A/N: Holy bejesus I have come back!

I think it's safe to say that I am a terrible author for not updating this story in 3 years. The hype with Sam and Freddie died with that damn arc and that damn ending! Cheez its! What was that Chizz all about huh?

But, I'm back to writing. I want to see this fic to the very end! With the happy ending that the writers of iCarly failed to do for our favorite couple! Huzza! Who's with me? Anyone? No? Just me? Okay.

On we go with the story!

Chapter 7: The Sea is Calling

I dreaded going to school with the bracelet glittering on my wrist. As if I didn't have enough problems being "Baby Benson" to the football team. I might as well add a tiara on my forehead.

The rest of the weeks were very unpredictable if anyone can believe that. I went to school every day, passed my tests that needed to be passed, studied when it was study time, and walked to and from school beside Carly. I still had the girly bracelet on my wrist but cleverly covered it with a long sleeved sweater. Only when hot weather liked to pay us a visit did I have to gain the guts (more like the nerve) to show it off with a short sleeve t-shirt. And when I did Josh, Kevin and all the other football jocks never let me live it down for the rest of the day.

"Look at you Fredwina! Nice bracelet, it matches your eyes!"

"Got a necklace to match it?"

"Aww Freddie, you need a dress to go along with that pretty bracelet?"

I tried to take it off, but my mom made sure that I took it with me to school every day. She would make me breakfast, tie the bracelet on me in one of her ridiculous knots (you know, the type of knots that if you mess around with it there's a good chance you would never take it off?), and send me off to school. Every time that I would come back in the house I would be inspected by her, and she would take it off, making it look so easy. I tried seeing how she undid the knot but no matter how many times I would see her do it, I never could learn how to take it off. Plus, I don't think that she would ever let me go out again if I wasn't wearing the bracelet. That's right, she would rather have me fail and miss class than go out into the world without that thing. She was seriously in denial that whatever myth she read was actually real.

So I decided to prove her myth as a bust and venture out on Saturday morning to the beach. I wanted to find Sam and ask her about why she gave me such a fruity bracelet.

I woke up and changed, hoping to get out before my mom would wake up. I didn't want to tell her where I was going, or what I was going to do, because I didn't want to worry her. Worse, I didn't want her to want to join me. Luckily, she was still in bed when I opened my bedroom door. And by the time I tiptoed to the front door and out the hallway, I knew I was in the clear. I opened the door wide enough to slip through and shut it behind me. I was, for the moment, in the clear.

"Freddie?" I heard a voice call behind me. I turned around after the shutting the door and quickly shushed Carly from making any more noise that could awaken the monster that was my mother.

"What are you doing up so early on a Saturday for?" I demanded to know. What would any high school student be doing up so early?

"I was just getting the morning newspaper," she flashed the newspaper in my face.

"Oh."

"Where are you going so early?" Carly wasn't dumb, she probably noticed the suited up sweater, the long pants (with swim trunks underneath), and the sunglasses I had in my hand.

"Shh." I put my finger to my mouth. "I'm going to the beach."

"The beach?" she asked me. "At six? What could possibly be at the beach at six in the morning?" she said.

"Nothing!" I whispered defensively. "I just thought it might be nice to see it and all you know-"

"Is it because of that bracelet thing?" she quickly speculated, all the while glancing down toward my wrist. Out of habit I covered it with my long sleeve of my sweater.

"So what if it is?" I defiantly stated.

"Freddie you don't honestly believe what your mom said about it do you?" she snickered. I told Carly about the fable and she just laughed her head off, when I was hoping she would be the one that would actually be the understanding and comforting type, she totally turned out to be the opposite. I was surprised that she didn't join in on the taunting. Maybe because I was her friend. Or maybe because she saw me everyday and had her own chances to come up with something witty but playful in her eyes. I'm not sure.

"It's not that I believe it, it's that I want some answers. And maybe I can find some at the beach. It's where it came from anyways." I told her. She flashed the prettiest smile, making me get butterflies all in my stomach again like I used to so long ago. Only Sam was able to do that now, but Carly, no matter how much I wanted to forget about her was slowly coming back into my head.

It had been almost three weeks since I hadn't heard from Sam, let alone see her. It was like she disappeared from the surface and went back to where she came from. And I tried going to the beach again, but that proved to be difficult without any funds. I wasted all of my allowance last time, so meeting her at the beach was out of the question. But did I honestly think she would be looking for me? No, why would she? Maybe just to make sure I was still alive and had refrained from touching seawater like my mother told me not to.

"I'll go with you." She said, shutting her door in my face. After collecting myself I walked right in, and Carly was already coming down the stairs, a beach ball tucked under her arm. "I'm ready!" she beamed.

"Carly I'm not going to the beach for fun! I'm going for research!" I told her, making sure I kept my voice level down. She didn't stop, grabbing me by the collar and taking me toward the elevator.

"I wanna go Freddie. You can go do your research while I soak up some rays. I heard it's going to be a nice warm sunny day." She said, pushing me into the elevator and out into the main lobby.

At least the bus ride was uneventful like the last time that I took it. The only difference was that this time I had company. And by company I meant not being able to look at the girls in their skimpy bikinis because Carly would probably call me a pervert.

"How did you know which bus route to take Freddie?" she asked me as more and more passengers were taking up space.

"I researched it before I left the house." I lied. I never told her about the time that I ditched school and came to the beach by myself.

"You must have been up for a while then," she said, skeptically looking at me.

"Yup, I've been thinking about going to the beach for a while so…" and we left it at that, watching more and more people with surfboards, sand equipment, and swimsuits. I tried keeping my focus from staring at the latter, keeping my focus on the sticky bus floor instead.

We arrived at the beach when everything was still cold and had a light cover of mist over the town. As we stepped off the bus and felt it take off behind us, I had no idea where to go to get any answers to what I wanted to ask.

Oh. Crap.

"So, why did you want to come so early Freddie?" Carly asked me.

"I really have no idea." I admitted. She just shrugged her shoulders and started walking towards the beach houses. "Well come on, there's no point in staying stuck at the bus stop now is there?" and continued down the path. I felt my feet moving in the same direction.

What a let down. I came all this way for nothing. Again. Why did I always do things that were pointless? I kicked the ground over and over as I followed Carly to the beach, and when we hit the sand I was still kicking, making the sand fly up in the air and into my mouth. Yup, this is what I get.

The mist was still crowding the beach more than the residents of the town, but on occasion I would see a person jogging on the beach or a surfer in a black swim suit ready to jump some morning waves. But as for the huge crowds like I always expect during the days, they were minimal, if at all.

"Kinda wish I would have brought a heavier sweater," I heard Carly laugh a bit uneasy.

"Maybe we can find something at the shops at the pier," I said, leading the way. It wasn't like me to be the leader but I brought her into this mess, I might as well try to make it better.

"Oh, that's okay Freddie, maybe we can find something in the stores away from the beach?" Carly recommended. I got it, she wanted to get away from the beach, where the salty sea breeze was sending shivers down her spine I bet. And not in the good way.

"Sounds like a good idea," I said, but I really wanted to head out towards the pier. If anything, that will be where I can find answers, it was where I saw Sam before dive in, supposedly.

"Freddie, are you coming?" Carly asked me.

"I got my phone on me, call me if you find something over there, I'll check the pier since I have jeans on."

"Okay, I'll text you," she said, and walked over away from the ocean. I, on the other hand walked towards it.

If there were any answers to what I was looking for, they would have to be in the ocean. I don't know where to begin, but the ocean was the best start in my defense.

The pier was just as lonely as the beach, with only a few fishermen attempting to catch unsuspecting gills. Everything was eerily quiet as the fishing rods orchestrated a sound that the waves were following in motion. Coughing and huddled up like independent penguins, the fishermen would cast lines over and over again, as soon as I reached thee end of the pier, I turned away from the ocean and it's hard winds.

This was a bad idea.

I didn't know why I just couldn't wait until it got a little bit more sunny. My desperation to finding out more about this seashell bracelet and that blonde shrew. I still don't understand why she is always mad at me one second, and soothing the next.

"Sun'll come up sooner or later kid, then the sea will come alive," a fisherman beside me said. It was weird because he had a really feminine voice. Almost like a girl's voice.

"Um, yeah, alive," I said, lost at words.

"Names Lana," the fisherman said.

"Lana, isn't that a-"

"Girl's name," she said, lifting her hat to show her face. A female fisherman! A fisherwoman!

"You look surprised boy named…"

"Freddie, I'm sorry I just never met a…"

"Female fisherman? Yeah we are a rare breed, but in all honesty," she leaned in, and I couldn't help but smell the same aroma of the sea. Like Sam did. "We are lousy fish catchers, that's why there's not many of us," She flashed me a smile, commas appearing on both sides of her smile and her eyes were as big as pearls, with crow's feet that made her look more regal instead of older. Her eyes didn't sparkle as much as Sam's did, but there was something in them that made me curious to keep staring at them. "So, what brings you to the ocean so bright and early Freddie?" she asked as she brought up her line to cast it out again in one fluid motion.

"Uh, nothing really," I said. I didn't know how much I would want to tell a complete older stranger about my sad life story, "Just wanted to take in the sea air, you know?"

"Haha that's a lie if I ever heard one," she said, "No one likes smelling the ocean, if you wanted that smell, you should have gone to a fish market by your house or something. You came for a different reason I'm sure. And I bet it has something to do with that bracelet on your wrist."

"How-" She let her line drop into the water again and plopped the pole beside her empty bucket. She came closer to me and pulled my long sleeve further apart to show the girly bracelet.

"You gay?"

"No!"

"Then your girlfriend gave you that bracelet," she said.

"I don't have a girlfriend," I stammered.

"Then why wear it?"

"Look, its a long story," I began but she stopped me.

"Pulsera del Mar doesn't take that long to explain to a folk and myth lore expert like myself."

"You have a degree in this or are you a book hoarder like my mom?"

"I don't really feel the need to study. But I do know more about that bracelet than silly books," she said bringing in her line, "Sun is coming, and the ocean comes alive," she said as the sun began warming my face. She pulled off her hat and I saw her red hair flow out as if gravity had no part in her life, slow and delicate down to her waist.

"No luck for the eight hundredth time. Maybe I should just give up on this job," she said with a little too much enjoyment."Come on fish boy," she said, leading away from the pier.

"I don't get it, if the ocean comes alive when the sun comes out, why don't you fish then?" I ask. She smiled as she turned to look at me, her hair moving as if she were underwater. Slow.

"We can talk about that bracelet and then maybe I'll answer your question."

She led me away from the ocean and into a small little shop just a little less than a mile from the beach. The shop looked like it sells all different kinds of shells. But none of the shells were broken or chipped. Each one looked in perfect condition, as if she knew a cove where all the shells are in mint condition like a boxed Galaxy Wars figurine.

"Please no touching the shells," an old lady said in the back counter.

"Relax, Moana," Lana said, "If he knows what's good for him, he won't touch," she said playfully. The old lady named Moana looked at me without seeing me. Her eyes looked through me in a cloud of white misting over them. That's when I realized she was blind. I started waving my hands in her direction to see just how blind she was. She didn't react to any of my movements, meaning she didn't care or she was really really blind.

"Knock it off," she said as I started shaking my chest, making me freeze just as I was about to bust a move.

"How-"

"Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm deaf," she said hotly "I can hear your clumsy feet attempting to dance."

"Give him a break Moana," Lana said pulling out a box from the back storage. She placed the box in my possession, certain that I wouldn't drop it as she rummaged through it.

"What you got there?" Moana said, curious to the noises coming from her incessant rustling.

"This boy has a pulsera del mar," she said over her shoulder, "I'm trying to see if I have what he's searching for, or if I already gave it away."

"Impossible, the princess wouldn't give it away so carelessly to a boy," Moana said.

"Princess?"

"Oh, well, cat's out of the bag, luckily," she pulled out a book from the depths of the box, "You have this to help you out with finding out our truth."

"Your truth?" I said, taking the book from her as she traded me for the box. I looked at the book, the cover shining like the inside of a shell. The title just said, "Aquarious."

"Tell me about the girl that gave you the bracelet," she said, guiding me into the back storage of the room. She pushed out a chair for me as she sat across from me, "Was she young or old? Big? Hair color? Everything you can remember."

She wanted me to explain Sam? How do I even begin?

"She was blonde, about my height, blue eyes, lightly tanned like she knew when enough was enough. Big lips, normal everything in the body department, not that I was looking or paying much attention-"

"You sure you aren't gay? Most boys would pay attention to those features," she said with a smile.

"I'm not most boys," I said.

"Anything else," she said, taking the book from me, and flipping through the pages.

"She smelled," I closed my eyes, "Like seaweed and salt water, just like the ocean, but more pure."

"Is this her?" she asked, turning the book over to me. I took a gander as I looked face to face with pictures of mermaids, red, brown, black, and strikingly golden yellow hair. Brown eyes, green eyes, purple eyes, bright blue eyes. Some smiling, others serious, but the one thing they all had in common was their bodies morphed into scales and fins as you looked further down at their anatomy. In the center, there was no doubt about it, was Sam, looking serious, and beside her that big surfer dude, and to the left of him, Marina looking at Sam.

"Yeah," I said, "But how?"

"Samantha, the future queen of the sea," Lana said, "It would have been me, but I liked the sand warmed by the sun, not cold in the ocean."

"I still don't understand," I said, skeptical as all hell.

"We exist Freddie," Lana said simply, "And this is a gift as well as a warning," she grabbed my hand and showed me the bracelet.

"Mermaids aren't real," I said. I could feel my face tense and determined.

"But we are," she said simply, "We just have been very cleverly hiding ourselves in the bottom of the oceans."

She got up from where she was sitting and walked a bit around the room, as if she felt she still had fins and was swimming around the room.

"We have been cautious ever since the beginning, when man went into the water with their gigantic boats and fishing and maiming everything for the sake of eating. Their excuses.

"I was born in Aquarious, that city that you see here. When I was still a mermaid, my father was king and protector of Aquarious. I was his only living heir, and after him, I would have become queen of Aquarious. But I had to marry as well. No queen can rule alone in the city. But I did not want to marry, and I didn't want to be queen, but my father didn't care, I was to marry and rule for as long as I lived.

"When he announced my engagement to the city, I would often hide away from the city, going to the outskirts and slowly began going up into the surface. The first time I felt sun hit my face, touch my hair, I knew that I wanted to live out there. And my father was furious at my proposal of going to the beach. He was more afraid than anything, because I was his only child, and he didn't want to risk losing me. I promised him I would be careful and even told him that I would take a maid, Moana, with me. That was the only way I could get him to agree.

"I came to the surface in the middle of the night, and was scared and wondering what happened to the beautiful warmth I felt so long ago. And before I knew it I saw the sun coming up from far away, and fell in love with it. I knew I never wanted to go back to the depths of the ocean. My heart fell in love with the sun at the age of 14.

"I sent a letter with Moana telling my father that I would not return to the ocean. I didn't hear back from him or her for almost twenty years. Then I found Moana once again when I was walking on the pier, and she told me that my father died of a broken heart that I caused so long ago. She was blind, probably from old age or punishment, or both, and handed me that book you're holding in your hands. It explains the new king of Aquarious, King Sheldon, and his only living child, a girl named Samantha.

"I only met her once, and quite quickly. She knew who I was and simply asked me how I did it. How I managed to become human. I couldn't help her with that. My father granted me too much freedom, that I didn't need the ocean to survive, but Samantha's father is more cunning." She looked at me, "How many times have you seen Sam?" she asked.

"Maybe, like once every month, why?"

"There's a reason for that. You see, her father didn't want to suffocate his only daughter, he dotes on her, but is also protective and carries her best interest or so he says. Every full moon is when the sea touches the sand more than any other time of the month, is the only time Sam is granted permission to come out of the ocean and be human."

"What happens if she stays outside longer?" I asked.

"She risks the chance of dying," She said, "A mermaid can't survive without water."

"You do," I said. Lana smiled.

"I do, you're right, but that is also my curse."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't go into the ocean ever again," she said simply. "Sam's father made sure that when he sent Moana back to me, it was to convey a message. A message that said simply, I was banished from the ocean. I can't let the ocean touch me or I it. He didn't want me to infect the rest of the mer-children with fantasies of the outside world. I was a danger also because I was the rightful ruler after my father, if I chose to come back to Aquarious, people would possibly want me as a queen instead of King Sheldon."

"This can't be true," I said, too skeptical to believe any of this, "You aren't a mermaid, Sam's not a mermaid, all this is just a really good thought out joke right? Where's the camera for Sucker of the Week? I'll look right into the lens, is it in this shell here?"

"Let me tell you about the bracelet, it's what you came here for right fish boy? And after that you can choose to believe any of this or not."

I sat back down and let her hold my wrist that held the bracelet.

"This bracelet is a protection. If you ever fall into the ocean, you can be rescued by the mermaid who gave it to you and save you and send you to shore. But, it's also a warning. A warning to keep you safe and away from us. This king, he will know who you are by having this bracelet. He will know that you have met Sam, that you have seen her, and that she has seen you. If you fall into the ocean, you run the risk of running into him as easily as you can with her. Each bracelet that is made is made specifically for a person, so they know who it is and so the right mermaid can save them. But each mermaid interrelated will know that person as well, which means if Sam made this, then Sam's father also knows who you are." She let go of my hand.

"So I can meet a king?"

"Please fish boy, I don't want you get hurt. This king is much different than my own father. Although he was angry, my father was not a vengeful person. He was good natured by heart. That's why he was accepting of my decision, or at least I thought he was. This king will not hesitate. If he feels anything in his life is threatened, which includes Sam, he will strike."

"But how can I see Sam if I don't risk jumping into the ocean?"

"You shouldn't be impatient Freddie, the full moon is next week. You might want to mark your calendars for future meetings with the girl."

"Can you help me?" I asked sheepishly.

"I can arrange a little something if that's what you are asking. But first, do you believe me with everything I just said?"

I didn't know how to answer her. I was still incredibly skeptical about the whole thing, but at the same time, I couldn't help but begin to become a believer. If anything, Lana would help me see Sam again, which was what I wanted more than beliefs in the supernatural underwater world.

"It's possible," I said.

"If that's the best I can get out of you, I will have to take it," she said, "Come back next week Freddie, I'll try catching her before she heads out to wherever she goes on land."

I felt her hand rest on my back and I couldn't help but ask her one more thing. Well, two more things.

"Lana, why tell me all this? And why help me with Sam?"

"I see a lot of me in her," she said, "She has the same attitude I had when I was that age. Maybe she just hasn't found that reason for deciding what she wants in life like I did, but I will try helping her any way I can."

"Well, thanks for that I guess," I said, still holding onto the book, "Oh, and here-"

"You have some reading to do fish boy. Hold onto it until next time," she winked.

"I'll see ya?" I said, unsure of how I was going to lie my way out from my mother's grasp for next week.

"Sure thing. Oh," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled business card. "That's my telephone number, if you need anything be sure to reach me. Moana is a great driver." She laughed. It was good to know she had a strange sense of humor. I thanked her and walked out of the store.

I pulled out my phone and stored the number before texting Carly. I didn't realize but the sun was much stronger, and my instinct was to walk over to the beach to look for her there.

I felt the sun touch my forehead, inflame my skin, and knew what Lana was talking about falling in love with an inanimate object. After spending such long time in that cramped space of a store, it was nice to feel the sun on your face and freedom to move around, using your legs, not fins.

Oh god, what am I getting myself into?