(Sam's POV)

I stood silently in the elevator on my way back up to the eighth floor. My best friend, my foundation, the person who watched out for me, just left for Italy. She had her happy ending; her dad came back and took her with him. Not that it's a bad thing, because I'm extremely happy for her. But, I'm going to miss her.

I took out my phone and got ready to send the text that would change my life.

To: Cat Valentine

Hey, Cat, it's Sam. I'm going to give you an answer to your question about me joining you in LA. Yes. I'll come. I'll be there by this weekend.

I felt the tears gathering up in my eyes, and I knew they had to come out. As soon as the elevator doors opened, I ran out of Carly and Spe- Spencer's apartment to the only place I felt safe. The fire escape. I let the tears fall out instantly, breaking down hysterically. It was very emotional. Having your best friend move away isn't fun.

After a couple of minutes, I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. I looked up through my glossy eyes to see the boy it belonged to. Gibby. He pulled me into his arms and let me cry into them. Gibby became a very close friend over the past year. He has always been there for me.

"Gibby, I'm gonna miss her so much! I have no one now!"

He gently rubbed my back. "Sam, you have me. And Spencer and Freddie."

I slowly untangled myself from him. "As in Freddie, you mean jerk-face?"

"No, but seriously, we're all here for you."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the window, and there stood jerk-face. "Gib, can I talk to Sam for a minute? Then we'll head to the Groovy Smoothie."

"Sure. I'll go see how Spencer's doing."

When Gibby left, Freddie turned to me. "I need to tell you something."

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"In the studio, before Carly left, she…kissed me."

My heart sank. Wow, I guess Carly never stopped loving him and he loves her again.

"Cool for you guys," I snapped. "So, are you a couple now?"

"No," he replied. "It was just her way of saying good-"

"Just admit it, Freddie."

"Huh? Admit what?"

I threw my hands in the air. "You know what! You love Carly! You never stopped!"

His jaw dropped. "What are you talking about?"

"You love her!" I yelled, blinking away tears. "You always have, and you always will!"

Freddie's expression softened. "You're right. I do love Carly."

"Good. So go call her or something."

"As a friend."

I whipped my head to look at him. "What?"

"I love Carly. As a friend."

"Then why are you-"

He cut me off, stepping closer to me. "Sam, Carly is like a sister to me. I've been over her for the past two years. She used to have my heart, but someone else has it now."

"Well, who is it?" I asked anxiously.

"I told this girl I love her in an elevator a little over a year ago. And I meant it. I never stopped loving this girl… And did I mention that she's a blonde-headed demon?" he asked with a wink.

I blushed and looked down at the ground. I saw Freddie's sneakers appear right in front of mine and looked up. His face almost touching mine.

"Sam, I love you."

"I love you too, Freddie."

Freddie wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his lips to mine. I slipped my arms around his neck. We both wanted to stay there forever, but we eventually had to breathe.

"Wanna hit the Groovy Smoothie?" he asked.

"Definitely," I replied, pulling him out of the fire escape.

. . .

At the Groovy Smoothie, Freddie, Gibby, Spencer, and I talked and laughed with T-Bo, thinking back to all of our memories in this very place. I was hesitating on whether I should tell them about me leaving or not, but I finally decided that I would.

"Um, guys, I have to tell you something," I said.

"What's up?" Spencer asked.

I took a deep breath. "I'm leaving Seattle."

"WHAT?" Freddie asked, clearly upset.

"I'm leaving Seattle. I just need to figure things out; I need to find my place in the world."

Spencer nodded. "Cat?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "I told her I would go."

"Huh? Cat who?" Freddie asked.

"Cat Valentine. She invited me to LA with her to start some sort of business."

Gibby grinned. "I like Cat Valentine."

Freddie looked down. "So, you're leaving."

I took his hand. "I'm not finished telling you the situation."

They all looked at me, obviously wanting me to continue.

"Well," I began, "Cat wanted both Carly and I to come, and we were planning on going after we graduated. But now since Carly's gone, I figured I wanted to go now."

T-Bo frowned. "To leave us?"

"No, not that. Just to think. But anyway, I want you guys to come!"

They all stared at me. "Sam…"

"I'm serious," I said. "It wouldn't be the same without my crazy friends there!"

"I don't know," Freddie said.

"Freddie, there are many colleges in LA! And, Gibby, Cat said there's a rec center near the place we'll be staying that's hiring. And for you guys," I said, pointing to Spencer and T-Bo, "there are many things for grown-ups to do!"

Freddie and Gibby exchanged a glance and smiled. "We're going to LA," they said.

"Yes! What about you guys?"

They both shook their heads. "Sam, I would love to," Spencer said, "but I like Seattle. It's my home. And, I need to be here when Carly gets back in a couple of months, don't I?"

T-Bo smiled. "Me too. I need to stay to run the Groovy Smoothie. But, I'll ship you guys smoothies every now and then."

I smiled. "Okay, guys."

. . .

Later, I sat on the couch in Spencer's apartment. He suddenly came from his room and sat down next to me. "Sam," he said.

"Spencer," I said back.

He smiled. "I want to tell you something."

"Okay, what's up?"

"Sam, I want you to know that I'm going to miss you. You were always here, and you made the place brighter. As I said earlier today, you've always been a good friend to Carly, and I respect that. She always used to tell me how much she loved you. And, I love you too. Thank you, Sam."

I smiled at him. "I love you too, Spencer. You're the best."

"I know. But, just…don't make out with Freddie too much, okay? And watch out for Gibby, too."

"No promises for the first one, but I'll definitely be watchful for Gibby."

He laughed and retreated to his room. Then, Freddie walked in and sat down next to me.

"Well, we're leaving," he smiled.

"I know. It's gonna be weird, but we'll have each other.

"Yeah. That's the best part."

He leaned in and kissed me, and I couldn't help but sigh. I missed him so much, and now I had him. I thought that since Carly left, I would have nobody to watch out for me. But I have everyone. Freddie, Gibby, Spencer, T-Bo, and Cat.

But wait a minute. I was wrong.

In my heart, I still have someone very special.

And her name is Carly Shay.

AN- Hey! I got bored so I decided to write this. This is what I hoped would happen after iGoodbye, but there's a very slim chance it will. Anyway, I decided to put Sam & Cat and Gibby in there as you can see, to sort of help it make sense. I hope it did.

Please review!

And iMove Forward will have an update by Sunday!