Author's Notes: Hello, my fellow iCarly fans! I hope you're chilling out on this blessed Friday. I'm especially stoked because my Dad bought me a cooling tray for my laptop, so there's less chance of my laptop exploding from getting overheated mid-type ;D So there's been a lot of furore about the upcoming 'iOMG' episode in the forums lately. I think I'm gonna wait this one out in the trenches till the episode's done airing and I know exactly what the 'sway' is - Seddie or Creddie. Spoiler warning: long chapter which may result in possible fluff overload. You have been warned.
Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly or the brain of Dan Schneider. If I did, well...I'd still be smarter than Dan Schneider at any rate.
"Hi."
There it was again, that ticklish burn creeping all the way up Carly's spine and the back of her legs. How was it possible for Freddie to make her feel this way? Had she just been ignoring this feeling for years, burying the sensation in the back of her mind till it had dulled into wisps of smoke?
Carly wasn't sure if her hands were in fact doing anything while they hung at her sides. But somehow, she could sense herself moving closer to Freddie, wafting soundlessly like a leaf carrying in the wind. And she was taking him in, breathing in every single part, like ice cold water to a thirsty man.
While Carly seemed to glide closer, Freddie remained standing still, frozen in place at the very sight of her. Had Carly always been this compelling to him? His fists were reverberating at his sides, the sensation humming through his very bones. He'd been so anxious to get here all along and now that he had finally arrived, he was completely tongue-tied.
Neither Freddie nor Carly could know just how closely Sam was scrutinising them now: watching every movement of their lips, every motion of their bodies, every flicker in their eyes that spoke volumes to the living room at large. With an arched eyebrow, she watched this non-verbal exchange between her friends with silent contemplation, one leg dangling over the edge of the sofa, the hand holding the towel drying her hair limp and indifferent.
Just as Carly was about to open her mouth, Spencer practically hit Freddie in the back with the front door as he came bounding through it, his cheeks flushed and his movements jittery.
"Freddie! You're back!"
Freddie emitted an involuntary groan of pain and began rubbing the back of his head. Carly looked at her older brother with grim resignation. Spencer had stolen the words right out of her mouth.
For the moment, the spell was broken.
"Carly told me about what happened at school earlier with Rory Blake – are you ok?" Spencer asked in concern, placing a comforting hand on Freddie's shoulder.
Freddie's eyes finally left Carly's and looked at Spencer, as if meeting him for the first time.
"Uh yeah, I'm fine, Spencer. I didn't even get hurt." Freddie answered with a nervous chuckle.
Sam's eyebrow quirked even more at this admission and Carly stiffened ever so slightly in turn. All of this went unnoticed by Spencer, who was still staring at Freddie.
"Well, I'm glad you finally came home. Carly was really worried when you took off from school earlier." Spencer continued in a paternal voice wrought with subdued anxiety.
"I know, it was stupid to just run off like that. I needed to clear my head." Freddie replied nonchalantly.
His eyes tried to meet Carly's bravely in an attempt to make her understand what had transpired earlier. To his surprise, he met no resistance, only acceptance and a certain warmth which touched him deeply.
"Well, you'll be happy to know that you didn't kill Rory Blake. He's cooling off in a hospital bed as we speak with similar injuries like you had when you ran head-on into that taco truck a year ago. The only difference is that he'll probably be up and walking in no time and looking to pay you a special visit." Sam offered with a devious grin etched on her face.
To Carly's amazement, Freddie didn't bristle up with annoyance like he normally would at Sam clearly trying to rile him up. Instead, he turned to face Sam with an even expression on his face.
"I'm glad that he's ok. I may not like the guy, but I never meant to hurt him. I accept full responsibility for my actions. If Rory decides to pay me a visit, I'll be ready for him." Freddie answered.
Sam's coy smile faltered ever so slightly when she caught Freddie's meaning almost immediately. She readjusted her posture on the sofa and sat upright again, her hands drifting towards her lap instead. Carly was even more amazed when Freddie's lip quivered ever so slightly a second later, like he was about to burst out laughing any minute at Sam's expression.
"Well, as long as you don't get into another fight with him again, then Principal Franklin probably won't suspend you. Is your Mom freaking out a lot over the fight?" Spencer asked with a grimace.
"She's pretty upset. But she understands that I only did it because Rory was man-handling Carly." Freddie responded evenly.
"For what it's worth, I appreciate you stepping in and defending Carly. You're a good friend." Spencer declared earnestly.
"Thanks, Spencer." Freddie responded with a grin while the two bumped fists.
Carly finally snapped out of her reverie and remembered that Spencer had come home alone.
"Oh my God, Spencer! What happened with Socko? Is he ok?" Carly demanded excitably in one breath.
"Calm down, Carls. Socko's just fine. I managed to get him out of the man-hole." Spencer explained eagerly.
"Without falling in? Mighty impressive, Spence." Sam praised lightly.
"Actually, I did fall in…about waist-deep."
"Wait, what was Socko doing down a man-hole?" Freddie questioned in confusion.
"It's kinda a long story. But the point is that some of his merchandise fell down an open man-hole and he went down to go get it."
"Wait…Socko willingly went down an open man-hole because he dropped some socks down there?" Carly fumed incredulously.
"It's part of a new range of glow-in-the-dark socks he's working on! He couldn't just leave them down there!" Spencer retorted indignantly.
"Wait. If you went down to go get him, how come your pants aren't all messed up and stuff?" Sam asked with sudden suspicion.
"That's because I'm not wearing the pants I left in; those pants are still down in the sewer. I got these pants from T-Bo. Can you believe that some guy actually left these jeans behind in the Groovy Smoothie?" Spencer questioned in awe while pointing downwards.
"Someone took off their pants in the Groovy Smoothie and then left?" Freddie demanded in a high-pitched voice with wide eyes.
"Yeah! I'd better go and take a shower." Spencer noted as an afterthought.
"Please go shower now. And burn those pants when you're done." Carly suggested with evident revulsion in her tone, a hand covering her face in exasperation.
"Hey, what happened while I was gone?" Spencer demanded abruptly, finally noticing the shards of glass still littering the floor.
Freddie, who had also seen the glass strewn across the floor, wasn't slow in noticing that Carly and Sam looked at each other uneasily before Sam answered.
"It's my fault. I was goofing around and broke your fish bowl – that's why my hair's all wet." She explained hastily.
"And some of the light bulbs randomly fused and cracked by themselves." Carly put in.
"Aww, man! I thought I'd finally broken the curse of breaking fish bowls in this apartment. I've gotta buy some new light bulbs in the morning." Spencer complained dramatically.
"Make sure you buy them from a hardware store and not from a guy selling decorated hub-caps on the side of the road like last time." Carly suggested frankly.
"I know where to buy light bulbs! I'll be in the shower if anyone needs me!" Spencer called out after jogging into his bedroom and shutting the door behind him.
"As if this night couldn't get weirder. Lucky for you, Benson: you're a step up from Gibby." Sam declared in a dull tone.
"Thanks…I think," Freddie murmured, not knowing what Sam was talking about.
"Carly, do you think we could talk for a minute?" he asked seriously of Carly.
"Uh, sure. Let's go up to my room. Sam, we'll be back in a bit." Carly said to Sam in an aside.
"Actually, I think I'm gonna take off." Sam declared abruptly while getting to her feet.
"Sam, you don't have to leave." Carly responded quickly.
"It's cool. You guys need some time alone to talk. Besides, Wendy said I could crash at her place for the night if I wanted." Sam interjected graciously.
"Are you sure?" Carly asked of her best friend.
"Yeah, positive. Plus, I don't think I can stomach all of the 'eye-sex' going on between the two of you ever since Fredducinni walked through the front door." Sam quipped, to both Carly and Freddie's evident chagrin.
"But…do you mind if I borrow Fred-lumps for a minute? There's something we need to discuss." Sam declared in a stern voice after a second of reflection.
Freddie quirked an eyebrow at this, but played it cool.
"Carls, why don't you go ahead to your bedroom? I'll be up in a minute."
Carly glanced between her two friends before answering.
"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow at school, Sam." Carly greeted evenly.
"Sure thing, Cupcake," Sam remarked with a small wave before turning her attention back to Freddie.
Freddie kept his eyes on Sam the whole time as Carly's footsteps drifted off into muffled footfalls by the time she reached her bedroom.
"What do you wanna talk to me about?"
"I know all about the 'bond' and about you throwing Rory Blake into a pile of lockers like yesterday's ham, Freddie."
"But that's not what I wanna talk about."
"It's not?" Freddie asked in amazement.
"No. Carly said that me pushing you down the stairs caused all of this. Is that true?"
"Sort of, but not entirely. The bond's triggered by all kinds of factors, like hereditary considerations and such. What you did just helped it along a whole lot sooner." Freddie explained glibly.
"I figured." Sam remarked casually while looking down at the floor for a moment.
"I need to ask you something, Benson. And I want an honest answer, ok?"
"O-k."
"All these years that I've been ragging on you and pushing you into and out of things – do you hate me for it?"
Freddie was thrown by Sam's question. It took him several more seconds before he could finally muster an answer.
"No, not really. I mean, yeah, I used to get pretty mad at you years ago whenever you'd put me down in front of Carly, because I had a huge crush on her. But I don't think I've ever hated you, Sam."
"Because of Carly? Because you didn't wanna hurt her by hating me?"
"Yeah, that was mostly it. But a part of it was because…in spite of our many differences, you and I have always had an 'understanding'. Maybe the only reason we actually tolerate each other is because of Carly. But I'd also like to think it's because we have each other's backs when bad things go down, like with Missy coming between you and Carly and that psychopath Norah locking us up in her basement." Freddie responded reasonably.
"That was something nice you did for me. And you ended up losing out that trip just to get rid of Missy. As for Norah, I shoved your face up against a pane of glass so you could kiss that psychopath to get us out of there. So I'm asking you: why do anything nice for me when you get absolutely nothing out of the deal?" Sam asked in a steely whisper, her face inches away from Freddie's.
"I told you already, Sam. You and I have an 'understanding'. That's why I didn't rat you out to my Mom in the first place when you pushed me down the stairs. Just because you don't treat me the way I'd like you to all the time, doesn't mean that I necessarily hate you."
"That's some messed up logic, Fredweird."
"Don't knock it till you try it."
"Fine. But you're not the only one who can be noble for Carly's sake. I'm sorry I pushed you down the stairs in the first place. It was…wrong. I didn't think about the consequences of you getting hurt or hurting Carly because of my actions. I…screwed up." Sam offered with difficulty.
"Don't do me any favours, Sam. I don't want a half-assed apology if you're just gonna turn around and do the same thing again in a day or two. If you really wanna stop screwing up, don't do it for me and or Carly. Do it for yourself, because it's the right thing to do. I don't do anything for Carly just to be noble. I do it because I care about her; that's my only motivation for doing anything. You oughta try it sometime."
"Maybe I will. Enjoy your conversation with Carly. And try not to screw it up like the last time by mentioning 'foreign bacon'." Sam suggested before pushing past him and walking to the front door.
Freddie thought it was pretty rich of Sam to bring up 'foreign bacon' when it had been her idea in the first place. But still, he grinned slightly as he watched her go and shut the front door behind her with a loud bang. And then he was facing the stairs again, where it had all began a week ago, climbing them slowly on his way to Carly's bedroom, his heart in his throat.
Carly was already sitting on her bed when Freddie entered her room and shut the door behind him with a soft click.
"Hey." Carly greeted him with a warm smile.
"Hey," Freddie greeted back.
Carly patted a vacant next to her on the plum duvet, her feet dangling above the miniature trampoline beneath her bed. Freddie acquiesced and began walking slowly towards her. The minute he plonked himself down next to Carly, he winced.
"What's wrong, Freddie?" Carly asked in alarm, her eyes wide with concern.
"It's my arms and my shoulders; they hurt all of a sudden, like I pulled a muscle or something." Freddie answered with a brave grimace on his face.
Carly began chuckling unexpectedly, causing Freddie to raise an eyebrow at her.
"Maybe it's because you tossed Rory Blake into a pile of lockers." She put in helpfully.
"You think so?"
"Could be. The adrenaline must've finally worn off."
"I think you're right. I guess I must have over-exerted myself." Freddie murmured more to himself, thinking idly of when he had put his hands around Michael's throat earlier that day.
"Take off your shirt."
"Huh?" Freddie asked blankly, turning around to face Carly.
"Take off your shirt, Freddie. I wanna massage your shoulders."
"But I'm just wearing a vest underneath my sweater!"
"Even better. Come on, Freddie – don't be so stubborn."
Freddie knew he had lost when Carly gave him that look - the one which meant the slightest bit of argument wouldn't do him any good. With a loud sigh and a squeamish feeling in the pit of his stomach, Freddie gingerly lifted his sweater over his shoulders and above his head before shrugging out of it and placing it beside him. Carly in turn swung her legs back onto the bed and moved behind Freddie. Then she got on her knees and placed her hands on his shoulders, her thighs on each side of his waist.
Carly ignored the tingle she felt in her bones when her fingertips touched the pale skin of Freddie's shoulders where his vest ended. But she couldn't help staring for a few seconds at the noticeable bulges of muscles on his arms before casually leaning over him and noting how the fabric of his vest literally strained against his abdomen where she guessed there were even more muscles.
"Where does it hurt?" Carly asked in as a steady voice as she could muster, given her sudden influx of varying emotions.
"It's mostly my shoulder blades and a little bit of my back." Freddie answered, his voice a little shaky from the feel of Carly's hands on his skin.
"Ok." Carly murmured softly before working her magic.
Freddie emitted an involuntarily groan of pleasure the second Carly began using her thumbs and index fingers to knead his skin. It was like electricity that passed between them, only stronger and more forceful than anything Freddie could've ever imagined. And while she worked, Carly unconsciously leant even closer to Freddie, her strands of hair draping his back, her face nestled tenderly against his, her chin resting on his shoulder blade. Freddie closed his eyes as a wave of contentment stole over him. He hadn't felt this relaxed in days, not even when he was busy recuperating in the hospital a week ago. Maybe Carly really was the only medicine he needed to feel better in any form.
All of this felt so strange to Carly, but not in an unpleasant way. She hadn't been able to touch Freddie like this in close to a year, after his taco truck accident. She shivered inwardly at the sound of Freddie's groans of pleasure while her hands moved along the clefts of his shoulder blades and arms, her fingers smoothing out the tension in his lower back still concealed by his vest. Something had instinctively taken over from deep within, a distinct desire to protect Freddie and take care of him. Was this all really part of the 'bond'? Or had it been growing naturally between them all this time?
"Is this helping at all?" Carly piped up eventually while she continued massaging Freddie's upper back and shoulders.
"Yes, it feels so good. Thank you, Carly." Freddie murmured sincerely, his eyes still closed.
To Freddie's disappointment, Carly stopped massaging him and hastily got to her feet, her hands pursed together in unexpected agitation.
"Carly, what's wrong?" Freddie asked in concern.
"I need to just get this off my chest before I lose my nerve." Carly announced with all the beginnings of a woman about to give birth, a pregnant pause hanging in the air.
"Ok."
"Freddie, I'm so sorry about the way that I've treated you lately. Everything that's happened between us since we fell down the stairs has scared me so much, especially how close we've grown lately. I didn't mean to push you away, but I needed some time to digest everything that's happened, especially with Michael showing up out of the blue and telling me that you and I bonded. And then everything got so screwed up when you threw Rory into those lockers earlier. I panicked when I saw you leave with Michael – for a moment, I thought I was never gonna see you again. And that freaked me out even more because I realised how much I needed you to come home so that I can make this right, because I care about you so much-"
"Carly…" Freddie interjected, getting up from the bed to move closer towards Carly, who was still babbling a mile a minute.
Without seeming to notice, Carly let Freddie take her by the hands and pull her back onto the bed with him, their fingers laced together all the while.
"Carly, don't be so hard on yourself. You couldn't have known that any of this would happen to the two of us. I said a lot of things that I didn't mean last night when I accused you of getting my hopes up and trashing them every time. I understand what you were trying to tell me on the fire escape about not wanting things to be this way. You were talking about us not having a choice with being bonded. I get it now – Michael filled me in."
"You really talked to Michael? What did he say?" Carly asked curiously.
"He told me, well…everything. About the bond, about you and me. About my parents." Freddie offered calmly.
"Your parents?" Carly questioned in confusion.
"My parents bonded too, Carly. That's the reason why my Dad was killed in a car accident when I was a kid. A ceiling collapsed in an OR where my Mom was assisting one of the doctors on duty and my Dad was coming to get her, to keep her safe. A cab hit our car on the driver's side and my Dad died from his internal injuries." Freddie responded in a weary voice.
"Oh my God. Freddie, I'm so sorry." Carly whispered meekly, her grip on his fingers tightening.
"That's not even the worst part."
"It's not?"
"I was in the car with him that night when it happened. I was there when the paramedics arrived on the scene and put my Dad in a body bag. I didn't know this whole time; my Mom kept it from me."
"I can't believe it. Why wouldn't she tell you something like that?"
"I guess she wanted to protect me. She thought it might be too painful for me if knew about it, like I'd blame myself somehow."
"I guess I see her point. But, Freddie, that's crazy. You're not responsible for your Dad's death, no one is. It was an accident, you can't blame yourself for that."
Carly's grasp on Freddie's hands was so tight that Freddie feared she might crush his fingers. But he didn't let go, didn't dare break the connection between them.
"I know that now. But it was hard finding out all this stuff about my parents that I didn't know, everything that tied them to each other, because of the bond. It feels like history's being repeated somehow." Freddie murmured pensively.
"I know what you mean. Spencer told me some things about my parents this evening that got me thinking a lot too."
"You mean…?"
"I don't know, Freddie. But it all just seems way too familiar to be a coincidence. My Dad beat up a guy that was hassling my Mom, kinda like what you did with Rory earlier. My Mom lifted a closet off of Spencer that he got trapped under when he was a kid."
"My Dad stopped my Mom from getting hit by a bus." Freddie offered in a quiet voice.
Carly's eyes opened wide at this and she looked over at Freddie. They held each other's gaze for quite a while, the electricity between their joined hands becoming all the more palpable.
"I wanna email my Dad and ask him more details; hopefully he'll tell me everything. But I think it's safe to say that our parents bonded and now it's happened to us too." Carly declared in a steady voice, much to Freddie's surprise.
"How do you feel about that? Now that you've had time to think about things?" Freddie asked cautiously.
Carly paused ever so slightly before answering. But she didn't let go of Freddie's hands the entire time.
"It's still pretty scary thinking about the idea of you and me being connected like this. But then I started thinking about what we already have as friends and even what we had a year ago when we were together after your accident and I realised it's not that different. You've been a part of my life for so long, Freddie. I'd hate to lose that on any level. I'm willing to see where this leads…if that's ok with you." Carly murmured tentatively, biting her bottom lip nervously afterwards.
Freddie, who had been holding his breath the entire time while Carly spoke, finally released air trapped in his lungs. But once he heard what she said, he stared deep into her eyes for a long while with an intense look on his face. To Carly's disappointment, Freddie let go of her hands. But she was even more amazed when Freddie moved his hand to take a strand of her dark brown hair away from her cheek. Carly shivered when Freddie moved closer and cupped her face with his hand, his breath fanning her chin.
"It's definitely ok with me, Carly." Freddie declared earnestly.
"We don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with. We can go as slow as you want while we figure out what to do about the 'bond'." He added rapidly as an afterthought.
"I'd like that." Carly responded with a small smile on her face, giving Freddie's hand a gentle squeeze.
Freddie smiled in turn and Carly's eyes were inadvertently drawn to Freddie's lips, pursed and full against the glare of her Gummy-Bear lamp. Even his usually dark brown hair had a slightly more golden tinge to it under the warm light. They were already sitting so close to each other; it wouldn't take much for Carly to close the little space between them and press her lips against his like she'd wanted to ever since he had first arrived that night. But she stopped herself in time before they took things too far. They had just begun to talk things out in a reasonable manner. The last thing she wanted to do was get side-tracked. Freddie finally let go of her face and Carly scooted over and laid down flat on her back, her head resting atop her fluffy pillow, Freddie's hand still clutched tightly in hers. With a gentle tug, Carly coaxed Freddie into lying down next to her, both of them staring at the ceiling together.
"How did you know that Sam knew?" Carly asked as an afterthought, referring to Sam's quip about the 'bond' and Rory.
"I didn't really. I just figured that she was trying to goad me into a response when she mentioned Rory. So I answered her as honestly as possible. When did you tell Sam about the 'bond'?"
"About 20 minutes before you and Spencer showed up. Actually, I uh…showed her."
"How did you do that?" Freddie questioned in bewilderment.
"I may have accidentally…purposely tried to beam her in the head with a fish bowl for emphasis…by using my mind." Carly offered sheepishly.
Freddie goggled at Carly for a few seconds while he processed this information.
"Whoa. You're freaky, Carly." Freddie teased.
"Shut up, Freddie." Carly scolded playfully, smacking Freddie on the arm with her free hand.
"How are you feeling?"
"What do you mean?"
"If I could feel achy after lifting Rory clean off the ground, then it must work the same way for you with your powers after the adrenaline's worn off. Do you feel any pain anywhere on your body?" Freddie questioned tentatively.
"Just a headache, that's all." Carly offered in a neutral voice.
Unlike Carly, who had massaged his shoulders, Freddie sat up slightly and kept a firm grip on Carly's hands and began stroking the fleshy part on the backs of her hands between her thumb and index finger with his thumbs, sending a shiver down her spine.
"My Mom always says that rubbing someone's hands while they have a migraine releases a lot of tension, sending a rush of endorphins through the body, which effectively makes pain disappear in most cases." Freddie offered with a small smile on his face.
He stopped himself from smiling too broadly when Carly closed her eyes momentarily and began purring in obvious satisfaction at his hands working wonders on her throbbing head.
"How does that feel?"
"Really good."
"I would've paid big money to see you beam Sam in the head with a fish bowl." Freddie noted lightly while he continued stroking Carly's hands.
"Trust me, it wasn't pretty. I feel kinda guilty about having to do that to her."
"Don't worry about it so much, Carls. It's good for Sam to sometimes get the picture through 'show and tell', or in this case, 'show and beam'." Freddie replied with a wink, causing Carly to chuckle in response.
"Based on Spencer's general mood, I'm guessing you haven't told him about the 'bond'."
"No, I haven't. He was pretty angry when he heard about what Rory did to me. Somehow, I don't think he would've warmed up to the idea of Michael coming into my bedroom to talk to me."
"Fair enough."
"I'm gonna tell him, Freddie. Sam already knows; it would be wrong to keep Spencer in the dark."
"Well, let me know if you need me to be there for moral support."
"Thanks, Freddie. I really appreciate that. But I think it's best if I tell Spencer alone. I know how to handle him if he starts freaking out."
"By putting a spoon-hat on his head and making him watch 'Galaxy Wars'?"
"Exactly."
The two of them began laughing heartily at this while they continued staring at the ceiling.
"You and Sam are gonna be ok, right?" Carly asked with concern swimming in her eyes when she shifted onto her side to look at Freddie after he had finished massaging her hands.
"I hope so. She apologised for pushing me down the stairs in the first place, so we'll see. But I promise you, I won't drag you into the middle of it anymore, Carly."
"I was never worried about you doing that, Freddie." Carly offered with a reassuring smile on her face.
"So…what do you think of Michael?" Freddie asked after a few seconds, lying on his side to face Carly.
Carly guffawed loudly and ran a hand through her hair before answering.
"He's uh…he's something else."
"Tell me about it. There's one side of him that makes me wanna punch him in the face. But on the other hand, he's…"
"Really…understanding. Like he knows exactly what we're going through." Carly finished off for Freddie.
"Yeah. I mean, I was freaking out a lot when I found out about my Dad and Michael calmed me down. Of course, that was after I almost pummelled him when he started talking inappropriately about you." Freddie stated in an abashed tone.
Carly goggled at this piece of information.
"When did this happen?" she questioned in an awed whisper.
"After he picked me up outside school in the park when I still didn't know what was going on. He just kinda got under my skin." Freddie admitted without quite meeting Carly's eyes.
Carly reached for Freddie's hand again and gave it a gentle squeeze. Freddie looked so stricken under the lamp light that it made Carly's heart ache in her chest.
"Freddie, it's ok."
"No, it's not, Carls. When I get angry…I just lose myself. It's like I don't have any control over my actions. And when I threw Rory into those lockers and you tried to touch my arm afterwards…"
"I get it, Freddie. You were scared that me touching you might cause you to react again. You were still running on pure adrenaline then." Carly finished sympathetically.
"I don't ever wanna hurt you, Carly. Not on any level. No matter what happens, I will always be around to protect you." Freddie declared vehemently.
Something in Freddie's tone startled Carly out of her dreamy haze and she fixed him with a worried look.
"What do you mean?" she questioned, her heart rate picking up at the look in his eye.
"Michael told me something before he left my apartment – something to do with our powers. He said that we have to be careful about who we tell; that…we should only tell people we really trust, like Sam and Spencer." Freddie began in a cautious murmur.
"What happens if we tell anyone else?" Carly asked curiously.
"People with supernatural abilities could find us. Michael said that people with powers are always naturally drawn to each other, and some of those people aren't good people, Carls. Some of them use other people with abilities for really bad things, like torturing and hurting ordinary humans. And if we use our powers for anything that goes beyond our own bond or saving people in dire situations, we could end up dying, Carly." Freddie replied morosely, his eyes shining with unshed tears.
Carly cupped her mouth with her hand in horror at this.
"Oh my God…" Carly whispered through her fingers while staring at Freddie.
"It's gonna be ok, Carly. I won't let anyone hurt you or anyone else we care about." Freddie promised.
He took hold of Carly's hand and placed it against his chest closest to where his heart was beating erratically deep within. Carly's breath caught in her throat at the heat radiating from Freddie's body, slowly drawing her in and consuming her inside and out.
"The same goes for me, Freddie. I know you're scared about what you might do if you get too angry. I lost my temper with Sam tonight and fired a fish bowl at her head. But I missed on purpose; I was able to control my anger so that I didn't hurt her. I don't know exactly how our powers are supposed to work. But I promise you, I'll help you keep a tight lid on your emotions so that you don't lose control. We'll figure this out together." Carly declared earnestly, grabbing the back of Freddie's head with one head to emphasise her point.
"And now I need you to promise me something else." She added in a low whisper.
"Anything," Freddie answered without hesitation.
"Whatever else happens from here on out, promise me that you won't take off like you did earlier. I don't wanna ever have to worry about you like that ever again. You really scared me, Freddie." Carly replied somewhat sternly.
"I'm sorry I made you worry about me, Carly. I promise I won't do something stupid like that ever again, as long as you promise me the same thing too."
"I promise."
"Good. Like it or not, we're in this together."
"I like the sound of that." Carly answered with a sly smirk, causing Freddie to blush profusely.
Then the two of them lied down on their backs again and stared at the ceiling once more.
"This has been one hell of a week." Carly murmured wearily.
"Tell me about it. I'm probably gonna have to go see Principal Franklin first thing in the morning to work out what my punishment is for making Rory Blake do a face-plant into a pile of lockers." Freddie responded, matching her tone.
"Principal Franklin likes you; I'm sure he'll understand if you explain what happened without mentioning the bond. It's getting late. Your Mom must be close to freaking out that you're not home yet." Carly noted with disappointment evident in her tone.
"You're probably right. But I told her not to wait up for me; I didn't want anything to interrupt us before we had a chance to talk." Freddie explained.
"What's on your mind, Carls?" he asked intuitively when she didn't respond immediately.
"Well…since you don't have to go just yet, is it ok if you…stay?" Carly asked while biting her bottom lip nervously.
"Of course I can stay, if you really want me to. Do you mind grabbing me a blanket? I'll crash on the couch." Freddie offered while sitting up.
"Freddie, you don't have to do that. Would it be ok if you just…hold me? I don't really feel like being alone tonight." Carly replied meekly.
Freddie smiled in understanding and rested his head against the pillow once more. He opened up his arms wide with a goofy grin on his face, causing Carly to chuckle lightly in response. She acquiesced and gratefully moved into his embrace, resting her head against his chest while Freddie encircled her slender waist with his strong arms. Her arms in turn moved around his stomach while they lay on her bed together.
"You should try and get some sleep, Carls. Tomorrow's probably gonna be a long day." Freddie whispered before leaning in and kissing Carly on the forehead.
"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep. As tired as I am right now, I'm still really charged up. It'll probably be hours before I even close my eyes." Carly whispered back, nuzzled comfortably against Freddie's chest.
But that turned out to be false when her eyes closed of their own accord a few minutes later, exhaustion having crept in steadily throughout the day. Freddie watched Carly sleep for a little while, secretly delighting in those moments when she smiled in her sleep, her hair splayed out all across his neck and chest. It wasn't long before he too succumbed to fatigue and allowed himself to get swept away by the sweet scent of Carly's hair wafting through his nose as they fell asleep in each other's arms.
Author's Note: Well, wasn't that just positively gooey? Even I gushed a little at all the Creddie-ness ;D I apologise to anyone who was hoping for a Creddie kiss like chapter 6, or maybe more after all that massage action. But unlike dinosgirl3 in 'iNever Knew', I decided to keep this G-rated for the most part. But damn, dinosgirl3 sure knows how to make Creddie sizzling :D I hope you all liked this new update, it's been a long time in the making. Next up: the epilogue in a week's time. A big thank you to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and favouriting this story in additon to putting up with my long-winded author notes - for that, you get extra cool points :D Have a great weekend and try not to pick any fights with other iCarly fans while my back is turned, not cool. Cheers!