A/N: So I was going to keep this until much later, but I've been working on this and I'm having a lot of fun with it, so I thought I'd share it much earlier. I developed the idea from a one-shot I had in mind about Cat's graduation and what would happen to Puckentine. Now it's a full-on drama and I intend to write this to its finish.

I will try to update this weekly!

2pm

New York City sure looks nice this time of day. It was a lot better last night, though, with all the lights and the yellow cabs and the people walking around. It's crazy how everyone in this city seems to know where they're going, like whenever they step off a cab, they have a clear destination in mind. I couldn't have that kind of life even if I followed my therapist's advice of making to-do lists. Who even follows their to-do lists?

I wondered why I didn't just head to New York several years ago, after iCarly ended. Why I settled for Los Angeles instead. I shook my head as I pushed past some random young couple walking close to each other. I knew why, and I shouldn't even be thinking of that right now. Not while I'm here... Not today.

"Sam?"

The voice came from behind me, I was sure, but for some reason it felt like it came from inside my head too. Distant and soft, like some vague memory of a lost yesterday. I stopped walking, but I didn't dare turn around. Didn't dare... I don't know why I didn't dare to. Did I really not dare to turn around in a street, just because some stranger probably recognized me from iCarly? What was that inexplicable fear that crept inside, that strange, eerie feeling as the sound of my name reached my ears, echoing in my head? Why fear?

"Sam, it is you!"

My heart stopped. The oxygen in my lungs jammed midway; suddenly it felt like I was inhaling everything toxic the city could offer me. The smoke from the passing cars and the smoke from cigarettes being lit somewhere in dark alleys or some artsy coffee shop. I couldn't breathe, but I was inhaling everything else. It hurt.

I knew that voice. It greeted me with the ferocity of a lost childhood item being found in a dusty attic. I turned around, slowly, and for the first time in probably four or so years, my eyes met those big brown eyes. I quickly dropped my horrified gaze, taking in the rest of the sight. That tanned skin, those little arms, that stupid dimple on her face... But her hair, why wasn't it red? It's all brown and dark, and very unlike her.

Of course, if I had seen the red hair, those long bouncy curls of red velvet, I would have walked away. I would have recognized it right away. Maybe even run, too. A buzz started ringing in my head, the inevitable white noise. Why? Why would I have run if I'd known it was her? I could vaguely remember the days I woke up in our contrasting bedroom, seeing her on her stupid pink bed in the pink side of the room. I could remember the various kinds of children we had to put up with, but I couldn't remember this quiet fear inside me. Why was I so afraid of meeting Cat Valentine?

...

The rain was pouring hard that day. How it could have rained that heavily in Los Angeles, I still don't know. Maybe it was Mother Nature being wicked, fate being its usual cruel self. Maybe it was just my stupid, dumb luck. I sure looked stupid, driving on my motorcycle with freakin' goggles, my leather gloved hands gripped tightly on the handlebars. It seemed like the rain was trying to push my hands away from the motorcycle. Heck, maybe that would have been a better ending...

...

"What... Cat? I-I mean... Y-You... What are you doing here?" I spluttered. My stupid voice came out something like a gasp. We were standing there in some street in New York City, some feet apart because the stupid little fear inside me wouldn't allow me to take any steps closer. She stood there, her arm linked with the unknown dude's.

Maybe that's what stopped me from recognizing her, too. The ridiculous fact that I hadn't expected her to be walking around with some guy, let alone in a big city like New York.

Cat stood there, giggling. "I'm just trying to look for a fur coat," she explained. "Chase needs one for tonight's show." She nudged the man next to her with her shoulder. It kind of dawned on me how tall she's gotten. The man, Chase, he looked me up and down, like he was trying to determine if I was worth stopping in a street for. And then he smiled and nodded at me, something I took as an approval. Sort of.

I took a step forward. Closer. Around us, the pedestrians walking by seemed rather annoyed by my unfortunate reunion with Cat. They walked deliberately around us, forming this weird, untouchable circle surrounding me, Cat, and her company. Unfortunate? Why unfortunate? My head felt really uncoordinated.

"No, I meant, what are you doing here," I emphasized, my eyebrows raised. "In New York?"

"Well, I work here," she grinned, her arm waved airily in a wide circle, gesturing at the city. "I act, and I sing, and I get paid a lot of money!"

Of course. Why couldn't I guess that graduating from Hollywood Arts would mean these kids would probably end up hot and popular in big cities like New York? Why couldn't I anticipate the possibility of meeting Cat Valentine in New York? Most importantly, why did I ever agree to going to New York when home would have been safer? My head was starting to hurt with all the internal questions I was asking myself, but I couldn't find it in me to move. To walk away and forget it ever happened. Why safer? Why would have home been safer? So many questions, and no answers. I felt like I was just fine that day, exploring the city, until I met her. Like the moment she'd said my name was a trigger of unexplained emotions and doubt. It felt like I lost myself at that moment.

I stood there, my feet rooted to the sidewalk, unable to move. Unable, or unwilling?

...

"Sam, where are you? It's starting!" Cat's voice yelled at me from my Pear Phone, but I'm still not even sure if that was all she said. I couldn't really hear much over the sound of the thundering rain. Plus, I had a motorcycle to drive and not crash in. I still think that would have been a better ending, though.

But who am I lying to? A better ending would have been if I had made it to Hollywood Arts, safely. To Cat's graduation. I mean, I did promise. That would have been a spectacular ending. Me arriving soaking wet on my motorcycle, just in time to see her on stage, accepting her certificate or whatever they give you in high school graduations... That would have been one heck of an ending.

...

"Where are you headed?" Cat asked.

"Uhh, I'm actually heading back home," I replied, chucking my thumb to some random direction. Which way was Seattle from where I stood, I didn't know. "I got a flight to catch tonight."

"To Seattle?" she smiled, her eyebrows up. There was an eagerness in her question, like she really wanted to know. She was probably itching to head back home and talk to Chase about me. About what happened between us back in Los Angeles...

But I nodded. She guessed right. Seattle was home. It had always been. I never should have bothered with thinking otherwise.

"Why doesn't she join us for lunch?" Chase finally spoke. God, he even had an English accent. His arm finally let go of Cat's. He gestured to some building feet away from where we stood. "We're planning to try out the pasta there, have you been? We hear it's brilliant."

They were speaking in terms of "us" and "we", too. I didn't have time to actually take a look at the building, though, when Cat spoke up, standing excitedly on tiptoe. "Ooh, that'd be great, Sam loves pasta!"

I could have ran away then. Turned on my heels and stormed off like I didn't know them. I could have yelled something out loud about them getting the wrong person. But instead I stood there, my stupid face smiling awkwardly. I stood there and I nodded.

Cat clasped her hands together and kind of squealed. Couldn't she see how uncomfortable I was? I didn't remember her being so insensitive and so tall and brunette and just... different. But I guess I couldn't blame her. She wasn't the only one who changed, and I guess I should have known too.

...

Vroom, vroom. The roar of my motorcycle's engine still echoes in my head to this day. I remember still how it made me feel alive, like I was off somewhere doing something important. In retrospect, I guess attending Cat's graduation was something important.

I remember I was nearly there. Just two more corners and I'd have arrived, my glorious entrance all planned out. I'd memorized what corny joke I was gonna say to Cat too. And then I saw him. Brown hair with a fancy striped shirt, collars kind of up. He was walking with his arm hugging tight to an umbrella, barely holding on. His other hand held on to his Pear Phone, his thumb furiously scrolling.

Freddie Benson was in L.A., roaming the streets, and as soon as the realization hit me, I guess something else did too. There was a loud screech and a bunch of honks. And then my head hit something, and everything faded to black.

So much for an ending, huh? But calm down... We're not even there yet.

So I don't normally ask for reviews, but for this one in particular, I'd actually appreciate any kind of feedback or opinion on how the story is going so far, because this is an idea I'm actually really excited about, and I'd just like to know if I should keep the story going (probably a sequel or something) or end it when it ends. I realize you'd probably need a few more chapters to really see if you want more from this, but maybe let me know how well (or unwell) this did in terms of first impression?

Do you feel like you want to know what's next, and what happened? Just, tiny things like that.

Uhh, yeah, so reviews would be really helpful! Please, and thank you? : )