Ella opened the door to Jake, Chandler and Joey's apartment, grinning from ear to ear.

Seeing her, Jake stood up from the couch, "So? How'd it go."

"I got the part!" Ella exclaimed, making Jake smile.

"Ella, that's great!" He told his best friend, as she jumped into his arms, the boy boy spinning her around.

"You're going to watch it, right?" Ella asked, once she had landed safely back on the ground.

"Of course," Jake told her, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

***

"Hey guys." Ella smiled, entering her, Monica and Rachel's apartment, where everyone except Joey was decorating for Christmas.

"Hey, Ella."

"Hey, Els."

"How was rehearsal?" Ross asked her.

"It went really well, thanks," Ella nodded, getting a drink of water, "I can't believe the pantomime's tomorrow. You're all coming right?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Absolutely."

"Wouldn't miss it."

"Come here, Marcel. Sit here." Ross tried to beckon his monkey over to him, but Marcel just wandered off.

"Anyway, Pheebs, I can't believe David hasn't kissed you yet," Rachel exclaimed, "I mean God, by my sixth date with Paolo, I mean he had already named both my breasts!" Then she cringed, "...Ooh. Did I just share too much?"

Ross nodded, "Just a smidge."

Phoebe smiled, "David's like, y'know, Scientist Guy. He's very methodical."

"I think it's romantic." Monica commented.

"So do I." Jake nodded, as Ella sat next to him on the floor, making paper snowflakes.

"Well, you are a hopeless romantic, Jakey." The girl commented, making him blush.

"Me too!" Phoebe exclaimed, "Oh! Did you ever see An Officer and a Gentleman?"

"Yeah!" Rachel, Monica, Ella and Jake all nodded.

"Well, he's kinda like the guy I went to see that with. Except, except he-he's smarter, and gentler, and sweeter... I just- I just wanna be with him all the time. Day and night, and night and day... and special occasions..." She trailed off, making Chandler's eyes widen.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, I see where this is going, you're gonna ask him to New Year's, aren't you. You're gonna break the pact. She's gonna break the pact!" He exclaimed, pointing at her.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," Phoebe shook her head, "Yeah, could I just?"

"Yeah, 'cause I already asked Janice." Chandler nodded, sitting down.

"What?!" Monica exclaimed.

"C'mon, this was a pact!" Ross cried, "This was your pact!"

"I snapped, okay?" Chandler yelled, "I couldn't handle the pressure and I snapped."

"Yeah, but Janice?" Ella asked, "Come on, Chan Chan."

"Yeah, that was like the worst breakup in history." Jake nodded.

"I'm not saying it was a good idea, I'm saying I snapped!" Chandler told them.

Joey then entered the apartment, his shoes having bells on, which jingled as he walked, as he wore a long coat.

"Hi. Hi, sorry I'm late." He greeted everyone.

He then removed the coat to reveal an elf costume.

"Too many jokes... must mock Joey!" Chandler wheezed out.

Joey smirked, "Nice shoes, huh?" He asked, as he wiggled his foot and the bells jingled.

"Aah, y'killing me!" Chandler groaned, as Ella hid her laughter in Jake's shoulder.

Marcel then knocked over some kitchen tools.

Monica let out a groan, "Ross! He's playing with my spatulas again!"

"Okay, look, he's not gonna hurt them, right?" Ross said.

"Do you always have to bring him here?" Monica asked.

"I didn't wanna leave him alone. Alright? We- we had our first fight this morning. I think it has to do with my working late. I said some things that I didn't mean, and he- he threw some faeces..." Ross frowned.

"Y'know, if you're gonna work late, I could look in on him for you." Chandler offered.

"Ooh! Can I come too?" Ella eagerly asked.

"Oh, that'd be great!" Ross told them, "Okay, but if you do, make sure it seems like you're there to see him, okay, and you're not like doing it as a favour to me."

"Okay, but if he asks, I'm not going to lie." Chandler sarcastically told him.

"Me neither," Ella shook her head, "Marcel and I have a bond that I'm not willing to break for you."

***

"You guys made it!" Ella grinned, having just changed out of her costume, greeting her friends with hugs in the foyer of the school auditorium.

"Ella that was amazing!" Chandler exclaimed.

"Yeah, I didn't know that you could sing like that!" Rachel nodded in agreement.

Ella blushed, "Thanks."

"Come on Cinderella, dinner's on us." Monica said, as they all made to leave the high school.

"It is?" Joey asked, only for Phoebe to aggressively elbow him in the side, "It is."

Hanging back, Jake smiled at Ella, "I, uh. I got you these." He said, holding out a bouquet of daisies as they walked behind the adults.

Ella smiled, gladly accepting the flowers, "Thanks, Jakey."

"You really were amazing tonight, Ella."

The blonde girl kissed his cheek, "Thanks for being here tonight, Jake."

"It's like I said," The Geller boy shrugged, "I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

***

It was the day before the party, and the gang was scattered around Central Perk.

"So tell me something," Ross said, "What does the phrase 'no date pact' mean to you?"

"I'm sorry, okay," Monica shrugged, "It's just that Chandler has somebody, and Phoebe has somebody- I thought I'd ask Fun Bobby."

Chandler raised an eyebrow, "Fun Bobby? Your ex-boyfriend Fun Bobby?"

Monica nodded, "Yeah."

"You know more than one Fun Bobby?" Joey asked his roommate.

Chandler looked at him, "I happen to know a Fun Bob."

Rachel then brought Joey a mug of coffee, "Okay, here we go..."

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh, there's no room for milk!" He told her.

Rachel glanced at Joey and then sipped his coffee, before giving it to him, "There. Now there is."

"Okay, so on our no-date evening, three of you now have dates." Ross clarified.

"Uh, four." Joey said.

Ross nodded, "Four."

Rachel raised her hand, "Five."

"Five." Ross squeaked, burying his head in his hands.

"Six, actually." Ella - who was working a shift - said, as she joined them.

"Six."

"Seven." Jake smirked.

"Oh my God." Ross pouted.

"Sorry. Paolo's catching an earlier flight." Rachel shrugged.

"Yeah, and I met this really hot single mom at the store," Ross told him, "What's an elf to do?"

"What about you two?" Monica asked the two teenagers.

"Best friend date." They answered in unison, highfiving.

"Okay, so I'm gonna be the only one standing there alone when the ball drops?" Ross asked.

"Oh, c'mon. We'll have, we'll have a big party, and no-one'll know who's with who." Rachel told him.

"Hey, y'know, this is so not what I needed right now." Ross groaned.

"What's the matter?" Monica asked her brother.

The eldest Geller let out a sigh, "Oh, it's-it's Marcel. He keeps shutting me out, y'know? He's walking around all the time dragging his hands..."

"That's so weird, Ella and I had such a blast with him the other night." Chandler told him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we played, we watched TV." Ella shrugged.

"Oh and that juggling thing is amazing." Chandler added.

"What, uh... what juggling thing?" Ross asked.

"With the balled-up socks?" Chandler said, "We figured you taught him that."

"No." Ross pouted.

"Y'know, it wasn't that big a deal. He just balled up socks." Chandler waved off.

"And a melon." Ella muttered.

Max, David's friend then ran in.

"Phoebe. Hi." He greeted the blonde.

"Oh, hi Max! Hey, do you know everybody?"

Max waved her off, "No. Have you seen David?"

Phoebe shook her head, "No, no, he hasn't been around."

"Well, if you see him, tell him to pack his bags," Max told her, "We are going to Minsk."

Phoebe's eyebrows raised in shock, "Minsk?"

"Minsk. It's in Russia." Max nodded.

Phoebe scoffed, "I know where Minsk is."

"We got the grant. Three years, all expenses paid." Max grinned.

Phoebe frowned, "So when, when do you leave?"

"January first." Max answered, making Phoebe's friends look at her in sympathy.

***

The party in the girls' apartment had started and Jake was left on his own after Ella had gone with Rachel to go and pick up Paolo.

"That Janice is a lot." Evelyn laughed, as she and Oliver walked over to the Geller boy.

"Tell me about it." Jake nodded, eyeing Oliver's arm over Evelyn's shoulders.

Noticing his gaze, Evelyn looked at the Junior, "Shut up." She told him, before the pair walked away.

"Are they together now?" Elliott Charley asked his friend as he and Evan Carmichael moved to stand at Jake's side.

"Judging by Evelyn's reaction, I'd say yes." Jake nodded.

"About time." Evan laughed.

"Right?" Jake chuckled.

"Hey, Jake, where are your cousins?" Elliott asked, looking around the apartment.

"Oh, they went back home for the Christmas holidays," Jake explained, "They'll be back at the beginning of the semester."

"Okay." Elliott nodded.

"Why?"

"Oh, Alex has my pen," Elliott told him, "It's a really nice pen and I could really do with having it back."

Evan chuckled, "You are one of a kind, man."

The door then opened.

Rachel and Ella stood there. Rachel's coat was muddy, her hair was dishevelled and her face was bruised. Meanwhile, Ella was soaked and shivering.

Everyone turned to look at them.

"Oh my gosh!" Monica gasped, "Rachel, Ella, honey.. are you okay? Where-where's Paolo?"

"Rome," Rachel answered, she and Ella moving to sit on the coffee table, "Jerk missed his flight."

Jake rushed to his best friend's side, helping her take off her coat, replacing it with a blanket.

"And then... your face is bloated?" Phoebe asked, "And why does Ella look like a hairless dog on a cold winter's night?"

"No. Okay. We were at the airport, getting into a cab, when this woman- this blonde planet with a pocketbook- starts yelling at us. Something about how it was her cab first. And then the next thing I know she just starts- starts pulling me out by my hair! So I'm blowing my attack whistle thingy and three more cabs show up, and as we're going to get into a cab she tackles me. And I hit my head on the kerb and cut my lip on my whistle." Rachel explained.

"And then four cabs drove by and splashed this giant puddle all over me." Ella added, with a forced smile, fixing her hair as her teeth were chattering, trying to look more presentable.

Noticing everyone's stares, Rachel then said, "Oh...everybody having fun at the party?" She then turned to Monica, "Are people eating my dip?"

***

A now drier Ella, clad in sweatpants, Jake's sweater, a fuzzy jacket and a blanket, stood talking to Jake, nuzzling into his arms, as she was still cold.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to bed?" The boy asked his best friend.

"Yeah," Ella nodded, cuddling into a blushing Jake, "And besides I wanna see the ball dropping."

"Vrrbddy, the bll is drrbing." Rachel called out.

"What?" Her friends asked.

"The bll is drrbing!" Rachel repeated, angrily.

"Hey, you're gonna see the bll drrbing!" Jake said to Ella, making her laugh, still shivering, making Jake hold her closer.

"And the moment of joy is upon us." Chandler sighed.

"Looks like that no date pact thing worked out." Joey nodded.

"For us, anyway." Monica said, looking at Jake and Ella cuddling in the living room, the rest of the group following her gaze with fond smiles.

As everyone counted down, Ella looked up at Jake with a smile, "I know this is a best friend date and all, but do you wanna be my midnight kiss? Make us both feel less lonely?"

Jake smiled, "Sure."

"Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!"

The best friends smiled at each other, leaning in, sharing a soft kiss.

"Happy New Year, Jakey."

"Happy New Year, Ella."

The pair shared a hug, looking at all of the celebrating party goers, Ella's eyes widening when she saw their two Senior friends sharing their midnight kiss... well, makeout.

"No way!"

"I know right!"