AN: Hello again everyone and welcome to the next part of this story; I hope you are all well and have had a pleasant week. It's review shout-out time as always so thanks to everyone who contributed;
SpazQueen15 – I'm glad that you loved it. Adding Tori will, I hope, be fun and make things ever more interesting for the group.
Challenge King – you make a point with Jade and Cat but I wouldn't completely write off Freddie's old friends just yet, particularly with Sam's visit in Chapter 1; she is still very much a good friend to him.
Fanfic-Reader-88 – yes it sucked for Freddie, particularly with Lindsey's "explanation"; it sounded to me like she was looking to pass the blame off onto him really. As for the bubbly red-head, well we'll see what's going on in her life once he's had a chance to come to terms with his own break-up and any lingering issues from the whole relationship (and whether I still want to see Freddie and Cat together after Ariana going off on one and blaming Victoria for the cancellation of Victorious like she did last week...)
Agent-M – yes Freddie's trying to figure some stuff out rather than just looking for a rebound to numb the pain. Maybe he's mature beyond his years or maybe it's because he cares too much about any of the obvious "candidates" (like Cat) to risk hurting her, who knows what's going through his head after all of this.
That's my Jay – I'm glad you loved it; yes the way Lindsey acted was rather contrary to what she'd felt in the past but she made her choice and Freddie has to accept it. I hope the next part meets your hopes and expectations for it.
Pbow – yes Cat is giving him a little time. Is she going to be patient enough to give him enough time though? We'll find out eventually…
EnchantingNightmares – thank you.
And now on with the show…
Chapter 3
Greyhound Bus Lines
1716 East 7th Street
Los Angeles, California
Monday, 14th September 2009
A muddy and dishevelled Sam Puckett crept unseen away from the stand and smartly left the station; the blonde had snuck onto the bus in Las Vegas (hiding in the luggage compartment) and stowed away to Los Angeles. Having left the main building she looked around the early morning scene of Downtown Los Angeles before finding the stop for a bus that would take her in the direction of Hollywood.
The Seattle-born girl arrived at Hollywood Arts just before 9 a.m.; she knew that was the school starting time so she didn't expect to see too many people around the place and was surprised that a large outdoor area (from the mural on the floor it seemed to be called the Asphalt Café) was crawling with teenagers. She frowned as the enormity of her task hit her; looking for someone that could help her with her mission seemed akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Sam gave a sudden mischievous grin as her eyes fell on a girl with vivid red hair – the colour of red velvet cupcakes. The delinquent's smile dropped briefly as they reminded her forcibly of Carly Shay and she felt a pang of regret that the brunette was no longer involved in her life, mingled with a flare of anger over that fact – particularly the way she was unceremoniously kicked to the kerb during her incarceration. She looked at the other kids at the table as she approached; a sandy-blond boy, an African-American with dreadlocks… he looks a bit like that Harper dude from the iCarly TV show she smiled, a long-haired and quite good-looking guy sat with his arm around a dark brunette with dark blue hair extensions; she was dressed entirely in black. Oh and a dude with a puppet, she shook her head and wrinkled her nose at the sight of the latter, particularly as she could see (but not hear) the puppet "talking" animatedly, much to the obvious disdain of the gothic-looking chick. She strode confidently over to the table and all eyes turned to the newcomer.
"Hey… do any of you guys know a boy called Freddie Benson?"
The comprehension on the teens' faces told Sam she had struck gold (and correctly identified Freddie's former crush, Cat Valentine). She smirked in satisfaction before being surprised when the brunette girl spoke up.
"Sam, right?"
She confirmed her identity, wondering as she did how the girl knew that. Jade explained that Freddie had talked about his "blonde friend from Seattle" and also that she had seen some of the old iCarly episodes.
"You haven't changed that much in a year," the mean girl concluded.
"Not physically perhaps," Sam muttered to herself, reflecting on the figurative journey she'd taken over the previous twelve months. "So where is Fredward?" she asked aloud. Robbie sniggered involuntarily at the use of the tech producer's full name; Jade hid a smirk of her own to serve the curly-haired ventriloquist her best glare.
"I uh… I gotta go," he sputtered, grabbing his bag and running inside. Sam grinned at the intimidating girl, who was ignoring the look her boyfriend gave her, before taking the recently vacated seat.
"Freddie's got a meeting of the school website club," Cat volunteered.
"So he's still a dork," Sam chuckled lightly.
"You're so mean to him!" screeched the redhead in a scandalised tone. Seeing the affront the girl took on her friend's behalf Sam amended,
"I was kidding; the dude's my best friend and I enjoy teasing him," she shrugged.
"Are you visiting Los Angeles?" Beck asked curiously, eager to change the subject and head off anything he feared Jade may be planning.
"Kinda," she explained, "He called me up a few nights ago; he was really cut up over that Lindsey chick dumping him and his mood was getting worse and worse as we talked… just like old times," she reflected, unable to fully suppress a giggle, "so I figured I'd pay him a visit. I jumped on a bus and here I am."
"That's quite an impressive thing to do," André complimented her. She smiled gratefully.
"He's my best friend," she repeated quietly, amazing herself with words that a year ago she never thought she'd say. "So where do I find this chick and have a friendly talk with her about what she did to Freddie?"
Not knowing the full story, the boys and Cat looked from one to another; they were clearly astounded that someone would make such a journey just to berate a girl for dumping a guy. Jade, however, knew exactly why Sam was so angry with the blonde junior. She told the ex-Seattleite girl,
"She has English just before lunch – that's your best chance of speaking to her alone."
Sam nodded. "Until then," she said, "I'll just look around this place, maybe see a little of Hollywood. Don't let Freddie know I'm here, I want to surprise him later," she grinned mischievously and the Hollywood Arts students nodded their agreement, though Jade made a mental note to accompany Cat everywhere the red-haired girl went, just in case.
The dirty-blonde-haired teenager did as she had suggested she would, walking around the local area until lunch approached. At that point she ventured to the dubious-looking "Grub Truck"; rather than going to the window she brazenly headed round the back and went inside, much to the surprise of Festus, who owned and ran the business.
"What are you doing in my truck, buddy?" he screamed at her.
"Whoa, chill dude. I just need to borrow something." She passed the perplexed Yerbanian and made her way to the fridge, smiling as she located and withdrew some small items before walking back past him. "Later," she called over her shoulder as she left the vehicle.
"Crazy Americans," the proprietor muttered as he carried on getting ready for the midday rush.
The morning had gone well for the sophomore group; their first class had been with Sikowitz and, despite their concerns, they found Freddie in good spirits. Jade sat by Cat's elbow, changing the subject any time she felt the giggly girl was beginning to ramble and ensuring she stayed off any topics that could reveal that Sam was there. Their brown-haired friend threw himself into the improv lesson and they were delighted to see him acting a little more like his old self, like he had been in the last week or two of the previous year only better… more like he had been before the Prom.
"It's good to see him bounce back from it all," Eli told the other boys; they nodded their agreement. Jade smiled at the sight, both of the boy and of how pleased Cat seemed to be to see 'the old Freddie' back.
The gang had split up for second period; Freddie, Jade and Eli were together in Theatre History so there was no danger of Cat spilling the beans. Again the lesson went well for them and, at the end of their third class (stage management – again Freddie and Eli were together, this time along with André and Beck) they headed for lunch in high spirits.
"It's good to see you looking happy again Freddie," Eli commented.
"Thanks," he said gratefully, "I talked to my friend Sam last week and again over the weekend and she helped a little." They nodded, trying their best to give nothing away.
The girl herself, meanwhile, had snuck back into the school and was prowling the English department; she located her quarry, recognising her from the pictures Freddie had shown her a few months earlier, just before the bell went and waited impatiently as the students breezed past her. The fair haired girl's luck was in because Lindsey and her friends (she had seemingly reconciled fully with Amy and Jenifer since breaking up with Freddie) were the last three to leave.
"Who are you?" her fellow blonde looked up and saw the unfamiliar and angry looking girl striding towards her; her right hand was hidden behind her back, almost painfully balled into a fist.
"Who am I?" she retorted. "I'm someone whose best friend you pissed off… which was a big mistake."
The other girls looked from the fuming fifteen-year-old to one another and made a hasty withdrawal, leaving the two blondes alone. Sam took a step closer to Lindsey and the older girl retreated; unfortunately for her this took her closer to the corner of the room.
"You raped him," she accused, taking another step forward. Lindsey gasped in horror at the accusation, at the phrasing her actions after the Prom in such a way. Seduced she would have accepted but raped? In her mind they had shared something very special, even if the aftermath had been bad for their relationship and she didn't regret the night at all… ok she encouraged him but rape? Her head spun and she stepped back involuntarily, moving right into the corner. "You dumped him," Sam stepped forward again and the first beads of sweat began to adorn the older teen's brow, "and you broke his nerdy little heart," she finished this portion of her tirade with a furious glare, one the junior girl quailed under.
"Look, I…" the eleventh grader began but Sam cut her off.
"You wanted to know who I am? I'm Freddie's Avenging Angel," she threw a straight jab with her left hand squarely into the older girl's jaw, jerking her head back and causing it to bounce against the wall, "I'm your worst nightmare come alive," she swung her left again, instantly breaking her foe's nose, sending some drops of blood spraying across Lindsey's left cheek and onto the nearby table and carpet. Finally Sam brought her right hand from behind her back, grinning evilly at her terrified quarry, "and this is my butter sock…"
As Jade left school and surveyed the Asphalt Café she saw that Freddie sat with their mutual friends chatting happily and animatedly but noted that there was no sign of his blonde visitor. She frowned slightly before heading back inside and making her way to the English department, just in case something was going on there. She arrived at the door to the classroom and looked through the window to see the girl towering over Freddie's ex-girlfriend; Lindsey was cowering in the corner trying to defend herself from the blows raining down from… that looked like a sock in the younger girl's hand. The gothic girl could only guess at what was in it but she walked inside to get a better look at things.
"Sam, what are you doing?" she asked curiously, if slightly unnecessarily. The little trouble-maker turned her head to face her.
"Teaching this chick a lesson; something you all should have done for your friend," her tone was nonchalant to begin with but some irritation bled in when she pointed out that the blonde had suffered no consequences from the group for her actions.
"I prefer a way of getting even that makes people sorry for a very long time," Jade defended herself, walking to the visitor's side and directing her last words to the fearful blonde on the floor.
"Mama doesn't do subtle, just beatings," she shrugged.
"Well that way worked too," the brunette conceded as Lindsey groaned in pain. "You coming?" She motioned towards the door.
"I've just got one more thing to do," the blonde told her, stepping forward and swinging the butter sock once more, sending her enemy back to the ground where she lay motionless. "Ok, I'm done," she said pleasantly, "time to catch up with Freddie."
The two fifteen-year-old girls joined the others at their table in the Asphalt Café.
"Hey Freddie, look what I found," Jade called. The brown-eyed teen turned towards her and his face broke out into a huge grin as he spotted the girl walking with her.
"Sam!" he cried. "What are you doing here?"
"Visiting you, you nub!" The blonde rolled her eyes at the question. "Geez Fredward, I thought you were the smart one out of us two," she laughed, closing the distance between them and sharing an eager hug with him.
She took a seat next to her fellow Seattle-born and slipped seamlessly into the conversation, though she got a little lost when the topic moved to some of the lessons and life of the school.
"Sorry," Freddie told her when he saw her eyes threatening to glaze over, "we're just used to talking about school and performing and stuff; it's become a habit I guess."
"That's ok," she shrugged, "so what were you doing this morning – some website thing was it?" Sam glanced around the table and received silent confirmation through a multitude of nods.
"Right! Yeah, I was working on the school's unofficial website; it's something we started at the end of last year when the official newspaper got shut down." Robbie yelped as the memory of the incident that had led to the paper's closure forcibly shot back to the forefront of his mind. Sam spared the ventriloquist a brief glance before turning back to her friend, waiting for him to continue.
"Anyway, some of the guys wanted to do an electronic version where we could all post updates, like tweets only we added another line for how we feel about it or what mood we're in. For example," he pulled out his G5 pearphone and tapped away for a few moments before showing it to the blonde girl.
The Slap Mobile
Freddie Benson: Catching up with an old friend.
Mood: Delighted
Sam smiled at the sight and nodded. "And you're one of the chief nerds then?" she challenged with a teasing grin.
"Oh yes. The guys who started it wanted me to bring the site to life like I did our site last year." The others exchanged glances at his reluctance to cite iCarly by name.
The rest of their lunch period passed with enjoyable conversation; Freddie, and the others, made sure to keep to topics that would include their guest and it was a disappointed table that heard the warning bell when it signalled the start of their next class. They exchanged glances, wondering exactly what Sam was going to do; for her part the blonde was wary about going back into the school as she knew it would only be a matter of time before Lindsey was discovered. She hugged Freddie tightly as the gang got up from the table. "I'll be in Jet Brew at 3, see you then?" He nodded, as did the others.
She turned to head out of the school but tapped Jade's elbow urging her to go with her. The tattooed girl followed with a quizzical look. Something about the discussions, particularly a stray comment from Beck about how much happier Freddie seemed to be with her sitting with them, piqued her curiosity.
"They still don't know?" the blonde asked the blue-streak haired girl, "about the rape," she clarified.
Jade was a little taken aback by meeting someone as blunt and direct as she was but swiftly recovered her poise. "No, Freddie only confided in me; he doesn't want it to be common knowledge, or Cat to know about what happened that night."
"Why not?"
"Despite being with Lindsey, and even when he was with her, he still likes her and… she's Cat." The brunette could think of no better way to describe the ebullient red-head. "She's my best friend but she's… complicated. Let's just say it would really upset her to find out what happened after the Prom."
"So, how are you going to help get those two back together?" she asked.
"Right now? I'm not."
"Huh?"
"Look at him," Jade argued, gesturing to the brown-haired teen watching the two girls from the entrance to the school; she gave him a reassuring wave, as did Sam. "This is the best his mood has been in a long time – probably since before the Prom – but he's not in any fit state to be dating somebody right now, not after what Lindsey did to him. Cat likes him, he likes her so I'm going to let him grieve and then I will figure something out for getting them together." A thought struck her as Sam nodded reluctantly, his friend having to admit that he had always been far more sensitive than most guys of his age – and recognising that he had been through quite the ordeal in recent times. "Why are you so keen to get him together with Cat? Why not go for him yourself since you're close?"
"Me and the nub?" Sam barked out a laugh. She forced her face to become serious and continued, "Look, he's my best friend but we're never going to be boyfriend/girlfriend. He stuck by me though when nobody else would; not my mom, my sister, Carly," she spat out the web starlet's name, "none of them. I want to see him happy; he's a good guy and he deserves it. Promise me you'll do what you can to get those two together and happy."
"I promise," Jade told her sincerely.
Sam nodded. "See you at three?" she smiled at her new ally.
Jade smirked. "You're going to be in Jet Brew aren't you? You will definitely see me there," she laughed.
The two aggressive girls went their separate ways, one to class and one to do a little more exploring and lying low in case a search party from the school tried to find her.
Lindsey had been discovered hobbling out of the classroom by one of the teachers; he had taken the girl to the school nurse, plying her with questions as he did about what had happened to her. The eleventh grade girl was evasive with her answers, not mentioning Sam (simply mentioning that she didn't recognise her assailant as a student) and hoping to play it down as much as she could, for fear (in the light of what her attacker had accused her of) of the allegations that could be levelled against her if the story was investigated to any degree. Instead the news that a non-student had entered the school and randomly attacked a lone student (her "friends" were strangely reticent when the rumours started to circulate and mysteriously reluctant to come forward) had been greeted with alarm by Principal Eikner; the head teacher had ordered an upgrade in the school's security and a review of its policies in light of the event. He hoped it would be enough to stave off any potential legal action from the girl's parents.
"So that was Sam," Freddie smiled as Jade took her seat next to him in their Maths class; she arrived after the others, though moments before the teacher did. "I can't believe she came all the way here on a Monday just to see me."
"Oh yeah," Jade said, trying to sound nonchalant and not disclose the beating the girl had meted out to his ex-girlfriend, "quite the thing for her to do."
"Ok people, let's make a start," their teacher called. The two friends shared one more smile before turning to their work.
Last lesson for Cat and Freddie was music; they walked together from the Maths room while Jade headed in the opposite direction to the English department, smiling a little as she felt thankful that she wasn't in the classroom that had a liberal sprinkling of Lindsey's blood scattered around it. Out of curiosity she glanced into the room, noticing that most of it had been mopped up and that there was sand on the carpet where the blonde had bled. She gave a satisfied smirk; Freddie's blonde friend's methods may not have been how she would have handled the boy's ex- but she certainly approved of Sam's handiwork.
Across the school Freddie sat at one of the school's keyboards; the tech genius was idly playing a few notes here and there, trying to find a combination that appealed to his partner. The red-head shook her head in frustration and ran her hands through her hair as they seemed to not be making any progress.
"Let's try something else then," he suggested, standing up and walking away from the instrument. He took a seat at one of the desks and Cat joined him, taking the seat next to him. "Let's try getting some lyrics down, something that you want to sing, and then we'll see if we can find a tune that works for them."
The dyed-haired girl nodded eagerly and the pair sat in silence for a few minutes scribbling their ideas for lyrics.
"What about these?" Cat handed him her sheet of paper, which he exchanged for his own. They each read the other's offerings in silence, trying to drown out the general hubbub of the class in order to focus.
Freddie smiled as he saw the childlike teen mouthing along to the words he had written. "Anything you like?" he asked as she finished and raised her head to meet his eyes.
"I think so," she confirmed, seizing her own sheet again. "What if we… take this, this and this," she underlined the relevant words and see what we've got?"
They did and soon had the outline of their song, from which a chorus soon followed. The bell curtailed any further work but both teenagers were happy to have at least made a little progress.
"Let's go meet Sam," Freddie urged her as they packed away their things.
"'kay 'kay," she smiled and followed him out of the room.
Jet Brew
7055 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
The pair had met André, Robbie, Eli and Beck by the lockers and the six made their way to the café. To nobody's surprise Jade was already sat there, at a table with Sam, and the two girls were talking and cradling their cups.
"I'm guessing Sam didn't pay," Freddie joked.
"No, you are," the blonde observed drily, causing him to roll his eyes.
"Oh it's true," Jade added, "You know my allowance has been stopped so I can't afford to be buying coffees for your guests." She smiled to show him that she wasn't entirely serious but he sighed, shook his head, drew some money from his wallet and handed it to her, earning the gothic girl's thanks.
"So how long are you in LA?" Robbie asked the blonde curiously once the group had all received their beverages.
"I dunno," she shrugged. "I thought about getting here not getting back."
"Oh you bought an open return?" Beck assumed.
"Uh no, I uh… actually just snuck on to a bus," she shrugged.
"What? How did you manage that?" Cat yelped.
"I climbed into the luggage hold," she grinned.
"Really?" Jade raised an eyebrow.
She smiled and nodded cheekily.
"You don't seem surprised," Eli observed as he addressed Freddie.
"I've known Sam for years," he chuckled, "so I know what she's capable of doing and trust me – this is fairly tame compared to some of the stories I could tell you."
She eyed him guiltily and he gave a conspiratorial smile before the two began to laugh. "But I think we'll save those for another time," the others seemed disappointed, whereas Sam seemed relieved that he would be keeping his counsel; she really did want to put some distance between her old life and who she was now despite, she mused, the fact that over the past 24 hours she had stowed away on a bus and then beaten somebody up in an act of vengeance.
The Angelinos and their new friend left the café after finishing their drinks; Jade needed to get home before her mother caught her breaching her grounding and imposed further punishments on the girl and the others decided to leave with her.
"How long are you staying?" Freddie asked his friend as they walked at the back of the group, Cat a pace in front of them and trying at once to listen yet not eavesdrop.
"Well I didn't bring a bag or clothes or anything – or tell my mom that I was coming here so I can't stay long. I'll try and sneak onto another bus and get back overnight."
"I can buy you a ticket, you know," he offered.
"With the eight bucks a month from your mom?" she lightly goaded; he winced his confirmation. "Thanks Freddie, but mama's got this one."
He nodded and called to the others. "Guys, we can get the downtown bus from this stop so Sam and I will head to the station. I'll see you all tomorrow."
The gang murmured their acknowledgement and said their goodbyes to their new friend, urging her to come back soon; it was something that Sam promised to do.
"Look after him," she ordered Cat as she gave the little red-head a quick hug.
"I'm trusting you," she informed Jade in a low voice; the streak-haired girl nodded to her while Beck looked on in confusion. Jade merely answered with a shrug before taking his hand and resuming their walk towards her home, followed by the others as they waved goodbye to the Seattle pair.
The bus soon arrived and Freddie bought them two tickets. "A much more civilised way to travel," he joked as they took a double seat.
"Civilisation? What's that? You've met my mom, remember?" she laughed back.
True to her word she found the Vegas-bound bus and hatched her scheme, again declining his offer of a paid-for ticket.
"Ok then, do what 'mama' has to do," he sighed. "Sam," she turned back to him, "thank you for coming to see me; I really appreciate it." He took a step towards her and kissed her softly on the cheek before pulling her into a hug.
"That chick gives you any trouble and you let me know," she whispered threateningly as her hand rubbed up and down his back. He pulled away from her to look at her and nodded grimly.
"I'll see you soon?"
"Christmas maybe? Unless I can sneak away for Thanksgiving and pretend to be family – I know your mom would love that."
"You will always be welcome," he told her firmly, pulling her into another hug. "Bye Sam," he whispered as they separated. She nodded back before heading for the bus while the driver was talking to a passenger and climbing over a couple of the cases in the hold, hiding herself from his, and Freddie's, view. The brown-eyed boy turned away from the vehicle and left the station, head dropping slightly. A pair of blue eyes peeked through the luggage to follow him; the girl's heart broke a little at his worsening demeanour and she felt a fresh surge of happiness about how she had dealt with Lindsey.
"One day I'll tell you about it and we'll laugh," she promised him quietly, figuring that he'd likely find out soon enough and she knew that he would put two and two together.
"Will he hate me for doing it?" she wondered suddenly with a little fear in her heart as she thought back on her impetuous act. "Did I go too far in beating the chizz out of her?" She sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "Freddie, forgive me," she whispered sadly.
Valentine Residence, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles
Cat was smiling as she arrived at home; her face fell immediately, though, as she heard the noise coming from her brother's room; the tranquillity she was feeling in her heart after the day's events was swiftly being shattered. Not wanting to go up there and learn what was going on she dropped her school bag in the hallway and took a seat on the couch, burying her face in one of the cushions and wishing that she could hide from the reality of her home life.
She didn't know how long she sat like that, retreating more and more into the questionable sanctuary of her own mind, but was snapped out of it by a knock on the door. She opened it to reveal a grinning Freddie Benson.
"Hey," she greeted him, hugging him in delight as she received a very welcome distraction from her home life. He was surprised to be engulfed so readily by the vivacious girl and lightly returned the hug.
"What's going on?" he asked as he heard the noise that was so troubling his friend.
"My brother," she answered sadly. "Can we go somewhere? I really don't want to be around here right now."
"Sure," he gestured to the door and the two headed out. "Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know, just… anywhere," she admitted, almost on the point of tears.
At a loss for anything better to do Freddie slipped an arm around the near-hysterical girl and pulled her close to him; she clung to his arm as the two walked past a few houses before Cat began to breathe a little more steadily. Somewhere in the girl's mind she was able to register the feel of the shoulder strap of his bag pressing against her and she realised that he must have come straight to her house after leaving Sam.
"Thanks," she said, smiling at him gratefully.
"Any time Cat; you're one of my best friends, I'll always be here for you."
Best friend. The term pleased and frustrated the girl in equal measures. "So you just want friends right now?" she asked curiously before she could stop herself, gasping and covering her mouth as soon as the words left it. Freddie stopped abruptly and tensed beside her. "I didn't mean… I just…" she tried to amend before he silenced her with a small, slight smile and a calming breath.
"I just got out of one relationship, Cat," he began slowly, looking into her soft, welcoming eyes, "my head and how I feel about everything is still a little up in the air. I'm going to need some time to figure everything out so, for now, yeah I'm just looking for friends."
"That makes sense," she smiled back at him. "Do you still want to go somewhere?"
"Sure, we could hang at the mall for a little while?" he suggested, glancing at his watch.
"Oh do you have to be home soon?" the red velvet-haired girl wondered.
"Well my mom's still working days this week so she'll be back before too long. After last week she's still a bit worried about me so she will start to panic… even more than usual," he amended with a chuckle that drew a giggle from his friend, "if I'm not home. But we have some time."
Benson Residence, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles
"Freddie! Freddie?"
Unbeknownst to the boy, Marissa had left work a little earlier than usual; she was still concerned about his mental well-being in the aftermath of his break-up last week. Therefore the Benson matriarch was surprised to arrive at their home and find the place deserted. She breezed upstairs and checked her son's bedroom, concern beginning to grow as she saw that his bag and school supplies were missing. Fearing the worst she reached into her handbag and pulled out the locator unit that activated the tracking chip in his head.
"Locating… Benson, Fredward," declared the handset as she activated it. "Benson, Fredward located. Two point one miles south east."
The elder Benson knew that this was roughly where the Green Meadow mall could be found so she assumed the boy was there. She pulled his number up through speed dial and called him.
Green Meadow Mall,
6801 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
The two teenagers sat sipping smoothies when Freddie suddenly heard a faint echo in his head; he froze as it reminded him of the incident during his fencing session a few months ago. Having experienced it before he was unwilling to dismiss it as nonchalantly as he had done that day but he chose not to mention it as he didn't want to further worry the already stressed girl who was with him. Instead he tried to cover for the momentary awkwardness with another swig of his drink and, as Cat had been talking at the time, she didn't notice his brief flash of discomfort.
"Hold on," he sighed as he heard his Galaxy Wars ringtone on his phone and pulled the device from the pocket of his khaki shorts. He glanced at the number before answering,
"Hey mom, how are you? Oh you're back already? Yeah I'm fine, just hanging at the mall with Cat. Ok... ok I'll be home soon. No you don't have to…" He sighed. "I guess you're picking me up then," he told the dead line before turning to his companion. "She'll be picking me up in a few minutes. Do you need a ride home?"
"Uh yeah, that would be nice, particularly as our hang-out session is being cut short," the girl remarked a little balefully.
Marissa arrived soon after and the teens got into her car. That's twice now, the brown-eyed boy reflected, that I've heard some weird echo or noise in my head and then mom has shown up. He shook his head trying to dismiss the ridiculous idea that it was anything other than some mild ESP that he was exhibiting.
The two Bensons exchanged small talk about one another's day after dropping Cat off at her home. Marissa was keen to gauge her son's mood and seemed pleased that he was beginning to fell happier again after the events of the previous week; Freddie neglected to mention that Sam had appeared at school today as he knew his mother would not appreciate that little snippet of information.
Asphalt Café, Hollywood Arts High School
Tuesday, 15th September 2009
The rumour mill was in full swing when Freddie arrived at school the following day; he joined Eli and Robbie at a table where they told him about the proposed new security measures for the school, along with the reasons for them – that some random kid had trespassed on school grounds the previous day and beaten Lindsey up. Freddie's face was an emotionless mask as he was given this news, something the surprised the two boys. Beck and Jade joined the trio while Eli was concluding his story; Jade kept her own poker face intact when she was given the news, though a slightly too-long glance at Freddie confirmed the former tech producer's suspicions.
Inside his head, of course, Freddie had had little time connecting Sam's arrival to Lindsey's suffering even without Jade's non-verbal confirmation. He found himself realising that the blonde's actions didn't bother him in the slightest. On the contrary, when he got home from school that night, he called his friend for a quick chat.
"Hey Sam," he began.
"Freddie," she answered, happily but he could detect a note of caution in her tone.
"So the strangest story was going around school today," he continued, hearing a nervous swallow on the other end of the line. "Yeah, something about some random kid walking into school yesterday, beating up my ex-girlfriend and then leaving again."
"Freddie I-" Sam wanted to explain, to apologise, to do something to stop her one true friend from hating her but he interrupted.
"Thank you for sticking up for me. Coming all this way just to give her a beat-down? That's something only a real friend would do Sam. It's great to know that you have my back."
There was silence on the blonde's end of the phone call; she was stunned by his words, about as far from what she was expecting as it was possible to get. "You're welcome," she managed to get out in a slightly embarrassed voice eventually. "So what else happened today?"
Freddie smiled as the two friends ' conversation continued in a much more relaxed way.
AN: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter with an old friend paying Freddie another visit and leaving her mark on proceedings in more ways than one. If you liked it, or even if you didn't, please add a review and I hope to see you all for the next chapter soon.
