Disclaimer: I do not own Icarly or any of the songs mentioned in this chapter.
Freddie's POV
Sam, at that moment, was one of the most beautiful things I had seen in my entire life. Her loose curls slung around her body so gracefully she almost looked like an angel. I had never seen Sam look so girly in the entire time I had known her.
And yet, something just seemed off about her. She looked at me with the same smile she always gave me as I stood there, mouth agape, unable to remove my eyes from her slender form, but her arms were curled tightly around her waist, as if there were something there she was hiding from me.
She kept her pose as she began swiftly coming over to me and began frantically waving her hand in front of my face. "Fredward," she started, "What? You've never seen a girl before?" She looked at me with annoyed eyes, but underneath there was a hint of shyness.
I shook my disbelief away. This was just Sam, as tough as she'd ever been. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," I apologized to her.
She looked at me with an odd expression before shortly laughing it off. "Whatever, Freddork. Now, come on! We're going to be late for the part-ay if you don't hurry up," she told me, her voice gaining excitement with every syllable. I merely nodded in agreement as she ran towards the club, now in visible range, her arms still secured tightly around her waist.
The run was short, yet it still managed to get my blood pumping, a feeling I was learning to love. Sam, who was ahead of me the whole way, arrived at our destination in a matter of minutes. There were blinding lights flashing everywhere, distorting reality's true colors. On top of that, the entrance was packed, and faint music could be heard from coming inside.
Numerous times, I saw young adults be turned from the door, not able to get in, and with every person my hopes of getting in grew dimmer. Well, if you could call them hopes. It was more like I was along for the ride that Sam was "driving" here.
But her confidence did not waiver. She laughed at the misfortune of the turned away people and motioned for me to follow her, finally cautiously letting down her arms. I followed her thoughtlessly, and we pushed through the mob of the line in front of the club. There were angry shouts, but for the most part we were paid no mind. Near the front, I almost was hit with a punch from a man whose beer I practically knocked out of his hands.
But we had successfully managed to make it, and I observed Sam at the front giggling her way into the heart of the guy with the checklist. "And it's my first time in the city, and I just wanted to see all the sights, you know?" Sam said in a completely unSam-like way. I had to stop my jaw from dropping to the floor again. The man was looking Sam up and down, in some ways I didn't like, as if to be considering her for entrance.
"You won't tell my boss if I do, will you?" the big man asked, in a frightening voice. Sam's smile never faded, and if she hadn't made eye contact with me for half a second to roll her eyes, I would have believed her act just as easily as the bouncer was. "No, you big silly, I would never dream of that," she replied all the same. This guy was so dim-witted. But he gave her the hand motion to go in, and said, "Go ahead, girly."
"Thank you, so much!" Sam gushed, and she skipped over to the door. I laughed at her mastermind plot in my head and made my way to pursue her, until the bouncer stopped me at the door. "Name," he said mechanically. I panicked and started thinking of some excuse, "Uh..."
Luckily, Sam had not gone in yet and came back out to the pair of us, acting very level-headed. "Oh, I'm sorry, Ted. I forgot to tell you. This is Freddie, he's my date." Ted's eyes bounced back and forth between the pair of us, Sam smiling hopefully, and me sweating bullets. After what felt like an eternity, Ted just shrugged and I was allowed passage.
No one from the outside would have ever guessed that the inside of the club could possibly be as gigantic as it was. But it was one of the largest places I have ever been. The lights were even more blinding, the crowd even more dense. It was easy to notice the focal point of the whole place was the fluorescent dance floor in the center of the building, complete with a disco ball overhead.
Sam was enjoying the scenery as she led me over to the food table. "Thanks!" I called to her over the crowd. She heard my voice and gave me a nod, before pulling me to the side so we could talk. "Is this not the most happening place on the west coast or what?" She shouted happily to me, like she was a kid in a candy shop.
I was happy for her enthusiasm and had to admit that it was contagious and getting to me too. "This is," I confessed to her and got a little 'I told you so' smile in return. "Oh and by the way, I'm you date?" I teased her jutting my face toward her as I said it. She recoiled and waved it off, "Oh you know I had to do it. I wasn't going to party by myself."
"Well, good. I wasn't going to permit you," I admitted to her.
Her face twisted up playfully as she reminded me, "You don't tell me what to do, Benson."
Of course, I should have known better. "No, I don't. But I want to be here anyway, so it works out."
"Really?" Sam asked for reassurance, leading us back over to the mountains of food by the buffet table.
"Of course." I assured her. She began piling heaps of steak onto her plate, muttering something like "It feels so good to be able to have real food again." She proceeded to stack on every single food dish Gresham City Club had to offer onto her platter, while I picked at the healthier selections here and there, hoping Sam would catch on. She didn't. After Sam was finally done with the buffet table, we walked to one of the high round tables set up and sat down, opposite each other.
Sam began to sip her Wahoo Punch as we were rewarded with the karaoke songs some of the other attendees were singing on the stage. Well, the vocals were honestly not the best quality, because the reality was half the singers were severely drunk. But, Sam wasn't paying as much attention as me.
"This place is still so awesome," she explained as she put down her Wahoo Punch. "You could beat someone up in here and either no one would notice or no one would be care."
"Yeah there is way too much going on for anyone to care about an under aged delinquent."
My play at an insult didn't appear to bug her in the slightest; she was too busy taking in everything and watching the circle of people gathered around one break dancer dancing to Katy Perry's "Waking up in Vegas."
"You know," she started after awhile, "I remember the very first time I heard this song."
"Ooh, story time?" I questioned her, mildly intrigued.
"Sure," she answered with a smirk. "Well I was coming over from school, going to Carly's naturally, when suddenly I came across this tiny old guy, jamming to this song. I was bewildered and went up to him and said, 'Hey Grandpa. Learning to dance for the dorkfestival?'"
I could only imagine the poor old guy's face when confronted with an amused Sam, and rolled my eyes, though not entirely annoyed.
She continued, "His face was priceless. He bribed me with five steaks if I didn't tell his wife, but I needed to pry them away from his dog. So, in the end I wrestled with his pooch and got the steaks, but my hair was all messed up and my clothes a little torn. When I finally got to Carly's I saw you."
Wow, this was starting to sound familiar.
"You asked what happened and I told you I got mauled by a bear, and muttered something about crazy things happening in Vegas." She finished her story with a laugh at my face as the truth dawned on me. I was staring open-mouthed into her eyes in disbelief.
"I was going to Vegas that weekend with my mother," I remarked in an accusing tone.
"Ha-ha, I knew that then," She said before looking around the club. Grown men were going around and asking young ladies onto the dance floor. I was revolted at the sight. "Hey, I'm going to go to the Ladies Room, can you handle being by yourself for two minutes, or are you going to make everyone evacuate the premises?" Sam joked as she got up and left her Wahoo punch and me behind before I was able to protest.
I sighed and turned my chair around out of boredom and watched eager people enter the club. They kept increasing by the dozen; maybe the bouncer was getting drunk and just not caring who he let in any longer. The newcomers were very diverse and varied, but they all had one thing in common. They each had another person of the opposite sex with them, and only them. It seemed like the couples were increasing and the singles decreasing with every passing minute.
And yet here I was with Sam. Would she count this as a date? No, definitely not. Would I count this as a date? Never. Did I wish this was a date? No, I don't think so. I laid my head back and closed my eyes, blocking out any thought that I did not want to have.
It was a failed attempt to get any rest, as the music was still shattering at a deafening volume. Something could have been going on two feet behind my head and I would have never noticed. But, my attempt did not go on long. In one minute, Sam was back at my side, poking me hard in the ribs. I shot up right away and she resumed her seat across from me and took a sip of her Wahoo Punch.
Sam's eyes widened as soon as the liquid touched her mouth and she let out a low but intense, "Whoa."
"What?" I questioned her.
"Nothing," she assured me shaking her head and then putting two fingers to her temple, "It just tastes kinda funny. That's all."
Sam continued to drink the Wahoo Punch and I attempted to talk to her. "So, how long until we reach Texas?"
Sam started dancing a little in her chair as she replied, "I'm not sure. One week, two weeks, three."
Sam looked around frantically, and I joked with her, "Okay, I'll try to calculate the fastest route for us to go; you can just focus on the survival part."
Sam giggled, and I mean a real giggle, as she replied, "Oh Freddie, you're so funny." I cocked an eyebrow which changed into a real confused look as Sam sat there and giggled.
It only grew worse from there. As the minutes passed by her remarks continued to get more and more outrageous, especially for her. "This glass is so sparkly," Sam said as she sipped more Wahoo Punch.
"You told me that four times already."
"Ha-ha. Hey look a flying pig!" Sam pointed out the window, and I looked, stupidly. There was no flying pig, but there was a now very puppy-eyed Sam in front of me in the few seconds it took her to get up and travel to my side of the table. "Come dance with me," the very unlike Sam Sam demanded.
I could only muster an "Oh well, I…guess, whoa!" before I felt my body being moved very sharply and with much strength from my seat and out onto the dance floor by Sam. I bumped into more people and Sam was stumbling worse than ever, almost as if she was…. Oh my gosh. "Sam," I shouted at her and she turned to me, happy she had found the source of her name. "Someone must have spiked your drink when I wasn't looking. You're drunk!"
Her face flashed confusion for a second before saying, "Drunk? I don care if I this drunk, you say I am, just dance with me." I was forcefully pulled into her but started dancing with her regardless. Sam was actually a pretty good dancer, even better than her twin Melanie (who happened to be sober also). She started dancing wildly to the song, which was picking up tempo as it went along, the blinding lights making her appear in slow motion. I tried to mimic her movements, but ultimately failed. That's not to say Sam didn't try to help, because she was moving my body almost as much as hers.
But it seemed like too soon the song was over, and I was panting; but Sam was as lively as ever. "When can we go again?" Sam asked me.
That question was answered for me when a new song began playing and Sam shouted "WOOOO!!!!" and began to forcefully make me dance with her yet again. I had just gotten into it again when a man who appeared to be about twenty-three came up to us and tapped me on the soldier. "May I cut in?" he asked in a profound, husky voice.
I started, "Ummm no," but it was too late. The man already had Sam and she didn't care, as long as someone would be there to satisfy her unexpected, never-ending, bout of energy. She let out a "Hey, show me what you can do," and I was forced back into the crowd crying "Sam, come on! Let's go back to Harley," but it was no use, she couldn't hear me anymore.
Defeated, I went back down to our table in hopes she would return there when she came back to her senses. I angrily sat down and dumped her remaining Wahoo Punch on the floor in disgust. I couldn't believe this. Why was she being so stupid? Granted, she was drunk, but this was Sam. She was supposed to be the eternally tough girl who beat up anyone she felt threatened by, not be pushed around by some creeper because she was drunk.
"Sam, you're so stupid," I sighed, my head in my hands, almost as if she was right there standing next to me, able to hear my words. But my thought process was abruptly cut off when I heard, "And now singing for the first time here at Gresham City Club, we have Sam Puckett with 'Dance Hall Drug'," over the loud speaker.
I could hardly believe my ears. A drunken Sam was going to sing to a whole club. I repositioned myself so that I could see the stage better. Sure enough, Sam wobbled her way to a microphone with the jerk man from before. There were a few whispers of, "Hey, that Sam Puckett girl is from that one web show isn't she?" and as a result Sam got more of an audience than the other people.
But then the song began. "Grown up, she just turned sixteen," Sam sung in a surprisingly beautiful voice. The man next to her was eyeing her inappropriately as she obliviously made extreme and dance movements unnecessarily to the song.
"Stuck in the moment, dead at the scene. And it's on tonight; this is the life that you wanted, right?" Sam continued. More of a crowd had gathered around her. The words she sung were almost about her life. It continued on and she seemed almost sober, yet not quite. And she was completely aware of the words of the song somehow.
It got to the chorus of the song and she closed her eyes and sang as she wobbled, "Yeah do you, do you want to lose it all? Cause this is more than just a dance hall drug, you can't wait to fall in love."
I couldn't take it anymore. I angrily pushed myself off from the table and swiftly made my way to the front of the stage. I was going to take her back to Harley, whether she liked it or not.
My travel to the front of the stage was not easy. I had to dodge flying glass bottles and angry people who just did not want to get out of the way. The whole time Sam's voice, more angelic than I ever imagined continued on, "Now you're holding hands, but he's got other plans, Tick-tock the clock is turning red."
I had made it within twenty feet of the stage now, and my heartbeat picked up with every second from anxiety. Small drops of sweat began to form on my forehead and reality kept seeming more and more like a dream. "Cause when the push comes to the shove, It's just a dance hall drug." And on those words I stumbled on the stage that had seemed like my destination for years instead of minutes.
I could see Sam more clearly now and I nearly tripped when I ran towards her, trying to call her, "Sam!" while she went on with what would be the final words she sang, "Just wait love, show em'".
Suddenly I saw the man take one glance at me, and giving me a smug smile he grabbed the waist of the barely cautious Sam and began pulling her closer to him, whereas the microphone dropped out of her hand in alarm. My eyes widened and I began panicking.
The music never ceased blaring in the background and I could hear the actual track singing the words, "Don't it feel like,"The boy band's voices so much different than her own. The man's lips grew closer and closer to Sam's, but she was just staring blankly off into the distance, unable to move, unable to think. "Something's not right", the song continued, and I was standing up next to them, with only one plan in my mind.
"In his kiss tonight," on the word kiss the man and Sam's lips locked and it caused me a fury I had never felt in a long time. But I made sure the kiss only lasted for a second because I pulled the man away from his position and punched him hard in the face. He held his face in pain and fell to the ground, letting out silent sobs. I stole one quick glance at the squirming body on the ground before turning to Sam who now seemed to be somewhat aware of the situation and had her fist clenched tightly in the air.
"Lemme at em'!" She pleaded with me, recovering a smidge of her true personality. But she was too weak, I wouldn't let her. We had to get out of here. I began to shake my head and say "No," but I noticed her eyes were closing and I walked closer to her. Without any more warning, the blonde headed demon collapsed into my arms, while the rest of the club danced obliviously to the end of the song.
A/N: Well there you go! I hoped you like this one, cause I worked really hard on it :). Feedback is always appreciated. Thanks :D