AN- This chapter is a sequel to chapter 129, where Freddie gets a new lab partner for Chemistry who likes him. Enjoy!

.

Wishing

"You know, Sam," Freddie said as Sam rushed to copy his answers from the chemistry worksheet the class had been assigned the previous day. "One of these days I'm not going to let you just use my answers. You'll either have to start doing your homework or take the zero and-"

"Benson, we both know that you don't have enough spine to ever do that," Sam snapped without looking up.

"Sam," Carly sighed from her seat next to her best friend. "If Freddie's going to be nice enough to let you copy his homework, can't you at least refrain from verbally abusing him?"

"Force of habit," Sam said dismissively, shoving Freddie's homework back to him. "There, done! And in four minutes flat, too. A new record!"
"Congratulations," Freddie smirked, rolling his eyes.

"Hi Freddie!" came an excited voice from behind him. Freddie turned back around to see his new lab partner, Melinda, taking her seat.

"Oh, hey Melinda," Freddie said politely. "Um, I don't know if you met Sam and Carly yesterday but, well, this is Sam and Carly."
"Hi," Carly smiled, extending an arm to the girl. "Nice to meet you."
Sam suddenly pretended to be very busy writing her name on top of her completed homework and simply grunted a quick greeting.

"Oh, are you guys friends of Freddie's?" Melinda asked.

"Oh yeah, the three of us are real tight," Carly nodded. "We've hung out together for years. See, when we were ten Freddie moved in across the hall from me and my brother and-"

"Hey, how about I hang out with you three sometime?" Melinda suggested excitedly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sam said, finally looking up at Melinda. "You can't just invite yourself to hang out with-"

But Carly quickly kicked her under their lab table. "Be nice!" she hissed.

"Um, well, maybe-maybe sometime we can all do some chemistry homework together," Freddie shrugged.

"Yeah!" Melinda nodded eagerly. "And then we'll get frozen yogurt and go ice skating and-"

"Um…well, maybe," Freddie said. "You know, if we're in a skatey mood."

"Who does this chick think she is?" Sam whispered to Carly as the teens' chemistry teacher stepped into the room, and Freddie and Melinda turned back around.

"Okay, I'll admit, she does seem to be coming off sort of strong," Carly said.

"Sort of?" Sam repeated.

"But, well, she's new at school," Carly reasoned. "Maybe she just wants to make friends."

"Yeah," Sam muttered under her breath as she watched Melinda scooting her seat even closer to Freddie. "She's being real friendly."

"You okay?" Carly whispered gently.

"Sure," Sam said simply.

"You know I was just kidding yesterday when I said they'd make a cute couple," Carly said softly. "And…And Freddie doesn't seem to like her too much. I think he's just being nice to her because she's his lab partner."

"Could we not do this here?" Sam snapped.

"Puckett! Shay!" the teacher said loudly. "Is there something you'd like to share with the class?"

"Um, no Mr. Jones," Carly replied. "We were just talking about how excited we were for this combustion unit!"

"Of course you were," Mr. Jones said, shaking his head as he turned back to the board. "Now, as I was saying, oxygen is a key component-"

As Sam let the words of the teacher pass through one ear and out the other, she stared intently at the back of Melinda's head.

Why can't this skunkbag find some other guy to be all friendly with? she thought irritably. She just has to go for Freddie, doesn't she? Fine! Let her go after him! It's not like I care…

…..

"-Which is why Spencer is now banned from the car wash," Carly sighed later the next day, as her and Freddie began to set up for a study session at the Shay's kitchen table.

"Wow," Freddie chuckled. "All that over a little car freshener?"

"Uh-huh!" Carly said, rolling her eyes as she sat down. "Anyway, I hope you didn't eat before you came over here. I have pizza and wings being delivered in a few minutes. It was the only way I could get Sam to agree to come over and study with us."

"Sweet, I'm starved," Freddie said. "All I have over at my place is my mom's glazed cabbage loaf."

"Sounds delicious," Carly grinned.

"Oh, by the way, I hope you don't mind, but I told Melinda she could come over and study with us," Freddie said.

"Melinda?" Carly frowned. "Oh…Um, that-that's fine."

"I'm sorry," Freddie sighed. "But she's been texting me all day asking to hang out and I finally caved. This way I figured I'd at least have you and Sam to help me out with her."

"You do realize she's not bugging you to hang out with me and Sam?" Carly grinned. "I think she likes you."

"Yeah, I picked up on that," Freddie mumbled. "Figures, I finally get a girl to like me and it's one I can hardly stand."

"Well just be sure to let her down easy," Carly told him just as the front door opened and Sam let herself in.

"Alright, where's the food?" she demanded. "I'm not going to do this whole 'studying' thing on an empty stomach."

"It will be here soon," Carly assured her as she grabbed a pitcher of iced tea and four glasses and set them down on the table. "Here, you can have some of my special tea while you wait."

Freddie and Sam exchanged glances.

"Special tea?" Freddie frowned.

"Um…I'll just have a soda," Sam said quickly, heading to the fridge. "Want one, Fredhead?"

"Please," Freddie nodded at once.

"You know," Carly said indignantly. "I spent thirty minutes making this stuff. It'd be nice if my friends would at least taste it before deciding it's gross."

"We don't think it's gross," Freddie said. "We just think it's…"

"Different," Sam finished swiftly.

"Yeah, yeah," Carly said. "Whatever."

"Hey, why'd you get four glasses out?" Sam asked. "Is Gibby studying with us too?"

"No, Melinda is," Freddie replied.

"Melinda?" Sam cringed. "Why?"

"Because I-" Freddie started, but he was then cut off by a loud series of knocks at the door.

"There, I think that's the food," Carly said, hurrying to the door. When she opened up, though, she was greeted not by a deliveryman, but by Melinda.

"Hi, Carly!" Melinda said brightly.

"Oh…hey Melinda," Carly said, trying to sound friendly. "So glad you invited yourself-I mean, I'm so glad you're joining our little study session today."

"Great, now I have to deal with this chick and the food's still not here," Sam mumbled under her breath.

"Freddie!" Melinda exclaimed excitedly.

"Um, hey there, Melinda," Freddie said.

"That's such a cool shirt!" Melinda gushed.

"Thanks…you told me that three times at school already," Freddie said.

"Well it looks even better under this lighting," Melinda beamed.

"You've got to be kidding-" Sam began.

"Alright!" Carly cut in quickly. "Let's get to studying!"

As Melinda sat down next to Freddie, Carly took Sam's elbow and led her into the living room.

"What?" Sam frowned.

"Could you please try and be at least a little civil towards Melinda?" Carly asked. "I know she's loud and really in-your-face and slightly obnoxious, but she seems like she's a nice person. You know, deep down. Besides, she's Freddie's lab partner and he's gonna have to deal with her all year. Let's not make things difficult for him by making her mad at us."

"Lab partner," Sam scoffed. "Yeah…that's all she is."

"What do you mean?" Carly asked. "Wait, Sam? You don't think that Freddie actually-"

"Um, guys?" Freddie called from the table, where Melinda leaning over towards him with a wide grin on her face. "You, er, want to come back over here so we can start studying? You know, with all of us?"

"Coming," Carly said as her and Sam returned to the table.

"Um, Melinda, that's sort of my foot you keep kicking under the table," Freddie said.

Sam frowned, but said nothing, as she recalled the days when her and Freddie used to spend their own study sessions playing footsies with each other under the table. Of course, they hadn't gotten much studying done at those study sessions…

"Oh, sorry," Melinda giggled, casing the hairs on the back of Sam's neck to stand up.

"Er, anyway," Freddie said quickly. "I worked out the solutions to some of the practice problems in the back of the book and I think I've made some real progress."

"Wow, you really go above and beyond with your school work," Melinda beamed. "That's so…responsible of you."
"Well I did win the Responsibility Award in the seventh grade," Freddie said modestly. "Anyway, if you guys want to take a look at what I've got, you can try the problems out yourself and see if…"

Look at her drooling all over Freddie, Sam thought bitterly as she watched Melinda hanging onto every word Freddie spoke. It's sickening! The way she throws pathetic compliment after compliment at him and the way she laughs at all his lame science jokes and the way she doesn't make fun of his nerdy shirts his mom buys for him that are made from hypoallergenic materials…

"You know Freddie, I've never had a lab partner as smart as you," Melinda said. "You're a real genius, you know that?"

"I think nub's the word you're looking for," Sam spat.

Freddie rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Melinda. At least someone here appreciates me."

Appreciates you…worships you, Sam thought miserably. But…But maybe that's it. Maybe that's the thing that Freddie seems to like in this chick. She's so…nice to him! The complete opposite of me! Yeah…that's got to be it! I mean why else would he keep letting her hang around? He likes her because she's a sweet, normal girl…who's nothing like me.

"I've got to say," Carly said a few days later as her and Freddie stood at her locker a few days later. "Melinda may be a lot to deal with, but she sure has helped my chemistry grades. She really knows her stuff."

"Yeah, she's super smart," Freddie agreed. "It almost makes up for how annoying she is. You know she sent me twelve text messages last night asking me if I wanted to come over and make pancakes with her?"

"Well, look at it this way," Carly said. "The semester is going to be over in a little over a month. Then you'll never have to deal with her again."

"I know," Freddie said, relieved. "But I just hope I can handle-"

"Freddie!" came Melinda's voice suddenly from down the hall.

"Aw chiz!" Freddie groaned. "I thought I shook her at the library! Carls, cover for me, will you?"
"What? What am I supposed to-" Carly started, but Freddie had already run off in the other direction.

"Hi, Carly!" Melinda said brightly as she approached. "I thought I saw Freddie over here."

"Yeah, well…just me," Carly said, giving a weak smile. "So how are you doing, Melinda. It's been almost a whole hour since we've talked."

"I was thinking of seeing if Freddie wanted to get sushi after school today," Melinda said. "So we can discuss our last chemistry experiment and his favorite dairy products."

"Oh," Carly said slowly. "Well, actually, I think Freddie's busy today. See, it's Friday, and every Friday after school, him and Sam meet up in the parking lot of El Guapo Taco and play Meat Golf together."
"Meat Golf?" Melinda repeated, confused.

"Yeah," Carly nodded. "It's this little game they made up. See, it's just like regular golf, but instead of golf balls, you use meat. I tried playing with them once but I just couldn't get into it. The two of them love it though. It's one of the few activities they can do without arguing."

"Oh…" Melinda said. "Well, maybe if I ask him he'll-"

"Hey, listen Melinda, it's been great chatting, but I have to actually go see, um, someone about, um…something. So I'll see you later!"

"But wait, Carly!" Melinda called out after her as Carly quickly made her way through the sea of students. "I need to find out Freddie's favorite type of tuna? Does he prefer spicy or regular?"

"That chick is wacko," Carly shuddered as she turned the corner.

…..

"-And so if you tilt your head this way, it totally looks like my Spanish teacher from high school," Spencer said later that day as him and Carly stood in front of his newly completed abstract sculpture.

"Is she the one who you got in trouble with for wearing slippers to class every day?" Carly asked.

"Yes!" Spencer nodded indignantly. "But her class was first thing in the morning; my feet weren't awake yet!"

"Sure, we'll pretend that makes sense," Carly chuckled. "Anyway, this sculpture looks great, Spence. I'm sure that receptionist will really like it in her office."

"Hope so," Spencer said. "Well, now that this is done, I'm gonna hop in the bath. Have you seen my bathing skates around?"

"You're not bringing skates into the bathroom anymore!" Carly said firmly. "Do you not remember you broke your leg last time?"

"That's when I was in the shower," Spencer pointed out. "I'm taking a bath. I'll be sitting, duh!"

"Well then why do you need-"

"Oh that's right!" Spencer cut her off. "They're under my bed!"

"Guess I should get 911 on standby," Carly mumbled as Spencer sprinted off into his room just as the front door opened and Sam walked in, carrying her putter.

"Hey," Carly greeted the blonde.

"Hey!" Sam snapped, throwing her putter down, causing Carly to quickly back away.

"Um…you-you alright there?" Carly asked. "What? Did Freddie finally beat you at Meat Golf or something?"

"We didn't even play!" Sam replied angrily. "He totally ditched me!"

"You mean he didn't show up?" Carly frowned.

"Yes, that's the definition of ditching, Carly!" Sam said, grabbing a soda from the fridge and opening it forcefully. "I waited in the parking lot of El Guapo Taco for over an hour and nothing!"

"Well did you check your phone?" Carly asked. "Maybe he called you or sent you a text telling you he couldn't make it."
"No, Carly, while I was sitting bored in the parking lot for an hour, I never once touched my phone," Sam said, rolling her eyes.

"Okay…I'm sensing a little bit of sass here," Carly commented.

"I bet he was hanging around with Melinda," Sam sneered. "Stupid Melinda…I should take my putter and find her and teach her a lesson!"

"Alright, alright," Carly said quickly. "Let's not do anything violent. Look, I know you're disappointed that Freddie didn't show up for Meat Golf, but-"

"Disappointed?" Sam sputtered. "I'm not disappointed! That would be pathetic! I'm wazzed off because he wasted an hour of my life that I could've been using to do something more productive. Like changing the butter in my butter sock. It's been almost two months since I've had time to do that."

"Okay…we'll discuss that later," Carly cringed. "But Sam, if Melinda is really bugging you that much, why don't you just talk to Freddie about it? If he knows how much you don't like her, maybe he'll stop bringing her around. I mean she is his lab partner, and we both know how serious Freddie is about that class, but you're one of his closest friends and-"

"Yeah, right," Sam scoffed. "She's just his lab partner."

"Wait…Sam?" Carly said, crossing her arms. "You don't think…you don't Freddie likes Melinda, do you?"
"I'm not blind Carly," Sam mumbled. "Besides, why wouldn't he like her? She's overly nice to him, she's super smart, she acts all sweet and girly…it's all he's ever wanted in a girlfriend, right?"

"Sam, no, that's insane," Carly said. "Freddie doesn't like her. He can't even stand-"

"Look, I get it, it's your job as my best friend to try and make me feel better once my ex-boyfriend starts dating a new girl," Sam said, giving Carly a fake smile. "But really, you don't have to. Sure, Melinda is annoying but I don't care if he starts seeing her."
"But Sam, Freddie doesn't-"

"Hey, I think I left my Fat Cakes here yesterday," Sam said, changing the subject as she got to her feet. "Did you see them around anywhere?"
"Yeah, they're upstairs in the iCarly studio," Carly nodded. "But Sam, I-"

"Awesome, I'm starved," Sam grinned. "I'll be back."

Carly shook her head as her best friend hurried up the stairs. "Bobby Delfigo just couldn't stay Freddie's lab partner, could he?"

Just then the front door opened again and Freddie walked in.

"You wouldn't believe what I just went through," he announced. "Melinda went to Mr. Jones after school and asked him for an extra credit assignment, so I had to spend the past two hours crammed in this tiny coffee shop booth with her while she sniffed my hair!"

"Freddie, if she's annoying you so much why don't you just tell her to back off?" Carly sighed, frustrated. "You don't have to hang around her if you don't want to, you know."

"Because she's the best thing that happened to my chemistry grade all year," Freddie groaned. "My grade's still not fully recovered from all the stunts Delfigo pulled before her, and if I don't get an A in this class, I won't have a chance of getting into Science Camp this summer, which would ruin any chance of going to an Ivy League, which would-"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Carly said. "But you realize today is Friday, right?"
"Um, yeah, my mom does buy me day-of-the-week boxers," Freddie nodded. "So?"

"So? You and Sam always play Meat Golf on Friday and you totally ditched her for Melinda," Carly said.

"Aw, man," Freddie moaned. "That's right, I forgot…Oh well, I'm sure Sam wound up just getting her usual nacho supreme at El Guapo Taco anyway. We'll play next Friday, it's no big deal."
"Freddie, I-I think it is kind of a big deal," Carly said gently. "To Sam, at least."

"What do you mean?" Freddie frowned.

"Look, I know Sam's not the type of person to show emotions or anything, but, well, I think this whole Melinda thing is bugging her more than she's letting on," Carly said carefully. "I mean, suddenly this new girl swoops in and steals all of your attention..."

"But why would that bother Sam?" Freddie asked.

"Because she…Listen," Carly said, taking a deep breath. "How would you feel if this was the other way around? If Sam suddenly had a new lab partner who she seemed to be spending all her time with and started ditching you for?"

"But…Carly," Freddie said slowly. "It's not like I'm enjoying spending time with Melinda. Obviously I'd rather play Meat Golf with Sam or hang out here and play Cupcake Slam with her or-"

"I know that," Carly said softly. "But Sam doesn't. And I think she really needs to hear that."

…..

Later that evening, Sam was still sitting up in the iCarly studio, messing around on her Pearpad. Carly and Spencer had gone out to meet their granddad for dinner and she assumed Freddie was spending even more time with Melinda.

This is just one more reason why we should get rid of chemistry class, Sam thought bitterly as she stuffed the last bit of Fat Cake into her mouth. These problems never come up during lunch.

She let out a small sigh as she stared up at the ceiling. This had to happen eventually. It had been six months since they had broken up…one of them was bound to start dating someone else eventually.

She just wished it didn't feel so painful.

"Hey."

She turned her head and saw Freddie stepping into the studio.

"Hey," she mumbled. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing really," Freddie shrugged. "Just thought I'd come by…see what you're up to."

"Why?" Sam said, rolling her eyes. "Wouldn't you rather spend time with Melinda?"

To her surprise, Freddie let out a small chuckle. "Please. She's one of the last people I'd want to spend time with."

"Yeah, okay," Sam said snippily as Freddie sat down on the beanbag chair next to her.

"Anyway," Freddie said. "I'm sorry I missed our Meat Golf game this afternoon."

"Whatever, it's fine," Sam at once. "It's not like I actually…it's fine."

"So what are you doing up here?" Freddie asked.

"Looking at this trampoline online," Sam replied. "I thought I'd look into buying another one since Gibby broke the one I got before."

"Ah," Freddie nodded.

A silence fell between the two.

"You know I don't like Melinda," Freddie finally spoke up.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, I can't stand her," Freddie nodded. "She's just so creepy and annoying and…"

"Horrible?" Sam finished helpfully.

"Yeah," Freddie laughed. "That."

"But…But you keep hanging out with her all the time," Sam pointed out. "Why would you do that if you don't even like her?"

"Well, it's like everyone has always told me," Freddie shrugged. "I guess I'm sort of a pushover. I don't really know how to be mean and assertive and tell somebody that I don't like them."

"It's real easy," Sam grinned. "I'm kind of an expert."

"Yeah, I know," Freddie smiled. "I wish I had your skill."

"Nah, it wouldn't suit you, Benson," Sam said. "Your nice guy thing you have going…it really works for you."

She quickly looked down at her lap. "I mean…I've always liked that about you."

"You have?"

"Yeah, well, it's nice to have somebody around to balance me out," Sam shrugged. "Why do you think I became friends with Carly? If I just hung around with loud, bossy, pushy people all the time, I'd be a mess."

"Huh, I guess you have a point," Freddie said thoughtfully. "Anyway…come on, let's go downstairs."
"Why?" Sam frowned. "Can't you see I'm relaxing, Fredwad?"

"Come on," Freddie said, rolling his eyes as he got to his feet. "I want to show you something."

"Alright," Sam conceded, getting up. "But this better be good."

She followed Freddie downstairs.

"So what is it?" Sam asked. "What did you want to- Holy chiz."

All of the furniture in the living room had been moved out of the way and Spencer's old mini-golf sculptures had been set up all around, creating a perfect course.

"I thought since we never did get that game of Meat Golf in," Freddie said, handing Sam a putter as he took a large meatball out of a container and set down at the first hole. "That we could play a couple of rounds now. I do look forward to this every Friday."

Sam was speechless.

"So what do you say, Puckett?" Freddie grinned. "You ready to get your butt kicked?"

Sam quickly found her voice. "Yeah, right, Benson," she jeered. "Like you could ever beat me at my own game."