iDon't Want Him To Go

Summary: Freddie has exciting news about his future, but the news causes Carly to feel conflicted.

AN: Happy Creddie Friday everyone. Just a little story I wrote for the occasion. Please enjoy. It will be very short, the next chapters should be up soon.

Disclaimer: I still don't own iCarly, any of the episodes or any of the characters.

"Carly! CARLY!" yelled Freddie Benson as he burst through the door of Apartment 8-C, Bushwell Plaza, Seattle, the home of his best friend Carly Shay. "I got in! I got in!" he declared excitedly.

"To what? Where?" the brunette teen asked him with a little confusion in her voice.

"MIT" he replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "FULL SCHOLARSHIP! Despite..." he threw a filthy look at the blonde teen who was sat in the Shay's kitchen and busying herself with a plate of ham "missing out on my camp last summer."

Carly traded a nervous glance with Sam Puckett, the girl who had sabotaged Freddie's NERD Camp application some months earlier, and she admitted to herself that she was slightly surprised to learn that he still harboured such resentment towards his ex-girlfriend over the matter.

"That's great!" Carly declared enthusiastically, knowing how much it meant to her friend to get into the prestigious school. There was, however, a nagging voice at the back of her mind telling her that it wasn't all good news, for her anyway: after years of being at school together and living across the hallway from one another, suddenly he would be a whole continent away, Carly having decided to stay in Seattle and attend Washington State University. Sam, having reaped the proceeds of years of her imperfect triumvirate (poor grades, poor behaviour, poor effort) had failed to get into a university and was looking instead at a local community college, so the two girls would still see each other on a regular basis. Carly had applied elsewhere: NYU, UNH, North Eastern, Boston College and UCLA had also accepted her, but the lure of home comforts, such as the familiarity of Seattle and her older brother Spencer, had tipped the balance for her. She gave a wry smile while pondering that the chance to put a few thousand miles between himself and his mother may have tipped it for Freddie too. "So when do you have to leave?" she asked, working hard to sound casual and keep the fear out of her voice.

"Trying to get rid of me already?" he joked.

Sam piped up "I've been trying for six years Benson", her mouth full of ham.

Freddie shot her another look, as did Carly, before Carly responded "Quite the opposite; I want to know how much Freddie-time I have left before you go."

"Well there's a while yet: finals, prom" he said with wistful annunciation on the word and a subtle side-along glance at the attractive brunette he had long crushed after. He dropped his gaze almost immediately and continued, seemingly unaware that Carly was looking at him, a peculiar expression on her face, "graduation then the summer. Registration and orientation aren't until early fall so even if mom adds on a trip to see some family in the area you've plenty of 'Freddie time' yet" he finished casually, directing a smile in her direction.

"Good" she responded, returning his smile with interest.

Already a committed, straight A student, Freddie became even more driven on the back of the news of his college acceptance; leaving home earlier and getting home later, endlessly, remorselessly pushing himself towards the finish line. To begin with his new focus had been a source of frustration for Carly; while she understood her friend's desire and need to push forward with his work she was disappointed at how much it ate into her limited "Freddie time", not to mention reducing his ability to spend time with her and Sam working on their iCarly webshow (though he continued to be there for the show itself). Rather than discouraging him, however, Carly boosted the time she spent in his presence by asking to study with him, both before and after school. These "study dates" as they both humorously dubbed them increased in frequency, length and enjoyment on a regular basis; though Carly did put her foot down on Friday night sessions, insisting that they needed a break on iCarly night and to ensure the risk of burn-out was minimised. Freddie acquiesced to her demand and, by the time his announcement was a month old, the brown-haired pair found themselves well on top with their studies and very much in position to coast the down-hill stretch through to their finals (not that either was prepared to slack off, the friendly competition was pushing them to out-do one another at every opportunity).

Despite his being alone with, and in close proximity to, the girl he'd dreamt of since his eleventh birthday Carly was surprised that Freddie never flirted with or propositioned her (as he had done many a time in the past) instead focussing fully on his work and his future at MIT. She was also surprised when she realised that this lack of 'affection' from Freddie was disappointing her; and she was stunned to realise how much she missed it and really wanted him to be flirting with her again. Of course, being Carly, her starting anything with him was out of the question so she turned back to the books and continues the game of competing with Freddie at their studies; hoping that a few more smiles, leaning closer to him and "accidentally" brushing against him would get his attention.

She was to be disappointed.