Blister

"So," Freddie said as him, Carly and Sam sat their usual table in the Groovy Smoothie. "What's on the agenda for the day?"

"You leaving us alone," Sam replied at once.

"Sam…" Carly said warningly.

"Well I thought he was supposed to be spending the day at some Galaxy Wars convention with Gibby," Sam said. "I was looking forward to a nub-free day."

"Gibby gave our tickets away for a pack of radish seeds," Freddie said, rolling his eyes.

"Why?" Carly frowned. "Did someone tell him they were magic seeds or something?"

"No," Freddie said. "He wants to get a rabbit so he's starting a garden so the rabbit will eat only fresh vegetables."

"What a freak," Sam said, shaking her head.

"Didn't you used to have a pet rabbit?" Carly asked Sam. "Before you got Frothy?"

"Oh yeah, Buzz," Sam smiled. "I miss him…"

"What happened to him?" Freddie asked.

"My mom shaved all his fur off and sold him to the circus," Sam replied.

"That's-That's actually horrible," Freddie frowned.

"Eh, it wasn't terrible," Sam shrugged. "She used the money to buy us a deep fryer."

"You know, Spencer's thinking of buying a deep fryer," Carly said. "He wants to start making his own onion rings. He thinks the fast-food industry overcharges for them."

"Please shut that idea down right away," Freddie said. "The entire building will go up in flames if he gets one of those."

"Yeah, even onion rings aren't worth Spencer having one of those," Sam said.

"Don't worry," Carly assured her friends. "Do you really think I'd let him bring a deep fryer into-"

"Excuse me?"

Carly turned around and saw an attractive boy standing behind her.

"Oh, hi!" Carly said, instantly turning on her flirting game.

"Hi," the boy replied. "Um, my name is Alex-"

"Hey Alex, I'm Carly," Carly smiled, holding out a hand to him.

"Wow, that-that's a pretty name," Alex said nervously. "It's…fitting. Um, well, I-I saw you sitting here and I just thought you seemed really nice. I wanted to know if maybe I could get your number so we could hang out some time?"

"Oh! Sure, I'd love that," Carly said. "That sounds fun!"

The two quickly exchanged numbers and Alex headed out of the shop, looking absolutely giddy.

"Wow, Carly," Freddie grinned. "Good for you; looks like you got an admirer."

"He seemed cool," Carly shrugged simply. "Cute, too."

"Well are you going to call him?" Freddie asked.
"Eh, maybe," Carly shrugged, getting to her feet. "Alright, I'm gonna run to the bathroom and then we can head to the mall."

"Can I finish your fries?" Sam asked.

"We both know you're gonna no matter what I say," Carly grinned. "Just go ahead."

"Sweet," Sam said, pulling the basket over to her as Carly turned and headed over to the restrooms.

"Huh, I thought Carly liked that dude," Freddie said.

"She does," Sam said, popping a few fries into her mouth.

"So then why wouldn't she call him?" Freddie frowned.

"The day's young; she'll probably get a bunch more offers today while we're out," Sam shrugged. "She just wants to see what other guys are out there. Carly's in this phase now where she really 'plays the field'."

"What do you mean she'll get more offers?" Freddie asked.

"Um, she's Carly," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "Guys line up left and right to flirt with her."

"What?" Freddie scoffed. "You're exaggerating."

"You jealous?" Sam sneered.

"No," Freddie said. "But come on, you're telling me guys just come up to Carly and ask her out? I mean she's a pretty girl but…"

"Oh, you'll see," Sam said. "Just wait till we get to the mall."

"-So maybe I can give you a call some time?" the third guy in less than two hours to approach Carly said as the teens stood in front of the churro stand at the mall.

"Yeah, maybe," Carly nodded. "We can go grab coffee sometime."
"Great," the boy said. "Well…I guess I should be going then. Um, you-you look really pretty, by the way."

"You already said that," Carly chuckled.

"Well…it's really true," the boy said.

"Unbelievable," Freddie said as the boy hurried away. "There's been an endless flow of guys coming up to Carly all day!"

"I told you," Sam said.

"Did she get some new perfume?" Freddie frowned. "I've read that there's some scents that really attract people to the opposite sex. They're supposed to be almost like pheromones. Weird, though, because that would mean I should be drooling over Carly just like all of these other guys, but-"

"She didn't get any new perfume, you freak," Sam cut him off. "I told you; she's Carly. This is just how it is. Guys are just into her. It's been happening for years. Have you seriously not noticed?"

"Well I guess I don't go out with you two like this too often," Freddie defended. "The three of us usually hang out at her apartment. Excuse me for not knowing that you guys have long lines of suitors following you everywhere you go."

"Uh, it's not us, it's Carly," Sam corrected. "I don't have this happen."

"No?" Freddie said, somewhat surprised.

"We've been out for a while, how many guys have you seen come up to Carly?" Sam asked.

"Um, let's see…there were the three guys here at the mall," Freddie said. "The one at the ATM, the two random ones in the parking lot, Alex from the Groovy Smoothie, so…seven."

"Yeah, seven guys, and the day's only half over," Sam said. "If we stay out long enough she'll probably get to double digits. Now how many guys have you seen come up to me?"

"Er…"

"Zero," Sam nodded. "Exactly."

Freddie frowned. That didn't make any sense to him. How could Carly get so much attention from while Sam got none?

Sam was beautiful.

"Well…maybe-"

"Maybe nothing," Sam cut in. "I told you; this is just how it is. Carly's the one who has boys running over to her, drooling, begging to take her out on dates, telling her how pretty and sweet she is…and I'm just her friend."
Freddie couldn't help but notice how Sam's face fell at her own words.

"But, you know, whatever," Sam said quickly. "I-I wouldn't want to constantly be told how pretty I am by a bunch of strangers…it-it probably gets annoying after awhile. I'm glad I don't have to deal with that. Now…Now just hand over your churro! Mama's starved."

She grabbed the Mexican dessert from Freddie's hands and took a hasty bite as Carly rejoined the two.

"So, you guys ready to hit the other side of the mall?" Carly asked nonchalantly, not at all phased by the suitor that had just left.

"Ugh, can't we just go?" Sam moaned. "We've been here for hours. My feet are getting all blistery."

"But we still have three major sales to hit," Carly said. "Come on, we can go to the prank store that you like on the way."

"Fine," Sam conceded. "I do need more stink bombs."

As the three headed off, Freddie found himself deep in thought.

How could people just overlook Sam like that? Why would people overlook her. She was…perfect. Carly was a pretty girl, sure, but Sam…Sam was something else.

And he knew that no matter what she said, it hurt Sam to be constantly ignored while Carly got all the attention. That had always been her biggest insecurity. Back when they were dating, Sam had told him that it had always bothered her when she would have to listen to him drooling over Carly, and Freddie hated knowing that he had caused Sam to feel second-best, even if it wasn't intentional.

She deserves to be the one who gets the attention for a change, Freddie thought to himself. She deserves the chance to feel like she's more than just Carly's friend. She deserves to be told how beautiful she really is

….

The next day at school, Carly and Sam stood by their lockers, chatting to each other as they waited for the bell to ring.

"So you're not going to call any of those guys from yesterday?" Sam said. "Any of those eleven guys?"

"Nah, I just wasn't that into any of them," Carly shrugged. "But I did have a very pleasant conversation with the new guy who moved in on the third floor this morning. He told me my eyes looked like emeralds."
"But your eyes are brown," Sam frowned. "That doesn't even make any sense."

"Yeah, but he was super cute," Carly grinned. "Maybe you'll see him when we go back to my place after school."
"Yeah, maybe," Sam mumbled, turning to open her locker. When she did, though, an envelope suddenly fell out and landed at her feet.

"Hey, what is that?" Carly asked.

"Dunno," Sam frowned, picking up the envelope. She slowly opened it up and pulled out a sheet of paper.

"Sam," she read. "You may not know it, but you are one of the most beautiful girls out there. You don't get told that enough, but it's true. You're funny, unique, independent, and so much more. People who overlook all of that don't know what they are missing. So whenever you might feel second-best, just know, there is someone out there thinks you couldn't be any more perfect."

"Oh my God!" Carly gasped. "That was the sweetest thing ever! Who wrote that?"

"I don't know, it's signed 'Your Secret Admirer'," Sam said.

"You have a secret admirer?" Carly said excitedly. "Sam, this is incredible! I've never had one of those before. You're so lucky!"

"Hey, what goes on?" Freddie said, joining the two girls.

"Sam has a secret admirer!" Carly said at once.

"Oh…does she now?" Freddie said.

"Uh-huh!" Carly nodded. "She got the most romantic not in her locker just now."

"Jeez, Carly, you're acting like I did when that Fat Cake truck broke down in front of your building," Sam smirked. "It's no big deal."
"No big deal? Sam this is huge!" Carly said. "We have to figure out who sent this to you! Aren't you curious? Think, do you have any idea who could've wrote this?"
"No," Sam replied. "Look, it's probably some mistake. This was probably meant to go into your locker."

"It has your name on it," Freddie said quickly. "It can't be a mistake."

"Exactly," Carly said. "That note was for you, Puckett."

"Yeah, well…cool, whatever," Sam said, trying to sound nonchalant, though a small smile was appearing on her face. "But seriously, Carls, let's not freak out over this."

"My best friend just found out she has a secret admirer and I'm not allowed to freak out?" Carly exclaimed. "That's so unfair!"

"Sorry," Sam smirked. She looked down at the note one last time, her face flushing, and then carefully folded it up and tucked it safely in her pocket. "Well…I'm gonna hit the cafeteria, see if I can convince the lunch ladies to serve tater tots at lunch today instead of that creamed spinach junk. Later Carlotta…nub."

"Ugh, she knows she's excited," Carly said, rolling her eyes as the blonde walked off. "She just doesn't want to show it. Trust me, inside she's just as giddy as I am over this."

"Well, it's Sam," Freddie chuckled. "You know she hates showing any feelings other than hunger and anger."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Carly said. Suddenly, she frowned. "Hey, Freddie, how did you know that letter had Sam's name on it?"

"Huh?" Freddie said. "What-What are you talking about?"

"You said the letter couldn't have been put in Sam's locker by mistake because it had her name on it," Carly said slowly. "But you hadn't seen the letter yet and you weren't here when Sam read it out loud…so how could you have known it had her name on it?"

"Um, I-I saw the letter over her shoulder," Freddie said quickly.

"How? You were standing over here next to me," Carly said.

"Um, well I-I um, oh! There's the bell!" Freddie said lamely. "Gotta get to French class."

"That wasn't the bell!" Carly said. "That was-"

"Later, Carly!" Freddie said, turning and rushing away before the brunette could ask any more questions.