Chapter 7

Hopefully everyone will enjoy the flashback scene in this one.

The next afternoon, Carly had to wait for Sam to get herself a cup of coffee to start their chat session.

"Geesh, Sam. It's almost 2:30, I thought you were gonna sleep all day!" Carly complained, having waited for the biggest part of an hour for her friend to sign on. Sam looked like she just rolled out of bed with her hair mussed and bags under her eyes.

"I don't get home from work until almost 9:30 when I'm on late shift." Sam defended. "And before you say anything, I know that's like 17 hours ago, but I wasn't sleeping the whole time." She wiggled her eyebrows.

Freddie, who was in the kitchen, washing dishes, just rolled his eyes.

"TMI, Sam. So, how are you getting settled in?" Carly asked. "New England has to be totally different than California, especially this time of year."

"Yeah, it's different, and I could do without all the snow and cold, but it's good being here. Frednub takes care of the dishes and cleaning up, I do the cooking and have my part time job and I've been trying to make the apartment livable, you know decorating and chiz. It's nothing fancy, but I put some stuff up on the walls, got a couple of pieces at the thrift stores."

Carly lets out a small scoff at the thoughts of Sam decorating anything besides a plate of waffles with syrup or a pile of mashed potatoes with gravy. "And you finally got a car, so you won't be freezing your boobs off riding the motorcycle in the winter." She suggests.

"Yep. And I got us a great deal, so we don't even have any payments." Sam sounded so proud of herself. "You should see it in person, Carls, I'm telling you it's gorgeous and it purrs like a little blue kitten."

"Speaking of which, um remember how we were talking about Christmas plans some time ago."

"Yeah. I guess Freddie's not flying to L.A. after all." Sam smirked as Freddie took a seat beside her on the couch and kissed her cheek.

"Oh, Hi Freddie." Carly squeaked.

"Hey, Carls. How's it going?" He replied.

"Um, I needed to ask you guys, what are you two doing for Christmas?"

"Not really sure, Fredbutt's been trying to talk me into us going to Atlanta to see my dad, but I really had fun making that Thanksgiving dinner last week and I think it's a little soon to be spending the holidays with my dad anyways. I mean, we just reconnected after almost eight years and I don't know about his new wife yet, I mean she's nice and all, but she's a little stuffy. Kind of like, I don't know, a high school librarian or something."

"You should taste that turkey she made for Thanksgiving. And the stuffing was out of this world. Man, I've never had food like that." Freddie exclaimed, remembering their holiday dinner and putting his arm around Sam. "I think I'll have to join a gym or I might start to put on weight with all this good food she makes. Sam is quite the cook."

"Just wait till I start cooking classes in January. Guess who gets to be my taste tester?" Sam turned her head and kissed him again.

"Awww, you guys are sooo cute." Carly cooed. "But anyway, what would you say to maybe, um, having a little company for Christmas."

"I don't think Mel's coming up, she's going on about staying at her college, something about a new guy she met at a local coffee shop or someplace. I don't really pay any attention to what guy she's swooning over this week."

"Well, I know my mom's going to be at my aunt Jean's in Texas. I guess it'll just be the two of us." Freddie said. "Turkey dinner time again!" He rubbed his hands together.

"And ham, don't forget I'm baking the biggest ham we can afford." Sam reminded him.

"Wellll, I just found out yesterday, my dad got immediate travel orders, he's leaving Monday for a base in South Korea for like 4 months, and I was sort of thinking that maybe . . . "

"Eeee, Carls! You're coming to see us?" Sam exclaimed, in a very un-Sam-like tone.

"Seriously!" Freddie exclaimed. "That's great, Carly. I can't wait."

"So you guys are OK with it?" Carly wanted to verify it before she bought a ticket.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Sam smiled. "Just let us know when you're getting in and we'll pick you up. You know, since we have a car and all. The back seat isn't too big, but neither are you. I can fit back there."

"Why were you in the back seat of your car?" Carly raised an eyebrow.

Sam just gave her a pleading look as if to say 'figure it out for yourself'.

Freddie had put it out of his mind, but he suddenly remembered what had happened between him and Carly on the day she left for Italy. He never had the balls to confess to Sam that he and Carly kissed. Then, after his visit to L.A. and the whole tuna thing and them getting back together, he just figured it best not to bring it up because of Sam's insecurities. As tough as she is on the outside, Sam's very delicate on the inside and few people beside Freddie know that.

Sam had never mentioned 'the kiss' to him, either. That is, she never kicked his ass over it, so he was under the impression that Carly hadn't told her about it at all. However, now Carly was coming for a visit and this would be the first time she and Sam were in the same room since that day. One thing was certain, it was sure to come up at some point and then he would have a lot of explaining to do, like why he wasn't the one to tell Sam about it when it first happened.

Freddie's face went from joy to indifference to just short of panic over the next few minutes. As the two girls continued to chat and giggle at each other's jokes and plans, he began to think about how he was going to tell Sam about it. Sure they were madly in love with one another, but this could potentially be something to come between them. It wasn't his intention to be sneaky about it. It was actually something he'd rather forget ever happened and the more time passed the harder it was for him to breach the subject without it looking like he was being sneaky in the first place.

He knew Sam thought of herself as 'Carly's sidekick' and her feeling that she was always playing second fiddle to their brunette friend ever since they were in middle school. He told Sam that there was nothing left between him and Carly when was in the hospital when she mentioned calling Carly to tell her about him getting hurt. His schoolboy crush had long since disappeared and was replaced by burning passion for Sam, especially after he went to L.A. to see her and they got back together. But once she knew about the kiss, he was certain she would be upset; much more so with him than with Carly.

Flashback to the day Carly left.

Sam stood in front of the Bushwell building and watched as the taxi carrying Carly and her dad pulled away from the curb. She was on the verge of a total breakdown and headed for her own house on the motorcycle Spencer had just given her, not wanting to get all emotional in front of Spencer or Freddie, especially Freddie.

She had been debating on what to do about him all day. He had mentioned the idea of them getting back together and she was seriously considering it. She never wanted to break up with him in the first place. She only agreed to it because she thought he wanted to and he said that he only wanted to because of what other people thought about their relationship. They were older, more mature and she reasoned that they needed each other, now more than ever. Whether as friends or as boyfriend and girlfriend, they would get through life without Carly together.

She entered her home and flopped down on the old, worn out sofa in the dreary house. Thank goodness her mom wasn't there, but this was a weekend and Pam was probably sleeping off a hangover somewhere or hooking up with some random dude who would provide her with alcohol and possibly a joint or two. Sam's scruffy, old cat came over and pawed at her left leg, which was hanging out over the edge of the cushion. She picked up the hard looking feline and laid him on her belly.

The cat stretched out and laid his head on her chest and began purring as she rubbed his ears. As she stroked his fur, she kept thinking about calling Freddie. She'd be doing it right now if it weren't for the cat pinning her down. He looked so peaceful, she couldn't bring herself to disturb him and sit up long enough to grab her phone off the end stand by her feet.

After almost and hour of dozing in and out of sleep, Frothy purring away on her chest, her phone started to vibrate, causing the cat to jump down and hiss at the offending device. She grabbed the phone, hoping to see Freddie's name on the screen, but instead saw Carly's.

"What up Shay?" Sam answered. "Decide not to leave after all?"

"Um, no, Sam. I'm still going. We're getting ready to board the plane soon. Dad's getting us some coffee." Carly's voice sounded shaky. "Listen, Sam. I -I need to tell you about something." Carly paused. "In the studio, this afternoon, I, um, I -I know you still like Freddie."

Sam almost replied with a 'duh', but didn't. "And." She simply said shortly.

"An - and, he was packing up his cameras and stuff and I went into the studio an-and, oh, Sam, I don't know why I did it, but I - I kissed him. I'm so sorry, Sam, I shouldn't have done it. Jeesh, I don't even know why I did it, b-but as soon as I did I started feeling guilty and I felt I needed to tell you. I don't like keeping secrets and this is eating me alive. Can you ever forgive me?"

"It's cool, Carls." Sam responded, a silent tear rolling down her cheek. 'How could she? How could HE?' Sam thought to herself.

"So we're good. I mean, you - you really don't hate me for this." Carly asked, still scared she just lost her best friend.

"Nah. You can kiss all the nubs you want, no skin off my butt." Sam put up a tough defense as she always did, even though her heart was torn in two and tears were streaming down her face like a lost toddler.

The girls both giggled a little before Carly's dad returned and she hung up so they could board their flight.

Of course, Sam didn't let on to Carly that she was devastated. What her brunette friend didn't know was that earlier that day Freddie had actually mentioned to Sam about them going out again and that Sam was on the verge of saying yes. That was until this little revelation.

Sam couldn't bear the thought of being Freddie's consolation prize once more. This kiss would surely reignite the old fire he had for Carly and even if he and Sam got back together, she knew he would be wishing she was Carly every time he looked at her.

"Damn you, Freddie Benson!" Sam said aloud causing the cat to look at her funny. "I knew you weren't over her, you dickweed."

What was there to keep her in Seattle now? A worthless mother who hardly knew she was alive? An ancient cat? A school full of teachers who could care less if she even graduated or not? A boy that she loved with every fiber of her being, but clearly was in love (or at least lust) with her best friend? Maybe the fates were trying to tell her something. It was time to make a fresh start, but how, or rather, where?

Sam scribbled a quick note to her mother, whether the woman would be sober enough to read it anytime soon was anyone's guess, but Sam made the effort anyway. Within a few hours, Sam had went from being ready to reconnect with Freddie and finish up her senior year at Ridgeway without her best friend to packing all her stuff and riding her motorcycle out of Seattle, heading south. A week later, she would meet Cat Valentine and begin her new life in Venice.

*end of Flashback

Freddie knew he needed to go into damage control mode before this got out of hand. He needed to be the one to confess to Sam because if Carly did, it would make it look like he was hiding something. This was going to take a ton of planning and an immeasurable amount of courage. If he timed it right, he could sweep this whole thing under the rug and Sam would not hate him. If he didn't, well it's not like she would remove his manhood. After all, she did enjoy that part of him, but she could surely make his life miserable without even trying hard to say the least.

"Say goodbye, Fredbag." Sam said and poked him in the ribs with her elbow. "Hello, Earth to Freddie."

"Oh, um, Take care, Carly. We'll see you on, uh on . . . "

"On the nineteenth, Dingus." Sam finished his sentence for him with a roll of her eyes.

"Bye Freddie. Stay blonde, Sam." Carly said.

"Stay brune, Shay." Sam returned to Carly.

Sam closed the cover on her laptop, grabbed Freddie's face and kissed him full on the lips. "I'm so excited, our best friend is coming for two whole weeks, I can't wait. We have so much to do. Oh, and we have to get her a Christmas gift. Say, you mentioned something yesterday about us getting a tree this week." She jumped to her feet, pulling him up with her and hopped like an excited second grader left alone in a toy store.

"Yeah and now that we have a car, we don't have to try to figure out how to lug it home." Freddie could see the tree on top of the car in his mind, like a scene from a cheesy holiday movie.

"Hmmph, like you're strapping some sap dripping, needle shedding tree to that car. Don't think so, Fredwad." Sam had other thoughts and crossed her arms over her chest.

"But, Sam!"

"Ahhh-ahhh, not buts or I'll kick yours." Sam cracked back, poking him in the chest. "There's a tree lot down by the ABS pharmacy, you can surely carry a pine tree that far without straining yourself or breaking a nail."

Freddie sighed in reservation. "OK, I'll get one tomorrow on the way home from school. Can you handle getting us some ornaments and garland and a couple of strings of lights from the discount store down at the mall."

Sam nodded, "Sure, but you'd better not come home with some spindly Charlie Brown looking Christmas tree, mister. This is our first Christmas together and our best friend is coming to see us. I want a nice big, fat, blue spruce or something cool like that. And it has to be at least 6 feet tall."

"As you wish my princess." Freddie bowed in her direction.