iTake a Shot, by DoofusPrime

Hope you guys enjoy this story. It will begin at the very end of the episode 'iOMG'. While it is focused on Sam and Freddie and how they deal with Sam revealing her feelings, other characters will often be involved, and hopefully there'll be some humor here and there to enjoy as well. Thanks!

Just a Kiss

XX

What a crock. Here he was, telling her how scary it was for a person to put their feelings out there, when he didn't know the half of it.

Sam knew she shouldn't be surprised; Freddie had no problem putting his feelings out there when it came to Carly, even if it was totally embarrassing to witness most of the time. But it wasn't that easy for Sam. He didn't understand. Sam was all about holding those feelings back, especially when they were embarrassing feelings for a guy as dorky as Fredward Benson. How the heck did she even let things get this far? How did she end up feeling the way she did about a guy named Fredward? She stared blankly at him as the two of them stood outside the school near the classroom window. One part of her wanted to punch the kid for butting into her business. For making things so difficult, just like Carly had been doing.

But another part...

"Everyone feels that way!"

Except Freddie, apparently. He didn't think it was scary to tell Carly exactly how he felt. Hearing Freddie's little attempts to win Carly over had always got on Sam's nerves. The way he hung around her like an awkward puppy, the way he was always so desperate. Although he had gotten better about it lately, like he was getting more confident and realizing that proclaiming his attraction to Carly over and over was just awkward. Not a good way to get her to like him back.

But even though Freddie was less obvious about it than he used to be, it still annoyed Sam. And she knew it wasn't just because it was so awkward. It was because she was – she could barely even speak the word in her mind – jealous.

"But you never know what might happen if you don't-"

Oh, what the heck.

Sam leaned forward and grabbed him insistently by the shoulders. No turning back now – she couldn't resist anymore, anyway. She pulled him in and kissed him, taking his stupid advice. When it came down to it, maybe it was cliché, maybe it was corny, coming from a goody-two-shoes like Freddie, but she knew he was right. It was the only way she'd find out if she had a chance. And besides, she'd been waiting to kiss that goody-two-shoes for a while.

The kiss hung in time, like it was never going to end, but she didn't want to freak him out too much, and she got a flashing feeling that someone might catch them at it. She pulled back and watched for a reaction. Freddie stood still for a moment. He looked like he had been paralyzed. He hadn't kissed back, but Sam knew that was because she had taken him by surprise – now, it was the moment of truth. Was he going to kiss her back? Stick his tongue out in disgust? Stand there like a stone until she left awkwardly? Judging by his expression, she began to worry it might end up being the last one.

"I..."

Freddie's thought trailed off, his expression unreadable. Sam wondered if she had made a mistake.

"Sorry," she offered.

"S'cool."

They stood together while Sam waited for some kind of response. Something more than that. She had just told him how she felt; she had just taken her chance. Maybe not in words, but a kiss spoke louder than words anyway. The truth was out. She was putting it all on the line. She was afraid, but also a little relieved that she could finally be honest.

"I seriously thought you were into Brad," Freddie finally said.

"Nope. I'm, uh – I'm into you."

"But why? You're mean to me all the time – you punch me, you tell me you hate me. I don't get it!"

Sam sighed in exasperation. "I did hate you, at first," she said. "I mean, sort of. You were pretty annoying. But I guess things changed, and I didn't want to admit it, so I kept giving you a hard time to hide it. Girls do that, Benson."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously. Maybe guys too, I wouldn't know. I'd ask you, if you were a real guy."

Sam flinched before the words left her lips. Whoops.

"Okay," said Freddie indignantly, "you kiss me, you tell me you like me, and then you insult me?"

"Sorry, sorry. It's just a reflex! I'm nervous right now, okay?"

Freddie looked angry, but fortunately he seemed to buy Sam's apology. She mentally kicked herself for insulting the masculinity of the boy for whom she had just put her emotions out in the open. By now, giving Freddie a hard time was just a reflexive thing, especially if she was feeling insecure. And considering he hadn't said anything about his own feelings, she was definitely feeling more insecure by the second. Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea, she wondered. Why would Freddie like her, after all? After the way she treated him, it was a long shot.

"So?" she asked.

Freddie rubbed his neck nervously. Sam couldn't help noticing his biceps; they were definitely bigger than they used to be. The boy had been working out lately. Not that she had ended up falling for him because of his bulging biceps, but still, they were eye-catching. Sam realized she hadn't actually said anything besides 'so', but Freddie seemed to understand what she was asking: she wanted an answer. An answer to that kiss.

"Look," he said, "this is all kind of – this is a lot to take in."

"Okay."

"I just, uh... I just need..."

Sam waited patiently for an answer. At this rate, she might end up doing a Double Fist Dance on his face after all. Which was kind of a problem, since she had no idea how exactly a Double Fist Dance worked. Maybe it was just punching twice. She didn't really have to be that creative when it came to punching. It was pretty direct. Just as the tension was about to drive her insane, Freddie spoke up.

"This is just too weird for me right now. I have to go!"

"What?"

"See you later Sam, bye!"

Before Sam could respond, Freddie abruptly turned and raced through the classroom door, leaving her outside as the breeze picked up. That wasn't exactly the answer she had been expecting, although maybe it wasn't that surprising. She felt a flush of humiliation creep across her cheeks; she couldn't be sure, but it didn't look like her kiss had gone well. If Freddie's response was to run away, that couldn't be a good sign. Could it?

Maybe the one thing going in her favor was that no one had seen what she had done. Putting her feelings out there was embarrassing enough, especially after that weird reaction from Freddie, but it would have been even worse if she had done it inside the school with all her classmates looking. A strong breeze blew her hair into her face for a moment. She reached up to brush it aside, about to head into the school and prepare for an awkward night, when she froze in her tracks at the sight of someone staring at her through the window, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.

Sam groaned as she looked at Carly. Her friend's shock seemed to be changing into cold anger. She knew why Carly was angry, even if she had been acting on her best friend's advice in the first place. Kissing Freddie Benson meant she could enjoy some drama with Carly, too.

Wonderful, she thought. It was going to be a long lock-in, for sure.

XX

That's it for chapter one! This is my first iCarly story, so I'll be interested in hearing what you guys think of it - reviews are appreciated. Hopefully chapter 2 will be up before too long. :)