AN-This is a chapter to 463, where Sam told Freddie she wasn't going to waste her time caring about him if he was just going to keep saying that she didn't.

Damage

For as long as Freddie could remember, it had always seemed as if Sam Puckett was immune to feelings. Sure, she laughed and got angry and all that, but he had never known her to be one who fall victim to anything like sadness or betrayal or heartbreak. After all, those were feelings for the rest of the population like him. Someone like Sam couldn't possibly be hurt, and certainly not by something as simple as words.

But she had been; by his words.

It had been almost an hour since Sam left the studio, and Freddie still hadn't moved as her words echoed in his head.

He couldn't believe that he, the weak, nerdy, Freddie Benson, had had such an impact on the strong, tough Samantha Puckett.

Had him simply saying those words 'you don't care about me' really broke through her walls?

I-I didn't mean it though he thought to himself. I mean…just because I said she doesn't care about me doesn't mean I actually meant it!

"How am I supposed to know what you mean and what you don't mean?" Sam's voice replayed in his head.

Freddie sighed as he sat down in one of the beanbag chairs. The more he heard it, the more it slowly began to sink in. He remembered that night in the elevator, as he watched Sam slowly step out after they had decided to end their relationship. He remembered how scared and nervous he felt as he searched for those words to tell Sam how much she had meant to him and still meant to him, and how for those few seconds after he had said 'I love you' he was terrified that she would laugh at him.

But she hadn't; she had said it back.

Freddie had meant what he said that night, and it had taken all his courage to say it. It would've killed him to then hear Sam, months later, scoff at his words as if they had meant nothing to him. Yet that's what he had done to Sam. Sam, who had actually let him in for once, had had her feelings (that she did in fact have) thrust back at her as if they were worthless.

Oh God…what have I done? Freddie asked himself heavily.

And as he sat up there in the studio, Freddie realized it wasn't even just his saying she didn't care that have been breaking Sam down. Just a few short months ago he did nothing but insult her when she got a job at the Pear Store. Last week he made fun of her because she failed her Chemistry test. And the other day told her that her idea for an iCarly bit she had come up with was 'the stupidest thing he had ever heard'.

It was no wonder Sam had thought Freddie thought that he thought she didn't care and that he probably didn't care either; he had been wrecking everything that had been building up their relationship for years! He had managed to tare down not only what they had made from that month of dating, but from their years of friendship as well.

Freddie angrily punched the beanbag chair he was sitting in. How could he have screwed everything up this badly? And more importantly, how was he going to fix the damage?

…..

Sam sat alone in her house, the remote in her hand thought the television was off.

She couldn't believe she had actually walked away from Freddie like that; it had been the hardest thing she had ever done.

But it was for the best; she couldn't waste her energy caring about someone who didn't even think after she had actually told him she loved him that she didn't give two thoughts about him. After all, it was her caring for him that had caused her to feel this lousy in the first place.

Maybe I should take after mom and date a new guy every week, Sam thought miserably. And never get close enough to them to feel this…icky. You know what? Me not caring about Fredwad for real is the best decision I've ever made! I don't need that nerd in my life. Now I can focus on important things; like distance spitting and Fat Cakes.

But even as Sam thought it, she knew this was going to be easier said than done. For even now, just an hour after she had announced her vow to truly not care, she still couldn't Freddie out of her head.

Just then she heard a knock at her door, which was strange, because it was getting late. Figuring it was her mom's latest man, Sam shuffled to the front door, prepared to see how disgusting this new guy would be, although the one she dated earlier that month with the eye patch, green hair and an odor that reminded her of a junkyard would be hard to beat.

She was shocked, though, to instead Freddie himself standing on her front porch.

"Um, hi," he said.

Sam frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"Sam, can we talk?" Freddie sighed.

"Why?" Sam shrugged. "I told you, I'm not going to waste my time caring about you anymore if you're not-"

"Well I still care about you!" Freddie cut her off, catching her off guard. "Look, Sam, I-I think it's fair to say that lately I've been, well I guess you could say…maybe I've been not-not the nicest-"

"You've been a real jerk," Sam said bluntly.

"Yes, um, jerk could work," Freddie nodded. "And I'm sorry for that. But Sam-"

"Why have you been like that?" Sam couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know," Freddie said honestly. " I guess…I guess I just didn't know how to act around you after we broke up. I mean were we supposed to be super nice to each other or did we act like we hated each other or did we go for that in between thing we've always had…I didn't know. And I still don't know."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, her tone softening.

"Sam, listen, I don't know what will happen between us down the road," Freddie said. "Maybe we'll get back together again someday…or maybe we won't. But-But no matter what happens, I just want you to know that I do care about you. And I do love you. Whether I love you as my friend or my girlfriend or something more, I will always love you."

Sam simply stared at him.

"I shouldn't have said you don't care about me, and I'm sorry," Freddie said. "It was stupid of me. I-I know you care about me. Or, well, at least I hope you still do, even after everything I've done. You've done so much for me; you made Ms. Briggs's car alarm go off that day when I left my notebook in my locker so I wouldn't get in trouble for not having my homework, you 'persuaded' Mark Harris to let me be AV president instead of his unqualified brother, you-you've always been able to make me laugh, you keep me on my toes…I should've never taken all that for granted."

Sam took a deep breath. "Freddie…as hard as I could try, I don't think I could ever not care about you. But, um, don't go spreading that around. You know, I have that whole 'image' thing to protect."

"Oh, yeah," Freddie nodded. "Well, um…sorry. For everything."

"You've said sorry like, three times," Sam pointed out.

"Well I think I still have a few more 'sorrys' left to make up for how I've been," Freddie replied.

Sam gave him a small smile. "Hey…don't forget, I've done a few things too over the years."

"Yeah, well, you still didn't deserve how I've been treating you," Freddie told her. "And so for that I really am sorry."

Sam took a deep breath. "It's okay."

Freddie breathed a sigh of relief. "So we're good?"

"Yeah, if you start straightening up," Sam smirked.

"Deal," Freddie nodded.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Freddie held out his arms and Sam stepped forward into his hug.

"So," Sam said when they pulled apart. "How about we do something fun?"

"Fun?" Freddie repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What are you thinking, Puckett?"

"Wanna go to El Guapo Taco and try and amp up Meat Golf a little?" Sam grinned.

"Sam, you know Carly's been telling us how childish and immature that game is, and how we should stop acting like animals by putting around food in the parking lots of Mexican chain restaurants," Freddie said as he picked up the two bent golf clubs by the front door. "So let's go."