Before She Came
Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly
A/N: Thoughts in Italics, speech in regular font HERE it is, the continuing part. I do believe you're going to enjoy this chapter, I think it's one of the most beautiful chapters I've written in a long time.
Chapter 11 (Sacred Piece of Heaven)
Freddie made his way slowly down the hallways, he was sad because the principal ordered Sam home for the day. Ciara was not happy with Sam when she was called to pick her up. She scolded her and told her the behavior couldn't keep up, because she was going back to college in a few weeks and that it was up to Sam now to watch after their mother. Freddie moped around and finally sat down against a wall, next to a water fountain. The death of Michelle and their dads was just too much.
He lowered his head to his knees and began to cry truly for the first time, ever since he'd lost his father, he'd been trying to amount to being who that man was. It really was Josh that took the role of filling his dad's shoes, even though he was hardly ever around now. He didn't know why his dad was gone, he didn't know what he was going to do. The dynamic between everybody was ruined. There was never going to be another snowball fight, there would never be anymore Halloween bets made, there would be nothing anymore.
Freddie sobbed and sobbed, he wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there, and he really didn't care. Maybe the teacher would come looking for him, maybe the teacher would continue class without, who knew. They were supposed to be going to the library, Mrs. Schorn had a completely new assortment of books for the kids to read. What did he care? There was no point to anything anymore. He wouldn't even be able to stand up to the school bully, his dad nor his brother was really around to give advice and encouragement.
Freddie slowly curled up on the floor and closed his eyes, he didn't want to admit it, but he was scared. His whole world had crashed. He'd lost more than just a father. It felt like he'd lost his mother, his brother, and maybe even his best friend. It hurt, it hurt worse than anything he'd ever felt. He'd once been kicked in the shin by the bully, it was painful enough, but it was nothing compared to this pain. In the back of his mind, he recognized the sound of running footsteps. Two kids were nearby, playing and running around. They were laughing. It reminded him of the past, before everything changed, when he and Sam were happy.
"There he is!" A female voice said quickly. "I found him, he's over here!" Freddie kept his eyes closed, uncertain if anyone was talking to him or not. He then felt someone tapping him gently with his or her shoe.
"Hey, are you sleeping?" The boy with the girl asked. Freddie moaned and slowly opened his eyes. He saw a tanned boy with curly brown hair bent over him, holding his hand out and grinning. The girl standing next to him was pale and had shoulder length brown hair flowing down to her shoulders. "Are you okay?"
"Leave me alone," Freddie huffed. The boy sighed and stood up straight, placing his hands on his hips. He felt bad for Freddie. He breathed out and looked over to the girl.
"Valerie, go back to class. You know they're all at the library by now, right. I'm sure you don't want to miss reading any books." Valerie nodded and grinned as she waved and ran off, she was a bit of a bookworm. Her reading ability was higher than most of the class. Freddie sat up and the boy pointed his thumb to himself, grinning happily. "I'm Jonah!" Freddie wiped his nose and frowned, he recognized the kid.
"Aren't you in the third grade?"
"Yeah! Mrs. Smith and Mrs. V have the library today, they asked for volunteers to look for you since you never showed up." Jonah reached down and helped Freddie up, he couldn't help but to wonder why Freddie, of all people, would be crying in the hallway. Normally, he was so upbeat. "So what's the problem?"
"I lost my best friend, I think…" Jonah frowned and tilted his head. He'd seen Freddie and Sam together all the time, so how on earth could he have lost his friendship with Sam? Hell, they were together even today.
"Nah, I don't believe that. You two are always close! Val and I see you two together all the time! Lunch, recess, anywhere…" Jonah blinked and snapped his fingers, suddenly getting an idea. He knew they could get in trouble, but it didn't really matter if it meant lifting Freddie's spirits. "I got an idea! Let's go play on the playground!"
"What? But it's not recess yet." The idea seemed so absurd, so ridiculous, but yet, fun as well.
"I know, but you need to loosen up!" Jonah took Freddie's wrist and started running down the hallway, laughing. Freddie smiled as they ran out the back doors of the school and towards the playground. "Sometimes it's okay to go against society norms every once in a while, you know?"
"It is?"
"Sometimes." Jonah quickly ran up the small blue steps and towards the monkey bars. "Keep up with me, Freddie! I bet you can't!"
"I can and I will!" Freddie laughed and ran after Jonah, he was actually starting to have a little fun, even through all the ambivalence. Jonah started crossing the monkey bars and was almost at the end when Freddie started. He climbed up a ladder and hurried over to the red slide.
"Come on Freddie, you're being too slow!" Freddie climbed the ladder just as Jonah flew down the slide. He then bolted to the slide and went down it, crashing into Jonah who hadn't quite gotten off the ground. Jonah laughed and rolled over as Freddie got up.
"I caught you!"
"Yeah, well…look over there!" Jonah pointed to the side and Freddie looked over, not realizing he'd just been tricked. When he looked back, Jonah was running.
"Hey!"
"You still can't catch me!" Freddie smiled and ran after Jonah. Jonah glanced back and stuck his tongue out, taunting Freddie from afar. He didn't see the rock on the ground and tripped over it, falling and slowing him down long enough for Freddie to catch up with him. "Darn!"
"I caught you again Jonah, you're not so fast!" Jonah slowly stood up and dusted himself off, accepting his second loss with grace. He looked over to the small creek and grinned.
"Hey Freddie, follow me! I want to show you something!" Freddie nodded and ran with Jonah to the start of the creek. "I'm always out at recess with your class, our teachers have their recess at the same time as the second graders. You never see me, want to know why?"
"Yeah!"
"I've only ever showed one person this! Well sort of, they knew about it too." Freddie nodded as Jonah started running alongside the creek. He then ran behind Jonah.
"Where are we going?"
"Someplace secret, nobody knows it!" You would think wherever it is, people would have found it by now. Surely, they had, but if you were a kid playing at recess, it probably wasn't important enough when it compared to playing with friends. "I found it in the first grade."
"What is it already?" Jonah laughed and smiled widely.
"You'll see!" The creek seemed to run around the school through a tiny tree-filled area of the school grounds. Outside of that tree area was a gravel road leading up to a water tower, the creek still continued on. Eventually, they made their way through some large bushes, and on the other side, waiting for them, was a very large and open field where the creek flowed into this large body of water in the center. This field seemed to be framed by bushes and was littered with trees and flowers, it almost seemed like paradise. Freddie's eyes widened in awe and Jonah smiled as the wind blew against his face. He closed his eyes and lifted his head up, breathing in and holding out his arms. "Isn't it grand?"
"Wow, it's beautiful!"
"Nobody comes over here because they're always focused on the playground. To me, this place is better than the playground!" Jonah smiled and walked towards the body of water. He cupped his hands and ran them in the water, then lifted his hands out and let the water seep through the crease in between them. Freddie smiled and walked next to him.
"You come here to think and stuff?"
"Yep, always. Sometimes I like to collect rocks and stuff. I always find the most interesting pebbles in the water. Come see!" Jonah reached in and Freddie watched in wide-eyed wonder as he pulled out a small, jagged pebble in what looked like the shape of a star.
"Wow! It's amazing!"
"Yeah, and the creek always has these beautiful sounds. Just stop and listen!" Jonah closed his eyes and smiled peacefully. Freddie nodded and did the same. Soon came the soft sounds of the water rippling with the wind, the leaves of the trees rustling and the bushes breezing, and the birds sang their beautiful music. "They make the sweetest music," Jonah said softly. He didn't want to speak loudly and disturb the wondrous sound. "Can you hear it too? The music?"
"Yeah," Freddie answered in a whisper. He was amazed that there was a place so beautiful outside of school grounds. Jonah hoped he would always remember this little piece of heaven, he wouldn't ever forget it. Jonah opened his eyes and gazed at his reflection in the water.
"My mom died when I just started first grade." Freddie frowned and looked at Jonah sadly, that was horrible, but Jonah seemed to be doing okay. "I decided to follow the creek one day and it led me here. I looked down in this water and I could have sworn I saw mom looking back at me, watching me, guarding me." Freddie slowly nodded and looked in the water at his reflection. "Now whenever it hurts, or I feel like I'm in pain, I always come here. Nothing bad can ever happen here…"
"Yeah…" Freddie blinked and he could have sworn he saw something strange. In the water, his reflection changed, and he could have sworn his father was right there, smiling at him. He smiled back, remembering how his dad's moustache always curved whenever he smiled. A tear came to his eyes and Jonah looked at him, smiling subtly. He looked to the side and chuckled as a small brown rabbit started hopping around in the field. He gently nudged Freddie and pointed, whispering quietly.
"Freddie, look." Freddie looked over and smiled, he never saw something so cute before. "It's Buster, he forages around sometimes for food for his family, I've seen it."
"How do you know?"
"Because I've seen him around with another rabbit and sometimes baby rabbits, he's got to have a family."
"Is it a broken one?" Jonah shrugged and slowly sat down, Freddie did the same and the boys watched the rabbit hopping around the field.
"Bunnies are a timid creature, that's what my friend told me." Jonah smiled lightly and watched as the rabbit started munching on the grass. "Sometimes I'll come here with a carrot or lettuce, you know, with my friend, and they'll come eat out of my hand. It's cute how they sniff, make sure it's safe, and then decide to eat…taking the food away at a safe distance so no one snatches it."
"Yeah, that's right."
"It's like that's all that's important, that and family. They want to take care of their family. It doesn't matter to them if their family is broken, they know they can't dwell on that one loss, or else they'll lose touch in reality and everything else will fall apart too…they have to keep focusing on the family that's there right now, at this time." Freddie slowly nodded and tilted his head to the right, Jonah had a point, it probably was best to not let the hurt, the pains get the best of you.
"Your friend told you that?"
"Yeah…Really helped out with a lot of things, just kind of lifting up my spirits and all…what I needed." Jonah laughed and lay down against the grass, kicking his feet in the air. "Sort of like a guardian angel, if you want to use that."
"Like your mom sending you someone to look after you?"
"Yeah, like if I go astray or if I'm sad, you know. I can always expect my friend to comfort me if I need it, or slap me around if I act out of turn." Jonah chuckled and rolled onto his side, placing his hands under his cheek. Freddie smiled and lay back against the grass, placing his hands behind his head.
"Your friend, that's Valerie, isn't it?" Jonah's mouth formed an O shape and he quickly grinned, closing his eyes. Freddie learned quickly it seemed, he was very smart. "You know, I only figure because you two seemed really close."
"Yeah…" Jonah moved his eyes to the side and chuckled. When he volunteered to go looking for Freddie, Valerie would not let him go alone, she wanted to join him on the hunt. Probably because she thought, Jonah might also run off. "You know, sometimes they forget about me at recess, the teachers never come looking over here." Jonah sat up and chuckled, looking over to see Buster looking at him cautiously.
"Do you ever get in trouble for it?"
"All the time!" Jonah grinned and pulled a carrot from his pocket. He'd been saving it for recess, but since he was already out here, he figured he might as well give it to the little bunny now. "Here Buster, I got a carrot for you." Freddie watched silently as Jonah bounced the carrot in the air. Buster slowly, carefully, hopped over to Jonah and sniffed the carrot. He allowed Jonah to pet him, as he'd started accepting him as part of the family since he was always there. Jonah looked at Freddie and put a finger to his lips, whispering softly. "Don't talk, you might scare him away."
"Right," Freddie whispered under his breath. The rabbit hopped up onto Jonah's leg and took the carrot. This was the cutest thing Freddie had ever seen in his life. The bunny looked up at Jonah with gratitude and hopped up, having found dinner for his family. "Aww, that was adorable."
"I know, right?" The two heard rustling behind them and quickly stood up, turning around to see Valerie with her hands on her hips. She huffed and stared at Jonah with narrow eyes.
"I thought I might find you here!" Valerie said, scolding Jonah. "The teachers are mad because you haven't come back for class and it's almost over! I got in trouble because you didn't come back!"
"Geez Val, it hasn't been that long, has it?" Jonah asked with a sheepish chuckle. "I was just enjoying Lake Den-Den." That was the name he and Valerie bestowed on this small area, it was named for the nickname given to his mother, Denise. He never told anyone that, and he wasn't planning on telling Freddie. Only Valerie ever knew that secret. Valerie smiled and slowly closed her eyes.
"Yeah." Her voice was so soft, so quiet, as if she didn't want to disturb the sanctity of the place. "You know the teachers are going to hold you guys after school, right?"
"It was worth it," Freddie replied with a smile. He had never felt so great before, it was like there was some special secret to this place. "I swear, this place is mysterious, I've never felt so at peace before." Jonah looked at him and grinned.
"You feel it too, huh?" Jonah asked as he placed his elbow on Freddie's shoulder. It truly was worth missing out on class, besides they felt like they'd learned so much anyway. "Guess we need to go in and face the music." Freddie nodded and Valerie held up her hand.
"Hold on one minute!" Valerie enthused with a graceful smile. The boys looked at her and she took their hands in hers. "One last thing before we go in. Close your eyes…" The three closed their eyes and tuned themselves to the peaceful sounds around them. The running water seemed to grow in its glorious noise and the birds matched the rushing waves with perfect harmony as the glorious wind blew the leaves past their faces. "Let's always remember this place. No matter what."
"It's perfect," Freddie said quietly. Jonah nodded and Valerie smiled peacefully.
"Whenever we feel sadness, whenever we feel alone, whenever we need something, we can come here. We can come here, and listen to the beautiful music. We'll be together here, we'll have friends here, we'll never be alone here. We can't be sad here, it's a place full of love and acceptance. No anger can be here, no arguing. This place is sacred."
"I'll respect that," Jonah said with a subtle smile.
"Never, ever, forget Den-Den." The trio silenced and continued listening to the wondrous music once more. This was a promise they could always hold. Freddie knew everything would be okay, he knew his father was watching him from above. He had to be. "Never reveal this secret location unless it's absolutely necessary. It's our own heaven, our secret spot." The trio nodded and pulled their hands away, smiling and looking into each other's eyes.
"So, first one to school wins and the last one there has to give the others their milk for the next week?"
"I'll take that bet!" Freddie said with a grin. Valerie tapped her chin.
"Okay," Valerie said quietly, smirking deviously. She pointed behind the boys and grinned. "Look! It's Buster!" The boys gasped and looked behind them, but frowned when the rabbit wasn't there. They turned around to see Valerie was gone. "Later suckers! I can't wait for the milk!" She laughed and the guys exchanged glances.
"Freddie?"
"Yeah Jonah?"
"I think we were just tricked."
"Let's get her." The boys quickly ran after Valerie, laughing up a storm. Freddie looked over his shoulder and smiled as the little piece of heaven, Den-Den moved away into the distance. For a split second, he was sure he saw his father standing in front of the entrance, waving at him and smiling brightly. Freddie smiled and turned his attention back to Valerie in the distance, taunting the boys. Jonah couldn't know how grateful to him he was. No, he would never forget that place, not on his life.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter ^_^