Hey everyone! How are you all doing? Here's a little one shot I came up with after watching iMove Out, thought it was a nice little thing to write. Basically I'm gonna be writing one shots after each new episode, so expect plenty of those in the future. Anyways, here it is. Hope you all enjoy!
"Today's such a weird day."
As the words came out of Carly's mouth, Sam and Freddie nodded their heads in agreement, where as Spencer was still clutching his badly scratched face, mumbling under his breath about all the stuff he suffers through for the three kids he was sharing the room with. Right as everything had gotten calm again, though, the giant gear that supported the elevator in the background whirred to life again and shook the room, spooking the iCarly quartet out of their wits until it stopped itself again. Carly, Spencer and Sam then slowly turned towards Freddie, who stood there, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, wondering why they were all giving him funny looks. He had warned them about that, right?
"What's with all the looks?", he asked nonchalantly, removing his hands from his pockets and bending down to tidy up a few more things, as today was the last day he'd be spending in his apartment (if you could even call it that much) before he moved back in with his mother, where he belonged.
"How could you have possibly lived here?", Carly shrieked, causing her older brother and best friend to wince, with Freddie giving her a grin as he sat down on the air mattress that represented his bed for the night. He lay on his back, hands behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling and sighed. He was going to miss having his own place, even if it was only for a week and change.
"I dunno, Carls. I kinda got used to it after the first night, but it was kinda hard sleeping with people always using the elevator late at night. You'd be surprised how many people ride that thing at four in the morning!", he exclaimed as he stood back up and shook his head upon glancing at the massive gear. Sam immediately looked guilty (or something like that), looking down at her feet while Carly gave her a somewhat disappointed look, knowing what Sam did that one night when she had to go out and 'grab some Fat Cakes'.
"Oh, yeah…about that. That was me that night, Fredhead", she said softly, though she had that trademark Puckett grin plastered all over her lips as she looked up and arched her eyebrow at Freddie, who rolled his eyes and shook his head. He should have known that even when he was five floors up from Carly's apartment, she'd still go out of her way to mess with him. He wanted to say something, reprimand the blond, but he decided against it, seeing as it wouldn't be worth the trouble and well, he liked his body the way it was.
"Sam, what have I told you about going out that late at night and messing with Freddie's sleep patterns?", Carly said in a motherly tone, while Sam rolled her eyes and gave Carly a look that said 'Seriously?'. She scoffed, but knew that she'd have to eventually have to answer to her best friend about her antics.
"It's rude to mess with a friend's sleep pattern, especially when they live with a crazy lady", Sam said in an almost mocking tone. Sure, she said that Freddie was a friend, but they both knew she didn't really mean it whenever she said it. But it was good enough of an answer for Carly, as she smiled and then turned to look at Spencer, who was still clutching his face and groaning. She grimaced as she saw all the scratch marks and decided that it'd probably be in his best interest if she took care of that for him, and pronto.
"Hey Spence, you got messed up pretty good, and while we're all thankful that you got rid of those stupid Petographers and their possessed devil cat, I should probably take you back to our place and clean you up, don't you think?", she asked as she gently grabbed hold of his arm and began to lead him out of the room. Her answer came in the form of more incoherent mumbling, which she took as a yes, and so, they were out. But before they took the elevator down to their apartment, Carly poked her head back into the room, carefully eyeing her two best friends cautiously.
"I won't be gone for long, so I'll be back soon to help you finish packing up the rest of your stuff, okay Freddie?", the brunette asked as Freddie nodded his head in response, before she turned her gaze to Sam, who was in the corner throwing a tennis ball off the wall back and forth to herself, completely oblivious to Carly and Freddie's presences in the room as she continued to get lost in her own little world.
"Did you say something?", she asked as she caught the ball and turned around, seeing Carly's head there and Freddie shaking his head in disbelief. "What? I wasn't paying attention, big deal. You two should be used to it by now!"
"Okay then…just try not to throw each other out the window while I'm gone, alright?", Carly asked in a pleading tone, getting a shrug of the shoulders from Freddie while Sam murmured 'No promises', like she usually would whenever the two of them happened to be left alone for a period of time. After Carly sighed and finally left, Freddie took to taking a few personal belongings of his and placing them in the crates that he was going to be taking back to his room downstairs. He looked at Sam, who was still preoccupied with the tennis ball and gave her a discerning look, clearing his throat loudly enough to get her attention, which nearly caused him to have his eye taken out by the tennis ball that she flung in his direction. He watched the ball hit the far corner, and then, almost on cue, the gear came to life again, startling the both of them before quickly dying down once again.
"Would you mind helping me with a few of these things, Sam?", Freddie asked her as she took one of the folding chairs he had, set it up and then plopped down in it, shaking her head, instead opting to look at her nails and chew them rather viciously and disgustingly, which made Freddie wince inwardly as she treated her fingers like they were ribs or chicken nuggets.
"Seriously Sam, would it kill you to be helpful just once in your life? Would it?"
"Hmm, let me see…maybe, yes", she responded dully, not even looking up at him as she lay back in the chair, lazing around like always. Freddie scoffed at her and went back to work, mumbling under his breath to himself, but Sam caught a few of the words and sat up, wanting to know just what the little dork had been saying.
"What was that, Freddoof?", she said, the last word dripping with sarcasm while he shook his head and ignored her comment, wanting to just leave it at that. But he knew better. This was Sam Puckett. She didn't let anything die easy.
She stood up from her seat, walked the short distance over to Freddie, who was washing his hands in the dirty looking sink, grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around to face her, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and pulling him close to her face. From such a close proximity, Freddie couldn't help but take notice of how sparkling her eyes looked in the proper light, or the way her lips would twinge when she was angry, or even how soft her blond hair looked…and how it smelled like apples…and wow her fist looked awfully close to his face.
"What'd you say, you little nub? You want to die, don't you?", Sam asked menacingly, holding up her fist near Freddie's face, threatening to pop him in the jaw (though she would never really do that) if he didn't start talking, and fast. Freddie glanced briefly at her hovering fist, then at her face, which, he thought to himself again, looked oddly and weirdly cute when she was mad. Why he was noticing this stuff now, when she was just about to dismember him and leave him for dead, he didn't know. Why he was even noticing this stuff at all when he was supposed to hate the girl floored him even more. He didn't understand…but he didn't really have the time to understand and think about it if he wanted to keep his face looking the way it currently was.
"Sam, relax, just chill. I didn't say anything terrible, alright? All I said was that I don't understand you at all. Geez…would you put your fist down, too?", he said, almost pleading with her as she stepped away and had a look on her face that said 'Oh', while lowering her fist back down to her side. Then she flipped her hair back and placed her hands on her hips, giving him another unreadable look, those same looks that he hated to see. He wanted to know what Sam was thinking all the time, mainly for his own health and safety, but she was like a human Rubik's Cube, unsolvable until the very end. Except Sam probably preferred to remain that way.
"Well why the hell didn't you say so, dork?", she said in a near-playful tone, flicking him on the nose while she giggled, Freddie rubbing the spot where she had just flicked him, giving her an incredulous look while she laughed away.
"I didn't say so because I feel like I've got to watch every single word I say around you for fear that you'll begin to bludgeon me in the head with a soup ladle or a frying pan. So yeah, that's why I didn't say so, thank you very much", he stated as he slowly inched his way back towards the air mattress, sitting back down on it while Sam rested on the ledge near the open window with a nice view of the skyscrapers that were across the street from the Bushwell Plaza. Leaning against it, her arms folded across her chest, the blond headed co-host of iCarly looked at the brunette tech producer and gave him her trademark grin.
"You know, I've got to admit, when I first heard about you moving out and into your own place from Carly and Spencer, I didn't believe it. I mean, it's you. Your mom is such a loon, I thought she'd have tied you up and locked you in your room so you'd never leave her."
"Yeah well, believe me, she almost did when I was packing all my stuff up", Freddie stated, shuddering at the mere thought of all the rope and duct tape his mom tried using to subdue him and keep him forever locked in his room. Sam laughed at that thought, imagining a crazed Mrs. Benson profusely telling her son that she loved him while she tied him up like some cow on a farm. Freddie gave Sam a look and rolled his eyes. "It's not that funny, Puckett, it almost happened."
"I know, that's why I'm laughing", she said, unable to control the giggle fits she was having, while Freddie realized the old adage, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, so he started laughing as well. It was actually quite funny when he thought about it, his mom, going crazy with a rope and duct tape, trying to hog tie him so he wouldn't leave her all alone in the apartment.
"While we're at it, I'll admit something as well. Gotta say, Sam, I'm impressed with the fact that you managed to snatch Harmu away from those loser Petographers like that. I'm really surprised that he didn't claw at your face like he did Spencer's", Freddie said, thinking of how bad the older Shay got it, but hey, at least he had a hand in helping rid those losers out of their collective lives, so at least he could take solace in that fact.
"Well, when you've got a deranged, three legged cat like Frothy sitting around at home, you'd be surprised at how well I can handle pets", she said softly, a reminiscent smile on her lips as she thought about the little fur ball she loved so much that just lounged around her home without a care in the world. Much like she did everywhere she went. "Oh, and sorry about the other night too. You know, when I hid in your closet for five hours so I could scare you and get a good picture out of it. That was stupid of me."
"Whoa, wait a second. You, apologizing about something you did to me? Can I record this moment for the entire world to hear?", Freddie said with a hint of laughter in his voice while Sam shook her head, displeased look on her face, a small grin on her lips. She couldn't believe it either, but hey, she promised him that she'd apologize every so often about all the stuff she did to him so she could start fresh…when they kissed. She'd never admit it to anyone, but she really liked that kiss. She didn't think any one else could live up to it, which was a bit absurd, but she didn't care. It was…perfect.
"Yeah yeah, whatever Benson. Soak it up because I'm only gonna start insulting you again within the next twenty minutes. That's the Seattle way."
The Seattle way. He had heard her say that once before, yesterday, when they were formulating their plan to get back at the Petographers. He had no idea what she meant by that, and neither did Carly, but the two of them left it at that. Of course, Sam would know something that the two of them wouldn't. It probably meant something about fighting or violence, something that Sam loved very much. It was bugging him, so he decided to ask her just what the hell it meant. Maybe she'd give him an answer without insulting him or beating him up. Maybe.
"What exactly is 'the Seattle way', Sam?", he inquired, cutting her off with another question before she could respond. "I mean, that's twice in two days that you've said it. Is it like, street code for something violent? Because it is, did you just completely disregard what Carly and I said about—", he got off before Sam returned the favor and cut him off herself.
"It could mean a few things, Fredhead. It could mean a proper way of delivering payback, like we did with those nubs and their stupid cat. It could mean apologizing for being harsh to a friend and then going back to being harsh. You know what that's all about, don't you?", she said with a devious smirk, one that put Freddie on alert, but right now, he was safe on his side of the room while Sam still rested against the windowsill. He knew all about it, and he didn't want to know anything more about it. There was something going through her mind, and while half of him wanted to know what she was thinking about, the other half of him just wanted to leave it alone and not provoke it out of her. Easier said than done, however.
"Yeah, yeah…I know. But what else could it mean?"
"Well…what do you think it could mean?"
He thought about this for a moment. What could he possibly interpret it as? A few things ran through his mind, and none of them seemed to make sense or come across as cool and interesting. But then he happened to glance up and catch Sam smiling. Her teeth looked so perfect, so pristine, which was weird, considering all the junk she ate on a regular basis. He took her in from afar, and though he probably shouldn't have been thinking it, he liked what he saw. Freddie marveled at how amazing she looked now compared to two years ago. Not that she didn't look great two years ago, but now…wow. But his mind was elsewhere now, and he couldn't think of anything good for a meaning of 'the Seattle way'.
"I've got nothing, Sam. I can't think of anything good enough or cool enough", he said, a bit downtrodden, but he quickly got over his inability to come up with anything for an answer. Sam grinned and chuckled, obviously appearing to be not surprised that he couldn't come up with anything.
"I figured you wouldn't…but oh well. You're smart but you aren't that smart. You wanna know what else I decipher it as?", she asked, moving away from the windowsill and moving closer to Freddie, that grin still on her lips as she did so. Freddie nodded his head in response, eagerly awaiting an answer from the blond, despite the fact that she was now mere inches away from him and obviously had deconstructing his body on her demonic little mind.
"It could also be interpreted as…a girl liking a boy…but not knowing how to tell him that she likes him…", she said, trailing off, now in his face, hands on the collar of his shirt again.
"Uh huh, I see. That's coo—what?", he stuttered out as he felt her hands on his chest again, a near seductive look on her facial features. She couldn't possibly be talking about him, could she? No, no way. That'd be absurd! So many things were going through his head, he barely noticed that she now had her lips up to his ear and was softly whispering into it.
"She likes him so much, but she can't tell him…so she insults him…showers him with attention in the form of wedgies, wet willy's, dead arms and dead legs, slapping, vicious words…she wants to stop but it's the only way she knows how to tell him…and deep down inside, the girl thinks he likes it, contrary to what he conveys on the outside."
Before Freddie could say anything though, he felt Sam kiss him on the cheek and give him a big ol' hug. She wrapped her arms around him so tightly that he felt like he was going to break apart or die due to oxygen deprivation, whatever came first. He didn't return the hug right away, but after a few seconds of letting the realization set in, he wrapped his arms around Sam's waist and just held her, with no intention of letting go. The two teenagers remained like this for a few moments before Sam rested her head in the crook of his neck, smiling contently in Freddie's arms.
"That's what the Seattle way really is, Freddie", she spoke softly, kissing him on the cheek again before returning her head to it's place. All he could do was smile as he placed a gentle kiss on her head and tightened his grip around her waist, slowly rocking back and forth, opting to let that do the speaking for him.
About an hour later, Carly finally returned back to Freddie's apartment, expecting to be met with an angry Sam and a badly bruised Freddie, but instead, what she saw warmed her heart and caused her to grin brightly from ear to ear. When she walked in, she saw Sam and Freddie laying on the air mattress, with Sam sleeping on top of Freddie, her head resting comfortably on his chest, while Freddie's arms were still on her waist. They looked so peaceful together, so Carly decided that it'd be best for her to return later. As she slowly exited the room, so that she wouldn't wake them, she continued to smile as she whispered something to herself, knowing that it rang true with her two best friends.
"That's the Seattle way...for sure."
And that's it. Wrote it in a day and a half. Hope you all enjoyed it! I'll be back with chapter 13 of T & C and a few more onshot ideas I've got sitting around my head. Lates!