[Revamping each chapter. I edited some errors and updated Some of the story lines.]
Disclaimer: I do NOT own iCarly or any of the characters except Zeth.
Perfect Timing
The door to the studio opened without warning. A blonde mess of curls bounced about as Sam entered the room in her usual gruff demeanor. Only, tonight, she lacked her usual arrogance.
"Hey, Freddork." Sam muttered.
She walked over to one of the bean bags as Freddie turned his attention away from his laptop, and plopped herself down on it with reckless abandon.
"What's up your butt?" Freddie asked, mildly confused by her gloomy disposition.
"Nothin'." She stated flatly and looked up towards the ceiling.
"Yeah, okay. Really, Sam, what's the deal with you? You've been acting like this for weeks now."
Freddie walked over to her and crouched down by her legs.
She met his gaze and sighed.
"What do you think about Zeth?"
"Carly's new boyfriend, Zeth?" he asked, taken back by the question.
She nodded.
"Well, what do you mean, exactly?"
Sam looked back up at the ceiling, trying to think of a better way to phrase her question..
"I mean, you've liked her for years. And as long as I've known you, every single time she dated someone, you got all jealous and junk. But, for some reason, you don't seem at all phased by THIS dude. What's up with that crap?" she ended with a look of pure exasperation.
Freddie glances away and smirked a little.
"I don't know. I guess… its like, I don't feel that way anymore… about Carly, I mean."
Sam's brows shot up in disbelief.
"Good one, Fredward!" She scoffed as she got up from the bean bag.
But before she could move from her spot in front of him, Freddie looked up at her, confused.
"I'm serious, Sam. I'm done with all of that. I realized, after saving her that day. Being with her, for a while, it felt great. But something didn't seem real about it. It would never be real. You, yourself, gave me that same advice, remember? You saw it for what it truly was. And, I guess, I just realized that it wasn't what I wanted for myself. I'm just not going to put myself through that anymore. She will never be my girlfriend. But, I will always have her as a great friend. And that's enough for me."
Sam sat back down, a little dazed and taken off guard.
"Wow, dude. That's really… something. I mean... I know that you and I don't really get along. We have our moments… well, actually, I have my moments of pure enjoyment when making your life hell and stuff…"
Freddie smiled as she continued.
"… but I gotta admit, I'm really... kinda proud of you, kid. You're finally growing some stones!" She patted him on the back making him unconsciously flinch at the contact. Smirking at his reaction she made her way over to where Freddie had his laptop. He followed behind her.
"So whatcha' working on here?" she asked, messing with the keyboard.
"Sam…" Freddie spoke softly but firmly in an attempt to make eye contact with her.
As she focused on his face her eyes gently questioned him.
"Why did you ask me about that?" he looked away before finishing.
"What? you mean about Zeth?"
He nodded.
"I don't know, man. I guess I was just curious, ya' know? I mean, having witnessed plenty of your little jealousy tantrums whenever Carly had her eyes on some random dude, I guess I was just surprised that you haven't had one yet."
Freddie rolled his eyes.
"I didn't have 'jealousy tantrums'!" he air quoted. "Besides, why do you care so much if I was jealous or not, anyways?"
She got up in a huff and made her way towards the door before turning around.
"I don't care about it at all." She shrugged.
"I just find extreme joy in your constant pain and anguish. And when you weren't supplying anymore, naturally, I just wanted to see what all the chizz was about. But don't worry…" she smiled wickedly as she slowly backed up toward the door.
"Mama's just gonna have to find other ways to bring about your misery." she grinned..
Freddie rolled his eyes again and chuckled.
"Whatever, Sam." He caught her eye again, as she turned slightly, her hand slowly reaching out towards the doorknob. "Where are you going anyways?" he asked.
"I'm hungry. I'm going to raid Carly's fridge. I hear she stocked up on some chicken and ham!" she raised and lowered her eyebrows repeatedly in a comical way and smiled as she opened the door, disappearing behind it.
Freddie laughed to himself and went back to work on his gadgets.
SAM'S POV
Why does he always make my heart beat fast like that? It's sickening. It's been this way since we kissed out on his fire escape that night.
My first kiss. No. Our first kiss.
What the crap is wrong with me?! I'm Samantha Puckett! And this is Fredward Benson we're talking about here! There's just no way in hell either one of us can have feelings for the other!
Ughhhh! But I do! Ffffffffffffffffffk…
How the hell did I fall for a little nub like that anyways?
But it doesn't matter, though, does it? It's impossible for him to share those feelings for me. Look at all the crap I've put him through… and continue to put him through…. Daily.
I guess I can't really blame him from that aspect. Still, I have to admit that it hurt me every time he fawned over Carly and flipped out every time she found herself a new guy to date.
Why couldn't he feel that way about me?
Oh… right… cuz he hates me. It's not his fault, though. I really am horrible to him.
I walked downstairs and made my way into the kitchen. Carly still wasn't home yet from her date with Zeth. It's cool, though, cuz she always lets us hang out at her house whenever she's not there, anyways. I'm so grateful for that too. Any chance I have to chill somewhere other than my house is good news to me.
I walked over to the fridge and took out some leftovers to eat. God I love how full Carly's fridge is! I unwrapped the foil from the Tupperware to find a butt load of FRIED CHICKEN and MASHED POTATOES!
Mmmmmm, chicken…. I always did enjoy Spencer's cooking. I remember how we would spend hours in the kitchen when Carly was busy doing other things. He taught me plenty of recipes. I learn a lot from Spencer. He's like a big brother to me since I don't have any real brothers of my own; just the one sister Melanie, my twin. She's not so bad but she can get really annoying with all of her do-gooder BS. We're not as close as Carly and I are but what can I say, she's my sister. My polar opposite. Where I'm rough and bitter she's gentle and sweet. I kick ass and take names and she... well, she just OOZES politeness. It's disgusting.
She gets everything she ever wants by just being a complete barbie doll. Really. It works for everything… especially attracting the male populace. Not that I don't get asked out by guys, mind you. It's just that usually the guys that ask me out turn out to be total nubs! Either they have no real personality or they're just looking for that one thing. Melanie, however, always goes for the nerdy but kind guys. Guys like Freddie.
Freddie… I forgot that she kissed him once. He thought it was me screwing with him by pretending that I had a twin and that I was pretending to be this made up sister just to mind-EFF him. He was hellbent on proving it, too. He kept trying to annoy 'Melanie' enough to bring 'Sam' out of her. Dummy. It took us a really long time after that to finally convince him that my twin really did exist. Once we reintroduced him to Melanie, in my presence, of course, he couldn't apologize to her enough for how he behaved. Afterwards they seemed to have hit it off pretty well.
I remember how easily irritated I got being around them at the time. People thought I was PMS-ing hard body and just being my normal wild child self, but no one knew why I was truly annoyed. It wasn't until Freddie decided that he didn't want a relationship with Melanie that I realized: I MAY be in some deep shit…. At first I told myself it was because I didn't want my sister hooking up with a douche like Freddie. That was easy to believe…. It made the truth of the matter that much easier to deny. But sooner rather than later, the truth reared it's ugly head.
I didn't want them together because the idea of Freddie being with someone like Melanie, did things to me on a mental and emotional level that I couldn't even fully comprehend. And, honestly, it scared the hell out of me. I guess that's when I realized… I had started to fall for the little weirdo.
Movement on the staircase snapped me out of my thoughts and I heard footsteps approaching the kitchen.
Freddie popped in just as I took a bite out of a big ole drumstick. He smiled at me as he opened the fridge and grabbed a can of Pepi-cola.
"Good chicken?" He asked.
"Mmmhmm… wrreel goood." I answered around a mouthful of chicken.
Freddie chuckled at me as he poured some cola into a cup. He motioned for me to pass him my glass in a silent attempt to ask me if I needed a refill. I nodded and lifted my cup to him so that he can pour it in for me.
"Thanks." I managed to spit out once I swallowed the food.
"No prob."
He took his drink to the other end of the table and sat down. After a few minutes of silence (we were used to it when Carly wasn't around) I took my plate and cup to the sink as I finished off my cola. I turned to Freddie and realized that he was still looking at me awkwardly, like he was doing upstairs.
"What's your prob, dweeb?" I asked him, picking my teeth with my nail and patting my stomach.
"Nothing. I was just still wondering about what we discussed upstairs." He responded.
"What do you mean?" What's he getting at now? I wondered.
Freddie rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Sam is there something you want to say about the whole Carly and Zeth thing?"
I don't get what he's talking about.
"What are you talking about, doofus?"
"I just find it weird that you brought the whole 'Zeth' thing up out of nowhere. It was so random. I mean, you say it's because I haven't been jealous of him and Carly but that's not it is it?" He looked sad as he said this.
"Still not following." I stated matter-of-factly.
He looked down at the cup in between his hands.
"You like him don't you? Zeth, I mean." He asked without looking up.
I can't believe my ears. What was he thinking? What could I possibly like about Zeth? He is NOT my type! Like at all! Freddie has known me for a long time. How can he not see that I couldn't possibly like a guy like Zeth? The dude is the male equivalent of Melanie for chizz sakes! And worst of all, how could Freddie think that I would scam on my own best friend's boyfriend? What kind of girl does he take me for?
"What the hell, Freddie, what kind of girl do you take me for?" I blurted out.
Freddie's frown was replaced by sudden surprise.
"Do you really think that I could do something like that to Carly? And, really, Zeth? Zeth! The guy whose kindness rivals that of my sister's! How could you even think I'd be interested in a dude like that?"
Shaken out of his stupor by my sudden outburst, Freddie stepped closer to me.
"Then why did you bring him up to begin with? And spare me the crap about just trying to find out why I wasn't jealous. Tell me the truth." He demanded.
"Dude, that IS the truth. I really was only trying to figure out why you haven't wigged out about the guy. You already told me why, though, so can we just drop it?" I looked away and pretended to wash the dish and cup that I had used.
After a minute or two of silence Freddie put his hand on my shoulder.
"Sam… I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you were 'that' kind of girl. Honest. I just thought it was weird that you brought him up so randomly. And I guess it just kind of annoyed me when I thought that maybe that's the reason you've been looking so gloomy lately."
"What do you mean, 'gloomy'?" I asked, matching his eyes with my own.
"You've looked really out of it lately, and it bothered me. And when you brought him up, I guess, I just got a little annoyed that he might be the reason you're so down. I dunno, just forget it. You said you didn't like him. It's none of my business anyways, right? I really am sorry for making it seem like I thought badly of you or something. I truly don't. You're one of my best friends no matter how much we get into it." He smiled.
The fact that he called me a best friend made me feel both happy and sad. Happy because that took a lot for him to say and I appreciate it; and sad because it most likely means he'll never look at me as more than that.
I nodded with a smile to show that I agreed with him, at least in part.
"Hey… don't get so deep and teary on me, I've got a reputation to protect… capiche?" I said in my best Italian gangster accent.
He leaned his face into the side of mine, his breath ghosting over my ear as he smirked.
"By the way, you can stop pretending you're washing the dishes… we both know you wouldn't wash a dish to save your life." With that he turned and walked over to the couch.
That boy knows me too damn well.
FREDDIE'S POV
It wasn't until I sat down in the living room that I realized just how stupid I must've sounded. I mean, come on! She had to have guessed why I had been so annoyed about this, right? I couldn't have been any more obvious.
Dumbass. Maybe she didn't notice.
If she knew how I felt she would probably break every bone in my body. There's no possible way she could feel the same way about me, though. She beats on me, calls me names, makes my life a living hell, and yet, the woman drives me out of my mind crazy.
What the hell is wrong with me?
I mean, jeez, its SAM. She takes pleasure in my pain, thoroughly enjoys my misery, and is completely satisfied in instances where I'm humiliated. Of course that would be the reason for her asking what my deal was with Zeth….
Zeth. Don't get me wrong, I really do like the guy. And the fact that he's with Carly doesn't even bother me in the least bit. I'm actually really happy that she found someone she seems to genuinely like and who genuinely likes her.
But when Sam brought him up the way that she did… it stirred such passionate and surprising hate in me for that guy. I didn't realize why at the time. And I definitely didn't let on about it now when she brought it up. For obvious reasons. But when she said that it was only to find out why I hadn't snapped about him and Carly, part of me wanted to call BS on it. Is that really why? Or did she harbor some secret feelings for this guy? And if so, why? He's so not her type.
I wasn't truly convinced of her response so I brought it up again while we were in the kitchen. Still, her answer didn't change. I didn't really want to push it, so, for now it'll have to do. I don't really think she's lying to me or anything like that.. I really don't. I just can't help but feel like she's not exactly telling me the whole truth.
My thoughts were disrupted when Sam came into the living room and sat down on the couch next to me.
"So, let's see what's on the old boob tube." She stated, picking up the remote and turning the TV on.
I couldn't help but smile at her. We had been waiting for Carly for at least two hours and I didn't mind one bit if I had to wait longer. Moments alone with Sam were too few and far in between. So, I enjoyed them when I could. We have pretty much mastered the art of comfortable silences when alone together.
"Hey, Freddie?"
I turned to her.
"Yeah?"
"Why were you so 'annoyed' when you thought that I liked Zeth, anyway?" she smirked, not looking my way.
I knew that she caught that. She really is a bright girl.
"I…uh…I wasn't really… I just meant that…" I sound like a friggin' idiot.
What the hell do I say to that? "…I really don't know, Sam…"
Before either of us could say anything else, the front door opened.
"Oh, hey guys, I'm sorry I'm so late!" A perky brunette said as she strode into the apartment.
Perfect timing, Carly.
AN:
Hope you enjoyed. Reviews are greatly appreciated.
Thanx
~Siren