Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! I wish you all the very best over the holidays and in the new year :)
I want to thank everyone for the reviews and continuing to read - it makes me very happy. I normally try to respond to reviews but I figure you guys would rather I update sooner than later...
As promised here's a quick recap of the last chapter:
Sam sets her plan in motion, almost getting Freddie to do the deed, but he realizes that if he goes through with it their relationship will go back to the way it was and he doesn't want that. He tries to get her to promise she won't shut him out again but she's having none of it. The following is how the chapter ends...
Her shirt shifted when she moved, and Freddie's eye caught the flash of a silver chain he'd been too preoccupied to notice earlier. He let go of one of her hands to follow it, breath catching when his fingers came into contact with the pendant, and he pulled it from behind her neck to study it as though for the first time. When he'd seen the pillow charm in the store he'd known it was destined for her, and it had burned a hole in his pocket for two months until her birthday finally came around. He'd told everyone it was for her love of sleep but truthfully it was because it reminded him of 'Wake up Spencer,' the first thing they'd ever done together without Carly. In the month since he'd given it to her he'd never even seen her wear it.
That god-forsaken necklace was the whole reason Sam was in this mess in the first place, and she mentally cursed herself for forgetting to take the damn thing off. For years she'd managed to keep her feelings for Freddie under lock and key but as soon as that stupid chain had come out of its box so had they. It had made her feel closer to him, touched that he cared enough to get something that suited her so well, and try as she might for the last month she couldn't undo the massive damage that little pillow had done. A tiny fucking pillow.
Freddie placed the pendant on her chest and gently forced her to look him in the eye. Two weeks ago he'd swallowed his pride and asked her if the reason she never wore it was that she didn't like it; she'd shrugged and said it reminded her of him. It had hurt like hell – that something that meant so much to him could mean so little to her – but the fact that she was wearing it now showed him that his weren't the only feelings that had changed. Closing the distance between them he closed his eyes and placed a feather-light kiss on her lips.
This kiss felt different somehow, Sam thought, and when he opened his eyes she immediately knew why: he was giving her a look she'd seen him give before, though it hadn't ever been directed at her. She tried to draw him into another kiss but he pulled out of her reach.
"It does matter, Sam," he told her softly, brushing the back of his hand across her cheek. "I think I love you…"
Sam closed her eyes and took a breath to harden herself before opening them again. Shaking her head she told him decisively, "No, you don't."
He'd known better than to expect reciprocation; what he hadn't expected was the apathy that had completely overtaken her features. Good or bad (usually bad), she always had an opinion. "I do. Sam…"
"Take it back." The interruption was smooth, even, but what she really wanted to do was scream and cry and hurt him the way he was hurting her.
Freddie avoided her cool gaze in favour of watching his fingers tease her blonde curls. If he wanted her to be honest with him then he needed to do the same, even if it was something she didn't want to hear. "I can't," he whispered.
Only through sheer force of will was Sam able to keep the tremor out of her voice. "Why are you doing this to me?" Of all the ways she'd imagined tonight ending this hadn't even crossed her mind.
It was practically a plea, and when Freddie finally dared look at her face it was pained. Was it that bad, him loving her?
"Get off me, Freddie." She was about to lose it, physically and emotionally, and if he didn't let her go now she was going to hurt him.
Her tone was deadly serious, scary in its own right, but he couldn't just let her leave. "No. Sam…"
His blatant defiance broke her composure. "GET OFF ME!"
He was so shocked by the intense hatred that he recoiled, and before he could recover she'd scissored him around the waist and thrown him off. Eyes wide he hit the edge of the bed then rolled off it onto the floor.
The dull 'thud' he made hitting the ground started the tears flowing; not bothering to wipe them away Sam jumped off the bed and ran out the door as fast as her unsteady legs could take her.
Ego bruised and mind boggled, Freddie laid there staring at the ceiling guiltily for what felt like hours. So much for not opening the can of worms…
And on with the story...
Freddie was woken up early Sunday morning by the sounds of his mom getting home from work, and though he'd barely slept he got up to have breakfast with her anyway. When she asked what he'd done the night before he shrugged and said 'the usual' – even though there had been nothing usual about it at all – and asked her how her night had been, making absentminded small talk until she went to bed. Going back to his room he showered and dressed for the day, then took Sam's vest from his chair and fell onto his mattress with a groan.
After she'd run off he'd cleaned up the mess they'd left at the Shay's then called to make sure she'd gotten home safe. She hadn't answered or responded to his texts, and while logically he knew she was just ignoring him he hated not knowing for sure that she was okay. Her driving worried him at the best of times (she was her mother's daughter, after all), and her driving while upset absolutely terrified him. It may have been the influence of his mother's paranoia but he couldn't help but picture her crashed on the side of the road somewhere…
Toying with the pleather material (it didn't feel nearly as nice under his fingers as when she'd been wearing it) Freddie replayed the night's events in his mind for the millionth time. To say he was confused would be an understatement. He could accept that she didn't feel the same, expected it even, but in the six years they'd known each other she'd never once looked at him like that. Annoyed, exasperated, resentful, sure (they were pretty much constant), but never with outright hate. Not even at the beginning. That it had happened after everything they'd shared this week made even less sense. He could understand her being angry that he'd complicated things (she loathed complicated) but to hate him for it? Not for the first time Freddie wished there was a 'Sam Puckett' instruction manual, complete with diagrams and flow charts, accompanied by a handy little mood detector.
With a last sigh he hung the vest up in his closet then headed over to the Shay's and knocked on their door. He entered when he heard Carly call out to 'Come in.'
"Hey, Freddie," Carly greeted from her place at the stove. "Want some breakfast?"
Peering surreptitiously around the apartment he responded, "No, thanks; I ate with my mom." It was a toss-up whose food was worse, really – yucky, healthy taste versus hardly any taste at all.
Carly nodded. "Make yourself at home; I'm almost done."
Freddie sat at the counter to watch her cook, inquiring in a casual tone, "Hey, have you heard from Sam today?" Odds were she was still sleeping but for the sake of his sanity he had to ask.
"Yeah. We were supposed to go shopping but she cancelled to do research." She spooned the food onto her plate. "Why?"
"She left pretty late; I just wanted to make sure she got home okay." He was so busy being relieved that it took a few seconds for her words to truly register. "Wait… did you just say Sam cancelled shopping for homework?" Oh, God – he'd broken her.
Sitting at the table Carly giggled, "Yeah, right." Like that would ever happen. "She's trying to dig up some dirt on Trevor…" Carly was already over (okay, mostly over) the whole thing but Sam wasn't so quick to forgive and forget.
Good. Well, good that he hadn't broken her. Definitely not good for Trevor… "You didn't tell her not to?"
"Are you kidding me?" Carly scoffed up at him as he moved to join her at the table. "You know how Sam is about being told not to do something: she'll specifically do it just to prove she can." Swing set, anyone?
True. "But she usually listens to you…"
Usually. She took a bite of her eggs before pointing out, "She didn't listen to me about Jake Krandall…" The day Jake had dumped her Sam had mysteriously disappeared at lunch and, later that afternoon, the audio from Jake's sound check (in all its off-key glory) had been transmitted over the school PA system. Carly had disapproved of the tactic but had to admit it made her feel better, particularly when Stephanie dropped him like a discordant hot-cake.
The only reason Freddie had known Sam was planning anything was because she'd needed him to be ready with his PearPhone during last period. He couldn't say he hadn't been impressed with her cunning – he always was – but her revenge had come with a price. "She got two weeks detention for inappropriate use of the PA system…" Of course she'd deemed it 'totally worth it' upon seeing the video of Jake's reaction, but still.
"What did you want me to do? Go unhook her internet?" That was more his skill set than hers.
"I'd think you'd at least try to talk her out of it…" Freddie couldn't help it if his tone was a little accusatory – it seemed like the only time Carly approved of Sam's vengeful or violent tendencies was when they were on her behalf.
Shaking her head Carly defended, "Well, I would have but she nearly took my head off just for calling. She's in quite the mood." She pointed her fork at him menacingly. "And I don't appreciate the implication."
Freddie felt bad for thinking Carly didn't have Sam's best interests at heart, especially since Sam's 'mood' was most likely his fault. "Sorry; I just don't want her to get in trouble again. The year's almost over and I was hoping we'd get through it without a suspension." For the first time ever.
"S'okay," Carly allowed, swallowing a mouthful of food, "I'm worried about her, too. Her voice was all weird…" When she was done eating she pushed her empty plate away and looked at him expectantly.
"What?" Like he didn't know why she was staring at him…
Carly groaned at his bad innocent act. "Are you gonna tell me what happened to put her in a bad mood or what?"
"Uh…" Freddie went for the obvious, if tentative, answer: "Trevor?"
"No, not Trevor." Leaning across the table at him she ordered, "Spill, Freddie." It was way too early to have to chase him around the apartment…
"How do you know it's not Trevor?" he deflected. "Sam does tend to go all mama-bear when someone hurts you…" It was actually the most predictable thing about her.
Because if it were Trevor she wouldn't be taking it out on Carly. Also: "When I asked Spencer if he knew why she was upset he covered his ears and ran into his room screaming about Parcheesi…" She saw Freddie flinch and drove it home. "Now why would he do that if she was upset about Trevor?"
The chances of her buying it were close to nil but he had to try… "Sam disapproves of Trevor's Parcheesi addiction?"
Argh! "Freddie!"
Damn Spencer and his inability to lie. Unfortunately Freddie wasn't any better at it… "I'm gonna go ask him!" Before Carly could stop him he was up and out of the kitchen, heading down the hall. "Spencer, let me in!"
Spencer opened his bedroom door and yanked Freddie in by the front of his shirt before slamming it shut. "You told her!" he hissed accusingly.
Freddie sat on the bed and put his head in his hands to mumble, "Worse!"
"What could be worse than telling her you like her?" Opening his door a crack Spencer checked to make sure Carly wasn't in the hallway eavesdropping. She wasn't – he could hear her talking to someone in the kitchen.
When Freddie had the older man's attention again he breathed, "I told her I love her." Falling back on the bed he covered his eyes with his arms. Ugh.
Spencer blinked at him, dumbfounded. "That is so much worse." Like, 'the results of his electrical wiring' worse.
Freddie moved his arm to raise a sarcastic eyebrow. "Ya think?" Maybe if he'd just told her he liked her she wouldn't have reacted so strongly…
How the boy went from 'maybe like' to 'love' in one night Spencer didn't know. Dropping to the bed he patted Freddie's leg supportively. "So what happened?"
"She told me to take it back and when I wouldn't she took off. I haven't been able to reach her since." The other details weren't important. Well, they were but they weren't exactly shareable.
"At least she didn't break anything," Spencer comforted with an overly-bright smile. Poor Sam – she must have been really floored if she hadn't violenced him.
Freddie couldn't even be happy for that silver lining, instead groaning, "I almost wish she had." Sitting up he looked at Spencer miserably. "You didn't see the hate on her face, Spence. The last time she had that look it was directed at Nevel…"
Ouch. Spencer felt for the boy so he wouldn't say 'I told you so.' He settled for "I'm sorry, buddy."
"It's not your fault," Freddie allowed, "You tried to warn me." He'd never been one to hide how he felt, though he probably should have learned with Carly that it didn't get him anywhere.
Shaking his head Spencer corrected, "I should have just said 'hell no;' I think the hockey sticks confused you…"
Despite the situation Freddie had to laugh. "A lot of things confuse me lately, especially a particular blonde-headed demon." Turning to Spencer he voiced his fears. "What if I ruined everything?" Everything Spencer knew about and everything he didn't.
"Give her some time, Freddo. I'm sure she'll get over it." Knowing Sam she'd just pretend it never happened. It might not be what the boy wanted but it was probably the best he could hope for.
Freddie ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "I hope you're right."
"I was right last time," Spencer pointed out.
"Not helpful."
"Sorry."
The room was silent for a few minutes until Freddie spoke again. "So how long are we going to hide out in here?"
Spencer shrugged. "Just 'til Carly leaves for college…"
Freddie's mom had the night shift all week so he and Carly were stuck taking the bus on Monday morning. He tapped impatiently on the window frame, anxious to get to school where Sam wouldn't be able to avoid him without Carly noticing. The brunette had been so suspicious of both boys hiding out in Spencer's room that she'd risked facing Sam's wrath to go straight to the source. He didn't know what Sam had told her (hadn't dared ask) but it must have satisfied her; she'd knocked on the door to invite him shopping with her (probably Sam's idea of payback) not twenty minutes later. At the very least Sam had to talk to him so they could get their story straight in case Carly decided to follow up. That was his hope anyway – she still wasn't taking his calls. He'd even borrowed Carly's cell while she was trying on outfits knowing the blonde would answer if she didn't think it was him. All he'd managed to say was 'Sam, please don't' before she'd hung up. He'd suggested going to visit her on the way home but all of a sudden she wasn't taking Carly's calls either (he feigned ignorance at the brunette's confusion) and they knew better than to show up uninvited. So here he was, staring out the window and urging the big hunk of metal to go faster.
Carly's phone beeped and she pulled it out of her jacket to find a new email from Sam. Having forgotten about the Trevor thing she was surprised to see a picture of him with the caption 'Have you been with this man?' and a link beneath it in the style of old 'Wanted' posters. "Oh, she didn't," Carly groaned, handing the phone to Freddie. "I'm afraid to look."
He was feeling a little insecure about not getting the email himself until he saw that Sam had only sent it to the girls in school (he didn't even want to think about what she'd hacked to get all their addresses). Clicking the link he looked at the screen through his fingers. It was an article dated the month before in the Snoqualmie Valley Record about a small syphilis outbreak at the local high school; five girls had come down with the STD and upon further investigation they'd all been with the same guy. The newspaper couldn't name the underage girls but Trevor wasn't so lucky. The article went on to give the symptoms of the infection and numbers to contact and blah blah blah. Giving the phone back to Carly he confirmed "Oh, yes she did."
Skimming the webpage Carly shook her head sadly. "Do you think she made it up? Seems kinda convenient…"
"Looks legit to me." At one time he'd have said Sam was too lazy to do something so elaborate; he'd since learned that with the proper motivation (such as her best friend being humiliated) she was capable of just about anything. When it came to defending Carly Sam went for the jugular, and she'd once told him (probably about the Jake Krandall thing, actually) that nothing inflicted pain more than the truth; that what made it so devastating was that there was no denying it. And while he didn't know for sure that she hadn't made it up Freddie knew she had acted without thinking (big surprise there) – Trevor Harland had at least a foot and fifty pounds on her, and, judging by the article, not a lot of respect for women. He was trying to figure out a way to not leave her alone all day (made even more impossible by her avoiding him) when they finally reached their destination.
Carly practically ran into the school. She knew Sam was already inside: there was no way she'd miss the fireworks she herself had set off. Also, Sam's mom's beat up Gremlin was in the parking lot. She found the blonde standing at their lockers watching the chaos around her with a smug smile. "What were you thinking?"
"Well good morning to you too, Sunshine," Sam deadpanned. The halls were alive with chatter (it wasn't arguing but it would have to do) and she wasn't going to let Carly (or the nub that had just joined them) ruin it for her (like he ruined everything else).
"Sam, this is serious!" Carly could feel the ulcers forming. Why couldn't she have picked a non-worry-inducing best friend?
"It's okay," Sam dismissed, petting Carly's arm to calm her down. "It's the jag-off's fault anyway for putting himself on Mama's radar. Otherwise I wouldn't have cared why he switched schools with two months left in the year…"
Freddie listened to the exchange quietly, knowing Carly was just wasting her breath; it was already done and it wasn't like Sam would take it back even if she could. Instead he studied her face, noticing that although her eyes were shining and her cheeks were flushed with excitement (his mind unhelpfully supplied a similar image from Saturday night) she looked exhausted. The flicker of longing was replaced by a pang of guilt.
"Besides, I did the public a service," Sam justified with a wave of the hand. "This way no other gullible chick is gonna fall for the guy's questionable charms and get more than she bargained for." After a beat she supplied, "No offense."
Carly growled in frustration. It was like talking to a frickin' wall. "Somehow I doubt Trevor's gonna see it that way, Sam! And what about Principal Franklin? You're gonna get suspended. Or expelled! Or worse!"
Sam didn't know what Carly thought was worse than getting expelled but she was more concerned that the brunette was on the verge of hyperventilating. "Relax, Carls," she soothed, taking the brunette's face in her hands and forcing eye contact. "Breathe…" When Carly's breathing returned to normal she explained, "I can't get in trouble for emailing a link outside of school hours. What I did may be a little mean but it's not punishable."
"Samantha Puckett please report to the Principal's office. Sam Puckett to the Principal's office."
"Apparently Principal Franklin disagrees," Carly pointed out smugly.
Freddie broke his silence to marvel, "How'd he find out so fast?"
Ignoring them both Sam pouted at the speaker, whining, "Now? But I want to see Trevor's face…"
"I think you're going to get your wish," Carly sighed, turning the blonde so she could see Trevor coming. If he hadn't been in the direction of the offices she wouldn't have pointed him out at all; at least this way her best friend would be prepared.
"You bitch!" Trevor hissed, stomping down the hall towards them.
Sam tried to look innocent but her smile just grew wider – she'd been waiting for this all morning. "Are you talking to me?" She took an exaggerated look around.
Not liking the rage on Trevor's face Freddie stepped in front of her. It would probably only slow the guy down for a second (if at all) but he needed to do something.
"You know, you've got a big mouth for someone who needs her tech monkey to protect her…"
Pushing Freddie out of the way Sam walked up to Trevor and narrowed her eyes. "Watch it, Syph-stick. I'm more than capable of kicking your ass back to Snoqualmie all on my own…"
"What'd you say, bitch?"
"You heard me," she bit off, getting in his face. Well, his chest. She forged ahead anyway with a smirked, "Unless you didn't – I hear syphilis causes deafness…" Yeah, she was pushing him. Humiliating him was fun and all but what Sam really needed right then was some good old-fashioned vi-O-lence.
Freddie rolled his eyes; she just didn't know when to stop. "Sam…"
There was a collective gasp when Trevor grabbed the front of Sam's shirt and slammed her into the locker.
Sam covered her wince with a vicious grin. Dude was stronger than she'd expected but it wouldn't stop her from destroying him if he threw the first punch…
Carly quickly took hold of Freddie's jacket when he went to intervene, shaking her head at him. Sam could take care of herself; him not so much…
"So here's what you're gonna do, Trevor…" You couldn't tell by Sam's voice that he was holding her up against a locker. Sure her chest hurt where his hand was pressed into it but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of reacting. "First you're gonna let me go, then you're gonna apologize to Carly for being a douche." Rolling her eyes she added, "And then you're going to apologize to Charlene, 'cause I'm thinking you gave her more than just a burger Saturday night." There – that was her good deed for the year.
"And why the hell would I do that?" Trevor spat in her face.
Carly wanted to go get a teacher to break it up – he was leaning into Sam like he was either about to kiss her or swallow her whole – but she couldn't tear her eyes away. Sam had a plan, she was sure of it. She just wished her best friend would get to it already 'cause it was painful to watch.
Freddie's hands balled into fists. He didn't understand why she was letting Trevor man-handle her – he'd seen her get out of situations worse than this at least a half-dozen times: all she had to do was distract him and get loose. Well, he was sure it was more complicated than that but she always made it look that easy. The only reason he could come up with was that she wanted Trevor to hit her. And by the looks of it he was going to…
"The web is a wonderful thing, Trev. Do you mind if I call you Trev?" Sam's breathy tone was as much a product of her being winded as a tool of intimidation. Unfortunately. "Anyway, your quality time with penicillin wasn't the only thing I found out about…" His eyes widened and she finished him off in a whisper only he could hear. "Something about football tryouts, a mop, and baby powder? Am I remembering that right?" The ball was firmly in his court – he could either back down and save himself the embarrassment (and the beating) or take it that step further. She really hoped he chose the latter.
The crowd watched in awe as Trevor's gaze dropped to the ground and he let Sam go, backing away.
Within seconds she'd snatched his wrist, spun herself behind him and thrown him into the locker with his arm twisted up behind his back. The sound of his face meeting metal made her smile.
The hallway was filled with cheering and exuberant shouts.
"Don't EVER touch me again… Got it?" Sam hissed, standing on her tip-toes to reach his ear. When he just nodded she forced his hand higher, using all her self-control not to push past that final resistance and dislocate his shoulder. The thought that she might need anger management crossed her mind but she quickly dismissed it.
"Got it! I got it!"
Sam let Trevor go and nonchalantly picked up her backpack. Damn but that felt good. Not as good as it could have, but still. She just hoped Ted didn't kill her high; she'd emailed him at home the night before to tell him her plan because she'd thought if he knew in advance he wouldn't be (as) disappointed in her. To his credit he hadn't tried to talk her out of it (he'd known it wouldn't have done any good), just replied that they'd discuss it that day. Needless to say she wasn't really looking forward to that conversation…
The warning bell rang, and, fight over, the throng began to noisily disperse.
Freddie let out a gigantic sigh. She'd had a plan. She'd been in control all along. But telling himself he'd been right to not get involved didn't stop him from feeling like a total wuss… He was about to check on her when Miss Briggs appeared and began ushering the remaining students away. If she noticed the blood trailing from Trevor's nose (how could she not?) she didn't mention it.
"Sam, Principal Franklin is waiting for you." Francine turned to Trevor and pinched his t-shirt between her thumb and forefinger and began dragging him away. "As for you, Casanova, get to class."
Trevor didn't meet Carly's eyes as they passed but he did mutter "Sorry." Carly really wanted to know what Sam had said to him. On second thought she probably didn't… Turning to share a relieved glance with Freddie she deadpanned, "Well, that was fun."
"Yeah." When Freddie looked around for Sam she was already gone. "You think she's okay?"
Carly shrugged. "Of course she's okay: she's Sam." That was probably the best morning she'd had all month, despite the fact she'd practically given her friends a heart-attack.
Sam being Sam was exactly the reason Freddie wasn't so sure, and he thought if Carly knew what was really going on she'd probably agree. Unless he was just being overly sensitive and it didn't have anything to do with him at all… For some reason that thought was even more depressing.
Okay, I know there was no real Seddie in this chapter so as a little Christmas/Holiday gift I'll give you a tiny preview from the next chapter:
"You do not have feelings for me…" Sam growled, losing control and spinning on him with hate in her eyes. "I know they say you are what you eat but I will not be bacon, do you understand me?"
Bacon? "Why would you think you're bacon?" She couldn't possibly think he only loved her because she was going to sleep with him…
She barked a humorless laugh. "It's been a week, Freddie. All it took was one week for you to go from zero to in love with me? The only thing that's changed is the agreement."
Shaking his head Freddie argued, "No! We changed because of the agreement." He waved a hand between them, trying to get her to understand. "Sam, this week has been incredible. And not just because of the physical." If he said the physical had nothing to do with it he'd be lying and she'd know it. "You let me in; I've seen a side of you this week you've never let me see before…"
"You're gonna be seeing my fist in your face soon if you don't drop it." It had taken Sam all of Sunday to calm down enough just to be in his presence; it seemed he was determined to shatter what little hold she had left…
Cyber cookies to SeddierFTW - no, Sam doesn't believe him ;)
