Good Morning, one and all, and welcome to the end.

Again, I did promise that this would be up on New Years, but unfortunately, technological and logistical problems forced me to postpone it until now. Better late than never, eh?

This oneshot was originally written for the Bickering Sidekicks Seddie forum's 2009 Christmas Seddie X-Change. After three years, it has finally been gifted to you. Merry Christmas. Of course, disclaimers first; this was written before the events in iOMG, and as such references made will be to before those events, and are now, with the advent of iOMG, strictly non-canonical. Additionally, there will obviously be Seddie interaction inside. If that is not your cup of tea, go drink some coffee. Thank you.

Thanks to all the people who left comments and favourited iSteal the Spotlight. I would just like to take the time to reply:

Seddie26: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you certainly read more!

irishfan62: I fully agree. The Seddie arc seemed like a carrot dangled on the end of a stick for Seddiers - it made us continue to follow the series in the hopes of more carrots. Personally, I think Dan got lazy at the success of the show, and he thought that as long as people kept watching it and he continued to throw both sides bones, he could get away with putting out substandard material. Even guest actors did little to improve it. He might do better with Sam & Cat, but I doubt it - his talent seems to have peaked with the Seddie arc.
Also, I think Sam & Freddie's reasons for breaking up were contrived at best. Just saying.
I don't really want to brag, but I did predict on the Bickering Sidekicks Seddie forum that it was unlikely that the finale would have any Seddie moments, but more likely that it would leave things unresolved between the both of them. As you know, that came true, and made Freddie act like a complete douche. I also argued therefore, and Freddie appeared on Sam & Cat as a recurring character, it would either be in a non-romantic role, or to serve as a competitor for Sam's current male interest (new actor / character in Hollywood), and as such it would not be good for him to appear in Sam & Cat. There were violent disagreements on the forum, but we shall see. :)

I would also like to take this time to thank all you iCarly fans for reading my story, and for those on the Bickering Sidekicks Seddie forum who have served to discuss every episode and make my day more exciting. I will not be updating this for a long time - especially since iCarly has ended, so must this fanfic. Thank you for all your comments and reviews. Leave some for this oneshot and tell me what you think.

And so, once more, for old times sake, here we go. Enjoy.

iSTART A NEW YEAR - AN iCARLY ONESHOT

Location: The iCarly Studio
Time: 2315 hours

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the 15th Annual Seattle RiverFire Event! My name is Tom Tucker, and here's a recap of the past three hours…"

Fredward 'Freddie' Benson gave an annoyed grunt and shifted his beanbag into a more comfortable position, all the while staring blankly at the television screen. He didn't want to watch the RiverFire, but unfortunately both the MMA championships and the scheduled Pear Industries Keynote had been bumped for Seattle's biggest event on New Year's Eve – and the other channels were showing documentaries of the origin of common household items.

It was all Sam's fault that he was cooped up here like this, he grumbled to himself. Carly Shay, his good friend and host of the popular comedic webshow iCarly (of which he was the very capable technical producer), had received an invitation to attend the RiverFire opening ceremonies and make a speech. In addition, she was allowed to bring one person of her choice to come with her for moral support.

Basically, Carly had three choices. She could bring Freddie Benson, who wanted to go to observe the audiovisual effects used during the event and possibly get some ideas for iCarly. She could bring Samantha Puckett, co-host of iCarly and Freddie's other good friend, who wanted to go because there was free catering of an insanely wide array of food. Or she could bring her brother Spencer, who wanted to go because the fireworks at the end of the night "looked really, really pretty".

Obviously, Spencer's argument was unconvincing, not helped at all by his use of tomato sauce and the 'Hokey-Pokey' in a vain attempt to win his little sister over. While Freddie's dissertation, with technical specifications included, was mind-numbingly boring even by his standards, he was sure that any reason Sam tried to give to support her motive would be as useless as an vertical ejector seat for a helicopter. But she did something he didn't expect. She played dirty…and had a little chat with Freddie's mother – Freddie's neurotic mother, who was scared to death of anything happening to 'her baby boy', even things that would only happen if aliens and gorillas mated and the sun ate Pluto. The moment Mrs Benson heard that her son wanted to go to a place that had large crowds, water, and fireworks; she nearly had a heart attack.

And so Freddie had been grounded, far away from any RiverFire fun. Sam thus had the opportunity to go with Carly and eat all the food she ever wanted, and as Spencer was driving, the Benson boy was well and truly alone. In a petulant rage, he had left his house and headed across the corridor to the Shays' empty apartment and the iCarly studio despite his mum's objections – if nothing else, at least he could watch TV on a magnificent Liquid Plasma Display.

Thus, here he was now. Missing out on an experience he would have loved, all thanks to a girl that he did hate.

A vibrating sensation in his pocket brought him out of his reverie. Freddie pulled out his mobile phone, and glanced at the screen.

Speak of the devil…

The text from Sam read: Yo dork, where you at?

Fighting the urge to reply with a death threat, Freddie simply ignored it.

Ten minutes later, Sam sent the same text again. And then again, and once more for good measure, followed up with an: I can do this all night, dork.

Gritting his teeth, Freddie finally picked up his phone and replied: What do you want, Sam? Gloating over your little coup?

[SAM]: No…and I don't know what a 'coup' is anyway, nerd. I repeat: Where you at, Dork?

[FREDDIE]: Well, I was planning to go to a really cool event called RiverFire, but some hobknocker told my mum on me, so I'm stuck watching it in the iCarly studio.

[SAM]: Wow. You bore me.

[FREDDIE]: You know what, Sam? You can be a real jerk sometimes.

[SAM]: Only sometimes? I must not be doing my job well enough then. :P

[FREDDIE]: I'm serious, Sam. Telling my mum was a low blow.

[SAM]: And low blows affect you when, Fredweiner?

[FREDDIE]: -.-". I thought girls were supposed to be nice and everything – guess you're the exception, Samantha.

[SAM]: Dude, never call me Samantha, or you will be in a world of hurt and pain.

[FREDDIE]: Yeah, right. You know I'm not as weak as I used to be.

[SAM]: And I also know that your manliness, just like unicorns, doesn't exist.

[FREDDIE]: Your know what else doesn't exist? Your chances of actually passing this academic year.

[SAM]: Watch it, Benson. Mama's not in the mood. Speaking of which, stop scratching your back – you look like a monkey. Well, more than you usually do.

Freddie paused mid-scratch, turning around at the sound of insistent tapping on the glass studio door. There, standing behind the locked door, was a smirking Sam waving her mobile phone and beckoning him to open the door. Over Freddie's initial shock at seeing her, and her seeing him scratch his back, he began to grin at her predicament – after all, she was locked out.

Sam caught sight of his grin, and eyes narrowing, poked out a message and sent it to Freddie. It simply read: Open the door, Benson!

Freddie shifted even more comfortably in his beanbag, his grin widening at Sam's rising annoyance. He typed back: First say something nice about me.

The brown-haired boy saw Sam fighting internally for about two minutes, before grudgingly typing back: Fine. You're the hottest guy in town, and I bet the ladies would be falling over themselves to date you.

Once he finished reading the text, Freddie stood up and slowly made his way over to the door. Throwing it open and watching the blonde-haired girl stride inside, he wasn't surprised to hear her mutter: "That is, if every other guy in the world got hit by a garbage boat."

"Aww Sam, you DO care!" Freddie sarcastically piped up, closing the door and plopping down on the beanbag next to her. Disregarding Sam's outstretched tongue as a response, he continued, "Why are you here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be at RiverFire?"

Sam turned a lazy eye on him, answering, "Well, I felt bad that I got you grounded, so I decided to make it up to you by gracing your dorky self with my awesome presence."

Freddie was stunned…for about three seconds. "Sam, come on," he replied, giving her an 'I-don't-believe-you' look.

"Fine. Spencer started throwing a tantrum, so Carly begged me let Spencer go. I got bored trying to sneak in, so I decided to go hang with a dork on my New Year's Eve," came the irritated answer from Sam, who continued to stare at the television while unconsciously brushing some strands of hair out of her eyes.

Freddie Benson was about to make a smart reply about karma when he noticed Sam – in particular, her face and actions. Every little thing she did oozed frustration. With a start, he realised that Sam had really wanted to go to RiverFire, even to the extent of causing himself to be grounded, and the fact that Carly had begged and convinced her to let Spencer go instead must have been maddening. So instead of a witty riposte that would have metaphorically cast the first stone, Freddie kindly said, "Well, there's always next year," and turned back to the TV. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Sam glancing at him in slight surprise at his lack of unkind remarks. Her gaze switched between the television and Freddie, before asking, "Alright. Why did you just let me off the hook?"

Freddie gave her a lopsided smile, still facing the TV. "I guess it doesn't pay to hold grudges, Sam - especially between friends."

A pause, then Sam, with trademark impatience, swivelled in her beanbag to her right, tugging Freddie's sleeve to make him face her despite his protests. "What now, Sam? RiverFire - "

"Forget RiverFire, Frednub. There's something I've been confused about for a while." Sam interrupted.

"Simple arithmetic, or how to eat with cutlery?" Freddie quipped, earning him a punch on the arm. He winced as his arm instantly went numb.

"I'm serious, Benson. When did we become," Sam raised her fingers in air quotation marks, "friends? When did we get so comfortable with each other? When did the yelling, fighting and wedgies turn into," she gestured to the both of them, "this?"

Freddie paused, thinking hard. It was true that several years ago, neither of them would be caught dead spending time in each other's presence. Sam was a tomboy with an unnatural love of food, and bullied almost everyone that she considered nerds and nubs. Freddie was a Grade-A student and momma's boy that was obsessed with all things technology, and for years, Carly Shay. After Carly asked both of them to be part of iCarly, it was inevitable that both of them would collide – and collide they did. For the better part of a year, hardly a day would go by without insults, name-calling, pranks, or if Sam was feeling particularly rambunctious, impromptu wrestling matches.

Lately though, things had changed indeed. As the years passed and both of them had grown, both of them had found that hanging out with the other wasn't so bad after all. There was less fighting, more jokes, and somehow, both of them had ended up as friends – that is, if they would ever admit it.

Turning over thoughts in his head, Freddie realised that he had been doing things for Sam that previously he would have cut off his arm before doing so. He had given up a school-at-sea cruise to get rid of Carly's ex-BFF, who was trying to eliminate Sam as competition. He had sided with her on numerous arguments that he could really care less about. He had even picked her up when her bicycle broke down. And yet, Sam had also done nice things for him as well. She had saved him from adoring fangirls at this year's Webicon. She had pushed him down the stairs to save him from having the grotesque doorman as a stepfather. And she had apologised on iCarly for revealing that he had never kissed anyone.

Somehow, over the way, they had become best friends.

But of course, Freddie thought, it was impossible to spell all that out to Sam. He wasn't even sure of his thoughts right now. So he shrugged his shoulders carelessly in reply, saying, "I dunno. I guess we just grew up."

Sam turned away, apparently satisfied. Freddie, on the other hand, was not. Now that he had started thinking about things, he wasn't going to stop.

Approximately three years ago, Sam had kissed him. Coming out to apologise for revealing that he had never kissed anyone on air, both of them had ended up talking. One thing led to another, and after swearing that this was 'just to get it out of the way', and that they would 'go back to hating each other afterwards', they had both kissed. The first may have been correct, Freddie considered. The second, however, never happened. Oh sure, for the next few weeks, they both went right back to pounding on each other – but as Freddie already pointed out to himself, events of the future showed that both of them gradually became more friendly with each other.

Things were never the same after that.

Freddie turned his head to look surreptitiously at Sam. Somehow, she had changed in his mind from hated enemy that he tolerated for Carly, to a friend that he knew would have his back – as long as there were no Fatcakes nearby.

With a shock, he realised that, just as over the years his obsession for Carly had cooled to a quiet friendship, his hatred for Sam had kindled and shifted to something deeper. Some would call it love. Others would call it quiet companionship. Freddie just knew that, without Sam, his life would never have been the same. Somehow, the blond demon that had messed with his early teenage life, gotten him in trouble countless times, and cost him thousands in pocket money had become, in his mind, more than his best friend.

And suddenly, he didn't care about Sam causing him to be grounded tonight. After all, he got to spend time with her.

Freddie was jarred out of his thoughts by Sam chucking an empty cup at his head, pouting that he had zoned out and wasn't paying her any attention. He chuckled. He wouldn't give this up for the wor-

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now entering the last minute countdown! Make sure you grab that special someone and kiss them on the start of the New Year!"

With shocked glances at the sudden interruption of the RiverFire presenter's voice, Sam and Freddie snapped their heads to glance at each other simultaneously. Both laughed nervously and turned away, each pretending to be busy doing something else. Freddie fiddled with his PearPhone for three seconds before he made up his mind. Throwing caution to the wind, he raised his head to look at Sam. Strangely enough, she was gazing back at him with an inscrutable expression on her face. But as Freddie was staring into her eyes, he saw her gaze soften. And somehow, he knew that she felt the same way too. Little did he know that she had been thinking as well and had come to the same conclusion that he did.

As the RiverFire presenter continued to chant the numbers backward, the blond girl smiled softly. "Well, lean," she whispered just loud enough for Freddie to hear, unconsciously echoing one of their most favourite memories.

Freddie grinned back.

In five…four…three…two…

One.

And they both kissed for the second time, a mix of brown and blonde hair, with the light from the fireworks painting rainbows on their faces and the hubdub from the RiverFire crowd rising from the television.

Happy New Year, Sam Puckett, thought Freddie Benson.

...And this is it. Happy 2013, everyone. May your year be fruitful and blessed, full of chocolate and Sam & Cat. It has been a blast writing these for you (and myself), and who knows? Maybe one day, I might write one of these again and post it up. As long as people review, I have the will to write.

God Bless.

- NUMBUH777