Kite
"Huh? What-What's going on?" Carly said sleepily as she felt herself being shaken awake. She pulled off her sleep mask and turned on the lamp by her bed, and saw her blonde best friend sitting at the edge of her bed.
"Sam! It's two in the morning!" Carly exclaimed. "You know I need to be up really early tomorrow morning to pick up Spencer from his kite convention and-Sam? Are-Are you crying?"
She quickly sat up, now seeing that Sam's eyes were puffy and red and her cheeks were tearstained with more tears streaming down them.
"Sam, what happened?" Carly asked gently, sleep now forgotten as her role as Sam's best friend began to take over her. She grabbed some tissues from her nightstand and wrapped her arms around her.
Sam didn't answer as her shoulders continued to shake.
"Did something happen with your mom?" Carly asked hesitantly. "Is she okay? Did you guys have another fight?"
"No," Sam whispered. "It's not her. It's-It's Freddie."
"Freddie?" Carly repeated.
"He-He broke up with me," Sam said shakily.
"Oh no," Carly mumbled, hugging Sam even tighter.
"It was all my fault," Sam said, wiping her eyes off with one of the tissues Carly had given her.
"Do-Do you want to talk about it?" Carly asked slowly, not wanting to force her to bring up the clearly painful event, but at the same time curious to know exactly what it was that caused such a rift between the seemingly happy couple.
"We were over at his place," Sam began softly. "You know, since-since his mom is working the graveyard shift at the hospital, and I told him to grab me my Peppy Cola bottle from my backpack, and when he looked inside it, he found…he found his Pear Company Internship application in my backpack!"
"Huh?" Carly frowned. "I thought he filled that out and sent it in like, two months ago."
"No, I-I told him I would send it for him back then," Sam told her. "But I didn't, which is why he won't get the Internship."
"You forgot to send that in?" Carly said, trying not to sound too accusing at the moment.
"Um, yeah…forgot," Sam mumbled, her voice still weighed down by the lump that had risen in her throat. "And when Freddie realized that, he-he got really mad. He said that Internship would've guaranteed him a job right out of college, and that he had been looking forward to going to it for the summer. I-I said it was no big deal, that it was just some-some stupid computer gig, and then he said…he said that I never cared about what was important to him. That I never stopped to think about his feelings. And then he said…he said that maybe we should take a break from us."
As she said those words, she let out another sob, and Carly tried to soothe her.
"Aw, Sam," she said. "It's-It's going to be okay. A break doesn't necessarily mean that you guys are broken up for good."
"You didn't see Freddie's face when he said that," Sam whispered. "He never looked like that before in his life…he was really mad at me, Carly. I-I screwed up big time, didn't I?"
"N-No," Carly said lamely. "It was an accident, Sam. You didn't mean to not send his application."
Sam mumbled something that Carly couldn't quite make out.
"What?" Carly asked.
"It wasn't an accident, okay!" Sam said loudly.
"W-What?" Carly frowned. "You mean…you didn't send his application on purpose? Why?"
"I don't know," Sam muttered. "But I went to the mailbox right outside the building when I was leaving here after he gave me the application, and I was about to put it in, but-but then I didn't."
Carly didn't say anything. Normally, she probably would've given Sam a lecture about her little stunt, and how it was unnecessary, but seeing Sam crying this hard in front of her, seeing her tears actually falling onto her shirt, leaving tiny water marks on he fabric, pushed that instinct away.
…..
The next morning, after Carly had woken up and picked up Spencer, she sat down on the couch, eating a bowl of cereal she had just poured for herself. Sam was still asleep up in her room, after finally crying herself to sleep at around four in the morning. She knew she had a long day of best friend therapy ahead of her to try and make Sam feel even a little better. Maybe they'd take a trip to Build-A-Bra or buy a few logs of raw cookie dough to eat while they watched Sam's favorite movie, The Revenge of the Mutant Banshees.
Just then she heard a knock at her door, and she set down her bowl to answer it.
"Freddie?" Carly said, opening the door to reveal the tech-producer. "Since when do you knock?"
"Um, well, you know," Freddie mumbled. "I just wanted to make sure-Is Sam here?"
"She's passed out upstairs in my room," Carly assured him, letting him into the apartment.
"Oh," Freddie nodded. "And, um, I'm guessing she told you what happened last night, right?"
"Yeah," Carly sighed. "I know you two broke up."
"Ah," Freddie said. "So…are you mad at me? You and Sam are best friends, I don't blame you if you take her side."
"I'm not taking anyone's side," Carly said firmly. "Both of you are my friends, and I don't want that to change."
"So you aren't going to sit here and yell at me?" Freddie frowned. "You're not going to tell me I was a jerk or anything?"
Carly shook her head. "Freddie…I-I could see why you got angry with Sam last night. It sucks that you two broke up, but I don't think you were necessarily a jerk over it."
"Really?"
"Really," Carly nodded. "But obviously I'm going to be there for Sam too. She-She was upset over you breaking up with her. And even though I may not agree with what she did to your application, I hated seeing her that way, and felt terrible for her."
"She-She was really upset?" Freddie asked softly, looking down at his feet.
"Yeah, she was," Carly told him.
"Well…I feel bad about the break-up too!" Freddie said. "But, I mean, Sam does this sort of thing all the time. She did it with my N.E.R.D camp application-"
"That was before you guys started going out, and she did apologize for it," Carly pointed out.
"I-okay," Freddie shrugged. "But just last week she used my Physics homework to wipe up the Chile she spilled on her shoes. And remember when she traded my Pearphone for a gross of churros?"
"I know," Carly said. "But, you-you always knew Sam wasn't exactly the traditional girlfriend. And she did egg your Physics teacher's car so that he'd get distracted and forget to collect your homework and she actually shared her churros with you."
"I thought you weren't taking sides," Freddie mumbled.
"I'm not," Carly said quickly. "I just want to make sure you know that Sam isn't out to ruin your life or anything. She does need to learn to maybe be a little bit more…considerate of your feelings, but at the end of the day, she always still cared about you."
"I-I know she never did any of those things to intentionally hurt me," Freddie said heavily. "But Carls, this was just the last straw. I've been dreaming of that internship in California for forever, and now I won't get to go because Sam never sent in my application like she told me she would."
"Can't you apply again next year?" Carly asked.
"I guess," Freddie shrugged. "But I really wanted to go this year. Spending ten whole weeks in California learning all about the latest Pear Company developments-"
"Ten weeks?" Carly frowned. "I thought this internship was only for like, two weeks."
"No, it'd be the entire summer," Freddie said.
"Oh…" Carly said. "Now I get it."
"Get what?" Freddie asked.
"Now, I'm not defending Sam, and what she did," Carly said. "But I'm pretty sure now that the whole reason that application never made it to California was because Sam didn't want to have her boyfriend, who she loves, that far away for that long. She would've missed you, Freddie."
Freddie didn't reply.
"Ten weeks is a really long time to be away from someone you care that much about, Freddie," Carly said gently. "Trust me, I know."
"Well-Well why didn't she tell me that then?" Freddie said. "Didn't she think I'd miss her too? Of course I would've! But we could've found a way to make it work. She could've come down and visited or I could've come back up for a weekend. We could've texted and called and web chatted-"
"She should've talked to you, instead of just not sending in your application," Carly agreed. "That would've been the best solution. But Sam…she doesn't always think things through entirely before acting on them."
Freddie sat down on the couch. "Yeah, she never did, did she?"
Just then his phone began to ring, and he pulled it out of his pocket and answered.
"Hello?" he said.
"Hello, is this Fredward Benson?" a lady on the other line said.
"Yes, this is he," Freddie nodded.
"Well I'm calling from the Pear Company Young Interns program, about the status of your application," the lady told him.
"My-My application?" Freddie frowned, confused.
"Yes, I just got a call from an Officer Regina Goodbody," the lady continued. "About the mailbox robbery that occurred near your apartment building."
"Mailbox robbery?"
"Yes, Officer Goodbody called me about an hour ago informing me that the mailbox you deposited your application for our program in was robbed by a gang of thieves, and therefore, we never received your application."
"Oh, well…what?"
"Now, you know of course that our deadline for receiving applications was yesterday, but under these, horrible, horrible circumstances, I'm able to offer you another week to have your application to us if you still wish to apply."
"Are you serious?" Freddie exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Of course I still want to apply, thank you! I'll have that application in the mail to you as soon as possible."
"Perhaps you'll want to use a more reliable mailbox," the lady told him. "Mailbox thieves…just when you thought the world couldn't get any more cruel."
"Who was that?" Carly asked as Freddie hung up.
"A woman from the internship program," Freddie said. "I-I have an extension for my application…She said that Regina Goodbody called and told her about a mailbox robbery that kept my first application from getting to them"
"Regina Goodbody?" Carly repeated, smiling.
"I can't believe she did this," Freddie said softly. "She-She really does care."
"I told you," Carly said. "Wait…you do know who Regina Goodbody really is, right?"
"Yes, I know!" Freddie said. "Hey, you said-you said Sam was up in your room?"
"Yeah," Carly nodded. "She's up there."
Without another word, Freddie started up the stairs.
When he reached Carly's bedroom door, he knocked softly before gently pushing the door open.
He saw Sam lying on Carly's bed, but she was not asleep. She was staring up at the ceiling.
"Hey," he said, causing her to turn her head and look at him.
She quickly sat up pushed her hair out of her eyes. "H-Hey," she said hesitantly.
Freddie sat down at the edge of the bed. "So, um-"
"I'm sorry," Sam said before he could even get any more words out. "I didn't really get a chance to tell you that last night, but um, I just-I wanted to say it now. I'm sorry that I didn't send in your application like I told you. I knew how much you wanted that internship, and I should've made sure it got mailed. I-I don't blame you for dumping me…"
Freddie sighed. "Well, um…thanks for that apology," he said.
"Yeah, well…you can leave now," she said, her voice shaking. "I-I want to get back to sleep."
"I got a call from the intern program," Freddie told her, not budging from his spot on the bed. "And I can still send in my application."
"Oh?" Sam said, trying to sound surprised, but Freddie quickly saw through the charade. "Well, that's-that great then. You can still go."
"Yeah, it was the weirdest thing, actually," Freddie said. "Apparently, there was a mailbox robbery at the mailbox by the building. I don't think I've ever heard of a mailbox robbery. Well, other than in that episode of Girly Cow you and me watched the other night."
"Seriously, can you just leave now?" Sam asked softly.
"And the officer's name was Regina Goodbody," Freddie continued. "Now, that name sounds really familiar, don't you think? Wasn't it…wasn't it the name you used when we went to L.A. with Carly?"
"So what's your point?" Sam snapped.
"You called and made that story up so that I could still send in my application," Freddie said.
"Well…whatever, so what?" Sam mumbled. "You were really upset last night when you found out you weren't going to even have a chance of going, and-and I don't know, I'm not totally vicious. I just thought you deserved to go still."
"That was really great of you, Sam," Freddie said. "So thank you."
Sam shrugged. "It wasn't that big of a deal," she said, looking down at her lap. "Just me fixing something I messed up…it's not like I actually really did anything nice for you like you always did for me…back when we were dating."
Freddie let out a deep breath. "Sam…maybe-maybe I overreacted last night."
"No, you didn't," Sam said, looking up. "I mean, you were right. I-I don't always think about your feelings when I do something. I guess that's what made me such a crummy girlfriend, huh?"
"I never thought you were a crummy girlfriend," Freddie told her earnestly. "Sure, there were times when my blood pressure sort of…sky rocketed, but I know that you still cared about me. And what you just did with the Pear Company proves that. You are an amazing girlfriend."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "Are? Aren't we, you know, broken up?"
"If you still want us to be, s-sure," Freddie nodded. "But…I already told you, I might have overreacted last night when I said we should take a break. It was more of a heat of the moment thing, and I-I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Sam told him. "It was my fault." She nervously began playing with the corner of Carly's pillow. "So, um…are we, you know…good?"
Freddie moved his hand so that it was now cupping Sam's. "Yeah. We're good. I don't know what I would do without a little craziness in my life."
Sam gave a small laugh, and Freddie slowly leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, which she quickly reciprocated.
Once they broke away, Sam moved closer to him.
"Hey, um…listen, though. I-I'm gonna really try and be a little more…considerate, okay?" she said. "You know, not try and make your blood pressure sky rocket every day. Maybe just on special occasions."
Freddie chuckled. "Well I appreciate that."
"Just-Just know that I always care about you," Sam said.
"I know you do, and I care about you too," Freddie told her.
"And-And just so you know, the reason I never sent your application was because, well…I didn't want to lose you for the entire summer," Sam said slowly. "It was selfish, but, it was never just to be mean to you."
"Hey," Freddie whispered, tilting her chin up. "You're never going to lose me. I love you, Sam. You're not a traditional girlfriend, but you definitely are the only girl for me."
