A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for reading and reviewing my last chapter, I was all "ooh, I have messages" and you guys were all "write more", so I, like, did or whatever. Anyway, in this chapter, many of the characters actually get to meet each other! And remember, this story assumes that nobody at Hollywood Arts knows about iCarly, 'cause it makes it more fun for me to write about. So feast your eyes (ew, that sounds gross)!

Disclaimer: I still don't own iCarly or Victorious, but I do have a weird squished plastic lion on my desk.

The journey, by coach, from Seattle to Hollywood took 18 hours. 18 long hours in which both Carly's pearphone AND pearpod died, Freddie had accidentally packed his laptop in the coach's hold-all, and Sam had complained about being hungry. A lot. It was fair to say, their tempers were a little frayed.

"I can't believe that last gas station we stopped at didn't even sell snacks!" Sam growled.

Carly looked at her, wearily. "I can't believe you're going to tell me about it. Again."

"I should have packed more ham."

"And clothes. Seriously, you've only got what's in your backpack to last you a whole month?"

Sam stretched out her feet and began drumming her sneaker against the chair in front. "People in Hollywood own washing machines, don't they? Besides, I can always borrow something of yours."

Carly rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile as her wayward friend grinned at her goofily.

Suddenly, Freddie's face appeared in the gap between the two chairs in front. His eyes were covered by a sleep mask.

"Oh no," said Sam with mock terror, "Freddie's eyes are missing! So he can't see what hand gesture I'm making!"

Freddie angrily pulled the mask from his face, and glowered at Sam, who pretended to look innocent.

"I was sleeping," he said pointedly.

"Great story; can't wait for the movie."

"YOU woke me up with your incessant chair kicking!"

"I did?" Sam looked at her tapping sneaker. "Huh. It must be some kind of reflex."

"You mean your foot has a mind of it's own?" Carly asked in amusement.

"Yes."

"Well can you tell it to stop, please?" Freddie moaned, wiping sleep from his eyes.

"It doesn't really like authority."

"Aw! It takes after its owner!" Carly poked the foot until it stopped tapping.

"WHEN CAN WE EAT?" Sam yelled in the direction of the coach driver.

Carly gazed dreamily out of the window, and her eyes brightened. "Hey guys! I just saw a sign, we're only 50 miles away!"

Freddie looked out too, beginning to feel more energized as the California sun warmed his face, even as it was setting.

/

"They're late," Jade snapped angrily. She looked over at Tori, who had fallen fast asleep on the step next to her. She looked peaceful. Jade gently lowered her face next to the snoozing girl's ear – and screamed.

Tori woke with a start "AAAAAHHHHH! What? What? What's happening? Who got murdered?"

"Nobody," Jade replied sweetly. "Yet."

Sikowitz, looking exhausted and even more scruffy than usual, came to meet them where they waited on the hallway steps.

"Are they here?" Robbie asked, dragging himself to his feet and tidying his hair.

"No," Sikowitz sighed. "It seems there's been…a delay."

"We are aware of that," Beck yawned.

Tori's phone bleeped and she checked her new message. "It's from Cat – "Are the French people here yet?" what does she – yikes! It's almost midnight!"

"Now you'll NEVER make it to the ball!" Jade pretended to swoon, using her 1940's movie star voice.

"I don't talk like that!"

Beck stood up and stretched his back. "Do you know why they're so late, Sikowitz?"

"Well, they're traveling by road, which was never a good start. But apparently they took a detour through the city in order to pick up some food, and their order was so long they've only just got their meals."

"So we're going to have to wait here even longer?" Robbie groaned.

"No kids, as always your brilliant teacher has formulated a cunning plan."

"You're gonna make them stay in a hotel?" Jade suggested.

"No, the school wouldn't pay for that, cheapskates! No, I've arranged for the janitor to wait for them and then drop them off at your houses. He owes me a favor anyway. I taught him ballroom dancing."

"So…we can go home and wait for them there?" Tori asked as they all stood up.

"YES! GO! LEAVE! SLEEP! There will be more exchange student fun to be had tomorrow!"

Sikowitz shooed them all out of the school and shut the door behind them all. He waved goodbye to the janitor, who waved back, and then danced across the linoleum, pretending his mop was his partner.

/

When the iCarly gang (plus the group of other Ridgeway students) arrived at the dark school, they were puzzled to find the janitor waiting for them, with a school bus. The situation was explained and the students were too sleepy to argue, so each kid was dropped off one by one at their hosts' houses. Carly, Freddie and Sam were the last on the bus.

/

Carly was about to knock on the front door of Tori Vega's home, when she paused.

She was sure that 18 hours on a coach with no air conditioning, followed by an hour in a fried chicken restaurant, wasn't going to leave her smelling of roses. Or looking like roses, for that matter. What would these glamorous Hollywood types think of her? First impressions are important!

Tori was the only Vega not asleep, and had achieved an unnatural state of wide-awakeness after draining a six pack of Peppy Cola. She sat on the edge of her couch, humming to herself and tapping her foot while browsing The Slap. Still no information on the whereabouts of the exchange students...

Carly checked her reflection in her compact and made as much improvement as she could, smoothing her hair and adding some colour to her weary face. Then, after a quick spritz of deodorant spray, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Tori practically bounced off the couch and sprinted forward, swinging the door open and yelling "HI!" with a big grin.

Carly, still partly dazed, took a step back in surprise, then offered a smile in return. "Hi! Um, are you Tori Vega?"

"THAT'S ME!" Tori beamed. She then realised by the confused look on her guest's face that she might be slightly over-doing the welcome. "Sorry...you must be Carly. Come in! Let me get your bags."

"Thanks, nice to meet you!" Carly said, trying to sound just as overly enthusiastic.

"Sorry if I seen kind of hyper...Peppy Cola should only be enjoyed in small doses," Tori explained as she helped Carly bring her luggage in.

"No problem," Carly said, relieved that she could relax a little. "Thanks so much for waiting up this late."

"Aw, no problem. I was excited to meet you! C'mon, I'll show you where your room is and give you the grand tour."

Carly followed the cheery girl, and tried not to squeal at how amazing her house was.

/

"So, this is my room, where you'll be staying...and this is Rex," Robbie explained.

Freddie scanned the room as he put his bags down by the fold-out bed, looking for a dog or some kind of pet. "Rex?"

"Yeah," Robbie smiled, before looking at Rex indignantly. "Rex!" he whispered sharply, sitting down on his bed next to the puppet. "Be nice!"

"What's up?" Rex greeted Freddie reluctantly.

"Cool," Freddie smiled, "how did you learn to do that, Robbie?"

Robbie frowned. "Do what?"

Awkward silence.

Rex cleared his throat. "So...what kind of name is 'Fredward'?"

"Oh, it's just Freddie. Nobody really calls me by my full name."

"Can't imagine why..."

"Anyway," Robbie interrupted, putting a pillow over Rex, "I can't help but notice you've brought a lot of computer stuff with you. You a tech fan?"

"Uh yeah," Freddie brightened. "I produce a web show with my friends."

"Cool!" Robbie enthused. "You're gonna fit right in at Hollywood Arts."

"You think so?" Freddie smiled. He was really looking forward to school in the morning - it sounded so much more interesting than what he was used to.

/

Some people might be a little apprehensive about having to live in an R.V. with a total stranger, but not Sam Puckett. As soon as she saw the Airstream trailer she knew it looked like a better home than her mother's apartment. Heck, it even had a better neon sign.

She wiped the last of the fried chicken grease on her pants and knocked on the metal door.

When Beck appeared, Sam's eyes widened. She had expected Hollywood boys to be attractive but... "Whoah, mama!" she exclaimed before she could stop herself.

Beck smiled at the blonde, who he couldn't help but think looked cute as she blushed. "Hey there," he said cooly. "Can I help you?"

"Uh, I think I got the wrong place," she sighed, embarrassed. "Stupid janitor..."

"Wait," Beck called as the girl began to wander off. If she was travelling with the janitor, maybe she was one of the exchange kids. "Who's place are you looking for?"

"Beck Oliver's."

He looked puzzled. "I'm Beck Oliver."

"But...you're a dude!" she exclaimed.

He laughed. "Yes, I'm aware of that. Are you Sam?"

"Yeah...I thought I was staying with a girl?"

"How did you think 'Beck' was a girl's name?" he asked, amused.

"I dunno. I guess I figured it was short for 'Becky' or 'Rebecca' or something," she shrugged.

"Well, I was expecting a guy."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Sam mumbled.

Beck shut the door behind him and hopped down to join her. "I'm not disappointed. It was just a misunderstanding. Look, it's really late, I'm sure we can get it all sorted out tomorrow. In the meantime, you're welcome to stay the night here."

Sam looked into his kind eyes and found herself smiling back at him goofily. "Thanks man. I appreciate it."

"Sweet," he said. And then he remembered Jade. Jade, his extremely possessive girlfriend who had fallen into a ridiculously deep sleep in the back of the R.V. How would she react to his invitation to a pretty little blonde to stay the night?

"Do you want something to drink? A snack, maybe?" he asked hurriedly, directing Sam to sit in one of the two wooden chairs by the trailer.

"Sure! I never say no to some snack action."

"Good! Wait here." Beck ran into the R.V., shutting the door behind him.

Sam slung her backpack onto the ground and drummed her fingers on the picnic table between the chairs. She got a text from Carly.

"Staying in an amazing house! Tori is nice, she's a great singer. How are you doing at your place? Be nice! xoxo"

Beck reappeared with two drinks and a bowl of chips, carefully clicking the trailer door shut as he came out.

"You don't mind sitting out here for a little bit, do you?" he asked, setting the snacks down. "It's just, my girlfriend is in there asleep."

"No problem," Sam dug into the chips and pretended not to be disappointed at the news that Beck wasn't single. Of course he isn't. Look at the boy.

"So..." Beck sat down. "How was your trip from Seattle?"

"Pretty awful, actually."

"Oh. Sorry to hear that," Beck popped the cap off a drink and passed it to her.

"Yeah, but I've been in worse situations. Like, for instance, there was this time me and my friends were taken hostage by this freaky girl..."

It was 2:26am when Jade's green eyes flickered open. She stretched, yawned, and sat up to find the R.V. empty.

As she became more aware of the world around her, she picked up on the voices outside. One was deep and manly and unmistakably Beck, but the other she couldn't quite hear.

The exchange student! Jade ran to the window to catch a sneaky glimpse.

"...So you were genuinely kidnapped by some psycho chick?" Beck questioned following his hysterics at Sam's story.

"Totally!" Sam joined his laughter.

"With a chicken?"

The chuckling continued until the trailer door banged open, and Jade came down on them like an angry tornado.

For a moment, she just stood before them, quietly seething, itching with rage. Then three words quietly passed her lips. "Who. Is. This?"

"Jade," Beck said calmly as he stood up and put an arm around her tense shoulders. "This is Sam. From Seattle."

Jade locked eyes with him and forced a sarcastic smile. "Honey. Sam looks less like a boy than I anticipated."

"Thanks?" Sam offered, fully aware of the tension between the couple. "Look, there was a mix up and-"

"Ssh!" Jade raised her index finger at her without removing her ferocious gaze from her boyfriend. "The grown-ups are talking."

Sam really wanted to provide this gothic-looking chick with a brilliant snarky comeback, but she remembered Carly's text. "Be nice!" She took a handful of chips and crunched them aggressively instead.

"Look, can we talk in private?" Beck reasoned, leading his girlfriend into the R.V. before smiling weakly at Sam. "Give us a minute."

Once the door clicked shut, Jade wore an expression of distrust and folded her arms. "Well. You two seemed to be getting along very well while I was blissfully unaware."

"You were asleep!"

"I know! It didn't occur to you to wake me up?"

Beck sighed, exasperated. "Last time I woke you up, you almost stabbed my neck with scissors."

"It wasn't my fault. I was having a nightmare," she snapped defensively.

Beck raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you had a dream about Tori singing."

"I did. For me, that's a nightmare."

"Well I'm sorry I didn't wake you. I didn't want Sam to feel unwelcome."

"Even though she is?" Jade asked pointedly.

"It's not her fault she travelled all this way and got put with me. It was an accident." Beck came closer, and looked at her with big puppy dog eyes until a glimmer of a smile appeared on her red lips.

"Where's she going to stay?" she mumbled.

"Well, I've made up a bed on the couch over here so -"

"She's staying in HERE?" Jade exploded again.

Beck put his head in his hands and exhaled deeply before answering. "It's almost 3 in the morning, Jade. I said she could stay the night and we could sort everything as soon as we get to school tomorrow. It's not like we're dating."

"But-"

The couple turned to look as the R.V. door opened tentatively. "Um...do you guys have any more chips?"

Jade was about to tell Sam exactly where she could put her chips, when Beck gave her a warning look. A look that she knew meant "play nice". She held her tongue.

"Sam, come in!" Beck said warmly. "This is my girlfriend, Jade."

"Hey." Sam nodded a greeting as she stepped onto the plush green carpet.

"Uh huh." Jade responded.

Sam took in her surroundings with a smile. "Cool trailer."

"Thanks," Beck said. "Your bed is all set up there, and the bathroom's just down there, and the chips are in that cupboard."

"Awesome," Sam approved. "Well, I guess I'll just go get my bag."

As she disappeared outside, Jade tapped her boyfriend. "I'm staying too."

"You are?" Beck asked, surprised. "I don't think my dad would like that."

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"He didn't know about the Rottweiler and that hurt him," Beck reminded her.

Jade punched his arm playfully. "Well if she stays here, I stay here. That's the rule."

"Fine." Beck grinned, before seductively asking "Where are you going to sleep?"

"Right here. Opposite Sam." She replied, taking a seat defiantly. "I'm keeping an eye on her."

Sam returned, plonking her bag on the couch/bed and yawning. "What time is it?"

"Late." Beck caught her yawn. "I guess we should all get some sleep since we've got school tomorrow." He padded over to his room at the end of the trailer. "Sleep well, you two."

"Love you," Jade called.

"Love you back," he said as he went to bed.

"So...you're sleeping here too, then?" Sam asked Jade as she fluffed up the pillow that had been set out.

"Yes." Jade studied the girl. She was small and had hair like a Disney princess, but her clothes had a punk rock edge that made her less irritatingly girly than Tori and Cat.

Sam lay down on the couch and covered herself with a blanket. She looked at Jade. The other girl was sat opposite, wearing boots that Sam thought looked pretty awesome, and a glare that Sam thought was slightly scary. "Are you just going to sit and stare at me all night?"

Jade's mouth twitched into a sly smile. "Does that creep you out?"

"A little bit, yeah."

"Aw..." Jade mocked sympathy before smiling sweetly. "Pleasant dreams."

Sam covered her face with the blanket and sighed.

A/NII: Coming soon...the iCarly gang experience their first day at Hollywood Arts and get to meet the whole group for the very first time. Want to see Freddie's reaction to Cat, Carly's struggle with art class and Jade and Sam's growing rivalry? Sure you do!

Also, I know this chapter focussed on Sam's meeting than Carly and Freddie's, but in all fairness it was the one that needed most explaining (as well as the one most people wanted to see!). Catch ya later!