I don't own iCarly or Victorious and I unfortunately never will. On with the story!

Falling Over Me

Chapter 1

If it wasn't raining in Seattle, it would have seemed way more abnormal than it was.

Normality is something everyone craves, isn't it? I know I do. People need it to survive. Like if anything happens to us that's not what we're used to or just not what we want, the sky will fall and we'll face the end of the world. That's over exaggerating of course.

I've never been one for leaving behind the people I love. But as I sat on the plane and stared out the window to the people on the ground far below me, I knew I was doing the right thing. Moving to California was an adventure, and all through senior year, I was craving the adrenaline of just getting up and going out on my own.

I was accepted to West Coast University, so it was the perfect opportunity.

I told Spencer I'd visit him occasionally and video chat often. I knew he would be lonely without me. Hopefully he would find a steady girlfriend so he wouldn't be so lonely.

I walked in my new apartment slowly, perhaps it was because I was building suspense for myself to finally see my fully-furnished apartment or because I was afraid something was going to pop out at me. I can't remember.

I opened the door fully and heard what sounded like glass smashing to my left. I gasped and looked to the sound of the noise. There was a broken lamp lying on the ground with pieces of glass all around it. I sighed and slightly rolled my eyes when I realized I would have to rearrange all the furniture. And buy a new lamp.

I pursed my lips and rolled my suitcases further in the apartment, shutting the door behind me. I looked around. The walls were yellow and there was a sliding glass door leading to a small terrace that let streams of light shine in and brighten the whole apartment.

The kitchen was kind of small, but it was cute. My bedroom, the guest room, and the bathroom were to my right.

I half-smiled and walked out of my apartment swiftly. I felt like looking around town. Sightseeing, I guess you could call it. I wasn't a tourist, but I sure felt like one.

I looked in a bunch of little shops walking distance from my new apartment. I eventually stood in front of Ultimate Music Records. I heard a bark right behind me and I quickly looked back. It was just a large dog walking by, so I turned around and took a step forward to keep walking and bumped into somebody.

"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry," I instantly replied. I looked at the girl who looked just a little older than me. Her hair was curly and black with green streaks. She was dressed in dark clothes to contrast her pale skin. She was kind of pretty.

She stared down at me with a frown. "You should probably watch where you're going from now on."

"Right, sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she muttered and picked up her phone. I didn't even realize she had dropped it. She must have felt me staring because she stopping wiping off the screen to look at me with a death glare. "Do you wanna walk away now or?"

"My name's Carly," I said suddenly, extending my hand for her to shake. I might as well make this an opportunity to make a friend in this town. "I just moved here."

"Jade," she replied, not bothering to shake my hand. I drew it back awkwardly.

"Are those clip-ins or is your hair actually green?"

"They're clip-ins."

"They're really cool. I've always wanted to do something wild with my hair, but I don't think I could ever pull it off. Cutting my bangs was the craziest thing I ever did to my hair." I chuckled softly at my own story. Oh gosh, I was rambling now.

"Carly, you're not going to walk away, are you?" Jade asked bluntly.

A gust of wind suddenly flew by and it made the atmosphere seem tenser than it already was. "Um, if you really want me to, I will. I was just trying to be nice. I don't have any friends here."

Jade raised an eye brow at me. She could probably see how desperate I was. "Okay, listen. I work at this building right here. I'm on my break now, but I have to get back to work soon. Do you want to get coffee and then hang in the studio with me? Would that mend your broken and fragile heart?"

"Yeah, sounds good," I said awkwardly.

"There's a coffee shop right across the street. Come on." Jade grabbed my wrist and ran with me right on her tail across the busy street the second there were no cars coming. This sure was adventurous.

"So," Jade said, leaning back in her chair. "You came out here for college?"

"Yeah, I got accepted to West Coast University for nursing. I've always wanted to move here anyway. California is beautiful," I smiled, taking a sip of my ice coffee.

"I've lived here my whole life. Trust me; it gets less beautiful every day."

"I moved here from Seattle. It's always dark and cloudy there, so coming here where it's basically always sunny is just such a huge difference, y'know?"

"Wait… You're from Seattle?"

I nodded shyly.

Jade's eyes were widening slowly. "And your name is Carly. Oh my God, you're Carly Shay from iCarly, right? I've seen that web show before. My sometimes-friend Tori used to watch it all the time."

I broke into a wide grin. "That's me."

"I've met you before, then. You came to Kennan Thompson's house party when you thought your boyfriend at the time was mucking around with Tori," Jade smiled.

"Oh my gosh, I remember that," I laughed. "How unbelievable is this?"

"It's a little creepy," Jade joked around, sipping her coffee.

I looked at her with sincerity. "I guess it's just meant to be."

"Yeah, I guess. Where are Sam and Freddie? Aren't they always with you or something?" Jade asked.

"Usually, yeah. They're probably making out with each other or something," I shrugged. "I miss them, but I don't miss the public display of affection."

"You're jealous?"

"What? No way. I don't like Freddie like that. I never have."

"I see," she said, eying me up and down. "Doesn't he have some insalubrious infatuation with you, though?"

"That was a long time ago. I can assure you that he is totally in love with Sam." There was a short silence and I wanted to change the subject before Jade could ask me anything else about Sam or Freddie. "Um, so you work at Ultimate Music Records?"

"Yep, I've been signed there for a little while now."

I nearly choked on my ice coffee when I heard her say that. "Wait, wait, wait. You have a record deal? I thought you like worked at the front desk or something. Oh my gosh. Are you like famous or soon-to-be famous?"

Jade slightly smiled. "Soon-to-be."

"That's so amazing. Congrats," I said happily.

She smiled lightly at me and then looked down, almost shyly, but she didn't strike me as the type to be shy.

I looked down at Carly as we sat on the leather couch in the studio quietly waiting for the writer and my manager to arrive. She looked at me with a small, innocent smile.

"What?" I asked, a bit annoyed. She had a pretty smile, but did she really have to be so giggly all the time?

She titled her head in confusion. "What?" she asked me back.

"You keep smiling, and it's weird."

Carly smiled to herself, looking at her hands. "Sorry, I just… Sorry."

I nodded my head slightly. "It's fine, whatever."

She sighed and faced me completely. "Jade, I-" The door to the studio opened and in marched my manager Martha, her assistant Leah, and the writer Gabe.

Gabe smiled happily and walked over to me promptly. His slick back hair was glistening from the gel he put in it.

"Where's my little star?" he asked, opening his arms for me to embrace in a hug. I stood up and moved his arms back to his side.

"Let's just write a song, Gabe."

Martha slowly approached the couch with a weary look on her face. "Who is this?" she questioned, looking down at Carly who had a minuscule smile on her face.

Carly stood up and held out her hand for Martha to shake. "I'm Carly Shay."

Martha shook Carly's hand cautiously. "And you're here because?"

"Oh. Jade invited me. This is my first day in town and I ran into Jade… literally, and we started hanging out," Carly explicated.

Martha turned to Jade with an amused expression on her face, her brown pony tail swaying from the movement. "You can't just invite strays to eavesdrop on the making of your debut album, Miss. West."

I groaned miserably. "Martha, I signed a contract and I'm positive that was not a part of it."

Leah walked up to us and spoke quietly. "It's true, Mrs. Wells. Um, technically since it's not i-in the contract that she can't invite a f-friend to the writing sessions, she theoretically is allowed to do it, because s-she never signed to do otherwise." Leah looked at Martha's irritated expression carefully and added, "I-I'm just informing y-you that-"

"Shut up," Martha interrupted.

"Yes, ma'am," Leah nodded, beginning to back away.

Leah is very fidgety and nervous about everything. She can't help it. I think it's just because Martha Wells is a cruel and bitter woman who is going to grow old alone if she doesn't buy a cat eventually. There are times Martha can be really nice and remind me why I agreed to be signed to the label, other times it's pure hell.

Carly slowly moved herself closer to me. It was clear she felt a bit unwanted and uncomfortable.

"She can stay, but just for today," Martha muttered, sitting in an arm chair shrilly. I grinned. Success.

"Thank you so much, ma'am," Carly gushed.

Martha flashed Carly a fake smile and snapped her fingers. Leah scrambled over and handed Martha the clipboard she's been holding. Martha stared down at the papers intently. I turned my attention back to Carly to find Gabe looking her up and down in awe.

"You're Carly Shay? From the internet? iCarly?" Gabe inquired in shock. She nodded simply.

Martha's head shot up. "iCarly? What is that?"

"It's a famous web show me and my friends-"

"This is perfect!" Martha stood up abruptly. "We can have Jade sing on your web show so she can start to gain fans." I raised an eyebrow as I waited for Carly to respond.

She lowered her voice. "Um, iCarly ended already. My friends and I are in college now. We've gone our separate ways, sorry."

Martha pursed her lips and stared at Carly harshly. "Well then. Let's start the process, shall we?"

"Martha hates me," Carly stated, on her way up the driveway to my house. "I never did anything to her."

"You make me happy, that's why she hates you," I said absentmindedly.

I noticed Carly wasn't beside me anymore so I stopped walking and turned around. She was standing there beaming at me with surprise.

"I make you happy? How? You've only known me for like a day," she said calmly. My heart sped up a little bit and just shrugged it off.

"Well, you're like a friend and whenever Martha notices I'm happy she tends to strive to bum my joy."

"Oh. What a cruel woman," Carly said, shuddering. She started walking towards the front door and I ran up beside her.

"Wait, wait. Before you walk in there, you should know that my roommates are… well, they're weird. Like, really odd."

"That's fine," she chuckled.

"Okaaay," I opened the door and gestured for Carly to enter. She did just that and her jaw dropped. I live in a mansion and my guess is she's never been inside one before based on the expression on her face. I shut the door and crossed my arms. "What do you think?"

"I'm thinking I wish I moved here and not the cruddy apartment I'm renting."

I laughed as Cat entered the room with a smile. "Hey, Jade."

"Hi," I said, annoyed by her pep.

"I'm Carly. Nice to meet you," Carly held out a hand.

Cat shook it excitedly. "You too! I'm Cat. My hair is this color because I like red velvet cupcakes."

"Oh, cool. Hey, do you guys think you can help me rearrange my apartment tomorrow? And help me pick out a new lamp?"

I nodded. "Sure, I got nothing better to do."

Cat looked up at me with beady eyes. "Don't you have to be at work?"

"Yeah, but not all day." I faced Carly suddenly. "And since you're not allowed to come anymore, you can hang out with Cat if you want. I can completely understand if you don't want to do that. Trust me."

"No, it's fine. Cat's cool."

I gave her a curious look. "Whatever boils your clams."

Cat started jumping up and down happily. "Hey! We can get Robbie to help us fix up Carly's apartment tomorrow."

"Robbie has the upper body strength of a three year old girl," I said bitterly.

"Who's Robbie?" Carly asked.

I frowned. "You'll find out. And then you'll wish you never did."

...

"So, you're spending the night here?" I asked Carly as we entered my bedroom. The walls were purple, but not bright purple, a dark purple. And the rest of the room had a lot of black... like everywhere.

Carly shrugged shyly. "I didn't bring any pajamas, so I should probably be going. I have to call my brother and tell him I made it to California safely."

"Want me to drive you?"

"No, I can get a cab. It's no hassle," she smiled sweetly. "Cool room, though."

"Thanks. It doesn't usually get a lot of compliments."

"Understandable. No offense."

I crossed my arms, a grin spreading across my face. "None taken. I added my number in your cell phone, by the way."

"When did you do that?"

"When you were making good friends with the toilet about an hour ago."

She pressed her lips together and started walking out of the room. "I'll text you later." Then she jogged out of the house. I looked out my window and watched her run down the street. Was she okay?

I sat down on my bed, causing it to squeak. I clicked my tongue and let my mind wander. I felt something about Carly and I didn't know exactly what the feeling was. Was it friendship? Was it more than friendship? It's hard to tell when I've only really known her a day.

But she's gorgeous and really adorable at times. She's... perfect. I wouldn't be surprised if I had some feelings for her. But she's straight as a pencil. She drools over guys all the time.

I think I just got myself into some serious chiz.

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