Water
"Hey!" Carly said brightly, walking over to her and Sam's lockers.
"Oh, hey," Sam said, zipping up her backpack.
"What's up?" Carly asked. "I didn't see you all weekend. Spencer actually had a chance to eat the bacon he bought!"
"I was busy hanging out with Wendy," Sam explained. "There was photography convention in the park, so her and I decided to spray paint the lenses on some of the cameras there."
"What? Sam!"
"Calm down, it was washable paint…I think," Sam shrugged.
"Well, I have to tell you this funny story about what my granddad told Spencer on Saturday," Carly said. "So they were having their usual artist-lawyer fight, when Spencer says-"
"Hey, tell me at lunch, okay?" Sam said, swinging her bag over her shoulder. "Wendy and I were going to try and launch water balloons at the teachers as they come into school."
"Oh…well okay," Carly nodded. "See you in class then!"
"Later!" Sam said, hurrying off to soak some teachers.
Carly opened up her locker and began to reapply her lip-gloss when Freddie came over.
"Hey," he said.
"Hi," Carly greeted him.
"Have you seen Sam?"
"Her and Wendy are throwing water balloons at teachers," Carly replied simply.
"Ah," Freddie nodded. "She did mention that last night."
"You saw her this weekend? I thought she was busy with Wendy the whole time," Carly frowned.
"She was, but come on, Carls, you know our lips can't really manage to go a whole weekend without seeing each other," he grinned.
"I know," Carly said slowly. "But I just figured that since she didn't even have a chance to stop by and see me…but I guess you are her boyfriend after all…"
"You okay?" Freddie frowned.
"Yeah," Carly said quickly. "It's just, I dunno, it seems lately that Sam's spending a lot of time with Wendy, which is totally fine, but it just leaves me sort of…lonely. I mean this weekend I hung out with Spencer the whole time, until he had to leave for Socko's aunt's hearing, and I've been hanging out with Gibby after school for the past few days, but I don't think my blood pressure can handle doing that everyday."
"Hey, you're still Sam's best friend," Freddie assured her. "And you're good friends with Wendy. Why don't you guys hang out the three of you?"
"They haven't really exactly…invited me," Carly admitted. "Besides, they usually pull pranks and all that when they're together. Not exactly my thing, you know?"
"Well then there you go, I'm sure that's why they haven't invited you; because Sam knows you don't like doing that stuff," Freddie told her. "And look, even since Sam and I have started dating, she's really cut down on all those pranks and 'questionable' activities. But she's Sam, and I think she just really needed to get it out of her system. Once she gets her fix, she'll back to hanging out at your place 24/7, eating you and Spencer out of house and home."
Carly chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm glad she has someone to do her 'Sam' activities with at least. I just wish I had someone to do my 'Carly' things with while Sam's busy doing them. You know, like go to Build-A-Bra with me, go skirt shopping, discuss possible haircut styles…" she looked over at Freddie. "So…you busy after school?"
"Um…well I'm gonna be late for class!" Freddie said quickly, looking down at his bare wrist. "Bye Carls!"
…
"49, 50, 51," Sam said during the teens' web show, stuffing cotton balls into Gibby's mouth. "51! Gibby can fit 51 cotton balls into his mouth!"
"Uh-wa-po-ma!" Gibby said incoherently.
"Okay Gib, why don't you go spit up all that cotton!" Carly said, leading Gibby away from the camera's view. "So Sam and I can wrap it up here."
"Yeah, so until next time, make sure you floss never," Sam grinned.
"And be kind to all gummy bears," Carly said.
"And we're clear," Freddie said, turning off his camera. "Great show."
"Thanks, baby," Sam said, giving her boyfriend a quick kiss.
"Yeah, I think tonight was one of the best that we've done so far," Carly smiled. "So how about we order ourselves a little celebratory sushi?"
"Yeah, I'm down for that," Freddie nodded.
"Can't," Sam said, pulling out her phone. "Wendy's waiting for me down at the Groovy Smoothie."
"What are you two gonna do this time?" Freddie asked, rolling his eyes.
"Nothing illegal," Sam said. "We're just gonna grab some smoothies and then maybe head back to her place to try out this new nail kit her mom just bought her."
"Wait…so you're like, you know, just going to hang out tonight?" Carly frowned. "You're not tossing squirrels at bikers or making middle-aged men cry?"
"Nope," Sam replied, shaking her head. "We almost got caught by some cop yesterday when we were throwing pretzel sticks at joggers so we decided to take a break from that stuff for a little bit."
"Oh," Carly said. "Well…have fun then."
"Will do, kid," Sam said. She turned back to Freddie. "I'll swing by your place later, your mom's working tonight?"
"Yup," Freddie grinned, giving his girlfriend another kiss. "We have the place to ourselves until midnight."
"Awesome," Sam said. "See you later then!"
"But-did-did you see that?" Carly exclaimed as Sam left the studio.
"See what?" Freddie asked, beginning to polish his camera lens.
"You told me that the only reason Sam's been ditching me for Wendy lately is because she needed to get all her illegal activity urges out!" Carly said. "But you just heard her! Her and Wendy aren't doing that anymore! They're getting smoothies and painting their nails! Sam hates painting her nails! She says it makes it taste weird when she licks bacon grease off her fingers!"
"Oh…well, yeah, I guess that was sort of weird," Freddie admitted. "But I'm sure she didn't mean to exclude you or anything. She-She probably thought you had homework, or-or something."
"Oh come on, Freddie!" Carly snapped. "If you're going to try and make up excuses could you at least make them good ones?"
And with that she stormed out of the studio.
…..
"Hey! We got sushi?" Spencer exclaimed about a half-hour later, walking into the apartment, spotting the raw fish on the counter.
"Yup," Carly said bitterly, stabbing her spicy tuna roll with her chopstick.
"Wow, someone's in a mood," Spencer commented, helping himself to a California roll.
"I am not in a mood!"
"Okay then," Spencer frowned. He sat down on the couch next to Freddie. "Great show tonight, by the way."
"Thanks," Freddie replied.
"Hey, where's Sam?" Spencer asked, looking around the apartment. "You know, I haven't seen her around here in days, and-ow!" Freddie had elbowed him in the ribs, clearly trying to get him to stop talking.
"Sam," Carly snapped, now furiously chewing her sushi. "Clearly doesn't want to spend time with me anymore. Not now that her and Wendy are apparently BFF's."
"Carly, for the millionth time, that's not true," Freddie sighed. "You're Sam's best friend."
"Oh really? Then why have I been ditched for the past week and a half?"
"I don't know," Freddie shrugged. "Why don't you ask Sam that?"
"You know what?" Carly said, getting to her feet. "I will!"
"Where are you going?" Spencer asked as Carly grabbed her bag rom the counter.
"The Groovy Smoothie!" Carly snapped, storming out of the apartment.
"Well…" Freddie said as the door slammed shut. "More soy sauce?"
"Yeah, sure," Spencer nodded.
….
Carly walked into the Groovy Smoothie, spotting Sam and Wendy at a table near the counter.
"Hey you guys!" Carly said cheerfully, sitting herself right down in the chair between Sam and Wendy.
"Um, hey," Sam said, surprised to see her here.
"Um, yeah, hi Carly," Wendy smiled. "I didn't know you were coming."
"Oh well, you know, I was in the neighborhood," Carly shrugged. "Anyway, what a coincidence running into you guys here!"
"But I told you that we'd-" Sam started.
"Hey, now that I'm here, why don't we all hang out for a little bit?" Carly said quickly. "You know, the three of us?"
"Okay," Wendy nodded. "That sounds cool."
"Yeah," Sam agreed. "You should try these new coconut smoothies T-Bo just made."
"Yeah, they're so good," Wendy nodded. "Sam and I tried them yesterday after school. They were almost as good as those milkshakes from Steak 'N Go."
"Yeah, but at least these aren't…you know," Sam grinned.
Wendy laughed. "Oh my God! I know! Do you think it's still-"
"Probably!"
"Um…w-what?" Carly asked, plastering a smile on her face.
"Oh, the other day," Sam explained. "When we got milkshakes after squirting Peppy Cola at the track team…there was this guy, who kept doing this thing to his milkshake…"
"You really had to be there," Wendy chuckled.
"Oh…yeah, I bet," Carly nodded.
"Anyway, look at what I just found on Splashface," Sam said, showing Wendy her phone.
Wendy burst out laughing. "No way!"
"Um, that's just a picture of a fire hydrant," Carly frowned, craning her neck to see Sam's phone.
"Yeah, I know, but the other day…" Sam said, trying to talk through her laughs.
"Guess I had to be there for that too," Carly mumbled.
"Oh, if we want to do our nails at my place, we should get going," Wendy said, looking at her watch. "Because my mom's chiropractor is coming over in a little bit to use the stuff. You want to come, Carly?"
"Oh, um, n-no," Carly said, realizing that if she did, it would be just more inside jokes between Sam and Wendy. "That's okay…I'll just drink my smoothie alone."
"Alright, see you at school tomorrow," Sam said, grabbing her backpack as her and Wendy headed off.
…..
"Hey, Fredifer," Sam said, letting herself into Freddie's apartment after she got back from Wendy's house. "You up for a little kissing?"
"Um, yeah, of course," Freddie nodded. "But um, you-you think we could talk a little first?"
"Sure," Sam nodded. "What's up?"
"Listen…" Freddie sighed. "Is-Is there a reason that you've been spending all this time with Wendy?"
"Um, maybe because her and I are friends," Sam frowned.
"I know that," Freddie said. "But you've never hung out with her so much before…and when you do, Carly's usually there with you guys."
"Well, she-she doesn't like doing the stuff that me and Wendy like to do," Sam pointed out.
"Yeah, but tonight you went over and did your nails with her," Freddie said. "That's the Carliest activity I've ever heard of!"
"Well why's that bug you?" Sam asked.
"It's not me, that it's bugging," Freddie told her gently.
Sam stared at him. "You-You don't mean…is Carly upset?"
"Well wouldn't you be?" Freddie asked. "I mean, she's your best friend, and lately the only time you even see her is for a few minutes at school and when we do iCarly."
"That's probably why she came over to the Smoothie…" Sam sighed.
"I mean are you mad at her or something?" Freddie frowned. "Because I've got to say, Sam, I don't really know why you would all of the sudden just cut her out of your life like-"
"It's because I wanted to start preparing myself!" Sam exclaimed.
"Um…what?"
"We're seniors, Freddie," Sam said heavily. "In a few months, her and I are going our separate ways…She's going to California, I'm staying here…we're not going to be around each other every day, and-and let's face it. She's gonna make a whole bunch of new friends in college, and-and I don't know. I thought maybe if I started getting used to spending time without her now, it would be easier when we were actually apart."
"But Sam…that-that's crazy, baby," Freddie said. "You and Carly…I've never seen any two friends who were as close as you two. And a little thing like distance is not going to change that. I promise."
"But what if she finds someone she likes better than me?" Sam mumbled.
"Come on, Sam, you remember earlier this year when you and me went through this same thing when we realized we were going to be apart for college?" Freddie told her. "And you remember what we said? We both said that we had enough faith in our relationship to trust that it would last no matter where we were. Well, the same thing goes for you and Carly."
Sam didn't reply.
"Sam, I think you need to tell Carly how you've been feeling," Freddie said softly. "It will really make you feel a lot better."
"You think?" Sam asked.
Freddie nodded. "She's over across the hall now…"
…
Sam knocked at the Shay's door and slowly opened it.
"Hey," she said, spotting Carly on the couch, watching a movie.
"Hey," Carly said coldly. "Shouldn't you be hanging out with Wendy? You know, your best friend who you have all the little jokes with and likes doing bad things with you!"
Sam sighed. "Okay…I guess I had that coming…can I just talk to you?"
Carly glared at her. "What?"
"Look," Sam said, sitting down next to her. "I'm sorry I've kind of been…ignoring you lately."
Carly scoffed and said nothing.
"It's just, I-I wanted to get the hard part over with," Sam said.
Carly frowned. "What hard part?"
"When we aren't together next year," Sam replied. "You know, when we're not even in the same state. We've been inseperatable since we were eight! How am I supposed to handle you being like, ten hours away? Who am I supposed to hang out with?"
"Wait…" Carly said slowly. "Isn't this like your little freak attack you had a few months ago about you and Freddie being apart?"
Sam nodded. "But this is different," she mumbled. "Freddie's my boyfriend…unless he actually goes scouting out another girlfriend, which he won't, if he knows what's good for him, our relationship will be safe. Sure, it will be a little harder to do the distance thing, but it's doable. But you're my best friend, and when you're in California, you're not even going to have to scout out a new best friend; you'll have opportunities all around you! Your roommate, your classmates…anyone! I mean it's like the only way you won't make a new best friend is if you never go outside! I just thought, you know, if I got used to the whole separation thing now, it wouldn't be so hard next year."
"Oh, Sam!" Carly said, throwing her arms around her best friend. "You are so ridiculous!"
"Um, thanks?" Sam frowned.
"Come on, I can't believe you think I would find a new best friend at college next year," Carly said, rolling her eyes. "Sure, I may make new friends, but you'll always be my best friend."
"You say that now," Sam mumbled.
"Sam," Carly said. "Unless I'm very much mistaken, there is only one crazy, insane, food-obsessed chick who can not only flip a truck driver, but beat up half the dudes in the MMA. And that's you! There's no one else out there, which means that there's no one else I'd ever want to be my best friend."
Sam gave a small smile. "You mean that?"
"Yeah I do!" Carly said, hugging her best friend again. "And I'm just glad that you weren't trying to replace me with Wendy as your best friend."
"Please," Sam grinned. "Wendy's cool and all, but do you know how exhausting it is getting into trouble all the time? And then when we just chill, like tonight, she does it all wrong! She actually bakes her cookie dough, and buys the whipped frosting instead of the chocolate!"
"Madness," Carly chuckled.
"Hey, cool if I come in now?" Freddie asked, opening the front door a bit.
"Yes, Sam and I are good again," Carly told him. "And actually, Sam, we have a lot of best friend bonding time to make up for."
"Oh yeah, you're right," Sam nodded. "Junk food and sucky movie?"
"You know it," Carly smiled. She turned to Freddie. "Um, Freddie, I don't mean to be mean, but-"
"You're not invited," Sam said bluntly.
"Well thanks," Freddie said, rolling his eyes.
"Sam, you can't be rude to your boyfriend," Carly sighed.
"Eh, the nub knows I love him," Sam said, giving him a quick kiss. "But seriously, baby, unless you want to have it go down in history that you actually participated in a 'girls night', you might want to leave."
"Don't worry, I'll go," Freddie laughed. "But this means we'll have to reschedule our night…my mom works late tomorrow too…"
"I'm there," Sam said, wrapping her arms around him, giving him a long kiss. "And hey," she whispered. "Thanks."
