It had been one week since the Taco truck, one week since Freddie Benson had almost died for Carly Shay. Five days since she had first kissed him, and three days since he had told her that he was just bacon. Freddie had been counting each moment of each day since these events and kicking himself for believing the bacon crap the blonde demon, also known as Sam Puckett, had put in his head.
"You ready to do the show?" comes the familiar voice of his brunette friend, whom he's also in love with, and of course beside her is Sam.
"Yeah, I was just finishing some tech stuff."
"Yeah yeah, enough with the geek stuff." Sam interrupts, "Let's get this over with so Mama can eat!"
Carly just shakes her head and gives the technical producer an apologetic smile before stepping in front of the camera. When she's not looking Freddie stares at her, a longing look that only Sam notices but says nothing about.
"In 5...4...3...2.."
"Hi I'm Carly!"
"And I'm Sam!"
Freddie wasn't able to focus very well on the show, his mind a million miles away, but he still managed to get the show to not only be good, he made it fantastic. "And we're clear." he said as he put the camera away, "Great show guys."
"Thanks." Carly said while Sam simply pushed passed him. "Hey Freddie.."
"Yeah?" the young tech genius asked.
"You seemed distracted... Are you okay?"
"Yes." he lied, a gnawing feeling appearing his stomach, "Just.. Got a lot of-"
Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Carly's older brother, Spencer, who burst into the iCarly studio with what looked to be letters in his hand "Where's Sam?" he asked.
"Kitchen." The teenagers replied.
"You three all got a letter from... Hollywood Arts."
"What's Hollywood Aarts?" Carly asked.
"I'll look it up." A few minutes later he was on their website, "It's a performing arts High School.." he muttered, "For kids with some kind of talent.."
"You're kidding." she said, "Why would they be writing to us?" She sounded confused, but he could tell she was just as excited he was.
"Let's go downstairs and open the letter, Sam will wanna hear about this."
"Good idea." She took the letter from Spencer, "Come on!" she said excitedly.
They followed her downstairs and found Sam with her head in the fridge, "Where's the ham?!" she asked.
"Oh...um.." Spencer began.
She pulled her head out of the fridge and glared at him, "Did you eat it all?" she demanded.
"Maybe.."
"Sam!" Carly interrupted, "Come over here."
"Alright alright Mama's coming."
The trio sat down on the couch and Carly opened the letter and began to read "Oh my god... Guys." she said, "They want us to audition.."
"What the chizz?" Sam asked confused, "Audition for what?"
"Hollywood Arts, it's a performing school in Hollywood... They're considering us for admission there! Oh my god... Spencer you have to take us."
Spencer squirmed in his chair, "Do I have to?" he whined.
"Yes!" the trio, even Sam, exclaimed.
"But wait.." Sam said.
"What is it?" Her brunette friend asked
"Mama ain't talented."
"Yes you are!" Carly said excitedly, "You can act, you can dance."
"Oh yeah... I forgot about the pageant yesterday."
"How do you...?"
"Shut up nub." Sam said, "I'm in ham withdrawal!"
"Spencer, Tomorrow is Thursday and it's a long drive, so can we leave tonight?" Carly asked her older brother
He sighed, "Yeah, I'll borrow Socko's RV and drive us down."
She jumped up and hugged him, "Thank you!"
"No problem Kiddo." he said with a sigh of defeat. "We'll leave tonight."
"I'm gonna go leave my mom a note." Freddie said.
"I'm gonna go leave my mom a note." Sam mimicked.
He glared and opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by Spencer.
"I'm gonna go get the RV!" The immature artist said and headed for the door, the young teen boy following, which left the two girls alone.
"You really shouldn't pick on him." the brunette said.
"Why not? It's fun."
"Because he's our friend."
The blonde turned to look at her best friend oddly, "You've never cared before... Why all of a sudden?"
"No reason..."
Sam laughed, "No way... You still.."
"Of course not!" she snapped defensively, "Now come on, we've gotta figure out what we're gonna do for our auditions... I think I'll sing."
"You sing?"
"I can sing.."
"Well I'm dancing obviously, I think I have a solo act that will be perfect... Auditions Settled?"
"For us... But I wonder what Freddie's going to do."
The young man in question was, in fact, sitting on his bed writing a note explaining everything. She's not gonna like this He thought, But I'm done with her treating me like a baby. He had moved out about two weeks ago, before the taco truck incident, which had proved that if pushed too far he was capable of lashing out.
He stuck the note to the fridge, where he knew she would see it, before heading downstairs to meet his friends.
An hour later they were on the road, heading south for Los Angeles. They decided to stop at Tacoma, about half an hour later, to refuel and get snacks for the road. They all got a snack: Sam got beef jerky and a fat cake, while Freddie and Carly got a candy bar, and Spencer got a cookie.
"Everyone in the RV!" Spencer said, "Next stop... California!"
Everyone cheered and got back in the RV, obviously excited. They played various games, Sam wanted to play punch the nub but Carly quickly vetoed it, until Spencer pulled over at a rest stop "We'll be in California soon, and then it's a long drive to Los Angeles in the morning, so let's all get some sleep."
The three teenagers groaned but agreed. Ten minutes later the trio, plus Spencer, were ready to get some sleep when Carly turned her head to look at Freddie, "What're you gonna do for your audition?"
The young man looked surprised, "Um, I'll show them what I can do with audio and video, that's gotta be talent right?"
"Then they'll let you in for sure." She said softly, "We... I don't give you enough credit Freddie; iCarly wouldn't be possible without you."
Before he could reply Sam let out a loud snore, proving she was asleep, and Carly giggled "Good night Freddie."
"Night Carly."
The next morning Spencer started the RV, the three teenagers were still asleep but he'd made himself wake up early so they could make it to Los Angeles by early afternoon. He looked at his watch, it was 5:30 A.M so, if the app on his phone was right, they wouldn't get to L.A until at least 5 P.M.
The three teens awoke about 10: 15 AM "Where are we" Freddie asked groggily
"Um... No idea" Spencer said. "I think we're about an hour from San Francisco." He paused, looking at the GPS on his phone, "We'll probably go through Santa Rosa."
The rest of the trip was quiet and uneventful, with the iCarly trio finding various ways to entertain themselves. At about 1 in the afternoon Spencer called Hollywood Arts, Carly having made sure he saved the number on his phone, and made sure they would have time for auditions. It was about 6 PM when they got to Los Angeles, Sam practically burst out of the RV "Finally!" she groaned, "I don't think I could be cooped up in that stupid R.V for another minute."
"We've still got the ride back." Freddie reminded her, which earned him a punch on the shoulder. "Ow!"
"Sam!"
"Yes Carls?"
"No hitting Freddie!"
The blonde merely rolled her eyes and Freddie looked his brunette crush curiously; she had never told Sam off before.
Does she..? He shook his head Don't do it Benson... Don't.. "Thanks Carly!" Stupid!
Carly smiled at him but didn't say anything; instead she turned her attention to Spencer, "So what do we do now?"
"Eat!" Sam interjected, "I haven't eaten since that rest stop a couple hours ago."
"There's a chicken place." Carly pointed out, looking at her brother's phone, "Um... BF Wangs?"
"You know I'm in!."
"I'm in." Freddie said.
"I'm in." the blonde mocked.
"Sam!"
"Nozu's it is, everyone back in the R.V!" The artist interrupted to a chorus of groans.
Luckily for the three teenagers the drive to BF Wangs was only about ten minutes.
BF Wangs was a typical resturant, smells of Chicken and other cooked meats drifted in from the kitchen, causing Sam to drool a little. Just then a dark haired girl, just coming out of the bathroom near the entrance, bumped into Sam, who was paying attention to other people's chicken and thinking of ways to steal it.
"Watch it!" the girl growled
Sam glared back, "How about you watch it goth freak?"
The girl in question was dressed in a black tank top, black jeans, and black leather boots, had her eyebrow pieced, and a long green streak in her otherwise dark hair. "What did you just call me?"
"You heard me, Goth freak."
Just then a young man, also with dark hair, appeared next to the Gothic girl, "What's going on Jade?"
Jade looked at him, "She called me a freak!" she snarled, furious.
"Yeah I did." the blonde taunted, "What cha gonna do about it?!"
The girl lunged, only to be held back by the boy, "I'm sorry about this." he apologized, struggling to hold her back, "I'm Beck."
"Carly," the brunette girl who, along with Freddie, was holding Sam back. "This is Sam, and that's Freddie."
"Oh yeah, you guys are 'iCarly' aren't you? I've seen you all on-line," then, turning to his girlfriend, who was still trying to squirm free to set upon the blonde Seattleite, he continued, "We.. Better go. It was nice meeting you guys in person." He dragged Jade away, who was still glaring at Sam.
"Sam, why would you start a fight the first day we're here?!"
"She bumped into ME... Mama don't take that sitting down."
"Let's just eat and get out of here."
They sat down, Carly making sure they were in the corner far away from Beck and Jade, and ate in silence. Finally Spencer, who hadn't spoken since they'd entered BF Wangs "This is fantastic chicken."The three teenagers mumbled their agreement, too focused on their food and the auditions tomorrow.
"What time is our audition tomorrow?" Freddie finally asked.
"Um, three P.M" Spencer said, "So you guys better know what you want to do."
After they finished eating Carly wanted to go sight-seeing, which Sam and Spencer didn't want to, so Freddie volunteered to go with her.
"Thanks for coming with me Freddie, it's much more fun to go sight-seeing with someone else."
"It's fine Carls." Anything to be alone with you.
"Are you okay? I mean, healed properly? A Taco truck hit you and... We never really got to talk about it much."
A pained expression formed on his face, "I'm fine." he lied, "perfectly fine."
Carly pretended not to see the pained expression but inside it felt like her heart was breaking in half, Why didn't I talk to him? Why don't I just... No I can't tell him She thought, He had me... He had what he always wanted, and he let me go to make sure it was real, and I need to do the same... I need to make sure what I feel isn't just hero worship, but I don't know how.
"You okay Carly?"
She snapped back to reality, "huh? Oh I'm fine.."
They walked around L.A for about another half an hour before deciding to head back to the R.V "Nervous about tomorrow?" he asked.
"Yeah... What if they don't like me?"
"Then they'd be fools."
"Why?"
"Because... You are the most talented and beautiful girl I know."
The brunette blushed, thankful it was night, and kissed his cheek "Let's go, Spencer will be waiting."
Meanwhile Spencer and Sam were trying to entertain themselves, "Wanna play a game ?"
Spencer looked up, "Um sure?"
She pulled out a card deck from her bag, "Go fish?"
"I love Go Fish!"
They spent the next half hour playing Go Fish, with Sam winning pretty much every match, when the R.V doors opened and the two dark haired members of the iCarly trio walked in.
"This place is amazing!" Carly exclaimed, "I really hope we get in to Hollywood Arts and move here."
The rest of the night was spent playing various card games, usually whatever ones Sam could think up, and in the morning the group from Seattle got ready for their auditions, the three teens showered and dressed up for the audition.
Finally it was time for their auditions, the RV pulled up to Hollywood Arts and the three raced into the school while Spencer parked the RV.
They were led by a teacher, who looked like a homeless person, who introduced himself as Sikowitz to a stage, "first up... Freddie Benson." Sikowitz said as he sat at a table with three other people. "Sinjin!"
A boy with curly hair and glasses ran up, "Yes?"
"Bring me some coconut milk please."
"Right away!"
The iCarly trio looked at each other but didn't say anything. "Now!" Sikowitz said, "Benson, you're up."
For Freddie's audition he their set up to show them what he could do with audio and visual, "I do all A/v work for iCarly, and I'm very good with it."
"Very nice." Sikowitz mumbled, and the three adults sitting at the table began writing on their clipboards. "Puckett!" he called.
Sam took a deep breath and stepped out. "I'm a dancer." she explained.
"Well dance then!"
The blonde nodded and danced, which brought back fond memories of the dance classes she'd taken for the pageants. When she was done Sikowitz again muttered, "Nice." and along with the other two at his table wrote on his clipboard.
"Shay!" he called.
"Good luck." Freddie whispered
"Thanks."
She walked out and smiled, "I.. I'm gonna sing." she said nervously.
They nodded, "need any special music?"
"Um.. Yeah, Meant for Me?" she asked, "Know it?"
Freddie looked up in surprise but didn't say anything as the music started and Carly began to sing.
I can be fragile,
I can break in two
but I know I'll be swept up by you
and if I get frightened you'll always be
a place of quiet to calm me
And if you feel my love just let it show
and if you want my heart just let me know
cause you are meant for me
Freddie's mouth went dry as he watched the brunette girl on stage sing the song they had danced to after the Girls' Choice dance. He still remembered that dance very well... How right it had felt to have her in his arms and to dance with her... He took a deep breath, banishing the thoughts of the dance, and watched her sing.
oooh...
Sometimes I feel frozen and the words I say
you carry my breath the wrong way
but then when I touch you and I disappear
safe in your arms you take me
and if you feel my love just let it show
and if you want my heart just let me know
cause you are meant for me
Carly took a deep breath between verses and glanced at Freddie, his expression showed how confused he was but she didn't want him to know she was looking at her, so she kept singing.
The boy in question paused, was it his imagination or did she just look at him? She wouldn't do that.. Or maybe she's still in hero worship mode. Hero worship was his worst enemy, he wanted her to want him for who he was... Not for what he did, and the thought that she loved him for something other than that killed him inside.
oooh...
My heart has come alive right now
it opened up a whole new world
I only want to show you what it's like to love this girl
cause you are meant for me.
oooh...
cause you are meant for me.
oooh..
cause you are meant for me.
The brunette put down the mic and glanced nervously at the three teachers, she assumed they were teachers, who were writing on their clipboards before joining her friends at the side of the room. Just then a redhead burst into the room and looked around, "Ohh... New auditions?" she asked.
"Cat!" Sikowitz said, "Get to class!"
"Alright." she said, "Robbie's probably waiting for me." The redheaded girl then exited without another word.
"Alright, We have come to a decision." the middle teacher said, an older woman with blonde hair, "You all did wonderful on your auditions so.."
"You're all in!" The eccentric teacher interrupted "Congratulations!"
The trio just grinned, "When we do we start?"
"When do you wanna start?"
"Um, next week? Once we get moved in and settled?" Carly suggested.
"How about, February first, the Monday after Martin Luther King day."
"Perfect!" the brunette girl said.
"Si!
"Sounds good."
"Then it's settled, Carly, Freddie, and Sam... Welcome to Hollywood Arts."
Note: I got this idea after reading PD31's story iSwitch Schools (which is a fantastic story and if you haven't read it yet I suggest doing so). I don't own iCarly or Victorious, I'm just a fanfic writer having fun.