Chapter 29: I Need You

Author's Note: Wow... I'm so sorry; it took me almost two months to update. Thank all of you so much for the reviews... I don't know if I've ever gotten that many reviews from one chapter, so thank you so much(: Oh, and you guys guessed where Freddie was pretty well ;) You guessed the three main places I figured you'd guess. :D Well, you'll see! HAVE FUN READING, AND REVIEW!

P.S. OH MY GOSH. WHO SAW IOMG? OH MY GOSH. I'M JUST SO... OH MY GOSH. Well, considering I made this story over a year ago, I must say that the things that happened in iOMG did not happen in this story... I don't want to say too much, because it's possible that some of you didn't see the episode. (GO WATCH IT NOW. FIGURE OUT HOW. NOW.) But it is by FAR, the best iCarly episode... EVER. ;) If you saw it, you'll get why. :D

After the taxi's sharp stop, the driver slowly drove again, going to the side of the street and pulling over. When the car finally stopped, he angrily turned his bald, dark head and asked angrily with an accent I couldn't identify, "Do you want us to get into a car accident?" I didn't answer, because I was guessing that was a rhetorical question.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever," I muttered. I leaned forward, annoyed by the seatbelt over me right now. I knew exactly where Freddie was. It made complete sense. "Go to the nearest park to here, and step on it." When the taxi started moving again, I leaned back into my seat again and crossed my arms with a grin. I was pleased with and proud of myself for once. I finally figured something out. I finally did something right.

Freddie better be there.

We got to the park, and I smiled. I opened the taxi door, and before even getting out of the cab I breathed in the fimiliar air. The last time I was here it was Easter. I unbuckled my seatbelt and gave the taxi driver his money. I climbed out of the cab, seeing every tree and every piece of grass, just as it was months ago.

I heard the taxi drive away behind me, and I slowly stepped forward. Everything was the same, but different. I closed my eyes lightly, remembering standing at this exact spot, but with Freddie by my side the last time. On that Easter day, there were young kids running around and shrieking, competing to get the most Easter eggs. The excitement vibe was so clear that day.

I re-opened my eyes. Everything was so different now. The only sound I heard was the wind against the leaves of the tall trees. All I saw was the dark evening. The sky was nearly black, and the cool breeze lightly touched my cheek. I wasn't surprised that I didn't see Freddie just yet. I turned slightly to the right. I remembered exactly the place that Freddie would be.

I walked awkwardly, but then I decided to do a light jog. I remembered running there at full speed with Freddie last time, huge smiles on our faces. Now, I had a small smile on my face just by the memory. But I was anxious. If Freddie wasn't here, I was out of ideas. I stopped when I saw a slight motion; I realized it was the bench swing, swinging slowly. I saw a figure sitting on the bench. I smiled again, and I slowly walked closer, recognizing that it was Freddie. I found him.

Freddie was wearing a black sweatshirt, staring down at his big sneakers. He looked so different from when we sat on that bench the last time. He looked... well, to say the least, he looked sad.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" Freddie was still looking down, and I didn't notice him glance at me for a second. I didn't know how he knew I was there.

"Freddork," I said so softly, it was almost a whisper, "more importantly, why are you here?" I slowly walked over and sat on the spot next to him on the bench swing. I heard him take a deep breath, and I turned my head. I leaned down a bit to try to look at his face, because he was still looking down.

"I don't know," he whispered after a hesitation. Freddie looked up into my eyes. I noticed the pattern in his eyes that I hadn't seen in a while. His eyes also looked slightly wet, with the light of the moon reflecting off of them. "I just don't want to hurt anyone anymore."

I used all of my will power to stay patient here. I wasn't going to lie, or say anything he just wanted to here. "Name one person that you have hurt," I said, now in my regular voice.

Freddie gave me his annoyed look that he'd always used to give me when I made fun of him. "My dad... my mom?" he said as if it was obvious.

"Your dad died in a car accident," I said, trying to be comforting, but I knew that I still sounded like my regular self. "Your mom got into a car accident. The people to blame are the people that hit into their cars. It's never your fault that you're sick. So suck it up and come home." The last part just kind of blurted out.

Freddie stared at the palms of his hands as if there was something weird on them, which there wasn't. "I know, Sam. I just feel like I have some curse."

"Well, you don't. Fredweird, can you please stop with all this drama queen chiz and come home?" I was getting annoyed, and my tone and the words I said didn't hide that emotion at all.

Freddie stood up and slowly paced around, keeping his left hand slightly on his chin as if he was thinking deeply. I sat on the bench swing, my feet just barely touching the cold ground, slightly moving myself very slowly. I looked at the dark shadow of Freddie a foot or two away from me, as my eyes got more used to the darkness.

I used my hands to slowly lift myself up off of the bench swing. I awkwardly walked over to Freddie, swinging one foot in front of another as I walked. Freddie turned his head, and even through the darkness I could see the his brown eyes.

"Freddie... can I be honest with you?" I said in a voice so soft that I bet he could just barely hear me.

Freddie looked at me. He knew this was serious. I was talking slowly and quietly and I called him by his real name, as I stood just in front of him, showing the real height difference between the two of us. "Of course, Sam. Anytime."

"You saved my life," I whispered, feeling like I wasn't even controlling the words that came out of my mouth. "Not how you saved Carly's life. But you still saved my life just the same. I don't know where I would have gone and what I would have done if you didn't take me in. And even afterwards, you were the one person I talked to about everything. You were the only person who cared and you tried to help. You followed me when I ran away, and you've somehow been there for me whenever I needed you... always. I don't get it sometimes, how you can be how you are. And you know I'm not lying, 'cause I'm Sam, and you know I don't normally talk like this. But... I've never met anyone like you before in my life."

Freddie's face had softened after every word I said. I felt like I was finally reaching him. I was talking without an act. I was speaking my mind.

"Freddie, I need you."

Freddie took a few seconds, and slowly he took in every word I'd said. Finally, his serious expression turned into a small smile, and I could swear that I saw a slight wet shine in his eyes. I knew I reached him. He slowly brought me into a hug, and it felt like forever since we'd had a hug like this. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and I wrapped mine around his neck. My head rested lightly on his shoulder, and I was on the tip of my toes. This felt like a real romantic hug, like a boyfriend hug. Only Freddie made me feel like this, and he'd never even been my boyfriend.

We slightly pulled away, still in a hug, but now our faces were a few inches away. Then, I felt both of our faces slowly shift closer to each other, tilting a bit at every moment that we became closer.

Everything was cold and quiet. The only thing I could hear was Freddie's very quiet breathing. I then realized that I was holding my own breath. I noticed that Freddie and I were subconsciously leaning toward each other, very slowly. My face became so close to his that I could feel his warm breath against my lips. This was happening. This was really happening.

Our lips became so close that I could feel the sweet energy going on between them. There was probably half an inch left until the kiss. This all felt like it was going in slow motion, when really it probably wasn't. My eyes shut lightly, and all I could see was black.

Suddenly, through my shut eyes, I saw white lights. I thought for a second that these were sparks I was feeling from kissing Freddie, but then I realized that we hadn't kissed yet. We spent all of this time getting closer in order to kiss. And we didn't kiss.

I opened my eyes, and quickly turned to my right. I finally saw where the lights were coming from. A police car had drove up, stopped on the grass in the park. In the backseat, I saw the familiar figure of Marissa slowly come out.

My arms were still around his neck and his around my waist, but now our faces were far. We were hugging. And we didn't kiss. I couldn't believe it.

Perfect timing, cops.

Marissa stood, and she almost seemed to run over to us. She was still injured, but I guess seeing her son in full health and knowing that he was most likely safe gave her the adrenaline rush that she needed.

Freddie and I quickly let go of each other at the same time, and after one awkward glance, we both looked down. When Marissa finally reached us, she had tears in her eyes as she threw her arms around Freddie, and he grinned and threw his arms back around his mother. I smiled at the two of them.

Marissa pulled away, keeping one arm still around her tall son. She looked at me, a genuine smile on her face. "Sam... thank you so much." She then reached out an arm, the one that wasn't around Freddie, and he did the same thing. I sneered at them, before and even after I realized that they wanted to do a "group hug". But then, I looked at Freddie, and he was giving me his usual smirk. As usual, that smirk helped me give in. And so, I went into their arms, and I shared a warm, real hug with two people who truly cared about me.

I finally felt like part of a family. Marissa was absolutely nothing like a mother to me. Usually, daughters are supposed to be like their mothers. I'd never been anything like Marissa at all. But, she cared about me for some reason. And I'd accept.

And, Freddie was nothing like a brother to me. This was especially because we were about to kiss. But, he was my best friend. I know, I know, I had Carly. But, Freddie was different in every way. He was my best friend, and maybe the only person that I could talk to about anything. Maybe the only person that I actually cared about when he talked to me.

This family was one dysfunctional family. But, I loved it more than anything.