Author's Note: I put this story was "Sam-centric" in the description, but I find that it's appearing to be more and more Freddie-centric. What do you think? I don't know.
X-Star-Girl-26-X: I will try to put more Seddie moments into the story, I have something planned for the next chapter.
Title: My Hate Isn't Hate (Your Love Isn't Love Sequel)
Chapter Four: Money, Money, Money Is All You Need
"You should totally go for it, Carls."
"I don't know, what about Spencer? Who knows what'll happen if I'm not there to drop by every once in a while to check on him?"
Sam and Carly decided to skip the beach and instead spend a quiet day back home, at Sam and Freddie's studio apartment. The two spent hours talking about each other's lives, catching up with everything new going on with their careers.
"Freddie and I are here, Carly. I think we can keep an eye on Spencer. Besides that, he's a grown man." Sam argued. "Hollywood is the place to be for someone in the entertainment industry! You should go for it! C'mon, Carls. You're really talented."
Carly smiled at Sam's compliment. "You really think I'm good enough for Hollywood?"
"Uh, hello? 'Professional web comedian'?" Sam reminded Carly. "Think about it, we were famous as kids. We still have a ton of fans and they would be psyched if you made an appearance on the silver screen."
"You'll be alright if I move to California?" Carly asked, worried for her friend.
"Carls, I'm fine." Sam prepared two mugs of coffee and placed them on the dining table. "I have Freddie, anyway. You need to go for it. Besides, one day I might become rich enough and move to Hollywood."
"How is your money situation, anyway? Are you making enough for rent and school?"
Sam nodded as she took a sip of her coffee. "Yeah, I managed to sell a few paintings last week. But really, Freddie coves the rent for the most part. He's definitely the bread-winner and bacon-bringer-homer of the household" Sam joked.
"His mom is still paying for his university tuition?" Carly asked, with Sam nodding in response. "So money's not an issue, then?"
"How do I know this isn't just a trick?"
"I'm offended, Fred. You think I'm so evil that I would swindle you out of your money? I'm an honest man, I keep my word."
Freddie laughed coldly. "Cut the chiz, Richard. I know you know where Sam's mom is."
"Yeah, I might have some info on her. I might be able to-"
Freddie groaned, cutting off Richard. "Not good enough, Richard. I want you to release Sam's mom from whatever cage you have her locked up in!" Freddie yelled into the phone, his voice probably causing Richard's ears to ring.
There was no response from the other side of the line. Freddie used this opportunity to listen closely to the background noise. Freddie heard a few passing cars as well as a few honking horns. Sounds like the city streets.
"-You hear me?" Freddie snapped himself out of his inner thoughts. He had missed what Richard was saying. "I said, I'll trade Pam for your silence and $1000. I don't want any police involved. At all."
"Just $1000? Usually people in a ransom situation ask for millions of dollars." Freddie new that a thousand dollars was nowhere enough to satisfy Richard's greed.
"I'm not an idiot, Fred. You're just a boy; 19 years old. I highly doubt you could even scrape together $10,000 with your job. I'm trying to be reasonable, here. You come up with the money by the end of next week and I'll let Pam go, no questions asked. And remember, no police."
Freddie couldn't believe his ears. The only thing separating Sam from her mother was $1000. He could definitely get that money if he worked a couple more hours at the office. But negotiating with a criminal had its cons, as well. "I need time to think about this."
"Fine. I'll call this number again later tonight. If you don't accept by then, I'll send you an address on where to pick up Pam's dead body." Richard laughed maniacally before followed by a loud click
Freddie dropped his PearPhone to the floor as he buried his face in his hands. Everything that had happened in the last few days had become overwhelming. Freddie was barely making it by with the money he made now. He had a free ride to go to school thanks to his mom, but for the most part, Freddie paid for the rent and utilities of the apartment. Making the rent, paying for food and getting Richard his $1000 would definitely be a challenge.
Freddie rubbed his face briskly before sighing and starting up the car again. He reached for his cell phone and looked at its wallpaper. It was a photo Freddie had taken a year or so ago, a casual photo of him and Sam sitting on their bed, cuddling. It was one of the few photos Freddie had of Sam smiling. He would give anything to see that smile again.
But one thing was for sure: If Freddie even wanted to go along with Richard's deal, he needed to pick up more hours at work.
Sam decided to continue her little "date" with Carly by taking her to the art studio. Carly agreed with the idea, wanting to see what type of paintings Sam did.
"Hey, kiddo!" Spencer greeted, wrapping his arms around his baby sister. "Long time no see!"
"Spencer, we just saw each other two weeks ago." Carly laughed, hugging her brother back.
"Well, I get lonely." Spencer said solemnly, putting on his best puppy-dog face. This did not phase Carly.
"Oh stop it." Carly turned to the wall behind her, where a row of paintings were hung for display. "Are these all yours, Sam?"
"Well, unless your brother paints, these are all probably mines." Sam joked. "The latest ones are hung out front, my older works are all in the back."
Carly walked deeper into the studio very slowly, carefully observing each painting before moving on. She gave no comments out loud, and that seemed to be alright with Sam. Carly noticed that as she moved deeper into the studio, the happier the paintings seemed to get. Meaning, Sam was painting sadder and sadder things.
"There's not a lot from long time ago," Carly stated, noticing the very few paintings dated from years back.
"Yea, they sold like wild fire back then. Nowadays, no one really buys my paintings anymore." Sam answered back, shrugging her shoulders. It was if Sam was oblivious to the reasoning behind the lack of sales.
Spencer quickly ran to the front desk and swiped a typed letter off the surface. He quickly handed it to Sam for reading. "That reminds me, Sam, some big-shot art director from LA saw my sculptures and your paintings and wants to check out the gallery."
"What?" Sam exclaimed, skimming the letter.
"If he puts us on the map, think about how much business we'd get!" Spencer exclaimed, jumping for joy. "I'm putting out sculptures on double-time, now that I know that bigwig's coming. Sam, you should paint some new pieces if you have the time. I want the floor to be covered with my sculptures and the walls to be covered with your paintings."
"Sure thing, boss. I'll get started on that right away!" Sam replied jokingly, saluting to Spencer. Sam then proceeded to the back of the studio to gather up her art supplies as Carly took a look at Spencer's latest sculptures.
Carly glanced up from Spencer's sculpture and looked at Sam, who appeared to be very happy with the news Spencer brought.
At least she has her artwork... Carly thought, watching Sam from afar. Suddenly, a digital beeping filled the silence. Sam quickly took out her cell phone and answered it.
"Hello?"
Freddie moaned. He had been working for what felt like hours. Probably because he had been working for hours. He looked at his PearPhone for the time.
Almost 1pm.
Freddie set his PearPhone onto his desk and looked at a photo that had been taped to the wall of his cubicle. It was a photo he took about a year or so ago, of Sam and himself, posing in front of the famous Hollywood sign. Sam had always wanted to go California and see all the sights in Hollywood, so Freddie took her there for her 17th birthday. Freddie looked upon the photo, Sam's smiling face now somewhat of a memory. More than anything, he wanted to see that smile once more.
Freddie suddenly jumped back to reality and peeked his head over his cubicle wall and saw his boss walking the corner.
"Mr. Parker!" Freddie called out, running for him. Drake Parker, a tall and rather handsome middle-aged man, turned around and locked his attention to Freddie. Parker favored Freddie since it was shown that Freddie had much promise in becoming a full-time employee at the world-renowned Parker-Nichols Enterprise.
"Freddie Benson, what can I do for you?" Parker asked, his voice cheerful and friendly.
"Can I have word with you in private? Perhaps in your office?"
Parker eyed Freddie suspiciously but knew the boy meant no harm. "Of course, Freddie. Step into my office." Parker backtracked his footsteps as he re-entered his large office, allowing Freddie to enter before closing the door quietly. "Please, have a seat."
Freddie sat nervously in the large lounge chair, looking up to his superior.
"What's up, Freddie? You usually never speak with me unless you have a problem to report about our operating systems or something." Parker leaned on the edge of his desk, stroking his facial hair nonchalantly.
"Mr. Parker, I sort of need a raise."
"A raise?" Parker questioned, raising an eyebrow. "You understand you're getting paid almost double what most kids your age are getting paid, right?"
"Yes sir. I appreciate your kindness, but I'm sort of in a tight spot right now."
"I'm sorry, but with everything the way it is now, there's no way I can give you a raise." Parker leaned forward, worried for Freddie. "Something going on at home? Or at school, perhaps?"
Freddie shook his head. "No, it isn't school."
"So it's at home, then. Your girl is alright, isn't she? Didn't get into some sort of accident and now you have to pay hospital bills?"
Freddie shook his head once more. "No, Sam is fine. It's just that, I recently proposed to her and-"
"Ah! You little dog, you!" Parker joked, laughing. "So you want money for a ring, is that it? Want to buy your girl a ring to show off to her folks?"
"Um, no. I gave her my grandmother's ring, so I'm good there..." Freddie explained, his speech becoming stuttered from impatience and getting side-tracked from his point.
"Oh. I get it." Parker said, slapping his head to his forehead. "Kid, the same thing happened to me when I was about your age. I used to be uh, quite the player, if you get my drift."
"Sir?"
"I tell you what- Since I can relate and sympathize, I'll give you more hours and throw a few jobs your way. Your commission will still be the same as always, but at least this way you'll be making more money."
"Um, thank you, sir. But I don't understand when you said 'the same thing happened' to you." Freddie said, taken aback.
"You knocked her up, right?" Parker assumed.
Just as Freddie was about to reply, he stopped himself. What was he going to do? Tell his boss that his fiancée's father broke out of jail and was now blackmailing him? Freddie swallowed a large lump in his throat and opened his mouth. "Yes." Freddie lied. Strangely enough, it wasn't difficult. Freddie assumed that since he was lying to everyone else, one more lie to one more person couldn't hurt. After all, it's not like Sam and Parker ever talked with one another.
Parker smiled as he remembered his golden years. "Yeah, just remember to double-bag it next time. You can't be too sure with those things these days." Parker said, before escorting Freddie out of his office. "Get started on the Shaffer case. The files should be where they should be."
"Y-Yessir." Freddie replied, as Parker walked away. He quickly took out his PearPhone and punched in a series of numbers.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Sam. I'm going to work at the office late, alright? Don't wait up for me, since you have class tomorrow morning."
"Oh. Alright, I guess. Want me to bring you dinner or something? Since you're going to be working all night."
"Thanks, babe, but I'm good. Love you."
"Love you too."
Freddie quickly hung up his PearPhone and went straight back to his desk, ready to work up a storm.
Sam entered her apartment and threw her coat on the floor and jumped onto the futon bed. She was exhausted after a long day of painting. She would have to go back again the day after tomorrow to paint even more, too. Sam thought about her day with Carly and figured it would be nice to watch some of the clips of iCarly. The trio didn't do skits anymore, but they updated their blogs and wrote on message boards every few months or so. Sam hadn't posted to her blog in more than a year.
Sam grabbed her busted-up laptop and quickly opened up the iCarly site and began watching videos.
"And that's the proper way..." "To clean your parents' laptop!"
Sam laughed at her and Carly's playful banter.
"... Don't go into your office!" "What? Who is this?" "And do NOT open the cabinet over the TV!"
Sam must've watched a hundred videos before eventually dozing off. She dreamt of her younger days at Ridgeway High School with her friends, before her dad completely screwed up her life. She awoke a few hours later, the clock reading 10:23. Sam decided a little TV would be nice. Unfortunately, the remote had been missing for weeks.
"Ugh. Too. Far. Away..." Sam complained, stretching for the power button on the television. When she finally stretched far enough to tap the power button, the news came on.
"Wonderful story, Dan. ...And our closing story of the night, a prisoner allegedly escaped from King County Prison a few days ago and has still not been caught."
Sam diverted her complete attention to the television."Police identify the man as Richard Puckett, a tall Caucasian man in his mid 40's. He is suspected to still be in Washington."
Sam scrambled for the window and looked over the fire escape to 170th Street. The police car was still there. She saw one of the police officers get out of his car and look up at her.
They're watching me. Not because I did something illegal, but because he's out there. And he's coming for me. Sam quickly went back inside, closed all the windows, shut all the blinds and locked all the locks on the door. If Richard wanted Sam, he would have to take her fighting. After making sure everything was locked, she picked up her cell phone and went to the dining table. As she thought, Detective Fisher's business card was still there from earlier that morning. Just as she began dialing the phone, it rang. She identified the number immediately. Not only that, but there was suddenly a loud knocking at the front door, the doorknob shaking violently.
Sam answered the phone before two men burst through the front door, holding guns.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! If you feel like it, you can review it! I love reading what you guys think. Thanks! :)