"What took you guys so long?" Carly asked, curiosity evident in her voice.
"Uh...the convenience store. It was kind of packed. You know, it's late, and people need their...conveniences." Sam didn't feel the need to tell Carly just then about the confrontation in the road with Griffin's girlfriend. That could wait until later, when Freddie had left. And Sam definitely didn't feel the need to tell Carly about the heated embrace in the elevator. Some things just didn't need to be shared, even between best friends.
Carly noted the hurried, baseless excuse and Sam"s and Freddie's mussed appearances. Freddie's shirt was disheveled, the buttons lined up unevenly. Sam's hair was wilder than usual, and her lips had the chapped look even though it was summertime. Although Carly had initially wanted to know what had taken her two best friends so long, she decided that she didn't really want to know. She loved Sam and Freddie, and she loved the fact that they were together and loved each other, but Carly also felt that she could be spared all of the gory details. "Uh huh. Sure. Anyway, did you get the popcorn? I'm in the mood for a superhero movie marathon night."
Freddie tossed the box of movie theater butter into Carly's waiting hands.
"Thanks, guys. Freddie, go get Captain America out of Spencer's room. He's been hogging it and I want to see Chris Evans' gorgeous face."
"Will do." Freddie left the room, and Carly smirked at her best female friend.
"Convenient supplies, my ass. You two were somewhere getting it on!"
Sam blushed. "Is it really that obvious?"
"Yes. Now go put on some nightclothes in my room and get yourself cleaned up before Spencer sees you looking all ravished."
By the time Sam got back downstairs, the popcorn had already been made and the gang was settled in on the couch, Spencer included. Freddie had saved Sam a seat next to him, a seat Sam gladly took.
Carly pressed play on the DVD player. Soon, they were all wrapped up in the tale of Captain America.
000
By the time July rolled around, Sam had put Kelsey out of her mind and had decided just to enjoy the seemingly never-ending time with Freddie and Carly. Independence Day was coming up, and the trio was trying to plan something epic for the iCarly that week.
Carly wanted to find a way to work out with the city to let them use special fireworks for the webcast.
Sam wanted to tie bottle rockets to Lewbert's shoes.
Freddie wanted Sam not to tie bottle rockets to Lewbert's shoes. No matter how funny she insisted the end result might be, Sam had managed to stay out of juvie since the incident where she shoved the hot dog down the Mexican ambassador's pants and Carly and Freddie were trying to keep it that way.
In the end, they settled for Spencer's idea: to see if Socko's cousin Bernie could sell them some of his customized fireworks that would display the iCarly logo in all of its glory against the Seattle sky.
After reaching a consensus during rehearsal that afternoon, Carly went to meet Wendy at Build-a-Bra, taking Sam with her. Freddie was being left alone at his apartment with his mother for the whole day, which he usually dreaded but today knew was necessary. Carly and Sam needed some girly time without him there. As much as his day would be boring as hell, he knew that this was something that wasn't negotiable.
He crossed the hall and entered his apartment to see that his mother and Gunsmoke had left for some unknown destination. Freddie noticed the sheet of his mother's familiar pink stationery on the counter and read her concerned yet cheery note to him:
Freddiebear,
Gunsmoke and I are going down to Napa Valley for the weekend. Isn't he wonderful? I left you food money in the microwave, please don't spend it all on junk food. You know what I say: If it's sweet and sticky, it will make you sicky. There's also some tofurkey noodle casserole in the fridge from last night. Please either make sure that gets eaten or throw it away before it goes bad. Sam is welcome to spend time with you, but no matter how wily your teenage hormones might be, I do not want ANY shenanigans occuring in this apartment. Call me when you read this so I know you are safe. My mace and Gunsmoke's aluminum baseball bat are behind the suitcase in my closet.
Love,
Mommy
Freddie sighed. On one hand, his mother and Gunsmoke were completely gone for the weekend, which opened up a world of opportunities for him and Sam. On the other hand, the note his mother left for him reminded him of exactly why he had briefly moved out: she still treated him like a little boy. Granted, it had gotten better since he had come back, but still. Was it still necessary to use those infantile rhymes to remind him not to gorge himself on junk food?
He blushed when his mother mentioned the possible...shenanigans. Freddie could not lie and say that it hadn't crossed his mind to take their relationship past where it was now, but he knew that he would have to wait for Sam to initiate anything. He didn't want to push her before she was ready; his mother had raised him better than that. He had worked hard to earn Sam;s trust, he didn;t want to lose it all over his hormones. Besides, Freddie knew that if he even brought it up right now she'd probably break his thumbs. So for weeks he had been somewhat of a master of self-control, a mental image of Ms. Briggs in a leather bikini at his disposal whenever he needed it.
Freddie crossed the living room and picked up the telephone. He dialed his mother's cell phone number and listened to her pre-call song, John Mellencamp's 'Jack and Diane'. For a second he thought he was going to be sent to voicemail, but on the eighth ring his mother finally picked up.
"I'm sorry, Freddiebear. My phone fell between the seat and the console so I couldn't immediately answer the phone. Did you get the note on the counter? Are you scared of being home alone for so long? Should we turn around and head back for Seattle?" There was the mother that he knew, loved and mostly tolerated. Although being with Gunsmoke romantically had calmed down some of her neuroses, she was still the overprotective mom she had always been and would always be.
"Yes, Mom. That's why I'm calling. You and Gunsmoke are going to be in Napa Valley this weekend? That sounds really nice, I hope you guys have a wonderful time. I heard the Fourth of July is really nice down there."
"That's what I heard too. Good luck with your special webshow tomorrow night, I'll be watching from the resort. And I meant what I said in the letter, about there being no shenanigans between you and Sam in the house."
Freddie's blush returned like a wildfire. "Of course not, Mom. I would never risk anything that would prevent me from going to college. She's actually not even here right now, she went with Carly and Wendy to have some girl time."
"Good, Freddie. Keep that in mind. Anyway, we're about to hit the freeway and I don't want to distract Gunsmoke from driving properly. I'll call you again when we stop for gas, and then when we get to the resort." Freddie could practically hear the smile in his mother's voice when he assured her that he and Sam would be decently behaved while she was away. He said goodbye and hung up the phone, contemplating all the things he, Carly, and Sam could do with this golden opportunity.
000
"Okay, so I definitely want the lime green straps with the titanium hooks..." Sam said, looking over her choices. They had been at Build-a-Bra for almost an hour, and Sam was working on her third bra. Carly had laughed at her earlier that morning when Sam had whined about outgrowing all of her bras, and suggested that Sam stop consuming so many meat and dairy products. Sam, aghast, almost hit Carly. Instead, she had come up with the idea of a girls' day out with Carly and Wendy. Plus, things were getting a little more heated with Freddie lately and if they ever got to the point where her shirt ever came off, she didn't want to look like her cup runneth over.
"Get them then, you wild woman! Although I still say the black lacy one is the cutest." Wendy laughed over at Sam's serious decision-making face. Carly had blushed furiously when Sam had made the black bra, mumbling something about how she had seen in a movie once that black bras were only worn by girls who wanted them seen. Both Sam and Wendy had laughed at her flustered expression. Both girls knew it wasn't exactly nice to laugh at Carly's slight prudishness, but come on! How can one girl be so boy crazy yet so naive at the same time?
Sam laughed. "Yeah, I know. But I need more than just the one, so I'm making this one."
Forty-five minutes later, the girls had purchased their creations and were standing in line at Bovine Princess waiting to get ice cream when a text buzzed in on Sam's phone.
Freddie: Hey, Princess. Mom and Gunsmoke hightailed it to Napa Valley for Independence Day weekend. I have the house to myself for three days.
Holy chiz. Crazy never left Freddie alone unsupervised that long! Usually she got Spencer to keep Freddie at their place while she was at one of her psycho aggressive parenting conferences, but Sam guessed that Gunsmoke had mellowed her out just enough that she was willing to let her entirely too responsible 15-year-old son stay at home for three days by himself.
Sam: That's awesome, Freddie! :) Can you say house party?
Freddie: Sam! Do you WANT to see my mom burst into flames?
Sam: Um, yes. That would be amazing.
Freddie: Sam...no. We can't throw a party. If we do and Mom finds out, I won't be able to leave the house until I'm 40.
Sam: But baaaaaaabyyyyyy.
Freddie: Don't but baaaaaaaabyyyyyyy me. That only works when we're face to face. If I can't see you doing that ridiculously adorable puppy dog face, it doesn't work.
Sam: You suck, did you know that?
Freddie. You love me. So anyway, when are you and the other girls going to be done? There are some new things for the fireworks special that I wanted to run by you and Carly.
Sam looked up from her phone at Carly's insistence and saw her best friend standing with a man that she didn't know. The dude was all dolled up in a business suit with perfectly coiffed hair, waiting patiently for Sam to join in the discussion with him and Carly.
"What's up?"
Carly opened her mouth before the suit dude had a chance to. "Sam, this is Mr. Reichner. He owns the company that operates Build-a-Bra and Glitter Gloss. He wants to use us for a special promotion!"
Sam glanced warily at the man in the fancy suit. If her mother's history had taught her anything about men, it was that they weren't always what they seemed.
She gave him a onceover. His dark hair was cut perfectly, probably in some uppity salon. His watch was expensive, no doubt. It resembled the fancy diver's watch that a doctor her mom had dated owned. The suit that he wore was impeccable, dark blue with a white undershirt and what was undeniably a black silk tie. His shoes were leather-Italian, she presumed.
He looked pretty legit.
"What kind of promotion?"
This time, Mr. Reichner got to talk before Carly had the opportunity to cut him off. "It's simple, really. You guys are perfect for our target demographic. You're both very famous web stars and, if I may say so without sounding creepy, you are also both very beautiful girls. All my company and I want you to do is maybe appear at a store event, sign some autographs, and then put on a little show for the audience that will undoubtedly gather."
"What do you mean, a little show? Like, a mini episode of iCarly?" Carly inquired.
"No, nothing like that. It would just be too weird outside of your studio. But we understand that you, Carly, are a fairly decent singer and you, Sam, can both sing as well as dance."
"So you want us to perform songs and stuff?"
"Precisely, Miss Puckett. Just one apiece, show that you have more going on for the both of you than comedy."
Sam debated this for a second. She hadn't truly performed for an audience since the pageant, and even then it was just dancing. She couldn't remember if anyone had heard her sing in a long time. Sam missed it.
"We'll do it. Right, Carls?" Carly nodded, an excited look on her face at the prospect of singing for so many people.
"Of course we will. Give us a time and place and a place for our tech producer to set everything up for us."
"Okay, girls. We'll be in touch." With that, Mr. Reichner smiled at them both, shook their hands, and walked away.
A/N: So. I apologize profusely for the lack of regular updates. My senior year of high school is a cruel master that must be obeyed, and I'm taking three AP classes: AP English 12, AP Calculus, and AP European History. I was most literally in the middle of writing this chapter about a week ago when a snobby little blonde plotbunny that greatly resembles Draco Malfoy came and smacked me in the face. I'm pretty sure that I wrote for at least six hours straight on my newest story, Before I Fall. It's Draco/Hermione, and it's gotten pretty positive stuff so far. If you all want to go read it, I would be deeply obliged.
Also, the amount of reviews has been seriously lacking. I'm not going to resort to previous measures and start witholding chapters again (even though I feel like I should), but a two-second review doesn't seem like it would be that big of a deal. When like three people review, it makes me think that you all hated the chapter, which discourages me from writing. So please, please, PLEASE review? For me and my new baby story?
LyshaLuvsSeddie: Wow, I haven't heard from you in quite some time. I liked the last few chapters too, because not everything can be sunshine and roses for Sam and Freddie.
Geekquality, Arocksprpl2, DannySamLover20, lovelovelove898: Thanks you guys. Really, so much. Even simple reviews make me want to update that much faster. :) 3
Seddie Spaghetti: So, your brain officially beats mine on the randomness scale. As for fanfic ideas, it depends on what pairings you want to do. Let me know and I'll see if I can scrape up anything.