It had been four years since she had talked to either of them.
Now she was a college graduate, had a steady job at a radio station, and had her own apartment.
The apartment she lived in was in the same building Freddie and Carly used to stay in.
Sam peered up at the large building and silently wondered if Lubert still worked there and if everything was going to look the same.
She knew that Freddie and Carly had probably moved on to a bigger part of their lives than she could imagine and she would have to deal with it.
Not that they would want to talk to her anyway.
She hadn't seen them or heard from them since she left for college, so she doesn't know where they are.
She imagined that Spencer still lives in the building but his sculptures took a major break so he is probably living somewhere high end now.
Sam walked through the doors of the lobby and got the same view that she had many times she had walked through the lobby.
Yes, Lubert still worked there and the lobby still looked and smelled the same.
Lubert was even yelling at someone over the phone which made it feel more like home.
Sam would laugh and comment on how big his boil had gotten but she wasn't the same Sam.
She was Samantha Puckett, radio announcer for 101.2 LIS, college graduate, and someone who was completely alone for the first time in her life.
When she looked around feelings and memories of why she left rushed back to her.
She remembered all the fights, the love, his heart breaking in front of her eyes.
Yes, she was talking about Freddie.
The boy that she had once loved and ran away from because she hadn't ever felt something so strong.
He told her that he loved her and she ran scared…afraid of what would happen.
Then her best friend was caught in the middle of a fight that seemed unsolvable.
It was resolved when Sam broke the news that she was going to college in California and she didn't know if she'd be back.
Ultimately she broke Freddie's heart and tore Carly to shreds and the last time they saw her was when she walked out of Carly's apartment four years ago.
Here she is, brand new and successful…and she did come back.
She knew she wouldn't be able to stay away too long, this was her home.
Sam walked up to the front desk and held the file out for Lubert to read.
He read it and then looked up at the girl he had once despised for messing around in his office.
"I know you're getting ready to scream but all I want is my key and I'll leave you alone until I come down to pay rent." Samantha said, swinging her purse back over her shoulder.
"Well, Miss Puckett, you're stuff has been moved into your room and the key is in this envelope! Rent is due the first of the month and I don't except it late!" He shouted and ran back into his office, slamming the door behind him.
He's one thing that hasn't changed.
That had made her feel a little bit better about moving back.
For old times' sake she was just going to walk by the old apartments that Freddie and Carly had once lived in.
She did miss them and she couldn't believe she had walked out on them and left iCarly to fend for itself.
She did watch the final episode where Carly announced there would no longer be a web show due to missing pieces. Later she learned that after she had left, Freddie quit and said he couldn't stand to be around something that was without her.
Sam knew she had made the biggest mistake of her life.
That she really did love him.
Now she came back and she knew he had to have moved on.
It wouldn't have been right to come back and see him…just to remind him what they had once had.
Sam stood in front of Carly's old apartment and turned around to look at Freddie's.
She wanted to know if anybody still lived in them but she couldn't knock on Freddie's.
She couldn't see him or she'd melt.
Sam knocked on Carly's old apartment door and heard rustling and things knocking over before someone finally pulled open the door.
It was a girl about Sam's height with shoulder length red hair and green eyes.
She peered around the girl to see all the same furniture that Carly had.
"Hi, can I help you?" The woman questioned with a big smile on her face.
Sam pushed all of her blonde hair around her shoulder and fixated her blue eyes on the woman in front of her.
"I'm sorry, I had a friend that used to live in this apartment and I wanted to see if she was still here. I guess she's not because I don't remember you." Sam said with a smile before she fixed the purse on her arm.
"What was the friend's name?" She questioned.
"Her name was Carly Shay." Sam said with a sad smile. The woman's eyes looked a little confused.
"You mean…Spencer's sister?" She questioned and at that moment Spencer came walking down the stairs with a hand full of newspapers. He stopped to get a look at who the woman was talking to and his eyes got wide.
"Sam?" He questioned as he got closer the door, trying to get a good look at her.
She was definitely different looking with her solid blonde hair in ringlets around her face. She wore makeup now and she had grown taller and a little bit thinner than when they last saw her.
She looked like more of a woman and I guess that's what Spencer was trying to figure out.
"Hey Spencer…"She said in a small voice before he leapt forward and hugged her tightly.
"Where have you been! Carly had been trying to get ahold of you for years!" Spencer shouted before finally letting her go.
"I was at college at UCLA…I was shocked that I got in with my grades. Who's, uh, this girl?" Sam asked, pointing to the red head that had a bright smile on her face.
"Oh, sorry, where were my manners? I'm Josie Moore. I'm his fiancé." She said before grabbing Spencer's hand to give him the sweetest smile.
That was how she and Freddie were supposed to be.
"Nice to meet you Josie. So, Spencer, where's Carly?" Sam questioned as she looked at Spencer with hopeful eyes.
"She still lives in the building, just not in this apartment. She's up on the 5th floor in room 507. You might want to try there." Spencer said giving her another hug before Sam had left the apartment.
"Well, that's funny since I'm in room 508. Looks like I'll be right next door…" Sam said to herself as she pushed the elevator button to go up. She was a little antsy to know that Carly was going to be next door. Spencer had a fiancé? Carly moved out? What else is new?
When the elevator came to a stop she rounded the corner to run into someone else.
That someone else was someone she had hoped to never see while she was here.
They both landed on the floor and Sam's purse went flying open with everything crashing to the floor.
She scrambled to pick it up and then she heard a voice she sort of recognized.
A voice that was deep but not so deep that it bellowed off the walls.
"Here, let me help you with that…" He said as he began to pick stuff up.
She was scared to look up for fear of who she might see.
"It's okay, really, I'm a clumsy…" Sam looked up and locked eyes with same warm brown eyes she had left years ago. They give her more comfort every time she stared into them and this time was no exception.
She pulled herself out of the trance and looked at the stunned look he was giving her.
"Sam?" He whispered as stood up, handing her what she had dropped from her purse.
"Hi Freddie…" She said as they continued to gaze in each other's eyes.
If there was one boy who could make her do anything and everything it would be Freddie Benson.
If there was one boy to make her cry at the drop of a hat and make her laugh over and over again it would be Freddie Benson.
If there was one boy she wanted to kiss more than anything at this moment it would be Freddie.
She wanted to kiss him really bad.
She wanted to let him know that she was back, that she was sorry for leaving, that she was an idiot for not saying she loved him too but I would be too soon for that.
He had probably already moved on to another lucky girl and left the thoughts of Samantha Puckett with the wind.
He probably thought she was never coming back and that he couldn't wait.
"What are you doing here?" He questioned as he stood in front of her with the same look he had that day she left.
It was a look that could spit fire and ice in the same direction.
It was a look of undeniable hurt and fear that she had tried to forget all those years.
"I live here now…"She whispered as she stared down at the ground to avoid the look.
It pained her to no end to see him like this and to know that she caused it.
She caused this look to become THE LOOK.
"In what room are you staying?" He questioned.
"507. "She answered, staring at the heels on her feet.
She was not the same girl that left.
She kept trying to tell herself that.
She was successful, she was tall, she was beautiful, she was a graduate, and she had money.
She was everything eighteen year old Samantha Puckett wasn't.
"Oh, you're right next to mine. I'm 506. Carly stays across from us. I'm sure she'd be happy to know you're back." Freddie said in a tone that was unrecognizable.
It was a tone he had never used with her before.
"I can only hope…" Sam said as she walked around Freddie.
She couldn't take it anymore, hearing him talk and look at her with such disdain scared her.
It made her question whether or not she should have moved at all.
Samantha Puckett was prone to making bad decisions.
Although, Samantha Puckett wasn't easily frightened…this made her fear Freddie more.