PLEASE READ:

Hey guys! I had meant to update sooner, but then decided it would be better to wait until the last iCarly aired so I could work that into it. I just revised chapter 1, so I would definitely go back and read it if you haven't already! Here is the next chapter and I really hope you enjoy! This won't be too long of a story and once I'm done, I will get back to working on Life's a Beach!

Chapter 2

"Hey," Freddie said with a smile. "Just the girl I've been looking for."

He was looking fairly adorable in a pair of jeans, and a hideous looking knitted Christmas sweater that had his mother written all over it. "Hey Benson…nice sweater."

His easy grin turned to a scowl. "I don't want to talk about it," he muttered.

She smiled as she flicked the dangling little cotton red ball that stood for Rudolph's nose. "It suits you."

"Thanks…wait." He narrowed his eyes in speculation. "Was that a compliment or an insult?"

God, he was cute. "A little of both." She reached up and brushed some of the snow from his shoulders. "Now, why am I the girl you're…what is that in you're carrying?" she asked suddenly. "Is that what I think it is?" She then gave a dramatic sniff. "Oh yeah, it is."

He grinned as he held out the bucket of fried chicken. "I'm surprised you're just now noticing…got this bad boy for free."

Her eyes widened. "What? How?"

"I was walking by Cluckers on my way home and this guy…a fairly big guy…walks out with it looking as guilty as you look after you suck out the cream from our cupcakes when we're not looking."

When she just laughed, he took a moment to enjoy it…he always did like the sound of it. "Anyway…just as I was about to side-step around him, a very angry woman practically jumped him…yelling at him for sneaking around her back and reminded him that he was suppose to be on a diet, that the doctor said his cholesterol was high, blah, blah, blah…and while she's drilling him, he simply gives it to me and says. 'Here…enjoy'. So…in honor of the poor guy and his nagging wife…I tend to do just that…but I had to find you first."

"Why?"

"Well, who else am I going to share a bucket of fried chicken with?" he asked with a baffled look.

Everything in her went soft the way most girls would go soft after a boy recited a love poem. "Freddie…"

"C'mon…I don't think my mom's home, we can sneak it in to my room and chow down. Oh! And you can catch me up on Eternal Love," he added after a thought. "I haven't seen it in awhile."

Sam couldn't help but laugh. "I still can't believe I got you hooked on a Spanish soap opera."

He just grinned. "At first, I was annoyed with you that you were watching it while we were Skyping…especially when you were telling me to shut up every five seconds…but then I was seriously hooked."

"You even started yelling at me to get out the way so you could see the TV," she remembered with a smile. "Jose and Maria kissed."

Freddie's jaw dropped. "What? Seriously?"

"And then did some serious baby-making," she added.

"Oh. My. God…tell me everything…no wait, let's wait until we get to my room, then tell me all the details."

He started to drag her towards his apartment and she almost let him, but then she remembered her talk with Carly…and dug in her heels. "I can't."

The force yanked him back a bit, nearly knocking himself into her, but managed to get his footing. "What? Why?"

"Sorry…but I have to go."

He eyed her suspiciously. "You're telling me you don't want to go with me to eat fried chicken? Sam Puckett is turning down fried chicken?"

She rolled her eyes. "I've turned down fried chicken before…okay, that's an obvious lie…but there's a first for everything, because I can't stay." Even though there's nothing else she'd rather do than go with him and eat greasy fried chicken while they gossiped over a cheesy soap opera. "I have to get home…I have a thing."

"A thing…what, you mean like a date?"

"Sure," she said without thinking. "I mean, yeah…a date."

He dropped her hand. "With who?"

"You don't know him…just a guy I met the other day…at the mall…I really need to go."

"Well…all right."

"I'll call you later and tell you about Jose and Maria…anyway, I think Carly wants to talk to you about something…you can share the bucket with her."

He shook his head. "No…she'll just pick off the skin and you know how annoying that is."

"True…very true…anyway…thanks for the invite…really sorry, but I gotta run."

"So you said," he said sadly. "I'll see you later, then…have a good time on your date."

Sam watched, with some deep regret, Freddie disappear around the corner, then turned around and walked to the in the elevator that had still stayed open. When the doors closed, she leaned back with a sigh and decided that life just about sucked when your best friend liked the same guy you realized you never quite got over. The same guy that she never quite forgotten…even when she was miles away. The same guy, she admitted with some regret…that she was still in love with.

And wasn't that a kick in the ass?

"That's it," she said aloud as the doors opened to the lobby. "I'm going home to open one of mom's boxed wine…and pick up a bucket of chicken at Cluckers to go with it."

XXX

Freddie stood outside Carly's door, not wanting to go in quite yet, as he tried to figure out why he was so upset. Not upset…disappointed, he corrected himself as he leaned against the door and took out a chicken leg and took a hefty bite with some aggression.

It wasn't that he was jealous of this random guy she had a date with…he didn't even know the guy and it obviously wouldn't amount to anything, seeing as Sam would head back to California after the holiday. It was just…he was looking so forward to really hanging out with her. She'd been in town for a few days, and he's seen her about every day since, but usually they were with Carly, or Gib…or someone else, that he hadn't really had a chance to talk and catch up.

He missed her.

He had missed Carly, too…when she went off to Italy with her dad, it was like apart of him was missing. Carly meant the world to him…but, when Sam had told him the night of graduation that she was moving to LA…he was absolutely devastated.

He had brushed it off…or tried to act like he was excited for her, rather than sad to see her go. He even made a joke that he would come visit and she could track down Selena Gomez for him and hook him up. She had rolled her eyes and then laughed and said she was going to be too busy tracking down One Direction to have another go at them.

And on the day she left…he had been the one to drive her to the airport and the car ride had been eerily quiet. There was so much he wanted to say and he assumed the same from her…but they hardly said two words to each other.

Outside the airport, after he got out her bags, they stared at each other for what seemed like hours, before finally Sam stepped in and circled her arms around his waist. He practically threw his arms around her and they hugged…really hugged…until she finally pulled away and looked up at him.

He remembered wanting to kiss her…just harmless kiss goodbye…like the one Carly gave him, but one that meant so much more. But he couldn't do it…for some reason he just couldn't get up the nerve to do it.

It was a moment he would pay to have back so he could do it all over again.

Instead, she lifted up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and said, "See you around, Benson."

"Try to stay out of trouble, Princess Puckett…at least until you make a friend that can bail you out of jail."

She had laughed as she swung one of her bags over her shoulder. "Good advice, Fredward…well, bye."

"Call me when you land?" he blurted out as she walked away from him.

She paused at the sliding doors and turned back to him. "Of course," she had said and then gave him a little salute with her boarding pass before slipping inside.

He had stayed there in that spot for a while…long enough for the security guy to have to politely ask him to move along. On the drive back he had been so depressed he was afraid he might start crying like a little girl…it was humiliating.

He managed to hold back the tears…and a few visits from time to time had helped…but yeah…he missed the hell out of her.

"No point in standing out in the hall sulking like an idiot," he told himself as he polished off his second chicken leg before pushing himself off the door.

He'd see Sam tomorrow and they would catch up, talk about Jose and Maria finally doing the deed, and if he decided to dish about her date, there was no harm in that either.

But for now…he'd better go see what Carly wanted to talk to him about.