Haven't written anything iCarly for a loooong time, and after watching iPear Store, I knew I had to do this. It's short and fluffy, and maybe still full of errors because this wasn't beta'd... but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway :{)

Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly.

(Oh and if you happen to like The Hunger Games... go check out my THG fic! hehe)

When Freddie was forced to take off his shirt, Sam knew it was more than enough.

Well, at first she thought Freddie had deserved it right—I mean, he hadn't given her a pear for God's sake! Even Spencer—even Gibby—were given the pear. No one could do that to Mama and live with it!

(And it was not just a pear, it was a pear from Freddie that he'd given to his friends to celebrate his new job…)

But this was out of line. Sam knew that working in the Pear Store had always been Freddie's dream job. He got fired, it was bad enough… but now he got fired unrespectfully. So when Freddie turned on his heels and stormed off, Sam knew she had to go too.

So she turned to Natalie and asked, "Don't you think you were a little rough on him?"

"Eh, who cares?"

The words "I do!" was almost blurted out of her mouth, but she managed to hold it in. Instead, she thought for a second and said, "Yeah…," she moved towards the door and lied, "I'll be right back."

And even though Sam had always been the perfect liar, somehow Natalie sensed it. "I'll never see you again, will I?"

Walking away and pulling of her badge without even turning around again, Sam replied firmly. "Nope."

Outside the store, Sam found Freddie who was sitting on a bench in front of the store. He had his head in his hands and his shoulders are shaking a bit. Is he crying? Sam thought. Why… it was just a job. Someday he would find a better job than this—he'd probably be the owner of the Pear, Inc for crying out loud! Being a salesman wasn't fit or him—he was way too smart to just be a salesman.

"Go away, Sam," Freddie mumbled without looking up.

"No," Sam replied simply, and sat beside him. Trying to sound nonchalant, she said, "Look, nub, it was just a job. Someday you'll—"

Freddie snapped his head up in a sudden with fresh tears on his cheeks, "I'll what? I'll find another job and have you ruin it for me again?"

Sam pursed her lips, and said in a defensive tone. "I didn't mean to—"

"Maybe you never did but it always happened anyway! Why do you always have to destroy things that I care about, Sam?"

"I don't know," Sam whispered, so uncharacteristically quiet.

Freddie looked away from her and said, "Why don't you just go back to your job."

She shrugged, "Eh. I quit right after ya."

"Why, because I'm no longer there to harass anymore?" he said dryly.

Sam sighed, "Believe what you want, Freddie. You just don't understand."

Freddie didn't say anything for a while. But then he looked up at her and asked, "Why did you say that I was still in love with you?"

Dang it, Sam thought. I know it wasn't a good idea to say that!

"Sam?"

She groaned, "Ugh! I just wanted to believe it, okay? So I said it."

"To believe what?"

Sam wasn't one to open up herself, so she hesitated for a moment before telling him the truth. "To believe that you're still in love with me."

"Maybe I still am," he said quietly.

Sam scoffed, "Yeah, and what happened to Carly and 'Is it too late for you to love me'?"

"Wait… how did'ya know that?"

She rolled her eyes. "Heard it," she said. "Go for her. She's lookin' for nerds anyway."

Freddie sighed and changed the topic. "I don't want to hate you, but all this stuff you've done to me… Sam, I just can't take it anymore."

"Well then, go ahead and hate me."

"I said I don't want to."

"Why shouldn't you?" she retorted.

He sighed again. "Why did you take the job?"

She shrugged. "Maybe just like you, I need money. I can't always depend to that old lady that calls herself mom forever."

"But, you know, why? Why at the Pear Store? Can't you just not take it and find another job?"

Sam tsk-ed and decided to tell the truth. "Look, Fredward. I'm gonna say this once and only once," she said. "I guess I just… wanted to spend more time with ya."

Freddie fell silent, and there was something in his eyes… an expression that Sam couldn't make out.

"Okay. I'm…," she hesitated, "I'm sorry. For everything," she said and stood up.

Freddie grabbed her wrist, "Wait."

"What?" Sam said without looking at him.

"You said I was still in love with you. Are you still in love with me?"

At this, Sam turned around and looked at his pleading eyes. She shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"It's a simple yes or no question, Sam."

Taking a deep breath, she mumbled, "Yes."

Freddie stood up. "Good, because I've always wanted to do this again."

He put his hand on her cheek and pulled her face closer to his before softly kissing her lips. Sam froze for a moment, but then she rested her own arms around Freddie's neck and pulled herself closer to him, closing the distance between them until their chests met. And then he pulled away.

"And because I am, too," he whispered.

"What about Carly?" she whispered back, tears stinging in her eyes.

"What about her?"

"You're in love with her."

"I don't. I said so only because I had thought I lost you," he smiled. "But now I know that I haven't."

Sam couldn't help but smile. "I'm sorry that I got you fired."

He shrugged. "Eh. Someday I'll be the owner of the Pear, Inc anyway," he joked.

She kissed him again, and gave the finger to all the people around them that stared.