"Hey, Sam and Freddie, do you want to come to the beach today?" Cat asked when they sat down for breakfast a few days later. "Me and Robbie are going."
"You and Robbie are going a lot of places recently." Sam raised her eyebrows. "Are you together?"
"No." Cat said, blushing. "I wish we were, though."
"Ask him out then!"
"I think I might have to if he doesn't ask me." Cat said. "So, do you want to come?"
Sam looked at Freddie. "You up for it?"
"Sure!" Freddie said. "It'll be nice to see other parts of the city."
"You're such a geek." Sam laughed. _
The four of them sat in a row on the beach, Cat with Robbie and Sam on either side of her and Freddie next to Robbie. "Hey, Cat, want to go for a little walk?" Robbie asked, standing up and helping her up.
"We'll be back." Cat grinned at the two, who were almost too busy staring at each other to hear.
"Yeah, whatever." Sam dismissed. The two were silent for a moment "Come on Fredlumps, I want ice cream."
"When don't you want ice cream?" Freddie replied, standing up. "Come on."
"Aren't you going to help me up?" Sam whined, holding her arms up towards Freddie.
"I didn't know if I was allowed." Freddie blushed, grabbing her hands and helping her up.
"Oh, so you can kiss me but you can't help me up?"
"I can kiss you?" Freddie asked, grinning.
"Yeah… well no. Only if I want you to."
"And do you want to?"
"Nope. I want ice cream."
"Of course you do, princess."
"I like it when you call me that." Sam smiled at him.
"I noticed. Your cheeks turn a really cute shade of pink." Freddie laughed, stroking her face which made her blush even more. "Wait… can I stroke your face?"
"Yes, nub." Sam rolled her eyes, but smiled at him. "I appreciate how careful you're being." She said as they started to walk.
"Can I hold your hand?" Freddie asked.
"No. But I can hold yours." Sam grinned, taking his hand in hers.
"You're so controlling." Freddie joked.
"Hey, if you want a bit of mama then you play by mama's rules."
"Blueberry?" Freddie asked as they walked into the shop.
"Yep. And you'll get chocolate." Sam replied, grinning. She was so glad Freddie remembered these things about her just like she did about him.
"A blueberry and a chocolate, please." Freddie ordered.
"Okay. Two secs." The woman replied.
"Am I allowed to pay for your ice cream?" Freddie asked, pulling out the money anyway.
"Always. There's nothing better than free food."
"What about a home cooked meal? Lasagne? Is that any better?"
"No way! I love your lasagne!"
"I know you do. I didn't know if you wanted me to make you it tonight. Cat is out with her friends, so you and I could watch a horror movie tonight?" Freddie suggested.
"Perfect." Sam grinned, taking the ice creams from the woman and giving Freddie's a lick before passing it to him.
"Sam, was there any need?" Freddie asked, laughing at her old antics.
Cat and Robbie returned to their spot on the beach to see that their friends were no-where to be seen and that their bags were left unattended. "Trust Sam and Freddie to leave our valuables lying around." Robbie laughed as they sat down on the blanket.
"They were probably too wrapped up in each other to notice." Cat said. "I don't know what went on between them the other day, but since then they've been joined at the hip and-" Cat noticed the pair walking back to the blanket "-they're holding hands!" she squealed.
"Hey guys!" Sam greeted. She noticed Cat hyperventilating. "Cat? Are you okay? what's… oh." Sam realised what she'd noticed. "Get over it." She laughed. The pair sat down on the blanket, not breaking contact.
"So…" Cat encouraged, expecting them to explain. "Are you going out now or…".
Sam laughed. "We're just friends, Cat."
"Friends that hold hands?"
"It happens!" Sam giggled.
Cat just rolled her eyes. "So, have you remembered I'm going out tonight?"
"Yeah." Freddie replied. "Me and Sam are going to… like… chill in separate rooms and stuff… and read…". The other three raised their eyebrows at him.
"You're adorable." Sam commented. "But that was the lamest excuse ever. Freddie and I are going to share his special lasagne and watch some horror films."
"Films? I only agreed to one!" Freddie said.
"Is someone scared?"
"Yes! And I have the right to be."
"Don't worry. I'm sure I can find some way to distract you." Sam grinned.
Sam sat on a barstool at the counter. "Freddie, can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Why… why did you go out with Cat when you came to visit?"
Freddie sighed, regret flashing across his face. "I was hoping that it would help me get over you. I still loved you, and I thought you were completely over me… so I knew I had to get over you somehow. However, as soon as I saw you I knew it wasn't ever going to happen - getting over you, I mean. So, I thought maybe the jealously route would work… I was such a jerk."
"Well I didn't do much better with Robbie. I mean, I was so stupid. I knew I wasn't over you but I thought you were over me… so I tried the jealousy route… I'm so sorry for that. I know it must have hurt you."
"No, what you did was nothing. You were just reacting to my stupidity. I'll never hurt you again."
"I know." Sam looked down. "Thanks for telling me the truth. We've both made some stupid decisions… but I'm glad we're okay now."
"Me too." Freddie left the lasagne to cook and walked over to Sam, pulling her into a hug. Sam went on her tiptoes, taking in his scent. He spun her around.
"Put me down Benson!" Sam said in a fit of laughter. "I'm serious. Come on, hurry up with the lasagne. I'm starving."
"Of course you are." Freddie kissed her on the forehead, and then went back to the kitchen area. "Was that appropriate? I mean… are you ok with that?"
"Yes, Benson, you can kiss me on the forehead. Gosh, you're so nubby."
"But you love it!" Freddie laughed, walking back over to her and kissing her on the forehead numerous times.
"Okay, that's pushing it, lasagne boy. I'm going to go get in my PJ's."
Sam woke up in Freddie's arms, just like she had many times in the night. They had fallen asleep on the couch during the movies. He was hugging her even tighter, if that was possible, and she snuggled further into him. She knew that when Freddie abandoned her, he had been at a really bad point and truly believed that she was happier without him. He was trying to make her happy, and however much it really didn't, the logic was there and she truly did believe him and forgive him now.
"Good morning." Freddie whispered. Sam had been in such deep thought she hadn't even noticed him wake.
"Hey!" Sam smiled, pulling him into a sweet kiss, however only lasting a couple of seconds. The two of them sat up straight, and Sam got up off the couch they had been sleeping on.
"Well hello you two!" Cat laughed from the kitchen where she had been observing them. "Glad to see you're finally awake."
"Hey!" Sam and Freddie replied in unison.
"You've missed both breakfast and lunch, Sam." Cat said. "It's already two o'clock."
"Freddie!" Sam scolded, hitting him on the chest.
"How is that my fault?" Freddie asked, pulling himself up off the couch and stretching.
"If you weren't so darn comfy I wouldn't have missed food. You're taking me out for food, now."
"I'm so going to broke soon." Freddie commented, heading to the guest room to change.
"Oh, look, they're back." Cat commented to Carly over the phone as Sam and Freddie walked back in after their meal out. "Now Freddie can go tidy his room whilst Sam comes with me."
"What? My room does not need tidying!" Freddie exclaimed, folding his arms.
"Well then, go do that thing which needs doing."
"What are you on about?" Freddie asked.
"That thing. It needs doing. Now. It means Sam and I will be alone but I won't mind at all!" Cat hinted.
"But what am I supposed to be doing?" Freddie asked, confused.
"Oh, for fudge sake. Cat and Carly want a girly chat with me and want you out of the way." Sam explained. "Could you get any more stupid?"
"Sam, it's not nice to call people stupid." Carly scolded through the speaker phone. "But thank you for getting the point across."
"Oh well." Sam grinned, She followed Cat into the bedroom, and the two of them sat on Cat's bed with the phone in front of them on speaker. "What do you want to talk about?" Sam asked, sitting back on the bed.
"You know exactly what we want to talk about." Carly said.
"We're not going out." Sam confirmed. "We're just… exploring."
"Exploring? What's that supposed to mean?"
"We're officially friends… but we're sort of going back into our old ways as well. You know… holding hands, cuddling… kissing…"
"You've kissed him?" Carly squealed, fanning herself in excitement.
"Maybe once or twice." Sam smirked. "I can't help myself."
"You're so in love with him."
"I am not." Sam denied, folding her arms.
"There's no point denying it now, Puckett." Carly said.
"Don't you 'Puckett' me." Sam threatened, narrowing her eyes.
"You love him!" Cat sang.
"I so don't!" Sam sang back, rolling her eyes but with a smile on her face that revealed otherwise.
Sam parked her motorcycle in a space outside the LA Technology College. She turned around to look at Freddie, who was on the back of her bike. "How long do you think you'll be?"
"Well, there's a small meeting with the head of department and then the test which will take about half an hour. I find out straight away wether I've got in or not." Freddie took his helmet off.
"Oh wow, that's so soon!" Sam said. "So you'll be making a decision pretty soon about where you're going?"
"Yeah. If I pass this test then I'm defiantly going to come here. If not, then I'll probably choose Seattle."
"Is this one better?"
"Yeah, there's that. But then, there's you here as well." Freddie said. He blushed and looked down.
"You don't have to do this for me." Sam said.
"I'm doing it for me." Freddie said. They were both silent for a moment. "I'd better go in."
"Good luck." Sam said. She gave him a kiss. "I'll be back here at 2 then? Is that enough time?"
"Yeah." Freddie said. "Do you want to go out for something to eat later? My treat?"
"We've got the triplets coming." Sam said. "And Cat's out."
"Tomorrow? How about the breakfast place again?"
"Yeah." Sam agreed. "I'd like that."
True to her word, Sam went back for Freddie at two o'clock. As soon as she pulled up she noticed him walking over to her, and could already tell it was good news by the way he was walking - he was almost bounding - and the ginormous grin on his face. "It went well?" She asked.
"I got in!" Freddie exclaimed. "Can I hug you?"
"Yes, you can hug me." Sam laughed. She got off the motorbike and he leaned down to her, squeezing her into a hug. "Well done!" She laughed.
"I'm so happy!" He pulled away from Sam and held both of her hands. "You are okay with this aren't you? Me moving here?"
Sam pretended to think about it. "Well, it is a bit of an inconvenience but-"
"Sam." Freddie warned.
"Of course I'm okay with it, you nub!" Sam laughed. "It's your mother you're going to have a problem with!"