What's So Wrong About You?
"Ugh, I'm going downstairs to tend to my bruises."
Carly noticed the scowl her older brother shot Cal as he finished his sentence and left the room, leaving the mess of an overturned table, chair, and a full deck of cards all over the floor of the iCarly studio. She just shook her head, though, and turned back to Cal, who was busying himself with something on the generator, having already turned the fan off at Spencer's request.
She couldn't help but feel eternally grateful to the older man for helping her out so much. The last thing she wanted was to go on the Root and Berry Retreat, and this guy just helped her make an A+ project to get her out of it without asking for anything in return.
She also couldn't help but feel… giddy, for lack of a better word, when she was standing so close to him and he was teaching her how to make the generator work. There was just something about him, something charming, yet dangerous. He was off-limits, obviously, but he seemed nice enough. Carly had always had a thing for bad boys, and if she were asked, she would say Cal is definitely anything but a bad boy. He wore cardigans and had a haircut similar to Freddie's. He went to an important college and did smart things, like make generators only-this-big. And well, Carly would never say she was interested in him in any way.
Except she was.
There was just something about him, something she couldn't quite put her finger on… She felt like she was risking something by being in the studio with him, alone. It was responsible of Spencer to be present during the making of the generator, but when he'd gotten fed up with his injuries and left, that left her and Cal alone, and unless her mind was playing tricks on her, she was feeling some tension in the air.
"So, uh… thanks," she finally said, standing idly by the fan with her hands in her back pockets, watching Cal a few feet in front of her.
"Oh, no problem," he replied. "I love doing this kinda stuff, and if I can teach someone like you how to do it, that makes it even better."
"Definitely," Carly agreed. "But you really saved my butt. If it weren't for you, I'd be going on that Root and Berry Retreat with my weirdo science teacher."
Cal chuckled, sending a swirl of butterflies through Carly's stomach – something she didn't understand. "Yeah, we definitely don't want that."
Carly chuckled lightly in return, then bit her lip, unsure of what to say next. Giving up, she walked over to the mess Spencer had left and bent down, working on picking up the cards. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Cal standing at the generator, not actually doing anything but fiddling about a bit to make it seem like he was busy. She noticed the way his eyes slowly dragged up from staring at his shoes to stare at the back of her, a glint in his brown eyes.
It was when the young brunette moved to lift the overturned table that Cal spoke up, spotting his opportunity. "Uh, you want some help with that?"
Carly smiled to herself, answering him without turning around, "Sure, if you could."
He rushed to her side and helped her turn the table back over, then held it as she folded the legs back up to put it back into storage. He set it against the wall behind him as she picked up the chair and folded it back up as well. Cal's hand was just leaving the table when Carly's brought the chair over, and their hands brushed for just a moment, slightly startling both of them. Carly retracted her hand and glanced up at him, smiling sheepishly. She noticed the light blush that filled his darker cheeks, and she quickly turned her head away to avoid him noticing the same thing happening to her much lighter cheeks.
"Oh, here," he spoke up, bending down and picking up a card she'd missed. "You forgot this one."
He stood back up straight, card in hand, and they found themselves standing closer than they had been before. He hesitated for a moment before giving her a forced-casual smile and slipping the card into her waiting hand.
"Thanks," she told him, staring up at him now, smiling.
He only nodded, staring back at her. She could tell how awkward he felt by the way he was standing and the smile he was giving her, but for some reason, neither of them could break eye contact.
Suddenly, feeling the urge to act on all of the tension hanging around them and the butterflies still floating about in her stomach, Carly leaned forward and closed her eyes, then pressed her lips softly to Cal's. He was shocked at first, frozen in his spot, before he realized what was happening and kissed back, almost out of instinct. His eyes drifted closed and he leaned into her lips, deepening the kiss.
When Carly pulled away, some of her hair brushed Cal's cheek, and they both opened their eyes. She smiled up at him, a different smile now. He returned a smirk of satisfaction, blinking.
They didn't say anything. Instead, their brown eyes stayed locked, each glittering with their own mischief.
Finally finding her voice, Carly muttered, more to herself than anyone, "What's so wrong about you?"
Cal raised his eyebrows, eyes still on hers, and answered, "What do you mean?"
Carly finally forced herself to break eye contact with him, feeling the blood start to rush to her face. She let out a light, nervous laugh before turning and heading to the elevator.
"Where you going?" Cal asked, furrowing his brow as he watched her walk away.
"Downstairs to put these cards away," she said, glancing back at him as she pressed the elevator button. "Go ahead and come down whenever you're done up here."
And with that, she stepped into the elevator and let the door slide shut, all the while smirking at a confused Cal.
end.
A/N: This is something I've been wanting to write for a while, ever since I first saw iGo Nuclear, and just never had the inspiration to actually get it down. But then I found a little today and this is what came of it. It's not exactly how I imagined it to go, but I'm pretty pleased with it.
Also, if you couldn't tell, it takes place after Cal and Carly make the generator and Spencer gets blown over by the fan.
Please tell me what you think! And don't bother telling me it's "gross" or whatever because of the age difference. If you wanna WHINE about that, go somewhere else, 'cause I'll only delete it. You shouldn't have read the story if you don't like the pairing.
Also, I'm posting one more story after this and then I'm going on a hiatus for I dunno how long. Just to let you know.