Did he honestly just say ping pong? She couldn't help it, a very unladylike snort escaped her lips. She was not laughing at him, not in a mean way at least. But rather, at what he'd said. She knew where he'd been going with the sentence, and she also knew he was trying his best so she wouldn't know. Chandler was only a man, and having grown up with them for the better part of her life, Taralyn knew exactly what he was thinking.

"I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you on purpose. I mean, I am, but not in a bad way...but because you're funny." She told him, not even sure if she was making any sense. Chandler probably thought she was some kind of weird outcast. Between her odd rejection for the average behavior of someone her age, and the fact that she was choosing to stay with her cousin rather than on campus with all the other students made her look like some kind of anti-social goody goody. Sure, in the past maybe that was partially the case... but she would change that here. She'd already made that decision.

There was one thing she was positively sure of, on some level she was attracted to Chandler. She barely knew the man, and he wasn't exactly her age, but he was sweet. Not to mention good-looking. She frowned at how high school she sounded, like some stupid girl who just spotted the star quarterback. Just then the door opened up, and in stepped Joey to confirm their reservations at Johnny's Pizza. "That sounds like so much fun, I'm going to call back home first and then unpack so take your time. And if you don't mind, I'd kind of like to grab a shower before we go out." She said to Joey, turning her head slightly to offer Chandler a small parting smile.

She had just hung up the phone when Joey came into the apartment, looking as excited as she felt. "Everyone says hi!" She told him, grinning. Most of the family were still there when she called, so they had a speaker-phone conversation. They'd all told her to make sure they got to talk to Joey next time, since the later tended to neglect to contact them without reminding. She didn't want to play the messenger owl right now, so she'd just tell him later.

She was happy that Joey was letting her use his room, though she felt bad knowing he was sleeping on the couch. She made a mental note to purchase an air mattress as soon as she could so she could give him back his bed. He helped her put the rest of her things away, and showed her how to work the shower before settling into his favorite chair to watch some television.

Taralyn felt her mind and muscles relaxing as the hot water fell down her body. Showers always gave her time to think, and she was surprised with how much she already had to think about. But one thing in particular kept probing her thoughts relentlessly: Chandler. She knew there was no chance in hell anything would ever come of these thoughts, but for the first time she found it fun to simply think about it. It gave her the answer to why she'd never had a successful relationship in all her nineteen years. She was attracted to older men. While her friends had been daydreaming about all the guys their age, she'd been thinking about scandalous relations with certain teachers. Everyone had their tastes, Taralyn's just happened to be a little on the off-limits side.

Feeling ridiculously cheesy for even having such ideals, she quickly washed and rinsed her hair, and turned the water off. The part she liked best about sticking to thinking of such matters while she was showering was the privacy of it all. A little thinking never hurt anyone, and it was the best should could do with the situation she was in. Even if there was a chance that Chandler was interested, they'd have to get by Joey and god knows what else. Just the thought of all that drama hurt her head. She wrapped a towel around her body and grabbed her clothes, heading back into Joey's room, who was lost in the television, to get dressed.

{ No problemo, and same to you! I just spent 25 minutes washing my fairy make up off, wasn't half as fun as putting it on! XP }

At first she thought he hadn't heard her, the way he was staring so intently at the game. He was definitely a major baseball fan. Her father, and brothers, and cousins would probably all love him. But then he'd turned around, flashing her quite the charming smile. Immediately, she thought he was cute. Unconsciously, she found herself smiling with him. "Nice to meet you, I'm Taralyn. But I guess you already know that, too." She replied, feeling odd for introducing herself twice. "Ah, my dad is probably in a pretty good mood right about now then." She told him, referring to the game. She could picture him lecturing her Uncle now, both of them drunk and oblivious. She lifted her eyes to his briefly, he was only about five inches taller than herself. At Joey's comment, she laughed quietly and turned to him, nodding. A celebration sounded pretty fun.

At the mention of food, Taralyn was suddenly very aware of how hungry she was. She'd skipped the complementary meal the plane had offered, recalling horror stories involving freak accidents with the utensils. Sure, she was foolish for being so paranoid; better safe then sorry.

Watching Joey argue with Monica was rather comical, they were like an old married couple. Only not, because that would be weird. Joey had told her all about Monica and her cooking, so she already knew that Monica's food would be amazing. Maybe she could get the woman to teach her a few things, Taralyn could barely boil water. The mention of pizza made her mouth water. In all the movies and television shows she'd seen, the New York pizza always looked amazing. It was one of the thing on her top priority list of things to do once she got here. Not to mention she would probably be able to eat a cow and a half right about now. She just nodded along with the planning, completely satisfied with the fact that she'd be eating shortly.

What the hell is an Afrovenator? She thought to herself, a perplexed look spreading onto her face at the word. She made a mental note to ask Ross about that over dinner, waving her goodbye to him with a smile. She assumed Rachael and Pheobe were the remaining girls Joey had told her about, seeing as she'd already met both boys and only one girl. When he'd first told her about them, Taralyn always found herself laughing at the thought of all 6 of them just hanging out in a coffee shop. The people she knew would never be able to keep such a strong bond for longer then a month. Where she was from, friendship was only as important as your status on the social ladder, or who you slept with. She'd gotten out of that crowd before they could truly corrupt her. She secretly hoped that these guys would ignore the age different and see her not as Joey's little cousin, but as herself.

Lost in her thoughts, she'd barely noticed everyone's departure until it was suddenly just her and Chandler, and some silence, taking up the space in the room. She blinked, looking at him. "Oh! Yeah, I'm a total book nerd. But it's strictly a hobby thing, I'm as smart as a stump." She confessed sheepishly, pulling at the end of her sleeves. This was something she did only when she wasn't sure of what to say, but didn't want to babble. She listened to him intently, a smile slowly playing along her lips. It seemed he had the same problem as she did, and this comforted the younger greatly. "No, I'm totally interested. See, I would do anything to be good with numbers. I think it's kind of fascinating, how some people are just so good at stuff like that. It's like a whole other language to me. I guess that's what I get for leaving my head in fiction." It was true, she always wondered what it was like for those people who could just look at a receipt, or a price, and know exactly what they were looking at or how much it would cost. But alas, she could never give up her precious books. Her brothers were right though, there's no such thing as a professional reader, and she sure as hell wasn't about to write novels herself. She had to get her thoughts out of the clouds and find something she was good at, that could support her in life.

She watched him, curiously amused, as he awkwardly made his way to the kitchen. She had to level with him, the awkwardness was kind of uncomfortable. But she discovered little things they had in common whenever he got uncomfortable. She briefly wondered if that was cruel, but decided no because her intentions were honest enough. She wanted to know more about him, about his work and what he liked. This worried her, not wanting to do anything to get her sent home. But she couldn't help it, and besides, there wasn't much harm in wanting to get to know someone. She followed him casually, tucking her hands into her back pockets. "Nope, no boyfriend. It's all drama and sex back home, and that thought isn't very appealing to me." She replied, offering him a grin. "Although I hear college is much different in the romance district. Since I'll be here for a while, I might as well dive head first into all the experiences it has to offer." She added as an after thought, leaning against the counter. "How about you, got a woman in the picture?" Her tone was harmless, although she couldn't deny that she was genuinely curious.

{ I loved your post! And welcome back from school~ XP }

{ It's not crappy at all, don't be silly. Mine on the other hand, definitely crappy. }

"Ma, for the millionth time already, I'll be fine!" A very impatient voice called from inside the closet, followed by a flying pair of shoes and some sweaters. Her mother clicked her tongue disapprovingly, folding the sweaters and tucking them neatly into the suitcase. "Jeez, you'd swear I was moving to the other side of the planet. It's New York, Ma. A plane ride away, and I'll be staying with Joey. You know I won't get into any trouble with him around." She told her mother in the only comforting way she knew how. How could she possibly comfort her mother about a trip she was taking, when the girl couldn't wait to actually get out of the house and finally live independently. Well, figuratively speaking that is.

"I know Taralyn, but New York isn't the same as here. You can't just take a stroll around the neighborhood whenever you feel like it. It's dangerous there, with muggers, murders, rapists, and just crazy people in general. I swear, if Joey tells me you take one step out of that apartment after midnight I'll fly up there and drag you home." The woman had a talent when it came to ranting, most of the female's in this family did. But Taralyn couldn't see why everyone was kicking up such a big fuss. She was 19, she wasn't an idiot. She knew the pros and cons of New York, she'd learned all she needed to know from the internet and her cousin Joey. Rather then the nervous feeling she should be getting over leaving home, Taralyn could barely stay still. She had longed for the life of a college student since the beginning of her final year of high school, and now she was finally here.

With everything packed into it's place, and her flight leaving in little over 2 hours, Taralyn and her parents left for the airport. Of course, she knew once she arrived all her aunts, uncles, and cousins would be waiting there to send her off as well. Not that she minded, she loved her family with all of her heart. But sometimes a girl just has to do what she wants to, when she wants to do it. That statement was Taralyn's life motto, it had taken her down this path all along, so why stop now?

"You call us everyday, no matter how early or how late. Don't forget to tell Joey everyone sends their love." Her mother told her while she went around in circles giving out hugs and kisses. "Don't worry, I won't forget anything you've drilled into my head this past week mother dear." She chimed, wrapping her arms around the woman and squeezing tightly. Goodbye's were one thing that never bothered Taralyn, because for her they were not goodbye, just see you soon. She pulled back and chuckled at her mother's teary eyes, shaking her head. "I'll call as soon as I land okay? I love you guys!" She called over her shoulder, walking towards the boarding gate with her passport and ticket in hand.

The flight had been great, besides the stupid asshole behind her who kept moving around and bumping her seat. She'd watched out the window eagerly, taking everything in with new eyes. Her first plane ride, her first stay away from home (for longer than a sleepover, that is). Joey was waiting for her when she got off the plane, and she ran towards him with a huge smile on her face and gave him a big hug.

"I missed you!" She exclaimed into his shoulder, grinning. She pulled back, arching her brow. "Now, are you sure you've girl-proofed your apartment. I don't want to stumble across anything...well, you know what I mean." She asked him in a tasteless tone. He got this kind of far away look for a moment, and then gave a nod while grinning. "All clear. " He assured the girl, giving a thumbs up. He picked up her bags for her, and they headed off towards his car, catching up and what not.

Joey had always been her favorite cousin. He was legally an adult, but he was still a teenage playboy at heart. He could be serious and act his age one moment, getting mad at her for a stupid thing she'd done, and the next he was covering for while she would sneak out of the house. Which was why she'd chosen to live with him, knowing she'd easily be able to get his approval for anything with a simple look. His roommate, whom she'd heard plenty about, didn't seem like he'd bother with her much either. Basically, she was home free for a parental-unit free college life.

"Just throw you things in there, I want to introduce you to everyone." Joey told her when they passed his apartment door. She did as she was told, simply tossing the luggage in and following Joey to the door right across the hall. She snorted under her breath when his friends spoiled his 'surprise', he had given them a totally Joey-reaction. She stepped around him, offering a grin and her hand.

"Thanks so much, I'm really excited to be here! I'm Taralyn, by the way." She was happy they were talking to her like she was their age, and not some bratty teenager that was going to be bugging them for a while. She then turned her attention to Ross, kind of tilting her head to think about it. "I'm pretty interested in Literature, does that count as a major?" She replied, feeling stupid for answering him with a question. She just wasn't sure what she wanted to major in yet, she needed to settle her career plans first.

Some commotion on the television got her attention, and raising a brow she noticed the final occupant of the room. Chandler, she figured. He was watching a baseball game, which immediately brought a picture of her father and every other male in her family squished in their basement watching the same game. Though she didn't know much about the sport itself, she was curious to know if her father's team was leading. "Who's winning?" She asked him, excusing herself from the school talk for a moment.

{ sorry sorry sorry, I was kicked off the computer early then I would have liked last night, and then I had to go to school today. D: so, I apologize for the wait! }