Author's Note: Heyo! I hope you're all having a splendiforous day entering into a new weekend. I won't go into too much detail about my week, otherwise we'll be here all night and then you'll never get to read this chapter. A special thank you the following people for reviewing last week's chapter, which I think has had the most reviews in the story so far:
baronvonmilo, RemDiamond, Carl Rahl, Fanfic-Reader-88, purpleheart10, aisforangelaaa, sockstar, CGK0113, metalheart0226 and Lapsuit10.
To all the other reviewers who have also read, reviewed and favourited this story, a big thank you to as well. You guys keep me writing and make me fly...so high.
Disclaimer: Still don't own iCarly, 17 Again or Zac Efron. I only own my whimsical prose.
Freddie made it over to his and Carly's house in record time, bringing his shiny Audi R-8 to a stop on the pavement. He shut off the engine and he took the car keys out of the ignition, adjusting his sunglasses over his eyes. While walking swiftly along the driveway, he heard the audible sounds of a basketball bouncing against the hard concrete. Freddie grinned to himself and rounded the corner.
Sure enough, Matt could be seen, his back to Freddie while he dribbled the basketball, aiming a few shots at the hoop from time to time.
"Hey, Matt." Freddie greeted jovially, coming to stand next to his son.
"Felix? Dude, what are you doing here?" Matt asked happily, stopping his actions momentarily to bump his fist against Freddie's.
"I was in the neighbourhood running some errands for my dad. He told me you live around here, so I thought I'd say 'hey'." Freddie replied casually.
"Coolio." Matt remarked before shooting a perfect three-point shot.
Freddie watched the basketball sail effortlessly through the hoop and rounded eagerly on his youngest child.
"Dude, that was awesome!" Freddie praised genuinely.
"Uh, thanks." Matt replied self-consciously.
"Where did you learn to hit a three-pointer like that?" Freddie questioned excitedly.
"My dad, I guess. He used to run me through drills all the time when I was a kid." Matt answered soberly.
Freddie thought back on those times spent with his son and he suddenly wished that he hadn't been so hard on him. Then he shrugged off the unpleasant memories and decided to focus on the here and now as a plan began formulating in his head.
"Can you hit another one like that?" he asked curiously of Matt.
Matt nodded and with a casual flick of his wrist, landed yet another superb three-point shot, which swished smoothly through the net. Freddie nodded approvingly in response and began removing his leather jacket, tossing it onto the ground behind him while proceeding with the rest of his plan.
"And can you hit it again with some pressure on you?" Freddie questioned in a professional manner.
He came to stand a few paces in front of Matt, eyeing his son with an unfathomable expression.
"Yeah, I guess so." Matt answered as nonchalantly as possible.
"Alright, let's see what ya got." Freddie suggested, his signature smirk back in place.
Then he arched his back forward, the muscles in his shoulders rolling fluidly along with his actions while he took up an offensive stance in front of Matt. Watching Felix's actions carefully, Matt began dribbling the basketball casually in his hand, developing a gradual rhythm which quickened with every passing second. And somewhere in-between Freddie shadowing Matt's movements, Matt managed to side-step Freddie completely, giving himself enough room to execute a graceful shot, which headed straight for the basket. The ball bounced loudly against the backboard, danced along the rim briefly before falling promptly through the hoop and landing on the ground with a loud thud.
"Nice one!" Freddie congratulated heartily, slapping high-fives with his son.
"Thanks." Matt responded graciously, a genuine smile on his face.
Freddie stared momentarily at the ball lying on the ground before turning to face Matt once more.
"You should be on the basketball team, Matt." He declared earnestly.
A sudden flash of Reed's leering face appeared in Freddie's head, giving his argument even more strength.
"It'll solve everything with Reed and the other jocks constantly hassling you at school." He added seriously.
"You think so?" Matt asked curiously, surprised by his new friend's sudden intensity.
"Absolutely. Coach Lennox invited me to try out for the new point-guard position on the team. You should come with me to try-outs this Friday afternoon and try out for shooting-guard." Freddie suggested genially.
"Alright, man." Matt answered readily, feeling strangely elated at the prospect.
"But if you're gonna be ready for Friday, we'd better get started with the prep work." Freddie rejoined, clapping Matt enthusiastically on the back.
The two boys had begun a vigorous round of one-on-one basketball when a black SUV began approaching them slowly along the driveway.
"Oh, that's my mom. She, my Aunt Sam and my uncle Spencer went grocery shopping earlier." Matt informed Felix casually while dribbling his basketball.
Freddie did a double-take at this. He had expected to run into both Carly and Sam eventually, but Spencer? He hadn't seen his brother-in-law in months, not since Carly had first announced that they were getting divorced. Spencer hadn't cursed or yelled at Freddie when he had come to get the last of his things, but the intense look of disappointment in the older man's eyes had been enough to make Freddie want to jump off a bridge from the shame in the pit of his stomach. Consequently, he hadn't been looking forward to the next time he'd eventually have to see his soon-to-be-ex-brother-in-law.
"Oh, my dad told me about Spencer. He seems like a cool guy." Freddie offered stoically, ignoring the hammering in his chest.
"Yeah, he is. He's kinda nuts and kooky as an artist, but he's a good guy. And he's always been good to my mom since they were kids. When he found out about my parents splitting up, he offered to come stay with us for a little while just to help my mom and me and Corrie cope." Matt offered soberly while landing yet another perfect shot.
Freddie felt a strange lump rising in his throat at the thought of Spencer leaving his own bachelor life to come clean up his mess. But he wasn't left to ponder on this for much longer when the SUV finally came to a stop in front of him and Matt and the car doors opened. Spencer hopped out of the back and went to open the trunk while Sam got out of the front passenger seat. But for the moment, Freddie wasn't entirely focused on his two oldest friends, his eyes glued to Carly instead getting out of the driver's seat of the family car.
She was wearing a simple white summer dress with a violet floral pattern all along the thin fabric, a fetching denim jacket and simple silver sandals on her dainty feet. For an absurd moment, Freddie felt like he was the one who was still older and Carly was the one who hadn't aged a day over 17. When he had seen her the other day, she had looked defeated and resigned with everything that life had thrown at her lately. But today, the freshness of her optimism and vivacity seemed to shine right out of every single pore of her body, her smile like a cool breeze on a balmy day. Freddie was completely transfixed and gushing like a fool, just like the day that he first met her in Bushwell Plaza once upon a time when the world wasn't so cold and riddled with obscene responsibility and fatigue.
"Heyo, Matty-Matt!" Spencer called out exuberantly, ruffling his nephew's hair affectionately with one hand while carrying a brown bag of groceries in the other hand.
"Hey, Uncle Spencer. Hey, Aunt Sam, Mom." Matt greeted back gaily, a small smile on his face.
"Hey, Matt. What goes on?" Sam asked casually while checking something on her cellphone.
"Hi, honey. How was school?" Carly asked warmly of her youngest son.
"Great." Matt offered nonchalantly.
"Where's your sister?" Carly inquired curiously while slamming the car door shut behind her.
"I think she's still at the mall." Matt offered with a shrug of his shoulders.
Carly stopped short when she spotted an unknown figure standing next to her son. She began blinking rapidly to rid her eyes of the annoying yellow spots which one encountered when they spent too much time out in the sun. Because there was no way that she was seeing what she was seeing: a teenage boy who looked exactly like her husband, Freddie. Same hair, same eyes, same smile. Her eyes drifted down towards his hands hanging limply at his sides, feeling an uncanny air of familiarity at the sight of them. The veins in his arms were jutting out, which made her stare in turn at his well-developed arms evident through his white T-shirt.
Then her mind ran away completely with her in tow, recollecting a particular memory of when she and Freddie were first married: him catching her unexpectedly around her waist in their tiny kitchen, her laughter ringing in his ears while he held her close and kissed her slowly and deeply, like they had all the time in the world. Then her hands were drifting down towards his stomach, his shirt bunched up in her fists while she traced the outline of his chest through the thin fabric, so white that it was almost transparent…
"Yo, who's this handsome kid?" Spencer asked jovially, breaking through the sudden silence with a finger pointed at Freddie, having returned from putting the grocery bag down on the kitchen counter.
"Oh, this is Felix. Uncle Gibby's bastard son. No offence," Matt added as an aside while addressing Freddie.
"None taken." Freddie offered meekly with what he hoped was a winning smile.
"No freakin' way! Someone out there on planet Earth actually procreated…willingly with Gibby?" Sam demanded laughingly.
"Yeah, it's not something my mom likes to admit to." Freddie admitted, feigning embarrassment.
"Ain't that the truth?" Sam scoffed openly.
"Carly? You ok?" Spencer asked in confusion.
Everyone turned to face Carly, who stood in the exact same spot, her eyes locked on Freddie all the while.
"Are you ok…Mrs. Benson?" Freddie asked curiously, trying to keep his voice as casual as possible.
"It's 'Miss Shay', kid. 'Miss'." Sam amended, waving a hand in front of Carly to get a reaction out of her.
Carly ignored Sam completely and began moving towards Freddie like a puppet on a string. Before Freddie could step back, Carly was well within his personal space, her hands gently cupping his face.
"Uh, Mom? What are you doing?" Matt asked in alarm, feeling embarrassed for his friend.
"You're really Gibby's son?" Carly asked in awe.
"Last time I checked."
"You look just like my husband, Freddie. Well, how he used to look when he was your age. So weird…" Carly trailed off in wonder.
Her hands, which had been gripping Freddie's cheeks in a vice-grip, suddenly relaxed before smacking him loudly on both cheeks. Freddie reacted by clicking his teeth together to rid himself of the stinging sensation from his smarting face. Sam had step in and forcefully steer Carly away from Freddie back towards the patio door while Matt and Spencer stared at their backs in confusion.
"Your mom seems nice," Freddie remarked facetiously with a grin on his face.
"Yeah, when she's not acting…weird." Matt returned dryly before shaking his head.
"Whatcha guys up to?" Spencer asked eagerly while Matt and Freddie continued passing the ball to each other and taking shots at the hoop.
"Just getting ready for the basketball try-outs this Friday," Freddie answered distractedly, trying his hardest to catch the gist of Sam and Carly's loudly whispered conversation.
"But, Sam! Didn't you see him?" Carly hissed impatiently with a gesture towards Freddie.
"Ok, Carls. We've already been over this. He may look a little like Freddie…"
"A little? He's practically his doppelganger when he was that age!"
"I think you're getting a little carried away, Cupcake." Sam remarked with a patronising smirk.
"You think I'm crazy, don't you? Well I'm not, because I think I know better than anyone what Freddie used to look like!" Carly huffed indignantly.
"Geez, Carly. Don't get so steamed about it." Sam chided soothingly.
Carly took a deep breath, which helped clear up most of the redness on her cheeks.
"You're right, I'm sorry. It's just really strange that he looks so much like Freddie. Please tell me ya see it?" Carly begged hysterically.
"To tell ya the truth, I think the kid might be a little better lookin' than Fredweird ever was at that age." Sam responded knowingly.
Freddie had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at Sam's comment. He couldn't decide whether to be glad that she thought he was good looking or insulted for himself.
"Freddie wears Hugo Boss. You wait here while I go smell him." Carly declared abruptly, turning away from Sam.
Sam caught Carly by the arm and wheeled her back to face her.
"What's gotten into you? You can't go around sniffing random teenagers. Haven't you learnt anything from Spencer?" Sam hissed incredulously.
"What haven't you learnt from Spencer?" Spencer piped up curiously.
"That it's not a good idea to go around sniffing random people…or hobos." Sam snapped callously before turning to face Carly.
"That was one time! And Hollywood smelt like crème brulee!" Spencer shot back.
"Carly, listen to me. I know this has been a tough time with Fredturd breaking your heart and everything. It's only natural to grieve the end of a relationship. But you've gotta get the nub out of your head and move on, once and for all. It's like what I've been telling you all this time: you just need to get out there and meet other guys. Ya feel me?" Sam asked softly of Carly, her blue eyes serious and penetrating.
"You know what, Sam? You're absolutely right. What am I thinking? I deserve to be happy again and have someone smile at me like Freddie used to when we were first married and tell me I'm pretty. I don't even care that the guy would probably do it just to get me to go home with him." Carly retorted brightly.
"Or to lunch, lunch would be good. I like your enthusiasm, Cupcake. But let's dial it down a notch, 'kay?" Sam asked nervously of her best friend.
For the first time since arriving, Freddie felt himself growing steadily angrier. He understood Sam's position where he was concerned, but he couldn't understand or accept why she was actively going out of her way to encourage Carly to meet someone else while they were still married. He barely even noticed when Carly found a way to sneak away from Sam and move closer to him again. That's when the ball abruptly left his hand and smacked Sam hard on the side of her head.
"Ow, what the hell? Watch what you're doin', ya dip-thong!" Sam fumed angrily at Freddie, who came jogging over to retrieve the ball currently dribbling at her feet.
"Gosh, I'm ever so sorry, that was my bad. I guess I got a little distracted (as did Matt too, I'm sure) by you actively encouraging his mom to sleep with another guy while she's still married to his father. Maybe I'm just an old fashioned guy, but encouraging, no…inviting your best friend to sleep with someone else while still married is pretty careless if ya ask me. If this were the Middle East, she'd be tied to goats and dragged through the streets with her hands cut off for even thinking about cheating on her husband." Freddie fumed while warding off Carly's attempts to poke him and sniff him simultaneously.
"But hey, what do I know? I'm just a kid. But I'm just sayin', Samantha." Freddie ranted passionately, catching Carly's finger in mid-air, which had been grazing his cheek just seconds ago.
"It's Sam." Sam hissed angrily.
"I don't care." Freddie shot back rudely.
Sam moved dangerously towards Freddie, but Spencer stepped in front of her and shook his head. She groaned exasperatedly and stalked into the house, slamming the patio door violently behind her. The noise seemed to snap Carly out of her bizarre stupor when she noticed Sam's absence.
"Sam! Wait!" Carly called out, jogging towards the patio door and entering the house.
"Wow, that was scary. Dude, I'm sorry about my mom and…whatever that was." Matt apologised profusely to Freddie.
"It's cool, man. Don't worry about it." Freddie responded casually.
"Hey, don't be so hard on your mom, Matt. She's going through a tough time right now. You know you gotta be there for her, right?" Spencer asked seriously of his nephew.
"Yeah, Uncle Spencer. I know, sorry." Matt declared meekly.
Spencer smiled again and ruffled Matt's hair affectionately.
"I know, buddy. But between you, me and Corrie, we'll help your mom get through this." He stated reassuringly.
Then he turned to face Freddie unexpectedly with a big grin on his face.
"Since you're half Gibby's, that practically makes you family. Welcome aboard, Felix." Spencer declared warmly, extending his hand towards the teenager.
At first, Freddie was overwhelmed by Spencer's homely gesture. But then he shrugged it off and shook Spencer's hand, thinking that it might very well be the last time that Spencer was ever this friendly to him after everything that had happened.
"Thanks." Freddie responded graciously.
"You really got Sam worked up back there. I've never seen her react like that to anyone except…never mind. I'd better go help unpack the rest of the groceries. See you guys later."
And with one last wave, Spencer jogged into the house, leaving Freddie and Matt alone once again.
"Pretty strange dynamic, huh?" Matt asked with a wry smile while dribbling the ball some more.
"Nah, it seems pretty great to me." Freddie answered wistfully while staring off into space.
Freddie returned to Gibby's house later that evening just as Gibby finished paying a pizza delivery guy and taking a box from him at the front door.
"Hey! Just in time, I ordered pizza!" Gibby greeted gaily.
"Thanks, I'm starved." Freddie responded gratefully while following Gibby into the house.
After Gibby and Freddie simultaneously cracked open a can of beer and Pepsi, the two of them plonked themselves down on the living room sofa while the feed on a live football game was blaring loudly from the LCD screen.
"Were you at Carly's this whole time?" Gibby inquired curiously while he and Freddie tucked into the pizza.
"Yeah. Matt and I were running basketball drills all afternoon. He's gonna try out for the team with me on Friday." Freddie replied happily.
"That's great, Freddie. So you two have started bonding already?" Gibby asked eagerly.
"Yeah, kind of. He's a great kid, Gib. I just wish I'd done more to encourage him and be there for him." Freddie admitted morosely.
"Well, now's the time to make up for it, right? However long you're stuck 'like this'." Gibby remarked knowingly with a gesture towards Freddie's body.
"You're right, Gibby. I gotta focus on the positives." Freddie remarked in more of an optimistic tone.
And while he thought about the day he'd had, his mind inadvertently went back to Carly. Gibby wasn't slow in noticing the goofy look that had formed on his best friend's face.
"What's that look for?" Gibby asked with a chuckle.
"I saw Carly today." Freddie replied warmly.
"And?"
"And…she looked…amazing. Gib, it was like I was seeing her for the first time when we were kids. When she got out of the car, I felt like doing the rumba. How did I miss it, miss her all these years? I was just so self-absorbed in myself that I stopped seeing her altogether. But seeing her today, happy and where she belonged…it made feel alive. I think I'm falling in love with her all over again." Freddie declared vehemently.
"I think those are the hormones talking right there, Freddo. You're stuck in a teenager's body, what do you expect?" Gibby asked laughingly, much to Freddie's annoyance.
"Hormones or not, I have to find a way to get her back, Gibby." Freddie replied seriously.
"And how do you plan on doing that? Your love for Carly right now is a felony in 48 states. You can't do much wooing in the current body you have, unless you wanna rekindle your relationship with your wife during conjugal visits." Gibby retorted sarcastically.
"Ok, maybe you have a point. But you can't honestly expect me to sit back and watch my wife move on from me? How do I watch some other guy come into my home and be a father to my kids?" Freddie demanded haphazardly.
"Maybe it doesn't have to be a stranger." Gibby remarked in a different tone.
"What do you mean?" Freddie asked in confusion.
"I could be your kids' new Daddy." Gibby answered unexpectedly.
"You?" Freddie countered incredulously.
"Yeah, me. Carly and I have history, even more history than you have with her. After the number you pulled on her, I think Carly might be more than willing to take a chance on the Gibster." Gibby responded smoothly.
Freddie eyed Gibby in confusion for a few seconds before he began laughing hysterically.
"Gibby, I will personally give you a Texas wedgie if you ever make a move on Carly. Besides, aren't you already taking cold showers just thinking about 'Principal Good Vibes'?" Freddie asked cleverly.
"You're right, I couldn't get through that with a straight face for longer than five minutes. I love Carly with all my heart, but in 'Reuben terms', Tasha Baxter can make a dog bark faster than a fish can climb a tree. And believe me, I'd let her climb my tree any time." Gibby answered seedily.
"I really didn't need to know that, Gibby." Freddie retorted in a revolted tone.
"But you're right. Maybe I can't win Carly over just yet, but there's no harm in putting myself in close proximity to her every chance I get, right?" he added in a thoughtful tone.
"I guess not. So what's your big plan, maestro?" Gibby inquired curiously.
"Well, my first priority is to be there for Matt and Corrie. I'll help Matt get onto the basketball team and get the jocks off his back. Then I've gotta keep an eye on that dick-head Reed too and make sure that he doesn't pop my daughter's cherry any time soon, if he hasn't already." Freddie responded seriously.
"Sounds like a good plan to me. I'd better start making some plans of my own to get into Principal Good Vibes' good books. I'm gonna go make some calls." Gibby declared, getting up from the sofa and grabbing the cordless phone from the coffee table.
Freddie heard Gibby talking on the phone a few seconds later with a friend who happened to be an art dealer and shook his head laughingly.
"Poor Ms. Baxter. She's not gonna know what hit her." He remarked devilishly while sipping quietly on his Pepsi.
Author's Note: So...what did you all think of the reunion between our favourite iCarly characters? I threw in Spencer at the last minute because I don't want to leave him out of this story. And also, he's just awesome. If anyone's wondering about Corrie, she'll feature again next chapter. I hope the Creddie interaction appeased you all, there'll be plenty more where that came from ; ) Now I'm off to watch some good old fashioned local soap operas, lates!