Freddie slowly opened the door to his apartment and peered down the hallway, cocking his head slightly. He couldn't see anyone, but there was a faint sound of footsteps on the stairs.
"Wait inside," he hissed back through the doorway, before stepping out and letting it swing shut behind him. He leant casually against the wall as Carly rounded the corner.
"Oh, hey Freddie," she said as she passed. "Are you waiting for someone?" Freddie shook his head.
"N-no, just on my way out," he muttered. "Any luck finding Sam?" Carly rolled her eyes and turned back to him.
"No sign," she replied, running her eyes over him. "What happened to your hair? It's all messy." Freddie ran a hand through his hair and frantically patted it down.
"Just, ah, had a nap," he said slowly. "I was tired, so I had a nap. And now I'm not tired. So I'm going out now." Carly narrowed her eyes and folded her arms, running her gaze over the boy.
"Where are you going?" she asked. "It's nine in the evening." Freddie nodded his head as he desperately tried to think of an excuse.
"Yeah, well, I've got... got a meeting with the AV club!" he said quickly. "Very important, tech stuff, you wouldn't wanna hear about that." Carly smiled and grabbed his arm as he tried to leave.
"Do you always go with your shirt inside-out?" she teased him. Freddie smiled weakly and looked down at his shirt.
"Well, would you look at that," he muttered. "I guess I was still half-asleep when I put this on." He yanked his arm out of Carly's grip and slipped back into his apartment. Carly frowned and put her ear to the door.

Spencer came up the stairs to find Carly sitting against the wall by the door, her arms crossed over her chest. He furrowed his brow and pushed lightly on the door to their own apartment, which swung open without resistance. He looked back down at his sister.
"What's up, kiddo?" he asked, squatting next to her. Carly's eyes were fixed on Freddie's door, and she didn't even look at Spencer.
"I think Sam's in Freddie's apartment," she replied. "He went back five minutes ago to change his shirt and I've been waiting here ever since." Spencer nodded slowly as she spoke, before suddenly shaking his head.
"Ok, no, I'm not following," he said. "You think Sam's in Freddie's apartment, so Freddie went in, and..." He trailed off, gesturing for Carly to fill in the blank. She sighed and looked up at him.
"Freddie was acting all suspicious when I got here, and he made some excuse about going to the AV club, but he hasn't come back out and it's a Sunday anyway!" she blurted, her eyes darting back to the door. "Something's going on with Sam and I think Freddie's involved, but I just don't know what I'm doing." She hung her head and rubbed a hand across her face. Spencer smiled and put an arm around her shoulders.
"Hey, hey, don't worry," he said gently. "Sam's your best friend, so I know that whatever's going on will resolve itself soon enough. So just get yourself inside and don't think about it until you next see Sam."
"But she's in there!" Carly replied. "I'm sure she is!"
"And that's between her and Freddie," Spencer continued, gently rubbing her shoulder. "Remember last time this happened, you got tied up by two escaped prisoners?" Carly pouted and let her head drop again.
"I guess you're right," she muttered, reaching out to take Spencer's hand. He pulled her up and ushered her into their apartment with an encouraging smile. As the door swung shut, Freddie's door opened and Sam slipped out. She turned back briefly to blow Freddie a kiss, before darting down the stairs. Freddie stood in his doorway until the sound of her footsteps died away.


Do review if you can, guys, I'm sort of flying blind here. The only thing worse than a writer flying blind is a pilot doing it.