THE AFTERMATH OF iCARLY

Sam: if Carly was still here

It had been a week since Freddie had met a girl whom he liked. Sam couldn't stop giving the dork a hard time about it, because really, why should she let a golden opportunity like that slide past without a second glance? The whole teasing and tormenting thing was her jam.

If Carly were here, she'd tell her best friend to a) be nicer to him and b) what was up with her lately ... even if Carly seemed a little oblivious to Sam's major feeling loop towards Fredward Benson, she could always tell that her BFF could somehow see straight through her little act of toughness and meanness. It was, for all intents and purposes, a wall she'd built and taken a good part of sixteen years to build. But it was an ongoing process.

Just like a couple of years ago, at the lock-in, at Ridgeway High - a ludicrous idea that students would actually be productive during this evening. When Principal Franklin announced in over the loudspeaker, the girl was ready to burst out laughing. But something stopped her. Anyway, they all worked on separate projects.

"Don't you want a nice boyfriend? Go for it... make a move. I just want you to be happy." Carly's eyes were full of love right at that point. Sam clenched her teeth together.

"Then bake me a pie." Which could be translated to: then leave your big sticky nose out of other people's love lives. She wasn't happy where the argument ended.

Bake me a pie. Such a typical Sam-ism. Especially the way she said it, like it actually meant what she wanted it to - just with different words. Before leaving, she noticed a shadow of guilt pass over her friend's face. But Carly always had a shadow of guilt - like she was forcing Sam and Freddie to get along for her own peace of mind. What was it she said to Sam before leaving for Italy? Something about being "civilised" towards Freddie. Just as she did back then, now, Sam laughed out loud.

"I kissed Freddie!" The door slammed shut in Sam's face. She was more shocked than angry, and really didn't know how to react. She knocked on the door.

The words echoed in the back of her mind. Why now, she thought. Of all the times in the world to be thinking of her jealous moments... this had to be the worst. Well, that and the moments afterward with all the PDA. Sam actually threw-up the first time she saw Carly and Freddie together. It made her physically ill.

Thinking about it now made her sick to her stomach. And the girl had the strongest stomach out of all three of them.

Sam thought of all the ways she could to break both Freddie and Carly up. So then came the 'Bacon Analogy' - which was based on a true story, but somehow did the trick. She got into his head and messed with it. That same day, they broke up. It was strange because Carly wasn't all that cut-up about it. Neither was Freddie.

"Jealous?" There was way too much satisfaction in his smirk.

"Gross."

"You just can't stand the idea of Carly and me as a couple." Sam resisted the urge to slap the boy right then and there. Of course she couldn't! That was the problem!

"Very true, it makes me want to puke up blood." And that had already came true, maybe not the blood part, exactly, but the throwing up had occurred more than once.

Now though, he was on some random date with a girl. She was pretty, she was most likely smarter than Sam and a little more polite as well. Why wouldn't Freddie be interested in starting a relationship with a perfect girl like that? What was her name again? He'd only said it a couple of thousand times... Allison? Abigail? Did the name even start with an 'A'? Perhaps her name was Francine or Molly. Sam pondered this whilst wandering from his bedroom into the Benson kitchen.

The kitchen had to be one of the best places of the whole house, in her opinion. It had a fridge and it had cupboards that were more often than not filled with food. Sam loved food. She yanked open the fridge door and closed it almost immediately. Tofu? Yuck! And what on earth was that green gooey stuff in a container? Gross!

"Mrs Benson is one whackadoodle," she said out loud. "Poor Fredward."

Sam shrugged and went back into Freddie's bedroom, secretly admiring his vast collection of space movie stuff and computer nerd pieces. The bed was comfortable too. Everything about his room was a constant reminder of when the two of them dated for a short while.

Now that they had graduated, Freddie would be going to New York but Sam had no clue as to where she'd wind up. She hated that she wouldn't be able to see him every day - not in a "I can't live without you" sappy way though. Just because the two of them had become closer since Carly moved to Italy. Thinking about that day sent shivers up her spine. It's when she came over to check that he was okay.

Let's dive into that flashback, shall we?

"What? Are you here to gloat, Sam?" he said, almost spitting out the words.

"No," she replied, taking a seat on the window sill next to him. "I know you're cut up about Carls leaving us."

Freddie snapped his head up and eyed the blonde suspiciously before nodding his head slowly. Sam stared at him for the same amount of time as he stared at her.

"Why would you care?" The tone was a bitter one.

"Because," she said, with a pause. "I'm sad about it too."

They both sat there, soaking up the silence that was setting in and around them on that fire escape. She had a feeling they'd be coming back to their special spot sooner or later. The memories flooded her mind. But she shook her head until Freddie asked her what her problem was. Sam denied her feelings then, just like she always had done.

"Nothing... dork." The insult was forced. But he winced at it nonetheless. "Just... stop being all sad. It's bumming me out."

Sam winced at her own flashback, and recalled how she felt back then, and also how she was feeling now. The fact of the matter was, she was still in love with him. But he was on a date with the wrong girl. She looked at the clock shaped like a rocket, grabbed her shoes and headed out the door. Maybe there was still time.

Somehow, she knew exactly where to go. It was so obvious that he'd take her exactly where they'd gone for their first date - along with an irritable Carly Shay.

Petrosini's Restaurant hadn't changed one bit. Sam walked straight inside and instantly saw Freddie and whats-her-name in a booth, laughing and having a good time. Could she actually come in and break that up for her own selfish gain? Uhh, yeah! Or so she thought, anyway. The waitress gave her a bit of a dirty look as she waltzed over to their table and sat right next to Freddie's date.

"Hey, what's happening peoples?" she announces, casually.

"Sam!" Freddie yells, dropping his knife and fork on the table. "What are you doing here?"

Sam looks from Freddie's angry red face, to the embarrassed face of the girl beside her, back to Freddie. Things were not going to turn out well, she thought. Perhaps interrupting him on his first date wasn't such a brilliant plan. Despite her making it up in about five seconds upon walking into the place.

"Oh, of course!" says whats-her-face. "Sam, a co-host of iCarly. I'm honoured to meet you."

"Yeah, okay, crazy lady," replies Sam.

"Excuse me," says Freddie, still angry. "Would you mind leaving us to finish our date in peace?"

"But I need to talk to you."

"Now? Can it wait?"

"Nope. It's a matter of ... it's just important, okay?"

Freddie looks at the girl across from him and she gives him an 'I don't mind' kind of smile. But he shakes his head and stands up, pulling Sam with him. She grins but as soon as he faces her with a serious look on his face, she doesn't want to know what's coming next. She knows, alright. But she still doesn't want to know.

"Leave us alone."

The tone of finality in his voice just now cuts into Sam harshly and she actually decides to obey his wishes and leaves the restaurant, feeling sorry for herself.

The girl walks down the street, staring at the sidewalk beneath her sneakers and wondered where it all went wrong. If Carly was still here, she would go rushing over to her apartment and tell her everything. Carly would give her a hug and tell her that boys are stupid and she shouldn't feel bad because Freddie's just another stupid jerk. Because that's what best friends do. And that's what Sam and Carly used to do. Before she left. If Carly was still here, Sam would feel so much better right now.