Maker
"Come on, you have to ask someone," Carly said, rolling her eyes as she sat in the iCarly studio with Freddie.
"Huh, you know, I'm actually really liking this book we were assigned in lit class," Freddie commented simply, flipping a page in his novel. "I feel like this Hawthorne guy is kind of living up to all his hype."
"Oh will you stop avoiding the subject?" Carly snapped.
"And this symbolism…I've got to say, it's impressive," Freddie continued. "It's really-"
"Freddie!"
"What?"
"For the millionth time, when are you going to ask someone to prom?" Carly asked. "There's only one week left!"
"Who says I have to ask someone?"
"The rules of high school!" Carly exclaimed, exasperated. "Prom is the single most important day of our senior year and you're not taking it seriously!"
"Odd," Freddie said. "I always thought graduation would be the most important day of our senior year."
"Freddie!"
"Alright, alright. So I haven't asked anybody to prom. Big deal!" Freddie said.
"But you're going to wind up going to prom by yourself," Carly said.
"You don't have a date yet," Freddie pointed out.
"Well at least I'm trying!" Carly retorted. "Unlike you. Come on, I know of at least three girls who have all said they'd love to go with you to prom. Cassie Green from Economics, Emily Porter from French, Vanessa Tyler from Physics-"
"I don't want to go with any of them," Freddie said.
"Why not? They're all sweet," Carly said. "And cute."
"Yeah, they're all real nice girls," Freddie shrugged. "But I just don't like them."
"Well you're not really in a position to be picky," Carly told him. "You're being too difficult! There's nobody you like so why not just pick a girl who you'd have a decent time with and be done with it!"
"Can you drop this already?" Freddie sighed.
"What about that girl in study hall?" Carly suggested. "Hillary? She doesn't have a date yet. Or that Janice girl from the lacrosse team? I've talked to her a few times and she seems cool. Or-"
"Carly, I don't want to ask any of these girls to prom!" Freddie cut her off.
"Well you don't want to ask anybody now do you?" Carly said, frustrated. "So why don't you just-"
"Okay!" Freddie said loudly. "Okay, if it will get you to finally stop all this…there-there is someone I want to ask to prom."
"There is?" Carly gasped. "Who?"
"Oh I'm not going to tell you," Freddie scoffed.
"Why not?" Carly moaned. "I'm going to find out anyway when you ask her to prom."
"Who says I'm asking her to prom?"
What? Why would you-Alright, Benson!" Carly said firmly, putting her hands on her hips. "I am sick of this. We've been on this whole prom thing for hours now, and now that I finally got you to admit there's someone you want to ask you're not going to tell me? Well no way! Either you tell me who you want to ask or-or I'm marching across the hall to tell your mom that last week you ate watermelon that wasn't seedless!"
"You wouldn't!" Freddie frowned. "She'll take me to the hospital to get my stomach pumped."
"Well, that's unfortunate," Carly said coolly.
"I can't believe this," Freddie said, shaking his head. "Are you actually blackmailing me? You're Carly! You don't do this!"
"You'd be surprised what I'm capable of when it comes to gossip," Carly said. "So will you tell me?"
"I-Fine!" Freddie conceded. "But you have to promise you won't overreact or go crazy or anything."
"I promise, I promise," Carly said quickly. "Who is she? Do I know her?"
"Er…yes," Freddie said slowly. "Um, she-the girl is-"
"Out with it!"
"It's Sam, okay!" Freddie said, his face bright red.
"S-Sam?" Carly sputtered. "Sam?"
"Yes," Freddie sighed.
"Oh my God…" Carly said, her eyes widening. "I-I can't-Oh my God! So-So do you like her still?"
"I-Yes," Freddie admitted, realizing Carly wouldn't let up until he gave her every piece of information. "Yes, I-I guess after we broke up last year I-I never got over her."
"This is huge!" Carly squealed. "I always knew you'd guys get back together! Sure, you drove me crazy sometimes when you were a couple but I always thought you guys were perfect together. So, now that that's out in the open, back to this whole prom thing-"
"Wait, Carly," Freddie said. "You-You're not actually insinuating I ask Sam to prom, are you?"
"Well why not?" Carly said. "She doesn't have a date yet either."
"Because it's Sam!" Freddie exclaimed. "She-She wouldn't want to go to prom with her ex-boyfriend!"
"She would if she feels the same way about you," Carly told him. "And I know she does!"
"Wait…she-she does?" Freddie said. "You mean she's told you she likes me?"
"Well…not in so many words," Carly admitted. "But she's my best friend and I can tell she still has some feelings there."
"Okay, but-but even if that is true," Freddie said. "This is still Sam we're talking about. You know how stubborn she is! If I asked her to prom she'd still reject me just to protect her pride or whatever."
"No…" Carly said thoughtfully. "Not if we go about this the right way."
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean, we have to make Sam abandon her pride and realize that she does want to go to the prom with you," Carly said.
"I don't know," Freddie said slowly. "This sounds like it could-"
"Don't you want to go to the most romantic school dance with Sam?" Carly said. "And take cute prom photos with her that you'll treasure forever? And drink cheap punch that makes you gag with her? And slow dance with her in the middle of the dance floor?"
Freddie pondered all this for a moment, a small smile sneaking onto his face. "I-Okay," he finally said. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well, if I know anything about girls, it's that the sure way to make their emotions really flare up is to make them jealous," Carly said. "If you make Sam jealous by telling her you're going to the prom with some other girl, she'll get so upset and angry that she won't care about her pride or stubbornness anymore! She'd go to the prom with you and you two would have the best night of your life!"
"But Carly, who would I tell Sam I'm going to the prom with?" Freddie asked. "She'd know if I was lying. And I can't just ask some girl to the prom and ditch her at the last second for Sam; I'm not a monster!"
"What about…what about me?" Carly suggested.
"You?"
"It's perfect!" Carly nodded excitedly. "We'll tell Sam we're going to prom together! That way we'll both be in on it and no one will get their feelings hurt!"
"But wouldn't that be weird?" Freddie frowned. "I mean, you're her best friend."
"Which would just make her more jealous," Carly explained. "And then once Sam gets rattled enough to realize that she can't ignore her feelings for you, we tell her we're not really going to prom together and then you ask her! She'll say yes and everybody wins!"
"I still don't know," Freddie said. "That plan seems kind of elaborate to work."
"It's a good plan!" Carly defended. "So you can either do it, or you're just going to have to always wonder about the prom that could've been."
Freddie thought about this for a moment. "Alright," he sighed. "Alright, I'm in."
"Yes! This is going to be so fun!" Carly beamed. "And it's going to work. You'll see!"
….
"Man, that walk to the gym really wore me out," Spencer gasped, collapsing onto the couch and grabbing a box of donuts from the coffee table. "Good thing I didn't actually go inside. I'd be beat!"
He picked up the remote and turned on the T.V. Just as he was beginning to settle in for a long afternoon of watching the nature channel, though, the front door opened and Sam poked her head in.
"Hey," she said. "Carly home?"
"Um no, her and Freddie left a little while ago," Spencer replied.
"Good," Sam said, stepping into the apartment.
"Good?" Spencer repeated.
"Yeah, Carly's been driving me crazy these past few weeks," Sam said, sitting down next to him and helping herself to a donut. "She's been on my butt about finding a date for prom and I'm kind of getting sick of it."
"You mean you don't have a date for prom?" Spencer said.
"Nah," Sam shrugged. "The only guys that have asked me are total losers. One of them even paints faces on his stomach and makes it talk with his bellybutton."
"Hey!" Spencer said indignantly.
"Oh…right," Sam said. "Sorry. But anyway, since nobody decent has asked me and I'm too lazy to ask anybody myself, I'll probably just skip prom."
"What? You can't skip prom!"
"Okay, now you're starting to sound a lot like your sister," Sam frowned.
"I'm serious," Spencer said. "Prom's the best night of your senior year! I still remember mine! Socko and I got these super hot Russian twins to be our dates. Only neither of them spoke English and it turns out they thought they were agreeing to go bear hunting with us so they left us alone on the dance floor. But it was still fun!"
"Well I don't want to go by myself like some loner," Sam said.
"So just find a date," Spencer shrugged. "There's got to be someone you could go with."
"Not anybody I want to go with," Sam said.
"Oh come on," Spencer said. "I have to listen to Carly drone on and on about boys from your school all day! You're telling me there's not one who you're just sort of interested in?"
"Nope."
"Not a single one?"
"Uh-uh."
"Not even half of one?"
"Okay, is there some sort of annoying prom-obsessed gene that runs in your family?" Sam snapped. "There's nobody I want to go to prom with, okay? Nobody! Not a single person! No one! Not unless-No! Nobody!"
"What was that?" Spencer said, perking up. "You said 'unless'!"
"No I didn't," Sam said quickly.
"Yes you did!" Spencer exclaimed. "There is someone you'd go to prom with!"
"Don't you have anything better to do with your time than badger your sister's friends about prom details?" Sam spat.
"Nope!" Spencer replied happily. "So who is it? Give me the deets!"
"No one says 'deets' anymore, this isn't 2004!"
"Come on," Spencer begged. "Just tell me!"
"Ugh, fine!" Sam groaned. "If it will make you stop acting so pathetic. But you have to swear not to tell anybody. Not even Carly."
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Spencer said quickly. "So who is it?"
Sam sighed. "It's…God, it's so embarrassing. Okay…it's Freddie!"
"No way!" Spencer gasped. "Freddie?"
"Yes, okay!" Sam snapped. "Now keep it down, will you?"
"I knew it!" Spencer said. "You still like him! You have ever since you two broke up!"
"Man you have to get a life!" Sam said.
"But I don't get it," Spencer said. "Why don't you just go to prom with Freddie? I don't think he has a date yet."
"Because, I-I can't let Freddie know I still have a thing for him!" Sam said. "I, unlike you, have some pride! And Sam Puckett isn't going to get rejected by some nub that-"
"But you wouldn't get rejected!" Spencer cut her off. "Freddie likes you too!"
"Wait, what?" Sam frowned. "Are you serious? He told you that?"
"Well, no, not-not directly," Spencer said. "But I'm really good at picking up on these things! You two practically live here; trust me, I know when there's a romance budding underneath my roof."
"Okay, you must've hit your head on something, because you're acting extra weird now," Sam said. She looked down at her lap. "But…Okay, let's suppose hypothetically that what you're saying is true. Freddie wouldn't ask me to go to the prom with him! He wouldn't have the guts."
"Then you ask him!"
"No way!" Sam said. "I got this whole thing going between us last time! I have my dignity, you know! Look, let's just forget all this. It's never going to work out anyway so-"
"Wait!" Spencer said. "This can still work out! Okay…so-so if Freddie did ask you to the prom…you'd say yes?"
"I-Sure," Sam nodded. "But that's never going to happen!"
"It will…" Spencer said slowly. "If he has the right motivation."
"Motivation?"
"The only thing holding Freddie back from asking you is his own nerves," Spencer explained. "And what's the best way to get someone to deal with their nerves? You make them jealous!"
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
"I mean," Spencer said. "You go to the prom with someone else! No! Not just somebody else…one of his friends! Freddie will get so mad and jealous that he'll forget about his nerves and he'll ask you to prom himself right then and there! You two will get a happy prom together, you keep your pride, and I'll go down in history as the greatest match-maker alive!"
"Okay…that-that has potential," Sam said slowly. "But Frednub's only guy friend is Gibby. And there is no way I'm even pretending to go to prom with Gibby."
"Well what about that other kid?" Spencer said. "The one with the fudge?"
"You mean Brad?" Sam said.
"Yeah, him!" Spencer nodded. "He's way more normal than Gibby! Just go up to him and explain the plan to him and then you guys tell Freddie you're going to prom together! It's genius!"
"I wouldn't say genius," Sam said. "Maybe amateurish at best. But this could work…Alright, I'll do it."
"Yes!" Spencer cheered, pumping his fist into the air in victory.
"Dude…that life thing?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll work on," Spencer said dismissively.
"Whatever," Sam said, rolling her eyes as she stuffed another donut in her mouth. "Hey, go get some more of these."
"What? I just gave you great advice and you're ordering me to get you donuts?" Spencer frowned.
"Make sure they're chocolate glazed too," Sam told him.
"I-Fine!" Spencer caved, grabbing his wallet as he left the apartment.
He had only been gone for a few moments though, when the door opened again and Carly and Freddie walked in.
"Hey!" Carly said. "Sam, I'm glad you're here. We have something exciting to tell you!"
"What? Did T-Bo finally listen to me add more chili to his chili fries?" Sam asked.
"No," Freddie said. "It's about prom. Carly and I are officially going together."
"You-What?" Sam sputtered, jumping to her feet.
"Yeah, isn't that great?" Carly said happily. "He asked me a couple of hours ago."
"I-You-What?" Sam said, still flabbergasted.
"Yeah," Freddie smiled, crossing his arms across his chest. "Why? Is that a problem?"
"I-No," Sam said, quickly recovering. "In fact, it's wonderful. Because you know what? I also got a date for prom today."
"What?" Carly and Freddie both exclaimed simultaneously.
"That's right," Sam grinned.
"Who?" Freddie demanded.
"Brad," Sam replied simply.
"B-Brad?" Freddie repeated, his eyes widening. "From AV club?"
"But-But you-why would you go to prom with Brad?" Carly said.
"Oh I don't know, he's a nice guy," Sam shrugged. "Besides, why would you go to prom with Freddie?"
"Because-Because he's also a nice guy," Carly replied lamely.
"Well good," Sam said, glaring at the two of them as she plastered a smile on her face. "Then we'll all have a nice time at prom. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a donut craving so I'm just gonna head over to Amazing Glaze. I'll just leave you to discuss corsages or tuxedos or whatever other prom business you need to work out."
"Okay, well…good," Freddie said. "Have-Have fun."
"I will," Sam said, opening the apartment door.
Once she slammed the door shut behind her, she aimed a strong kick at the potted plant in the corner of the hallway.
What was happening? Freddie was supposed to be dateless! That was all part of the plan! And what was he doing with Carly, her best friend?
"Oh, hey Sam," Spencer said, coming down the hallway. "What are you doing out here? I was just coming back up because I realize I forgot my credit card inside of my-ow!"
"You idiot!" Sam yelled, swatting him hard in the shoulder. "Do you know what just happened in there?"
"No, but why does it have to hurt me?" Spencer cried.
"Freddie is going to prom with Carly!" Sam said. "Carly! You said he was going to be so jealous of me going with Brad that he'd wind up going with me. How's that supposed to happen when he's already going with Carly?"
"Well, I-I'm sure they're only going with friends," Spencer said weakly.
"It doesn't matter!" Sam hissed. "All that matters is that now he's not going to ask me and since I already told them I'm going with Brad, I'll be stuck with him!"
"Okay, okay, this is just a minor set-back," Spencer said, pacing back and forth. "We can still make this work."
"How?" Sam snapped.
"Just-Just-I don't know!" Spencer groaned. "Dang it! This was such a perfect plan! I had it all-Wait a minute…"
"What?" Sam asked, rolling her eyes. "You're going to offer me more brilliant advice?"
"Carly doesn't like Freddie…" Spencer said slowly. "And Freddie doesn't like Carly. The two of them wouldn't go to prom together…"
"Well they are," Sam said. "So-"
"Ah-ha!" Spencer said. "I see it!"
"See what?"
"They're not going to prom together!" Spencer told her. "Don't you get it? Freddie must've told Carly that he did want to ask you after listening to her badger him for hours about prom. But it's like you said, he was too chicken to just ask you, so Carly came up with a plan for them to tell you he asked her to make you so jealous that you'd forget your pride and admit that you wanted to go to prom with him, at which point he would ask you!"
"Whoa…" Sam said. "That's-That's freaky."
"Freaky brilliant, right?" Spencer grinned.
"Er, sure," Sam said. "But what do I do know?"
"Well," Spencer said. "You have two options. You can waltz back in there and lay everything out on the table-"
"Ha!" Sam scoffed.
"Or," Spencer continued. "You can just keep going forward with our own plan and beat them at this game. Because now you're at an advantage; you know that they're faking but they don't know that you're faking."
"Huh…" Sam said. "You're right. I can still make this work!"
"Shoosh yeah you can!" Spencer said.
"I better go find Brad and clue him in on all of this," Sam said. "He does owe me. I helped his great-grandma get her fudge onto the prison menu, after all."
….
"She's going to prom with Brad?" Freddie exclaimed the second Sam left the apartment.
"Okay, so I didn't see this coming," Carly said.
"Brad!" Freddie repeated. "Why would she go with Brad? What, did he wave some fancy fudge in her face?"
"Well I think they're just going as friends," Carly offered helpfully. "She did make it clear last year that she didn't see him in a romantic way."
"It doesn't matter if she's going with him as friends or as artichokes!" Freddie snapped. "All that matters is she's going to be going to prom with someone that isn't me! I can't make her jealous now! Thanks a lot, Carly!"
"Hey, this can still work!" Carly said. "It's gonna be tough, but we can…hold on…"
"What?" Freddie mumbled. "Have another genius idea?"
"Sam's never even talked about Brad in all the conversations we've had about prom," Carly said slowly. "I mean she's been getting so annoyed with me getting on her about finding a date. She could've brought up the idea of her going with Brad weeks ago to get me off her back."
"So?" Freddie said.
"So…don't you get it?" Carly said. "She's not actually going with Brad!"
"What do you mean-"
"It's an act!" Carly said. "She's trying to do to you what you're trying to do to her! She's trying to make you so jealous about her going to prom with Brad so that you'll break down and wind up admitting that you wanted to go with her at which point she'll tell you she's not really going with Brad leaving you in the clear to ask her!"
"What?" Freddie said, rolling his eyes. "You can't-"
"Of course, it all makes sense!" Carly said. "But there's no way Sam could've come up with a plant so intricate. Her plans always just involve a lot of her swinging the butter sock. No…this would've required a mind who has seen enough romantic comedies and had plenty of free time to orchestrate this…That's it! It was Spencer! I've got it! Sam came over here when only Spencer was home because she wanted free food, but didn't want to deal with me bringing up prom again. And while she was sitting here with Spencer, probably bashing prom, she accidently let it slip that she did want to go to prom with someone, and that that someone was you! But since she was the one who made the first move when you guys got together last year, she didn't want to put her pride on the line again by asking you herself. So Spencer came up with the plan for her to ask one of your friends and make you jealous! And obviously Sam would never even pretend to go to prom with Gibby so the next best choice was Brad!"
"That-That's unbelievable," Freddie said. "You and Spencer are both insane!"
"I don't think I've ever been so proud to be related to him," Carly said.
"Well what am I supposed to do now?" Freddie asked.
"You have two choices," Carly said at once. "You can either find Sam and tell her the truth and own up to everything-"
"Yeah, right," Freddie scoffed.
"-Or," Carly went on. "We can keep this going and beat Sam and Spencer at their own game. And you'd be at such an advantage too! You know that she's faking her date with Brad, but she doesn't know that we're faking our date!"
"Hey…you're right!" Freddie said. "I do have the upper hand here! Alright, this could still work!"
…..
"So remember," Sam told Brad the next day at school. "You really need to sell this. As far as Carly or Freddie know, we're going to the prom together and we're super excited about it."
"I still don't get why we're doing this," Brad said.
"It-It's complicated," Sam said quickly. "But remember, you do this and I'll get your great-grandma's fudge into prisons in Canada too. You're family will be swimming in the prison cash."
"But I still don't understand-"
"Shut up, shut up!" Sam cut him off quickly. "Here they come! Remember your lines!"
Sure enough Carly and Freddie had just turned the corner and were approaching.
"Oh look, there's Ridgeway's favorite prom couple," Sam grinned, glaring at Freddie.
This would be so much easier if this nub would just man up and ask me himself to prom! Sam thought to herself.
"Funny, I was just about to say the same about you two," Freddie countered, forcing a smile onto his face.
This would be so much simpler if she'd just forget her stupid pride for a moment and tell me she wants to go to prom with me, Freddie thought to himself.
"Brad and I were just talking about the limo he's renting to pick me up in. Right, Brad?" Sam said, beaming over at the tall boy.
"Um, right," Brad nodded, still looking confused. "Because-Because you're my date."
"Really? Which company are you getting the limo from?" Carly asked sweetly.
"Oh, um, the-the place with-with the limos," Brad replied lamely.
"Well what have you guys been up to?" Sam said quickly before Brad could ruin everything.
"Carly and I were talking about which color corsage I should get her," Freddie said. "You know, so it will match her dress."
"Oh, so what color did you agree on?" Sam inquired.
"Pink," Carly replied just as Freddie had replied "Blue" at the same time.
"A pink and blue dress, huh?" Sam smirked, satisfied. "Wow Carly, I never thought you'd be one to experiment with your prom dress. But hey, what do I know? I also never thought your date would be a total nub either."
"Oh yeah?" Freddie retorted before Carly could respond. "Well I never thought your date would be a-a fudge-making monkey!"
"Monkey?" Brad repeated, frowning.
"I'm sorry," Sam said, crossing her arms. "Do you have a problem with Brad and me going to the prom together?"
"No, of course not," Freddie said. "Do you have a problem with Carly and me going to the prom together?"
"Absolutely not," Sam replied simply.
"Good," Freddie said.
"Good," Sam repeated.
"I guess we'll just see you at prom then," Freddie said.
"I guess you will."
…
"Carly, this isn't working!" Freddie said a few days later as the two stormed into the Shay's apartment. "We've been at this for days now and she's not budging!"
"Come on, this is Sam!" Carly said. "You knew it would take a lot to uproot her. Look, prom is tomorrow. That means we have approximately twenty-four hours to make this happen."
"Well I'm out of ideas!" Freddie said, frustrated. "We've tried everything! We've tried waving prom themed cupcakes under her nose and-and we made those t-shirts with our faces on them. She's not caving! You said by this time she'd be so jealous she'd throw her pride out the window and tell me she wanted to go to prom with me!"
"And she will!" Carly said firmly. "We just need to up our game…I've got it! You have your tux across the hall, right?"
"Yeah, I picked it up yesterday," Freddie nodded. "So?"
"So, go put it on and me back here in twenty minutes," Carly said. "I've got my best idea yet."
….
"This isn't working!" Sam groaned as her and Spencer sat at the Groovy Smoothie. "We've been at this for days and nothing! He's actually standing his ground."
"I know, this is so unlike him," Spencer said, shaking his head.
"And prom is tomorrow," Sam pointed out. "And by the looks of things I really am gonna be stuck going with Brad! God, I should've never listened to you!"
"Hey, this is still going to work!" Spencer assured her. "You're just going to have to up the game."
"I've been trying!" Sam snapped. "Brad and I showed him the romantic playlist we're going to slip the DJ, we made up some corny dance…I've got nothing else!"
"Listen, the Sam Puckett I know never gives up when she's involved in a plan to manipulate someone!"
"But Freddie's not freaking out and getting jealous like you said he would!" Sam said.
"He will!" Spencer said. "We just need to think outside the box…Ah-ha! I got it! You have your prom dress, right?"
"Yeah, Carly and I got it the other day," Sam said. "And the whole time she just went on and on about how excited she was to be going with Freddie. I swear, she's the problem. I could've broken Freddie by now if it wasn't for her."
"Well even Carly's meddling isn't going to be able to get in the away of this!" Spencer said. "Go put on your dress, grab Brad, and then meet me at my place in twenty. This will finally get us our victory!"
….
"Alright, so if everything goes according to plan," Carly said, adjusting the strap of her prom dress as she set up one of Freddie's cameras in front of the white backdrop she had just set up in the middle of the living room. "Sam will walk in to see you and me and dolled up in our prom get ups. She always has three o'clock ham cravings and she knows we have some in the fridge. Seeing us all prom-ready like this will finally make it click in her head how much she wants to be the one you go to prom with."
"You really think this will work?" Freddie asked nervously as he fiddled with the sleeve of his tux.
"I know it will," Carly assured him. "Now, all we have to do is wait for Sam to come over for her ham and-"
Just then the apartment door swung open and Sam, wearing a long, beautiful purple gown walked in, followed by Spencer and Brad.
Freddie had to consciously stop his jaw from falling open as he stared at Sam across the room.
"What-What's going on here?" Sam asked, clearly surprised. She was looking at Freddie with the same expression he was looking at her with.
"Oh, um, well," Freddie said, quickly recovering. "Carly and I realized that the photo booth at prom tomorrow night is going to be packed. And since we definitely want to remember this night for the rest of our lives, we decided to have our own little photo shoot here, right Carly?"
"That's right," Carly beamed triumphantly. "So we set up one of Freddie's fancy little cameras and we're just about to start taking pictures. Feel free to watch. Oh, but could you just turn down the lights a little? All the glare is really making it hard to notice Freddie's biceps."
"Well what a coincidence," Sam said, also recovering. "Brad and I were just thinking the same thing! Right Brad?"
"Um…sure?" Brad said.
"Yeah, so we got dressed up and called Spencer who agreed to be our own personal photographer," Sam smirked.
"That's right!" Spencer said, holding up his small digital cameral.
"But-But Spencer takes horrible pictures!" Carly said.
"Hey! I took a class at the community center, thank you!" Spencer snapped.
"How? You're banned!" Carly retorted.
"That-That's irrelevant!" Spencer said lamely.
"And that's my digital camera!" Carly exclaimed, stepping over to her brother.
"No, no it's not!" Spencer said.
"Yes it is!" Carly said. She lowered her voice so only Spencer could hear her. "And I know what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work!"
"Oh yeah?" Spencer said, also lowering his voice. "Well I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work. So ha!"
"Give me back that camera!" Carly yelled.
"Nope!" Spencer said, making a break for the stairs.
"You get back here!" Carly cried, running up after her brother, leaving Sam, Freddie and Brad alone in the living room.
"You're more than welcome to use our backdrop," Freddie told Sam. "Of course, you may have to wait awhile. Like I said, we're going to want a lot of memories. In fact, I might finally go to one of my mom's scrapbooking classes with her just so I can properly document this wonderful night."
"Well-Well Brad and I are going to make a DVD photo montage from our prom photos," Sam said. "That way we can enjoy our memories digitally."
"Yeah well…my camera has HD resolution!" Freddie said. "So our prom photos are going to come out clearer than ever."
"Well I'm going to Photoshop our photos to make it look like we're in Paris!" Sam said.
"You hate Paris!" Freddie pointed out.
"I don't care!" Sam snapped.
For a moment, the two simply stood their, staring daggers at the other.
Man, Freddie thought to himself as he continued to glare. Why does she have to look so hot in that dress? I bet she'd look even hotter in it in the middle of the dance floor…
Why's the nub got to look so hot in his stupid tux? Sam thought, not breaking her eye contact with Freddie. And I bet he'd look even better in it pouring me punch at prom while we laugh at the lame music playing…
The two were silent for another moment. And then…
"We're just faking it!" both suddenly exclaimed at once. They both blinked. "I knew it!"
"Wait, wait, wait," Freddie said, shaking his head, utterly confused. "What do you mean 'you knew it'?"
"What do you mean?" Sam demanded. "Wait, you-you knew Brad wasn't really my date for prom?"
"And you knew Carly wasn't really my date?" Freddie frowned.
"Duh!" Sam nodded. "But-But if you knew Brad wasn't really my date, then-then why did you keep this whole thing going with Carly?"
"Well why did you keep your little charade going?" Freddie asked.
"Because I-" Sam started. "Because I-"
"Um, could I chime in?" Brad spoke up from his spot by the front door.
Sam and Freddie spun around, both just realizing he was still there.
"From what I've gathered," Brad said. "Sam went through with her plan because she wanted to go to prom with Freddie, but was too stubborn to ask him, and Freddie went through with his plan because he wanted to go to prom with Sam but was too stubborn to ask her."
Sam and Freddie looked back at each other.
"Yeah, um, I guess that's a pretty good summary," Sam said heavily.
"You know…now-now that I think about it," Freddie sighed. "This whole thing has been slightly ridiculous."
"You think?" Sam said, giving him a small smile.
"I mean…we-we both wanted to go to prom with one another," Freddie said. "We should've just talked to each other instead of trying to drive the other one insane."
"I guess that might've been a little easier," Sam agreed. "So…what now? We both want to go to prom with each other. Are we going to do it?"
"Are you asking me to prom?" Freddie smirked.
"Nope," Sam said firmly. "After all of that, I'm not walking away from this a loser."
"Fine," Freddie said. "How about…how about this? On the count of three, we ask each other to prom at the same time. That way no one technically asked the other first."
"Hmm," Sam said thoughtfully. "I guess that could work. You ready?"
"Ready," Freddie said. "One, two, three! Will you go with me to prom?"
Sam, who had said nothing, grinned in victory.
"You-You tricked me!" Freddie exclaimed.
"Come on, you should've seen that coming," Sam said, rolling her eyes.
"I guess," Freddie sighed. He looked down at her. "So…now-now that I asked…"
Sam stepped closer to him and smiled up at him. "Yes," she said. "I'll go to prom with you."
"Alright, Freddie, I got their camera!" Carly said, running down the stairs with Spencer at her heels. "Now lets get these prom pictures taken and-"
"Actually, Carls, that's not going to be necessary anymore," Freddie said, still smiling at Sam. "You-You're sort of not my prom date anymore."
"What?" Carly gasped excitedly, looking back and forth between Sam and Freddie. "Does that mean-"
"Yes!" Spencer cheered. "My plan worked!"
"Your plan?" Carly scoffed. "This was all me, pal!"
"Eh," Sam said. "We can just call this one a draw."
"But you wo-" Freddie started, but Sam gave him a look.
"Um yeah, it-it was a draw," Freddie nodded quickly.
"I guess I can live with that," Carly said, walking over to her two best friends. "But I'm so glad you two are going to go to prom together."
"Me too," Sam nodded, her face glowing.
"You know, I think that was my best work in match-making yet," Carly said, flopping down on the couch. "You too, Spence. That was some real-Oh no!"
"What?" Freddie frowned as Carly jumped to her feet in panic.
"I-I've been so busy trying to get you two together that I completely forgot about finding my own date!" Carly exclaimed. "Oh my God! I'm going to be alone at my senior prom!"
"Hang on, hang on," Sam said quickly, looking back over at Brad. "You never got a real date, did you?"
"No," Brad said. "I was planning on just staying in with my family tomorrow night. You know, make some cobblers. Everybody thinks we only make fudge but-"
"So why don't you go to the prom with Carly?" Freddie suggested.
"Yeah," Sam nodded. "That be ten times better than just baking with your parents."
"Hey…that doesn't sound like a bad idea," Brad said. "Carly, do you want to-"
"Yes!" Carly said at once. "Yes, yes, one hundred times yes!"
"Oh," Brad said, slightly startled by Carly's eagerness. "Alright then. I'll pick you up at eight."
"Sounds perfect," Carly grinned.
"Well!" Spencer said, heading to the front door. "This has been a very stressful week. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to I'm going to go the junkyard with Socko."
"And I guess I should go get a tux," Brad said.
"Oh, I'll go with you!" Carly said. "That way we can make sure your tie matches my dress."
"Alright," Brad smiled.
"And we'll stay here and guard the ham," Sam said, starting for the fridge.
As Spencer, Carly and Brad all left, Freddie followed Sam into the kitchen.
"I think we might've just set a record for the most complex way to ask someone to prom," Freddie chuckled as Sam set a large plate of ham down on the table.
"I know," Sam agreed. "That was insane."
"Let's make a vow that neither of us will be too stubborn to tell the other something ever again," Freddie said.
"Come on," Sam said, giving him a look. "You know that's not going to happen."
"Yeah, I know," Freddie sighed. "But it was worth a try."
"You know…" Sam said slowly, looking up at Freddie. "We did go through a lot of work this past week. Maybe…maybe we should so something to, you know, reward our efforts."
"Reward our efforts?" Freddie repeated. "What do you mean-oh!"
"Man, you're clueless," Sam smirked as she stepped closer to Freddie, resting her hands on his shoulder.
Freddie rolled his eyes as he leaned down, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Clueless or not," he said when they pulled away after a moment. "I'm still taking the most amazing girl in Ridgeway to prom."
And with that he leaned down and captured Sam's lips in another long kiss.
