Staircase

"Good morning!" Carly said brightly, coming down the staircase.

"Wow!" Spencer said, looking up from his toast. "Someone's in a good mood."

"Indeed I am," Carly smiled. "Yearbooks come out today! And as editor, it's a very proud day for me."

"You were editor of the entire yearbook?" Spencer frowned. "You never told me that!"

"Well, I-I was editor of the clubs section," Carly said. "But hey! That's twelve pages of my work."

"Well congratz, kid," Spencer chuckled.

"Hey," Freddie said, letting himself in. "You ready to head to school?"

"Yeah, Sam just texted me and said she's down in the lobby," Carly said, grabbing her bag. "Aren't you excited?"

"Um, yeah…" Freddie frowned. "I've really been looking forward to my math test today for weeks."

"No! It's yearbook day!" Carly exclaimed. "Don't you remember? I'm club editor!"

"Oh, right," Freddie said, rolling his eye. "How could I forget?"

"Let's just go," Carly said, playfully swatting his shoulder.

"Okay, so here's the game plan," Carly said as the three teens entered Ridgeway. "Since I'm an editor, I can go into the yearbook storage room and get my yearbook and your yearbooks."

"I still can't believe I shoveled out fifty bucks for that thing," Sam said.

"Yes…" Carly said, shaking her head. "We'll pretend you paid with your own money. And anyway, this is your senior yearbook! You need to have something to remember it with!"

"Yeah, don't you want to look back at it in ten years and remember all the good times?" Freddie asked.

"Okay, all that I'm ever going to remember from this place is detentions every other day and mountains of homework that I never did," Sam said.

"Well I had to sell at least twenty yearbooks, so you helped me out," Carly said. "Even if the money did come out of my pocket. Anyway, wait here and I'll go get ours."

"I can't believe how many people bought those things," Sam said, opening her locker as she watched several students walking by with their noses in their yearbooks.

"Come on, it's not that crazy," Freddie said. "Besides, it's-"

"Hey, Sam, Freddie," one of their classmates said, passing by the two. "Congratulations!"

"Congratulations?" Freddie frowned as the classmate passed.

"Um…why'd we just get congratulated?" Sam asked.

"No clue," Freddie shrugged. "Anyway, did you come up with your five iCarly ideas? Remember, we're meeting after school today to start planning."

"Yes, nub," Sam said, pulling a wad of paper out of her pocket. "Got them right here."

"Well, you can go right ahead and cross out all of the ones that would cause me physical or emotional pain," Freddie said.

"Well then I don't have much of a list, Frebutt," Sam smirked.

"Hey you two, congratz on the big win!" another one of their classmates said, walking past them.

"Big win?" Sam repeated. "Um…did we win anything?"

"Not that I know of," Freddie said. "I'm sure he was just mistaken or something. But back to your list, will you stop trying to kill me live on the web!"

"That what kids want to see!" Sam argued.

"No it's not!"

"Well it's what I want to see," Sam shrugged. "And since you're just the tech producer-"

"Hey guys, you must be thrilled about winning," a third classmate said, walking by. "You guys totally had that one in the bag."

"Okay, what is going on?" Freddie demanded.

"I dunno, is the whole school crazy or something?" Sam said. "Why does everyone keep saying that we won something?"

"Hey you guys!" Carly said, running back over to her two friends. "Well, time for class. Why don't we all just head-"

"Hey, I thought you were picking up our yearbooks," Freddie pointed out.

"Oh, um, I-I thought we could just do that at lunch or after school," Carly said. "Or, you know, never."

"Never?" Sam frowned. "Why? I thought you were all pumped about them."

"Oh, I'm sure they're not as amazing as I built them up to be," Carly smiled, rolling her eyes. "So who's ready for class? I know I am. I'm so-"

"Hey, Sam, Freddie," a girl said, approaching the three. "I'm so glad you guys won and beat out Trisha Montgummery and Shawn Huntington, they're such jerks. And the head cheerleader dating the quarterback? Come on, that's a little overdone, don't you think?"

"Um, what are you-" Freddie started.

"Well by Maxine!" Carly said, quickly shooing the girl away.

"This is getting too weird," Sam said. "She's the fourth person who came up to Fredweiner and me and told us we won something."

"Yeah, do you know what's up?" Freddie asked.

"No," Carly said at once. "No, that-that's really strange, but right now I think we should get-"

"Carly," Sam said knowingly, crossing her arms. "What' going on?"

Carly sighed in defeat. "Okay," she conceded. "Better you guys find out from me than someone else." She unzipped her backpack and pulled out two yearbooks and handed one each to Sam and Freddie.

"Turn to page 18," she said. "And then you'll see…"

"Um, alright," Freddie frowned as him and Sam opened their yearbooks. "Senior Superlatives," he read. "Best Eyes, Madeline Chastely. Most Athletic: Norman Hinkle, Best Hair: Chelsea Mason, Best Couple-"

"Fredward Benson and Samantha Puckett?" Sam exclaimed, reading her own yearbook. "What?!"

"Wait, how could we have gotten best couple?" Freddie said. "We're not dating anymore!"

"I know," Carly said. "But they do the senior superlatives really far in advanced. They did these back when you were dating, and I guess they never got the memo that you two broke up, so they just kept it in there."

"Well," Sam said, slamming her yearbook closed. "That's just fan-tastic. Now on top of all the horribleness of high school, I'm going to have my picture in here with that forever!"

"Oh come on," Carly tried to reason. "It's not that bad-"

"Yeah?" Freddie retorted. "Like I want to have to explain to my future children why I dated that she-beast!"

"You guys-" Carly sighed.

"I'm out of here," Sam said, slamming her locker shut.

"Ditto!" Freddie snapped.

"No one says ditto anymore!" Sam sneered.

"I do!

"Well you're a nobody!"

"Well," Carly said as her friends stormed off. "So much for yearbook day."

…..

Ten Years Later

"Oh and look! There's Ms. Briggs!" Freddie laughed, looking down at his senior yearbook.

"Oh yeah, her and her big pointy boobs," Sam chuckled. "Man I hated her…Hey, there' you in the AV club…"

"And you in your after-school detention poker club," Freddie added, turning the page. "And hey, here are the superlatives."

"Ah yes," Sam grinned, looking down at her and Freddie's picture with the words 'Best Couple' under it. "The title that nearly gave us a heart attack when we saw it."

"I believe you said how horrible it was going to be to have your picture in here with me for the rest of your life," Freddie smirked.

"And I believe you were dreading having to tell your future kids about your she-beast of a high school girlfriend," Sam said, rolling her eyes.

"Wow," Freddie said, still staring down at the picture. "If our younger selves could see us now…I'd be eating my words, wouldn't I?" He put the yearbook right in front of his and Sam's one-year old son who was sitting on Sam's lap. "Look, buddy. That's your mommy and daddy when they were in high school."

"Ma! Da!" the infant squealed, looking down at the picture.

"That's right, baby," Sam smiled, kissing the top of his head. "See, mommy looks as hot as ever, but daddy's really let himself go, hasn't he?"

"Ha, ha," Freddie said, pulling his wife and son closer. He leaned down and kissed Sam. "We really were the best couple."

"Still are," Sam said, leaning against him as he wrapped his strong arms around her and their child.