FREDDIE'S POV

I left Carly on our table and proceeded to the counter to get our smoothies. I was glancing in her direction once in a while to check if there were people, or specifically guys, who were approaching her. It happens occasionally. When Carly would be sitting alone, random guys would approach her and ask her out. I couldn't blame them though. Carly was famous and she has this strong sex appeal that could attract guys anytime, anywhere.

"Here you go. Do you want a bagel on a stick with that?" T-bo asked as I handed him the money. I quickly turned around before he even persuades me to buy some weird things he sells on a stick.

When I glanced at Carly again, I almost dropped the smoothies I was holding. A guy was sitting on my seat, talking to her. I could tell from the way she looked at him that she wasn't interested but still, I felt a little bit jealous. Okay, maybe not just a little bit.

I walked a few more steps until I could hear clearly what they were talking about. Neither of them seemed to notice I was approaching.

"Come on. Friday?" he asked her.

"No."

"How about Saturday?"

"No."

I couldn't believe it! The guy was already asking her out! Jerk! It didn't even occur to me that Carly was constantly rejecting him. All I knew was that he needed to leave her alone. Now!

I quickly made my way towards them and stood beside Carly, settling the smoothies on the table. I put my arm around her shoulder. Carly's muscles tightened but when she looked up to see me, I felt her relax.

"Sorry to burst your bubbles dude but she's taken." I said to him coolly.

The guy, startled by what I said, looked at me and then turned his attention back to Carly. "You're taken?"

"You heard him!" she replied.

"Oh." It was the only thing he managed to say as he looked down at the table.

"And for your information, you're still sitting on my seat." I told him. He glared at me with his blue eyes which I didn't really care about.

He stood up and checked me out from head to toe, chuckling before asking Carly. "Why him?"

"Why not him?" She asked him back. Her answer made me smile though I was aware it was all part of the pretense.

"Fine. Just call me when you've come to your senses." I ignored his little insult and pretended I heard nothing. Carly and I watched him go back to the comforts of his own friends who were already laughing at him for having been rejected by Carly. It served him right.

I finally sat down on my seat and grabbed my Banana Blitz.

"Thanks Freddie." she smiled at me before taking her first sip of her Strawberry Splat.

"Glad to be of service."

We talked about random things while we wait for Sam. As usual, our other best friend got stuck at detention again for doing something we didn't even want to know. As we talked about the videos and bits we could use for our next show, we caught a glimpse of Ryan and Rona entering the door. They were walking hand-in-hand and we saw Ryan purposely grin at Carly as they walked past us.

"Jerk!" Carly muttered under her breath as she rolled her eyes.

"Still upset about what happened?" I asked stupidly. Of course, she was. She had just been cheated on.

"I'm kind of thankful we broke up."

"Then why are you still upset?"

"It's just that… I couldn't seem to find the perfect guy for me. I dated bad boys but they'd always end up doing something I don't like. I tried to date nice guys but they seem too nice for me."

"Why don't you try dating Freddie instead?" I joked.

Carly smiled at me. "I did, remember? But he dumped me."

"I didn't dump you!" My voice suddenly came out loud enough to make everyone inside the store stare right at us. "I didn't dump you." I repeated, whispering this time to make sure Carly was the only one who could hear me.

"You did." She reminded me.

"I just said that we should wait until the hero thing wears off." I explained.

She just giggled.

The events that happened months ago suddenly came across my mind. Carly and I almost, if not, totally dated after I saved her life from that taco truck. Those were the best moments of my life but due to the things Sam made me realize, I had to break up with her. I needed to wake her up from her disillusionment. I didn't want her to love me just because I saved her life. I wanted her to love me because… well, because she loves me.

"Can I take it back?" I was being serious but I guess Carly didn't notice that when she laughed softly. Maybe she took it as another joke.

Her smile suddenly vanished and I wondered what she was thinking about. I heard her sigh as she refused to meet my gaze. Instead, she stared blankly at the window.

"I guess my prince just doesn't exist." She said dreamily.

I leaned towards her and whispered. "You'll never know. What if he does exist? What if he's inside this very store right now, drinking a Banana Blitz smoothie?"

Carly raised her eyebrow at me. Just when I thought she got what I was trying to say, she suddenly started looking around as if she was searching for something.

Ugh. I didn't know if she didn't catch that or she wasn't just aware that there I was, sitting right across her, drinking my favorite Banana Blitz smoothie. I wanted her to look at me and realize that I was her prince and we were not only meant to be best friends, but something more.

Carly's laughter interrupted me from my thoughts.

"Seriously, Germy?" she asked.

My eyebrows furrowed in frown as I looked at the direction she was staring at a while ago. I couldn't help but laugh with her when I saw Jeremy from another table not that far from ours. He was drinking Banana Blitz too.

"Don't worry. If someday you become Mrs. Germy, I'll do everything I can to get rid of him, and hopefully, be your second husband." I joked.

Carly rolled her eyes as she laughed. "I'd rather die alone."

She suddenly put her hands over her mouth. "Oh my God! I am gonna die alone!"

I looked at her strangely. This woman in front of me was indeed crazy. And ironically, she was driving me crazy too. I just love everything about Carly. Everything she does and says never fails to amuse me.

"Okay. Tell you what. When you reach 23 and we're both still single and available then, I'll marry you."

She removed her hands from her face and her eyes met mine. "That's too soon."

What? I was being serious a while ago and she took it as a joke. Now, I made a joke and she took it seriously. There has got to be something wrong with this girl.

I examined her face carefully, trying to squeeze out what her reaction really was about. When I looked into her eyes, it just hit me. She really was serious!

"Okay. When do you want to get married?" I asked, playing along with her.

"28."

I shook my head. "Too old. How about 24."

"Still too soon. 27?"

"25?"

"No. 26! Last offer."

"Deal."

"So when Carly reaches twenty-six and she and Freddie are still single by then, they're going to get married." She said happily as if everything was just something we joke about every single day.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked her again.

"Why not? I mean, we love each other right?" she told me.

We love each other? Yes, I loved her but I didn't know she loved me too.

"No… I mean, we love each other as best friends and maybe, when we're older, who knows? We could learn to love each other as someone we want to spend the rest of our lives with. It's completely possible, right?" She continued. She must have seen the questioning look on my face when she told me that we do love each other.

There was something wrong with what she said though. I could never learn to love her. Because I already do. And what I feel for Carly, it's never going away. It'll always be there, locked inside my heart, waiting for her go signal.

"Should we ankle swear on this?"

"You know how?" she asked.

"I could try…"

"It's okay. We don't have to. I mean, we're not going to forget about it, right?"

"Of course."

"But I want to clarify something." She said seriously. "I don't want this pact to affect us. I mean, we could still date anyone, anytime we want. Maybe, my prince is just out there like you said. I might not be your princess too."

"I get it. If somewhere along the way, you find someone you're sure you want to be with, that's fine by me. You can get married before you reach 26. If you're engaged or dating someone when that time comes, the deal is off." I assured her.

Carly smiled at me. "Same goes for you. If I'm single and you're not, the deal will be off too."

"Are you really, really really sure about this?" I asked again.

"Yes. I'd rather spend the rest of my life with my best friend than grow old alone. At least I'm sure I'd die in the arms of someone who loves me." she smiled and that was all I needed to hear.

A/N:

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