Hello! I have no idea where this small one-shot came from, but I hope you all enjoy it! Call it an early Valentine's Day present :)
Disclaimer: I don't iCarly.
Valentine's Day. The day of love. The day where you shower your loved one with flowers, candy, and various tasteless stuffed animals that would usually be laughed at were it given to them any other day of the year. The shopping malls around the world exploited this 'celebration' for all it was worth. Special offers on chocolate hearts, CDs, DVD's, photo frames are seen in every store, wanting to entice as many hapless teens as possible. Girlfriends agonise over what to get their boyfriends, boyfriends wonder if their girlfriends will finally put out.
It was all very cliché, but every year, on the fourteenth of February, no matter what, the world swells with love. Cupid smiles; proving that everybody needs somebody.
For Sam Puckett, Valentine's Day is like a painful slap in the face.
Sam pushes past the hordes of people milling about in the hallway, clutching onto her backpack and keeping her head down. She is choking on the syrupy-sweet atmosphere, and she desperately wants to escape into the fresh air. Her fingers fumble as she tries to twist her locker dial.
"Stupid thing," She groans aloud, aiming the insult at the locker whilst knowing full well she is talking to herself.
Beside her, Wendy and her boyfriend, Kevin, are engaged in a passionate embrace. Sam's eyes dart to Wendy's present; a box of candy hearts, open, but untouched. The blonde sees her opportunity and takes it, sidestepping and deftly swooping one arm down to grasp the box. She digs two candy hearts from the packaging, dropping the box quickly as she sees Wendy pull away from Kevin. Sam turns away, the candy hearts melting under her tightly curled fists.
"Sam? Did you...eat my hearts?" Wendy asks, her brow crinkling as she looks at her gift.
Sam spins on her heel, tucking her arms behind her. "I have no idea what you're going on about."
"But... I just saw-"
"Could you two stop sucking face at my locker for a minute and shove off? I'm strugglin' to keep down my breakfast at all this Valentine's Day crap, and you're not making things any easier."
Wendy scowls, but entwines her hand with Kevin and drags him away. Sam unfurls her hands and pops a candy heart in her mouth. Kevin had gone all out, it seemed. The chocolates were from Le Chocolat, the most expensive chocolate shop in the whole of Seattle. But no matter how delicious the chocolates were, Sam couldn't get rid of the sour taste that lingered in her mouth. They weren't her hearts to be eating. She hadn't got anything from anyone.
And she hated it. She hated Valentine's Day, she hated boys, and she really hated 'love'. Whatever it was.
Sam holds the remaining candy heart up, internally debating whether to eat it or not. She doesn't notice Freddie approach her, an amused expression on his face.
"What's with the heart examination?" He questions.
"I'm studying to be a doctor," She replies dryly, making a decision and tossing the heart in the bin.
"How come you're throwing it away? Was it from someone you didn't like?" Freddie teases.
"Wouldn't you like to know, Benson."
It isn't an insult. It isn't even a flirt, disguised by her usual snide tone. It's said with a sigh; revealing to Freddie that maybe Sam isn't as indifferent about Valentine's Day as she vehemently exclaims. He cocks his head to the side. Sam is a difficult girl to figure out, the total opposite of Carly. Carly is the sweet, naive, pretty girl that Freddie thought he always wanted. Valentine's Day was one of her favourite celebrations, coming in close second to Christmas. The brunette is currently gossiping with the other girls in the hallway, asking what their boyfriends had got them and showing them what her boyfriend had bought her.
"Carly's happy," Sam remarks, following Freddie's gaze.
"She loves love."
"No chizz," She mutters, peering at her friend through her bangs and feeling a pang of something. She turns to Freddie, hoping the pain will subside. It doesn't, instead worsening. "You get any cards? Apart from the obvious?"
"I got a few. Mostly from iCarly viewers. I got cakes, and chocolate, and someone knitted me some socks," Freddie responds, grinning, "You?"
"Yeah. loads," Sam lies. She and Freddie stand in silence for a while.
"Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you hate Valentine's Day?" He asks, his eyes burning with intensity. Sam doesn't want to look, but she can't bring herself to tear herself away. Her mind tries to form an intelligible answer, whilst trying so hard to calm her heart down. A memory spins through her head.
Sam is eight, and it is Valentine's Day. She is in the sandbox, absently digging up the same patch of sand, keeping her eyes open for any boys. Her friends have all got little homemade cards, and it seems she is the only one without a valentine. Her sister is surrounded by boys, each begging for a kiss. Melanie giggles at them, simply pushing them away. Sam piles the sand into the bucket and flips it upside down, tapping the base with her plastic spade.
A little boy makes his way over to her. Sam perks up, forgetting about the sandcastle and clasping her pudgy hands together, the same way she's seen Melanie do time and time again. He looks frightened as he pauses at the edge of the sandpit. His toes scuff the sand, but he doesn't venture in. In his hand, Sam notices, is a pink card that she stupidly thinks is for her.
"Samantha?" A shaky voice rings. It comes from the boy, and Sam doesn't think she's ever heard a sound so lovely. She gets onto her knees.
"Yeah?"
"Could you do me...a favor?" The boy asks, shifting from side to side. He holds up the card, and a huge smile spreads across her face.
"What?"
"Could you...would you.." He seems to struggle. Sam waits with anticipation. Is this what love feels like? Her eight year old brain wonders.
Finally the boy speaks. "Could you give this to Carly Shay? I know you're friends with her, and all..."
Sam's smile drops as she realises that no-one will ever want her. Her lips curls, and she turns away from the boy, sitting back down and banging the shovel on the bucket. The rhythm is in time with her beating heart, which she attempts to drown out. She pulls the bucket away quickly, hoping the sandcastle will stay upright.
It crumbles, just as the teacher, Miss Coodle, walks past.
"You didn't give it enough time to set. And be gentler. It just needs love."
Even now, staring into Freddie's eyes and wondering if he remembers that day too, Sam still doesn't understand what Miss Coodle means.
"It's so...pathetic. If a guy wants to tell Mama he loves her, or he wants to buy me presents, he shouldn't wait until one particular day. He should just do it, you know? I'd be more impressed if he did that. It shows that he's not...he's not into the whole corporate shabang. If he loves me, he should know that telling me he loves me on one certain day of the year isn't going to cut it."
Sam is impressed with how honest she sounds. Yes, she believed in what she was saying, but it was so much more than that.
Sometimes, she longs for the candy hearts and the teddy bears and the red roses. Sometimes, she wants someone to wrap his hands around her waist and pull her closer to him, because all he wants is her touch. Sometimes, she looks at Carly and her boyfriend and fights the urge to ask what it feels like to be loved.
"Yeah, but when you find that someone, he'll do that. I promise," Freddie lowers his voice, "And if he doesn't, I'm sure you'll break his arm."
Sam rolls her eyes, biting back a laugh. Somehow, she believes him.
Who says I haven't already found that person now?
Ignoring this thought, she gets her locker open swiftly, but suddenly the rush to get away from here isn't her most prominent thought. She is, in fact, wondering if Freddie's hair is as soft to touch as it looks. Confused, she slams the locker door with more force than necessary.
"Woah, Sam," Carly's chirpy voice interrupts her thoughts. "What did the locker do to you?"
"Funny," Sam says sardonically.
"And you.." Carly laces her arm around her boyfriend's neck, bringing her lips to his, "The girls decided you were the loveliest boyfriend of all."
Freddie flushes. "It was only a calendar."
Carly hushes his protests, as announces she is going to class. Giving him another kiss, she is off again, the hallways clearing as the students disperse to their classes. Freddie and Sam stare at each other awkwardly, and Sam decides it is time to go to her class too. She has Ms Briggs now, and although the woman is crazy, if Sam gets another detention for being late, she'll likely be excluded. Freddie seems to counter her thoughts, as he turns to leave.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Sam," He says softly. She makes sure he has turned the corner before replying.
"Yeah. Maybe one day."