Hi again! This chapter took longer than expected to write; Sorry! It's another slow one, but bear with me. The story will get better! Chapter 4 should be up within the next week. (That one will be much more exciting!) Anyway, thank you for the reviews- keep 'em coming!

After a grueling gym class and a brutally hard physics test, I bit into my french fry and heard a satisfying crunch. Nothing beat the taste of a nice lunch after a hard Monday morning. Sam, who sat across from me at our usual table near the window, seemed to be enjoying my lunch, as well. At this point, I was too busy chowing down my food to fight back. Besides, I knew Sam could kill me anyway.

It was a brisk autumn day in late October. I looked out the window- no, our window- and observed that the crunchy leaves that speckled the trees and ground had turned various shades of yellow and brown, and that more and more passer-byers were beginning to don jackets and sweatshirts, as the weather was becoming progressively cooler. Carly, Sam, Gibby, and I sat at our table and chatted as we ate.

"So Gibby, what did you think of that math test," asked Carly.

"It was so easy. I finished in, like, twenty minutes."

"Oh, me too! It was ridiculously easy!," Carly answered quickly. Sam and I exchanged smug glances. We both knew Carly was lying. Less than ten minutes ago, she had told us how hard the test she'd taken the period earlier was. Ever since we'd returned to school in September, she'd been all over Gibby. Of course, he didn't exactly mind it. He'd always had a thing for Carly anyway.

"Are you coming with us to the Groovy Smoothie after school?" By this point, Carly was in her full-on flirting mode, batting her eyelashes and giggling after every other sentence.

"Yeah," answered Gibby grinning. Then, he ran his hand through his dirty blonde hair, a signature move of his when talking to Carly. Of course, this triggered more giggles. I rolled my eyes and turned to Sam, who was making gagging motions and noises. We talked separately, something we often did at moments like this, when we were positively sickened by our friends' ridiculous behavior.

"I'm hungry," grumbled Sam.

"You just had a burger, along with half of my fries!"

"I don't care." I laughed at how serious Sam got about her food. For someone so thin, that girl could really eat.

"Well, I think you're in luck. I'm pretty sure my mom packed me with extra food." Sam immediately perked up as I pulled a brown bag out of my backpack. She quickly swiped it from my hands and dug in.

"Mmmm, ham is my favorite!" The boisterous blonde took huge bites, pausing only when she dug into the bag for more and came across a small folded piece of paper.

"Sam, give that to me!," I exclaimed as she began to open it. However, I was too late; Sam scanned through it and burst into hysterical laughter. I cringed knowing that it was most likely one of those stupid mushy notes my mother left for me, usually consisting of several humiliating pet names for me, as well as, way too many "I love you, sweetie"s. My mother was under the impression that I was perpetually five years old, and didn't exactly grasp the concept of "letting go".

"Oh my God, Freddie, this note is hilarious," said Sam, still highly amused. I quickly grabbed it from her hands, crumbled it into a ball, and shoved it to the bottom of my backpack.

"My mom is so annoying," I grumbled, "She thinks I'm still in kindergarten."

"Relax, Fredward. At least your mom gives a crap about you."

"But she doesn't realize that I'm going to be seventeen!" My mother's overprotectiveness always aggravated me, but it seemed to be getting even worse as I got older.

"Whatever. All I'm saying is that you should be happy your psycho mother bothers to take the time to write you stupid little notes." I looked at Sam, completely shocked that she was suggesting anything having to do with being accepting or grateful.

"Well, that was scarily out of character. Are you sure you're really Sam?"

"Shut up, Benson," she replied lightly punching my arm. I laughed, pretending it didn't hurt. It did.

"Anyway," I began, changing the subject, "We have English next. Did you do the homework?"

"Yea, it was easy." Sam's response made me nearly choke on the water I was drinking.

"You did homework?," I asked incredulously. I must've said it fairly loudly because everyone at the surrounding table looked at Sam in utter shock.

"Hey, I have my moments!," she shouted, grinning.

"First you suggest that I do something nice, and then you do your homework? Who are you, and what have you done with the blond-headed demon, also known as Sam?"

"Don't worry; I'll be back to slacking off and doing cruel things to people tomorrow." I laughed. However, our care-free banter halted when I smelled a familiar overly sweet fragrance.

"Hi, Freddie," said Maya, pulling up a chair next to me.

"Hey," I answered, making my voice an octave lower. I saw Sam across the table rolling her eyes.

"I had such a great time at the movies with you Saturday! We should do it again some time." I felt my cheeks flush as she touched my arm, flirtatiously.

"Definitely. You should come watch us film iCarly this Wednesday." Sam glared at me frighteningly.

"Really? That would be so cool!"

"Yea, it will be fun. " Maya then went on to talk about clothes, and I zoned out. She was insanely hot, but a bit on the ditzy side, so instead of listening I found myself admiring her incredibly tight, low-cut top. I was brought back to Earth when Sam kicked me under the table, much too hard, might I add. She widened her eye, indicating that Maya had asked me a question.

"Uhh…can you repeat that?" Maya laughed.

"I asked if you wanted to go to my friend's Halloween party on Saturday! He said I can invite whoever I want."

"I'm in!," I answered, anticipating her wearing a revealing, body-hugging costume.

"Oh, and you can bring them if you want," she said, shooting a hostile look in Carly and Sam's direction. Sam scowled and gritted her teeth.

"Sounds great! Okay, I'll text you later," I said, ushering Maya away before Sam could rip her head off.

"You can wipe the drool off your chin now," said Sam in a snarky tone, as I returned to the table a moment later.

"Quit it, Sam. You're going to her party anyway, right?"

"Hell yea. I don't pass up free food- even if the person providing it is an obnoxious tramp." I chose to avoid conflict and ignore the ladder part of Sam's answer. In a moment her big blue eyes met mine, and I realized she couldn't be any more different from Maya if she tried.