Ch1

"Oh for God Sakes Fredweird! Quit being such a nub."

Sam's words had no effect on Freddie, however, who simply carried on talking regardless.

It was summer time in Seattle, and Carly, Freddie and Sam were sat on the beanbags in the iCarly studio, discussing ideas for the next iCarly.

"It would only be for like five minutes, and I could go over all sorts of cool tech equipment, like the lights, my camera…"

"Face it Freddie, nobody wants to hear about your tech stuff. It's just… well…"

"…lame?" Sam had a habit of finishing Carly's sentences off for her.

"Well, yes lame. But only because no one understands tech stuff like you do!" Carly finished, seeing the look on Freddie's face.

"I still think coating Gibby in cat food and introducing him to Frothy would be a good idea! The kids would love to see Gibby being attacked by Frothy…"

"No-one wants to see an innocent boy being attacked by a rabid cat any more than they like hearing about strobe effect lighting and sound effects. Now are we going to come up with some decent ideas or am I just going to have to do all the work myself?" Carly looked approachfully at Sam and Freddie.

"You know Carls, that ain't a bad idea. I'm beat, I need to go and get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Nub." She glanced at Freddie before exiting the room.

"Bu… wait, Sam! I didn't mean it. Come back here this instant!" Carly, however, was not heard as Sam had already left.

"I think I might call it a night too, if that's ok. I need to get some sleep, I've got a pottery class with my Mom tomorrow, and I need all the rest I can get." Freddie then jumped up out of his beanbag and started heading towards the door.

"Fine, just leave me here on my own, I'll come up with all the ideas while you go and sleep! No problem, don't worry about me, I don't care."

Freddie ignored Carly's sulky comments, and left the room quickly. He had no intention of going to bed anyway; he had a much better idea.

"Where are you going in such a hurry Puckett?" He caught up with Sam at the bottom of the stairs.

"None of your business, Benson."

"Oh come on, you can tell me."

"I've already told you, I'm going home, I'm tired."

"Ok, first off, you never want to go home; usually you find any excuse to stay at Carly's. And second, it's only 8:30. You can't be tired, you've done nothing all day."

"Why do you care anyway? Just leave me alone Nub!"

"Hey, don't get all feisty with me! You know Sam, I still don't get why you hate me so much. After all these years you still hate my guts. Why?"

"Grr, sometimes Nub you can be so blind!" And with that, she stormed out of the apartment, leaving Freddie standing there feeling more confused than he had ever felt. He shrugged it off and went inside his apartment. As he lay in bed that night however, he thought over what Sam had said. What was he blind about? He couldn't think of anything he was missing. He went into deep thought over his friend Sam. He wondered what she would be like if she'd turned out… normal. If she was a kind person who didn't harass him every second of the day. She made such an effort to make his life a misery; Freddie concluded she must really hate him badly.

But how did he feel? He couldn't hate Sam, no matter how had he tried. When he saw her smile, he couldn't help smiling, and when she laughed he felt like joining in too. He had caught himself a few times and questioned his own sanity. This girl makes you so miserable; so how can she be making you feel so happy at the same time?

The next day Freddie woke up surprisingly early, considering it was a holiday. He had a shower and found a new pair of anti-bacterial underwear to put on. Once he had also put on his sterilised shirt and pants, he decided to make his way over to Carly's. If she wasn't up, he knew Spencer would be. Spencer was always an early riser.

He knocked on the door, waiting for an answer. He couldn't just walk in as he usually did; the door was locked at night. He got a surprise though as the door opened.

"Oh it's you." Sam mumbled as she saw him.

"What are you doing here? Didn't you go home?"

"Why, were you hoping to have Carly here all to yourself?" Freddie scowled as he heard her bitter tone.

"Don't be ridiculous Sam, I'm over Carly. We're just friends!"

"Yeah right Fredweird, like I don't see you drooling over her every second you get a chance to gawp at her."

"I don't drool!" Over her anyway, Freddie added silently. Then he mentally slapped himself around the head.

"Whatever." She went and slumped down on the sofa she had just risen from moments before.

"So why are you here then?" Freddie asked cautiously, not wanting to start another argument.

"Ehh, I got halfway home then realised I didn't want to be there. So I came back here and slept on the sofa."

"Why don't you want to go home?"

"Because my Mom's got her new boyfriend living with us at the moment, and he's a creep."

"Then can't you just say to your Mom…"

"What is this, quiz time? Just leave me alone Nub."

Freddie sat down at the other end of the sofa, as far away from Sam as he could. He kept glancing over at her. He could see she looked sad, almost as if she had tears in her eyes…

"Just go home, you guys! Either that or start paying your share of the rent!"

"Morning Spencer."

"Freddie. Sam." He nodded at them in turn then headed towards the fridge.

"Hey Spence, make me a sandwich?"

"What kind?"

"Ham."

"A ham sandwich at nine in the morning?"

"Or bacon. Whatever, as long as it involves meat, I'm happy."

As Spencer started making breakfast, Freddie turned to Sam once more. He still had something he wanted to ask her.

"What did you mean last night?"

"What?"

"When you said, I can be so blind. What did you mean?"

Sam looked worried.

"I don't know. You were bugging me. So I insulted you. Get used to it Freddork."

"Don't worry Sam, I'm more than used to it. But you're lying. What did you mean?"

Sam was saved by Carly making her way downstairs.

"Where did you two scoot off to last night, leaving me alone to plan iCarly? Well?" She stood there scowling, with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot.

"I spent the night on your sofa."

"What… but when?"

"Last night Carls, I just said…"

"But I was sat on the sofa last night. Until, like, midnight! Why were you so late? And how did you get in?"

"I got in by picking your lock, isn't it obvious? And, as for being late, I just… went for a walk. For fresh air, y'know?"

"You, walk?" Freddie butted in. "As in voluntary exercise?"

"Shut your face, Freddora, or I'll shut it for you!"

"Guys, stop arguing! It's nine in the morning for crying out loud. Spencer, how's breakfast coming on?"

"Err, not too great!" They looked across and saw that the frying pan was on fire, with the flames nearly reaching the ceiling. Spencer was desperately trying to get the fire extinguisher to work, but was failing.

"Aww, dammit! He burnt the bacon."

"Sam, our kitchen is more important than your stomach!"

An offended expression arose on Sam's face, making Freddie laugh.

"What are you laughing at?"

Freddie felt brave. "You."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I'll give you something to laugh about."

She pounced on top of him and wrestled to the ground. He wriggled and squirmed but she was too strong for him. She straddled him and pinned his arms to the ground, either side of his head.

"Ow Sam, let me up!"

"Then never, ever, laugh at me again!"

"I won't, jeez, let me up!"

She jumped off him and scooted towards the door, running out of it and slamming it behind her.

"Where the hell did Sam go?" Carly came running back in from the kitchen after hearing the door slam.

"Don't know. I think I upset her."

"How the hell did you manage to upset Sam?"

"I laughed at her."

"So?"

"I dunno, she pinned me to the ground and then ran out!"

"Well go apologise!"

"Ohh, no Carls she'll just hurt me again!"

"GO!" Carly put her hands on her hips and did her best intimidating glare at Freddie.

Freddie grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. He had no idea where Sam had gone. He ran down the stairs all the way down to the lobby.

"Hey Lewbert, has Sam come by here?"

"Who? What are you talking about?"

"Sam! You know, blond, short, mean?"

"Oh her! No she's not been near me today, thank God!"

"Great."

He headed back up the stairs. She must have gone somewhere else in the building, though where, Freddie had no clue. A thought suddenly hit him.

As he approached the entrance to the fire escape, he held back as he heard a noise. He listened closely. He heard a sobbing noise coming from outside. He fought with himself whether to run away as fast as he could, or show himself and ask her what's wrong. He'd never really seen Sam cry before; he didn't know what effect it had on her. He didn't really want to find out. He decided he'd go and see her, but if she turned feisty he'd make a break for it.

"S… Sam?" He said as he stepped out. She wiped her eyes quickly on the back of her hand.

"Go away!"

"No! What's wrong Sam?"

"Nothing."

"Oh yeah sure, that's why your sat out here sobbing your eyes out."

"It's none of your business, Freddork!"

"As much as you hate it, I'm your friend. Tell me what's wrong."

"I can't!" Tears started flowing down her cheeks again. Freddie hated every second of this. He just wanted to hold her tight and tell her everything's ok, but he'd be risking his own personal safety in doing that.

"Tell me what's wrong!"

"I'll show what's wrong, you Nub!" She stood up and approached Freddie quickly. His instinct was to flee, but he stood his ground. What she did next though nearly made his heart stop.

She grabbed the sides of his head with her hands and pulled him towards her. Their lips made contact and they pressed against each other. Freddie felt like his whole body was screaming out with joy. He spun her around and backed her against the wall. He ran his hands down her back, through her hair. She did the same to him. They roughly rubbed against each other, letting go of tension that had been built up inside of them for so long. They wrestled with each other for ten minutes, never breaking the kiss.

Finally they broke away from each other. They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, before Sam spoke and then left.

"You were so blind."