AN-Set after iOpen a Restaurant
…..
Era
"Alright, so here's what Franklin wants us to do," Sam said to Gibby as the two sat at an empty table in their restaurant. "We can open up one hour before school, and for two hours after. And then during lunch, we alternate each week being open for first lunch or second lunch. And we can't let more than twenty people down here at once and we need to have someone working security in the hall outside of here to alert us if Howard comes this way. If we do all that he thinks we should be able to keep operating without any of the teachers who want to shut us down finding out."
"Cool," Gibby nodded. "I can't believe I get to keep my restaurant dream alive!"
"And I can't believe the profit I'm pulling in from that lame dream of yours," Sam said, pulling a wad of cash out of her pocket. "This is the most useful thing I've done at school ever."
"Can I have my cut for the day?" Gibby asked.
"Oh…yeah, I guess," Sam sighed, reluctantly handing over half the wad.
"Sweet!" Gibby said. "I'm going to use this to buy myself a new carpet steamer."
"Why?"
"Because my old one got run over by a motorized wheelchair, duh," Gibby said. "You heading out?"
"Nah, I think I'm gonna stay down here and prep some more hot meat sandwiches for tomorrow," Sam said. "I'll see you later, Gib."
As Gibby left the restaurant, Sam slowly stood up and walked over into the kitchen. She made no effort to begin any sandwiches, though. She leaned against the counter and let out a long sigh. It seemed that for the past week, ever since the restaurant opened, she had been spending the majority of her time with Gibby. And, as strange as it was, she found that she didn't exactly mind. At least when she hung around Gibby she didn't feel second best like she suddenly did when she hung around Carly and Freddie nowadays.
She couldn't believe that now, after nearly five years, history was repeating itself. Were they really going back to the days where Freddie hated her and chased after Carly? After everything that had happened? After her and Freddie had shared their first kiss together, told each other some of their deepest secrets, after they dated, after they told one another they loved each other?
Sam shook her head as she stepped over to the fridge and grabbed herself a soda. She couldn't handle this a second time around. It had been tough enough on her when she was a kid. Back then Freddie's obsession and preference for Carly had just been annoying.
Now it hurt.
Suddenly, she heard the basement door open. She figured it was Gibby, coming back for something he had forgotten, but a few seconds later Freddie descended the steps.
"Hey, hey," he greeted her pleasantly. "What goes on, Puckett?"
Sam pursed her lips. "What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.
"I had to do a couple of things for the AV club," Freddie replied, not sensing the tension between them. "And I had to make up the history test I missed today. You wouldn't believe the day Carly and I had."
Carly and you, huh? Sam thought to herself as she began to busy herself pulling plates out of the dishwasher. Bet you loved that.
"See, Spencer texted us telling us there was some big emergency back home," Freddie said, sitting down at the counter. "So me and Carly ran back to the apartment during study hall to see what was going on. But it turns out he had just built this giant security robot thing which of course tried to kill us and it ended up completely pelting my mom with popcorn kernels."
"Uh-huh," Sam said in an indifferent tone.
"Um, real popcorn kernels," Freddie repeated, clearly expecting more of a response out of Sam. "She even got them in her nose."
"Well hopefully she got them out," Sam said simply.
"You-That's all you have to say about my mom having popcorn kernels shot at her?" Freddie frowned. "I figured you'd jump on this material."
Sam made no reply.
"Um…okay," Freddie said. "So I heard Howard came down here today after some big thing with Billy Boots and shut you guys down. Is that true? Is the restaurant really done?"
"No, it's going," Sam said, still not looking at him. "We have Franklin on our side. We just have to be super secretive."
"Oh, well that's good," Freddie said. "Because I really did love the lasagna here. Hey, any chance there's some leftovers? I'm starving."
"Nope," Sam said. "We've got nothing left."
"Oh, so business was good today then?"
"It was alright."
"Well if you don't have any food here wanna go with me to the Groovy Smoothie to get something?" Freddie asked. "T-Bo has a special on fries."
"No, I'm good," Sam replied. "I'd tell you to ask Carly but I'm assuming you already did, and she said no, so that's why you're forced to ask me."
"Um…what?" Freddie said, confused as Sam began to set the plates at the tables for the breakfast crowd the next day.
"Yeah, and speaking of Carly, shouldn't you be running off to try and beat her home so you can spend the next hour staring out your peephole for her?" Sam snapped.
"Sam, what are you talking about?" Freddie frowned. "I haven't done that in years."
"Yeah, well…" Sam mumbled. "Apparently a couple of things are making a comeback."
"Okay, are you like mad at me for something?" Freddie asked. "Did I do something?"
"No, Freddie, you didn't do a thing," Sam snapped.
"Well then why are you acting so weird?" Freddie exclaimed.
"Oh, so you think I'm acting weird?" Sam spat. "Am I being a little too abnormal for you? Well then maybe you should go find sweet, normal Carly!"
"Sweet, normal-huh?"
"Yeah, that's what you want, isn't it? It's what you've always wanted!" Sam said loudly. "And you know what? I don't care! I don't!"
"I-I really don't understand what's happening here, Sam," Freddie said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Can we just-"
"Get of me!" Sam said at once, flinging his hand from her shoulder.
"Sam…" Freddie said, slightly hurt. "Please. What-What's-"
"Just leave me alone," Sam said, picking up her bag. "I'm not doing this anymore."
And with that she turned and stormed out of the restaurant, leaving Freddie, still utterly confused, behind.
…
The next day at school, Sam was down in the restaurant again, flipping pancakes at the grill while Gibby waited tables.
"Hey, Sam?" Gibby said. "I need three orders of hash browns and two plates of bacon."
"I can get you the hash browns, but we're out of bacon right now," Sam said.
"I thought we had a ton in the fridge," Gibby said.
"Yeah…but I was hungry," Sam shrugged. "Just tell them they can have eggs instead, and if they don't like it, they can go up to the cafeteria and eat some of that lumpy oatmeal junk."
"Kay-kay," Gibby nodded, turning back and returning to the customers.
As Sam went back to her pancakes, she heard the basement door open and a few seconds later Carly entered the restaurant.
"Do you have a reservation?" one of the waiters standing by the stairs asked her.
"Reservation?" Carly repeated.
"Julio, she's fine," Sam told the boy. "She can come in."
The waiter let Carly pass, and the brunette stepped into the kitchen with Sam.
"Hey, since when do you guys make people have reservations?" Carly asked.
"It's just part of the new security procedures we had to start to make sure this place stays a secret," Sam shrugged.
"Oh right, I heard Mr. Howard threw a fit in here yesterday," Carly nodded. "That must've sucked."
"Yeah, good thing Principal Franklin's actually pretty cool," Sam said. "So you want something to eat? We have everything but bacon."
"You ate all of it?" Carly grinned knowingly.
"Well it was the extra-fat kind," Sam smirked.
"I'm actually not that hungry," Carly said as Sam continued to cook. "Spencer got a muffin basket from a sculpture client so I had one of those for breakfast at home. I just wanted to talk to you. I-I feel like we haven't really seen much of each other since you got involved in the restaurant business with Gibby."
"Yeah, I know, but believe it or not, I'm actually having a good time down here," Sam said, piling pancakes onto plates. "I mean, sure, there's a little too much Gibby, but I really like this kind of stuff. I'm thinking maybe I should go into the real restaurant business after I get out of this place."
"Wow, that's great Sam!" Carly said. "I'm so glad you found something you enjoy this much. But, I dunno, I just feel like we've been a little, well, distant lately. I didn't even see you at all yesterday."
"Well you know, you had that security robot incident," Sam shrugged.
"Yeah, but still, I-I figured you'd come over after school," Carly said. "You haven't been over all week, now that I think about it. So-So I just wanted to make sure everything was, um, okay between us."
Sam looked up at her best friend. As easy as it would be for her to hold some sort of grudge against Carly for being the girl who the only boy she ever loved really wanted, she just couldn't do it. It was Carly! It wasn't as though Carly was purposefully trying to take Freddie for her own, she was probably oblivious to Freddie's 'little crush'. And she knew Carly would never do anything to hurt her.
"Yeah, everything's fine with us," Sam said, giving her a smile. "I'm sorry I've been a little busy lately. Hey, I know. We can go to Build-A-Bra today after I get out here!"
"Okay, that sounds fun!" Carly agreed. "I can't wait. Oh, um, I-I also wanted to ask you about something else."
"What's up?"
"Well, yesterday evening, Freddie came by my place and he-he said you seemed really upset with him," Carly said. "But-But he said it was different from all the times you've been angry at him before. He said he felt like this was worse. So-So is everything okay between you and him?"
Sam set down her spatula. "Wow. So Freddie suddenly cares about what's going on with me? Or is he just worried that I'm planning something to hurt him?"
"Well…I-I guess a little but of both," Carly said, confused.
"Okay, well, you can tell Freddie that he doesn't have to worry about me plotting some big prank or anything," Sam said simply. "Tell him he doesn't have to worry about me at all."
"Huh?" Carly frowned. "Sam, what do you mean?"
"Hey, I'd love to keep talking, but I really have to get this breakfast orders out," Sam smiled. "But I'll catch up with you in trig."
"Wait, so are you mad at Freddie or-"
"Nope," Sam said, picking up the plates and placing them on her serving tray. "I'm not mad at all."
"Well you seem like you're kind of-"
"Alright, I have three orders or French Toast coming up!" Sam yelled, heading out to the tables, leaving Carly alone in the kitchen.
….
"So?" Freddie said as Carly came up out of the restaurant. "Did you find out what's up with Sam lately? Did you find out why she's been so distant? Did you find out if she's mad at us?"
"Um, well, she-she's not mad at me," Carly said slowly. "She said everything's fine between us and the two of us are going to Build-A-Bra after school today."
"Okay, cool," Freddie said. "But what about me?"
"Well…um, she-she said she wasn't mad at you," Carly told him. "But it-it was kind of weird. It was like when a girl tells you she isn't mad at you but she really is."
"So she is mad at me then," Freddie sighed. "For what?"
"I don't know, she didn't say!" Carly said. "All she said was that you don't have to worry about her doing anything to hurt you. She said you don't have to worry about her at all."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Freddie asked.
"I don't know,' Carly said again. "Okay, just-just think! Is there anything that you might have done or said to her this past week that might've made her upset with you?"
"Um, no, not that I can think of," Freddie sighed. "I mean I accidently knocked her jacket off the rack at your place, but she already gave me a wedgie for that. I really don't know what else she could…oh. Oh no…"
"What?" Carly asked anxiously.
"She must've found out," Freddie mumbled. "And-And this is her way of telling me no!"
"Telling you no for what?" Carly urged him.
"I-Okay, listen," Freddie said. "You-You have to swear you won't tell anybody this."
"Of course," Carly replied.
"Well, you-you know how Sam and I, you know, broke up a few months ago?" Freddie told her.
"Yeah."
"Well…I-I don't know if Sam ever told you this, but when we broke up, we-we kind of told each other that we-that we'd maybe give our relationship another try one day," Freddie sighed.
"What? You did?" Carly gasped.
"Yeah, we did," Freddie nodded. "And, well, lately I've kind of been banking on that because I-I sort of-I still-"
"You still have feelings for Sam?" Carly exclaimed.
"Shhhh!" Freddie hissed, quickly looking around to make sure no one heard her. "Yes, I-I still like Sam. You know, that way. I have for a while. I-I actually don't think I ever stopped. And lately I've been trying to figure out a way to tell her. I've been thinking about maybe surprising her with flowers or-or arranging to meet her at her favorite restaurant or even just coming right out and telling her I love her."
"Wait," Carly frowned. "Does this have anything to do with you randomly asking me if it was too late for you to love me?"
"Yeah, I-I was trying out lines," Freddie said heavily. "I figured I'd use you as a test run. Sorry. But…Sam must've realized what I was doing and-and this is her way of shutting it down before it happens. I mean she would barely even look at me yesterday when I went down to the restaurant and the other day when we were first down in the basement with Gibby she asked me if I had a new little crush on you!"
"On me?" Carly repeated. "But that's ridiculous. She can't actually think you still like me. I mean that phase ended years ago!"
"Exactly! She doesn't think that!" Freddie said. "Don't you see? She must've known I had a crush on somebody and was trying to figure out who it was! Once she found out it wasn't you, that's when she realized it was her and-and it totally freaked her out! Ugh! That's it! It makes sense! I mean it's right after that that she started acting this way."
He leaned against the set of lockers behind him, letting out a miserable groan. "She-She's trying to make it perfectly clear that-that she doesn't want what I want. She-She's not into me like that anymore."
"Oh, Freddie," Carly said gently. "Maybe-Maybe-"
"Come on, what else can it be?" Freddie asked. "What other reason would there be for her icing me like this other than her rejecting me?"
"Well, Freddie, maybe-maybe she just needs more time to figure out if she wants to get back together with you," Carly suggested. "Maybe she's not completely writing you off."
"Carly, I don't-"
"Look, if you really think this is what this is all about, maybe you should just give Sam some space," Carly said. "And let her figure this whole thing out. Don't act like you like her still; just act like, well, how you guys did before all of this happened."
"You mean back when we pretended to hate each other?"
"Yes!" Carly nodded. "That way she'll be able to sort through everything without feeling like she's under all this pressure. And this way either Sam will have time to realize that she still has feelings for you too, or you guys will be able to go back to normal without having a bunch of tension between you."
"Okay," Freddie said thoughtfully. "I-I guess I can do that."
"And maybe I can talk to Sam about this myself," Carly said. "And just see if-"
"No!" Freddie said at once. "No, Carly, you promised you wouldn't repeat any of this to anybody. And that includes Sam!"
"Well Freddie, don't you want me to at least try and make sure that this is the reason Sam's been acting weird towards you?" Carly said. "I mean your theory makes sense but-but what if there's something else going on and you wind up just making things worse."
"Carly, what else could this be about?" Freddie said. "Listen, if you bring this up to Sam, you'll just be creating the situation she wants to avoid in the first place! You know her, talking about feelings and this kind of stuff is taboo. Like you said, she just needs to have time to figure it out for herself and-and she'll take it from there."
"I know what I said, but that's only going to work if that's what's bugging her!" Carly said. "For all you know she actually doesn't have a clue you're still into her!"
"Carly, I know Sam," Freddie told her. "Trust me…the only logical explanation for her acting this way what I told you; she's freaked out about the idea of me liking her again."
"It's a reason, and I told you it does make sense," Carly said. "But if I could at least just confirm-"
"What's there to confirm?" Freddie said. "And I have your word that you're not going to mention any of this to her, right?"
"But-"
"Carly…"
Carly sighed. "Fine. I just hope you know what you're doing…"
"Oh I do," Freddie smiled. "I'll make it seem like the idea of me liking her never even crossed my mind, and that will give her all the time in the world to figure out her feelings for me. I don't mind waiting if-if that's what she wants. No matter…no matter how painful it is for me."
….
AN-I love getting requests to write about what went down in iOpen a Restaurant. I mean it was such a weird episode from a shipping perspective. Dan kind of made it obvious with Sam's expression after the whole 'little crush' thing that she was hurt by the idea of Freddie going after Carly again, and then there was that whole 'Is it too late for you to love me' nonsense that I don't know if I'll EVER understand. So doing requests like this gives me a chance to try and put some logic behind what happened in the episode. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it!
