A/N: I'm back! I am so sorry for my absence, but I'm back and ready to give you what you've been waiting for.

Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly.

**POV for this chapter: Freddie's POV

Chapter 3: The Storm Behind the Door

I was intimidated.

As I stood in the hallway that I'd walked through so many times before, I never felt more terrified. It was like it was staring at me. The more I thought about opening it, the more I convinced myself not to. Who knows who or what was in there behind it.

The scariest part was that nothing had changed and yet it had changed so much. I felt I should have been standing there with both brunettes by my side talking about our next webcast, but we weren't the same Carly, Sam and Freddie we were seven years ago.

Carly was getting married. Freddie and I had drifted apart. We weren't a package deal anymore.

I would have been content to just stand there and reminisce in how we used to be. The last thing I wanted to do was face the change that hid behind it. I thought about turning the knob, but that wouldn't be verySam of me. When had I actually entered Apartment 8C without picking the lock?

I pulled a bobby pin out of my pocket and picked the lock. As soon as I heard the tumblers make that magic sound I opened the door.

No one was in sight. I quietly entered and looked around. Everything was the same. The same couch, the same decorations, and even the same bottle bot all in the same place. It was like I had gone through a time machine. I headed for the fridge, wondering if ham was still kept there. As I opened the refrigerator door, I heard a voice from behind me: "Hey Sam."

I turned around to see a tall goofball that I used to have a crush on, "Spencer!"

As I embraced him, I realized he hadn't changed much either, "How's the motorcycle?"

I still had my motorcycle, but since I had a lot to bring with me to Seattle, I had my assistant drove it to my mom's house, "It's great. How have you been?"

Before he could answer me, a brunette, blue-eyed woman came down the stairs, "Hey have you seen-" Her eyes met mine, "Who's this?"

"This is Carly's best friend Sam. Sam this is my girlfriend, Maggie." I gave Spencer a look of slight shock.

Maggie grinned, shook my hand and said, "Nice to meet you."

"You too," Spencer was in a relationship. Most of the time I had known him he was single, "How long have you too been together?"

"Two years," They said simultaneously. That is the longest relationship he's ever had.

Maggie kissed Spencer's cheek, "We met at an Art Gallery."

"One of my sculptures was displayed and she was staring at it. I came up to her and we started talking. She told me her name was Magenta. We started talking and well, here we are," They looked at each other in a romantic yet disgusting sort of way. It was the kind of look single people get sick over. As I looked at them, I realizedI was one of those people.

At least someone was doing well in the relationship department. I just never thought that out of everyone Spencer would be in a stable, long-lasting relationship. However, I had forgotten the whole reason for my return to Seattle: Carly's wedding.

Carly's relationships usually flew by because she always rushed into love. I'm glad she had really taken the time to fall in love, but I still wanted to check him out. I wasn't going to let my best friend marry anyone without the Sam Puckett seal of approval.

Spencer and Maggie told me that Carly's plane would land in a couple hours and that they were going to set everything up. That's what Maggie had been looking for: decorations.

They went upstairs to look and I was left alone on the main floor of the apartment. I decided to call my assistant.

After a few rings, I heard, "Sam Puckett's office. This is Cat. How can I help you?"

"Hey, it's me," Her tone shifted from professional to laid back.

"Hey! How's Seattle? Is Carly there yet?" Cat and I had been more than an assistant to me; she was a friend. She genuinely cared about me and what I was going through.

"No, she'll be here in a couple of hours," Cat saw right through me. She could tell that I was anxious.

"Have you seen him yet?" Her voice was quiet as if she was afraid to ask me that question and was secretly hoping I wouldn't hear it. I almost forgot about him and as she reminded me, I became anxious.

She knew the situation between Freddie and myself and she knew I didn't like to think or talk about him. I was here for Carly, not him. Even though I kept repeating this to myself, I knew seeing him would bring back the fact that he wasn't planning to say goodbye.

"Nope," I swallowed. It was like a storm warning. I knew the storm was coming, I just didn't know when.

"You will never move on if you don't face him, Sam," She was right. It didn't make this any easier, but I guess moving on never is easy.

"I know, I'm just-" I started.

"Scared?" Cat annoyed me with her mind-reading ways.

"Yeah," I admitted, "I guess I should start counting down, right? In five, four, three, two-"

"Hey, that's my line!" I had expected Cat to say something, but instead I heard a male's voice from behind me.

I turned around and realized I could never prolong the inevitable.

Before me stood Fredward Benson.

"Cat, I'm gonna have to call you back," I heard her say before I ended the call, "wait, we need to talk about this-" I silently thought to myself, too late for that.

"Benson," was all I could say.

"Puckett, you look great. How've you been?" How've I been? How've I been? To anyone else, this question would be understandable to ask after separation from a friend for seven years. With our history, I wasn't sure it was.

"Okay, I guess. And you?" I pretended to care, trying to hide the fact that I was still angry about what had happened between us.

"Good. How's the column?" I couldn't continue with the small talk.

"I don't want to do this," I admitted, "I don't want to act like we are on good terms."

"Sam, I-"

"I've thought about this conversation for seven years and how I never wanted to have it. Now that I am forced to have this conversation," I took a deep breath, "You weren't going to say goodbye to me, Benson. All you cared about was some girl you knew for five minutes!"

"First of all, I knew her for more than five minutes," I scoffed, "Second, it was an accident! You know that it wasn't intentional! I'm sorry, Sam and you know that!"

"If you were really sorry, you would have apologized seven years ago!" This was bad and I knew it would only get worse, but I needed to get it off my chest, "You never called me or tried to contact me."

"The real question is why have you held this grudge for so long?" He was really picking at my nerves.

"Grudge? You haven't been missed in the last seven years, Benson!" I exclaimed.

"Then, why have you thought about this conversation for seven years?" It hit me like a bullet right to the heart. The pain hit me all at once and yet I couldn't feel anything, "I know I never apologized or made it up to you. We've stood by each other through thick and thin. What is the real problem here, Puckett?"

I stepped toward him. Our faces were an inch apart, "You are."

I looked away for a moment and continued, "Let's make one thing clear, Benson: I am here for Carly, not you. We will get through this wedding and afterward everything will go back to the way it was. We are not friends. If it wasn't for Carly, I wouldn't be here and we wouldn't be having this conversation. My world doesn't revolve around you. After this wedding, I never want to see you again. Understood?"

Benson looked hurt by my harsh comments, and if I wasn't so angry, I would've cared. In a disappointed and hurt tone he muttered, "Got it."

At that moment, a perky brunette came in with a large suitcase, "Spencer! I'm here."

She put the suitcases down and then she saw us, "Sam! Freddie! I missed you guys so much!"

Carly hugged us both, "I can't wait for us to spend time together!"

Over Carly's shoulder, Fredward and I looked at each other and I knew.

This was going to be the longest year of my life.