Chapter Twenty Eight: Interesting

Beck P.O.V.

After coming back home the previous night and cleaning myself up, I noticed that I still had a bruise on my right cheek this morning. Freddie's lucky that he caught me off guard. If I had known he was going to attack, the outcome would have been the complete opposite. The fact that I even considered him to be a friend now disgusts me. My mind was only telling me one thing: revenge. Normally, I'm a laid back guy but for some reason Jade and Freddie struck this cord of mine that keeps my blood boiling.

"Here's some ice." Sam said, gently placing the bag of ice on my bruise. I winced at the coldness of the bag and the pain, but I soon relaxed at the soothing touch of Sam. "Freddie hit you pretty bad huh?"

I scoffed at her remark. "He caught me off guard. I would have pounded his techy little teeth in if he fought me face to face."

Sam nodded in agreement. "I can't believe the nerve of him. He said that he loves Carly and goes on to break her heart. Now he's trying to show me attitude. I knew he was a nub, but this is an entirely new level."

"Believe me; I won't stand for him doing that again." I promised. "He's not going to lay a finger you."

"Jade won't bother you either." Sam added on. "That goth thinks that after what we did for her she can still act like that. The answer is no."

We both chuckled before an idea struck me. I looked to her wearing a smirk.

"What?" She asked, curious.

"Nothing, just maybe we devise a little plan that gets back at them." I explained, shrugging my shoulders.

Sam thought about it before nodding and turning to me. "Okay, but nothing physical."

"What?" I asked her confused. "Why not physical?"

"Because Carly still has feelings for him!" Sam exclaimed, sighing. "She pretends not to, but she really does. She's already freaked out enough after I told her what happened at Tori's birthday party. If she found out that we hurt Freddie, she would never forgive me!"

I blew out a breath and nodded in understanding. "Okay then what exactly are we supposed to do about them?"

Sam looked at me, this time wearing the smirk I previously wore. "Don't worry, mama's got a plan." She whispered the plan into my ear, despite no one else being in the RV but us. I continued to listen until she finished.

I thought about her plan before nodding my head excitedly. "Now that is a smart plan!"

"Thanks, it's my specialty." She replied, grinning.

I wore a playful smirk and took her hand. "What other specialties do you got?"

She shrugged her shoulders, letting our her own smirk. "A few."

I was about to kiss her when she stopped me.

"What?" I asked, curiously.

"You owe me some dinner for coming up with such a brilliant plan." She said, playfully.

"I would have gotten you some anyways." I replied, before leaning in, this time not being denied.

Carly P.O.V.

I just got back from a breakfast date with Ashton. He's taken me out twice in a row. Today was actually one of the best dates I've ever been on. Never once did he try to pull a move or bust out some tacky line. He seemed to be such a gentlemen like… like… Freddie.

The thought of him brought a tear to my eyes. Freddie wasn't going to leave my heart that easily. Even though our romantic spark is gone, I still care about him as my best friend. I know, I made the move to separate from him, but I just miss how excited he would get when talked about his tech stuff or just how he was always there when I needed him.

"What's wrong Carly?" Cat asked, placing her hand on my shoulder. I turned to see her concerned eyes.

"Nothing, Cat." I lied. Even though Cat was a trustworthy person, there was little she could do to help. "Just a little upset about something."

"Oh." She said, before wearing an excited smile as an idea seem to have struck her face.

"What?" I asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. She just grinned at me before pulling my arm into the kitchen. She let go and began pulling out bowls and various supplies from the fridge and pantry.

"Uh, Cat?" I asked, confused. "What…. are you doing?"

She turned around and placed a bag of sugar on the counter before looking up at me. "Well since you're upset, I figured that you should try what I do, when I'm upset."

"And what is that?"

"Make red velvet cupcakes!" She exclaimed excitedly, bouncing on the spot.

I looked at the scattered ingredients and Cat's excited demeanour. I do love red velvet cupcakes and maybe Cat's right. Maybe the best thing is to keep my mind preoccupied with something I love.

"Sure." I stated, causing her to squeal excitedly.

"I'm going to get my Pearpod dock. You can start making the batter until then!" She exclaimed, before skipping out of the kitchen.

I chuckled at her excitement before grabbing the necessary ingredients. It started to feel like I was becoming happy again. The final step was to stop thinking about it and actually have fun.

Cat came back a few minutes later. We were having a blast and dancing to music when a ringtone brought us to a halt. Cat quickly picked up.

"Hello? Oh hey Robbie. Yeah just hanging out with Carly. Dinner, tonight? Um, can Carly come?" She asked, curiously. "Awesome! Okay see you then. Bye!"

"Cat, I don't want to intrude your date. As nice as the thought of you not wanting me to be alone is." I reasoned.

"No worries, it's fine." Cat said, waving me off. "Now let's finish these cupcakes before we can so we can eat them."

Freddie P.O.V.

"This movie is so disturbing yet awesome." I exclaimed. Jade and I were cuddling on the couch when she got the idea to show me Edward Scissorhands. I had never seen the movie before and was reluctant at first, but Jade managed to convince me somehow and here we are now.

"This is probably the greatest movie of all time!" Jade stated. "I don't think any movie will ever be in the same league as it."

I simply nodded not wanting to argue with her logic. After seeing about forty five minutes of it, the movie was slowly becoming one of my personal favourites.

"I am so glad, you convinced me to watch this." I stated, giving her a peck on the top of her head.

She smirked back and snuggled more into my chest as we continued watching the film. It was weird because even though this was the first official day of us going out together, it was as if we had already been dating. I guess it was because of how much time we had spent together beforehand. The thought of how we started hanging out brought back memories of Carly and the day of our break up.

I knew that Carly and I were done romantically, but that doesn't mean that I didn't want to be her best friend again. It's funny how fast a person's feelings can change. One day, I'm going on and saying that Carly is the love of my life and the next thing I know I'm in a relationship with Jade.

A fact soon struck me. My problem had always been that I never knew what true love was. I had always thought that I knew, but I actually had no clue what it was. I looked down to see Jade watching the movie intently. Maybe this is my chance to learn the true meaning of love with someone I know that I care and like deeply.

The sound of the front door opening brought me out of my thoughts. Jade continued to watch the movie while I turned to see Ms. West dropping a grocery bag on the kitchen counter. She turned to see us cuddling and wore a happy grin on her face.

I chuckled and got up from the couch before walking towards the kitchen.

"Do you need any help?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No I'm fine. This is it."

"Hey mom." I heard Jade say from behind.

"Hi sweetie." She said, before crossing her arms and wearing a grin. "I told you that you would date him and look at you two now. I could've mistaken you two for a married couple. All you need is a little kid running around the house"

"MOM!" Jade exclaimed, her cheeks red from embarrassment.

Ms. West and I began chuckling as she tried to hide her face from us.

"Don't worry Ms. West. You won't be seeing any mini Freddie's or Jade's running around any time soon." I assured.

"Good." She stated. "I don't think I'm ready to be a grandmother yet, especially if I have a little Jade as my grandkid."

"You guys!" Jade said, trying to end the embarrassment.

Ms. West just laughed before giving Jade a quick peck on the forehead.

"I've got to go back to the office and finish some things." She said, grabbing her purse. "Here's forty dollars so you guys can order pizza or something."

"No thanks, Ms. West." I said, handing her back the money. "I was thinking of taking Jade out tonight. If that's alright with you."

She wore a grin before looking at Jade. "I'm sure Jade would enjoy that. Of course you can take her out. I trust you Freddie."

"Thank you." I said happily, as Ms. West waved goodbye and left. After shutting the door, I walked back to Jade who was once again watching the movie. I rolled my eyes playfully before standing in front of the TV.

"Freddie!" Jade groaned. "Move!"

"Nope." I replied, shaking my head. Jade sighed before getting up and trying to move me aside. Despite her persistence, she was unable to move me.

"Sorry Jadelyn." I said, wearing a playful smirk. "You won't be watching the movie anymore." I turned around and was about to shut off the TV when I felt something on my back. I was too late to react as I already crashed to the floor. I looked to see Jade on top of me, pinning both my hands to the ground. I could have easily countered it, but I was intrigued to see what she would do next.

"I don't think you'll be turning off that TV now. If you want to get up then you have to promise you won't." She said, wearing a smirk.

I chuckled and wore a grin of my own as I decided to test my luck. "Maybe if you kiss me I'll think about it."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh really and what if I don't?"

"Then that leaves us both disappointed." I said before we both broke into laughter. After it died down I looked at her. "So what do you say?"

"Deal." She said, before meeting her lips with mine. She loosened the grip on my wrists, which allowed me to slip free and gently place my hands on her hips as we continued kissing.

We were so lost in our kiss that we didn't see Ms. West leaning against the wall, wearing a grin on her face. She cleared her throat and we both looked up to see her before starting to scream.

"Mom?" Jade said, her cheeks turning even redder than previously.

"Ms. West." I mumbled, equally embarrassed.

"I just had to grab something that I forgot and I happened to drop in on this." She explained. Thankfully she wasn't upset, but actually more amused. "I'm going now and remember no babies!"

"MOM!" Jade groaned, looking up at the sky.

She smirked and said goodbye before leaving again. After waiting ten minutes to make sure she was gone, I turned back at Jade.

"Well that was… fun." I noted.

She nodded in agreement before we both plopped back onto the couch.

"I never got to ask you this." I started. "But would you like to go out with me tonight to dinner?"

She smiled. "I would love to."

"Great!" I said, happily "We can leave the house at 8, is that fine?

She nodded in agreement.

"Awesome." I noted, before looking at her with a playful grin. "Now how about we continue where we left off? I bet that you won't be able to pin me again."

"Don't be so sure." She said, wearing a grin. "Look over there." I looked before being dropped to the floor as Jade pinned me again. "Too easy, Freddie."

"Kissing me should be easier then." I stated, giving her a wink. She laughed before we resumed what we were doing before being caught, this time with no interruptions.

André P.O.V.

"Oh man I love that laughing baby video." I noted, wiping a tear from my eye because Tori and I were laughing so much.

"I know." Tori exclaimed. "It's one of my favourites."

I was about to reply when a knock on the door caught our attention.

"One sec." Tori said, getting up and walking towards the door. I got up and followed her.

She opened the door to reveal a blonde dude. Her expression changed to one of shock, as she looked to see who it was.

"Tyler?" She choked out, rooted to the ground frozen. I can't believe this jerk came back to her now. He's not going to break her heart again.

"Hi Tori." He exclaimed. The guy tried to lean in and give her a kiss, but I moved Tori aside and stood in front of him instead.

"What do you want?" I asked, annoyed.

He chuckled as if I was crazy. "To get my girl back of course. Now get out of my way Harris, before I break you in half."

He tried moving and walking towards Tori beside me, but I stood my ground and stepped in front of him again.

"Look, Tori doesn't want you back!" I said, bitterly. "Now get lost, before I make you."

"Fine!" He said, before looking at Tori. "If that's what she wants."

We both turned to Tori who was still taking in what had transpired.

"Well Tori." I said, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Send this sorry loser packing."

"Is that what you want Tori?" He asked, softly.

Tori looked back and forth between us before sighing. "Take a seat."

I looked at Tori shocked. Maybe she wasn't thinking straight. "But Tori, this jerk cheated on you!"

"And it was one of the biggest mistakes of my life." He pointed out.

Tori rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Okay what do you want Tyler and make it quick. Be thankful I'm even giving you the chance to close this once and for all."

"I want you." He stated. The nerve of this guy.

Tori chuckled as I scoffed. "Yeah I don't think so. I'm dating André, someone who actually cares about me."

"Get out of here Tyler and leave my girl alone!" I shouted.

"Fine, keep the slut!" He scoffed, walking towards the front door. "She probably would be useless in bed anyways."

That I wasn't going to take. I grabbed his arm, turning him around and tried to punch him. Sadly, I failed to get the memo that he was a boxer, so he dodged my punch and I got laid out pretty quickly.

I opened my eyes to see Tori kneeling down and looking at me with concern in her eyes.

"What happened?" I asked dazed, sitting up. My head was throbbing and I couldn't see properly through my left eye.

"Thank god!" She said, giving me a tight hug. "I was so worried."

"It's okay Tori." I said, rubbing her back soothingly.

"He kept on hitting you." She whispered. "I tried to get him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. I was about to call the police, but he bolted."

"What a coward." I said, before groaning at the pain. I rubbed my face and felt something wet. I looked at my hand to see blood on it.

"Oh, you've got a nasty gash on your cheek." She pointed out. "Let me go get the first aid kit." She stood up and walked towards the kitchen to find the kit.

"How long was I out cold for?" I asked, curiously.

"About half an hour." She said, rummaging through the cabinets. Her eyes finally lit up as she grabbed the white box and brought it back towards me. She began to clean the gash on my face. A few minutes later, she patched me up and the cut looked less visible.

"Wow Tori!" I exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

"I'm a wizard." She replied, winking. We both began to laugh, enjoying each other's company. It was silent for a while before Tori looked at me. "Thanks."

"Don't even mention it." I said. "It's my duty to protect my girlfriend."

"Yeah, but at what cost, I mean look at you. It's all my fault." She said, looking down sadly.

I sighed and stood up, taking her hand gently. "Hey, it was my choice to attack him. No one gets away with calling you that. You're the most beautiful girl in the whole word and I love you. No matter what anyone says, nothing will ever take that from you."

She let out a small smile and gave me a peck on the lips. "Thanks André."

"No problem." I said, before looking at the clock. "Now how about we go grab some dinner? My treat."

"Sure, just let me get my purse." She replied. After grabbing it, I took her hand and we walked out. What a day this one turned out to be.

Freddie P.O.V.

"Chinese food?" Jade asked me, curiously as we pulled up to the restaurant.

"Yeah, Tori told me about the place and I honestly don't think I could take another round of sushi." I explained. "Inside out burger was an option, but that's not first date material."

She nodded her head in response. "How much did this cost?"

"It doesn't matter." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "All that matters is the quality time we get to spend together. Now come on." I took her hand and lead her inside the restaurant.

"HEY JEDDIE!" Cat exclaimed, excitedly.

"Jeddie?" Jade and I asked her confused.

"Yeah, it's your ship name. The J from Jade and the eddie from Freddie equals Jeddie. You know if you guys ever start dating, which I really think you should." Cat explained.

"Actually Cat… we are dating." Jade confessed.

"Wait?" Cat said shocked. "So that means I can call you guys Jeddie and it'll make sense?"

I nodded and Cat clapped her hands in excitement.

"So what are you doing here Cat?" Jade asked, interestedly.

"Well Robbie, Carly, and I were going to come here, but we ended up bumping into André, Tori, Beck, and Sam as well." Cat said, chuckling. "Strange coincidence huh? Well anyways come! There are two open seats."

"More like bad luck." I mumbled. It was only yesterday that Jade and I got into a fight with Sam and Beck. Plus it was also yesterday that Carly and I got put on even worse terms with each other. This was going to be very… awkward. Jade seemed to feel the same way as she shook her head.

"No thanks Cat." She replied. "Freddie and I are just going to drop by and meet the group before eating by ourselves." We hoped Cat wouldn't be upset. She made her confused face before her eyes lit up.

"Ooooh!" She exclaimed. "You guys are on a date. Well have fun!"

"Thanks." We both said in unison.

"Come I'll let show you where everyone is before you guys go your separate way." Cat said, turning around as we followed her.

"Whatever we do, we're not even going to pretend that Sam and Beck exist." I whispered to Jade. "It may seem rude, but it'll save us a lot of drama."

"I won't argue with that." Jade whispered back. "Will they do the same is another question entirely though."

I blew out a breath and nodded in agreement. Hopefully things didn't come to blows… literally.

"Hey guys look! Jade and Freddie are here too!" Cat exclaimed, retaking her seat beside Robbie.

The group was silent for a moment as awkward glances were exchanged.

"Hey guys!" Robbie said happily, breaking the silence. Tori and André followed suit while the remaining trio ignored us, which was fine by me.

"Well Freddie and I have a date, so we best get going." Jade said, taking my hand.

"Wait!" Carly exclaimed, stopping us in our tracks. "You guys are dating?"

For some reason I couldn't speak, but luckily Jade covered me. "Yeah we are."

"Two nubs equal love." Sam mumbled, but not soft enough for us not to hear. I decided to ignore her comment to avoid any further confrontation like last time.

"Well… congratulations." Tori and André exclaimed. "To a new beginning."

"Thanks guys it was much needed." I said. Even though my previous girlfriend was sitting at the table, I wasn't going to deny that André and Tori were telling the truth. "Well it was nice seeing you guys."

I took Jade's hand and led her to our table which unfortunately happened to by one away from the group. During the course of dinner it seemed that every time I looked up, one of the members of the trio we had problems with were staring at us. I simply ignored the stares and made sure that tonight was the best date that Jade ever had. We got our meals a few minutes earlier. I had gone with shrimp noodles, while Jade went with chilli chicken and fried rice. We took food from each other's plates which created a fun game between us. Our laughs and giggles from trying to steal from each other's plates didn't go unnoticed by the group, but we didn't care.

"So tell me Freddie." Jade said, bringing me out of my thoughts. She took a sip of her water before continuing. "I know you're a tech wiz, but what other talents do you secretly possess?"

I shrugged my shoulders trying to think. I had a few that no one knew about, but Jade was my girlfriend so I felt that she should know.

"Well you remember the story of mine and Gibby's band?" I asked. She nodded before I continued. "Well I took up private guitar lessons and some singing lessons after we disbanded for the rest of my high school years. "

"No way!" She said, astonished. "Why didn't you perform at Karaoke Dokie?"

"Truth be told, I have always been pretty shy on stage and that's another reason why being the technical producer on iCarly was so much easier. I barely stood in front of the camera."

"We've got to work on that." Jade noted. "I want you to be able to show the world that Freddie Benson isn't only good with technology."

"Thanks." I said. "Maybe I could perform in front of you back at your place. I mean you have a guitar, so I could give it a try."

"That would be cool." She said, smiling. "Maybe one day we can even make our own song."

"I would love that." I said, smiling back. "As long as it's with you." We continued staring at each other before leaning in and pressing our lips together.

Our kiss didn't last long as we heard someone clear their throat similarly to Ms. West. We broke our kiss to see Carly standing by us.

"Can I talk to you Freddie?"

"How about after I drop Jade off at home? We can meet at the coffee stop near Sam's house okay?" I asked, curiously. It was about time we talked. Even if she rejected me last time, we still need to talk desperately.

"Ok." She nodded.

"Bye!" Jade said to Carly, before leaning in and resuming our kissing in front of her.

Carly P.O.V.

I sat in the corner seat of the coffee shop waiting for Freddie to come. For some reason, when I found out that Freddie and Jade were dating, I worked up the courage to finally try and talk to him. I know it might not go well, but it's worth a shot. Something I was still pondering was to tell Freddie about Ashton. Even if I did, how would I tell him?

I tried thinking out various ways the conversation could end, when a tap on my shoulder caused me to turn back to see… Ashton.

"Hey Carly." He said. "I didn't expect you to see you here, but I'm glad you are."

I blushed at his compliment before looking at the apron around him.

"What's with the apron?" I asked, curiously.

"Oh, I work here. I just finished my shift and didn't realize I had it on." He said proudly. Ashton seemed to have noticed my confused expression so he continued. "You see just because my family has wealth doesn't mean I'm a level above everyone. I want to start from the bottom and work my way up, not mooch off my parent's success."

WOW! He's down to earth and rich. That's like a match made in heaven.

"That's really cool of you." I said, flashing my smile.

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's not a big deal." He looked around before laying his eyes back on me. "So what are you doing here?"

"I'm supposed to be meeting someone." I casually stated. I looked through the window at the parking lot. My disappointment became visible when I realized that Freddie still wasn't here.

"Seems like that friend isn't showing up." He noted, as I nodded in response and looked down sadly. Ashton sighed and took a seat in front of me. "Well that's their loss. I don't see why their loss can't be my gain."

I let out a chuckle as I looked up at him.

"So tell me all about this friend." He said, curiously. His question took me by surprise, but for some reason I felt comfortable telling him.

"Well…" I started.

Freddie P.O.V.

I had just dropped off Jade about twenty minutes ago. The traffic was total chaos. Right now, I found myself stuck in pretty much the same spot for an hour. I hoped that Carly wouldn't be mad at me, but knowing my luck she probably would.

After about another hour of patiently waiting, the traffic cleared up and I finally got to my destination. I sighed and got out of the car and walked into the coffee stop. I began to look around, trying to find Carly Shay. My eyes finally found her. She was looking at her phone and scrolling upwards. I blew out a breath and walked to the table and took a seat in front of her.

"Are you back Ashton?" She questioned, still staring at her phone. Um, who was Ashton?

"This is Freddie." I said, causing her eyes to shoot up.

"Ooooh…. hey Freddie." She said, nervously. "What- what's up?"

"Who's Ashton?" I asked, ignoring her question.

Just as she was about to respond, a blonde haired boy walked up and placed a coffee down.

"Here Carly. One cappuccino." He said, before looking over to see me. "Oh, so you must be the friend."

"Yeah I am." I replied, raising an eyebrow. "And who are you?"

"Name's Ashton." He said, offering a hand. "Ashton Jenkins."

"Freddie Benson." I said, shaking his hand.

He nodded and took a seat beside Carly. "So tell me Freddie. Where were you?"

"Traffic." I said, annoyed.

"It sucks doesn't it?" He responded. His head turned towards Carly, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, I kept her company."

"So are you friends with Ashton?" I asked Carly, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, we've gone on two dates and we're still trying to see if we have that spark." Carly explained.

"When did you meet him?" I asked. I didn't mean to sound like a jealous ex-boyfriend, but that's how it was coming out like.

"We met at the club." Ashton answered. "Now I don't really know the relationship between you two, but I feel this negative spark right now. So I'm going to ask this once, what happened between you two?"

"Do you really want to know?" I asked him.

"Yes." He exclaimed. "Yes I would."

"Well-" I said before being interrupted.

"No, let me tell him the story." Carly said. "It all started when…."

AN: That's the end of the chapter. So, so sorry for posting after a loooooong time, but I started to become really busy. I managed to write a pretty long chapter for you guys as I'm continuing to become more caught up in work.

Shout outs to my two newest follower's crystalgirl78 and Shioran Toushin and to SeddieHeartLand for favouriting (not a real word haha) my story! To everyone currently following thank you!

mccurdsgrande: Hopefully you get excited seeing this appear in your inbox! :) Believe me, I get excited whenever I get a review, favourite or follow. Thanks for sharing nothing but positivity so far. I hope that you continue following this adventure.

I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, stay tuned.