Author's Note:

Wow, thanks for all those who reviewed! It really made me smile to read them :)

Here's Chapter 2 for you guys. This definitely has more drama between Sam and Freddie. Sorry, no sweet moments this time. Those come later on. Anyway, hope you like it regardless.

Oh, and to answer your question, alwayssomewhere: Sam and Freddie don't actually hate each other. In my mind, they've never really hated each other. Their banter started when they first met and will continue between them until they die. Sam's always been tough and Freddie, a bit sensitive. Since their personalities clash, there's going to be conflict. But I get where you're coming from. They do seem like they hate each other.

Disclaimer: If Dan Scheider ever feels the need to give up iCarly, he can give it to me. Until then, it's all his.

Chapter 2: Let the Hate Begin

"Sam, there's a new boy moving in across the hall!" Carly Shay squealed.

Sam Puckett rolled her eyes at her best friend, chomping on her piece of bacon.

"What's your point? He's probably gonna be a five-year-old kid or something. Why are you so excited?"

"Well, I've heard that he's our age. And he's going to attend Ridgeway! That's why I'm excited. He might even be cute!" Carly sighed dreamily.

"Oh, God, Carls. Don't get started on that. It's fine if you want to introduce yourself. But please don't throw yourself at him. It's gonna look pathetic."

Sam finished off her bacon and wiped her hands on her jeans. She plopped down on the couch, stretching out her body. Raising her arms above her head, she yawned loudly.

"C'mon, Sam. You know you're not as pessimistic about love as you think. You can't go your whole life without falling for someone."

She lifted Sam's legs so she could scoot on the couch. Once she placed herself next to her best friend, she glanced over at her. Sam stared back, sighing quietly.

"Carly, I don't believe in love, remember? I never have. Sure, there've been guys I've 'dated,' but I let them all go. Just face it, a girl like me isn't cut for the romantic stuff you're in to."

Carly shook her head. "You don't mean that. I'm sure you'll find someone someday. Everyone's got soul mate out there. All you have to do is look."

Sam's eyes wandered to the ground, instead of peering into the other girl's eyes. She couldn't look at Carly when she was being all sappy and hopeful about love. She hated talking about that subject. But deep down in her heart, she hid a secret about a boy.

She had never told Carly about her beach encounter at age seven with a boy named Fredward Benson. That was the only time where she felt an emotion, other than disgust, towards a boy. Even the ones she dated had repulsed her. But somehow, Freddie didn't.

It didn't matter anymore, though. She hadn't seen him in four years. He probably moved away or something. Probably left and forgot all about her. She was used to people walking out on her, so it didn't bother her.

However, she couldn't forget about him. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't.

"Hello, Sam? Earth to Sam!" Carly waved her hand in front of the blonde's face. "I think I hear the family across the hall that's moving in. We should go and say hi."

"You go ahead. I'm fine right here. Maybe I can catch up on some sleep."

"Aw, you should come with me! I don't wanna do this alone. Please for me?" Carly begged, pulling out her puppy dog eyes and lip.

Groaning, Sam stood up. "Fine. But as soon as we say hi, I'm going back to the couch to sleep. Well, first, I'll get some ham. And then I'll sleep!"

Carly laughed. "Okay. You can eat and sleep to your heart's content once we introduce ourselves."

She grabbed a hold of Sam's hand and drug her to the door. As soon as she flung it open, she came face-to-face with a small boy.

"Hi, there!" he said enthusiastically.

"Oh, hello. You must be the new neighbor, right?" Carly asked, smiling at him.

"Yup, that's me! My mom and I just moved in this morning. I came over to meet you because she said there was a family living across from us. I'm Freddie Benson, by the way." He stuck out his hand, grinning the entire time.

At the mention of his name, Sam froze from her spot behind the door. Did he just say his name was Freddie Benson? She shook her head.

Nah, she thought. It's probably not the same one. If I haven't seen him in four years, what are the chances I'd see him today?

Carly reached for the boy's hand and gave it a shake. She tried to pull it back, but he continued to hold onto it.

"Um, Freddie. You can let go now."

"Whoops. Sorry." He blushed, letting go of her hand, but still stared back at her with glazed over eyes.

"Anyway, I'm Carly Shay. Nice to meet you, Freddie!"

"Carly," he repeated. "Wow, that's a pretty name for a pretty girl."

Sam wanted to gag. She could hear everything that this boy was saying and boy, was he a hopeless romantic! No boy could get away with saying that stuff to her. She rolled her eyes instead, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, well. That's sweet of you to say, Freddie." Carly sounded a bit uncomfortable, considering this boy was already hitting on her.

She really hadn't expected to find Freddie looking like that. Sure, he was puppy dog cute. Not boyfriend cute. Internally, she sighed. She knew she had to get the topic off of her, or else the conversation could get awkward.

"So I hear you're my age? I'm 11, by the way. And you're going to attend Ridgeway?" she asked, leaning against the door frame.

"Yup! I'm 11 and will be going to Ridgeway soon. My mom and I just moved back to Seattle. I was born in this city and lived here until I turned eight. Then we moved to California for a bit. But we're back now," Freddie explained.

"In that case, welcome back to Seattle. Hopefully, you like it here at Bushwell. Ridgeway's really cool, too."

Suddenly, it dawned on Carly that Sam hadn't said a word. She turned around, expecting to see Sam right behind her, but she wasn't. She turned her head slightly, catching her best friend standing behind the door. She gave her a glare and shifted her attention back to Freddie.

"Freddie, will you excuse me for just one minute? I'll be right back."

"Sure, no problem. Take your time." He gave her a goofy grin, which she brushed off.

Carly quietly shut the door, turning her body to face Sam.

"Sam! Why haven't you introduced yourself yet? Here you are hiding behind a door when you could say hi to the boy! He's actually pretty nice. A little clingy, but nice. C'mon. You said you would do this for me," Carly said exasperatedly.

"Ugh. He sounds like a dork, though! He's already drooling all over you. What's the point in meeting someone that's clingy, dorky, and just plain weird? I can save myself from the frustration, Carls."

"He can probably hear you through the door! Don't insult him, Sam! You don't know anything about him," she hissed in response.

Sam rolled her blue eyes. "Whatever. Look, if it makes you happy, I'll introduce myself to the dork. But you can't control me if I comment on how much of a nub he is. Got it?"

Carly sighed, but nodded. "I got it. Just…try to be nice. I feel like he's going to need help getting around and stuff. He may have lived in Seattle before, but things have changed."

She opened the door again, coming face-to-face with a still very eager Freddie Benson. He hadn't moved an inch.

"Thanks for waiting. I just had to talk to my best friend. Oh, and here she is!" Carly grabbed a hold of Sam's hand and placed her in front of the boy.

Sam's eyes widened at the motion, but also at the person who stared back. She gulped, knowing, deep in her mind, that this was the same boy she had met four years ago at the beach. He had hardly changed at all since that day. Same chocolate brown eyes, soft brown hair, and geeky smile.

Freddie's face was contorted into a look of pure surprise as he caught sight of her. He knew who she was, despite the fact that she looked a bit different from their first meeting.

Her body had grown slimmer, taller. She wore more boyish clothes. But she still had long blonde curls and dazzling blue eyes. She still looked pretty.

Carly cleared her throat to interrupt their staring contest. She managed to take Sam by the shoulders and push her a little ways back, so there was more distance between her and Freddie.

"Freddie, this is my best friend, Sam Puckett. Sam, this is the new boy, Freddie Benson," she introduced formally.

"It's nice to meet you, Sam," Freddie said stiffly, extending his hand.

Just like their first meeting, she ignored his hand. "I guess it's okay to meet you too, dork," Sam replied.

Freddie retracted his hand immediately, looking away from the girl. In his mind, he wanted to say so much to her, but he knew he couldn't. Not with Carly standing in front of them.

Speaking of Carly, she could sense the tension in the air. She knew she had to jump in, or else things could get ugly. Sam had a tendency to be a bit abrasive. Freddie, she could tell, was a bit sensitive.

"Well, now that you guys have met, I think we'll say our goodbyes. Freddie, I'm sure you need time to settle in. You just moved in, after all. You rest up, and come by anytime you want to talk, okay? I'll be here, and Sam's over enough so you'll get use to her, too."

Carly pulled Sam back inside, ready to shut the door again, when Freddie interrupted.

"Actually, I don't have any plans right now. My mom is still working on getting things sorted into the apartment. She said she doesn't need my help. So, can I hang with you guys?"

He sounded so eager that the guilt overtook Carly. Truthfully, she had hoped to get rid of him for awhile, so she could go back to hanging out with Sam. But, he seemed so excited to be around them, she couldn't say no.

"Sam, would you mind if Freddie stayed over for a while? We can hang out for a bit, and then he can go home to relax for the evening."

She used her puppy dog look on Sam again, which made the blonde's resolve crumble. It was hard to deny Carly anything after she used that begging technique.

"Fine," she groaned, pointing to Freddie. "But you better not get on my nerves. Otherwise, you're dead meat. Got it?"

Freddie nodded, recognizing her words from four years ago. "Yeah, I got it," he answered softly.

He followed Carly and Sam into the apartment, shutting the door behind him.


Right after Freddie entered Carly's apartment, things were never the same again. It wasn't just that day that Freddie came over. It was every single day after that. A friendship soon blossomed between the two brunettes. But quickly after meeting her, Freddie developed a big crush on Carly.

Sam didn't understand it at all. Sure, Carly was her best friend, but did Freddie have to swoop in and take her away? And develop a stupid crush on her that wasn't going to go anywhere? Sam felt annoyed, both at their friendship and Freddie's crush.

She still remembered their promise they made at age seven. We promise to always be friends. Well, right now it felt like that promise wasn't even in effect. They surely weren't friends. They were more like close enemies.

Many things were still left unsaid between them. It had been about six months since their second encounter, but neither person had said much to the other.

However, it all changed one day. And again, it happened at beach.


Sam was bored after a long day at school. School always bored her, but today seemed especially bad.

After hanging out with Carly and Freddie, she decided to visit the beach. With a bit convincing, she got her mother to agree to drive her to the destination she wanted.

As she stood on the exact same spot where she and Freddie first met, she sighed. Crossing her arms, she looked at the endless water in front of her. The waves rolled and crashed, creating a peaceful sound.

All she wanted was for Freddie to remember. Remember the promise that they had made. If he had acted like he did when they were seven, maybe they would have kept the promise. If he had actually noticed her, instead of her best friend, things might have been different. But they weren't.

"Hey, can I join you?" a voice broke her thoughts.

She knew that voice, and wasn't very happy to hear it.

"What do you want, Freddie?" she threw back at him, not bothering to turn around.

"Sam, can we talk? Please?" He sounded a bit desperate, which made her chuckle quietly.

"What do you want to talk about? Shouldn't you be with Carly? Or your mom?"

Freddie reached up and grabbed her shoulder. She turned around at the contact, immediately throwing his hand off of her. A deep scowl etched itself on her mouth.

"No, I'm here because I wanted to talk to you. There's a lot of stuff we need to clear up, Sam. Like the fact that we met for the second time after four years, six months ago."

"So? I don't see why that's important now. It's not a big deal anymore."

"Yes, it is important! Sam, do you know how long I looked for you after that day?" He asked, frustration taking over in his voice.

"You didn't look very hard, apparently. You never found me. Anyway, you're the one that moved! What's that even about? You're the one who needs to do the explaining, not me!"

Freddie's eyes quickly became clouded over with a mixture of pain, anger, and confusion. Sam had never seen that look from him before, and to be honest, it kind of freaked her out.

"Do you remember how I mentioned my dad when we were seven? How he was always busy, but loved my mom and me a lot? Well, something happened to him a couple weeks after we met."

He paused, finding there was a lump in his throat. He had never talked about this to someone other than his mom.

"Yes, I remember. Go on with your story," she urged, motioning with her hand for him to continue.

"Sam, my dad died. He got into car accident. He was late coming home from work one night. He usually came home by five o'clock, but it was already seven. We hadn't gotten a phone call, so my mom started getting worried. She called him a few times, but got no response. An hour later, we got a call from the police saying they found two crashed cars with bodies inside each of them. A drunk driver hit my dad and it killed them both," he said shakily, feeling tears form in his eyes.

Sam's expression softened. She patted Freddie on the shoulder, feeling sadness for him. She wasn't used to feeling compassion for someone other than Carly, so she didn't know how to comfort him.

"I'm sorry, Freddie. That really sucks."

She wanted to cringe at the choice of words, but that was all she could think of to say.

Freddie sniffled, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He looked at Sam through his blurry eyes, trying to compose himself enough to talk.

"Anyway, you asked why I moved. That's why. My mom decided that it was time for us to start over in a new place. So we moved to California. But, it really didn't feel like to home to either of us. Seattle always felt like home, so we chose to move back. We didn't want a house because it was just the two of us. Bushwell seemed like the best option."

"I had no idea. Wow. I, uh, I don't really know what to say," Sam stammered.

He had calmed down enough to simply shrug. "I'm not sure what to say either. You wanted to know, so I gave you the info. I've kept that in for so long that it feels kind of good to get it out there."

She nodded, looking away from him. She turned her focus back on the ocean and its peacefulness.

"So…" he began but trailed off.

"So what?" Her eyes remained on the water, instead of at him.

"Look, I just told you my story. So what about yours? We haven't really talked since were seven."

"There's nothing to tell. My family life still sucks. School is still incredibly boring. Carly's my best friend and I practically live in her apartment. I haven't changed that much since that day."

Her voice sounded monotone, but sadness was hidden underneath it. Freddie didn't know her well enough to figure it out, though.

"There's gotta be more than that, Sam. We've spent four years apart. Things have obviously changed. Why won't you tell me?"

"Because I don't talk about my personal life, okay?" she snapped, turning to him. "I don't like telling people stuff about me that isn't worth knowing. I don't go around putting my heart on my sleeve. I build walls, Freddie. You of all people should know that by now!"

"What are you talking about, Sam? All I'm asking is what's been going on in the last few years, and you give me that kind of answer! I've known you for awhile, and you can't even tell me that."

"You just don't get it," she seethed. "I don't trust people. Not ever since the day my dad walked out. I don't trust people enough to let them know me. You asked me about my life story. Well, you're not gonna get it."

"That's not fair! I shared something so personal about my life to you, and you can't do the same! Why's that?"

Freddie sounded just as upset at the moment as he did when they first met. Sam couldn't fight the nostalgia that rushed into her mind.

"Well, it was your choice to share it with me. It's my choice to not let you know my story. Look, I'm sparing you. You don't want to know about me. It's easier that way."

"You trust Carly. Why don't you trust me, Sam? You used to," he said, putting emphasis on the past.

"You broke the promise," she muttered so low that he could hardly catch it.

"Promise? You mean the one we made when we were seven?"

"Yes! That promise, Freddie! You broke it. That's why I can't trust you."

"How did I break it? If anything, you're the one who broke it!"

"Me? Oh, no. You've got it wrong. You're the one who broke it. You always said we'd be friends. We'll look where we are! After making that promise, we didn't see each other again until four years later. You left, Freddie. I know it's not your fault because you had to get away. But you could have, I don't know, tracked me down harder! You could have found me. If that wasn't bad enough, we get lucky enough to see each other again, and you're more interested in being Carly's friend than mine!"

The last line slipped out of Sam's mouth without her permission. She instantly slapped her hand over her mouth in mortification.

Freddie's eyes widened, but narrowed soon after.

"Who says we can't be friends now? Technically, you're the one who broke the promise because we could have picked up where we left off. What's so hard about that?"

"We can't, though. Things have changed. Face it, we're not cut out to be friends. We'd fight all the time and nothing good could come out of it. We're better off as enemies."

Freddie's eyes hardened at her words. He felt his blood boil beneath the surface of his skin.

"Fine. If you wanna act like that, go ahead. I don't need you, Sam Puckett. We can be enemies. That's fine. I suggested that we try being friends, but noooo, you aren't into that. You know, we shouldn't have made that promise in the first place. It's all gone now," he spat at her.

Sam glared at Freddie with one of the deadliest looks she'd ever given someone.

"You're right, we shouldn't have. Oh, you know what? Let's make a new promise! How about we promise to hate each other forever? We obviously can't be friends, acquaintances, or anything decent. Enemies is all we have left."

"Fine! That sounds good. I, Freddie Benson, promise to hate you, Sam Puckett, forever. Deal?"

He stuck out his hand, but as usual, Sam ignored it. She thumped him on the head instead.

"Don't ever think you can touch me," she snarled.

"Whatever," he mocked.

She inched forward, ready to smack him when a car horn sounded. She took a deep breath and turned around to find her mom sitting in the car, waiting for her.

"I have to go now. My mom's here. If she hadn't shown up, you'd be dead meat."

"Oh, I'm sure," he said sarcastically, crossing his arms.

Sam willed herself to walk away. If she actually starting hitting him, she'd never stop. He seriously irked her!

Before she left for good, she shouted over her shoulder, "Don't forget the promise, Frednub!"

Freddie couldn't stop his fists from balling up. "Oh, I won't forget, Puckett!"

As soon as she left, he stomped off to the parking lot. His mom was waiting for him, too. He tried to calm himself down, but couldn't find the nerve. He was normally so poised and collected, but that girl just drove him up the wall.

One thing was for sure, he knew he wouldn't be able to break this promise. Hating Sam Puckett, Freddie thought, would be the easiest thing in the world.

But he was sadly mistaken. It wasn't easier to hate her. Actually, it proved to be quite difficult for Freddie Benson.


What neither kid realized was the "hate" they felt for each other wasn't really hate. It was far from it, actually. Of course, they were eleven, so it was easy to call it hate. They continued on like that for years. Even after the famous web show, iCarly got started.

They never really had the hearts to feel hate for one another. But, they didn't know it wasn't real. To them, it seemed like hate was the only emotion that could be felt for each other.

It wasn't until the fateful day where Sam apologized on iCarly for admitting Freddie had never kissed anyone that it all changed. It was then that their old promise of "hatred" faded, and a new one was made.

It was this promise that made it possible for them to give up on their "hate." At least, what they claimed hate to be. This promise was stronger and lasted longer, proving that "hate" was only a word used to try and shield the truth from coming to light. A truth so powerful and scary that neither would ever realize until much later.