♡

THE ONE WITH ZARA'S SMILE.
EPISODE SEVEN.

♡

Zara felt a little strange. For the first time in a year and a half since she started her book, she wasn't currently writing. The final draft had been submitted for the publishing house to read through it, and then — finally — it'll be sent to printing.

Of course, there was the sequel to start, but Zara was letting herself get settled back with her new kindergarten class before she started (plus, she deserved a break). Though, maybe the break was forced with Zara's laptop hidden somewhere for the week, where she suspected it was either in Monica's room or at the guys' apartment.

"Hey," Ross caught their attention as Zara's head turned to face from where she sat on the sofa next to Monica. "When you guys were kids and you played Happy Days, who were you? I was always Richie."

"I was always Joanie," Monica announced.

"Question," said Joey. "Was egg the Gellers the war cry of your neighbourhood?"

Zara laughed at that, but the sound vanished as the Mattress King came on screen that Phoebe was quick to point out, disgusted by it.

"Don't look, honey," Chandler told Janice. "Change the channel! Change the channel!"

Unable to stop herself, Zara's nose curled in disgust at the nickname. While it was already coming up to a year since the two had separated, Zara was yet to find a way to get over Chandler Bing, but she was making progress.

"Wait, wait," Janice protested. "I want to see this. That's right, after I divorce him, half of that kingdom will be mine."

"My kingdom is suddenly lonely without a queen."

Zara pressed her lips together so that she couldn't laugh. If the kingdom was lonely, then Zara was willing to return the queen. But, the depressive advert changed into a sale, where Janice's ex-husband didn't seem that upset.

"What a wank," Chandler said.

"Oh, I cannot believe he's using our divorce to sell mattresses."

"I know," said Monica. "At $499 for a pillow top queen set, who cares about the divorce? Those babies will sell themselves." Though, even Zara was looking at Monica, knowing she had done the right thing of keeping her mouth shut. "I'm appalled for you, by the way."

Later, Zara headed over to the guys' place in the hope to find her laptop, where she found Joey on the phone. With him distracted, she snooped a little, relieved to know that Chandler was walking Janice out.

"You won't find it," Joey told her, hanging up after.

Zara turned, frowning at him. "So it was you."

"No," said Joey. "Monica gave it to me to hide."

"Please tell me it's not in the refrigerator," Zara said.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Joey replied. "It's where I hide my food."

That didn't make Zara feel any better. "So it's in your bedroom."

"Nope," Joey grinned. "No one knows my secret spot."

"You know I'll find it," Zara returned the smile. "I have a habit of getting what I want."

"I'll tell you what," Joey suggested. "That call was from the learning extension. They want me to teach a soap opera acting class."

"That's amazing," Zara told him. "But I don't see how this is relatable to you hiding my laptop."

"Well, I've never taught before and you're a teacher," said Joey, suddenly sounding nervous. "So... can you come with me?"

"You know I teach six-year-olds, right?" Zara reminded him. "Not an acting class for adults."

"I know, I know," Joey replied. "But, it would mean a lot and you're still a teacher."

"Fine," Zara agreed. "But you know you can't date any of your students?"

"But—"

"Nope," Zara cut him off. "If you want my help, then listen to what I have to say."

Joey sighed, mumbling: "fine."

With that, the two headed down to the coffee house to join their friends.

"Hey, you guys," Joey greeted them. "Guess what?"

"What?" Ross replied for them.

"I got a gig," Joey announced.

There was a chorus of happy replies from the other five as Zara took a seat on the sofa next to Monica.

"See, that's why I can never be an actor," Chandler said. "Because I can't say gig."

"Yeah, I can't say croissant," Phoebe added before she pointed to herself. "Oh my God!"

"What's the part?" Monica asked.

"It's not a part," Joey explained. "No. I'm teaching acting for soap operas down at the learning extension. Zara's gonna come with me too."

Again, everyone was ecstatic for their friend.

"For support," added Zara. "And most likely to keep Joey outta trouble."

"Yeah, yeah," Joey was happy with their reaction. "It's like my chance to give something back to the acting community."

"You know, you're probably not allowed to sleep with any of your students," Ross told him.

There was silence from Joey as his eyes remained on Ross, unblinking.

Zara frowned. "Joey..."

"I know," Joey said eventually. "Zara told me."

"Thank God you're gonna be there," Monica whispered to Zara.

"This is gonna end with me either bullying Joey or taking over the class."

♡

Joey failed to tell Zara that she would be a fake student in his class. It had been moments before the class had even started as Zara had glowered at him before sitting down at one of the tiny desks at the back of the room.

Though, as Joey wrote his name on the blackboard, his head turned and his eyes fell on Zara which resulted in the writing becoming crooked. Sensing his nerves, Zara's face softened as she offered him a supportive smile.

With the underline going through his last name, Joey turned to face his class with a pearly smile. "Good evening," he greeted everyone. "I am Mr Tribbiani...and I will be teaching acting for soap operas. Now, um...on my first day as Dr Drake Ramoray on Days of Our Lives..."

Zara tried not to laugh as Joey gave the impression that he expected everyone to react as if he was famous. If this wasn't important to Joey, then Zara would have taken the chance to embarrass him.

"Uh, I learned that one of the most important things in soap opera acting is reacting. This does not mean acting again. It means you don't have a line, but someone else just did and it goes something like this..."

Clearing his throat, Joey gasped with his reaction. It prompted a response from the class with Zara last to join in the applause.

"Oh, by the way, before I forget," continued Joey after he thanked their applause. "To work in soap operas some of you will have to become much more attractive."

Zara sighed at that, but she supposed it could be a lot worse.

Afterwards, when the class left, Zara remained behind.

"So," said Zara. "Some of the class will need to be much more attractive?"

"Woah, that wasn't about you," Joey reassured her.

"So I'm attractive enough to be a soap actress?" Zara questioned, raising her eyebrows in amusement.

"Oh, yeah," said Joey. "Zara, you know you are. I can tell by your smile."

"My smile...?" Zara repeated, confused.

"I know all your smiles now. There's the mean one that I know to run from," listed Joey, smiling joyfully. "Then the smug one, where you get a little cocky, knowing you're hot and teasing, and the smirk... that one promises trouble. The one where you always get what you want. And then the rare tiny smile that you do when something amuses you or you're, you know, happy."

Zara was a little startled, not realising Joey had noticed the little things about her. There was no smile on Zara's face now as she averted her gaze, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Even Zara was aware of her reaction, falling into a state of shock and confusion.

"Anyway," said Zara, thinking it was best to move on.

"Right," Joey realised too, where Zara sensed the tenseness to his tone. "How'd I do?"

"Better than I thought," Zara confessed, unable to resist her teasing smile that she was now consciously aware of. "Though, you can't tell people they need to be attractive, Joey. You want the class to like you not hate you."

"They'll like me for telling the truth," Joey said.

"What you think might be true to you, but false to another," explained Zara. "Like I might find you attractive, but another girl won't."

"You think I'm attractive?" Joey questioned.

"Joey, we slept together," Zara sighed. "Either way it's mean, so maybe keep things like that to yourself."

"Okay," Joey agreed. "I'll keep it to myself next time."

♡

A few nights later, Zara headed to the class after work for the day. The tables had been moved, forcing Zara to sit in a circle with the rest of the class.

"Okay," Joey said. "Some tricks of the trade now, I've never been able to cry as an actor. So, if I'm in a scene where I have to cry, I cut a hole in my pocket, take a pair of tweezers and just start pulling."

This time, Zara put her head in her hands. Teaching someone to willingly hurt themselves was something that would never be taught in schools. Right now, Zara thought Joey was torturing her.

"Okay," continued Joey. "Or, uh, let's say I want to convey that I've just done something evil. Now that would be your basic I've got a fishhook in my eyebrow, and I, like..."

The look on Joey's face caused Zara to cover her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Hm, okay?" Joey seemed satisfied. "Let's say I've just gotten bad news. Well, all I do there is try and divide 232 by 13."

Showing them, Joey looked more confused than devastated with Zara slouching in her chair, really trying to remain supportive.

"And that's how it's done," Joey summarised. "Great soap opera acting tonight, everybody. Class dismissed."

The class started packing up and leaving with Zara taking her time. However, one student lingered with the news that he had the same audition as Joey.

"Oh, Zara," said the student after. "Why are you still here?"

Joey nodded his head, urging Zara to leave.

"Uh, I'll see you guys later," Zara said, unknowing if it was a good idea to leave or not. "You did good, Mr Trib."

That earnt a grin as Zara left, where she lingered outside while she waited for Joey. But, of course, when Joey found Zara and confessed to what he had done, she was angry with him.

"You can't do that," Zara told him.

"But I want the part," Joey argued, whinging.

"That's like me snatching a milk carton from a kid in my class because I wanted it," Zara said, frustrated with him. "It's wrong."

"This is different," Joey insisted.

"Okay, fine," said Zara. "If someone in my class had the chance of being published over me, then I wouldn't hold them back."

"You'd let them take your chance?" Joey questioned.

"I would," Zara told him. "Joey, do you know why I became a teacher?"

"No," Joey replied.

"Because while I was on track to messing up my life, it was my English teacher that put me on the right path," Zara explained. "She helped me figure things out and helped me get a scholarship to college that was for kids like me. While I would love to adopt every foster child, I can't do that, but I can help all kinds of kids find themselves by just being their teacher. You now, Joey, have that chance to help your students find their own paths."

Joey sighed. "No, you're right. I want to be a good teacher."

"You're a good person, so you'll do the right thing," Zara said, but she wasn't quite done being angry. "Also, if you're gonna sabotage someone, why urge them to be gay during an audition? That's nothing bad, Joey."

"Hey, I know that," said Joey. "It's just not the part."

Zara rose an eyebrow at him. "So?"

"So it was me being an idiot," Joey confessed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything bad by it or offensive."

"Just don't do it again," Zara told him.

♡

Zara was curious as to how the next class would go as she found herself sitting in that awkward circle again, reminded of her high school years. Though, this session was serious, as Joey sat cross-legged on the desk, facing the class.

"There will come a time in each of your careers when you'll have a chance to screw over another soap opera actor," said Joey. "I had such an opportunity in the recent present. And I'm ashamed to say that I took it. I advised a fellow actor to play a role... homosexually."

Joey's gaze met Zara's as she nodded her head, telling him that he was all good.

"Yeah," Joey continued. "We both auditioned for the part, and, uh...as it turned out...they, uh, liked," his voice broke, "they liked what he did with the part and cast him. And now...he's got a two-year contract opposite...Susan Lucci, the first lady of daytime television. And me...Me, I'm stuck here teaching a bunch of people. Most of whom are too ugly to even be on TV."

While Zara wanted to sigh, she could already see Joey's progress. Plus, he was emotional, though it seemed forced more than anything.

"I'm sorry," Joey rose his hand, apologising. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Next to Zara, a woman started to clap, believing it was all a demonstration. This prompted everyone to get involved with Zara being the last again.

Joey, like Zara, was confused but he still embraced the moment. "Thank you."

By the time the class came to an end, Zara had a happy smile on her face.

"Woah," said Joey. "I got the rare smile."

"You're an idiot at times, Joey," she told him. "But... I'm a little impressed."

"You, impressed?" Joey repeated.

"Don't let it go to your head," said Zara, pointing her finger at him. "I think you might make a good teacher, but you've still got a long way to go."

"I'm sure with you, I'll get there," Joey said.

"I guess we'll have to see."

Zara tried to resist the smirk, but it was there.

♡

The next day, Zara and Joey visited the Mattress Kingdom with Monica, ready to return her race car bed. While Zara had enjoyed teasing Monica relentlessly, she was determined to help her friend get a refund.

"May I help you?" A man asked.

"Yes, hi," said Monica. "I spoke to you on the phone. I'm the lady who got stuck with the race car bed."

"Look, it's like I told you: there's nothing I can do," the man argued. "You signed for it. Monica Faloola Geller."

"With a hat like that, of course, you can't do much," Zara told him, folding her arms over her chest. "Where is the man with the crown?"

"Yeah, jester man, we want to see the king," Joey stated.

"Nobody sees the king."

Zara laughed at that, snatching the paper from the man's hand as he recoiled, clearly intimidated by Zara's harsh gaze. "We're seeing the king."

"Hey, you can't go back there."

"You can't stop me," Zara told him.

Shooting the jester one last glare with a satisfied smirk, Zara's attention focused on the office door. As her hand was on the handle, Zara looked through the window as her face dropped.

Janice was kissing her ex-husband.

♡

EPISODE EIGHT.

♡

The three hurried from the bed shop back to the coffee house, unknowing what would happen from the truth. Already, Zara felt guilty, wishing she hadn't seen anything.

"Is Chandler here?" Zara questioned as she entered the coffee house, relieved to see that she couldn't see him.

Ross checked himself. "No. No, he's not."

"Okay," said Zara, relaxing.

"You guys," Monica said. "Zara just saw Janice kissing her ex-husband."

There were a few shocked faces as everyone looked at Zara.

"Are you sure?" Ross questioned.

"Yes, Ross," Zara tried to keep her cool. "I didn't make this up just to break them up."

"I was just checking," Ross explained. "What are you going to do? I mean, how are you going to tell Chandler?"

"Me? Tell Chandler?" Zara questioned, confused. "I'm not gonna be the one to tell him."

"But you have to—"

"Zara can't be the one," Rachel cut her boyfriend off.

"You're his friend," Ross said. "You have to tell him."

"I'm just his ex-girlfriend with this," Zara pointed out, where even she knew how it looked. "Joey has to be the one," her eyes fell on him again. "You're his best friend."

"And as Chandler's best friend, I think the best way would be... to not tell him."

"Joey, you have to tell him," Rachel told him.

"It'll kill him," argued Joey. "I mean, it'll just kill him."

"Well, you could wait till I go to the dentist," Phoebe suggested. "Maybe I'll kill him."

Zara's eyes fell on Phoebe, confused more than anything.

♡

The guilt ate at Zara as no one had told Chandler the truth. Seeing him for the first time, Zara couldn't bring herself to look at him, knowing that she would spill the truth to him. But, Zara really wanted him to be told the right way.

Joey made a noise of disgust. "Ugly Naked Guy is using his new hammock. It's like a play-doh fat factory."

"Well, I'm going to the dentist," Phoebe announced. "So listen, okay? Just be on the lookout for anything that-that-that you could fall into or that can fall on you or...or just look out!"

"Okay," Monica said.

"And, um, I just want to...I just want to tell you all that, um..."

Phoebe's hand cupped her mouth as she started to cry before she left. The friends exchanged a look as the door slammed shut.

"Okay, I have a problem," Ross said. "I have to go into work for a few hours. Some kids messed up the homo sapien display."

"What did they do?" Joey questioned.

"Well, they painted over the work sapien for one thing," Ross explained. "Then they... rearranged the figures. Let's just leave it at that."

"So do you want me to watch Ben for you?" Monica offered.

"Yes, that's what I was going to ask," said Ross. "Thank you."

"Woah, wait, hello? What about me?" Rachel questioned.

"You...you want to watch Ben?" Ross replied, shocked.

Behind Rachel, Monica reassured her brother silently as Zara tried not to laugh.

"Yeah," Ross said. "That would be great. No, I just asked Monica because I know how empty her life is."

Monica gave him a thumbs up.

"Hey, Ross, I got a science question," Joey said. "If the homo sapiens were, in fact, homo sapiens...all right? Is that why they're extinct?"

Zara couldn't help but laugh at the question, finding it the more enjoyable as Joey was generally serious and because it frustrated Ross.

"Joey, homo sapiens are people," Ross told him.

"Hey, I'm not judging," Joey defended himself. "I'm asking."

"Joey, maybe you should be focusing on telling Chandler about Janice," Zara pointed out.

Joey sighed. "I know, I know."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Zara offered.

"Yeah, okay," said Joey, unhappily.

Getting her coat, the two left the apartment with Zara feeling uneasy, not wanting to see Chandler heartbroken again — especially over someone else. But, Chandler was still her friend, so she needed to let him know.

"After I tell him," said Joey. "Will you, uh, tell him how you feel?"

Zara's head whipped around, looking at Joey. "What?"

"You know, they'll break up, so you'll have a chance again," Joey explained.

"No, Joey, I won't be," Zara confessed. "That's not fair on Chandler and... I don't know if I should. We're friends again, it's good, so I shouldn't risk ruining that again."

Even accepting that left an ache in Zara's heart, but it had taken a while to get to this point. It didn't help when the two met up with Chandler, where he greeted them with a warm smile.

"Hey, hold on a second, hold on a second," Chandler told the two as they walked past a jewellery stop on the way to the restaurant they were stopping at for lunch. Now, Chandler pointed at the window. "Do you think these pearls are nice?"

"I'd really prefer a mountain bike," said Joey.

Zara looked away from the window, feeling the guilt churn deep inside.

"Janice's birthday is coming up," Chandler explained. "I want to get her something special."

That didn't help how Zara was feeling. Any other time, her mind would be tumbling into a pit of jealousy, but right now, the silence was heavier than usual.

"Come in here with me," Chandler told them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, whoa," Joey grabbed his arm to stop him. "You, uh...you want to get her something special? Get her flowers, get her candy. Get her gum. Girls love gum. Right, Zara?"

"Joey..."

"That's a good idea," said Chandler. "Dear Janice, have a hubba bubba birthday."

Joey raised his hand, happy with that.

"I would like to get her something serious," Chandler stated.

"Oh, you want something serious," Joey said. "You know what you should do? You should get her one of those, um...barium enemas. Those are dead serious."

"Joey, I'll just tell him then," Zara decided.

Chandler's eyes fell on her. "Tell me what?"

"Well, I thought this was better coming from Joey as... you know, I'm your ex," said Zara, sounding anxious. "But...we're friends, so I'm telling you as a friend."

"Okay," said Chandler, clearly confused. "You're my friend."

"So, we went down to the mattress king showroom and..." Zara sighed, forcing herself to be brave as she held Chandler's stare. "I..."

"I saw Janice kissing her ex-husband," Joey took over.

Zara's eyes widened, looking over to Joey in relief.

"What?" Chandler responded, shocked.

"They were in his office," Joey told him.

"Well, she...she wouldn't do that," Chandler decided. "She's–she's with me."

"I'm telling you, man, I saw it," Joey insisted.

"Yeah, well, you're wrong, okay?" Chandler argued, proving that it was the best choice for Joey to tell him. "You're wrong."

"I'm not wrong," Joey stated. "I wish I was. I'm sorry."

Chandler looked away from them for a second with Zara fighting the urge to hug him. The look on his face reminded Zara of the night they broke up.

"I bet that barium enema doesn't sound so bad now, huh?" Joey said.

That didn't cheer Chandler up with Zara not surprised.

♡

Both Zara and Joey returned to the apartment as Phoebe hugged them, relieved to see that they were both still alive after her dentist trip. Chandler had gone home, wanting to be by himself as he dealt with his relationship.

Now, they had the issue of Ben having a bump on his head that Monica was trying to hide.

"Okay, Ben," said Monica. "I won't tell your daddy you had ice cream before dinner if you won't tell him about our little bonking incident."

"Monica, number one, I don't think Ben understands the concept of bribery," Rachel said. "And, number two, I—"

Joey started to chuckle as Zara turned to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Number two?" Zara guessed.

Joey practically giggled in response.

"I also said number one," Rachel pointed out.

Again, Joey laughed. "I know."

Zara shook her head at him but she had a smile on her face. With her spoon, she stole some of the ice cream from the pot Joey was eating, earning a scowl from the man. Not wanting to share, Joey stood as he moved towards the window.

"Hey, everyone," Ross greeted them.

"Hi," the two with Ben panicked.

"How's my little boy?" Ross asked, hurrying over to him, but he stopped to greet Rachel for a quick second.

"He's perfect," Monica insisted.

"He's never been better," Rachel added.

"What did you do, take him whaling?" Ross questioned.

"Monica," said Ben.

"Oh my God," Ross said. "He just said your name. That's great. Good job, Ben."

"Monica bang."

"Oh, that's right," Monica tried to cover. "That's what I'd sound like if I exploded."

"Woo–hoo," Phoebe joined them again. "The curse is broken. I called everybody I know and everyone is alive."

The dance Phoebe did was adorable as Zara smiled.

"Huh," said Joey.

"What?" Phoebe questioned.

"Ugly Naked Guy looks awfully still," Joey told them.

With Phoebe, Zara hurried over so the two could see for themselves. As the man failed to move, Phoebe gasped with a hand covering her mouth.

"Oh my God, I killed him," said Phoebe once they had all seen. "I killed another one. And this curse is getting stronger, too — to bring down something that big."

"Well, maybe he's just taking a nap," Rachel said.

"I'm telling you, he hasn't moved since this morning," Joey said.

"Maybe it's too hard to move," Zara suggested.

"We should call somebody," Monica suggested.

"And tell them what?" Ross questioned, turning away from the window. "That the naked guy we stare at all the time isn't moving?"

"But we have got to find out if he is alive," Rachel said.

"Yeah, but how are we going to do that?" Monica wondered.

"Well, there is one way," Joey told them. "His windows open. I say...we poke him."

"We poke him?" Zara repeated. "With what?"

Apparently, Joey had a plan that included chopsticks — loads and loads of chopsticks. It was ridiculous, but Zara found herself excited once it was stuck together to create a poking device.

Joey led them, taking charge of his plan, which Zara thought was adorable.

"Right, now remember," said Joey. "Something this long is going to be very difficult to manoeuvre. Fortunately, I have a lot of experience in that area."

"That's a lie," Zara told him with an evil smirk, watching as his smile vanished.

Though, Joey met Zara's gaze, challenging her. "Is it?"

That caused Zara to glare at him.

"Can we please focus here?" Ross called out. "A naked man's life hangs in the balance."

"I'm telling you, he's dead," Phoebe insisted. "What we're about to have here is a dead fat guy on a stick."

"All right," Joey focused again. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's poke."

Holding onto the poking stick, Zara started to gently move it forwards along with the rest of the group.

"Steady, steady," Joey guided them. "Okay, a little higher. Careful of the angle. Okay. Okay. We're approaching the window. Thread the needle. Thread the needle."

Finally, the stick poked the man as he woke, slapping the stick.

"He's alive!" Phoebe cried out. "He's alive!"

"And yet we're still poking him," Monica noticed.

"Okay, retract the device," Joey panicked as they were caught.

"He does not look happy," Ross noticed.

"Hey, now he's showing us his poking device," Rachel said.

"Hey, that's never going to make it all the way over here, buddy!" Joey shouted.

"Hey, Joey, it looks like yours," Zara commented.

♡

Come the end of the night, Zara headed over to the guy's apartment with pizza for Chandler and finally get her laptop back. Though, she never imagined finding Chandler singing Lionel Richie.

Zara paused, knowing Chandler hadn't heard her come in. He headphones on, clutching the album close to his chest. Any other time and Zara would have laughed at him, but not she was unsure how to react.

Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest, letting Chandler continue his moment. When Chandler ended up pitchy, Zara cringed which caught his attention.

"Za–Zara," Chandler stumbled. "You're here."

"I brought you pizza," Zara told him. "And Joey said I could get my laptop."

"Oh," said Chandler. "Thanks. Your laptops in my room."

"Joey said—"

"I knew he'd give in and give it to you," Chandler said, sounding so depressed. "So I hid it in my room."

"Oh," Zara felt awkward asking for it now. "Are you okay? I see Lionel Richie has been helping."

Chandler shrugged, placing the album and random shoe on Joey's chair. It was devastating to see Chandler like this.

"I'll be okay," Chandler said. "Can't be as bad as losing you."

Sighing, Zara gave in as she sat on the armchair as she wrapped her arms around him. Chandler's head fell on her chest, giving in to her comfort.

Silence hung between them, but Zara stayed.

And she told herself it was because Chandler was her friend.

♡

Zara and Joey are clearly flirting but oblivious lol. I don't think Zara's ready to be in love with them both!! I'm so ready for it though!