This is one of many Seddie one-shots that coincide with my previous fic, iProm. These one-shots take place after iOMG and before iProm.
Approximate date: mid-September
Sam and Freddie were sitting on beanbag chairs in the studio. Freddie had brought over his Street Wars video game and was teaching Sam how to play. She was picking up very quickly. While they played, they yelled a lot, at the screen, at the character they were trying to beat, at the random shooter from across the street that got them unexpectedly, at the character that killed them while they waited to respawn, and at each other for help.
Freddie quickly glanced at the map at the bottom left corner of the screen which showed were the enemy was hiding. "Okay, coming up on Arkaev Road is a guy in a bush. Careful this time, he might have grenades."
"Got it," Sam said, pressing the X button to get her bazooka out.
Carly came into the studio. At first, she didn't notice Sam and Freddie, as she was texting Wendy about their plans to go to the movies that night. When Freddie started yelling, "Go, go, go, go!" she jumped.
"I'm going, I got it!" Sam yelled back. You'd think they were playing this game in different rooms.
"What are you guys doing?" Carly asked.
Sam and Freddie both said, "Shhhhhhhhh," and waved their arms to quiet her down without even looking at her. Carly raised her eyebrows, looking amused.
"Argh, I can't shake this guy off, he has a machete!" Sam shouted, as she tried to get out her katana.
"I gotcha, I gotcha," Freddie said. He made his guy run over to Sam and rescue her from the machete guy.
"Okay," he said, taking a breath. "We're coming up towards the end. Remember the combination I taught you before?"
"Triangle, X, X, circle, square, X?" Sam asked.
"Yep. On three. Ready?"
"Mhm." Sam nodded. She watched her character and Freddie's character reach a big beefy guy swinging a smiley chain right in front of the entrance to the city park.
"One, two, three!"
Sam and Freddie pressed their buttons furiously. The combination of both attacks was too much for the beefy guy. He dropped his smiley chain, and collapsed to the ground.
Sam and Freddie started cheering. Carly was just watching them, laughing.
"So, what were you guys doing?" Carly asked.
"Kicking some good old fashioned street hide!" Sam yelled. She and Freddie high-fived.
Freddie looked up at Carly and saw that she looked a little stern, as if to say, "You're fostering her violent side with a violent video game?"
"What? It's better than her actually hurting people, isn't it?" He got up from his bean bag and extended a hand down to help Sam up from the floor.
"Well, I'm glad you guys have more common interests," Carly said, "… I guess." She glanced uneasily at the screen, where Sam and Freddie's characters were punching their fists in the air in celebration.
Sam turned to Freddie. "Did you save?"
He glanced up at the screen. "Oh, no, I forgot. Thanks." He picked up his controller and quickly saved their game.
"You guys have plans tonight?" Carly asked.
Sam shook her head.
Freddie dropped his controller back on the beanbag. "My mom's trying to get me to go to mother-son pottery class. Lately, whenever she wants to do stuff like that, I just have to be conveniently absent."
"You don't just tell her you have other plans?" Carly asked.
Sam shook her head. "Oh, no. He's too afraid to break his mommy's heart." Freddie looked at her. She laughed a little. "Remember when she wanted to take you to see that Puppet Crew movie? We went to see Race Around Hong Kong 3, and she just happened to be at the movies when we were."
Freddie laughed too. "She was right in front of us as the snack line and she didn't even notice. We had to get our stuff really quick and run into the theater before she saw us."
"You were laughing so hard you weren't even making any noise," Sam said.
"Really?" Carly asked.
"Sneaking past my mom to see a street racing movie was a rush. If she ever found out what I get up to with Sam, she'd lock me in my room until I graduate."
"So I guess actually telling her you're dating Sam is out of the question, huh?" Carly asked.
Freddie nodded. "That's why I don't tell her I have plans and who I have plans with when she wants to do stuff. She'd freak out and either commit me to an institution or have a heart attack."
A set of footsteps came up the stairs and Spencer came into the studio. "Freddie, your mom's downstairs. She says you guys have pottery class." He bit his lip, trying not to laugh.
Sam looked at Freddie. "Arcade?"
"I'm with you." He and Sam went straight for the elevator. As they got in, Freddie said to Spencer. "I was never here."
"Got it."
The elevator door closed, and Sam and Freddie rode down to the lobby. They were about to head out of the lobby when a voice called out, "Freddie!"
Freddie stopped in his tracks. He knew that voice too well.
His mom came down the stairs, smiling her usual motherly-yet-somewhat-scary smile. "There you are!" she said. "Ready for our class?"
Freddie had no idea what to do. He looked at Sam for help. She raised her eyebrows as if to say, "You gotta do it."
"I can't go, Mom, I, uh, I already have plans," Freddie said.
Mrs. Benson looked confused, almost like she didn't believe him.
"Run," Sam said, taking his hand.
Both of them raced out of the Bushwell and ran down the street. Freddie knew he was in for a vigorous third degree when he got home. "Where did you go?" "Who did you go with?" "Did you drink from a dirty water fountain, I always told you never to do that." "You didn't spill soda on your pants, did you, those are brand new, and soda's hard to come out if it's mixed with the anti-bacterial body spray for boys." "Please don't say you went out with Sam, you know I don't approve of that delinquent. She's just as bad of an influence as Carly."
They ducked into a restaurant for a breather. They checked to see if they were being followed. Fortunately, the sidewalk from the Bushwell to La Trattoria was empty of Mrs. Benson.
Freddie was laughing again. So was Sam. "It's exhilarating, right?" she asked him.
He nodded. "Yeah."
Sam was sniffing the air. "I'm in the mood for Italian food."
"We can get pizza at the arcade," Freddie suggested.
Sam smiled. "You do know how to treat a girl right."
She and Freddie left the restaurant cautiously, as if Marissa was going to jump out at them from behind a wall. They relaxed when they reached the arcade a few blocks from La Trattoria.
The arcade on Aqueduct Road always smelled like chicken fingers, grape soda, and birthday cake. Like every Friday night, the arcade was a little more crowded. Sam made a beeline for the skee-ball. She always had great aim, and she used it well when she played skee-ball. Last time they went to the arcade, she came close to beating the all-time high score, but fell short by ten points.
Sam liked that she felt very at ease around Freddie. With her past crushes, she always felt like she had to impress them. Freddie already knew the good and bad about her, so there was no sense in pretending.
Sam saw all the skee-ball lanes were taken and a couple had some pretty long lines. The line for food was a lot shorter. Freddie saw her looking at the line. "Hungry?"
"Shoosh yeah. I'll play better if I have a little energy food."
As they made their way to the line for food, Freddie had that impulse to hold her hand. He got than impulse a lot when he hung out with her. One of the deals he struck up with Sam when they went out the first time was no PDA, no matter how much they wanted to. At first, he liked the idea. Now, he wasn't so sure why he agreed to it in the first place.
After they ordered six slices of pepperoni pizza (four for Sam, two for Freddie), a basket of curly fries, and two cans of Dr. Fozz, they found a table to sit. Sam was surveying the skee-ball players and how well they were playing. She knew what score she needed to beat, but she also had to be on the lookout for exceptional players. Sometimes they popped in out of nowhere.
Sam polished off her last slice of pizza, swished some soda in her mouth, and got up, rubbing her hands together. "Let's do this."
Freddie grabbed the last curly fry and followed Sam to the skee-ball lanes. He was getting a little excited. He was glad he managed to escape his mom with Sam. He always had more fun than he expected to with her.
Sam found a free lane, fished in her pockets, and found her tokens. She'd saved them from last week. She put in two, and ten balls came rolling down. She rubbed her hands together again, and picked up the first ball. Freddie saw her eyes gleam with determination. She was getting serious.
The first ball went up. 100. The next one. 100. Over and over, she shot each ball in the 100 slot. A crowd started to form. The high score was 950. No one had scored 1000 in a very long time.
Sam was flexing her arm when it came down to the last few balls. This was really serious chiz now. The ninth ball went up into the 100 slot without a fight. Everyone seemed to collectively hold their breath when Sam picked up the last ball.
Before she took aim, she glanced at Freddie. He had a look on his face, as if he was saying, "Do it."
She smiled a little at him, then turned back to face the skee-ball lane. Deep breath in, deep breath out. And go.
The ball swooped up the ramp and for a second it looked like it was going to fall off the 100 slot rim. The entire arcade seemed to gasp. Sam was glaring at the ball, as if she was trying to make it fall into the 100 slot with her mind.
Finally, the ball went the other direction into the 100 slot.
Everyone started cheering. Sam was punching the air over and over, yelling, "YEAH, BABY! MAMA WINS! MAMA ALWAYS WINS!"
Freddie gave her a high-five, then he hugged her, but let go quickly. She wished he hadn't. It was times like these when Sam regretted the "no PDA" deal. Because at that moment, she wanted nothing more that for Freddie to grab her and kiss her right there.
R&R!