I do not own ICarly, Sam Puckett, Carly Shay, or Freddie Benson. Sadly.

This is my first piece of Fan fiction, hopefully you guys like it so I feel inspired to continue! Constructive criticism is always welcome. Now, on with the story…

Chapter 1: Denial

Everything blends together when Sam runs. Her heart pounds; her adrenaline rises. It's a release. An endorphin of the best kind... Better than the alcohol, better than any drug. Which is why she's is running; she has to get away. Everything is happening way too fast for her to process. "None of this can be real." She convinces herself. She shakes her head in an attempt to throw away the memories of her day and the last 4 years. She runs faster than she's used to, moving with the beat of the music blaring out of her headphones, her feet barley hitting the pavement beneath her. Maybe she's finally broken down the barrier between running away and floating.

Biting back tears that are slowly creeping past her defenses, Sam glances behind her to see if he has followed. A small ping of sadness passes through her as she realizes that she's alone, truly alone. It's not like she didn't expect it. She slows down to a jog when she notices that her chest is aching from running so hard – or maybe it's the crying. Strangely, she welcomes the feeling of weariness as it seeps into her. This time, Sam has actually managed to escape.

Only until you have to return, interrupts her mind. She knows ignoring the problem will not make it vanish, but she figures it's as good a start as any. Shutting her eyes close tightly, Sam begins to sing along with the music in her ears as she walks along an all too familiar path barely visible through a cluster of trees.

Eventually she finds their spot. Or so she had deemed it the first time the pair had stumbled upon the location on their walk home from school on a new route; it was nothing special. Just a single log draped across land that had been cut away by the stream flowing underneath it… Over time, and as the place grew meaning, Sam had secured the log, making it large enough for a person (or two) to sit comfortably on.

Sam smiles as she steps onto the worn down bark, relishing in the feeling of familiarity it brings. She sits down and pulls her knees to her chest.

She almost can't believe why she's here, but the carvings in the wood beneath her remind her all too well of what she's running from. She traces her fingers along the jagged SP + FB initials in the wood and sighs.

"You can't keep running forever Puckett." Sam whispers to herself "Reality will catch up eventually."

"FUCK" she yells suddenly. Then, realizing what she has done, she whips her head around and searches for signs of other people. Of small children or old people she may have offended. She relaxes somewhat when she finds no one. A gentle breeze passes over her, shaking the leaves and causing the water below to move ever so slightly. A small dragonfly looms around her lazily, drawing invisible figure eights that Sam tries to trace with her hands. After a few minutes the small creature flies away and, despite her attempts to forget the past couple of hours, she breaks down into heavy sobs. "Don't go" Sam says to it. "Please."

"SAM!" Someone calls from a distance. She hears the voice, even knows who it belongs to, but as much as she wants to stop crying, she can't. Instead, her sobs become heavier and her body begins shaking from the weight of the situation. She can't deny her feelings for him anymore. They come, wave upon wave, as she sits there on their log, helpless and alone.

He calls her name again, this time closer. Finding a small amount of will power, Sam raises her hand and wipes away the tears that now stain her pale cheeks. He can't see her like this. She hears his faint footsteps behind her followed by a deep sigh. She doesn't turn around. She knows she doesn't need to.

"Sam" Freddie's voice says quietly, and the unexpected gentleness in his tone causes her tears to start up again. She buries her head in her arms and bites her bottom lip until it hurts, trying her best to silence her sobs. She has no control over her body, and as soon as she feels his strong grip on her shoulders, she falls into his arms like she used to and weeps uncontrollably. Sam can feel his arms shifting around her body as he moves to sit beside her on their log and a small part of her is glad that he's here. As much as she had wished to be alone right now, she knew that he knew exactly what she needed. He always did.

She cries for several more minutes while he gently glides his fingers through her nest of tangled blonde hair, calming her sobs into nothing but a few gradual heaves. When Sam is finally reduced to nothing but sniffles, she brings herself closer to him despite her best efforts against it.

"Sam" He says her name softer this time, and she picks up her head from his shoulder to look at him for the first time since she ran away from him a couple hours before.

Sam's heart had beat uncontrollably as she ran as fast as her feet would carry her down the hall, pushing her way through crowds of students and faculty who stopped to gawk at her as she passed them. This couldn't be happening, Sam thought. Not after everything they had been through. Not after what they had done.

How could she be so stupid? Had she really miss read all those signs? She could feel the redness making its way to her cheeks, a telltale sign that she was about to cry.

She couldn't let them see her like this.

Just run. She urged herself. Run before they all witness the love sick wimp you really are.

In the glass reflection of the door Sam was about to escape from, She could see that several feet behind her, Freddie had broken his kiss with the brunette girl before him, and that what was once a smile on his face was quickly replaced with a look of shock and confusion at Sam's quick departure. "Sam?" she could hear him yell through the crowd.

"SAM!"

She ignored the rest of his cries as she shoved the door open and let the cool fall air embrace her. Then, she started to run. She ran to the only place she knew she could seek refuge. The only place she knew he could find her, if he wanted to. She knew that Freddie would wonder why she didn't stop for him, why she had ran in the first place… but she also knew that if she talked to him at the moment, faced him and Carly… that her resolve would break.

Sam ran because wasn't good at hurting.

"I'm sorry, Freddie I-" she whispers faintly, her eyes shimmering with tears.

He shakes his head. "Don't."

She wants to say more, she knows that she should…she owes him an explanation, but her chin is once again shaking and she can't find the right words. She never can, and that's the problem. He watches as she bites her lip and a tear rolls down her face. Knowing that there is little he can do, Freddie reaches out and grazes his thumb over her cheek, erasing the tear and its path from her face. At this gesture, Sam cracks ever so slightly and leans her head on his shoulder once again.

"Why did this have to happen between us?" she whispers.

"I don't know Sam," his reply is short winded and she thinks she can hear some kind of sadness in his tone.

"But you know we can't stay out here."

Out of the corner of her eye, Sam can see him tracing his index finger along the initials they had carved into the wood so long ago. Light years ago, it seemed.

"We have to go back." His voice is strained as he continues.

"Carly's worried."

Sam shakes her head against his shoulder. "I don't want to go back Fred, I can't see her right now"

"You need to." He states.

"Why?"

"Because she's your best friend…and she didn't know…she kissed me Sam." He clears his throat, searches for the words that fit.

"And she wouldn't of if she had known" he whispers.

And it was true. How could Carly of known? The bond Freddie and Sam had built over the last 4 years had been a secret the two of them had only shared with each other. It had started on a random day as nothing but a harmless kiss between lifelong friends but had progressed to so much more.

Sam nods and reluctantly pulls away from him, taking his hand when he stands up and offers it to her. She allows him to pull her up from the ground and gladly accepts the hug he immediately wraps her in. It's long; longer than a friend would hug another friend. She pulls back after a few moments and looks at him. Then, she takes a deep breath before she walks away from him, an action she felt signified everything she was feeling. Freddie watches her for a moment before he follows.

A few months into the sex, Freddie had begun to see Sam Puckett, the girl he couldn't stand, the vain to his mere existence in a different light. It wasn't just the way she looked naked, or how her toes curled up after they had finished, or how peaceful she looked when she slept that did it for him though. It was the fact that every day, more and more, he could notice Sam changing.

It was subtle at first and mostly just apparent to him…but it was still there. Sam had begun to be nice to Freddie outside of bed. She did things for him. She even smiled at him once or twice in public. She didn't push him around…as much…and when she would steal him away for a kiss when no one was looking, he swore he could feel sparks. Then there was the fact that she was beautiful. Had she always been beautiful? He didn't know. He was used to going for girls like Carly…But the spunky, curly haired blonde in their trio had given him second thoughts on his idea of attraction.

Whether they liked it or not, Freddie and Sam had fallen for each other.

"How did you find me?" Sam asks, breaking Freddie's thought process as his running car came in to view in the distance. Though they are still far from the vehicle, Sam could tell that Carly was in the passenger's seat waiting for their return. "I told her I wanted to find you alone" Freddie says.

He squeezes Sam's hand gently. "I knew you would go someplace that would clear your head." She smiles. "Hey, look at that: a smile."

"I smile," she replies. Freddie looks down at her and raises an eyebrow. "Okay," she admits. "I know I haven't smiled today, but can you really blame me?" As they near the car Sam slows down, the current situation catching up with her once more.

"Sam?" Freddie asks when he feels her stop completely.

"Sam, it's alright," he says quietly as he turns to faces her.

She shakes her head vehemently and raises her watery blue eyes to look at her best friend. Why did she have to love him? "No, it's not. She loves you Freddie… and I know you love her too."

He doesn't say anything. Instead, he looks down, wrapping his arms around her as another round of sobs roll through her already exhausted body. She had known it was true. She just didn't know it would hurt so bad putting it on the table. She had hoped he would deny it, but why would he? He had been in love with Carly their entire friendship…so what was 4 years with Sam? "I'm an idiot-" Sam begins to mumble something, but the words are muffled as she cries. She decides that now is as good as any time to tell him.

"Freddie I'm pregnant" she whispers.

And then, just like that, the world stops.

So what do you guys think? Should I continue? Let me know…my head is full of ideas for this.