I'll march my band out,
I will beat my drum,
And if I'm fanned out,
Your turn at bat, sir,
At least I didn't fake it.
Hat, sir, I guess I didn't make it.
Get ready for me, love,
'cause I'm a commer,
I simply gotta march,
My heart's a drummer.
Nobody, no, nobody
Is gonna rain on my parade!
Barbra Streisand -Don't Rain On My Parade

Freddie POV:

Today is the day. It's the very end of the last day of freshman year. Who cares? That's not why I'm excited. It's the day Carly finally agrees to go out with me. I just have to get her alone and charm her. That will be hard. I identify myself as a pretty smooth guy. I have to separate her from Sam. That is going to be difficult. Those two are almost always joined at the hip. You don't get one without the other, but they have very different personalities.

I know what you are thinking. Why is today any different from the others? Why do you think Carly won't reject like she has in the past again and again and again? Well two weeks ago Carly ended her relationship with Griffin. She was vulnerable and ready to give up on love. Sam best him with a butter sock to cheer her up. Carly is almost desperate to find a good guy and love. I'm a good guy and I am perfectly capable of giving her the love she deserves. At this very moment, I can see Carly and Sam talking near their lockers. All I have to do is wait for Sam to leave.

Sam POV:
"Hey Carls. Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah. I can finally look at boys without wanting to rip their heads off."
"No need to blame the whole male species for Griffin being a jerk."
"I know. I just want real love for once. You know what I mean right?"
"No. Do you know who your talking to? Mama doesn't need a man."
"Everyone needs someone to love Sam. You haven't thought about having someone to kiss and hold you tight. Someone who can make you happy and smile."
"Not really. It's not like anyone would be interested in me anyone. If you haven't noticed, I'm not your average girl. No guy here is man enough to handle me."
"If you say so. I need to find the right guy for me. I'm willing to take a chance on a really good guy and give him an opportunity instead of rejecting them. Maybe I keep rejecting good guys and going out with bad ones."
"If you say so." I mirrored what she just said to me. I then sent her a smile which she quickly returned. "I hope you get the love you want, Cupcake. I gotta go to the bathroom. See ya later."

I have thought of love before and being kissed by the right guy. But the only guy, who comes to mind is a certain nub. We've always been "just friends", but normally friends don't kiss. It meant something to me even if it was "just to get it over with." What was the point of kissing in the first place? We would still be without a first kiss to the general public. We promised not to speak of it ever and no one would know. So what was the point? Maybe it was to get all our jitters about kissing out of the way. It was just a practice kiss for when the right person came along and we would be without nerves when it really mattered.

The problem is that kiss mattered to me and it shouldn't have. I can easily point out things I hate about Freddie. Do I hate him? I obviously don't. Why would I spend so much time with him if I hated him? I wouldn't. Freddie knows I don't hate him. Do I love him? I like him (even though I claim to just tolerate him) as a friend. Is there something more? Yes? No? Maybe? There are so many thoughts running through my head causing my brain hurts. I should focus on enjoying the summer.

Freddie POV:
I watched Sam leave Carly on her own in the hallway. I need to approach her quick before someone else gets to her. Girls like Carly don't stay single long. I rush up to her and she turns to face me. "Hey Carly," I say while walking towards her.
"Hi Freddie" she responds sweetly.
"How are you?" I ask her nervously looking down at my feet.
"I'm fine. Why are you being so formal?"
"No reason. I was thinking..." I started but I drifted off not recalling knowing how to continue.
"I'm not surprised you were thinking. That's what people do," she joked with me. I chuckled quietly.
"Will you go out with me?" I ask her speedily. My palms are sweating from the nerves. I wipe my hands on my pants. I do this frequently under high stress situations. These situations include: taking test, dealing with bullies (I'm a wimpy nerd... it's gonna happen) and asking out my dream girl. I laugh nervously.
"Freddie..."
"I know I'm a nerd in AV club with a bunch of losers.
"Freddie."
"And in the past you have only seen me as a friend," I continued.
"Freddie!"
"But I can treat you better than any other guy at the school. We belong together!" I ignore her once more.
"FREDDIE!" Carly shouted as she interrupted my rant.
"Yes?" I ask meekly.
"Okay."
"Okay?" I respond confused.
"I will go out with you."
"REALLY?!"
"Yes."

This is the moment I've been waiting for my whole life. That is a complete lie. I've only been waiting since 6th grade. Three years was a really long time. It wasn't love at first sight like I've claimed in the past. Sure I initially only wanted to ignore my unnatural and most likely demonic feelings for the spawn of Satan, but I truly like Carly. I think everything she does is cute. There isn't anything about her I don't like. I fell for her honestly, despite my wrong motives to have feelings for her. That was my childlike ignorance and foolishness.

I leaned in. She leaned in. We were so close. Then it happened. I lips met in a short kiss. I tasted her berry lip gloss that was incredibly sticky. It was different than I expected. It certainly wasn't expected. I suddenly hear someone cry out "EWWW!"
I looked over and saw the demon herself.
"What is going on?!" She cries out in what I assume is horror.
"Carly and I were kissing,"I tell her honestly.
"Lies. Tell me it's a lie. You were just performing CPR standing."
"No, Sam. It's true. Freddie and I are going out now," Carly interjects.
"I knew you were going to give some unlikely guys chances, but I didn't expected this. I didn't know you were desperate, Carly."
"Why? Are you jealous?" I ask with a smirk."
"More like disgusted. I left my jacket in my locker. I come back to get it. I see THAT and now I have urge to vomit!"
"I'm gonna go before she vomits on me. Bye guys. Call me later, Freddie." Carly then starts walking to her apartment. This leaves myself alone with Sam.

"What's your problem, Sam?"
"I shocked Carly would lower herself to the likes of you."
"You don't have to be so rude."
"I'm just being honest. Enjoy it while it lasts."
"What do you mean?"
"No matter how hard we try some good things never last," she sung. Her voice is surprisingly angelic. A demon should not sound so beautiful. It's almost as if the gates of heaven have opened up. I recognized the melody.
"Barbra Streisand?"
"Nicely done Fredward." She complimented me with a slight smirk. She punched me on the shoulder playfully, but not gently. You are then reminded that the voice of an angel belongs to evil. I winced at the pain.
"What can I say? I know my music. I didn't think you were into that stuff though."
"I'm unpredictable. I can appreciate a Broadway legend."
"Anyway I'm gonna let you ruin this for me."
"I don't have too. You'll see the truth. You don't belong together."
"Okay. I'm going to change the subject. How do you feel about musicals?"
"I'm not a big fan of show tunes. I do enjoy the modern ones on Broadway. Wicked and The Book of Mormon are quite enjoyable. There are some old ones though that I enjoy. The film adaptions are okay like Grease and West Side Story," she responds.
"I've never seen either of those films."
"Do you live in a whole?"She asks me. I glare at her and see her grin.
"My mother doesn't approve of the romance. She thinks it might give me bad ideas."
"We have to watch them. Your mom is at an aggressive parenting conference right?" She grins at me with excitement.
"Yeah?"
"I'll come over tonight."
"Come at like 7. This way we'll have time to watch both movies and talk," I tell her.
"Talk?" She sounded confused.
"We can talk about anything. I'd like to talk about music. It would be just like the old days."
"Okay. It's a date. I'm going to the Groovy Smoothie." She walks off. "I took your wallet by the way," she calls over her shoulder as she bounces away.

I inwardly groaned. Then I realized her words. I am going out with Carly. I have a date with Sam. It's not really a date. It's just an expression. It's completely innocent. And why does it make me so nervous? We're just hanging out. We just started dating. Not me and Sam. Me and Carly. Too many thoughts. I need to get home.

AN: The remainder of this story will take place between the summer between 9th and 10th grade. Review if you want more! PM me if you have any questions. Next Chapter will look into Sam's home life and her "date" with Freddie.