"Barry!" Joey jumped up. Hugged me. "You made it!"
"I said I would."
"This is the dentist I told you about," Joey said to the group. "He saved my tooth AND let me pay in installments. He's a saint."
"I'm really not," I said.
Chandler grinned. "Don't let him downplay it. He also saved my tooth and made me feel bad about my emotional repression."
"I didn't make you feel bad—"
"You absolutely did. But in a healthy way." Chandler gestured to the couch. "Sit. Join us. We were just discussing how Ross is terrible at dating."
The tall man—Ross—flushed. "We were not—"
"We absolutely were," Phoebe said from her spot on the floor. "You told that woman you catalog fossils for fun. FOSSILS, Ross."
"Paleontology is interesting—"
"Not on a first date," Monica said. She handed me a beer. "Ignore them. They're always like this. Barry, this is my brother Ross. Ross, this is Barry."
Ross stepped forward. Extended his hand awkwardly. "Hi. I'm Ross. Monica's brother. Obviously. She just said that."
I shook his hand. "Barry."
"Right. So... you're the dentist."
"Orthodontist."
"Right. Orthodontist. That's different from dentist?"
"Specialization."
"Cool. Cool." He shifted his weight. Looked at Rachel. Looked back at me. "This isn't weird, right?"
"Why would it be weird?"
"Because you and Rachel... I mean, the wedding that didn't... you know."
"The wedding that didn't happen," I supplied.
"Right. That." He ran his hand through his hair. "I just wanted to make sure you know I'm not—Rachel and I aren't—we're not together or anything."
"Okay."
"I mean, I barely know her. I knew her in high school but that was years ago and we haven't talked since then and now she's here living with Monica and I'm here a lot because Monica's my sister and—" He stopped. "I'm rambling."
Chandler: "He does that when he's nervous."
"Why are you nervous?" I asked Ross.
"I don't know!" Ross said, too loudly. Then quieter: "I just... I used to have a crush on her. In high school. I had a crush on Rachel and now she's here and you're here and you used to be engaged to her and I don't want you to think I'm trying to—but I'm not. I'm really not."
"Ross," I said calmly. "I'm not worried about you."
"You're not?"
"No. Rachel and I aren't together. Who she talks to, who she dates—that's none of my business anymore."
Ross looked relieved. "Okay. Good. That's really mature."
"It's practical."
Chandler, from the couch: "See? Weirdly well-adjusted. I told you."
Monica appeared with pizza boxes. "Food's here. Everyone grab plates."
The group converged on the coffee table. Organized chaos. Everyone talking over each other.
Rachel ended up sitting next to me on the couch.
"You okay?" she asked quietly.
"I'm good. You?"
"Getting there. Monica's been amazing. And I'm learning so much at the coffee shop. Did you know there are different types of milk? Like, who knew?"
"Most people, probably."
"Well, I didn't. But I do now." She smiled. "Thank you for coming tonight. I know Monica invited you, but I wanted you to know I'm happy you're here. I want you to have friends. Good friends."
"They seem like good people."
"They are. I'm lucky to have them." She looked around the room. "I never had friends like this before. People who just... accept me. Flaws and all."
"Maybe you never gave anyone the chance."
She considered that. "Maybe not."
Phoebe started strumming her guitar. "Who wants to hear my new song?"
Collective groan from Chandler and Ross.
Monica: "Is it about the smelly cat again?"
"No. This one's about a man who's really three children stacked in a trench coat."
Joey: "That's a real thing?"
"I saw it at the grocery store."
Chandler: "You saw three children in a trench coat buying groceries?"
"He was buying adult things. Like coffee and newspapers. Very suspicious."
Everyone laughed.
The conversation flowed easily after that. Stories. Jokes. Gentle teasing. The rhythm of people who'd somehow become a unit despite not knowing each other that long.
Ross eventually sat on the arm of the couch near me.
"So," he said. "You're a orthodontist."
"I am."
"Do you like it?"
"I'm starting to."
"Starting to?"
"I've been coasting for a while. Just recently started actually paying attention to the practice."
"What changed?"
"Necessity. And a wake-up call."
Ross nodded. "The wedding?"
"Among other things."
"Well, for what it's worth, you seem like you're handling it well. Better than I handled my divorce."
"You're divorced?"
"Yeah. My ex-wife Carol. She's... she realized she's a lesbian. Left me for her friend Susan."
"That must have been difficult."
"It was. Still is, sometimes. But I'm working on it." He glanced at Rachel. Quickly looked away. "At least you and Rachel ended things before you got married. Divorce is... complicated."
"I'm sure."
"Carol's pregnant. With my baby. We conceived right before she left me. So now I'm going to be a co-parent with my ex-wife and her partner. It's very modern and progressive and I hate it."
"That does sound complicated."
"It is. But what are you going to do, right?" He stood. "I'm going to get more pizza before Joey eats it all. Nice talking to you, Barry."
"You too."
He walked away.
Chandler slid over on the couch. "Ross just told you about Carol, didn't he?"
"He did."
"He tells everyone about Carol. It's his thing. 'Hi, I'm Ross, my ex-wife is a lesbian.'"
"It's clearly still raw for him."
"It is. But he'll get there. We're all kind of a mess in our own ways. Except you. You seem remarkably un-messy."
"I'm just better at hiding it."
"Are you though?" Chandler studied me. "Or are you actually just... handling things?"
"Ask me in six months."
"Fair enough." He raised his beer. "To handling things. Or at least pretending to."
I clinked my bottle against his. "I'll drink to that."
The evening continued. Easy. Comfortable.
Monica told stories about her last restaurant job. Phoebe played songs that made no logical sense but somehow worked. Joey acted out scenes from auditions. Chandler made jokes that landed more often than not.
Rachel laughed more than I'd ever heard her laugh.
She looked lighter. Freer.
Good.
Around 10:00 PM, I stood to leave.
"Already?" Monica asked.
"Early morning tomorrow. Patient at 8:00 AM."
"On Saturday?"
"Made a promise to squeeze someone in. Emergency situation."
She nodded approvingly. "You're dedicated."
"I'm trying to be."
Chandler walked me to the door. "You're coming back, right?"
"If I'm invited."
"You're invited. Permanently. Monica decided. Which means we all decided. That's how it works."
"Okay."
"Okay. See you next week."
Joey called from the couch: "Thanks for fixing my tooth, Barry!"
"Anytime, Joey."
Rachel appeared. "Barry, wait."
I stopped at the door.
She handed me a paper bag. "Leftover pizza. Take it. You probably won't eat breakfast otherwise."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I know you. You'll get up early, go straight to work, and forget to eat." She smiled. "Some things don't change."
"Thank you."
"Thank you. For being you. For making this easier than it should be."
"You're doing the same."
"I guess we're both trying."
"We are."
She hugged me. Brief. Genuine.
When she pulled back, she looked lighter.
"See you around, Barry."
"See you around, Rachel."
I left.
Walked down the stairs.
Out into the Village night.
The streets were alive. Friday evening energy. People heading to bars. Restaurants. Shows.
I walked toward the subway with leftover pizza in hand.
Felt something unfamiliar.
Took me a moment to identify it.
Contentment.
Not happiness. Not excitement.
Just... contentment.
The practice was stable.
The debts were manageable.
I had people who seemed to genuinely like me.
And I wasn't pretending to be someone I wasn't.
For the first time in either life, I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be.
Doing exactly what I needed to do.
Not perfect.
But real.
And that was enough.
END CHAPTER 4 (3)
============================================
Author's Note: This is a 120+ chapter story. Updates will be regular. The journey is just beginning.
If you enjoyed this fanfic, please consider leaving a review. It really helps!
Note: This is a fully original fanfiction. Every chapter will contain 3,000+ words of story content.
For Advanced Chapter consider joining my Patreon /THESIDECANON