"Freddie Benson?!"
That was everyone's initial reaction to the list of students who signed up for the first ever Ridgeway Charity Auction.
The news generated a buzz and suddenly a chorus of "is he serious?" along with "what was he thinking?" was heard all over the campus.
Just yesterday afternoon, Freddie stood in the middle of the hallway, looking at the bright yellow signup sheet posted in the bulletin board. He thought it was ridiculously funny how the student council came up with the idea to auction students for charity. The deal was to bid on a certain student that you want to keep for the rest of the day. May it be for slavery or just for personal reasons, it doesn't matter as long as you bid for charity.
What if Danny Harvey signed up? He was the dorkiest guy in school. Would anyone want to bid on him? Even for a dime? Freddie thought.
And then an idea suddenly popped up in his head. What if I signed up? He personally wanted to know what the female population thought of him. If things turn out badly and no one wants to bid on him, he knew his best friends would save his ass. So why the hell not?
He looked to his right and did the same to his left just to make sure nobody was watching. Carefully, he took out his pen from his front jean pocket and signed his name on the #14 spot. And that was all it took for the entire student body to question the appearance of his name on the golden list.
It was Thursday morning and almost every student at Ridgeway huddled in the corridor staring at the signup sheet.
"Don't get me wrong, I love Freddie! But Carly Shay isn't even on the list and that girl is worth bidding a thousand dollars for" Wendy said, talking to a group of girls in the hallway.
Just then, the hall doors opened and in came the golden boy himself, Fredward Benson accompanied by his two best friends, Carly Shay and Sam Puckett. As soon as they stepped foot in the crowded corridor, all eyes were on them.
"What did you do Sam?" Carly asked, assuming her lovable best friend pulled another prank.
"It wasn't me, I swear" she said, taking a bite of her breakfast burrito.
And then a loud voice was heard "Freddie Benson?!" It came from a freshman who just saw the list and was completely unaware of why everyone's attention was turned to the school entrance.
"Freddie?!" exclaimed his two best friends, throwing unbelieving looks at him.
"What did I do?" he asked with apparent confusion written all over his face.
Then suddenly, the student body parted to create a small passage that led to the golden list in the bulletin board. That was all it took for Fredward Benson to realize the impact of his actions yesterday afternoon. A crowd of about a hundred students in the hallway looking at the list with only one thought in their head. And that thought was all about Freddie Benson.
"Holy Crab" he said, keeping his eyes on the direction of the list.
Carly and Sam both had puzzled looks as they approached the list. As soon as they got there, they both shared the same reaction as the entire student body.
"What were you thinking?" Sam said, voicing it out loud.
"Apparently, I wasn't" he said, looking slightly horrified at everyone's reaction.
Sam was about to respond when the loud bell was heard. It was time for homeroom and the little discussion they were about to have was to be continued during break.
The lunch bell rang signaling the end of Math class for the trio. They left the room without saying a word as they headed out towards the cafeteria. As they passed the hallway, Carly noticed that the list was no longer posted on the board.
"Wait, it was here a couple of hours ago" Carly said, approaching the bulletin board.
"Where's the list?" Sam asked, tearing off the posters just in case someone tried to cover it up.
"Thank goodness someone took it off" Freddie said, letting out a sigh of relief.
Just then, the student council President approached them and gave Freddie a pat on the back. "Congratulations Freddie, you're #14 on the list of students for auction. We'll see you tomorrow at school gym after class ok? We'll start the auction at 5. See you there!" and then she left.
"Greeaat. Now what?" he said, looking at his two best friends.
"Your fault Freddo, good luck with that! Don't worry, Carly and I will be at the stands watching you suffer" Sam said, following with another pat on his back.
"Seriously Freddie, what were you thinking?" Carly asked, with the usual worry on her face.
"I told you I wasn't. I just thought it would be fun to know what the girls would think if they saw me on the list" he said, sounding very frustrated.
"Trust me, you don't wanna know" Sam said, leaning her back on the wall.
"So what are you going to do?" Carly asked, stepping closer to Freddie.
"I don't know. Will I look like a loser if I ditch?" he asked, leaning on the wall next to Sam.
"Yes" the girls replied.
"So I'm just going to show up then?"
"You have to. Don't worry, just give us ten bucks and we'll bid on you" Carly said as she also leaned on the wall next to Freddie.
"Yeah I was hoping you'd say that" he smiled.
She laughed and gave him a light punch on the arm "Just go out there and have fun"
"Don't worry Freddork, I heard Gibby's trying to seduce the President to give him a spot on the auction. If that works out, then you are definitely safe." Sam said, straightening up.
They laughed and carried on walking towards the school cafeteria.
"What am I going to wear?" Freddie said, looking frustrated with his look.
"Never fear, Spencer is here" Spencer said, coming out of his room with a zipped up coat hanger.
"What is that?"
"This, my friend, is the answer to your problem" Spencer said, unzipping the hanger to reveal a well matched ensemble.
"That's it?" Freddie asked, looking at the pair of clothes Spencer took out from the hanger.
"Trust me buddy, you don't need much. What you need is to look scruffy and oozing with male testosterone" Spencer said, handing the clothes to Freddie.
"So where did you get these?" Freddie asked, taking off his shirt to fit the new one.
"Socko's brother, Taylor" he replied. "Wait a minute… lift up your shirt" Spencer added.
Freddie looked puzzled but complied nonetheless.
"Why did you never tell me you have badass abs" he said, looking quite shocked himself at this sudden revelation.
Freddie chuckled, "Well you know how my mom always takes me to different classes like yoga and karate? I was starting to pay off I guess" he said, straightening out his shirt.
"Wow! I have got to take those classes. Remember Freddie, use the abs to your abvantage" Spencer said.
"So now what?" Freddie asked, folding his used clothes.
"Now all you need is a little ruffle in the head" Spencer said, ruffling Freddie's hair to make it look messier.
"What are you doing?" Freddie asked, trying to counter Spencer's attack on his head.
"There! Do you have Chuck Taylors? Wear them" Spencer said, ushering Freddie out of their apartment.
"Come back here when you're done and don't fix your hair!" he called out.
A few minutes passed and Freddie was back in the Shay's residence. "How does this look?" he asked.
Spencer turned his head to look at Freddie and curved his lips into a smile.
"You are ready buddy"
"You think Freddie's gonna come?" Sam asked, taking a sip of her smoothie.
"I hope so. Spencer said he's gonna help Freddie" Carly replied, busy looking at all directions.
"Don't worry Carls, he's not gonna bail. So who are you bidding on?" Sam asked.
"I don't know, Jake maybe" she replied, still busy looking for their other best friend.
It was exactly 5:01 in the afternoon and the students were all gathered in the school gymnasium for the commencement of the first ever Ridgeway Charity Auction. The place was packed, excitement lingered in the air, and everyone had their pennies ready for the bidding.
"Did you get his ten bucks?" Sam asked, standing beside her best friend. They decided to stay up front, near the sidelines.
"Sam!"
"What? I only have 36 bucks and I stole this from my mom so I can bid on Pete" she said, taking another sip.
A loud tapping of the microphone echoed in the gym, signaling the start of the program.
"#13 Ryan Wood is sold to Shannon Mitchell. Congratulations Shannon" the emcee announced, ushering Shannon and Ryan off the stage.
"Fredwad's up next" Sam said, nudging Carly.
"I know. And he better pay me ten bucks after I save his ass" Carly said, waiting expectantly for Freddie to be called.
"And now let's call on our guy #14, Freddie Benson"
The fog machine clouded the stage and within the blur of smoke, emerged a boy dressed in just a crisp white v neck tee and dark faded jeans. His hair was ruffled and his skin glowing. His then hidden muscles were now evident in his choice of clothing.
Sam dropped her smoothie and Carly had her jaw hanging while Gibby decided to put his shirt back on.
"Ok who wants to bid first?" the emcee asked, breaking the silence in the gym.
A rush of 12 hands was up in the air. The female population of Ridgeway suddenly wanted a piece of Fredward Benson. The music kept playing. The first girl offered 10 bucks.
"There goes our chances of saving him" Sam said, pulling Carly away from her thoughts.
Carly was about to say something when people suddenly started bidding higher and higher and higher. "I'll give 12" "I have 15" "I'll take him for 20" "21 right here" and it just kept getting higher.
Why did girls suddenly want him? Carly thought, watching the female population of Ridgeway go crazy over Freddie. I mean just cause he got hotter doesn't mean they can just bid on him and take him home!
"I'll give you 26 bucks!" someone called out from the back. "I have 30!" another one added.
It was clear yesterday morning no one wanted him so what the heck is going on? Carly thought, chewing on her bottom lip. Stop bidding on Freddie! I mean, he's a dork! Why would you want him?
"Take it off Freddie" someone shouted, followed by whistles and catcalls. Then a chorus of "take it off" echoed in the gym.
Freddie stood awkwardly in the middle of stage, not knowing what to do. He kept looking at his two best friends, one of them bickering with Gibby and the other one looking deep in thought. He turned his attention back to the crowd who were all looking eagerly at him. He blushed and suddenly didn't know what to do. Remember Freddie, use the abs to your abvantage. Trust Spencer to come up with an answer to everything, even when he's not around.
He smiled shyly and slowly lifted his shirt up. As soon as he got it off his body, a loud cheer emanated from the crowd. The girls had satisfied looks on their faces coupled with a few eager ones while the guys felt the sudden need to go to the gym or secretly ask Freddie what his secret was.
"I'll bring him home for 35" a girl called out. It was a very familiar voice and everyone turned to look.
It was Rachel Braun, the prettiest girl in school. Everyone expected her to bid on Pete so it was shockingly interesting to see her bid on Freddie. Yesterday, she was the first to react differently on the news about the signup sheet. Now she had 35 bucks up in the air to show people that she meant business.
What the hell?! Carly thought, glaring at Rachel who was only a few rows back. This is not happening! No one is taking home Freddie and they should not be staring at him like that!
"Sam, give me your 36" she said, her eyes burning a hole on Rachel.
"What?" Sam asked, following Carly's gaze. She smirked and placed one hand on her best friend's shoulder.
"I'm starting to think you're not bidding on Jake anymore" Sam said as she too kept her eyes on Rachel who looked determined to win the auction.
"Just give me" Carly demanded.
Sam released a heavy sigh and took the wad of cash out of her jean pocket. She kissed them goodbye and handed them over to her teed off best friend. "I cannot believe I'm giving up Pete to help you get Freddie"
Carly took the money and raised them up in the air "36" she called out.
Everyone looked at her flabbergasted. Why would Carly Shay bid on Freddie? Even Freddie himself could not believe his eyes. His Carly was actually bidding on him. She wanted him. For 36 bucks! He beamed and locked eyes with her. She winked at him and smiled.
"40" Rachel called out.
Carly turned her attention back to Rachel. How much do I have? Come on Carly, count! She thought, mentally counting all of her money plus Sam's.
"I have 47" she called out.
"Do you have 50? I do" Rachel countered.
"54" "57" "61" "65" "68" "70! Ha!" Rachel concluded.
"That's it! I'll give a hundred bucks to charity!" Carly said, challenging her opponent.
"Do you even have a hundred?" Sam whispered.
"No but Gibby has" Carly whispered back.
"Gibson, give me your 50 bucks" Sam said, nudging Gibby.
"What? No! I'm saving this for the girls auction later" he said, keeping his 50 dollars as far away from Sam as possible.
"Give me your 50 or I'll give you a Texas wedgie" Sam said harshly.
Without another hesitation, Gibby handed over his 50 and ran towards the exit.
"Thank you Gibson and here is your 50" Sam said, tucking the bill in Carly's back pocket.
Rachel glared at Carly before leaving the gymnasium. Carly smiled triumphantly and turned to walk towards the stage.
"Our highest bid so far #14 Freddie Benson sold to Carly Shay" the emcee announced.
Carly handed over the cash for charity and went to collect her prize. They smiled at each other as they were ushered off the stage.
"So… Thanks for saving my ass. Just like we planned" Freddie said, unsure of what really was behind Carly's sudden move to bid on him.
"Yeah, I mean I didn't want to break our promise" she said, awkwardly standing in front of him and within close proximity.
Sam approached the two and placed a hand on each of their shoulder "Look the way I see it, Carly was jealous that girls started bidding on you and then Rachel Braun suddenly decided she wanted you and Carly felt threatened by it so she ripped 36 bucks out of me and 50 from Gibby just so she could have you for the rest of the day. You guys are smart, do the math. I'm outta here. See ya later dudes" Sam said, leaving the two in a more awkward position.
"So you really-" Before he could even finish his sentence, Carly's lips were on his. He reveled in the sweet taste of her lips. She brought her arms up and wrapped them around his neck. He deepened the kiss and soon they were engaged in a game of tonsil hockey. Once the need for air was apparent, they slowly pulled apart and Freddie gave her a quick peck on the lips.
"I never thought it would feel that good to finally kiss you" Carly said, playing with the hair on back of his neck.
"Yeah, feels amazing!" he said, pulling a strand of hair from face. "So… were you really jealous?" he asked.
Carly rolled her eyes and smiled "You've gone from Freddork to Fredhot! But don't think that I only like you because of that. You're a great guy Freddie. I guess it just took a hundred girls to fawn over you before I realized that"
Freddie blushed and smiled shyly "Thanks Carly. So um, wanna grab a smoothie with me?"
She chuckled at his awkwardness "I'd love to"
I hope it wasn't too cliché or too cheesy LOL. You know what to do, r&r please? :)
And please keep reading my other story. I promise to update tomorrow or the latest would be in a couple of days. Thanks again! :)