Hey everyone! Here's my oneshot based off of iQuit iCarly, as promised. Quick thanks to everyone who's been following Truth & Consquences...over 10,000 hits! Thank you all. It really means a lot to me that you like my story that much. Well, without further adieu, here's the oneshot. Enjoy!
It had been a little over a week since Carly and Sam had gone back to the way things were; them being best friends. It had also been over a week since the night that they both nearly lost their lives in a freak occurrence. They didn't really like to talk about it, and one couldn't blame them. It was, perhaps, the scariest moment of their collective lives, one that they didn't want to relive anytime soon. To them, it had happened, they survived it, and they were much better off because of it, almost like they were given a second chance at everything. The two of them remained mum about it as they went about their business at school and with iCarly, and to Freddie, they were pretending like it didn't exist.
Today was a different day.
"Carly, relax, relax…", Freddie murmured as he held his best friend in a tight embrace, letting her cry on his shoulder profusely as they were situated on the couch in her living room. Her head was resting on his shoulder as the tears fell freely, staining his shirt, but he didn't care. This was very unlike Carly to just randomly break down and start crying as hard as she was, and it worried Freddie to no end. He didn't voice his concerns, however, for fear that it would upset her even more, and well, he didn't want that right now. So he just let her cry until her eyes finally dried up and she was back to a quasi-semi-normal state of mind.
"How can I relax when I nearly died? Do you know what it was like, Freddie? Hanging over the ledge like that, fourteen stories above the ground?", she asked him, her voice trembling with pent up emotion that had been kept bottled for far too long. All he could do was shake his head in a disagreeing manner, a long, hard look on his face. It was a night that he wanted to forget as well, because honestly, who would want to remember a night where you watched your two best friends hang on for dear life fourteen stories in the air while you couldn't do a damn thing about it? Yet as much as he tried to overlook it, the moments were etched into the bowels of his skull, a constant reminder that life is way too short sometimes.
"I'm sorry, Carly. I didn't mean to upset you further…it's just…when I saw you hanging like that…I got really scared. I thought I was gonna lose you, you know? And then when Sam looked like she was gonna fall off…I know that we're supposed to hate each other and all, but…she's my friend too and it scared the crap out of me", he said softly, doing his best to not let any tears fall. He couldn't even begin to imagine life without Carly and Sam in it, and it almost became reality.
"I know you didn't mean to do that, Freddie, it's alright. I don't know why I started crying like that out of the blue. I just…I was just thinking about how stupid it was for me and Sam to get into a fight like that and then risk our lives because we were too stubborn to realize we were in serious danger by being out on that platform....and then the news report we just saw about that poor man falling to his death off a painter's platform...I should have listened to you, Fleck and Dave", she spoke softly as she reached over to Freddie and wrapped her tiny arms around his body again. Usually, Carly wasn't so huggy like she was today…but then again, today wasn't like any normal day for her.
"I know what you're thinking, Freddie, and I'm only hugging you as often as I am today because I don't want to let the things that are most important in my life go ever again. I let go of iCarly, I let go of my friendship with Sam, and I nearly let go of you and then my life. Never again. I won't let something stupid like all of Sam's quirks and behavioral problems stand in the way of being best friends with her…I won't lose her, iCarly, Spencer or you…", the brunette muttered softly, almost whimpering, as she felt Freddie stroke her back in a circular motion. He didn't realize how much of a toll this had taken on her, and he shuddered to think how Sam was coping with it.
Ever since it had happened, she had been taking it harder than Carly, for reasons unknown to anyone but Carly, obviously. In fact, now that he thought about it, she hadn't said one word to him about the dilemma. She had completely shut him out, and yet, he didn't question it at first. But now he felt he should, and despite what he and Sam said about each other, they were still friends, and the three of them vowed to tell each other everything. So, Freddie reasoned, as soon as he was done here with Carly, he was going to go track down Sam and get her to open up to him, and not because he wanted her to…because he needed her to.
"It's alright, Carly. Let it out, you know that I'll listen. By the way, do you know where Sam is?", he asked as he continued to rub his best friend's back in a comforting manner. Upon hearing the question though, Carly cocked her head back and moved out of Freddie's embrace, an intrigued look in her eye as she studied her other best friend, wondering why he of all people would be wanting to know where Sam was.
"Forgive me if I sound rude here, Freddie, but why do you want to know where Sam is?", she questioned as she straightened herself out on the couch, wiping away a few stray tears while she fixed her messy hair. "I thought we both agreed on giving her some alone time today since she wasn't feeling well last night?"
"We did, but…I don't know, I just don't like the fact that she's spilled her metaphorical guts out to you about what happened on that platform, but she hasn't uttered a peep about it to me. I mean, I'm her friend too, right?", Freddie stated, gesturing in the air with his arms for more emphasis. "I understand that she's obviously still freaked out about it, but she can't keep it locked away inside forever."
Carly gave her other best friend and technical producer a small, soft smile. Lowering her head slightly to brush some loose tendrils of her hair back, she looked him in the eye and knew exactly why he wanted to seek out Sam. It was so obvious to her. "You know, for a second there Freddie, you sounded like you cared about Sam." His eyes immediately grew dark and he shot Carly an icy glare, one that she deflected easily with a grin as she poked Freddie in the side. "You really do care about Sam, don't you?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Carly", he said in a stiff tone, attempting to brush away the 800 pound elephant in the room with a fly swatter. Carly kept that grin on her lips as she continued to poke Freddie in his ribs, forcing a smile out of him as he tried to get her to stop her assault, but it was to no avail. Now he was flat out laughing as she poked and tickled him, trying to get the answer she wanted out of him, before he finally cracked and forcefully grabbed her hands, the smile now replaced with a look of pleading, asking her to stop.
"Alright, alright! So I care a tiny bit about Sam…big deal. I'm sure she does too… somewhere within that cold storage where her heart should be", he said, muttering the last part to himself as he released his grip on Carly's hands and looked down at his own. He stared at them, almost as if he was expecting an answer to magically appear in front of him. "And before you say anything, Carly, I know that I shouldn't care for her after all the stuff she's put me through, but…even if she won't admit it, I will; she's become a really good friend of mine. And having the image of her dangling over the edge of that platform etched into my head isn't something I want to live with for the rest of my life, but I have to."
"Aww, Freddie…since when did you become so compassionate towards Sam?", Carly spoke softly as she laid a hand on her friend's shoulder, trying to ease the pain and discomfort that Freddie was feeling on Sam's behalf. She knew that all he wanted to do was help out, and it must have been killing him on the inside, knowing that he couldn't do anything but watch as they struggled. So that was why she decided to tell Freddie where Sam was.
"I just want to make sure she's okay, is all. It's not healthy for her to keep all those emotions pent up inside her. Well, she thinks it's okay, but I don't. She needs to talk to me about this kind of chizz", he stated strongly, balling both of his fists up and throwing them into the air for dramatic effect. Carly couldn't help but stifle a chuckle as she watched him speak with such conviction in his voice.
"Freddie, I understand, and you're completely right about that. Sam really should open up to you more and tell you about stuff. I mean, we did promise to tell each other everything when we were duct taped to those chairs a couple of months ago. But you've also got to understand something, Freddie…", she said, trailing off as she looked around the empty apartment. Spencer was still out on his boat with Gibby…something about needing to protect his booty or whatever, Carly didn't know what her zany older brother was talking about. She came back around to see Freddie's confused face staring right back at her. Her features softened as she prepared to explain to him the intricate inner workings of one Samantha Puckett.
"Understand what, Carly?"
"Sam isn't like any normal girl, but I'm pretty sure you figured that one out a long, long time ago. She isn't going to open up to you right away, if at all…no offense. That's just how she is, and you know that. There are times I where I have to bug her for hours on end to get her to tell me what's on her mind. I even have to threaten her beef jerky or ham withdrawal sometimes. So you can't just bust right out of the gate with guns ablaze and expect her to cough up the deets just like that", she said, snapping her fingers to signify what she meant. "You have to take it slow and ease into everything. Subtly pry and always keep the topic you want to talk to her about at the forefront."
"Carly, I don't want to sound mean here, but why are you telling me all this again?"
"When was the last time you ever had a heart to heart conversation with Sam?"
The tech producer sat still, hand underneath his chin as he pondered the question posed to him by Carly. His brows furrowed in confusion, his lips curled up like he had sucked a lemon, and he appeared to be stumped. "Uh…I can't remember."
"I didn't think so either. But do you at least understand what I'm talking about, Freddie? You have to treat the situation with utmost delicacy. If you show even the smallest of cracks, she'll shut you out and pretend that it never happened. And I know that's not what you want."
"Alright, I understand…so where is she?"
"Her house. She's probably locked up in her room. You need the spare key she gave me in case of emergency?"
"Yeah, sure, I'll take it. But wait…don't you think she'd get really mad at me if I just showed up at her house unannounced and probably unwanted as well?", he asked as Carly handed him the spare key to Sam's house that she had given her a while back. The younger Shay shook her head and began to nudge Freddie towards the front door.
"She'll thank you for coming over later. Now go!", she ordered as she swung the door open and Freddie walked out, feeling a little worried, if not scared, about what Sam would do to him when he got to her house. But the moment he stepped into the elevator, his fears evaporated, and in their place was the confidence he'd need to crack the carefully constructed walls that Sam had built. As Carly closed the door to her apartment and she found herself alone, she smiled as she walked up to her room, having faith that Freddie would be able to get to Sam.
"Go get 'em, tiger", she murmured to herself as she laid down on her bed and took a well deserved nap.
About fifteen minutes later, Freddie found himself standing outside of Sam's house. As he looked at the building up and down, he had a sad smile on his lips. On the outside, the house was actually pretty nice looking, considering some of the other houses on the block. But he knew what awaited him inside; a seriously fractured home. He was hoping that Sam's mom wasn't around, because the last time he was over there with Carly, she thought it was perfectly alright to fling an empty beer bottle at his head (which nearly hit him) and then curse out Sam in front of them. Needless to say, it was one of the more embarrassing days for the three of them in recent memory. Having approached the front door, he had considered just opening the door with the key and letting himself in, but then he realized how rude that'd be of him to do. Thinking of what to do, he found some rocks near the steps and grabbed a couple of them, walking onto the grass and looking up at Sam's bedroom window. He smiled, realizing how incredibly cliché this was for a teenage boy, throwing rocks at a girl's window to get her attention. But that didn't stop him, and next thing he knew, a few of them pelted Sam's window. Before long, he was looking up at the blond as she stared down at him with an unimpressed (and somewhat uninviting) look on her face.
"Hey Sam…mind if I come in?"
"Seriously, dorkwad? You couldn't just text me like a normal person would? Then again, you're far from normal, so I shouldn't be too surprised."
"So I'll take that as a yes?"
"Whatever…the door's open, just try not to be too loud or you'll wake Frothy."
Freddie nodded and watched as Sam disappeared back into her room, walking up the path and pushing the front door open to the Puckett's house. He could faintly smell alcohol as he walked around the living room up to Sam's room, where the alcohol was replaced with the smell ham and charred knockwurst. Once inside, he saw her laying on her bed, throwing darts at a picture of Nevel's face on the wall. She briefly glanced over at him, rolling her eyes while doing so, before she stopped and stood up, while Freddie sat down in the chair by her desk, playing with his thumbs, not knowing how to start off.
"So what're you doing here, Benson. I thought you were over Carly's to help her with her science homework", she stated dully, though it was meant as a question.
"I was…then, well, things got a little emotional and we scrapped the science homework", he said, preparing to use that as his lead in to what he wanted to talk about to her. She arched an eyebrow as she grabbed a piece of beef jerky off her desk and chewed away. She moved her head in a way that Freddie deciphered as her asking why things got emotional, so he decided to answer.
"We were flipping through the text book, and then some news report came on about how…uh…", he managed to stutter out, stopping himself short, wondering if he should just divulge the info or dance around it, but Sam answered that for him with her response.
"How someone fell to their death from a painter's platform out in Tacoma. I know, I watch the news, Fredderly. No big deal", she said as she devoured another piece of beef jerky. Freddie was astonished that she knew about it, but he was even more so when he saw her reaction. He didn't see even the tiniest bit of emotion in her voice or in her face. This was going to be harder than he thought.
"And that doesn't trouble you, Sam? That doesn't make you realize how lucky you are right now that you and Carly are still alive? Nothing at all?", he said incredulously, wondering how that couldn't phase her in the slightest. She shrugged her shoulders and threw another dart at the wall, hitting Nevel's face right between the eyes.
"Nope. Why would you think it would? I'm over it, Freddie. It happened, it's done, and it won't ever happen again. Carly's still my best friend and I'm still hating you. Isn't that what you want?"
"No, Sam, to be completely honest, it's not what I want. What I want is for you to open up to me like you do Carly and Spencer. Remember the promise the three of us made? The one where we said we'd tell each other everything from now on? That's what I want, Sam. I want you to be able to trust me and talk to me whenever you're feeling bummed out or sad. I want to have the same connection you have with Carly and Spencer. I guess, what I really want, is for you to treat me like I'm really your friend and not a co-worker or acquaintance that you just happen to hang out with a lot."
Sam stared at him for a moment, her mouth hanging open and eyes wide with shock at Freddie's boldness. She looked as if she was going to say something back, but instead, she smiled and shook her head, getting off her bed and grabbing Freddie's hands, making him stand up in front of her. She placed his hands together and then held them out; Freddie knew exactly where this was going.
"Let's play a game, Freddie. You remember the slap game, right?"
"Sam, I'm in no mood to be playing games with you right now, I'm serious about what I said!", he exclaimed as Sam slapped his hands, causing him to wince, making her smile even bigger than it was a few seconds ago. She slapped his hands again as Freddie tried to continue reasoning with her, but to no avail.
"You've gotten better since the last time we played, Freddork! Keep it up and you might just beat me at this!", she spoke excitedly as she again slapped his hands. She then proceeded to move onto slapping his face, at which point, Freddie lost it and had had enough of this. But in his boiling frustration, he didn't notice the smile on Sam's lips fade away as she slapped him…
"Alright, that's it Sam! If you don't want to take this seriously, then forget it. I don't even know why I bothered coming over here. I knew that this was a stupid idea", he said loudly as her palm connected with his cheek again. She wound up once more, but this time Freddie was ready, and he ducked underneath her hand…but then was met with a crying Sam falling into his arms, whimpering and sobbing loudly as she pounded her fists against his chest. Immediately and instinctually, Freddie wrapped his arms around Sam's waist and kept her from falling to the floor, totally unprepared for this extreme change in emotions from the blond.
"Sam? Sam, what's wrong? Are you alright?!"
He was met with no answer, though, as Sam continued to cry into his shoulder, much like Carly had done before back at her place. But at least with Carly, it was expected that she'd break down like that, even if it was out of the blue. Sam? Not so much, which was why this was all the more shocking to him as he held her close to his chest and let her cry her eyes out.
"I'm so sorry…I should of never tried to convince myself that I was fine…I was so scared…", she whimpered as she pounded his chest again. "I'm so, so sorry for not trusting you…you've been there for me a lot…and I've taken you for granted…I know you probably don't believe me…and I don't blame you…but I mean it all…I'm so sorry…"
Freddie, however, had a small smile on his lips. The words sounded so genuine coming out of her mouth, he knew that she was telling him the truth. As the tears stained his shirt for the second time today, he pried Sam off of his chest and held her so that he could look into her eyes. He flashed her a brief smile before pulling her back in for a hug, rocking gently back and forth as Sam's sobbing became less frequent. Finally, he found the words he had wanted to say on the tip of his tongue. "It's alright, Sam…I forgive you…you don't need to be sorry. I understand why you wouldn't want to talk about it. I just…I just want you to know that I'm always here whenever you need to talk if Carly and Spencer aren't around. I don't want to be left out…I just want to help and be a good friend to you.
Sam looked up at his face and smiled weakly, the tears still dripping from her eyelids and down her cheek. She felt his finger brush across her cheek, wiping the tears away. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his chest and they were still rocking back and forth. "Thank you, Freddie…that…that really means a lot to me…that you'd still want to help me out despite all the crap I've done to you…you really are a great friend…"
"What can I say, I'm a sucker for punishment. You alright now?"
"Yeah…I'll uh…I'll be fine, just give me a minute."
"Okay…hey."
"Yeah?"
"Grab your coat, we're going to the Groovy Smoothie to have some of T-Bo's new smoothies. My treat."
Sam wiped away the last of the tears from her eyes, smiling as widely as she ever had. She nodded her head as she grabbed her coat off her chair and walked over to where Freddie was standing, by her bedroom door. Without even thinking, she grabbed his hand and intertwined hers with his, their fingers tangling together as they walked out of the room and out of the house, hand in hand. He noticed this and smiled brightly as they continued to walk like that down the street, before Sam's voice rang out.
"Hey Fredlumps, did I ever tell you about the time that Pete dared me to take on the entire football team by myself?"
"No…no you haven't."
"Oh man, it was great, you'll love hearing this."
Freddie again smiled as they made their way to downtown. He knew what this meant for him and Sam as they were greeted by T-Bo upon entering the Groovy Smoothie.
"Tell me all about it."
It was the beginning of a brand new friendship. And he wouldn't have it any other way.
And that's all she wrote for this oneshot. Hope you all enjoyed it! And now, I'm off to begin writing the opening of the last chapter in Truth & Consequences, which will be out soon, as long as I don't get killed with work and school. Lates!