Carly and Freddie were in her room, studying for their history test the next day.

"Okay, next question." Carly said. "What was the –"

"Can we take a break? I feel like I'm going to explode." Freddie said, interrupting Carly. She laughed.

"Sure." She said with a smile.

They walked down the stairs, both relieved to be done with studying at the moment.

"Wahoo punch?" She asked. Freddie nodded, so she went to the fridge to get the punch out. Carly had been trying to deny her somewhat newly discovered feelings for Freddie, but it was getting harder and harder each day. The way he smiled at her, the way he laughed with her, and most importantly, the way he loved her.

She knew that she loved him back, but she didn't want to lose their friendship. Freddie and Carly had been friends ever since the sixth grade. If they did end up in a relationship, what would happen if they broke up? Carly wasn't ready to lose the friendship that they had been building for the past six years. So, she hid her feelings. But she knew that her days of being able to hide them were numbered. Freddie was bound to figure it out sooner or later, and when he did, he was going to make sure that they ended up together.

Pouring two glasses of Wahoo punch, Carly went to sit on the couch where Freddie was.

"What are we watching?" She asked, taking a sip of the fruity beverage.

"Oh, I was just waiting for you to bring the punch out," Freddie admitted with a smile. "We really do need to study more." He said.

Carly sighed. "But I don't like studying," She complained.

Freddie laughed and Carly smiled.

"Come on, we only have a few more pages to go over," Freddie said before grabbing Carly's wrist to drag her up the stairs. She resisted the whole way, complaining about how boring history was and how no one needed to know about it.

"Carly," Freddie said with a laugh, "If we didn't know about the past, we'd do the same stupid things they did."

"I know, I know. I just don't like studying." She said with a smile. Freddie smiled back.

He couldn't help but notice that Carly had been acting differently around him lately. She smiled at him all the time, and she played with her hair whenever they were around each other. He hoped that she was finally developing feelings for him, but he didn't want to act on anything just incase he was horribly misinterpreting her actions.

"Okay," He said, ready to compromise. "How about…I'll say a word, and you say the first word that comes to your mind?" He asked. If he was being honest with himself, he was doing this to see what Carly's favorite things were. He was also drilling himself to see if he knew the right answer.

Carly laughed. "Sure."

"Alright, you ready?" He asked. She nodded. "Okay, ice cream."

"Chocolate."

"Colors." He said.

"Green," She answered. Freddie smiled; he got that one right.

"Dinner," He supplied.

"Spaghetti tacos," Carly said with a laugh.

"Class."

"Boring." She said. Freddie laughed.

"Books."

"Harry Potter."

"Sam," He said.

"Chicken."

"Spencer."

"Art," She replied. Carly was proud of herself for being able to come up with words so on the spot.

"Freddie," He said, anxious to hear what she would say.

"Love."

Freddie's eyes snapped up and met Carly's. His were full of hope and questions, hers were full of surprise.

"Did you just say…what I think you did?" Freddie asked cautiously. Carly nodded her head slowly, still looking surprised. "Uhh…well…huh." Freddie said, not really thinking of how to phrase his question.

"Umm…studying…history…let's go." Carly mumbled, trying to change the topic.

"Umm…hang on a sec, Carly. I've got some questions that need to be answered." Freddie said, not letting Carly off the hook.

"Do we really have to talk about this now?" Carly said, starting to get up and walk to the bed. Freddie grabbed her wrist and refused to let go.

"Yes." He said sternly. "We do."

Carly sighed, wishing that she didn't blurt out love when Freddie said his own name. She refused to meet Freddie's gaze, instead looked down at her hands in her lap.

Freddie looked over at his best friend for a few minutes, before taking a deep breath and beginning. "Carly…did you…did you mean what you…" He trailed off, feeling an odd combination of awkwardness and excitement.

She mumbled something incoherent, still looking down at her hands.

"Carly, please. I need to know." Freddie begged.

She sighed. "Yes," She began. Freddie erupted with happiness. "And…no." Carly finished, hating it when Freddie's face crumpled into a confused mess.

When she didn't elaborate, Freddie motioned for her to explain.

"Yes, I meant it." She said.

"But…the 'no' part? …What?"

"I…I don't want anything to come out of this, Freddie." She said. A tear made its way down her cheek as she spoke.

"I don't understand. Why?"

"Freddie, we've been friends…best friends, since sixth grade. I don't want to lose that." She said sadly.

"Carly, what do you mean? You wouldn't lose that! You would have that! And more!" Freddie said, trying to get her to see what he was explaining.

"Freddie, you don't get it!" She yelled. She stood up and walked to her bed.

Freddie stood up and followed her. "No, Carly. I don't get it. So would you mind explaining it to me?"

She turned around and faced him. "Let's say that we started dating." She said. To further demonstrate her point, she kissed him on the cheek.

"Okay, I like where this is going," Freddie said with a small smile.

Carly didn't smile back. Instead, she kept on talking as if she didn't hear him. "So, we're dating. Then…we have a really bad fight." Again, to prove her point, she took a step away from Freddie. He started towards her, but she motioned for him to stop.

"Hours go by. Days, weeks, maybe even months, and we still haven't solved our fight. So…we break up." She let the words hang in the air and walked even farther away from Freddie.

"Now tell me, and be honest, would we still be friends after all that?"

Freddie understood where she was coming from, but he refused to give up.

"Carly," he started. "Do you honestly think that I would let that happen?"

"No," She muttered. "But it still doesn't change the fact that we could break up, and lose everything! That's a six-year friendship, Freddie. And it would be gone, just like that." She looked down again. "I'd rather stay friends with you, than be happy for a short time and then lose you forever."

"Why do you sound so sure that we don't stand a chance?" Freddie yelled, getting frustrated. "Carly, I've loved you for those six years; I know that we can do this!"

"How? How do you know, Freddie?"

"Because." He said. "When I'm with you, I can do anything." He said gently.

Freddie made his way over to Carly and wrapped his arms around her. He just stood there, hugging her, until he felt her hug him back.

"I…I just don't know, Freddie." She said to him.

"You can't hide from your feelings forever, Carly." Freddie said, not in a condescending voice, but a friendly, advice-giving sort of voice.

"It's not hiding if you know what they are," she muttered into his chest. He heard her, and laughed quietly.

"Just…let me do one thing, okay? Let me at least try and show you that relationships aren't all these bad things that end up horribly." Freddie said, once again willing to compromise.

"Fine," Carly whispered.

Freddie loosened his grip on her arms and took a half step back. Carly looked up at him, wondering what he was going to do. She found out when he dipped his head and ever so gently pressed his lips against hers. He slowly applied more pressure, and was happy when he felt her kissing back. He brought one hand up to cup her cheek, and the other hand went to her waist. Carly wrapped one arm around Freddie's waist and the other made it's way to his hair. She ran her fingers through it softly.

Freddie ended the kiss and pulled Carly in for another hug.

"It's up to you now, Carly." He whispered in her ear. He pulled away from their hug and gathered his school supplies. "I'm gonna head home. I'll see you at school." He walked slower than normal, giving her time to stop him from leaving.

But she never did.

Carly stood in the middle of her room, thinking about that kiss. She felt all of Freddie's love poured into that one kiss. That one soft, gentle, loving, perfect kiss. It made her feel loved, and it made her feel safe.

She felt a few tears falling onto her cheeks, and they seemed to jolt her back into reality. Freddie left her room, and was going home. She had to go to him.

With more energy than she thought she possessed, Carly ran from her room.

"Freddie!" She yelled down the stairs, her voice travelling faster than she could.

"No, sorry kiddo. He just left," Spencer said. Carly jumped over the last three stairs and ran to the door. She yanked it open just in time to see Freddie opening his own door across the hall. He turned when he heard her door open, only half expecting to see Carly standing there.

"Freddie," She breathed out. He closed his own door and walked over to her.

"Yes, Carly?" He asked calmly.

"I want to change my answer." She said, smiling softly.

"What?"

"When you were saying words, and you said your name. I said 'love,' but I want to change my answer." Carly explained.

Freddie was still slightly confused, but he went along with it anyway.

"Freddie." He said.

Carly smiled. "Boyfriend."

Freddie smiled the biggest smile of his life. He leaned down just as Carly leaned up. Their lips met in the middle, and all Carly could think of was her new boyfriend.

Freddie smiled into the kiss; glad he knew how to compromise.