Second Chances

Hello everyone! I'm back with a very special story for you all! After digging through my archives, I stumbled upon the very first story I wrote for the Friends genre back when I first got into the series. I've altered the plot a little bit but it's should still resemble the one I had originally planned way back when.

I also want to mention this story is probably the most AU story I'll write. You'll notice that some characters may act 'out of character' as compared to the show. You'll also notice the story touch on many different genres that aren't usually found in Friends stories. I had previously written for an action-adventure genre and my old self must have carried a little of that over.

Warning: The following story deals with mature and serious topics. Nothing written is meant to offend or mock any of these topics. Younger readers' discretion is advised.

Alright, enough talk. I present, Second Chances.

Disclaimed: I don't own Friends. I don't own much really, but then again, do we ever really own anything in life?

Chapter 1

The cold, Northern breeze blew across his face, sending shivers down his spine. His hand froze up as a result of the chill in the air as he forcefully poured fuel into the yellow taxi, trying his best not to show signs of how cold he really was.

It had taken all his courage to come up here. After all, the result of his devastating break up with Rachel still hung in the air and he knew that neither he nor Rachel wanted to be near each other at the moment. But when he received a call from Phoebe begging for help, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and come. They were his friends after all and nothing would change that.

Now, however, he regretted not giving it a second thought. He still felt Rachel's cold stare she had since he stepped out of the car and though outside, everyone could feel the rising tension between them.

Ross blew hot air from his mouth toward his hands, trying to warm them up before they froze and fell off. He couldn't help but over hear his friends talking behind him, something on the lines of "should we ask him to come?" followed by a "but what about Rachel?" He sighed, realizing the situation he's put his friends into. At least their caring concern for him made him feel a bit better.

At least someone was appreciative of his actions.

He heard Rachel's small footsteps walk towards the group and tried to focus his attention on something else. At this point, he was debating whether to jump in the car and drive away, or to stick around and find out what would happen next. Either way, it was not going to end well for him.

"You guys are unbelievable. No he cannot come!" Rachel raised her voice behind him, as if she was talking to him.

That tone. There was something about that tone that made his blood boil. It was the tone you'd use when accusing someone, when trying to prove them wrong. Did she think he was trying to join them on their ski trip? Did she think he had planned this all out just so he could tag along? Just the thought of the million accusations his ex-girlfriend could have made his temper rise. Even now, a week after their break up, and she still can't see that he's only doing this to help?

"Excuse me? Oh, please? Can't I come to your special magical cabin?" he asked sarcastically, fed up with the way he has been treated recently.

"Why would you even want to come? You're a horrible skier."

Ross clutched his heart as if he was seriously hurt by her words. "Oh, hitting me where it hurts: my ski skills."

"Here we go again," Monica stated sadly.

Joey shook his head, walking away. "I can't handle this you guys."

"I can handle it. Handle is my middle name. Well actually, it's the middle part of my first name," Chandler quipped. Only he could joke at a time like this.

Ross ignored them and tried to steady his breath and calm his temper. Just a few more minutes, he told himself. Just a few more minutes and then you can go home.

He tapped the edge of the fuel can to make sure no access liquid spilled out and shut the car's fuel cap.

"Alright Pheebs, your cab's ready."

"Alright, let's go," Rachel said, walking by him without even giving him a second look. The action got his temper rising again as she blatantly expressed her ungratefulness.

"You're welcome," Ross stated without looking at her.

"I'm sorry, were you speaking to me or sleeping with someone else?"

That tone again. This time, it was too much. He already had things on his mind and he was fed up with her attitude towards him.

"We were on a break," he said sternly.

"You know what Ross, why don't you just put that on your answering machine?" Rachel shot back.

"Hey, it's valid, ok. And I'm not the only one who thinks so." He turned around and gestured at his sister, remembering something she had mentioned earlier. "Monica agrees with me."

Rachel turned and looked at her in disbelief. "What?"

In turn, Monica shuffled her feet, staring at the ground. "I… I don't know…"

"That's what you said last night," Ross point out, trying to bring the tension off him for a bit. He knew it was a cruel game he was playing but at this point, he didn't care anymore. He was tired of being treated like this. His break up with Rachel had left him heart-broken and the fact that she didn't see it brought forth emotions he couldn't control.

But most of all, he felt ashamed; ashamed that it was his actions that had caused this rift between them. The one person he loved the most in the world, the one person who he would lay down his life for, the one person that could truly make him happy, now hated him for hurting her and he only had himself to blame.

"What- what I said was that I understood," she murmured. "Joey's the one who agreed with you."

"Ok," Ross said, turning back to Rachel.

"Really Joey?" she asked, still in disbelief at her friends' words.

Joey stood there, unable to say anything. "What?" was the only thing that he could think of.

"You know what," Phoebe said, jumping in before anything escalated any further. "There is no right or wrong here."

"No, I think it's very obvious who's wrong here," Rachel said, sending Ross another icy glare.

"Obviously not to Joey."

The group turned to Joey who once again, was left speechless once more.

"What?"

After that, all hell broke loose. Ross and Rachel began yelling at each other, defending their sides and expressing their opinions through pure anger. Monica and Joey began arguing over who had agreed with Ross, raising their voices so that it could be heard over the bickering duo. Chandler, who had already been extremely uncomfortable about the situation, broke down the only way he knew how: randomly dancing in the snow.

"Hey, guess who I am?!" he yelled, flailing his arms and legs while stepping back and forth in the snow.

For a split second, his attempt for attention worked as everyone stopped to look at him dancing with an unlit cigar hanging out of his mouth. Unfortunately that only lasted a second as they all went back to arguing once again.

The only person who seemed to remain calm was Phoebe, as she tried to resolve the argument between the two people who had caused all this. She frantically looked from Ross and Rachel to Chandler, then back to Ross and Rachel, unsure what to do at this point. Finally she looked at Chandler's horrific dancing and lost it.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! HEY! HEY!" She shouted. Everyone shut up for a moment and looked at her as she pointed at Chandler. "Look what you're doing to Chandler!"

At the mention of his name, Chandler came back to reality and stopped dancing, cluelessly looking at the others with a puzzled look. Phoebe turned back to Ross and Rachel, who refused to look at each other.

"Now look, we know this is really, really hard for you guys, ok. You don't-, alright, you don't have to love each other, ok? You don't, you don't even have to like each other much right now, but please, you have to figure out a way to be around each other."

"Yeah, and not put us in the middle," Joey added, motioning to the rest of the group.

"Yeah, otherwise, I mean that- that's just, that's it for us hanging out together! We can't choose between you two. We love you both very much and hate it when you fight, but we hate it more when you force us to choose between you two."

All went silent as Ross looked down at his shoes. He wanted to cry, but he couldn't. So many thoughts flashed before him; thoughts of sadness, anger, regret, and sorrow. Phoebe's words echoed through his head as one thought stood out from all the other ones.

Maybe he did make the right decision.

He looked over at Rachel who was staring intently at him. Her beautiful blue eyes that he could spend hours staring into no longer reflected feelings of love and happiness. Instead, the old feelings were gone and replaced with pure hatred. And worse of all, that pure hatred was directed at him.

It was at this moment where Ross realized he had truly lost her. The love of his life, the girl of his dreams, it was over. He closed his eyes, knowing now that what he had done was the smart choice. No longer would his friends be caught in the cross fire, no longer would he feel the intense harshness of guilt and shame, and most importantly, no longer would Rachel need to be around him. It was best for everyone.

"You're right" he said softly, walking back towards his car. He opened the driver's door and looked at his friends in the eye. "You're right Phoebes, we can't keep doing this. I'm sorry for everything we've put you guys in. You don't have to worry anymore, I'm leaving anyways."

"Finally, something good is coming out of your mouth!" Rachel exclaimed, raising her arms in the air. Joey and Phoebe shot her a dirty look but Ross could already see how much she hated him.

"Alright, well we'll call you when we get back, ok? Go home and relax and we'll talk later," Monica said softly, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

Ross looked down, avoiding eye contact with everyone. The others softly said their goodbyes as they walked back towards the taxi with Rachel already there and about to open the passenger's door. Before anyone moved, he looked back up, locking eyes with Rachel for a split second before looking at his sister.

"No…" he whispered, just loud enough to get everyone's attention.

"…I'm leaving the city."

…

Author's Note: First chapter: done! What do you guys think so far? Leave a review down below and try to guess what I have planned for all of you.