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Freddie's POV

This is nice I thought to myself. I sat back in my chair and closed my eyes, giving a sigh of contentment. School was over for the summer and it was a beautiful day. I sat in my usual chair on the fire escape, enjoying the sun shining on my face and the breeze that gently ruffled my hair. Suddenly, I heard a knock on the window. I turned around to see Sam climbing onto the fire escape.

"Uh…hi" I said, slightly confused.

"My mom was bugging me" Sam said by way of explanation. She sat on the floor, leaning against the wall and splaying her legs out in front of her. "And since Carly's gone, you're it, nub"

Carly had left a few days before for a summer program at Brown. She was going to be gone all summer, and I knew that this upset Sam, perhaps more than she let on. Carly was her only real friend, and the prospect of two months without her, and without iCarly, seemed to hit Sam hard.

"Well don't I feel special" I said, rolling my eyes.

"Don't" Sam retorted, leaning back and closing her eyes. The sun shone on her face, illuminating her features and bringing out sparkling hints of gold in her blond curls. We sat there in silence for a while, neither of us entirely sure what to say. It wasn't often that Sam chose to spend time with me. My PearPod was hooked up to some speakers, and we listened to the music drifting around us. Suddenly, Sam opened her eyes and held out her hand.

"Give me the PearPod"

I eyed her apprehensively, not sure if this was a safe move or not. She sensed my hesitation and rolled her eyes at me.

"Come on, dork, I'm not gonna do anything to it. I just wanna pick a song"

I reluctantly picked up the PearPod and handed it to her. She took it and began scrolling through my music. I examined her face as she looked through my songs, watching for any change in expression, no matter how small. As much as I hated to admit it, I loved pleasing Sam Puckett. She was usually so critical and mean that a compliment from her, no matter how small, was a huge deal. Also, I was nervous to see if she liked my music. Music had become a big part of my life since I started guitar lessons a year and a half ago, and I felt like my music basically defined who I was. In a weird way, if Sam approved of my music, it would sort of be like she approved of me. I scrutinized her face, but it remained expressionless as she scrolled through the library of songs. Finally, she picked one and gave the PearPod back to me. The song she picked was one of my favourites, which surprised me. Who knew that Sam and I had anything in common? I leaned back in my chair and allowed the familiar music to wash over me. I sang along under my breath, and I could see that Sam was doing the same. The song ended, the last strains of guitar fading away. The PearPod was on Shuffle, so I waited to see which song would play next. When it started, I recognized the opening guitar instantly. Running Away by AM. The song that was playing when Sam and I kissed. Someone up there has a weird sense of humour I thought to myself. I once again examined Sam's face for any change in expression, but her eyes remained closed, her face relaxed. I could have sworn I heard her inhale sharply when the song started, but I told myself that it was just my imagination. I leaned back in my chair again, eyes closed, listening to the song and replaying that night in my head. Arguably the weirdest night of my life I thought. Ever since Sam and I had kissed on this very fire escape that night, there had been something there that I couldn't quite define. Sam wasn't any nicer to me, but things between us changed ever so subtly. We made the transition from acquaintances to friends, as hard as we both tried to deny it. Before that night, Sam and I couldn't really be called 'friends'. We were getting closer, but whenever something happened that would classify us as friends, we would resist it or ignore it. Neither of us really wanted to accept the fact that we had become friends, albeit reluctant ones. But that night broke the barrier, and although Sam still tormented me, perhaps even more viciously than before, on those rare occasions when Sam and I found ourselves acting like friends, or if we needed a friend in each other, we didn't shy away from it anymore. We had come to accept our friendship, rather than denying it or ignoring it. Before that night, Sam would never have come to me about Missy. And I never would have helped her. But now… things were different. And I liked it. And I would never ever admit it to anyone, but for me, there was something more. I was beginning to like Sam, and it scared the crap out of me. I couldn't like Sam. No. Just…no. I opened my eyes and tried to clear the thoughts out of my head. Sam had opened her eyes and was looking at her feet with an unreadable expression and a faraway look in her eyes. The song ended and she snapped back to reality, her eyes instantly focussing.

"I want a smoothie, nub. And you're gonna buy one for me"

"Am I now?" I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Yep" she said, hopping to her feet and dragging me out of my chair. She pushed me through the window and marched me out the apartment and towards the elevator. When she figured that I would come voluntarily she let go and we walked side by side to the Groovy Smoothie. We ordered smoothies, denying T-Bo's offer of avocados on a stick, and sat down at a table. We drank our smoothies in silence, watching the other customers of the Groovy Smoothie. Suddenly, Sam looked at me with her trademark smirk. She pointed behind me, to the corner of the building.

"Harold. Janitor"

This was a game we played often, whenever we were in a place with a lot of people. We found a person, and gave them a name and occupation that seemed to suit them. It was a dumb game, but we had been playing it for years and it was a surprisingly effective way of passing the time. I turned around to see an overweight, balding man with an impressive moustache and a bowling shirt.

"Agreed" I said, wrinkling my nose. I surveyed the store until I spotted a small old lady shuffling inside. She walked past our table and I could distinctly smell cat litter as she passed.

"Gladys. Crazy cat lady" I said, pointing discreetly. Sam looked, then nodded once in agreement. We carried on like this for quite a while, going back and forth.

"Raoul. Male stripper"

"Angus. Tech support"

"Cathy. Axe murderer"

"Dave. Gas station attendant"

We bantered for a while until T-Bo shooed us out, telling us that we needed to buy another smoothie or leave. Since we were both broke, we left. We walked up the street side by side, enjoying the sunshine. Suddenly, Sam stopped. I walked a couple steps before I realized that she was no longer beside me and I turned back. Sam was standing on the sidewalk, taking off her sweatshirt. She pulled it up and the shirt she was wearing underneath rose, exposing a strip of tan stomach, with hipbones poking out ever so slightly. As she stretched her hands up, pulling the sweatshirt over her head, the jeans that were sitting on her hips fell down slightly, and I could see glimpses of plain black underwear. I blinked spastically. Sam paused, her hair all messed up and the sweatshirt half-off.

"What are you looking at, nub?"

"Nothing" I said quickly, averting my gaze. She looked at me suspiciously but thankfully didn't say anything else. She simply walked towards me, sweatshirt in hand. Under the sweatshirt she was wearing a tight-fitting blue tank top that showed off her slender figure. The thin straps of the tank top did almost nothing to hide the bright yellow bra straps underneath. Freddie! I mentally scolded myself. Stop thinking about Sam's undergarments! Sam caught up to where I was waiting and we continued walking.

"Where are we going?" I asked, since Sam seemed to be walking with more purpose than me.

"I dunno" she answered. "This way!"

She hung a sharp left, leading the way down an unfamiliar street.

"Uh, Sam? Do you know where we are?"

"Nope. Why?"

"No reason…"

We walked down the street, passing parked cars and unassuming buildings. We turned a corner and found ourselves looking at a huge field. Trees were dotted along the outside of the field, and a few benches were scattered under some of the trees. A group of about twenty or so kids, who looked about six, were darting all over the field, dodging between the trees and laughing. Sam headed towards the field and I followed her. She dropped her sweatshirt on the grass and flagged down the nearest kid, a tiny boy with blonde hair that stuck up in a million directions.

"Hey kid. What are you playing?" she asked him. The kid struggled to catch his breath.

"Tag" he finally managed, panting.

"Can we play?" Sam asked, her face brightening. I looked at her in confusion.

"I guess so. Let me ask the others" he replied, turning to face the field. "Guys!" he tried to yell, but he was so out of breath that his attempt at a shout was nothing more than a wheeze. Sam took matters into her own hands.

"HEY!" she hollered. The kids stopped running and looked at Sam. She beckoned them over and they began walking towards us. When all the kids were clustered around us, she spoke.

"I'm Sam and this is Freddie" she began. I waved, and a few kids waved back. "Do you mind if we play with you?"

The kids looked at one another, then shrugged. A little girl near the front with an upturned nose spoke for the group.

"Sure!" she said brightly. "We're playing tag. Do you know how to play?"

"I think so" Sam answered, pretending to think about it. "Wanna remind me how?"

"Someone is It, and you have to run away from them. If they touch you, then you are It and you have to touch someone. Geddit?"

"Got it" said Sam, nodding. "So, who's it?"

The kids shared a mischievous look and began running away at full speed. The girl with the upturned nose touched Sam's hand before darting away.

"YOU!" she called over her shoulder, laughing. The field was now a mass of running, screaming kids. Sam looked at me with a wicked smile before shoving my shoulder.

"Now it's you, nub" she said, beginning to run away. "Catch me if you can!"

I looked at her, debating whether or not to play. Oh, what the hell I decided, chasing Sam. I hadn't realized how fast she was. When it became clear that I wasn't going to catch her, I stuck out my arm and brushed a passing kid on the arm.

"YOU'RE IT!" I yelled, running in the opposite direction. I don't know how long we played with these kids. Eventually we all collapsed on the ground, panting. When I had caught my breath, I sat up and surveyed the group of kids sprawled out on the grass, wheezing and panting. Sam plopped down on the grass next to me, her face red and her hair piled into a hasty bun from which a few curls had escaped. She lay flat on her back and closed her eyes, breathing heavily, her ribcage heaving up and down. Despite the red face and the messy hair, Sam was glowing.