Author's Notes: Hellooo, shoppers! Just 24 more hours till 'iHire An Idiot' airs on Nickelodeon, I hope you're all as stoked as I am. Unfortunarely, I won't be at home when it's on because I'm going to my cousin's wedding. But I'm going to download the episode as soon I come back through the front door - or would it be too tacky to take my laptop to the wedding? Hmm, these are all good questions. Anyhoo, this is the conclusion to the bedroom scene between Carly and the handsome stranger. This should settle burning questions some of you may have. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly or the idiots who work at Nickelodeon who don't air enough new season 4 iCarly episodes.
Carly stared at the strange man in her bedroom and he stared back at her.
Then out of nowhere, she began laughing hysterically. He frowned in confusion at her sudden fit of laughter.
"Carly…"
"Bonded? Freddie and I have b-bahahaha…" Carly trailed off, doubling over with hysterical laughter while clutching her stomach, tears streaming from her eyes.
"Carly, this is no laughing matter, I assure you." The stranger warned sternly.
This shut Carly up immediately while she studied his face intently. She couldn't understand how she knew this. But she instinctively guessed that this strange man in her bedroom was more powerful than even he was letting on in this particular moment. The thought both comforted her and made her even more afraid than she already was.
"Ok then, what did you mean by saying that mine and Freddie's hearts are in sync now?" Carly asked curiously, trying to calm her manic laughter.
The strange man fixed Carly with a pensive expression before answering.
"Before I answer, let me ask you something first. When Sam pushed Freddie down the stairs, what were you feeling right beforehand? Did your emotions feel…chaotic or disturbed in any way?" the man asked softly.
That rational part of Carly's brain was reminding her to fear this stranger who had gained access to her bedroom, but she somehow couldn't bring herself to do it. It had been a strange day and her hazy brain was far too curious to finally get some answers. Carly had no idea where he was going with this interrogation. But a part of her instinctively trusted him, even though she still didn't know who he was.
"I don't know really. It was a long day at school and we had just finished iCarly rehearsals. I guess I was feeling tired and a little…irritable, like I was getting a migraine or something." Carly offered vaguely.
The strange man nodded thoughtfully in response while tapping his chin with a lone finger distractedly. To Carly, it looked like he had just confirmed something that he already knew in his mind.
"And Freddie and Sam argued, like usual? Did that cause you irritation?" he asked gently.
"Of course it did! Freddie and Sam can be so childish when they start bickering. I just wanted them to stop." Carly replied vehemently.
"What are you getting at?" she demanded impatiently.
"Wasn't there something more, Carly? Some other emotion that you couldn't quite put your finger on that you were perhaps feeling at the time?"
"Of course not, I was just-"
Carly stopped short and examined what had transpired a few hours ago. She started running her fingernails up and down her arm abstractly while she tried to concentrate.
"There was something else. Sam was really goading Freddie into a fight, more so than usual and I guess I felt like I needed to…step in and stop them before things got out of hand. I had this weird feeling in the back of my mind like something bad was gonna happen." Carly murmured in a distracted voice.
"What happened on the staircase, Carly?" the man asked slowly, his voice low and compelling/.
Carly's heart began thudding erratically as her mind's eye replayed the events in her head, her black pupils expanding and contracting in a split second.
"Sam pushed Freddie down the stairs. I saw him fall and I…blanked out, I guess. Everything started moving really slowly, like time was frozen or something and no one else noticed except for me. I remember reaching out towards Freddie to stop him from falling, and then all three of us fell over the railing. My hands reached out to grab Freddie, and I could feel the air moving like wind all around me. I remember seeing a flash of blinding white light and this swirling black mass on the stairway that…"
Carly trailed off unexpectedly, catching sight of the movement of the stranger's trench coat. The edges of the silky leather were fluttering about his body like it was catching in the breeze, but it was a windless day in Seattle. The ripples of leather swirled about him, making his appearance almost blurred against the fluorescence of the gummy-bear lamp next to the bed.
"It was you." Carly declared in a low murmur, as if there was no one else in the room with her.
"You were on the stairwell when it happened. But how?" she asked blankly, turning to face him again.
For the first time since the beginning of the conversation, the strange man looked momentarily disconcerted.
"Yes, I admit that I was there when the three of you fell down the stairs. I am able to travel between space and time." He explained hastily.
"What are you?" Carly asked in wonder.
"A messenger of sorts," the man offered solemnly.
"You're a messenger. But wait, if you can travel through space and time, you could've helped! Why didn't you try to stop either of us from falling if you were there when it happened?" Carly demanded impatiently, the colour rising in her cheeks.
"It is true, I have the necessary power to prevent certain accidents from occurring. And I would've intervened had it not been for your impulsive decision to take action. Please continue on with your narrative; when you are finished, I will tell you all that I know to explain what happened." The man implored patiently.
Carly hesitated for a fraction of a second before continuing.
"Then Freddie was heading right for Spencer's sculpture, I didn't want him to get hurt. So I pulled him in the opposite direction and I…I pushed Sam against the sculpture. I know it sounds impossible, but I did somehow…like I had a lot of strength or something. But it didn't work, because both Sam and Freddie still got hurt, Freddie more than Sam. Why didn't it work?" Carly asked helplessly, turning to face the brooding stranger standing inside her bedroom with her.
"Your heart was in the right place in trying to prevent your friends from getting hurt. But you were scared and distracted, Carly. That's why you couldn't channel your power sufficiently." the stranger replied stoically.
Carly looked at him with wide eyes.
"So I have powers now?" she questioned in awe.
To her intense surprise, the strange man's grim features lessened and he began chuckling lightly.
"Not in the sense that you have super-human strength or the power to make yourself invisible. It's a type of adrenaline-based energy that only activates in extreme situations, when the one you love is in danger and you're in a position to help." The strange man explained calmly.
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense – wait, what?" Carly exclaimed in amazement, rounding on the stranger.
"Well, that's why you tried to stop Freddie from getting hurt, because you love him, Carly."
"I tried to stop Sam from getting hurt too. That doesn't mean that I'm in love with her."
"But that's not true is it, Carly? You pushed Sam into the sculpture instead of letting Freddie get hit."
"It was an accident. Yes, I did push Sam in the other direction on purpose, but not to hurt her. She landed exactly where I meant for her to, at the base of the sculpture where I knew she wouldn't get hurt. But Freddie…he still got hurt, and I feel awful. It's all my fault."
"Carly, don't blame yourself for what happened. You didn't hurt either Sam or Freddie intentionally. Things might have been worse if you hadn't intervened at all. Freddie could've broken his neck if he had fallen directly down the stairs; you pushing him off to the side may very well have saved his life. He'll be alright in time. As for Sam, she's a tough cookie."
"But why did I push Sam out of the way to shield Freddie?"
"Your actions, Freddie's actions alone…have set certain things in motion." The man declared in a grave voice while he began pacing around Carly's bed.
"What do you mean?" Carly asked worriedly, coming closer towards him.
"It's not something that happens overnight, Carly. This kind of bond can only build up after a long period of time, determined by certain factors such as the male or female involved and the type of dynamic that they shared before the bond was created. Sometimes the bond is hereditary, passed from parents down to their offspring, it's not always clear. You and Freddie are a curious case since you've been close friends for several years. He's been in love with you for all of that time, and you've never reciprocated even with that knowledge in mind. Things might have continued in this fashion if Freddie hadn't pushed you out of the way when you almost got hit by that taco truck a year ago." The stranger explained seriously.
"What are you saying? By saving my life, Freddie somehow tweaked the circumstances and changed both of our fates?" Carly questioned in astonishment.
"Not without due cause. Freddie jumped in front of that taco truck because you probably would've died if he hadn't, Carly. Freddie did it because he loves you. And you tried to do the same on the stairwell because you love him too." The stranger replied earnestly.
"But that's crazy! Sure, I care about Freddie a lot and he's one of my best friends. But he was right before when he said that I never really loved him, I loved the fact that he saved my life. That's all it ever was. I don't love Freddie that way." Carly protested heatedly.
But even while she said the words, the blood was still rushing dangerously to her head, flooding her cheeks and making her feel dizzy. Why was she feeling this way?
"Maybe you don't feel that way for Freddie right now, Carly. But this kind of love can develop in different ways. That's why the bond between you and Freddie has manifested the way it has."
"But what does that mean? Are you saying that Freddie and I are somehow destined to be together…'that way'?" Carly asked in bewilderment while using air-quotes.
"Carly, you and Freddie are only ones who can make that choice for yourselves. But once you've bonded with someone, there's no going back to how things used to be. There's no guarantee of what might happen afterwards if you and Freddie chose to ignore this level of energy and connection between you."
To Carly's surprise, the stranger ended his narrative there and moved towards her bedroom window to climb down the fire escape.
"What does any of this mean? What do I do now?" Carly demanded helplessly, going towards her bed to speak to him.
"That is entirely up to you, Carly Shay. I am not here to choose for you, only to give you information that you require to make the necessary choice." The stranger offered calmly.
"Wait, how do you know all of this? About the bond? About me and Freddie?" Carly questioned hurriedly.
"I guess you can call me an expert of sorts with these kinds of things. I've come across it many times during my existence."
"Your existence? Does this mean that you're some kind of…angel?" Carly prodded delicately, feeling uncomfortable for even asking.
The stranger laughed boisterously while gazing intently at Carly, leaning leisurely on his elbow atop her bedroom window.
"Not exactly. But I suppose that you can call me a…guardian." He explained in a vague manner with a touch of what Carly identified as subtle smugness.
"Wait!" Carly called out one last time before he could disappear.
The man, who was midway through climbing out the window, stopped and regarded Carly with a patient air.
"You've answered more questions than I asked you today and I don't even know your name." Carly declared tentatively, her hands deep in the pockets of her jeans.
The strange man fixed Carly with a brilliant smile which literally took her breath away before answering.
"I haven't been asked that question in a long time."
"Call me Michael." He implored gently.
"Till we meet again, Carly Shay."
"Adieu."
With one last smile and a tiny wave, Michael bent his head and climbed the rest of the way out of the window, leaving Carly standing in her bedroom with a dazed expression on her face.
Author's Note: And scene *makes a fist in front of my face and closes my eyes* I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I apologise if it's still too short. If it helps, chapter 5 is a lot longer since I've already written it in advance :D I hope you all enjoy the iCarly fun and the release of Miranda Cosgrove's new "Dancing Crazy" music video happening this weekend. Thank you for all the amazing reviews, they put a smile on my face every time :) Take care of yourselves and don't forget to sniff the fruit salad (just an iCarly joke on the last part). Snapplelinz out!