Author's Note: This is the first part of two for this little one-shot I randomly thought of at 3 am. I do not own the characters Carly Shay, Freddie Benson, Samantha Puckett, Spencer Shay, or Marissa Benson. I also do not own the excerpts from episodes seen below. Please enjoy (:

Carly's POV

Well, today's the day. It's the end of summer, and we're all going our separate ways. Fancy colleges and successful lives in different parts of the country were our futures now. I couldn't help but look back on all of the good times Sam, Freddie, and I have shared…

:: :: ::

"So?" I asked, exasperated, "Half the pop stars on the charts can't sing; they use computers and stuff to make their voices sound better."

"If only we knew a computer dork who would do anything you ask him to," Sam replied deviously, purposely turning to Freddie.

"No, I won't do it!" Freddie yelled in protest.

"Please?" Carly pleaded, giving him puppy dog eyes.

"If I do it, will you kiss me?" he bargained.

"No!"

"Come on, just one little kiss on the lips!"

"No!"

"Cheek?"

"No!"

"Nose?"

"NO!"

"Okay, fine, I'll do it!" Freddie finally gave in.

:: :: ::

I found it so odd that I had actually been repulsed by Freddie's outright advances on me all those years ago. Then again, it was before I realized…my feelings.

:: :: ::

"Oh, my God! It's already past my curfew," Magic Maleka said worriedly after answering a text on her phone.

"Alright, no worries," Freddie replied calmly, checking his phone, "I'll call my mom and have her pick us up; I can have you home by…"

"Freddie," I cut in.

"Yeah?"

"She's gone."

Freddie looked over to where Maleka had been sitting and saw rising smoke.

"Wha—" he began, confused, but began applauding, "Best trick of the night!" he added, relieved.

"She really is an amazing magician," I agreed, "Like back at the dance, how did you—"

"One time, I was watching this reality show with celebrities," Austin interrupted me, "That do stuff underwater."

Freddie and I just stared at him, Freddie confused, and me peeved off.

"So, as I was saying," I began aggressively, but Austin interrupted again.

"You guys ever been to Fresno?"

"Shut up!" I'd had it, and blew up, "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

"What's your deal?" Austin protested.

"My deal is that you haven't let me finish one sentence all night, and I can't take it anymore!" I replied angrily, "It's like you won't even let me—"

"What are you trying to say?" Austin interrupted.

"GET OUTTA HERE!" I screamed, pointing to the door. Austin didn't hesitate to leave after that.

"And then there were two," Freddie said as I sat down with a relieved sigh.

"Yup," I replied, "Just us. Thank God."

"Not a very fun dance, was it?" I added after an awkward pause.

"Nope," Freddie agreed. Then, he stood up in front of me with a smirk.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Don't you think we both deserve one nice dance tonight?" he asked, "With someone we don't wanna kill?"

"Absolutely," I answered with a smile.

"Hey, T-Bo," Freddie asked, "Turn up the music?" T-Bo looked at us with a smile and hit the volume button on his remote. Freddie placed his hands on my waist as I put my arms around his neck. We swayed on the spot, and I rested my head on his shoulder, closing the gap between us.

:: :: ::

I never admitted it, but that was the night I truly felt something for Freddie. Unfortunately, that wasn't what everyone else thought…

:: :: ::

I was playing Orchestra Hero when I heard the elevator ding and Freddie come inside.

"There you are," I said lovingly with a smile, setting down the game controller.

"Here I am," he replied with the thousand-watt smile I loved, "Spencer tell you I was coming over?"

"Yeah," I answered, "He said you wanna fix something on the iCarly site?"

"Uh-huh. I'm just gonna bump up the speed with this eight-core, three gigahertz server."

"Ooh, I love it when you talk all techy." I turned off the monitor to eliminate any distractions.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's cute and geeky at the same time…it's cukey."

"You've never called my tech-talk 'cukey' before."

"Well, that was before we were, you know…" I finished my sentence by wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my lips to his. I loved kissing him. It sent an electric shock throughout my body, and I felt so…alive.

Freddie groaned softly and pulled away. I went stiff.

"You retreated," I said simply.

"I didn't…retreat," Freddie denied.

"You kinda did," I protested, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he hesitated, "It's just, um…so, are we…are we, like, boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

"I dunno, maybe," I answered flirtatiously, smiling.

"Oh."

"Well, don't say 'oh' like that."

"I just said 'oh'."

"No, you said it like you were at a raffle, and you won a prize, then you found out the prize was just a can of soup, so you go 'oh'."

"You know I like you way better than most soups."

"Well, yay," I giggled, "Now, whatdya wanna do? Kiss, or bump up your four-score, gigglejam server?"

"Eight-core, three gigahertz," he corrected.

"Wow, that's really interesting, come here," I said quickly before kissing him again. Soon, he groaned again and pulled away, walking to the middle of the studio.

"Wow," I continued, "You seriously don't wanna kiss me…why?"

"Cause," he started, grasping for the right words, "I'm just bacon!"

"You're bacon?"

"Foreign bacon!"

"Did that taco truck hit you in your brain?"

Freddie just groaned again, so I continued.

"I thought you wanted me to be your girlfriend since the first day you met me."

"I have!"

"Well, I'm standing here with my lips all glossed up, and you're treating me like I'm your icky cousin Amanda!"

"Amanda is disgusting…"

"Freddie,"

"Okay, you know how you've always said you liked me? But you don't like me that way…you know…the good way."

"Yeah, but that was before…"

"Before I saved your life?"

"So?"

"Nothing's changed. I'm still the same Freddie, and you're still the same Carly."

"But I love—" I almost said it. But he interrupted me before I could finish.

"You love what I did. You love the fact that I risked my life to save yours, but…I don't think you're in love with me."

Those words stung. They hurt so bad and I wanted to scream in protest that he was wrong, that it wasn't true…but I just stood there.

"You just think you are," Freddie continued, and that made it so much worse.

:: :: ::

He didn't believe me. He didn't believe me then, so why would he believe me now? I had to say it, though. But, do I even believe it myself? I should admit it to myself before I say it to anyone else.

Standing here in our final hour,
I can't believe this is the end.
Now I wish that I had the power
To start this all over again.

I decided to go throw some more things in my suitcase to distract myself from these thoughts. Soon, I was crying over my empty room. Everything was ending, and I felt like I couldn't save any of it. I was leaving the life I love behind me for something…unknown. Nothing would ever be the same.

I know that I'm gonna
Miss you when you're gone,
And I'd hate to leave it this way.
So just make a move,
You've got nothing to lose.

I heard footsteps, and hoped it might be Freddie, so I could confess everything. I turned, and it was Spencer. When he saw my tears, he came over and hugged me tight.

"I'm gonna miss you, kiddo," he whispered, letting me cry into his chest. He thought I was just crying because I was leaving home. But only I knew I was leaving so much more behind.

Here I am,
Take a chance,
What are you waiting for?

"What's up?" someone else was walking in the room, and asking about me. I hoped it was Freddie, but it was Sam instead. She had Spencer let go of me so she could hug me, too. I heard her whisper into my ear, "Go tell the nub."

"You know?" I whispered back in shock.

"Duh, I know, nothing slips past Mama!" I laughed at her comment, since it was something she would so typically say, even in this exceptionally non-typical situation. She pulled apart from me, and wiped a stray tear from my cheek.

"Go downstairs," she told me simply, then patted my back and watched me go.

I'm telling you,
As a friend,
We could be so much more.

"Carly?" I heard Freddie ask when he turned around after hearing my footsteps, "Are you okay?"

"Um, sure," I lied. Then, I rethought it.

"No, I'm not okay," I blurted, "I'm not okay because I don't wanna leave all this behind, I don't wanna have a new life, a different life…I just want…you…"

I ran over and hugged him, crying into his shoulder. I could tell he was shocked at first, but embraced me nonetheless.

"Freddie…" I whispered, lifting my head off his shoulder, "I…I love…"

He cut me off abruptly by crushing his lips to mine urgently, as if these were our last moments together.

"I love you Carly Shay," he announced when we came up for air.

I never thought anyone ever could
Make me feel this way,
So make my day,
What are you waiting for?

"Freddie," I sighed, somewhat relieved, "I love you."

A/N: Italics were excerpts from the following episodes (respectively): iLike Jake, iSpeed Date, and iSaved Your Life. Also, I'm aware that the game Carly's playing in the final excerpt doesn't have a name mentioned in the show, but I figured that it looked like "Orchestra Hero" with the violin controller and whatnot. Bold face (centered) was "What Are You Waiting For" by Miranda Cosgrove.