Against All Odds
Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly
A/N: The final chapter, and perhaps the most unique perspective
Chapter 50 (The Legacy)
Seventeen-year old Blake Shay zipped down the highway in his deep blue convertible, top down. He had one hand on the wheel and his left elbow hanging over the edge of the car. His hair flew wildly behind him and his bangs swept across the lens of his black shades. "Didn't dad say if you wreck another car you're not getting a new one?" The brilliance of his little sister's voice echoed in his ears, tearing him from the fantasy and nostalgia that the radio had given him, belting out Good Life by Audio Adrenaline. He looked over to his fourteen-year old sister and shrugged.
"I'm off to college soon, Rachel. I'm keeping the car." Rachel shook her head and brushed her hand through her long hair. Blake was picking her up from school, a daunting task in his eyes, but he did it out of love for his sister. After all, family values were instilled into him at an early age.
"Not going to do you much good if it's totaled. Or if we're totaled, so if you don't mind…stop going eighty to eighty five in a seventy mile an hour freeway!" He rolled his eyes and sighed as he pushed down on the brake, slowing down to seventy. "That's better. You know, Dad had his wild days too, I think. So I guess you get it from him."
"I guess." He couldn't picture his dad as wild and crazy, even though he knew there were those times. Almost fifteen years to after living the life of a poor family, they were doing very well now. Their father was the owner of a museum, he had his serious moments, and he still liked to help the security and police team out from time to time. Their mother moved up through the years and was a college professor now. It was almost embarrassing to think that his mother would likely be teaching him again when he started up college at TCC. She taught him one year in elementary, taught him one year in junior high, had been asked to transfer to high school. "So what do you think, you're finally finishing up ninth grade."
"I think it's amazing. I get to be a sophomore, I'm so ready!" He felt a bit of pride for her and chuckled to himself. She was the one always trying to study, always trying to excel. He believed she got that from their Aunt Carly, otherwise known as Senator Carly Gibson.
Blake recalled seeing his uncle for the first time at a very young age, just before moving to Florida. It was all very hazy to him, since he was barely three at the time, but there were some images that he could bring to light if he thought hard enough. Carly and her husband reunited when he turned seven. She dated him a bit and married.
As for the Bensons, they still lived in Texas, but they were able to fly over on rare occasions that their jobs and family life didn't keep them overly busy.
Blake took an exit ramp off the freeway and moved into the right hand lane, they were still headed for the lake house on Cypress Creek. Indeed it became Spencer's family home when his mother moved out, all his money was his own. His mom lived happily on her own in the house that Travis and Rebecca had lived in. They'd passed on a few years ago, happy that they got to see their great grandchildren grow up. The sad thing for Blake was, he practically had only one grandparent left. Then again, there was Sasha's father, who came around to visit the family a few times each year.
As they pulled up to the house, Spencer and Sasha were busy with yard work. Rachel hopped from the car and rushed over to her parents. "Mom, Dad, Blake was speeding down the highway again!" Blake sighed in desperation as he left the car and walked over. He faked a smile and put his hand to his sister's shoulder while his parents gave him a quick glare.
"Oh Rachel, I am so going to get you back for this." Rachel laughed and ran into the house. Blake stood at eye level with his father. Spencer was a bit huskier than he used to be and had a thick mustache that gave him a suave appearance. Though, his hair had a bit of a spike to it.
"Blake, I've told you before not to speed," Spencer warned. "You know better, and with your sister in the car! I'm more concerned about you winding up in a wreck than that car, so please, try to simmer down on the gas pedal."
"It's not like I go that fast." Ah the innocence he had as a youth was gone, it wouldn't possibly work on his parents. "Just living in the moment, Dad." Spencer laughed and motioned him inside.
"Go in, dinner will be done soon." Blake smiled and walked towards the door. His old man was right, it was probably safer for him not to go so fast. Besides, living in the moment wasn't necessarily a good thing. If there was anything he remembered from his toddler days, and really it was not much at all, living in the moment was not something that was a positive thing. He'd heard the stories more than he could actually recall the memories, and each time he heard them, he couldn't fathom how difficult those times were. Or, for that matter, how his dad could be so stupid sometimes.
As he put his hand to the door, he looked back to his parents and smiled at the two of them. They were hugging and laughing, even kissing from time to time. It felt good that even after all these years, they were still very much in love, and one of the few couples out there that actually stayed together.
He moved into the house and took a deep breath. College would start next fall for him, he was opting to live on the campus. His goal was to pursue the Criminal Justice field and become a big time police officer, but at the same time, he was thinking of going into the military. He wanted to do better than his grandfather had done, to be the man that his grandfather had not been. That, and, his love for adventure was almost too overpowering. He didn't want to be held down, sure he'd settle down in a few years, but he sure as hell wasn't going to do that now. There was a time and a place.
As he walked past Rachel's room, he heard some of the old iCarly tapes. He peered in and saw her watching them on the computer, they'd all been burned onto CDs for viewing so the family could have them for future times. She always enjoyed the show, but he never really got into it. It was amusing at times, but other times it just seemed to be lacking quite a bit of consistency. He'd seen sketch comedy before and it never interested him.
Blake moved to his bedroom upstairs and took a seat at his desk. He gazed out the window and pictured himself out in the open air, a thrill seeker, but maybe not as irresponsible as his dad had been in his youth. Everyone expected him to be like his father, to have a taste for art, but he didn't. In truth, art positively bored him to tears. Rachel was more interested in that stuff. He had his hobbies, such as writing as a more relaxed hobby, but ever since he was a kid, there was only one thing he ever dreamed of doing, and that was to feel the rush of the wind against his face.
The future was still open, still full of blue skies. He didn't have to be a police officer, he could be a pilot, a fighter pilot, or maybe even a racecar driver. His family would never go for that, nor would he, to be honest. He had pounded in his head the mistakes his dad made when younger, therefore he knew just the things he wouldn't wind up doing.
Of course, how hard was it to be responsible? He knew not to mooch off his parents for money, he knew better than to lie to his family. Family, to him, was more important than life itself. It had to be, with the nightmares they suffered when he was just a tyke? "Oh Blake!" He looked back to see Rachel's head poking through the door.
He smirked playfully and raised his eyebrows. "What do you want, runt?"
"Your girlfriend's here for dinner." His heart shot up and he immediately rose up as his girlfriend, Shannon, walked into the room. She had sandy brown curls that bounced with every step and a beautiful smile to match her bright blue eyes. "I'll leave you two alone. Dinner won't be ready for another hour, I think." She shut the door and Blake hurried over to his girlfriend.
"So what have you been up to?"
"Working on finals, it's been a stressful week," Shannon replied with a soft sigh. The two sat on the edge of the bed and looked off to the wall. "How about you? Finals week going well?"How about you? Finals week going well?"
"Depends on how you look at it. It's the studying that's hell. If it helps get into college, all the better I say."
"Yeah. You know what I want to be one day? A doctor. You think that's too high of a goal to shoot for?"
"Not at all. Besides, you can make anything out of anything, I think. Mom and Dad seemed to rise out of the ashes well."
"I admire your parents, actually. From what you've told me about them, I'd say they did pretty well for themselves. It takes strong people to go through all that."
"It really makes you think about things…I'm glad I know these things so I won't repeat the same mistakes my dad's made. I love my dad, proud of him, think he's the strongest guy I know, but I also know he's made a lot of mistakes that I don't want to repeat."
"Yeah, that's true." Shannon folded her hands in her lap and gazed out the window. "So, future's all up in the air, right? What are you going to do in college? Any ideas?"
"Not sure. I think after the first year at TCC, I'm going to travel around a bit if I can, you know, traveling the world is nice. Nothing quite so enchanting as seeing the world and feeling the rush of the wind in your face."
"True, very true. I mean if you had to, do you think you'd stay here? You know, be with me?" Blake smiled at her and lay back on the bed, putting his hands behind his head. Shannon moved up beside him, curling into a ball and breathing out.
"Are you asking me to stay here?"
"Well no, I'm just speaking hypothetically, and I would never ask you to give up your dreams. I'm just wondering what your thoughts are on the matter."
"Tough decision, you sure I couldn't take you with me?" He smirked teasingly and Shannon laughed.
"I can't leave Florida, I have too much tying me down." He sighed and moved his arm around her, gazing deep into her eyes.
"You know I love you."
"And I love you." She reached up and kissed his lips. He never really thought so far into the future, just a short distance. The 'living in the now' outlook probably was one of those things carried over by his father. Of course, so was the inability to resist the very beautiful girlfriend he was very much in love with.
"I think if it came down to it, I'd stay here with you." He brushed her hair back and leaned forward, kissing her tenderly. It didn't take much longer before their kisses were getting deeper and longer, and finally just as his parents before, they too were falling into their first temptation.
Oh dear, and the legacy continues with Blake. Well, at least he won't have it quite as bad as Spencer. That's it, thank you all who have followed this story, I'm so very glad to have had you ^_^. Boris, of course, always a pleasure. Jhuikmn, always have enjoyed your reviews, and to any other constant readers, thank you. Some of you have kept this story alive when it looked like it would fail,but you enjoyed every minute of it and I'm glad to have brought a great story to you. Thank you for reading, thank you for commenting, Until next time.
By the way if you want another good dramatic story that I'm writing, check out all my recent ones. In each fandom, I've got some great stuff going on!