third person pov
gianna held the letters in her hands tightly, pulling her coat closer as she approached central perk. pushing the door open, she spies rachel across the coffee house, making mindless conversation with a customer.
"mail call, rachel green, bunk seven." gianna calls teasingly, waving the letters in the air as she secures her coat onto the coat rack.
"thank you!" rachel smiles, taking the letters from the blonde, eyes scanning the envelopes as gianna settles into the stool at the counter. "oh, cool! free sample of coffee!"
"oh good! cause where else would we get any?" her response was sarcastic, rachel too focused on sorting through the letters to take much notice.
"oh. right." she continues filing, gianna fiddling with the napkin in front of her. "...oh great."
"what is it?"
"country club newsletter. my mother sends me the engagement notices for 'inspiration'." rachel explains, rolling her eyes at gianna before glancing back down. "oh my god! oh my god, it's barry and mindy!" gianna's eyes widen, fingers reaching for the newsletter.
"barry who you almost-?"
"barry who i almost!"
"and mindy, your maid of-?"
"mindy, my maid of. oh!" rachel scoffs in disbelief, letting gianna steal the newsletter away.
"that's mindy? wow, she is pretty!" gianna glances up to see rachel's disgruntled expression. "lucky! to have a friend like you." she continues, smiling sheepishly at her friend.
*
later, rachel and ross are sharing chinese food in the girls apartment. ross is trying to instruct marcel, whilst rachel laments on the events in the coffee house prior.
gianna was across the hall, sorting through joey's washing as she waited for the phone to ring. her job hunt had seemed to be impossible, no place looking for a new employee. however, by chance, gianna's old school friend had moved to the city and sent an application form for the university of new york who were in search of an animal biology professor.
while gianna answered the phone, rachel and ross' conversation spiralled into rachel's wishes for the perfect boyfriend.
"well, i mean, do you think you can ever have both? y'know? someone who's like, who's like your best friend, but then also can make your toes curl?" rachel stammers, twirling the noodles around her chopstick as ross straightens up in his chair.
"yes. yes. yes! yes, i really do! in fact, it's funny, very often, someone who you wouldn't think could-could curl your toes, might just be the one who..." the front door opens, inviting the indistinct chatter from their other friends.
"hi."
"...gets interrupted. hi!" ross quips, turning his focus from rachel to his sister.
"hi, how was the movie?"
"wonderful!"
"so good!" monica and phoebe answer.
"suck-fest."
"toootal chick-flick." the boys replies, shaking their heads with disapproval.
"I'm sorry it wasn't one of those movies with, like, y'know, guns and bombs and, like, buses going really fast..." phoebe stammers, throwing her hands up slightly.
"hey, I don't need violence to enjoy a movie. just as long as there's a little nudity." joey responds, offering the suggestion.
"there was nudity!"
"I meant female nudity. alright? I don't need to see lou grant frolicking."
"hugh! hugh grant!" the girls exclaim, emphasising their point.
"where's gianna?" joey ignores the girls exclamation and scans the room for his younger sister.
"she said she was waiting for a phone call in your apartment, I think it was for a job!" rachel replies, smiling softly as joey's expression brightens. just as they were talking, the door opens quietly behind them, gianna clutching the phone to her chest.
"alright, i've gotta go. c'mon marcel-" ross stands from the armchair and begins calling for marcel, following his scampering tail to the front door. marcel climbs up gianna's leg and rests on her shoulder, stroking her hair gently. "gianna!" the group turns to face her, smiles tugging at the corners of their lips as they see her struggling to contain her excitement.
"how'd you go sweetie?" monica asks gently and gianna lets the smile on her lips widen.
"I got the job!" in a matter of seconds, joey had engulfed his sister in a hug, marcel leaping to the countertop for safety as the pair spun around the kitchen floor.
"I'm so proud of you!" he cheers, kissing the top of her head as everyones cheers begin to quieten down. "what-what are you doing?"
"I'm going to be teaching at new york university!"
"that's so cool!"
"wow!" the group cheer once again, congratulating gianna on finally securing a job after her tireless searching.
"okay, now I really have to go! c'mon marcel! we're gonna go take a bath!" ross continues, gathering his things and waiting for marcel to climb on his shoulder. "yes we are, aren't we? yes, we are."
"they're still just friends, right?" chandler jokes, watching gianna's flushed features ripple with happiness.
"and I will see you tomorrow!" rachel coos, pointing at marcel cutely.
"that's right, you're gonna spend tomorrow at aunt rachel's, aren't you?"
"oh, hang on, hang on. does aunt monica get a say in this?" monica folds her arms across her chest, looking at her brother and rachel intently.
"'pwease aunt monica, pwease' oh, unclench. you're not even gonna be there." ross scolds, watching monica grunt gently.
*
rachel's babysitting of marcel was running smoothly, the pair watching a soap opera together. however, a few hours later, gianna wandered into the apartment to find a distressed rachel on the sofa.
"hey, rach, what's going on?"
"ross is going to be SO mad..."
"rach?"
"I lost him!" gianna's eyes widened, immediately reaching for the phone and dialling monica, phoebe, joey and chandler.
"how could you lose him!?" joey exclaims, the group now standing around rachel seated at the kitchen table.
"I don't know. we were watching tv, and then he pooped in monica's shoe-"
"wait, he pooped in my shoe? which one?!" monica exclaims, glancing down at rachel quickly.
"I don't know, the left one?"
"which ones?" monica emphasises.
"oh. oh, those little clunky amish things you think go with everything." rachel replies, returning to hold her head in her hands.
"hey." phoebe smiles, shutting the front door gently behind her. "woahhh, oooh, why is the air in here so negative?"
"rachel lost marcel." chandler says, filling phoebe in.
"oh no, how?"
"he-he pooped in my shoe." monica repeats in disbelief.
"which one?"
"those cute little black ones I wear all the time."
"no, which one? the right or left? cause the left one is lucky..." phoebe mutters, weighing her hands out to show the difference. rachel groans and shakes her head below them all.
"c'mon, you guys, what're we gonna do, what're we gonna do?" rachel groans, glancing around at everyone.
"alright, alright. you're a monkey. you're loose in the city. where do you go?" joey offers, genuinely thinking about his own question.
"okay, it's his first time out, so he's probably gonna wanna do some touristy things. I'll go to cats, you go to the russian tea room." chandler jokes, only making rachel groan once more.
"oh, my god, c'mon you guys! he's gonna be home any minute! he's gonna kill me!"
"okay, we'll start with the building, you guys take the first and second floor, phoebe and monica take the third and fourth, i'll head to the street and the basement." gianna offers, reaching for her coat on the coat hook.
"well, what'm I gonna do?"
"okay, you stay here, and just wait by the phone. spray lysol in my shoe, and wait for ross to kill you." monica nods, following behind the rest of the group out of the apartment.
"anybody wanna trade? oh..."
*
for someone as knowledgable about the animal kingdom as gianna, she sure had no idea where marcel was. she thought she had thought of everything. the flee market, central perk, grocery stores, even the plant store way down the street. gianna was at a loss and her only conclusion was that marcel was still in the building.
phoebe and monica had moved through countless apartments, groaning at mr heckles belgian waffle story before deciding marcel wasn't where they were searching.
ross had arrived back at the apartment, uncorking a bottle of wine to share with rachel until she spilled the disappearance of marcel, rendering the man speechless.
"I-i-i can't believe this. I mean, all I asked you to do was keep him in the apartment." ross stammers, holding his head in his hand as he paced.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry-"
"no, y'know what, I guess it's partially my fault. y'know I shouldn't've, uh, asked you to start off with a monkey. I should've started you off with like a pen or a pencil!" his anger was seeping into the floor, rachel fighting off tears.
"ross, I'm doing everything that I can, I've gotta everybody looking for him, and I-" the door buzzer goes off, rachel rushing to get it "-oh! who is it?"
"animal control."
"see? I've called animal control!"
"you called animal control?" ross chokes, eyes widening at rachel standing sheepishly at the door.
"uh-huh...why...do you not like them?"
"marcel is an illegal exotic animal. I'm not allowed to have him in the city. if they find him, they'll take him away from me." ross seethes, almost towering over rachel.
"o-okay, now see, you never ever ever told us that..."
"that's right. i...'cause I didn't expect you were gonna invite them to the apartment!" behind rachel, there is a knock on the door. rachel swiftly opens it to reveal a woman, her uniform indicating she was the animal control officer. as the pair begin to explain the 'misunderstanding' to luisa the animal control officer, monica and phoebe return, spoiling marcel's identity.
in another part of the building, chandler and joey call down the hall for marcel.
"marcel?"
"marcel?"
"marcel?" the pair approach a door and silently agree to knock.
"hi, can I help you?" a very sweaty woman appears at the door, wearing barely anything but a few pieces of lycra.
"um, we're kind of having an emergency and we-we were looking for something..." chandler stammers, shuffling slightly beside joey who was ogling.
"a monkey"
"yes have you seen any?"
"no. no, haven't see a monkey. do you know anything about fixing radiators?" the woman asks, eyeing the boys up and down softly. the boys share a glance before continuing to ask about marcel.
monica and phoebe had returned to looking for marcel, trying to beat luisa at finding him. their search had led them to the basement, phoebe complaining she had felt something brush her leg. a noise in the corner gets the girls to rejoice as they see marcel picking at his feet.
"step aside, ladies!" luisa calls, loading the gun in her hands.
"what're you gonna do?"
"just a small tranquilliser." luisa smirks, aiming the gun towards marcel. phoebe reacts quickly, leaping in slow motion to cover marcel and take the dart.
"run, marcel, run! run marcel!" monica shouts, watching the monkey leap away and luisa run after him. phoebe groans on the floor in front of her. "are you okay?"
"yeah, think so. oh!" phoebe exclaims, standing from the ground and noticing the dart in her butt. as she removes it, she sways, monica catching her before she drops to the ground.
"oh gosh."
*
gianna wanders the street quietly, unaware of the panic rising through everyone else's veins. she sighs deeply, glancing around to in the hope of seeing marcel waiting for her. but instead, she finds something useful.
"excuse me, where are you going with these?"
*
"mr heckles, why are you ordering so many bananas?" gianna asks as soon as the door swings open.
"potassium."
"give me the monkey."
"I don't have a monkey." behind him, marcel scurries around and gianna gasps at the sight of a pink dress.
"mr heckles!"
"gianna!" she turns to look down the hall, seeing ross and rachel wandering. they furrow their brows at the box of bananas before hearing a familiar marcel squeal. behind ross and rachel, the rest of the group appear, smiles tugging at their lips as they race towards gianna.
"here, monkey. here, monkey!" out of sight, luisa chants for marcel, the sound of a cage door opening luring the monkey out. "gotcha!" she smirks, shutting the door to keep marcel in the cage.
"okay, gimme my monkey back." ross argues, turning to a satisfied luisa.
"that's my monkey." mr heckles continues, trying to reach for the cage.
"you're both gonna have to take this up with the judge." luisa adds, mr heckles stepping backwards into his apartment slightly.
"that's not my monkey. just the dress is mine, you can send that back whenever."
"alright, I want my monkey." ross stamps, looking down at luisa.
"no!"
"oh, c'mon, luisa!"
"sorry, prom queen." luisa snaps, rachel looking at her disbelief.
"you had to be a bitch in high school, you couldn't've been fat." ross scolds, leaning down to whisper in rachel's ear.
"alright. in high school I was the prom queen, and I was the homecoming queen, and the class president and you...were there! but if you take this monkey, I will lose one of the most important people in my life. you can hate me if you want, but please do not punish him. c'mon luisa, you have a chance to be the bigger person here! take it!" despite rachel's attempts, and the swelling of ross' heart, luisa stares blankly.
"nope." gianna thinks for a second, taking a deep breathe.
"the monkey is mine." lie.
"what?" the group glances down at the smaller girl, watching her fingers twist together.
"he's from the central Park zoo-" lie. "-I had to take him to my apartment to look after him whilst his enclosure is being redone." lie. gianna pauses, watching luisa breathe out heavily. "there's no documentation yet because it was last minute. so if you don't mind, I'll be taking my monkey back." gianna snaps, holding her arm out for marcel. the group holds their breathe, hearts beating hard as luisa reluctantly opens the cage door and lets marcel clamber onto gianna. the girl turns to look over at her shoulder to see ross' smile widen, the sparkle reappearing in his eye.
*
everyone had congregated back at the girls apartment, quietly chatting about gaining marcel back, and making plans for the evening.
"gianna-" the girl turns to see ross with marcel on his shoulder
"-hm?"
"I wanted to thank you properly. you didn't have to do that." ross smiles, watching gianna's shoulders relax slightly. across the room, chandler watches the girl reach up to marcel's fingers.
"of course I did! I couldn't see you lose this cheeky monkey!" she teases, playing with marcel's hands.
"well, thank you. I'll be forever in debt." ross continues and gianna smiles, accepting ross' open arms for a hug.
"gigi, are you coming to the coffee house?" joey asks, sliding his coat on beside chandler, monica and phoebe.
"sure!" gianna replies, grabbing her bag from the table. "i think i need a coffee now." the group laugh and big rachel and ross farewell before leaving for the coffee house.
*
"this is me in the sound of music. see the von traps kids?" monica points out, the group gathered around her high school yearbook. gianna leans over, her chin resting on chandler's shoulder.
"nope."
"that's because I'm in front of them." monica replies, the group letting a silent laugh fall from their lips.
"eh. I thought that was an alp."
"well, high school was not my favourite time." monica continues, sighing deeply as everyone leans back on their seats.
"I dunno, I loved high school. y'know? it was just four years of parties and dating and sex." joey shrugs, taking a sup of his coffee.
"yeah, well I went to boarding school with four hundred boys. any sex I had would've involved a major lifestyle choice." chandler jokes, eyes flicking to see gianna's subtle smile.
"gosh, doesn't it seem like a million years ago?"
"oh. oooh! oooh!" phoebe exclaims, standing from her seat and beginning to dance around. "oooh! my butt cheek is waking up! oooh!" the group dissolves into a fit of laughter, watching phoebe dance around.
*
not edited.
I'M BACKKKK
hello my lovelies, i have returned! i hope u have all been well, and are excited for another chapter!
thank u all for sticking around and waiting for an upload, hopefully i can get a few more out in the next couple of weeks during my break!
love, pipes <3