Author's Note: Ok, folks, bring a tent and a sleeping bag. This is a long chapter, so I'm not gonna bore you with how my week's been. I wrote a lot, that's all you need to know ; )
Disclaimer: Still don't own iCarly or 17 Again. Still a bummer.
After taking a detour of his own, Freddie finally arrived back at Gibby's house in time for the party he was hosting there. There were a couple of his team mates playing basketball in the driveway, aiming a shot or two at the hoop attached to the garage door. As Freddie stepped through the front door, he was met with a host of high school students drinking and talking animatedly together. He caught sight of two guys having a duel with Gibby's collector's light sabers and jogged quickly over to them.
"Great party, Felix!" One of the guys exclaimed eagerly.
"Aw, thanks, bro. Wow, those are some cool light sabers. Mind if I take a look? 'K, thanks." Freddie greeted rapidly and took the light sabers off the two guys.
Freddie deposited the two light sabers into a nearby hamper containing some of Gibby's other prized weapons.
"Don't touch the toys, 'k?" he asked firmly of the two guys, who shrugged and carried on talking together.
As Freddie made his way into the kitchen, he caught sight of Matt and Nicole talking together near the counter and smirked to himself.
"Come on, it wasn't that funny," Matt protested lightly while Nicole continued laughing unabashedly at him.
"I'm sorry, Matt. But it really was; I wish you could've been in my shoes to see how funny you looked running into the men's room at Seattle Bowl with your leg on fire," Nicole chortled.
"Ok, I guess it could've been pretty hilarious from that vantage point. But rest assured, I'll try not to set myself on fire tonight." Matt promised teasingly.
"I believe you. But I'll keep a fire extinguisher on hand just in case," Nicole teased back with a grin on her face which Matt returned.
"Ok, good. Uh, it's getting kinda crowded in here. Do you wanna maybe go sit outside for a little while?" Matt asked nervously.
"Sure," Nicole agreed readily and followed Matt towards the screen door in front of them.
As Matt opened the door for Nicole to walk through, he caught sight of his friend standing in the kitchen as well. Matt smiled at Freddie and gave him a small wave before following Nicole outside into the garden. Freddie watched the two teenagers go and continued smiling to himself. Everything seemed to be working out for the better for his son and his new-found confidence. And Freddie couldn't be happier about it.
As for Gibby, he and Tasha were currently situated at a table at Petrozinni's, one of Seattle's most prominent 5-star restaurants. A waiter had already approached their table and had offered them a sample of their best wine. While Tasha skimmed through the contents of the menu to see what starter she wanted, Gibby took the liberty of giving the wine in his glass a thorough tasting.
First, he swirled the wine around in his glass to inspect the clarity of the overall colour and texture. Secondly, he placed his round nose all the way into the glass so that he could sniff the wine. He was emitting the strangest sounds from his nose as if he had a head cold; a few people at neighbouring tables were beginning to turn around in their seats to stare at him. Tasha looked up from her menu and stared abashedly at Gibby's performance, unable to form coherent words for her shock and embarrassment at his actions.
But Gibby was far from finished as he took a long and billowing breath after sniffing the wine thoroughly. Then he finally took a sip of the wine and swirled it around his teeth, creating a loud hissing noise which sounded like a gas plate running on a high temperature. This went on for several seconds while Tasha watched him closely, her mouth agape with incredulous chagrin. Then Gibby finally stopped his shenanigans and addressed the waiter with a professional mask in place.
"This is delightful, thank you." He declared solemnly.
The waiter nodded and poured a generous helping of wine into Tasha's glass. But Tasha only had eyes for Gibby, looking in amazement at his composed stance after all his ridiculous theatrics just seconds before.
"What?" Gibby asked in confusion when he caught Tasha staring at him.
Tasha made no response, but simply let her eyes waver between her wine glass and Gibby. He sighed wearily, feeling like the date was doomed to fail after all.
"Look, I'm gonna level with you, Tasha. I don't know how to act normal," Gibby began seriously.
"Clearly," Tasha retorted sardonically.
"That's just how it is; it's the story of my life. I'm not a smooth-talking guy. I'm just bending over backwards to try and impress you," Gibby continued earnestly while locking eyes with Tasha.
For the moment, Tasha was too stunned by Gibby's straightforward admission to offer a response. All she could do for the time-being was stare straight back at him and hear what he had to say.
"I'm not the kind of guy that even comes to fancy restaurants like this. I'm the kind of guy that spends all his time collecting one-of-a-kind props used especially on the sets of 'Galaxy Wars' and 'Lord Of The Rings'. I even bought the white staff used by Ian McKellan when he played 'Gandalf The Grey' in 'The Two Towers', which makes me an even bigger loser." Gibby concluded mournfully.
"You're right, Gibby. That does make you a big loser," Tasha offered sternly.
Gibby fully expected this rebuff and hung his head in shame.
"Ian McKellan played 'Gandalf The White' in 'The Two Towers'. He's only referred to as 'Gandalf The Grey' in 'Fellowship of the Ring'." Tasha concluded with an air of mystique in her tone.
Gibby glanced sharply up at Tasha, who had the equivalent of a Cheshire smirk on her face.
"Wait a minute…you've…you've watched 'Lord Of The Rings'?" Gibby asked in amazement.
"All three of them," Tasha replied swiftly while delicately pursing her hands underneath her chin.
Gibby goggled in surprise at this piece of information.
"Well, well. Tasha Baxter, you are full of surprises," Gibby marvelled earnestly.
"Likewise, Gibby Gibson." Tasha returned seductively with a devilish grin on her face.
Gibby almost choked on the bread stick he was currently consuming. To remedy this, he grabbed his glass of wine and took a large gulp.
"How 'bout some dessert?" Gibby asked courteously of Tasha.
"Sounds good, I think I'll have the chocolate torte. But I should probably have the half-portion. Any more than that and I tend to…lose my inhibitions." Tasha replied in a husky tone.
Gibby almost went into cardiac arrest at the mere idea of Ridgeway's head honcho acting less than appropriate on any given day. And he was liking the idea more and more as the seconds ticked by.
"Waiter!" he bellowed manically.
"Carls, come on! Let's go already!" Sam bellowed impatiently.
Carly grimaced in the direction of her bedroom door while she applied a layer of lip gloss to her rosy mouth.
"I'll be right there, Sam! I'm just getting my purse!" Carly yelled back.
"Hurry up, Car-laaay! I don't wanna miss the start of the movie previews!" Spencer shouted a second later from the living room.
Carly shook her head and rolled her eyes while she applied a touch of rouge to her cheeks.
Since Matt and Corrie were out of the house that night, the three adults had decided to go watch a late night movie at a cineplex downtown. Even though Carly knew full well that she wasn't going anywhere fancy, she couldn't resist applying a thin layer of make-up to her face.
"Ok, I'm here," Carly announced rapidly as she jogged into the living room where Sam and Spencer sat on the sofa waiting for her.
"It's about time," Spencer stated in a drawling tone.
"Relax, Spencer. I was just putting on a little make-up. I'll remember this the next time you forget to pick me up from my Book Club because you're too busy scamming on that hot chick who works at the bakery down the street," Carly quipped teasingly.
"That was one time. And in her defence…she's really hot." Spencer offered pathetically, which made Carly chuckle.
"What a wholesome story, Spencer. Now that we've established that you look good, Cupcake, can we please go?" Sam interjected hurriedly.
"Ok," Carly relented dramatically.
Just as she moved past the coffee table, she noticed an object lying on its surface.
"Hey, this is Matt's phone. He must've forgotten it when he left earlier," Carly noted pensively.
"Kids," Spencer offered nostalgically.
"He's at a party right now! How am I supposed to call him?" Carly demanded frantically, her brain going into full-parental mode.
"It's no big deal, Carls. Matt's a big boy, he can take care of himself," Sam replied in a nonplussed tone.
"But he might need his cellphone in case of an emergency. Anything can happen at a party and he might need to get hold of me." Carly persisted anxiously.
"Carly, don't you think you're overreacting just a little bit?" Spencer asked calmly.
"Slight change of plan: we'll swing by Gibby's house real quick and give Matt his phone." Carly declared sensibly after a moment's thought.
"But what about the movie?" Spencer whined loudly.
"The movie doesn't start for another hour. I promise we'll be quick, Spencer. We'll just be in and out of Gibby's house." Carly chided smoothly.
"We'd better be. I can't be seen spending too much time in that nub's house or my reputation will be shot," Sam retorted dryly as the three of them walked through the front door.
Having left Matt and Nicole to their own devices, Freddie continued walking through the house in search of Corrie, wondering if she had arrived yet. He stepped outside onto the second floor where the pool and sun deck were located. He approached when he saw what appeared to be a harassed-looking Corrie trying to get away from Reed, who looked like he was drunk.
"Reed, stop it! Would you just leave me alone already!" Corrie hissed sharply, shrugging out of Reed's grip on her arm.
"Corrie, baby, just listen to me please. Look, I'm sorry about the way I treated you earlier. I was upset and just feeling so confused because you keep telling me you love me, but you won't show me just how much…" Reed trailed off painstakingly.
"Knock it off, Reed. It's not gonna work, I'm with somebody else now," Corrie snapped angrily.
"What?" Reed asked in disbelief.
"Who?" he asked suspiciously.
"The party's over, Reed. Corrie doesn't want you here and neither do I. It's time for you to go," Freddie interjected firmly, coming between the two of them.
Reed chortled openly at Felix's tough stance.
"Is that right? Are you gonna make me leave?" he taunted leeringly.
"I don't have to. It looks like you've been drinking, so the police can escort you off out of here if you won't go willingly." Freddie countered smoothly while retrieving his Pear-phone from the front pocket on his plaid shirt.
Reed's blood-shot eyes stared incredulously between Freddie and Corrie, who remained unmoved by his expression.
"Are you kidding me? You're seriously turning me down for this guy?" Reed asked scathingly of his ex-girlfriend.
Corrie made no response, but shrugged in an indifferent manner, which incensed Reed to no end. He shook his head as he made to leave.
"Whatever you say, Pretty Boy. You want the nun? Keep her, it's not like she puts out anyway," he greeted callously with a backwards glance in Corrie's direction before slapping Freddie patronisingly on the cheek.
"On second thought…" Freddie trailed off before he grabbed Reed's arm just as the latter was about to walk away.
But before he could punch him, Reed ducked just in time and punched Freddie square in the nose. The crowd gasped as Freddie hit the wooden deck and lay on his back, knocked out cold.
Freddie's brain was swimming somewhere between reason and rhyme in an incoherent swirl. All he could ascertain was the throbbing pain in his head and nose dealt to him by his daughter's ex-boyfriend. This was becoming an unfortunate pattern of his where he confronted Reed time and time again just to get his ass kicked in return. Maybe Gibby was right, maybe he should start taking karate lessons. Then Freddie relaxed considerably when he felt a pair of familiar hands resting on his head and luxuriously kneading his scalp and temples with dainty fingertips.
"Carls, I'm so glad you're here. I had the craziest dream; I dreamt that I was 17 years old all over again. I was back in high school and it was so terrible…" Freddie lamented with his eyes closed, savouring her touch for as long as he could muster.
Then those playful hands began drifting towards the top of his undershirt as they traced the skin on his neck. Freddie moaned in pleasure and chuckled softly.
"Carls, Car…" he murmured softly.
This had to be a dream, a sweet dream that he wished he never had to wake up from.
"I don't think that driving is a good idea, especially if you have a concussion." Corrie teased with the tiniest of giggles.
Freddie's eyes snapped wide open as he realised all too quickly that his sweet dream had just become his worst nightmare.
"I finally see things clearly, Felix. I know why you didn't want me to be with Reed; it's because you wanted to be with me," Corrie purred softly.
Freddie leapt off the bed he was lying on at those words and far out of reach from Corrie. But she was not to be dissuaded so easily, a playful smirk etched on her face from her vantage point on the bed.
"Oh? You wanna play games? I can play games," she declared sensually.
"Corrie, no…" Freddie begged painstakingly.
"…I'll be the hungry lioness and you can be the baby gazelle," Corrie purred seductively.
"Oh dear God," Freddie thought in horror to himself while he tried to right himself on the floor.
He just managed to jump out of the way when Corrie tried to leap onto him. Then she began chasing him around his room, making roaring sounds like that of a lioness which disturbed him to no end.
"Corrie, listen to me! You have to stop this right now!" Freddie ordered sternly while running around the room in a circle.
"If only you knew how highly inappropriate and dysfunctional this is," he wailed, but to no avail.
He jumped back onto the bed, followed closely by Corrie, who was hot on his heels. Then Freddie leapt over the headboard and stood his ground while trying to fend off his daughter's advances.
"Corrie, I'm not who you think I am," Freddie pleaded hoarsely, finding himself trapped between his daughter and the wall.
"Felix, I know exactly who you are. You're not like the other guys I've ever liked or even like Reed. You're good and kind and sweet," Corrie stated earnestly while grabbing Freddie's face in her hands.
"You're right, I'm not like the other guys you know. I'm…very different," Freddie replied with emphasis, trying to get out of Corrie's grasp.
"We're too different! And that's why we can never be together! Corrie, believe me when I say this. I'm saving the two of us from what may very well be hours…years of intensive therapy. And a spot on the 6 o'clock News." Freddie offered facetiously.
"But I don't understand, Felix. Why not?" Corrie asked sadly, stopping her playful attack for a second.
Freddie had no idea what to say next now that Corrie had finally stopped trying to jump him. Corrie searched Felix's eyes for an answer. Then her eyes widened in bewilderment and she cupped her mouth with her hand.
"Oh my God, I can't believe I didn't see it before. Are you…confused?" Corrie asked in awe, stepping away from Felix.
"I'm very confused, extremely confused," Freddie acknowledged, not knowing where his daughter was going with this.
Corrie gasped and sank wearily back onto the bed while Freddie stood with his back to the wall.
"It all makes sense now. Everything about you just screams it out. Your hair is always perfectly coifed and you've got highlights too." Corrie continued on hoarsely.
"What are you talking about, Corrie?" Freddie demanded quizzically.
Corrie goggled at Freddie as if her point had been very obvious from the start.
"Dude, your jeans are really…tight." She whispered conspiratorially.
Freddie got her meaning loud and clear while he stared down at his jeans and then back at Corrie like she was insane.
"I'm not gay!" he exploded indignantly.
"I'm in love with someone else, Corrie. I've been in love with the same girl since I was 17." Freddie clarified seriously.
"But aren't you 17 right now?" Corrie asked quizzically.
"Yes, I am 17 right now. But it already feels like such a long time since I've loved her," Freddie elaborated smoothly.
"Well, ok. Does she go to our school? Do I know her?" Corrie demanded rapidly, coming to stand in front of Freddie.
"Really well," Freddie thought miserably to himself.
"No, you don't know her, Corrie." Freddie offered quickly.
"I don't believe you. Tell me her name," Corrie commanded eagerly.
"No, Corrie, that's not a good idea," Freddie responded assuredly.
"Fine, don't tell me then," Corrie stated calmly, which threw Freddie off.
But then his eyes widened in horror when Corrie ran her fingertip along his shoulder blade while she fixed him with a steady gaze.
"But be sure to tell your girlfriend that she'd better keep a close eye on you, Lover-Boy." Corrie purred sensually.
Then to Freddie's innate terror, she growled in a low voice while pointedly grazing her nose against his. Then she had already quitted the room, leaving him standing in the exact same point where she had left him. He hadn't flinched or blinked once in a good 3 seconds.
"Oh sweet Baby Jesus," he murmured in revulsion, a desperate desire to throw up coming over him.
He began to rethink what he'd previously told Corrie. It would just be him needing intensive therapy after this particular ordeal.
Gibby and Tasha were talking together and laughing animatedly, their desserts half-way consumed. The waiter had already begun clearing away some of their plates, but they were blissfully ignorant of his presence in the vicinity at all.
"I can't believe it took you just 8 weeks to learn the entire Elvish language created by J.R.R. Tolkien!" Tasha marvelled eagerly.
"It was still really hard, believe me. But I had some free time on my hands while Nintendo was busy testing out a new video game console of theirs. Plus, those 8-step DVD instructions really helped." Gibby observed meekly.
"I had the DVD's too, but it still took me almost 3 months just to get the pronunciation of certain words right," Tasha pouted in disappointment.
"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're a busy woman with lots of interests and an entire school to run. Elvish aside, you're one of the most well-read women that I've ever met," Gibby replied sincerely.
Tasha had to take her hat off to Gibby. Once he finally stopped with trying incessantly to please and impress her, she herself found that she was impressed with him in turn. Once he got over his nervousness and incessant blustering, Gibby Gibson was actually really well-read and entertaining in his conversations with her, not to mention incredibly sweet. It was like she had met two different men in the space of one night. After all of Gibby's strange antics, she really should've guessed that they might have a love for sci-fi TV shows and fantasy films in common.
"That's very sweet of you to say. I guess I didn't have as hard a time learning a new language as Captain Zorg did in episode 235 of 'Galaxy Wars'." Tasha mused pleasantly.
Gibby chuckled appreciatively at this inside joke.
"Ah yes, Captain Zorg did have a hard time learning Nuggledegook in 'Attack of the Bobo-saurs'. Lucky he had Nug Nug by his side to help him learn Nug Nug's native language," Gibby reflected pensively.
"Too true. I laughed so hard when Zorg and Nug Nug got cornered off by that group of angry Moon Ferrets. Do you remember what they said to get out of it?" Tasha asked reminiscently.
"How could I forget? 'Zeef'!" Gibby shrieked in a high-pitch squeal.
A few people in the vicinity to stare at him in confusion. But Tasha ignored and began laughing hysterically at Gibby's impression of Captain Zorg.
"What about Nug Nug? 'Gweeg, gweeg'!" she shrieked in a high-pitched register, causing Gibby to laugh uproariously.
"Classic," he agreed sincerely before fixing Tasha with an intense stare.
"What? Is there something on my face?" Tasha asked self-consciously.
"No, it's just…you're really something else, Tasha. I've never met anyone like you in my life," Gibby marvelled earnestly.
Tasha blushed under Gibby's penetrating stare. She never expected to feel remotely attracted to someone like Gibby in a million years. Yet, here she was, practically gushing over him during an impromptu date that she hadn't even planned for.
"The same goes for you. Which just leads to just one question…" she trailed off demurely.
Gibby leant even closer towards her over the table while they sat together.
"Your lair…or mine?" Tasha asked in a seductive tone while biting her bottom lip.
Gibby nearly went into cardiac arrest at the mere suggestion of what he hoped Tasha was proposing.
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Gibby asked hoarsely.
Tasha smiled and nodded her head slowly. Gibby had to stop himself from jumping on the table, ripping his shirt off and doing a victory dance right then and there.
"Waiter! Cheque please!" he yelled eagerly.
Unbeknown to Gibby, the victory party at his house that Freddie had orchestrated was slowly getting wilder than the idea that Tasha Baxter wanted to do unspeakable things to him during the course of the night. People were diving into the pool on the top deck of the house with their clothes on and the two guys who had been playing with Gibby's light sabers beforehand had found the beaming rods again and begun playing with them once more. Freddie stood at the edge of the pool watching the ruckus playing out in front of him with an emotionless expression on his face.
"I'm so dead," he confirmed with resignation.
Carly, Sam and Spencer had finally arrived at Gibby's house while the party was now in full swing.
"I changed my mind. Maybe a party at Gibby's place isn't that lame after all," Sam praised while surveying their surroundings.
"Let's split up. I'm gonna go look for Matt in the house; you guys check the other parts of the house," Carly suggested while surveying the house with apprehension.
Sam and Spencer nodded and Carly began weaving her way through the crowd of high school students. Spencer made his way through the hallway where the two high school boys were playing with Gibby's prized light sabers.
"Hey, don't play with those! These aren't toys!" Spencer shrieked in a scandalised tone, snatching the light sabers away from the two boys.
The two boys stared at Spencer momentarily like he was nuts before shrugging their shoulders and going into the kitchen.
"Kids! No respect for collector's items," Spencer grumbled indignantly.
His hand accidentally found the switch, causing the rod to light up with a glowing blue light. Spencer's eyes lit up as brightly as the light saber in his hand, a manic gleam entering them.
"Why, hello there," he marvelled in awe and began playing with the light saber.
Sam smirked when she came across a couple of jocks standing guard over a large keg of beer in the kitchen.
"Hey, kid. Filler up," Sam commanded briskly while tapping the keg with the empty stirofoam cup in her hand, addressing a bulky blonde-haired senior.
The boy looked Sam up and down and scoffed openly.
"Forget it. You may be the hottest milf at the party, but this keg is strictly reserved for females below the age of 18," the guy sneered condescendingly.
"Listen, jail-bait. Get me a beer now and I'll consider not wedging your head through a partially-locked door," Sam instructed in a menacing tone.
The blonde jock dropped his sneer instantly and began hurriedly pouring Sam a cup of beer.
"That's more like it. Keep it coming, Mama don't like asking twice," Sam stated with a satisfied smirk on her face while taking long sip of the alcohol.
Carly had to step out of the way of several high school students bustling rapidly past her, not to mention a girl steam-rolling down the same path on a Segway. In spite of herself, Carly couldn't help smirking at the sight. While she considered herself to be an extremely responsible parent, she found herself occasionally missing her 'iCarly days' and all the crazy adventures that she, Sam and Freddie had experienced together in the past. This particular party reminded her of the 'Crazy Hat Party' that she had once hosted at hers and Spencer's apartment in Bushwell Plaza years ago after their very first successful web-show. She'd had so much fun that night.
She only hoped that Matt and Corrie were enjoying themselves responsibly; they were good kids that got good grades and didn't give her too much grief. The pending divorce wasn't just hard on her, it was hard on them too. They deserved a night to themselves to just let loose and have some fun.
Freddie, who had been wandering aimlessly through the throng of students, caught sight of Carly coming towards him. What she was doing here? He couldn't help smirking at how politely bewildered she looked amongst all these teenagers. It was as if she had forgotten about all the crazy times that she'd had when she was younger. She looked incredibly beautiful under the glare of the full moon overhead.
"Mrs. Benson!" Freddie called out jovially and began waving.
Carly caught sight of Felix waving to her and she smiled in relief as she walked towards him.
"Hi, Felix," she greeted politely.
"Hi, what are you doing here?" Freddie asked curiously.
"I was looking for Matt actually. He left his cellphone at home and I wanted to give it to him quickly without ruining his fun," Carly explained nervously.
"Oh, that's nice of you. Come on, I'll take you to him," Freddie instructed gently.
Then he took hold of Carly's hand in his so that she wouldn't get knocked over by the throng of teenagers milling around them. For a moment, Carly enjoyed the faint pressure of her son's friend's hand in hers as he led her upstairs.
"What's Matt doing up here?" Carly asked curiously as she and Felix climbed up a flight of stairs.
"Actually…he might be up here with a girl," Freddie explained tentatively.
Carly eyes widened in horror and Freddie quickly elaborated.
"No, nothing like that. He's talking to this cheerleader named Nicole. You see, he's had a crush on her for a while and they're finally getting to know each other." Freddie amended calmly.
"Oh, I see. Well, that's great for Matt." Carly observed genially.
"It really is. And I think you'll like her too, Mrs. Benson. She seems really nice and down-to-earth. And she seems to like Matt a lot," Freddie added winningly.
"I'm glad to hear it," Carly agreed, matching his tone while smiling at him.
Gibby didn't mind in the least that Tasha already broken several traffic rules in her bid to get to his house as quickly possible. In fact, he welcomed her haste while they continued talking animatedly together in her car.
"Gibby, how on earth did you get the newest version of Halo? It's not due to be released for another 6 months," Tasha noted in awe while taking a left turn at a stop-street.
"Well…let's just say that I said a few things to the people at the 'Make A Wish' foundation that I'm not exactly proud of," Gibby offered abashedly.
They were interrupted in their conversation when a SUV filled with excited teenagers almost collided into them. Tasha was forced to break sharply, causing both her and Gibby to knock their heads against the respective head rests.
"What was that?" Tasha asked in horror.
"I don't know, but I've got a very bad feeling," Gibby prophesied in an ominous tone when he saw where the SUV full of teenagers had parked.
Tasha followed his gaze and saw the teenagers all congregated outside of Gibby's house.
"Oh no," she murmured wearily as she drove into the driveway.
"I'm going to kill him," Gibby muttered assuredly while staring at an unknown teenager throwing up in a bush outside.
Tasha and Gibby entered through the front door, Gibby wearing a deep-set glare on his face while he stalked past a crowd of teenagers. Tasha gasped when a naked teenage boy ran towards her and Gibby, wearing a silver helmet on his head and covering his midriff with a metallic red shield that had been hanging on a wall in the living room just a few hours ago. The teenage boy goggled in horror at Tasha before escaping out of the front door in all his glory.
"And now I'm really going to kill him," Gibby promised malevolently, his eyes darting around the house in search of his fake son.
Gibby grabbed hold of Tasha and quickly pulled her to safety just as another teenage boy came crash-landing onto the hallway floor from the stairwell, having been made into a human bowling pin by a group of teenagers laughing hysterically on the second landing.
"That's it, everybody out!" Gibby barked angrily.
But none of the teenagers took any notice of them as they continued partying together. Tasha got all of their attention by whistling loudly.
"This party is over!" she yelled, a death glare etched on her petite face.
All of the teenagers stared at her with a mixture of horror and fear, not expecting their school principal to be amongst them at this given moment.
"Now I'm giving you all 10 seconds to leave this house right now. Or all you will be sitting in detention till you graduate from Ridgeway! Everyone out!" Tasha barked in a no-nonsense tone.
That got everyone's attention as they filed out rapidly, not daring to linger for longer than a second. Corrie and her three best friends were standing a floor above, watching the scene below with worried expressions on their faces.
"We'd better go warn Felix," Corrie announced gravely.
Carly couldn't believe how much she'd missed out on in the space of a few weeks. She suddenly felt guilty that she'd been so self-absorbed in her own problems and projects to notice this new development in her son's life. She and Felix were standing on the deck on the second floor, a few feet away from Matt and Nicole, who were standing near the wooden railing and talking together in an intimate fashion. She smiled widely when she saw Matt and Nicole lean towards each other and share a sweet and chaste kiss. It brought back memories of her own experiences when she was that age, most of them with Freddie. She tried to ignore Felix's close proximity to her as she stared at her son a few feet away.
"He looks so happy," she murmured in awe while watching Matt.
"Yeah, he does." Freddie agreed, watching his son just as happily as Carly.
"You really care about Matt, don't you?" Carly asked seriously, turning to face Felix.
"Yeah, of course I do. He's a really great guy and a great friend." Freddie declared genuinely.
"That's great. Matt needs a male role model in his life right now. He's really lucky to have a friend like you who looks out for him, Felix." Carly declared earnestly.
Something about this young boy had somehow brought her family together in a short space of time. Even Corrie had seemed happier this afternoon than Carly had seen her in a long time. And she couldn't help feeling that Felix was partly responsible for that, for all of it.
"Matt's a great kid. Both he and Corrie are," Freddie noted with pride evident in his tone.
"And you've done such a great job with them. You're a great mom," he added seriously while staring intently at Carly.
Carly tried to keep a blush from forming on her cheeks at Felix's words. For someone so young, he was so innately passionate about life and people. In spite of her better intentions, Carly found herself inadvertently drawn to his vivacity.
Corrie, Jamie, Michelle and Lalita were making their way past the pool when they caught sight of Felix standing on the second landing on the balcony.
"Look, there he is," Lalita observed with a gesture of her hand.
Corrie recognised the older woman standing next to Felix with a sudden jolt.
"Mom?" she asked quizzically.
What was she doing here?
"It's been really hard lately with the impending divorce with Freddie," Carly admitted seriously while looking at Felix.
"And it really feels like you're part of the family, Felix." She added earnestly.
"You have no idea how amazing it is to hear you say that," Freddie declared sincerely while looking into Carly's eyes.
The evening had been a bust until she had arrived. He wished he could spend all night with her and wake up beside her too.
Carly grinned slightly at Felix and turned away, a strand of her black hair blowing in the gentle breeze. The image caused Freddie to lean in desperately closer to Carly, his heart hammering loudly in his chest. Then he threw caution to the wind and pressed his lips forcefully against Carly's. Corrie and her three friends, who saw the whole thing unfolding from below, gasped in horror, Corrie's eyes the widest of them all.
Carly's eyes widened in amazement to find her son's best friend's lips on her. She pulled away from him sharply with a look of horror mingled with anger on her face. Freddie didn't see it coming when Carly drew back her hand and slapped him hard across the face, causing his neck to crane all the way around. And then she had brushed past him, walking swiftly down the stairs.
"Carly! Carly, wait!" Freddie called out, running after her.
Carly ignored him and picked up the pace. Freddie was getting desperate; he couldn't lose Carly, not after coming so close to making everything right again.
"Carly, listen to me. I'm not who you think I am. I'm not Felix, ok? It's me, it's Freddie!" he yelled out, not caring who heard.
"I'm your husband," he continued while he got in front of Carly on the stairwell to stop her from leaving.
"What's the matter with you? Are you completely insane!" Carly hissed furiously, trying to shrug out of Felix's grasp.
"No, I'm not crazy, I swear it's the truth. I'm Freddie Benson, I'm the father of your children! Carls, let me explain!" Freddie exclaimed excitably.
"Don't call me that!" Carly yelled irately, stopping Felix in his tracks and jabbing an accusing finger into his chest.
"You're a weird…man-child!" she hissed in an incensed manner.
"Stay away from Matt! Stay away from Corrie! And stay away from me!" she snapped coldly.
"Carly, don't go! Just give me two seconds and I can explain this!" Freddie begged as Carly began walking away.
Spencer and Sam had just joined the throngs and caught half of what had transpired on the stairwell. Corrie accosted Freddie just as he was about to sprint after Carly.
"You little pervert!" she stated accusingly.
And before Freddie could stop her, Corrie swung back her hand and slapped him across the cheek too. Then Sam stepped up to Freddie and punched him right in the nose.
"Ow, what the hell? What did you do that for?" Freddie exclaimed furiously.
"That was for hitting me in the head with a ball, you nub!" Sam shot back before stalking off after Carly.
Before Freddie could recover, Spencer stood in front of him.
"And to think that I gave you the last popsicle in the freezer during the blackout that one time!" he hissed in scandalised tone right before slapping Freddie across the cheek.
"And you left the toilet seat up too, you bastard!" he shrieked before running after Sam, Carly and Corrie.
Then a very stunned Freddie was left with Corrie's three best friends, who were looking at him with disapproving expressions. Without saying a word, both Michelle and Jamie slapped Freddie hard across the face too.
"Call me," Lalita urged tantalisingly before slapping him too.
Freddie stood there momentarily, feeling distinctly shocked and bruised, wondering how things had gone so horribly wrong in the space of a few minutes.
Gibby was showing the last party-goers out the front door and retrieving most of his prized collections at the same time, which had been used as play-things all night long.
"Get, out."
"Get out,"
"You too, Sparky, get out. And leave the shield at the door." Gibby repeated in a monotonous tone.
Tasha came walking stiffly towards a weary-looking Gibby and they stood looking at each other for a long while.
"Well…this isn't the inconspicuous relationship I was looking for," she began gravely.
"I'm sure you can see now why I have a rule about not dating any of my students' parents."
Gibby nodded solemnly in agreement, knowing full well what was coming. He was surprised to see that Tasha looked really miserable about the admission.
"I'm really sorry, Gibby." She whispered morosely.
And then she was gone, reversing slowly out of the driveway in her car before disappearing into the indigo night. Freddie, who had watched the entire exchange from a few feet away, came walking over to his best friend, feeling incessantly guilty about what had transpired.
"I'm so sorry, Gibby. I didn't know that things were gonna get so out of hand," Freddie apologised sincerely.
Gibby said nothing, but held out his hands towards Freddie in a gesture of solidarity.
"Really?" Freddie asked in relief.
"Dude, of course." Gibby replied graciously.
Then without warning, he swung back his hand and slapped Freddie hard on the face.
"Now I'm sorry," he replied meekly.
"I guess I deserved that," Freddie noted wryly, feeling slightly annoyed.
Then Gibby slapped him again.
"The second one was out of line and completely uncalled for. I'm sorry," Gibby declared soberly.
"That's ok, Gib." Freddie remarked stiffly while Gibby moved in to hug him.
"Are you ok, Gib? I'm really sorry about everything," he added more earnestly when he saw how miserable his best friend looked.
Then Gibby slapped him again.
"Three makes it even. Now we're square," Gibby stated firmly.
"How are you though, Freddie? You ok?" he asked gently, changing tune immediately.
"I don't know, I guess." Freddie offered unconvincingly, feeling completely worn out by the night's events.
Then Gibby slapped Freddie yet again for the fourth and final time.
"That was out of love, because I know you're lying when you say you're fine." Gibby offered sincerely.
"Seriously, stop doing that, Gibby." Freddie commanded irritably.
Author's Note: Shoo, lots of things happened this chapter. Lots of weirdness, lots of almost-incest (lmao, sockstar!), lots of characters and lots of slapping (my favourite parts, hee hee). The 'zeef' and 'gweeg' references are from 'Drake & Josh' when Drake and Josh thought they tricked Megan into believing that aliens had landed on Earth when really she had double-pranked them the entire time. Good old Miranda Cosgrove, what's not to love? I made up the 'Galaxy Wars' references, hope you liked. And now I'm officially done writing for the week, you won't get another morsel out of me. Snapplelinz out!