Woww so I can't remember the last time I was forced to stay awake at wee hours of the morning to type up a plot idea. =p It's like the obligatory post iTwins story, where Melanie has somehow become a main character in the iCarly universe and lalala, fun stuff ensues. Dunno if I'm going to continue this, it's really rough for right now but I'm gonna give it a shot & see where it goes. The idea wouldn't stop bugging me so I'm at least going to start it up. =D

I feel like the entire plot of the story has Sam on the verge of being OOC (read it, and you'll see what I mean) so I'm trying the best I can. I think once I try to write a little bit more than just like three pages, everything will fall into place better. Lol =P so I guess for now, just enjoy this!! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own anythinggg iCarly related. k great! =P

Flipped

Prologue

The entire process took less than an hour. Fifty-nine minutes, to be exact, but still less than an hour. First, there was thirty-seven minutes of convincing, and then another twenty-two devoted to appearance modification.

Samantha Puckett looked at herself in the mirror. She cringed.

"Hey!" Melanie stole a glance of her sister's sickened expression. "I take offense to that, Sam!"

"Well, maybe if you toned down on all of the ruffles..." Sam fingered the frills off of her pastel-pink blouse as though they were made from the skin of some slimy animal. In fact, if Sam had actually been holding an animal, her reaction probably wouldn't have held as much repulsion.

Melanie flipped a lock of blonde over her shoulder. "And you thought this was going to work. Really, Sam? You can't even fake it when it's just the two of us. How do you suppose you're going to fool-"

"Relax, Mel," Sam cut her off, still holding her reflection's gaze. "I told you that it'd work. Plan's foolproof. I came up with it, didn't I?"

"Well, yes, but I still don't understand how it's going to end. I mean, what if the switch doesn't happen? And you'll get stuck at my boarding school for the rest of your life, and I'll-"

"Mom'll listen to Melanie when she begs to come home for a weekend," She took another glance in the mirror, frowning. Melanie Puckett was staring back at her, with bored, almost brooding blue eyes. Her ponytail was high off her back, curling slightly at the end of it. The clothes she wore were neat and pressed, and more notably feminine than the clothes Sam put on every day. This would certainly be an adjustment.

"She'd do the same for you, too, you know," Melanie's voice was earnest as she began digging through a purple cosmetic case for an appropriately-colored eyeliner. "She loves both of us very much."

"Yeah, yeah," Sam was never good with expressing emotion - perhaps it was a trait obtained from her mother herself, since the house they shared together wasn't usually brimming with parental love and affection. It was something Sam grew accustomed to over the years, and something Melanie would find herself reacquainted with after being separate from the Puckett residence for quite some time.

"Gimme that," Sam snatched the eyeliner pencil away from her sister, tossing it back into the purple case. "Hope you haven't gotten too attached to that stuff, I don't wear it."

"Well, you're going to have to, at least for a little bit," Melanie grinned, picking the pencil up again and holding Sam's shoulders still. "I'm going to have to teach you. See this, Sam? It goes around your eyelid, hence the name, eyeliner!"

Sam ignored her sister's mocking tone and reluctantly allowed her to apply the makeup. She didn't have the energy to fight now, her bus for school was leaving in almost an hour and realization of the scheme still hadn't hit her, exactly. It'd just been a suggestion based entirely off whim; Sam knew from the start Melanie wouldn't agree to it. Somehow, though, the more Sam pushed for it, the more appealing the switch sounded.

She wasn't about to admit it, not even to herself, but maybe being Melanie Puckett for a week could have its perks. She'd be able to walk into a classroom without the teacher rolling his eyes at the sight of her. Other kids wouldn't scurry away in fear that she'd take them down out of sheer impulse. It was a reputation Sam lived off of for years, and she didn't mind it necessarily, but who could blame her for wanting a little change every now and then?

Still, Sam's reputation would take a hit if people actually found out about the little charade. She wouldn't come off as so rough-and-tough if people knew she wanted to trade spots with her seemingly perfect, sweet-as-candy sister. It was hard enough for her to admit to herself, so confessing the plan to anyone else would just make her lose her pride.

It'd hurt to keep it a secret from Carly and Freddie - well, maybe more Carly, as Freddie was still convinced that Melanie Puckett was nothing more than an elaborate scheme to prove him gullible - but it would only be five days. Today was Sunday. Friday night, Sam would call the house and in her best, most syrupy tone of voice, ask to come home for a few nights. Sam would be on a bus back to Seattle, and a few days later, that same bus would leave with the actual Melanie Puckett on her way back to school. Maybe it wasn't exactly complicated, but Sam was convinced it'd work.

"-Have everything?"

Sam looked up, blinking once out of her thoughts. Melanie was no longer applying the eyeliner, instead she'd been standing back a few feet near the bags of luggage.

"What?"

"I said, do you have everything? I think we're going to leave for the bus stop soon. I can hear the car outside." Sure enough, the rumble of their mother's station wagon was coughing up a storm from outside their house. Sam was slightly surprised the car could still properly function, after having been smashed into locker number two-thirty-nine.

"Girls, are you ready?" Their mother's voice was heard from outside the room they'd been sharing, on the verge of impatience. "I've started the car already, let's go!"

"'Kay, we'll be right there!" Melanie called back, a certain harshness in her tone that resembled Sam's own manner of speaking.

"Not bad," Sam smiled slightly, nodding her head. "I'm actually impressed."

"It's nothing," Melanie giggled, "It'll be easy to be you for a few days. All I have to do is raid Carly's fridge and pick on Freddie."

"Yeah," Sam laughed a scoff, shaking her head. "You picking on Freddie. Best of luck, Mel."

I think I'm going to revamp this and add/edit it later to include some other stuff about why Sam/Melanie decided to go along with Sam's idea. =P This is really rough for now, but I guess I just felt like posting it to get a little constructive feedback on at least the plot idea thus far!

Also, incase I do continue this, anyone have suggestions for the name of Melanie's boarding school? =D