Hey guys! This is my first oneshot, so let me know what you think. It's quite a long oneshot, but whatever. Comments make my day, and I'm not even kidding. Please review. Cause you love me? By the way, links to the dresses can be found on my profile.

Sam's POV

"This is ridiculous" I muttered, gazing down the hallway. The entire length of the hall was plastered with prom posters, as far as the eye could see. I turned to the nearest one and picked at the corner, trying to rip it off the wall. The poster, however, refused to budge. They've learned I thought to myself. Ever since prom posters had started going up, I had been taking them down, much to the annoyance of the prom committee. They had tried in vain to stop me, and to keep the posters up, but nothing had worked. Until now, when they had apparently started using some kind of industrial-grade adhesive. I gave up trying to scratch it off, and pulled a handheld battery-powered steam iron out of my bag. I turned it on and began smoothing it over the nearest poster. The adhesive was beginning to melt, the edges of the poster curling up in rolls. I grabbed one corner and ripped the poster off the wall, leaving a jagged streak of white where the back of the poster was still stuck to the wall. I crumpled up the poster and chucked it on the ground before starting on the next poster. When I had gone through about six posters I heard a voice behind me.

"Sam? What are you doing?"

I turned around to see Freddie standing behind me, wearing a very confused expression.

"I'm churning butter" I answered sarcastically. "What does it look like I'm doing, nub?"

"Why are you taking the posters off the wall?" he asked, ignoring my jibe.

"Cause prom is lame. Here, hold this" I said, thrusting the iron into his hands and yanking the next poster off the wall.

"Hey, is this mine?" he asked, looking at the iron.

"Yeah" I replied, grabbing it back.

He began to protest, but I silenced him with a look. I ripped the next poster off the wall, crumpling it up and chucked it at Freddie, seeing it bounce off his forehead and land on the floor.

"I'm going somewhere that isn't here" Freddie said behind me. "Before the prom committee comes after me with their torches and pitchforks"

"Aww, are you scared of the big mean prom committee?" I mocked him, turning to face him. "What are they gonna do, stab you with their lipgloss wands?"

"Never underestimate the power of teenage girls in large numbers" said Freddie ominously He then disappeared back to wherever he came from, and I continued my de-postering of the hallway. I was about three-quarters done when the bell rang, and I quickly stashed the iron and headed outside, leaving the floor littered with balled-up posters and the walls covered in the white remnants of the posters. I burst outside, feeling the gentle rain hit my face. All around me kids were ducking for cover and running to their cars, but I just stood facing the sky, eyes closed, enjoying the feel of the gentle raindrops on my face. I found it refreshing. Suddenly it began to rain harder, and I decided that it was time to leave. A gentle rain was one thing, a torrential downpour was another. I ducked my head and ran through the rain, seeing my sneakers with their mismatched neon shoelaces pounding on the wet asphalt. I didn't need to look up to get to Freddie's usual spot - I knew the way so well I didn't need to see where I was going. I reached the car and opened the passenger door, getting in as quickly as possible and shutting the door behind me. Freddie was already in the car, his hair plastered to his forehead and his shirt soaked. I could tell that he had arrived at the car moments before I did - he was still drying his arms and face with the towel he kept in the backseat. I chucked my bag behind me and sank back into my seat. Freddie's wet shirt clung to his body, emphasizing biceps that I had certainly never seen before. He dried his hair, making it stick up in a million directions before tossing the towel into my lap. I began to dry my arms and face.

"Where's Carly?" I asked, wringing out my hair into the towel.

"I dunno" he answered. "She probably doesn't-" he broke off as his phone buzzed. He picked it up and read the message before giving me the phone. I read the message displayed on the screen as he started the car and pulled out of his spot.

can you come to the door and get me? i don't wanna get my hair wet

"You aren't actually gonna go, are you?" I asked in disbelief. He said nothing, just stared straight ahead as he drove up to the entrance of the building.

"You are so whipped" I teased as he pulled up to the door. Carly ran out, her bag covering her head, and piled into the car, slamming the door behind her.

"Thanks, Freddie" she said sweetly as he drove off.

"No problem"

Wha-poosh I said under my breath, imitating the sound of a whip. Freddie shot me a glare out of the corner of his eye and I smirked back. We drove back to Bushwell in silence, watching the rain pound on the windshield. I curled up in my seat and leaned my head against the door, watching the water drops make their way across my window, pushed backwards by the wind. I began to race them, pitting two drops against each other and making an internal bet as to which one would reach the edge of the window first. We reached Bushwell and made a mad dash for the door, panting as we reached the lobby. We stood by the door and wiped off our faces and clothes as best we could, causing Lewbert to shriek about water in his lobby. As we walked past Lewbert on our way to the elevator, Freddie shook his head, sending water flying everywhere. Freddie and I glanced at each other and chuckled as we heard Lewbert's fresh shrieks behind us. We filed into the elevator and headed upstairs. We walked down the hall until we reached the apartment. Carly opened her door and Freddie opened his.

"You aren't coming over?" Carly asked him.

"Give me a few minutes" he answered, standing in the doorway. "If I don't go in now, then my mom will barge into your apartment with dry clothes and a thermometer. I'll spare you that"

"Have fun" said Carly, giggling. Freddie rolled his eyes and walked into his apartment.

"Freddie! Are you wet? Do you have a cold? Let me take your temperature! Put on some dry clothes!" we heard Mrs. Benson screaming as Freddie closed the door. Carly and I laughed as we walked into her apartment to find Spencer shooting paintballs at a big white cube.

"Hey Spencer" we chorused, dropping our stuff in the living room.

"What up, females?" he answered.

I made my way to the fridge and surfaced with a leg of ham, which I carried into the living room. I plopped down on the couch and tore off a piece of ham with my teeth, chewing contentedly. Carly sat down next to me, picking off a piece of ham and taking a small bite, chewing daintily. Freddie opened the door to the Shay's apartment and came in, dressed in dry clothes and sighing.

"She's a bona fide nutter" he said, dropping onto the couch next to Carly.

"And it took you eighteen years to figure this out?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.

"No, just reminding you" he answered, reaching for a piece of ham.

"Like we need reminding" I retorted, slapping his hand away. Carly reached across and tore off a piece of ham, handing it to him. He took it gratefully and took a bite, sinking back into the couch.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Carly said excitedly. "Guess what happened today?"

"Uh...you found a live toucan in your pencil case?" I guessed.

"Nope. Drew asked me to the prom!"

Drew was the guy that Carly had been lusting after for months. She had barely talked about anything else for ages, so I knew how excited she must be.

"Yay" I said monotonously.

"Oh Sam, lighten up" Carly scolded me. "Just cause you think that prom is a waste of time doesn't mean that other people don't want to go and have fun"

"Yeah yeah"

"Freddie, have you asked anyone?" Carly asked the nub.

"Nah" Freddie said dismissively. "I don't know if I'm going"

"Why not?" asked Carly, sounding disappointed.

"Like anybody would go with him" I scoffed.

"Actually, two girls have already asked me" he retorted. "But I turned them both down"

"Why?" I asked. "Didn't wanna spend your prom with a blind chick? Cause she'd have to be either blind or crazy to ask you"

"Sam" Carly scolded.

"I'd go with the crazy chick" I continued. "It would certainly make your night interesting"

"Sam!" Carly cut me off. She turned back to Freddie. "Why aren't you going?"

"I...just don't really do prom" he said. I knew he was lying, but I really didn't care why.

"But-" Carly pressed. I cut her off by asking her to pass the remote. I couldn't care less why Freddie didn't want to go to the prom, but I did know that Carly was relentless in her questioning, even when you didn't want to talk. I had been the subject of many such interrogations, so I empathized with Freddie's predicament. Freddie looked at me in surprise, and then nodded his thanks. We watched TV for a while, and then headed upstairs to rehearse for iCarly. Carly left to go to the bathroom, and I turned to Freddie.

"So why don't you wanna go to prom, dork?" I asked. I didn't really care, but I hoped that it would be something I could tease him about. Ammunition, if you will.

"No reason"

"Don't lie to me, nub. I saved you from the Inquisition - you owe me the truth"

Freddie sighed in resignation before plopping down onto one of the beanbag chairs. I sat on another, stretching my legs and dropping my feet into his lap.

"Honestly?" he began, playing with my shoelaces. "I know I'm not gonna have a good time. Carly is going to spend all night with what's-his-face, and you won't be there. I can't go alone, cause I'll look like a loser, but if I take a date, I'll end up spending my prom making awkward small talk with some random girl whose name I won't even remember five years from now. I want to have fun at my prom with my friends or not go at all, but having fun means going alone and looking like a loser who couldn't get a date. You know?"

"I hear ya, nub" I said. What Freddie said made perfect sense, but there was one thing I didn't get. "Why don't you tell Carly that?"

"Cause she'll feel bad for abandoning me, and either try to fix me up with someone or blow off Drew to spend prom with me, and I don't want to do that to her. She really likes this guy, and I would feel really bad if she gave up her prom with him just to spend time with me cause she felt guilty"

I was about to reply when Carly came back in.

"What's going on?" she asked, confused.

"The nub was tying my shoelaces" I said, standing up. Freddie got to his feet as well, looking at me in surprise.

"Yeah. She threatened me with the promise of drawing a male body part on my face unless I tied her laces for her"

"Sam!" Carly said, scandalized. "Not again! Remember how his mom reacted last time?"

I chuckled at the memory of Mrs. Benson's shriek of horror, which could be heard from Carly's apartment. He came to school the next day with his face red and raw from her vigorous scrubbing and chemical bath. We finished rehearsal and stayed at Carly's for a while, eating dinner and watching movies. Freddie finally went home and I told Carly that I was sleeping at her house. I put on a pair of the pajamas I kept at her house and crawled into bed, sinking into the pillow and snuggling under the fluffy comforter. Carly got in next to me and turned off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

"Night, Sam"

"Night"

Carly's breathing soon became steady but I lay awake for a while, thinking about what Freddie had said. It made perfect sense to me, and I kind of felt the same way. At every dance I had been to, Carly inevitably spent the night with her date, and Freddie and I both made awkward small talk with our dates, usually people we didn't know too well, before spending the rest of the night with each other. We didn't mean to, it just always ended up that way. If our roles were reversed, and Freddie was the strictly anti-prom one, I probably wouldn't want to go either, so I got what he meant. I rolled over and feel asleep.

"Sam, wake up"

I rolled over groggily and pulled the covers over my head, trying to block out the sound of Carly's voice.

"Sam!" she said impatiently, jostling my foot. "Get up and get dressed for school"

I wrenched myself out of bed and shuffled to the shower. I showered on autopilot, putting on some of the clothes I had learned to keep in Carly's bottom drawer at all times. I slept at Carly's so often that I eventually began leaving clothes and pajamas at her house, so I didn't have to keep borrowing hers. I went downstairs, yawning, and plopped down in one of the kitchen chairs. Carly put a plate of toast and bacon in front of me, which I eagerly scarfed down. I was upstairs brushing my teeth when I heard Carly call from the living room.

"SAM, FREDDIE'S HERE!"

"WHEN IS HE NOT?" I hollered back through a mouthful of toothpaste. Freddie drove Carly to school every morning, and usually he drove us both back to Bushwell. We all had licenses but Freddie was the only one with a car. I spat the toothpaste in the sink and rinsed my mouth before grabbing my bag and heading downstairs. I didn't even know why I was going to school anymore – ever since our exams finished we were doing quite literally nothing, but I figured that doing nothing all day with Carly and Freddie beat doing nothing all day with my mom. I came downstairs to find Carly and Freddie waiting on me in the living room, sitting on the couch.

"Let's roll" I said as I descended the last stair into the living room. As they heard me, Freddie and Carly both stood up. While Carly was fixing herself Freddie and I both headed for the door, but Freddie beat me to it. He opened it and gestured for me to go through first. I went into the hallway and waited on Carly. I knew that Freddie was going to let Carly through before him – he always had impeccable manners. Freddie shut the door behind him and we made our way to the elevator, filing in and standing in silence as the doors closed.

"SHOTGUN!" I screeched suddenly, my voice filling the tiny space. Freddie and Carly both jumped as I yelled, taking deep breaths to calm their presumably racing hearts. We walked out of the lobby and to Freddie's car. We piled in and set off for school chatting throughout the ride. Barely any of the seniors were going to school anymore, because we had finished our exams and were doing nothing. Our teachers didn't even bother showing up, because they had nothing left to teach us. As a result, a small group of us showed up every day and just roamed the school as we pleased. It was the most fun I had ever had at school. It was sunny outside, so we spent the majority of the day outside, lounging under a big oak tree on the field. Since we first came to Ridgeway we had staked our claim on that tree, and although we moved up through the school, it was still our tree. I wondered vaguely who would take it over next September when we were gone. The three of us lazed around under the tree, relaxing and enjoying the nice weather. Freddie sat with his back against the tree and his legs outstretched in front of him, Carly lay with her head resting on his lower thighs, her knees bent and her feet flat on the floor, and I lay with my head on Carly's stomach, one knee bent and one leg straight. We lay in silence, not feeling it necessary to say anything. The three of us had been friends for long enough that we could sit in total silence without it being awkward. Honestly, the three of us extended past friends – we were family now. We had become totally comfortable with each other in a way that I would have never thought possible. Freddie had managed to get over his crush on Carly, which took away any awkwardness between them. Before, Carly was scared to get too close to Freddie in case he thought that she was reciprocating his feelings. Now, Carly could tell Freddie that she loved him, and hug him, and come to him with her problems without feeling like she was leading him on. As Carly and Freddie got closer, me and Freddie also got closer, no matter how much I resisted it. I still insulted him, but we had come to accept that we were best friends, instead of denying it. Now, if I was tired, I would rest my head on his shoulder without it being weird. If we were excited about something, we would hug instead of going to hug and then awkwardly pulling away. The three of us had become so incredibly comfortable around each other, and we treated each other like siblings. Hell, Carly and I even changed in front of Freddie now. At first, Carly (and Freddie) found it weird, but they got over it. We'd seen each other in swimsuits, and underwear was no different, and now poor Freddie spent hours in Carly's room before a party trying to help her decide what to put on, as she paced her room in her underwear having hysterics because she had nothing to wear. We lay in silence for a while, just watching the leaves of the oak tree flutter in the breeze, until the bell for lunch rang. I leaped to my feet, excited at the prospect of food, and pulled Carly and Freddie to their feet.

"Come on guys!" I yelled. "FOOD!"

"We're coming, we're coming" muttered Freddie. We grabbed our bags and headed towards the cafeteria. After lunch we lingered in the cafeteria until the lunch ladies shooed us out, then went into an empty classroom. Freddie announced that he had to pee, and left. As soon as he was out the door, Carly rounded on me.

"Sam, how much do you love me?"

"Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"I want you to ask Freddie to prom"

"What?" I asked in shock. "Freddie? You must be out of your mind"

"Come on. I know you don't want to go with Freddie, but it wouldn't be that bad"

"No"I said firmly.

"Sam…"

"No"

"Why not?"

"Why not? Cause he's a dorky, nubby tech weirdo"

"Sam, he's not that bad"

"I don't care. No"

"Sam, please?"

"No way in hell"

"I need you there with me"

"Why? You'll have Drew"

"So? I want my best friends at prom with me. Both of them"

"So you ask him"

"I have a date, remember? Freddie doesn't want to go alone, and is there anyone you want to go with?"

"Anyone but him"

Carly gave a sigh of resignation.

"Do it and I'll buy you a ham and those sneakers you want"

Ooh. I hesitated, debating whether or not it was worth it.

"Fine" I conceded, while thinking to myself What have I gotten myself into?

Freddie's POV

I knew something was up the minute I walked in. As I appeared around the door, Carly and Sam stopped talking and sat in silence. I wondered what they had been talking about that they didn't want me to hear. Before I could even sit down Carly said that she had to pee, winked at Sam and left. I looked curiously at Sam, who was looking at the floor.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked her.

"Gotopromwithme"

I reeled backwards in shock, staring at Sam for any hints of a joke on her face. She was still looking down at the floor, twiddling her thumbs.

"Say what?"

She looked up, staring straight into my eyes.

"Go to prom with me, nub"

I sat in shock, trying to process what was going on.

"Wait…I thought you didn't want to go to prom?"

"Whatever. Look, are you gonna go with me or what?"

"Uh…okay. Sure, I'll go with you"

A week later I was standing in my room getting dressed. I buttoned up my jacket and straightened my bowtie. I had rented a tux and I had shoes, so I didn't have to buy anything. Other than Sam's corsage. That had been tricky to buy, since I didn't know what colour Sam's dress was, so I ended up just getting white. Sam had told me nothing about her dress, and neither had Carly. They wanted it to be a surprise or something, and I gladly stayed out of it. To be honest, I was quite relieved that I wasn't called upon to spend hours shopping for prom dresses, which was what I thought was going to happen. I put on my shoes, double checked that I had everything I needed, and I was ready to go. I managed to get away from my mother after only ten minutes of fawning and fluffing and fixing my boutonniere and crying and hugging. I went over to Carly's apartment, where Sam and Carly were getting ready, corsage in hand. I opened the door to find Spencer watching TV.

"Hey Freddo, looking snazzy!" he said when he saw me.

"Why thank you Spencer!" I said, doing a little twirl. "Are the girls ready?"

"I dunno. They should be by now – they've been up there for nearly three hours"

"Good grief" I said in amazement. Three hours? What the hell were they doing that takes three hours? I knew better than to rush them, so I just sat on the couch next to Spencer and watched some TV show on the nature channel. Suddenly I heard the clip-clop of heels coming down the steps and I turned around to see Carly descending the staircase.

"Wow, Carls" I said. "You look beautiful"

She was wearing a red satin-y dress that fell in a V and hugged her waist before falling loosely to the floor. She twirled to show me the full effect and I saw that the dress crossed in the back, showing Carly's back and perfectly complementing her pale skin and dark hair, which fell in loose curls.

"Thanks, Freddie" she said with a grin. "You don't look too bad yourself"

"PICTURES!" shouted Spencer, leaping to his feet, camera in hand. I posed for some pictures with Carly, and then stepped away so Spencer could take some of just Carly.

"Where's Sam?" I asked when Spencer was finished playing paparazzi.

"She'll be down in a sec" Carly answered, fixing her dress.

I heard once more the clip-clopping of heels descending the staircase, and I turned around to see Sam making her way down the steps. She was wearing a midnight blue, sequinned dress that was tight to her hips, and then flared out in a confection of tulle, kind of like a tutu. The top went around her neck and fell in a deep V down to the wide beaded waistband around her waist. She was wearing tall silver shoes and silver jewellery, and she was carrying a small silver bag. Her eyes were rimmed in black, which emphasized their blueness, and her curls tumbled around her shoulders. She looked beyond beautiful. I watched her in awe as she descended the last few stairs and walked over to Carly, Spencer and I.

"Whoa, Sam. You look awesome!" Spencer exclaimed.

"I know" said Sam, tossing her hair back. She walked over to me and I produced the corsage for her inspection. She looked at it, and nodded her approval.

"Good choice, Frederly" she said, sticking out her hand. I slipped the elastic over her hand and onto her tiny wrist.

"Okay, picture time!" Spencer shouted. We posed and smiled for endless pictures – Carly, Sam and I, Carly and I, Carly and Sam, Spencer and Carly, Spencer, Carly and Sam, Spencer, Carly, Sam and I (thank goodness for camera timers) and, much to Sam's reluctance, Sam and I. We heard a knock at the door, and Carly hurried to get it. She opened the door and let Drew in, which then set off a whole other round of picture taking. Finally, we convinced Spencer that we had to go. He gave Carly one last hug and bid us goodbye. We all traipsed down the hallway in our finery and filed into the elevator. We made our way across the lobby and outside, where we split up. Carly and Drew went one way to Drew's car, and Sam and I went the other way to my car. We reached the car and I unlocked it using the remote before going around to the passenger side and opening the door, holding it open for Sam. She looked at me in surprise and I winked at her. If she wanted a proper prom experience, then dammit, she was getting one. She got in and I shut the door behind her before going around to my side. I got in and closed the door, but instead of starting the car, I looked across at Sam.

"Hey Sam?"

"What, nub?"

"You look amazing"

A smile crept onto her face and she looked briefly at her lap before she looked back at me.

"Let's go, Fredward"

I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, making my way to the hotel where the prom was being held. The traffic was light, so we got there relatively fast. On the drive over, things were a little awkward at first, but we quickly loosened up and went back to normal. We pulled into the hotel parking lot, and I looked around at the masses of well-dressed teenagers. I found a parking spot and parked, turning off the car. Sam had taken off her shoes on the ride over, and while she was putting them back on I got out of the car and raced around to her side. I opened her door and she looked at me strangely before turning back to her shoes. She finally got them on and swivelled so that her legs were outside the car, but in doing so, she dropped her bag, spilling the contents. I quickly knelt to pick them up, and found myself looking at Sam's calf. Her smooth…tanned…calf. Stop it Freddie! I scolded myself.

"You better not look up my skirt, nub" she warned.

"The only thing under your skirt is more skirt" I retorted, keeping my eyes down. Fortunately the bag was so small that it only held lipgloss, a change purse and a packet of tissues, so it didn't take long to gather the contents and put them back in the bag. I gave the bag back to Sam and stood up, extending my hand. She took it and pulled herself out, walking around to stand behind the car. I shut the door then walked around to join Sam. I extended my arm and she eyed it apprehensively before taking it hesitantly. I escorted her to the door, ignoring all the looks we got. The other kids were staring at us, some in shock, some in confusion, and some with a frustratingly knowing smile. I gave the guy at the door our tickets and then stopped under an arch covered in twinkling lights to pose for a photo. We smiled dutifully before heading into the main ballroom where we were eating dinner. We saw Carly sitting at a table with Drew and Gibby and Tasha. She spotted us and waved, beckoning us over to her. We edged our way between the tables and sat in the two vacant seats at Carly's table.

"There you are, I saved your seats for you" she said.

"Thanks" I replied, smiling at her. We sat at the table, one of the smallest in the room, and made small talk until we saw waiters making their way into the room with trays.

"Awesome!" Sam exclaimed. "Mama's ready for some food"

A waiter came to our table and began putting plates in front of us. Sam's look of excitement melted off her face when she saw the pile of salad greens in front of her.

"What is this crap?" she demanded. "Do they think we are rabbits or something?"

"Calm down, Sam, it's just the first course" I cajoled her, picking up my fork. We all ate our salad, Sam finishing hers in about four seconds then pouting at her empty plate until the waiter came and took the plates away. Soon enough the main course came and Sam's eyes lit up when she saw the waiter making his way over with meat. He stopped and turned to Sam, who was closest to him.

"Good evening, miss, steak or chicken?"

"Steak. Is that even a question?"

The waiter looked taken aback, but set a plate of steak and potatoes in front of Sam, who immediately began shovelling it down. By the time we all got our food, Sam was almost finished hers. When she finished, she eyed my steak and smiled mischievously.

"Don't even think about it, Puckett" I warned her, brandishing my steak knife. She made several attempts to steal my food, but I successfully swatted her away each time. She then gave up on my dinner and began stealing Tasha's. Fortunately Tasha ate almost nothing, so she was basically almost finished when Sam began stealing her food. The waiters once again returned to take away the empty plates, and soon enough I saw them coming with plates of cheesecake, which I knew was Sam's favourite.

"Hey Sam" I said with a grin. "What's your favourite kind of cheese?"

"The cake kind" she replied without hesitation. I gestured for her to look around and she saw the waiters coming with cheesecake.

"Yeah!" she shouted, raising her arms in the air. "Maybe prom isn't such a bad idea after all"

The waiters placed dessert in front of us and we ate that too, chatting the whole time. I discovered that Drew was actually a really nice guy, despite my expectations. Finally an announcement was made asking us to make our way to another room, where the dancing would happen, so we all got up and went to the dance-room-place.

The music was deafening and lights were flashing, and there were people everywhere. I tugged on Sam's arm and mimed taking a sip of an imaginary drink, and she nodded. We made our way over to the punch table, and I poured two glasses of punch. We walked over to a table and Sam twisted the chairs away from the table, so that they were facing the dancefloor. We sat down and I put one of the drinks on the table in front of Sam, taking a sip of the other.

"Mmm, not bad" I said, putting the glass down.

Sam picked up her glass and took a sip before putting the glass back on the table.

"Hmm. It needs something" she said. Then, to my utter shock, she pulled up her skirt, exposing her slim, tanned leg. At the top of her thigh was a black band, a holster of some kind. To my amazement, she pulled a small bottle of vodka out of the holster, and poured some in her drink.

"Do you want some?" she offered.

"Uh, sure?"

She spiked my drink before returning the bottle to its holster and pulling down her skirt. She used her index finger to mix the drink a little, and then held up her glass.

"Cheers, Fredward"

I clinked my glass with hers and took an experimental sip.

"Better" I said in approval, taking another sip. We sat there for a few songs, drinking punch and talking non-stop. Each drink Sam spiked was stronger than the last, and it wasn't long before we both had a decent buzz going. The drunker we got, the easier the conversation became, and the more honest it was. The alcohol was stripping away every pretence, every act, every wall we had built. I was definitely more of a lightweight than Sam was – I had the body weight, but she had the experience. I had only ever drunk alcohol on two previous occasions. There was the fateful tropical-themed iCarly one summer when Sam made real daiquiris instead of virgin ones, leading to some of the highest viewcounts in iCarly history, and then there was that one time… that was best left forgotten. I wasn't used to drinking, and I was definitely feeling it more than Sam was. Suddenly, the song changed and Sam looked at me, her eyes shining.

"I LOVE this song!" she exclaimed, leaping to her feet. "Let's dance, nub!"

She pulled me to my feet and we headed onto the dancefloor, stumbling ever so slightly. We pushed our way into the gyrating crowd until we found Carly, Drew and Gibby, who had abandoned his shirt and was wearing a vest, a bowtie and a top hat, and Tasha. We began dancing, moving and swaying to the thudding of the bass. I looked in front of me at Sam, who was dancing with her eyes closed, lost in the music. She rolled her shoulders and shook her hips and swayed her head, totally into the song. Before I knew what I was doing, I had grabbed her by the waist and drawn her close to me. She opened her eyes in shock, but when she saw that it was me, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed closer into me. We moved our hips in perfect synchronization, our eyes locked together. I tightened my grip on her waist and she began twining her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck, sending shivers down my spine. We were pressed together as closely as humanly possible, but it wasn't close enough. I pulled her into me, and she tightened her grip around my neck, and we weren't Sam and Freddie anymore. We were one being, impossible to distinguish one from the other. The whole time our gazes were locked, and I found myself getting hopelessly lost in the blue depths of her eyes. She tightened her grip on my neck again, pulling my head down to hers. My heart began to race as I leaned down slowly, knowing that the longer I waited, the sweeter it would be. I closed my eyes, bracing myself, and…

"Freddie? I'm thirsty"

My eyes popped open and I stood up straight, looking down at Sam.

"Yeah. Uh, yeah, let's go get some more punch"

I took her hand, twining my fingers in hers, and led the way through the sweaty bodies on the dancefloor, pulling Sam behind me. We finally emerged and I reluctantly let go of her hand, missing it as soon as it was gone. Sam went and sat down, and I went to get the drinks. I brought two glasses each, just because I was feeling lazy and didn't want to have to get up again too soon. I put them on the table and dropped heavily into a chair facing Sam. She went for the vodka and spiked the drinks, but this time she didn't pull her skirt down fully after replacing the bottle. I don't know if she did it on purpose, to tease me, but it was driving me crazy. I had to fight to keep myself from staring at her legs, and I focussed on a stain on the tablecloth to distract myself.

"Freddie, are you okay?"

"Yes. I am awesome. And you're awesome. We're all awesome"

"Yeah we are!" she cheered, taking another sip of her drink. We sat at the table for a few more songs, talking rubbish, and soon enough we were both pretty wasted. Sam was dancing in her seat and singing along to the songs that were playing. If she didn't know the words, she made some up or just sang a different song. I had never realized it before, but she had the most beautiful voice. And hair. Her hair was pretty. Before I could stop myself, I leaned forward and took one of her curls in my hands, twisting it around my fingers and watching it catch the light.

"What are you doing?" she asked. She didn't sound angry, just curious.

"Your hair is pretty" I replied without looking up, pulling on the curl and watching it bounce back when I let go.

"Thanks" she said with a smile. Very rarely did I see Sam genuinely smile, usually she wore her trademark smirk. When Sam smiled, really smiled, she took my breath away.

"Your arms are pretty" she added as an afterthought.

"Your eyes are pretty" I retaliated. Sam took the bait, turning it into an argument.

"Your teeth are pretty"

"Your fingers are pretty"

"Your ears are pretty"

"Your face is pretty" I whispered, looking into her eyes. That stopped her in her tracks, and she looked back at me. Suddenly she bounded to her feet.

"FREDDIE, I WANNA DAAAAANCE!" she shouted at me. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet, and we stumbled to the dancefloor. We pushed our way into the crowd until we found Carly and Drew.

"CARLYYYYY!" Sam shouted, launching herself at Carly and almost knocking her over. She wrapped her arms around Carly and hugged her tightly, burying her face in Carly's shoulder.

"Hey, Sam" said Carly, hugging her back and giving me a questioning look.

"I love you, Carlybear" Sam crooned, muffled by Carly's shoulder.

"I love you too, Sam"

Sam let go, then she caught sight of Drew.

"DREEEEEW!" she screamed, wrapping her arms around his middle and hugging him. Drew was understandably terrified, since he had met Sam, like, three times. He stood there looking petrified, his arms in the air as Sam hugged him tightly.

"I love you too, Drew" Sam said, letting go. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Drew on the nose, then patted his head and turned around.

"I love EVERYONE!" she said, putting one arm over Carly's shoulders and one arm around my waist. She drew us close to her and squeezed us, giving us a group hug.

"Even you, Fredward" she said, tiptoeing and kissing my cheek. She then let go and began to dance, thrashing wildly to the music. Apparently alcohol causes Sam to lose all traces of rhythm, because this was nothing like the dancing from before. This was wild, uninhibited flailing, like she was spazzing. And although this dancing was nowhere near as good as the first kind, I liked it better. This was Sam having a great time, not caring what she looked like or who saw her. Then, I had the sudden urge to join her. So I did. I began flailing and thrashing like Sam, and I had so much fun. Unfortunately I couldn't really see where I was going, and I guess neither could Sam, because we collided and nearly fell over. Fortunately I managed to catch her and stay on my feet, and we stood there, my arms around her and our eyes locked, as the last chords of the song faded away. The next song was a slow one, and I straightened, letting go of Sam before offering her my hand. She took it and I pulled her closer to me, wrapping the other arm securely around her waist and bringing our intertwined hands close to my chest. She rested her other hand on my shoulder and I pulled her closer, swaying to the music. She smiled slightly then rested her head on my shoulder and snuggled closer into me. I rested my head on hers and we swayed slowly like this for a while until the music picked up a little. She then straightened and looked up at me, smiling. I smiled back and, to her surprise, twirled her and dipped her back. She laughed as her hair fell in a golden sheet almost to the floor. I leaned forward and ran the tip of my nose over her chin and down her throat, breathing in her Sam smell. I straightened, pulling her up with me and once more drawing her close to me. She looked into my eyes, and then wordlessly pulled away and began to walk off the dancefloor, dragging me behind her by the hand. She weaved through the crowd, pulling me behind her. I followed obediently, not caring where she was taking me. She could have been walking me off a cliff and I would have followed. We broke free of the crowd and instead of going towards the tables, Sam made her way to the door. I sped up slightly so that I was next to her instead of behind her, and she tightened her grip on my hand. We walked in silence to the door and through the lobby of the hotel before we made our way outside. We were strolling through the garden of the hotel when Sam stopped.

"Freddie, I wanna sit down"

I obediently dropped onto the grass, crossing my legs and leaning back on my hands. To my surprise, Sam sat delicately in my lap, leaning against my torso.

"Sam?"

"Mmm?"

"Not that I mind, but why are you on me?"

"I don't wanna get my dress dirty. Besides, you're warm" she answered. She swivelled in my lap so that she was sitting sideways and she rested her head in the dent by my shoulder, snuggling into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer into me, and she gave a little hum of contentment. I rested my cheek on her head and closed my eyes. This, right here right now, was perfection. I felt her move and I opened my eyes to see her taking the vodka bottle out of the holster thing. She opened it and took a swig before handing it to me. Oh, what the hell I thought, taking a sizeable gulp. It burned going down, but then it filled me from head to toe with warmth. I denied further offers of vodka, so that although I eventually sobered up, Sam got beyond wasted. We sat in silence, not feeling it necessary to say anything. Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me.

"Freddie? Sam? Is that you?"

I turned around to see Carly making her way over to us.

"Is that Carly?" Sam asked.

"Mhm" I said. Sam didn't sit up, just opened her eyes. Carly came and sat next to me, spreading her legs in front of her.

"Hey, guys. I was wondering what happened to you"

She then caught sight of the empty vodka bottle and picked it up.

"Sam, you didn't"

Sam said nothing, just began humming to herself. Carly sighed and put the bottle back on the grass.

"The prom is about to end" she said, looking at me. "And I was wondering if you mind giving me a ride home. You…are okay to drive, right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine" I said quickly. "Course I can take you home"

"Thanks" she said. "It'll save Drew from having to drop me. Just let me go say goodbye to him, okay?"

"Sure. We'll be here"

We waited until we saw Carly coming back over, then I poked Sam in the side.

"Come on. Up you get"

She got to her feet, staggering a little before she regained her balance. I held on to her arm to help stabilize her and we made our way over to the car. The three of us got in and Sam leaned forward from the backseat.

"Did you have fun Carly?" she crooned in the singsong-y voice I had come to learn was her drunk voice.

"I did" said Carly with a smile. "Did you have fun?"

"Chyeah I did" Sam answered, leaning back. We pulled into Bushwell and I parked before getting out and helping Sam out of the car. We walked through the lobby, taking a minor detour so that Sam could give a very surprised Lewbert a hug, and filed into the elevator. When we reached the apartments I turned to Carly.

"Do you want some help with her?"

"If you don't mind" she said, opening the door. I walked with Sam into the apartment and we made our way upstairs to Carly's bedroom. Suddenly Sam turned to me.

"I don't wanna go to sleep. I wanna go to the roof and watch the sun come up"

"Sam…"

"NO!" she yelled. Carly and I started at the sudden volume. "I WANNA GO TO THE ROOF"

"Okay" I said quickly, before she got violent.

"Yay!" she said happily. "Bye guys"

She walked over to Carly and gave her a big hug.

"I love you, Carls" she said, letting go of Carly and kissing her on the lips. As Carly stood in shock, Sam came over to me and gave me a hug.

"And I love you, Freddie" she said, giving me a kiss as well. With that, she walked out the door. Carly and I looked at each other, unsure what to say.

"I'll go with her" I said. "Christ knows what could happen if she goes up there by herself"

"Thanks Freddie" said Carly, giving me a grateful smile. Suddenly, she looked exhausted. I walked out of Carly's room and went downstairs to find Sam sitting on the bottom stair taking off her shoes.

"Hey, Freddie!" she said happily. "Are you coming to the roof too?"

"I sure am" I said. "Just give me a sec"

I walked over to the fridge and grabbed as many bottles of water as I could hold.

"Okay, let's go"

We walked into the hallway and took the elevator up to the roof. The sky was still dark, but it was definitely getting lighter. Sam sat on the floor and I sat next to her, giving her one of the bottles of water.

"Drink" I ordered her. She obediently took the bottle and drank deeply before putting the top back on a putting it on the ground. She then shivered, wrapping her arms around her knees to try and stay warm. I took off my tuxedo jacket and gave it to her. She thanked me and put it on. It was far too big on her petite frame, but she looked warmer. She leaned against my side, snuggling into my shoulder, and I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her closer to me. We sat like this until the first rays of dawn began shooting across the sky, causing Sam to sit up.

"Freddie look!" she said, tugging on my hand.

"I see" I told her. She leaned back, still holding my hand, and rested her head on my shoulder. She twined our fingers together and began rubbing gentle circles on the back of my hand with her thumb. We watched together as the sky turned pink and gold and purple and the stars faded. The golden light of early dawn shone on Sam's face, illuminating her smooth skin and making her hair shine.

"Hey Freddie?"

"Yeah, Sam?"

"Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure"

"I think I might be in love with you"

I froze. Whatever I had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that. I hadn't really given it much thought, but in that moment, I knew that I loved her too. I had known it all along, I just hadn't realized it. It was almost like I had been pushing it back, not letting myself feel those feelings because I thought that Sam hated me. But now that she had said that, the feelings all came flooding forward. I did love her. She was violent, and unpredictable, and grouchy and impossible, but she was also fun, and smart, and she made life interesting. She was perfect in her imperfections, and more importantly, she was perfect for me.

"I think I might be in love with you too, Sam"

She sat up and looked in my eyes, like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Then, without a word, she leaned forward and kissed me. Her lips were soft, and I could smell her Sam smell, and her fingers were twined in my hair, and I was in heaven. Eventually I reluctantly broke the kiss to take a breath and I looked into her eyes. When I spoke, the words rang clear and victorious.

"I love you, Sam"

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