Yay, finally an update! How was iStart a Fanwar for everyone? Even though Seddie didn't happen it was still a real funny episode, so I enjoyed it!
Anyhoo, here's Chapter 11. This chapter is the turning point in Sam and Freddie's relationship…throughout the story they've both had feelings for each other but are unable to admit it, and here Sam just screws everything up! (This is done to explain the lack of Seddie from iSpeed Date to iStart a Fanwar…excluding certain episode's of course.)
But lemme stop ranting so you can start reading. PLEASE let me know what you think about this chapter, the story in general or your speculations for upcoming chapters in your REVIEW! ^.^
Love
IamMu-chan!
Chapter Eleven
Sam screws up
Sam ran in the direction of her home leaving the Groovy Smoothie far behind her. She could still hear the melodic tune pounding in her ears, even though she was three blocks away by now. Her feet began to ache from running on the platform heels she was wearing, so she slowed down to a walk to give her feet a rest. Sam hated wearing high heels; the only heels that she tolerated were platforms because they didn't make her feel as if she was balancing on a thin stick of plastic. The only reason that she was wearing heels was because of Carly and Freddie's sudden growth spurts, and she hated being shorter than them when they took photo's. She planned to surprise her friends by arriving at the dance, but she had been held up by Gibby when she had gone to claim him as her date. When she had finally arrived at the dance her two friends had already left (which indicated how bad their dates' company must have been) and so she headed to the Groovy Smoothie as she knew her friends had planned to do.
The school had announced earlier that week that they would be hosting a girls-choice dance, and a drama had ensued among the iCarly crew. Carly desperately needed a date; she had the opportunity to ask anyone she wanted, and she was probably one of the girls who would be turned down the least. Despite this she had only managed to work up the courage to ask one guy out, he had already been asked by someone else. It didn't help that she had accidently spit in his eye while she had nervously asked him either. She desperately wanted to go to the dance, and Sam decided to help her friend by asking any interested guys to enter a "Take Carly to the Dance" contest during one of their web shows. Eventually Carly managed to find a guy that she liked among the 752 guys that arrived while making Sam promise to take Gibby to the dance as compensation.
She asked him to the dance like Carly wanted her too but he turned her down. This infuriated Sam of course. Freddie had already been asked by another girl, and there were no longer any options available to her. Freddie was her very last resort; she didn't want him or Carly to get any strange ideas about her asking him, especially since Carly now knew about their shared first kiss. So she decided to force Gibby to go along with her, which had backfired since he had a date planned with his girlfriend that night. Sam still wondered what was wrong with that girl...
Sam shook her head and started running again, her heels dangling from her fingers as she clutched them by their straps. She definitely wasn't in a rush to get home; her mom was there with a new boyfriend again (Dave had not lasted, much to Sam's disappointment; she had actually liked him) so she was relieved to have a reason to be out of the house. Either way she just couldn't stand to be near what she had witnessed in the Groovy Smoothie. Despite the pounding in her ears from her heavy running she was unable to erase the picture in her mind, accompanied by the romantic tune which seemed to taunt her.
"And if you love me please let it show...'cause you are meant for me..."
She choked back tears as she watched them through her memories; Freddie had his hands placed innocently on Carly's back as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Her head was resting on his shoulder, her face pressed into his neck as they swayed to the beat. Freddie's eyes were closed a he rested his head on Carly's, both of them lost in the moment. If only the music hadn't drowned out the sound of the bell over the door as Sam entered the building...if only he had decided to look up in just that moment and had noticed the look of sadness on her face. Sam shook the thought away.
Although she was showing interest in other guys Sam couldn't deny that her thoughts drifted to Freddie more than she liked. She treated him as badly as he remembered, and she gave the impression of a carefree teenage girl, but Sam Puckett couldn't hide her feelings from herself. Her feelings for him grew stronger by the day, but she didn't have the courage to admit them out loud to him, or anyone for that matter. The only person who knew of her feelings was on the other side of the country...
Sam reached her house, grabbing her keys from her purse and letting herself in. All the lights were out and her mother's car wasn't in the driveway, so she assumed that her mom and her new fling were out on the town. This suited Sam just fine. She flicked the light of the main room on, flung her heels into the corner and started searching for the phone. After a few minutes she located the phone in the fold of the couch cushions, which she proceeded to flop onto and dial the number she knew by heart.
It only took two rings before a sleepy voice answered on the other end.
"H-Hello?" she mumbled, and Sam felt the wall of tears she had been holding back threatening to break at the sound of her voice.
"Mels?" Sam said, hardly believing the quiver in her voice, "You awake?"
"Sam?" her sister replied, the sleepiness leaving her voice as she noticed her tone, "It's two in the morning! Are you okay?"
"Sorry," Sam apologized, "I forgot about the different time zones. I didn't mean to bother."
She was about to say goodnight and hang up before Melanie's concerned tone stopped her.
"Sam? What's wrong? You can talk to me, I'm awake, don't worry!"
Sam's heart went out to her sister at that moment; even though she wasn't as fond of Melanie as her sister was of her she really was the only person that Sam could talk to right now.
"Sam?" Melanie repeated when Sam didn't reply, "You there? What's wrong?"
"Mels..." Sam started hesitantly as the first tear fell and trailed down her cheek, "It's...it's about Freddie..."
She could sense her sister go from "kind of awake" to fully alert.
"Tell me everything," she ordered, and for once Sam didn't hesitate to obey.
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"Cause you are meant for me..."
The song ended, trailing off into silence as he and Carly remained swaying on the spot, her head tucked into the crook of his neck. He felt her wanting to pull away, and he held on a little tighter before letting her go. She took a step back and brushed her hair from her eyes, a smile still playing at her lips.
"That was nice," she said softly and Freddie nodded, struggling to find his voice. He was overcome with emotion for the girl in front of him; even though they had started the night off with separate partners it felt like the two of them were now on a date. He had the strong urge to grab hold of her again, pull her close, and kiss her straight on the lips. He understood that she didn't feel the same though, and the awkwardness that would follow wouldn't be worth it.
Carly's cheeks were a little flushed, which he took as a good sign. Maybe she was starting to warm up to him a little more as the years went on?
"We should go," she said, taking her purse from the table and motioning towards the doorway. Freddie nodded, his eyes roaming the restaurant. He swore that he heard the bell tinkle while they were dancing, indicating that someone had entered, but he didn't look up since he was basking in the moment with Carly. Whoever had entered must have left quickly and silently though since the place was empty save for them and T-Bo.
"I'll pay for our smoothies," Freddie said, heading for the counter, "Meet you outside?"
Carly nodded and headed for the door as he took his wallet out to pay.
"Thanks," T-Bo said, accepting the money and getting his change. Freddie tapped his palms on the counter as he waited, looking back to see if Carly was still waiting outside.
"You want to buy some ribs?" T-Bo asked as he handed him his change, holding up a stick that was awkwardly stacked with impaled ribs.
"Uh...no thanks," Freddie declined, turning for the door, "Thanks T-Bo."
"Hmph," he heard him grunt, "I should have asked Sam when she came in."
Freddie paused, "Sam was here today?" he asked.
T-Bo nodded, paused, and then shook his head, "Not today, tonight. About five minutes ago. She came in while you two were dancing," he grinned at him for effect, "Don't think you heard her over the music, but my ears are trained to hear that bell over anything!"
"But, hang on," Freddie contemplated, "Where is she then?"
T-Bo's grin turned to a look of confusion.
"I dunno," he said, shrugging her shoulders, "She didn't even come up to the counter. As soon as I saw her I went for my ribs, but when I looked again she was gone. She must've changed her mind about wanting a smoothie."
"Hmm..." Freddie agreed, "That's too bad because she loves ribs. She might have even bought that whole stick off you T-Bo."
His eyes sparkled, "Really? Then I'll make sure to keep them for her 'till tomorrow! Now, you best get going to your girl," he added, pointing to Carly who was still waiting outside.
"Yeah, see you T-Bo," Freddie said, obviously distracted by the fact that Sam had come by and left hurriedly. She was supposed to be at home since she didn't have a date for the dance, so her coming by the Groovy Smoothie when she knew they were at the dance was out of her character. She almost never went to the Groovy Smoothie without him and Carly, so who could she have been meeting?
"Oh, tell Sam from me that I like her in a dress and heels," T-Bo shouted after Freddie as he left the store.
Freddie paused again to look at him questioningly. T-Bo was grinning, dead serious about what he'd said, sparking realization in Freddie. Sam was dressed up, no doubt for the dance, which means she must have found a date after all. A twitch of jealousy pulled at Freddie's stomach, which was soon replaced by a tug of guilt. She must have come to the Groovy Smoothie looking for them, and the only reason that she would have left without saying anything was because she found them dancing together. Normally Sam had no problem interrupting him and Carly while in conversation, so obviously she must have been a little shocked.
"Or maybe she just didn't want to interrupt us out of respect..." he thought. He immediately pushed the thought away though; Sam wasn't the type of person who did anything for him out of respect, so something must be wrong.
"Freddie!" Carly shouted from the sidewalk, "Come on, let's go!"
"Coming!" he answered and he hastily followed Carly as they walked the two blocks back to the Bushwell Plaza. Sam was on Freddie's mind the entire way.
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"I'm worried Mels," Sam muttered. She had spent the last half an hour telling her sister everything; from the first day she had met Freddie to their kiss on the fire escape. She spoke about their constant bickering to the awkward silences that they sometimes shared. Freddie's love for Carly was a constant theme and it led to the telling of what had happened that night.
"About Freddie and Carly..." Melanie started.
"Yeah..." Sam responded, sniffing slightly. She was not the type to cry over a boy, but she had found herself close to sobbing as she told Melanie of her troubles, but she managed to keep it to only a few tears and a little shake in her voice.
"Look," she continued, when Melanie remained silent, "I've never really thought about it much since Carly has made it clear that she only sees Freddie as a friend. Before our kiss nothing bothered me at all when it came to Freddie and other girls...it still doesn't. If Freddie were to get a girlfriend now I'd be fine with it to a certain extent; I'd still insult him and his girlfriend occasionally, but since we're "only friends" I can't be jealous. But if that girl were Carly..."
She trailed off, not able of express herself in words any further. Sam and Carly were standing on exactly the same grounds when it came to Freddie. Even though Freddie loved Carly her feelings weren't mutual. Sam, however, loved Freddie, but his feelings for her were still unclear. Sam was convinced that he still hated her after all the years of torture she had given him, yet she couldn't help but hope that his feelings had grown a little stronger for her. Even though they had quickly become close friends she still hoped for more deep on the inside; outside she carried on being the carefree, nonchalant girl her friends knew her to be. All three of them were "just friends" even though they were for each of their own different reasons.
"Sam? Sam!"
Sam snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her sister's voice.
"Sorry, sorry!" she apologized, "I zoned out for a bit..."
"Man Sam, this must really be eating you up..." Melanie said in concern. Sam's silence confirmed Melanie's thoughts.
"Listen Sam...you need to tell Carly."
"What?" Sam said in surprise, her full attention snapping back to her sister.
"If you tell Carly that you like Freddie then she'll NEVER do anything to take him from you. It's the number one rule for girlfriends: Never date a love interest, boyfriend or ex-boyfriend of your best friend. She'll stick to those rules. Maybe she can even help you and Freddie?"
"I've told you before!" Sam said sternly, "I'm not telling anyone else, and neither are you! I only told you because you're my sister. It's..." she paused, "It's nice to have someone to talk to."
They both kept quiet for a minute, both absorbing the rare bit of sisterly affection that they sometimes shared.
"Are you sure you don't want me to call her?" Melanie asked.
"I'm sure Mels," Sam answered. Another few seconds of silence overcame them, and Sam was just about to say goodbye and hang up when Melanie spoke up again.
"You don't have to worry Sammy," she said, using the nickname she had used when they were still very little, "Carly doesn't feel the same way about him, and I doubt that'll change easily. You love him Sam...and I know he feels something for you too. You need to take a chance on this."
"You...really think he feels something more for me? More than hate and friendship I mean?" Sam asked tentatively. Even though it was nice to be open with her sister about this it was still awkward to ask these kinds of questions.
"There's something there; I felt it for you last time I came to visit. But if you don't do something about it then I don't know how long that feeling will last. As long as he's convinced that you hate him then those feelings will never develop..."
At that moment a beeping sound over the line interrupted them.
"Ugh, hang on a sec Mels, I've got another call coming in."
"At almost midnight?"
Sam didn't pause to answer her sister. Instead she switched straight to the other line, expecting to hear Carly on the other end with news about the dance or her mother reporting that she'd be home later than she expected. Therefore she was surprised when Freddie's voice greeted her on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Sam?"
"Freddie?"
She went into a slight state of shock when she heard his voice and her mind hit a blank. She had spent a good part of an hour talking about him and a sudden feeling of fear gripped her heart. There was no way he could've known about her feelings or the current discussion she was having with Melanie, but the fact that he was so close to it at that very moment made Sam feel exposed.
"Yeah, I hope I didn't wake you or anything," he responded.
"N-No," Sam answered shakily.
"Hi Freddie!" Melanie's voice came over the line and Sam felt like kicking herself; she had forgotten to close the other line before switching to Freddie's.
"Who's that?" Freddie said quickly and Sam groaned while Melanie let out a little giggle.
"It's Melanie," Sam said roughly, knowing what was coming.
"Are you messing with me again Sam?" Freddie said suspiciously and Melanie giggled again.
"You still don't believe I'm real?" she laughed, "Sam, please do me a favor and show him some of our home video's with both of us in them. Then at least we can go on a proper date next time I come and visit."
"Yeah, sure," Sam said, the irritation clear in her voice.
"Sam and I were just having a bit of a late night chat," Melanie explained to Freddie when she noticed his silence, "But I'm heading back to bed now. Sam, I'll chat to you tomorrow again, alright? Sweet dreams! Goodnight Freddie!"
And with that she killed the connection on her side, and the line went dead. Sam pressed a button to get rid of the annoying beeping by closing her line. Now she and Freddie were alone...at last.
"Sorry about that," Sam said. She was met with silence.
"Freddie?" she inquired into the silence.
"Is...is Melanie real?" Freddie asked, his voice shaky this time. Sam sighed again.
"Yes," she was getting irritated now, "It's like I've been saying: I really do have a twin sister."
"B-But," Freddie stammered, "You admitted that it was all a hoax!"
"I just did that to shut you up," Sam confessed, "I was getting sick of you mistaking me for Melanie, so I decided to let you believe what you wanted to believe."
"T-That's..." Freddie trailed off, and she swore she could hear him shake his head violently on the other end.
"T-That's not what I want to talk about now!" he said, the shaky tone now being replaced by one of utmost seriousness. Sam was startled by his change in tone and her fears began to kick in again.
"Then what do you want to talk about?" she asked, and the fear that she was feeling changed her attitude drastically. She had gone from sounding annoyed and bored to vulnerable and almost flirtatious over the phone, and she checked herself before she went on.
"Freddork?" she added, making her sound a lot less Carly-like.
"You...were planning on coming to the dance tonight, weren't you?"
"Well, yeah," she answered.
"Who did you ask?"
"Gibby,"
"But I thought he turned you down?"
"Yeah, well...I kinda thought he was just scared to go with me so I went to pick him up. But when I got there he was already on a date with another girl. She doesn't go to our school so that's why he said no to me. That's why he said no, NOT because I'm hideous or anything."
Sam added the last statement as a heavy hint to Freddie; he had laughed when she got turned down by Gibby of all people, and she wanted him to know that she could be appealing to some guys if she wanted to.
"Oh, ok...go Gib!" Freddie joked and Sam smiled on her end of the line.
"She's smokin' too," she added.
"Really?" Freddie asked in disbelief, "I doubt a smoking hot girl would date Gibby. He's just...Gibby, you know?"
"Yeah...maybe you'll meet her one day and you'll see..." Sam trailed off.
"Anyway," Freddie continued, "I wanted to know why you were at the Groovy Smoothie and -"
Sam spluttered at his mention of the Groovy Smoothie.
"Wait, you saw me?" she said without thinking, "I didn't think you'd heard me while you and Carly were...you know..."
"Yeah," Freddie sounded uncomfortable, "I didn't...um...T-Bo told me he saw you. He wanted to sell you ribs but you disappeared before he got the chance to."
"Oh," Sam said, her stomach rumbling at the mention of ribs, "Well...what was it that you wanted to know then?"
"Well," Freddie explained, "At first I wondered why you were there in the first place, but now I know that you were planning on dragging Gibby to the dance, so that's answered."
Sam nodded, throwing her legs up onto the couch so that she was lying down. Her cat, Frothy, emerged from the kitchen, mewing slightly before jumping up onto her stomach. He twirled around and Sam allowed him to settle down there, purring.
"But I've been wondering why, um...why'd you leave so quickly?"
Sam gulped. Of course she couldn't tell him why she had left in a hurry. She had been hurt and shocked by seeing him and Carly in that intimate moment Even now the jealousy of her best friend churned at the bottom of her stomach along with her sudden longing for ribs, and it made it difficult to immediately answer Freddie's question.
"Sam?" Freddie checked that she was still on the other end of the line. He was concerned by her silence. He was also curious to her answer, but the recent discovery of Melanie's true existence had driven half of what he had been contemplating from his mind.
"Yeah, um," Sam sounded uncertain on her end, increasing Freddie's concern.
"Are you alright?" he asked her.
"Yeah!" she answered almost too quickly, "I, um...I noticed how late it was when I got to the Groovy Smoothie and I remembered that I..."
Sam racked her brains for a good excuse for her strange behaviour that night, but the constant thought of what could have happened between Carly and Freddie after their dance made it increasingly difficult. She stroked Frothy distractedly, looking down at his purring form.
"That I..." she stammered, "I had to feed Frothy!" she concluded. "So I'm sorry I couldn't hang out with you guys!"
She tried to make herself sound nonchalant and bubbly as usual, but she could hear the fake tone of her voice and she begged that Freddie wouldn't catch onto it.
"That's it?" Freddie said, unconvinced.
"Yeah!" Sam tried to normalize her tone again. No success.
"Sam..." Freddie warned her and she felt anger begin to warm her up from her fingertips.
"What's with that voice Freddison?" she said defensively, "I'm sorry that I didn't hang out to watch you and Carly getting all cozy, ok?"
She took a sharp intake of breath as Frothy sunk his claws into her stomach at her abrasive tone. She felt like hitting herself at the same time; she hadn't meant to bring anything up about him and Carly. Freddie had gone silent on his end of the line; he had heard Sam make a noise that was almost like a sob after she mentioned him and Carly dancing and his suspicions rose along with his shock.
"Sam, are you jealous?" Freddie said in disbelief.
"Please!" he hear her say angrily, "More like disgusted!"
Sam let her anger get the better of her and she sat upright, Frothy jumping off with a meow of disapproval. She didn't care if she hurt his feelings right now and she began to rant.
"You drool over Carly all the time!" she started, "Do you have any idea how pathetic it is? She will NEVER date you Freddie, and you KNOW she doesn't feel the same way! Yet you hang onto her every word and follow her around like a puppy! Give it a rest already! No girl will EVER want you!"
Sam found herself on her feet, screaming into the phone. There were no tears threatening to spill, instead a binding rage had overcome her and all she wanted was to hurt him as bad as he was hurting her. She was the one who had feelings for him and all he could do was run after Carly while she tried to ignore the constant pain in her chest. At that moment she truly hated him, and she wasn't afraid to let him know it.
"Woah, slow down Sam! What-" he started, but she cut him off.
"I HATE YOU!" she shouted into the phone, "You're pathetic and I...I'll never forgive you for that!"
With that she hit the 'end' button and threw the phone across the room in outrage. It hit the wall and bounced off to land on the couch beneath it. Sam stood in the middle of the room breathing heavily, her hands clenched into fists at her side. She shook from head to toe as she contained the urge to throw something else across the room, and just as quickly as the rage had come upon her it disappeared.
Sam unclenched her fists as the shaking stopped and her entire body released the tension she had been feeling. And then a strong sense of guilt and defeat overcame her.
"Shit!" she cursed under her breath as she hung her head, "Damn it!"
The phone began to ring again, forcing as Sam to lift her head in surprise. Was it Freddie? No way would he call back to fight with her some more after what she had just said to him. She walked slowly over to the phone, picked it up and checked the caller ID on the little screen. The screen was cracked after hitting the wall, but it still functioned and after seeing who it was Sam pushed it to her ear hesitantly.
"Hello?"
"What happened?" Melanie shouted excitedly on the other end, "I wasn't sure how long I should wait before I call again, and the curiosity is killing me! What did he want to talk about?"
"He..." Sam started, feeling light-headed, "He...I..."
"What's wrong Sammy?"
"I just screwed up any chance of there being anything between me and Freddie...ever." Sam said simply. I was saying it out loud that finally allowed the dam of tears to break and overflow.
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O.o Don't hate me! Next chapter will be up sooner this time, I promise! Already written half of it and the rest is bubbling in my head! You'll enjoy, I promise! =P
Press the pretty review button and spend some quality time with it for me, k? Toodles!
