❁
"i'm so glad mindy bailed last minute so i could be your maid of honor!" isabella squealed to her sister as they waited in the gift room, both preparing rachel to go down the isle.
"do you see this lamauge gravy boat?" rachel asked her sister completely ignoring anything just said.
"uh, yeah," isabella looked over at her sister in confusion as she walked over to stand next to her.
"isn't it beautiful," rachel cleared her throat after moaning a little at the view of the gravy boat.
"oh my god. i cant marry barry, i find this gravy boat more arousing than him—wait a second, h-have you noticed how much barry looks like mr. potato-head? i have to leave. i cant do this."
rachel began pacing around the room. suddenly she caught the view of a window in the room and it was like a lightbulb went off in her head.
"help me climb out of the window. i have to get out of here," rachel insisted as she was already on her way to the window.
"rach, it's pouring. you don't even have an umbrella," isabella tried to convince her to stay but rachel continued to hop onto the window sill and climb out.
"come with me," rachel insisted with sad eyes as she stood on the other side of the window.
rachel knew her sister was always just a little too careful and needed to know she could trust her.
"fine–but i'll go after everyone realizes you're gone. it'll be too suspicious if the maid of honor isn't there and the bride is taking too long to be found. now go," isabella swallowed her thoughts and shooed her sister to leave sooner.
isabella felt her heart start to pound at the thought of what everyone at the wedding would think of the entire situation.
after a lot of hyperventilating, isabella finally got herself together and prepared to go down the isle.
isabella ran over to the back room and quickly locked arms with one of barry's groomsmen.
walking down the isle she observed the many optimistic faces, including (and especially) barry's.
she got up to the alter and stood in her place–her heart still pounding and mouth going dry.
when mr. green returned from the back room empty handed, everyone began to stand up and panic.
isabella felt her heart start to pound even harder than it was before and exhale shakier breaths.
hell began to break loose and isabella took it as an opportunity to leave and try to find rachel.
the only person isabella could think of that lived in the city was one of rachel's best friends from high school–monica geller, so that's who she sought out.
❁
"so you wanna tell us now, or are we waiting for four wet bridesmaids?" monica asked the soaked bride after she had come into central perk post-escaping her wedding.
just as monica asked, isabella stumbled into the coffee shop with drenched hair and her heels in her left hand.
"ella?" rachel's eyes lit up seeing that her sister actually made it.
"rach you're actually here! oh my god monica!" isabella ran over to hug them both.
"alright everyone this is another lincoln high survivor," monica began to introduce ella to the friends that surrounded them.
"this is phoebe, joey, you remember ross and chandler."
"i'm isabella, but please just call me ella," ella continued to awkwardly greet the friends individually around the coffee shop.
"now, can you continue the story on why you ran out on your wedding?" monica turned to rachel after having ella sit on the couch next to where chandler was sitting on the armrest.
rachel started going on about the gravy boat and all about how barry looked like mr. potato head.
"and ella, how do you fit into all of this?" phoebe naively questioned her since she had no idea about the history between monica, ross, chandler, rachel, and ella.
"oh right! i'm rachel's youngest sister," ella smiled as she looked at phoebe and then to joey.
"chandler, do you even remember ella? she was so young when you two first met," monica furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at the two in the corner of the couch.
"actually, yeah i remember," chandler quickly nodded before continuing.
"you know i'd actually ask you out, but it seems like you're already having a pretty bad day," chandler returned ashamed eyes to ella's that were flattered.
the foreign feeling of being hit on made ella's heart begin to beat just a little bit faster again.
❁
"c'mon daddy, listen to me! it's like, it's like, all of my life, everyone has always told me, 'you're a shoe! you're a shoe, you're a shoe, you're a shoe!'. and today i just stopped and i said, 'what if i don't wanna be a shoe? what if i wanna be a-a purse, y'know? or a-or a hat! no, i'm not saying i want you to buy me a hat, i'm saying i am a ha-it's a metaphor, daddy!" rachel exclaimed in attempts to explain her absence at her wedding to her father on the phone while the rest of the group watched tv in monica's living room.
"shouldn't you be over there too?" monica turned to ella, who was visibly very comfortable.
"it was her wedding, i just assisted a little," ella playfully threw her hands up in defense.
"look daddy, it's my life. well maybe i'll just stay here with monica!" rachel yelled at her father, monica's feelings about the new change not even crossing her mind.
"well i guess we've established who's staying here with monica," monica sarcastically presented rachel as her new roommate to the friends.
❁
"just breathe, breathe, that's it. just try to think of nice calm things. this is probably for the best, y'know? independence. taking control of your life," monica tried to calm rachel down, rachel breathing in and out of a brown paper bag.
"i cant. i just cant. i cant do this alone—the whole independent thing. el, you have to do this with me," rachel removed the bag from her mouth and pleaded her sister.
"i think that would defeat the whole 'independent' part. plus, where would i even stay? monica only has two rooms and i don't have enough money saved up to get a place of my own," ella explained to rachel as she kneeled down in front of her on the purple apartment's rug.
"well, you could always stay with us. joey and i live just across the hall," chandler offered ella as joey stood behind him smirking and enthusiastically nodding.
"and hey, if you need anything, you can always come to joey. again, i'm always across the hall and chandler is away a lot," joey continued his flirting with ella.
ella began to feel butterflies in her stomach and her cheeks go bright red. ella wasn't used to getting so much attention, especially from a guy like joey who clearly is only ever interested in the hottest woman in the room.
"joey stop hitting on her! she's about to be homeless!" monica stood up and smacked the tribbiani's arm.
"okay, you and your morals," joey scoffed and walked back to his chair across from the girls.
suddenly, the apartment's buzzer went off.
turns out monica had a date with 'paul the wine guy', but of course monica couldn't just leave her friends in such a crisis.
"rach, ella, i can cancel," monica offered with sad eyes.
"please, no, go, that'd be fine!" rachel immediately shooed monica to leave.
"yeah, we're gonna be okay," ella smiled at monica as she put her hand on rachel's shoulder.
then there was a knock at the door, it obviously being 'paul the wine guy'.
"hi, come in! paul, this is...everybody, everybody, this is paul," monica awkwardly introduced her friends as they all stood by the door.
everyone greeted paul with 'hellos', but of course chandler had to make a snarky joke.
"i'm sorry, i didn't catch your name. paul, was it?"
ella snickered as she stood in between chandler and joey but, rachel glaring over at her made her quickly stop laughing.
after paul and monica left to their date, the rest of the group stayed in the living room.
"okay not seem selfish or anything, but if i'm actually going to do this independent thing–i am still currently homeless," ella brought back up as she stood in the middle of the room with the others surrounding her.
"i mean if you don't want to live with joey and i, i heard there's an open apartment just down the hall in the building, and we can all pitch in on rent until you get on your feet," chandler genuinely suggested which made ella snap back into reality in which this was all really happening.
"oh my god. i've never even lived somewhere outside my parent's home, let alone, alone," realization hit ella and she made her way to sit on the ground.
"never? not even with a boyfriend?" joey furrowed his eyebrows, now sitting in the apartment's armchair.
"i've never had a boyfriend, never even had my first kiss," ella hesitantly whispered the last part looking at the ground to avoid all eye-contact.
"you haven't had your first kiss?!" everyone yelled out in disbelief.
"what?! we're so close and you never told me?! what about that guy josh?!" rachel continued to freak out at ella.
"we were just friends! i asked him out but like everyone else i was shot down," ella confessed to her sister, everyone else still sitting around in shock.
"are you a prude?" ross swallowed harshly, still trying to recuperate.
"i'm not a prude, i think i've just kinda given up on love," ella faltered attempting to explain how she felt but she knew there'd be no point.
"why honey? love is such a beautiful and amazing thing," rachel switched to a gushy and sing-songey tone.
"yeah, and look where it got you," ella refuted, looking rachel up and down in her wedding dress that she didn't even get to walk down the isle in.
"that's besides the point, but you've really never been in a relationship?" joey brushed rachel's speech off to start his own interrogation.
"never."
"wait, so if you haven't had a boyfriend, and you haven't even had your first kiss, does that mean you're..." chandler made circles in the air with his fingers as he trailed off.
"a virgin? yes," ella finished his sentence because she'd been practicing for the day the news broke for years.
"oh sweetie, that's okay. if it makes you feel any better, i regret losing my virginity," rachel started going in for a hug after she thought she'd comforted her sister.
"oh don't hit me with that. i heard you do it in dad's porsche plenty of times with brody forbes and it didn't sound like you were regretting it," ella snapped back at her sister, backing away from rachel's grasp.
"you heard that?!" rachel covered her mouth in shock, the energy of judgment now shifting onto her.
"rach, people in connecticut heard," ella finished out her sarcastic streak leaving rachel stunned on the couch.
❁
"i went from living with my parents in a mansion to living with two boys in a two bedroom apartment," ella whined as chandler and joey lead her into their place.
"it could be worse, you could be-uh—yeah, no this is about as bad as it gets," chandler really tried to comfort her but genuinely couldn't even find a joke for the situation.
"yeah we have a pullout couch, or–you could sleep in my room," joey started up his flirting again.
"i don't recommend it, but if you really wanna deal with your issue from earlier–"
"no the pullout couch is good for me," ella stopped chandler's joke in it's tracks and returned a wide-eyed smile.
"you know, how come you aren't as stuck-up as rachel? like, even though you are very sarcastic and witty, which where have you been all my life–you're different. if it were rachel here, she'd kick me out of my room and make me sleep on the pullout couch," chandler asked the green as the trio stood at the kitchen counter.
"well, uh. basically i was born last, meaning i didn't get as spoiled as my sisters were. i think my parents kind of just got bored of having kids so all i was really given was money when it came to the being spoiled part. you know, i didn't get the whole 'you're better than everyone because you grew up rich' mentality installed in me as a kid," ella tried to vaguely run through her family's dynamics.
"so you're rich, you're beautiful, and you still haven't even had your first kiss?" chandler stared at ella still dumbfounded at the information.
"i guess so."
"is it because you snort when you laugh or...?" chandler trailed off assuming ella would've given the boys some kind of reasoning.
"honestly, i don't know. i guess i'm just not a flirty or romantically attractive person. of course i've had crushes, but the guys have just never reciprocated feelings," ella very blankly explained to them, her finally getting them to understand just a tiny bit.
"well when you find the right person, you'll know it," joey gave her a smile which ella didn't really even notice.
"i know. and i appreciate you for not hitting on me. i assumed that's what would mainly come from opening up about this," ella nervously the tucked loose strands of her hair behind her ears.
"that was me hitting on you," joey threw his arms up in the air in defeat.
"oh my god! i'm losing my touch!" joey yelled out and stormed off into his room in shame.
"anyways, what about you chandler? how would you describe yourself?" ella brushed off joey's dramatics and leaned across the counter where chandler sat.
"well, uh, i'm not so successful in the relationship department either. i'm not a virgin–or anything– but when it comes to actual commitment and all– it's not really my forte," chandler unexpectedly, but immediately opened up and leaned in towards her as well.
chandler noticed when ella's eyes shifted from their usual perkiness to a more disheartened droop.
"i mean, that doesn't mean i'll never commit to anyone–you know it's more that i haven't found 'the one'," chandler nervously scratched the back of his neck regretting he had admitted anything at all.
"i guess thats good to know," ella faked a laugh as she mentally noted the conversation.
"well, uh, l-let me get you some blankets," chandler stumbled getting out of his chair in quick attempts to change the subject.
❁
"isn't this amazing? i mean, i have never made coffee before in my entire life," rachel made chandler, joey, and ella watch her use monica's coffee machine.
"that is amazing."
"congratulations."
"listen, while you're on a roll, if you feel like you gotta make like a western omelet or something. although, actually i'm really not that hungry," joey commented before and after taking a few sips from the coffee rachel had just made.
next thing the friends knew, monica was walking out of her bedroom with 'paul the wine guy'. they collectively watched monica and paul kiss at the door and say their goodbyes.
"alright, kids. i gotta get to work. if i don't input those numbers, it doesn't make much of a difference," chandler hopped up out of his seat and grabbed his briefcase.
"so, like, you guys all have jobs?" rachel asked the group, her right hand holding the coffee pot and her left on her hip.
"yeah, we all have jobs. see, that's how we buy stuff," monica bluntly answered her question.
"yeah i'm an actor," joey nonchalantly dropped on the girls.
"really?!" the green sisters began to freak out.
"wow! would we have seen you in anything?" rachel questioned joey with a smile plastered across her face.
"i doubt it. mostly regional work."
"oh wait, wait, unless you happened to catch the wee ones' production of pinocchio," monica brought up to embarrass him.
"look, gippetto, i'm a real live boy," chandler got into character to mock the play,
"i will not take this abuse," joey wagged his pointer-finger as he strolled towards chandler.
"you're right, i'm sorry. 'once i was a wooden boy, a little wooden boy'," chandler sang all the way through the building's hallway, joey chasing him down and the boys leaving the girls alone.
"so they're always that insane," ella giggled to herself, feeling herself get more comfortable with the other friends.
"okay. okay. i am just going to get up, go to work and not think about paul all day. or else i'm just gonna get up and go to work," monica tried to promise herself but she just knew herself too well.
"oh, look, wish us luck!" rachel yelled out at monica.
"what for?"
"we're gonna get some of those job things!" rachel gave monica a warm smile before closing the door to leave.
"we?!" ella freaked out at rachel after officially hearing the door close.
"yes, we," rachel repeated as she sat back down next to her.
"so, how was the night at the guys' place?" rachel switched the subject again which ella appreciated.
"it was fine. the pullout couch was surprisingly comfortable. as for them, joey has not stopped flirting with me, and chandler–well he's just a little more discreet," ella smiled thinking about being able to live with such a good pair of best friends.
"so i see we're leaning more towards chandler?" rachel raised her eyebrows and smirked as she teased her sister.
"i guess you could say that. regardless you know i've already given up on any-and-everything in that department," ella immediately blocked any rising suspicions of a possible crush.
"i know, but you never know. also, you don't like how flirty joey is? i love it!" rachel scrunched her nose and brightly smiled thinking about how she felt when he comes around.
"i think he's just more of a brother type. with chandler–not saying that he is–but i'd see him as a better suitor," ella continued explaining to her sister.
"and thats okay! i know i brought it up but for right now, just focus on this independency thing. and to start out lets go get one of those job things!" rachel jumped out of her seat and wagged her finger in the air still not knowing the first thing about getting a job.
❁
as the day passed and the girls got laughed out of interview by interview, they went back to their old habits and went on a shopping spree.
ella felt some guilt because she knew she was going against everything she was trying to prove, but not enough guilt to actually stop.
eventually the girls ended up making their way back to central perk–well just rachel, ella stopped somewhere on the way to talk to someone.
"guess what?!" rachel bursted through the central perk doors, shopping bags and new boots added to her outfit.
"you got a job?" ross optimistically looked up at the green sister.
"are you kidding? i'm trained for nothing! i was laughed out of twelve interviews today. i found john and david boots on sale, fifty percent off. they're my new 'i don't need a job, i don't need my parents, i've got great boots' boots!" rachel kicked up her feet to show off the new boots.
"how'd you pay for them?" monica rhetorically asked rachel.
"uh, credit card."
"and who pays for that?"
"um, my, father."
"oh my god!" monica sighed in disappointment even though she already the answer.
"where's ella?" chandler asked after noticing rachel had walked in alone.
"oh i don't know, she was talking to some guy on the street so i just let her be, cause ya know," rachel looked for a spot to sit in.
"no, i don't know," monica sat up from her seat and furrowed her eyebrows at the group.
"oh, uh ella's a virgin. hasn't even had her first kiss," phoebe quickly caught monica up, sipping her coffee directly after.
"she hasn't had her–" monica began to yell but was cut off by a large 'shh!' from the other friends.
"she hasn't had her first kiss?!" monica whisper-yelled to them this time.
"nope," rachel curled her lips as she gently shook her head.
"keep her away from joey," monica switched to a stern tone pointing at the tribbiani.
❁
"c'mon, you can't live off your parents your whole life," monica handed rachel a pair of scissors, all of rachel's credit cards laid out in front of them.
"i know that. that's why i was getting married," rachel whined hesitantly grabbing the scissors.
"ugh i cant watch!" ella covered her eyes from in front of the fridge watching the scene go down.
"well suck it up because you're next!"
"you ready?" monica turned to rachel.
"i don't think so."
all of the friends began to chant 'cut' as rachel started to chop at the cards.
"welcome to the real world! it sucks. you're gonna love it!" monica moved rachel's bangs to the side and kissed her forehead.
"awe how sentimental! i'm gonna go get ready for bed," ella quickly yelled before attempting to run out before chandler caught her by the wrist and reeled her back into the kitchen.
"you're next missy," monica pointed at ella and then at her wallet to take out all of her father's credit cards.
ella fought with all she could but it was monica so of course she didn't win.
❁
"would anybody like more coffee?" rachel asked the group as a new central perk waitress.
"did you make it, or are you just serving it?"
"i'm just serving it..."
after knowing it was rachel-proof the friends felt safe taking a cup.
"kids, new dream, i'm in las vegas. i'm liza minnelli–"
❁
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3692 words
a/n: the OFFICIAL official rewritten version of this chapter after about 3 years. i hope this new version is actually understandable and the imagery is a lot better (not perfect but definitely better). heres to rewriting like 30 more chapters :) !!