Hello, and I'm glad you were intrigued enough to click on this story! I hope you enjoy it.

Special note before we begin…this story does not take some recent events of iCarly into account…specifically iOMG. I loved it, but it doesn't work for this story. So, it's like that episode never happened at all. Hope that doesn't disappoint anyone!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own iCarly or any of its characters.

The blank hallway stared him down. He stood at the end of it, out of breath, although he couldn't remember any reason for that. Perhaps he had run here…? It didn't matter. There was something—no, someone he needed to get to. And fast. He had something to tell them…something he just couldn't quite remember.

Almost as if he had no control over them, his feet started moving, running, pounding against the white tile floors, making the plain white walls flash by him in a colorless haze. He knew where she was; he just had to get to her.

But who was he running to? Was it Carly? Was she in trouble? He couldn't think straight—all of his energy was focused on running down this damn hallway, which seemed to be growing longer, or at least not growing any shorter.

Suddenly, there was a door along the right side of the hallway. There! That was where he wanted to go! His sneakers squeaked to a halt on the floors as he turned to face this door. He stared it down for a moment. And then, again without him having any control, his hand reached for the polished doorknob and turned it.

The room was just as white as the hallway, but there was more light, making everything very bright. He had to squint as he looked around, knowing that the girl he was looking for was in this room. She needed him…or he needed her. He still wasn't quite sure. He took a step into the room.

There. There she was. She was dressed in a flowing white dress that was hardly noticeable against the white walls and floors…walls and floors that seemed to blend into each other so that it appeared to be just empty white space now.

It wasn't Carly.

The girl's hair was a beautiful blonde color, curly, and falling luxuriously down her back. She was facing the other way, but seemed to sense his presence and turned to face him. He couldn't help but gasp, though no sound escaped his lips.

It was Sam.

But…it wasn't Sam at the same time. This couldn't be Sam. There were a few things wrong with this picture. Sam didn't wear any sort of dress, let alone a long, wispy one that this girl was wearing. Sam's hair wasn't this shiny or smooth. Sam didn't have the faint smell of lilacs wafting from her. Sam didn't smile at him like this girl was…

He reached out to touch the girl, who did the same. At the instant their fingers touched, the door behind him slammed shut with a bang that echoed through his mind. He jumped slightly, but the mystery girl just smiled wider, her white teeth seeming to glitter at him. His mouth opened to ask her who she was, why she looked like Sam…but she put a finger to her lips, telling him to not speak.

Obeying her seemed like a reasonable thing, so he didn't ask.

His eyes widened as she reached up to his face, her small, soft hands resting on either of his cheeks. She tilted her head one way, letting her hair fall over one shoulder. Then, she slowly pulled his face closer to hers. He closed his eyes, waiting, dying to kiss this mysterious, alluring, stunning girl.

Freddie gasped as he sat up in bed, the incessant beeping of his alarm clock being what woke him. He fumbled for the clock on his nightstand, striking the button with a little bit more force than was necessary. Rubbing his eyes irritably, he took a deep breath to clear his brain. A dream. It had been a dream.

He sighed, slightly disappointed that the perfect girl had been nothing but a figment of his imagination. Even now, the dream was fading away from his memory. Something was sticking with him though. However…he might just pretend that the girl had had Sam's face. It hadn't seemed like Sam at all.

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he noticed his sheets and comforter were in a pile on the floor. He replaced them on his bed before going out into the kitchen.

"Mom?" he called, scratching the back of his head. "Mom?" He noticed a note stuck to the refrigerator, and took a closer look at it.

Freddiekins—

Got called in to work early. Will see you tonight!

Xoxoxoxoxo!

Mommy

Freddie rolled his eyes at the cutesy nickname and the smiley face drawn down at the bottom of the page. Still, this was a huge improvement over past years. His mom had recently finished nursing school and was working in a pediatrician's office. This boded very well for Freddie, since she now had more people to smother with unconditional caring. These were people who actually needed her relentless use of anti-bacterial items.

With a smile and yawn, he pulled open the fridge and, after a moment of staring into its contents, closed it again. He instead went back to his room and quickly through on some clothes, a penny tee with the phrase "Cheesecake Griddle" on it, and a pair of tan cargo shorts. After slipping on a pair of shoes and grabbing his keys, he left the apartment, going to Carly and Spencer's across the hall.

He knocked on the door, not waiting for it to be answered before he walked in. "Hey, hey, hey," he called as he shut the door behind him.

"Oh look, it's Freddie," Spencer mumbled from his spot on the couch. "Why wouldn't he show up at eight in the morning, unannounced?" Freddie knew that Spencer was just kidding…possibly.

"Spencer," Carly scolded, eating a bowl of cereal at the kitchen table. "You need to be more of a morning person." Spencer grumbled noncommittally and fell over sideways, burying his face into the cushions of the couch.

Freddie laughed, walking over to the kitchen to join Carly. "What's shakin, bacon?" he asked, pulling a bowl from the cabinet.

"Well, no bacon, unfortunately," Carly smiled at him. "Count Chocula?"

"Please," Freddie responded, grabbing the box from the table and pouring a fair amount into his bowl, then grabbing the milk from the fridge. "So…first day of summer. What are we doing today?" he inquired, pouring the milk over his cereal and grabbing a spoon before joining Carly at the table.

"I didn't have plans," Carly shrugged. "Maybe you, Sam, and I can go to the pool or something."

With a nod, Freddie gestured with his spoon. "Remember, later we have to finish picking videos for the next iCarly segment. We have it down to that tuba playing cat and the exploding cake."

"I really like the cat," Carly confessed. "It's sooo cute." She was going to say more, but the door to the apartment banged open and closed once more. Spencer fell off the couch with a shout of surprise. Sam stormed from the living room to the kitchen, growling under her breath.

Carly and Freddie watched, shocked, as she grabbed a root beer from the fridge and joined them at the table. She looked between the two of them for a moment. "What?" she finally asked, obviously pissed about something.

"Sam, it's like eight in the morning," Carly slowly explained, highly confused. "You're never up this early—even during the school year!"

"I know I'm not, but she is!" Sam exclaimed. "And she wouldn't quit pestering me! I don't know how to escape!"

"Escape from who?" Freddie asked, confused. Carly looked like she understood.

"So, what, are you just going to live here?" Carly questioned. "She's not going to go away!"

"Who's not going away?" Freddie demanded, feeling a little invisible.

"Well, ignoring her isn't working," Sam complained. "She won't leave me alone—she says we need to bond more!"

"Okay, now I know you're not talking about your mom…" Freddie mumbled, knowing that no one was listening.

There was a knock at the door. Sam looked over at it, a look of dread overcoming her face. "Oh crap…" she muttered. "She found me."

"She likes you, Sam," Carly told her, rolling her eyes. "She just wants to spend time with you." Carly got up and started over to the door.

"Hey!" Sam exclaimed. She leapt up from the table and grabbed Carly's arm. "Don't let her in!"

"Why not?" Carly asked, exasperated. "I like her!"

"Yeah, and I don't understand why!"

"Okay, you know what? You really need to learn to tolerate her."

Freddie rolled his eyes at their bickering and dropped his spoon into the now empty cereal bowl. He got up from the table and walked, unnoticed by the arguing girls, to the door. He opened it, shaking his head. "Hey, what's going on…" he started to ask the person at the door, but then his voice caught in his throat.

Melanie smiled at him. "Freddie!" she exclaimed, pulling him into a hug. Freddie was too shocked; he was frozen.

He heard the absence of argument from behind him. "Oh yeah," Carly realized. "He still doesn't know she exists, does he?"