Chapter 12: Three Tales

Disclaimer: No, I am not the puppet master. Dan Schneider is the puppet master. Now, dance on his strings, you fools!

Day 5

1

It was Saturday morning. Usually on Saturdays Gibby would watch cartoons with his little brother. They didn't really like any of the ones that were on TV, so Gibby would put in a DVD of Scooby-Doo or the Flintstones or one of many others. He knew he probably shouldn't be watching cartoons at his age-that was just another thing that other people would think strange about him. But he liked them, and he liked spending that time with his brother. He really wasn't watching them this morning, though. He was still thinking about last night. Freddie hadn't responded to his last text message. Maybe Freddie really didn't like Carly anymore, but would Carly even look at him? She was beautiful and popular and nice and sweet, and he...well, he was Gibby.

The doorbell rang, and Gibby got up to answer it, since he had already lost track of what was happening on the cartoon. All he knew was that the meddling kids were going to solve the mystery.

"Carly." She looked him up and down, and he realized he was wearing his Scooby-Doo pajamas. She didn't seem surprised. Of course, he thought, she wouldn't. He was Gibby. He was weird. His mom told him to embrace his uniqueness, and he did. Sometimes it'd be nice to not be quite so unique, he thought.

"Hey, Gibby, I"m sorry for bothering you." He waved that off, like she would ever be a bother. "I just wanted to say a few things. I apologize for last night. It was rude of me to throw you out like that, and I should have at the very least explained."

"You don't have to explain anything, Carly."

"I do. And...I wanted to ask you for help. See, I made a promise to Sam and Freddie. Or I made individual promises to Sam and to Freddie, but they're the same promise, you know. And I need to make them see! But I can't, because of my promise. Promises."

She looked at Gibby, sure he wouldn't understand. But he nodded. There were plenty of things other people understood that didn't fully register to Gibby, not because he was dumb, but because his mind just never travelled in a straight line very well. But the circular dialogue Carly had just thrown at him was right in his sweet spot.

"I need your help, Gibby. I don't know exactly what I can do yet, not without breaking promises, but I need your help."

"Anything for you, Carly."

She blushed. "And I was thinking...this is a little weird. You're a little weird." She shook her hands. "I don't mean that in a bad way. Sometimes I'm a little weird, too. Anyway, I don't know what's really going on, but would you like to take me outonadatenextFriday?"

Gibby took a moment to translate what she had said. "You want to go on a date with me?"

"Yes, Gibby. I don't know if it will work, but I thought we should at least try."

He reflected. "If I told you I don't think I could help you with Sam and Freddie, would you still want to do that? I mean, she has broken my thumbs before."

She nodded. "I'm asking you on a date no matter what, Gibby."

"Okay...what do you need me to do? I'm not leaping on them in the basement. That didn't work out too well last time."

2

"Melanie, I'm letting you buy me lunch. Consider that my gift from me to you, and just shut up, okay?"

"Sam, you're the poster girl for taking candy from strangers, so, no, I don't think it was too much of an effort to...Sam, that thing already died once. Can't you show it some mercy and not...be you?" Sam grinned at her through greasy lips and bit off another piece of meat. "So...you love Freddie."

"I do not love that nub! I've already told you that. What is there to love about him?"

"I don't know, Sam. You tell me. You probably have a list." And, wonder of wonders, something Melanie had seen only once in her life: Sam blushed. "You do. You have a list. Oh, wow."

"I can kill you and get rid of the body so nobody would ever find it." She put the piece of meat down. "I'm not hungry anymore."

"Wow, you really must be in love," Melanie said.

"Melanie, don't," Sam said, and Melanie stopped laughing. Something that was stranger than a Sam who stopped eating before the food was gone or who kept a list of a reason she loved a boy was a Sam who looked like she might start crying.

"Sam, I'm sorry. I was only teasing you."

"It's not funny. Even if I liked Freddie, he would never like me back. He's just a friend. A really, really good friend. But just a friend. That's all I'll be to him." Melanie took advantage of something she could do as a sister and moved over to Sam's booth and gave her a hug. Besides, if Sam hit her, she would tell Mom.

"Why wouldn't you be more to him, Sam?"

"You see how I treat him. He's into daffodils like you and Carly. And I can't be that. Believe me, I've tried before."

"Sam, you're never going to know unless you try. I know you're scared..."

"I'm not scared of anything," Sam said, her eyes blazing. But Melanie was a Puckett, too, and she didn't back down.

"Sam, if I was trapped in the middle of a gang fight and had no way out, you would be the one person I would want to have with meg. But, in the matter of boys..." She shook her head. Sam looked at her and slowly nodded.

"Okay, fine. I like him. So what? I'm not going to say anything to him, because I'm not going to lose him as a friend."

"Let me take care of it, Sam." Sam stared at her.

"Oh, no. You're being a Carly."

3

Freddie was in a quandary. Carly was out. He talked to Spencer in the hallway as he prepared to leave. Apparently, there was a Gourds of the World exhibition downtown, and there was no way Spencer was going to miss that. Even after Spencer explained exactly what gourds were, Freddie didn't understand. But, then again, he was getting used to not understanding things. So, it looked like Freddie had no other options-he was going to have to spend the day with his mother.

"What about Sam?" Spencer asked, with a grin on his face.

"I tried texting her a few times. She's ignoring me. I'm not sure why."

"Well, keep trying. Surely, the brave knight's persistence shall win the fair maiden's hand."

"What? What are you saying? Have you been talking to Carly?"

"Calm down, Fredmeister. I know. I've known for a while. I'm like an observer." He bent down and came close to Freddie, his eyes two inches from Freddie's own. He stood back up. "Okay, sorry, that was a little creepy."

"Oh, no, so Sam knows?" Maybe that was why she wasn't talking to him. She thought of him being in love with her, and the thought made her so sick she couldn't even look at him or hear his voice.

"Don't worry, Freddo. The lady in question is unaware. The three of you are so stuck in your own world you don't see what's in front of you. But I do. 'Cause I'm the Observer."

Freddie nodded. Spencer started to walk away. Then he turned back.

"Hey, Freddie. Nobody ever gets rewarded unless they try. People can surprise you, you know."

He walked away. Freddie sighed and prepared himself for a day with his mother. Maybe they could compromise on an activity that didn't cause him embarrassment or discomfort.

"Forgot my autograph book," Spencer said, jogging past him into his own apartment.

Autograph book?

4

Carly told Gibby she didn't really have a plan yet, but she wanted him involved. She wanted to be honest with him, so she told him she had no guarantee it would work, and that, yes, Sam might hurt him. But Gibby was a brave knight, and there was little he would not do for his fair lady.

Carly stayed and watched cartoons with Gibby and his brother. Gibby made crepes, which Carly found surprisingly delicious. Wait until she told Sam that Gibby could make crepes. Then again, she was trying to get Sam and Freddie together, and she didn't need Sam distracted by a boy who could cook. Especially Gibby.

Especially Gibby? "Oh, boy," she said.

"What?"

"Nothing. These are good crepes, Gibby."

"Thanks."

Carly and Gibby talked about school and cartoons and movies and ended up talking for a ridiculous amount of time about straws. They both decided that while they appreciated the wacky straws with all their curves and loops, they preferred a simple bendy straw.

Carly looked at her watch and realized she had been at Gibby's house for five hours. And she had been having a good time.

5

"This is stupid, Melanie."

"How is it stupid, Sam? He believed I was you before."

"That's when he thought you didn't exist," Sam said. "If you pretend to be me, he'll see right through it. He'll be suspicious anyway."

"I can be you," Melanie said. She put a sneer on her face. "Meat. Nub. Mama plays to win," she said with a growl. Sam laughed.

"Okay, fine, whatever. But what's the point? What could you do as me that I can't do?"

"I can talk to boys, Sam," Melanie said. "Look. I have more experience than you in this area. I know how to talk to him without giving away that you loooooove him." Sam growled at her. "Whereas you would probably punch him in the arm, say 'you're okay, Benson', and then give him a wedgie."

Sam couldn't disagree. "Fine. But just remember..."

"Yes, yes, I know, body will never be found. Nothing's going to go wrong."

"Yeah, I've heard that before."

6

Freddie had been able to talk his mother into just doing a puzzle together. Nothing too painful.

After, he was on his bed, thinking about Spencer's words. Maybe Spencer was right. He needed to be brave. What could go wrong?

"Well," he said to himself, "Sam could hit me, punch me, laugh at me, give me a wedgie, kick me, insult me...all the normal stuff."

You're a coward, Freddie Benson, he thought. Guilty as charged.

He had to do something, though. Was he just going to spend every day seeing her, tutoring her, being that close to her, and not go crazy? No. He was in love with Sam Puckett, so there was obviously already some craziness in him somewhere.

Yes, he told himself for the twentieth time, I definitely have to do something.

And he might have told himself that thirty more times if he hadn't received the text from Sam: I'm coming over tomorrow, nub.

A/N:

Thank you for revies from: kiyokoseddie, Julefor, Clamanter, PurpleJerk, Moviepal, shgoi, SeddierFTW, Geekquality, Penny Tee13, Flutter360, and Kressxblack.

Julefor: She's trying not to meddle. It's just not her way. And who knows what other hijinks might happen with Spencer?

PurpleJerk: I don't think you need to worry about figuring things out. That might happen sooner than we think; of course, who knows what might happen when they do find out? And I wouldn't say that everybody knows that Sam and Freddie liked each other. Spencer knew, but before the past few days nobody else really knew.

SeddierFTW: I think that sounds like a challenge. I think I'm going to start doing a chapter an hour from now on. Of course, the sleeping hours are going to be a little boring. I'm kidding. I don't think you have to worry. There will be a whole slew of issues for two chapters a day.