The Greatest Secret

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own iCarly

A/N: This story details what it would be like if Sam and Freddie were secretly together during the series. Read it, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Chapter 1 (Culture)

A six year old girl was standing over a fountain inside the mall; she was holding a coin in her hand and gazing into the still blue water. The fountain had not been working, so it was off. She and her mother had recently moved closer to the area, and closer to her mom's childhood best friend. The girl was happy that her mom moved closer to her best friend, but she was sad because she didn't have a friend, and she wanted one so badly. She needed a friend, but thought she'd never get one, so she closed her eyes and decided to make a wish. "Please give me a friend." With that, the girl tossed the coin into the fountain. She opened her eyes and saw a boy her age giving her an odd look.

"What are you doing?" The boy asked while stepping next to her. The girl rubbed her golden hair and looked toward the water.

"I'm making a wish. Daddy said that whenever you make a wish and toss a coin into the fountain, a wish will be granted," The girl replied. "He always said that you can never say what the wish was, because if you do, the wish won't be granted." The boy's eyes brightened and he quickly pulled a coin from his pocket.

"Mommy gave me a coin, so I'm going to toss it in the fountain." The girl smiled and watched as the boy stepped next to the fountain. His father had died some time ago, and when he died, it felt like he had no more friends left. It was only him, along with his mother. He loved his mom entirely, but she wasn't always fun to be around. She cared a lot about him, yet she wasn't ever able to do the things that he could do with another kid his age. "More than anything, I want a best friend who I can grow up with."

The girl smiled as the boy tossed the coin in the fountain and opened his eyes, he looked over at her and she merely blinked. "So what did you wish for?" The boy laughed lightly and shook his head.

"I can't tell you, it's a secret." The girl crossed her arms and huffed.

"Fine then, I don't want to know!"

"Yeah, and I don't want you to know!" The boy stuck out his tongue, and the girl quickly stuck her tongue out. The boy laughed and looked toward the girl. "So what's your name?"

"My name is Samantha Puckett, but call me Sam, it sounds better!" The boy nodded and gave a grin.

"It's good to meet you, I'm Freddie Benson!" The girl recognized the last name as someone that her mom knew; it was amazing how small the world was in its large entirety.

"Cool, I think my mom knows your mom!" Freddie's mouth opened in a wide grin and he nearly jumped with happiness, it seemed that he might see the girl more often.

"So, do you want to be friends?"

"Yes!" With that, the two children hugged. Then, appearing to be almost a miracle, the broken fountain turned on and water sprinkled from the spout. Sam and Freddie both turned toward it and gazed with awe. "That's so cool!"

Two mothers were sitting on a bench near the fountain; they were watching Sam and Freddie play with each other. Sarah Puckett and Emily Benson were good friends, and had known each other for years. They had been friends in school, and had moved away from each other when they got out of college and married. Yet, they never lost contact with each other. About a week prior, Sarah moved closer to Emily, it was because her husband had died. Sarah smiled as Freddie and Sam hugged each other. "You know, I think they're going to be great friends," Sarah said in a quiet voice. Emily smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

"They seem like such good friends right now," Emily said while watching the two kids start laughing. "If this keeps up, who knows what'll happen." Sarah laughed and tapped her fingers on the bench, knowing full well what Emily was talking about.

"You know what's strange, you still hold fast to your family's culture, and it's rarely even practiced around here."

"Yeah, but it's still not that hard." Emily's family had come from India when her great grandfather immigrated to the United States back in the late 1800s. Ever since then, it was a tradition to practice their culture.

"I'm always fascinated with your culture, you know. Your culture and all the cultures of the world…one day I would love to see all the cultures of the world."

"Yeah, but I don't practice all of my culture. It's kind of hard to do that because I don't know everything about my country back home. My dad left us when I was young, and my mom wasn't from India." Sarah figured how that might cause a lack of knowledge, but that wasn't usually a big problem. "You know, it's surprising how many people were always shocked to hear that my family originates from India…it's because of my pale skin, and Freddie's pretty pale as well. Come to think of it, even my great grandfather was pale."

"Yeah, so how will you choose for Freddie?" Emily made a humming sound as she watched Freddie run from Sam in a small game of tag, the two children made sure not to break anything.

"I'll do it like my mom did for me. By careful precision and always listening to what my son tells me that he likes. Also, I'd go with the one that he's usually around more and in the realm of his liking."

"I see…" Sarah closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. "You know, Emily. This is what I really want to talk about…" Emily looked over at Sarah and raised her eyebrow. "When Dave died, it got me thinking, I have nobody who would take care of Sam if something happened to me. She has no grandparents, and god knows I don't trust any of her aunts and uncles to raise her properly." Sarah looked at Emily with a look of concern, sadness, and hope, and Emily mirrored her look. "You and I have known each other since middle school, maybe even elementary school, and I know you'd raise Sam well."

"Sarah, I don't think you have anything to worry about, to be honest."

"I do…I'm ill, Emily." Emily's mouth fell open and her eyes widened considerably.

"What are you talking about?"

"Emily, the doctors diagnosed me with an incurable illness. I don't know when I'm going to die, but I know that I will die at some point of time, and I do not believe it's going to be before Sam is able to live on her own."

"Sarah, you…but…" Emily wasn't sure what she could say, this was major news to her. "You don't really want to subject your daughter to my culture, do you?" Sarah chuckled lightly and looked at Sam, she always wanted what was best for her daughter.

"Actually, I do, but the one you choose has to be someone who is completely right for her. Okay?" Emily gave a slow nod and felt a tear starting to run down her cheek. "So, will you be the guardian of Sam, if something should happen to me?"

"You've got no one else…so I will gladly do that for you."

"Thank you, Emily." Sam and Freddie ran up to Sarah, Sam wanted her mom to meet her new friend. Emily continued to look at Sarah, her face had only a sad expression, she didn't want to lose her best friend. She would have to make the promise now to raise Sam up properly, but she hoped that Sarah wouldn't die too soon. "So you met a new friend, I'm so happy for you, Sam!"

"Yeah mommy, his name is Freddie!" Sam said with a joyful tone. "He says he goes to the same school that I'm going to go to! Isn't that great?" Sarah nodded and gave her daughter a hug, smiling through her tears.

"I love you, Sam. I always will, no matter what." Sam blinked and smiled too, her voice taking a soft tone.

"I love you too, Mommy." Emily gave a tiny smile at the sight, wiping a tear from her eye.

-NEW SCENE-

Freddie and Sam were now thirteen years old, and they had just started dating, but nobody knew it yet. Sam was now living with the Bensons, but in a separate room, her mom had died when she was only eleven years old. It caused her to withdraw and become a bully of sorts, but Freddie always seemed to bring out the better and softer side of her.

Over the years, Emily had always caught on to this, and it seemed that Freddie was always saying how much he liked Sam. Now that they had passed puberty and begun to date, it was time to talk to them. Freddie and Sam both knew what to expect, since they both knew Emily's culture. They knew something big was going to happen when they were thirteen, and that decision would be put into effect when they made it to the age of twenty.

Freddie knocked on Sam's bedroom door and leaned against it, knowing Sam was probably getting dressed. "Sam, I think today is the day that Mom wants to have that talk with us."

"Okay, I'm coming out soon, let me get dressed, dork!" Sam said from behind the door. Freddie laughed lightly and walked into the living room, seeing his mom sitting in a chair, smiling at him. He sat down on the couch and looked at his mom, wondering what she was going to say. "I'm coming, wait for me!" Freddie looked over as he heard Sam's door open and close. The blonde beauty then ran into the living room, circled the couch, and plopped down next to Freddie.

"It's good to see you two as energetic as you are today," Emily said while giving a small smile. Emily glanced over as a minister stepped next to her chair. "He is going to write this down. Now that you've hit thirteen, it is time to choose the mate for both of you." Sam and Freddie frowned and looked at each other, feeling as though their time of dating had just been cut short. "You will have to spend time with this person, getting to know them for the next seven years."

"Do we have to live with them?" Freddie asked while raising his eyebrow.

"Uh…" Emily wasn't sure how to answer that question, but normally the person didn't have to live with their future spouse. "Not exactly…as you know, in my family's culture, arranged marriages are natural. I try to follow my family's tradition, even here, so I have to choose the one my son will marry." Sam smirked and glanced at Sam, feeling a nice insult or tease starting to form. Emily caught this and smirked. "Now Sam, since you live under my roof, and I am your guardian…also I promised your mother, you're subject to the same thing."

"What!" Sam exclaimed. She looked at Emily and gave a defeated sigh. "Okay, but just as long as my future husband isn't a jerk or something."

"No, I would never do that. I've had to watch over both of you and do a lot of homework in order to decide who I feel is someone that you will agree is right for you. I feel pretty confident in my selection as well. Sam, Freddie, if you look to the person next to you, you will meet your new spouse."

"Huh?" Sam and Freddie both looked at each other and their eyes widened with excitement. "You mean, I'm going to marry him?"

"I'm going to marry her?" Freddie asked as he looked to his mom. Emily closed her eyes and nodded her head in reply.

"After careful research, I feel that you two are most compatible with each other."

"Can I thank you? I mean, for a minute there I thought you were going to choose someone I would really hate!"

"No, I wouldn't do that to you, dear."

"You know, I don't think anyone at school will accept it," Sam said while rubbing the back of her head. "But then, I don't really care what my friends say, because I want to be with Freddie." She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. "He may be a dork and all, and I may be a bit of a bully, but I think it'll work out." Freddie smiled and glanced at the minister, he was confused because that wasn't the usual preacher at the church that they went to.

"So, who's that?" Freddie asked while pointing to the man. Emily looked over and then back to Freddie.

"That is the family minister," Emily responded. "He records every chosen marriage and whatnot. The usual pastor at our church wont do it because where he's at…they don't approve of arranged marriage. It's a family tradition, but we live in a place of intolerance pretty much, so we have to keep the arranged marriage on the down low."

"You mean we can't tell anyone that we're going to get married?"

"No, because the people know me and they know my culture…if they hear that you two are dating or getting married, then they're going to figure it out. Also, with all the gangs around here…they just can't know that you two are scheduled to be wed."

"Yeah, and if they figure out that we live under the same roof, that could be a problem," Sam said while rubbing the back of her head. "I mean, we'd be bugged eternally by everyone we know for doing inappropriate things together." Freddie nodded in response and looked over at Sam, he had a slightly sad look on his face.

"I guess we keep it a secret then, our dating." Sam frowned and nodded her head. Then she smiled and looked over at Freddie.

"Yeah, but it won't be a problem. It'll just be until the day that we can actually go public with it."

"Right." Freddie smiled and Emily let out a small cough.

"Anyway, I have something to give to each of you." Sam and Freddie looked over at Emily and saw that she had two necklaces in her lap, each of them had two small rings at the end. "You have to wear these until the day of your marriage, then the rings will be fused together and the male will be required to take it to a jeweler and find a suitable diamond to place in it."

"Oh sure, make me do all the work, mom." Freddie smirked and Sam merely laughed. Emily chuckled lightly and handed the necklaces to Freddie and Sam.

"Be sure to keep them with you at all times, it's symbolic. In reality, you don't have to keep them with you at all times, but it is a nice touch if you do. If you do, then make sure they're hidden…people will know what those symbolize."

"I understand."

"Yeah, same here," Sam replied. She placed her necklace around her neck and pushed the small ring part into her shirt. "It symbolizes my love for Freddie…" Sam smiled and glanced over at Freddie, she couldn't get over how attracted she was to him. "Well, I may not know what love is just yet, but when I do…"

"You'll know it when you feel it," Emily said as she stood up. She glanced to the minister and gave him a brief smile. "Thank you for coming. I think you'll be checking in again, right?" The man nodded and Emily crossed her arms. "Okay then."

"Once chosen, the mates are not permitted to separate," The man said as he closed his book. "It is forbidden in our belief system."

"Personally, I don't think we'll ever have to worry about that," Freddie said while giving off a slight smile. "We just have to keep this secret from anyone we know, and anyone we meet, but that's fine. I think there's a bit of a thrill in that."

"I agree with the dork," Sam stated as she smirked. "There's a great thrill in it."

"Good…but no matter what happens, never tell the neighbors," Emily said while folding her arms over her chest. "Their father isn't around much, but he is a high influence on them, and they tell him pretty much everything. Their father is highly intolerant of my culture, I've had a few heated sessions with him, actually…" Sam and Freddie both nodded their heads in understand. Emily smiled at them and tapped her chin. "I think I'll make some lunch, it'll be done in a couple hours."

"Maybe we'll go meet the neighbors then, just to get to know them," Freddie said while looking from his mom to Sam and back.

"I suppose that would be fine. It's okay to make friends with people of course."

"Wait a minute," Sam said as she raised her eyebrow. "The neighbors are the Shays aren't they?"

"Yes."

"I've met Carly back when I was eight, we're good friends." Sam glanced toward the ground and sighed, it was unfortunate that she wouldn't be telling her best friend the news. Yet, there was no other choice. "Freddie, have you met Carly yet?"

"Uh, no…she lives straight across from me and I've never even talked to her. It's odd, I guess."

"Then you have to meet her!" Sam grinned and took Freddie's hand. "We'll be back by lunchtime, Ms. Benson!" Emily smiled and nodded as the two ran off, she knew it would probably be rough on them, but she thought they could manage.

That's the first chapter. This is going to be with the series, so I hope you like it. Bear with me since not every episode will be one chapter long. I hope you enjoyed this!

Okay, look, I shouldn't have to go and edit my first chapter, but I'm going to say: I've dealt with the anonymous people constantly belittling me because of arranged marriage, yet they never have the guts to say anything with an account for me to respond to. I've dealt with this for years. So I'm going to say this now: I don't give a shit anymore. If you have something against my story just because I used the one thing I could think of at the time that would have anything to do with secrecy, at least use an account so we can discuss it, not be a coward who hides behind an anonymous account! If you're going to do that, you may as well put up or shut up.