Graph

"A five hundred dollar parking ticket?" Spencer exclaimed angrily, storming into his apartment. "Five hundred dollars?"

"So…bad day?" Carly asked, looking up from her laptop.

"Clearly!"

"Well where'd you park that was so illegal?" Carly questioned.

"I just had to run into Pottery Barrel for like, ten minutes," Spencer explained. "But they were packed, so I couldn't find a spot. Then I saw the employee of the month parking spot was free, so I thought it wouldn't hurt if I just parked there really quick. But noooooo! When I came back out with my lemon zester and assorted pot holders, there was a mean old cop sticking a parking ticket right on my poor motorcycle!"

"Wait…how'd that cop know you weren't really the employee of the month at Pottery Barrel?" Carly frowned.

"He said I didn't look like employee of the month material!" Spencer snapped. "Can you believe that? He took my money and my dignity!"

"I'm sorry," Carly smiled. "But hey, there's some cake in the kitchen. That might make you feel better. I even put on that special frosting I make, to give it a special touch."

"Um…I-I'm good," Spencer said quickly. "I think I'm just gonna run a hot bath and try to forget about my terrible day."

As Spencer retreated into his room, there was a knock at the door and Freddie let himself in.

"Hey," he said. "You ready to start rehearsal?"

"Nah, Sam's not here yet," Carly replied. "Hey, you want some cake?"

"Does it have your special frosting on it?" Freddie asked hesitantly.

"Yes," Carly nodded.

"Uh, then, you know, I actually just filled up on my mom's tofu bars," Freddie said.

"But, you-"

"So where is Sam?" Freddie asked, cutting her off. "Detention?"

"No," Carly said. "She's hanging out with Brad. He's trying out a new fudge recipe and she's going to sample some and tell him how it is."

"Oh," Freddie shrugged. "If she's with Brad, I should've told her to ask him if we could borrow his fancy new video camera for the show tomorrow. You should see that baby, Carls. It's beautiful. I've been dreaming of getting my hands on one of them for weeks!"

"Um, it's a camera," Carly pointed out, amused.

Freddie gasped. "Don't say that! It's a masterpiece of technology!"

"Okay," Carly chuckled.

Just then the door opened again and Sam and Brad walked in.

"Hey you guys," Carly smiled.

"Hey," Sam replied.

"How's it going?" Brad said brightly.

"You guys don't mind if Brad helps out tonight during rehearsal, do you?" Sam asked.

"No, that'd be great, actually," Freddie said. "I could use somebody to help me out with the green screen."

"I'm your guy," Brad grinned. "Oh, and I brought over my new camera too."

"No way!" Freddie exclaimed. "Do you think I could, you know, try it out?"

"Sure," Brad nodded. "Oh, and I brought some new fudge over for you guys."

He pulled a container out of his backpack and set it out on the counter.

"You guys should try some, it's delicious," Sam said.

"Well Sam's the one who suggested I use extra chocolate," Brad said modestly.

"Oh my God," Carly said, taking a bite out of a piece. "This is even better than your usual fudge, Brad!"

"And that's saying something," Freddie added, also taking some fudge.

"Hey, so why don't you two go up and start setting up, and Carly and I will bring some drinks up to go with this fudge?" Sam suggested.

"Okay," Freddie shrugged. "Come on, Brad. I'll show you this new software update I just downloaded on my Pearbook."

Carly waited until the boys were safely upstairs before she turned to her best friend.

"So," she said, smirking. "How was Brad's?"

"Good," Sam replied, blushing.

"You really think you might be starting to like him?" Carly asked.

"I think," Sam nodded. "I mean he's such an awesome guy. He loves making me fudge, and he's really funny, plus his uncle is an actual announcer for MMA fights!"

"Then you should ask him out!" Carly encouraged. "I always thought you and Brad would make a cute couple."

"Really?" Sam said.

"Yeah," Carly nodded. "That's why I wanted to try and get you two together during the lock-in when I thought you liked him! But then it turned out you were into Freddie, and-"

"Okay, okay," Sam said quickly. "So, um, you-you think I should really ask him out? That doesn't make me look too…desperate?"

"No, of course not," Carly told her. "I've asked guys out before, and it was fine. Just ask him if he'd like to hang out with just you again at a nice restaurant or something."

"Maybe," Sam said thoughtfully.

"Sam, Brad's a great guy, and he likes spending time with you," Carly said. "And you haven't really dated anyone since you and Freddie broke up, and that was what, four months ago?"

"Five," Sam corrected.

"So I think you should totally try and get with Brad," Carly said. "It'd be nice for you."

"I'll think about it," Sam said, grabbing a few water bottles from the fridge. "Just…don't say anything in front of them up there."

"I won't," Carly promised.

….

"Okay," Freddie said a few hours later, as Sam pulled off her fake mustache and Carly kicked off her cowboy boots. "I think I can all of this edited for tomorrow night."

"Hey, if you need any help, you can always call," Brad said. "I can give you a hand with it after AV club tomorrow. Oh, and speaking of AV club, thanks again for making me vice president."

"Hey, you know more about video editing and technology than any of those other guys," Freddie shrugged.

"Aw, I think it's cute that you two have this little nerd bond going on," Carly grinned.

"Oh man, I need to get going," Brad said, looking down at his phone. "I need to get home and help my mom set up our new entertainment system."

"I'll walk down with you," Sam said quickly. "I need to go too."

"See you guys," Brad said.

"Bye!" Carly and Freddie called after them.

"You know," Carly said as the two left. "I think it's nice that you finally have someone to have your tech time with."

"I know, he's one of the few AV guys who aren't total dorks," Freddie agreed. "He's a cool dude."

"Yeah, that's probably why-um, never mind!"

"What?" Freddie frowned.

"Nothing," Carly said quickly. "Um, nice shirt."

"I wear this shirt all the time," Freddie said. "Come on, what were you going to say about Brad?"

"Okay, but you can't tell Sam I told you," Carly conceded. "I promised I'd keep this a secret."

"I won't," Freddie promised. "So what's the deal?"

"Sam…Sam has a crush on Brad," Carly told him.

Freddie's eyes widened. "W-What?"

"Sam has a-"

"No, no, I-I heard you," Freddie said. "Um, are you sure?"

"What do you mean?" Carly asked.

"Just that you thought she had a crush on him a few months ago at the lock-in, and she actually didn't," Freddie pointed out.

"Um, first of all," Carly said, crossing her arms. "You were the one who came running to me about Sam having a crush on him; I was acting on your information, pal! And second, Sam told me this herself."

Freddie blinked. "She-She did?"

"Yeah," Carly nodded. " A couple weeks ago, when he ate lunch with us at school. That's why she hung out with him after school today, she's trying to work up the courage to ask him out."

"Oh," Freddie said, looking down at his tech cart. "That's…interesting."

"Hold up," Carly frowned. "I give you top notch gossip and you tell me it's interesting? Come on, give me something!"

"I just never really pictured them together," Freddie mumbled.

"They'd be adorable," Carly reasoned. "She's all tough and sassy and he's sweet and charming. They're a perfect match!"

"Well how nice for them then!" Freddie snapped, surprising himself.

Carly gave him a strange look. "Um…you okay there?"

"Y-Yeah," Freddie said quickly. "Sorry, Carls. Hey, why don't we go downstairs and work on our economics project?"

"Okay," Carly nodded. "I'll go get the textbook while you finish putting away your cameras."

"All right," Freddie said.

He watched Carly leave the studio as he turned off his tech equipment.

So Sam liked Brad? Well this was…news. Weird news, really.

Honestly, since him and Sam had broken up five months ago, he hadn't even thought about what would happen when one of them started dating someone new. Maybe he had just assumed that if they weren't going to date each other, they simply wouldn't date anyone. But he knew that was ridiculous. It was perfectly natural for Sam to begin dating other guys…right?

He sighed, leaning against the cart. It sure didn't feel natural, though. In fact, if anything, it seemed quite unnatural; like someone had just punched him hard in the stomach. Why was the news of Sam dating someone making him feel this way?

Because she's happy with someone who isn't you, the voice in the back of his head told him cruelly. She's moved on and you still haven't.

"That's insane," Freddie said aloud to himself.

Of course he had moved on! What kind of pathetic loser wouldn't have moved on from a break-up that had happened five months ago? He was happy that Sam, his friend, and nothing more, seemed to have found someone. So what if that someone wasn't him, but instead his close friend? He liked Brad, didn't he? He was a decent guy. So why did he have the sudden urge to slug him hard in the face?

…..

"Granddad, don't think of it as a loan," Spencer said, talking on his phone as Freddie and Carly sat downstairs a few hours later, working on their project. "Think of it as a-a contribution towards the fine people at the Seattle Police Department. Even if some of them are mean jerks that tell me I'm not fit to work at Pottery Barn and-hello? Dang it! He hung up on me!"

"Why are you trying to milk money out of your granddad?" Freddie asked.

"Because he got a ticket and he doesn't want to ask our dad for money because he just had to shell out a thousand bucks last month to cover that armadillo incident," Carly explained, rolling her eyes.

"That wasn't my fault!" Spencer exclaimed. "How was I supposed to know armadillos wouldn't make good pets?" He picked up his keys from the counter. "Anyway, I'm gonna run over to Socko's place and see if I can maybe convince his grandmother to buy that sculpture of the Christmas tree I made last year that she really liked so I can pay for this ticket. I'll be back later!"

"Okay," Carly replied. She turned back to Freddie. "So how about you read the rest of this chapter and I'll start on our report, and then we'll-"

But she was interrupted by Sam bursting into the apartment.

"Hey," she said brightly.

"Hey, Freddie and I outlined your part of the economics project," Carly told her. "So let's go, Puckett."

"Alright, alright," Sam said, sitting down next to Carly.

"Wow," Freddie said. "No arguing about having to actually do work? That's a first."

"Yeah, you're in a good mood," Carly nodded. "Why are you so-wait! Are you happy because…?"

"Uh-huh," Sam beamed.

"Oh my God!" Carly squealed, throwing her arms around her best friend. "Oh my God! You asked Brad out?"

"Yeah, I did it right after rehearsal, on our was down to the lobby, and he said he's actually been feeling the same way about me too, lately, but he was too afraid to say anything," Sam said excitedly. "So we decided to go get smoothies and it was so much fun! And we're going to Pini's tomorrow night!"

"No way!" Carly gasped. "Pini's is like, the official date place of Seattle! I'm so proud of you, Sam! This is so great, isn't this great, Freddie?"

"Er, yeah," Freddie nodded. Sam looked over at him, making eye contact for the first time since she had entered the apartment. He took a deep breath. "I-I'm real happy for you, Sam. Brad's a cool guy."

"Thanks," Sam said. She turned back to Carly. "So can you help me pick something out for tomorrow night?"

"Duh!" Carly nodded, tossing her textbook aside and getting to her feet. "I have this cute black dress that would look perfect on you. Especially with those heels I just bought at the mall the other day…come on, we can start planning now. We'll finish up the project tomorrow, okay Freddie?"

"Yeah…sure," Freddie nodded as the girls rushed upstairs.

As he sat alone on the couch, he couldn't shake the sinking feeling that was overtaking him. He felt a hundred times worse than he had when he found out Sam liked Brad just a few hours ago. Sam had been so thrilled about her and Brad…that must've meant she was officially over him and ready to move on with her dating life.

Any normal guy, Freddie realized, would take this as a sign that he too should try and find a nice girl to begin dating. But the idea of dating any girl right now who wasn't a certain blonde-headed demon sickened him.

I'm not a normal guy anymore, Freddie thought to himself as horrible realization sunk in slowly. I'm a guy who's still hopelessly in love with his ex-girlfriend.

….

"-And then that's when my grandma realized she not only dyed her hair pink, but my grandpa's hair too," Brad told Sam as they sat at their booth at Pini's the next evening.

"No way!" Sam laughed.

"True story," Brad said.

"Your lasagnas," their waiter said, placing their plates of steaming, cheesy goodness in front of them.

"Oh man, finally!" Sam grinned, grabbing her fork as the scent of the lasagna hit her nostrils.

"Let's see if this lasagna lives up to it's reputation," Brad said, taking a bite.

Oh that's right, you've never been here before," Sam nodded. "So how is it?"

"It's okay," Brad said. "Pretty good."

"Pretty good?" Sam repeated. "Um, in case your taste buds are on vacation, you just ate some of the best lasagna in the world."

She took a bite from her own plate, relishing in the flavor. "Yeah…that's good stuff." She grabbed the Parmesan cheese and began heaping it onto her lasagna. As she added the last of it, though, she suddenly thought back to when her and another tech-lover would come here, and he would always comment of how much cheese she put on her food, much to her annoyance. She glanced up at Brad, who was smiling back at her, not making a peep about her inappropriate cheese usage.

"So," Sam said, setting the empty cheese container down. "What do you like to do besides AV stuff and making fudge?"

"Well I'm actually a pretty big science fiction fan," Brad said.

"Oh," Sam nodded. "So you like all that Galaxy Wars chiz, right?"

"Eh, actually I'm not that into Galaxy Wars," Brad told her. "I find the movies to be a little…scientifically inaccurate. Plus the concept's a little overdone. Oh, are-are you a fan of those movies?"

"No, not really," Sam said. "I mean, I've seen them, but I never really liked them. I only watched them because-never mind." She quickly took another bite of her lasagna. "Um, thanks again for taking me here," she said. "I'm having a nice time."

"I'm glad," Brad smiled. "You look really nice tonight, by the way."

"Oh, well…thanks," Sam said.

Once the two finished their dinner, Brad paid, even though Sam offered to spilt the check with him (Carly had given her money before she came and told her that it would be a nice gesture if she offered to pay for herself), and then he drove Sam home.

"Wow, um…nice place," Brad said politely as he walked Sam up to her cluttered front porch, where they could hear her mom inside the house, yelling that a character on a soap opera was wearing the same top as her.

"Yeah," Sam mumbled. "So, um thanks again for tonight. It was a lot of fun."

"It was," Brad nodded.

"I-I'll see you at school tomorrow then," Sam said, reaching for her doorknob.

"Yeah," Brad echoed. "At school…"

And then, slowly, he leaned down. Sam realized as he moved closer what was going to happen, and quickly, before his lips could touch hers, she turned her head so that his lips instead collided with the side of her head.

She gave him a small awkward smile, and he cleared his throat.

"Well, I-I should probably get in…make sure my mom hasn't thrown another vase at the T.V.," Sam said quickly. "Bye!"

"Bye," Brad said, his face red with embarrassment at what just happened.

"Who do you think you are, Linda?" Sam heard her mother yelling as she walked into her house. "You think you can copy Pam Puckett? Well I'll show you!"

Sam rolled her eyes as she headed up to her room. She laid down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She was supposed to call Carly and tell her how her date went, but right now, Sam didn't even know how her date went. She was so confused.

Brad was such a nice guy. He was polite to her and had been a real gentlemen. He hadn't freaked out about her loading her lasagna with cheese, and he didn't bore her with endless Galaxy Wars trivia facts, but instead entertained her with crazy stories about his family, which seemed almost as dysfunctional as hers (minus the prison records, of course). Yet, the entire time during their date, Sam felt sort of…distant, from Brad. She didn't feel any spark or excitement, and the lack of any argument the whole time seemed downright strange to her.

I'm just not attracted to him, she realized.

But why? Why wasn't she into the guy whom just a few days ago she had thought she was crushing on? He was smart, funny, charming, sweet…pretty much the perfect guy!

He's sort of just like Fredork, Sam thought to herself. You know, except for all his stupid annoying habits.

And then it hit her. That was why she had wanted to go out with Brad; because he was so much like Freddie! She felt her stomach clench as it dawned on her that her sudden attraction to Brad was simply a ploy she had built up to try and fill that empty void Freddie had left! The void in her that had been empty for five months.

"I still want Freddie," she said slowly, and as she heard the words aloud, it felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her chest.

But then weight returned as she remembered that Freddie and her had broken up, and that no matter how much she did want him, she wasn't going to get him anymore.

You better settle for Brad, she told herself. Because he's all you got.

Freddie bitterly walked into the empty classroom where AV club meetings were held and sat down at the desk at the front of the classroom, hastily opening up his Pearbook. He had just walked past Sam and Brad holding hands by her locker, and he had instantly felt sick to his stomach.

Sam and Brad had been a couple for a little over a week now, and as each day that he had to watch the two of them together passed, the more anger built up inside of him.

He tried to cheer up as the rest of the AV club began to show up, but in reality, all he wanted to do at that moment was go home and lock himself in his room. But then again, maybe some good old audio video talk would help him feel better.

Unfortunately, though, that hope went right out the window as he saw Brad walk in with Sam.

"Hey man," Brad said brightly, taking a seat in the desk next to Freddie's, pulling up a chair so that Sam could sit next to him.

"What's she doing here?" Freddie frowned.

"Oh I'm just so interested in your dork talk that I had to come," Sam smirked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Brad asked me to come, nub!"

"Yeah, that's okay, isn't it?" Brad asked.

Freddie tightly gripped the edge of his desk. "Sure," he said moodily. "That's just dandy!"

Sam gave him a weird look, but didn't say anything.

"Okay!" Freddie said loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Let's get started. So our first order of business is actually something brought up by a lot of teachers. It seems they can't really get graphs to show up on their slideshows with the new programing the school just installed on all their laptops, so I was thinking it would be nice for us to try and figure out a way to help them out. Now, what I propose is that we install another software update onto their computers, this time one that will add the newest version of Splash, so that hopefully more images will be able to be displayed, including all of the graphs."

"Um, actually," Brad spoke up. "Wouldn't it just be easier if we told the teachers to convert their graphs to a JPG? That would show up with their new software, and that way we wouldn't have to overload their computers with more installations."

"No, my way's easier," Freddie said firmly.

"But…Brad's idea actually sounds good," Sam pointed out. "I mean, not that I'm a big advocate of helping teachers out, but it seems like a lot of trouble to get all their laptops to install a bunch of chiz onto them, doesn't it?"

"Only certified members of the AV club are permitted to speak at these meetings!" Freddie snapped.

"Well she was just making a point," Brad frowned.

"Well it was a stupid point!" Freddie exclaimed.

"Um, dude?" Brad said. "Are-Are you okay?"

"Yes! Yes, I'm totally okay!" Freddie said loudly, getting to his feet and stepping over to Brad's desk. "Why wouldn't I be okay? Huh, Brad? I mean, just because I thought you were my friend, but you've been rubbing the fact that you're now dating my ex-girlfriend in my face for the past week doesn't make me not okay! Just because you brought her to our AV club meeting with you, when she never came with me doesn't make me not okay! Just because I made a huge mistake in making a-a jerk like you vice president doesn't make me not okay!"

"Okay," Brad said, getting to his feet as well. "I think you need to calm down here, and maybe we can talk-"

Freddie laughed. "Talk?" he repeated. "You want to talk?"

"Dude, what's wrong with you?" Sam frowned.

"Um, did I not just finish telling your boyfriend here that there's nothing wrong with me?" Freddie said.

"Hey," Brad said firmly. "Don't talk to her like that! Seriously, what's going on here? I thought we were all friends here, but this is definitely not how friends act!"

"No!" Freddie said, his anger for this boy coursing through his veins. "And friends don't do this either!"

And before he could even register what he was doing, Freddie had raised his fist and punched Brad square in the eye.

He heard the AV members gasp as Brad staggered backwards. Freddie's eyes widened in shock as he realized what he had just done. Guilt and remorse flooded his body as Sam rushed up and ran over to Brad.

"What's the matter with you?" she yelled at Freddie, helping Brad up to his feet.

"I-I-" Freddie stammered as Brad looked up at him, confusion and hurt etched on his face. "I-I'm sorry."

And with that he turned and ran out of the room.

But it wasn't Brad who he had said those words to.

….

"I don't think you'll have a shiner," Sam said, pressing an ice bag onto Brad's eye. "He didn't hit you hard enough."

"I know," Brad nodded.

"Still," Sam cringed. "That had to hurt."

"I'll be fine," Brad assured her, giving a crooked smile.

"You know you totally could've have taken him," Sam said. "If you wanted to fight back."

"Maybe," Brad shrugged. "But I'm a pacifist."

"I thought you were Jewish," Sam frowned.

"No, I mean I don't hit people," Brad chuckled.

"Like…ever?" Sam said in amazement.

"That's right," Brad nodded.

"Huh…I didn't know that," Sam said. "That's…weird." She took a deep breath. "I don't know why Freddie was being such a…you know, in there."

"I do," Brad sighed, taking the ice bag off his eye. He looked down at his lap. "He's still in love with you."
Sam blinked. "No," she said. "That-that's not right. We broke up, remember?"

Brad chuckled. "Just because two people break up doesn't mean they can't still be in love. I-I should've seen it sooner. He definitely still loves him…and-and I think maybe you still love him too."

"No I-" Sam began automatically, but Brad cut her off.

"Sam, it's okay," he said. "I-I get it."

Sam didn't reply.

"I see the way you look at him," Brad told her softly. "The way you light up around him…you don't do that with me. You guys are the ones who are meant to be together, Sam. Not you and me. And-And it's not right for me to hold you two back like this."

Sam looked up at him. "What are you saying?" she asked slowly.

"I don't think I'm the tech boy you want," Brad said gently. "Am I?"

Sam sighed. "Are-Are you mad?"

Brad shook his head. "No."

"Why?" Sam frowned. "You should be. I know I would be upset if a guy I was dating still had feelings for an ex."

"Look," Brad said. "I could just go on, trying to ignore what I know is between you and Freddie, but-that wouldn't be fair for you. Or Freddie. If I keep you him from him, I'm not being a true friend to you, Sam. And I'd rather lose you as a girlfriend than lose you as a friend all together."

Sam gave him a smile. "You've got to be from Canada or something…no one keeps his cool like this over what just happened." She moved closer to Brad and gave him a hug. "But, you know…thanks."

"Just make sure Freddie treats you right," he told her.

….

Freddie sat outside on his fire escape, staring out at Seattle. He felt awful that he had just hit Brad; the guy hadn't done anything wrong, and now he had probably destroyed a perfectly good friendship. But most of all, he felt sickened by the fact that after his little stunt back at AV club, Sam was probably so mad at him that she would never forgive him.

But just then, he heard someone step onto the fire escape, and he turned around to see none other than Sam standing there.

"What-What are you doing here?" he asked weakly.

Sam sat down on the window ledge. "Brad and I broke up," she said simply.

"Oh…Sam," Freddie sighed. "I'm sorry. I-I don't know why I punched him like that. But I didn't mean for him to break up with you over that."

"That's not why he broke up with me," Sam said.

"Oh," Freddie frowned. "Well then why-why did he?"

"Because he said that he wasn't the one who I was supposed to be with," Sam shrugged. "I guess I kind of see his point."

"Really?"

"Yup," Sam nodded.

"Well, um," Freddie said, nervously shifting in his seat. "Who-Who do you think you should be with then?"

Sam gave him her signature smirk. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe the guy who can actually talk me into watching the entire Galaxy Wars trilogy or lectures me on proper cheese usage."

Freddie could hardly believe his ears. "Are-Are you talking about-about-"

"His name's Pablo, and he lives across the street from me," Sam grinned.

"Pablo?" Freddie exclaimed.

Sam laughed. "Dude, calm down. I was talking about…you."

Freddie felt his heart skip a beat. "Me?"

Sam blushed and nodded. "It looks like there's only one tech guy who can make me all tingly and chiz."

Freddie moved closer to her. "And there's only one blonde-headed demon who can irritate me in all the right ways."

And with that he leaned down and gently kissed her, wrapping his arms tightly around her, determined to never lose her again.