I watched as Freddie and Gibby left after iCarly. I sat down on Carly's couch and waited for her to talk. I knew what was coming.

Carly came into the living room carrying two glasses of Pepi Cola in her hands. She sat down on the couch and handed me my drink. I took a sip, letting the ice and bubbles dance on my tongue. Carly took a sip of hers and I could feel her watching me with suspicion. She carefully placed her drink on the coffee table and then crossed her arms in front of her chest. I finished my drink and started fidgeting with the glass, circling my fingers over the rim.

"So…" She trailed off for a moment. "What's going on?"

I sighed deeply. "Not much, what's going on wi-"

"OH SAM CUT THE CRAP!" Carly shouted angrily. "THIS PAST WEEK YOU'VE CHANGED AND I CAN SEE IT'S FOR THE BETTER BUT PLEASE TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!"

I waited for her to calm down. And I realized that I haven't told Carly anything. The only people I actually opened up to were my mom and Freddie. It must be killing her. Carly was my best friend and I was being unfair. I wasn't trying to keep her out. But I wasn't doing a very good job of letting her in either.

"Well, it started while you were away at Yakima. Well, it actually started happening before that…but well." I sighed again. If I could tell Freddie this then I could tell Carly.

So I did.

I told her about me almost getting anorexia, and wanting to be a chef, and the night Freddie and I hung out together, and me cleaning my house, and about the conversation with y mom, and wanting to do better in school, and auditioning for the musical, and well, everything.

Everything except for telling her that I loved Freddie.

Looks like I didn't have to.

"So Sam, why did you keep this from me?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I guess I was just kinda embarrassed."

"About what? You should be proud that you took the initiative of changing your life for the better. I respect you for that." She smiled.

"I know, and from now on I'll tell you everything." I opened my arms to hug her but nothing happened.

"Everything?" She questioned.

"Yeah." I nodded.

She was silent for a moment.

"Then why didn't you tell me that you like Freddie?" She smirked.

I swallowed. BUSTED!

"Because I don't" I said.

"Yes you do."

"No"

"yeah- huh"

"Nu-uh"

"Yeah-huh"

"Nu-UH!"

"Then tell me why you guys are suddenly hanging out together, and not insulting each other, and hugging each other for crying out loud!" Carly's arms flew up in the air with frustration.

There was a long pause.

"I don't like him." I said again.

She put an angry look on her face. "Jesus Christ!" She said while getting up. She started to storm off but what I said next stopped her in her tracks.

"I fricken love him Carly." It felt so good to admit.

Carly stood there for a moment with her back facing me. Then she slowly spun around. Her face should have been put in the dictionary, right next to the definition of ecstatic. She paced over to the couch and sat inched away from me. I was waiting for her to crack!

She squealed the loudest, most high pitched, and longest squeal know to man. I covered my ears to block out the sound. It didn't work. Luckily Spencer was out on a date, otherwise I'm sure he would've heard, and Carly would tell he and he would blab it out.

"Oh my god! Sam! I can't believe this. Tell me EVERYTHING…NOW!" She screamed.

"Okay, well first of all, stop making my ears bleed." I glared at her.

Carly motioned for her lips to be sealed and I continued.

"Well, I realized the other day that I've always liked him, but then I realized that I love him. I mean, I just want to be near him, you know? And those GODLY muscles, and the way he smiles, and how he cares about me and it's just…I love him so much!" I sounded like such a girl.

Carly looked at me with pleading eyes and I realized she was dying to talk.

"Go ahead." I said.

"Well, does he know? Are you going to tell him?"

I bit my lip. "No, he doesn't know, and I'm not ready to tell him."

"Well when are you going to be ready?" She asked with anticipation.

"I don't know, but please don't tell anyone. I'll know when I'm ready."

Carly sighed with defeat. "Okay. But let me just say one thing."

"What now Shay?"

"I know he loves you back."

"How? I mean, he's loved you forever! What makes you think that he'd even like me in the first place?" I said sadly.

"How? Really Sam? It might just be by the way he looks at you when you're not looking at him. Or the way he'll do anything for you. Or how he wrote that incredible poem about you the other day."

"You don't know if he wrote that for me."

Carly gave me the "really?" look just then.

I sighed and rubbed my hands over my elbows. "Can I tell you something Carly?"

Again, she gave me the "really?" look.

"Well, I'm afraid."

"Of what?" she looked surprised. Sam Puckett wasn't afraid of anything.

"I'm afraid of Freddie liking me. I know it's weird. Typically if a girl likes, or in this case loves, a guy, then she wants to be loved back. And I do, it's just part of me is…I don't know, just scared. And it scares me even more to not know what I'm scared of!"

Carly bit her lip and appeared to be deep in thought.

I covered my face with my hands.

"Maybe you're afraid to find out what happens after you stop playing the game that you guys have been playing since, well, since forever."

I looked up at her, confused? "What game?"

"You know the one where you constantly rip on each other and insult each other. It's like if you guys stop hating each other, then it means that you guys stop caring about each other."

I thought about this for a moment. Carly Shay was a genius.

"Yeah…So what does that mean?" I asked.

"It means that you're afraid to let go of a friendship. But it also means that you're stupid."

"Stupid?"

"Yeah, stupid! Don't be afraid to let Freddie in. You'll be glad if you don't. You see, now that you're both falling for each other, playing this game won't satisfy either one of you. So now if you guys keep playing this gae, you'll be pushing each other away. Understand what I'm saying?"

"Kind of."

Carly sighed. "Just don't be afraid to let him in and when the time is right, you'll find that you're ready to…stop playing the game."

"Or Win." I laughed.

Carly laughed with me and patted me gently on the shoulder. "You'll both win the prize, I promise."

Carly was a good friend, and she told me exactly what I wanted to hear.

We hugged and then talked the whole night. I told her why I liked Freddie and she told me what's going on with her boyfriend Adam, and it all seemed right.

And there was only four months left of Junior year. I had so much going on to. The Musical, iCarly, Freddie, school!

Now I just had to brace myself.