Author's Notes: I know what you're thinking - didn't Snapp say she was taking a break from FF writing once "Bonded"? Well, that was the plan and then iOMG happened ;D I got a surge of inspiration on Sunday afternoon for a short angsty fic that follows after Carly sees Sam and Freddie kiss during the lock-in. So here it is, read it and weep (seriously).

Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly, so don't sue me if you don't like iOMG. Seriously.

It was a running tradition to have a lock-in at Ridgeway every year for the students to pull an all-nighter on completing their various group projects.

No distractions.

Maximum optimisation of group work and getting your assignments done on time.

Zero chance of escape.

Carly hadn't thought too hard about that last part when she first looked out of the hallway window and laid eyes on Sam and Freddie kissing in the quad. At first, her mind had belied her, leading her to believe that she was hallucinating for a split second. But as reality set in and she saw the way that Sam's arms tightened around Freddie's muscular build, Carly finally realised that what she was seeing was really happening through the gaps in the blinds. Sam was kissing Freddie, and quite enthusiastically at that.

Carly couldn't move a muscle, even if she had wanted to. Her eyes were glued to the scene in front of her, greedily taking in every single movement and action.

From her vantage point, Carly couldn't tell if Freddie was actually kissing Sam back, but that hardly mattered. He wasn't stopping Sam at all, and that seemed to send out a clear message to Carly.

Freddie was over her.

Carly literally felt a dead weight in the pit of her stomach and a dull sensation in her chest at the thought. Why did she feel so claustrophobic all of a sudden? It was the lock-in, all of them trapped in the school together, that was it. It had absolutely nothing to do with her two best friends kissing without fear of being caught by any passer-by. Lucky for them, it was just her witnessing their private moment.

Suddenly, Carly didn't feel so lucky after all, just unfortunate.

The feeling abruptly returned to her stiff legs and Carly was suddenly tearing her eyes away from the window and running back down the hallway. Sam and Freddie couldn't know that she'd seen them, they would be completely embarrassed. She would be embarrassed.

The feeling in her chest like a million knives stabbing at her bones was just embarrassment at catching her two best friends kissing.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Gibby and Spencer were waiting for her, she had to get back to them so she could finish her project. Everything else would just have to wait.

"Carly, where have you been? You've been gone for like 15 minutes." Gibby complained when Carly returned.

She was completely out of breath and there was a burning stitch in her side which screamed in agony. But Carly ignored it, silently thankful that she had made it back without arousing too much suspicion.

"I'm sorry, Gibby. I ran into Wendy who was telling me about the new puppy she got yesterday." Carly lied in a convincing manner, trying to keep her breathing steady.

"Well come on, we've still got a couple of more nasty things to do to Spencer." Gibby implored with an evil grin on his face, rubbing his hands together with unsuppressed enthusiasm.

Spencer was still inside the box which she and Gibby had constructed for the psychological tests they were currently running on him. By the looks of it, Spencer still hadn't cleaned off the chowder on his face and clothes, looking positively irate.

"You're right, Gibby, let's try and get the rest done before midnight-"

Just then, Freddie and Sam entered the classroom. Carly heard Gibby offer them a greeting while her eyes were innately drawn to her two best friends, searching for any signs of happiness or guilt. Freddie was being extremely formal and clearing his throat a lot while Sam seemed to be looking everywhere else, but directly at her. Were they really that ashamed of what they had done? It certainly hadn't looked that way a few minutes ago.

"Carly!"

"Huh?" Carly asked blankly, searching for who had called her name.

To her surprise, it was Freddie and he seemed to be gauging her eyes for something that she couldn't put into words at the present moment.

"You ok, Cupcake?" Sam asked in what appeared to be a jocular tone.

Sam was smiling, but the smile didn't quite reach her blue eyes. She and Carly had fought about Brad 10 minutes ago. Carly wondered if Sam was still mad at her. Is that why she had kissed Freddie? Carly couldn't let either her or Freddie know that she knew. It would just make everything ridiculously uncomfortable, much like when she confronted them about their first kiss. Had they really come full circle since then?

"Carly?" Freddie asked in evident concern.

"Yeah?" Carly asked, feigning cheerfulness, her voice sounding way too loud in her own ears.

"Are you ok? You seem kinda distracted." Freddie persisted.

"I'm fine. I just got a little side-tracked thinking about the uh…project." Carly offered haphazardly.

"Carls, you look whiter than usual. Are you feeling sick or something?" Sam questioned in a gentle voice.

"No, I'm not sick. I'm fine, I've never felt better." Carly offered, a wide smile plastered on her face which threatened to split her face in two.

Both Freddie and Sam looked doubtful of that, so Carly ploughed on with her voluntary lie.

"Guys, relax! I'm fine, just a little tired from working solidly on mine and Gibby's project. Speaking of which, we should probably get back to it and you guys should find Brad and finish your project."

"Uh, ok. I guess we'll get going." Sam remarked in a small voice.

Carly made a non-committal noise in the back of her throat, feeling oddly guilty for brushing Sam and Freddie off. But it was too late to take it back. She was feeling strangely hot in the face, like she was coming down with a fever.

"Ya ha! Come on, Gibby. Let's test out Spencer's reaction to having the floor of the box electrified for spurts of 5 seconds."

"5 seconds? I thought we agreed on 2." Gibby protested in horror.

"Don't sweat it, Spencer won't even feel it," Carly replied with a dismissive wave, anxious to get things back on track.

"Well, I guess Sam and I will leave you to it. See ya later." Freddie greeted before digging his hands deep into his pockets.

"Later! Gibby, hit the switch!" Carly greeted in a manic voice.

"You got it!" Gibby complied.

Carly felt bad a few seconds later when Spencer began dancing around the glass box like a man on fire. But it was nothing compared to what was boiling over deep inside of her, a feeling she'd never known.

A feeling she couldn't explain.

The words 'I'm fine' kept ringing in her ears over and over again, making her ears feel like lead.

"I'm fine," she whispered fiercely under her breath, willing herself to concentrate on the task at hand.

If she kept repeating the mantra, just maybe she'd start to believe it.

Author's Note: I hope you all liked this opening chapter :D Before anyone thinks that I detested iOMG, far from it. Save for the last 2 minutes with that mean cliffhanger, I thought the episode was incredibly and consistently funny throughout, a first in a while for iCarly (iPity The Nevel was good too). And I loved the Creddie horses' convo, Miranda was seriously on fire :D But yeah, this fic will also cover Freddie and Sam's perspectives about the kiss and where the three of them will go from here with their friendship. So stay tuned and never blog while drunk. Cheers!