It's you first day at Ridgeway, your new school. Earlier that morning, you said goodbye to you parents, caught the bus, and now, you're sitting on the steps, reading your favourite book about galaxies and stars and planets. Next to you is your laptop, Astro Barrier still open, showing your new high score of 103 seconds.

One teacher has already greeted you. He welcomed you to the school after he realised that you were a new student, most likely because he couldn't recognise your face. He called himself Principle Franklin, and he seemed nice; a bit like a teddy bear you remember seeing when you were five. Though he seemed surprised when you didn't return his handshake. Two other teachers have already yelled at you. You noticed that they were both old and seemed to have been teaching for far too long. The first teacher was losing all his hair, and he yelled at you for standing in the hallway. The second teacher yelled at you for dropping your maths book, even though it gave you more of a fright then it gave her.

The maths text book is the next book you read, but your reading is then stopped when you hear a very loud noise, which sounds angry. You look for the source, and see a very angry boy who appears to be holding a rotting sandwich in the air, while a brunette girl has a confusing look on her face. It's almost a look of happiness and sadness.

A blonde girl then walks towards them, eating some food. You can hear the boy yelling at her, but she doesn't look annoyed by this, almost happy by his reaction. You're getting very sick of all this shouting. You just want to read your book, which is very hard to do with all this commotion. You try to focus on your reading once more, but then you hear footsteps that seem to be getting louder. So you look up, and see the trio that was around the corner just two minutes before. You then see the one of them trip the boy, and soon he's flying towards you and the book he was holding lands next to you.

The brunette girl then walks towards you, probably to go and pick up the book. You also notice the other two. The boy is still on the ground, but you can see the blonde girl offering a hand to help him up. You see the boy decline her hand, and get up himself. You're having trouble understanding why he declined her help, and from the looks on her face, she is having trouble understanding too. You hear a voice next you.

"Oh, I'm really sorry." You realise it's the brunette girl speaking to you. She's picked the book up now, and the other two people have come up next to her. She hands the book the boy. "Hey, are you new here? I haven't seen you around." she adds. You don't particularly like the way she's almost studying your face, so you just nod. "Cool!" she says, but she's a bit too loud. "I'm Carly, this is Freddie, and this is Sam."

You're not really sure how to respond to this, because you don't have anyone else to introduce except yourself. And three's a nice number, while one just seems a little bit lonely.

"Come on kid, speak! What's your name?" the blonde girl shouts. You think she's Sam, though she could be Freddie. For all you know, it may be a nickname. The brunette girl, who you do know is Carly, didn't gesture to either one of them when she was saying the names.

"Hey, you have 'Galaxies, Stars, and other Outer space wonders'!" says the boy, pointing to the book beside you. You take a liking to him, because he seems to be interested in the stuff that you like. He has his laptop under his arm, a maths dictionary in his other, and he seems interested in Outer Space. You want to ask what his high score is for Astro Barrier.

You notice the trio looking at each other uncomfortably, though the blonde girl looks angrier than anything else.

"Well, at least there's another nerd in the school." she says finally, crossing her arms over her chest. You don't like the mean tone of her voice, and crossed arms often means aggressive behaviour. You don't like this. So, you pick your things up and walk away.

The next day you see the trio again, but this time it is at lunch. You have a sandwich for lunch. It includes cheese at the bottom level, lettuce in the middle, and tomato at the top. Yellow, green and red are your favourite colours. They're also the colour of traffic lights.

You're sitting on you own at the table, trying to read your Outer space text book. The noise of the school still distracts you, but you're getting used to the loudness. You hear people closer to you talking quietly, and you then see the faces that you saw yesterday.

"Hi, we were wondering if we could sit with you." says the boy, though you notice that Carly is nodding and looking happier and more pleased then he is. All the same, you feel more comfortable with him talking to you, and you may feel a little less lonely if they were surrounding you. So you nod, and all three of them then sit down on the three (one, two, three; green, yellow, red) chairs across from you.

After a poke or four from Carly, the blonde girl clears her throat and stars to talk.

"So, um, I'm sorry I called you a nerd yesterday." Carly pokes her again. "It was wrong of me." she adds unhappily. She then grabs half of the boy's sandwich from his hand. You notice that she didn't ask and that the boy looks unhappy about it.

"Um, I didn't catch your name yesterday. What is it?" Carly asks. You look down at your book because the way she's staring at you makes you feel as if you're being examined, and you don't really like making eye contact.

"My name is Anthony." you say, still looking down at your book. You're looking at a diagram of Saturn when the boy interrupts your thoughts.

"Hey, um, Anthony. Watcha reading?" he asks. You tell him that you're looking at a diagram of Saturn. He nods and looks happier, but you see the blonde girl steal the other half of his sandwich. Though really, it's only a quarter because he'd already eaten half of it.

"You keep on stealing his food." you say to her. "Why do you do that?"

"Because he's a nub." she answers simply.

"Ok Sam, that is not a reason!" says the boy, who you now know is Freddie. "Since when were you even able to classify me as a nub, or a dork, or a nerd?" Freddie adds, and his voice is getting louder.

This is reminding you of the colour yellow. When it comes to traffic lights, yellow always means it's a warning, or preparation; you should prepare to slow down.

"Well, maybe if you stopped acting like all of those things, I wouldn't call you them." Sam says. You notice her hair is yellow, and you wonder if that should act like a warning.

"That's bullshit." says Freddie. You don't like people talking like that.

"Oh fuck off, dweeb." Sam says.

"Shut up." you say. And then you walk off. You have maths next, and you like that.

The computer screen is in front of you. It is about 5:01pm, and you've been on it for one hour and seventeen minutes. You happen to find a website called .com, and find a live broadcast. You immediately recognise the two girls, Carly and Sam in front of the camera. You listen to the broadcast and read some of the comments. Some of them don't make sense, like: I heart u guys xoxo, but you understand some of the others, like: . You know that means happy.

You don't get some of the jokes. Especially when a kid comes and eats some food that Carly and Sam mixed in a blender. The mixture turned aqua, and you really hate aqua. You also hate dark purple.

After thirty-minutes, Carly and Sam finish. At the end, they have a segment called "Random Dancing". It has flashing lights and loud music and strange movements. It confuses you and puts you in a bad mood. So when your parents call you for dinner, you don't answer a single one of their questions.

The next day, a teacher yells at you. You don't like the noise, you don't like how close he is to you, and you don't like the formation of the desks. So you hit him. Not too hard, but hard enough to knock him backwards and surprise him. You are then given a detention for hitting a teacher, and you're told that the school will call your parents.

At the end of the day, you have to go to another classroom. The desks are in another formation, and you don't like it. You are told you sit down, but because you don't like being told what to do, you groan loudly. The teacher looks angrily at you as you sit down on at the desk farthest from the door.

You then see Sam walk through the door. The teacher looks at her and rolls her eyes, and you're not quite sure what that means. She's popping bubble gum. You hate the sound that the bubble makes every time it bursts, but Sam won't stop doing it. You look up and see her looking at you. She has her eyebrows raised as if she's surprised to see you here on your third day of school. You look down at the desk again when your eyes make contact and the bubble bursts.

You see the chair beside you move, and you look to see Sam sit in it.

"Hey, Anthony." she says. The teacher tells her to be quiet but she continues to ignore her. "Don't worry, we won't get in trouble if we're talking." she adds after she's looked at you. You nod, even though you're not sure why. You just know that it's the best thing to do.

"So, why did you get detention?" she says. You pause and don't answer. You're not sure if you should answer her because you don't know her that well and you can remember what your Mother has told you.

"…I got detention because I threw three paper planes at Mr Howard." she says after you don't reply.

"I like the number three." you say. You think it's important that she knows that. They've started with the basics, so maybe it will be ok now.

"Ok…" Sam says. She stays quiet for a little bit, and you like the silence. She seems a little more quieter than Carly, who you've noticed talks to a lot of people. Freddie just reads a lot.

"Ugh, I hate school. Why can't it just end?" says Sam. She groans at the end of the sentence too.

"You could've left earlier if you hadn't gotten a detention." you say. "But I don't like school either. But I like maths."

"Why? It's too much work." Sam says.

"That's because you don't like solving problems." you say. Sam doesn't say anything after this. She just sits there. You listen to the clock as it counts down the seconds. Each time it's been sixty seconds, you tap the desk. The teacher yells at you after you've done this ten times. But Sam doesn't.

It's thirteen minutes later when you see your Mother outside the doorway. She's with that nice man who you saw three days ago, Principle Franklin. They're talking. After five more minutes and five more taps, your Mother walks in and motions for you to walk towards her. She has a smile on her face. You think she may be lying.

As you walk out the door, you hear,

"Bye, Anthony." from Sam. It isn't a shout, but it still grabs your attention. You look at Sam and make eye contact, but don't say goodbye.

The week after, you don't go to school. Everyone's going on camp, and you don't like camp. It is because of this that you have time to go to the shops. You want to go and get some milk and a chocolate bar, though it will be a Kit Kat because you like the colour red. It's been raining lately, so on the way to shops you jump in every third puddle. You jump off your left foot first, and then land on both feet. You try and land in the middle of the puddle, and if you don't, then you try again.

You get to the shops to find Sam and Freddie there, together. You find this strange, but you don't say a word.

"Hi, Anthony!" says Freddie after he has seen you. You notice that his voice is a little bit louder than Sam's, and a little bit happier.

"Hi." says Sam.

"Hi." you say. "How come you to are together? I thought you hated each other." Sam and Freddie look at each other.

"Well…we're together because Carly's on camp." says Freddie. He didn't answer the question.

"I couldn't go because Mum couldn't afford it." Sam says. She smiles, and it's almost mean. She then looks at Freddie, who looks very unhappy. "He couldn't go because his Mum said that she wouldn't allow him to get that dirty."

"Why?" you say.

"His Mum is crazy." You happen to hate that word. Very much.

"She is not!" says Freddie, and you frown at the shouting. "She's just overprotective."

"She has behaviour issues." you say. Both Sam and Freddie look at you. You don't like it very much. So instead, you give your milk and your chocolate bar to the shopping lady, and you decide to get some eggs and a can of bake beans to because you remember your Mother complaining about not having either. You then give the shopping lady the money and walk out of the shops with the bag in your hand.

You sit down on a chair close to you, and start to unpack the items from the bag. You look up and see Freddie and Sam walking towards you. You then decide to continue packing the shopping bag: milk laid down flat, eggs next to it, can of bake beans on top of eggs and chocolate bar in pocket.

"So, Anthony, why aren't you going on camp?" Sam asks.

"Because I don't like camp." you say. Sam nods. Freddie nods.

"I need to go now." you say. It's rush hour so more people are surrounding you. Some of them are talking on mobile phones; others are just talking with friends. Either way you don't like the mixed conversations because they confuse you.

Sam turns to leave, giving a gesture behind her back. Freddie looks between you and her, and mumbles a quick "goodbye" before he follows Sam. You then turn to leave as well, but this time you jump in every fifth puddle.

You've been at the school for a couple of weeks now. The noises seem a little more normal and a little less scary, the closeness of everyone is getting easier to handle, and those three familiar faces don't make you feel so uncomfortable anymore. It's common now to find Carly breaking Sam and Freddie apart after they've been arguing, it's common to see Carly and Sam laughing, it's common to see Carly and Freddie walking together, and it's almost normal to have them sit with you, even if you still don't have many conversations.

You've found out that Freddie is in your Advanced Maths class. He sits four desks away from you, which is the desk closest to the door. You like maths class the most, because you like the numbers and problems and you like the feeling you get when you solve one. You also like the teacher. He doesn't yell at you and he's more likely to be closer to the board rather than you.

On Wednesday, first period, Freddie sits next to you. You're still deciding whether you are comfortable with that or not. It messes up the pattern that you've gotten used to because you're used to being closest to the wall with a kid that has red hair and freckles next to you. You also think about what your Mother said, which was to tell someone if they make you uncomfortable before you do anything rash. You are not sure what she means my rash.

Freddie asks how you are, but he keeps smiling at you and you're not sure how it's making you feel, but you think you don't like it. But then the maths class starts, and the day is moving with more ease. Freddie asks you if you know the answer to a couple of questions, which you do. You don't mind this; it makes you feel quite smart. In the next couple of lessons, he tends to sit further away, though the smile remains and he still seems happy. You're not sure what's changed, but something has.

Sam is in your English class. You've known this ever since you came to this school, but before you just knew her as the blonde girl that called you a nerd. Now, she sits next to you. It's very casual, and for the first couple of lessons you didn't speak to each other. Now, you exchange more looks with each other and each time you feel a little more comfortable.

You like Sam. She doesn't shout and she hasn't called you a mean name since you came to Ridgeway. She also doesn't talk too much, and she never comes too close to you. She also hasn't touched you too much, which some other people have a tendency to do. Sam isn't mean to you, but she also isn't nice to you. This doesn't matter to you that much.

You notice that Sam isn't bad at English. You're not sure why she is in this class, especially as she was able to help you when you had some trouble understanding one of the questions you were given. You think she may just be a little bit lazy. You don't mind though, you enjoy her company in your English class.

Carly isn't in any of your classes. You still see her a lot though. It's possible that she's the person who you see the most and who makes you the most uncomfortable. When you see her she's always smiling, and she often puts her face close to yours and that doesn't make you feel good. She's the person who always sits closest to you at lunch, and she can knock into you sometimes. You walk away from her a lot, but you keep on seeing her. You don't hate her, but you don't like her.

Freddie isn't in it. Sam isn't in it. Carly isn't in it. No one is in the class that you have at the end of school. You don't like the teacher there, because they always focus on you and they try and confuse you. But when your Mother goes and picks you up after the class, she always smiles. You don't like those classes, but you know what they do. Even if they still confuse you.

After you've been at Ridgeway for a month, Carly invites you over to her house. You don't say anything for about three minutes. You are deciding on your answer. Carly still smiles a lot, and is still happy, and she still stands too close to you. But then Sam and Freddie say that they're going too, and you think it may be ok. You then ask your Mother. She says you can go, but you must be careful. You knew that.

Carly lives in an apartment. It is grey and has lots and lots of windows. Freddie lives in the apartment across from Carly's with his Mother, while Carly lives with her brother, Spencer. You don't like Spencer very much. He is loud and exu-ber-ant, and when you came in he was painting a big sculpture. It was very colourful, which you didn't like. Two of the colours were aqua and dark purple, so you try not to look at it too much.

After Sam got some food, everyone sits down to watch TV, except Spencer because he's still busy with his sculpture. No one can find anything they all want to watch. Sam wants to watch Wrestle Mania; Carly wants to watch Home-makeovers, and neither you or Freddie care because the documentary about Black Holes finished five minutes ago.

There is only one lounge and that fits three people. There is also a chair near the lounge which Sam is sitting on. You would like to sit in that chair because being this close to anyone makes you feel uncomfortable and a little bit angry and a little bit breathless all at once. You also can't ask Sam to move because one time you asked an old lady to move, but she didn't and called you rude. You don't want that to happen again.

Carly also keeps on changing the TV stations very quickly, and it's giving you a headache. The aqua and the dark purple also seem very bright and it's distracting you. This is making you very angry and confused, and no one seems to care that you're groaning. You then snatch the remote away from Carly to stop her changing. When she tries to grab it back, you push her away forcefully. It hurts her. You didn't mean it to, or want it to, but it does.

Spencer then gets angry and starts shouting at you because you hurt his sister. His face seems very close to your face and it's scaring you, so you punch him hard enough to stun him. This is all in the time of forty seconds, and it takes another forty for Freddie to call your Mother and his own.

Freddie's Mother brings a first aid kit. It's like a large, white suitcase and it has a red cross on it. But it is not like the x shape, it is like a lower case t shape. Carly is ok, but she's crying and you're not sure why because you didn't hurt her a lot. Spencer is ok, except for a small cut on his cheek and there is a bruise from where you punched him. After she's looked after everybody, Freddie's Mother looks at you and asks if you're ok. You reply that you are. She then asks you another question, but you don't like it so you don't reply and don't talk to anybody else until your Mother gets there.

Your Mother gets there eleven minutes later. She talks for Freddie's Mother for about six minutes, and then talks to Spencer quickly. He hasn't spoken much since you punched him, but he did apologise. You do the same when your Mother tells you to. Everyone seems sad when you leave, and so do you, even if you're not quite sure why.

A week later, you come home to find your Mother, Spencer and Freddie's Mother sitting in your living room. They've changed the furniture so that there is room for all of them, so after you've said a strained hello to everyone, you go into your room quickly and lock the door because you're feeling uncomfortable and angry. You don't like the murmuring from outside your room, and you don't like people in your house.

At about five o'clock, (which is about twenty five minutes and thirty seconds after you came in), there is another knock at the door. Your Mother asks you to go and open it, so you do. When you open the door, Freddie is there and so is Sam and Carly (who, you've noticed, are almost always together).

"Oh, um, hi Anthony!" says Freddie. "We were just, ugh, well, Mum-"

"Freddie, stop prattling and let the kid move aside so he can let us in!" says Sam. You like her for that. Freddie was confusing you before because you didn't understand what he was saying, but you understand what Sam is saying. Very easily.

Freddie grumbles, but you notice that he doesn't talk much more. You then move aside so that they can come in. Sam pushes Freddie aside and comes in first, who comes in second, and Carly comes in last. She hasn't said much since she got here, and she isn't smiling very much. She waves at Spencer when she sees him. Freddie waves and smiles at Spencer and his Mother and nods politely at your Mother. Sam nods at everyone.

"So, people, why are we all here." she says after a period when no one said anything.

"We're here to talk about Anthony." says Freddie's Mother. All heads turn to look at you, except your Mother's, who is biting her lip. They stare at you.

"Um, Anthony doesn't like it when people stare at him for a long time." says your Mother, and she turns to loom at you and smiles. She doesn't make eye contact though. After she's said this, everyone quickly turns their head to look in another direction.

"So, um, why are we talking about Anthony." asks Freddie.

"He's autistic." his Mother replies. You frown at this word as Carly gasps, Spencer looks confused, as does Freddie, and Sam has a blank expression on her face. Your Mother is also looking at Freddie's Mother angrily.

"Yes, and seeing as you three are his friends, I thought that you should know this." your Mother says. "I also thought that you should know some other things. Anthony doesn't like the colours aqua and dark purple. He doesn't like it when people move the furniture, being very close to people, shouting, and loudness."

Everyone, except Freddie's Mother, is looking a little bit sad and a little bit confused about what to do. No one has talked for about a minute and twenty-two seconds.

"He also likes outer space, maths and computer games." your Mother adds.

"Freddie likes that too!" says Freddie's Mother, rather loudly. Freddie frowns after he hears this, and your Mother does too. Everyone is quiet after this. After another five minutes, Spencer says he and Carly have to go, so they get up and leave after saying goodbye to everyone. Sam also follows them, even though she didn't say anything about leaving.

After another ten minutes while Freddie's Mother asks your Mother questions, the Bensons leave too. And then it's just you and your Mother again.

Four days after everyone met at your house, Sam talks to you. She's the first one to do so after the meeting, and this surprises you a little bit. You meet her while you're walking to the shops, and she asks you if you want to go and get a coffee at the coffee shop down the road. You've never seen her get coffee, usually going to the busy and brightly coloured smoothie shop. You reply a quiet yes.

The coffee shop is a dark green on the inside, and it's not very full. There is a table for two people in the corner, which Sam leads you towards. She buys a coffee, while you choose not to get anything because the food doesn't look very nice and you don't like the smell of coffee, even though your Mother often drinks it.

"So, Anthony, how's it hanging?" Sam asks you, taking a sip of her coffee. You're not sure what this means, so you shrug your shoulders. She nods at this, and doesn't say anything for a couple of minutes.

"Why aren't you treating me differently?" you ask. She seems a little bit surprised at this question. She puts down her coffee slowly, and she still hasn't said anything. You're waiting for her answer, because this is different from before. Usually, people treat you as if they don't know you, even if they acted like they did the week before. You think that's what Freddie and Carly are doing. You don't really mind though.

"If you mean with you being autistic, I guess it's because I don't give a shit." says Sam.

"I don't like it when people swear and you sound really mean and horrible." you say to her. She nods her head.

"Ok then, I take back that statement before. I guess it's because, you seem a little bit like me, with a couple of extra perks like with the colours, but still kinda similar." she says.

"I don't want to be like you." She tilts her head to the side a little bit.

"Look, Anthony. I'm gonna stop calling you a dork, and try not to swear and I'll try to follow all those rules that your mum told us," you frown at this. "but apart from that, I'm gonna act like I was acting before. You seem normal to me-well, as normal as anyone in this fuc-, in this place as anyone can be-so, why should I treat you like you're not? Do you have any idea how many times people have categorised me as angry and insecure and violent?"

"About twenty-one times. And there's a difference between the truth and being categorised as different." you say. Sam looks at you for a moment, and she looks a little bit angry.

"I suppose you have a point." she says, quietly. "But do you get my jist or not?" she says, louder.

"No." you say.

"…do you get what I'm trying to say?"

"Yes. You won't treat me differently from anyone else, but you'll also try to…try not to anger me too much by doing things I don't want you to do." you say. She nods her head at this, and smiles at you. Then her phone rings. It has a high pitch and a beeping noise in it. You don't like it very much.

"Oh, hi Mum." she says after she's answered the phone. "…well, what did you do? Yeah, ok fine, I'll pick up some lemonade on the way home. Yes, I changed Fluffy's water! Not sure, forty-five minutes? …Yeah, Mum, I know, I know. Sure, I'll get some of that too. Bye."

"Ugh, my Mum is so annoying!" says Sam.

"Why?" you ask.

"I dunno, she just does what Mums do; annoy you." You nod, because you don't really know how to reply to that, and you think that agreeing is probably the best thing to do when it comes to Sam. Freddie often disagrees with her, and Sam and Freddie often get into fights. You don't like fighting.

"Look, Anthony, I have to go now. It was…interesting talking to you. Mum wants me to buy some lemonade and marshmallows, so I should probably go get those. Guess I'll see ya around." Sam says as she gets up from her chair. You say goodbye to her and then sit there for three minutes and thirteen more seconds.

The next person you see is Carly. It's after school on Tuesday and you're just packing up to leave. You see someone come to stand close beside you, but you still have a gap between you. You look up to see Carly, biting her lip and playing with the threads of her pink and white skirt.

"Hi." she says when she notices you looking. You're looking at her and thinking about what to say, but this seems to take too long because soon she's rushing on. "Look, Anthony. I'm really sorry about before and being close and changing the TV too much and not-it's just, I didn't know!" she's talking very, very fast and her voice is getting a little shrill. "And, if you'll let me, I'd really like to be your friend and I promise I won't be so…I don't know, I'll just follow the rules." she adds. You have no idea what the rules are.

"Ok." you answer. Her face is flushed from talking to fast, and she was gripping her skirt very tightly. But now, after you've said ok, she immediately calms. Her smile is then put back on her face, and she looks more like the Carly you see in school at lunch time.

"So, I guess I'll see you later." she says. You nod and then she waves and then you're still a little bit confused about what just happened. But you think that Carly just said that she was sorry and that she'll try to do what Sam said to you a couple of days before. Just in more words.

On Wednesday, you see Freddie.

"Oh, hi!" says Freddie, his voice getting louder at the end. He only just noticed you, even though you've been standing there for three minutes and five seconds. This is mainly because he just got knocked over by Sam, though you don't know why. You've noticed that this is a lot like the first time you met him, as well as Carly and Sam.

"So, ugh, do you think we should go to maths now?" he asks. He's swaying a little bit as he says this, moving from his left foot to his right foot over and over. You consider this for a moment. You then nod and let him lead the way.

You sit next to each other in your normal seats. He's tapping his pencil against the desk continuously. He's not looking at you as he does this, just looking at the empty board that would usually hold maths problems. Freddie's eyes are now darting around the room, looking quickly at particular spots around the room-particularly his shoes.

"Hey, Anthony." he says quietly. He's still looking down at his shoes. "Mum's part-time nurse, so she kinda knows some symptoms to diseases, though she does go overboard on some of the little things…a lot of the time." he says, frowning slightly at the last part. "So yeah, she sort of suspected that you had autism, and bringing it up was probably a breech of privacy. So for that, I'm sorry on my Mum's behalf. I'm also sorry because I didn't behave very well either." He's now twirling a pencil in his hands.

"You act like Sam."

At this, Freddie's head snaps up. His eyes are wider than usual and he's sort of gaping at you. He then starts to stutter.

"Wha-no, I mean, come o-there's nothing…how are we similar? She's just so-"

"Don't shout." you say. His voice had been getting louder and louder.

"Right, sorry." Freddie says. He then looks down at his lap again. "I just don't see how Sam and I are similar…at all." He frowns again. You shrug, because you don't really know how to explain it.

Maths class then starts. It's Algebra-and that's easy for you. Freddie even lets you help him a little bit.

It's been a week since Sam, Carly, and Freddie all talked to you. Carly has invited you to her house again. She kept putting her hands in her pockets and looking at them as she asked you. Sam and Freddie were with her, both their backpacks slung over the left shoulder. Freddie smiled at you a little bit, and Sam raised her eyebrows when Carly finally managed to ask you. You said yes, but that you had to call your Mother first.

When you walk into the lobby, there is a man in a grey suit there yelling and screaming very loudly at everybody. It is horrible and you immediately go to put your hands over your ears and start to groan. You see Sam look at you, and then walk over to the man, yell at him to shut the hell up, and then wack him with your backpack. In response to this, Carly nods and Freddie frowns slightly. There's a glint in his eye though.

When you walk into Carly's apartment, Spencer is there and greets Sam and Freddie and Carly. When he sees you, he goes quiet and then asks you how you are. You shrug and say ok. The room is then very quiet. Carly is looking at her shoes again, Sam is eating ham, Freddie is looking around the room, and Spencer is swaying on his feet. Carly then suggests that maybe they could watch some television. No one has a go at you when you sit in the chair.

Sam, Freddie and Carly then all go and sit down on the lounge. It's quite squished, so Sam and Freddie end up quite close together. You hope they don't start fighting, though it's likely because they do that a lot at school. Carly then asks what you want to watch, to which you say that you don't mind as long as it's not noisy and doesn't show you the colours dark purple and aqua. You end up watching a soap opera that only Carly seems to like.

Halfway through the soap opera, Freddie has his arm resting on the arm rest and his head resting on his arm. He doesn't look very happy. Moments before, Sam had her head near Freddie's shoulder, but now she's gone to the fridge to get some ham. Carly is leaning forward on the lounge with the remote in her hands and her eyes staring at the TV. Spencer is close by on the computer, looking at seemingly unrelated websites and not looking very happy.

Soon, Sam comes back with a plate full of ham. Before she goes to sit back down, she whispers something in your ear. Freddie looks at her as she comes to sit back down, shakes his head, and then looks unhappily back at the TV. Sam looks at him for a little longer, and then eats two slices of her ham. She doesn't eat anymore.

You think about what she said to you. You think for another eleven minutes and thirty seconds, and Carly then turns the TV off because the soap opera finished. The silence then returns to the room.

"Hey, Spencer?" you say. He turns his head and looks at you, tapping his hand on the desk beside him. "Are you working on any sculptures lately?" At this, Spencer smiles and nods. "Could I see them? That is, if there isn't any purple or aqua on them-I don't like those colours."

"Yeah, sure, kiddo." he says, and then walks off to the right happily. You don't know what 'kiddo' means, but Spencer seems to be happier than he was half an hour ago.

"Thanks, Anthony." Carly says quietly. Spencer then comes back into the room, bringing in a sculpture which he then starts explaining. Freddie is smiling at you and so is Carly, though she is now looking at Spencer. Sam is looking at Freddie, but then she turns to you after a couple more seconds and smiles sadly at you. You're not sure what that means, because people smile when they're happy and not sad. You'll have to ask your Mother and Miss Fierra.

Soon afterwards, you Mother comes to pick you up. She looks very happy when she sees Freddie, Carly and Spencer smiling. Sam is eating ham. She asks how everything went and then smiles again. She then takes you home.

On Friday, you see Sam and Freddie after you've been to the bathroom. This is not unusual, but it's during class time and you know that everyone should be in class. You've seen Sam miss class a few times, but never Freddie. So now you're quite confused.

They seem to be angry at each other, but they're not yelling; they're talking quietly. Sam has her hands on her hips and Freddie has his arms crossed. They're faces look quite similar, as are their tones. Sam then hisses something at Freddie which you don't hear, but Freddie takes a step closer to Sam and stomps his foot. Sam jumps a little bit.

They're still arguing a minute and twenty second later, and finally, Sam pushes Freddie away forcefully, making Freddie nearly lose his footing.

"I hate you." she says. She then walks straight past you, but doesn't notice you. Freddie stays very still for a couple more seconds, and then walks in the other direction. You then decide that it's probably time to go back to your Science class. So, you leave as well.

On Saturday, you see Sam. She's holding a smoothie and sipping it out of a straw. When she sees you, she puts her back against the wall and asks if you want to go for a walk. You shrug your shoulders but reply yes.

She takes you to an old park. The swing set is rusty and there is only one swing that is being held up by one old rope. The slide looks dirty and the sand pit has become a mud pit. No one is in the park except you and Sam. It's autumn, so the leaves that have fallen from the trees are crunching under your feet. It's also chilly, so both of you have your hands shoved in your pockets.

"You ok?" She asks you. You nod your head. You listen to Sam slurping her drink for a little bit longer, and then watch her throw the container away in a near by bin.

"Hey, can I ask you this; why do you always stay back on a Monday and Tuesday afternoon at school?" Sam asks you. You're cautious about answering this, but you rarely see Sam talking to anyone except Freddie and Carly, so you guess she won't tell anyone.

"I have to. There's a class sort of thing, but it's only for me." you say. "It's when my teacher, Miss Fierra and Mother sit down with me and teach me stuff. But like…social things." Sam nods her head at this.

"So…it's because your autistic." she says. You nod and look down at the brown and red leaves. "Ok then." Sam says.

"Why do you hate Freddie?" you say. Sam stops walking for a little bit, and then starts again. When she starts talking again, she doesn't look at you, but at the ground. You can only see her eyes through her yellow hair.

"It's…complicated. And I'm not sure you'd get it-being autistic and all." You think that may be derogatory.

"Mainly because I don't get it, and I'm part of it." Sam adds. She looks up a little bit more, and frowns. She looks like Freddie when she does that.

"Do you hate him?" you ask again. Sam stays silent for about two minutes and thirty five seconds.

"Too personal, Anthony. Too personal." she says.

It's the holidays the week after that. You and you're family go away for all of it. When you get back to school, it is very similar to your first day. You're sitting on the steps, Mr Howard yells at you for being there and for being a child, and then Carly and Freddie greet you. Sam comes in two minutes before school starts and throws her books at Freddie, who falls over at the weight of them.

"You're supposed to catch them, dweeb." she says, walking over him and her books. "Come on, we have Geography next!" she adds, walking up the stairs. Freddie then groans and picks up the books, following her.

You and Carly then say goodbye, and you go to History.

After History, you have Music. You sit by yourself, with Sam and Freddie in front of you. You notice that they talk more than usual, and that they're sitting together in the first place. Halfway through, while the teacher is playing Beethoven, Sam falls a sleep and rests her head on Freddie's shoulder. He doesn't move her.

After that it's recess. Sam and Freddie don't appear, so it's just you and Carly. She's wearing grey jeans, a black t-shirt and a red vest. She seems to be very happy as she eats her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This is actually the first real conversation you've had with her. Usually, Sam and you meet on the weekends and Freddie and you talk during classes about maths and space.

You find out a little bit more about the webshow, iCarly (neither Sam nor Freddie had never really mentioned it before, but Carly does-a lot ). You also find out why Spencer is looking after her and why her Father is away. She doesn't mention her Mother.

Her favourite colours are red and pink, she likes movies and shopping, and she likes pop music. This is what you learn about her in your conversation. That, and she talks a lot and she's nice; a little bit too nice and protective for your liking, actually.

After that, you see Sam in your English class. You ask her where she was, but she shrugs her shoulders and says she got bored decided to plant a stink bomb in Mr Howard's classroom. Twenty seconds later, screaming can be heard and a fat, shirtless boy is running down the hall. Sam doesn't even try to conceal her laughter. You notice that she's also texting Freddie, but you don't read the message.

You go over to Carly's apartment later that week. Spencer is creating a sculpture made out of popcorn when you come in.

"Hellooo, lil sis." he says. "And greetings to Sam, Freddie and Anthony!" he adds.

"You're loud." you say.

"Oohh, right, sorry." Spencer says, a little more quietly. He's still smiling though. You then watch the soap opera that everyone watched last time you came round to Carly's apartment. You still sit in the chair, and Sam and Freddie still sit next to each other. You notice that after about twelve minutes of watching the TV show, Sam and Freddie rest their hands on each other's. They're looking away from each other though.

You then decide that you can stay and have dinner with them as well. Spencer makes spaghetti tacos, which you've never tried of, or heard of, before and then watch a movie. Carly then invites you to stay for a sleep over and maybe watch a movie, but you say no because you don't like being an house with this many people for this long. So you say goodbye and decide to walk home.

You've got a maths test to study for anyway.

Two weeks later, you find out that you got everything correct on your maths test. As you walk out of the classroom, you see Carly, Freddie and Sam near their lockers. Carly is smiling widely and looking at Sam and Freddie, who are looking at each other. Sam then bites her lower lip and Freddie shoves his hands in his pockets. They look away from each other slowly.

Carly then spots you. She calls out for you to come over, which you do. She reaches out to pull you forward, but then draws her hand back, smile only faltering for a little bit. She then tells you to come and stand beside her, which you.

"Anthony, do you think these two have chemistry?" she says, gesturing to Sam and Freddie. She then crosses her arms over her chest and waits for your answer.

"What do you mean?" you say.

"Well…" she says. "Do you think these two would be good if they started dating? Do you think that they like each other?" Carly explains. Her smile continues to falter. Sam smirks slightly.

"I-I think so. Not sure." you reply. Sam and Freddie both frown, looking similar. Carly then smiles again very widely, and claps her hands together which makes you jump.

"Sorry, Anthony." she says. "Now, will you two just admit that you're dating?" she adds. Sam and Freddie look at each other again. Slowly, Freddie brings his arm up to Sam's shoulders and then they start to smile again.

"Ha! I knew it!" says Carly.

"You're all confusing." you say.

Everyone smiles at this, though it still looks a little sad. You're still not sure why someone smiles when they're sad.

Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly.

A/N: I realise that in real life Anthony would probably go to a special school, but that would ruin the story. Please review, especially if you favourite the story.