Friends Imagines

'Loving you instead' Part Ten

Joey Tribbiani & Chandler Bing & Y/N

Collaboration with KatetheKat8

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It had been a difficult few weeks for yourself. Everyone was still struggling to come to terms with yours and Chandler's relationship and Joey was refusing to be anywhere near you. He had been looking for a new place to live as he didn't want to share with Chandler anymore, especially since you spent many nights with him. You were struggling to deal with the consequences of your actions and Chandler could see how much you were struggling but didn't know how he could help you. You had caused a lot of tension in the group and it didn't seem like it was going to be going away anytime soon. You hadn't seen Ross in a while since he was always with Joey and when you did see him, he was very cold towards you. Everyone was still friendly towards Chandler but they seemed to very skeptical of you, seeing to be unsure of if they could trust you anymore. In your heart, you knew that you loved Chandler and that you had made the right decision by choosing him but you couldn't help but feel immensely guilty like you had done the wrong thing. You were currently sat in Central Perk on your own but you hoped that you'd run into the some of the group at some point as you were beginning to feel extremely lonely without them permanently in your life. Much to your luck, Rachel wandered into Central Perk, clearly just finishing work. She didn't spot you at first, but when she turned around to find a place to sit after getting her coffee she saw you and made her way over to you. "Hey Y/N, it's been a while since I've seen you," she said, sitting down next to you on the sofa.
"It's been a while since I've seen any of you, you guys have kind of been avoiding me," you answered.
"I know but things are just a little awkward. Joey's with us a lot and he doesn't want to be near you. It's a really difficult situation Y/N. No one's avoiding you, we just don't know what to do," she replied, a sad smile resting on her face.
"I know I messed up Rach but I've lost so much. My friends won't even see me," you mumbled.
"You haven't lost us Y/N, don't be silly. But Joey is hurting so bad and he needs time to heal," Rachel said.
"Do you all think I'm not hurting?" You huffed.
"You didn't get cheated on Y/N. Your partner didn't get with your best friend behind you back," Rachel snapped.
You were a bit taken back by her words but you knew that she was right. She sighed, placing her cup down on the table. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. But Y/N, you need to realise that Joey has just had his heartbroken into a million pieces. He needs his friends to be there for him, and that just means we won't be able to see you as much as of right now. But things will get better, I promise," she said.
"I didn't mean to hurt him Rach, I really didn't," you mumbled.
Before she could respond, she noticed someone who made her freeze in her place. "Thanks for coming Joey, I know I don't deserve it but I appreciate it."
You turned round and saw Joey and Chandler walking through the entrance of the coffee house, both of them oblivious to you and Rachel being there. "We've been best friend for years Chandler, even though you've hurt me, I hate fighting with you," Joey said.
Just as he said those words, Joey noticed you and his face changed to complete anger. "What the hell is she doing here? Did you invite her along?" Joey snapped, still glaring you.
"What? No I didn't! I swear," Chandler said.
"Yeah sure you didn't," Joey huffed," I bet you were in on it as well weren't you Rach?"
"No one tricked your or lied to you Joey. I just came for a coffee. I'm going to go now so you don't need to worry about me being here," you said.
You hurriedly got your stuff together before heading out of the coffee house. Part of you expected Chandler to follow you to make sure you were okay but he never did. You couldn't believe how sour your life had turned. You went from having six great friends, to having one of them not wanting to speak to you anymore, one of them being the guy you're in love with but feel guilty for being with and the rest for them being quite cold towards you. You went from a happy life, to a miserable one in a matter of days. You ripped apart a friendship that you knew couldn't heal if you were there. As you walked away from the coffee shop, you began to realise that you didn't really belong here anymore and that you had to decide whether you wanted to keep living such a miserable, guilty life for the foreseeable future.

••••••••••••••••••••••••

The next day you called everyone over to your apartment, except Joey, telling them that you had an important announcement to make that was too important to tell over the phone. You could tell that everyone was confused about the fact that you had invited them over, and had no idea what this announcement could be. Monica and Rachel has a suspicion that you could be pregnant but Chandler shut that down straight away saying that you wouldn't let him know in a group situation. Once everyone was sat down, you stood in front of them, a sad and nervous look plastered on your face. "So what's this big announcement?" Monica asked.
"As you know, things have been really difficult lately. I made a huge mistake and hurt someone I shouldn't have hurt and I'm struggling to deal with the guilt. I'm sorry for what I've done but I can't fix it and the only way things will go back to normal is if I'm not here," you said.
You took a deep breath before continuing with your explanation. "I've decided to move back to Chicago. I called my parents and I'm going to move in with them until I find a place of my own. I called work this morning and I'm going to be transferring to their Chicago office. I leave in two weeks," you announced.
The shocked looks on everyone's faces made you momentarily believe that you were making a bad decision but deep down you knew that it was the right thing to do. You looked over at Chandler who looked incredibly hurt but anger was clearly seeping through his facial expression. "Can we go talk alone for a moment please," he said as he stood up.
"Yeah okay, sure," you answered.
The two of you went to your bedroom and as soon as you closed the door, Chandler turned to face you, a hurt and angry look plastered on his face. "Are you seriously moving back to Chicago?" Chandler asked.
You nodded.
"After everything I gave up to be with you, you're now running away because things are getting to difficult?" He snapped.
"Chandler, it's the best thing to do. Unless I go, you and Joey will never fix things. You're friendship with him is far more important than a relationship with me," you muttered, sitting down on your bed.
"You don't get to make that kind of decision for me Y/N. I would find a way to make it work. Joey just needs time to heal-"
"He can't move on with his life if I'm always around. I need to go Chandler," you cried.
"No you don't, you can stay hear with me," he answered, bending down in front of you.
"I can't stay Chandler, I have to go," you said, placing a hand on his cheek.
He pushed your hand away and stood up, pacing angrily around your room. "Do you just like breaking people's hearts? First Joey's and now mine? Are there any other hearts you want to break before you leave?" Chandler hissed.
"That was uncalled for Chandler," you sighed.
"Was it uncalled for? I mean it's just the facts," Chandler snapped.
"You don't need to be nasty," you mumbled.
"You know what? I'm done with this. I'm absolutely done with this and you," he yelled before storming out of the room.
You sat there in silence for a moment before bursting into tears, your whole body shaking with each heartbreaking sob that erupted from your body. You didn't intend to hurt Chandler, you just wanted to save the friendship he had with Joey. You just wanted to make things easier for everyone else. The girls came rushing into your room and immediately wrapped their arms around you. "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry," you cried, clutching onto your friends.
"Shh, it's okay. Just let it all out," Monica said softly.
The girls' hearts were aching at the sight of you crying so uncontrollably. They never really thought about how you were feeling about the whole situation since they saw Joey as the victim and not you. They couldn't quite believe that you were sacrificing your relationship with Chandler so that himself and Joey could retain their incredible friendship. Once you had stopped crying, the girls let go of you and sat down around you on the bed. "I can't believe you're really going back to Chicago. I really wish you weren't," Rachel said, resting her head on your shoulder.
"I'm sorry we haven't been there for you. I hope you reconsider moving to Chicago and stay in New York," Monica added.
"I'm sorry guys but I have to go. It's not a good idea for me to stay here," you answered.
The girls let out a sigh before pulling you into another hug. "We love you Y/N, we really do."