Chapter Three.
It took about fifteen minutes for Sam to get to the Shay apartment, and Carly felt like a complete basket case by the time she got there. She had moved back downstairs and turned Girly Cow back on, and was now staring at the screen blankly, her barely-touched blue tea in her hand.
Sam bounded into the Shay apartment and slammed the door unceremoniously behind her. Walking over to Carly, she put her hands on her hips and gave her a demanding stare.
"Okay, what's up?" She asked, right off the bat. Leave it to Sam to get right to the point.
"Well…" Carly suddenly became very interested in the glass of blue tea she had previously forgotten about for nearly an hour.
Sam took the glass, put it on the table, switched off the TV, and sat facing Carly. "Look, you've been acting all weird lately. What's wrong? Is your whacky grandpa trying to make you move to Yakima again? Because you know I can get out my butter sock if you need-"
"No, it's nothing like that," Carly said, biting her lip. She couldn't meet Sam's eye.
Sam seemed almost disappointed. "Well what is it, then?"
"It's…about a boy…" Carly said cryptically. She was half hoping that Sam would know what she was talking about immediately and casually bring it up herself. Something like, "Oh, the fact that you like Freddie? What else is new?" sounded nice. She glanced at Sam.
Nothing.
Obviously, she wasn't getting it quite that easily. Carly was going to have to say it. Her stomach felt like it was inside-out, tied in a knot, and in a blender. Then her words came out in a rush: "I like him, Sam. I didn't want to tell you because I know you like him, and I didn't want us to have another fight, and I want you to be happy, and-"
"So...you like him?" Sam raised an eyebrow. "Since when?" She didn't look mad; just completely baffled.
Carly looked down at her knees. "I don't know exactly when it started. A long time ago, I guess. I can't make my feelings go away. Believe me, I've tried," She sighed, leaning back against the couch and drawing her knees up to her chin. "Sam…I think I love him." She was starting to cry now, but she fought the tears back. "I just wanted you to know. It didn't seem right to keep it from you like this." She knew how she had felt when she found out that Sam liked Freddie. What hurt more than anything else was that her best friend hadn't trusted her with the truth. That was part of the reason she had felt so compelled to tell Sam.
"How did you even know I liked him?" Sam asked.
"I didn't know. I just thought you might, so I decided I should tell you to get it out in the open." Carly looked over at her best friend, half expecting to find her glaring back at her. But she definitely didn't look mad. Actually, she still seemed confused.
"Well, this stinks," Sam said matter-of-factly.
So she did still like him.
Carly's heart sank like the Titanic.
"You can date him though, really. I mean, if you want to. I'd understand. I just want you guys to be happy." Carly shushed the little voice in her head that told her she deserved to be happy, too. Why had she even brought this up? She knew Sam still liked him! Why did she have to make things so awkward? Granted, Sam didn't seem to be too upset. She was staring at the carpet, and she still just looked confused.
Silence.
Something in Carly seemed to snap in spite of her attempts to keep cool, calm, and collected.
"Sam! Say something!" She said desperately. She wasn't actually mad, but every second that Sam didn't say anything was one more torturous eternity in which Carly had to wonder if she'd just caused their relationship to change forever - or end entirely.
"Sorry!" Sam said defensively, looking back at Carly. "It's just…" She trailed off, and a wave of guilt washed over Carly.
"It's just" that she had no idea I ever liked him.
"It's just" that she still likes him, and she wanted to get back together.
"It's just" that I just ruined everything.
Again, Carly's words broke out in a rush. "Sam, I'm so sor-"
"I didn't even think you knew him."
