The Magic You Ignite in Me

The mailman came early that morning or you could say early for Sam because eleven was like a five a.m. wake-up call for anyone else. The two gold inscribed envelopes were dropped in the joint mailbox Carly and Sam shared. Carly always checked the mail unlike Sam, if it was her choice would be overflowing. Without Carly, Sam probably wouldn't even live there anymore because the bills would never be paid. Carly took care of all of that. They're two bedroom, one bath apartment was like being at two places at the same time. Carly's half was clean and tidy while Sam's was messy and unruly with some of her things slowly creeping into Carly's side.

"Hey Sam, I think we got invited to a wedding!" Carly said excitedly as she reentered her domain. Sam who was eating a bowl of cereal looked uninterested in the fact that they would have a reason to wear pretty dresses.

"Cool, who's?" Sam replied. It's not that she cared, just that she was curious to see if it was worth going to or not.

"I don't know. I was waiting to open it with you." Carly replied.

"Ok, well then let us find out." Sam said with sarcastic enthusiasm. When they opened the envelopes they were both shocked at what they saw. Sam was positive she wasn't going now. Carly was torn because on one hand she supported her best friend but on the other she was entitled to go.

"I'm not going." Sam said blatantly after a few moments of starring at the gold lettering.

"C'mon you said you'd stay friends." Carly pleaded.

"Oh who really means that shit?" Sam argued. Did they forget to mention that the wedding invitation was from Sean and Krista? Sean was Sam's ex-boyfriend and not that it was a horrible, bitter break-up but who wants to go to their exes wedding? Talk about humiliating. After two long years of dating they decided to call it quits six months ago when they realized they wanted completely different things. Sean wanted to get married and have kids right away as for Sam wanted to wait and focus on her career and life-long dream of opening her own restaurant. Carly was invited to the wedding because she was dating the groom's brother, Jason.

"Sam, I think you should go. It will help you get closure." Carly lectured once again. But Carly was right Sam hadn't gotten much closure when the relationship ended. She didn't even shed a tear because as they say every teardrop is a waterfall and that's exactly what Sam was afraid of, that she would unleash the waterfall. Carly wasn't surprised one bit that she didn't cry. She knew Pucketts didn't cry, especially over boys.

"No." Sam objected for the millionth time as she could see Carly's arguments getting weaker and weaker. She knew it'd be over soon. Carly decided to leave it at that, a smart idea and not push it any further.

"Hey Sam, It's not too late to change your mind." Carly called as she emerged from her room purse and phone in hand while wearing a halter neck lavender knee length dress.

"Have fun Carls, you look great." Sam commented not looking up from the TV while lounging in sweatpants and a T-shirt and eating potato chips with fatcake wrappers strewn about her.

"Fine, just please clean-up a little bit by the time I get home K?" Carly knew she was kidding herself.

"Bye mom." Sam answered sarcastically which provoked Carly to make a little gasping noise followed by a, "Hey I'm not your mother."

"Yep see ya." Sam laughed victoriously. In defeat Carly laughed a goodbye and was out the door, to leave Sam alone in an empty apartment all day. Normally Sam would be ecstatic to be able to watch TV and pig out all day without someone nagging her to get up and do something but in a way there was. It was her own brain craving for her to be productive. She had done a lot of thinking these past few days about the wedding and their break-up and although one thing never changed, her decision to not attend the wedding. Some things did, like how she realized that she wasted two precious years of her life on someone who had different goals and priorities. The thought of that made her sick to the stomach and that she could have been as stupid as to not realize the relationship was going nowhere. In two years he said he loved her hundreds of times and she knew he did but never once said it back and the guilt that built up inside her was enormous. When they split it was a regular Friday night gone array. He brought up marriage and family and frankly that scared the S-H-I-T out of her. She brought up career and money and he went silent. It was an unfortunate mix of words carbonized into a can and exploded into the air with a life-changing impact. That's why today she was ambitious to catch-up on all the time she wasted. She needed a change to start a whole new chapter of her life to forget about all the lost time and live for herself. It was a refreshing yet highly ambitious plan, like a new year's resolution to lose weight, it wasn't gonna be easy.

Looking around her messy boring room, she decided this was the perfect place to start. First the hard part would be moving out all the furniture. The old hand-me-down desk was the first to go. She parked the white scratched up wobbly side-table next to the desk in the now narrow hallway. The dresser was by far the heaviest and most hated piece of furniture. The knobs didn't match and the drawers slid out roughly like rust nails. The twin size bed went out in two pieces, mattress first then the rest. The once full room was finally big and empty. The possibilities were endless. The white walls screamed, "Paint me!" So Sam was going to paint the walls with whatever color she felt like. With confidence and a strong determination Sam headed to the hardware store.

"Let's see, I need brushes… um…" Sam muttered to herself while wandering the aisles.

"Can I help you find something?" Sam spun around and came face to face with the owner of the question, a man in a store uniform.

"Yes, what do I need to paint a room?" Sam answered. The question was much needed as for Sam knew nothing about tools or home improvement.

"Yeah, right over here." The man replied. After a lesson in brushes and rollers and finding the correct width tape, the only thing left to get was paint.

"So, what color are you thinking?" the hardware store employee asked.

"I have no idea." Sam answered truthfully.

"Ok, well let's look at some paint chips." The wall was lined with shades of every color lit by overhead lighting above each shelf.

"Wow! There are a lot of choices!" Sam said astoundingly. Her determination and confidence was starting to fizzle, she already knew this was going to be a lot of work. The colors that stood out the most to her were a deep magenta, sea foam green and a vibrant yellow.

"I like these three." Sam said pointing to the three cards in her hand.

"Which one's your favorite?"

"I don't know. I like them all." She replied in defeat; carefully analyzing the cards with a struggled stare.

Well, being Sam she decided to get them all and figure out how to use them later.

Drop cloth laid on the carpet, walls prepped with painter's tape, and brush in hand she was ready to start painting. She decided on a pattern of splitting the walls in half vertically and painting the sections in the order of green, purple, yellow. She cranked the music up loud and lost herself in the lively harmony of the song. One wall down, three to go, Sam just finished up the first wall and she was quite proud of herself. She didn't realize it was nearly 8 o clock by the time she had a snack and started on the second wall. Carly entered the dark apartment and called out for Sam. After no reply she could hear a faint noise coming from Sam's room where the light poured through the open doorway and indistinctly lit the kitchen. She flipped on the lights and noticed some of Sam's things left on the coffee table in the living room. Glancing down the hallway Carly saw Sam's desk and dresser lined up against the wall and her bed standing in front of the door to Carly's bedroom.

"What?" Carly murmured to herself questioningly.

"Sam, why is your stuff in the hallway?" Carly asked taking the few steps into Sam's room. There she saw, brushes and paint trays surrounding Sam with her back to the door precisely stroking the paint up to the tape around the window. Sam obviously didn't hear Carly because of the music that erupted loudly from the speaker in the corner of the room. Carly promptly strolled over and turned down the blaring radio causing Sam to turn around and see a confused Carly standing before her.

"Oh hey Carls didn't see ya there!" Sam said nonchalantly placing her brush in the tray.

"Why is your furniture in the hallway?" Carly exclaimed.

"I'm painting." Sam replied happily and pointed to the walls.

"Why?"

"Felt like it" Sam answered easily.

"Ok, well your bed is blocking my door." Answered the still confused Carly.

"Sorry Carls, I'll help you move it." Sam replied, exiting the bedroom.

"Thanks. So why exactly did you decide to re-do your room?" Carly prodded, "Were you that bored?" After they moved the box spring and frame and put the mattress on top, Sam sat down on it and sighed deeply, maybe Carly was getting somewhere.

"I don't know Carls. You know out with the old and in with the new." Sam responded. Carly knew she wasn't getting the whole story and frankly she has been kind of worried about Sam since they got the invitations to the wedding. Carly knew she needed some sort of closure and she wasn't getting it, she was just shutting it all away like Carly feared. And by re-doing her room she can eliminate any memory or feeling that goes hand in hand with everything her life was before. Carly decided to play it off for now and not question her.

"That's cool. Maybe I should do that I have a lot of clothes I could donate." Carly commented.

Later at Carly's when Freddie and Gibby came over for a movie night with the girls. Carly expressed her worries for Sam to Freddie while she was still busy at work in her room. She was less rational and more frantic and over- dramatic as Freddie would say while explaining it to him. Luckily Freddie has had practice in understanding her panicked gibberish.

"I'm worried about her, Freddie. She needs closure." Carly said after calming down a bit.

"Are you sure she just doesn't hate her room and wanted something fresh?" Freddie explained rationally.

"No." she insisted swiftly.

He opened his mouth to answer with another rational comment when Carly interrupted him.

"Hey, how about you talk to her!" she said perking up at her brilliant idea. He just stared at her and shook his head "no".

"Yes, c'mon Freddie! Please for me." Carly begged. She tried to pull the "please for me" thing again. He could tell she was drawing her last straw.

"We're not kids Carly, that's not gonna work." He answered seeming to have caught her in her trick.

"I know." She sighed.

"You guys want chocolate on the popcorn?" Gibby interjected from the kitchen, poking his head around the corner. His idea was quickly rejected by Carly and Freddie with an "ewe" and a "gross".

"Fine." Freddie sighed after a hurt Gibby reentered the kitchen. Carly gave him a confused expression as if she had already forgotten their conversation.

"I'll talk to her."

"Yay!" she replied happily. Freddie just smirked.

"But if I don't come out in ten minutes call the paramedics." He said while pointing at Carly and standing up and walking slowly towards her open door. Carly just rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen to see what Gibby was stirring up.

"Hey." He said, knocking twice on the door frame. Sam turned around and took the ear buds out of her ears.

"Hey Freddifer!" Sam replied excitedly. This was the first time Freddie saw the work she's been doing in her room and he surveyed around the room at the bright walls thinking it was so "Samish". She had so many sides and her color choices reflected it well.

"Wow! Nice colors!" he said impressed. She smiled and he could tell she was happy with his response. He almost forgot why he was there. She didn't look like she was pushing away her feelings. She seemed the same, happier almost radiant, dare he say. Maybe Carly was wrong, she wasn't pushing away her problems; she was eliminating them. Getting rid of her demons. Or was it the same thing?

"Thanks!" she replied. "I couldn't pick just one." She finished pointing at the three colors. He smiled and laughed. Her joy was contagious. But he needed to tell Carly something, so he had to make sure she was wrong.

"So what's next in the plan for your room?" he asked curiously.

"I don't know. I don't have much cash for new furniture. Maybe I'll get it one piece at a time." She said seriously thinking about it.

"So…um…you're not…um" he stuttered.

"What?" she asked slightly impatiently.

"You're not doing this to push away your feelings and not get closure, are you?" he said. Freddie decided to risk stealing a glance at her to see if she was mad. Trying to gauge her reaction was tough because her eyes are whet held all the emotion. He always used to think she was cold and heartless before he learned that her face put up a front of meanness and her eyes beheld the gems of her true heart. He knew she was a good person and had a beautiful heart when rarely she would show it. This was one of those rare occasions. She looked crushed and vulnerable. So Carly was right. He wanted so much to think she was the perfect happy girl he knew.

She sighed and walked over and sat down against her first painted wall that was now dry. He watched her as she patted the carpet alongside her, signaling to him it was safe to sit down. Once he was sitting, closer than he normally would. She began to speak. He didn't know what provoked her to tell him, but he was grateful he asked that one straightforward question.

"So, I never told anyone why Sean and I broke-up." She began then stopped and sighed and looked him in the eyes. His eyes always calmed her down. She could just melt away in his heartful chocolate orbs.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He reassured her. Those words proved to her that she could trust him and that she needed to. She nodded.

"No, I want to. Like you said I need closure." She admitted.

"I'm here to listen." He replied assuringly.

"Well it was a Friday night. We were gonna watch a movie at his place. We started talking and one thing led to another and he said he wanted to get married and have kids right away." She paused and looked at him. He had his sympathetic listening ears on and was paying attention contently.

"The thought of getting married and having kids right away seemed way too fast and not right and it scared me to death. I always thought of that in the distant future ya know?" she said looking towards Freddie again. He nodded and wanted her to continue.

"Well after that I brought up my career and how I wanted to focus on that and…" she sighed. "We both knew the relationship was over. We could just feel it. We didn't argue or fight we were just done." Now Freddie could see her walls breaking down and her desperately trying to build them back up. Suddenly he felt the urge to touch her, comfort her. Her grabbed her hand from her lap and squeezed it gently, letting her know he was still listening. After a minute or two of silence she continued with her story.

"I didn't even cry. Isn't that pathetic? I didn't even feel that sad." She said while a couple of tears released from her grip.

"No, it's not pathetic. It's ok to not cry in the moment but it's also ok to cry now." He said turning her face gently with his fingertips, stroking her soft cheek to look at his face as the held tears escaped. He knew she was trying hard not to break down right there. He also knew crying made her feel weak and vulnerable. The flood began to trickle out but she gathered herself enough to continue.

"I wasted two years of my life with a guy who didn't have the same priorities as me. That's the sad part." She choked out before letting go and sobbing completely into his chest. He held her tight, protectively. She just cried, like she hasn't in a long time and he just held her back and soothed her all he could with "Shh, it's ok" and "I'm right here". When he came in her room he didn't expect to be sitting on the floor and cradling her in his lap as she cried. But he would do anything for this girl, he was so whipped. When her sobs became less frequent and her tears subsided she finished the story.

"I decided to re-do my room and well my life because I wanted to spend each day with the people I love and live each day like it's my last. Because I wasted two whole years and I need to catch up." He smiled and she still had her head on his chest but looked up and grinned back at him.

"That's a good thing to live by." He replied.

"Yeah"

"Hey, the movie starts in ten." He said glancing at his watch.

"Ooh yay popcorn!" she said excitedly jumping up from her spot on the floor. He just chuckled and stood up too. As she was walking to the door she turned around.

"Hey, thanks for being here and don't go around telling people I cried like a baby." She warned. He laughed and replied,

"Anytime, and I won't." He then proceeded to walk up to her standing a few feet from the doorway and pulled her towards him and grabbed on to her waist. He kissed her passionately on the lips. She responded and saw the sparks fly and explode in her head. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him even closer to her. The kiss was short but just enough to make her head spin. When their lips disconnected she gave him a "what was that for?" questioning look. He just smirked as he understood her completely.

"Because I love ya." He answered her unasked question and sauntered out the door confidently. She was confused but not completely off her game. She ran out of the room and jumped on his back. He was shocked but somehow managed to turn her around so she was facing him and her legs were wrapped around him. This time she kissed him vigorously with Carly and Gibby in the living room staring at them in awe. Once he put her down it was her turn to smirk. She patted him on the shoulder.

"Because I love ya." She said and walked to the couch while he laughed and smiled and sat right beside her. Carly and Gibby knew better than to ask about their weirdness. But Carly really wanted to know.

"Hey Freddie, will you get the drinks while I get the popcorn?" Carly asked.

"Sure." He answered following Carly into the kitchen.

"So what happened?" Carly asked once they were out of earshot.

"She got closure." He answered and grabbed the four pops leaving a bewildered Carly in the kitchen. Sam fell asleep with Freddie's arm around her during another one of Carly's stupid chick flicks. Freddie watched her face as she slept and every once in a while she would she would move around a little bit to get into a more comfortable position. That was the best night's sleep she had gotten since the break-up and all she needed was Freddie and a little closure.

Without weakness there is no strength. Maybe sometimes you need to feel weak to be strong.

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! So did you like it? hate it? tell me! please please please review! thanks

P.S. I also have a story called "Spring Break" and i decided that i'm gonna continue it so go check that out if you haven't and i'll be updating that very soon! Thanks!(*: