'What the hell!? Why is she a teenager!?' Andrew thought, confused.
He recognized her perfectly. But it didn't make any sense.
Friends was from '94. In his previous world, Monica was over 25 when the series started. And now… here she was, in 2009, as a girl his age.
In this completely confusing universe where he had already experienced enough surprises, his new family were Cam and Mitch from Modern Family, his friends included Howard and Leonard from The Big Bang Theory, and the timeline… well, he had long stopped trying to understand it.
But Andrew had experience staying composed.
He smiled, regaining control. "Thanks for coming, Monica… And thanks for supporting me from so early on."
"Thanks to you," Monica replied, more relaxed than she had seemed at first. "I used to be… well, much corpulent. Fat, actually. But I followed all your routines. Every video, every nutrition tip. Everything. I lost over thirty kilos. And I've kept it off."
Before Andrew could reply, a male voice interrupted with the enthusiasm of someone who didn't quite grasp the emotional context:
"Really fat. She was really fat," said the tall boy beside her, gesturing with his hands.
'That must be Ross...' thought Andrew, looking at the boy who, in the future, would have a lot of romantic issues with Rachel.
Monica shot him a death glare. Without a word, she raised her elbow and jabbed him in the ribs. A surgical elbow.
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"A reminder that I can still send you to the hospital," Monica muttered through gritted teeth.
Ross cursed under his breath but didn't try to retaliate, for now. Ever since his sister became a workout maniac, beating her had become nearly impossible. It had already been hard enough when she weighed over 90 kilograms, but at least back then she was slow, clumsy, and her cardio sucked. Now she was agile, strong, and fast.
Behind them, a man in his forties smiled proudly.
"I'm Jack Geller, the father. A pleasure, Andrew. Great job with my daughter!" he said, as if congratulating him for personally training her. "I never thought I'd see the day she turned down ice cream or cake. Did you know she once broke a swing at the park? Snap. Clean break. I still remember the look on the kid next to her," he added without malice, smiling like it was a fond family story.
Monica closed her eyes for a second. Her cheeks red. "Thanks, Dad," she said, tense.
But Jack, oblivious to teenage embarrassment, carried on like nothing happened, "But look at her now. She could probably carry me on her shoulders! I started watching your routines too, by the way! Although the squat part… ugh, my knees weren't built for that!"
Andrew chuckled lightly, "Thanks, Mr. Geller. I'm glad my videos helped you too."
Ross, meanwhile, was staring around. "This is crazy. All these people… they follow you because of your football videos and stuff?"
He liked highlight clips or the occasional routine, but never thought a YouTuber could have such reach.
"And because of charisma, vision, discipline, and charm," Monica answered before Andrew could.
Ross narrowed his eyes and a teasing smile formed on his face. "Whoa. You gonna propose to him or something? Throw some rice now or later?"
Monica clenched her teeth, slowly turned her head toward her brother, and said in a restrained voice, "Shut. Up."
Then she turned to Andrew, erasing any sign of weakness or embarrassment from her face.
"Don't listen to my stupid brother. He's not a real fan. He barely watches your videos. He only checks out the ab workout routines hoping he can flirt with some girl someday," Monica said, and this time Ross's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Ross raised his hands defensively. "Hey, that's not true! I watch the football videos too!"
Andrew smiled, amused. This was just like he remembered from the show, only Ross and Monica were way more confrontational. Chaos, competition, and poisoned affection.
"A picture?" asked Cam, stepping in, otherwise, the siblings would keep arguing.
"Yes, please, and take several," Monica said immediately. She pulled out her phone, switched it to camera mode, and handed it to Cam.
"Gladly, dear," Cam replied with a broad smile, receiving the phone like it was a professional camera.
Monica stood beside Andrew, a little shy. She managed to smile. It was clear she had dreamed of this moment.
Click.
"Perfect, five shots," said Cam, handing back the phone.
"My turn now?" Ross asked with a resigned expression. He wasn't a diehard fan, but he had come all the way from New York, he deserved a photo.
Andrew gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder, and they posed. Ross smiled with a mix of discomfort and awe.
Click.
"I want one too," said Jack Geller, stepping forward without a hint of shame, like he was part of the cast.
"Dad?" said Monica, almost pleading.
"Come on, Monica! It's part of the trip," said Jack as he placed a hand on Andrew's shoulder for the photo, like they were old friends.
Andrew could barely believe it. Jack Geller taking a picture with him in 2009, it was just too... surreal.
But just when it seemed the family would finally make room for the next fans in line, Monica turned around decisively and opened her backpack.
"I wanted to give you this, Andrew… A little gift," she said, pulling out a small rectangular transparent container, labeled with a sticker that read: "Post-Workout – Snack 1B."
She offered it to Andrew with both hands, almost like a ceremonial offering.
"I made them this morning. Homemade protein balls," Monica explained, in a tone more serious than necessary. "Made with oats, unsweetened cocoa, whey protein, chia seeds, and natural almond butter. No artificial sweeteners. Everything measured to the gram."
Andrew took the container with a hint of reverence.
"They're meant for after training, but they work well as a snack between meals. Each ball has about seven grams of protein. Oh, and I added a touch of vanilla extract so it doesn't taste like chalk," said Monica, and Andrew smiled slightly, grateful.
"Thanks, Monica. Really," said Andrew, smiling with the container in hand.
"It's nothing. You helped me a lot. I just wanted to give something back," she said, with a mix of nerves and pride.
Then she looked at Andrew with a soft but genuine smile.
"Enjoy it."
And with that, the Geller family said goodbye, leaving Andrew with a box of snacks made with great precision and the intensity of a future chef with a control obsession.
Andrew stood for a second watching them walk away. Part of him considered stopping her. Asking for her number. Not for any romantic reason. Not even close. Just because of the sheer craziness of having teenage Monica Geller standing right in front of him.
But everyone was watching.
Howard was still filming, Mitch and Cam were just a few steps away, and his group of friends stayed close. Plus, he was wearing the bracelet Pippa had given him.
There was no way to explain that it wasn't flirting. That it wasn't a teenage impulse. Only he, with his strange past, would understand that it wasn't about love or attraction, but a mix of curiosity and respect for television history.
But from the outside… it would look like a "celebrity" using his fame to hit on a pretty fan. And that wasn't who he was.
Two and a half hours went by.
Mitch's voice had gone hoarse from organizing everything. Cam had taken hundreds of photos and got emotional over at least twenty different stories.
Howard filmed more than his camera could store. Reggie signed a cap, Kevin a football, Archie a jersey, and Steve took at least twelve selfies with people who actually recognized him, making him, to everyone's surprise, the second most popular after Andrew.
Andrew, for his part, kept the pace like a quarterback in the final quarter of a tight game. He greeted everyone. Took pictures. Listened to stories. Received drawings, letters, caps, and other gifts.
By the time it ended, he felt exhausted. The good news was that it had been a success, and fun. And just like that, the first subscriber meetup came to an end.
It was nearly 7 p.m. The mall was starting to empty out. The last few teenagers, accompanied by their parents, were walking away from the fountain area where, just hours before, a small crowd had gathered.
Luckily, everything had gone smoothly. Nothing apocalyptic like Mitchell had feared. No uncontrolled screaming, no collective hysteria.
Just enthusiastic fans, yes, but no chaos.
Andrew, exhausted but satisfied, went to the restroom before heading home. He made his way to the bathrooms near a tech store.
And that's when it happened.
Just as he stepped out, his face showing signs of fatigue, the women's bathroom door, directly across from his, also opened. Out came Monica Geller.
They both stopped and looked at each other. A moment of strange silence.
Andrew's green eyes met her blue ones. Neither of them spoke right away.
For a second, Andrew thought the universe was playing with him. Some kind of cosmic joke.
What he didn't know was that Monica hadn't left the mall. Her flight to New York was at around 8:30 p.m., and her dad had suggested they wait at the mall. Ross had gone off to browse a bookstore, Jack sat down with a newspaper… and she decided to walk around a bit more.
She hadn't been able to get close earlier, too many people surrounded Andrew. And she didn't want to seem like an overenthusiastic fangirl or interrupt the event. But when she saw him walking off with his friends and then heading to the restroom alone, she couldn't help but follow.
When she saw him go into the bathroom, an idea struck. She decided to enter the women's restroom and try to come out at the exact same time he did. Pretending it was a coincidence. A perfectly rehearsed bit of timing.
"Hey…" Monica said with a smile, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"Hi…" Andrew greeted, not quite sure what to say now that Monica Geller was standing in front of him, alone.
"Do you remember me? I'm—"
"Yes. Monica Geller, the girl who gave me the protein snacks," said Andrew, gently cutting her off with a small smile.
"Yeah…" Monica replied with a slight smile, relieved not to be so easily forgettable.
Once again, they fell into a strange and awkward silence.
"What a coincidence that the universe synced our bladders," Andrew joked, trying to break the tension.
"Yeah… coincidence…" Monica replied in an odd tone, briefly looking away.
That action made Andrew raise an eyebrow, and for a moment, he wondered if this encounter wasn't as spontaneous as it seemed.
"Taking advantage of the coincidence, there's something I forgot to say," Monica added, a bit timidly.
"Oh? What did you forget to tell me?" Andrew asked.
Monica hesitated. Just for a second. Then she took a deep breath, like she was about to say something emotionally risky, and said sincerely, "To thank you. Really. Your videos changed my life. And I'm not exaggerating, before, I couldn't even run for three minutes without getting winded. I felt trapped in a version of myself I didn't like… and couldn't change."
She paused, lowering her gaze a bit.
"And it's not just physical. I had anxiety, I compared myself to every girl at school, I hated mirrors. And then I saw one of your videos, not one about workouts, but about why you train. You talked about building something no one could take from you. And that clicked for me. It wasn't about changing how I looked… it was about proving to myself I could do things I used to think were impossible."
She looked back at him, now with steady eyes.
"Now I can run. I can do push-ups. I sleep better. I look better, sure… but the most important thing is that I feel proud of myself. And that feeling… that's something no one can take away from me."
Andrew looked at her in silence, moved. He had been told many times that his videos helped people, but when someone put it into words like that, so clear, so personal, it hit differently. It felt closer.
"Thank you for sharing that… I'm really glad you made it, and that I could be a part of that," Andrew said with a slight blush, scratching the back of his head.
He thought he had gotten better at handling compliments, but when they were that personal, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
Monica smiled. It seemed like she was about to say goodbye… but she didn't.
"So, well… while I'm here, if it's not too much to ask," Monica said, lowering her voice slightly as she searched through her bag, "Would you mind giving me your number? Just so I can know what you thought of the snacks. Culinary feedback, you know…" she added quickly, with a slightly nervous smile. "Even if you didn't like them, I want to know, so I can improve my cooking."
Andrew looked at her, and while part of him knew it could easily be misunderstood, another part knew it would be crueler to turn down a fan who had just shared something so personal.
Besides, the excuse of "culinary feedback" was so Monica that he couldn't help but smile.
"Sure," Andrew said and gave her his number.
Monica jotted it down quickly and efficiently, and immediately sent him a message to make sure there were no mistakes. Andrew's phone buzzed right away.
"Perfect. Once I try them, I'll let you know what I think. Just so you know, I'm an impartial judge, being a fan won't affect my verdict," Andrew said.
"Of course. I don't want any pity or anything like that," Monica replied seriously. She took her cooking very seriously, and to improve, she needed honest, constructive criticism.
"Well… goodbye," Monica finally said.
"Goodbye, Monica," Andrew replied.
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