Chapter 3: Playing by Ear
Disclaimer: There was once a time I owned iCarly, but then I woke up and I had eaten my pillow. Fluffy.
Carly didn't know what happened to Sam and Freddie, but the last few days they had barely talked to each other. Usually when they fought or were angry at each other, she could barely hear herself think over their screaming. But they weren't fighting; they weren't saying anything. They moved around each other as if the other person wasn't even there. She had never encountered such a situation with them before. And when she tried to broach the subject with them, they acted like she was the one acting crazy.
"Nub probably got a new action figure to play with. I'm surprised he's even talking to you," Sam had told her.
"I don't know, Carly. I guess Sam and I haven't really had a reason to talk. It will change soon enough, I bet. I'll probably do something wrong like touch her bacon or something," Freddie had said, shrugging.
But whenever they weren't near each other, she would always catch them looking at the other. Whatever had happened between them must have been pretty bad that they wouldn't even fight about it.
Freddie caught up with Sam after one of his classes, making sure there were still people in the hallway in case Sam tried to tag him. He glanced down at what she was wearing, trying not to let her see. She was definitely wearing tighter clothing than she usually did. Maybe she was trying to make him give up that way.
"Sam, you got to cut it out. Carly is freaking out. You should just stop this game."
"I don't quit, Benson. You, on the other hand, are more than welcome to anoint me as your victor. I'm sure you've made me a crown by now." He shook his head. Why couldn't she just stop? He moved a little closer to her and was happy to see the confident expression on her face falter.
"Sam, is this really what you want? What we're doing, it doesn't really seem like much of a game, where it's heading and all. What are you getting out of it?"
She moved closer and looked up into his face and snarled, "I don't quit."
He backed up and spread his arms. "Then let the games continue." They eyed each other as he slowly backed up the hallway, before he finally turned and headed to his next class.
The class was computer programming. Even though they had only been at school for less than a month, he was already caught up for the semester, since the teacher posted the syllabus online before school started. That gave him time to think while other students worked on their projects.
He had given Sam an out. Both of them knew it would become more intense from here on out, and he really hadn't expected her to continue on. Just quit. That's all she had to do. Of course, that was also all he had to do. But he didn't want to quit; he was unwilling to, which is why he tried to force her to. He thought about saying, "no, Sam, I've decided that I'm not going to kiss you or touch you..." Well, that was just stupid. Hadn't he been dreaming about those very things? Let her be the one.
When he got home that day, he took his homework out to the dining room table and worked on it. His mom was sitting near him, and he used that to force himself to keep his mind on his school work. He wasn't doing a very good job of it at school, and he didn't want to have to answer to anybody about a drop in grades. How would he explain that? "Oh, I was thinking about Sam's boobs."
Normally he would go over to Carly's, but he knew Sam was there. He wanted to be there, to spend time with her, but the game made things difficult. Despite whatever feelings he had for her, she had been, for at least the last few years, his friend, and he didn't want to lose that. Sam was not the type of person to really discuss something like friendship, but he had always felt like she thought about at least that part of their relationship the same way he did. He wanted her. He wanted her badly. But he didn't want to ruin their friendship; he didn't want to ruin iCarly; he didn't want to force Carly into the middle of their broken friendship.
That was why he went on the fire escape after he had finished his homework. He wanted to think. Maybe he should quit, if only to save their friendship. If Carly was already noticing problems, then he had to do something. Didn't he?
He sat on his lawn chair. He had been there when Sam came out to him to apologize for telling everybody he had never kissed a girl before. That had been when they first kissed. And then she had left and he had watched her walk away, for the first time really noticing that Sam looked, well, like a girl he wouldn't mind kissing again. He realized that he had been looking at her ass and looked quickly away. Kiss or no kiss, he was sure that was likely to earn him an ass-kicking.
He was deep in thought, so he never noticed her until she spoke to him.
"What you thinking about, lover?" she whispered in his ear. He started to get up, and she pushed him on the chest. "Stay," she ordered. She was behind him, her face close to his head, the strands of her hair on his shirt.
He could feel her breath against his ear.
"Seems like Freddie has been listening in on conversations he shouldn't have," she said. She could have told him she was going to stick an ice pick in his neck, and he probably would have nodded, so entranced was he by the heat of her breath in his ear. "So you found out about my little...neck situation. You shouldn't think you're special, Freddie. It could have been anybody who touched my neck." He remembered she had said that to Carly that night.
"Sam, we should stop," he said, trying not to move.
"Are you quitting now, Benson?" she crooned.
"You're my friend, Sam," he said.
She paused. She didn't move her mouth away from his ear. He felt her chin on his shoulder. And he wanted nothing more at the moment to simply turn his head and capture her lips with his. But he had to say it.
"And I'm your friend, too, Sam, although I know you'll try to deny it. I don't want to not be your friend."
"Are you quitting, Freddie?" she asked again, and there was no seduction in that voice, no anger...just the question.
Yes. Yes, I am. Yes. "No."
He felt her smile against his ear. "So, we're friends." She flicker her tongue against his earlobe, and he gasped. "You're my friend, and I'm your friend. Don't you think friendship should be able to withstand something like this?" She let her tongue flick his earlobe again. "Yeah, you found out something about me, Freddie. Did you really think I don't know anything about you?" She took his earlobe into her mouth and lightly sucked on it. Sam brought her arms around and caressed his chest.
"How...how do you-"
"You remember when I stuck my tongue in your ear? I know you didn't like that, but I felt you tense up before I did it." As she spoke she continued to apply light kisses and licks to his ear. Freddie tried to adjust himself so she wouldn't notice the erection pushing at his jeans. There was no way she wouldn't be able to notice. "At first, I thought it was it was just because you were scared of me, like always. But then every time somebody tried to whisper in your ear after that, you wouldn't let them. So I decided a little experiment was in order." She ran her finger along his ear, and he unconsciously tilted his head, so she would have better access. He remembered. She had said maybe he should get an earring, and had run her finger along his ear, like she was doing now, and he had practically jumped off the couch, trying to cover by saying he just wasn't an earring person.
"You know, I take back my apology for slapping you that time. On second thought, I'm not sorry at all," she said, and then she bit his earlobe. He cried out, but not in pain.
"Sa...am," he said. Then he said nothing after that. What was there to say? Please don't stop?
"I've seen you look at me, Freddie," she whispered. "You think I don't notice, but I do. I've seen you look down my shirt." She sucked on his earlobe again. She put her mouth right against his ear, whispering softly. "You know why I'm going to win, Freddie? Because I know you want me. I bet you dream about me at night, don't you?" Freddie made every effort not to move, not to give anything away. He knew one reason Sam was so good was because she could spot when she landed a blow; he couldn't let her see. His eyes widened when he saw her hand moving down the length of his body, hovering above it. "I bet you think about me naked, don't you, Freddie? You think about putting your hands on my body, of touching me. Of being inside me." Her hand was above his crotch. If she put her hand down an inch, she would feel his hardness. "You know I felt you. When you were kissing my neck." She bit his ear again. He wanted to scream. "I'm going to win, Freddie, because this is just a game for me. So you can just quit now, and save yourself the embarrassment." She bit his ear one last time, and then got up. The last bite was harder, but the pain didn't hurt him. She was right about something, that was true. He knew his ears were sensitive, but he hadn't know just how much.
"Sam," he said. She stopped. "I'm not going to quit." He was looking at her and he still barely caught it. Nobody else would have seen it, but Freddie had learned to read Sam, both because he feared her and he loved her. There was a flash of doubt on her face.
He smiled at her, and this time the doubt didn't flash; it stayed. "I don't believe you, Sam. I don't think it could have been anyone else kissing your neck. I think it had to be me. I think you wanted it to be me. I think you said you're not sorry for slapping me, because you liked me knowing about your neck. You want me to kiss your neck." She said nothing. "I won't think any less of you if you quit." He had no idea how, but he felt he had somehow gotten the upper hand. He had close to passing out from pleasure moments before, and yet now Sam was the one who looked like she had taken a hit.
Then she smirked. "We'll see, nub. It's your turn next." And then she was gone.
So that was it. No more doubt. No turning back. No matter what, he was going to play the game to the end. No more running away, no more hiding. He was going to go into Carly's apartment and show Sam he wasn't afraid.
He looked down at his crotch. Okay, not going just quite yet. Puppies in a blender, dead chickens, Miss Briggs making out with Mr. Howard, Mom making out with Lewbert...
He continued his litany for a few moments until he was sure it was safe. Then he went over to Carly's.
Sam glanced at him from the couch, and then turned back to the TV. She had a huge bowl of popcorn clutched on her stomach. Whatever she was watching sounded violent. He walked to the couch and stopped where her legs rested on the coffee table.
"Gonna let me by?" he asked.
Sam grunted and pulled her legs in.
"Hey, Freddie," Carly called from the kitchen.
Freddie stopped. "Hey, Carly, what's up?"
"You want to move your ass? You're blocking my view," Sam said. He looked down at her and caught a blush on her face before she turned away. He had stopped in front of her, and it hadn't been his ass blocking her view. Without meaning to, he had his crotch at eye-level with Sam.
"Sorry," he said, smirking. Sam on the fire escape had seemed without shame or embarrassment, but she was different here. He looked at her.
"What are you staring at, nub?" she asked, after a moment.
"Give me some popcorn," he said.
"Make your own. This is mine."
"Sam, that's enough popcorn for three counties. Let me have some."
She sighed and allowed a small space at the top of the bowl for him to reach in. He grabbed a piece. Glancing at her to make sure she was looking, he tossed it high up in the air and caught it in his mouth.
"Big deal, Benson. You think I can't do that?" He shrugged. She picked up a piece of popcorn and tossed it up, catching it in her mouth. She grinned at him.
He smiled. He took out a piece of popcorn in each hand and tossed them, moving his mouth quickly to catch them both.
"Oh, it's on," she said, and reached into the bowl.
"What's going on?" Spencer asked Carly, who was staring at her two friends. He had walked into the kitchen past the two friends on the couch, who hadn't taken note of him.
"Nothing. Just Sam and Freddie being...Sam and Freddie."
"Sam, that was my piece," Freddie complained.
"Interception!" Sam said.
"There are no interceptions in popcorn, Sam!"
"I thought you said they were mad at each other," Spencer said.
"I guess they're not anymore. I'm just glad they're back to normal now," she said.
A/N: I'm not really sure why I decided that Freddie had ultra-sensitive ears (I know I gave Sam the neck thing just because I like necks). I know I read in some other fanfic about him liking his ears kissed and bit, but I can't remember what story it was. I did immediately think for no reason that it sounded like Freddie, so there you go.
Thank you for reviews from: aaamber, Julefor, sammiilizziee, MattFujiwara, Darsnider, wazzabinho, adore202, Purple550, Geekquality, maxiefae, KarmaLord, clarksonfan, StandardNostalgia, crybaby452, mamaluvsangst, alaskan-anime-girlie21, afanoffanfic, and Margot is me.
Julefor: Well, as you can see, Sammy does know a little something about young Mr. Benson that she can use to her advantage. But, as you also point out, he is also a teenage boy, so Sam doesn't have to put in as much effort to it as he does. Of course, the next round belongs to Freddie, so he's going to have to take it to another level again...and do so without getting killed by Sam. And, yeah, I wasn't trying to hide the fact that Freddie was having a dream; that's why I started out with italicization. I just wanted to let everybody know where's Freddie's head is at (his big one, I mean...well, and his other one, too, I guess). I'm kind of looking at this story as my version of the iCarly that doesn't make it onto the 22 minutes of each episode, in which even the nicest, kindest, and sweetest of boys will get their brain cells confuzzled by breasts (and we've seen an episode or two in which Freddie has shown more than a little appreciation for the female form, and if that is how he is on the G-rated iCarly, then, well...).
Darsnider: well, we certainly know why Sam goes evil bitch on him (other than she's good at it-said with admiration, of course).
Wazzabinho: Wow, another comment about me obviously being a guy. I think next chapter I'm going to force Sam to take Freddie to the store to buy tampons, so she can discuss having those "not so fresh feelings." Nah, maybe in another story. If I hadn't betrayed my guyness by now, just wait until Freddie does the unbelievable and goes to Gibby for advice. I'm not sure when that chapter is coming (probably not within the next two or three), but I've already laughed my head off several times just thinking about what I was going to write in it.
Margot is me: Yeah, there probably aren't going to be as many twists and turns in this story as there were in my last story (of course, then I didn't have any idea what the end result was going to be until I was almost to the end). Am I pretty sure of what the ending is going to be? Yes, and you probably are, too. But...things change. And I don't think it's going to be a non-bumpy ride (hmmm...I guess that was a double-entendre there).
afanoffanfic: But voice it and eventually wish becomes reality. It's Freddie's turn next.
Please leave a review, and if you haven't read or reviewed my other stories, I'd appreciate if you did. There are parts of "Box Kicker" that are some of my favorite things I've written, and the story's getting left in the dust, review-wise.