Crust

"Freddie, I can't wait for you to meet Carl," Carly beamed as her, Sam and Freddie sat in Spencer's living room. "He's such a great guy. I think you two will be really good friends."

"Cool, it'd be nice to have another guy around to hang out with," Freddie said. "So how long have you two been dating again?"

"Three months," Carly replied. "I'm so glad he's coming to Seattle for the week; I've missed him so much since I last saw him up in college. Man, doing this long distance thing over the whole summer is going to be tough."

"Hey, Fredwad and I did it the past nine months!" Sam exclaimed.

"Oh, right," Carly said. She looked down at her phone. "Oh! He's here! He's down in the lobby! I'm gonna run down and get him!"

"So we'll see you in about half-an-hour then?" Sam grinned. "After you've had time to make-out in his van for awhile?"

"Sam!" Carly scolded, blushing fiercely.

"Just go, kid," Sam chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"So," Freddie said as Carly hurried out of the apartment. "I finally get to meet the infamous Carl."

"Why do you say infamous?" Sam asked.

"Well you don't seem to be a fan of him," Freddie shrugged. "Every time you've told me about him you make it seem like he's kind of horrible."
"He's not horrible," Sam said. "He's an okay dude, I guess. He just has…he has a strong personality."

"What do you mean?" Freddie asked, confused.

"Oh, you'll see what I mean," Sam smirked. "Anyway…"

She moved closer to her boyfriend and laced her arms around his neck.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Freddie said. "Carly's-"

"Baby, she's going to be doing this exact same thing with Carl downstairs, like I said," Sam said. "So we can either continue or sit here in silence for the next thirty minutes."

"Um, I'd like to continue kissing please," Freddie said.

"Smart boy," Sam grinned.

….

"Freddie, this is Carl," Carly said happily nearly an hour later as Freddie and Carl shook hands. "My boyfriend. Carl, this is Sam's boyfriend, Freddie. Remember? Our old tech producer on iCarly?"

"Oh yeah, I've heard a lot about you," Carly nodded. "Nice to finally meet you."

"Same," Freddie said politely.

"Good to see you again too, Sam," Carly said, giving the blonde a quick hug.

"Hey, Carl," Sam replied. "So are you staying here while you're in Seattle?"

"Nah, Spencer put a stop to that real quick," Carly sighed. She turned to Carl. "Spencer is out at an art function thing, but you'll meet him tonight. Be ready for a lot of interrogating."

"I've prepared," Carl chuckled.

"So are you staying at a hotel then?" Freddie asked.

"Oh yeah, I got a room at the Chembrolet hotel," Carl nodded.

"The Chembrolet?" Freddie repeated. "Whoa, that's a real fancy place."

"Really? Because I was going to say, I'm not a fan," Carl said.

"You're not?" Freddie frowned.

"No, my room only has a king sized bed instead of a California king bed," Carl said, shaking his head. "The bottled water in the mini bar is made from plastic and not glass containers, and don't even get me started on the thread count of the sheets."

"Well don't worry, we'll be having so much fun this week that you won't even be at the hotel that often," Carly said. "Seattle has a ton of fun stuff, and lucky for you I've taken the liberty of putting together a schedule for us."

"Aw, I love your schedules," Carl grinned.

"I know!" Carly said proudly. "So tomorrow we're going to go to the Space Needle and then Pini's. That place has the best lasagna. Then we're gonna go to the zoo, the water park-"

"That all sounds great," Carl said. "But before I forget, don't you want me to give me your present?"

"You got me a present?" Carly gasped. "Oh Carl, that's so sweet, but you didn't have to do-"

"Do you want me to return it?" Carl grinned knowingly, holding up a small box that he had just taken out of his pocket.

"No, that's okay!" Carly said at once.

Carl handed her the box, and Carly opened it up to reveal a beautiful ruby necklace.

"Oh my God, Carl!" Carly said, her eyes bulging. "This is-This is-"

"Are those real rubies?" Freddie whispered to Sam in disbelief.

"Oh yeah…" Sam nodded.

"Thank you!" Carly said, throwing her arms around Carl. "Oh, but now I feel terrible. I didn't get you a gift."

"That's alright," Carl smiled. "My gift is getting to spend the week with you."

"Aw!" Carly beamed. "Did you guys hear that? Was that a line or what?"

"Very cute," Sam said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Oh, the dinner reservations I made us are in thirty minutes," Carly said, looking down at her phone. "We better get going."

"Oh right," Carl nodded as Carly grabbed her purse. He turned back to Sam and Freddie. "Great meeting you again, Freddie. I'll see you around Sam."

"Bye," Sam called after Carl and Carly as they hurried out of the apartment.

"Okay…is that guy loaded or something?" Freddie asked the second the door closed. "I mean he just gave Carly a ruby necklace and he's complaining about the Chembrolet hotel!"

"Yeah, he's pretty rich," Sam nodded. "His dad is a big-shot surgeon in New York and his mom invented those little clips you use to keep chip bags closed. He drives the same car as Lebron James."

"Who's he," Freddie asked. "The new drummer in Cuddlefish?"

"Oh…" Sam said, shaking her head. "Moving on…Sometimes Carl can be a little…braggy. But it worked out pretty nicely at Washington State. Once him and Carly started going out, he started buying her all these cool things for our dorm room. That's how we wound up with a full-sized fridge and a flat-screen."

"He bought you a flat-screen?"

"No, he bought Carly a flat screen," Sam corrected. "I just benefited. Hey, you wanna go grab some lunch? Carly and Carl are probably going to be busy catching up all day. After all, they did just go three whole weeks without seeing each other…I'd love to see them go three months like we did! Ha!"

"Yeah, that sure wasn't easy," Freddie chuckled.

"Good thing we have the whole summer to catch up," Sam said, giving him a quick kiss as she got to her feet. "Now come on, I'm starved. Wanna try that new sandwich place?"

"Sure," Freddie agreed, getting to his feet. "I'm buying."

"Aw, that's my nub," Sam smirked as she took his hand.

"Here you go, baby," Freddie said later down at the sandwich shop. He set down a plate in front of his girlfriend. "One triple-decker ham sandwich with extra, extra ham."

"Thanks," Sam said, digging in at once.

"This is a pretty cool place," Freddie commented, looking around as he took a bite from his turkey sandwich. "Maybe Carly and Carl will want to come here for lunch with us one day. It will be like a double date."

"You can ask, but Carl doesn't really like places like this," Sam shrugged. "Basically unless there's a string quartet by every table, it's not classy enough for his wallet."

"Oh," Freddie said. "Well…never mind I guess."

"Hey! You got the crusts cut off my sandwich!" Sam smiled. "Just like I like!"

"Yeah, I know you said crust makes your ham taste funny," Freddie nodded. "So…Carl's basically just some snooty rich dude?"

"He's not snooty, exactly," Sam said. "He is a nice dude. I just don't think he realizes how he comes off sometimes to other people. He grew up all around rich kids like him. Heck the only reason he's at Washington State instead of some elite private university is because he said he wanted a 'typical college experience'. Although, hate to break it to him, a typical college experience usually doesn't include having a private dorm filled with the latest electronics and a canopy bed."

"Huh…" Freddie said. "Does any of that annoy Carly?"

"I think she's too excited about all the gifts he buys her to be annoyed," Sam chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, they're a pretty decent couple. They have a lot in common, like he has a brother who was in the Air Force and they're both super into vintage T.V. shows."

"How often does he buy her gifts?" Freddie asked. "I thought they've only been dating for three months."

"Oh, literally every time they see each other he has something for her," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "On their first date he brought her a brand new Mark Jefferson bag."

"Those are over a thousand dollars!" Freddie exclaimed, nearly choking on his sandwich.

"I know," Sam nodded. "But whatever. It's his money. If he wants to use it spoiling Carly, then who are we to stop him? Besides, like I said, her having a rich boyfriend benefits me too. He bought her these insane leather boots once, but they were the wrong size, so I got to keep them! I'll have to send you a picture of me wearing them once it gets colder, because I look hot in them."

"Uh, yeah, definitely," Freddie nodded.

"Hey, I'm gonna run to the bathroom real quick," Sam said, getting to her feet. "Don't touch my sandwich while I'm gone."

"I know, I'm not suicidal," Freddie smirked.

Once Sam left, Freddie's smile faltered. Him and Sam had been dating for close to two years, yet Carly had probably gotten more gifts from Carl in the short time that they had been together than Sam had gotten from him. He never had been one to shower Sam with gifts. They would of course exchange presents on anniversaries, birthdays, and holidays, and occasionally they'd get each other something just for the heck of it. But even then, the gifts Freddie would buy for Sam weren't as extravagant as a ruby necklace or a flat-screen T.V.

Sam deserves a boyfriend who can buy her nice things too, Freddie thought to himself. And I'm going to make that happen…

….

Later that night Freddie sat in his bed, staring down at his laptop. The spreadsheet that he used to keep track of his expenses was up on his screen, and he was analyzing the numbers intently.

"Let's see…" Freddie mumbled to himself. "Where can I come up with enough money to buy Sam a decent present? I can't take anything from tuition savings…I don't have enough in recreational spending...our date budget is low enough as it is…I guess I can pull some from my textbooks savings. I'll just buy second hand books or beg mom to buy them for me this semester. Alright, now what to buy for Sam…"

He pulled up another web browser and began to look around.

"She's really not into jewelry," Freddie said thoughtfully. "Although she does wear that little ham necklace I got her last Christmas every day…that cheap necklace with the fake jewels that only cost me fifty bucks…can't believe I gave that to her! Hmm…oh, she did seem to like that expensive purse she told me Carly got from Carl. I'll get her one of those!"

He pulled up a new web page and looked up Mark Jefferson bags.

"Hmm, that one looks nice," Freddie said, clicking on a large, black purse. "She'll like that-oh! Fifteen thousand dollars? Okay, there's no way I can afford that. Hmm…maybe a smaller one."

He clicked on another bag and found the price. The number that appeared on the screen still gave him chest pains, but it was more reasonable than fifteen thousand dollars.

"Okay, I can do this," Freddie said as he reluctantly clicked the purchase button. "Sam is worth it. She deserves the best…I'll just-I'll probably have to sell a kidney or something to cover this…big deal! It will be worth it…"

…..

"I need to start wearing a gas mask over here or something," Sam said a few days later as her and Freddie entered his bedroom. "The smell of disinfectant is really starting to make me sick."

"You'll get used to it, my mom just switched to a new brand," Freddie explained. "This kind kills ninety-nine point nine-nine percent of germs."

"Oh yay," Sam said dryly, rolling her eyes. "So, what'd you want me to come over here for? I thought we were going to go over and chill with Carly and Carl before he leaves."

"We are, but there's just something I wanted to do over here first…"

"Baby, come on, if that's what you wanted you could've just come out and said so," Sam chuckled. "I'm totally down. But are you sure your mom won't come home? Because last time was way too close of a call and-"

"No, not that," Freddie said. "I wanted to give you something."

"What?" Sam frowned. "Like a present?"

"Yeah," Freddie smiled, reaching into his closet and pulling out a box. He handed it to Sam. "There you go. I hope you like it."
Sam stared down at the box, confused. "Um…okay, is it some anniversary? Because I'm not saying that I forgot, but I-"

"No, it's not any anniversary," Freddie assured her. "I just wanted to get you something. You know, because I love you."

"Oh," Sam said. "Wow, thanks Fredhead! Oh, is it more itching powder? Because I have a lot of messing with Gibby to catch up on, and-"

"Open it and find out," Freddie told her.

Sam quickly opened up the box and pulled out the Mark Jefferson purse.

"Whoa…" she said softly, staring down at the purse.

"Like it?" Freddie grinned proudly.

"Is this-is this real?"

"Yup!" Freddie nodded.

"I-Wow," Sam said. "But how did you-did you win it or something?"

"What, no," Freddie said. "I bought it. Got it directly off the Mark Jefferson website."

"Well, where they having like, a ninety-nine percent off sale?" Sam asked.

"Um, no everything was full priced," Freddie replied. "What-What's wrong? Don't you like it?"

"Yeah, baby I love it," Sam said. "But…this bag is like, two thousand dollars."

"I know, but you're worth it," Freddie said.

Sam gave him a small smile. "Freddie…you have to return this."

"What? I thought you liked it!"

"I do!" Sam said. "But Freddie, you can't afford this! You don't have two thousand dollars to be shelling out on gifts! How did you even get the money for this in the first place?"

"I-Don't worry about it."

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"I took it out of my MIT savings," Freddie sighed.

"You what?" Sam exclaimed. "Dude! You used your school money on this! Okay, now you're definitely returning it."

"No, Sam, it's fine!" Freddie said. "Really. I-I'll manage at school."

"You need money for textbooks and your dorm payments and food," Sam said. "You were always saying last year how careful you had to be with your budget since MIT is super expensive. Freddie, I-it was super sweet of you to buy me this purse. Really, it was, and-and I appreciate it and everything, but you didn't have to do that. I don't want you blowing your entire savings to buy me stuff!"

"But Sam, you-you deserve this," Freddie mumbled. "I want to be able to give you nice things."

Sam squeezed his hand. "Okay, you buying me this purse…does it have anything to do with Carl always buying super expensive gifts for Carly?"

Freddie didn't reply.

"Freddie…"

"Okay, yes, maybe Carl is what gave me the idea to buy you the purse," Freddie conceded. "But Sam, you do deserve it, and what kind of boyfriend am I if I can't even give you the things you deserve?"

"Hey, you're a perfect boyfriend," Sam said firmly. "And you know what? You give me so much."

"Yeah, sure," Freddie scoffed. "I've never bought you fancy diamond earrings or a new Pearbook or-"

"Because you're not a gazillionaire!" Sam said. "But so what? I don't need any of that stuff."

"But I-"

"You have my coffee ordered memorized and always know exactly when I need a caffeine boast," Sam said. "You order my sandwiches with the crusts cut off because you know I like them better that way. You have flowers sent to me before my exams for luck, even though you don't actually believe in luck."

"Sam, none of that stuff could possible compare to jewelry or leather boots or flat screen T.V.s," Freddie pointed out.

"You know, what, it doesn't," Sam nodded. "Because it's so much better. The things you do for me show how well you know me and how much you care about me. And-And honestly, that's a thousand times better than overly expensive gifts all the time."

"You-You're really happy with just those little things?" Freddie said.

"Well, you know how the saying goes," Sam shrugged. "Sometimes it is just the little things that make the difference."

"Wow," Freddie chuckled. "And you say I'm full of clichés."

"Well congratz, nub, you've officially rubbed off on me," Sam smirked, leaning up to kiss him. Once they pulled away, Sam put her arms around his neck. "So you're going to return the purse?"

"Okay, I'll return it," Freddie agreed. He leaned down to kiss her again. "I love you so much, Sam."

"I love you too," Sam whispered, kissing him back. "Anyway…about what I asked earlier. When is your mom gonna be home?"

"Not until late tonight," Freddie grinned, seeing where she was going with this.

"Huh," Sam said thoughtfully. "Well in that case-"

She was cut off by Freddie's lips attacking hers, pushing her back onto his bed.