So I have a lot to say before I let you read the first chapter... First off I want to reply to some of the anonymous reviews from last chapter,

Creddie fan addict: Yes, I'm writing a Creddie.(: I actually ship both of them, (I just get so many more ideas for Seddie) but in my opinion both couples would have a fair chance at romance.(; I hope I supply you good enough with Creddie drama and loveeee. Keep reading! And thanks for the review!

Kallusive: I'm glad you like it so far!(: And yeah, it seems a lot of people are glad I'm writing a Creddie... I hope I do the couple justice! Thanks for reviewing and keep reading!

?: Is this soon enough? Sorry I can only put the question mark, but ya'know.. Thanks for reviewing! And.. as to the whereabouts of what crime she commited, you'll just have to keep reading to find out! XP Haha.(:

To everyone who reviewed, you're awesome! Keep it up! I'll try to reply to everybody but if I can't then I apologize. Just know that I appreciate everyone who reads (and hopefully enjoys) my stories! Thanks!

To the story: This chapter mainly just sets up the plot, so I'm sorry if it's a little bit slow and whatnot. Chapter two should be more exciting as we'll see Sam and Freddie for the first time in this fic. :D Also if Carly seems kind of OOC to you, I did that on purpose. It's a proven fact that most people are not the same when they leave jail (or a juvenile institution) as when they first went in and Carly, being the naive young girl she is would definitely be drastically affected by this experience. I hope that clears up her OOC-ness. It may not be so apparent that she's changed in this chapter, so this is sort of a foreshadowing to later chapters... But anyway, I'm sure you just want to read this...

So, enjoy and review, review, review!

:)


"You ready?" Spencer asked me once the cab pulled up to the curb in front of Bushwell Plaza. I looked out the window up at the scale of the building, recalling every detail of this place, suppressing the most recent memory I had of it. The one where I was in handcuffs being dragged away from my friends and family. That one had been etched with a permanent marker (similar to the one written in my record) and there was no way I was ever forgetting it. Even if I tried.

This is it. The moment I've been waiting for since I left…, I thought. This really was the moment I had counted on from the moment they took me away. So why wasn't I happy? I should be happy. …But I was far from it. I just felt empty. I felt that I didn't belong in that apartment building anymore. I didn't belong with Spencer; he was too good to me and I didn't deserve it. I didn't deserve Freddie or Sam. I shouldn't even be allowed a web show named after me. After all, what kind of kid would want to look up to a girl that had just gotten released from prison? The word sounded acidic and unnatural even unspoken. I truly hated that word, but it was what described me. I was nothing more than a prisoner. Sure, I'd been freed, but I still felt like a prisoner of my own accord.

"Carly?" I jolted myself out of my thoughts and looked up.

"Huh?" I breathed, noticing Spencer standing on the sidewalk beside me, holding the door on my side of the cab open. He offered a weak smile and gestured for me to get out. I nodded and slid out of the hot, sticky leather that stuck unattractively to the backs of my legs.

"Are you okay, little sis? You've seemed really…distant?" Spencer's brow furrowed and he brushed his hair out of his face. Nervous habit, I thought. I mentally scowled at the thought of my own brother feeling like he had to tiptoe around me. I nodded in response to his question and silently climbed the three concrete stairs that led into the building. Spencer shuffled close behind me. I reached out and pulled open the large glass door and stepped into the cool air-conditioned lobby. Lewbert sat at his desk, tinkering with some small object he held in his hand. The little bell above the door tinkled, signaling our entrance and causing Lewbert to snap his head up.

He focused on me and his eyes narrowed a bit. "What are you doing in my lobby?" He shrieked, jumping up quickly. The trinket he held in his lap clattered to the floor loudly. I winced at the noise and contemplated on whether I should make a break for it then or wait. My eyes shifted to the stairs and Lewbert. I could make it without him noticing.

I took off at a jog, making it to the bottom stair before Lewbert shrieked again. "Juvenile delinquents aren't allowed to live in my apartment building!" He snickered, thinking it was hilarious. I just froze, my foot in midair. My breathing became shallow and I ground my teeth together. I spun halfway around and opened my mouth to say something, but decided against it. I simply shook my head and raced up the stairs before I turned around and said something I shouldn't. I could hear Spencer calling my name, but I didn't slow. Not until I reached the top.


I hovered back behind Spencer as he unlocked the apartment and pushed the door open.

"Welcome home." He said softly, reaching back to grab my hand quickly, giving it a light, reassuring squeeze before dropping it. I gave him a small smile in return and ducked passed him through the door.

I paused in the doorway, looking around the place I'd dreamt about so much during my stay away. Everything was exactly the same and for a moment I felt almost normal. I felt like nothing had ever happened and Spencer and I had just returned from Groovy Smoothies, joking and laughing. Sam would be lounged out on my couch, and Freddie would just be across the hall waiting until it was time to rehearse for iCarly to come over.

I shut my eyes, begging that when I opened them my scenario would materialize right before me. My eyes opened and my heart crashed to the floor, though I couldn't exactly tell you why. I already knew what was going to be there before my eyes even saw it. The apartment was dead silent—a rare occurrence for apartment 8-C— …and the couch was barren of its usual occupants. I half-expected Sam's blond head to pop up from the kitchen and greet me in her usual fashion but I wasn't met with her wild blonde curls, or her fiery personality to match, and tears sprung to my eyes. I retreated to the kitchen so Spencer wouldn't see the pathetic tears that threatened to fall down my face. Just because I was unhappy didn't mean I had to make Spencer feel bad for me as well.

"So kiddo, whatcha wanna do today? I cleared my schedule just for you! So we can do anything you want. Sam and Fredd-o said they'd drop by after school, and I thought maybe we could go to dinner…" He shut the front door behind him and followed me over to the kitchen. He pulled out a barstool and sat down. I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and closed the door.

I turned around to look at my brother. He was sitting with his arm propping up his head, just staring at me. I smiled at him. I knew how hard he was trying to make me feel at home again, and I just felt a little bit guilty because all I had wanted to do since I walked in the door was take a real shower (FYI: Showers at juvie just make you feel even cruddier afterward. And ten minutes? More like two) and curl up under my covers. On my own bed. I hadn't had a decent night's sleep in… as long as I could remember. But now I felt obligated to give my brother a chance to cheer me up. Even though my words contradicted my thoughts,

"Uhm, thanks for the offer, but do you mind if we just chill here today?" Spencer looked surprised for a second and then his expression deflated.

"Oh," He paused, searching my face, "Sure. Whatever you want lil' sis." I nodded, taking a sip of my water.

"Thanks Spence." I started towards the elevator. "I think I'm just gonna go take a nap…"

"Okay." He nodded, giving me a smile before turning to the computer on the desk.

I pressed the button on the elevator and waited for the door to slide open. I couldn't wait to climb into my bed for a much needed rest. I was going to milk my free time off for all it was worth. School started on Monday…and I wasn't sure I would be mentally prepared for that. Oh well, at least I had three days to get settled in. And maybe school wouldn't be as bad as I could predict. Maybe people would overlook me and get on with their normal lives, ignoring the juvenile delinquent.

Seattle was quite a large city, but it seemed so small when something like this happened to a small school community. Everyone knew that sweet, innocent Carly Shay had been sent to juvie. Then again, how could they not? I hadn't been on iCarly at all since then, so someone was bound to ask questions. It didn't help that they also printed it in the newspaper. Too bad they didn't have all the facts, and they didn't know that I had been sent there for all the wrong reasons. That was what I hated the most. It was just something I couldn't protest. I didn't have anything I could say that would hold up next to concrete evidence. It would be my word against my own fingerprints left at the scene. I learned the hard way that, when it comes to the law, concrete evidence always wins. Case closed.

The door opened and I stepped inside. The familiar smell of lilacs filled my nose. The pungent smell was the result of spilled air freshener. It had happened a few weeks before I left, when I had gotten the sudden urge to change up my bedroom a little. I couldn't do it on my own, so I recruited Sam to help me. The diffuser had been one of the last minute things I shoved into Sam's arms before she stepped onto the elevator. It had set everything else she was carrying off balance and she ended up dropping it all on the floor of the elevator. Fortunately (or not so fortunately depending on who you were), the only thing that was damaged was the small, glass lilac diffuser. The smell had been so bad for a week that I couldn't step into the elevator without lilac clogging up every one of my senses. It was funny though, because Freddie had whined that the smell messed with his allergies, so until this day (I assume, because the smell was still strong) he took the stairs to the studio.

The elevator doors slid open on the second floor, revealing the brightly colored, paint-splattered walls of the hallway. I sighed and stepped onto the plush carpet. I then padded my way down the short hall until I reached my snow-white bedroom door. The white was barely visible, however, due to all of the sticky notes, drawings and posters that covered it. I stood there, my hand resting on the doorknob but not turning it to go in, reading each note and re-familiarizing myself with the bittersweet memories each one held for me.

One that stood out to me the most was a blue sheet of paper written on in Freddie's neat script. It read, 'I love you, Carly.' With a smiley face that took up most of the paper. Underneath Freddie's words was Sam's loopy scrawl, 'Give it up, dorkboy. Carly will never love you.' Beside Sam's note was a grease stain. I rolled my eyes—only Sam, I thought—, and I glanced back over Freddie's words. They were simple, and I had heard him say them to me so many times, but this time it felt special. I knew he meant it—that he always did—and I was glad to know that some things would never change.

Freddie would always be a nerd, in love with his technical equipment. Sam would always be a prankster. And I would always be their sweet best friend. That would never change, but for some reason I now felt like something precious had been broken that day I was taken away in handcuffs like some common criminal. I felt like things would never be exactly the same. No matter how hard I tried to deny it and make everything perfect. It changed.

I sighed, shaking my head at this realization. I took one last look at the words on the vibrant blue paper before dropping my head and twisting the knob entering my bedroom for the first time in months. I was ready to let myself succumb to unconsciousness for awhile and let the stress be ignored. Just long enough for me to gain the strength to deal with it, anyway. Because nothing could be avoided forever.


Did you like it?

Review; it keeps Sam supplied in fatcakes. (FATCAKES, YEAH!) XD ...And we all know that an unhappy Sam is bad. Very, very bad. So please review! I need to keep her happy for the sake of this story!(; Thanks!