Union Chapter 9
Neutral POV
Freddie sighed as he stared at Carly's door. Sam hadn't showed up to the rest of her classes. That didn't necessarily mean that Freddie couldn't talk to Sam today. There was a good chance that Sam was just beyond that door. She might've been sitting on the couch, a mere 10 feet away.
Freddie briefly considered knocking but ultimately decided against it. If Sam wanted to talk to him, then she would talk to him.
As Freddie entered his apartment, he couldn't help but feel completely helpless. He had a good plan for the day but he didn't count on Sam deserting the premises.
Now Freddie was stuck with a basket of feelings he couldn't explain and an awkward friend situation he couldn't solve. Wait, that wasn't true. Freddie knew how he felt, even if he didn't want to admit it. Now he just needed Sam to see it.
You know what, fuck it Freddie said to himself and got up off his couch.
In a rare moment of unbiased introspection, Freddie admitted that he had spent the last few days acting like a whiny bitch. It was time for him to take charge, and for real this time. He had been saying this for a while now but this time he meant it.
With a sudden surge of confidence, Freddie walked across the hall and opened the door without knocking, startling the two occupants inside the apartment. Unfortunately for Freddie, neither of these two occupants were Sam, only Carly and Spencer.
"Do any of your friends actually have homes they go to?" Spencer rhetorically asked his sister before retreating to his bedroom.
Carly shrugged. "What's up, Freddie? she asked.
"Uhh...is Sam here? Freddie asked awkwardly. His newfound confidence had seemingly disappeared once he realized Sam's absence.
"Never came home from school." Carly remarked in dismissive fashion. While it wasn't unlike Sam to skip classes, Carly had never become particularly fond of her habit.
"Mind if I hang out here awhile?" Freddie asked and Carly nodded in response. Carly was tired of the tension that had plagued the trio over the last week. The sooner Sam and Freddie resolved their issues, the better.
"Did Sam say where she was going or when she would be back?" Freddie asked hopefully.
"She wouldn't answer any of my texts" Carly replied.
Sam was not exactly number one on Carly's list right now. Not only had she lied about coming to homeroom, she had ignored her attempts at communication all day long. Carly hated when Sam did this. She would separate herself from the world to go be alone somewhere and not answer any forms of communication.
What if something important had happened? And what if Sam got hurt? Carly wouldn't be able to help her because she had no clue where or with whom Sam went on these little excursions.
Both teenagers sighed. It was still Monday which meant they should be starting to prepare for Saturday's iCarly, but with Sam and Brad absent, the two web stars had no choice but to wait.
Almost on cue, they heard a jingling of keys and Sam walked into the apartment and she did not arrive alone. Brad had accompanied her home, each of them holding a smoothie from The Groovy Smoothie.
"It's about time, guys." Carly sarcastically commented while simultaneously rushing over to hug her blonde-headed delinquent of a best friend.
"Sorry we're late, Carls. We just stopped off to get some smoothies after school before rehearsal." Sam stated with confidence. While they had stopped to grab smoothies, Sam and Brad both knew that wasn't what brought them together on this day.
"Bullshit." said Freddie who had been quiet up to this point. He got up from the couch to join his trio of co-stars at the door.
"Both of us know you didn't go to school today, Sam." Freddie stated. His face was calm, cool, and collected but his body language screamed that he was anything but calm.
"Yeah, no shit, Benson" Sam retorted with a roll of her eyes. "I didn't mean it literally, at least not for me. I met Brad on my way here." Sam explained.
Freddie shook his head in disagreement. "I don't think so. Brad came to school today but he didn't show up to AP English 7th period, now why is that, Brad?" Freddie asked, turning his attention to his tech-savvy friend.
Before Brad could answer, Sam interrupted him.
"What exactly are you trying to say, Fredweird?" Sam got right in Freddie's face. The tension in the room was palpable.
"Guys, let's just take a step back here." Carly interjected, trying to calm the tension to no avail.
"I have no intention of backing down." declared an obviously frustrated Freddie. "Now why don't you tell me what you two really did today?" Freddie continued with fire in his eyes.
Sam took a step back with a surprised look on her face. "Are you...jealous, Freddie?" she inquired with a smirk. She knew exactly what Freddie was thinking and since Brad had the intelligence not to interrupt her, she figured she might as well see how it played out.
"No, I am not jealous, I'm pissed off." Freddie rolled his eyes. "Some of us actually show up to rehearsal, not to mention school!" Freddie yelled, directing his attention towards both Brad and Sam.
"First of all, we're only like 25 minutes late so stop getting your panties in a tightwad, Benson." Sam begun. "Second of all, Brad and I can do whatever the hell we want so why don't you shut it." Sam continued.
"Guys, let's not fight..." Carly tried to play peacemaker but Freddie and Sam were just getting started.
"Oh why not, Carly?" Freddie asked sarcastically. "If Sam, wants to play then let's play. Let's recount the facts. Sam leaves school 10 minutes after arriving. Brad shows up to school and mysteriously leaves halfway through the day. Both of you arrive late, carrying a smoothie from the same restaurant. So obviously you were together the entire time." Freddie easily deduced.
Sam rolled her eyes again at Freddie's deduction. "Congratulations, Freddie. You have figured out the most obvious clue in the universe. Why don't you tell me tonight's lottery numbers too, since you're such a genius?" Sam countered.
"Why don't you tell me tonight's lottery numbers." Freddie mocked Sam.
"Oh real mature, Freddie." Sam responded with a snarl. "What are you, 5 years old?" she continued.
"Even at 5 years old, I was still smarter than you'll ever be." Freddie retorted.
"Fuck you, Benson. Just because I don't spend every waking moment studying doesn't mean I'm not just as intelligent as anyone in this room. Oh wait, I'm sorry. Did I say every moment? I meant every moment except for the time your mother gives you a tick bath each night!" Sam returned.
The back and forth between Freddie and Sam was growing tiresome and Carly finally decided to put a stop to it. Too busy arguing with one another, Sam and Freddie didn't notice the air horn that Carly had retrieved from her brother's room. Seconds later, the horn blared throughout the apartment forcing Sam and Freddie (and a well prepared Brad) to cover their ears.
"Damnit Carly, would you turn that off?" yelled Freddie and Carly acquiesced.
"Well it was about time you two stopped arguing. Don't you see what's happening here? You two have so many unresolved issues that you're getting mad with each other over nothing. I don't know what the hell has gotten into all of you but I'm tired of it. When you guys decide to act like mature adults, I'll be waiting. Now I'm going to go watch old episodes of Spongebob with my brother." Carly snapped and seconds later she was gone with a slam of the door, leaving the remaining trio in the living room.
"Look, maybe Carly has a point." Brad finally opened his mouth. "Is all this fighting seriously necessary?" he continued.
When he received only mumbling for responses, he continued his attempt at peacemaker.
"The answer is no, by the way, especially when you consider the reason why you two are fighting. For god's sake, Freddie. I know exactly what you are thinking went on between Sam and I today and it didn't. There was no sex, no kissing, no anything, so get over yourself and your jealousy." Brad begun, stunning Freddie. Brad was rarely so open.
Before Freddie could respond, Brad was talking again. "And Sam. Don't torture Freddie. He doesn't deserve it. You two both know exactly what this argument was really about and it has nothing to do with skipping school or tick baths." Brad continued.
"I'm with Carly on this one. You two need to grow up and for once in your life be honest with each other. Until you do that, I'm out too." Brad declared and walked right out the front door, leaving Freddie and Sam alone.
"See what yo..." Sam begun but Freddie waved her off.
"Don't bother Sam, they're completely right and we both know it." Freddie admitted with a sigh. Sam didn't want to admit anything but she acknowledged he was right with simply a nod.
"What are we gonna do about this, Sam?" Freddie asked. It was the most subdued either of them had been all day.
"I have no idea, Freddie." Sam said with a shake of her head. This had not been the easiest day for her.
"If you don't want to move forward, can we at least go back to the way things were before this mess?" Freddie asked. His intentions were sincere but his words still stung.
"Freddie, I have spent my whole life focusing on my mistakes in my past. I have no intention of going back anymore." Sam admitted with a distant glance.
"Goodnight, Freddie." Sam abruptly finished their conversation and went upstairs, leaving Freddie alone in Carly's apartment.
As Freddie heard sounds of laughter coming from Carly and Spencer in the other room, he hoped to himself that one day, him and Sam could reconcile some kind of relationship.
A/N: Hey guys. Here's chapter 9. I noticed both in the reviews, private messages, and view counter that people didn't seem to be a fan of the last 2 chapters. I am always willing to change things up so let me know what you think. I know the Seddie has been light thus far but it's "slow burn" for a reason. Again, let me know what you guys think, good or bad :)
