AN-This is a follow-up to a oneshot that was published awhile ago. It was chapter 140, where Sam and Freddie went down to the Groovy Smoothie during iCan't Take It and one of the cashiers hit on Sam and got Freddie jealous. Also, this oneshot takes place after iBalls, when everyone left Carly after she got off the elevator.

...

Thinking

"Should we have invited Carly to come with us?" Sam asked as her, Spencer and Freddie headed downstairs to the Groovy Smoothie.

"Nah, she'll just tell us stories about our granddad," Spencer said. "Just let her rest upstairs and take a bath or something and she'll be fine."

"Yeah," Freddie nodded. "Besides, after a long plane ride with a bunch of loud obnoxious people, she probably wants some time alone."

"Right," Spencer agreed. "And we're three of the most obnoxious people she knows!"

"That's true," Sam shrugged. "Aw, crab, I forgot my wallet up there."

"Eh, no worries, I'll get your smoothie," Freddie told her.

"Um, okay," Sam said. "Thanks."

Freddie smiled. Truthfully, he was glad Carly wasn't coming with them. Not because he was mad at her or anything, she was one of his closest friends, after all, but these past couple of days with her in Yakima, him and Sam seemed to really connect. Sam had shown him more of that sensitive, caring side of hers that he rarely got to see. She had actually tried to comfort him after the disastrous Fredbot incident (which he was still trying to block out of his mind), and had encouraged and supported his 3D idea, instead of shooting it down. It was rare Sam behavior.

In fact, the only time Freddie could remember Sam acting like this was back when they were dating...Man, he had been shocked to see that side of Sam. He had of course known that Sam wasn't the tough girl she acted out all the time, but seeing her other side for the first time a few days after they started going out...it was amazing.

True, he'd never get tired of the Sam who enjoyed terrorizing teachers with her butter sock or who could eat an entire ham in under ten minutes, but it was nice knowing that within that aggressive, abrasive girl laid a softer, gentler one who revealed herself to only a select few.

Freddie was still in his own little world when they arrived at the Groovy Smoothie.

"Hey, what are you guys getting?" T-Bo asked as they approached the counter.

"Um, I'll have a Mango Melon Swirl," Freddie said, snapping back to reality. "Sam, what are you getting?"

"I'll have a Kiwi Blast," Sam replied.

"Aw, does this mean what I think it means?" T-Bo grinned as Freddie pulled out his wallet to pay for both the smoothies. "Are you two back together?"

"Huh? Oh, no," Freddie said quickly, handing T-Bo the money.

"Yeah, no, I-I just forgot my wallet," Sam nodded.

"Well dang it then!" T-Bo frowned, grabbing the bills from Freddie. "Who the heck am I supposed to sell Love Smoothies to then? I still have eight dozen of those cups!"

He slammed the money in the cash register and stormed off.

"Where are you going?" Freddie called after him as T-Bo headed to the back room.

"To go try and sell those cups online!" T-Bo snapped. "Since you two teens are trying to put me out of business!"

"Wait, T-Bo!" Spencer exclaimed. "You forgot to take my-and he's gone. Great. Now I don't get a smoothie!"

"Come on, let's just go find a table," Sam said.

"Fine," Spencer huffed.

The three sat down at one of the only open tables.

"Man, this place is pretty packed," Freddie observed. "I bet-" But then he stopped. He was staring behind the counter where stood that jerky cashier that he had dumped a smoothie on for hitting on Sam, back when they were dating. He clenched his fists as he remembered the event. There was something different about this guy, though. It looked as if his face had cleared up, and his hair was less greasy. In other words, he had handsomed up. Freddie just hoped that he would stay clear of Sam.

"Alright, I'm going to pee," Spencer said, getting to his feet.

"We don't care," Sam told him.

"Marty would've," Spencer mumbled as he dragged his feet off to the bathrooms.

"There had to have been something wrong with that Marty dude," Sam said, shaking her head.

"Huh? Oh yeah, probably," Freddie said quickly, still watching the hated cashier out of the corner of his eye. He was coming over now, carrying a tray of smoothies towards their table.

"Here you go, one Mango Melon Swirl and one Kiwi Blast," he said, setting the beverages down. "Oh...it's you two."

He had apparently recognized them. Sam looked up. "Oh yeah, you're that jerk from like, four months ago!"

"Yeah, the jerk," Freddie nodded, narrowing his eyes.

"Um, look, I-I've been feeling really bad about that," the boy said, speaking only to Sam.

"Yeah, I'll bet you have," Sam scoffed, grabbing her smoothie.

"I have," the boy said, sitting down in Spencer's seat.

"Hey, that seat's taken!" Freddie said, but the boy ignored him.

"Anyway, I just wanted to apologize to you for hitting on you like that," he continued.

"Um, what about me?" Freddie frowned.

"It was really rude to do," the boy went on, once again, pretending not to hear Freddie. "And I'm sorry. But you know how it is, you see someone you think is attractive and you kind of go all bonkers and don't really think things through."

"Oh, please," Freddie said, rolling his eyes. "What a load of-"

"I'm Ben, by the way," the boy said, extending a hand to Sam. "And I already know you're name's Sam. I'm a big fan of that web show of yours."

"Really? You like iCarly?" Sam asked.

"Of course, you're hilarious!" Ben nodded. "You're my favorite on the show. That Carly girl, she's funny and all, but you're the real reason I keep watching. Plus, between you and me, you're the better looking one, too."

Sam rose an eyebrow. Did he really just say that she was better looking than Carly Shay? No guy had ever said that about her. In all her years of friendship with Carly no boy had ever favored her over her best friend. Jonah, her first boyfriend, was attracted to her before too long, and Shane, who she knew never officially picked Carly during that stupid bet of theres, but she knew he was very close to doing so, before he fell down that elevator shaft.

And then there was Freddie.

For years she had watched him drool over Carly like she was some sort of Goddess. At first, when they were younger, it was just annoying, but as they got older, that annoyance turned into something else. Especially after they shared that first kiss on the fire escape. And after Freddie had saved Carly from that taco truck two years ago, and the two dated for that horribly long week, she felt as though her two friends had unknowingly stabbed her, and she was ecstatic when their relationship crumpled.

When her and Freddie had been dating a few months ago, she was overjoyed, though she did her best to try and keep that between her and herself (she was Sam Puckett, after all, she couldn't go jumping up and down because she had a boyfriend, she had an image to uphold!). But after they broke up, one terrible, wicked thought kept circling through her head.

Was it because I wasn't as 'normal' as Carly? Had her best friend yet again unknowingly overshadowed her? She liked to think that Freddie had gotten over that crush he had on Carly, but sometimes, she just didn't know.

And here was this new guy, a guy who she knew had been a complete jerk to her and Freddie. But he had just said the words she had been craving to hear for years now.

"You-You really think so?" she stuttered.

"Definitely," Ben grinned.

Freddie, who had been watching this scene silently, gripped his smoothie cup tightly in anger. Too tightly, though, for his cup suddenly burst and his smoothie spilled out onto the table and onto Sam's shirt.

"Hey! What are you doing to that cup, Benson?" Sam asked, jumping up.

"I-I don't-sorry-" Freddie said.

"Hey, all the employees here get stains on there clothes," Ben told her. "We have a bunch of club soda that gets stains out in the back. You want some?"

"Yeah, sure," Sam nodded.

"Come on, then," Ben told her. "And, well, maybe afterwards, you and I can head across the street and get some ice cream. My treat."

Sam stared at him. Did he just ask her out on a date? She knew there was no chance of any serious relationship brewing between her and him, and quite frankly, she didn't find him too attractive, even with his approved appearance from the last time she saw him. But what he had said about her being better than Carly, that stuck with her. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to get ice cream with him. After all, she wanted just one night where she could relish in the feeling that someone had picked her over Carly.

"Um, yeah," Sam nodded. "Sounds cool."

Freddie felt his stomach clench as Ben led Sam to the back of the Groovy Smoothie to get the club soda for her shirt. Were they going out on a date? Did Ben really just ask her out? And more importantly, did Sam really just say yes? How? How could she be going anywhere with that jerk? What did she suddenly find so attractive about him?

"Hey, where's Sam?" Spencer asked, taking his seat that Ben had just vacated.

"In the back," Freddie mumbled moodily. "Apparently she's in love with one of the cashiers now."

"Um, how long was I in the bathroom?" Spencer frowned.

"Long enough for her to agree to go out on a date with the guy," Freddie sighed.

"Oh, man, that's rough," Spencer said. "Are-Are you okay?"

Freddie looked up at the man. Spencer had always been a sort of older-brother figure to him. He had helped him with all of the problems that he couldn't go to his mom with and Freddie had always seen him as, in certain aspects, a role model. There was no point in lying to him.

"No," he said softly.

"Is-Is it because you still have feelings for her?" Spencer asked gently.

"I don't know," Freddie sighed. "I-maybe. Or no, not maybe. I-I do."

"Yeah, I figured."

"You-"

"Oh come on, you two practically live at my place," Spencer said. "I can sense I teen romance when I see one."

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Freddie asked. "If she's willing to go out and get ice cream with that cashier guy, then clearly she doesn't feel the same way about me, does she?"

"Well, maybe she does," Spencer said. "But she's just, I don't know, confused. Apparently girls have a lot of emotions. I was reading this article in Modern Woman-"

"You read Modern Woman?" Freddie frowned.

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Yes, yes, sorry," Freddie said quickly.

"As I was saying, I was reading the article, and it said that a lot of times, girls are afraid to admit they have feelings for an ex again, so they just turn to the nearest possible alternative. In Sam's case, the cashier."

"Hmm, I guess, that makes sense. Sort of," Freddie nodded. "So you don't think Sam really likes this cashier guy?"

"Dude, you've known Sam for years," Spencer said. "Do you really think she'd just go out with a guy she barely knows because she really likes him? Or because she's trying to avoid something?"

Freddie felt hopeful at this information. "So-So I can still have a chance then? How?"

"Yeah...the article didn't really cover that," Spencer said. "But maybe you could try and, I dunno, make her jealous? That always works in the movies."

"Jealous?" Freddie repeated.

"Yeah, or try fixing the little things that bothered her when you guys were going out," Spencer said. "Hey! T-Bo's back! Yo, Teebs! I want my smoothie!"

Freddie put his head on his hand, thinking hard about what Spencer just told him as the man ran at full-speed towards the counter.

How could he make Sam jealous? Well, that actually seemed pretty easy. Maybe he could make her think that he had a crush on Carly again. It would be hard to make her think that, he supposed, since he had thought of Carly as a sister for the longest time now, but he figured her could make it work. Maybe if Sam got jealous enough, it would cause her to try and get him back, at which point, he would happily oblige.

And fixing what bothered her when they were going out before...well, didn't Sam say she wanted him to be more abnormal? That couldn't be too hard, could it? He just had to act more like her, loud, rude...maybe insult her now and then.

Yes...yes, this could work! Freddie couldn't wait to start putting this all in action. He knew it might be a bit extreme, but hey, if that what it took to get Sam Puckett back...

...

AN-So this is sort of my interpretation of why Freddie's been acting sort of jerky towards Sam lately, or at least in iOpen a Restaurant and iPear Store. Because before and during iBalls, the couple seemed to be almost civil to each other. But then after..