Summary : At Lincoln High's high school reunion, Rachel caught a glimpse of high school years from her husband's eyes and soon learned how different his experiences were compared to hers. ONE SHOT.
......
Lincoln High, Class of 1988 : The Reunion
Rachel felt like she just travelled back in time as she stepped inside the building of their high school - Lincoln High. Everything looked the same as she remembered it except maybe for the fresh paint job and dozens of additional features that didn't exist back then. She stood in the middle of the hallway - surrounded by student's lockers, and as she closed her eyes, she could already imagine herself back in high school. So young, clueless, and somewhat innocent in its own way.
Rachel loved her high school days, especially her glory days back in her freshman year - when she first joined the cheerleader team and found out what popularity tasted like. Those times were amazing. She became the most popular girl in school soon after she joined the team. Every girl in school envied her, whilst every boy worshiped the ground she was walking on.
She was almost like a celebrity here, not a single person in the school didn't know who she was.
She was 'The Rachel Green'.
She was that popular girl you'd seen in a movie. Beautiful, talented, and mean. Yeah, she wasn't really proud of the last one.
High school was overall an amazing four years for her and it felt good to be here today, reminiscing her glory days - her youth.
She loved her life right now, don't get it wrong- her life was perfect.
She was married to the love of her life and together they had three wonderful children, she couldn't have asked for a better life. The thing was, she also wasn't getting any younger and as she officially entered her 40s, a reminder like today - who she was in high school - somehow made her feel young again. Being back here brought out so many memories of her youth that she was almost convinced she was still seventeen as soon as she stepped inside this building. She felt so.. young.
"Would you look at that?" Rachel heard her husband's voice as he stopped his track to look at the trophy cabinet.
Rachel halted her steps, turning around to face the object her husband was looking at. Suddenly, a smile crept out of her lips. "State Championship 1886." Rachel smiled at the memory as she recalled that day vividly in her head. "Our team captain sprained her ankle during our rehearsal and our coach asked me to lead the whole team. I never led the whole team before and I remember I was so nervous, Monica dragged me to the restroom to calm me down."
Ross stared at his wife in awe, feeling proud because he knew exactly how that day ended.
"I never thought we'd ever won. I just wished I didn't screw the team, but then everything went perfectly - even better than we had ever practiced before, and suddenly they announced the winner. I was still stunned when they called out our name - still thinking that it must've been only my imagination, but it's not. We won that day. I guess luck was on our side."
"It's not just luck, it's you. You led the team perfectly." Their gazes locked and Ross could see the tears building up in the corner of her eyes as she reminisced about the past. He smiled, gently running his thumbs against the delicate skins of her cheeks. "I was there that day, Rach. Sitting at the bleachers, at the very back - watching you perform flawlessly on stage and you just blew my mind away."
"Thank you.." Rachel murmured, giving him a quick kiss. Their hands found each other and intertwined. "I really wish I did things differently in high school.."
"Hmm.." He hummed as he ran his fingers through her hair, kissing her cheeks briefly before they continued walking down the hallway toward the hall. "What is it?"
The couple rarely talked about their day back in high school. As pleasant high school was for Rachel, it wasn't the same case for Ross. It was the exact opposite. High school was a nightmare, it was the true definition of living hell. It might sound corny, but one of the few reasons high school was bearable enough was because of Rachel. He had a massive crush on her and in the back of his mind he knew he'd never stand a chance with her, but just the thought of seeing her walking passed by in the hallway or seeing her eating lunch at the cafeteria were enough to make Ross get off the bed every morning.
He remembered watching her with her friends - including his own little sister - from afar, thinking if one day she'd noticed him. He wanted to say 'hi' every time their eyes met, but he chickened out and ended up embarrassing himself in the end. He wanted to congratulate her and told her that she did amazing that day, but she was swarmed by the whole cheer team and not to mention, her current boyfriend at the time - Chip Matthew. He remembered watching her leave with her team, a box of chocolate still intact because he was too afraid to give it to her in person.
That was the reason why sometimes Ross woke up in the morning and when he found her sleeping peacefully next to him, he had to pinch himself - wanting to make sure it wasn't only his dream, his imagination.
"I wish I'd known you better.." Rachel murmured as her eyes found his chocolate. "Can you imagine what life would be like if we started dating when we're still in high school?"
"We'd be high school sweethearts and I'm sure it'd be nice." Ross smiled, thinking about how he used to daydream about dating her, what it was like being her boyfriend. "-but I'm not sure your friends will like the idea of you dating the school nerd."
"That's the other thing." Rachel let out a heavy sigh, leaning her head against his shoulder. He kissed the side of her hair. "I wished I didn't care so much about popularity, because really. In the end, it didn't matter once you got out of high school. I mean look at you, you're nowhere near popular in high school, no-offense."
"None taken." Ross grinned.
"-but you're one of the most respected professors in NYU." Ross' grin grew bigger at the compliment and Rachel rolled her eyes at that, albeit smiling. "Oh, wipe that smug grin out of your face. I was trying to make a point here.."
Ross stopped their movement and still with a grin on his face, he leaned in to kiss his wife. "I get it.. That's what I always tell Ben. I told him not to be afraid of being who you truly are and to never let your friends tell you otherwise."
"I don't want our kids to be like me. High school me." Rachel sighed, uttering what she feared the most these days as their eldest daughter, Emma, was about to enter high school in just a few more years.
"Don't be so hard on yourself. You were just a kid back then, you didn't know any better. What matters most is now, the person you've become. Not everyone is cut out to be like you, being a working mom, but still have the time for our kids and me." Ross smiled, pride shone through his hazel eyes. "You never ceased to amaze me, Rachel Green-Geller. I'm proud of you."
Rachel sighed, a satisfied smile on her face when he placed a soft kiss on her temples. "Thank you."
He squeezed her hand and smiled as they resumed their walk.
"So, what? Back in high school, you're like my stalker or something?" She smirked, teasing him as she bumped her hips playfully to his.
Ross grinned slyly. "Well, I wouldn't say it was stalking.."
"Oh, really?" Rachel raised an eyebrow, a playful smile still gracing her lips.
"Yeah.." Ross breathed, leaning in so that his lips were only inches away from her ears. "I'd rather call it a secret admirer."
"Secret admirer, huh?" Rachel whispered back seductively. "Well, that sounds hot."
She bit her lower lips and almost fell back at the impact as he kissed her hard, pushing her against the lockers.
"Oh, gross!" They heard Monica's voice not far away.
The couple broke apart, blushes on their cheeks as they noticed Monica was covering her eyes - Chandler standing by her side with a smirk on his face.
"What? I can't kiss my husband now?"
"I'd appreciate it if you keep it PG, we're in the middle of high school for crying out loud. Ross was practically shoving his tongue down to your mouth." Monica shuddered at the image. "Gross." She made a face.
"We've been married for more than ten years." Ross rolled his eyes. "Stop being so dramatic."
"Well, I've been married longer than you two are and you don't see me shoving my tongue down Chandler's mouth."
"Oh god! Bad image! A really bad image in my head!" Ross grimaced whilst Rachel just laughed at the Gellers siblings' bickers.
"Again, why did we marry these twisted siblings?" Chandler asked jokingly, earning a glare from his wife. "Oh, right.. That's because we love them so much.." Chandler smiled and kissed Monica's pouty lips whilst Rachel just laughed louder.
"Oh, come on.. Let's go in, we're late.." Rachel proposed as she linked her hands back with Ross.
"Quick question.. Do all your friends still think that you're the hermaphrodite cheerleader?" Chandler asked casually, earning glares from the other three adults. "What?" He asked almost innocently.
"Ugh! You're an idiot!" Rachel groaned and stormed out, leaving the three of them alone.
"Thanks a lot dude." Ross sighed, quickly following Rachel before she disappeared from his side. "Rachel! Sweetie!"
"Seriously?" Monica punched Chandler in the arm, making him yelp before she followed the couple inside, leaving Chandler behind.
"What? That's a solid question.." Chandler murmured to no one as he too followed the rest of them inside the hall.
.....
"Rachel! Oh my god! Look at you!"
Rachel suddenly heard a high-pitched voice near her as she was just talking with Ross, Chandler, and Monica. She turned around to the source of the annoying voice and immediately put a fake smile on her face.
"Nancy Branson! Wow!" Rachel greeted back, trying her best to level the same excitement this woman apparently had. She didn't know that Nancy would be so happy to meet her, the last time she checked, they were enemies.
Rachel sent Monica a look when suddenly Nancy engulfed her into a hug, whilst Monica just stood there - clearly holding back her laughter.
"You look really great, Rachel." Nancy sighed, a creepy smile still on her face.
"Why, thank you." Rachel smiled as politely as she could muster. "You look great too."
Monica cleared her throat, clearly feeling left out. Rachel stepped aside, pulling Ross into her arms and smiled - genuinely this time.
"Nancy, you remember Monica - Monica Geller, and this is her husband, Chandler Bing." Rachel introduced them, before turning her attention to her husband, smiling when he kissed her cheeks briefly. "-and this is my husband, Monica's older brother - Ross Geller."
"It's nice to meet you.." Ross smiled, offering his hand to shake.
"Yeah, nice to meet you too." Nancy's face was a little bit off, Rachel was wondering what was in her wicked mind until she chose to speak again. "Right.. You're that nerd with the afro hair." She looked at Ross from head-to-toe, scrutinizing him.
Ross was uncomfortable whilst Rachel was just boiled in anger. "Is there something wrong, Nance?" Rachel almost challenged her, but then the woman put on a fake smile and shook her head 'no'.
"No, of course." Nancy smiled. "Well, if you excuse me, I have to talk to my friends."
As soon as Nancy left, Rachel let out a groan.
"Can you believe her?" It took every fiber in her body not to pull that wicked woman's hair. Rachel always hated her, she was such a bitch. "Did you see how she looked at you?"
"I know, but let's not get all worked up. It's not a big deal." Ross tried to calm her down since he didn't take offense to what Nancy might've or might've not said.
Ross was used to these kinds of treatments throughout his entire high school year. This was nothing compared to what they used to do to him. Just thinking about it already made Ross feel nauseous. He really hated high school.
"It's not a big deal?" Rachel asked incredulously. "She insulted you, Ross! How could you think that it is not a big deal?"
"She's just telling the truth.." Ross tried to explain softly knowing that Rachel's voice had successfully gathered some of people's attention. "Just calm down, it doesn't upset me at all."
Rachel looked at her husband, the tears in her eyes as she thought about how he must've felt during high school. It didn't help that she used to be mean and rude to him too back then. She let him hug her and placed a kiss on her cheeks.
"I'm sorry.." She sighed as they pulled away.
"No more sorry. I never hold a grudge for you, Rach. I'm your secret admirer, remember?" She finally let out a giggle and Ross could see she was beginning to relax.
Another former member of Lincoln High's cheer team approached the couple as Monica and Chandler excused themselves. This time it was her closest friends, the girls Rachel used to spend her time with whilst she convinced them to take Monica into their group. Rachel was very adamant to include Monica in their group and to sit with them during lunches. Being the most famous girl in Lincoln High, the other girls had no choice but to comply with Rachel's demands.
Ross listened as they caught up with their lives. All of them were married, had kids, and lived in the suburbs. Feeling bored as the conversation once again diverted to fashion, Ross excused himself to get drinks. He kissed Rachel on the cheeks before he left.
When he came back with two glasses of wine in his hands, Ross was surprised to see Rachel was yelling toward one of her friends, what was her name again? Natalie?
"You have no right to talk about him that way, do you hear me?!" Rachel's face was red with anger as she shoved her finger to Natalie's direction. "Don't you dare talk about him that way! He's my husband and the least you can do is to keep your mouth shut! I don't need your opinions about him!"
Natalie rolled her eyes and snickered. "Oh, get off your high horse, Rachel. Don't you forget that you're the one who spread a rumor about him and that librarian? Did he even know about it?"
"No, I didn't forget." She gritted her teeth, fisting her hands into balls - fighting the urge to punch this woman in the face. "Not that it's your business, but he knew, alright? He knew that I spread the rumor about him and he knew I'm sorry for that. Is this what you want? For me to admit how horrible of a person I was back in high school? Well, guess what? At least I'm brave enough to admit my mistake!"
Natalie just scoffed but then her eyes landed on Ross and she snickered, "Oh, look who's back. If it's not Lincoln High's infamous loser. Really, Rach.. I don't know what you see in him. You used to be so cool and now.." Natalie snickered at Rachel. "-you're just as pathetic as the man you married."
Rachel gasped, anger flaring though her blue eyes. "You bitch!"
Bad move, Ross thought as he rushed into Rachel's side to stop her from laying a punch toward the other woman.
"Okay that's enough!" Ross' voice boomed throughout the entire hall, gaining all the attention to them - including Monica and Chandler who sent them a concerned look.
He looked at Rachel's face and when he noticed the redness in her eyes, suddenly he was feeling the rage building inside of him. It was one thing insulting him, he could take it all day - all night. But no one insulted his family, no one insulted his wife.
"I don't know what the hell your problem is, but this is getting ridiculous!" Ross snapped and he could already see the fear in Natalie's eyes.
He was never the one who fought the bully back, but he couldn't stop himself today. That woman was out of line, she attacked his family and made his wife upset.
"I don't even know you that well, so why do you think you have any right to judge us? To judge me? This isn't high school anymore! Is this how adults behave? Shame on you people!" Ross shook his head disapprovingly before he stared straight into Natalie's eyes, venom in his words. "Especially you!"
"She's not worth it, Rach. Let's just go." Ross grabbed Rachel's hands and dragged her outside before Rachel could even say something.
He knew she'd definitely give that woman a piece of her mind if he'd let her, so he dragged her away before people started calling the security on them or even worse, the police. He just didn't want to cause a scene.
.....
When they were finally alone in the school's backyard, Ross' face softened as he looked at his wife's teary eyes. He wiped her tears stained cheeks and whispered, "Are you okay?"
She looked at him, tears now streaming down to her face. "Is this what you're going through everyday throughout high school?"
Her voice was broken and he knew she was feeling bad for him, so Ross took her into a bench - wanting to tell her his side of high school's story.
Not because he wanted her pity, but because he wanted her to know this part of him that he never told anyone else before.
"I'm going to tell you how my life was back in high school, but before that, you have to know that I no longer hold a grudge against anyone who hurt me in high school. I've learned to make peace about it and I want you to do the same. Okay?"
"Okay.." She murmured quietly, sniffling.
He smiled before taking a deep breath and let his story begin.
"What happened today, it was nothing compared to what I've been through in high school. I was skinny, nerdy, I hadn't discovered what hair products are so I still had an afro, and to make it worse, I joined the band and The Science Club. I was the perfect candidate to be the school's joke and don't get me wrong, I know none of these were my faults. I'm perfectly aware that there's nothing wrong with being myself. I'm proud of it actually. But people started teasing me, calling me by names - and trust me it was horrible names."
"I know.." Her lips trembled as she was on the verge of crying. He brought his thumb to her cheeks and wiped those tears away with a small smile - letting her know that he wasn't mad.
She was guilty in that department and he knew that, that was why she was crying right now. But just like he said, he had forgiven every single person who had hurt him during those four hellish years of high school.
"That's not the worst part." Ross sighed, bracing himself for a part of the story he never told anyone. "I've never told anyone this and I need you to keep it between us."
"Oh god, what happened?" Rachel swallowed a lump in her throat as she could only think of the worse.
"It was one day on my sophomore year. It was late and I just finished working on my homework in the library. The hallway was deserted, it was quiet and almost peaceful. I was just walking when I felt a pair of hands grabbing me by the arms and shoved me to the janitor's closet." Rachel gasped as she had a feeling how the story would end. "I tried to yell and open the door, but it wouldn't budge. It was pitch dark and I remember thinking the worst - that no one would've found me here and that I would've died." Ross swallowed, even after all these years, recalling what had happened that day was still painful.
Noticing the look on his face, Rachel grabbed his hand and gave them a kiss. "Y-you don't have to tell me this, if it's too much.."
Ross smiled weakly. "No, I want to.. I need to.."
"Okay.." Rachel sniffled and tried her best not to cry. It looked like he needed to get this out of his chest and at this moment she couldn't break down, yet.
"I kept banging the door repeatedly until my hands were sore from it. I eventually gave up after I realized that no one was going to hear me, at least not until in the morning. So, I uh.." He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, they were wet from unshed tears.
Rachel's heart shattered into a million pieces. She had never seen him like this before.
"I uhm.." He cleared his throat. "I panicked and I started to cry. It didn't help that the room was dark and small, so after a few minutes of crying, I hyperventilated and not long after, I fainted."
"Oh, honey.."
"Yeah.." He smiled sadly. "The janitor found me inside the next day, early morning before school started and I begged him not to tell anyone. I told my parents that I stayed at Will's place and he covered for me, even though I've never told him what had happened. I came home, took a shower, changed my clothes, went to school, and pretended it never happened except that for a year since that day, I slept with my lights on. So yeah, high school sucks for me and I don't want any of our kids to get through what I've been through. I want to make them feel safe so that they could tell us anything if - God forbid - something happened to them and I want them to be able to stand up for themselves against the bullies."
"We'll teach them all that, we'll make sure they know." Rachel murmured, rubbing slow soothing circles on his back as she held him closer. "I'm so sorry that happened to you."
"I know.." He murmured, kissing her as they pulled apart.
"I love you and thank you for being here with me even with all the bad memories happening to you.."
"Well.. Not all of them are bad.." Ross grinned, clearly trying his best to lift up the mood and Rachel could feel herself falling in love with him more after today.
He really was so strong.
"Oh, really? Does this have to do with you being my stalker?" She smirked.
"Maybe.. Not a stalker though, I still prefer to call myself a secret admirer.." Ross grinned and she giggled. "I still remember how you'd literally made my whole day better just by being you and you still have that power over me until today. I don't know what I do to deserve you."
"Hey.." She placed her palm over his cheeks, smiling. "You know that whatever they're saying about you, it's not true, right?"
"I know.."
"Good.. I just don't want it to get into your head." Rachel sighed.
"It's not, don't worry. After all these years, I learned to block them out and ignored them most of the time."
Rachel smiled sadly, no one should've gone through what he did. No one.
"I don't know how they could be so mean." Rachel sighed. "-and why in the hell I was friends with them anyway?"
"I don't know, I always thought you're too good for them." Ross smirked.
"-and you're too good for me, I mean it, Ross.."
He just nodded, smiled, and kissed her before he stood up, offering his hand for her to take. She followed him suit, taking his hand as they made their way home.
"Hey, honey?" Rachel stopped them just before they could leave the building. Her eyebrows wiggled suggestively as she gave him the look. "You know... I know a perfect place to make out.."
Ross grinned, he might never have been lucky during his school year, but he definitely could get lucky tonight. "Lead the way.."
.....
A/N
This is one of the drafts I was talking about the other day and I decided to finish it. High school version of Ross and Rachel is one of the things I always wanted to explore further though my story, so I was thinking about making a full story about it. I have everything planned down to the ending, it's basically an AU high school love story of Ross and Rachel.
What do you think? ❤