Author's Note: All I'll say about this new chapter is that I suspect you'll enjoy it a lot :D
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue. For God sake, don't sue.
Ridgeway High School
Tuesday, September 2011
It was the end to another boring day as Sam was grabbing her emergency zip-lock bag of bacon from her locker before meeting up with Carly and Fredweird.
"Sam!" she heard someone called out from the stairwell. Sam took a step back just enough to look around to corner to see Adam hop down the stairs two at a time. He took a moment to catch his breath once he reached the row of lockers. Sam couldn't get the sneer off her face as she asked Adam, "What do you want?"
Adam caught his breath then cleared his throat. "I wanted to tell Carly I was sorry. Has she already left?"
"Now you're sorry? You're sorry afteryou tweeted your story. What makes you think you can just do that to Carly? Now I wish the nub had his chance go all nerd rage on you."
He shook his head then replied, "I know; it was stupid what I did."
Sam snorted out dismissively, "You're just sorry because of what my Seddie Warriors are saying about you on-line; looks like mama's army is doing a fine job. Got to remember to give them a shout out on the next iCarly."
Adam set his jaw tight for a moment before snapping, "They're dragging my name through the mud on all those forums and it's gone beyond that."
"Boo-hoo, I guess you know what it feels like to be one of Taylor Swift's exes. You called my friend a slut and if it wasn't for Daddy Shay, I would have taken your manhood off for what you wrote."
Adam swallowed nervously at that statement.
Sam took the few steps to get right in the brunette boy's face. "Yeah that's right. You heard me. Why don't you beat it before I decide to do something to you after all?"
Just about the time he was going to take her advice Sam heard the familiar female voice shout out behind her, "We have to go, Sam."
Sam turned to see Carly stop in her tracks.
"I'm sorry, Carly," Adam spoke as he walked past Sam.
Carly crossed her arms over her chest and refused to meet his eyes.
Sam grabbed Adam by the back of his collar and yanked him back. "Yeah, you're sorry. Get moving."
Adam stumbled back a few feet before regaining his balance.
"Look, Carly, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have written that. Freddie just—"
Sam was shocked at the hostility that came out of her brunette companion's mouth, "Don't you dare blame Freddie for what you did! He didn't make you say anything and he didn't make you write that tweet. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was for you to lie about me? I was always honest with you and you never believed a word out of my mouth. Your own hurt feelings are your own problem, so don't drag me or any of my friends into it."
Carly turned on her heels and walked in the direction from where she approached.
Sam blinked for a moment and swiveled her head back and forth between Carly's retreating form and the shocked expression on Adam's face. It took her another moment to realize that her ride was leaving her and quickly caught up with the brunette.
"Carly?"
"What?" she turned around and snapped at Sam.
"I'm sorry," the dirty blonde whispered.
Carly's brow knotted in confusion. "For what?"
Sam looked down at the ground for a moment and rung her hands for a moment. "For screwing up your chance with Adam at WebiCon and starting this whole mess. I just wanted to get a rise out of the audience. Freddie was right: I didn't think how that would hurt you. I'm sorry."
Sam's downer attitude turned into surprise when the brunette pulled her into a hug. "It's alright, Sam. I forgive you."
Sam pulled back from the hug. "You mean that?"
Carly grinned. "Do you doubt my word now too?"
Sam shook her head. "Never, kiddo, but don't ever tell Freddie I thought he was right, okay?"
"I won't."
A few minutes later they were climbing into the waiting SUV.
Sam caught Mr. Shay's reflection in the rear view mirror as he asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Fine," Carly replied from the passenger seat.
"Adam tried to apologize to Carly," Sam offered.
"He did?" Freddie asked doubtfully.
"Yeah, but it sounded like a bunch of chiz he was giving Carly," Sam commented as she reached into her zip-lock bag for a piece of bacon. "I think he wanted us to call off the fans."
"What is 'chiz' anyway?" Carly asked in a curious tone.
"I think it's a German sausage," Sam replied then took a bite of her bacon.
"Oh, and here I thought it was just a G-rated way of saying shit," Shay replied with a shrug of his shoulders and a chuckled.
Shay turned slightly to look at Carly's shocked face and he rolled his eyes. "Would you rather I had said poop?"
iCarly Studio
Tuesday, September 2011
"Oh my god, it really is nerds gone wild," Sam commented as she walked out of the elevator and found Freddie and the Colonel sitting at a table with a laptop and odds and ends of pieces of electronic equipment strung across the table.
Freddie sighed showing his annoyance at Sam. "Very funny, Sam."
"I find it sad that you know what the 'gone wild' part means," Shay commented dryly as he was unscrewing a computer case sitting in front of him.
"What are you doing?"
Freddie asked, "Remember your rope trap to catch Bigfoot?"
"Yeah?"
Shay answered, "Same concept, different prey."
"You're going to try and 'catch' Nevel?"
"Yes. You just need to know how to bait him."
"Wow, Mr. Shay, you are devious."
"Why thank you, Samantha. I try. Do you want to stay?"
"No, wouldn't be any different than science class and I'm not ready for a nap yet. I'm going to raid your fridge."
"Only if you eat enough, okay?"
The blonde grinned, "Yes, sir."
Shay looked to Freddie then down at the motherboard. "Damn," he swore quietly to himself then reached into his inside jacket pocket. He pulled out a glasses case and slid out a pair of bifocal glasses to put on his face.
"You have to learn why things work on a starship," he stated as he began soldering the component to the motherboard.
"What?"
Shay rolled his eyes. "Quoting Star Trek to a Galaxy Wars fan, what was I thinking?"
Freddie laughed at the joke as he continued checking the new software that he was installing in the iCarly servers. "Do you think this is going to work?"
"Yes, but you have to do your part at the start to bait him."
"I will."
It was about an hour later when Shay took a sip from the bottled water and studied Freddie as he was finishing setting up the last of the new software.
"I need to have a serious conversation with you, son, because I think we've danced around this issue long enough."
"Okay, what issue, sir?" Freddie asked in a concerned tone.
Shay took a calming breath and started, "You're in love with my daughter. You two dated for less than a week then broke up. So my question is: did you break my daughter's heart?" There was no anger or hatred, but a dignified, almost sad tone conveyed in the question.
Freddie rested his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers as he leaned forward and looked down at the floor. "I hope not, never intentionally, sir. Hurting her would be the last thing I ever would want to do to her."
"But she's broken yours a number of times hasn't she?"
Freddie was about to speak, but stopped for a moment. He apparently found his courage and answered, "Yes."
Shay tried to give him the best sympathetic look he could. "I'm sorry. I can only hope it was never done out of malice, but in saying that: she has never been obligated to love you back in that manner."
"I don't believe she has ever done that out of malice or has tried to hurt me. I understand that she's never had to love me like that, I just hope she would one day, sir."
Shay nodded. "Then why don't you fill me in on something then? Could you please just tell me the reason why you two broke up and still remained friends? I know bits and pieces of the story. Carly wouldn't go into details about it. Something about foreign bacon and I don't know what that means. I've checked every slang and pop culture website and I can't find a reference to the meaning. She told me it was mutual the day I got here."
Freddie let out a breath and looked troubled on how he was going to answer that question. "Sam reminded me of a time where she had fallen for someone when he sent her a subscription to the Bacon of the Month Club. It was some foreign bacon that tipped the scales. Me saving Carly was her foreign bacon. She didn't like me like that for me, just for what I did."
Shay lifted his head slightly. "Oh, it was just good old fashion hero-worship?"
Freddie nodded bashfully.
"That's why you asked me if it was me saving Taylor started our relationship?"
"I wanted to know maybe if I made the right decision or the wrong one."
Shay let out a tired breath. "You had the one person you loved the most in this world show you that kind of love back, but you let her go because you didn't think she really loved you back in the romantic sense? You wanted it to be real?"
"Yes, sir."
"You have got to be the stupidest son-of-a-bitch I have ever met or—"
Freddie blinked in surprise at the apparent insult until Colonel Shay finished, "the noblest and I'm leaning towards noblest."
"I… I don't know what to say to that, sir."
"It means you're a good and noble person, Mr. Benson, and if it means anything to you, I'm very proud of you."
"Thank you, sir."
Shay nodded his approval. "So what are you going to do? Wait and see? Hoping she'll just come around and give you a second chance?"
"I told her that once the casts were off and the hero-worship wore off that if she still wanted to be my girlfriend, I'd be really happy."
"But, she tried to date Adam. I think you received your answer."
"I still have hope."
Shay raised an eyebrow. "How long are you going to hold out on that hope? Realistically? This is your senior year. Are you going to follow her to the same college in the hopes that she will fall in love with you there?"
"Wouldn't I consider going to the same college as my friends?"
"Yes, but we're not talking about just a friend. We are talking about the young lady that you are in love with and those are not comparable situations. Would you choose the better school without Carly or the inferior school with Carly?"
Freddie looked down at his feet and floor.
"What about four years of college and she hasn't fallen for you? What then? Are you going to continue to put your life on hold on and miss out on the possibility of meeting someone else?"
"You don't want me to date your daughter?" Shay heard the fear in Freddie's voice.
"Don't dodge my question, son. It shouldn't matter what I think. Once she turns eighteen, then it's completely her choice in who she wants to be with. I don't get a say in it anymore."
"You just dodged my question."
"Maybe, but my answer as I just said makes how I feel either way a mute point. It's her decision to make."
"I haven't thought that far ahead."
"I think you should."
"Carly's not eighteen. What do you have to say now?"
Shay took a deep breath through his nose and looked Freddie square in the eyes. "Are you asking for my blessing in romantically pursuing my daughter?"
Freddie sat up in the chair and met Shay's sight without a hint of fear or nervousness he had when Shay first got back. "Yes, sir, I am," he spoke in a deliberate tone so that he wasn't mistaken in his intentions.
Shay took only a few moments to reply, "You have my blessing, son."
Author's Note: My favourite part was the end when Colonel Shay finally confronted Freddie about his feelings for Carly. I hope this clears up Colonel Shay's agenda concerning Freddie. As it turns out, he just wants what's best for Carly at the end of the day, I love that in Gibby terms :D Things are definitely going to get more entertaining from here on out, I hope you're all buckled up for safety. Have a great weekend, cheers!