I know it has been AGES since I have updated...I was just so busy with school, but now that it's summer, I can finally finish this story. This chapter is much more longer than the other three...And I hope you like it!
BTW: This is a AU where iSaved Your Life never happened...Basically Carly never kissed Freddie...
CHAPTER FOUR: iCheat
Carly strutted down the halls of Ridgeway High along with her three best friends: Blair, Julie and Chloe. As soon as they arrived near their lockers, Chloe, a tall and model-thin brunette, started to talk about a party she was organizing Saturday night, meaning tomorrow.
"Carly – I was just wondering if you could do me a little favor," said Chloe hesitantly, bringing Carly away from Blair and Julie who were discussing about a certain jock they had their eye on.
Carly raised her eyebrows questioningly.
"I was wondering…if you could tell Freddie that he's invited. To my party. And that he can bring his friends along too," she said.
Carly smiled. Chloe had this crush on Freddie ever since she arrived at Ridgeway High last year. Although Carly knew that Chloe was not at all Freddie's type, and that she had seriously tried to convince Chloe that it was no use wasting time on him, she refused to give up. Carly didn't want to break this to Chloe, but Freddie had been avoiding her ever since she attacked his lips last year at Spin the bottle.
"Sure, no problem," Carly lied. "I'll talk to him about it later."
She was about to go when she found herself face to face with Greg, her boyfriend. Greg and Carly had been dating since the start of the school year. He was, in her opinion, the best boyfriend a girl could have: he was hot, nice, and he made her laugh. Greg gave Carly a quick peck on the lips and wrapped his arm around her waist. He suddenly winked at Chloe who pretended she didn't notice the gesture. Suddenly, the class bell rang.
"See you later," said Greg with a smirk before leaving.
"Isn't he just the best?" Carly boasted once he was out of sight.
Chloe just contented her with a shrug. Carly looked away from her, slightly offended, and found herself gazing at Sam Puckett. She was standing in the middle of a circle of guys which included Freddie, laughing. It looked like she was having fun. All of a sudden, Carly felt a twinge of nostalgia. She missed it when it was just her, Sam and Freddie. Now, so many things had changed. Sam never wanted to hang out with her: Carly even insisted that Sam should hang out with her friends but it seemed like Sam cared too little about her to even bother trying. As for Freddie, Carly and he were still very close but she noticed that he seemed to be spending more and more time with Sam.
And for some unknown reason, that made her jealous.
The final bell announced the end of the school day. Freddie gathered his school books and headed towards his locker, tired. He had a lot on his mind: the whole day he couldn't stop thinking about Sam. He kept replaying to himself over and over again those haunting moments they shared a week ago, on that fateful night. Sam's hair dancing on her shoulders, her eyes locked onto the horizon. Sam just lying on the bed, her hair sprawled out on the pillow, looking so vulnerable and peaceful. Sam telling him that she loved him.
Every time he thought about her, he felt a rush of heat and adrenaline flow through his veins. His heart would beat faster and he could feel the sweat building on his upper lip. He couldn't believe it and couldn't deny it anymore:
He liked Sam Puckett.
Sam spotted Freddie by his locker. She waved at him but he seemed too busy contemplating his feet to notice her.
"Hey," she said, facing him.
He jumped in surprise and his face reddened when he saw who he was facing.
"God – you scared the shit out of me!" he said.
"What were you thinking about?" Sam asked quizzically.
Freddie gulped. How ironic that he had been thinking about her.
"Nothing," he shrugged, then changed the subject. "Are you going to Chloe's party?"
Carly had come over to him earlier to tell him that he and Sam were both invited to Chloe's party. Freddie doubted that Sam would even think about going.
"Are you serious? As if I want to hang out with Carly and the bimbos she worships so dearly!" Sam said sarcastically.
"Sam, it'll be fun," Freddie insisted.
He really wanted to go (even though he was, truthfully, avoiding Chloe at the moment) and thus, didn't want to be alone. He needed Sam.
"Yeah, well if you call fun spending the night with a whole bunch of rich girls and lacrosse boys, I don't think so."
"Come on, everybody's going to be there, not just Carly and her…crew…It's just a party, Sam."
Sam cocked her eyebrow, pondering. What had she got to lose?
"When is it?" she asked, still cocking her eyebrow.
"Saturday night. So are you coming?"
"Yeah…sure," she said, smirking. "It better be worth it, Benson."
Freddie entered along with Sam in the doorway of the huge house which belonged to Chloe. The party had already started: music was blasting loudly through the speakers and there were people everywhere. This was the first party he'd seen to be this huge. As they walked around, he could even discern the shimmering water of a swimming pool at the outside of the house.
"I want a drink," Sam said, staring at the bar.
They both walked towards the bar. Freddie promised himself he would abstain from alcohol, but already the sight of everybody else drinking was starting to shed that mental promise.
"Yeah, me too," he said, grabbing a beer for himself and Sam.
"Thanks," Sam said as Freddie handed her the bottle. "I'm glad to have come."
"Really?"
"Yeah. After what happened with Jonah, I needed to go out. Change my mood. And, possibly, try to avoid him. I only came here tonight because of you, and because I knew Jonah wouldn't come to these kind of – "
Sam looked petrified, as if she had just seen a ghost.
"'These kind of' what? What's wrong?" Freddie turned around.
Jonah was here. And he was heading their way.
"Oh shit, shit, shit!" Sam cursed. "Hide me!"
"He's coming, it's too late!"
"I don't wanna see him!" she shook her head.
Too late. He was already here.
"Hey," Jonah said. "Um, so – can we talk?"
Sam crossed her arms.
"In private," Jonah said, glaring at Freddie.
"Sam tells me everything, so you might as well get to the point," Freddie said in an almost menacing tone, which surprised Sam, momentarily. Since when had Freddie become…tough?
"Yeah so get to the point, Jonah" she said in a bored tone.
"I want to talk about what happened. I want to apologize."
"Oh yeah, so now you're sorry, now you care," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"What are you talking about?" he said, fuming.
"So you're saying that you were not with me this whole time just because you wanted to sleep with me," Sam said.
"That's not true Sam, I –"
But he didn't have time to finish. Freddie had interrupted him at the speed of lightning. He couldn't stand him anymore.
"Look man, she doesn't want to talk to you and she doesn't want your apologies," Freddie said in a calm but warning voice. "Leave her alone."
"Freddie! What are you doing?" Sam asked, outraged.
"Let her talk," Jonah said, approaching Freddie menacingly. "And you leave us alone. This is none of your business."
"Well now it is," said Freddie, getting even closer to Jonah without flinching even though internally, he was terrorized.
"Freddie, stay out of this. I can deal with this alone," Sam said.
Freddie now faced Sam.
"I am tired of you staying with this jerk! He doesn't deserve you!" Freddie shouted.
And before anyone could say a word, Freddie punched Jonah on the face.
Everyone gasped and formed a circle around the two. Sam, livid, started shouting at Freddie to stop. Freddie was livid himself: it was the first time he had ever punched someone. He stared at his fist, bewildered and – proud, for some reason. Distracted, he didn't see Jonah's punch coming. Blood oozed out from his nose. Jonah was about to punch him again, but Sam put herself between the two:
"Stop fighting!" she shouted.
"You know what?" Jonah said, stepping away. "I'm through with this shit, Sam." He turned to Freddie. "I don't know how you do it, man, to put up with her. She's a fucking nightmare."
"Screw you!" she shouted as he walked away. She would've come up with something more intelligent to say to him, but there was too much going on. Too much to handle. The circle dissipated and everyone went back to their business. Sam turned to Freddie.
"What the hell were you thinking?" she asked angrily.
"Sam, that guy is a complete douche," he said. "He got what he deserved."
"Yeah well, you got what you deserved too."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked, taken aback.
"You deserved to be punched, that's what it means."
"Sam, I was defending you!" he objected.
"I don't need to be defended. You caused a scene out of nothing!"
"You know, maybe Jonah was right."
"Excuse me?" Sam stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him.
"He was right. You are a nightmare."
Sam shook her head. "Yeah well – fuck you, Freddie."
She pushed him hard, and walked away, furious. How dare he say something like that to her? And why had he defended her? Freddie never fought with people, especially guys like Jonah. He would never have the guts to punch someone. What made him do it?
Suddenly, she bumped into someone. A cup dropped to the floor and it's contents spilled out. Sam looked up and found herself face to face with a girl she was familiar with but whom she couldn't recall the name.
"I'm so sorry about your drink," Sam said. "I wasn't looking –"
"Don't worry about it," the girl interrupted, smiling. "I can get another one."
"I'll get it for you," Sam proposed.
"Thanks!" the girl said, and they started walking towards the bar.
"You're Sam, right?" the girl asked. Sam nodded.
"We have French together," she continued. "I'm Alison, by the way."
Alison…yes, now she remembered. Alison was a star athlete at Ridgeway High. She played in the school's soccer team.
"You're in the girls' soccer team, right?" Sam asked.
"Yeah," Alison smiled.
Sam grabbed a beer from the bar and handed it to Alison, who thanked her.
"I don't want to sound intruding…but are you okay?" Alison asked. "I saw the fight back there. Pretty intense."
"Yeah, I'm – " Sam started, but stopped, sighing. "Actually, I'm not okay. There's just so much going on right now. I need a break."
"What happened?" Alison asked, concerned.
And even though Sam didn't know Alison, she told her everything. There was no one else she could turn to, not even Freddie. How was she supposed to tell him about that dream she had of him? Alison listened without interrupting her.
"Wow," Alison said, when Sam finished her story. "I knew that Jonah was a total asshole. Why did you even go out with him in the first place?"
"Trust me, I've been asking myself the exact same question," Sam replied, sipping her beer.
Alison laughed.
"And what about Freddie?" Alison asked.
"What about him?" Sam said, shrugging.
"I think it's pretty sweet what he did back there," Alison explained. "Defending you."
"You think?" Sam said. "I actually got mad at him for doing that."
"What?" Alison looked at Sam, perplexed. "Why would you do that? The guy took a punch for you!"
"It wasn't for me…"
"Of course it was for you," Alison said. "Dude, I bet he likes you."
Sam laughed. "There's no way that's possible. Freddie is my best friend, and he would never like me like that. He's been madly in love with Carly since he was twelve. It's pathetic," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Carly? Isn't she that chick you used to do that web show with?" Alison asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Sam sighed. "We used to be best friends. We don't hang out much anymore."
"I can see why you don't…" Alison said glancing at Carly who was talking to Greg, her boyfriend. "Ever since Greg started going out with her, he's been acting so weird."
"Greg? You know Carly's boyfriend?"
"He's one of my best friends," Alison said, with a sad look on her face. "Every time he talks to me, Carly can't stand it. She is so possessive. Because of her, Greg doesn't hang out with me anymore."
Sam shook her head. Carly had always been possessive about everything: the web show, her boyfriend and even Freddie.
"Look, all this talk is making me feel depressed," Alison said, laughing. "We should be having fun, not sulking, right?"
She punched Sam lightly on the elbow, who smiled.
"Come, I want you to meet my friends," Alison said, leading her the way.
"Sure," Sam said, following her newfound friend. Who knows? Maybe new friends could help her get away from the drama.
Freddie stared confusedly as Sam followed a blond girl to a group of jocks, including a bunch of guys from the lacrosse team. The girl seemed to be introducing Sam to them, and Sam didn't actually seem to mind it, as she would have in normal circumstances. What was wrong with her? Since when did she accept to hang out with jocks? The worst thing was, she looked like she was having the time of her life. Freddie glared at her as one the guys started to whisper something in her ear, making her laugh. He wanted to go there, join the group, but he knew he would make a fool out of himself.
Suddenly, Freddie felt someone poking his shoulder. He turned around and found himself face to face with….Chloe.
God, this couldn't get any worse, could it?
"Hey," she said. "Enjoying the party?"
"Yeah!" Freddie said with exaggerated jubilance. "The best one I've been to so far!"
How ironic. Naturally, Chloe didn't think he was being sarcastic.
"Thanks, I'm glad you're having fun," she said.
Freddie nodded, wondering how he could get out of this. Carly told him a few months ago that Chloe had this huge crush on him – he thought it was the weirdest thing ever, considering the fact that he had never spoken to her. When he thought about it, she was really hot – but not at all his type.
"Hey so – " Chloe started but someone interrupted her before she could continue:
"Hey guys," Carly said, appearing out of nowhere. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"No, not at all!" Freddie said with a huge grin.
"Hmph!" Chloe huffed out her sudden irritation, with a fake smile.
Carly ignored her and turned to Freddie. She opened her mouth wide, in shock.
"Oh my god -" Carly said. "Are you okay? Did you get into a fight?"
Carly now approached him, and brought her hand to his sore cheek.
"I'm fine, really," Freddie said. "It's no big deal –"
"Who did this to you?" Carly interrupted.
"It really doesn't matter - "
Carly cut him off again.
"It must really hurt though. Maybe I can make it better," she said, winking and stroked his cheek.
Chloe couldn't believe her eyes. Carly was purposely flirting with Freddie right in front of her face. Freddie couldn't believe it either. Not only was Carly flirting with him again, but he couldn't resist it. Maybe Sam was right. Maybe he still liked Carly. But how could he like two girls at the same time? Especially since these two girls happened to be his best friends.
Before Freddie could think any further, Carly planted a kiss on his cheek.
"How's that?" she asked, flashing him that gorgeous smile of hers.
Chloe stormed off in fury.
"Chloe, wait!" Carly shouted out, realizing what she had done, unconsciously. She just couldn't help flirting with Freddie. Flirting with him was fun – because she knew how she made him feel. The fact that he was constantly nervous around her amused her. It was the one thing that was missing when she was with Greg: with him, she was the one that was nervous. And she hated it.
Carly glanced around and saw Blair and Julie staring at her a few feet away with their arms crossed. She knew what they were thinking, what Chloe was thinking. That she was a slut. A flirt, that couldn't control herself. They were all there, judging her for a harmless act. She knew she didn't mean to hurt Chloe: she was her friend.
"Um," she muttered. "I have to go. Find…Chloe. I'll see you later."
"Okay…" Freddie said, watching Carly leave.
Things had complicated a little more than he had expected.
Carly was looking for Chloe, but she was nowhere in sight. She had to tell her she didn't mean any it. Whenever Chloe was upset, she would do something rash. And she had to stop that from happening.
"Hey, have you guys seen Chloe?" Carly asked a group of guys.
They all shook their head except one:
"I think I saw her going upstairs," he said.
"Okay, thanks." She was about to leave when he grabbed her shoulder.
"Wait, now I remember," he added. "She went up with Greg."
Carly stopped, to digest what she had just heard. Chloe was with Greg. She must've said something to him. She ran up the stairs as quickly as she could. She could only imagine all the things Chloe could say: that she had flirted with Freddie, then kissed him. That she was a total slut, and that he should break up with her. She clenched her fists at the thought. She knew Chloe would do something like this. When she got to the top of the stairs, she burst through the first door she saw. And there, to her horror, she saw something that she would've never expected.
Greg had Chloe against the wall, and was furiously making out with her, his hand up her skirt. When they heard the door bang, they stopped immediately. Carly glared at both of them and shook her head. Chloe just contented her with an apathetic stare, and readjusted her skirt.
"Carly, I – " Greg said but Carly cut him off.
"Don't say anything," Carly said wrathfully before slamming the door behind her. She heard Greg calling after her, but she couldn't care less. She tried to fight the tears, but they came, gushing down her cheeks.
She didn't know when, and she didn't know how – yet: but she was going to get revenge.
Sam was having the time of her life. Never had she ever received so much attention: three guys from the lacrosse team were non-stop flirting with her and she was hanging out with people who were actually cool – and not stuck-up like most people she knew. She never expected this from a group of jocks. Ever since she saw Carly dating one, she swore she would stay away from them, assuming that girls like Carly were the kind they were looking for. Turns out, she was wrong.
"Guys, I'm gonna grab a drink," Sam said, standing up. She felt someone from behind grabbing her shirt, pulling her back down, but her reflexes took over. A second later, to his biggest surprise, she had his arm twisted:
"Let me go!" he winced.
She let him go with a smirk on her face.
"Man, you just got beat up by a chick!" his friend next to him said mockingly, then winked at Sam.
"Shut up," he said, shaking his hand.
Sam chuckled to herself and made her way to the bar. She grabbed a beer and turned her head. There, standing on her left, was Freddie, all alone, sipping a bottle of beer. At that moment, she felt sorry for the poor guy. Maybe Alison was right: she had been a little too hard on him.
"Hey," she said to Freddie.
He turned to look at her, but didn't say anything. He just continued drinking his beer. He was obviously upset.
"Look, I want to apologize for my behavior earlier," she said. "I shouldn't have acted like that."
Freddie looked at her, surprised. Sam rarely apologized. If she said it, she most probably meant it. But he didn't want to forgive her – just yet.
"Having fun with your new friends?" Freddie asked sulkily.
"Freddie –" Sam looked at him apologetically. She felt bad, all of a sudden.
"You know," he continued. "We were supposed to hang out tonight."
"I know, and I'm sorry," she shook her head. "I just needed a break. I thought that if I hung out with new people, I could feel better. And, it worked."
"Needed a break from what? Me?"
"Partly," she said slowly, observing his reaction. "It's just that, ever since that evening we spent at the fire escape, weird things have been happening."
Weird things like a sudden attraction felt towards Freddie, which was non-existent before, dreams involving Freddie – naked – with her, Freddie acting all tough and punching a guy like Jonah…it was surreal. These were just the kind of things that didn't happen…before.
"I know exactly what you mean," Freddie replied.
Sam sighed, relieved.
"About that night, Sam," Freddie continued. "I need to tell you something."
Sam nodded, urging him to continue. She hoped she hadn't done anything stupid. She couldn't remember anything from that night.
"After carrying you back to my apartment, and putting you down on my bed, you –" Freddie paused.
When Sam heard Freddie say "you", she instantly panicked.
"- you said you loved me," Freddie finished.
Sam blinked. She said what? And before she could even realize what she had done, she burst out laughing. Freddie, taken aback, started laughing nervously. Not the reaction he had expected.
"I can't believe I said that!" Sam said, giggling uncontrollably. "I probably thought you were my dad or something, because there's no way in hell I would ever tell you that."
"Probably not, because you said exactly "Freddie, I love you"," he said sullenly.
When Sam saw that Freddie was dead serious, she immediately stopped laughing. She just realized that she hurt him: she could see it in his eyes, and by the way he was staring at the ground, lost. Then Sam thought about what Alison said: what if Freddie liked her?
"You didn't think I meant it, did you?" Sam said, anxious.
"Of course not," Freddie said with a shrug. He grinned to show her he was fine but, knowing him too well, Sam knew he wasn't.
"I mean, you know I like you Freddie – we're best friends – but I don't like you like that."
"Why are you telling me this?" Freddie asked, almost angrily.
"I just thought – I don't know, that maybe you had feelings for me," she said.
"And why would that change anything?" he said. "Like you said, there's no way in hell you would ever feel that way for me, so why be concerned about my feelings?"
What did he mean? Did he like her…or not? But before she could ponder any further, she saw Freddie staring at something behind her. She turned around, and saw Carly running down the stairs, in tears.
"What now?" she huffed. "I bet its because another one of her stupid fights with her boyfriend."
"Shut up Sam," Freddie said, shaking his head. "You don't know anything."
He left Sam alone, joining Carly and hugged her tightly.
Sam just stood there, perplexed, staring at them scornfully.
And she knew that whatever happened on that night at the fire escape, it had changed everything.
I hope you liked this chapter! Please review! =)
