Author's Note: Hello, everybody! A big thanks to everyone who's reviewed chapter 2 so far, I really appreciate all of your feedback. Shelby's POV will be back in this particular chapter as Carly contemplates asking her for help. So without further ado, here it is. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly, only my crazy creative prose.
Carly's POV:
I gave myself a good 24 hours before I was finally ready to make my move. I spent the entire night tossing and turning in my bed, not being able to sleep a wink. All I could think about was the prospect of seeing Shelby again. I found myself actually looking forward to the meeting against my best intentions. I texted Shelby while getting dressed for school a few hours later, asking if I could swing by 'The Jungle Gym' sometime in the evening after I was done with my homework. Then I went to school after only swallowing down a few bites of toast for breakfasts, my stomach feeling like it was filled with wriggly butterflies.
I said goodbye to Freddie outside his apartment door and Sam came into my apartment after school and we hung out for a few hours watching Girly Cow and working on our History essays. Then Spencer and I dropped Sam off at her house before he drove me downtown to 'The Jungle Gym' to go see Shelby. Spencer offered to wait in the car and I began walking slowly and purposely through the revolving doors of the main entrance.
After making some inquiries at the front desk, the receptionist told me that Shelby was upstairs in the gym working on some new fighting techniques with her trainer. I thanked her and made my way towards the elevators, trying to ignore the erratic beating of my heart pounding in my chest. It only took me another minute or two before I was in front of the glass doors which led to Shelby's home away from home. It took about 20 more seconds before I finally steeled myself to open the doors and step inside.
There were only four people inside the large atrium: Shelby, Juan (her trainer), Gary (her sparring partner) and Rod (her agent). Rod was sitting on the sidelines talking on his cellphone while Shelby was attempting to beat the crap out of Gary while Juan stood in front of them, barking out instructions. From the looks of it, Juan's coaching was working extremely well because Shelby was repeatedly hitting and kicking Gary all over his body, looking like she'd never tire.
As much as I disliked most violent physical activities, I couldn't help but marvel at Shelby while she kept pummeling Gary. I watched in awe as she punched Gary in the chest, her fists positioned at a perpendicular angle right before delivering a smooth round-house kick, her supple leg encircling Gary's neck before guiding him to the floor with a loud thud. There was something about her movements that were just so inherently fluid and graceful, it had me completely transfixed. And the look in her eye showed no fear whatsoever; her face gave away no emotion, except for intense concentration as she focused on Gary's weak spots and exploited them. I could've watched her for hours if she hadn't started calling out to me at that precise moment.
"Carly!"
She was coming towards me now with a broad smile on her face, Gary disposed off on the floor behind her, groaning and clutching his chest in agony.
"Shelby! Hi." I greeted back, my heart started up its irregular beat once more the closer she got.
Before I could stop her, she had enveloped me in a warm embrace, leaning her lithe body into mine as she wrapped her hands around my waist. When I got over my shock, I finally began to appreciate just how warm her body was against mine, heat radiating through her very fingers which rested against the small of my back. My face fit perfectly into the crook of her neck as she held me close, her grip on my body tight and forceful. I inhaled her heavenly scent, which was a combination of a cool smelling body spray and vanilla.
Then she pulled away again, her expression a mixture of delight and embarrassment. A few seconds later, I realised that the emotion rising in my pit of my belly was disappointment at the loss of contact with her.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have hugged you, now you're covered in my sweat." Shelby apologised with a sheepish grin on her face.
For a moment, I couldn't stop myself from thinking just how pleasant it might feel to be covered in Shelby's sweat under very different circumstances. I realised I was zoning out again when Shelby was looking at me with an inquiring expression.
"So…I got your text this morning during breakfast. I'm sorry I didn't reply back, I've been in the gym all day."Shelby began quickly.
"Oh, that's okay. I just figured I'd pop by in the evening and see if you were here."I answered haphazardly with a small chuckle.
"That's cool. Is everything okay?" Shelby asked in a concerned tone.
"Um…yeah, I guess. I kind of need to ask you a favour."I began nervously.
"Okay, shoot."Shelby implored encouragingly with a wide smile on her face.
"Okay, so…the thing is… I got my quarterly report card back yesterday and I'm kind of failing Gym right now. I can still pass it by the end of the semester if I do well in my physical assessment during class, which will test my overall strength and endurance. The only problem is that I'm out of shape and I really need someone to help me practice and get ready for my physical test so that I can get a good grade. So I thought that maybe you could help me because you're the most fit person I know with the way you do all those round-house kicks and stuffs. But I know you're super busy and train round the clock, so I completely understand if you wouldn't have any time to help me out since you're a champion fighter and I'm just a twig-"
"Whoa, Carly, time-out." Shelby interjected, interrupting my bluster momentarily.
I was relieved to see that she was still smiling, possibly even more than when I had first started talking.
"So you need help with getting in shape for your big test?"Shelby asked curiously.
"In a nutshell."I responded more calmly.
Shelby walked away from me and grabbed a towel from her sports bag to mop away the sweat from her face.
"And when is your endurance test?" she asked in a muffled tone through a layer of soft cotton.
"Uh…mid December I think, before class ends for Christmas vacation." I explained coherently.
"Okay."Shelby responded simply.
"Okay what?"I asked stupidly.
She sniggered softly and came to stand in front of me once more; the towel now draped around hers shoulders.
"Okay, I'll help you with getting ready for your physical test, Carly." she clarified.
"Oh my God, really?"I questioned eagerly.
"Yeah, sure. I'm sure I can get you ready in time so that you can still pass Gym. Besides, I think it'll be fun getting you back into the ring with me. Then I'll finally be able to see whether you can knock me out like you promised weeks ago."Shelby teased airily.
I scowled at her when she began laughing heartily at the prospect. But her comment had put me completely at ease and I found myself smiling for real.
"Somehow, I think you'll be disappointed in the long run. Besides, Sam was just bragging about my 'moves' at that press conference."I returned teasingly while using air-quotes.
"Somehow, I doubt that very much. Sam knows you better than most people. She'd know if you had 'moves'."Shelby pointed out coyly with air-quotes.
Oh my God, was Shelby flirting with me? No, it couldn't be. She's a girl and I'm a girl. This was just a casual conversation between friends, right?
"Well okay then. Um, thanks, Shelby."I remarked slowly when the blush had eventually vanished from my cheeks.
"You're welcome."Shelby answered, her eyes locked on mine.
"So…when should we start the training?"I asked nervously.
Before answering me, Shelby walked to her gym bag again and grabbed her Pear Phone, scanning the contents for a couple of seconds.
"Let's see…I've got more training to do this week before my big fight this Thursday night. Then I've got a couple of radio interviews to do on Friday. But I'm free all day of Saturday; we could start then." Shelby informed me pleasantly.
"Awesome."I replied enthusiastically.
"I'd better go. Spencer's waiting for me downstairs in the car. I'll see you Saturday." I greeted as I got ready to leave again.
"I'll see you bright and early back here on Saturday morning. 6am sharp, Shay."Shelby instructed in a no-nonsense tone.
"6am?"I spluttered indignantly, turning to face her once more.
"Sharp. A few weeks with me and your butt will be as solid as a rock." Shelby replied confidently, flashing pearly whites at me.
"Can't wait." Was all I could muster before giving her a quick wave and exiting the gym.
As I exited the building and began crossing the intersection heading towards Spencer's car, I couldn't help feeling nervous at the prospect of hitting the weights with Shelby first thing on Saturday morning. I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.
Shelby's POV:
I got home around 9pm after finishing training with Gary for the day. All I had energy for was to take a quick shower (even though I'd already taken one back at 'The Jungle Gym') before changing into my PJ's and getting into bed. I think Nana was worried because of my lack of appetite (I didn't usually turn down my favourite – spaghetti bollaignaise), but I spun her some story about grabbing something to eat at the Jungle Gym's snack bar before heading out for the night.
Of course I wouldn't be able to take a single bite of food after Carly came to see me. I told her I'd been too busy to respond to her text message; but the truth was that I wanted to see if she would come find me at the gym. Plus, I couldn't think of anything breezy to say around 6am, especially when it was Carly Shay that I had to say something breezy to.
I think I played it pretty cool when Carly asked me if I'd help her with her physical assessment for Gym class. I was actually surprised that she'd even ask me. I mean, it's obvious why she'd ask me. But it's just that...Carly has so many friends at Ridgeway. I felt pretty sure that lots of people would've bent over backwards to help her out. Besides being the host of one of the most popular shows on the web, Carly was also outgoing and incredibly sweet. The fact that she wanted my help made me feel kind of...awesome. Like I was the only person in the world she would've asked, the only person who could've helped her.
Of course, I don't think I was completely cool and breezy the entire time Carly was at 'The Jungle Gym'. I mean, there was that moment when she first arrived and I was taking a break from sparring with Gary when I hugged her. And not even a quick hug either, a long and drawn out one too. I honestly don't know what came over me. At first, it was just pure relief when she actually showed up. But then it morphed into something else along the lines of enjoyment, warmth, comfort, something incredibly intimate. And Carly didn't pull away either; if I didn't know any better, I'd say that she liked my hug.
But I still shouldn't have hugged her in the first place. I was all sweaty and disgusting with a bad case of B.O. from training all day. I let my game-face falter for a few minutes in time. All because I like having Carly around me. If I'm going to survive weeks of intensive training with her in my company 24-7, I'm gonna have to keep things as professional as possible. This coming Saturday was going to be interesting.
Very interesting.
Author's Notes: So Shelby's decided to help Carly with her 'little problem'. What hilarity and drama will ensue? I couldn't help throwing in a little innuendo into this chapter, I just can't seem to turn off my pervy tendencies despite my best intentions (or lack thereof). I really appreciate all the enthusiasm that this story's being shown, it's very gratifying. Who knows: the people shipping Sharly might end up surpassing that of the Creddie and Seddie fans. Pffff, who am I kidding? Like that's ever gonna happen ; ) But as a Creddie fan, I've decided to restrain myself and just see what Dan ends up doing in the show with the romance without getting into any unnecessary fights with other iCarly fans. I just want us all to be able to sit around the camp fire, hold hands and sing Kumbaya. Peace, love and bacon to all of you out there, Snapplelinz over and out!
