-Calmness-

"I wish you'd talk to me."

Spencer had scored her a doctor's note, which meant for the next week she was free to cry and eat Ben and Jerry's. Meanwhile, her fans were going absolutely bananas on her webpage and her classmates were blowing up her phone with 'where r u's and 'r u ok?'s, but one person in particular—the only one who mattered, if she was being honest with herself—had neglected to contact her at all. Freddie had been kind enough to visit all of her teachers and deliver her homework to the apartment every day, but that didn't mean she was willing to allow anyone at all past that door.

Heck, she hadn't seen her brother in days and he lived here.

"Carly, just tell me what's going on."

Where to begin? She supposed the whole long, dramatic tale began that fateful day on the playground…

/ "Gimme."

As ineloquent as the request was, the intent behind it was clear: the girl would not take 'no' for an answer. Young Carly frowned and turned from the lunch her mother had packed her to glare at—

Her gaze softened as dark eyes alighted on a slim blonde girl with hair the same colour as the petals of a sunflower. She had never seen this girl on the playground before, but she was very pretty.

"I said, 'GIMME.'" Louder this time, more forceful.

Apparently the blonde thought that the change in volume would surely let her have her way because she gaped when the brunette calmly said, "No."

The shove was unexpected, but Carly only gripped her lunchbox to her chest that much tighter as she stumbled and fell to the ground, her bottom sore but her pride intact.

She had always had trouble letting go when Sam was involved.

"What's your name, kid?" her assailant asked at last, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was a child as well.

"Carly Shay."

"Tch." With that disapproving grunt, the blonde plopped onto the grass beside her and crossed her arms over her chest, brow furrowing over bright blue eyes. "I'm Sam."

"Sam…" Carly repeated, tasting the name for the first time. The first of many.

"Yeah. You're alright," Sam decided, nodding with all the wisdom a five year old could manage. "Wanna play on the jungle gym with me?"

She supposed she would have said yes to anything so long as she was with Sam. /

… But now wasn't the time to get all sentimental because she honestly believed she didn't have any tears left to cry.

The boy sighed and there was a gentle 'thunk' as, presumably, his forehead hit the door. "I love you, Carly. No matter what."

She bit her lip to stop the words that threatened to leave her because there was nothing adequate enough to sum up the regret-sorrow-anxiety-fear cocktail she was feeling. Heat built up at the back of dark brown eyes and the teenager sighed, burying her face in her pillows as twin trails of hot wetness slid down her cheeks.

So much for that theory.

Carly's mindset was cool and in control as she boarded the bus that morning and sat down next to Freddie—the eye of the storm that had completely and utterly flipped her world upside down.

He looked like he had seen a ghost (as did the other students who recognized her), but he didn't comment. Instead, he smiled and said, "'Morning," and she was so struck by gratefulness that she threw her arms around him. A true friend knew when to just shut up and act as though nothing had happened.

"N-not that I mind, but why are you hugging me?"

"Thank you, Freddie. For everything."

He patted her awkwardly on the back a few times. "No problem…"

The girl straightened, the weight on her shoulders a little less suffocating, and they continued their bus ride in silence. When the school came into view, her heart raced a bit, uncertain of what awaited her in those now-unfamiliar halls.

A week was a long time to a teenager.

As the door folded open with a squeak, allowing the students to file off in a disorderly scramble of limbs and book bags, Carly took a deep, steadying breath, smiling at Freddie when he gave her an encouraging look. She walked down the narrow aisle, channeling the confidence of her inner web star as she stepped down from the last step and walked the length of the bus loop, into the throng of students that awaited in the—

The courtyard was… empty? She swallowed a sigh of relief.

"Ugh. The bus was late again. I'll see you in class, Carly," Freddie called, hustling in order to make it to class on time.

She headed in the opposite direction, throwing open the doors to her building and squinting at the blast of frigid, air conditioned air that resulted. After a few blinks, she realized that another student stood in the hallway, blue eyes dear-in-the-headlights wide.

Sam. Instantly, relief became rationality erasing panic and she contemplated sprinting home from here.

Her muscles had just tensed up for that first step when the blonde said quietly, "Welcome back."

It wasn't until that very moment that she realized she actually missed the sound of her best—who was she kidding? Of Sam's voice. Just Sam. "… Thanks."

Could silence be loud? Because the silence that stretched between them was deafening in its awkwardness.

A door creaked open—

"Sam, we're going to be late!"

—and blue eyes flicked beyond Carly, to the speaker, relief visible in pretty features as she mumbled, "Gotta go."

"Right…"

With a hesitant little wave, Sam hurried off, leaving the brunette with the chilling sense of calm that emanated from the knot of dread that had formed in the pit of her stomach.

Inside, she was screaming.