A/N: So...new chapter...after so long...so sorry! College is crazy! Anyways...please enjoy? Even though it's been so long...I'm such a horrible person for not updating in so long...*hangs head in shame and walks away*

The Exaggeration

Five Months Later…

Carly knew that she should be paying more attention to the road in front of her, but she couldn't help thinking about the conversation she had with Sam last week. Actually, there was only one thing from the conversation that she remembered.

"Carly, guess what! I get to come back early!"

Carly screamed from the delight at hearing those words. And maybe it was only a week early, but still. She was excited to see her best friend again.

"Okay, now there's a spot open in that lane. Why don't you…oh my guayava juice! I'm going to die!" Spencer cried out as he covered his eyes.

Carly rolled her eyes as she continued driving on the lane Spencer told her to switch on to. "There was no one coming from the other side and even if there was, I would've seen them and waited!"

"Yeah, but you didn't have to push on the gas pedal that hard! You had to have accelerated to at least ninety!"

"You won't even let me go past sixty." Carly deadpanned.

Spencer kept his eyes closed and took a few deep breaths. "Excuse me for not wanting to die young. Besides, you should be glad I even let you drive since you've never driven on the highway before."

"You know you can always pull over and let me drive. I've got more experience driving on the highway." Freddie said from the backseat.

Carly glared at him from the rear-view mirror. "I've got this Freddie. Besides, I want to show off for Sam."

"Maybe that's what Freddie here wants to do too." Spencer said with a huge smirk as he waggled his eyebrows.

Freddie just rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "I'm pretty sure that won't do anything to make Sam hate me less." He muttered.

Both Carly and Spencer heard what he said and they exchanged glances. Freddie had kept his word, to call Sam everyday and make her say at least one word to him. That one word usually ended up being a horrible insult before she hung up on him.

Carly gave a happy sigh and attempted to make the conversation lighter. "I just can't wait to finally see her again and give her a huge hug. We have so much to catch up on. You up to hanging out with us, Freddie?"

"Am I even allowed to?'

Carly rolled her eyes. "Of course you are. You are my friend and I am inviting you. If Sam doesn't like it, then…well, she'll just have to deal with it."

Spencer scoffed. "I'd really like to see Sam's expression when you tell her this."

Freddie groaned while Carly snapped her head towards Spencer. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Watch out for the semi!" Spencer cried out.

Carly quickly turned her attention back to the road, barely missing the semi Spencer was yelling about.

"Why don't we just all sit quietly and pray we actually make it to the airport?" Freddie suggested as he tightened his seat belt.

Spencer, tightening his seat belt as well, nodded his head. "I completely agree with Freddie."

Sam took a deep breath. She was finally here. Five months. It had to have been the longest five months of her life. Sure, she enjoyed finally being able to see her dad again, but being away from everything she grew up with…it was kind of hard. Not to mention that her dad actually placed rules and enforced them. He was worse than Steven for crying out loud!

She felt her phone buzz and pulled it out of her pocket. It was a text from her mom. She couldn't help the feeling of dread as she opened the message.

'Sam, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to pick you up. Something came up. Steven's supposed to get you.'

Sam sighed as she slipped her phone back in her pocket. She shouldn't be surprised. This was something that her mom would've done to anyone.

Checking she was in the right area for baggage claim, Sam took a seat and waited for all her suitcases to come out on the conveyor belt.

"Sam! Sam, over here!"

Sam's head shot up and she saw Carly running towards her. "Carly?" her face lit up with a huge smile as she stood up.

Carly wrapped her arms around her best friend. "Oh my goodness, it's been way too long! I've missed you so much!"

Sam laughed as she hugged Carly back. "Dude, I've missed you too! I've got some cool things from Ireland for you!"

Carly slowly pulled back and stared Sam down. "You bought them right?"

"Yeah, of course I did…most of them."

Carly shook her head, but the smile would not leave her face.

"Well if it isn't Sam, all grown-up. You're practically a world traveler now."

Sam grinned as Spencer approached them. "Missed you too, Spencer." She said as she gave him a hug.

"So, I'm guessing you guys came with Steven?"

"No, we didn't. He had to pick up an extra shift, so he asked if I could pick you up. I figured Carly and Spencer would want to come too." Freddie said, finally approaching them. He glanced between them and looked back at Sam. "Well, more like they needed to come too."

Sam stared at Freddie, her face going completely blank. She swore to herself that she was always going to hate him, but seeing him right here in front of her…it was harder than it seemed. It wasn't this hard when he randomly called her on her phone or over the webcam. Before her thoughts and emotions could get in the way, she plastered a fake smile on her face. "Hello, I'm Sam. What's your name?"

Freddie rolled his eyes. "Come on, Sam. Don't play games, you know exactly who I am."

Sam looked at Carly. "I don't think I've ever meet your friend here. Care to introduce me?"

Carly shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "I, uh…" she looked to Spencer for help, but he just raised his hands, refusing to become part of the situation.

"Sam! There you are! We thought we lost you! Why didn't you wait for us?" a young man cried out in a heavy accent as he walked towards them.

Sam winced as she turned to look at him. "Sorry, I just got so excited that I kind of just took off."

He laughed, a laugh that would've made any girl melt. "That's actually what I thought you were going to do." He said in a low voice that actually made Sam blush. "Oh, your dad is getting the suitcases. He sent me to look for you, just to make sure you were all right."

"Wait, your dad's here too?" Spencer asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, he decided that he was in Ireland too long. Wanted a break from all the stupid Irish accents." She said.

"Wait, so you think my accent is stupid?"

"Of course it is, but don't think about that." Sam said with a mischievous grin.

"So are you going to introduce us?" Freddie asked tersely.

"Right, well this is Callum. Callum, these are my friends…practically my family actually." As she said this, her eyes wandered to Freddie. She quickly looked away though. Not the time or place. "Carly, Spencer, and…their friend whom I have yet to be introduced to."

Freddie rolled his eyes and shook his head. Carly wanted to say something reprimanding to Sam, but she couldn't think of anything at the moment. She was so entranced by Callum's wonderful green eyes that just made his short black hair seem so much darker. And the fact that he was a very nice height didn't hurt at all. And the scruf on his face was definitely working for him.

"Well, Callum, it's very nice to meet you." Spencer said, being the first one to speak. "Oh and this is Freddie." He said with an oblivious smile.

Freddie was about to object, that Sam was supposed to introduce him, but Callum spoke first.

"Wait, is this the same Freddie that you've told me so much about?" Callum asked with a grin. "Really, Sam? I would've thought he'd be taller."

Sam narrowed her eyes at Callum while a smug look appeared on Freddie's face.

"So you have heard about me." Freddie said, feeling quite pleased. "Care to elaborate on how much?"

Callum was going to answer, but not only did Sam give his hand and extremely hard squeeze, but her dad also showed up with a cart full of suitcases.

"I still can't understand how half of these suitcases are yours Sammy. It just blows my mind." Sam's dad looked at the three of them and smiled. "So I'm guessing you're our welcoming party. I'm Shane, Sammy's dad if you haven't realized it."

They all introduced themselves and once Freddie introduced himself, Shane had a similar grin on his face.

"Freddie…" Shane repeated. He turned to glance at Sam. "Thought he'd be taller, Sammy."

Sam just rolled her eyes. "Can we just go?" she grumbled. "I'm hungry and I'm tired and I just really want to sleep, and then eat, then sleep some more."

"I'll go to the hotel then with your dad. Don't do anything crazy." Callum said, pulling Sam closer to him.

Sam looked up at him with a smile. "I won't. Promise."

"See you later then."

Sam stood on her tiptoe and gave him a quick kiss on his lips. "See you, babe." She let him go and quickly went to Carly. Before anyone could say anything, Sam linked arms with Carly and started pulling her away.

Despite everyone's questions and curiosity, no one asked Sam any questions on the way from the airport back to her place. One, because they knew she would avoid their questions and two, because she fell asleep as soon as Spencer started driving because of her jet lag. The ride back was full of awkward silence from the Shay's and a broody silence from Freddie. The only thing that interrupted it was the occasional snore from Sam.

When they got to the house, Spencer was the one elected to wake Sam up, which resulted in him holding his side where Sam kicked and punched him.

Carly helped Sam inside while Freddie and Spencer carried her suitcases in.

"Where's my mom?" Sam mumbled.

"Um, I have no idea…" Carly said as she turned to look at Freddie for an answer.

Freddie just shrugged his shoulders. "She was gone when I woke up."

Carly led Sam to her room and laid her on the bed. Sam was out as soon as she hit the bed. Carly came back out with a heavy sigh. "I kind of figured Sam was going to be like this. She's probably got really bad jet lag."

Freddie nodded his head distractedly.

"Well…Carly, we should be leaving…are you going to be fine alone with her, Freddie?" Spencer asked.

Freddie didn't answer for a bit. Then he looked to Carly and spoke. "Who was that? At the airport?"

"You mean, Callum?"

"Yes, who else? Who is? Did Sam ever mention him? Is he her boyfriend or something?"

Carly just shook her head. "This is the first time I've ever meet him. He probably is her boyfriend though. That would explain their kiss."

"Someone jealous?" Spencer asked with waggling eyebrows.

Freddie just rolled his eyes. "I'll give you guys a call when Sam finally wakes up."

Sam rolled over on her side and slowly opened her eyes. The clock on her nightstand read eleven A.M. She groaned and stretched some before getting up and walking out of her room. She went to the kitchen, expecting to see someone there, but it was empty. She made her way to the fridge, pulled out a sausage, and began eating it.

She really didn't feel like yelling to see if anyone was in the house. Instead, she walked out into the backyard and would've taken a seat on the porch swing if Freddie didn't happen to be there.

He saw the look on her face and knew she wasn't going to say anything. So he stood up and held his hands out in surrender. "I know, you're still refusing to speak to me. I'll leave if you feel more comfortable."

Sam stared at him for a while before walking towards the swing and sitting down. She then grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the swing as well.

Freddie stayed calm. This was definitely progress. He started wondering if now would be a good time to show her what he had been working on for her.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked in between bites of her sausage.

Freddie stared at her for a moment, wondering if she had really just spoken to him.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Just give me an answer, nub." She grumbled.

Freddie resisted the urge to smile as that name and instead gave her an answer. "Right…um, almost a whole day actually. You did get up a few times to use the restroom, but other than that, you've been dead asleep."

Sam nodded her head, continuing to eat her sausage. "How's my mom and Steven?"

"I really don't know actually. I hardly see them around anymore and whenever I see them together, they're usually quiet. I don't know if it's because they're ignoring each other or it's a comfortable silence." Freddie looked down, "Sure doesn't seem like a comfortable silence though."

"Are they here?"

"Yeah, they're both upstairs, but your mom is working on something and my dad brought his work home so he's working on that."

Sam pursed her lips. "Did my mom ask for me yet?"

Freddie took a deep breath before answering. "No. I, um…I don't even think she knows you're here."

Sam didn't continue their conversation, now focusing on her sausage.

"Sam…why are you even talking to me?" Freddie asked after a few moments of silence.

Sam let out a heavy sigh. "I'll only do it when no one's around. Don't want to ruin my reputation."

Freddie scoffed lightly with a small smile. He glanced over at Sam and noticed a small smile on her face as well. "I really missed you, Sam. Life was crazy here and I honestly didn't know how to handle it without you."

Sam really didn't know how to respond and to be honest, she was feeling incredibly uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going. So she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "I have a boyfriend. Callum."

Even though Freddie knew it was coming, it still was a shock to hear. Freddie swallowed hard. He had no right to be feeling any of the things he was feeling. This was Sam and he shouldn't be feeling anything. If anything he should feel sorry for Callum. "That's…great."

"We're talking about getting married."

This was where Freddie expressed his shock. He stared at her, trying to see if something in her face would give away the prank she was trying to pull. Nothing. She was being dead serious. "Sam! What are you thinking?!" he finally yelled.

Sam quickly turned to look at him as he yelled at her. A dark look passed over her face.

"You're not even eighteen yet! How can you be thinking about marriage right now?! And how long have you even known this guy? For all you know he could be some kind of con artist!" Freddie continued yelling as he stood up to tower over her.

The dark look on Sam's face only darkened as she stood up and towered over Freddie. "You have no right to say any of that stuff! I'm dating Callum and I'm going to marry him since that's what I want!"

"Why do you want to marry him?! What's so great about him?!"

"He's just really cool and I'm going to marry him!"

Freddie narrowed his eyes as they stared each other down. "Do you even love him?" he asked in a low voice.

Sam swallowed hard and took a couple of heavy breaths. "I…" she let out a growl before clenching her hand into a fist and bringing it towards Freddie's side. "I don't have to answer that!"

As Freddie held his side where Sam just punched him, he watched her go inside. Guess his surprise was going to have to wait. He pulled out his phone and sent Carly a quick text to let her know Sam was awake and alive. They were probably going to be here within the hour. Maybe they could talk Sam out of this ridiculous idea of marrying Callum. Freddie groaned, just thinking about Sam getting married made him feel queasy. She was not supposed to get married…at least not to Callum.

Sam sat on the couch and stared at the TV. She had been sitting there for about fifteen minutes. Freddie still hadn't come inside and to be honest, she was glad. He could stay out there for all she cared.

She didn't exactly know why she told him she was marrying Callum. Her and Callum had only been dating for a month and while things had gotten pretty serious, the thought of marriage had never crossed their minds. So why did she tell Freddie that?

Sam groaned as she grabbed the remote and began flipping through the channels. She knew she shouldn't have said anything to Freddie. It was just going to confuse her all over again.

"Well if it isn't my Sam, finally made it back from Ireland."

Sam turned turned around to see Pam standing right behind her with her arms crossed, but a smile on her face. Sam slowly stood up and stared at her mom awkwardly.

"Don't just stand there! Come give me a hug! I'm so glad you're back home!" Pam exclaimed as she moved towards Sam.

Sam stayed in her spot and barely made an effort to hug Pam back.

"So? How was it? How was Ireland?"

Sam continued staring Pam down. This was crazy. "Why didn't you pick me up?" Sam asked in a quiet voice.

Pam frowned. "Pick you up from where?"

"The airport, Mom." Sam said with obvious anger in her voice. "Then you say Steven was supposed to pick me up and he never showed his face. The Shay's were the ones that ended up picking me up."

"Steven wasn't there?" Pam asked. Her eyes narrowed. "That rat bas-"

"Mom, this isn't about Steven not picking me up! Why didn't you pick me up!?"

"I told you, Sam. Something came up and I got busy."

"Oh, something more important than your daughter? You know what? It makes sense though. You send me away to Ireland and practically forget I exist! Why don't I just go live there permanently with Dad? I bet you wouldn't even care!"

"Sam-"

Sam didn't want to hear anything. She turned away and started walking to her room.

At that moment, Freddie walked back inside and saw the look on Sam's face. He knew something big just happened. "Sam…?" he approached her slowly.

Someone started ringing the doorbell and Pam went to answer it.

"Just leave me alone, Freddie." She snapped.

"No, what happened?" Freddie continued as he grabbed her arms.

Pam opened the door and stood there in shock. "Shane?"

Shane gave Pam a careful smile. He pulled a bouquet of roses from behind his back. "Hello Pamela."