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iChoose

Double Dating

By: Hartful13 & Tech-Man (HarTech Inc.)

I couldn't believe that this is happening. I can't believe that Carly is really going out with a guy that looks and acts almost exactly like I do. I kept churning over those same few sentences over and over as I drove down the interstate toward the Apple Barn. I desperately wanted to wake up from this awful dream to discover that none of this nonsense had taken place. I was having a real hard time focusing on anything that was happening around me other than my racing mind. However, I was reminded of the others in the car; specifically the violent blonde beauty sitting next to me.

Two of her fingers shot out from nowhere connecting solidly with one of my floating ribs. The pain from her jab along with the fact that it was completely unexpected caused me to actually jerked the car to the side gaining the attention of the couple in the back. The word couple actually brought bile to my mouth, and I swallowed to keep from choking.

"Jeez Sam, what was that for," I demanded glaring at the aforementioned violent blond demon sitting next to me. While waiting for her to answer, I changed lanes and headed toward the exit. Much to my surprise I didn't receive a response, but instead I felt her fingers gently rubbing the spot she has just hit. Looking over, I sent her a questioning look as I slowed the car at the stop light.

Carly and Teddy were too busy looking longingly into each others eyes to pay much attention to Sam and I. I was focusing so hard on not interrupting their little moment back there that I failed to notice Sam leaning in close to me. He lips became level with my ear and it wasn't until her warm breath began sending shivers down my spine did I realize she was so close. "I think those two are going to make me sick by the end of the night Fredlumps," she whispered barely loud enough for me to hear so I was sure the Carly and Teddy hadn't heard a thing. It was also a great turn of events that we were stopped, because I would have definitely wrecked the car. Sam must of found my reaction funny because she started laughing at me as she leaned back in her seat. I could feel my face turning beat red as the light changed to green. I ended up slamming on the gas pedal shoving everyone back into their seats.

It was only a few short minutes before we were pulling into the parking lot. I parked in the farthest spot I could find and shut off the car. "Well. We're here," I announced like they were not already aware of the fact. Really, I was more interested in doing anything I could to make sure Carly didn't look lovingly at him for the rest of the night.

"Well, it's about time you get us here Sir Nubs-A-Lot," Sam chanted walking away from the car and towards the door of the restaurant. I did have to admit, even if only to myself of course, that she looked amazing. Carly, well, Carly on the other hand looked like an angel descended from heaven.

The four of us made our way into the place and as usual it was crowed beyond reasoning. I checked in with the hostess and she handed me the standard little buzzer. I used to love playing with these things when I was a kid. Once, I had brought along a small set of screwdrivers and when my mother wasn't looking popped off the casing and disconnected the battery from the rest of the circuitry.

Our group managed to find a place to sit. Well, the girls were able to sit, and I had to stand next to Teddy while he continued to hold Carly's hand. It seemed like every time I was ready to interrupt their little moments Sam's pointed shoe would come flying at my shin. I was sure that by the end of this "date" my leg was going to be black and blue from all the kicking she had done so far. I suppose through, if I were telling the truth...if Sam didn't pick on me as much as she did I would really think she hated me.

It seemed like forever before the little buzzer in Carly's hand signaled that our table was ready. We moved over towards the hostess stand. The girl was kind of cute and I thought to take a moment to look her over, but apparently Sam had a different idea of what I needed to pay attention to and quickly elbowed me in the ribs. "What," I hissed at her giving her the dirtiest look that I could think of.

She leaned close and whispered in my ear; once again her breath tickled as she spoke. "You are my date here tonight, and Mama doesn't like for her man to look at other women," she again punctuated her point by stabbing me in the ribs.

My only response, or more appropriately, the only response that guaranteed that I not get hurt again was to nod my head and focus on her. It was kind of weird and I really didn't want to think about it, but being called Sam's date almost made me happy. I think it's just the fact that I want to get rid of Teddy, and that in itself started bringing out all kinds of weird feelings. Yeah, sure, that's it. Blame it all on Teddy.

The booth she sat us in was in the middle of the restaurant, and I hated it. We sat down and Teddy scooted close to Carly making my anger rise in response. I wanted to say something, but I just couldn't seem to get in on the conversation. Teddy was over there talking about the same stuff I always talk about, but Carly was eating it up.

Why can't she see that he is the same person that I am? Am I not good enough for her? Why does playing basketball make some kind of difference with her? These thoughts continued to run through my mind as I watched him continue to flirt with Carly.

Even when we were at the table, they continued all the lovey-dovey stuff that they had been doing in the car on the ride over here. It was like everything that I thought she liked she was proving me wrong. Here the guy is an All- District Point Guard, has been on the Honor roll, and is the president of his school's A/V club? I thought she had a thing for bad boys; man I was wrong. Okay, I have to say something now.

"Carly," I said. "Can I tal- " I was interrupted by a sharp stab to my foot that felt like Sam's heel. Nice time for her to start wearing heels again. I held in my scream, but my red face... that I couldn't hold in even if I tried. I looked over at Sam, and she had a blank innocent look on her face. "Fredward," she asked. "Mind if we talk outside for a minute?"

"Yea," I muttered. We both stood and walked out side of the restaurant; as soon as we were by a small wall where no one could see us. She slammed me into the wall and quickly closed the gap between us. Sam grabbed my collar pulling my face to within inches of hers. "Look," she whispered her voice coming off as deadly as I have ever heard it. "You are not the only one that has noticed you have a dorky twin running around, but this is Carly's night and you are not going to ruin it. We are going to have fun!! We only have a little while to go before this all ends and you all mean a lot to me, and Mama wants to have a good time. Got IT!?!?!" she quietly screamed pushing me away from her with all her might.

"Yeah, I got it," I said trying to convince her that I really did understand, but this was Sam. First, she kneed me in the stomach hard enough to make Shelby Marx proud. Followed closely by a second verbal warning while I was on the ground clutching my stomach.

"And if you think about interrupting again..." She whispered closer

"Remember that Mama doesn't miss twice," Sam finished her threat by moving back toward the restaurant.

If I keep underestimating this girl's power, I am going to wind up in the hospital. So after getting myself under control and back to normal I decided to enjoy the date and made an attempt to get to know Sam better, and it was actually very cool. When I was finally enjoying the conversation I felt eyes on me. I had a feeling I knew who it was, but I shrugged it off and continued talking to Sam

The rest of the meal finished without much fuss. My T-bone was great even after Sam took her chuck out of my food. Sam ordered the Meat from Around the Nations platter. She devoured it plus a decent sized portion of my plate and was still on the prowl for more. I thought about asking her if she would like to enter that eating contest they have in New York, but I figured I would keep my mouth shut tonight.

The group made our way up to the cashier. Just before we could pay Carly spoke up getting Sam's attention. "Hey Sam, why don't we go and freshen up," she looked over hopefully at Sam.

"Fresh up? I have gum in my mouth and my hair looks fine. Why would I need..." Sam's speech was stopped abruptly when Carly reached over grabbing her hand and dragged her back toward the bathroom. I exchanged a quick glace with Teddy and his face mimicked the same look of confusion that I knew I had on mine.

##########

As soon as they reached the woman's restroom Carly quickly looked around before she closed the door turning around with a huge smile on her face. "So," Carly said with a bright smile on her face, "What you think of Teddy?"

Sam returned Carly's look with a eye roll and a smirk of her own. "Carls' you are on some major chiz if you don't see that Teddy and Freddie are basically the same damn person. I mean the only difference is that Teddy at least seems to be more athletic other than that nub we call Fredderly."

"No, they are not Sam!! You just think so because you have a crush on Freddie," Carly responded a satisfied smile taking shape on her face.

Sam couldn't seem to respond. She kept opening and closing her mouth in an attempt to form a coherent thought. When the gears in her head finally managed to connect with each other she lunged forward grabbing Carly by the shoulders. "You better be glad you are who you are," Sam threatened lightly shaking her friend. "The last person to say something along those lines is still sitting in the hospital!"

"Okay, Okay!!!" Carly shouted. Sam moves back to allow her room to speak. "Look, Teddy has some similarities..."

"Some? " Sam questioned rising her eyebrow.

"Yes!!, But he is very different than Freddie and has some great qualities..."

"Like teaching you HTML," Sam chuckled after seeing the look on Carly's face.

"Yes Sam," Carly said sarcastically, "he's there to teach me to how to work on the website if Freddie leaves for college..."

"Speaking of that," Sam interrupted; sitting down on the couch positioned in the over my the sinks. "Where are you going to College?"

Carly sat on the other side of the couch before answering, "I don't know yet, what about you?"

"Don't have a clue. I have spoken with several colleges, but that is all due to our resident dork," Sam answered waving her hand nonchalantly around in the air.

She still couldn't believe she had a good chance to go to College, when their junior year came around she was thinking of Ham, Girly Cow and well, Ham... by the end of that year she managed to get fully focused on her grades; thanks entirely to Freddie of course.

When they first entered high school, Freddie was always more concerned about Sam's grades than she was. It annoyed her beyond all reason until they managed to get into a argument, one that stuck in her mind. He had told her that no real man would ever want a girl that just wanted to have fun. She, if course, had kneed him in the groin before running off. After crying for what seemed liked forever she pulled herself together and apologized to Freddie. She asked him for his help and in the end of their junior year managed to pull out the biggest turnaround in Ridge-way history. It was endless nights of studying and agreeing to attend summer school. She really did owe her future to Freddie. Not that he would EVER know it.

"Yeah," Carly said. "He did a lot for you huh? "

"Well yeah, and he did for you as well. Acting wise you know, you can get into any acting school you want because of the work you and Freddie did together."

Freddie had been there for Carly just as much as he had been for Sam. She was interested in becoming an actress. If he wasn't with Sam helping her study or studying himself, we was working with Carly helping her to get into character. After a breakthrough role in one of the school plays the doors swung open allowing her to choose between multiple schools and colleges.

The biggest problem facing Carly was that there were no schools for acting in Washington. She would have to leave if she wanted to pursue her dream. Acting was her passion...it was her "happy place" so to speak. It made for a very difficult choice.

"I have no idea what to do. I mean, I want to act, but I also want to stay near you guys," Carly answered hanging her head down. "You guys mean a lot to me."

"I know exactly what you mean. You and the dork are the most important people in my life," Sam said looking over at Carly.

"Really," Carly asked looking up at Sam in amazement.

"Yes, but don't you ever tell the dork I said any of that. I bet that nub has a ego just waiting to be blown up by something like that," Sam responded shaking her fist lightly in Carly's direction.

"Okay Sam, why don't we finish this date," Carly suggested standing up and gesturing for Sam to do the same, "It's a date for you but free food for yours truly," Sam would say and Carly would chuckle before joining her friend and heading out of the bathroom.

Hours later...

Carly

She had been home since around ten, and in bed since eleven. It was now 12:30 on Carly's alarm clock and she was still up thinking about the date with Teddy. The date with Teddy went perfect and now they were supposed to go out again next weekend; by themselves this time. She knew that somehow she had found a good boyfriend to follow her when she goes to California. Even though she hasn't truly decided that was where she was going, but she was leaning toward UCLA because of their School of the Performing Arts. Surprisingly, Teddy received a Scholarship offer to play point for the basketball team, so basically a college boyfriend was all set up if she wanted it.

However, seeing Freddie and Sam the way they were, had these feelings of jealously, feelings of envy, and...sorrow?

Carly remembered battling Sam for a boy before, but that was Shane. This is Freddie of all people they were talking about. This was the same guy that had shown his love for her for as long as she could remember. Then when he stopped he became a great friend, being there for her at the biggest moments of her life. Most important, was the feelings that he gave her; feelings that none of her previous boyfriends gave her.

He gave her a feeling that she really mattered. A feeling that she had been looking for in others for as long as she could remember. The irony was not lost on her that those feelings were coming from the last guy she would have ever thought to look at for those feelings.

The thoughts both thrilled Carly and terrified her beyond rational thought. Those same thoughts continued to swirl around in her head as he finally drifted off to sleep.

Sam

One Samantha Puckett, sat alone in her room. She was currently occupied with a ham and cheese sandwich. Her mind however, was racing over the events of the evening. She had to admit that she had really enjoyed the evening with Freddie. He was a great listener, and even though his stories always contained huge elements of 'dork' she still found herself listening to them.

She had begun to notice the huge bags under his eyes as of late, but he hadn't said anything to her or Carly. She really didn't know what to think about them; so she just dismissed them out of hand. She also knew that Carly was in deep denial about her feelings for Freddie. Why else would she start dating a near clone of Freddie. Finishing her sandwich, Sam dismissed the thoughts from her mind with a wave of her hand before rolling over and slipping into consciousnesses.

Freddie

"Hmm that 'double-date' wasn't as bad as I thought," I whispered into my darkened room. Slipping off my shoes I collapsed backward onto my bed. I reached over and grabbed one of my many Galaxy Wars pillows shoving it underneath my head. I still could not believe that Sam had listened to me talk about the failed pantie raid. The one where we got caught and ended up being tied to a tree in nothing but our boxers; not the best story to tell, but it did seem to keep her attention.

Still....I couldn't believe how much Teddy looked and acted like me. I knew that Carly seemed to enjoy spending time with him, and they were planning some date later this week. Sam seemed to be leaning more on my side of the whole thing. She hadn't said a single work the entire trip home. Really, I just wanted things to go back to normal, but I knew that was impossible.

Thoughts of junior and high school continued to play through my head. I had known both girls for years. I knew that as soon as I graduated from high school I would be moving out of the apartment and away from my mother. Still, the question of whether or not I would be losing Carly to the world of acting or Sam to... Well, I wasn't really sure what Sam was going to be majoring in. I suppose I will just have to ask her tomorrow when I see her. I just hope that she is in a good mood.

Glancing over I noticed the blinking red image that alerted me to the fact that it was after two in the morning. Rolling over, I was unable to shake off the thought that the only happy ending I could picture was one with either Carly or Sam. Every other ending had cats and pillows with pictures of fictional characters.

I let out a long sigh. It really wasn't fair. I wasn't going to have the ability to choose my future. I may never get the chance to wake up to a beautiful brunette angel or a blonde-headed demon in my arms. As I drifted off to sleep the lyrics to a random song on my PearPhone frittered through my conscious...

I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know,

That every thing that shines ain't always gonna be gold, but hey,

Ill be fine once I get it,

Ill be good...

A/N: The pieces of this story in bold italics are Freddie whispering the lyrics from Kid Cudi's song: The Pursuit of Happiness.

I would like to apologize for the delay in the posting of this chapter. I make no excuses for that, but ask everyone's forgiveness. From this point on the postings should be much more regular. - Tech-Man