Chapter 2: Carnival Bliss

"The Pirate's Fury looks like a fun ride." Jake suggests pointing in the direction of the ride.

Freddie took another glance at the ride and started shaking his head. "I don't know guys, wouldn't you want to start off with something… I don't know, a little less lethal looking?"

"I think it looks fun too, but Freddie does have a point." Carly responds taking Jake's hand into her own. She couldn't help but smile as she felt the warmth of his fingers intertwined with her own.

"And what point is that?" Sam asks noticing Carly's sheepish grin.

"Well we shouldn't ride the biggest ride first. Otherwise the rest of the rides would seem boring compared to it." Carly didn't really mind riding Pirate's Fury first. But she could tell that Freddie was a little nervous about it, and wanted him to enjoy himself.

"That is a good point." Sam concurs also not wanting to force Freddie into something he didn't want to ride. That and she figured once he started having a little fun he wouldn't mind getting on the ride.

"Well then what do you suggest we ride first?" Jake asks looking towards Freddie.

"How about the Scrambler?" Freddie suggests pointing in the direction of the ride. It consisted of three long rails each holding four booth like seats. "The inertia is what makes that ride so fun." He adds with a grin.

"Freddie stop getting all technical on us. We're here for fun remember." Sam responds with a wink and takes his hand into hers.

Everyone agreed that it looked like a good one to start off with and walked over to the line. It would appear that quite a few others thought it would be a good idea to, as there had to be at least thirty other people waiting in line.

They stood around briefly chatting for about five minutes when it was finally their turn. Carly and Jake went first showing the carnival man their bracelets and walking towards a seat. However when Freddie and Sam tried to enter the man put out his arm.

"Whoa buddy." He says in a squeaky voice. "You have to be this tall to ride this ride." He says pointing towards a sign.

Looking around Freddie notices the 'You must be this tall' sign with a stupid looking clown on it. "You've got to be kidding me." He blurts out clearly annoyed. "I'm as tall as they are!"

"Please step up to the sign sonny." The man says again.

Freddie was now feeling slightly embarrassed, and to be it all the carnival man was shorter than he was. But with a slight frown he finally obliged and walked over to the sign. And after seeing that Freddie was indeed at least a foot taller than needed the man waved him in.

Sam couldn't help but giggle as she led them towards a seat. She picked out one that sat adjacent to Jake and Carly. Another carnival man walked over to them as they were sitting down and instructed for them to have Freddie sit on the inside of the car.

"What was that all about?" Sam asks as she had never really ridden this type of ride before.

"Like I said before it's all about inertia. They have the biggest person sit on the inside of the seat so when the ride gets a going he doesn't crush the smaller person."

"Ohh!" Sam exclaims and begins laughing. "So now not only have they called you short, but they are calling you fat to!"

Freddie lets out a sigh and just shakes his head. "Ya know that's an odd way to look at it." He let out a small laugh though, because he did find it slightly funny. Because technically it was true.

After another minute someone walked around to make sure everyone was strapped before the ride began. It started slowly at first, with just slight spinning. But it was soon spinning in two circles. The rails above going in one circle, and the booths below going in another.

It wasn't long until the inertia had Sam practically pinned against Freddie. The world began to blur all around her as the spinning got faster and faster, until all she could really see was Freddie. He was grinning from ear to ear, and laughing. She was laughing to though, she found it hilarious that she was practically crushing Freddie and he was laughing.

Carly was having the same problem though, if you could call it a problem. She was on the outside of the booth and thus was crunched up against Jake. They were brought even closer by the fact that he had put his arm around Carly. Carly could feel butterflies in her stomach, although she was unsure if it was from being so close to Jake, or from the dizzying effect of the ride. Either way she was happy.

The ride then slowly came to a halt and the four of them exited. Although they were stumbling and still dizzy they managed to get away to a bench for a moment of rest.

"Wow that was amazing wasn't it!" Sam says jumping up from the bench, obviously the least affected by the dizziness.

"Yeah, it was crazy!" Carly exclaims resting her head on Jake's shoulder. Both still recovering, although the dizziness was starting to subside.

"Aren't you still dizzy though?" Asks Freddie who was rubbing the side of his head.

"My mom's driving is crazy. After you ride with her long enough, you get used to being dizzy."

After another minute Jake and Carly stand up and walk towards one of the balloon game booths, Sam and Freddie soon follow after them.

"Step right up. Step right up." A carnival man dressed in overhauls and a short black beard yells out. "Come right up young man, win the pretty lady a bear." He yells again pointing towards Jake.

"You want a bear?" Jake asks Carly pointing towards the largest teddy bear available. It had to stand at least three to three and a half foot tall.

"Sure, but you don't have to get me the biggest one. I'd be happy with any of them."

"So how do I win the big one?" Jake asks the carnival man.

"Well all you have to do is pop three balloons with the number four under it. Five darts for five dollars." The man responds picking out some darts from his overalls.

"Ok give me five." He responds handing the man a five dollar bill.

The carnival man then steps away as Jake takes aim on a balloon. He then throws the dart and after a loud pop the balloon shows the number four. "There is the first one." The carnival man encourages as Jake throws the next dart. The next balloon pops and it reveals a three. The next two darts reveal a one and a four.

"You just need one more four buddy." The carnival man encourages again.

He takes careful aim on a green balloon and throws. The dart however misses the green balloon and hits the blue one next to it. Jake lets out a sigh from missing the balloon he was aiming for. Although he was quickly relieved when he hears the carnival man begins to shout.

"We have a winner! See folks it's as easy as One, Two, Three." He shouts as the passersby pointing to the three number fours behind the balloons. "So which one would you like?" He finally asks pointing towards the top row of prizes.

Carly grins widely and points towards a giant brown plush bear. The man climbs onto a sort of stool and takes the bear down and hands it to her. She thanks him and hugs the bear tightly before turning towards Jake.

"And thank you." She says to him as she wraps her arms around him. She then gives him a short kiss before she could catch herself. She couldn't believe she was being so forward with him. He however didn't seem to mind as he softly embraced her kiss, wrapping his arms around her.

"And what about you buddy? Care to win a prize for your lady friend too?" The carnival man asks Freddie.

"Sure why not?" He says handing the man five dollars and taking up the darts. By now Carly and Jake had stopped kissing and stood together watching Freddie.

Freddie had never really thrown darts before but he figured how hard could it be. He threw the first dart at a red balloon, but to his dismay the dart practically bounced off of it. A quizzical look came to his face as he looked at the carnival man who let out a light chuckle.

"Don't worry I'll give that one to you. Try again." He says picking the dart off the floor and handing it back to Freddie.

Although slightly embarrassed by the fact he couldn't pop a balloon he straightened up and aimed again. Although the carnival man had replaced the balloons Jake had popped he did remember which ones had fours under them. He threw the dart again, this time at a blue balloon which Jake had popped before. And to his surprise it actually hit its mark, the balloon revealed a four.

"Good one, only two more to go." The carnival man says encouraging him to take another shot.

The next three shots were aimed the best he could, however he couldn't seem to hit the right balloons. He did however get two ones and a two.

"Don't worry buddy, everyone's a winner." The carnival man says with a grin as Freddie picks up his last dart. He already knew he wasn't going to win a top row prize. But at least he could win a prize near the top. He throws and to his amazement the dart bounces off the balloon again.

Sam let out a slight laugh and patted Freddie on the back. "Don't worry I suck at darts to."

"Try again." The man says handing Freddie the dart. "Like I said everyone is a winner."

With a slight frown Freddie throws the dart as hard as he could. This time he was going to make sure he popped a balloon. Sure enough the arrow popped the balloon and stuck deeply into the board. The number revealed a two.

"Ohh we have a winner!" The carnival man shouts excitedly again. "See folks it's as easy as One Two Three!" He shouts once more at passersby. The man really did seem to enjoy his job. He then turns his attention back to Freddie. "Two ones and two two's make three twos." He says confusingly. "Pick a prize from the second row."

Freddie turns towards Sam and shrugs. "I tried. Which one would you like?"

Sam points towards a bright yellow duck with its tongue sticking out. It was only about six inches tall but she knew that Freddie tried hard to get it. She then turns to him and says "You could have got me a first row prize and I would have been happy. I still love my prize." She then pulls him to her and kisses him, to his surprise.

He was indeed taken by surprise but he didn't mind as his lips once again met with Sam's. He kissed her for a few more seconds before remembering that they were at a carnival, in the middle of everyone, kissing!

As they broke the kiss they heard the carnival man comment to Jake. "See I told you everyone is a winner." Sam, Carly, and the man laugh for a second making Sam and Freddie both blush.

"Oh be quiet." Sam speaks up before taking Freddie's hand again. "Let's go ride another ride." They all agree and start walking once more. Freddie didn't pay any attention to the direction they were going until they had reached the front of the ship. The 'Pirate's Fury' ship no less.

"Oh god" Freddie complains seeing the ship. "Do we have to?"

"Oh come on Freddie it won't be so bad." Carly says trying to convince him.

"Yea and look how much fun those people are having." Jake comments as the ship turns upside down and begins to come down the other side. Freddie could hear a few people begin to scream, some out of enjoyment, others sounded more scared. He even thought he heard one man yell out an obscenity.

"Well now that was convincing." He responds clearly not interested.

Although Sam really did want to ride it she could tell Freddie had no interest in it. "Freddie if you don't want to ride it, we don't have to. We can go find something a little 'less lethal' as you call it." She says mockingly, but she gave him a quick wink to let him know she meant no harm by it. "I'm sure Carly and Jake will still have fun riding it without us."

"Sure sounds good to us. Should we meet up somewhere after the ride?" Carly agrees as Jake nods his head.

"Sure how about the concession area? I'm sure Sam will want something to eat soon anyway." Freddie responds with a grin. He knew it was true.

"Hey now, you act like I eat all the time!" Sam objects although she knew it was a joke.

"Sounds good with us. But would you all mind holding onto my bear, I don't think we will be able to take it on the ride." Carly asks holding the bear in her arm. It was large indeed fairly large, coming up to Carly's chest.

"Sure, otherwise you would probably have to pay for it to have a seat of its own!"

The four of them all laugh as Carly hands her the bear. The two then depart for 'Pirate's Fury' leaving Sam and Freddie debating on what to do next.

"So what do you think is less lethal?"

"I don't know" he responds looking around for a ride that didn't seem anywhere near dangerous. A grin came to his face when he saw it though. The towering Ferris Wheel, it would give an excellent view from up top, and he had never heard of anyone being killed on one.

"How about the Ferris Wheel?" He asks pointing at the towering contraption.

Sam didn't respond, instead she grinned widely and took his hand. She always thought Ferris Wheels were romantic in their own way, although given the opportunity she would never admit it. That and she knew the view would be killer.


Carly and Jake didn't have to wait long to get on the pirate ride. It seemed to hold a massive amount of people, and there wasn't that many people brave enough to ride it would seem.

As the shoulder harness was pushed down on them Carly felt a rush of excitement. She had never ridden a ride like this. She felt a little scared, but she then felt the familiar warmth of Jake's hand in her own. The fear then subsided a little.

Jake on the other hand wasn't scared at all. Or at least if he was you couldn't tell it from his face. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen." He says calmly to Carly as they interlace their fingers together. And as the ride began to swing he felt her hand squeeze his, she was indeed nervous.

The ride was soon swinging back and forth, and for a second Carly thought that it might not actually do the flip. Deep down she was kind of hoping that it wouldn't. On the next swing she closed her eyes and felt the familiar swoosh of air, she felt her stomach drop. Then to her surprise the ride stopped.

She looked up and opened her eyes. Then she felt her stomach drop, and felt a scream rising in her throat. She wasn't looking up, but instead she was looking down. The ride had paused briefly at the climax of the flip.

"Oh yeah!" Jake shouted as she squeezed his hand tightly. The ride then flipped and spun downward at great speed. She screamed loudly, first out of fear, but after a few seconds out of enjoyment. Shouts came from all around them as others where either scared to death or crazy enough to be enjoying every moment of it.

After two more flips the ride then slowly began to stop, and eventually it did. As they exited the ride Jake says "See I told you it would be awesome!"

"That has to be the craziest ride I've ever been on."

They then walk over to the concession area to wait on Sam and Freddie. Jake buys Carly and himself a pepsi and they sit at a nearby table. After a few minutes of talking something catches Jake's eye, and his eyes grow wide.

"You ok? You look like you just saw a ghost." Carly asks confused by the look on his face.

"Oh yea. I'm ok." He responds and they continue talking. After a few more minutes he says "I'll be back in a minute, I need to use the restroom."

"Ok, I'll wait for you and the others here." Carly responds as he walks off towards the restroom.


The line to the Ferris Wheel wasn't very long, but it still took a few minutes to get the ride going as they had to start and stop the ride to get the entire ride loaded. Sam and Freddie were one of the last ones to get on when the ride finally came into motion.

As they began being lifted in the air Sam laughed. "What's so funny?" Freddie asks trying to figure out what she was laughing about.

"I was just thinking that we haven't been stuck in a space this small since the elevator." She then points to the bear sitting to her right and says "And that bear is taking up half the seat, which makes it even smaller."

The bear was indeed taking up a good portion of the seat. But neither Freddie nor Sam seemed to mind. Freddie had his arm wrapped around her and his other hand was holding hers. As they reached the top of the wheel they both looked out in amazement. They could see for what seemed like miles through the park, and out into the city. The green tree's and freshly cut grass giving a surreal scene for all to behold from above.

"It's beautiful." Freddie comments as the ride begins to spin them in a circle.

"I know." Sam agrees smiling at him.

"But not as beautiful as you." Freddie says no longer staring out at the scenery, but instead staring into her eyes.

Sam's cheeks flushed red at his words. It didn't matter how many times he told her she was beautiful. It always seemed to touch a special place in her heart. She then leaned in and gave him a quick kiss.

The next few minutes of the ride consisted of them silently sitting together and looking at the scenery. Occasionally one of them would point out something in the distance. Then the ride finally came to a slow stop, and started letting people off.

When the first riders began to get off it put Sam and Freddie at the very peak of the wheel. It would still be a few minutes before they got off.

"I still can't get over how beautiful it is up here. It's so different than the view from my apartment." Freddie comments again admiring the landscape one last time before they had to get off.

"I know, and being with you makes it all the better." Sam responds quietly.

Freddie felt this to be a good time to take the initiative for once and slowly moved his head towards Sam. Sam happily moved her head towards his and their lips met once more. And for the first time all day they were able to kiss in peace. With no one watching over them, and no one to interrupt them.

Freddie playfully moved his hand through her hair as they continued to kiss. She gripped him tightly in her arms and pulled him closer to her, almost in a bear hug. "Trying to squeeze me to death?" Freddie comments as he briefly took his lips off of hers.

"Oh hush." She whispers before kissing him again. This continued on for a little bit longer before the ride came to life once more and pulled them down another ten foot or so. At which time they had stopped kissing and had started looking for Carly and Jake.

"They should be off the pirate death trap by now." Freddie says in a matter of fact tone.

"Yea they should be over at the concession area." Sam suggests pointing in the general direction of the area.

Freddie began looking towards the concession area, and Sam looked the other way to see if they could have possibly wandered off for a moment.

"I see Carly" Freddie says pointing towards the concession area about the time Sam spoke up.

"I see Carly and Jake." She said pointing in the direction opposite of the concession stand.

For a moment neither of them caught on to what was said. Then they both said in unison "Wait a minute." A confused look grew on both of their faces.

"If Carly is down there at the concession area." Freddie says pointing in that direction again. "How do you see her?"

They both turn their heads towards where Sam saw Jake and Carly. It was a good distance away but Freddie squinted. "Umm… Sam that's not Carly. Carly has brown hair, that girl is more of a brownish blonde."

"What!" Sam screams and squints her eyes to, trying to focus on Jake and the girl. "But they're… they're… hugging! Why is Jake hugging that girl if he is here with Carly?" Sam shouts angrily.

"I don't know. Who is she?" By now Jake had stopped hugging the girl. And for all Freddie could figure they were now talking.

"You brought the camera with you right?" Sam asks giving Freddie a look as if she could kill someone.

"Yea we told the iCarly viewers we would take some pictures of our trip to the carnival."

"Well it has all those zooms on stuff on it you are always talking about! Get it out and use it." She says angrily not really meaning for it to sound like a command.

"Good idea!" Freddie concurs and gets the camera out of a cargo pocket. As the Ferris Wheel drops lower, it would soon be there turn to exit the ride, he starts the camera up and aims it towards him, zooming in as far as he could.

Freddie's jaw drops as he saw who it was, and without a word hands the camera towards Sam. "Who is it?" She asks as she takes the camera from him. She then looks at the LCD screen on the back. She couldn't believe her eyes. It was Stephanie Jeffers, his ex-girlfriend. "Why that skunk-bag!" she shouts tossing the camera back to Freddie before grabbing the side of the Ferris Wheel cage. "I'll kill her! I swear I'll kill her!" she shouts angrily before turning back to Freddie.

Freddie was already zooming in again. He was going to make sure he had evidence. 'He won't be able to talk his way out of this' Freddie thinks as she prepares to take the picture. "Oh my god, now they're kissing!" he shouts again as he takes the picture and the Ferris Wheel drops them lower.

"Oh that isn't good." Sam says quietly, anger clearly in her voice. "I'm going to hate to have to tell Carly, she has been so happy."


A/N: Well that is the end of chapter 2, I hope everyone enjoyed it. So what will happen next? Will Jake have a good reason for doing what he is doing? How will Carly take it? Can Sam calm down or will she beat the snot out of Stephanie? Find out next chapter.

Thanks for all the reviews on the first chapter guys, I love reading them. Thanks again for reading, see you next chapter.