Loyalty

(noun)

Faithfulness or dependability

EX: The girl's loyalty to her friend was immeasurable.

…

Friday

…

Carly is probably the best friend a girl can get. She has always been there for me, and I knew that she would never abandon me. However, I also knew that it was not good to get on the girl's bad side. The school day had passed somewhat uneventfully. There was only a week left, so a lot of kids were buried in books as they studied for finals. But Carly had still noticed my withdrawal. She would figure out I wasn't telling her something soon. It's not as if I was keeping the events of Wednesday a secret. There just hadn't been a great opportunity to tell her.

When I got home from school, I flipped on a movie. I picked the least romantic movie I owned, which happened to be a slasher film. Rabia watched with me, which pulled a smile out because it reminded me of Frothy.

I fell asleep at some point near the end and woke up near dinnertime. It occurred to me that I could go over to Carly's and eat dinner there. In fact, I could spend the night there and use the opportunity to tell Carly the events of Wednesday.

I punched in her number, which, I decided, should really have its own speed dial.

"Hi Sam!"

"Hey Carls. So I decided that I'm gonna spend the night tonight and I wanted to let you know so that you can get Spencer to cook something."

Not a question. I didn't need to ask Carly's permission to spend the night. Especially now, with everything that was going on. She made me promise to call though, so that she could get stuff ready, or at least unlock the door. Spencer was not happy about replacing the door last time I broke in.

"Great idea! Spencer is making fried chicken right now, how does that sound?"

I was almost drooling at the thought.

"Delicious! I'll be there in ten!"

…

Dinner, I must say, was fantastic. Spencer made extra crispy fried chicken- extra crispy because he'd accidently set it on fire- and fluffy mashed potatoes with rich gravy.

It was quiet though. Spencer wanted to help me, but he was having trouble dealing with the fact that I was pregnant. He seemed unsure of what to say, so he told us to have fun- but not too much fun- and excused himself early.

After he left and Carly and I had finished our dinner, I pulled Carly upstairs to tell her what was going on.

"So what's up?"

"They know."

I said it matter-of-factly, trying to keep the distress out of my voice.

Carly seemed to know what I meant, but she asked anyway.

"Who knows? What do they know?"

"Max. And… Freddie. They found out that I'm, you know, pregnant."

"Found out?"

"The ultrasound picture fell out of my backpack and Max found it. He was yelling at me during detention and Freddie heard and…"

My voice was trembling and I had to stop to keep myself from tearing up.

"I'm sorry, Sam."

She looked at me, the question written clearly, but she didn't give volume to it for another few minutes.

"How are they… adjusting?"

I struggled to find words.

"I lied to Max. I told him that Freddie is the… the father."

Carly looked at me in disappointment, and I rushed to explain myself.

"Well, he's on his way to an Ivy League college on the other side of the country and he's double majoring and he's got a future and-"

My body betrayed me and I broke off into sobs.

Carly rubbed my back until the tears tapered off.

"I just didn't want to ruin his life. I didn't want to burden him with this."

Carly grabbed my hand and nodded.

"I understand. I still think he should know, but I understand why you did what you did."

"Thank you."

"What about Freddie?"

My heart drooped and I let my gaze slip to the floor.

"I don't think he'll ever speak to me again."

"What? WHY?"

"He… he thinks I didn't tell him because I couldn't trust him. It's over for us."

I allowed myself a glance at Carly. She seemed uncharacteristically angry.

"He broke up with you because he thought you couldn't TRUST him? Did he even give you a chance to explain? That… that sku-"

"Carly, don't. Please. He was right about me. I should've trusted him to be there for me."

"Sam…"

"PLEASE! Carly, I really don't want to talk about it. I can't. Can we just watch some Girly Cow or something?"

Carly managed to wipe the anger from her face and display a small smile.

"Sure, Sam."

…

Saturday

…

I woke up to the smell of bacon frying and immediately felt nauseous.

Morning sickness really sucks.

I dashed to the bathroom and heaved into the toilet, feeling incredibly disgusting. After that, I wiped my mouth off and swished some mouthwash around to get rid of the taste.

I wandered out into the iCarly studio so I wouldn't wake Carly up.

I glanced around the room. We were supposed to do a show that day. I'd managed to get through the last few iCarly web shows and rehearsals, but now? I doubted that Freddie would even come. And if he did, I didn't think I could stay.

"Sam? What are you doing?"

What would happen when I couldn't hide my pregnant belly any more? Would I have to stop doing the show? I couldn't let the whole see me this way.

"Sam! SA-AM!"

Carly was waving a hand in front of my face.

"Are you okay?"

"What are we gonna do about iCarly?"

Carly stared at me in puzzlement.

"What do you mean? We'll just… oh. Freddie."

She collapsed into a beanbag chair and frowned.

"I guess we'll just have to make do."

"I don't think I can be around him and act all carefree for the cameras. Plus, that's not our only problem."

"What do you mean?"

In answer, I put a hand on my belly.

"How long do you think I can hide this?"

"Well you've still got a while…"

"I'm almost two months along. And I'm already showing."

I pulled my pajama shirt up slightly and touched the small, swollen bump gingerly.

"Wow. I didn't realize…"

"What are people going to think of me? All the kids at school… they'll gossip and tell stories about what a whore I am."

I held back a sob. I'd done way too much crying in the past month.

"Since when do you care about what other people think about you? You can just beat the crud out of them and they'll shut up."

"But what if they're right?"

"You are NOT a slut! Far from it."

She poked a finger at me, "DO NOT go soft on me, Sam."

I smiled slightly.

"Tell you what, we'll go shopping. We'll get some new clothes for you and stuff. We won't be doing iCarly for much longer, not after I leave for college. We can tell viewers you're on a trip somewhere or something once we can't hide it any more. Trust me, everything's gonna be okay."

…

We went to a shopping center in town. Not really a mall, but kind of like that. There was a circle of various department stores that sold reasonably cheapo clothing. Our first stop was Target.

Despite its reputation as a low grade store, Target has a nice array of clothing. The best is their maternity section. Most of the clothes there disguise your bump without bringing attention to it. They look like regular clothes, so I wasn't likely to be noticed as wearing "pregnant lady clothes"

Inside, Carly immediately grabbed a million things off hangers. I probably could've stopped her, but I was way too tired. I settled down on a bench near the dressing rooms to watch my best friend scurry about.

"Hey Carls!"

Carly paused in her conquest for the perfect new wardrobe too look at me.

"How do you even know what size to get?"

She shrugged nonchalantly and resumed her search. I rolled my eyes, but smiled at her antics. Even though Carly could be a girly pain in the ass sometimes, she was a great friend. I couldn't ask for anyone better.

Several minutes later, Carly came over with an armful of clothes

"Is all this really necessary?"

The look on Carly's face seemed answer enough.

She shoved me in a dressing room with everything and told me to model each and every outfit.

I pulled out a soft purple t-shirt with a V-neck and a line of gold and pink flowers down one side. I tried it on and found that it was exactly the right size. Not to mention it was comfortable and it hid my bump well. In actuality, my bump really wasn't that big. I mean, it filled out my stomach to the point that I couldn't really call myself skinny any longer, but it only protruded about the thickness of a FatCake.

I giggled a little, imagining that there was a pink ball of sugar growing in me rather than another person.

I paired the shirt with a pair of dark blue jean capris that were just stretchy enough that I figured they'd still fit in a couple months.

I displayed the outfit for Carly and she nodded approvingly.

I retreated back to the dressing room to try on more of the slew of maternity clothes. Nearly all of them fit perfectly, and they all seemed to be similar to my existing wardrobe, not too out-of the ordinary. The last item, though, was definitely not something I would've picked out myself. I stared at it skeptically.

"A dress?" I wondered out loud.

"Don't knock it 'till you try it!" Carly called out.

I shrugged and pulled it on. It was a bright fuchsia pink that reminded me of Freddie and I's one week- anniversary. Despite the pang that always came with memories of time spent with him, there was a warmth that encircled me. There was a loosely tied white bow few inches below the bottom of my growing breasts. It was silky, weighted so that it swished when I moved. It was beautiful, and I felt beautiful in it.

"Carly, I will never doubt your fashion skills again!"

I stepped out in it, and Carly put her hands up to her face in astonishment.

"Sam, you look gorgeous!"

I grinned and my eyes lit up.

"Thanks. This has been fun."

I changed back into my baggy shirt and sweats, and took my mound of new clothes to the register. As it turned out, we wouldn't be needing a second stop.

On the way out, I suggested to Carly that we should walk across the street to the pet store, because Rabia was running out of food and toys to destroy. She thought it sounded like a good idea, and we set off. We were passing by a Forever 21 (not the right place for maternity clothes) when I saw the boy with the brown eyes.

Freddie.

He was coming out of the store on the corner, a Sports Authority I think. I can't say for sure, because the moment I saw Freddie, I stopped dead in my tracks. He didn't see us yet, and Carly still didn't know why I'd stopped.

"Sam? What's going o- oh."

She'd seen him. Like me, Carly wasn't really sure what to do. I wanted so badly to call out and beg him for forgiveness, but I knew that I couldn't do that to him.

Just as Carly grabbed my arm to guide me back to the car, Freddie turned those damn brown eyes my way. We locked gazes, and for a brief moment I wondered if he might call out a hello.

That hope, however miniscule, was crushed like an empty pop can.

Freddie, after a second or two of hesitation, stormed away to his truck.

My heart felt as though he had wrenched it out, taking it away with him in the old, beat up truck. I felt lightheaded, dizzy, and a string of tears was on its way. I knew there was no way I could stifle the tears this time. Every time I saw those damn brown eyes, my heart broke again.

Carly, the ever-loyal friend, took my hand gently and led me back toward her car.

"Come on, Sam. Don't let him see you cry."

…

REVIEW!

200th reviewer will get a shoutout in the next chapter and a PM with upcoming secrets.

You'll be able to choose one of these questions…

What will Sam do about the baby?

Will Sam and Max get back together?

When will Freddie finally get over himself and start talking to Sam again?

OR you can make up your own question and I will answer it if I can. I can't give TOO much away.