Ready
XXXXXXX
"Hey you guys are back" Carly says as Freddie and I walk into the apartment.
"Yeah" I say and join her in the kitchen.
"Punch?" She asks and starts pouring glasses for us. "So what happened to you two? Guys just took off." I feel my face get hot, crap; I'm totally blushing right now. What do I tell her? Freddie and I kissed? Well I don't know how that would go down, but I can't lie to her. We promised to tell each other everything.
"I needed to get some air" Freddie says. He isn't going to tell her, is he?
"And then we kinda kissed" I add. Both Carly and Freddie choke a little on their punch. I think Freddie freaked because he wasn't expecting me to say anything and Carly freaked… well I mean come on, who wouldn't freak, I just said me and the dork kissed.
"Excuse me?" Carly chokes out.
"I said we ki_"
"Yeah yeah I heard you!" Carly spazzes, "Are you kidding?" Looking to Freddie for confirmation.
"No…. we did….ummmm kiss" He says quietly his face turning red. He is totally blushing!
"Oh my God… Oh my…." Carly starts ranting, "OH MY… Wha… how… OH MY GOD" She scurries around and grabs me by the hand, pulling me out of the kitchen and far enough away from Freddie where he can't hear us.
"How? When did this happen?" Carly whispers to me.
"I don't know we just went for a walk and we were talking, then we just kissed" I whisper back.
"What did you guys talk about?"
"I just asked him why he was doing this for me…. And then we just kissed"
"I knew it!" Carly says, "I told you Freddie was doing this for you! He does like you! I knew it, ever since we got back, I knew it!" She says gleefully with this crazy smile on her face.
"Carly, calm down." I say, smiling.
"So are you two like dating now?" She asks.
"Urrrgghh…. I don't even know. We'll just get this Aaron thing over first and then we will see" I say. I can't even think about what Freddie and I are going to do until this Aaron thing is gone. Man, I can't even think about Aaron without getting a horrible feeling in my stomach and all I think about is our run in earlier today.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea" She says.
"I know you two are talking about me" Freddie says from the kitchen. Carly and I both laugh and smile. We've been caught.
"I got it!" Spencer shouts through the apartment, coming out from his room to answer the phone that started ringing. "Hello?" He says answering the phone. "Yeah Sam is here" All of us focus our attention to the phone conversation upon hearing my name.
"Who is it?" I mouth to Spencer.
"Principal Franklin" He mouths back. "Yeah, I'm here Principal" Spencer says back into the phone. None of us can hear what Principal Franklin is saying on the other line. We just get Spencer's comments and expressions.
"I see" Spencer says in the phone. What does that mean? We all exchange looks trying to understand what is going on in this phone conversation. Spencer just mumbles and grumbles some responses, listening to whatever Franklin is saying.
"Yeah, I understand. Thank you Principal." Spencer says and hangs up the phone.
"Well?" I ask.
"Okay, so we can get a restraining order, but legally it can't go beyond that without real proof… but there is a problem." He says. We all look at each other, this can't be good. "Aaron is gone."
"Wait, what?" I ask.
"He never came home from school and his father has no idea where he is and can't get a hold of him. He is missing." Spencer says.
"So he ran off?" Freddie says.
"Yeah and they can't find him."
"That's just great" I say sarcastically.
"Everyone is looking for him. He couldn't have really gone anywhere so we will find him." Spencer says.
"Spencer's right and maybe if we are lucky he won't come back at all" Carly says. But let's face it, I'm never lucky.
XXXXXX
"Carly?" I shout into the darkness.
"SAM! HELP!" I keep running and turning, I can't see anything. Where am I? Somebody please wake me up! I hear Carly scream behind me.
"Carls?" I shout. I turn and run, trying to feel for a wall to guide me or anything. Everything just feels endless.
"You won't find her" I hear that voice say.
"Shut up!" I yell into the nothingness.
"You're too late" The voice says. It's a male voice. Freddie? No it sounds familiar but doesn't feel like Freddie.
"Where is she?" I shout. Then suddenly bright light fills the room, I squint my eyes to adjust to the light. "Hello?" I say. The room is completely white and the light is bounces off the walls, it is too bright in here.
"You're pathetic" The male voice says…. Wait that's not Freddie, that's_
"Aaron" I say facing the voice. He stands there with a sly look on his face, but he doesn't look right… he almost doesn't look human. He looks possessed or something. There is a scar down his left cheek. How did he get that? And his eyes are blank and they look they could suck me into darkness.
"Too late. She's gone" He says and suddenly he flies towards me and the whole room goes dark when he hits me.
I gasp for air when I'm startled awake. Not again. I can't help to wonder why my dream changed. It wasn't Freddie anymore, but Aaron. That was by far the worst that dream has ever been. Great, I can't even get away from Aaron in my dreams.
XXXXXXX
"I can't believe we really had to come to school today" I whine at the lockers.
"We couldn't miss again and Aaron is not going to be here, there is a cop in the parking lot keeping watch and Principal Franklin has all the teachers on alert. It's going to be fine and if you think about it, school is probably the safest place. There is no way he would show up here." Carly says.
"I guess"
"Morning guys" Freddie says joining us.
"Hey Freddie" Carly says.
"Moring" I say.
"I'll leave you two aloonneeee" Carly says and starts to walk away.
"You're so weird!" I shout.
"Shut up and talk about you know what!" She playfully shouts back.
"Is she okay?" Freddie jokes.
"She has been all giddy since I told her we_" I stop and lean closer to him "kissed" I whisper.
"Oh yeah that" He whispers, making fun of me.
"What?" I ask.
"Why did you whisper, you aren't embarrassed are you?" He asks me.
"No" I say.
"Well then you shouldn't have to whisper it" He says.
"It's just…. It's not like we are like dating or anything right? So why have people know about it…" I say.
"We can change that"
"Change what?" I ask.
"Well… maybe we should… you know, date?" He says. I think the world just stopped… Freddie Benson just asked me out.
"Oh…." I say.
"I mean only if you want, we don't have to. You know… but if you want that will_"
"Stop rambling" I tell him, cutting off his nervous rant.
"Sorry" He quietly mumbles.
"Yeah, okay we should." I say.
"Wha—what?" He looks shocked.
"I'd like it if we you know…. dated." I say.
"Seriously?"
"Why so surprised?" I ask.
"Could you ever imagine this happening a couple months ago? I mean we are both talking about going out… you and me. It's kinda crazy" He says and smiles.
"Yeah it is, but then again we have been through a lot in the past couple weeks. I mean it's all crazy" I say.
"Well we got something good from it." He says. I smile.
"Yeah, we did." I say, "Ummmmm…. So we should... uhhh... go to class now" I gesture towards the hall.
"Yeah" He says and takes a step to leave. "Sam, hold on" Freddie says stopping in front of me.
"What?"
He looks at me and brings his hand to my cheek. Wait, is really going to kiss me now, in school, in front of everyone? No Freddie would never do that, yet here he is leaning towards me. I can't believe this, but I also do nothing to stop it as I end up shutting my eyes when I feel our lips touch. The kiss is soft and gentle like before, I can't help but to enjoy it. We pull apart and I swear I heard a collective gasp from every student around us. I glace around and they are all awestruck, staring at Freddie and me.
"So time for class?" Freddie suggests with a smile.
"I can't believe you did that" I say surprised.
"Well now they all know" He says and starts walking away, towards class. "Oh and Sam," He says turning to face me, "You kissed back" He pointed out with a wink. Well someone's a little full of themselves, but I laugh because he is right. I just roll my eyes and follow him to class.
XXXXXX
"Okay you guys ready to go?" Carly asks us at the lockers.
"Yes, please get me out of here and on that couch" I say.
"Haha alright let's go" Carly says and we walk to exit.
"Sam, wait!" I hear someone call. I turn and see Gibby coming towards us.
"What's going on?" Freddie asks him.
"Sam, Ms. Harris wants to see you." He says and hands me a pass saying to go to Ms. Harris's office. That's weird, why does she need me at the end of the day? Whatever.
"Why?" Carly asks.
"Did they get something on Aaron?" Freddie asks.
"If any information was found about Aaron Principal Franklin would have alerted us all, not Ms. Harris." Carly says, answering his question. Freddie nods in agreement.
"Well I will stop by and see what she wants; it won't take long, she probably just wants to talk or do something that therapists do" I say, "Five minutes?"
"Okay, we will wait here" Carly says and I walk towards the office.
XXXXXX
"Ms. Harris?" I say and knock on her door. No answer. It's unlocked and I walk in, shutting the door. "Ms. Harris?" I question again. I scan around the room; she is not at her desk or by the bean bags. I walk further looking around everything and then knock on the door to the bathroom. "Ms. Harris?" No answer. She is not here. Why would she want to see me if she isn't even in here? I open the bathroom door and step in. Nothing. What a waste of time. I sigh and exit the bathroom. I stop dead facing the office door. He is there, blocking my only exit.
"So I heard you and that worthless Freddie are dating now" He snarls.
"And I heard you were missing" I say back. He just shrugs and gives a wry smile.
"Don't be like this Sam" He says, like he is talking to a child.
"Be like what Aaron?" I say back with the same tone as he.
"We are meant to be together" He says. I almost puke right there.
"You're insane" I spit at him, "How did you even get in here?"
"You think one cop in the parking lot and a couple of teachers could stop me from getting in here? It's kind of pathetic." He says and takes a step towards me.
"Don't come near me" I snarl at him. It's weird I don't feel scared around him anymore, all I feel is anger, pure anger. He stops but only for a second. I take a step back and to the side. There is no way I'm going to back myself into the wall. I feel like we are playing a game of cat and mouse, I'm staring him down and he looks too amused. Each time he steps towards me, I took one back and over.
"Do I make you nervous Sam?" He teases.
"You wish" I snap. He smiles wider and before I realize he is practically next to me and grabs hold of me. I go to scream but he puts a hand over my mouth.
"Shhhhhhh" He tells me. I swiftly kick him in the shin and push him back. I race for the door but he grabs on to my shoulders and throws me backwards to the floor. I hit the floor hard and it takes a couple seconds before I can focus again. I look up at him as he stares down at me.
"I don't like hurting you" He says, like throwing me to the ground was some twisted punishment for trying to leave him. I scan around the room trying to think of a plan, anything to try to get out of here. I need to get off this floor because everyone knows the ground is not somewhere you want to be when a crazy stalker attacks you. I'm not going to be able to fight him if I'm crawling around the floor, but if I get up; he can easily grab me again before I can fully stand. I glance back at him. He looks as though he read my thoughts; he knows I can't get up fast enough to do anything.
"You didn't have to do this Sam. We could have been together, we could have been everything; but you leave me for him. What a joke. You are mine, not his, mine" He says. Oh God…. My heart is thumping so hard, I swear Aaron can hear it. I need him to understand; maybe he is just literally crazy… I'm not a therapist but don't you need to speak rationally when someone else is freaking out? I don't know, but it could work.
"Aaron" I say firmly, "You are wrong. I am not yours. I don't belong to anyone, okay? Now you should just go before someone catches you." Wow, that was probably one of the lamest thing I could have said. Why did I even think that would be a good thing to say?
"But Sam, you are mine, you just can't see it yet…. But you will" He says and steps towards me. Crap, crap! My mind is running a thousand miles per second just looking for a way out when suddenly the door flies open. Freddie runs straight in a pushes Aaron away, hard into the wall. I see Aaron get cut back one of the hooks on the wall when he falls to the floor… a thin, long cut down his left cheek. All I can think about is my dream and that same exact scar.
"In here!" Freddie shouts completely winded like he ran here. Less than a second later two cops run in and grab Aaron.
"No you don't understand" He cries, "Sam? Sam, come on tell them! You all don't understand!" He shouts as the cops push him out the door. I turn to Freddie completely shocked, everything happened so fast.
"H—How?" I asked him. He gives me his hand and lifts me off the floor, into his arms.
"Carly and I ran into Ms. Harris outside school. She said that she never called you in to see her; she was on her way home. I knew something had to be wrong, so Carly yelled for the cops in the parking lot and I bolted here." He says.
"Freddie… I don't… I .." I can't even think of the words I could possibly say, but I know Freddie understands.
"It's okay. It's over." He says and pulls me into an embrace.
"So this is the second time you have rescued me" I whisper into his ear.
"All in a day's work" He jokes.
"Sam, what happened? Are you okay?" I see Carly running into the room. Freddie and I break apart.
"Hey, yeah everything is okay" I say and hug her. She squeezes me tight, I feel like I will never breathe again, but I wouldn't dare break this hug. Everything really is okay.
XXXXXX Two Weeks Later
"Sam, you ready?" Carly asks.
"Yeah, come on we only have a few minutes" I say back.
"I'll be up in a minute, Freddie is already in the studio, just tell him two more minutes" Carly says.
"Kay" I walk out of her room and up to the studio.
"Hey boyfriend" I say covering his eyes.
"Now I wonder who that could be" He jokes. We smile and share a small kiss. "You ready?" He asks.
"Born ready, Benson" I joke, "We haven't done iCarly for months and this week is going to rock"
"It feels like forever" Freddie says.
"Awwww, did you miss you tech cart?" I tease. He just rolls his eyes.
"It's just been awhile" He says.
"Well when your best friend gets kidnapped and then you have a crazy stalker on your hands things to tend to be looked over, like iCarly" I point out.
"Yeah, I think we have had enough crazy in our lives already. Any chance it will just be normal from here on out?" He asks. We both think about it for a bit.
"Not at all" We both say in unison.
"But we did get a lot of good from this" I say, "Carly's back, Aaron is behind bars, and we…. Well you know" I smile and gently kiss him. He laughs a bit.
"How much time?" Carly asks, coming through the door.
"30 seconds" Freddie replies.
"Sam" Carly gestures me over.
"Yup" I say and go stand next to Carly.
"Ready?" She asks.
"Ready"
"Okay guys we are on in 5…4…3….2….."
XXXXXX
END