"Are you ready?" Freddie asked for the umpteenth time. He and Sam were sitting in his car outside of Bushwell Apartments. There was a party going on in the Shay apartment to welcome Sam home, not like it was a secret though.
Sam hugged the bear in her lap closer to her chest. Then she turned around and gave him an annoyed look. "You've asked me that like a million times."
"Well judging by the fact that we're still sitting here, in the car…" He trailed off and she glared at him.
"Well maybe I was still sitting here for a reason." She snapped, turning and looking out the window even though they were parked and there wasn't much to see.
"Really though," His tone softened as he reached over and poked her stomach, "Are you nervous?"
She sighed and turned back around, facing forward and looking down at the bear, avoiding his eyes. "No. Not really. It's just… It feels like I've been in that hospital for years, instead of just a few weeks. I've really missed it here."
"Aaaw Sam," He stroked her cheek and she finally faced him, "If you've missed it so much, then why are we still sitting in the car? I'll race ya!"
His attempts worked and a determined and defiant expression lit up her face. She threw her door open and slammed it shut. Before she ran off, she turned back to the window and made a face at him, and then ran off.
He smiled to himself and got out of the car, slamming the door shut and taking off after her.
She beat him, of course. And when he got there, panting, she was standing in front of the door smirking. He started to reach for the door knob but she slapped his hand away. He looked at her quizzically.
"Aren't we going in?"
She leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. "Don't get your panties in a wad. Now we are." And then she opened the door and stepped inside.
It was just how they had expected it. As soon as she walked in there was screaming and a very off key 'Welcome Home Sam!', and then, before she could act surprised, she was being passed through the room, from one hug to the next. She was constantly being pulled into hugs and soon enough, she stopped trying to realize who was holding her and allowed herself to be passed around the room and hugged by everyone.
She felt like she was floating at sea. People pulled her close like waves hugging tight against her small body. She closed her eyes and allowed her to drift through. She didn't open her eyes until she felt a hand sling around her shoulder and she didn't feel the warmth of all of the bodies pressed closely against her.
She had made it to Freddie, he was smirking at her and had his arm around her shoulder, a peppy cola in his hand, offering it to her. She slapped him in the stomach and then grabbed the cola, careful not to hit him too hard.
"This is crazy," She said, taking a sip of her drink and leaned her head back into his arm.
"Did you really expect anything less? This is Carly we're talking about."
"I guess so. No one... knows, right?" Suddenly, she felt very insecure and worried.
"Nope. Not a soul. Word around is that it was a heart attack from your obsession with salty foods."
"Seriously? Wow."
"Well. Oh, here comes Carly."
Carly walks up to them both, a goofy smile plastered on her face. "You two are so cute!"
Freddie sighs and Sam rolls her eyes.
"So... do I hear wedding bells?" Carly teases.
"Carly, we're only seventeen."
"And? I didn't mean now anyway. Just sometime in the future." Both Sam and Freddie shuffled awkwardly. Their relationship had just started and already Carly was ready to plan their wedding.
"We haven't really talked about any of that. We just started dating and I'm... recovering. We're focusing on the present, right now. Ya know, goin with the flow." Sam said, and Freddie nodded in reply.
Carly shrugged, "Yea that makes sense. Well, this party is bopping! Hey Freddie, can I steal Sam away from you for a few minutes? I need to talk to her in private."
"Uh... yeah. I'll go talk to Gibby or someone." Freddie squeezed Sam's shoulder before walking off into the crowd of people to find someone to talk to.
Carly grabbed Sam's arm and led her up the stairs to her bedroom.
Sam sat down on her bed, but Carly started pacing and walking around the room. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Sam began to get impatient. Carly was running her hand over a box on Carly's desk that Sam hadn't noticed was there before.
"Carles?"
Carly slowly picked the box up and walked over to her bed, setting it down and then climbing onto her bed and positioning it between her and Sam. She opened the box and pulled out a bunch of Popsicle sticks all glued together to form some weird shape.
Sam smiled when she saw it, "Is that the pony I tried to make you in third grade out of Popsicle sticks?" Carly smiled too and handed the pony to Sam.
"Yeah, I remember because I was really into Pony Hello! At the time. You had wanted to buy me a pony but you spent all of your money on a ham. So during art, you made it and then gave it to me. You had this proud look on your face, and looked like you could do anything."
"I always had such confidence..." Sam said quietly, gazing down at the Popsicle pony. "Now that I look at it, it looks more like a flat firetruck." Sam laughed softly and Carly joined in. She pushed the box over to Sam.
Sam looked inside and saw that the box was fulled with mementos of their friendship. Anything Carly had of their that wasn't hug up or displayed around the house, was in this box. She pulled everything out; pictures, crappy art projects, drawings, lip gloss, ham wrappers, all sorts of random things that defined their whole friendship.
"You kept this?" Sam asked in awe, looking at a bubble gum wrapper she had given Carly. It was one of the joke wrappers and Sam thought it was hilarious.
"Of course I did." Carly laughed, reaching over and taking the wrapper, looking at it. "Because 'Whadaya get when you cross a vampire and a snowman?' is the funniest joke ever." She laughed and Sam joined in.
"Frostbite," She said softly. She looked back down at all of the mementos spread all over Carly's bed. "Man... this is amazing. I kept all of my stuff too. It's under a loose floorboard in my house, so no one can find it but me. We've been best friends for so long..."
"Yeah," Sam heard Carly reply. "Why didn't you tell me, Sam?" Carly said softly and Sam looked up and saw that Carly was looking down at her hands, her voice sounding hurt.
"Carly..."
"We're best friends. And we promised no more secrets. You know you could have told me something like this."
" I know. And I should have. I wanted to but... the monster ate me Carly. I wasn't the same Sam. It was the disease talking and eating me up until I was just a little voice in the back of my head. I should have told you, though. And I have no excuse for that."
"I know. I just... I can't stop thinking about how hard it must have been for you. And... I feel kind of hurt... betrayed. And I feel guilty because it's my fault too. I'm your best friend, I should have known that something was up. I shouldn't have dismissed your weird behavior as some sort of PMS thing or just something random. I should have known."
"It's not your fault Carly. Not at all. I was the one keeping secrets, I was the one who did this to myself. And you couldn't have known. No one did. Not even me. I had told myself I wouldn't lose that much weight. Just enough to get people off of my back and to... to be pretty. I wanted to make my father look down at me and be proud of how beautiful and thin I was."
"But- wait. Wait, did you just say 'look down on you'? What does that mean?"
"Oh... My dad. He didn't run off. He passed away. I was too ashamed and to hurt to tell anyone."
"Oh, Sam!" Carly exclaimed. Sam expected her to be mad, she figured she'd stop speaking to her or kick her out or stop being her friend. But Carly surprised her when she pushed the box away and pulled her into a tight, yet comforting hug.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry all of this happened to you." Carly mumbled into Sam's tangled curls.
"I'm sorry too, Carly. I'm sorry I did this to myself and to you and everyone else. And I am so sorry I kept both of those huge secrets from you. I mean it this time, I won't lie or keep any secrets ever again. I promise. And If I do... you can cut my hair."
"Sam!" Carly pulled away and looked at Sam with wide eyes, "Not your hair! You love your hair!"
"And I'd give it up if I hurt you again,"
"Aaawww. You may not get emotional very often but you are awesome when you are,"
"Yeah, just don't tell anyone." Sam winked. "So are we good now? We'll fix things and tell each other everything?"
Carly nodded, "We're better than good. We're Best Friends..."
"Forever and a year!" Sam finished and the two hugged again.
When they pulled away, Sam's phone beeped and she saw that she had a text from Freddie.
"Oops!" Sam said aloud, "Freddie says that everyone is missing the hostess and the party girl." They both laughed and hugged again, before making their way back down to the party.
.
.
.
.
It was announced that some people were going to personally welcome Sam back and tell her how much they missed her. Which means, it's time for speeches.
This time, Sam sat in the chair, and Freddie stood behind her chair.
Gibby immediately got up on the high step and looked down at everyone, before pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it out into the crowd, causing everyone to start screaming.
"Okay, Sam. I am so glad you're back! Ever since you've been gone, the football team has decided it's their job to take over for you and give me my 'daily wedgies'. And let's just say they know exactly where to pull," Gibby winced and everyone laughed again.
"Anyway, school just isn't the same without you. Every thing's so boring and... normal. It sucks eggs! So...I'm going to welcome you back formally, by singing you a song.." He then started belting out the words to his own little made up song.
"Ooooooooooooooooh! Welcome baaaaaack Saaaaaaaam. She likes Ham!" He sang loud and off-key.
"BOO! GET OFF THE STAGE!" Sam yelled, and then proceeded to get up and give him a wedgie.
He stopped singing and then smiled at her, "Just like old times." She rolled her eyes and pushed him down into the crowd.
A few more people spoke, including Wendy, and then Freddie raised his hand and stepped around Sam's chair, walking over to face everyone.
"Okay, so, as you all know... Sam and I are... together. And I am so happy that she's back home. Where she belongs." Sam watched him, amused.
"I... I wrote you a poem Sam. And to prove that I am truly worthy of your love, I am going to read this very embarrassing and very bad poem, out loud, in front of everyone. Including my mother." He smiled at Sam and then winced when he saw his mother looking at him sternly from the back of the crowd. He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and cleared his throat.
"I am in love,
with a girl named Sam.
When I tried to tell her,
She denied it and ran.
I hope one day I can prove to her
That she's the only girl for me
She's the only girl I dream about,
and the only girl I see.
When the time comes,
I hope she chooses me
I hope she replies to my question:
Sam Puckett, will you marry me?" Everyone gasped and looked at Sam, who's expression was a mis between embarrassed and shocked.
"I'm only seventeen?" She said.
"Not now. But, In the future?" He asked, looking only at her.
"Well... Sure. I... care about you and... I'd love to marry you." She turned and smirked at the crowd, "Then he'd be legally forced to make me sandwiches and carry me places." Everyone laughed and Freddie, smiling, cleared his throat.
"Okay, so now I will continue my poem.
"She has said yes,
It's me she prefers.
So now I pronounce us,
Demon and nerd."
The laughter in the room was the loudest of the night and Sam was laughing so hard she rolled out of her seat and onto the floor. When she finally gained control of herself, she walked over to Freddie. The rest of the room quieted down as she slipped her hand into his, "Sounds like a plan" She grinned.
.
.
.
After things had calmed down from Freddie's speech/slash poem. He had sat in Sam's chair and she had plopped down in his lap. Carly took her turn.
She walked up in front of everyone else, "Well, I don't know if I can top Freddie and his proposal..." Everyone laughed.
"But, I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I just wanted to say that Sam, you are my best friend. And I am so glad that you are home again and you are feeling better. I've missed you so much, and I'm glad you and I are back to normal. I would also like to say that I am so happy that you and Freddie are together. We were all waiting..." Carly gave the crowd an emphasized glance and a chorus of 'yeahs' and 'bout times' sounded out as Sam and Freddie smiled.
"And I'm glad that you two finally got with the program. And I better be maid of honor at your wedding!"
"You gottit dude!" Sam said sticking her thumbs up and quoting Full House.
The crowd applauded again, but was interrupted by the Shay door being banged open.
I heard there was a party and I wasn't invited!" A voice sneered and Sam gulped looking over to see Karrisa Melee glaring at everyone. Her posse mimicked her expression as they stood behind her. They stomped in. Sam pulled Freddie over to Carly and leaned in close to them while Spencer asked the girls who they were.
"You two, I have major issues with her. She makes fun of me and calls me fat and all. She's most of the reason I kept up with my... habit." Sam admitted, blushing and biting her lip.
"Don't worry Sam, we've got your back," Carly didn't sound mad and Freddie nodded.
"I am Karrisa Melee, and I can't believe none of you whores invited me to this... thing!"
Sam looked at Carly and Carly looked pissed. So did Freddie. Before she could stop her, Carly marched right over to where Karrisa and her posse was standing and Freddie pulled Sam along behind her.
"Excuse me," Carly said icily, a tone no one had heard Carly use before, "But I must be the whore you're talking about because this is my house."
"And mine," Spencer said quietly but Sam glared at him and he immediately stopped talking.
"I don't care who you are. But I am Karrisa Melee and when almost the whole school is gathered somewhere, I should be the first one invited."
A girl in Karrisa's posse that Carly recognized as one of Karrisa's 'besties', Taylor, spoke up. "Yeah! No one has a party without Karrisa."
"Shut up, Taylor." Karrisa barked and then turned back to Carly.
"Actually, this is a private party. For my best friend, Sam." Carly said. Sam's eyes widened as she looked around Freddie's back (where she was hiding behind him) and saw Karissa look directly at her.
"The fat one who's always eating?" Karrisa smirked, but Carly's facial expression didn't change. She looked over at Madison, another girl in Karrisa's crew that she recognized, and spoke directly to her.
"Really? Because I remember a few years ago at Sean Matthew's party, Madison here ate a whole pizza by herself and three cupcakes."
Carly turned to another girl, Josie, "And in fifth grade Josie was nicknamed 'Jumbo Josie,"
She turned to Alana, "And Alana really can't say anything because every time I saw her in seventh grade, she had something in her mouth, or was getting ready to put something in her mouth," Carly glared.
"And Karrisa, you might wanna go buy one of those new dictionaries." Carly turned and looked at Karrisa sweetly.
She scoffed, "And why would I do that?"
"Oh, there's a new definition of the word 'bitch'. By the way, that's a very nice picture of you."
The crowd of people behind her 'ooohhh'd' and someone shouted, 'Karrisa the Nose Picker!'
Karrisa's head snapped in that direction when she heard her old elementary school nickname. She mumbled, "It was one time."
"Anyway!," She said loudly, "There are way cooler parties we have to go to anyway," She turned around and motioned her posse out. They all glared at everyone one more time before stomping out, Karrisa last. Spencer, who had moved to stand by the door, snaked his foot out and tripped her. She fell into the hallway and turned around to yell something but Spencer shut the door in her face before she could speak.
Spencer turned around, grinning, and faced the party, "Well now that those lame-Os are gone..." He threw his hands up in the air, "Let's partaaaay!"
Sam pulled Carly into a hug and whispered, 'thank you'. Carly hugged back and replied, 'anytime'. When they pulled away, Freddie stepped up and slipped his hand around Sam's. Sam smiled at him and turned back to the awed crowd.
"You heard the man!" She held up her and Freddie's intertwined hand, "Let's partaaaay!"
Honestly, I am very happy with this epilogue. I thought it would be crappy but I'm very happy with is and hope you all are too. Also, up where I talked about Carly and Sam's mementos, the spelling might be wrong because this computer is older and so is it's dictionary. My bad. Anyway, enjoy! And there's going to be either one, or two more epilogues and then it will be all over :( Thank you faithful readers :)
Make a great day,
Ariel