(A/N: The pranks inflicted on Sam and Zack are rather K+…I tried to keep it that way since I'm picturing this as an actual episode, you know? [Despite le swearing :3] Oh, and I got a lot of them from Drake and Josh, so…)
(Carly's POV)
"It's go time." Freddie's voice whispers in her ear.
Carly closes her eyes tightly. "But…"
"You have to." Freddie's eyes were full of desperation. "Please."
"I can't hurt Sam this way."
"You already told me, Carly! You said that she's starting to lose interest in Zack." Freddie snaps.
"Freddie, listen." Carly half-begs. "Sam won't be upset because of Zack. She'll be upset because you did this to her."
"She won't find out." Freddie breathes. "As long as you don't tell."
"Freddie! She trusts you! She claims that it wasn't you! If you stop now, then no one gets hurt, and I promise you, I'll never breathe a word."
"I'm not trying to hurt Sam. I never did! I'm getting back at Zack." Carly watches Freddie grip the edge of their hiding place roughly. "You don't tell people who they can or cannot talk to."
"Freddie, when Sam changed your application," Carly says roughly. "You were pissed. It's basically the same thing. They are both sabotage."
"Yes, sabotage." The light in Freddie's eyes shadows. "But I forgave her, didn't I?"
"Will she forgive you?" Carly asks softly.
"Probably not. So let's not say anything." Freddie repeats.
Carly looks away.
"Let's do this," Freddie says.
They get up from behind their spot. "Is she in there?" Carly asks.
"Yes, I saw her go through." Freddie walks inside the theater. "What movie are they seeing?"
"Immortals." Carly responds. "I'm pretty sure."
"Now, we gotta wait for Kimberly." Freddie leans against the wall.
"Who?" Carly blinks.
"Oh, the girl I got to help us out. I got some other people too. But she's first." Freddie stares through the window. "There she is!"
An taller blonde girl walks through. Carly raises her eyebrows. She looks like she walked right out of a model magazine. "Her?"
"Hey Kim." Freddie smiles. "You ready?"
"What exactly do you want me to do?" Kim asks.
"Look at this picture." Carly cringes as Freddie pulls out his phone and shows Kim a picture of Zack. "See this guy? Go over in Theater 8 and start flirting the hell out of him."
"Why?" Kim blinks.
"Freddie…" Carly says warily. She wonders if Sam would attack this girl, but she doubts it. She may get threatened.
"Just do it, okay?" Freddie says to Kim. "And I'll pay you later."
"I guess…" Kim walks away, and goes into Theater 8.
"And what is that going to accomplish?" Carly growls to Freddie.
"It all depends on whether or not Zack takes her up on the offer." Freddie paws through his wallet. "Shit. I don't have enough money to pay the other two."
"Who are the other two?" Carly asks.
"We saw them at Webicon." Freddie says, his eyes narrowed as he looks through the people. "Hmm… Oh, wait. I think I see them!"
Carly spots two people who can only be described as nerds. "Oh my God. Those two?"
"I had no other choice!" Freddie protests.
The two nerds approach them, and Freddie dips his head. "Craig. Eric."
"Are you two dating yet?" Craig asks, looking at Carly and Freddie.
Carly glares at him. "Far from it. Are you going to help us or not?"
"Now what exactly do you want us to do?" Eric asks.
"Just go in there and cause some kind of disturbance. I don't care what you do—just don't get kicked out right away. Okay?" Freddie says.
"Freddie, wait." Carly half-wails. "Please, just stop this. What if—"
She is interrupted by a coughing sound. Both her and Freddie turn and see Kim stumbling back. It's clear that Sam has assaulted her with popcorn.
"You're paying me double." Kim hisses at Freddie before walking away.
"See what you're doing?" Carly snaps at Freddie. "Now other people are getting hurt. You need to stop this!"
(Spencer's POV)
Spencer and Gibby sit, tensely. "What should we do?" Gibby asks Spencer. "Should we give her location?"
"I don't think this man's a killer." Spencer says thoughtfully. "He could have killed us when we met him, and he didn't."
"But he may be mentally challenged." Gibby murmurs. "I mean, we did see him by Troubled Waters."
"We probably shouldn't tell him where she is then." Spencer mutters.
"But still…" Gibby says. "He hasn't stopped bothering us. It must be really important."
"What do you think it is?" Spencer asks. "And why is he calling her Mrs. Benson?"
Gibby looks away, as if he was thinking. "I need some soup."
"There's some in the pantry." Spencer says, sighing.
Spencer continues to think as Gibby slides away from the table. If only he knew why, then he could help the man out. But do you haggle with someone like him?
"Where is she, anyway?" Spencer asks.
Gibby comes back over, eating his soup with a fork. "She's seeing a movie with some guy."
"Huh." Spencer says. "Maybe we could—"
His phone vibrates. Silently, without breathing, he reads the text.
"Just tell me where Mrs. Benson is and this'll all be over!"
Gibby reads the text silently. He nods to Spencer.
"Do it."
"But…" Spencer swallows and composes himself. He slowly types it up.
"Valleyedge Movie Theater."
"Well," Spencer says slowly. "It's out of our hands now."
(Sam's POV)
"What the fuck was that?" She hisses at Zack. "Who was she?"
"I don't kn—"
"Bullshit! She said that she was your girlfriend! Who is she?" Sam's glad that the movie hasn't started and hardly anyone was in there. "Are you seeing someone else?"
"No! No, of course not!" Zack stammers. "I have no idea who she was!"
Sam crosses her arms over her chest. "Then why—"
"It's the sabotage again, isn't it?" Zack snaps. "Someone sent her, I bet."
"Now you're just being ridiculous." Sam growls.
"I promise you, I'm not cheating." Zack narrows his eyes. "Did you tell Benson that you'd be here?"
"No, I didn't." Sam spits out. "Quit accusing him."
"Why can't you just consider the fat that maybe—"
"Freddie wouldn't do that to me." Sam says firmly. "Now, I swear, if any other girl comes in here—"
"No one will." Zack says.
Sam sits down, rubbing her head. This was just too crazy. What if Zack was cheating…?
You can worry about that later, she tells herself. She'll talk to Carly about it later. For now, just relax.
But how can she?
She hears two more people enter the theater. She turns her head and sees two people who can only be described as nerds.
They whisper among themselves, staring at Sam intently. She grips the edge of her seat. "Can I help you two?" She snaps.
They ignore her and slip to the back of the theater. Sam disregards them and turns back to Zack.
"You will explain later." Sam growls.
"But there's nothing to explain!" Zack protests.
Sam looks away, and she can hear the nerds whispering.
"You sure this is gonna work?"
"Of course! Mindy won the Science Fair with this!"
Sam whips her head around. The two nerds are silhouetted by the dim light. She hears a pffpwp sound, and she has barely any time to call out a warning before she is forced against her chair.
"Ah! What the—" Sam begins to say. Her entire upper-body is literally attached to the chair. "What is this?"
She looks over and sees that Zack is dealing with the same problem. Mainly his wrist is attached, and Sam notices that she's mostly being pulled by her neck.
"It's like…a magnet, or something." Zack mutters as he tries to pull loose.
Sam wrenches her neck around and glares at the two nerds. "You two are dead. Do you hear me? Dead!"
The nerds already shuffled out of the theater.
Sam sees that she is strung by the necklace that she was wearing, and Zack was forced by his wristband.
"Wait," Zack says gruffly, whipping his other wrist around that was free and fiddling with the necklace around her neck. Getting it lose, it slips off, and she is free.
"Hold on," Sam tries to get the wristband off, but she can't slip it off since the magnetic pull was tighter. "I can't get it!"
"Just try pulling it up!" Zack suggests.
"It's stuck like glue. There's no other way." Sam fiddles in her pocket for her switchblade.
"Aw, come on." Zack moans. "That's really expensive…"
"We have no other choice." Sam takes her knife and slides through it. It falls off his wrist, still attached to the chair, and Zack rubs his wrist.
He's frowning. "It was over a hundred dollars…"
Sam's eyes widen. "Who would pay that much for that?"
Zack gives her a look that says, That's-Not-The-Point… but Sam ignores him.
"Look, I'm sorry." Sam says. "But I must admit, you may be right. This isn't just coincidences. Something weird is happening—and I want to know what."
"Want to ditch the movie?" Zack asks huskily. "We can track down whoever's doing it."
"No." Sam grips the edges of her seat. This has become a personal battle with whoever is causing all this. She can't wait to confront who's doing this; she'll make sure he doesn't walk again. She's not pissed because they're ruining her and Zack. She's pissed because no one messes with Sam Puckett. No one. She turns to Zack and says, "We're seeing this movie whether our tormentor likes it or not."
(Unknown POV)
His tire wheels are screeching as he pulls into the parking lot. Finally, I have you. He gets out, trembling. It's about time, too.
He grips the money in his pocket. He has to buy a ticket to get in, right? Darn. Oh well, though.
He pages through the tens, wishing he had a penny. For some reason, he has a fondness for pennies. He doesn't know why. Maybe it's from a past life.
He buys a ticket, and goes into the theater. Where is she? He searches all around. More people have filled the theater, and there was a crowd. C'mon. Where is—
He spots her. The blonde girl is sitting next to a blonde boy. She's flicking her hair back nervously, looking back and forth. Oh, yesss. She's right where he wants her.
He approaches her slowly. It's go time.
(Sam's POV)
Sam looks back and forth, waiting for something to happen. As the theater gets more and more crowded, it becomes harder to tell who will be the next assaulter. Still, no one strikes out.
Sam shifts her shoulders, waiting. How come nothing else has happened? Where's the fire? Where's the problems? How come—
She feels wind pass by, a light-footed man suddenly whisk pass. Before she could even think about turning around, she feels lips drop to her ear and then she hears a whisper.
"I've been looking for you for a while, Mrs. Benson."
Sam turns her head, and she sees a man squalled in front of her. He has wispy brown hair on his head, and he was awkwardly shaped. A thin, lanky body with a perfectly round head.
Sam stares at him. "How can you confuse me for—" She stops, and then her jaw drops. She's surprised it didn't hit the floor. "Oh my God."
The man just stares back with a poker face.
"Caleb!" Sam gasps. "H-How did you, when did you…"
"Mrs. Benson, you're making a big mistake." Caleb says.
Zack turns around. "Sam, who is this?"
Sam ignores Zack and stares straight at Caleb. "What are you doing here?"
"When you got married, it was broadcasted all over the world." Caleb tells her. "I'm super cereal. It got more viewers than the royal wedding! But you made a grave mistake."
"You're crazy." Sam hisses at him. "Go back to the loony bin, will ya?"
"You're insane too."
"Not anym—"
"You are. Because you still feel that way." Caleb says gently.
Sam looks away. "You don't know anything."
"I know everything!" Caleb protests. "I'm from the future!"
"No, you're from a psychiatric ward that serves amazing quesadillas!" Sam flashes back.
"You're still insane." Caleb tells her. "This kind of insanity—it isn't something you can cure with a cream or a pill. When you got it, it was there to stay, darling. Him, too. That's how it is."
"Just go!" Sam snaps.
Caleb lifts his ticket up. "But, I wanna see the movie…It's a very old classic in the future. One of the few movies left that wasn't made in 5D!"
"Leave!" Sam snarls.
"You can try to avoid it, but you won't. It's only a matter of time before he calls you back—"
Sam attempts to spring at him, but she feels Zack's arms grip her shoulder, keeping her restrained. For some reason, that's the spark of something that has been building up for awhile.
She whips around, and hisses at Zack. "Don't touch me!" Before he can respond, she turns to Caleb again. "You're mental. You always have been. You aren't from the future! And you don't know a damn thing!"
"I didn't spend so much time trying to find you just for this!" Caleb protests. "I'll get my job done if it's the last thing I do!"
Sam just stares at him, fists trembling.
"You both are insane. And he'll be in here any moment."
"What?" Sam can't help but choke out.
"I told you. I already know what happens here. You'll see soon enough." He gives a tiny smile before slinking away, down to the far corner of the theater.
"We should leave…" Zack says, starting to stand up.
"No, wait." Sam scores the theater with her eyes, searching. "The guy who did it is here. Somewhere."
"Where?"
"I dunno. But he's dead." Sam grits her teeth. "Look around."
"What am I looking for, exactly?" Zack's voice sounds irritated. He's getting annoyed with the whole situation. And so is she.
"I don't know, either." Sam growls. "But the guy who's doing this is here. Let's look."
Sam feels a dreaded feeling in her chest. Something that was imprisoning and horrifying and you know how it is. She doesn't want to see who's doing this. Not even a little. What if it's someone she truly trusted?
She can hear a voice near the back of the theater. Soundlessly, she stands up, and moves towards it. She strains to hear.
"…I'm not paying you unless you go back in there…!" That's an irritated voice. Very familiar, though…
"What? So she can attempt to kill us again?" Another voice snaps.
"Just do it!" Right after the voice says that, the two nerds from before are pushed into view. Sam freezes, her eyes set on them as if they were prey.
"Don't kill us…" One of them murmurs, but Sam is already storming towards them. But she isn't after them. She whips around the corner, ready to see the person who thinks it's cool to sabotage relationships.
She's staring at Freddie Benson.
She takes a step back, her eyes widening. Well, she wasn't expecting him behind there. That's for damn sure. She stares at him, her jaw dropped.
"I…what…you?" Is all she can say.
"I…" He stares at her, at a loss for words. Sam's gaze wonders and she sees Carly behind him. Carly, too? Really? They both betrayed her?
She hears movement behind her, and then Zack's voice, "See? I knew it was him!"
Freddie glares at Zack. "Well, good job. Would you like a medal?"
"No," Zack's voice was taut. "I'm done with this." He turns to Sam. "You couldn't believe me on this?"
"How was I supposed to know?" Sam says. She looks over at Freddie, and she feels something in her chest snap. "I trusted him."
"Sam, I…" Freddie is interrupted by another person walking from behind them.
"See? I told you it would happen soon." Caleb mocks. He then turns to Carly. "Oh, look, it's the V.P.!"
"Wait…" Freddie stares at Caleb. "Is that the guy we met at Troubled Waters?"
"Who cares who he is?" Sam hisses, making them all jump. "I can't believe you would do this to me!" She says to Freddie.
"Look," Zack says slowly. "I've had my fair share of crazy…but this is starting to get a little dysfunctional, even for me."
"That's not what your great granddaughter said." Caleb mutters.
Zack swings his head around. "What?"
"Look, if things are so Goddamn tough, then leave." Sam snarls. She doesn't care anymore. "Go."
Zack stares at her for a moment, before stepping away and walking out, shaking his head.
"Tell your great granddaughter to call me!" Caleb calls after him.
Sam turns to Freddie. "Why?" Is all she says.
"Sam…"
"Why must you always do this to me? Look, I know I used to try and make your life hell, but that was a while ago. Why do you have to keep doing this?" Sam wails. She feels herself coming close to crying but she knows she actually won't.
Carly steps up. "Sam, listen—"
"No! No, I'm done listening! You helped him! I thought we were friends." She rakes her gaze over to Freddie. "And I thought I could trust you."
"Sam, I did it for a reason." Freddie swallows.
"Yeah, sure. I already know your reason. You're trying to get revenge on me for something I didn't do! Or maybe it's just pure sadism." Sam stares at him. "Well, fine, then. You got your revenge."
"I didn't mean it like that! I wasn't trying to get revenge!" Freddie protests.
"Yeah, right!" Sam snarls. "And I don't care anymore. You've done enough. Unless you aren't finished yet. Got anything else up your sleeve?"
Freddie closes his eyes briefly. He opens them again and says, "No. You're right. I went too far this time."
Sam stares at him, not knowing what to say.
"It's my fault. I get that." He breathes in a ragged breath. "I…I won't bother you anymore."
With small, stiff steps, he walks past Sam and out of the theater, not meeting her eyes.
Sam stands there, not knowing what to say.
"I guess The Royal Wedding will be back up as the number one wedding." Caleb mutters.
(A/N: There should only be one more chapter after this :3)