A/N: Guess what? I'm officially out of school for the Summer!

Chapter 21: Too Much Work and No Play

A little over four weeks later…

Soon as iCarly signed off Sam pulled out her phone from her back pocket to check her texts. "So what do you guys want to do today?" Carly asked.

Freddie set his camera down and closed his laptop. "Hmm… whatever you guys want." They both turned to Sam when there was no input from her. She was texting away absentmindedly. Carly and Freddie continued to look at her hoping to get her attention. Sam simply typed the last word and pressed send before looking up.

"What?" She asked perplexed by their staring.

Freddie rolled his eyes and Carly sighed. "I asked what you guys want to do today." She repeated her initial question. Freddie widened his eyes in a "well?" manner.

"Oh, well…" she drifted off in a thought when her phone went off again and she picked up. "Actually, I can't. I have something to do." She replied as she sent off another reply.

"Aw, what? Why? We've hardly hung out in the last couple weeks." Carly whined.

Sam tucked her phone away and looked at Carly then Freddie then back at Carly and shrugged. "I know. Next time for sure. I just… there's something I need to do." That's all she offered as an explanation. Sam had practically become a ghost in the last couple weeks trying to get all her work done. Honestly, she was surprised her determination hadn't run out. It had been 4 weeks since she took on the challenge and she was starting on her third packet. The downside was that her social life was suffering. She still hadn't said anything to anyone except Jayden. As well as she was doing she still had a small voice in the back of her mind that doubted her. Sam had decided she'd let them know once she succeeded. "See you guys later." With that she headed out the door.

Carly turned to Freddie once Sam was gone. "Do you think she's avoiding us?"

Freddie thought about it for moment. Could Sam really be avoiding them? Or at the very least him? "Um… I don't think so?" He was unsure. "I mean why would she be avoiding us?" He could understand if it were just him but there's no reason why Sam would avoid Carly.

"It just seems odd. She's been 'busy' for weeks and I don't know… at first I assumed that maybe she was busy but now I'm starting to feel neglected." Carly pouted. "And who was she texting?" She narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

Now that was something Freddie was wondering. He tried to act like he hadn't noticed and he didn't want to care but who was she texting? "Beats me." He said nonchalantly.

Carly chewed on her lip in deep thought. "You don't think… No. No." She shook her head. She was mostly thinking out loud as opposed to speaking to Freddie. "I mean she could… No. Or what if…"

"Oh will you spit it out." Freddie cut her off, aggravation evident in his tone. It wasn't like him, really. But he had an idea where Carly was going.

"Nothing." She shook her head in an attempt to shake her thoughts from her mind. "Nevermind." She didn't know how to openly wonder if Sam was possibly dating someone else. There was no way she could say that to Freddie.

Freddie tried to read her. He was sure Carly was having the same thought he did. Was Sam talking to another guy? "So what do you want to do? Groovy Smoothie?" He said in an attempt to change the subject.

"Yeah." Carly smiled and grabbed her jacket on her way out the studio.

Meanwhile…

Sam walked into the public library and spotted the brunette boy she was looking for. "Hey, sorry I'm late. I've actually never set foot in here before." She looked around. "It's like Dorkville." She shivered in horror.

Brad laughed. "Yeah, I gotta say I was surprised when you asked for my help."

"Well you're a tech dork and I need someone with techy knowledge." She teased.

"Uh, thanks. I think?" He chuckled. "So what is it that you need help with?"

"Oh right." Sam placed her backpack on the desk. "I have this project I need to do for media." She pulled out a folder. "And… well I don't have the slightest clue what to do."

Brad reached over and took a look. "You're taking media?" He asked confused. "I've never seen you."

Sam half shrugged. "Not exactly. It's more like independent study." She explained.

"Oh." Brad nodded in understanding. He continued perusing through the instructions on the assignment. "You know, Freddie is a lot better at this stuff than me. You sure you don't want to ask him instead?"

Sam sighed. "Hmm. Are you saying you can't do it?"

"Nah, I can do it. I'm just saying he's better at it than me and you guys are always together I fig—"

"Well don't." She fake smiled. "Yeah Freddie's a big tech nerd but he makes me want to strangle him. If I wanted Freddork's help then I would've asked him but I didn't I asked you. So if YOU can help me, that'll be great. Otherwise I'll find some other nub that can." She didn't mean to sound as harsh as she did but his insistence was aggravating her.

Brad just stared for a minute. "Let's do it then."

"Great."

Back at the Groovy Smoothie…

"I still think something is up with her." Carly added before taking a sip from her smoothie. Freddie tried to look disinterested and mindlessly sipped on his smoothie.

"She's fine. So, she hasn't been around as much… it doesn't mean anything. She does have a life outside this circle you know." Jayden stepped in. He knew what was going on with Sam and he knew she didn't want them knowing, so he tried to speak on her behalf without setting off any red flags.

"Haven't been around as much?" Carly scoffed. "That's an understatement! She's been nonexistent." She shrieked. Carly could get worked up really easily.

"Like a ghost." Freddie added and nodded in agreement with the brunette. He was paying attention afterall.

Jayden chuckled. "You guys need to relax. Look I bet she'll come out and hang out this weekend."

"What makes you so sure?" Freddie questioned.

"Cause there's no way she'll be able to say no." He smirked. That smirk meant one thing- he had a plan.

Carly watched Jayden and couldn't help but smile. He was so cute when he was all 'plot-ery' but then a thought shook her from her gazing. "Wait, I thought we had plans for this weekend. I wanted to go to the beach and take advantage of the nice weather." She pouted.

The sandy haired boy turned to look at his girlfriend. "Don't worry, babe." He threw his arm loosely around her shoulder and took a sip from his smoothie. Oh he had the perfect plan.

Freddie caught on. "What did you have in mind?" He asked curiously.

"I'll let you know soon as I figure out the details." He grinned pretty pleased with himself.

About an hour later…

Only Freddie and Carly sat at their usual table. Jayden had to go set his plan in motion and left the two teens to wonder what he had in mind.

"So what do you think he's planning?" Freddie asked Carly.

"I'm not sure but if his goofy grin was any indication it can't be good." She giggled.

Freddie chuckled. She had a point. Jayden was like a lot like Sam and they were always up to no good. "You ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm gonna head to the restroom first." She hopped off her stool and made her way towards the restroom.

While he waited Freddie took out his phone. No messages. What else would I expect? He told himself. He looked up from his phone and noticed Sam walking with someone… someone who looked familiar. Is that Brad? They walked past the Groovy Smoothie windows and appeared to be chatting, laughing, and having a good time. Is this why she didn't hang out today? She blew them off to hang out with Brad? Was Carly right all along? He watched them until they disappeared. He didn't know what to think or whether he should be thinking anything at all. The logical part of him said that it was inevitable and sooner or later it would happen but that didn't change the fact that it bothered him. His broken heart was aching again. She told him not to love her but here she was hanging out with another guy? Was it him she didn't want then? Anger was beginning to rise. He didn't want to be angry but dammit he was. Yeah, so they were just friends and he technically has no right to be jealous or upset. But how could she do this? How?

"Okay, ready." Carly cut through his painful thoughts. "You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." He tried to shake it off. "Let's go." He wasn't alright. In fact he was far from it.

The next day…

"Hey," Sam greeted as she approached Carly and Freddie at their usual lunch table. She picked up a handful of fries and shoved them in her mouth.

"Oh well look who showed up." Carly responded snootily.

Sam couldn't help but smile. "Oh are you still worked up about yesterday? I'm here aren't I? I'd never miss lunch. You know that." She quirked an eyebrow.

"Funny." Freddie interrupted without any humor.

Sam deadpanned and turned to him. "What's with you?" She asked as she took a bite out of her cheeseburger. "Both of you are acting weird." Was Freddie mad? He seemed mad. What the hell was going on?

Carly's jaw dropped. "Us? ! More like you!" She couldn't believe Sam.

"Me? ! What did I do? !" Sam retorted. She couldn't believe Carly.

"It's what you haven't done." Freddie added dryly. Was Sam really that oblivious?

Sam threw a glance in his direction. Oh there was no doubt in her mind that he was upset. She tried to think back to see if she had missed something. "Did I forget something? What?" She was becoming aggravated. She didn't think it was because of her absence.

Freddie just stared at her. He wanted to yell at her, but it wasn't like him to be cruel. He tore his eyes from her and forced himself to look at his tray. Counting back in his head trying really hard to not bring up everything that had been bubbling inside him since that one 'fateful' day. Sam's eyes bounced back and forth waiting for an answer. When she realized neither were gonna say anything she sighed loudly to voice her frustration. "Whatever." She was about to stand up but Carly caught her hand.

"Wait. Maybe we're going about this the wrong way." Her eyes pleaded with Sam. The blonde decided to sit back down and listen. Carly continued, "I… uh… we" she gestured to Freddie and herself, "feel that maybe you've been avoiding us." She shrunk back.

"What?" Sam asked in disbelief. "Seriously?" She almost bit back a laugh. "Why would I avoid you?" She said to Carly and then added, "Either of you." She glanced at Freddie who barely met her eyes.

"Well then where have you been?" Carly sincerely asked.

Sam bit her lip. "I told you. I've been busy." She looked down. It wasn't a full lie but it wasn't exactly the truth.

"I don't get that." Carly responded. "I mean I get it, but you're being secretive. Like if you're hiding something."

In that moment Brad walked by and noticed Sam. "Hey." He smiled and half waved.

"Oh, there you are!" Sam randomly shouted. Brad looked confused but saw Sam's pleading expression and the tense faces of the other two. "We should probably get working on that thing." Sam stood up. "We'll talk later." She said to Carly.

"Um.. Okay?" Carly replied confused. Freddie didn't say anything and Sam left thinking she had escaped. She wasn't aware that Freddie had seen her yesterday and this only helped to further confirm his suspicions about the two of them. "What the hell just happened?" Carly asked herself confused.

Later that evening…

Spring and by Summer Fall by Blonde Redhead quietly plays in the background.

Sam was nowhere to be found but that was becoming typical. Freddie sat on Carly's ice cream sandwich loveseat playing the magnetic fishing rod. Carly sat on the other with Jayden. Freddie felt uncomfortable being there. He felt like the third wheel and it only made him feel worse than he already was.

"Okay, so I got the details for the weekend." Jayden's voice cut through Freddie's thoughts. "I talked to my friend who is temporarily staying out in Ocean Shores. He has a cabin and I asked him if it was cool if we stopped by for the weekend and he said yeah." He grinned.

"Wait." Freddie interjected. "Ocean Shores? That's like a 3 hour drive." He scratched his head he wasn't sure about this plan. Carly looked confused too.

"So it's a bit of a drive. If we leave tomorrow after school gets out we'll get there and have all of Saturday and most of Sunday to enjoy the beach." He turned to Carly. "You said you wanted to go to the beach so I'm giving you an ocean beach. Plus it'll be nice to get away and for a bit." He raised his eyebrows. "Quality time with Sam, too. You guys have been complaining about not having enough hang out time and I'm giving you guys the perfect solution."

"Your friend has his own cabin?" Carly asked still trying to figure out if this was a good idea.

"Yeah, well not really it's his parents but they're not there. He's an artist and he goes out there when he needs to recharge." Jayden explained.

"Okay, let's say we agreed what are we gonna do about Spencer and Freddie's mom?" Carly questioned.

"Actually, my mom has been pretty good about giving me my freedom those parenting classes on how to let you kid go have been working." He smiled.

"I'm sure Spencer will be cool with it." Jayden said to Carly. "I'll talk to him with you. Reassure him that it'll all be fine." He added.

Carly smiled a loving smile. "That's sweet. But I'll talk to him on my own tonight."

Jayden nodded. "Cool. I guess all that's left to do is tell Sam."

Carly chuckled. "I'm sure she'll be thrilled. I'm going to check on the cookies. I'll be back." She placed a quick peck on Jayden's cheek before prancing off.

Once she was out of sight Freddie turned to Jayden. "Hey, dude. I don't know if it's a good idea for me to go."

Jayden turned to him. "Why?"

"Cause things have been off between Sam and I. I don't feel like having some awkward weekend." He explained.

"Wouldn't not going make it worse though? Maybe what you guys need is to spend some time around each other in a stress free environment." Jayden suggested.

"You talk to her a lot right?" Freddie questioned. Jayden simply shrugged. "Well, I hate to ask but do you know if she's seeing anyone? I know it's none of my business but I can't help but feel like she is and its… its…"

"Head fucking you?" He finished for him.

Freddie sighed. "Yeah, for a lack of better words."

"Dude, take it from me, she's not seeing anyone." He assured.

"What makes you so sure?" Freddie further questioned.

"Because I know. You still like her don't you?" Jayden pried.

"Yes." Freddie stood up from frustration. How was it possible for her to drive him nuts when she wasn't around? "I've tried to get some distance. Tried to look at other girls, but it all comes back to her. I don't know what to do. I can't get her out of my mind!"

Jayden watched him. He understood what it was like to have someone penetrate every fiber of your being. He knew what it was like to want to get rid of someone and failing miserably. "Why don't you try getting her back?"

Freddie laughed and took a seat again. "Don't you think I've thought of that? It's pointless. She doesn't want to be with me. She… she doesn't want me." The last part was mostly said to himself.

Jayden was quiet. He was thinking. "Fuck what she wants." He finally spoke. Freddie looked at him perplexed. "Yeah, I mean she says she's doesn't want to be with you well fuck it try and get her anyway." Jayden couldn't tell Freddie what was really going on with Sam, he couldn't tell him Sam's reason for rejecting him but what he could do was have Freddie try and break through her stubbornness because he knew deep down that Sam wanted Freddie as much as Freddie wanted her. Freddie sat there in silence pondering over Jayden's words. His words seeping deeper into his brain.

"Cookies are ready. You guys want some?" Carly asked walking in with a platter of chocolate chip cookies. Both boys reached forward and grabbed a cookie. The previous conversation officially coming to an end.

A/N: Okay so it's a little short but don't fret! The upcoming chapter is the whole weekend getaway thing!