It was only 6:00 in the morning when Sam Puckett, a well known sadist, was banging on Freddie's doors. There was some yelling behind them, but Sam disregarded it and kept pounding her fists on the oak frames. Soon, it swung open and a disheveled, brown-haired boy was standing in front of her, his eyes halfway shut from sleep.

"Come on dork. We're going to the beach!" Sam said, shaking the boy by his shoulders. "You have five minutes to get ready."

Freddie shook his head in response and then muttered something about not having any manners and going without him. Sam clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Listen, nub! If you don't go you might never have the opportunity to see Carly in a swimsuit, ever!" She exclaimed. "It's a one time chance."

Freddie nodded, his enthusiasm still absent. "Give me at least fifteen minutes." He said.

"Nope. You've got only five. I'll be counting." She walked away from the door. Freddie rolled his eyes and staggered back inside; his mother was sitting on the couch, ready to lecture him.

Despite the annoying voice of his mother, Freddie had enough time to wash his face, thus removing the sleep from his eyes, brush his teeth and throw on some trunks and a t-shirt. His mother packed some sunscreen, bug-spay (as if you'd need that to go swimming), and other "necessary" items. Freddie kissed her good bye and was out the door before she could change her mind on letting him go. He was about to knock on the doors to the Shay apartment when they swung open and out came Sam. She held a large chunk of beef jerky in one of her hands.

"You're late, Fredork!" Sam said, passing him by. "Guess you won't be seeing Carly in a swimsuit after all."

Freddie ignored Sam and walked inside the apartment. He called out the names of his friends in hope that they were still inside. At least one of them was bound to be; the doors were unlocked.

"Freddie, I am still getting dressed. Just go to the lobby." Carly yelled from the floor above. He turned around and left the apartment, dragging the bag behind him as he walked down the stairs to the lobby. It was, as always, empty and he felt almost glad that Sam wasn't there to pick on him. Freddie was, however, glad too soon for a certain blond-headed monster soon appeared, still chewing on the beef jerky. She, surprisingly, said nothing to Freddie and sat herself down on one of the nearby seats.

"I think I'm getting sick." Sam said eventually, holding her stomach with her free hand. On her face was a pained expression.

"It might be from all the meat you've had this morning." Freddie reasoned, taking one quick look at her irritated face. "No one asked you, dork!" She retorted.

They must have sat in the lobby for a while before Carly finally appeared. She wore a yellow sundress topped off with a large straw hat.

"I'm wearing my swimsuit underneath" She said when Sam raised an eyebrow. They walked out of the lobby and into the parking lot; Spencer was already waiting for them in the car. Despite much agitation and arguing, Sam and Freddie ended up sitting together in the back while Carly, with her large hat, had the front seat all to herself.

The ride to the beach was surprisingly quiet, and Sam muttered not more than three words on the whole way there. She had by that time finished her beef jerky and starred into the window, as if interested in the dull traffic. Freddie was surprisingly glad that Sam had not bothered him and used this opportunity to listen to some music.

When the car came to a halt, everyone hopped out of it, excluding Sam. She still sat staring into the window despite the fact that Carly was waving her hands right in front of her face.

"Come one Sam, we're here!" Carly chirped. After a few moments, Sam crawled out of the car. She walked behind Spencer who was often distracted by the wonderful view. Her hand was still on her stomach and the annoyed expression was still on her face. Sam must have felt sick. After they landed themselves a nice spot on the beach, Spencer was out building sandcastles, Carly was applying sunscreen, and Sam was sitting on the towel, her mouth aghast and eyes cloudy. Freddie debated whether to ask Sam if she was alright, but felt scared that he might get a punch in the face if he spoke to her. So instead, he removed the shirt and ran into the ocean, basking in the glory of summer.

When he came back to take a break, Carly was chatting with some blond guy he has never seen before. Somewhere deep inside there was a ping of pain, but Freddie reasoned that he was finally pulling himself away from the unhealthy obsession. It was nearly impossible that Carly would ever change her mind and come running to him. She had many other guys to choose from. Feeling a mixture of relief and sadness inside, Freddie flopped himself on his towel and opened a pack of chips which he snuck from home. The sky was clear, the sun shone brightly and everyone around him was happy. Everyone except Sam Puckett, that is. She was lying on a towel some meters away from him. Her shirt and shorts were off to reveal a swimsuit, which all though modern did not reveal too much skin. Her eyes were shut, but her face still showed signs of discomfort. Freddie wished she would feel better, but scoffed at himself for ever wishing something other than death for Sam Puckett.

The day was going pretty great. No one tried stealing Freddie's food; no one pinched, punched or elbowed him; and no one teased or nagged him. He was so relaxed that it was almost hard to believe. Lying on his stomach, Freddie watched as Carly sunbathed a couple of meters away from his towel. Her eyes were shut, her hair was tied carefully behind her head and her chest moved up and down in a normal process of breathing. With a turn of his head, Sam was now in the centre of Freddie's attention. She was still sleeping, her hair spread across her shoulders in a wild manner. The wind must have blown it around as she slept. This was the second time Freddie thought of Sam in a friendly manner today.

The sun was beginning to burn hotter; it was nearing noon. Freddie applied another coat of sunscreen, just to make sure he didn't burn. Carly was doing the same to Spencer, who refused to do it himself and instead, busied around with a sand sculpture. Freddie was sitting on the towel, drinking some orange juice he got from the cooler and looking over the ocean. The water sparkled under the sun, arraying in multiple hues of blue and green. A group of giggling girls passed by; they sent him flirty smiles and hair flips, which Freddie marveled at. Since when was he getting attention? In the midst of his strange thought process, a face of a familiar blond-haired friend popped into his head. He wondered what had triggered her appearance in his mind, but stopped as he remembered that Sam was still sleeping under the open sun. He got off the towel and walked over to her, wondering whether this was doing any good. Sam was most likely to wake up in rage, hit him around and not listen to him. Freddie went along with it anyways.

"Sam, wake up!" He whispered, gently shaking her by the shoulder. No response.

"Sam, you're lying out in the sun. You'll burn like that." Freddie tried, but it was once again, hopeless. He tried whispering her name a couple of times more, and when that didn't work, he shook her violently by the shoulders. "Sam, wake up!" He yelled. Sam's eyes opened slowly, it seemed as though she was waking up from a good dream. Eventually her eyes opened fully, and Freddie saw that they mimicked the ocean in front of them, a bright, dancing blue.

"What the hell are you doing Benson?" She yelled just as she could see his face clearly.

"You don't have sunscreen on and you'll burn in the sun." Freddie stated, trying not to look into her eyes. She was like Medusa, one look and you're stone.

"I don't need any sunscreen, nub." Sam said, getting up from the towel. "Now get out of my way" She added, elbowing Freddie as she walked past. He watched as she staggered to the water and then disappeared in it. It wasn't as bad as he envisioned it to be; Sam had not killed him. Thinking that his job was done, Freddie sat back down on his towel, a computer program manual in his hand. He skimmed through it, being unable to concentrate on anything. Sam kept creeping back into his mind and he felt sick of being reminded of her so much. This was one of the first days in which Sam hasn't bickered at him and he wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

Fighting the thoughts had not worked so Freddie threw the manual into the sand and walked to the water, skimming through the unfamiliar faces to try and find Sam. Once in the water itself, he noticed that Sam had swum beyond the shallow area which meant she was playing with fire. Hadn't she been sick only hours ago? Promising himself to keep a watch over her, Freddie enjoyed a little swim. He floated a bit on his back, treaded water and was about to leave when he heard a cry. Not surprisingly enough, it was Sam. She was now farther than he remembered her being and was evidently drowning. Without much time to think things over, Freddie swam to her. Sam was flailing her arms; her pleading for help captured the attention of some other swimmers. Not wasting any time, Freddie grabbed the drowning Sam by the waste and held her close so she wouldn't go under the water. Instead of calming down in his arms however, Sam began kicking her savior. One of her kicks eventually ended up aiming at the place that shouldn't be kicked. Sharp pain travelled through Freddie's lower abdomen, and having no control of anything at the moment, he let go of Sam and started drowning himself. Water filled his lungs and the last thing he could see was the clear blue of Sam's eyes as she stared at him, frightened.

He had no knowledge of what happened after he lost consciousness, but when he saw the blue of Sam's eyes, Freddie was sure that he was still alive. The chances of them both being dead were unlikely.

"I think he's awake!" Carly exclaimed after he groaned.

"He's awake all right!" Sam agreed, poking him in the side. "You almost drowned, dear Fredork!" she added with wide grin. Freddie tried sitting up.

"Because you wouldn't hold still while I tried to save you from drowning." He said irritably.

"Whatever, nub. I didn't ask you to save me, you took the risk yourself." Sam replied, her grin disappearing.

"Guys, stop arguing!" Carly cut in, waving her large hat in their faces.

"Well sorry for wanting to save you from drowning! Maybe it was a better idea to watch you die." Freddie yelled, moving away from Carly's hat and Sam's angered face.

"Maybe you should have! Then nothing would stand in your way of stalking Carly all day long!" Sam retorted.

"Guys, stop it!" Carly cut in again, but after seeing that neither of them were listening, she walked away, and rightfully so.

"Pah-lease Sam, stop acting so ungrateful and admit that you're glad I saved you!" Freddie finally said, and walked away.

His limbs were sore and so was his chest. He was angry, mostly at Sam who didn't even care for the fact that he risked his life trying to save her. All she ever wanted to do was tease him.

Sam sat on the towel and watched as Freddie staggered into the distance. She sighed irritably, and looked at the sky. The sun was blazing hot.

"You should apologize to him," Carly said as she reappeared. "He did save you after all."

Sam glared at her friend. She didn't want to admit that she was wrong in teasing Freddie about something she made him do.

"I didn't kick him on purpose." Sam said, stretching her arms, then hissing in pain. "I got sunburned and when he touched me, it hurt really badly. I wanted him to let go, but he kept holding on." She elaborated.

"I know Sam, but he was only trying to help. In any case, I doubt he had any idea about your sunburn." Carly said while adjusting her ponytail.

"He was the one who woke me up to warn me that I'll burn." Sam retorted, happy to find a comeback.

"Sam, just admit you're wrong. Go and apologize." Carly persisted.

"Carly, I can't. It's Fredork we're talking about. I can't just say sorry."

"Sam, stop with your drama. Go and apologize or you won't be getting any of my ham, ever!" The brunette threatened, waging her finger at perplexed Sam.

"Fine, I am going!" She said and ran, trying to catch up to the black dot that was Freddie.

Sam was really against apologizing to Freddie, even if a tiny voice in her head and the loud voice of her friend kept saying otherwise. She ran behind Freddie until she caught up to him, slapping her hand on his back to make him stop. His face showed confusion and his eyes were darker than usual. Freddie was angry.

"What?" He asked, looking at the bent-over Sam.

"Before I say anything, I just want you to know that this does not give you an advantage over me" Sam said, her breathing still rapid. "You are still a big dork and nothing can change it!" Freddie raised an eyebrow.

"I apologize!" Sam yelled out. "I apologize for kicking you in the balls, and I apologize for being ungrateful when I should have thanked you for trying to save me."

Freddie's face expression changed from angry to surprised and lastly, to amused. Sam clicked her tongue. "I told you not to get the wrong idea!" She warned.

"I forgive you, ok?" Freddie said. "I forgive you for the kick and for the teasing. Happy?" Sam narrowed her eyes. "I don't care about being forgiven." She retorted. "Carly just begged for me to apologize so I don't hurt your feelings."

"Is that so? Well, I don't need your apology." Freddie exclaimed. "You can take it back!"

"I don't want it back!"

"I don't want it either!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

They stood facing each other, waiting for another word to slip out of their opponent's mouths, and wondering who the first person to walk away would be. Freddy was the one, he took one last look at Sam, her eyes shone brightly as always, and turned around. She mimicked his actions and they started walking in opposite directions.