Hat
Freddie struggled to keep his mind on whatever it was Ms. Briggs was lecturing about in his English class, knowing if he didn't start performing back up to his usual standards in her class, his title of valedictorian when he graduated next year was sure to be lost.
Yet the only thing he seemed able to focus on was the blonde in the desk in front of him.
He knew back when him and Sam began dating, more than three months ago, that he'd probably have some trouble concentrating with her in front of him, but what guy could focus on grammar and short stories with his girlfriend mere inches away from him anyway?
Now that they had broken up, though, he was getting frustrated with himself that he continued to allow her to take over his mind for this one-hour period every.
Well, every hour, really. It wasn't as though Sam Puckett just magically left his mind after class. Thoughts of her circulated his head almost every waking minute.
Freddie let out a soft sigh, trying to listen to what was being said about some author and some 'turn-of-the-century-novel', but he knew it was hopeless.
Freddie knew there was no use denying the fact that the blonde in front of him still held his heart. From the second they decided they were going to break up two months and sixteen days ago in that elevator, he knew he didn't want to give her up.
But he did, because that was the best thing to do, right? They were so different and fought more than any couple should. Yet…they had said they'd try again some day. Freddie just wished that day would hurry up and get here.
Suddenly, Freddie noticed that Sam didn't seem to be paying attention to Ms. Briggs either, though that was hardly a surprise. What was a surprise, however, was that she was passing tiny slips of paper back and forth with the boy she was sitting next to.
Freddie turned his gaze towards this boy, Shawn Lawrence. He was the new kid, having transferred from some school in Kentucky a few weeks ago, but that's all Freddie really knew about him.
When Ms. Briggs looked away to write something on the board, Sam quickly turned in her seat to pass Shawn another note.
That's when Freddie caught sight of her face. Her cheeks were red, and she was giving Shawn her signature smirk, and her eyes were sparkling.
Shawn smiled back at her, quickly reading the note, and giving a quiet laugh before scribbling down his response.
Her and I used to write notes, Freddie thought to himself sadly, still staring at Sam's beautiful expression. And I'd pretend it annoyed me because I was trying to learn, but…but I loved it when we did that.
He watched as Sam read Shawn's response, laughing almost loud enough to draw attention from Briggs, and Freddie's heart sank.
Well she's not writing notes with you anymore, Freddie told himself, begging his mind to block out what was happening in front of him. He might have clung on to those words in the elevator, the 'We'll try it again' and the 'I love you', but to Sam, those words seemed to have faded. She's moved on.
…..
"-And he skateboards! He was once in a commercial doing some fancy skate trick when he was a kid! How cool is that?" Sam said excitedly a few days later as her and Carly sat in Carly's bedroom. "And he has an autographed poster from the creator of Girly Cow!"
"Wow, this Shawn sounds pretty cool," Carly grinned.
"He is," Sam nodded.
"And it sounds like you really like him," Carly said knowingly.
Sam blushed slightly. "Yeah…That's what I wanted to tell you. He…He asked me to get coffee with him tomorrow!"
"What?" Carly exclaimed. "He asked you out?"
"For coffee," Sam repeated. "Nothing to get too crazy about."
"Please, everyone knows getting coffee is practically a first date," Carly said.
"Well…okay, it's a date," Sam smiled.
"Oh my God, Sam!" Carly squealed, throwing her arms around her best friend. "This is amazing! I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks," Sam said, hugging Carly back.
"We have to figure out what you're gonna wear," Carly said. "I have this cute new top you can borrow! Oh, and you can wear those boots with the cool laces you have! Oh, and more importantly…when am I gonna meet this guy?"
Sam face suddenly fell. "I dunno…he goes to school with us, remember? Just…just find him there."
"Well why don't you have him pick you up for your date here?" Carly said. "That way you don't risk Frothy attacking him like he did to your mailman this morning."
"That mailman was asking for it," Sam mumbled. "But, um…I don't think having him come around here is the best idea."
"Why not?" Carly frowned. "You don't want me to meet him?"
"It's not you I don't want to meet him," Sam sighed. "It's…"
"Oh," Carly said, suddenly understanding. "You don't want him to run into Freddie."
"Yeah, it would just be weird, wouldn't it?" Sam nodded. "With us having dated and all."
"I-I guess it would be a little weird," Carly agreed.
"I mean, aren't you supposed to wait awhile before you start dating again if you stay friends with your ex?" Sam continued.
"I think you're supposed to wait until both people are over the break-up," Carly said. "Um, are-are you over the break-up?"
"I-I think so," Sam said slowly, though Carly noticed her best friend didn't meet her gaze.
"Well what about Freddie?" Carly asked. "Do you think he's over it?"
"I don't know," Sam sighed. "It's not like we talk about that…"
"Right," Carly nodded. "Well…you can't exactly cancel your date with Shawn anyway. But, well, I know you don't want to have Freddie meet Shawn, but maybe that's what would be best. Even if Freddie isn't over the break-up, I think he'd appreciate it more if you were honest and didn't hide this from him instead of sneaking behind his back."
"I guess…I guess that makes sense," Sam said thoughtfully. "I mean…Shawn is in the same English class as me and Freddie…he'd find out eventually. Maybe…Shawn has been wanting to come see us do iCarly, actually. Should I invite him over next time we do the show?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Carly agreed.
…..
A few days later, on the day the teens did their iCarly web show, Carly sat up in the studio, gluing feathers onto a hat that they would be using later that evening.
Just then the studio door opened and Freddie walked in carrying a large bag.
"Hey," Carly greeted him. "What's that?"
"The green screen for tonight," Freddie explained. "I figured I'd get it set up now."
"Oh, okay," Carly nodded. She watched her friend begin to pull out several poles from the bag before taking a deep breath. "Hey, Freddie?"
"Yeah?" Freddie asked, looking up from the green screen. "What's up?"
"Um, I need to talk to you about something," Carly said, getting to her feet and approaching Freddie. "Something kind of important."
"Is everything okay?" Freddie frowned.
"Yeah," she nodded quickly. "It's just…I just wanted to let you know that-that Sam's bringing someone to watch the show tonight. A guy…who she has kind of gone out on a few dates with."
To Carly's surprise, this news didn't seem to shock Freddie. He just slowly nodded, as though he had been expecting this. "It's Shawn, isn't it?"
"You-You knew?"
"I figured it was only a matter of time," Freddie mumbled, stepping away from the screen and walking over to his tech cart. "I have English with them…"
"Oh," Carly said softly.
"So-So they've gone out now?" Freddie asked.
"Just for coffee," Carly replied. "And last night they went to the movies…"
And they had their first kiss then too, Carly added silently, remembering Sam's joyful phone call last night. But she didn't have the heart to tell Freddie that. Not after seeing his face right now.
"So-So are they like, officially dating now?" Freddie asked, not looking at Carly.
"I wouldn't say officially," Carly said.
"But they're getting there, right?"
"I-It looks that way, yeah," Carly said honestly, knowing how Freddie hated it when people tried to sugarcoat things for him.
"Right," Freddie said after a moment. "Well…okay then."
"If-If it helps, she was pretty nervous to bring him here tonight because she didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable," Carly told him. "She-She did think of you."
Freddie shrugged. "Okay."
Carly frowned. "Freddie? Are you-Are you okay with this? With Sam dating someone else?"
Freddie stared at her. "You want the honest answer?"
Carly nodded.
"No, I'm not," Freddie told her heavily. "I-I don't know, I thought we were going to get back together. But, well, clearly she's moved on."
"Oh, Freddie," Carly said softly.
"But, well, I-I'm not the one who's dating this Shawn guy, so I don't have to be okay with it," Freddie said. "So…So if Sam wants to date him…That's her choice."
Carly squeezed his shoulder supportively. "You never know what's going to happen with this. Just because Sam's dating another guy doesn't mean she's gonna marry him or anything. For all we know, they might break up next week."
But you don't see what she's like when she's around him, Freddie thought to himself.
He knew Carly was only trying to make him feel better, though, so he nodded.
"Maybe."
…..
"Okay, so we'll do the pirate bit right after we show the fake movie trailer for Captain Canada," Carly said a few hours later, as Freddie made a few last minute adjustments with the green screen. "And then we can do the Random Dancing with Blueberries bit after-"
She was cut off as Sam walked into the studio, a tall, handsome boy at her heels. Their hands were intertwined, but Sam quickly let go once she stepped inside.
"Hi!" Carly said brightly. "You must be Shawn."
"Yeah," Shawn smiled politely, holding out a hand for Carly.
"Shawn this is my best friend, Carly," Sam introduced.
"Nice to finally meet you, I've heard a lot about you from Sam," Carly said.
"You too," Shawn replied.
"He's cute," Carly whispered to Sam. "Nice work!"
"Thanks," Sam grinned. She looked over at Freddie, who had stopped working on the green screen and was staring at her and Shawn. "Um…Shawn? This-This is Freddie. Freddie, um, this is Shawn."
"Hi," Shawn said, extending his hand to Freddie.
Freddie had told himself he was going to be okay with this. Whether he liked it or not, he was going to at least pretend he wasn't bothered by Sam dating this guy. But as he stared at the hand in front of him, he suddenly wanted to do nothing more than bat it away and slug Shawn in his perfectly straight nose.
But then he caught sight of Sam's face, looking at him, almost as if she was pleading him to do this for her.
And so, even though it was one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life, Freddie shook Shawn's hand. "Hi," he said back.
"You're in our English class, aren't you?" Shawn said.
"Um, yeah-yeah I am," Freddie replied.
"Guys, we need to start the show in a few seconds," Carly said, hoping to diffuse some of the tension that was in the room.
"Yeah, um, Shawn why don't you sit over there by the door?" Sam said.
"Sure," Shawn said brightly, stepping away from Freddie.
As Sam went in front of the camera with Carly, she looked back at Freddie, giving him a look that 'Thank you'.
…
"-And we're clear," Freddie said after the web show, setting his camera down.
"Sorry about your shirt," Carly said, looking at her best friend's paint-stained t-shirt. "I thought I had the lid of that paint jar screwed on."
"It's fine," Sam shrugged. "Can I borrow a new shirt, though?"
"Yeah, I think that steakhouse we're going to has a No Paint policy," Shawn chuckled.
"Yeah, come on, let's go find you something," Carly said, leading Sam out of the studio.
As the girls left, Freddie suddenly became painfully aware that him and Shawn were now left alone.
He looked over at the boy, feeling so much hatred and jealousy towards him. But then he thought back to how Sam looked when she was with him…
Freddie loved Sam. He knew there was no getting around that…But-But if you loved someone, weren't you supposed to do whatever you could to make them happy? Even if it meant sacrificing your own happiness at times?
So with all the strength he could muster, he walked over to Shawn.
"Hey, Shawn. I-I was wondering if I could have a word with you?"
"Look man," Shawn sighed. "I-I think I know what this is about."
"You-You do?" Freddie frowned.
"I heard around school that you and Sam used to, you know, date," Shawn said. "And I just wanted to let you know…I don't mean to make things awkward for you. Trust me, I know what it feels like to see your ex dating someone new. So-So I understand if you totally hate my guts right now."
It would be a lot easier to hate him if he was a jerk, Freddie thought. But he just has to be a nice guy.
"Right, well, um, that-that wasn't exactly what I wanted to tell you," Freddie said. He looked down at his feet. "Sam…Sam's not a normal girl. She's really complex. She-She seems really tough on the surface, but deep down she's really sensitive and can hurt. She-She also claims that she hates it when you call her beautiful or compliment her, but she really does love it. She also isn't exactly the most affectionate person in public, but just know that-that doesn't mean she doesn't care. And when you take her out…don't be stingy. She's really worth every penny. And she loves to laugh, so…so try and make her laugh as much as possible. Basically, what-what I'm saying is…take care of her, okay?"
Shawn smiled at him. "I will…don't worry."
"Hey, Shawn, you ready to go?" Sam asked, poking her head back into the studio, wearing a new, paint-free shirt.
"Yeah," Shawn said, giving Freddie a friendly wave. "See you in class tomorrow."
Sam gave him a small smile. "Bye nub," she said softly before turning and following Shawn.
Freddie let out a sad sigh as he leaned against his tech cart.
"Do all the things I should've done with her, Shawn," he said to himself. "When she was mine."
