Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and it begins at the end of iParty with Victorious. This story is inspired by PD31's "When Something Better Comes Along" and OneHorseShay's "iWould Have Pounded Him Silly," but it will follow a somewhat different series of events. I hope you enjoy my story, and I would greatly appreciate any feedback.

Chapter 1

Freddie wandered somewhat aimlessly through Kenan's house. The song sung by the iCarly members and Tori and her friends was fun, but after the adrenaline had worn off, the boy was in a more contemplative mood.

He was a bit peeved at Carly, his longtime crush. She had earlier scoffed at Freddie's offer to beat up Steven, her two-timing ex-boyfriend, claiming that the former was "nerdy" and would be "pounded silly." He also recalled the incident back in Seattle where Carly had thrown an orange at his spine for daring to say that Tori was hot. Although Sam's orange had hurt as much, he was used to physical (and emotional) abuse from the blonde bully. But to be gleefully hurt by the girl he loved shattered his heart. It felt like not even his best friend really cared about him.

As Freddie entered what he thought was an empty room, he heard soft sobbing. He looked ahead and saw Tori, sitting on the floor, hugging herself and head buried in her arms. She had also withdrawn from the party crowd after the song to gather her thoughts, when the full implications of Steven's betrayal had hit her. The singer had not dated much since entering Hollywood Arts, and Steven was her first supposedly serious relationship, lasting almost a hundred days. She wanted to be by herself for a while, but with the new entrant, that was apparently not going to happen.

Delicately closing the door, the boy uttered a soft, "Hey, Tori?"

She lifted her head, wiped away some of her tears, and replied, "Oh Freddie, hey."

His heart breaking a bit more for the attractive actor, he walked over and sat down next to her, wrapping his right arm around her, to which she responded by resting her head on his shoulder. Freddie rubbed comforting circles on Tori's right arm and gently cradled her left hand with his. He gazed sympathetically at her, "Oh Tori, I'm so sorry. You don't deserve this."

Tori sniffled, feeling a bit better in the boy's comforting embrace. "Thanks Freddie, you've very sweet," she said with a small smile, "But I don't mean to keep you from your friends and the party."

"Carly and Sam will be fine without me for a bit," Freddie replied with a hint of annoyance. Tori picked up on his tone but didn't immediately comment. He continued, "Besides, I don't mind spending some time getting to know such a pretty girl."

She giggled a bit, responding, "Well, I would love to learn more about the guy who produces my favorite webshow!"

Said technical producer immediately brightened. He rarely got much credit for his hard work in producing iCarly, even from the show's hosts, and was extremely flattered and grateful that Tori recognized his talent. Freddie replied, "Wow, thanks! I know I'm not as famous as Carly or Sam, but..."

The girl interrupted him, "Come on, I've been in lots of plays and I know how much work is done behind the camera! Without your skills, iCarly wouldn't exist!"

Freddie felt his affection for the girl in his arms grow. He'd found her very attractive while looking at her pictures in Seattle, and the boy continued developing a crush on the singer who he now saw was sweet and considerate. He smiled, replying somewhat bashfully, "Aw, thanks, I don't hear that too often." He added, under his breath, "...not even from Carly or Sam." But she had heard him anyway.

Tori's eyes softened at the boy. She realized that she wasn't the only one feeling a little sad. She wrapped her left arm around the boy and rubbed his knee comfortingly with her right hand. As two pairs of dejected brown eyes gazed at each other, Tori asked softly, "Are things okay between you and them?"

Freddie realized that he wasn't as good at hiding his exasperation with his friends as he thought. He sighed, "Honestly, I'm a bit annoyed at Carly right now."

Tori was somewhat surprised at this, "Huh, I thought you'd be annoyed at Sam. Isn't Carly the girl you're in love with?"

The boy nodded, and she continued, "Oh, I'm sorry. It must have been so hard to watch her date that jerk."

Freddie countered, "Sort of, I've mostly given up on her liking me back. But sometimes I wish she treated be better as a friend."

She felt her concern grow for the boy. She had many friends who truly cared for her, but it seemed like Freddie's friends tended to treat him as an afterthought. Tori asked, "Well, how does she treat you?"

Freddie elaborated, "In general, she lets Sam insult and hit me constantly, but I'm used to that. But more recently, she hit me with an orange a few days ago, and just earlier she said I shouldn't beat up Steven because I was 'nerdy' and I would get pounded silly."

Tori furrowed her eyebrows, and she used her right hand to feel the boy's biceps, after which she argued, "Then Carly's an idiot. You could easily take him."

Freddie replied, "Yeah, but I think she still sees me as the little sixth grader with a puppy crush."

The girl then responded to the other half of his complaint, "Wait, she hit you with an orange?!"

The boy was a bit reluctant to share the context behind that assault, but he relented, "Yeah, we actually found that picture of you and Steven on TheSlap and I said you were really hot."

Tori raised her eyebrows, exclaiming, "and she assaulted you with an orange?!" She continued, "Wow, it sounds like she doesn't like you but doesn't want you looking at other girls."

Freddie agreed, "Yeah, she's always done that when I get even a little interested in another girl. I used to like it because I thought it meant she'd eventually return my feelings for her, but now I pretty much know that that'll never happen."

The actor smirked, playfully suggesting, "Maybe you should start looking at other girls. I'm sure a sweet and adorable boy like you can find someone to treat you right!"

Freddie blushed, and flirted back, "Well, I think there is another cute girl I'm falling for!" Pinching one of Tori's cheeks, he continued, "She has the most amazing cheekbones!"

The girl laughed and jokingly asked, "Oh, is that the only thing you see in a girl?"

The iCarly member smiled and was silent for a moment. He looked into her soft brown eyes and saw something he hadn't experienced in a while: true caring and compassion. He finally replied, "No, I also see a beautiful, talented, and caring girl who cheered me up and gave me hope even though her heart was broken. I see a girl who deserves more love and affection than I may be able to give right now," ending with a sigh.

Tori felt a surge of affection for Freddie, tempered by sadness that he felt neglected by his supposed best friends. She replied, "Well, I don't think I've ever been in love, but I get that it'll take time to get over Carly. But that doesn't mean you need to put your own happiness on hold." She wished there were something she could do to heal the boy's broken heart. As she tightened her embrace around Freddie, she realized that even if he wasn't looking for a girlfriend right now, he still needed a true friend. So, she continued, "I want you to know that you shouldn't have to feel like an afterthought to your friends. You should tell them how you really feel, and if Carly and Sam truly care about you, they'll listen and treat you better." She then smiled at the cute boy and booped his nose, "and if you want, whenever you need a shoulder to cry on, you can talk to Tori!"

Freddie laughed, and assured her, "I think I'll take you up on that offer!"

The pair then fell into a comfortable silence, still cuddling against each other on the floor. Tori continued embracing the boy and used her free hand to gently stroke Freddie's right hand. She leaned against his shoulder, and whispered softly into his ear, "Don't worry, everything will be okay." She missed Freddie's embrace from earlier, but Tori felt that Freddie needed some comfort even more than she did; she just lost a boyfriend, but Freddie had found his friendships thrown into question.

The boy sighed, finally noticing increasingly frantic texts from Carly. He'd been in the room with Tori for over half an hour, so her know that Carly would be looking for him, possibly with Sam in tow. He explained the situation, saying "I'm having a great time with you, but if they find me, they'll probably be mad." Tori frowned for a bit, before coming up with a plan. She smirked, leaned right next to his ear, and coyly whispered, "If you want to avoid them a bit longer, I can take you home with me!" She continued, "I can make us some hot cocoa, and we can get to know each other some more!"

Freddie blushed furiously at this comment, but the longer he considered her proposition, the more enticing it sounded. He was certain that his friends would interfere in his budding relationship with the sweet girl currently comforting him. He finally composed himself and replied, "I'd like that. Do you have a car?"

Tori flushed in embarrassment, admitting "I do have a car, but I don't have a license. One of my friends drove me here."

Freddie chuckled, "Well, since you're so eager to take me home with you, I can drive your car."

Tori stood up first, causing Freddie to immediately miss her embrace. She then gazed down at him with a tender smile and offered a hand. The boy grabbed her hand and pulled himself up. Smiling at each other, the two teens walked out of the room. They first went to pick up Freddie's bag, which was in another room, and then towards the front door to exit Kenan's house and reach Tori's car. However, just before they reached the exit, the escaping pair was interrupted.

"Freddie, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you," exclaimed Carly. She then looked at the pair's still joined hands and glowered at her friend, "Were you with her the entire time?!"

Freddie was not in the mood to be yelled at by his longtime unrequited crush for being with another girl, so he icily rejoined, "Yes, I've been talking to Tori a while here, and now she's taking me home with her."

The web host angrily protested, "You can't just leave!"

By this point, Tori was also annoyed at the intruder, and she snidely asked, "Or what, you'll hit him with an orange again?"

Carly was rendered momentarily speechless, so the singer continued, "Oh yeah, he told me all about how you physically hurt him for saying that I was attractive." She then pulled on Freddie's hand and dragged him past Carly out of the house, with a parting shot, "we're leaving now, don't wait up!"

Freddie and Tori soon reached her car. Although he was very grateful that Tori had stood up for him, he was concerned that Carly might bring Spencer, Sam, and Gibby to Tori's house to demand his return. Tori reassured him, "it'll probably take them a while to find out where I live." She then patted his knee and performed her flirtatious hair flip, smirking at her driver, "And if you really don't want to go back with them, you could always stay at my place for a bit and catch a flight back."

While grateful for her offer, Freddie hoped he would not need to take such a drastic step, though he liked the idea of staying with Tori overnight. He merely said, "Sounds like a plan!" and began driving to Tori's house.

Both teens were then silent for a moment, smiling at each other and simultaneously thinking how lucky they were to find each other.