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DISCLAIMER: I do not own iCarly or any of its characters.
Freddie cursed under his breath as he couldn't find the keys to his apartment in the pocket of his shorts. Checking and rechecking, he mentally retraced his steps of the day. He knew he had picked them up that morning on his way out—he had been very sure of it, because he was always very careful to not forget them. If he did, the fragile place he had reached with his mother—a place where he was somewhat grown up—would be completely shattered.
Abandoning the search of his pockets, Freddie started walking down the hallway towards the elevators again, sweeping his eyes back and forth across the floor. He didn't register the ding of the elevator as it arrived, so he was very surprised whenever he ran right into two people—two people who were too busy arguing with each other to have noticed him walking, half hunched over, down the hall.
"I just want to—oof!" Freddie looked up as the girl he had bumped into fell back a few steps. He glanced back and forth between the two girls and felt his head spin slightly at the sight. "Freddie!" Melanie exclaimed, not seeming at all displeased that Freddie had just run into her.
"Melanie? God, why do I keep hitting you today?" Freddie sighed, exasperated. "Sorry."
"What are you doing, Fredward?" Sam snapped, folding her arms and staring him down.
"Is it a crime to walk down the hallway now, Sam?" Freddie shot back. When Sam's icy glare only got worse, he conceded. "I was looking for my keys. I dropped them somewhere…I hope they're in the building somewhere."
Melanie's eyes were wide. "You lost your keys? Oh no! Do you want help to look for them?"
"Uh…" Freddie glanced from Melanie to Sam and back again. "Sure. I mean, if you want to."
Sam looked at Melanie, confused and angry looking. "Weren't you just saying that you wanted to say hi to Carly before you went home?"
"Say hi to her for me," Melanie suggested with a smile. "Freddie needs help." Sam grumbled some response and stalked off down the hallway towards the Shay's apartment. Melanie turned to Freddie and offered up one of her dazzling smiles.
"You really don't have to—." Freddie tried to say, but Melanie interrupted him.
"I didn't see them in the lobby, but I don't think I'd have really noticed them if I had. Do you want to look down there first?" Melanie smiled and walked off down the hall, leaving Freddie no choice but to follow after her, with a smile and a shake of his head.
They didn't find the keys in the lobby. Their search took them outside, where it was still warm, though it was already six in the evening. The keys weren't anywhere on the sidewalk, although anyone could have picked them up and taken them. This thought did nothing for Freddie's peace of mind.
Soon, they were at the Groovy Smoothie. One glance at the table showed Freddie that the keys weren't there. He walked up to the counter where T-Bo was working.
"Hey, T-Bo," Freddie greeted him. "Did you find-."
"Your keys, little Freddie boy?" T-Bo finished with a grin. "Well, hmm, gee, I really don't know. Did I or did I not? Well, Freddie's mom would be just a little bit upset if he lost his keys and locked himself out of the apartment, wouldn't she?" T-Bo laughed at the thought. He had just recently moved out of the apartment, having finally found a new place of his own, and was always making it clear he was glad not to deal with Mrs. Benson anymore.
"Come on, T-Bo," Freddie groaned, slightly annoyed, but mainly relieved. T-Bo reached under the counter and tossed Freddie's keys to him. "Thanks, Teebs," Freddie sighed with a smile.
"Wanna buy some pizza?" T-Bo asked, pulling out a stick with individual slices of pizza stuck on it. "Special two for one deal?"
Freddie shrugged. "I'm good. Melanie?" He looked at the blonde girl over his shoulder. "Pizza?"
Melanie laughed apprehensively. "No thanks, I'm good!" She smiled anxiously and waved T-Bo away. "I don't eat pizza," she confessed to Freddie when he joined her back over by the door. "I haven't in six years, since I started at the academy."
"Really?" Freddie raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "You haven't eaten pizza in six years?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. "Nope. I don't eat pizza, processed meats, fast food, or any kind of junk food."
Freddie stared at her in amazement. "You're Sam's twin," he finally managed to say. "And you don't eat any of that stuff?"
Melanie leaned in towards him a little, a sneaky smile on her face. "I think Sam eats enough of it for the both of us. It's pity eating." The pair of them laughed and walked out of the smoothie shop.
"You two are so different," Freddie said in astonishment. "I mean…wow."
"I guess so," Melanie replied, glancing down at the ground and then back up at Freddie. "I should probably go home. My mom…well she won't be worried, but…"
"I'll walk with you." The words came out of Freddie's mouth so fast he hadn't even been aware he was going to say them.
Melanie gave him a slightly hesitant smile. "That's fine…I mean, it's not even dark and it's not like it's far at all…"
"I-I want to walk with you," Freddie stuttered. "That is…is that okay with you?"
"Sure, I don't mind if you don't mind," Melanie responded. She adjusted the strap of her dance duffel that she was carrying.
"Here, I'll get that," Freddie told her, again without even thinking. He took the bag from her shoulder and slung it over his own, silencing her meek protests quickly.
Freddie knew the way to the Puckett's house by heart, and they were there in almost no time. All the way, though, Melanie regaled him with tales of childhood with Sam. As they reached the front walk, he went up to the door with her. As he handed her the bag back, he suddenly became very aware of his arms.
Don't fold your arms like that, you ninny. You look like you don't care…well don't put them behind your back either, what are you, eight? Oh God, she's still talking. I have no freaking clue what she just said…I should nod. Nodding's good. Listen, Freddie!
"Well, anyway," Melanie was saying by the time he came back to reality. "I'll see you sometime?"
"I…" Freddie hesitated. "Yeah, absolutely." Melanie flashed him her winning smile and then bit her lip just slightly.
"Does Sam really not talk about me at all?" she asked, glancing at the ground and back up.
Freddie opened his mouth a few times to answer but found nothing to say. "I-I mean…she talks about you…when you're here…" He trailed off, feeling that this was an unsatisfactory answer. "Why?"
Melanie shrugged. "I mean, you really didn't know I existed. I mean…you really thought that I was just a prank." She laughed a little bit. "I guess that I didn't make that big of an impression."
"No!" Freddie was quick to deny. "I mean…I guess I had some inkling that you were real. It was just…really confusing. You do not understand," he began with a laugh, "how many times they had pranked me already in just that week that you came to visit. I was so sure it was something else that was going to end up on iCarly." He hesitated and then added, "I'm glad that you are real, though."
With a laugh, Melanie's smile came back. "Thanks. I am too." She gave Freddie a quick hug goodbye. "I'll text you tomorrow, maybe. Bye!" And with a little wave, she went into her house and closed the door, leaving Freddie on the front porch.
As he was walking down the sidewalk away from the Puckett house, he realized that there was a big grin on his face. And try as he might, he couldn't get it to go away. And all he could think about was how funny and how sweet and how nice Melanie is. And how he couldn't wait to talk to her again.
