Sam kept running until she opened the front door. When she spotted Freddie at the foot of the stairs slowly and cautiously walked down.

"Freddie?" He didn't look up. She walked further down until she was right behind him. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not in the mood, Sam!"

"Hey," she said softly, "Hey, Fredor- Freddie? Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright to you? I just found out my girlfriend is my TWIN SISTER! So go ahead! Tell me 'I told you so!' Yeah, you were right. We could never be together. She would never love me! Just get it over with!" This whole time he didn't look at her. Sam just stared at him with sad eyes.

"I would never say that," she whispered. He scoffed.

"Yeah you would! You're just trying to be nice because of the circumstances." She looked hurt.

"No, no you're wrong. I know how much pain you're in and I knew she was going to break your heart somehow. That's the only reason I said that in the beginning, to warn you of what might happen." Freddie's expression softened.

"Well I guess no one could've warned me of this," he chuckled lightly.

"Well that was probably the least of my problems. My mom lied to me! She told me my dad left us. That he was a bum and didn't care about us. I spent every Father's Day crying as a kid. I used every birthday wish wishing he'd come to his senses, come back and we'd be a family." He put his head in his hands. Sam sat down beside him, sighed, and stared at her shoes.

"Well…at least it was all a lie…" Freddie's head shot up.

"What?" She took a deep breath.

"You thought your dad was a bum, but he isn't. I know my dad's a bum."

"How do you know?"

"You know I don't like talking about my life, or my feelings, or myself in general-"

"Sam!"

"Sorry. I don't usually share, but…my dad left when my mom was pregnant with Melanie and me. The reason I know why he is how he is, is that he came back when I was nine. I remember a strange man bursting through the door, drunk. My mom screamed for him to get out and he hit her so hard she lost consciousness. I tried hiding around the corner, but he saw me. He told me he was my dad and I…I couldn't run. H-he tried to grab at me but I kicked him in the groin and slapped his face while he was down. After that, he choked out, 'See? This is why I left! You're just like Pam! How could anyone love that?' and he passed out. So I ran next door and stayed there while they called the cops. From that day on I told myself I was never going to back down. I was going to show my tough side…because if no one really loved me, what do I have to lose, you know? Wow, I've never told anyone that story before. I didn't even tell anyone exactly what my dad said and did. I have no clue why I'm telling you this." She looked away, embarrassed because now, after all the torment she put him through, he finally has something over her.

After what seemed like hours, but was probably only seconds, Freddie spoke.

"I know why." She looked at him curiously. "Because…" She held her breath, waiting for the inevitable sarcastic comment. "Because you're the best friend in the world." She looked at him as if he had told her he was in love with a hobo.

"W-what?" He looked right at her.

"I've had that most shocking, surprising, and possibly horrible day of my life…and I feel better…because of you! Only a true friend who went through something that terrible would let every guard down just to make me feel better. That was the nicest thing I've seen you do."

"Well…I guess now you know why that's pretty much the only nice thing I've done," she said, her face pink.

"Yeah, I guess…"

"But anyway, this isn't about me. We've both met Mr. Shay. He is the nicest, kindest man ever. And if you really think about it, he was especially nice to you. He wouldn't have given you up without a fight. And it was probably really hard for him to do so. But even so, he didn't know what he was giving up." She gave him a small smile. For the first time that day, Freddie had a few tears rolling down his face. Without thinking, he hugged her. She was rigid at first, but then hugged her back.

"Thanks, Sam. And by the way, you were wrong." She pulled away and narrowed her eyes on him.

"You said nobody loves you so you have nothing to lose. You were wrong." She gasped slightly, but composed herself and punched him in the shoulder.

"Yeah right, Nub." But she wouldn't look at him.

"See? That's proof! You think no one loves you, so you use violence. You're afraid to get close to anyone because you think they'll leave like your dad did, so you use violence so they don't get close to you. But when someone has seen you at your worst and best, has gone through everything you've got and can get you to tell your deepest secret, the one thing they could use against you but won't, they start to love that girl." He smiled warmly.

"H-hey, I came out here to cheer you up, that's all." She was getting nervous.

"And you have. But in the process, I've brought back bad memories for you. I want to apologize."

"Well…apology accept-" She was cut off by two all too familiar lips on hers. He was kissing her! The girl that puts his life through hell! She closed her eyes because he found out another secret of hers. Yes, Sam Puckett likes a nerd. They finally pulled apart with their foreheads touching.

"By the way, your dad didn't know what he was giving up either." This time, Sam got tears in her eyes.

"Come on, Nub. Let's go talk to Carly. Between our motivational skills she should feel better in no time." He smiled and when she started walking up the stairs, he grabbed her hand, smiled, and kept walking.