The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

Chapter 14 (Breaking Up is Hard)

The next day, Carly and Douglas sat on a Ferris Wheel in the amusement park, they seemed to be having a great time on their date, but Carly was noticing Douglas acting very distant. More so than usual. Whenever she asked, he would not tell her what was on his mind. They even shot a video just this morning and posted it up online, that should have at least made Douglas happy, but it did nothing. Carly wrapped her arms around his right arm and rested her head upon his shoulder. He didn't seem to mind, but emotionally, he pulled away from her.

"Douglas, why won't you tell me what's on your mind? I love you baby…" Douglas closed his eyes and slowly shrugged. His lack of a response pierced Carly's heart and caused her to pull away from him. She folded her arms over her chest and looked off at the lake in the distance. "I don't understand you, you've been so fucking distant all day." He moved his eyes towards her, then tore them away from her. His lips parted, but he withdrew whatever thought he had and looked away.

"It's not necessarily me that's being distant." What was that supposed to mean? Carly's face twisted in confusion and she quickly turned her head towards him.

"Excuse me? You know what I've been dealing with lately. I just got expelled from school, my brother's threatening to kick me out, I have to take senior year all over again and probably at a different school. My best friend's parents, as well as Spencer, are denying me the right to see Sam. I've been dealing with a lot, thank you very much…" She wouldn't have become defensive so quickly if he hadn't sounded so accusing in his tone. Why was he acting this way all of a sudden? Granted, he had been acting differently ever since Melanie and Freddie found out about the porn. Or, had he been acting differently since they got Sam involved? "You always seem happiest when we're shooting a porn video…"

"Yeah, I know." He gripped the red cart with his fingertips and closed his eyes. The wind through his hair was somewhat calming, but yet inside he was just a mass of explosions. He slowly shook his head and peered off into the distance. "I'm just a bit concerned about all this drama that's going on. It's really not helping…"

"What? What is it not helping?"

"You're always distracted, the clients aren't as satisfied with you, and we're not making as much money as before." Carly's jaw fell and Douglas turned his eyes upon her. She hesitated and looked into his gaze, he didn't seem at all caring about all the shit she was going through. Why wasn't he? Was he not her boyfriend? She didn't understand!" "You can't let all this drama keep you from performing."

"I-I perform just fine, thank you! What are you, my manager or my boyfriend?" Carly couldn't believe her ears! His words penetrated her and weakened her heart, she wanted him to support her through this mess, not scold her. Whatever happened to the understanding, supportive boyfriends? "Douglas, I can't control the shit that's being flung at me! It's not my fault! Why can't you be supportive of me? Tell me it's going to be okay and tell me you love me!" Douglas rolled his eyes and placed his hand on Carly's arm. She pouted her lip as he gave her a stern look.

"I do care about you, Carly, but I'm serious. This bullshit that's going on needs to stop. You're letting it all affect you. Spencer shouldn't matter when it comes to your career, and Sam's more than just your best friend, she's our coworker. Nothing should keep you from that fact." Carly moved her head back as his words hit her into shock. Wasn't it reversed? Wasn't the fact that Sam was her best friend more important than the thought of Sam being a coworker? Her heart began to pound in her chest and sweat started dripping down her neck.

"I don't get it. She's my best friend, Douglas, not my coworker! I'm not letting anything get in the way of my job, honest!" She gripped his arm tightly and he quickly pulled it away. He never wanted to have this conversation, he just wanted to hope Carly would bring the payments up more. She and Sam were literally his meal tickets, as they did more porn than he did and they split the money in three ways. "Sam deserves more respect than just that simple term." Douglas lifted his hands up and sighed, exhausted and irritated.

"Look, I understand, but I really don't care. I'm just repeating what probably every client and boss you have in your day will say. You need to separate your personal life from your career." While that was true, it was never good to involve both in the same scenario, she couldn't control what was going on around her. Her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed as she moved her hands to the iron bar and stared ahead, gripping the cold iron so tight that her knuckles began to turn white. "You're not bringing in as much money, which means we're making less money."

"So…all you care about is the money?" Douglas sighed and leaned his head back. How could he explain this to her in a way that she would understand? He didn't want to sound shallow and vain, though he likely was in her mind, but the fact that they weren't making as much money meant he wasn't making rent. "You can't be the typical boyfriend? You can't be like Freddie, who supports Melanie no matter what? You can't be like Jonah, who stands behind Valerie on everything? Why can't you take lessons?" Her voice cracked and Douglas let out a groan. He placed his elbow on the side of the cart and rested his head on his hand.

"I'm not them, Carly! I'm my own person!" Carly felt her eyes begin to water and slowly looked away from him, not wanting him to see her tears. If he didn't give a damn about how she felt, then he surely would jump on her for crying over his words. He was steadily chipping away at her heart, didn't he see that? Did he not see the way he was treating her? "I'm saying that if you don't shape up, then you're useless!"

Carly gasped and her eyes flew open, everything inside of her froze as her body stiffened. Did she hear what she thought she had? He couldn't mean that, he just couldn't! Her heart stopped abruptly and her gut churned, attempting to force the bile up her throat. She wasn't useless. "You can't mean that! You asshole!" She turned around and smacked him hard against his arm. She'd been trying to keep calm, but now it was almost too much to bear. "I love what I do, and I think I perform perfectly! I am not useless and I'd prove it to you! I just need some time to get my brother off my case!"

"No, you have no time to do that. Just ignore him."

"I kind of can't, Douglas. If I ignore him completely, he may actually kick me out."

"Didn't you say you didn't believe he would actually do that?"

"Yeah, but…" The cart soon came to a stop at the bottom and the door opened to release them. The iron bar shot forward and Douglas let out a small growl. He'd become tired of Carly, simply too tired of her. One thing that she didn't always seem to do was perform with him, that was another issue he had with her. He'd have to find another moneymaker elsewhere. If anything, Sam would still perform. He shot an angry glare at Carly and she sank back, reading his eyes carefully. She had a bad feeling about what he was going to do next. She didn't want to think about what might come next, but with as bad as things were going, she was almost surely expecting the worst.

"I'm sorry Carly, it's too late. We're through." Carly paled and her world slowly began to crumble around her. She watched as Douglas stepped out of the cart and eyed her with vindication. "I'm sorry, but if you can't perform well enough to bring in the cash flow, you're useless to me. It's over. Goodbye."

"W-What…but Douglas, you can't just-" She gripped her pants tightly as she bowed her head. She couldn't stand to look him in the eyes. She moaned softly as she heard his footsteps departing among the crowd. The worker closed her door when she wouldn't respond to whether she was going to get out or not, but it wasn't her fault, everything around her she had simply droned out.

As the Wheel began moving, she curled forward and placed her hands to her eyes, sobbing quietly. How could this have happened to her? How could Douglas have dumped her? Her heart shattered and split. This just wasn't fair, it wasn't right. She was not useless, and she would prove it!

She silently glared ahead of her, trying to think of what she could do next. If it was really over between them, she was going to get revenge. She was thinking wild, passionate sex with somebody and sending that video to Douglas. Surely he would feel horrible about calling her useless!

As the Ferris Wheel came to a stop where she was at again, she quickly left and looked to the worker manning the station. Not many people were in the line that she saw, so maybe she could get away with what she wanted to do. She quickly made her way to the worker and tugged her lips into a smirk. "Hey there…" Her voice was seductive and the worker slowly lifted his head to her, he had to be about seventeen years old. "What's your name?" She traced her finger along his chest and held his gaze.

"S-Seth."

"Well Seth, what would you say if I did this?" Carly wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes, moaning as she trailed down his body. He stiffened and his eyes widened as she trailed her hands along his chest. She moaned seductively as she turned around and brushed her back against him, rising up and chuckling. "So cutie pie, how's about you and I get a little…" He grunted as he felt her clasp her hand around his valuables and squeeze gently. "Privacy?"

"I-I, well…I…I can't leave my station."

"I'm sure nobody would mind, really, Sethy." She turned around and gazed into his eyes, breathing out onto his lips.

"Carly Shay!" She froze instantly, her lips hovering over his. Just as she was about to close the deal, the worst possible person to find her had just found her. She swallowed hard and turned around to see Spencer glaring angrily at her. He didn't just appear agitated, he looked betrayed, hurt, and as though filled with an intense rage. "Get over here this instant!"

"S-Spencer! T-This isn't what it looks like, I swear it!" Spencer raised his eyebrow and folded his arms over, continuing to glare daggers at her. She felt her body light on fire and moaned with agony. Maybe she could talk her way out of this, but maybe not. She slowly walked over to him and smiled uncomfortably. "So what brings you here?"

"A number of things. Now come with me." He grabbed her wrist tightly and started pulling her. It didn't hurt, but she decided to make a show of it, which actually pissed Spencer off more.

"Ow! Spencer, you're hurting me! We're in public, you shouldn't do this! It hurts!" Spencer loosened his grip and shifted his eyes over as a park security guard walked up to him, concerned for Carly. Carly's eyes widened as Spencer slowly sighed.

"Sir, what are you doing?" The guard looked to Carly and smiled softly. "Miss, is this man hurting you?" Thinking fast, Carly slowly shook her head. He raised an eyebrow and turned to Spencer. "Do you know each other?"

"Yeah, this is my brother, he's just a little upset, that's all." Carly chuckled nervously as Spencer looked at her through the corner of his eyes. "We'll be fine, there's nothing to worry about."

"Okay…" The guard cleared his throat and turned to Spencer, shaking his flashlight at him. "Please remember, sir. This is a family park, we would ask that you kindly refrain from any harmful actions to young children." Spencer pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes.

"Yes sir, I'll keep that in mind."

"Good, because it could easily become a case of domestic abuse, and we'd hate to have to arrest you because of a family dispute." Carly winced inwardly as she watched the guard continue to rebuke Spencer for another minute. Once the guard left, Spencer simply looked to her without a word. She felt his anger pierce her and she knew she wasn't to say or do anything else.

"Spencer, I'm so-" Spencer held his hand up and started walking, she followed quietly behind him until they reached his car. Sasha was in the passenger seat. Her eyes met Spencer's, then Carly's, then she slowly turned her gaze away. Her eyes were wet and her silence spoke volumes to Carly's shattering soul. Spencer opened the back door and she slowly climbed in behind Sasha. He slammed the door shut and made his way to the driver's side. Carly knew she shouldn't have made a scene, Spencer was not abusive in any way, he would never lay a hand on either her or Sasha, but now she just got the security guards at the amusement park watching him. He was on their list. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and closed his eyes. "Spencer?"

He did not respond for a whole minute. Sasha placed her hand on his leg and he slowly exhaled, his body was barely trembling. "Thank you Carly, now I'm too damn embarrassed to even bring my child to this park in the future. Those guards will constantly watch me." Sasha lifted her eyebrows and looked back to Carly in confusion.

"What happened this time?"

"She made a scene when I started pulling her away, caught the attention of the park security." Sasha gasped and placed her hand over her mouth. How embarrassing! Carly moved her eyes to the side as Spencer lifted his gaze to the park entrance. Some security guards were watching him, possibly wondering if he would strike Carly. "Jesus Christ, I can barely even show my face in this town! I've had it!"

"Come on Spencer, don't be like that." Carly hoped he'd listen to her and maybe calm down, she honestly didn't mean to piss him off. "I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry!"

"It's not just that, but you blatantly disobeyed me, Carly! Again, you disobeyed me!"

"W-What do you mean…"

"Should I count them?" Spencer turned around in his seat and started lifting his fingers, counting off each disregard for his rules that Carly broke. "Sasha and I went to the groovy smoothie to have a drink and T-Bo explained that you and Sam got into an argument with Nevel, and then Melanie. You've been seeing Sam when I explicitly told you not to!"

"She's my best friend, Spencer!"

"I don't care!" Carly frowned and moved her eyes downward as Spencer lifted his second finger up. "Second of all, you had sex in the apartment again! Yes, we installed cameras." She gasped and sank down, moving her eyes outside at the guards. They were starting to move. She swallowed hard and looked back to Spencer, it actually might look like he was either hitting her or about to hit her, from someone outside. "That brings me to point three, you're with Douglas. I forbade you from seeing him!"

"I'm sorry, okay? Honestly!"

"We find out that you come here with him, and when we get here, what are you doing? You're rubbing up against a park employee! Do you live to piss me off?"

"Spencer, please!" Tears were flowing from Carly's eyes, his words were hurting her enough. She wanted to talk him down. Maybe he wouldn't send her off to Yakima, but if he got any angrier, he just might. Just as she was about to say something, there was a loud knocking on the door.

"What?" Carly's eyes widened and Sasha gasped as Spencer was suddenly pulled from the car. He was pushed up against the car by three guards as they started to throw handcuffs on his wrist. Carly cupped her hand over her mouth and Sasha cried out for Spencer.

"We warned you once, sir. We're going to take you to the park office and have a talk with you. Come on." Spencer closed his eyes tightly as the officers started to lead him away, he was going to oblige and not protest. "We won't place you under arrest, but you have some explaining to do."

"Spencer!" Sasha quickly left the car and one of the guards held his hand up to her.

"Please stay back, ma'am." Sasha's eyes widened as she fell back against the car. She placed her hand over her stomach and clenched her eyes shut. She was going to vouch for Carly, but now it was just far too late. She slowly retreated back into the car and didn't speak a word. Carly also remained silent, knowing that now even Sasha might be a bit angry at her.

Thirty minutes later, Spencer came walking back to the car. Sasha had the music going and the air running. Carly was sitting with her arms crossed and eyes downcast. She didn't bother looking up when Spencer entered the car and started it up. He began driving, his expression was calm but inside he was steaming. Sasha slowly looked at him and placed her hand upon his. "Spencer? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's official, I'm permanently banned from this park. If I show my face here again, they will arrest me." Carly's eyes darted up and Sasha turned her gaze outside.

"Did they take your picture?"

"Picture, fingerprints, everything they needed to remember who the hell I was." He chuckled vainly and moved his head to the side. "It feels great, really, to be permanently barred from an old favorite amusement park." Carly groaned inwardly, feeling the dripping sarcasm. She knew how much that park meant to him, it was where he actually first met Sasha when they were kids and before she moved away. Tears left his eyes as his body shook. "I actually wanted to take our children there, I thought about having our first anniversary there." Carly breathed in and spoke for the first time, her voice shaking.

"Spencer, I'm so sorry, I really am."

"Carly, shut it. I'm through dealing with you." Carly frowned as Spencer gripped his steering wheel tighter. "I'm not letting you fuck my life up any more and possibly getting me arrested again. I'm trying to get back into a career in the legal field, I don't need this. I'm not going to let you influence my children either. Up until that last insult, I was actually considering giving you another chance, and I'm pretty sure Sasha was going to stand up for you." Carly's lip trembled and she already could sense the powerful blow coming for her. Sasha closed her eyes as Spencer's voice hardened. "When we get home, I want you to pack everything. We'll make sure everything is packed and that is all you do. By tomorrow afternoon, you'll be on the plane for Yakima."

"But Spencer!"

"No! My word is final this time!" Spencer hit the top of his steering wheel and Carly instantly sank back. "You've shattered my trust, disregarded my authority, lied, caused a scene, got me barred from an amusement park of all things. Do you fucking hate me?"

"No…" Her voice came out in a whimper and she slowly pulled her knees to her chest. She sobbed quietly, not wanting it to be known just how bad she felt. Her soul had just been split in two, she lost her boyfriend and now even her brother.

"I've had enough of it. I'm not going to do this. I honestly thought they were going to arrest me in there, want to know why they didn't? Because I didn't actually hit you! I'm sorry Carly, it's over. I'm not going to put up with you any longer. Now, you are your grandfather's mess."

"Spencer…" She looked at Sasha and slowly breathed out. "Sasha?" Sasha slowly shook her head, unable to think of anything to say. She didn't necessarily agree with Spencer, but she knew this couldn't continue. It may just be for the best. "I'm so sorry…"

Yet it was far too late, there were no more opportunities to apologize. They now fell upon deaf ears. Spencer, was really through.

Douglas is extremely cold here, he's also going to be showing his more manipulative/controlling side in later chapters (But someone may put an end to that). Spencer, finally driven over the edge when Carly acts up and creates a scene, getting him in trouble with park security, now will be sending her to Yakima. Keep in mind that once she leaves Seattle, she is still going to be a part of this story. I don't write characters off without good reason. The next chapter will be a bit of a break from the drama before major drama continues, two sisters will share a moment before being wedged apart. Stick around!