Title: iStart a New Year

This fanfiction is for snapplelinz.

I can also reveal the author :D

Snapplelinz' Secret Santa was aisforangelaaa :)

"Brrr!"

Carly Shay shivered as she took off her coat and entered her apartment. It was the most beautiful winter day. The sun was shining and the air was brisk. There was still some snow covering the trees and sidewalks, a result of a storm the previous week.

Carly went up to her room and flopped onto her bed for a moment. After laying back and basking in the silence for just a minute, she was back up on her feet, happily hopping around her room. She turned on the radio and danced around her room a little.

She was excited. It was New Year's Eve and this one was sure to be special. Spencer decided to have his friends over at the loft for a party, a change that Carly wasn't expecting. Spencer's adult friends rarely came by the loft, usually because it was crawling with Carly's friends. Spencer never minded, of course; he just liked to keep his two worlds separate. He was, however, allowing Carly to be a part of the party.

Carly was surprised when he told her she could stay. In the past, whenever Spencer had a party at the house that was adults only, he meant it. Carly would spend her weekend at Sam's house while the party happened. This year, however, he took her presence as a given.

"You're 17 years old, Carls. You're practically an adult. I don't have to tiptoe around you anymore. If someone curses, I don't have to remind them to watch their language. If there's drinking, I can trust you. You're more than welcome to stay," he said with a smile, admiring his almost-grown up baby sister.

She gushed and jumped at the opportunity. He was even allowing Sam and Freddie to come, on the grounds that they acted their age as well. It took some convincing, but Sam agreed to leave her usual antics behind for the night. Freddie agreed also, but Carly knew he wasn't the one she needed to worry about.

She spent the day running around and helping Spencer get the loft ready. Everything was clean and in it's place. The kitchen and the bar were fully stocked. Everything was decorated. Having finished doing her share, Carly took a quick shower and started getting ready.

It sounded silly, but she was really psyched for her first adult party. She would be in the presence of 30 year olds, engaging in adult conversation. Not that she didn't love being silly and hanging out with people her own age; it would simply be a refreshing change. In her mind, it made her just a wee bit more mature.

She was still in her robe with her hair in curlers when Freddie texted her saying he'd be heading over shortly. Her heart quickened at the sight, and she entered panic mode. Part of her New Year's resolution was to be true to herself, beginning with her feelings for Freddie. She knew that Freddie was far from just bacon. She had known for a long time. She tried to deny it, mainly because she was terrified that if things got messed up, she would lose one of the most important people in her life. She had put things in perspective, however, and realized something important. There aren't any times in life for ifs. It's simply too short and if you truly, wholeheartedly want something, you should go for it, no questions ask.

This is exactly what she'd planned on doing that night. She wasn't sure how yet, and it made her nervous to think about it. She'd discussed it with Sam, who, after gagging quite a bit, suggested Carly should kiss him at midnight. Carly quickly dejected the idea. It was too forward. It wasn't her. Not to mention, she had initiated the kiss last time, and it had led to temporary bliss with a hint of heartbreak.

She mulled over how she could bring her feelings up as she got ready. She slipped on her brand new dress which she affectionately named her cupcake dress. It was a strapless, pale pink dress with black roses adoring the bust-line and coming down the left side of the fitted top, which bubbled out at the waist. To her, it looked just like an upside down cupcake. She got a pair of strappy black heels to go along with it and left her long, black tendrils down.

After she felt like her look was complete, she went downstairs to wait for Freddie and Sam. She was downstairs for not even ten minutes when Spencer sat her down to talk to her.

"Carly, I'm expecting you to act like an adult tonight and I know I can count on you to do that," he began.

"Of course, Spence."

"That said, I also know it's New Year's Eve. If you were anywhere else tonight, you'd be drinking. You can deny it all you like, but I was 17 and I know how things work. I also know it wouldn't be the first time you drank at a party either."

Carly nodded, her head down a bit as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Since you've never given me a reason not to trust you, and you've never stumbled into this house and slurred some lame lie to my face, I'm going to let you drink tonight. Are Freddie and Sam both staying over?"

"Yes," she said, in disbelief at the conversation at hand.

"Alright then, they can drink too. But no one, under any circumstances, leaves this apartment Carly. I'm serious."

"Absolutely," she agreed. "And thanks Spence, for being so cool."

He smiled and went to mess up her hair. She hissed at him, totally catlike, leading him to back away slowly with his hands up.

She smiled to herself now, amazed at how unbelievably cool the night ahead would be. She moved around the apartment anxiously. She rushed to the door when she heard it open, Sam appearing from behind it.

"Lookin' good, cupcake," Sam smiled as she eyed Carly's outfit. "Getting all prettied up for the nub?"

"Sam!" she said, hushed. "Spencer doesn't know."

"Sorry," she winced. "Anyway, whatcha think of momma's dress?"

Sam stepped back and twirled for Carly. She wore a black, pleated dress with three buttons down the middle of the bust. It was simple, but on Sam it took on a whole new meaning.

"You look great," she smiled. "I wonder where Freddie is, he said he was going to be here a while ago."

"Who cares?" Sam said, trying to flop on the couch in a ladylike fashion.

"Sam," Carly reprimanded.

Before she could continue, Freddie walked in.

"Hey guys," he smiled.

"Hey loser," Sam said.

"Hi, Freddie," Carly said, rolling her eyes at Sam and then smiling.
She had to admit, Freddie looked good. He kept it simple, as all the men were going to that evening. He wore a dark blue button down shirt with jeans and dress shoes. Something about him looked so grown up, though. Carly couldn't put her finger on it but she knew she liked it.

Spencer came out just minutes before everyone began to arrive. By 11, the loft was swarming with people. Spencer was proud to notice that Carly, Sam, and Freddie were acting very maturely. They also weren't taking advantage of him letting them drink and guzzling every ounce of alcohol in the place, which he also appreciated.

Carly had made her way around and talked to a few of Spencer's friends. Most asked about school, college plans, and iCarly. It was becoming clear to her that the adult thing wasn't so bad. With college about a year and a half away, it was also something she needed to become more comfortable with

What really astonished her was Freddie. Growing up, he never really fit in with his own age group. Freddie always knew too much about practical things and not enough about whatever was cool at the moment. In this environment, however, he flourished. She watched as he engaged in conversations with grown men about work, current events, technology, and other topics she would have found herself lost talking about. She realized more and more that Freddie wasn't only becoming a man, but the type of man she wanted to be with.

Sam wasn't doing too badly for herself either. She was deep in conversation with one of Spencer's friends, a culinary artist. It was fascinating how long she could sit there and talk about food, not to mention, in great depth.

Carly enjoyed taking in the environment from the entryway to the kitchen from the living room, drink in hand. She started feeling tingly all over, and suddenly the room was warmer. She realized how quickly she was drinking her drinks for the first time. She had her resolution on her mind, and it was weighing down on it greatly.

Midnight was just ten minutes away. Carly began to panic. She had ten minutes to figure out how she was going to tell Freddie something that could potentially change everything. It was easily one of the toughest decisions she'd ever had to make. She contemplated just telling him straight out, but knew she wouldn't be able to bring herself to it. She thought about slipping a note in his pocket, but that was too indirect. She was stumped, and her heart wouldn't rest until she made a decision.

"Everyone, the countdown is starting!" Spencer yelled from near the window.

Carly quickly scurried over to Freddie, Sam joining them also. Socko and Spencer stood close by, with drinks in hand and smiles on their faces.

"Ten, nine," the countdown began.

"This is it. What am I going to do?" Carly thought.

"Eight, seven,"

She felt her heart pounding out of control. Were her hands really shaking that hard?

"Six, five,"

Sam handed her a noisemaker, which she grabbed distractedly.

"Four, three,"

"I'm gonna pass out. There's no way I can do this."

"Two, one! Happy New Year!"

The entire room exploded. Carly instinctively lifted the noisemaker above her head, shaking it around. She found comfort in it's cranking noise. Next to her, Sam had a huge smile on her face, and was being pulled into a bear hug by Socko.

Carly turned to Freddie, who was shouting along with everyone else. He looked down at her and smiled.

"Happy New Year, Carls," he yelled happily, pulling her in for a hug.

With his arms around her, everything felt safe. She allowed the floodgates of her mind to rush to her and remind her why she made the resolution.

"Be true to yourself," she mumbled to herself.

She looked up into Freddie's eyes and took a deep breath.

"You aren't just bacon," she yelled over the crowd, who was still celebrating uproariously.

"What?" Freddie said, certain he had misheard her.

"You aren't just bacon," she repeated, louder. "Freddie, I've cared about you for a long time now, in more than a friendly way."

She paused to gauge his reaction. You would think Carly grew a second head from the stunned look on his face.

"You're really important to me, and I love everything about you. So I just wanted to let you know that I like you," she said, releasing a relieved breath. "You know, the good way," she added with a smirk.

Freddie broke out into the biggest grin she'd ever seen. Then Carly did what she promised herself she wasn't going to. Maybe it was the buzzing environment. Maybe it was a bit of liquid courage. Maybe it was the fact that fireworks were going off in the distance, lighting up the sky just outside the window. Whatever it was, it was all she needed to throw her arms around him once again, crashing her lips into his.

Once they broke apart, Freddie looked at her and smiled again. "This might be the best start to a New Year yet," he said as he picked Carly up and twirled her around before kissing her yet again.

End