Hey guys!

I knew I said I'd upload on Tuesday, but guess who found the chapter in her bookshelf?

Hahahahh, I'm really sorry you guys had to wait this long!

Disclaimer: I own a sore throat and a sore butt. Yeah, long story. The short story is that I don't own iCarly. Yeah. Isn't that sad?


"I don't know, Carls."

The words hit Freddie like a stab to the heart as he took in the look on Sam's face. Her blue eyes were sad, confused, hurt, and the corners of her mouth drooped downwards slightly, even as she tried to give Carly a half hearted shrug and smile. Even though he hadn't been able to hear the soft whisper of words, he heard her voice in his mind, and it played in his mind, saying the same line over and over again.

He slid down the wall and sat on the floor silently, just staring at the mirror, the image of the two best friends etched in his mind as the words played, almost as if they were mocking him for not doing anything. He was so deep in thought, that he almost missed Carly's next question.

Or rather, Carly's exclamation.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" She asked, flustered and confused, and Sam sighed, hugging a green cushion and staring at the ceiling, trying to find the cracks in the ceiling, the ones that reminded her of herself, her life, and her relationship with Freddie. They were flaws, imperfect, and unlike Carly's life, they were broken, and you didn't need to look at it clearly to notice the cracks that were so clearly visible, prominent, even, to the rest of the world.

Then again, Sam remembered, Freddie's life had them too. His father's lack of appearance, his unwillingness to talk about him, his crazy, overbearing mother, weren't they almost similar to Sam's life as well?

Perhaps that was why they belonged to each other, maybe.

But honestly, Sam didn't want to restore her relationship with Freddie, only to have to watch as it disintegrated in front of her, all over again— her in sunny Singapore, him in rainy Seattle—to have only emails that were sent once, maybe twice a fortnight.

Her relationship with Freddie was one of the things she treasured, and it was the only thing that in all, had been worth all those years of bickering, of having to open up. It'd hurt too much to have to let it all go, and she'd rather let things take their own course and go with the flow, especially if it meant that her heart wouldn't be shattered into pieces along the way.

She answered after what seemed like an eternity of silence, a frown on her face as Carly's—and unbeknownst to her, Freddie's—brown eyes bored into her. "What I mean, Carls, is that I honestly have no idea where we're headed."

Nothing more needed to be explained, and Freddie understood instantly.

It was just like high school all over again. When she had kissed him that fateful night at the lock-in, the pure shock on her own face that he knew had been mirrored on his as she herself tried to comprehend her own actions; at Troubled Waters, where she had checked herself in the mental hospital because she couldn't tell what it was that she wanted, and it scared her half to death; their first breakup, where she'd had to ask if they were broken up—to confirm what she had just done.

Nobody ever knew what Samantha Puckett was thinking.

Not even Sam Puckett herself.


Sam paused after her answer, only to hear the door creaked, footsteps signalling that someone was walking in. She turned her head to see who it was, expecting Spencer, before immediately rising on her feet, holding the person in question by the collar when she realised it was Freddie.

"How much did you hear?" She asked, flustered and furious, and she could feel a blush rising up her cheeks even as she tried to suppress it.

"Sam!" Carly exclaimed, alarmed, and even Freddie looked a little startled by her actions. But Sam refused to let go. What she had told Carly wasn't something she wanted Freddie to know. It was private, something she wasn't proud of, and it was a look into her mind and heart. It was the weakest part of her, and she never wanted Freddie to ever know that she felt that way.

And deep down, she wanted Freddie to be the one to start the first move, instead of herself.

"How. Long. Have. You. Been. There?" Sam asked again, her teeth gritted as she pulled him to eye level, and it took her all of her self control to not thrust herself in his arms and kiss him as she looked into his eyes.

"Nothing!" He said, hands up in surrender, and almost cowers under her unwavering glare. But after years of observation, Freddie had long since learnt to lie through his teeth, and he continued, as if trying to clear all Sam's doubts. "Honestly, I heard nothing!"

Sam let him go, a slight look of suspicion still on her face, but Carly cut in, slightly curious. Freddie grabbed his phone from his pocket, throwing it at Carly, who read the screen. At Sam's raised eyebrow, he said what Carly was reading out loud. "Brad'll be late for his date with Carly, he got held up at the office, he says he'll be here soon, but knowing Tucker, he'll only be ready in an hour, tops."

"Tucker? That name sounds familiar." Sam mused, and Carly and Freddie laughed.

"Oh, Sam, you have no idea."

"Anyway, what should we do for this hour?"


"In 5, 4, 3, 2…" Sam said, before waving her finger at Freddie, the other two iCarlies staring at her incredulously. "What? I learnt it from that nub there standing beside Carly."

"Gee, Sam, in case you haven't noticed, this nub's also your best fr—" Freddie started, before Carly smacked them both on the arms, shushing them before continuing. "I'm Carly Shay!"

Freddie rolled his eyes, jumping in as well, a smile on his face. "And I'm Freddie!"

"And this be iCarly!"

The duo jumped around, dancing, and Sam jiggled the camera a little. When they finally came to a halt, Carly put her hands on her waist and looked facefirst into the camera. "Now, you're probably wondering, if Freddie's out here, who's manning the camera?"

She paused for a few seconds, exchanging smirks with Freddie and Sam, before replying. "And our answer to that question is… Sam Puckett!"

"Get out here, Princess!" Freddie hollered, before going to get the camera from her and switching it to the B-Cam, and returning to put an arm around Sam, like Carly had.

"Howdy guys, I'm glad to be back, Singapore was awesome, but Seattle is still the best."


"Whoa, look at the comments!" Freddie said as he looked at his computer screen, and Sam looked up from her place on his couch, slightly curious. Upon finding out that she couldn't see the screen from her position, she walked up to him, peeking at the screen from behind, and tried not to get too distracted by him so she could concentrate and read the words on the screen.

Carly had left for her date with Brad just a while ago, and Spencer had decided to get some sleep after packing, since they needed to be up early for the drive over to Yakima—he wanted to avoid traffic—leaving Sam alone with Freddie in his apartment.

She wouldn't be sleeping on the couch, that much was for sure. Instead, she was going to be in the guest room, just opposite of Freddie's, and she had to admit, had Freddie not chosen to go into the business of technology, he would have made a decent living as an interior designer. The room was painted a bright, cheery yellow, and there was a large window sear which doubled as a bookshelf as well. It was her favourite part of the room, well, excluding the small fridge sitting beside it.

When she'd opened it to see an assortment of Peppi Cola and Fatcakes, Freddie had shrugged; a smirk on his face as his reply to her raised eyebrow. She'd plucked a Fatcake out, peeling off the wrapper and raising it in silent thanks, stuffed it into her mouth, chomping on it in unadultered glee.

Now, as she stood just centimetres away from him, she had to focus completely on the screen. He smelled exactly as he did before she had left, of vanilla and coffee, a smell that Sam had associated as dependable, safe, and home. As a strand of brown hair tickled her neck, she smiled a little, as she finally scanned through the comments.

Cool, Sam's back! I hope this means iCarly is, too!

Yayyy! iCarly's back!

We missed you, Sam!

Sam smirked as she stopped reading, leaning back and crossing her arms. "What can I say? Mama's just lovable."

Freddie laughed, turning to face her, and Sam grinned, taking in his appearance again for the millionth time that night. He was in a white tee shirt and grey sweatpants, and although it seemed plain, the shape of Freddie's muscles peeked through the slightly translucent shirt, and despite the fact that it wasn't what one would call washboard abs, it made Sam wish she could just reach over and rest a hand on his chest. His arm muscles weren't bad either, and she couldn't help but wonder when Freddie had gotten so built.

What she didn't know was that Freddie was thinking along the same lines as well.

When she had leaned over, a blond curl resting on his shoulder as she leaned over to glance at the screen, a smell of Fatcakes and strawberry shampoo hitting him as he gazed at the reflection of her in his computer, and all he could do to stop himself from holding her in his arms and kissing her silly was to sit in his chair, gripping his table so hard that he thought it would break.

The scent of strawberries brought smiles to his face as he thought of all the times he'd just lie with her in the sand at the beach, in the grass on the courtyard in Julliard or NYU, or even on Spencer's couch, on his bed, where he'd just play with her hair in silence. It was familiar, welcoming, and he smiled when he came to the realisation that she had never changed it.

She had never changed.

And when he turned around to face her at her comment, laughing, he realised that, as she joined in the laughter, that she was wearing her old, oversized Julliard shirt and shorts, that she really was beautiful, despite the old, comfortable clothes.

They stopped laughing, finally, and finally seem to realise how awkward the scene was, and she shuffled her feet awkwardly. "Well, nub, I'm going to bed."

"Uh, sure, go ahead." Freddie said, and Sam gave him a small smirk before heading off to the guest room. "'Nights, Benson."

"Back atcha, Puckett."


Sam Puckett lay awake in the window seat, looking at the sky outside. The seat had been enlarged to the size of a single bed, and she had brought in her pillows from the bed with her. The night sky sparkled a little, despite the lack of stars in the sky. The city lights overshadowed the stars that were further away, and Sam couldn't help but smile wryly at how much she empathized with those stars.

A sigh escaped her lips and she sat up, hugging her knees and back on the wall, her left hand reaching out to flick the switch that turned on the electric lamp that had been attached to the top of the seat. Picking a book that had been left on one of the shelves, she scanned the blurb, and had just flipped open to the first page when someone knocked on the dorr of the seat before swinging it open.

She almost jumped out of her skin as the person spoke. "Sorry, just wanted to think."

Freddie Benson stood there awkwardly, smiling, and Sam abruptly realised what he'd meant. "Oh, I'll just go, then."

"No, stay." He slid into the space beside Sam and closed the door, and they sat face to face, Freddie looking at the book she'd picked up. "The Hunger Games, huh?"

"Yeah." She'd replied, shrugging, and she continued to scrutinise the cover of the book. "Is it any good?"

"It is." He replied, looking at her, and he smiled. "The girl… Katniss. She reminds me of you."

Sam must've looked startled, because Freddie laughed at her expression. "It's a compliment, really. Both of you… you'd do anything for the people you love."

Sam raised an eyebrow, returning the book to its original position on the shelf before looking back out at the night sky.

Once again, Freddie Benson had read her like a book.


Freddie Benson couldn't sleep.

He had headed off to bed right after Sam had, but no matter how he tossed and turned, he just couldn't get to sleep. He finally gave up, and had gotten up to get a cup of water in the hopes that it would help him get to sleep soon. When he walked past Sam's room, however, he heard a light switch click on, and peering inside, realised that Sam wasn't in her bed. Noticing the absence of pillows from the bed as well, and light emerging from the cracks of the window seat, he smirked,

Heading towards the door, he knocked twice before opening it, only to see Sam jump as he said bit of small talk, the two lapsed into comfortable silence, with her eyes closed, a smile on her face.

Someone in the vicinity started playing the song 'Coming Home', and Sam chuckled softly before humming along to the tune of the chorus. Her face seemed to be glowing as she did this, and her voice was beautiful, light. Slowly, she slipped into singing, soflty gently, and just for the two of them to hear.

I'm coming home, I'm coming home, tell the world I'm coming home,

Let the rain wash away, all the pain of yesterday

At the second line, her voice wavered a little, and Freddie felt a pang in his heart that he knew was the reason why she had been hesitant in singing that part of the song. All the pain of yesterday. The pain of their breakups cam full force, engulfing Freddie as Sam continued, her voice now confident, melodious, and haunting.

I know my kingdom awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes,

I'm coming home, I'm coming tell the world I'm coming, Home.

As she finished the last lines of the song, her eyes opened and the blue eyes held a question for Freddie.

He knew exactly what to do.

He kissed her.


"Okay, Benson, we get it." Sam ranted, exasperated and eyes full of pain and helplessness. "You want to humiliate me on the web in front of millions of people, then just do it. I don't care. Get back at me for all the mean things I've sa—"

And he knows what he is going to do. He sets down his pearpad, walks up to her, and holds her in his arms, looking into her blue eyes, shining with tears that will never drop, and kissis her on the mouth, in front of millions of viewers. He hears faint cheers in the background, but he's much too focused on the blonde in front of him to actually care.

"Yeah. So I guess we're both insane." He says smiling at her, and a faint smile appears on her face, before she shrugs.

"So… Now what?"


So… Now what?


A/N: I'll upload the next chapter soon, I promise!(:

Review pleaseeeee? :D Even if only to ask about my sore butt. :/ Hehehhh!

The next chapter is going to be SEDDIE-filled, so look out for that, yeah?(:

And a shoutout to Princess of the Bookworms, who has a story called iMeet You, not to be confused with this story! It's amazing (SHE'S AMAZINGLY TALENTED) and you should go check it out!

Xoxo,

R;