Summary: Life's not a circle, at least I don't think so

Summary: Life's not a circle, at least I don't think so. -Post-iStage An Intervention- Dedicated to Starfreak01.

A/N: This is a response to Starfreak01's chapter two of iDrabble (read it, by the way! I loved Star's stories so much)! The challenge was, and I quote "What do you think Sam's reaction would be? Write it! Or, continue off this drabble and make your own one-shot!" So I'm doing just that.

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly. Aw, sad. But I wish I owned Nathan Kress!

iTurn A Corner

By Colors

The worst thing about turns in a hallway is that you can't ever be sure what's coming. You can try all you want, but you won't ever know for sure what's beyond that corner of wall until you pass it by.

If you try to lean forward and see before your feet actually pass, you end up falling on your face.

And it doesn't matter if you turn right back around and walk the other way, because you'll just end up at another corner. And another. And another one. Life's not a circle, at least I don't think so. Along with the fact that circles never end, circles don't have obstacles that block you. Circles don't have twists you don't and can't understand. Circles don't have dorks that break you to pieces.

But hallways with corners? They do.

I bet he thinks he's so smart. Oh yeah, great idea, get Sam's hopes up that a hot guy that everyone wants to date, the Jake Crandall of senior year, wants to hang out with her over everyone else. Over Carly and Shannon and all the junior and senior girls and just about every pretty girl out there. Make her feel bad. After all, she has no heart. And if she ever did, she probably ate it, right?

Well, I've got to give him props. It worked. He really got me good. I mean, I wasn't absolutely sure it'd been a prank at first when I got there, phone in hand, looking around the mall like an eager puppy, but then I kind of figured it was when I saw Gary Wolff trading spit with some brunette senior around the corner of Glitter Gloss. And then I knew for sure, because I looked at the number at the bottom of the text, and it was Freddie's. I was so caught up in the fact that a guy like Gary Wolff might actually like me that I didn't even bother looking at the number. I'm so stupid! I really am. I can't believe I thought that for a second, for a fraction of a second!

So now Freddie can have all the satisfaction he wants. He'll forever have something over me. If I ever call him a geek or a dork or a nerd, he can just whip out his phone, flip to his inbox, and shove my weakness right in my face, smirking. That stupid, annoying smirk that he stole from me.

"Wow, me? For serious?!" I'd said to "Gary." "I really like you, too!" I'd said.

I'm so pathetic that I don't even know what to do with myself.

I guess in a way, I kind of deserve it. I pulled some mean pranks, and yes, the computer could've set the Shay's apartment on fire, and okay, so maybe Freddie could've gotten hurt when his bike fell apart. Fine, fine, fine. It was wrong, okay?! I know it was wrong! I know that seven-eighths of what I do is wrong.

But here's the difference between what I did and what Freddie did: I aimed for his bike, and his computer, and his tennis shorts. He aimed for my heart, to hurt it. And we both succeeded, but he won in the end because shorts and bikes and laptops can be mended with tools and instructions. They can also be replaced. But me, I'm stuck with my heart as it is, and I really don't know how to fix it or anything. I'm pretty sure it involves, you know, opening it. Not literally…like…metaphorically, I think that's the word. Anyway, I don't really want to do that. It'll only make it worse. I used to open my heart a lot, but it seems to have the wrong affect on me. When most people take that risk, turn that corner, open their heart to whomever, they end up winning. They get what they want. Their hearts grows. All that stuff. But mine just ends up closing itself more, and I just walk around in a mini-circle, not sure which corner to turn that makes sense.

With a sigh, I enter Bushwell Plaza, trying not to think about an hour ago when I waltzed out screaming and jumping in happiness. And failing.

I have this sick feeling in my stomach that I can't really explain that well. It's like I'm trying to digest something that I just can't digest. I hate the feeling.

In a few seconds, I'm on Carly's floor. I step out of the stairway and into the hallway. I walk a few feet before hearing voices around the corner.

"Hey." His voice rings through the hallway like a buzzing fly. It sends this completely incontrollable sense of betrayal and loneliness inside me, which I quickly convert to anger because it's way easier that way. Pressing myself against the wall right before the corner, I listen further.

"Hi." I hear Carly respond. "I gotta tell you something…"

"You're gonna tell me that there was no bad luck, and that Sam did all that stuff to me?" So I'm right. He does know. It was all for revenge. The way he says my name bothers me…like I, as a person, am nothing but an inside joke between the two. It makes me feel really insignificant and not part of something crucial.

"How'd you know?" Carly questions him, shocked. I take a really quick peek from behind the wall, looking at their faces, they way they're standing. He's leaning against his doorframe giving her a really sweet smile. She's standing before him, waiting, wondering. They look a lot like they like each other. As in, like like. It's a strange idea to me. I always knew Freddie loved Carly – I mean, he's definitely told her enough – but I never expected Carly to return the feelings. Or maybe I'd just hoped she wouldn't. It would make sense, now that I think about it. Freddie loves Carly. He loves her. It's hard to wrap my mind around, even though he shows it all the time. Eventually, Carly's going to have to give in…it's inevitable.

"Well, I didn't know when it was my pink pants and my laptop," he explains. "But I saw her loosen the bolts on my bike." He says it so confidently, like a winner. It fills me with a desire to punch him.

"But I thought your bike fell apart while you were riding it?"

"No, I just pretended on that one." He's still smiling at her like that. It makes me feel even smaller than before.

"So you're not gonna try and get her back?"

"Oh, you mean something devious, like sending her a fake text message that looks like it's from Gary Wolff, telling her to meet him at the Cromridge Mall?"

And then something I really don't expect to happen happens. Carly laughs. She laughs with Freddie. She's laughing with Freddie about me. At my expense. Suddenly I just want to go home, to, you know, get away. But then I realize that Carly's apartment is my home, which makes me even sadder. One corner turned, and your only real family turns on you.

"I didn't know you could be so bad." She giggles. He sways back and forth happily. He really glows when he's around her. "Goodnight!"

"Goodnight." He responds. The smile is still there, and I hate it. I watch, a mix of emotions, as Carly leaves through her door. Freddie makes some movement to possibly follow her, but his inner stalker loses, and he closes himself into his apartment.

People like Carly and Freddie don't have to worry about turning corners because they have doors to walk through, places they belong. I don't have that all the time.

I look towards Carly's door and sigh, suddenly not in much of a mood to hang out around here. I turn around and head back down the hallway. I hear a door open behind me, and I freeze.

"Sam, I know you're there." Freddie's voice enters the hallway. I clench my fists, that whole fight or flight thing kicking in.

I whirl around, and stomp around the corner again. "Hey." It comes out sharply, meanly.

"Aw, someone looks disappointed." He says mockingly.

"You think this is funny?!" I narrow my eyes.

"Well, I think you deserved it." He crosses his arms. "I got slapped in the face, my clothes are all pink, my laptop spits green fire, and my bike rests in pieces."

"Oh yeah, you know, you're so right." I nod, pretending I really agree with him. Please."And you know what you deserve?!"

He visibly steps back, cautious. "What…?"

I smile fakely through gritted teeth. "A hug. C'mere, geek!"

"Um…" he shifts uncomfortably. "Okay…I guess…" He spreads his arms out awkwardly, and we're about to hug when I turn the tables (my plan all along) and punch him in the shoulder. He yelps my name, rubbing his shoulder.

"You're a jerk, and a dork!" I yell at him angrily. He jumps slightly. "You're a jork! I am so out of here, and don't expect me to be back either! You and your precious Carly can just go on laughing at my expense! See if I care!" I turn the same corner again, this time in a run, and I don't see his face again until he beats me to the stairway, blocking my path. It's hard to believe he's faster than me now. He's so different then when we became friends. I notice he's taller than me, too, and I kind of wish I was the tall one so I wouldn't look so pathetic.

"What?!" I yell, exasperated.

"I-I just…" he pauses, his face melting with this sudden awkward concern. "I didn't think –"

"You never do." I point out.

"I didn't think it would actually hurt you." He finishes.

"I'm not hurt!" I snap. He gives me a look. I let out a sharp, frustrated sigh. "You know, you could've just put food-coloring in my ham, or told your mom I had ticks…why'd you choose this? Were you just trying to mock me or what?"

He raises an eyebrow in confusion, and with a jolt I realize that I just said something incredibly stupid. Under normal circumstances, I'd rise up and defend my rep, but I really don't have the heart or strength. I'm already down, and I'm staying down. "Mock you?"

I speak before I think, something I do way too much. "Oh, don't act like you don't know! No one's liked me in a long time! And you just jumped at the opportunity to remind me, didn't you?!" I don't exactly know what prompted me to say that, but I said it, and watched as Freddie's face visibly fell from shock.

"You really think I would do that?" he asks in disbelief. "Sam, it was just a prank. We go back and forth all the time…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know…dork, slob, Carly will never love you, ham monster, geek, yada, yada, whatever!" I roll my eyes. "Maybe I'm cruel sometimes, but I'm always honest. You? Not so much." He shakes his head, thinking things over.

"Do you seriously think no one likes you?" he questions.

"Have you not been pay attention these last few years?" I tell him, annoyed. It's kind of weird, I've just realized, that up until now I've never talked to anyone about this. Not even Carly.

"What about Jonah?" he asks hesitantly. I can tell this conversation's heading in an awkward direction, but there's something it's leading up to. I can't see it, but I know it.

"He tried to cheat on me with Carly!"

"Reuben?"

"That freak can't even speak English!"

"Well, there was Shane!"

"He obviously liked Carly more. Hey, starting to sense a pattern?" I narrow my eyes, anger seeping through him on how clueless he really is. "Oh wait, and you forgot Gary Wolff! Wait, never mind!"

"Well, Carly cares about you." He says firmly.

"One person? Yeah, that's quite an accomplishment!" I can't even get myself invited to any birthday parties. Everyone runs. But I guess I can't blame them.

"What about me? I'm your friend, aren't I?" he says after a while.

"Are you?" I shoot back. Because I need to know.

"C'mon, Sam, you've got to know I care about you." He sighs after a while. I don't know if he can tell I'm smiling after that. He probably can't because it's buried under my smirk and my raised eyebrow and my walls. But it's there. No lie. "Well, uh, not the way I care for Carly, but you – wait," And then it's gone. Almost like it was never there. He looks frustrated. "That came out wrong. I mean –"

"Don't worry, dork." I stop him, raising my hand. "I get it." And I do. And maybe that's exactly why it hurt so much to hear him say it, even if it was by accident.

"So are we okay?" he questions, studying my expression again.

I roll my eyes. "When have we been?" He smiles softly.

"Right. I'll see you…when I see you then, I guess." Then he retreats to his room for the night. He doesn't hesitate to stay like he just did with Carly. He doesn't give me a second thought. In fact, I'm sure he's now in his apartment, giving Carly second thoughts, and third thoughts, and ten zillionth thoughts.

Like I said, life is far from being a circle. For some people, the corners are easy and painless because they have doors, places they're sure of.

But me?

I turn away from the two apartment doors, and head back around the corner. Right back where I started.

A/N: OK, I know that in the episode (iStage An Intervention), it seemed like Carly went to go find Freddie immediately after Sam left screaming about Gary, but if you notice, the episode did that scene-changing thing with the fast-forwarding of the video clip. So it really could've been anytime after…say, a few hours after, when Sam deflated Sam was arriving?

I'm starting to think that one-sided Seddie's (Sam's side) are my specialty, not to sound narcissistic or anything, I'm just proud of this one. I hope you guys like it!

Now, because I'm a ranting kind of girl, I present my opinion of iStage An Intervention: Okay, is it me, or is season two of iCarly Make-Sam-Feel-Bad themed?! I mean, really! First, the whole kissing booth Shane thing, and then Sam didn't get invited to that birthday party (the scene before she received "Gary's" text), and then, of course, the whole Gary thing. Since Sam's my favorite iCarly character, it makes me sad. I think the highlight of this episode was Spencer. I love him. Overall, I liked the episode, but I noticed three important things. One, that hallways scene was really Creddie-ish. Two, Freddie really doesn't seem to get as angry about Sam's insults and pranks as he used to! Darn. And three, Sam really went out of her way to prank Freddie. So what can we conclude? I think Sam likes Freddie, but Freddie likes Carly. I really think that Seddie's one-sided for now. Here's hoping it'll become canon though. What were your opinions, guys?

Again, thanks to Starfreak01 and her iDrabble, for the challenge and inspiration! Make sure you check out ALL the Starfreak stories! They rock!

Bye for now!

-Colors