AN-This takes place during iGoodbye. And if you guys have any more requests, make sure you let me know!

Postcard

Sam walked back into the Shay's apartment, trying hard not to think about the idea that this would probably be the last time for awhile that she would be able to just waltz in and see her best friend; it would be a little hard to do that with her living in Italy. She figured Carly was done packing by now, or if not, she'd might as well help her out.

"Hey," she said to Spencer and his dad, who were sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hey Sam," Spencer said, his voice lacking its usual Spencerness.

"You here to see Carly?" Colonel Shay asked.

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "She up in her room?"
"She should be," Spencer nodded.

"Thanks," Sam said, hurrying up the steps. She went up to Carly's room, but found it empty. A few suitcases were sitting packed on her bed, and Sam couldn't help but chuckle at Carly's now empty closet. It had always been so stuffed, yet Carly would constantly complain about having nothing to wear, much to Sam's amusement. She wondered whom she would go to now when she had to borrow a dress or some fancy heels…

She probably went up to the studio, Sam thought to herself as she gave Carly's room one last fleeting glance.

She went up to the next floor and saw that the studio lights were in fact on. She thought heard Freddie in there, and when she approached the glass door, she confirmed that she had been correct. Carly was in there too, just as she had guessed. They were huddled around Freddie's tech cart, and Sam heard Freddie saying something about Gibby and weasel shopping. She was just about to open the studio door and join them, when suddenly, she saw Carly lean forward and kiss him.

Sam stood there, absolutely shocked. Was she really seeing this? Were Carly and Freddie really kissing right before her very eyes? Part of her wanted to run the second their lips touched, but another part of seemed to be completely dysfunctional, and wouldn't allow her shaking legs to move from their spot. It took her a moment to realize what exactly the feeling that was now taking over her body was; heartbreak.

If she thought breaking up with Freddie that one night was rough, it was nothing compared to watching him kiss her best friend. Her chest felt like it was going to crumble in, and her stomach was clenching so much that she was almost certain she was going to throw up.

And then she saw them finally pull apart, and for one wild second, Sam got her hopes up; something that she had learned at a very young age to never do. Maybe Carly would apologize…say she didn't mean it…or Freddie would nicely tell her that he didn't like her like that anymore…

Sam saw them exchange quick, confused glances, and then Carly said, "So I'm gonna go get my bags and take them downstairs."

"Why don't I help you with those bags?" Freddie said, clearing his throat.

"Yeah that'd be great," Carly nodded.

Sam quickly crouched down behind one of the potted plants in the hallway outside the studio, praying that neither would see her.

What the heck just happened? Sam asked herself as she saw Carly leave the studio. They just kissed…and now they're talking about carrying bags downstairs? What's up with that? Maybe…maybe it wasn't a real kiss then. Yeah…maybe it was just a goodbye kiss. Carly's a pretty affectionate person. And-And Freddie didn't ask her why she did it or anything, so maybe he sees it as a goodbye kiss too. Maybe he doesn't-

But just then she saw Freddie coming out of the studio right behind Carly, and Sam's face fell when she saw him throw his hands up in what seemed to be victory.

He liked it, Sam realized, slowly standing up as her two friends left. He-He finally got what he wanted…Carly.

Sam walked into the dark, empty studio, collapsing into one of the beanbag chairs in there.

Sam rested her forehead on her knees, deep in thought.

It was Carly; he loved Carly. Not her.

Sam scoffed, shaking her head at her own foolishness. How could she have been so stupid to do this to herself again?

The past few weeks, much to her confusion, familiar feelings were beginning to resurface. Feelings similar to those she began feeling a week or two before that fateful lock-in last year…It took her awhile to realize it, but when she did, she had no choice but to accept the stone hard truth: she was falling for Freddie yet again.

She hadn't told anyone this, of course. Last year when she had been in the same boat she had been able to hide her feelings for the tech nerd for a while. Until the lock-in, when she had finally cracked, but she had hoped that she'd manage to be a little stronger this time.

But then, as the days began to pass, Sam had a wild thought. Maybe her liking Freddie wasn't so crazy. Sure, they had broken up, but it had been mutual, right? And he had told her that he loved her, and she had said it back, and there had been a definite implication that they both wanted to try the relationship out again. Was it possible that Freddie wouldn't totally reject her if she brought this up to him? Obviously actually bringing this up to him was harder than she thought, and she found herself repeatedly putting it off.

And then she had called him today, and he had asked her the same question that had been circling around her head for weeks.

'You wanna get back together?'

The words still echoed in her head. He had caught her completely off guard, and when she finally managed to work out a simple 'Do you?', he had changed the subject.

But the fact that he had asked had to mean something, right?

After she had hung up the phone with him, she wanted nothing more than to run to Carly and have one of those lame 'girl talks' her best friend was always trying to force on her. She knew she'd eventually have to tell Carly about her resurfaced feelings for Freddie if she wanted to get anywhere, and then seemed like the perfect time. But Carly had been dealing with her own problems with the father-daughter dance, and Sam didn't have the heart to force this problem onto her plate as well. In a couple of days, when she would be over the dance, Sam would talk to her. And then when Carly's dad showed up out of the blue, and Carly's dance dilemma disappeared, Sam was all ready to talk to her later that night.

But then, of course, it happened. For the first time in all those weeks, Freddie had not been the thing circling Sam's thoughts; it was the unfathomable idea of losing her best friend. Now, though, after witnessing that kiss, both haunting thoughts had full run on her mind. The boy she loved was in love with her best friend who was leaving for Italy in about thirty minutes. How was anybody supposed to deal with that?

She wasn't angry. After all, Carly didn't know how she felt about Freddie, otherwise Sam was sure she wouldn't have kissed him. And her and Freddie weren't a couple, he had the right to kiss whoever he wanted.

No, she wasn't angry, but she almost wished she were. Because she was an expert at dealing with anger, all she had to do was hit a few things and yell for a couple of minutes. This was sadness, and Sam was never any good at dealing with that.

Sam stood silently at the counter as Carly got ready to leave for the airport with her dad.
This whole thing was surreal; if anyone had told her when she woke up this morning that in about twelve hours she'd be saying goodbye to Carly, who was leaving for Italy, she'd have thought they had just escaped from Troubled Waters.

Colonel Shay left in the elevator with Carly's things, leaving her, Spencer, Gibby, and Freddie to say their goodbyes to his daughter.

Sam glanced over at Freddie. Him and Carly weren't exactly acting like they were a couple now…so what did that kiss mean? She couldn't ask them, as she suspected she wasn't supposed to have seen that kiss.

"Goodbye you guys," Carly said. And as she said those three words, everything suddenly felt real to Sam. This was it, Carly was going.

"I'll ride down with you," Sam said heavily.

The five of them shared one last group hug, Sam trying not to think about the fact that Freddie's arm was around her at this very moment. She wanted only to focus on one thing at a time right now. Otherwise she was sure she'd break down.

The group separated, and Carly and Sam stood alone in the elevator.

"I love you guys," Carly said as the elevator door began to slide down.

Sam looked down at her feet, wondering how long she could hold back her tears.

The elevator door closed, and for a second, the best friends were silent. Sam slowly reached into her back pocket and pulled out her blue remote; she had never put it away after their last iCarly.

"Why don't you take this with you?" Sam said, handing it to Carly. "Just push a button if you ever need a laugh…a cheer. Random Dance."

Carly looked at the remote. "Aw Sam," Carly said, pulling her into a hug.

Sam hugged her back, feeling the tears welling in her eyes.

"Hey!" a voice said as the door slid back open "Who stopped the elevat-"

"Get out!" Sam screamed.

...

"Well…I'll call you when I get into Italy," Carly said as her dad loaded the last of her luggage into his car.

"If you ever need to know how to say something in Italian," Sam said, offering a small smile. "You know who to call."

"Thanks," Carly chuckled. "And I'll send you pictures of all the cute guys up there. Or maybe I can send you one of those cool Italian postcards or something."

"You better," Sam said.

"Carly," Colonel Shay said gently. "We need to get going if we want to make our flight."

"Okay," Carly nodded.

Her and Sam shared one last hug.

"Be good, okay?" Carly said.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I'll try."

"And I'll be back to visit soon," Carly said as she opened the passenger side of the car. "And Spencer's probably going to fly down to visit us soon; maybe you guys can come with him. And we'll text and call and web chat all the time. And-"

"You're gonna miss your flight, kid," Sam said weakly.

"Oh, right," Carly said. "Well…bye Sam."

Sam stood in the parking lot, watching Colonel Shay's car head out onto the street towards the airport.

Sam felt tears dripping onto her cheeks. Carly was gone.

And now that that had happened, there was nothing left to take her mind off of Freddie.

It wasn't just Carly she lost tonight, she realized. It was Freddie too.

Sam didn't head back up to the apartment. Instead she walked towards her new, parked motorcycle, hopped on, turned in the keys and began to ride. She rode out of the parking lot and down the road, in deep thought.

What did she do now? Where did she go? Home? No one was there.

She thought to herself that if Carly was here, she'd be able to handle the Freddie situation better. As much as she hated to admit it, sometimes a sleepover with her best friend where they spent the whole night talking about boys was just what she needed. And then she thought how much easier it would be to be able to deal with Carly leaving if she had Freddie.

Both instances were horrible; but she was no stranger to things turning for the worse for her. But both of these events coupled together in one night? She couldn't deal with it.

She stopped at a red light, letting a person cross the crosswalk.

There was nothing here for her. Seattle might as well be empty.

So then where do I go? Sam asked herself again.

The light changed and Sam began to ride again.

I guess wherever I end up, she decided, heading towards the main road. Maybe I'll have better luck there.