Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly. Obviously. :L
The next chapter of this fic, I was kinda bummed that I didn't get reviews, or comments. But hey, I kept writing cause I love it. :L
Sam and Freddie are going 5 months strong into their relationship,
but will Melanie and her longing for Freddie cause some rocky roads?
Meanwhile, Freddie's cousin, Brian comes to stay at the Benson's for the
summer, and may have a thing for Carly, but their situation isn't fit for anything serious yet.
Read it and leave some comments if you want to. :)
iSanctuary.
In a park, not far from Bushwell Plaza, where the bright summer sky bathes the grassy knolls and tree tops in a warm golden sheen, there's a group of birch trees. Tightly packed, and inconspicuous to the average passer by. If you happen to venture into this covert patch of leaves and trunks, you'll notice that a small clearing marks the centre of the tiny forest. In that clearing, a lone park bench stands, one that many people are unaware of, and may continue to be unaware of. The weathered wooden planks have a certain air to it, an air that calms all who stumble across this miracle of nature. Carly was one of the few that knew of it, and today, she brought a visitor.
"Are you sure that it's here?" pestered Brian.
"Yes! Y'know, I've been here before Brian." chided Carly.
All doubt was wiped clean from his mind as soon as he squeezed himself through the tough trunks of the birches. The noon sun was shining high and bright, and the tops of the trees seemed to have parted to let the rays fall directly onto the lone park bench.
"Wow…" mused Brian. "this is…"
He was at a loss for words. What could possibly describe this? Serene? Peaceful? Tranquil? They only just scratched that surface.
"You're the first person I brought here, even Sam doesn't know about it." Carly told him.
He turned to face her, aware that he had completely forgotten about her. Her slim frame had placed itself on the bench, legs crossed, her hands disappeared under her thighs.
"Why?" taking a seat next to her.
"Because of what you said last Sunday." she smiled, warming his heart. "You're a nice guy Brian, and I really do like it when we hang out. And I figured, since we've grown so close in such a short amount of time, I should let you see where I come to relax." she answered him.
Brian took in what she had to say. He felt honoured that Carly, who he's only known for about a week and a half, opened up to him like this.
"So what do we do now?" asked Brian.
"We can talk?" said Carly, giving Brian a smile that made his insides jitter.
So they sat there and talked, with no limit as to how long they could stay there. Brian told her about his mom, the illusive "Aunt Susan" that Carly had heard of. About the weird sicknesses he'd watch her live through, how he went a whole week sitting on a couch finishing a whole series of games on a dare. Carly told him about her dad, and how she missed him so much. How she dated this guy Griffin with a weird obsession with Pee-Wee babies, and how she ended up hanging from a painting platform, 16 floors up her building. They connected, on so many levels. Finally, when the sun started to dip below the tree line, and the light in the clearing was growing scarce, they both decided it was time to head back to Bushwell.
"Wait!" Carly called out as he headed to squeeze through the trees. "We have to mark the bench!"
Upon turning, he saw Carly brandishing her house keys.
"Why?" he asked curiously.
"Well, whenever I come here, I mark the bench to keep count of how many times I've been here." holding out the key chain to him.
Carly shimmied over, and pointed to the corner of the bench she was sitting on. When he looked closer, she saw that there was already three notches, with a "C" behind the marks. While Carly watched him from the other side of the bench, he started etching something into the worn-out wood.
"Take a look." instructed Brian, standing up and letting her see what he did with it.
Leaning in, Carly saw that he left her previous markings untouched. But under it, wood shavings surrounded a fresh carving. A "B" and a "C" had been etched side-by-side into the aged plank, with a small mark next to it symbolising that together, Brian and Carly had both visited this place once.
"Aww. You're such a cheese." joked Carly, pushing Brian gently.
"Yeah well, you're bringing it out of me."
With that, Carly outstretched her arms, her sleeve-ends gripped in the palms of her hands. It was an invitation for Brian to hug her, and he took it as soon as he realised what it was. Her head rested safely on his shoulder, and was encompassed by both of his arms, her skinny arms bundled around his waist, pulling him closer to her. Brian could finally smell the gentle, soothing scent that emanated from her, like a cross between lavender and aloe, and Carly could finally feel the tender warmth that his hoodie seemed to radiate. Physically, it was the closest they've been since they met, and it spoke millions about what they thought of each other. It was as if they were saying to one another, 'spending time with you is all I care about.'
It was the truth.
A couple of streets down from that same park, Sam sat in the Groovy Smoothie, alone. She was waiting for Melanie. Her nuisance of a twin sister was going overboard with her texts to Freddie, and Sam decided to take matters to stop it into her own hands. Freddie had no idea she was here, certain that he'd just try to come along and do this together. As much as she loved Freddie, and she really did, there were just some things Sam had to do on her own. The bell that hovered over the Groovy Smoothie's door rang, causing her to turn around. Sure enough, Melanie's brunette pony-tail came bouncing in through the door.
"Hi sis." she said, in her irritating preppy voice. Melanie took a seat opposite Sam, and set a white envelope and her designer handbag down onto the bench that separated them.
Her oblivious attitude to what she'd been doing to Sam's relationship with Freddie was what annoyed her the most.
"I want you to stop texting Freddie." burst Sam. "He's my boyfriend, and if you don't like it then you can go back to that stupid boarding school of yours."
Melanie, surprisingly, started to chuckle.
"What? What's so damn funny? I'm being serious here Melanie. Stop your chiz."
Like a villain about to unravel their plan, Melanie continued to laugh to herself.
"It's kinda like looking into a mirror, don't you think?" Melanie said.
"A mirr- What are you going on about?"
"When I look at you, I see myself, but the complete opposite. Bad grades, a criminal record, and figure that's been abused by eating too much fried chicken."
She just called me fat. My bitch of a twin sister just called me fat.
"Sam, Freddie wouldn't fall for someone like that would he? He can't be in love with you."
It was true. It hit Sam hard in the heart, her only fear for her relationship was that Freddie wanted someone smarter than she could ever be.
"You can't keep fooling yourself that he loves you Sam. All I was doing was helping you see that." revealed Melanie.
"No! You're wrong, Freddie loves me. He does, okay?" Sam argued whilst keeping her voice down to avoid attention. "Explain how he came back for me! How his mom went crazy psycho, took him from me, and then he ditched her and came back for me!"
"Yes, maybe then he came back for you. But, surely he's realised that you're not his type. Face it Sam, I was doing you a favour. Freddie wants a girl who can actually tell the difference between 'affect' and 'effect'. A girl that can tell you that anything to the power of zero is one. A girl like me."
Sam went grew up with Freddie, knowing that he wanted a girl who was all of that. When she found out that Freddie and Melanie went out, it hurt her, but she saw it coming. Her sister was always the picture perfect daughter, she wouldn't be surprised if their mom left Sam in Seattle to go live near Melanie in Oregon.
"You just want him for yourself don't you? You're just doing all of this, to get Freddie for yourself, because you can't stand to see him with me." she reasoned. In her mind, this was more of a plea. A plea to herself that all of this was fake.
"Maybe. You can't deny it though. A boy as smart as Freddie? He wants a girl he can have an intellectual conversation with." smirked Melanie.
Even though Melanie's eyes hinted at a hidden agenda, it didn't make what she was saying anything less than the truth. She wasn't the girl to admit any kind of defeat, but this… it was all too true to her. Sam didn't deserve Freddie, he could get a girl that had a better outlook than she did. It didn't matter that she had been working hard to get into college for him, it just mattered to her that Freddie could be happier with someone else. That's why she submitted to it all. As long as that dork was happy, she would be.
I want to punch that nub for doing this to me, so badly. But… I can't.
Her stabbing epiphany was interrupted by the sudden movement of Melanie getting out of her chair.
"I'm sorry, but I have a dinner date with my friend and this guy she met." noted Melanie. She placed a chilling hand on top of Sam's. "Remember sis, all I'm doing is helping you see that you and Freddie aren't meant to be. It'll save you the pain and the awkward marriage."
As Melanie picked her bag off of the table and was about to leave, Sam spotted the envelope that was hidden under it, she snatched it and opened it to find enough money for a whole bunch of fat-cakes and fried chicken.
"That's enough money to get you anywhere around America, including Hawaii. It's yours." she said. "If what I said didn't convince you, that will." Melanie explained, before walking out the door, leaving Sam completely alone.
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