Author's Note: Helloo, everyone! How are you all doing? I hope you all had stupendous weeks. Mine wasn't so hot because of ridiculously grown-up endeavours and stresses. But at least my Tuesday night was cool when I finally watched 'iPity The Nevel'. It was so good to finally see a genuinely funny iCarly episode after such a long gap. It almost makes me forgive Dan Schneider for being a wang of late...almost. This is another super-long chapter, so you'd better bring along a travel bag of supplies and have your wits about you ;D Now to answer last week's mystery: who's at the door of the Shay apartment?
Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly or the characters depicted in this story, just Michael the angel/demon and my own cliffhangers ;D
In spite of her innate disappointment, Carly managed to recover herself quite remarkably when she saw who was at the door.
"Hey."
"What? No fanfare greeting or complimentary Fat Cakes for your best friend?" Sam questioned drolly.
"Come on in, Sam." Carly implored, ignoring the quip for the moment.
She stepped back graciously to let Sam in. Sam didn't need a second invitation and shuffled noiselessly into the dimly lit living room.
"Hey, Spence," Sam greeted while swinging her shoulders casually from side to side as she spoke.
"Hey, Sam. Nice of you to drop by," Spencer greeted back in a cordial manner with a smile on his face.
"Well, it beats watching my Mom give herself a bikini wax. You working on a new painting?" Sam asked with a tilt of her head towards the easel still resting against the kitchen counter.
"Yip, just taking a break. I'm making some chicken soup, you want some?"
"Thanks. You mind if I have some ham on the side with it?"
"Coming right up," Spencer answered brightly and busied himself with dishing out some soup.
And while he whistled gaily in the kitchen, an uncomfortable silence grew between Sam and Carly in the living room. Sam's hands were shoved deep into the pockets of her black skinny jeans while Carly's arms were folded tightly across their chest, neither of them taking their eyes off of each other.
"Mind if I sit?" Sam asked of Carly.
"Go ahead," Carly replied with a gesture towards the sofa.
Sam acquiesced and planted herself down on the sofa with a soft thump. Carly remained standing for the moment while she looked intently at her best friend.
"What are you doing here, Sam?"
"I came to see my best friend, just like I do every single day. And since you left school in such a hurry earlier, I thought you'd wanna know that Rory's in the hospital."
"Is he ok? Was he badly hurt?"
Carly was sure that Spencer was eavesdropping from the kitchen, but ignored it for the moment in her haste to find out any news related to Rory Blake.
"Well, he's got a sprained collar bone, a broken arm, couple of cracked ribs and a possible concussion. But from what Wendy told me, it sounds like he's gonna be ok. The doctor's have got him on meds for the pain. He probably has to spend a week or two in the hospital while he recovers." Sam answered nonchalantly.
"Thank God," Carly murmured in obvious relief, sinking down automatically into a spot on the sofa next to Sam.
"Now that you seem visibly calmer than a couple of hours ago, you mind explaining both yours and Freddie's outbursts at school earlier?" Sam questioned pointedly.
Before Carly could answer, Spencer's cellphone began ringing shrilly on top of the kitchen counter. Spencer stopped spooning soup into a bowl and jogged to go grab it.
"It's Socko; I'm gonna go take this in my bedroom. Holler if you need anything," Spencer stated hurriedly.
Then he ran into his room while answering his cellphone, leaving Sam and Carly sitting by themselves on the living room sofa. Carly squeezed her hands together where her knuckles were interlaced before turning to face Sam.
"It's complicated, Sam. All of this is really complicated."
"So un-complicate it, Carls. Let's at least start with the fact that you accused me out of nowhere of hurting Freddie on purpose by pushing him down the stairs."
"That's because it's the truth! Freddie could've been badly hurt because of what you did!"
"But he wasn't, so what's the big deal? If Freddie's not mad at me, then why are you?"
Carly laughed humourlessly at this while she shook her head at Sam's words.
"Maybe Freddie doesn't get that mad at you when you push him around. But that's only because he doesn't wanna hurt me by calling you out. And I keep putting his feelings on the back-burner because I'm too busy worrying about not hurting you. It's come full-circle." She murmured mirthlessly.
"So what are you saying? You'd rather take Freddie's side over mine?" Sam demanded in a sour tone.
"You don't get it, do you, Sam? This isn't about choosing sides. This is about me doing the right thing for both you and Freddie."
"What the heck does that mean?"
Before Carly could answer, Spencer came bounding out of his bedroom while shrugging into a hoodie at the same time.
"Socko's in trouble and I've gotta go help him real quick," Spencer declared hurriedly while jogging to the front door.
"What happened? Is he ok?" Carly asked in concern while both she and Sam got to their feet.
"I think so. He's uh…kinda stuck down a man-hole a few blocks away from here."
"What?" Carly shrieked in horror.
"How did that happen?" Sam asked in confusion.
"I'm not sure, but he sounded really freaked out while he was talking on the phone, so I couldn't make out a whole lot of what he was trying to tell me. I'm gonna go and see if I can get him out."
"Do you want us to come with you?" Carly offered graciously.
"No, you and Sam stay here, I'll be fine. Just make sure you stay near the phone in case I have to call you for anything."
"No problem. Please be careful, Spencer." Carly chided anxiously.
"Come on, Carls. I'm always careful."
"Yip, and that's exactly what worries me. Promise me you won't fall down a man-hole while trying to save Socko."
"I promise." Spencer answered with a dramatic eye-roll.
"I'll be back soon. Take care of yourselves while I'm gone."
Spencer smiled at them one last time before closing the front door behind them.
"Seems like today's the day for random chizz," Sam commented after a few seconds of silence.
"Tell me about it." Carly agreed pensively while staring off into space.
Now that Sam and Carly were back on their feet and regarding each other with steady expressions, Carly began formulating a plan in her head on how best to broach the subject.
"Now that we finally have a private moment to ourselves, maybe you can explain what you meant about doing what's right for both me and Dorkward."
"Sam, I need you to lay off of Freddie from now on. It's one thing for the two of you to have your verbal sparring contests, it's part of the dynamic that the two of you share. But putting your hands on him and ill-treating him, it scares me a lot."
"Why? Are you scared that I might go too far and really do some damage to Freddie?"
"Actually, no. I'm scared that this time around, you'll push Freddie too far and he'll snap. And I'm scared that you'll wind up being the one who ends up getting really hurt, Sam." Carly stated with emphasis.
Just as Carly expected, Sam began cackling hysterically in response, going so far as to close her eyes and clutch her stomach painstakingly. To Carly's utter lack of surprise, there were tears in Sam's eyes when she was done.
"Cupcake, let's be serious for a minute. Freddie couldn't hurt me if he tried, not even if he pumped iron every day for the next 10 years in a prison yard." Sam teased wryly.
"That's where you're wrong, Sam. Freddie could hurt you if he really wanted to. How far away were you standing when Rory hit that pile of lockers clear across the hallway at school?" Carly inquired curiously.
"I don't know, I was probably standing closer to the stairwell when it happened and when both you and Freddie left through the back exit. Why?" Sam demanded impatiently.
"Rory didn't trip and fall into a pile of lockers, Sam. Rory started getting grabby with me and Freddie stepped in. When Rory didn't listen, Freddie grabbed him and threw him into the lockers. Freddie hurt Rory, really hurt him."
Sam remained silent for a few seconds, her head bowed while she thought it over.
"What are you saying? Freddie's turned into the Incredible Hulk overnight and knocked the football captain out cold?"
"Not overnight, Sam. It happened because you pushed Freddie down the stairs. And because I ended up throwing all three of us over the railing because I was trying to stop Freddie from getting hurt. You weren't supposed to hit Spencer's sculpture, Sam. I pushed you into it on purpose to shield Freddie by pushing him into the back of the sofa instead. Except that it didn't work too well and Freddie still got a concussion from falling. But the point is that I did it, Sam."
Sam watched Carly's eyes for a long time, trying to figure out if her best friend was playing some elaborate prank on her. But Carly didn't blink once and that unnerved Sam to no end.
"You're serious." She stated in a soft murmur that barely left her parted lips.
"But you can't be. Fredlumps can't have 'super-human strength' and neither can you, Carls."
"Believe what you want, Sam. But you asked me for the truth and I'm telling you what you wanted to know."
"That can't be the truth, Carls. It's one thing to believe in Big Foot since the 6th grade. But it's a totally different thing to believe that you have special powers to do stuff to other people." Sam pointed out sceptically.
Carly knew that she was towing a very fine line between truth and reality. But it was too late to turn back now, especially if she was going to make Sam understand just how serious she was about everything that had transpired.
"You don't believe me."
It wasn't a question, but Carly's way of simply stating the obvious with resigned clarity.
"I don't know what to believe. What you're saying is pretty weird." Sam confessed seriously.
"Then I'll prove it to you. Say something mean about Freddie."
"I thought you just told me to lay off of Freddie."
"Just do it, Sam! Say something really insulting about Freddie and mean it, something that you know will make me angry."
Sam frowned in confusion, but squared her shoulders as if she was preparing to charge Carly. Carly had no idea what was going to happen next, but she instinctively knew that the next few seconds would change everything between her and Sam.
"Nothing I ever say about Fredduccini is insulting, Carls, just the truth. He's a nerd who's into computers, geeky TV shows like 'Galaxy Wars' and he has this crazy idea that you and him are gonna end up together in some fairytale romance. How would any of that make me want to actually respect the nub? His Mom's a controlling sociopath who wouldn't know how to cut the cords of over-protective parenting even if someone handed her a pair of scissors. There's nothing remotely redeeming about Freddie Benson. He always has been and always will be a grade-A loser. I'd hate him if he weren't so damn pathetic." Sam declared with smug smile on his face, not looking sorry in the least.
There it was, that flood of warmth rushing through Carly's very bones which tingled with suppressed rage at Sam's words. And she had thought that the burn only came when Freddie caressed her body with rough and tender touches which made her want to melt into an incoherent swirl on the ground. Apparently, the heat could be triggered when she was angry, just like she had surmised when Freddie had grabbed hold of Rory and thrown him into a row of lockers a few hours ago. And right now, the warmth, which had radiated into a scorching flame, was licking away at her, aching to strike at her best friend with amber rancour.
"Sam…" Carly hissed painstakingly, an attempt at a spontaneous warning which vibrated haphazardly against her lips.
Sam first saw the change in Carly's irises before she noticed the light bulbs go subtly dimmer in the living room. Carly's eyes, which were usually a lovely shade of chocolate brown, were now as black as tar, gaunt and unfathomable. Sam couldn't explain why she suddenly felt afraid of what was about to happen. But her body wouldn't let her escape; her feet stayed stubbornly stuck to the wooden tiles beneath her.
"Carly…" Sam murmured weakly, feeling her own heart-rate increase exponentially in the space of a few seconds.
"Sam!" Carly bellowed in a voice she barely recognised right before her body and brain separated altogether.
Sam barely had time to duck when several light bulbs above her smashed and exploded, the light disappearing into the tiny shards which erupted all around her and littered her shoulders and hands, which moved to protect her head, like flecks of diamonds. Sam's legs finally regained some movement and she managed to side-step to her right out of harm's way, nearest to the wall before one entered the Shay's kitchen.
And that brought her right in line with the gold fish bowl which was resting on top of the coffee table.
Her eyes widened in horror as the bowl lifted off the wooden surface as if it were bouncing on a trampoline with sudden speed and began rushing towards her face, pelting through the air like a runaway train. Sam could almost envision the glass bowl filled with water smacking her right in the mouth and possibly splitting her lip and breaking her nose on contact before knocking her unconscious.
In just a second, the fish bowl was going to come pelting right at her.
In a second, she was going to be killed on the spot by the inevitable blow.
Before she could even move to save herself, the bowl abruptly changed course and headed for a stretch of wall next to her. And then it crashed violently a few inches away from her cheek, the glass exploding into millions of rough shards, which just missed her skin and shot forward away from her. But the same couldn't be said for the water, which hit Sam on the side of her cheek and wet her entire face and long tendrils of blonde hair with shocking alacrity, which left her dazed and confused.
All of this had occurred in about 5 seconds. But Sam could've sworn that time had slowed down. With her heart in her throat and her fists clutched tightly at her sides, she finally chanced a look at Carly, who was breathing and panting heavily. Her eyes, which had been dilated and blackened seconds ago, were back to normal. Sweat poured down her face like water and her fists too were balled up tightly at her sides. Carly finally straightened her shoulders and looked at Sam, the horror in her eyes betraying her for a split second before they were replaced with resignation.
"Holy chizz, Carly…" Sam mumbled in awe while staring at the shards of glass strewn all over the living room floor.
After all the bizarre things that had occurred in the past few hours, much less the entire week, Carly found that she had just enough strength to smile sheepishly in response.
Marissa Benson unlocked the door of her apartment and hung the keys on a nearby hook with a weary countenance. It had been a long shift at the hospital and she was exhausted. All she had energy for was to take a nice long hot soak in the tub, or at least convince her one and only son to try a new tick disinfectant that she had researched on the Internet.
To her intense surprise, she found Freddie sitting on her bed, his shoulders hunched forward and clasping a strange object in his hand while staring straight ahead into space. Freddie shifted his position slightly when he saw that his mother was finally home. It felt like a lifetime ago that he'd last seen her.
"Freddie?"
"Hi, Mom."
"What are you doing in my bedroom? What's happened?" Marissa asked all in one breath.
"Just brushing up on Dad's last few minutes on Earth. As it turns out, I had a front row seat to the whole thing." Freddie retorted morbidly by way of explanation.
He tossed the diary listlessly so it sailed a few inches along the duvet closer towards Marissa. She gaped in astonishment when she recognised the all-too-familiar leather binding of the book her son had been holding a second ago.
"You read my diary? My innermost private thoughts?" Marissa exploded indignantly.
"When were you gonna tell me, Mom?"
"Freddie, how could you go through my things without my permission?"
"That wasn't my intention, it was just something I stumbled onto. I need to know why you kept this from me, Mom." Freddie stated in a firm voice.
"I didn't mean to, Freddie. I've lived with the pain of losing your Dad all these years; it's all I can think about sometimes."
"You told me that you and Dad left me with a babysitter that night, that Dad came alone to come get you from the hospital when the accident happened. How could you look me in the eye every single day and lie to my face, Mom?" Freddie exclaimed heatedly, finally getting to his feet.
"I didn't want you to be haunted by the idea of being in the car the night your Dad was killed. Please try to understand; I did it to protect you, Freddie."
Marissa instinctively moved closer and tried to put a comforting hand on Freddie's shoulder, secretly grateful when he didn't pull away.
"I'm sorry I kept it from you all these years. But it's in the past now and it's best if you forget about it, and try to focus on more positive things."
That's when Freddie finally stepped out of his mother's grasp to look her dead in the eye.
"That's just it, Mom. I don't think I can put any of this behind me. Everything's changed and I have to face up to that."
Marissa didn't like the look in Freddie's eye one bit.
"Freddie, what are you talking about?"
"I lied to you about what really happened on the stairwell in the Shay's apartment last week. I didn't fall down the stairs because I was wearing open-toed shoes. Sam pushed me down the stairs, Mom; that's how I hit my head against the sofa." Freddie explained in a frank manner.
"She did what? I should've known that blonde-headed demon was behind this. To think that I've let you hang around that girl all these years! And once again, Carly just stood by and let my baby get hurt again!" Marissa fumed in an irate tone.
"Mom, knock it off! I just told you who's responsible! It's not Carly's fault!"
"Just like it wasn't her fault when you jumped in front of a taco truck to save her?"
"How many times do I have to tell you that wasn't her fault either? Would it have made you happy if I hadn't jumped in front of that truck and just let it hit her? Would it make you ecstatic if she had almost died that day instead of me?"
"Don't you use that tone on me, young man-"
"I'm gonna use whatever tone helps you finally get the message! Carly didn't just let Sam push me down the stairs; she tried to intervene."
"Oh really? Because as far as I can tell, you still fell down the stairs and almost cracked your head open. So enlighten me: how did Carly try to intervene?"
"When I fell down the stairs, I should've hit Spencer's sculpture and Sam should've hit the sofa. Carly pushed Sam in front of me and she hit the sculpture; that's where Spencer found her when he entered the apartment. I hit the sofa instead because Carly was trying to shield me in mid-air."
"That's impossible. How could Carly have possibly shielded you in mid-air? I knew that switching from Wheato's to Fibre Nuts would lessen your brain functionality." Marissa retorted scathingly.
"Then let me explain it in simple terms so you can understand. Carly pushed Sam out of the way and tried to stop me from getting hurt, just like I did with her today."
"Freddie, you're not making any sense. What are you talking about?" Marissa asked in a pleading tone.
"Principal Franklin hasn't tried to get in touch with you today?" Freddie questioned in sudden surprise.
"Well, I wouldn't know, since I've been doing rounds all afternoon. Why would Principal Franklin try to call me, Fredward?" Marissa queried sternly.
"I got into a fight today with the captain of the football team."
"Oh my God! Freddie, are you hurt?"
Marissa's hands began wandering all over Freddie's face, trying to discern whether they were any cuts and bruises on his skin. Freddie eventually grew impatient and slapped his mother's hands away.
"No, I'm not hurt, Mom. But the other guy might be, I'm not sure. I threw him into a row of lockers and knocked him unconscious. Then I left school before the end of the day and came back here."
"Fighting and skipping class? Fredward Benson, what's gotten into you?"
"I told you, I was trying to protect Carly."
"By picking a fight with another student?"
"He was harassing Carly and I put a stop to it. He wouldn't listen when I told him to back off. Then he grabbed Carly again and I pulled him off of her before sending him into a row of lockers. And I'm not sorry I did it either." Freddie declared in a steady voice.
"Freddie, how could you do something so cruel and vicious? Did Carly incite you to do this?"
"You're not listening to me, Mom. I had to step in and act, just like Carly had to step in when Sam pushed me down the stairs. Don't you get it? Carly triggered it when she pushed me into the sofa."
"Triggered what, Freddie?"
"She triggered the 'bond', Mom. Carly and I have 'bonded'. There's no point pretending you don't know what I'm talking about, because I already know that you know. I read all about it in there," Freddie declared while pointing a finger at his mother's diary on the bed.
"I know it happened to you and Dad. That's why he died that night – he was trying to stop you from getting hurt when that ceiling collapsed in the OR."
Marissa collapsed onto her bed in a sudden daze, her exhaustion having vanished instantly at Freddie's words. And what was left was plain resignation.
"Oh my God…" she breathed.
"Yeah." Freddie agreed, coming to sit down next to his mother again while they stared off into space.
"You and Carly…"
Freddie nodded slowly at his mom before sighing loudly.
"Oh my God. This can't be happening again. He promised that the chances of it going beyond me and Jimmy were rare…" Marissa mumbled to herself.
"Who's 'he'? Your Guardian?" Freddie questioned curiously.
Marissa looked over at Freddie in obvious shock.
"How do you know about the guardians?" she demanded.
"My guardian told me all about it today after I left school. He found a way to talk to both me and Carly during the week and explained that we 'bonded'." Freddie answered truthfully.
"No, it can't be true…"
"Mom, calm down-"
"Don't tell me to calm down, Freddie! A 'bond' isn't something to joke about, it's serious. If I could've stopped it from happening to me and your Dad, then I would've! Maybe then, your Dad might still be alive." Marissa retorted in a miserable voice.
"You can't honestly believe that, Mom. What happened to Dad was an accident – he got hit by a cab because he missed a red light, because he was distracted. It wasn't something supernatural that killed him. Dad was rushing to get to you because he didn't want you to get hurt. I did the same thing for Carly when I jumped in front of that taco truck; I didn't want her to die." Freddie declared earnestly.
"But you can't control it, Freddie! Don't you understand? You have to live with the consequences of the 'bond' for the rest of your life. You don't get a choice at all! And then there are the powers that will affect you physically and emotionally. You can't lead a normal life; you'll never have a moment's peace. You'll always be worrying about some unforeseen danger just lurking around the corner everywhere you go. How can you live that way?" Marissa fumed in a ringing tone, getting to her feet again.
"I don't have all the answers, Mom. I don't know how any of this is gonna work out. But whatever happens, Carly and I will find a way to figure it out." Freddie responded calmly.
"Why her?" Marissa asked painstakingly.
"Because I love her!" Freddie roared unexpectedly, catching even himself off guard.
"Bond or no bond, it's always gonna be Carly, Mom. You don't have to like it, but I need you to understand. Even if Carly never returns my feelings, I have to be with her every step of the way, even if she just wants me around as a friend. Loving her is part of who I am."
Marissa began sobbing quietly and Freddie moved closer to rub her shoulders soothingly, all remnants of his anger erased from his mind.
"Don't you see, Mom? Would you have walked away from Dad if you had known about the 'bond' before you met him? Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me that would've stopped you from loving him, even if he had still died a few years later?"
Marissa hiccoughed slightly while staring intently at her only son, whose eyes were the exact shade of brown as Jimmy's.
"No, Freddie. I'd be lying if I ever said that. I wanted and needed your Dad in my life. He didn't just save me from stepping into a bus that day. He saved me long after that too. And you wouldn't be here if not for your Dad. As much as I miss him every single day, I will never regret loving him." Marissa answered earnestly.
"It's the same thing with Carly. Even though she's hurt me in the past, I don't regret knowing her or loving her. Being 'bonded' to her has finally made me realise that. And if there's the slightest chance that she feels the same way about me, then I'm not giving up on her, not ever." Freddie replied vehemently.
Marissa saw the truth of his words etched on his face. It reminded her all too well of the things that Jimmy used to say to her when they first fell in love with each other. Despite her many attempts to keep Freddie safe over the years, she knew that this was one situation she couldn't control.
"You have to go to her." Marissa stated, more out of resignation than true acceptance.
"Yeah. I need to talk to Carly and somehow make this all right. Don't wait up."
After giving his mother's shoulder a gentle squeeze, Freddie offered one last small smile before shuffling quietly out of her room, his hands thrust deep into his jeans pockets. Marissa stood still as she watched him go, clutching her diary in her hands, a lone tear staining the leathery surface.
Sam was sitting on top of the sofa towel-drying her hair while Carly was hunched over cleaning up the shards of glass which littered the living room floor in every direction with a small grey coloured broom and a matching scooper.
"You really don't pack any punches with insulting Freddie." Carly noted wryly.
"You told me not to. It obviously worked and got you juiced up enough to almost beam me in the head with a glass fish bowl with a gold fish still in it, which you just killed." Sam pointed out blandly.
"Actually, Spencer already killed our latest gold fish earlier in the day; I just forgot to take the water out of the bowl and clean it out." Carly joked lightly.
"It really took you a few seconds to fire glass at me? It felt like a whole hour passed. Was it like this when you tried to stop Freddie from falling down the stairs?"
"Yeah, it was. I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience when it happened, like I couldn't really control it. Then my body took over and the glass started flying in all directions. But a part of my brain told me that I couldn't hit you with the fish bowl."
"My head thanks that part of your brain."
Carly smirked at this before becoming remorseful once more.
"I really am sorry about the glass, Sam. I just needed you to understand that I wasn't kidding around about what's happened to me and Freddie lately."
"Don't sweat it, I guess I deserved a little healthy fear, since I'm usually the one dishing it out. I got the message loud and clear." Sam quipped while shaking her wet hair out of her face, which was steadily turning brown under the dim light.
"Do you honestly feel that way about him? Do you really hate Freddie, Sam?"
"Not really, I might've over-exaggerated some points. I may not like him all the time, but I definitely don't hate the nub."
"Maybe you should tell him that more often."
Sam didn't answer, but continued drying her wet hair off with a fluffy towel. Carly raised an eyebrow when Sam began chuckling unexpectedly.
"What's so funny?"
"I still can't believe you used Matrix moves on me in mid-air and made me hit Spencer's robot sculpture."
"How is that funny?"
"Because Freddie still got hurt from you trying to save him. Even he did better when he jumped in front of that taco truck for you." Sam chortled unabashedly.
Carly frowned at first, but began laughing at the startling truth behind Sam's words.
"Why do you think it didn't work? You stopping Freddie from getting hurt, I mean." Sam clarified in a more serious tone once their laughter had subsided.
"I've been wondering about that myself. Freddie didn't mess up by hurting me accidentally when he grabbed Rory, so why did I screw up? Michael said I was distracted and scared when I tried to stop Freddie from falling. Maybe your powers work better when you're angry." Carly guessed.
"Makes sense. I always get better aim punching Freddie in the arm when he's mocked me beforehand and it ticks me off." Sam noted casually.
Carly threw Sam a disbelieving glare and shook her head.
"I'm kidding." Sam offered lightly with a small smile on her face, which mollified Carly for the time-being.
"I still can't believe that you neglected to tell me that you were alone in your bedroom with a really hot older guy a week ago." Sam marvelled with just a hint of envy in her voice.
Carly was surprised that Sam didn't seem that fearful of Michael, even after Carly had told her that he may possibly be a demon of sorts. She imagined that Sam got just as much of a kick out of bad boys as she used to.
"I told you, Sam, it wasn't like that. Michael literally came to talk to me about the 'bond'. He was outside the school when Freddie took off earlier. I think they left together; maybe Michael's explaining things to him too as we speak." Carly surmised shrewdly.
"This chizz is really weird. Out of everyone in Seattle, why the two of you?"
"I'm not sure, it seems to happen at random with certain people depending on their relationship and specific circumstances, like whether their parents 'bonded' before them and stuff." Carly explained in a casual voice while dusting up the shards of glass.
"Doesn't it freak you out that you technically don't have a choice in who you 'bond' with? Doesn't it bother you that you basically… belong to Fredlumps now?" Sam questioned with emphasis.
"I don't belong to Freddie, Sam. Just like he doesn't belong to me either. Every thing we've done up till now has been our own choice, regardless of whether we were fated to meet a long time ago. I would've freaked if Michael had come to visit me a few years ago and told me that Freddie and I 'bonded', because we were just friends then. But now…"
"What are you now though? I mean, you guys did kiss…again."
A blush crept up Carly's neck and cheeks while she thought back on the previous night's events after telling Sam all about it.
"Yeah, we did." She admitted softly.
"So what are you saying, Carls? Are you and Freddie like…a couple now?" Sam pressed.
"I don't know. The whole 'bonding' and kiss thing freaked me out at first, even though I liked the kiss a lot. But after talking to Spencer earlier and realising that my parents probably bonded too, it's not so terrifying thinking about it. What if all of this happened for a reason? Me meeting Freddie, becoming friends with him and him falling in love with me? Let's face it, my track record with guys hasn't been great up till now. What if it's because Freddie's been the right guy all along, and I was just too stubborn to see it? I know this whole thing is pretty complicated and I have no idea what Freddie and I are gonna do from here on out. But I do know that I need to stop running away from this and talk to him, openly and honestly."
"I guess you're right."
"I just wish I knew where Freddie was right now. I'm so worried about him." Carly stated in an anxious tone, glancing at her front door for the umpteenth time.
"Damn, Cupcake. Who knew you'd turn into the door-peeper after all these years?" Sam asked while snickering to herself.
"You really care about him, don't you?" she asked more seriously after a few seconds of silence.
Carly turned to stare at her best friend in the whole wide world, the ghost of a smile forming on her face.
"Yeah I do, Sam. I hope he's ok. I just want him to come home." She whispered morosely.
Just then, someone began knocking softly on the front door.
"Urgh, it better not be that nub Gibby looking for a flash drive filled with lame episodes of 'Galaxy Wars'. I'm not in the mood for that chizz right now." Sam complained while groaning into the towel in her hands.
Carly let go of the broom and began walking to the front door while dusting off her jeans at the same time. She stopped short and blinked a few times when she saw who it was.
It was Freddie standing in the hallway, his hands thrust deep into his jeans pockets and his head bowed slightly while he struggled to maintain eye-contact with Carly. Even Sam looked genuinely surprised to see him from her vantage point on the sofa. The tension was so palpable that Freddie did the first thing that came to mind to break it.
He waved.
"Hi…" he greeted softly with a wry smile on his face.
Author's Note: Lmao, at least you know it's Freddie on the other side of the door this time ;D But seriously, I apologise if this chapter was a little disjointed in its various parts. I felt like a cartoon character for most of the week: figuratively bouncing off of walls and wanting to hit people over the head with frying pans. Hormonal women are so much fun, right? I hope Sam and Carly's face-off satisfied certain reviewers like Carl Rahl and Fanfic-Reader-88 and that Marissa didn't come off as too much of a 'sociopath' in this chapter ;D After watching iPtN, I think a hot vampire fic for Freddie is in order - anyone feel like writing it? Next chapter: uber Creddie. And after that, the epilogue. Well, chaps, I'm off to do...Snapplelinz-related activities, whatever that means. Have a great weekend, cheers.