Freddie glanced at the piece of paper on his desk nervously and sighed; today their assignment had been to write a poem to be read aloud for class. He slid the paper back in his folder, he considered telling the teacher that he didn't have anything to read, and glanced over at Carly beside him. She looked up at him and smiled softly, that smile that made his insides want to turn to mush, and he smiled nervously back.
He pulled out the paper again and opened it up to read it again, scanning the words for any errors that he may have made, this poem had to be perfect. He frowned and erased the last word, carefully rewriting the word with his pencil, the poem had to be perfect because it was about her and everything he did for her had to be perfect. He was so busy reading his own poem he didn't hear the teacher call him until Carly poked him. He looked up and his face turned red in embarrassment.
He slid out of his desk, clutching the piece of paper nervously, and walked to the front of the room. He looked around the class, his eyes locking with Carly's as he finally spoke "This is um.. This is something I came up with last night.. I um, call it the Fragile" he said and looked down at the paper in his hand and began to read.
She shines
in a world full of ugliness
She matters
when everything is meaningless
Fragile
She doesn't see her beauty
She tries to get away
Sometimes
it's just that nothing seems worth saving
I can't watch her slip away
He stopped and took a breath, his eyes glancing up; he had the entire class's attention. He let his eyes wander over to Carly and what he saw made him smile. She was completely focused on him; for once it seemed like he was the only thing that mattered to her. He took a deep breath before focusing on the poem, hoping they would tell her how he felt.
She reads the minds of all the people
as they pass her by
Hoping someone will see
If I could fix myself I'd...
but it's too late for me
We'll find the perfect place to go where we can run and hide
I'll build a wall and we can keep them on the other side
but they keep waiting
and picking
He paused again, he'd heard the best way to let the audience really absorb the words was to pause every so often. He shifted uncomfortably, he hated being the center of attention, and looked around the class. He tried to ignore it but his eyes felt glued to them, especially Carly, and he swore he saw a small blush forming on her cheeks, and he smiled.
She had to know he'd written this about her, his feelings for her weren't exactly a secret to her or anyone else in this room, he knew they were true feelings and that's all that mattered to him. His eyes stayed glued with hers until she finally looked down, breaking the eye contact. He cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the paper and began reading.
It's something I have to do
[I won't let you fall apart]
I was there too
[I won't let you fall apart]
Before everything else
[I won't let you fall apart]
I was like you
[I won't let you fall apart]
He folded up the paper to let the class know he was done and smiled as they clapped for him. He glanced at the teacher who smiled "A little long, but an A plus." With a grateful smile Freddie walked back over to his desk and sat down as one by one each student was called up to read their poems. The only one he really paid attention to was Carly's (though he did hear a bit of Sam's poem about ham) which was about her friends and family.
The rest of class went by in a flash and he quickly headed out the door, not wanting to be interrogated about the poem he'd written. He headed to his locker and slowly dialed in the combination. From behind him came the familiar voice of Carly "Hey Freddie" she said and he jumped.
He turned around and smiled "O-Oh hey Carly" he said and shut his locker, "What's up?"
She shrugged and smiled "I just wanted to say good job for getting an A on your poem" she said, "It was beautiful.. The girl you wrote it about must be very lucky" she said, a knowing smirk forming on her lips.
"I don't know if she'd describe herself like that, I think I'm more of an annoyance than anything" he muttered, unable to keep the sadness out of his voice.
Her eyes showed nothing but sympathy for him "I doubt she thinks like that" she said, "I'm pretty sure she wouldn't know what she'd do without you."
He looked up, the shock obvious in his eyes, "You think so?" he asked curiously.
She nodded and bit her lip, looking around, "In fact… She's wondering if you'd like to get a smoothie tomorrow after school" she said softly, her cheeks turning pink.
Freddie stared at her in disbelief, he had never imagined her asking him out but he wasn't about to turn her down, and finally smiled "I'd love to."
She grinned "Meet me at the Groovy Smoothie at 4:30" she said and turned around to walk away, "Oh and don't be late" she said as she walked off.
Freddie grinned "I'll be there, and I never make a girl wait" he replied with a smirk as he walked off, excited for tomorrow.
Note: Well here's my submission for Creddie friday, as usual I don't own the Fragile by Nine Inch Nails or anything iCarly related. Next project is About a Son Chapter 6, please leave me reviews!