In five…
four…
three…
two…
"I'm Carly!"
"I'm Sam!"
"And this is a very special iCa-"
"And I'm Freddie! Yeah, that's right. I interrupted and introduced myself. What are they gonna do, fire me?"
The tiny girl, impossibly small for thirteen, giggled and quickly ran to her bedroom door. She closed it gently, and the hoarse yells from the kitchen below faded out. She walked back through the dark to her desk chair and sat down. The computers blue light lit the room and cast a ghostly glow along the smattering of freckles on her nose.
She glanced at the clock as she watched "Baby Spencer" announce to his father that he had dropped out of law school. Almost ten thirty, but a webcast was exactly what she needed right now.
It was almost like Carly and Sam knew. Freddie, too. And who could forget Gibby and Spencer?
"Just get out! Get the hell out, I hate you! You're worthless, you ugly piece of-"
The little girl leaned forward a little, cupping her hands on her ears and turning up the volume a little, praying her parents' voices would just go away.
She stared at the screen.
She allowed herself a small smile at the Cowboy and the Idiot Farm-Girl who thought the Cowboy's Mustache was a Squirrel. She had watched this webcast since stumbling upon it when she was eight. She'd watched Carly, Sam, Freddie, Gibby, and Spencer go from a group of friends with a webcam to real people, with real problems and real hearts and souls. Real personalities.
Her friends.
She didn't have any at school, because her parents were both unemployed and she had to wear the same clothes almost every day. A pair of faded denim jeans with holes in the knees that showed several inches of bare ankle, even in the winter, the plain shrunken blue t shirt with the dirt stain along the ribs that she'd written "Spaghetti Tacos" on in sharpie in the hopes of making it look like a Penny Tee, and the other, which was a long sleeved oversized banana yellow sweater, with a pair of too-small sneakers her toes poked holes through, a pair of light purple underwear and a training bra she'd gotten second hand, and a dingy grey jacket for when it got cold.
She tried to wash the clothes, she really did. But her mother didn't do laundry, and there were only so many times you could wash your clothes in the broken apartment sink with borrowed hand soap before it stopped working so well.
Kids were mean. They didn't care if she was a good person, she was a freak because she didn't have clothes. And that was it.
She ate lunch every day by herself. Well, if you could call the two dollars she got a week enough for lunch. She'd started saving that though, preferring to go hungry, so that she'd have something to spend if she ever went somewhere nice.
Somewhere like Seattle, Washington. Ridgeway Plaza. Apartment Seven D.
She knew it was childish. Of course she'd never get the chance to meet Carly or Sam or Freddie, but she was a child and not even the poorest of parents could take away a child's dreams.
"Oh, Gibby," she giggled as he, Carly, and Sam shot a fake freeze frame. This was her life, this tiny blue computer screen that they only got power from by paying the apartment's tiny rent fee for the two bedrooms, broken half bath, and kitchen.
But none of that mattered. It didn't matter that her father hated her and her mother hit her, it didn't matter that every single day in school was one where she cried in the bathroom, that she didn't have any pencils to do her homework and was failing every class. It didn't matter that she was completely alone. At least not when she was watching iCarly.
"This isn't goodbye."
The words mad her freeze as she watched the screen. With a sinking heart, she found out the truth for the late night webcast.
"Carly's going to Italy to live with her dad for awhile.
It was over. iCarly was ending.
This was it.
"Listen, doing iCarly for you guys has meant so much to me. And…It's changed my life."
She felt a tear slipping down her face.
"Mine too, Carly," the little girl whispered to the computer, as though the older girl could hear her. She watched with a dropping heart as they all said their goodbyes.
"So, until we see you again, keep your sock full of butter, and if you're attacked by a moose don't forget to scream…"
"Oh my God I'm being attacked by a moose!"
Despite herself, through the tears and all, the tiny girl giggled. Her blonde hair stuck to her face as she felt her heart ache, her eyes glued to the only people in the world she felt like she knew.
"Thank you," she whispered again, aloud. She was talking to her friends.
Talking to Carly, her role model. The beautiful, kind, pretty older girl who never dressed like she shouldn't. The innocent young woman who represented everything she'd ever want to become.
Sam, the tough girl, who never lost a fight. The girl who taught her strength. It was because of Sam Puckett that she stayed strong at school despite all the bullying. Sam was the reason she'd never taken her aggression out on herself. She knew that life would go on, because Sam's did.
Freddie, the boy she'd wanted to marry since she was eight. The soft, sensitive sweetie who made her believe in love. Not all boys were like the ones at school, not all boys were like her dad. Some wanted to make girls feel special, and they wanted to do what was right. Freddie had been there all along, and he was the reason her heart was open.
Spencer, the crazy fun brother she wished she had. Spencer, who taught her that getting old didn't mean growing up. He'd always provided a laugh when she needed one, and that little smile with those twinkly brown eyes had brightened up even her worst night.
Gibby, the kid who represented a best friend. She watched him grow from an awkward little guy who always took off his shirt to a respectable, if not kinda bizarre, young man. His heart was golden, and he'd always take one for the team no matter what it cost him. Gibby was everything she needed.
They had taught her that while good things come to an end, there's always another beginning. She'd always have
Carly
Sam
Spencer
Gibby
Freddie
right in her heart where they belonged, and where they'd stay forever.
"I'm Carly."
"I'm Sam."
"And this has been…iCarly."
oOo
Note: Hi guys, this is my first iCarly fanfiction but I write a lot of Victorious ones and it's not really all that different. I just felt like I had to leave something about this show up, now that it's over. Because really, we all have some of that little girl in us. How many of you were laughing and crying at the same time during the final episode? I know I was. I hope you liked it and I know this is lame, but I hope everyone can take iCarly and keep it in their hearts. Just because the shows over doesn't mean it has to end! :) thanks for reading, and review if you wanna! 143!