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Carly Shay is nothing if not organized.
So when it finally comes to graduating from high school and getting into college, Carly's determined that everything goes to plan and that plan is for all three of them to get into the same college and to continue having crazy adventures together.
"What if I don't want to go to college?" Sam whines, flopping onto the couch after Carly says all of this in her living room.
Freddie laughs from his side of the couch, "Yeah, like any institution other than a prison would have you. Ow!"
Carly sighs and gets an icepack from the freezer. Freddie gives her a grateful look. "I don't care. We're going to get you in and that's final," Carly says emphatically.
"But what if college isn't my calling?" Sam shoots back, "What if I'm not cut out for college like Spencer wasn't cut out for law school?"
"Not the same, kiddo," Spencer says, coming out of the bathroom. "Education is important. I mean, even I went to college and check out how awesome I turned out!"
Spencer's allowed a brief grin before he suddenly remembers that he left the glue gun on upstairs and almost falls over the banister as he sprints upstairs.
Sam raises an eyebrow.
"Come on, Sam," Carly wheedles. It takes a week for Carly and Freddie, reluctantly, to convince Sam that college is a good idea. Carly points out that she'll be the first Puckett to go to college, an argument that Sam tries to counter unsuccessfully by pointing out that her cousin, Ricky, squatted in a dorm at Seattle State for a whole year before anybody realised that he wasn't even a student, which is the same thing anyway… isn't it? ("No," Carly cuts in). Freddie even mumbles that Sam will have a hard time finding a willing replacement for him as her favorite human punching bag.
"You have a good point, Freddork," Sam concedes but all it takes is for Cary to turn on her puppy-dog eyes and an extra-large, extra-greasy bucket of chicken wings from Dan's Fried Chicken down the street before Sam finally agrees.
-
Carly thought getting Sam to agree was half the battle. It turns out that Freddie's jab earlier on was kind of valid when it comes to finalizing college applications. Carly's applications are all neatly filled in – her admissions essay is formatted precisely according to approved guidelines and her letters of recommendation are fixed to the rest of her packet by shiny paperclips (attached, not stapled – Spencer learned his lesson after Carly screamed when he picked up a stapler).
Mrs Benson took care of Freddie's and has ten duplicates of his applications, each of them sealed in waterproof plastic and stored in a vault in some undisclosed location in their apartment 'just in case'.
Sam's application is full of doodles, her transcript filled with borderline criminal charges and her admissions essay is a crumpled paper napkin from the Groovy Smoothie.
"Sam, 'let me in or I'll beat you up' is not an acceptable essay," Carly sighs when she reads the napkin.
"Seems pretty straightforward to me," Sam says obstinately.
"Please, Sam?"
Freddie gives Carly this look that she can't quite decipher. Carly furrows her brow, genuinely confused.
"Here," Freddie relents, "Let me at it."
It takes them five hours of going through her application and creatively editing certain parts before they finish (Freddie finds fault with Sam listing 'ham eating' and 'street fighting' as valid extra-curricular activities. He eventually compromises and lists 'epicurean interests' and 'self-defense' so that she doesn't hurt him). Sam's passed out on a beanbag whilst Freddie and Carly are licking stamps and writing out addresses when Freddie gives Carly another pointed look.
"So why are you so determined for Sam to go to college?" he asks casually.
The question doesn't even make sense, why wouldn't Carly want Sam to go to college? But the way he says it makes Carly stutter before she repeats her spiel about them having crazy adventures together. Freddie lets it slide and when they eventually mail everything in and finalize all the application details online, Carly thinks she might die of exhaustion.
-
They all get in. Spencer makes celebratory spaghetti tacos and the summer is spent wrapping up iCarly and lounging around the apartment doing nothing. The last week is a frantic rush to get packing. When Sam turns up with a duffel bag full of Fat Cakes, Carly has to spend an hour convincing her that she needs to bring other things too, like underpants or something. Freddie keeps coming over so that he can hide the things that Mrs Benson sneaked into his suitcase, like his childhood nightlight and a 5-foot long nutritional chart that features anthropomorphic cartoon vegetables.
The days go by so quickly that it only hits Carly, on the night before they leave, that they're actually going to college and for the first time, Carly feels a little nervous. Sam's sleeping over because she's catching a ride the next day though that's more of a bonus reason. Sam always stays over anyway and they're lying on Carly's bed when Carly tells her how she feels. Sam's half-asleep but she shuffles a little closer and nudges Carly with her shoulder.
"Don't worry, cupcake," Sam yawns and Carly's pretty sure she's sleep-talking when she mutters, "I'll protect you from the dragon."
-
It turns out that Carly has nothing to worry about. College is awesome and iCarly has turned them all into something like minor celebrities. Carly's happy with her classes and her roommate is cool. Sarah reminds her of Missy, minus the crazy, and she doesn't even mind when Sam insists on coming in at midnight and crashing in Carly's bed because her roommate is a vegetarian and Sam just doesn't trust her. It's as if Sarah knows straight off that Sam has jealousy issues and she doesn't try to join in whenever Carly and Sam are giggling over something together.
Freddie, it turns out, is a bit of a ladies' man with the girls in his Sociology class and Sam hits up every club she can because there's free food. There are some really cute guys on campus who give Carly butterflies in her stomach but then there are also creeps, like the frat guy she met at the Kappa Epsilon Gamma party (Sam wanted to go because she heard that the spread would be legendary). Somehow, Freddie's occupied with some friends on the other side of the room, Sarah's in the bathroom and Sam must be hogging the barbecue because Carly's all alone when 'ol Joe Meathead spots her and corners her on the dance floor.
"Heyyy, sweet thaaannng, what do you say to some random dancing?" he slurs in her face and he smells like he swallowed a keg's worth of cheap beer.
His hand is inching up Carly's leg when Sam comes barreling out of nowhere and gives him such a forceful wedgie that he cries in front of the pledges. Sarah must have come back from the bathroom because she's standing there, eyebrows raised, looking suitably impressed and Sam just shrugs, "Mama's still got it."
-
Carly doesn't mention the incident to Spencer during their weekly call (only because she knows how he'd freak out) but she does tell him about everything else that's been going on – about how she's a favorite with her professors, about how she hasn't been seeing much of Freddie because he's going out with this older girl (some bartender at Schneider's, the local bar), about how she and Sam are still thick as thieves ("Why are thieves thick?" Spencer interjects and Carly shrugs happily, "I don't know.").
Meanwhile, Spencer tells Carly about his sculptures, their neighbors and the state of Lewbert's ever-growing wart. Even though Freddie doesn't have much time to hang out now, she's pretty sure he's still the only boy on campus who video-chats with his mother daily. Even Melanie sends Sam a care package from Yale (with cookies!), even though Freddie's convinced that there is no Melanie and that Sam just sent them to herself.
The three of them always congregate in Carly's dorm room, out of habit, and while Carly misses Spencer's spaghetti tacos and the Super Duper Berry Blast from the Groovy Smoothie and heck, even Gibby, she's happy. It turns out that Carly has nothing to worry about until she unexpectedly does.
-
Carly didn't think she had to knock. Freddie's the only one of the three who insists on knocking because of his new-found social prowess (although that didn't stop Sam from interrupting him in the middle of a heated make-out session when she barged in to borrow his laptop) and somehow, it's the first thing she thinks of when she opens the door to Sam's dorm room only to see her sitting on her bed, kissing some random guy.
Carly, stupidly, lets out an audible gasp and they pull apart.
Sam's eyes widen and she scrambles to her feet. "Carls…" is all she manages before Carly lets out a high pitched "Sorry" and runs out of the room.
-
"So…she was kissing some guy?" Freddie asks, looking stunned.
"Yes!" Carly feels like it's important to emphasize the word with some choice gesticulations. "They were on her bed and kissing and…"
Freddie continues to look at her dumbfounded. "He was kissing her back…willingly?"
"Yes!" Carly half-shouts and her hands are flailing now in that way they always do when she feels distressed because she doesn't think Freddie's getting the point.
Freddie frowns. "So just to reiterate, you saw Sam kissing a guy and you're panicking because…"
Carly opens her mouth to drive home what she's sure is a very valid point but all she can manage is an imitation of a goldfish before she just snaps, feeling flustered, "I'm worried about her. You know college guys! They're all grabby and…and…"
"And…?" Freddie asks and for some reason he looks strangely amused. Carly leaves Freddie's room in a huff.
-
Carly doesn't know why it bothers her so much that she saw what she saw. She's seen Sam with guys before, albeit in relationships that didn't last very long, which featured more noogies than mouth-to-mouth contact, but she finds herself avoiding Sam for the next few days.
It's not too difficult a feat.
Carly knows Sam's timetable off by heart, including when and where Sam takes her habitual post-lecture naps. So when Carly heads to Freddie's after a study group, she's pretty sure that Sam won't be there because she's meant to be at an evening lecture for her History class.
Instead, Sam is sitting on Freddie's bed, much to his obvious displeasure, with a plate of mashed potatoes and sausages on her lap.
"Why aren't you at your History lecture?" Carly asks.
"My stupid professor said that I couldn't eat dinner while he was lecturing. He kicked me out," Sam scowls through a mouthful.
Freddie sighs. "Did he say you should go to Freddie Benson's dorm room and eat in there instead?" he asks sarcastically.
"Watch it, Fredwina," Sam says sternly, waving a fork at him.
"Who were you kissing?" Carly blurts out and there's a momentary silence before
Freddie raises his eyebrows and says, "Yeah, I'm gonna go now."
Sam looks down at her plate and starts constructing a mashed potato castle with her fork. She shrugs. "Just some guy," she mumbles.
Carly swallows. "Oh, cool," she says faintly although it really isn't.
-
Carly finds out later that his name is Craig Schwartz, that he's in Sam's class for English and that they're dating now, a fact that Sam mumbles when she and Carly are walking across the quad to grab breakfast.
"Oh," is all Carly can say and then Sam launches abruptly into a story about the argument she had with her roommate when she discovered the leg of ham Sam had hanging in their closet.
"Maybe you shouldn't be putting ham in the closet," Carly suggests, wrinkling her nose.
Sam looks at her thoughtfully. "You're right. I should hang it in the shower instead," she says and everything's back to normal. Almost.
-
Sam stops coming over for impromptu sleepovers. Carly feels something strange twist in her stomach when she wakes up and there isn't a warm body next to her, snoring and muttering the canteen specials.
-
Carly starts seeing less and less of Sam and she's starting to feel concerned. She attributes this pang of worry to usual college anxieties. She'd say something about it to Sarah but it seems kind of weird because yeah she doesn't see Freddie much either but it's Sam she misses in a way that makes her feel inexplicably lonely and uncomfortable. Carly doesn't know why she feels this way. College is meant to be for expanding your horizons, meeting new people…meeting new boys. Carly and Sam should be staying in, talking about Sam's first real relationship over pizza whilst Freddie sticks his fingers in his ears and tries to drown out the sound of their embarrassing girly discussions.
Instead, Sam's out with Craig at his hacky-sack competition (something Carly only finds out from Sam's roommate) and Freddie's out helping the drama department with some technical equipment while Carly's sitting in her room watching Girly Cow reruns all alone. It doesn't seem right.
Carly's used to Freddie doing his own stuff. For somebody with so many Oedipal issues, he's surprisingly well adjusted and Carly's not surprised that he's thriving without Mrs Benson breathing down his neck. It's just that, and Carly can't help but feel a little guilty thinking it, Carly's used to Sam needing her. Sarah comes in just before the Girly Cow marathon is over and flops onto the couch next to her.
"Heya," she says.
"Hey," Carly replies a little glumly.
"Uh…" Sarah furrows her eyebrows and looks directly at Carly, "I know it's none of my business but did you and Sam uh…break up or something?"
A whole commercial for Peppi Cola runs before Carly manages to say, "What?!"
Sarah takes Carly's hand and starts patting reassuringly. It's having the opposite effect. "I mean, I never see her around anymore and you guys were so good together. You were so much happier when you two were dating!"
Carly sputters something incoherent when somebody knocks on the door and it's some guy from the debate team who needs Sarah's help.
"We'll talk about this later," Sarah tells Carly earnestly and all Carly can do gape in reply.
-
For the second time, Carly forgoes knocking because she's too agitated to care how mortified Freddie would be at the intrusion if he really were getting hot and heavy with some girl.
He's not, thank God. He's just sitting at his desk, textbook open before him, but he still looks highly disturbed when Carly flings the door open and says in a rush, "Sarah thinks I'm dating Sam…or was. Actually, she thinks we broke up. Can you believe that?"
"Um…that she thinks you two broke up?"
"What? No! That she thought we were dating. Me! Sam! Dating!" Carly exclaims.
Freddie blinks. "Well…you guys are kind of, you know, coupley."
"No we're not!"
Freddie doesn't even break a stride when he starts listing things on his fingers, "You hold hands, you have tons of inside jokes, you feed her food, Sam's always sleeping over, she's super protective of you and oh, you are crazy jealous of her boyfriend."
"Well, maybe I'm just annoyed that he's taking all my Sam time away from me," Carly says defensively.
"Are you jealous of my girlfriend then?" Freddie asks slyly and Carly rolls her eyes because even though Freddie stopped liking her in the tenth grade, he likes to keep joking about it.
"I just don't like him," Carly says with a huff.
Freddie shrugs, "Neither does Sam." His eyes go wide like he's just said something he wasn't meant to.
"Sam and Craig are having relationship problems? And she didn't tell me?" Carly says, upset.
Freddie's look of alarm disappears and for some reason, he just looks relieved. "Uh…yeah, sure."
"I'm going to go talk to Sam," Carly says resolutely. She's halfway out the door when she thinks she hears Freddie mutter, "Finally!" under his breath.
-
Sam isn't in her room when Carly goes to find her. She thinks about giving her a call but this is a conversation she has to have face-to-face and the thought of scheduling it is too awkward to comprehend.
Sam's not in the library or on her favorite grassy knoll where she takes her outdoor naps. She's not in the Science lab roasting food over a Bunsen burner either and Carly goes to the campus security office just in case to check whether Sam might have been apprehended for something or not.
All this walking gives Carly time to think and okay, maybe it wasn't too difficult for Sarah to misinterpret this thing she has with Sam. Even Freddie sees it and if anything, all of this has just proven how much she misses Sam. As she heads back to her room, Carly thinks she'll just try and ambush Sam on her way to class tomorrow when she opens the door and there's Sam, sitting there on Carly's bed, tracing the paisley pattern of her bedspread with her index finger.
"Hey," Sam says quietly.
She looks kind of sad in a way that Carly's never seen before and she's suddenly worried because the thing is, Carly knows Sam. She can tell the difference between Sam's 23 different expressions of hunger (yes, she's counted), she can list all of Sam's favorite Cuttlefish songs and she's the only one who knows that Sam's offhand comments about her mom aren't just outlandish stories.
Carly's not sure what propels her to reach out right at that moment but her fingers find Sam's, stopping them in their tracks and Sam looks up abruptly at the contact.
"Why didn't you tell me you and Craig weren't working out?" Carly says because she can't think of any other reason why Sam would be feeling so bad.
Sam looks startled, "Woah. Wait…what?"
"Freddie told me all about it…"
Sam starts to look murderous, "That loose-lipped nub!"
"No, it's not his fault. I just…I thought that we were best friends and that you'd tell me if you were having trouble with your fancy-pants boyfriend instead of talking to Freddie but I get it, I've been acting loony about it and nobody wants to talk to the loony girl…" Carly says with a huff and she's getting into another one of her flustered fits of agitated babbling.
Sam's gaze softens. "Carls…"
"...but I haven't been the only one acting weird because you haven't been around a lot lately and okay, maybe I don't mind too much that you're not leaving your clothes on my floor anymore because sometimes you smell like a hobo but I miss you and…"
"Carls…"
"…now you and Freddie are talking behind my back and you look so sad and I can't stand to see you like this because if Craig is making you so sad then he's a butt monkey and he plays hacky-sack…competitively. WHO DOES THAT?"
"Carly…"
Carly takes a moment to breathe so that she can launch into another rant when Sam surges forward and kisses her and it takes Carly a good few seconds before she realizes that she's kissing her back. Sam's lips are surprisingly soft for a girl who thinks lip gloss is stupid and when Sam pulls her a little closer, Carly discovers, with a strange thrill, that she tastes like Peppy Cola.
When they break apart, Sam's wearing a smile she usually reserves for all-you-can-eat buffets.
"I'm not dating Craig anymore, okay?" Sam says a little defensively. "I just…" and suddenly she looks a little shy.
Carly's stomach churns. "Yeah?"
"I just didn't want you to think that the only reason I'm here is for you," Sam mutters.
"It is isn't it?" Carly smirks and Sam rolls her eyes before she tugs her closer and kisses her again. They're interrupted a few minutes later by Sarah who pretends like she didn't just walk in on them making out and backs out of the door whilst giving Carly enthusiastic thumbs-up signs. ("What was that all about?" Sam asks. Carly shakes her head, "Long story. Less talk. More action.")
-
They end up leaving the dorm room anyway because Freddie mentioned something earlier about a free concert that night at Schneider's and when they get there arm in arm, Freddie says nothing but his grin says it all. Sam punches him for looking so smug and they start bickering like they usually do and all Carly can do is smile.
So maybe everything didn't go entirely to plan and Carly isn't as in control as she thought she was but when Freddie ducks off excitedly to find his girlfriend and Sam takes her hand, entwining their fingers together, Carly thinks she won't mind the diversion after all.