like it."

"Well, hello grandpa."

"Stop it!" Chandler slapped Joey's shoulder, though chuckling softly at the joke.

Joey giggled cheekily.

"You know I love you." He put on an innocent face, smiling at Chandler.

"Thank god you're pretty," Chandler said with a sigh, tossing a small piece of paper into a garbage can, as they walked by.

Hugging his midsection, Joey slightly shuttered at the cold wind.

"Are we there yet?" he asked.

"I can't believe you still don't know where I work." Chandler didn't sound amused.

"They all look the same, okay?" Joey looked around, proving his point.

Chandler shook his head and smiled, as he looked down at the damp sidewalk. "Half a minute."

Joey nodded to himself.

"Hey," he said all of a sudden, "I've told you about that audition today, right? At four?"

"No?" Chandler looked at his lover after briefly dodging a man walking past him. "What's the part?"

"Nah," Joey shrugged, "just a leading role in an action movie." He grinned at Chandler.

"What?" Chandler was blown away. "That's great!" He leaned to the side and wrapped his arm around Joey's shoulders, kissing his cheek. "I'm proud of you."

"Well, it's still an audition, and there're a lot of great guys up for the part-"

"Bullshit! You'll get the part, Joe." Chandler smiled reassuringly.

"You think?"

"I know."

Joey blushed and looked into Chandler's eyes.

"Thanks."

Chandler smiled back.

"Oh, we're here!" he said and walked confidently towards the entrance.

Stopping abruptly on the sidewalk, Joey looked up. God, the building seemed so unbelievably high. Suddenly, it felt like his insides were turning, and he swallowed heavily. Why was this so hard? He could easily follow Chandler. Why had he stopped?

Realizing that he had lost Joey, Chandler turned around.

"Hey, Joe!" he called out, considering Joey was suddenly far away and the traffic was going crazy in front of the building. "Are you coming?"

Joey looked at him with wide, empty eyes.

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