AN: Hey everyone! This is my first ever iCarly fanfic, and well, after reading a lot of them lately, I saw the fun in writing these characters and decided to join in on the action! I don't really know what else to say other than this story takes place a little after iKiss, but other than that, it's a completely original storyline here, doesn't take place inbetween any episodes. I hope you all enjoy my first venture into the iCarly fanfic universe, so sit back, and have fun reading! And reviews make my day as well :)
People say that things happen for a reason. Pfft. They never had to live a day of my life in my shoes.
I'm supposed to be watching the television, but my eyes are anywhere but there. It's not that I don't like Girly Cow (because I'll be honest, I do find it to be humorous on occasion)...no, it's because I feel like I can't keep my eyes off of the girl to my far right. I can't understand why my eyes seem to dart back and forth between her and the ceiling, or the floor, or the table, whatever. I'm praying for some sort of distraction, hoping that maybe Spencer will come bursting out into the room, excited about a new sculpture or something ridiculous. Maybe Carly will suggest we go upstairs now and begin hammering out ideas for the next iCarly that's supposed to be happening in a few days. Or maybe Sam will just start attacking me for no reason. Hey, she's been doing it for years now, why would she suddenly stop?
Oh, that's right.
Maybe it's because in my twisted, messed up reality, Sam feels the same way about me that I do about her. For every little barb she throws my way, I take it in stride, as I have been for the past year now, resisting the urge to lash out and make a snide comment about her in return. If this was a year or so ago, I'd of done it no problem....sure, I probably would have had a nice bruise on my arm or a throbbing shin for my troubles, but I would have done it regardless.
Now? Not so much. Call me crazy, but....
I think I like Sam Puckett. You heard right. I. Like. Sam. I think I need my head examined....and not a tick bath.
"Hey, Fredwierdo, quit staring, will ya? It's creepy having your ugly mug lookin' at me like that."
I'm snapped out of my trance, cursing myself silently for allowing my gaze to fall on Sam for more than a second or two. I can't help it, though! For some insane reason, I'm finding myself attracted to her more and more as the days go by. Maybe it's the way her unruly blonde hair falls over her face. Perhaps it's the way she lights up whenever she eats a pound of ham. It might be her infectious laugh, even if she's laughing at me. Argh! It's that darn fire escape's fault. Yeah, that's it! No....it's not fair to blame that. That moment was....I can't describe it. I...
"Seriously, nerd, you stare at me like that one more time, and I'm gonna break your arm off and beat you over the head with it."
Dang it! I was staring at her....again. This time, Carly's giving me an odd look, wondering with her eyes what's up with me. I merely shrug and say nothing, turning my attention back to the television.
"Freddie, are you feeling alright? You've been acting weird all day..."
No, Carly, I'm not alright. I've got a huge crush on the demon girl sitting next to you, I can't stop staring at her beauty, and I don't know whether I can keep it bottled up inside for much longer. That answer your question?!?
"Huh? Oh. Yeah. I'm fine, Carls. Just...thinking, that's all."
A lame excuse if there ever was one. Carly nods her head, and thankfully lets the subject drop...for now. But that doesn't mean that Sam can't get a quick jab in.
"Thinking about what? How Carly will never love you and how you'll end up never getting married and living alone for the rest of your life?"
Carly turns her head to face Sam, horrified expression written all over her features. I do my best not to say something back and merely roll my eyes, letting out a disgusted sigh. How could I possibly like someone like SAM PUCKETT!? It's a modern day mystery....I'm the geek, she's the bully. She beats up on me, I take it like a champ, and we somehow manage to co-exist on a daily basis. That's how it's supposed to be! How it should always be! I can't like Sam! That'd disrupt the natural order of things! Me liking Sam is like....black turning to white, up becoming down, left becoming right, Spencer becoming un-Spencer-like! It's just not supposed to happen. At all!
"Whatever", I say meekly. That's all. Sam arches an eyebrow in my direction before rolling her eyes and giving up. I can tell that my change in demeanor is slowly starting to peeve her.
"It's no fun ragging on you when you don't say something back, Freddie. What's gotten into you?"
If you only knew, Sam....if you only knew.
"Nothing's gotten into me, Sam. Just have a lot of things on my mind, and you insulting me nonstop isn't one of them."
I didn't mean for the words to sound harsh, they just came out that way. Great. Now Sam's starting to shift her position on the couch, like she's ready to pounce and beat the crap out of me at any moment. Her brows are arched and she wears an almost insulted look on her face before responding.
"Oh yeah, that so, dork?"
"Yeah, that is so. Why, don't like how I ignore your jabs at me?"
Keep digging that grave, Benson....
"Don't make me come over there and..."
Before anything else was said (and before Carly tried breaking up our banter for the millionth time), Spencer came running out from his room, huge smile plastered all over his face as he held something behind his back, out of sight from us.
"Hey guys! Look at what I found!"
He sounded like a five year old on a sugar rush as he whipped out...a power tool? At least that's what it looked like to me. I couldn't tell, it was just so....Spencer-ish. That's the best way to describe it. It looked like it fit him perfectly.
"Uh, not to sound rude or anything, Spence, but...what exactly is that thing?"
"Yeah Spencer, tell me what you've been obsessing over."
"What up with that goofy thing, dude?"
He looked at the three of us like we all had insulted Canadian bacon, or we were a three headed dragon. He then shook his head and did a little dance before again thrusting out whatever it was he held in his hands for us to see. Nope, still no clue as to what the contraption was. But whatever it was, it sure was making Spencer happy.
"I finally found it! Took me forever to locate it in my room, but did mounds of art supplies and dirty clothes stop me? Noooo! I found it--"
"Just cut to the chase, dude."
Typical Sam....always the impatient one.
"Right! So Carly, you remember that exercise bar thing I saw on the TV once?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"This is it! I'm gonna use this to get ripped and then go try out for the football team...for real!"
I could tell that Carly was trying her best not to laugh, and truth be told, so was I. Sam just looked down at her feet and grinned that grin I like so much (dang it, I did it again!) whenever something funny happens or is said. Spencer looked at us trying to contain our laughter and his face fell. Now I felt bad. He wasn't joking, he was serious, and here we are trying not to laugh in his face like a group of jerks.
"Aw, Spence, we're sorry, we didn't mean to laugh. It's just, remember the last time you said you wanted to try out for the Seattle Cobras?"
"That was then, little sis, and this is now! I'm seriously gonna train my butt off and make the team!"
"But what about your sculptures? Are you gonna stop doing them like that time you became a dental assistant?", I ask.
That got a chuckle out of Sam as Spencer narrowed his eyes at her, causing her to stop, but I could tell she was laughing hysterically on the inside at the image of Spencer working in a dentist's office with all the tools, not knowing what to do with all of them. He then shrugged his shoulders, face going blank for a second, before another burst of genius (or whatever it was in his case) came to him.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I totally realized what a doof I was when I went through that phase, so I've decided that I'm gonna juggle both my sculpting and my football duties!"
"Spencer!", Carly's voice cried out. "Are you sure you wanna do that? Remember the last time you tried multi-tasking between two jobs?"
She then shuddered and had a distant look in her eye as she muttered to herself, "So. Much. Cleaning...."
An apologetic look came over Spencer's face, but it was quickly erased as he placed the exercise bar thing down on the ground and, almost magically, grabbed a football and motioned towards me to get up, tossing the football at me as he began to jog towards the back door near the kitchen. Carly, who by now had stopped shuddering, joined Sam in giving Spencer a very weird look as he stood with his back to the door and pointed for me to go to the front door.
"Alright Freddo, now what I want you to do, is throw the ball at me as hard as you can!"
"You sure about this, Spence?", I ask, wondering what he could possibly be thinking of in that mind of his.
"Totally! Now what I am about to do is attempt to multi-task, by catching the ball thrown at me and simultaneously create a makeshift piece of art with these here pots and pans!"
Something about this whole thing told me that it wasn't going to end well....but I did as I was asked to do. Cocking my arm back, football in hand, I was prepared to throw the ball...right when Sam interjected and grabbed the ball from my hands. Like I didn't see that one coming. Tossing the ball up and down in her hands, she's smiling again, and I'm resisting the urge to stare at her beautiful face again and just kiss her lips...wait, WHAT?!? I think I need to leave....if this keeps up, she'll catch on and then REALLY want to whale on me!
"Sam, Spencer asked me to throw the ball, not you. Just give it back so I can do what he asked of me."
"Let me think about that, Fredwina....mhm, yeah, not gonna happen."
This time Carly stood from her seat on the couch and put her hand on her hip, giving Sam an admonishing look, and for once, Sam actually heeded the look and let out a dramatic sigh, forcefully slamming the ball into my gut, grinning evilly before giving me a noogie and messing up my hair. The stuff I go through to just be around her....dang it!
"Fine, you win, Carls. Go ahead and show off your manly rocket arm, Fredward. If you can get the ball past the counter, I'll stop ragging on ya for a day. Actually get the ball to Spencer, and I'll stop ragging on ya for a whole week."
"Really??", I said, a bit too eagerly, which just caused a devilish smirk to curl upon her lips. Of course she was kidding. What else was I to expect?
"Nah, no dice, Benson. Remember the last time I went a whole week without insulting you? Mama ain't goin' through those withdrawls again!"
Rolling my eyes and ignoring a chuckling Sam, I look to Carly, who gives me a face that says, "Please don't kill my brother!", and I inwardly smile as I rear my arm back again and then, in one fluid motion, release the ball in the direction of Spencer.
Except Spencer wasn't paying attention to the ball hurtling his way. You could imagine what happened next.
"MY FACE!", Spencer cried out as he was face down on the kitchen floor, pots and pans everywhere as Carly hurriedly ran to her brother and knelt beside him, trying to ease him up, but he was dead-weighting her, content to remain in his current position. Sam looked to me, her jaw dropped, as if she was actually impressed I had done. She looked so beautiful like that....OH COME ON!
"I'm sorry, Spence! I thought you were still paying attention! My bad!", I screamed out, hoping he or Carly would hear my apology. Carly turned her head towards me and nodded her head, accepting it on his behalf, before finally getting her brother off the floor and onto his feet, only to watch him stumble, trip over a pot, and then fall on the floor again. Gotta admit, even when he's in pain and possibly concussed, Spencer's still pretty darn hilarious.
"Good job there, Benson. Didn't think a wuss like you had it in ya to break someone's face with a football."
"I didn't break his face, Sam....hopefully. It just kinda....happened."
"Still....that was uh...a pretty good throw....for someone like you."
Wait...what was this? Was this Sam actually being nice to me? Well, I shouldn't be surprised, ever since that darn kiss we shared, she's been lightening up and not been as vicious to me....but is this her actually...meaning it? I didn't know what to think, but I had to act fast in what I had to say.
"You know, Sam", I said, whispering low enough so that Carly couldn't hear me, though I think I was covered there, as Spencer's painful wails hung over the entire apartment. "You don't need to be so harsh all the time. You really don't."
She eyed me up and down for a second, contemplating my words. She then stifled a chuckle as some of her blonde tresses swung down and covered half of her face as she leaned in and began to whisper in my ear.
"You know, Fredishini....I'm not as evil as you think. Maybe underneath this tough girl exterior I got here is a dainty little girly girl like Carly. Maybe."
My eyes grew wide and my jaw dropped as she pulled back, watching her grin that grin I like so much, before she turned away and began walking to the kitchen table, where Spencer had his head in a bowl that he was cradling in his arms, his face red, Carly sitting next to him, patting his shoulder in a comforting manner. Nothing was broken, that much I was thankful for....but my mind drifted back to what Sam just said. I was staring at her again.
But this time, she turned and saw, and merely giggled as she turned back around and began rummaging through Carly's fridge, in search of--what else--ham. My eyes were still wide and my jaw felt like it was touching the ground. Either she meant it, or she was just playing a sick, cruel joke on me.
Oh, why did I have to like Sam all of a sudden!? Why couldn't we go back to hating each other like we said we would after the kiss? Well, now that I think about about it, it looks like she has....but me? No. I just had to start developing feelings for Sam that weren't hatred and disdain. What if she didn't even like me back? Then I'd look like the biggest idiot this side of Seattle. Me. Freddie Benson, tech wiz and nerd to all who know me. Her. Samantha Puckett, naturally vicious and scary to everyone who's ever crossed her path. We hated each other, we insulted each other, we pulled pranks on each other....
And here I am, falling for the girl. Hard. I need a Peppy Cola. This is gonna be a long, bumpy ride...
AN: Aw, poor Freddie's conflicted! What's he gonna do? We'll see when I finish the next chapter xD. And on a quick note, for those of you who follow my Power Ranger stories, don't worry, I'm not dropping them all! I'm still working on them all, so no need to fret! Read and review, everyone, and I'll be your friend! :D
