New Story Idea! Hope You like this one.
Disclaimer: If I owned iCarly, I'd have a ranch full of amazing horses and I'd shop in New York everyday. Unfortunately, I only own a laptop.
Chapter 1
I grabbed the last suitcase and hefted it into the dark navy suburban, the car that Carly Shay's older brother, Spencer, had rented. With a sigh, I shut the back hatch door and turned sadly towards Carly.
"Well," I said. "I guess this is it." Be strong Freddie.
Carly gave me small, sad, adorable smile. "I guess so," she commented quietly, her eyes dark with sadness. She embraced me tightly around the waist (she was so small compared to me now…where had the days gone by?) and rested her head against my chest. I hugged her back.
"I'll see you at the end of July," she promised in my ear. "Don't change while I'm gone."
I smiled. "I'll try. But wouldn't you rather have a cool best friend rather than a teck-stooge?"
Carly laughed. "No. I'd rather have Freddie Benson." Abruptly, a strong, forceful grip on my shoulder ripped me painfully from Carly's arms and sent my stumbling backwards.
"Yeah, Fredward," Sam Puckett snorted, flashing her dark blue eyes angrily in my direction. "So stop crowding the chick and let me hug my best friend goodbye!"
"Oh, Sam," Carly sighed, hugging her close. "I'm going to miss your destruction everywhere you go." I snorted; I wasn't.
Sam stuck her tongue out at me then replied to Carly: "Well, I'm gonna miss you trying to protect this doofus I get to spend the summer with. You better not love Hawai'i too much!"
Carly's father, an officer in the U.S. Navy, was going to be stationed for a three months on Oahu, nearby Pearl Harbor. Spencer and Carly were going down for the remaining two months, after school had ended for the three of us, to visit their parents. I knew that Carly was excited to see her dad, but deep down I was dreading the two months without her to stop Sam from doing heaven-knows-what to me. I could avoid her as well as I could with my job at the video store downtown, but the fact was, we were friends. She was abusive, but a friend.
Carly was laughing. "I won't, I promise. I'll be back to raid the mall for new school clothes before you'll even miss me."
"Doubt that," I mumbled under my breath. Carly heard and smiled sympathetically at me.
"Don't worry, Freddie." I returned a grateful smile. Sam gagged and came to grab me by the back of my neck. Shaking me like a mouse, she pulled me close to her.
"Don't worry about us, Carls," she said. "I'll take good care of little Freddie…" Sam grinned mischievously. My stomach dropped and I dodged away from her.
"If you kill me, Sam, my mom will..."
"Oh, your mom is a load of crazy," Sam dismissed my statement with a lazy wave of her hand. I started to protest but let my voice fade. I had to face it; Sam was right.
"Okay, kiddo!" Spencer bounced out of the apartment complex and ruffled Carly's hair. "You ready to head to the airport?"
Carly grinned. "Sure." She turned to us and held her arms out for a group hug. "I'm going to miss you guys! Sam, text me if you decide about iCarly or not."
"I will." We had yet to see if iCarly would continue while Carly was gone. I'd set up an online poll for the viewers to vote on, and Sam had screamed, while standing on top of the lunch table in the cafeteria, for the opinions of our peers.
As Carly climbed into the car, I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. It was over, finally…sophomore year. Next year, I could have my license…I could go off campus for lunch…and I could go to prom. Unfortunately, my would-be date was driving away as I thought.
Next to me, Sam burped and turned to leave. "Later, looser."
"Wait." I grabbed her arm. "We should probably check the reviews on iCarly…see what the viewers think about the show."
Sam groaned. "I don't wanna work! I'm expecting another round of Meat of the Month this afternoon…this time is from Egypt!" She tossed her blonde, curly hair behind her shoulder. "You can call me, alright?"
"But…"
"Bye!" In a flash, she dashed across the parking lot, jay walked across the street, nearly avoided an oncoming semi ("SAM! Look out!") and disappeared into the park. Shaking my head ruefully, I walked back inside to check the ratings.
"Alright, Benson. I'm leaving Darcy in charge, do what she says, blah blah blah…" My manager, Ed, walked out of the front door of Seattle Vid, one of the video rental stores, and slammed the glass door behind him. I cringed, but continued sweeping the tiles. Great. Darcy was a dream to work with…when she wasn't PMSing.
Unfortunately, it was that awkward time of the month.
"FREDDIE!" The blonde came storming out of the office. "What are you doing?"
"Sweeping the tiles," I sighed, looking down at the broom handle. Here it comes…
"Look at me when you speak to your supervisor! Now go check in the returns!" I looked up.
"Yes, ma'am…" I mumbled, picking up the broom, ignoring the "SPEAK CLEARLY" from Darcy and putting the broom in the supply closet. From the desk, I had the perfect view of the street of downtown Seattle outside the window.
Listening to Darcy rampaging at an innocent customer was oddly calming as I typed away at the computer and clicked the scanner. Carly had left a week ago and I'd only curled up in my room alone and full of sadness once. Mostly, I'd been working, which took my mind off things. Even Sam, who'd stuck melted cheese in my sock drawer while I'd been in the kitchen, helped keep my mind off Carly. Pain, both physical and emotional, tended to do that to me.
Humming to myself, I checked in twenty videos. Glancing carelessly out the window, I grabbed the next DVD in the pile. Something caught my eye. I looked back up. What was it?
Suddenly, a flash of familiar, blonde hair caught my eye across the street. It was Sam. I watched in amazement as she stepped out of an apartment complex, and glanced around the street, which was nearly empty at the later hour of the evening. But it wasn't the fact that she was here that surprised me. It was the fact that she was holding herself around the middle.
And she quite obviously was sobbing hysterically.
What do you think?