Hi! I'm Alison, and this is my first fanfic EVER! Ever, in the history of… my life! I don't care if you're "nice to me" or anything, just tell it like it is! So, yeah, I hope you enjoy it and it is in Sam's POV.

Important Note- this story takes place right after iKiss. Since no one has seen it and no one knows exactly what happens after the… um, event (yeah! Seddie!) this is my take: Sam and Freddie lip-lock and it ends right there. They don't even talk. Hopefully it doesn't happen like that in the actual episode, but that's how it is in my story.

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly. Shocker!

­­­­­­­­­­­­Sunrise

I wasn't always friends with Carly and Freddie, you know. In second grade, my best friend was Gertie Snorgess. Looking back, I remember that she was just about as pleasant as her name. But anyway, when we were eight, she told everyone all these rumors about me like I still wore diapers and stupid stuff like that.

People believed her. Shocker, I know.

And I guess that was the end of our friendship. I mean, I didn't break down sobbing or anything tragic like that. It just… hurt. But I guess the point is that, I know when people don't like me, even if they don't say anything to my face.

I do know what people say about me.

Just because I'm getting a D- in math doesn't mean I'm stupid. It just means I don't like math.

But then I met Carly and Freddie and we became friends and blah blah blah, everything was hunky-dory.

Wow. I just said hunky-dory, didn't I?

I'm pretty sure I spend more time at Carly's place than mine. And it's not just because I have a bad home life, which I don't. I'm not abused by my mom or anything like that. I happen to like her! She's not a bad mom; she's just a little scatterbrained. Sometimes she'll forget to buy food or cook food or serve food and-for ham's sake! I'm fifteen! I don't want to take care of myself just yet.

So… I sleep over at Carly's a lot. A lot, a lot. Those are the good nights. Me, Carly, Spencer, and sometimes even Freddie watching Girly Cow. Fun times. Usually Carly goes up to her room to sleep, since having me over is a regular occurrence, but I stay on the couch most of the time.

And that's exactly what happened last night. Me and Carly and Freddie spent four hours going over videos sent in by iCarly fans before finally crashing on the floor. I woke up early, blearily smacking my lips together and pausing to untangle myself from Freddie who had apparently rolled over in his sleep, wrapping his arm around my waist. How embarrassing. When I looked outside, it was still dark and when I looked at the clock, it was only five in the morning. Perfect, I thought as I stepped into the elevator. When the doors opened, I shivered as the chilly morning breeze rippled across the apartment roof. And then I sat there, on the gritty rooftop, waiting. Waiting and watching.

So that's where I am now. Except now, the black sky is beginning to lighten, turning a faint grayish-blue. It's cold, and I wish I had brought my jacket. But it's calm and peaceful and beautiful on this roof, high above the city. And I feel happy.

But what I would give for a steaming mug of coffee…

"Hey."

I turn my head.

Freddie. It's just Freddie. He's standing there, by the elevator, looking uncomfortable. And he has a blanket. "Here," he walks over to me and holds out the red flannel. "It looks like you need it more than I do."

Freddie looks just as cold as I feel, and I want to tell him no, you take, but the words don't come. Instead I take it and feel our fingers brush, the sparks flying. I look at him and he looks at me and I think about how our relationship has changed.

It's the most awkward feeling ever, sitting there with Freddie sitting next to me. We're on the couch at Carly's, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom so we can all go to the movies, and it's the first time we've talked since the kiss. The Kiss. The Kiss of the century. Maybe even millennium. Suddenly, during a sudden burst of courage, I am the first to speak. "Freddie?" I ask.

"Yeah?"

"When did you stop loving Carly?"

He looks at me uncomfortably. "I don't think I ever started."

It doesn't answer all my questions, but somehow, that's all I need to know.

We went from frenemies, bickering about every stupid little thing, to something more, something deeper. Something more than just friends, but not quite together.

It's not like I have a lot of experience with guys. My first -and only- boy friend tried to kiss Carly, remember?

I wrap myself in the big blanket and Freddie plops down beside me and we sit there, in the early morning silence. The sky is now rosy around the horizon.

"So…" Freddie says, rubbing the back of his neck. "You come up here a lot?" I turn to look at him.

"Yeah," I manage to say. "I like sunrises, you know? They're like… a new beginning. Whatever bad thing that happened the day before doesn't matter anymore, because… the sun's rising and it's a new day."

Freddie looks surprised, probably because I just uttered something remotely profound. Then he smiles, and puts his hand over mind. We look at the sky, pale pink all over.

We've been sitting there for a while when Freddie speaks. "Some people think that looking at a sunrise is like looking into heaven." His face is hard, and I think I should bite my tongue.

I know what you're thinking. Me, Sam Puckett, quiet? Yeah, right!

But I shut up, and Freddie talks again. "I don't know if that's true. But I don't know where my dad is, and I'd like to think that he's somewhere like this," he gestures to the sky. Then my throat feels lumpy, my chest feels heavy, and I lean my head against Freddie's shoulder.

Mr. Benson died when Freddie was eleven. I remember that day clearly. It was in fifth grade. He was called down to the office during math class, and that was bad news for me. It meant I couldn't copy his homework. Even worse, there was also a test that day. Of course, I hadn't studied. So I asked for a bathroom pass to try to get out of it for as long as possible. On the way to the bathroom (the long way, might I add) I walked past the main office. And I saw Freddie. He was with his mom, his face blotchy with tears.

I learned later that his dad had been killed in a car accident.

The sight of him like that scared me. It was Freddie. He was supposed to be strong and not break down like that. And it was then that I decided that I would have to be the tough one in our group.

"Sam?" Freddie half whispers. I lift my head. "Where…" he hesitates, but I think I know what he's going to say. "Where do we stand? I mean…" he brushes a loose curl from my face. "You and me?"

I think about that.

"But you love Carly," I state bluntly, as we lay on the floor after our four hours of watching iCarly videos.

"But I love you," he says to me, just as honestly.

And then I make a split-second decision. I wriggle out of the blanket I'm so tightly wrapped in and cover me and Freddie both, together. He responds by pulling me onto his lap. I rest my head in the crook of his neck and sigh. He puts his lips on the crown of my head and I can feel his smile. "Maybe," I whisper. "Maybe we can talk about us tomorrow." He nods, and holds me tighter, his arms snaking around my waist.

I don't know what this day will bring, but I know it can't possibly be bad. The sky is dazzling pink and the clouds are blazing gold and it's just absolutely stunning. As I drift off to sleep in Freddie's arms, I can't help but think how we fit together just perfectly.

Well, there you go! I hope you enjoyed my First Ever Fanfic. It's supposed to be kind of choppy. I tried to do a good present-tense, but it was definitely harder than I expected. Review, please! Tell me how I did!

-Alison