Sam reread her latest txt from Rico (Wendy informs me that Freddie is alone in his room, Gibby is with me, Finish him!) and smiled at the Mortal Kombat reference as she looked at the clock on her pear phone; 8:57 pm, and double checked to make sure that Running Away by AM was set as the first song on her "Currently Playing" list. She did not like the power which that song had to bring out the softer side of her, but she refused to believe that it did not have a similar effect on Freddie, and she planned to use this to her advantage. Assuming the plan had gone correctly; Freddie had recently been served a steaming hot plate of rejection, and was left alone in his room to mull over his emotions. Sam slid the phone gently into her pocket, careful not to have any of the buttons pressed, and prepared for what she was about to do.

"Fredduccini," She exclaimed as casually as she could, employing the friendliest of her nicknames for Freddie that she could think of (she always had been a fettuccini fan,) as she flung open the door and barged into the room. She paused dead in the center of the room as she soaked up the sight before her; All of the lights were turned off, but the room was unusually well lit by the outrageous flood of moonlight pouring in from the enormous window to the side of the room. The lighting scheme, however, was not the sight that caught Sam's attention; it was the sight of Freddie, sitting on the foot of his bed, crying silently to himself, a box of Kleenex to his side. He looked up in shock, and the combination of surprise, fear, and sorrow in his eyes shook Sam like an earthquake.

"Sam," Freddie started to say in a choked voice, and Sam braced herself to repeatedly bombarded with the phrase "I don't want to talk about it," as Rico had warned her. "THINK QUICK, PRINCESS PUCKETT!!!" Sam told herself as she realized that by standing there gawking, she was giving Freddie time to close off his emotions and return to normal. If she wanted to get what she wanted, she needed to swoop in quickly and exploit his emotions NOW, and they were fading fast. She rushed over to his side and sat down beside him, picking up the Kleenex box and placing it on her lap. She reached out and grabbed his and, and softly asked, "Freddie, what's wrong?" as she leaned her head in towards him and to the side a little.

He sniveled a little. "You can guess." He raised his head and tried to look her in the eyes, but could not bring himself to do it. "Hey," Sam said, softly, innocently, thinking to her self, what would Melanie do? "What are you talking about?"

Freddie breathed deeply, and said, "I don't want to talk about it." Sam performed exactly the reaction she and Rico had rehearsed: she put on an offended face, but made a specific effort not to make him feel guilty, and said: "Hey, you can tell me anything, remember?" She looked at him, and even though they were not making eye contact, for Freddie was looking down, she ventured to guess that if she stared him down long enough he would make eye contact eventually. A second or two passed, and then her theory proved itself correct. Freddie wiped his tears and looked at Sam. "Carly rejected me again," he said, and looked down again. Sam did not change the position of her head; she knew that her stare-down tactic was crucial to her success, and it was working. "Freddie, I'm so sorry," she said very quickly, maintaining her soft, genuine tone of voice. "But you know what?" Freddie made eye contact again, and Sam pounced on this golden opportunity. "I believe everything happens for a reason. And," she said, poking Freddie gently in the chest as she said this, "I think somewhere in that big heart you do too." She smiled as she said this, and the compliment brought Freddie to smile, if only for a second. "You know what I think it means, Freddie?" He looked at her again, and she leaned in as she said softly, "I think it means there's someone even better out there for you." She smiled at him as she said this, and she could see him brighten up just a little as he said, with a glimmer of hope in his voice, "You think so?"

"I know so," Sam said confidently, still maintaining her gentle, intimate tone of voice. "Hey," she said again, a bit louder this time, her body perking up and a spark in her eyes. "You know what would make you feel better?"

"Hmm?" Freddie asked, still tearstained.

"A little music," Sam said, almost a little mischievously, with a cute smile, and she pulled out her pear phone and put on Running Away. "I love this song," Sam blatantly lied, resisting that nostalgic lurch in her stomach every time she heard those melodic opening bars.

"I, I can't-" Freddie did not even know what he was trying to say as he stuttered out these two words, and he met Sam's gaze, listening to the song. He tried to pull away from her gaze, but it was as if someone held his chin in a vice grip, holding his head in position, as against his will, Sam's Icy blue eyes shot through his eyes into his soul like icicles.

Sam reached for his other hand, and at that point Freddie realized both of their hands were enlaced within those of their partner.

"Listen," Sam said, and smiled innocently at Freddie. "It's our song!" she said softly, with a hint of flirt in her voice.

Freddie choked a little, similar to the reaction Sam had the first time she called it that, without even thinking about it. "I still want the four of us to go to that party," Sam said reassuringly. She hesitated a little before saying, nervously, "Did she say why?"

"She said that jerk Rico already asked her," he said with obvious contempt.

"Hey," Sam said, still softly but with a hint of ordinance this time. "Rico's not a jerk," she said softly, as she silently thought to herself, hate the game, not the player. "He really likes you," she said reassuringly, sliding her hand up his arm now. She believed it to be the truth.

"Yeah, well how can I go now that she's going with him? It'd be way too awkward to see either of them there."

"We can make it work!" Sam said cheerfully. "Remember, Rico and I…you know, but I'm still going with them! This is going to be the AWESOMEST party EVER," she said, staring him in the eyes, "And we're invited. There's no way we can pass up this opportunity."

"But how can we make it work?" Freddie said, a little exasperated.

Sam put on an innocent look, and suggested, rather asked, "We… could go together?"

Freddie looked down and away. "Yea, right. You would never want to-" he stopped; because as he looked into Sam's eyes, he knew that what he was about to say was incorrect. "You would- really?" He asked her.

"Yes," She said, smiling, and she leaned in to hug him.