AN-This oneshot takes place after iStage an Intervention, when Freddie sent Sam the fake text message from Gary Wolf.
….
Fan
How could this day get any better?
Fourteen-year old Freddie Benson had a spring in his step and a wide smile etched on his face as he hopped off the bus that he had taken from Bushwell Plaza to the nearby mall.
His mom had actually allowed him to take public transportation without accompanying him and trying to tie his wrist to her child leach, Carly had given him the most perfect smile just one hour ago, and it seemed as if he had finally one-upped Sam Puckett, the tormentor of his life.
He still couldn't believe he had managed to get even with Sam for trying to make it seem as though he was really cursed by some lame old chain email. Really, it was a bit pathetic when you thought about it. How could anybody actually buy into a curse like that? Sam should've known that Freddie would figure out her little ploy sooner or later.
But his revenge, on the other hand, was nothing short of genius. He had craftily hacked into Gary Wolf's phone all the way from his apartment and sent Sam a fake text claiming that Gary wanted to meet her at the mall.
"She's gonna get it good," Freddie chuckled to himself as he walked into the mall. "She's gonna be so mad…"
Freddie walked past the many shops and various kiosks, craning his neck in search of the blonde. He finally spotted her sitting alone at a small table in the food court, impatiently tapping her foot.
Man, I wonder how she'll react when she figures out Gary isn't going to show up, Freddie thought triumphantly to himself. She'll probably break that table in half…Hopefully she won't break any of Gary's bones tomorrow at school, but still, if she can take out that guy too, that will just-
Suddenly a loud, laughing group walked past Freddie into the food court and Freddie's eyes widened when he saw that Gary Wolf was leading the pack and that they were all heading right towards Sam.
It looked like things could get better.
Silently congratulating himself, Freddie quickly snuck through the food court and ducked behind a potted plant a few feet away from Sam's table.
As Gary's group drew nearer, Sam looked up and grinned.
"Hey, Gary!" she called just as the group walked past the table.
Gary stopped and turned around to look at her, clearly not realizing he had just zoomed past her.
"Oh, um, hey," he replied. "It's Sam, right?"
"Er, yeah," Sam said. "Anyway, how are you?"
"Good," Gary said slowly, a bit confused.
"Oh, well…great," Sam smiled. "So, um, what-what do you want to do? I never really pinned you as a guy who liked to hang out at the mall. I mean, um, it-it's totally cool that you do, and I mean hey, there's plenty to do-"
"Sorry, but what are you talking about?" Gary frowned.
"You-You sent me a text saying that you wanted to hang out at the mall," Sam replied. "I mean…you-you did text me that, didn't you?"
This is it! Freddie thought to himself from behind the potted plant. You, Freddie Benson, are a genius!
"Um, I didn't text you," Gary said awkwardly. "Er, sorry, but I think you've made a mistake or something."
"Oh," Sam said quickly, her face falling. "Well, um, c-cool, that's just-Well then I should get going. I'm pretty busy anyway, and I was just gonna-"
"Hey, wait a minute, you're from iCarly, aren't you?" one of Gary's friends spoke up.
"Yeah, why?" Sam shrugged.
"Well you're friends with Carly Shay then, aren't you?" the boy said. "Do you think you could set me up with her? Huh? Do you?"
"Dude, not cool!" Gary exclaimed, thumping his friend's head. "You know I was planning on asking out Shay next week!"
"What? I told you I wanted to ask her out!" Gary's second friend pointed out.
"Well too bad, I'm asking her out," Gary said firmly.
"No, I called dibs!"
"I stomped your dibs!"
"You can't stomp dibs!"
"Um, Carly's actually getting surgery in France next week so she can't really date," Sam said, grabbing her bag. "But, um…later."
"And that's how Benson's get event," Freddie said to himself, getting to his feet as he watched the back of Sam's head disappear out of the food court. "Maybe from now on, Sam will be a little more wise about who she messes with."
And so Freddie purchased himself a celebratory churro and then exited the mall and headed over to the bus stop, feeling as though he was walking on air.
Just as he was approaching the concrete bench where the bus would be arriving in seven minutes, though, he spotted a familiar figure sitting, blonde hair blowing in the wind.
Sam had her head bowed and was staring down at her lap, wearing an expression that Freddie had never seen on her.
She looked…hurt.
She wasn't crying, though any person could tell that at that moment, Sam wasn't too far off from doing so.
And then suddenly, Freddie didn't feel as though he had just pulled off the greatest revenge scheme of his life. He felt as if he had done the lowest, cruelest, thing of his life.
What did I do? Freddie thought, stopping in his tracks. Did he really just do this to Sam? Sure, Sam made his life…difficult at times, caused him physical pain at least twice a week, and had at least five-dozen different manipulations of his name, but at the same time…had he gone too far? After all, he couldn't remember looking like Sam did right now after any of the stunts she pulled on him. He was mostly overcome with annoyance; he never actually felt sad.
Taking a deep breath, Freddie stepped towards the bench.
"Um, Sam?"
Sam's head jerked up and looked over at him.
"What?" Sam snapped, surprised. "Oh, it's you. What are you doing here, Benson? Come to buy a little puzzle for you and your whackjob mom to put together tonight?"
"Um…" Freddie began hesitantly. He never actually had too many conversations with Sam that didn't involve some sort of insult or physical harassment. "You okay?"
"Huh? What are you talking about," Sam scoffed, trying to act completely natural. "Of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be okay?"
"Well, you-you sort of looked a little…upset," Freddie said slowly, careful to keep a safe distance between him and the blonde at this point.
"Oh, yeah, well, I-I came here because…because I heard there was a sale at Meats on a Stick," Sam said lamely. "And then when I got there, they only had tofu left, which doesn't even count as meat, because-"
Even for a world-class liar that sounded totally pathetic, Freddie thought to himself as he took a deep breath. "I saw what happened in the food court, Sam."
Sam stopped midsentence and stared at him. "W-What? Nothing happened in the food court."
"Yes, something did," Freddie said. "With you and Gary Wolf…I-I saw the whole thing, and, um…it-it was sort of harsh."
Sam quickly shifted her gaze away from his. "I-I already forgot all about that. It was just a stupid mistake and I don't even care and-and why don't you just mind your own business anyway, Fredgut. What were you even doing spying on me anyway? Your lucky there's a security camera right here or I swear, you'd be-"
"Listen!" Freddie said firmly, shocked at his own bravery. Not many people interrupted Sam Puckett and lived to tell the tale. "Um, I just…I just wanted to say…Gary Wolf is sort of a jerk anyway, you know."
"Pfft," Sam scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Anyone's a jerk to you if they like Carly. You just think he's jerky because you don't want him to scoop up your precious, sweet, little Carly and-"
"That's not why I think he's jerky," Freddie said simply. "I man have never been a huge fan of Gary in the first place, but I think anyone who made you feel as bad as you felt just a few minutes ago is pretty jerky."
Sam blinked, utterly confused. "Um…"
"Yeah," Freddie said, recognizing Sam's lack of words as the equivalent of a 'thank-you' for any other person. He cleared his throat. "Well, um…you taking the bus home?"
"Er, yeah," Sam nodded, still eyeing Freddie oddly. "Um, are-are you?"
"Yeah."
"Well then…I guess it wouldn't be too awful to have you wait for it with me," Sam said, giving him a small smile, moving over to make room for him on the bench.
Freddie grinned and sat down next to her.
"Thanks," Sam mumbled under her breath, and Freddie had the suspicion that he wasn't supposed to hear what she had just uttered, so he remained silent.
…..
AN-So with this chapter, I really tried to play out the Seddie relationship like how they were in the beginning of the second season of iCarly, where they weren't nearly as close as they were towards the later seasons, but still getting a little closer. Hope you enjoyed it!
