Disclaimer: Victorious and iCarly are owned by the same person. The same person who isn't me...

I blink tiredly, pulling a Fat Cake out of my locker. Maybe it'll perk me up. It's school... it just bores me so much. Honestly, if Carly wasn't here, I'd be passed out. There's still a good chance I will be. I shut the door to my locker, struggling with the Fat Cake wrapper. Carly's talking to Freddie about math or something. I don't know, I hear equations and I just... tune out.

Carly turns to me, "Hey Sam, did you get the homework?"

I stare blankly at her, my mouth full of Fat Cake. "Wha-?"

She rolls her eyes. I shrug, leaning against my locker with a content sigh. Fat Cakes. So good. I open my eyes again, spluttering on crumbs when I see red hair. Fuck. What the fuck is she doing here? I almost have to check around me to make sure that I'm not in Ruben's office. Maybe I really am crazy. I put a hand to my throat, coughing. Carly looks over in concern, "Sam? What's wrong?"

Freddie smirks. "Maybe she forgot to chew again."

I swallow hard, coughing again and managing to croak, "Shut it Fredbag." I straighten, wiping my mouth. "It's just... that girl... uh, she..."

Carly looks where I'm gesturing, her eyes widening. "The one with the hair?" Her eyebrows furrow, "You know her?"

I grimace. "Sort of... she... we both see Ruben."

Carly's eyes widen. "Oh. Is she...?"

"Crazy? Yeah."

Carly purses her lips, looking over at where Cat is standing, shifting uncertainly, twisting a coil of red velvet hair around a finger." Aww." Carly says softly, her eyebrows turning up. "She looks so lost. We should go talk to her."

I regret taking another bite of the Fat Cake, as I struggle to speak through a mouthful of the sugary snack, crumbs spewing from my mouth. It's too late, Carly's already headed over to her, waving. Fuck. Sometimes... sometimes I wish Carly wasn't so nice. Then I wouldn't have to put up with so many nubs. I follow Carly reluctantly, shouldering Freddie out of the way. At least I can take my frustration out on him.

A smile spreads on Cat's face, her eyebrows unknitting as she sees us. Her eyes flick straight to me. "Hi Sam!" I grunt, forcing a smile that comes out more like a grimace. "Oh, and you're Carly!"

Carly nods, her smile natural and unforced. "Yeah, and this is Freddie. Sam told us she... knows you."

Cat's smile flickers for a moment before lighting up again. "Mhm." She opens her mouth, taking a deep breath like she's about to say more, but she doesn't... she just... she's so infuriating.

"So what are you doing here?" I say bluntly, Carly frowning at me.

Cat looks around, shifting her pack on her shoulder. "This is my first day. I... I go to school here now." She says it strangely, like she's trying to convince herself, her voice unsure and faltering. Great. She goes to school here. Fantastic.

Carly smiles at her again. "Oh, well, don't worry, me, Sam and Freddie will show you around."

I cringe inwardly. "Yeah, stick with us and you'll be fine." Says Freddie. I hate them both. I hate them both so much. Why do they do this to me? Why do they make me put up with these people? I know, I know, it's because they're both nice people and blah. Doesn't mean I have to like it. I take another disgruntled bite of my Fat Cake as Carly and Freddie talk to Cat. At least my Fat Cake is still good.

–

"So you used to go to a Performing Arts school in Hollywood? That's awesome!" Carly exclaims, stabbing into a lettuce leaf with her fork.

Cat takes a small bite of her sandwich. "Mhm." She swallows. "It was so pretty. There were murals and art everywhere, and people danced and my friends... they... um," Cat twists her mouth, her mood changed again. I've been watching her... it's been a couple of hours since Carly unfortunately volunteered to show Cat around, and it's... she's fascinating. Annoying, yes, but... you can see everything she's feeling. And she feels so much. The stupidest things can upset her, and you can see it so clearly, and watch it melt away. She's like a child, so wide-eyed and innocent. Her, Carly and Freddie have just clicked. They're all so nice to each other... it makes me sick.

I pick at my fries, playing with them sullenly. This is so lame. I know that if I tell Cat to buzz off, Carly's just gonna get mad at me. I hate it when she's mad at me, she doesn't let me eat her food. I freeze as a hand brushes over my hair, stroking lightly. A muscle under my eye twitches, my voice low and terse. "What are you doing?"

Cat giggles, taking her hand back. "Your hair is so pretty."

Carly's looking between us nervously, her eyes pleading me. Freddie looks like he's about to bolt, hands tensed against the table. They all expect me to explode... except for Cat, who seems blissfully unaware to the sudden change in mood. It's ironic really, for someone who goes through so many moods so quickly, she sure is oblivious to other people's. I take a deep, shuddering breath, dropping my french fry. Freddie flinches.

Cat seems to catch on finally, her eyebrows turning up. "Did I do something wrong?"

Carly's eyes pin me, silencing me before turning to Cat, a reassuring smile on her face. "No, no, Sam's just crabby when... well, Sam's just crabby."

Cat giggles. "Hee, crabby." She pinches her fingers together in a pincer-like motion.

I feel a smile almost flicker at my lips, my eyebrows dipping down. What? I cram a handful of french fries into my mouth, scowling. I chew furiously, trying to ignore what just happened. Okay, so... it was kind of cute, what she did. But it was stupid...

Carly tries to change the subject, touching the back of Cat's hand lightly. "So why'd you move here?"

I drop the fries I'm holding, peering intently at Cat. This... this light in her eyes just... it's like they switched off. Her smile is forced, sad. I know because I've forced enough myself. Cat licks her lips, her eyes still blank. "My parents wanted to move here. They... like the weather better."

She's lying. No one moves to Seattle for the weather. All it does is rain. I narrow my eyes. She confuses me... she's so apparently open, but... she's hiding something with this, she's hiding the reason she came here. I hate not knowing things... except when it comes to not knowing things about school... I'm fine with that. Preferable, really. She's like an optical illusion or a car crash or something. She makes me feel dizzy and a little sick, but there's something... fascinating about her. I look away from her, pulling out my phone, grease and salt smearing the screen. It's not worth it. There probably isn't anything under the surface. She's either deceptively shallow or deceptively deep, and I don't really give a fuck as to find out. Let Carly handle that if she really wants to. The bell rings, and I push myself up wearily. At least I won't have to put up with Cat in class. Carly stands too, smiling again at Cat. "You can sit with us if you want." That muscle under my eye twitches again. Goddammit.

Cat ends up sitting at the desk beside me. Maybe I can just ignore her...

"Sam? Hey, Sam!" She whispers. So much for that plan.

I tear my gaze away from the teacher, who I've been pretending to listen to. "What?" I make sure my voice is annoyed, but it doesn't seem to deter her. She smiles at me... why? Why is she smiling? Everyone else... they're scared, they quail, they quiver, they flinch. Even Carly draws back a little when she sees I'm pissed. But Cat... she's just oblivious, just smiling at me stupidly.

"Do you have a pen? I lost mine..."

I grit my teeth, handing her my pen. It's not like I'm going to use it. The only time I ever do in class is when I draw caricatures of the teachers to show Carly later. I was tempted to draw one of Cat, but... what can I really do? Make her eyes even bigger? Make her look even cuter? What's the point of that?

I jog my foot under the table impatiently, daydreaming. After school, I'm gonna go to Carly's and just... dive into a big pile of ham. Or turkey. Or chicken wings. Good thing about Spencer is, he loves meat too, and he keeps a good variety. I've made it quite clear what would happen if he didn't. Well, I've eaten everything else in his fridge. And some wax fruit. It wasn't that bad, actually.

I rub my fingers absentmindedly over my name, which I've carved in the desk. It feels kind of nice... not just on my fingertips, but the knowledge that I've permanently defaced school property. Made my mark, literally. I lean back in my seat, glancing over at Cat. She's staring with wide eyes at the teacher, her lips slightly parted. The lights are on... but I'm pretty sure there's no one home. I smirk to myself. I can't insult her in real life... not while Carly's around anyway, but I can as much I want in my head.

The bell rings finally, jolting me awake, and I haul myself to my feet, ready to trudge to the next class. A tug on my sleeve stops me. Dammit. Sure enough, it's Cat's hand holding my sleeve, fingertips brushing my arm. "What?" I almost snarl, trying to hide some of my annoyance. Carly's on her way over, and Cat seems like the tattletale type. Cat takes my wrist, and I'm too dumbfounded to pull it out her grip. She unclasps my fist, her fingers gentle. I'm staring at her, frozen. No one... no one just touches me. I have a reputation, and it's well deserved. Cat places the pen in my palm, her fingers covering mine and closing my hand.

She smiles at me brightly. "You almost forgot!" Cat lets go of my wrist, giggling and brushing past me. My knuckles are white as I grip the pen tightly, staring after her. She... I just... Dammit. I twitch a little... I just wanna go after her and shove this pen right up her-

"Sam. Be nice."

My hand relaxes, and I lower it, letting out a breath. "I am being nice. And it's killing me."

Carly raises an eyebrow at me, pursing her lips. "Come on Sam, she's sweet."

I stare blankly at Carly. "I hate sweet." Carly gives me a look and I roll my eyes. "You know you're the exception."

A smile spreads across Carly's face, and she shakes her head at me, moving past me. Freddie does too, glancing at me and murmuring. "Well I thought she was cute."

"Shut up Fredbag." I follow them out. Great. If anyone else but Carly asked me to be nice, I'd laugh in their face. But it's Carly. Dammit. I don't have a choice.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I... I suck, basically.

So... I know I'm taking things slow, but... I'm building relationships, so... pay attention to them, 'kay?

Foundations are being built, and everything is important.

So please review and keep this ship floating. Or we'll all get scurvy... your reviews are oranges and limes, 'kay?

And I'm feeling fruity ^-^