AN:  Okay, the idea just kinda came to me, and it may suck, but…well, I wanted to write it.  This first chapter is sort of a set up, and maybe later I'll actually write a chapter with dialogue (this chapter has NONE!).  It's not necessarily a Chandler-Monica fic…I haven't decided about that yet.  Review, review, review…pleeeeze!

The Theory

It had gotten out of control.  How, and when it had gotten out of control, no one really knew.  But now, five friends sat inside their favorite coffee shop, trying to recall how it had started, whose idea it was, and what they were going to do next.

They were pretty sure that it was Phoebe's idea, but then, they had all had a hand in it at some point. 

It had been a cold, rainy Saturday night, and they had been sitting around, talking about all kinds of things, when the subject turned to the inevitable topic: relationships.

They started talking about cheating.  Phoebe and Rachel had been convinced that it was in a man's nature to cheat, and, given the opportunity, he would do it, No Matter What.

Ross wanted to argue, but was quickly reminded of the now-famous "Chloe Incident", and was thus quieted.  Joey just nodded along, not really paying much attention to what anyone was saying, as he was still sulking over the fact that both of his dates had cancelled at the last minute, leaving him Dateless on a Saturday for the first time in months.  Adding insult to injury was the fact that his roommate and best friend Chandler was out that night, with girlfriend Kathy, a woman Joey had once dated, but had lost to Chandler—another first.

Chandler was the unfortunate soul who was not present that night, and was, consequently, the one who would become the Guinea Pig for a (wine-laced) poorly thought out plan to prove that men were cheaters.  Rachel, at the time, stated that Chandler was the perfect candidate, since Janice had cheated on him, and that he just didn't seem to have it in him; Phoebe swiftly pointed out that Chandler and Kathy had essentially cheated on Joey, so it really was in him. 

The plan was laid out: Each of the girls, in their own way, would try and seduce Chandler, and as soon as he crumbled, the theory would be proven. 

But, with every theory, there are outside factors that need to be considered.

That night, they were not.

The first factor was Rachel and Ross.  Rachel's attempts at seduction were actually quite mediocre, but the more she tried, the weirder Ross acted, which made Rachel nervous, and convinced Chandler that one, or both of them either had a drinking problem, or they were dating again, and were fighting again, and Rachel was, in some twisted way, trying to get back at Ross by sitting on Chandler's lap, smiling coyly, and laughing at everything Chandler said.  It soon became apparent that Rachel was getting nowhere with Chandler.

Eventually, Rachel gave up, and Phoebe moved in.

The problem with Phoebe was that she had come on too strong.  Essentially, she scared Chandler away. She grabbed at him, she flirted heavily with him, and one night, she even went so far as to jump him.  He was so freaked out by the incident, he avoided her for a week.

Things really began to unravel when Monica took over.  So intent was she to "win", that she did not consider the consequences.  In flirting with Chandler, Monica took an entirely different approach from Rachel and Phoebe.  She left subtle hints; she sat just a little too close; she stared a little bit longer, and spoke just a little bit softer around him. 

No one considered Chandler's feelings through all of this.  On the night that Chandler had walked into the apartment, and kissed Monica without a word, and without warning, and all anyone could think was that the theory had been proven—Chandler was willing to cheat on Kathy, because Monica had shown an interest.

And when all was revealed, their ignorance was the reason why they were all so taken aback by his reaction. 

~*~

Chandler sat on the park bench for an immeasurable period of time—hours, perhaps—simply watching the world pass by.  He was still reeling from the revelations from his friends—a plan—an experiment, based on a bet, was the basis for all of the strange behavior he'd been witness to over the past month, including Monica's actions.  He felt…foolish.  How had he not seen all of this before?  He was humiliated, and he took all of it out on his friends.  He felt guilty, for getting so mad over what was essentially a practical joke.  But they'd hurt his pride, and made him look foolish.  He was angry, but more…he was hurting.

Unbeknownst to his friends, Chandler had been having trouble with Kathy; they'd been fighting more, and Chandler had been sure that she was cheating on him. 

It was around this time that Chandler noticed that Monica was acting odd—he wondered, briefly, if he was projecting some kind of weird vibe—first Rachel, then Phoebe, and now Monica—but he quickly laughed off the notion.  He was just being paranoid, right?  His friend's odd behavior made Chandler uncomfortable, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it.  He refused to let himself believe that Monica had a crush on him; he would not open that can of worms.  He was finally over his crush on her, and he did not want to go back down that road.

But the worse things got with Kathy, the more Chandler wanted to believe that Monica really did have feelings for him.  He began picking up on even the subtlest of hints—and he reveled in the attention.

Chandler didn't tell anyone that he'd broken up with Kathy—he didn't tell anyone that he'd walked in on her with another man.  He was hurting, but he held out hope that Monica's feelings were genuine.  So he went to her apartment, after walking out of Kathy's; he walked over to her, and kissed her.  Nothing could have prepared him for the reaction from everyone—including her.  It was all a joke…an experiment—and he fell for it.   How would he ever be able to face them again?

The sun was rising, indicating to Chandler that he had been out all night.  He had no desire to go back—to face his snickering friends. 

Unfortunately, he had nowhere else to go.