Chapter 1

Sam Puckett stood in front of her open closet. She stared at the clothes, trying to choose a nice outfit. She eventually settled on her new green chucks with board shorts and a layered top. Her hair was down and clipped to the side. Satisfied, she started walking to Carly's apartment.

When she arrived, she found Carly lying on the couch watching Seattle Beat. Carly immediately jumped up and hugged Sam. "Great! You're just in time to tape the show! C'mon." The dark haired girl clicked off the TV and started running up the stairs.

Sam's face was flushed. Why did I get that prickly feeling when she hugged me? Sam had never felt such a warm yet strange sensation. She liked it, but it was scary. What did it mean?

Carly interrupted her best friend's train of thought. She stood halfway up the stairs, her hand on her hip. "Are you coming? Freddie's waiting."

"S-sure." Sam, certain that her face was still burning, dashed up the stairs behind Carly.

♥

After they filmed iCarly, the three teens were hanging out in the kitchen. "Got any ham?" Sam asked, bending down in front of the fridge.

"I don't think so," Carly replied. She quickly glanced at Sam's butt, and her heart skipped a beat . That was weird, she thought. Carly brushed it off as Sam stood up again, holding a red apple.

"This'll have to do," the lanky blond said, positioning herself on a stool at the counter.

Freddie poured himself an iced tea. "Guys, I can't even believe how popular iCarly is getting."

"I know," Sam said. "Who would've thought that thousands of people would wanna watch two girls fooling around?"

Carly raised an eyebrow, and Sam blushed at her faux pas. "Oh, you know what I mean," she said quickly.

Freddie, who hadn't picked up on Sam's verbal blunder, nodded. "I guess it's because you two complement each other. Like with the—"

"So how's your science project coming, Carly?" Sam interjected, changing the subject.

"Oh, it's cool. It's about electrical charges and how opposite currents attract…" She trailed off, her eyes locking with Sam's for a moment. The two girls blushed and looked away quickly.

"Speaking of science projects, I've gotta go finish mine," Freddie said, grabbing his laptop and jumping off his stool. "See you guys tomorrow." He dashed out the door, leaving Carly and Sam in silence.

♥

Sam, Carly, and Freddie met up to walk to school the following morning. Freddie immediately started babbling on about some new technical thing for iCarly that neither of the girls understood. They walked along, Freddie talking and the two girls on either side of him.

Suddenly, Sam looked over at Carly and noticed her shivering. Carly only had on a long sleeved tee; Sam was wearing an orange hoodie over her Plain White T's band shirt. The temperature was easily forty, if not thirty-five; cold even for Seattle in November.

"Are you cold?" Sam asked quietly. Carly almost couldn't hear her over Freddie's ramblings. Sam quietly removed her hoodie and placed it around Carly's shoulders. Carly smiled warmly in gratitude, and Sam found her self getting lost in her eyes. Her beautiful brown eyes…

At that moment, they reached the school. Not surprisingly, Freddie was still talking, and only stopped when their homeroom teacher asked for silence.

At lunch, Carly grabbed the last cup of green Jello, Sam's favorite. When Sam turned to look at something across the cafeteria, Carly placed it on the blond tomboy's tray. When Sam turned back around, she glanced at the emerald colored dessert, then looked up at Carly. "I guess I owed you for this morning," Carly said softly. Sam blushed and looked away.

♥

When the trio arrived back at Carly's apartment, they found Spencer sculpting a giant block of cheese on the coffee table. "What is that?" Freddie asked, staring at the huge dairy product.

"It's real Wisconsin cheddar," Spencer said proudly, returning to his task.

"Is it a…heart?" Sam asked, trying to hide the crack in her voice.

"Yeah," Spencer answered. "It's a present for my new girlfriend. Think she'll like it?"

"As long as she's not lactose intolerant," Carly quipped, dropping her bag and heading to the kitchen.

Freddie, Sam, and Carly grabbed some sodas and headed upstairs to brainstorm some new ideas for iCarly. Freddie noticed that Sam and Carly both seemed…different. More on edge. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Guys, I've been thinking…" He began.

"Really?!" Sam said, pretending to be shocked.

Freddie scowled. "I've been thinking that we should have a new segment on the show."

"Mmhmm." Sam had stopped listening to Freddie. She was seated next to Carly on the hood of Spencer's car sculpture made from old auto parts. Their legs were touching, and it sent shivers down Sam's spine.