Sam Puckett was a Teenage Girly Girl
Chapter Four: Dance Night
Carly stood behind Sam, putting curlers in her long blond hair. "You have to call him," she said, smiling.
"No," Sam replied, sounding like she actually agreed. "He'll think it's stupid."
"Sam, Freddie'll go with you if you're nice to him," the brunette responded, curling the last lock of blond hair.
The blond started to cough a somewhat gruff cough, her eyes tightly shut.
"Are you okay?" Carly asked, shocked.
"Fine," Sam answered after one more deep cough. "Mm, think I'm getting a cold. No, but...I'm fine..." With a sigh, the teenager turned around, facing her friend. "You really think Freddie would dance with me?"
"I'm sure he will," Carly happily assured the girl. "Here's the phone...call him." With a defeated smile, Sam took the phone, dialed the Benson's number, and listened to the electronic simulation of a phone ringing.
"Hi, Freddie," the blond happily greeted the boy, trying to hold back a smile. "...Hey, you know how there's that dance tomorrow night?...Yeah, um... I was wondering...if you're not busy, would you maybe wanna go...with me? As a...kinda like a date?"
"Are you serious?" Freddie asked, anticipating a cruel prank that could possibly end in his demise. "You really want to go to the dance? With me?"
"Yeah," Sam answered. "Look, I know I've tormented you for a long time...but I'm really sorry...and I think it'd be really fun for the two of us to do something like this. So whatta you say?" Her heart started pounding.
"...Um, okay," the brunette boy answered, secretly hoping his friend was being sincere. "Um, I'll go buy a tux."
"Awesome. Thanks, Freddiekins. Bye," Sam concluded before quickly hanging up.
"Freddiekins?" Carly asked with a laugh.
"Who cares, it's a date!" Sam shrieked, before being joined by her friend, who gave her a giant hug. "Oh man. This is awesome!"
"I'm really happy for you," the brunette replied. "Hey, why don't we go out tomorrow, and get that dress?"
"That'd rock," Sam excitedly answered. "Thanks, Carls." Carly held onto her friend, feeling a sense of discomfort.
Meanwhile, in PCA, Quinn was standing in front of a full-length mirror, putting her hair into different styles. Looking over to a dresser, the girl pulled a container of gel of, poured a handful into her palm, and began mixing it into her dark hair.
Lola and Zoey ran through the door, each wearing terrified looks on their faces. "Quinn!" Lola screamed, her heart viciously pounding. "Are you okay?"
Quinn molded her hair into a mow hawk, and looked over at her friends. "Sure thing, honey," she said, not sounding at all uneasy. "You?" The girl began shaping her hair into another style.
"There was an accident in our dorm room," Zoey said, sounding urgent in tone. "Something happened to you." Quinn pulled her hair down and tightly backward, showing her shining underlayer of her locks. "...Look, you missed something. That machine you made...it has an error. It's samples turn toxic."
"Quinn, you're gonna die unless you can reverse its effect," Lola frantically instructed her friend. "Stop playing with your hair, and help us!"
"You're crazy," the bespectacled girl very calmly replied. "Do I look like there's anything wrong with me?"
"The subjects all reacted at different speeds," Lola explained. "Odds are, you don't have long. Now please, if not for you, then for that Sam girl?"
"Look, I'm really not into science that much anymore," Quinn replied, not seeming to care. "You two are smart. I know you can do it."
"This isn't like you!" Zoey yelled, growing furious. "You used to care about people!" The two stormed out of the room, leaving Quinn alone.
Back in Seattle, Sam hadn't been returning Carly's calls. No one had heard from her all day, which was extremely unusual for Sam. Finally, the brunette came over to her friend's apartment, knocked on her bedroom door, and got no answer. "Sam?" she called, growing concerned. "Sam, are you in there?" A quiet groan sounded from behind the closed door. Her heart racing with fear, Carly pushed the door open, and saw Sam laying on her bed, in her new dress, and with her hair drooped over her face. "Sam!" Carly yelled, running over to the teenager.
The brunette turned Sam upward, letting her long locks fall to the sides. Carly gasped when she saw her friend's pale, wrinkled face; her eyes were surrounded by deep, dark bags and were barely open. "I don't..." Sam gasped out. "I don't feel so good."
"Oh, man," Carly exclaimed, grabbing her phone. "Oh, that girl should know what to do...Darn it!"
"She said she'd email you," Sam moaned, hardly able to speak. "Until she does...we're outta luck." Carly felt her throat start to ache, and tears began to form in her eyes. Hurt and confused, the girl wrapped her arms around her dying friend, and prayed for a miracle.
"This was supposed to be your special night," Carly croaked out, hardly able to keep her voice straight. Sam closed her eyes, and tried to enjoy her time with Carly.
"If...something happens," Sam whispered. "T-tell Freddie...I really wanted to dance with him...oh, and Carly...I'm glad to be with you now."
Meanwhile, at PCA, Lola looked over slide after slide, trying to find the variable she'd been missing. "I can't believe this," Lola finally said, standing up.
"What?" Zoey asked, putting down a blood sample.
"...I can't do it," the Puerta Rican girl confessed, feeling her eyes blurr over. "I don't know what to do..."
"We'll find a way," Zoey comforted her friend. "We have to."
"Girlth," Stacey greeted the two, her lisp showing. "Quinn's really thick; she's puking all over the hallway."
"Oh man," Lola exclaimed, running into the hall.
"This is really bad," Zoey added. "Thanks, Stace." The girls found Quinn laying on the floor, wrapped up in a fetal position. "Quinn!" Zoey cried. "Baby, it's gonna be okay."
"Come on, get her other arm," Lola instructed Zoey, lifting up Quinn's left arm, which was practically limp. Zoey helped support the girl, and then carried her to their dorm room.
"She doesn't have long," Zoey declared. checking her pulse. "That girl can't be dong any better at this point. We have to find a cure now!"
Lola continued reading over slides. "Quinn, do you have any ideas?" she asked, growing desperate. "You're not a dumb girly girl...you're a genius. You really care about people, and you'd give your life for anyone else any other day."
Quinn took in a deep breath. "Try...introducing...the negatified blood samples to the vile on the shelf...It might just work. That should work to reverse the effect of the ray."
"Okay," Lola replied, running over to get the supplies. "Thank you...Professor." Quinn smiled her true smile. Lola quickly stirred up a formula, and pressed it against her friend's lips. "Drink up," she said in a half-whisper. Quinn opened her mouth, and let the cool liquid flow into her throat. Gulping hard, the girl began to breathe at a healthier speed again.
"It's working!" Zoey exclaimed, amazed. "Come on, we have to get to Seattle."
"There's no way we can get there in time," Lola replied, feeling her heart sink.
"Miracles have happened before," Zoey responded. "Come on." The two ran out the door, followed by a weak Quinn.
"There's no way you're going alone," the brunette girl said, her voice hoarse.
"Not in the condition you're in," Lola argued. "You need rest."
"Can't rest knowing something like this is happening because of my invention," Quinn argued. "Come on, you're driving to the airport."
Carly gently stroked Sam's hair, not leaving her for a second. "Everything's gonna be okay," she promised. "Please, please make it."
Sam giggled a little; not like she had been, but how she used to. "You know, Carls," she whispered. "...I always wished I could be like you...So perky, so happy. You're what I've always wanted to be."
"The way you are is perfect," Carly replied, smiling. "Whether you're belching to "We Will Rock You", doing my nails in study hall, or whatever it is you do."
"Thank you," Sam whispered, feeling herself turn warm on the inside. "I am so glad to have you as a best friend."
"Back at'cha," Carly lovingly replied.
Suddenly, the door flew open, and Zoey, Quinn, and Lola ran inside. "...Are we too late?" Quinn asked, devastated.
"No," Carly answered, shocked beyond belief.
The three ran over to Sam. Lola tilted her head up, Zoey knelt beside her, and Quinn administered the antidote. "Just relax," the bespectacled girl said, watching the medicine drain out of the vile. "I'm so sorry...You're gonna be fine."
"How'd you find her house?" Carly asked.
"While we were on the plane, we reviewed the multi-location iCarly you and Sam filmed about a year ago," Quinn explained. "Checked the address of Sam's broadcast, and followed it."
"Wow," Carly replied.
"Okay," Lola said, helping Sam up. "She should be fine in a matter of minutes."
"Thank you," Carly said, deeply relieved. "Thank you so much."
"It's why I'm a scientist," Quinn happily responded. "It was the least I could do."
"You didn't mean to do it," Carly forgave the girl. "I'm just glad Sam's alright."
"Dido," Sam added, raising her pointer finger in the air.
"My name's Zoey Brooks, by the way," Zoey introduced herself. "And this is and Quinn were the brains of the operation."
"Don't say that," Lola replied. "We couldn't have done it without you."
"If you don't mind my asking," Carly continued. "Um...how'd you get here so fast?"
"...I actually have no idea," Quinn answered. "I'm just glad we did."
Later that night, Freddie stood on the gym floor, listening to the music beating away. Other teenagers were dancing and having fun, but not him. Sam had gotten the better of him once again, he knew.
"Freddie!" Carly called out. The boy turned around, still down. "Sam's really sorry she's late. She'll be here in a second."
Suddenly, the doors flew open, and everyone gazed at the girl who walked in. Sam, clad in the blue dress, which was now torn around the legs, accompanied by a black belt and fish nets around her hands, walked in, confident as usual. "Wanna dance, pretty boy?" she asked, sounding like her old self again.
"Are you gonna act all girly if we do?" Freddie replied.
"Don't count on it," Sam answered, ripping off her friend's tie.
"I am so happy for them," Carly said, looking over at Quinn and Lola.
"Same here," Quinn added. "Even though I don't really know them. Hey, where's Zoey?"
"Dancing with some blond," Lola answered, gesturing over to Jade, who was dancing with Ms. Brooks.
"Looks like a happy ending," Carly summarized.
"I'd take that over a science fair trophy any day," Quinn replied. The friends all gave one another a smile, watched the new couples get closer to each other, and thanked heaven for miracles.
The Living End...?