Bad Romance
Sam, Carly and Freddie are graduating in a fortnight and while Carly is out on a date with a cute guy she met at the mall Sam and Freddie try to kill time and keep from killing each other before she gets back to kiss and tell.
"That hamster is so silly," Sam laughed, tilting her head back and relaxing farther into the red beanbag she was lying on. "It's going to get brain freeze pouching a popsicle."
"Ya, and then it's going to melt and the hamster will have a cheek full of popsicle juice." Freddie smiled and looked over at Sam, distracted momentarily by her hair, loose and spilling over her shoulders and down her back. Golden in the yellow lights of the studio.
"What're you staring at Benson?" Sam smirked at Freddie. "Still got a crush on me?" She laughed again and grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl between their beanbags.
"Yes, actually," Freddie replied without hesitation. "As much as you torment me and are mean and crude, I still think I like you. Otherwise how could I be friends with you. Because you tease me and beat me up constantly." He forced himself to maintain eye contact with Sam, until she looked away to hide her blush. His frank answer had really caught her off guard.
"Ya, but we were terrible together, remember?" Sam turned back to face Freddie and spoke in a softer voice, "I was right about not knowing how to be a girlfriend and being bad at it." Then she flopped back in the bean bag. "So you better get over it Fred-o, we're going t different colleges in the fall. We'll be a good two hours away from each other."
They sat in silence for a while, though the video they had been watching had ended and the room was completely silent. "But, don't you think we could have been awesome together? You being so you, and me to apologize to everyone you offend." Freddie laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
Sam was focusing on picking the best pieces of popcorn from the big bowl. "I still like you too." She almost whispered. She said it without breaking her popcorn picking rhythm and continued playing around with the bowl.
Freddie said nothing.
"But we aren't good for each other. Or, I'm not good for you. I bet you will be the perfect boyfriend for whichever little miss prissy you find in the nerd club at college. And you two will get married in a church with roses and pick bows and live in the suburbs with two perfect children." Sam spoke quietly and slowly, trying to keep her voice even."
"Sam..." Freddie broke in before Sam could go any farther with her thought. He leaned forward in his beanbag, a gleam in his eye like when he had a great idea for a new special effect on iCarly. "People change in college. And as great as it would be to marry some normal, boring, plain girl who won't drive me crazy, maybe what we need is to just grow up a bit."
"We?" Sam looked up at Freddie and tilted her head. "Hmm... that's not too mbad an idea... Freddie." The use of his real name made him smile. Especially the way she said it so tenderly, which made his stomach do a summersault. Sam locked eyes with Freddie and they sat staring at each other for a minute. The they leaned forward simultaneously and kissed.
"Ya, I still like you." Freddie sighed and leaned back, dragging Sam with him until they had both settled onto his bean bag. "But we're not going to waste our college years bickering and making each others' lives miserable. Right?" Sam nodded her head slowly and Freddie could feel it against his chest. "Just because we like each other doesn't mean we are compatible in a stable relationship. But maybe we will mature and sometime later be able to be a couple without killing each other. And Sam...?"
"Ya?" She mumbled.
"I will always love you. As a friend, and as more than a friend. Even if you find someone better than me, or I settle for someone else." Freddie stroked Sam's head and gave her a squeeze with the arm he had wrapped around her shoulder.
Sam took a deep breath. "I love you too. As a... a whatever." she said quickly. "And this stays a secret from Carly!"
"Hey!" Freddie exclaimed, "I never told our secret! So stay away from laughing gas!" That caused the two of them to break out laughing.
They stayed on their shared bean bag watching more videos and chatting about future iCarly episode plans until Carly got home, when they quickly switched to separate bean bags and went back to be just friends.