From your author,

Hello everyone I hope you like my story. This is the first piece of fan fiction I have ever written. Please be kind with your reviews but feel free to give them. I did not have a beta tester or anyone to look over my work so there may be some small errors. I hope you enjoy.

None of the characters in this work are my own. They all belong to Dan Schneider.

Rain.

The rain beats hard against my cold glass window. Each drop hits the cool surface with a loud thud against the silent backdrop of my bedroom. The dreary weather mimics my mood as I stare at my reflection in the glass. Being twin means that you are never by yourself. Even when you are completely isolated, a friend is always just a mirror away. When I look into my reflection, I see the last person I want to be reminded of. I love my sister but sometimes I hate looking just like her.

Today I walked into the smoothie shop expecting to share a drink with my best friend. Instead, I spent ten minutes being lectured at about something I did not even do. You would think that she would have noticed the pink sheen of my lip-gloss and the rouge on my cheeks. No, she saw my face and only saw my sister, my crazy testosterone high sister. After she was done yelling at me about the dweeb I sat silent for a few minutes and just stared down at my smoothie. A few moments later, she noticed my pink eye shadow and began apologizing profusely. I let her say all the things she wanted me to hear before getting up and leaving.

Today was supposed to be the day. I was going to ask her to the movies. She would have said yes because she's my best friend. Never would she think that I had other plans for our movie date. It has been a year since I moved to Seattle to be with my mom. A year and Carly still doesn't see me. She claims to be my best friend but she doesn't understand that I love her.

I'm staring at my reflection and all I see is my sister's face, my sister who is tearing me apart. My sister would never get in the way intentionally. She knows I've been crushing on Carly since the third grade. Sam was always the strong one but Carly was the heart of our trio. Being a twin everyone expects me to be just like Sam. And maybe I am in my own little way. My mom's friends used to say that Sam must have gotten all the testosterone before we were born. I may be girly where Sam is not at all but we are different in other ways. We are both bipolar when it comes to everything about life. Same like wrestling where I like theatre. She will eat anything and I am horribly picky. And while I like girls she is a total spaz for cute boys.

The dweeb was given said nickname by me when we were eight. I was watching cartoons with Carly and Freddy sat with us for an hour and never noticed that I wasn't Sam. Samantha however has been crushing on that boy since he moved across the hall. The nickname was given to him as a prank. Whenever I would visit Carly I would call him a dweeb in my lightest girlish voice and Sam would always shout at him while repeatedly hitting him in the arm, a year after I moved in for good and he still hasn't caught on. Now Sam and I plan our entire day around screwing with Freddy.

The only similarity between my personality and Sam's is our sense of humour. We first started playing pranks on people when we were hardly old enough to speak. By that time we liked each other so much we didn't want to play jokes on each other. We have been to queens of practical jokes in Seattle ever since.

I hear Sam come into the room but I ignore her. My life is in shambles and it's no one's fault but my own. I am staring out at the skyline watching the rain sweep the dirt and grime away. Nothing will come of my self-loathing but it still feels good to mope a little bit. I turn around to see Sam sitting on my bead wearing a glow in the dark pink bra over her t-shirt. I laugh and Sam smiles. She has been sick of me moping around all the time and her attempt at cheering me up is refreshing. After my giggles subside I sigh and look back out my window before standing up.

Sam is right there to smack me upside the head when I turn back around. 'Girl' is all she says giving me this knowing grin. We walk out to the family room and I am reminded of why I moved away to live with our dad. My mother is lying on the couch in her work cloths from the dinner sound asleep. It's past midnight and I am sure that she just got home a few minutes ago. I drape an afghan from the love seat over her shoulders and walk out of the apartment with my sister. We step out onto the wet pavement and I shriek as rain hits my hair. Jerking back under the canopy of the front step I glare at Sam. My twin just looks at me like I'm an alien. 'Was it necessary to scream?' she asks me rain dampening her hair.

'Yes it was absolutely necessary.' I say in defiance. I stare at her and stick out my tongue in anger. 'Now I need to go fix my hair.' Pointing to my head I can start to smell the dampness in my hair over the soft perfume.

Sam puts her hands on her hips seemingly not bothered by the rain at all. 'Come on, I told Carly we would be there in ten minutes.'

This was not the wisest thing she could have said to me. Immediately hearing Carly's name I stiffen my face becoming pale. 'There is no way I am going anywhere near her apartment with my hair a mess.' I turned around and began marching up the stairs intent on fixing my hair and finding an umbrella. This however seemed to be one of those times where an unstoppable force met a weak sixty pound girl. I had not so much as turned around before feeling a vice clamp down on my right arm jerking me off the step. By the time I had regained my bearings I was being dragged down the street by mad dog Puckett.

Now fully drenched I let my psychotic sister lead me to the Shay's apartment, a block away I could see Carly's loft, looking down at my dripping wet cloths I could only hope that Carly was too tired to notice how awful I looked. We stepped out of the elevator on Carly's floor a few moments later and I was desperately trying to think of something witty to say that would make up for my state of dress. After a nock to the offending door by my belligerent twin I can hear Carly's voice from inside. Used to the informal nature of their relationship Sam opens the door.

It's the middle of June and these late night sleepovers have become a routine for the three of us. Once Spencer falls asleep each night we stay up late watching movies and planning new episodes for iCarly. Freddy still has no idea that I am not really Sam, a prank easy to keep up since I go to a private catholic school. The two of us never appear on camera at the same time even if we are in the same episode. We will film part of an episode then stop long enough for Sam to "change" into Melanie. Freddy still gets annoyed by this but the drama is great for ratings. Never did my sister or her friend think that I shouldn't be part of the show. As Sam's sister and Carly's best friend it seemed only natural for her to make me a permanent part of iCarly.

I walk into the Shay's loft apartment and cringe when I see Carly sitting on the couch. She's watching some special about antelope on the nature channel. She looks over at me and I see the look of what I can only guess is pity on her face. 'You look like a hot mess Mel.' She's the only person who calls me that and I always get butterflies when I hear her say it. Not this time however, the stress is just too much and I start to cry. Running from the room I barricade myself in the bathroom. My tears streak the makeup on my face making me look like a demented clown.

The pink blouse and white skinny jeans I'm wearing are so wet that they weight me down as I sit and cry. My tears become uncontrollable as I sob. I pull my knees against my chest and sit against the door. Sam could kick down the door easy but she's not. I can only hope that she is being sensible for once and leaving me alone. I don't hear her knocking until she speaks. Carly is by the door and she's trying to talk to me. The sound of her voice makes my sobs faster. I can't believe she said that about me. She looked at me and saw how pitiful I was. I don't know if I'll ever be able to face her again.

'Melanie please come out'. I hear her say through the dark wood of the door. Her voice is so soft and delicate. I love the way she says my name.

'Go away.' I yell through the taste of salt on my lips.

She doesn't reply right away but I can hear her laughing softly from the other side of the door. 'No Mel, I'm not going anywhere.'

Why is she staying there? 'I'm sure Sam isn't bothered at all.' I retort meaning to suggest that she should do the same.

'Your right Sam is sitting in the kitchen going through the rest of the weeks groceries.' She says with a giggle. 'I didn't mean to offend you.' Her voice has gotten softer and taken on a more serious tone. 'I was amazed that anyone could look that good and be soaking wet.'

There is an air to the way she says it that gets my attention. She's being totally honest with me. 'I look horrid.' I say not quite believing her.

I hear her laugh again but this one is different. Her laugh is low and I have a hard time hearing it. 'You're always pretty Mel.' She says in a sigh. 'I love the way you fuss over everything, you're always three steps ahead of everyone else. Even Freddy can't keep up with you.' I hear her head hit the door. 'Sam says I'm an idiot.' She pauses and I hear her sniffle.

'Why are you crying?' I ask. I must have made her cry. She must think this is her fault.

'I can't stand the way Freddy looks at you sometimes.' She admits. 'I know he thinks your Sam but I can't help it.' She sobs again and my heart breaks. She's always been a great friend. 'She keeps telling me to just tell you but I'm always so afraid.'

'It's ok Carly; he's just a stupid boy.' My clothes are so cold I'm starting to shiver. Carly must hear it in my voice because she asks if I'm ok.

'Can I come in Mel?' She asks. 'You don't have to come out but I hate to think your freezing in there alone.'

I unlock the door and scoot over just enough that she can squeeze through. She sits down and wraps her arm around my shoulder. 'See isn't that better?' She says. I can feel her smile as she leans her head against my hair. Carly is the best friend a girl could ever ask for. I won't do anything to jeopardize that.