Thank-You all for all the support! Here is the next chapter of Cause and Effect.
By the way, it's a few days before Christmas at this point in the story. Sorry I haven't really been including anything about that so far… I kinda forgot about it…
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"So, you're sure you're up for this?"
"Yes, for the hundredth time, I'm fine with it."
Carly frowned, concern playing a lightning fast game of tag against the backdrop of her eyes, and burying deep into the crevices of her furrowed brow.
Sam appraised the look her friend was giving her, knowing only too well that the now taboo topic was sure to bring itself up if she did not redirect Carly's train of thought.
"I really am fine today," Sam forced herself to smile as she said it, trying hard to redirect Carly's focus to the first iCarly they'd done in weeks, since the beginning of the whole pregnancy fiasco.
Carly nodded, letting her lips form a half smile as she turned her focus onto what would be taking place over the next few hours. "So, I've gotta go talk to Freddie," she paused to take in Sam's facial expression, and when it didn't change, she continued "So if you come up in a few minutes…" she trailed off as she lifted herself off the kitchen chair.
Sam picked up one of the cucumber cups, which Carly had gotten from Mrs. Benson after listening to Sam's countless complaints, taking a bite out of it as if to signal to Carly that she would be fine left alone in the kitchen for a few minutes.
"So, see you up there in a few minutes?" Carly repeated, shifting her weight slowly from foot to foot, still unsure of whether or not going upstairs to talk to Freddie was really something Sam could handle.
"Carly, seriously, go upstairs," Sam let her tone fade in to one she might sometimes adopt while speaking to Freddie. "I'm going to be just fine on my own for a few minutes."
Carly nodded, then turned to make her way up the stairs, following the turns of the wooden steps until she reached the clear glass of the iCarly studio door. She paused, composing herself and running over the plan she had formed in her head. The mental list of all the things she wanted to say to him was limited by what she could say without getting him too angry. Finally, she pushed open the door and stepped in.
When she entered the room, Freddie was bent over his tech cart, attention focused completely on what was directly in front of him. She paused, then cleared her throat to alert him of her presence.
Freddie jumped slightly, knocking a stack of papers along with something small and black to the ground before quickly bending over to retrieve it and hide it from Carly. She stepped forward to help him clean up the mess, bending over and gathering the pale white paper into untidy piles.
Freddie stood up first, letting Carly lift the last of the scattered paper and place it back on the cart. They stood in silence for a few minutes, Carly fiddling with the zipper on her sweater and Freddie resuming his focus on the laptop, before Carly spoke.
"Have you talked to her at all since last week?" her voice was slightly accusing, though she didn't mean for it to be so. Her plan hadn't been to lead with an attack, but who follows a plan in times such as these?
Freddie snapped his laptop shut, shifting his body into a stance that clearly illustrated he wasn't going to let Carly walk all over him. "I've said hello to her, in passing," he shrugged, "but she didn't seem eager to talk."
Carly raised her eyebrows, her lips parting to allow the questions as to how on earth he could treat Sam as he was to roll off her tongue. Though before she could utter the words, Freddie interrupted her.
"Why don't we just set this up and get it over with," Freddie suggested as he grabbed Sam's remote off one of the lower shelves and started over to the side of the room where they had a stack of pamphlets advertising for holiday getaways and resorts.
Carly nodded, letting her anger slowly fade away as she stood beside Freddie and assisted him in setting up the web show. They moved chairs and stacked boxes, the stuffed animals who sometimes resided on the chairs were moved into the back room, where they sometimes kept people until their time to appear on the show.
Once finished, they sat down on the stairs and waited for Sam to show up. It was uncomfortably quiet in the room, the low hum of the computer audible even from where they were seated.
Carly couldn't take it anymore. Accompanied by a flurry of movement as she situated herself directly over Freddie, her voice rang loud and harsh, shattering the silence as a hammer would shatter glass. "What are you thinking!? This is not you. The Freddie Benson I know would never treat anyone like this. You know better."
"You don't know what happened," Freddie stood up, his tone low and angry. "You wouldn't defend her if you knew what really happened."
"Okay, fine, you're right Freddie. I don't know what really happened, and I don't really want to. That's between you and Sam. But I do know that what you are doing is wrong. And I know that Sam deserves better." Carly glared up at him, the force in her tone causing Freddie to take a step back, though as she finished speaking, she noticed his eyes soften slightly, their focus no longer on her, but rather on something situated somewhere near the door.
"Hey, you two," Sam's voice was soft, a tone that was, even these days, a very rare occurrence. Carly spun to face her, eyes doing a quick once-over to make sure that everything was fine with Sam.
Once convinced nothing was wrong, she glanced behind her to where Freddie had been a moment before, only to find he was now on the other side of the room focused totally on the side of the car Spencer had made them so many years ago.
"Okay! Let's get the show on the road!" Carly exclaimed, eager to limit the down time in which Freddie and Sam would have the chance to start some sort of battle. Freddie nodded and hurried over to the cart, reaching it just as Sam joined Carly in front of the camera, a noticeably fake smile plastered on her face.
"In five, four, three, two…"
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It was going better than she could've hoped. Sam was relaxed and seemed to be genuinely happy, her usual fire renewed for the show. Freddie was also behaving better than Carly had expected, though he seemed to be getting slightly edgy. It only took a few minutes for the slightly iffy mood to turn deadly.
A minute and a half. It took them only a minute and a half to break into some sort of argument. Carly had stepped into the back room for a moment to get a sack of brightly coloured scarves for the next segment, only to be interrupted in her gathering by a loud accusing shout from the other room.
"I don't care what you say to me, Samantha Puckett, you're still a murderer!" Freddie's voice rang loud and clear through the walls, unlike the muffled thud that followed.
Carly froze, horror spreading across her face with a lightning-quick speed. She dropped the scarves immediately and rushed back into the main room where Freddie and Sam were standing, eyes flashing with the kind of hatred you only ever read about in books.
"Shut your mouth, Benson. Shut the hell up. You have no idea what I'm going through. You can't even imagine it," Sam spat, her words rolling into the air to float like poison around their heads.
As Carly noticed the positioning of Freddie's hand against his cheek, she relaxed slightly, the realization as to where the thud had come from calming her down considerably. She'd never thought it would be this relieving to know Sam had just slapped someone.
Freddie took a step forward, face inches from Sam, and spoke in a voice that failed to carry beyond Sam's left ear. Carly watched as her best friend's face went pale, her eyes flitting around the room in search for an escape before her knees buckled and she collapsed on the floor, leaning against Freddie's jean-clad legs, body shaking with silent sobs.
Both Carly and Freddie remained still for a moment, then Carly noticed the red blinking light on the video camera and her hear sank. As Freddie stood frozen in place, glaring down at Sam, Carly hurried to the laptop, frantically clicking buttons until the light stopped its incessant flashes and the screen made it's declaration that they were no longer airing in bold gray script.
The moment she was sure nothing else was being recorded, Carly spun around to face her two best friends. "Apologize," she ordered, voice hard.
Freddie didn't let his gaze leave Sam as he remained quiet.
"Freddie, tell her you're sorry."
He didn't move, only watched Sam as she rocked herself slowly back and forth, silent sobs overtaking her.
"Tell her you're sorry now, Freddie," Carly's voice was harsh, cutting through the tension in the room like a knife. "Say it, or leave."
The words hung in the air for a moment, drowning out everything else and catching even Sam's attention as she lifted her tear-stained face to watch Freddie. His face was still, though a wild battle was raging behind his eyes. Sam could see it, even in her half-aware state.
Perhaps Freddie would have made a different choice, had Carly not repeated her warnings once more. "Apologize, Freddie. And if you don't, just know that you are not welcome back here until you do."
It was one word: one easy little word. So why was it that instead of his mouth opening, his lips were drawing themselves into a thin line, eyes hardening into an unreadable expression?
It was like the night Sam had told Freddie about the abortion all over again. The way his expression hardened, the way his anger seemed to flick off him like a thousand tiny whips… Sam let her gaze drop as she curled tighter into a ball, trying to let herself separate from the conscious world that was causing everyone so much pain. For a moment, she could hear Freddie's angry footsteps on the wood floor, then her auto-defiance system kicked in and she fell into a calm and seemingly dreamless sleep.
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Sam's back was warm under Carly's feet; the rather unconventional back rub Sam had been undergoing for the last half hour of the TV program giving both of them a sense of relaxation. Carly was sitting on the couch in the Shay's living room, Sam sprawled out on a futon, blankets surrounding her and gaze focused on the TV. Their faces reflected the glowing images on the TV, faded lights illuminating their eyes.
They'd been like this for hours, ever since Freddie left the apartment. It had scared Carly at first when Sam didn't respond to her attempts at waking her up, but the loud snore she received had calmed her down enough for her to haul Sam over to one of the beanbag chairs while she set up the downstairs.
Carly had then hauled all the bedding and junk food she possibly could into the living room, with the help of a half asleep Spencer who was muttering something about all the money they were spending on Christmas presents. Carly had made the beds on the floor and couch while Spencer drove down to the video store with a wad of cash and a long list of movies Carly and Sam had mentioned over the last few months.
It had taken Carly nearly twenty minutes to get Sam awake enough to persuade her into making the trek downstairs. Even then, Carly carried most of Sam's weight as they stumbled down the stairs. Now they were settled into the living room, watching the fourth of the many movies Spencer had brought back with him.
Carly had been noticing a lack of response from Sam over the last few minutes, so she took it upon herself to give her friend a light nudge with her right toe. "You still awake down there?"
Sam grunted her reply, rolling from her side onto her back and staring up at the ceiling. Her eyes were red and puffy and her gaze unfocused. "I'm awake," Sam mumbled, her voice sounding slightly groggy, even by Sam's standards.
Carly wriggled her feet, moving them out from under Sam's back and rested them on her stomach instead. She watched as Sam's mouth reformed itself into a gentle smile, the gentle warmth that filled her eyes taking Carly's mind off the fact that Sam's belly felt strange under the pads of her bare feet.
"I was just thinking about Freddie." Carly raised her eyebrows at the drunken blissfulness Sam's voice adopted as she spoke.
"And what were you thinking about Freddie?" asked Carly, completely unsure of what to expect. It felt strange to be so far out of the loop. A few years ago, she would have known exactly what Sam would say if asked this question. A few years ago, none of this could ever have even happened. A few years ago, Sam hated Freddie, plain and simple.
Sam's mouth opened slightly, confusion sinking deep into her face as she uttered the next words. "I love him."
Carly sat up a bit straighter, unsure of how to proceed. She knew for sure now that Sam wasn't fully aware of what was happening, as a conscious Sam wouldn't be caught dead saying these things. But before Carly could make a decision, Sam started talking again.
"I'd do anything to get him to forgive me. Anything. I miss him so much…" the happiness left her face instantly, her eyes glassing over with a thin layer of tears. "I really love him, Carly, I really do." The tears that had gathered in her eyes overflowed, trickling down her cheeks and onto the carpet.
"Hey, Sam, it's okay," Carly slid off the couch and knelt beside Sam, letting her friend pull herself up into a sitting position and wrap her arms around Carly in a strong hug. "I'm sure that if you two talk once he's settled down… you'll be able to work something out." Her voice sounded hopeful even to her.
Just then the phone rang, startling both Carly and Sam. After a moment, it stopped, only to be followed by a loud holler from Spencer's room, telling Carly it was for her.
"I've gotta get that," Carly said, voice apologetic. Sam nodded as Carly lowered her back onto the mattress, then got up quickly to grab the phone.
"Hello?" she said after pressing the talk button.
"Hello, is this Carly?"
"Yes, this is she."
"It's Mrs. Benson, Freddie and I are going away for awhile and I was wondering if you'd be willing to look after the apartment."
Carly's face froze, and she turned slowly away from Sam. "When are you leaving?" her voice shook slightly, whether from anger or fear she wasn't quite sure.
"Early tomorrow morning. We should be back in a few weeks," Mrs. Benson paused, then resumed her talking. "Freddie and I are going to visit some relatives for Christmas, then we're staying for a while."
Carly nodded, then remembered that Mrs. Benson couldn't see her. "Yeah, that's fine. Could I talk to Freddie for a minute though…?" she lowered her voice as she asked the last question, not wanting Sam to figure out what was happening quite yet.
"No, I'm afraid he's already sleeping."
Carly sighed, "Fine then, I'll come by tomorrow evening and check up on everything."
"Thanks, Carly," a pause, then, "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas." She hung up, then turned to break the news to her best friend. Nothing was going how it should have.
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Hey all! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. =] Anddd…
I'd really like to hear what you think of this so far, as I feel like I'm just giving you the same thing over and over again.
Thanks to SquishyCool for her amazing Betaing job!