Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Playlist for this fic:

• Leave It All To Me - Miranda Cosgrove

• Opposite - Sabrina Carpenter

• Mama's Boy - Dominic Fike

• Still into You - Paramore

• I Was Made For Lovin' You - KISS

• Yellow - Coldplay

• Apocalypse - Cigarettes After Sex

• Fine Line - Harry Styles

• Bags - Clairo

• Mamma Mia - ABBA

• That Way - Tate McRae

• Dress - Taylor Swift

• Taste - Sabrina Carpenter

• Sailor Song - Gigi Perez

• Family Line - Conan Gray

• Bad Reputation - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

• So High School - Taylor Swift

• Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley

• Somewhere Only We Know - Keane

• Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds

• Slipping Through My Fingers - ABBA

• Vicious - Sabrina Carpenter

• Right Where You Left Me - Taylor Swift

• I love you, I'm sorry - Gracie Abrams

• Emails I Can't Send - Sabrina Carpenter

• Material Girl - Madonna

• Stick Season - Noah Kahan

• As It Was - Harry Styles

• Tornado Warnings - Sabrina Carpenter

• August - Taylor Swift

The playlist is already up on my Spotify!!! It's called "#iStart Over" in case you want to actually listen to it.

Chapter Text

I'm a fifteen-year-old writer who has been watching iCarly since I was really little (like, five, I think?) and Sam has always been my favorite character. I was so heartbroken to hear she wasn't going to be back for the reboot (I respect Jennette's decision).

Still, I decided as a (self-proclaimed) Sam and Seddie superfan and someone who has NEVER seen the iCarly reboot (just the pilot, MLM, and three minutes of the Murder Mystery Party episode) I would rewrite the new series with Sam in it!!!

Now, I went onto IMDB and copied down each episodes descriptions into my notes, as well as made two of my own epsiodes and a bunch of subplots, and thus; this fanfic was born!!

I also did some math for this:

25-11=14

14 is typically around the age they were in the OG iCarly when they started the webshow.

In order for this age gap to work, I decided that this takes place in 2018, so 2007 was 11 years ago, but the season 2 and 3 chapters won't have COVID since this is the iCarly universe.

So, when they mention "eleven years ago" or "the start of iCarly" it still means 2007, which is when the TV show and website were created in the canon iCarly universe.

The show ended in 2013, and Sam & Cat was picked up after that. 13+18 is five years.

Assuming the characters were 18 at the end of iCarly that would make Sam & Cat end when Sam was either 19 or 20. I wasn't really paying attention to their ages, but I know Cat was still in school for some (or most?) of Sam & Cat, but I also think it's canon Cat's younger.

Of course, I want this to pick up a few years after Sam & Cat takes place, meaning it would end when Sam is 20.

So, add five years to that timeline and they're 25.

I KNOWWWWWWWWW, Freddie was in Sam & Cat at one point (it's my favorite episode(s), but that just means that Sam and Freddie haven't seen each other since they were twenty. So five years.

It's only 2018 in this fanfic so I can have the characters be twenty-five since there's an important plotline in the season 3 era I'm worried about having them be 30+ for.

This also means that Harper, Milliecent, and Spencer are aged down. So instead of Millicent being 14/15, she's going to be ten during the season 1 era.

I've officially dedicated my entire summer to writing this fanfic, so I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed creating 20+ Pinterest boards for characters and staying up until ungodly hours of the night (most til 5 AM) to write this.

Chapter Text

_____________________

'This is going to be amazing!!!' The brunette thinks to herself as she unlocks the door.

As soon as she opens the door, she is greeted by a sight no twenty-five year old should be greeted with. For some horrible reason, her brother decided to be sculpting naked with just an apron covering his body.

"Spencer!!" Carly yells, covering her eyes, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"What are YOU doing?" Spencer yells, wrapping himself in a clay-covered hand-towel around his lower back.

"I was trying to come in here and set up for my date tonight!" Carly says, "Why are you naked?"

"Uh, because I own this place? How was I supposed to know you were going to barge in here like that?" Spencer scoffs, running toward his bedroom, "I'm going to go get dressed."

"Hurry up!!" Carly calls after him, finally uncovering her eyes.

She pulls her phone out of her pocket and clicks to start a live. She grins when her face pops up on her phone screen, and watches the viewers stream in rapidly.

"Okay, guys!! He isn't here yet, but this is going to be perfect!" Carly tells her viewers excitedly, "Make sure you're paying attention."

The door swings open, and Freddie walks in. He smiles at his friend when he spots her by the kitchen.

"Is he here yet?" He asks.

"No," Carly frowns slightly, "but he should be soon!! I can't believe he's going to ask me to start a channel with him."

Freddie nods in agreement, taking Carly's phone and placing it on the massive '&' symbol Spencer was sculpting when Carly previously entered the apartment.

"You don't think this is too soon, do you?" Carly anxiously asks, fiddling with her hands.

"What? No. You two have been going out for three months." Freddie scoffs slightly, "If anything, I'm a bit surprised he hasn't asked you sooner. You guys share a career path. It's kind of romantic." Freddie shrugs, tucking his hands into his jean pockets.

"Thanks, Freddie." Carly smiles at him.

There's a knock at the door, and Carly begins freaking out and punching Freddie's arm while telling him to go away. Freddie runs back into the hallway near Spencer's bedroom, and the two men begin to poke their heads out to watch the scene with Carly and her boyfriend unfold.

Carly rushes to open the door, grinning at the boy in the hall.

"Hey." She smiles happily.

He doesn't return the smile, instead, he gulps and pushes past her into the apartment. He avoids her gaze as he sits on Spencer's couch.

"Hey..." He mumbles, staring at the floor.

"Thanks for showing up." Carly says, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Yeah..." He mumbles again.

Furrowing her eyebrows and suddenly feeling even more nervous, Carly hesitantly lowers herself beside her boyfriend, studying his face for any sign. Any.

"Can we talk?" He asks, suddenly looking from the floor to her brown eyes.

"Yeah! Of course!" Carly can't fight a smile, she glances at Freddie and Spencer and gives them a thumbs up.

"Look, Carly... You're amazing..." He starts, gulping.

"So are you." Carly grins, a bit giggly.

"I just..." He hesitates, "I think we should take a break." He says.

Carly's emotions react before her brain does, and she doesn't acknowledge his words for a moment.

"Aww, I would love-" Carly freezes, suddenly realizing what he just said.

No. No. He's supposed to be asking her if she would like to start a channel with him.

This shouldn't be happening.

They're happy, aren't they?

They've been going out for three months and not once has either of them complained about the other. This doesn't make any sense.

Carly can feel her heart breaking, and it causes a sharp gasp to escape her lips. Before she can fully comprehend what's happening, Freddie and Spencer are obnoxiously rolling around on the floor in plain sight to get her phone and shut the live off.

"What?" Carly stutters, her voice breaking, "Why?"

"I think we need some time apart," He swallows hard, "I don't think it's good for us to spend every day together like this."

Now that, Carly can agree on.

She always found his clinginess too extreme and it pissed her off sometimes. She couldn't even go to the bathroom without him waiting outside the door for her. She found it really weird, and was pretty uncomfortable.

She just assumed it was a common thing for a boyfriend, and didn't want to bring it up in case it would sabotage the whole 'happy relationship' she had going on.

"I- I thought that was what you wanted?" Carly asks, standing up abruptly, "Do you not want to spend time with me?"

Carly isn't even sure why she's behaving like this. She also would like some time away from him, but she isn't sure happy couples are meant to want breaks.

"What? That's not what I-" He starts, but Carly cuts him off.

"I mean, if you don't want to spend so much time with me, why not just break up with me? Right?" Carly spits, glaring at him.

"Okay." He stutters.

Carly feels her heart shatter a second time, but this time it drops to her stomach and she pales, feeling nauseous. She opens her mouth to speak, but he's already slamming the door shut behind him by the time her mind can form a sentence.

She turns around to look at Freddie and Spencer, who are standing frozen, with shock on their faces. Spencer gulps and kicks his sculpture down, the lights breaking and turning off.

It's perfect symbolism for how Carly is feeling inside, and it causes a sob to escape her lips.

Freddie shakes his head slowly and rushes to help her sit on the couch. Carly begins sobbing into his shoulder as he rubs her back gently. Spencer joins them after a moment, wrapping them both in a hug.

_____________________

A Week Later

_____________________

Harper Bettencourt, Carly's best friend and roommate, is in the kitchen making herself a margarita. She's a style icon and loves everything fashion, which is why her outfit currently consists of a brownish-orange bodysuit with a long sleeves crocheted micro crop-tops along with matching heels. Her black hair was silky and straight.

She looked gorgeous as always, which is why she was disappointed when Carly sulked her way into the living room and flopped on the couch in a huge pink blanket.

"Uh-huh, girl. Not on my couch." Harper immediately motions back to Carly's bedroom, "We don't do none of that in here." She takes a sip of her margarita and hums in satisfaction.

"Did you make me some?" Carly pouts.

"No," Harper scoffs, "you need to drink some orange juice. You look like a vampire. And not the hot kind." Harper joins Carly on the couch, sipping more of her drink.

"I thought he loved me." Carly sighs, sinking into the white cushions beneath her.

"I know, and I'm sorry," Harper sighs heavily, "but... On the plus side, he was a lil ugly, and I knew he wasn't the one for you. I mean, imagine if y'all had kids?" Harper cringes as she takes another sip.

Carly kicks her harshly, enraging the black woman as she almost spills her drink on her expensive outfit. She gently hits Carly's leg in response. Carly sits up straighter and pouts.

"Sorry..." She mumbles.

Carly's hair has been unbrushed for seven days, and it's hideously framing her droopy face and sunken dark eyes. She's been losing sleep over this man, and hasn't left her room in seven days until just now. Her eyes are bloodshot and glossy with tears.

"Carly, you can't seriously be depressed over a man." Harper winces at her best friend.

"That's easy for you to say." Carly snaps, "You're so used to people hitting on you, and you never acknowledge them. Two non-binary barista's have gotten your name tattooed on their thighs, and you just act like that's a normal Tuesday for you!" Tears slip from Carly's eyes as she shakily speaks.

"I mean... It kinda is..." Harper whispers into her glass as she takes another sip.

Carly grabs a couch pillow and tosses it at Harper. The black woman slams her drink down onto the table and turns to glare at her depressed friend. Carly glares back, but is quickly distracted as her phone dings.

Harper watches as Carly yanks her phone off the coffee table with so much force the table and couch shake violently. She turns it on and her excitement turns to disappoint before turning to shock, and then it goes back to excitement.

"No way!" Carly gasps, standing up abruptly.

Due to Carly forgetting she was tangled in a blanket, she stumbles and nearly trips and she fights to get her foot unstuck. Harper stands with Carly, trying to peek at her phone as she keeps repeating herself.

"No way!" Carly says again, jumping up and down in excitement.

"What?" Harper asks, "What's going on?" Carly's sudden mood change is scaring her.

"Hey-yo!" Freddie says as he swings the apartment door open.

Spencer and Millicent are right behind him, both less enthusiastic. Spencer rushes to the kitchen to make his own margarita with Harper's left-overs. Freddie and Millicent get comfortable at the kitchen stools.

"Sam just texted me!! She's in the elevator and on her way up right now!!" Carly says excitedly as she texts Sam the correct apartment number as fast as she can.

Everybody freezes in their tracks. As Carly giggles to herself, everyone else shares wide-eyed looks of surprise.

Chapter Text

"Sam's... Here?" Spencer stutters, breaking the loud silence.

Carly looks up from her phone and nods, grinning impossibly wider as she squeals. She sends a few more texts, her brown eyes once again glued to her phone. More surprised looks are shared behind Carly's back.

The front door once again swings open, and a few suitcases wheel into the living room before the blonde steps into frame. She's unrecognizable with her long, permed, 80's styled curls. She's a lot shorter than she was before (she used to be taller than Freddie and Carly, now she's shorter than them), and her clothes are more stylish than they used to be.

She finally looks up, flinging her thick hair out of her face and takes a deep breath. As soon as her blue eyes meet Carly's brown ones, Carly breaks down and runs to her. Sam nearly falls back as the taller woman engulfs her in a hug, sobbing into her shoulder.

Sam grins as she wraps her arms around Carly's torso, hugging her best friend tightly as she rocks back and forth. Everyone continues to stare before ultimately snapping out of it. Spencer hesitantly moves forward, and once Carly finally lets go he hugs Sam.

"Hi, kid." He whispers into her curls as he wraps his arms around her shoulders.

"Hey." Sam says back, hugging him tightly.

Carly squeals again as Spencer lets Sam go, and places her hands on her best friends shoulders.

"SAM! Oh my GOD, WHAT are you doing here?!" She yells, making Sam flinch.

"I um, I saw your live." Sam gulps, "I wanted to come make sure you were okay, but the flights from Los Angeles were booked until this morning." Sam tells her.

"Why didn't you just drive here?" Spencer asks.

"I couldn't fit my luggage on my motorcycle." Sam scoffs at him.

"Oh, right." Spencer scratches the back of his neck as he walks back to the kitchen.

"You still have your motorcycle?" Carly asks her, picking up Sam's bags off the floor.

"Yeah," Sam says, "I mean, I haven't thought about getting rid of it. Or getting my drivers license."

Carly giggles softly and turns back to Harper, "Hey, do you mind if she uses our spare bedroom?"

Harper is taken aback for a moment, her mouth opening in shock. Her worst fear is coming true. Sam's only been here for a minute and Carly is already trying to get her to move in. After stumbling over her words, Harper sighs in defeat and nods.

"Thanks!" Carly grins, using her head to tell Sam to follow her.

The two women walk out of the living room and down the hall. Everyone else gathers in the living room, whispering amongst themselves. Spencer seems more enthusiastic about this than everyone else. Well, Freddie doesn't know how to feel about this. Millicent's never met her before, but she grew up with iCarly and uses her sassiness as inspiration. Harper's already feeling jealousy in her stomach that makes her want to bang her head against the wall.

They converse in hushed whispers for five minutes before the two come back, and immediately disperse like nothing was happening. Before Carly can question it, there's a knock at the door. Confused, the brunette goes to open it.

There's no worse timing than this. Her ex walks in.

Everyone freezes just like they did when Sam arrived. Except, now Sam is apart of it, and she looks pissed. Spencer quickly hands her a margarita to try and calm her down.

As Carly invites him in, everyone else rushes to the kitchen to listen in on their conversation. As they speak, they gasp and scoff loudly which catches both of their attention, and Carly has to keep glaring at them to shut them up.

In summary, Carly's ex is already seeing someone else and he's planning on starting a webshow. Without thinking and filled with jealousy, Carly quickly lies and tells him the same information. Her ex says it would be nice for their new partners to meet each other. Carly agrees, and her ex leaves the apartment.

As soon as he's gone, Carly slams her head against the door. Harper walks out from behind the counter, and speaks first.

"Are you deadass, right now?" She glares at Carly.

Carly slowly turns around to look at everyone.

"I messed up." She frowns.

They all immediately nod in unison, and Carly facepalms.

__________________

Two Days Later

__________________

Spencer was hosting a party as a celebration for a recent art project getting super popular. It was the piece that sold for so much money he was able to afford to renovate and remodel his entire apartment. He figured it deserved it, and was glad Sam was here to witness it.

Speaking of Sam—she showed up late along with the rest of them. Spencer was annoyed that his guests only consisted of strangers for over an hour before the people he actually recognized showed up. His party was starting to get boring and turn out to be a disappointment.

"You're late." Spencer says, glaring at the group in front of him.

"Is it still bad if we're fashionably late?" Harper asks, motioning to her black low-cut top and skin-tight white skirt.

"Yes. Yes it is." Spencer takes a sip of his drink angrily.

"Sorry. Carly wouldn't get off of her phone, and I couldn't find an outfit to fit Sam. I just put her in the cutest things she brought in her suitcase." Harper points to each girl as she mentions them.

"I had better options." Sam says, defending her fashion sense.

"Oh, please." Harper scoffs, "Your clothes look like you went into an alternate reality where Carly is emo and robbed her."

Carly isn't paying attention, she's too busy on dating apps trying to find someone to fake-date her for one night. But Sam gets offended by this statement, so Harper squeezes her way past Spencer and grabs a drink from the kitchen to get away from Sam.

Spencer ushers the others out of the living room, so they move to stand near the door. There's a loud silence that looms over them as Spencer prepares himself for a big speech.

"Okay, can I have everyone's attention," Spencer shouts, backing up to give himself more space, "please?"

The guests all quiet down and keep their eyes on Spencer as he chugs the rest of his alcohol before he starts his big speech.

"I just want to start this off by saying a big thank you to my biggest supporters who decided to show up here tonight: My little sister and her best friends." Spencer motions to the iCarly gang who are standing by the door.

Millicent and Freddie awkwardly wave and Sam begins doing little bows as people cheer for them. Carly's still scrolling dating apps, and glances up for a split second to smile before looking back at her phone. Harper rushes over to take a bow as well.

Spencer clears his throat and waits for the applause to end before he continues speaking.

"When I made that sculpture, I never would have thought it would get as popular as it did, or sell for as much as it did." He lets the room applaud for a moment, "As a way to show my appreciation, I am going to take on another difficult art project!"

He presses a button on his suit belt that opens the elevator doors, and two employees slowly roll out one of his earliest art projects to be recalled.

"This, ladies and gentlemen... Is the project that got me into the Guinness World Record book!" More applause, "This is my art project with the most moving parts!"

The applause gets louder as some guests cheer and whistle. Spencer let the old art project have a moment of appreciation before he started speaking again.

"I have since been dethroned of that honour in the book, so I decided to add even more moving parts onto this art piece to reclaim that title once again!" He loudly declares.

Everyone starts cheering and clapping even louder, and Spencer takes a bow before thanking them repeatedly. With the art piece being moved to the center of the living room for people to admire, Spencer heads to the kitchen to let the party continue.

As the main group are conversing in the kitchen, Sam catches a woman hitting on Freddie out of the corner of her eye. She stops listening to the conversation she's apart of as her attention is fully set on this interaction.

Freddie is telling the random woman about his life and his past working on iCarly, and Sam winces as the blonde woman laughs at something that wasn't even funny, even Freddie is confused by her sudden laughter. Millicent is sitting on the kitchen island on her phone, but her attention is quickly brought to her Dad, as well.

"Does anybody know why he can't pull?" Harper asks, also noticing Freddie talking to the woman, "Like, he's always talking to women, but it doesn't work out."

Carly glances up from her phone for barely a second, smirking at Freddie trying to flirt with the woman.

"It's his personality." Carly immediately says, earning looks from the others, "But not in a bad way." She clarifies, not looking up from her screen.

"It's because of this..." Spencer walks away from the group.

"He just hates to see another man happy." Harper purses her lips together and shakes her head in disappointment.

Carly chuckles and nods in agreement, earning confusion from Sam. Since when was Carly a little harsh on Freddie? That was something she always berated Sam for growing up.

Spencer walks up to Freddie and taps him on the shoulder. Freddie tries to tell Spencer to go away so he can talk with the woman privately, but Spencer is set on embarrassing him.

"I was just wondering when you were planning on heading home? Millicent seems a little cranky." Spencer motions to the little girl sitting on the counter.

Freddie doesn't even glance at his stepdaughter, he just rolls his brown eyes at Spencer.

"She's ten. She's always cranky." Freddie scoffs slightly, taking a sip from his drink, "Can you go away, now?"

"Whoa, so much for a family man." Spencer jokingly says to the woman with a playful eye roll as Freddie begins ushering him away.

Freddie gets embarrassed as Spencer walks away. He can already feel the woman's attraction for him slipping away. Freddie is about to turn to talk to the woman again, but there's a camera clicking and a flash followed by a giggle that he immediately recognizes.

"Millicent," He glares at his stepdaughter, "delete that."

The black girl shakes her head, "No, this is going onto my channel. My subscribers need to see this."

"What subscribers?" Freddie asks, annoyed.

"Carly, please tell him." Millicent turns to the distracted woman standing behind her.

"It's not like it would go viral. You only have two subscribers." Carly takes a bite of a chip, "I would know. I'm one of them."

Sam and Harper start chuckling, and try their best to hide it behind their hands as Carly smirks and begins typing something into her phone.

"I'm not deleting it." Millicent stands her ground, and turns back to Freddie.

Freddie takes a deep breath and continues to glare at her, making Millicent glare back.

"Just because you adopted me, it doesn't mean you're my Dad." She tells him.

Freddie opens his mouth in shock, struggling to find the words for a moment as anger and hurt bubble inside of him. Dealing with her is seriously a job. Even though Freddie struggles with taking care of her alone, he refuses to raise his voice at her.

"Yes it does!" He whisper-yells, "That's exactly what that means."

"Cut him some slack." Sam says, gently patting Millicent's shoulder, "Also, if I give you my number will you send that photo to me? This would be good blackmail." Sam takes her phone out of her back pocket and holds it out to Millicent.

Before Freddie can protest, the front door opens and his Mom walks in. Sam backs up and hides behind Carly before Mrs. Benson can spot her.

"Freddie, come on. It's time for your bath." Mrs Benson announces.

Millicent excitedly jumps off of the counter and runs to her grandma, hugging her tightly. Mrs. Benson pats her back softly before turning her attention back to her son.

"Mom!" Freddie yells through gritted teeth, this face turning red from embarrassment.

"If your plan didn't work, this will." Sam whispers to Spencer.

"I'm serious, Freddie." Mrs. Benson scoffs, "Miami Vice is on tonight, if you two be good maybe you can stay up past your bedtimes and watch it with me." She grins.

"Miami Vice?!" Millicent says excitedly, "Come on, Freddie!!"

Millicent runs out of the apartment, dragging Mrs. Benson with her. There's a moment of silence as everyone just stares in shock over the embarrassing scene that just unfolded. Taking a deep breath, Freddie turns back to the blonde woman he was talking to.

"Are we done here?" He asks, knowing she's not going to want to keep talking to him after that.

"Yeah." She immediately hands him her glass before speed-walking out of the apartment.

As the group in the kitchen watch her leave, an alarm beeps and Carly jumps up.

"That's my alarm to leave so I can keep trying to find a fake boyfriend." She stands up straighter and heads to the door.

"Why not just find an actual boyfriend?" Harper asks, raising an eyebrow.

Carly turns to glare at her best friend, and Sam and Spencer takes awkward sips of their drinks in unison as tension rises between the two.

"Why do I need to find someone so soon? I'm not like you, I can't just jump between people so fast." Carly says.

"That only happens because I'm hot." Harper quickly clarifies with Sam and Spencer, "I'm not out here prostituting myself."

Carly crosses her arms and shakes her head slowly at Harper. She can't believe her.

"Look, all I'm saying is: you're a good looking woman. Anybody would be lucky to have you. You shouldn't be trying to chase after an ex who dumped you and got with someone else less than seven days later." Harper takes a sip from her glass.

"Maybe a real date would help you feel better?" Sam suggests, watching Freddie storm into the kitchen and grab another drink, standing too close to her for comfort.

Carly opens her mouth to protest, but her phone dings with a Tinder notification.

"I have to go." She says.

"Maybe shave your legs first. They look like bigfoot's." Harper tells her.

Carly gasps in horror, "You said that was feminist!" She glares at Harper, "Fun party." She nonchalantly says as she exits her brother's apartment.

"I... Um... I should probably leave, too." Sam awkwardly says, swallowing the lump in her throat as she glances at Freddie's arm that is almost touching hers.

"Yeah, same." Freddie sighs heavily, "My Mom's probably waiting for me."

The two exit the kitchen swiftly, Sam momentarily pauses on her way out to grab the fully-stacked sandwich platter.

"Sure." Freddie says under his breath, shrugging casually while holding the door open for Sam.

As the two leave, Spencer rolls his eyes fondly at Sam. Harper would've had a comeback if it wasn't for her eyes glued to Spencer's sculpture people were 'aww'ing over and taking photos of.

"I don't get the hype over your sculpture."

"What do you mean?" Spencer asks, taking a sip of his drink.

"I mean, it's not really art, is it? It's just a bunch of junk on a wooden wheel." Harper shrugs.

Spencer's mouth falls open in shock, his mouthful of alcohol spilling back into his cup. Harper watches in disgust before Harper recollects himself.

"What?" He asks, laughing in disbelief, "It's not junk. It's art."

"I'm not seein' it." Harper sips her drink.

"It—you're telling me hundreds of inanimate objects spinning simultaneously isn't cool to you?!" Spencer loudly asks, "That's not art to you?!"

"I just think I've seen better from you."

Spencer walks away from Harper, unable to form a coherent sentence by how shocked he is. Harper watches him walk away, feeling a bit guilty.

____________________

The Next Day

____________________

"So, your date went horrible?" Sam asks, sliding Carly a glass of orange juice.

Both girls were in their pajamas since it was eight in the morning and they just woke up. Carly was disappointed she wasn't able to find someone to fake date in time to show off to her ex-boyfriend.

"Yeah," Carly sighs heavily, "turns out, he wasn't lying like I was, and I got heartbroken all over again."

Sam frowns as she notices tears forming in Carly's eyes. She can't help but feel a sad pang in her chest. She's never been in Carly's situation, and she can't imagine how awful her best friend must feel right now.

Sam's never been touchy, emotional person except when it comes to Carly. Carly, and (as she learned when he visited LA a few years ago) Freddie are the only two people Sam has genuinely ever felt sorry or pity for. They're also the only two people she's comforted besides Cat, but she doesn't count since Sam really only comforted her because she's an annoying crier.

"I'm sorry, kid..." Sam sighs heavily, leaning against the counter.

The front door swings open and Freddie walks in, grinning. His happiness and smile both disappear as soon as he sees the upset Carly. Sam turns around and walks to the refrigerator, her back to Carly and Freddie.

"Whoa, what happened? Did your date go wrong?" He rushes to sit on the stool beside Carly.

"Yes," Carly's bottom lip quivers, "Turns out he actually has a new girlfriend who he is starting a channel with, and I looked stupid having to explain myself to him because I couldn't find a date, or someone to pretend to date me." Carly sips her orange juice some more.

"I could've done it." Freddie shrugs as Sam slides him his own glass of orange juice.

"No." Both girls respond in unison, Sam harshly and Carly even more sad.

Freddie throws his arms up slightly in defeat and slumps against the island top. Carly takes a few more sips of orange juice and looks up at her two friends. Suddenly, flashbacks to eleven years ago fill her brain as she takes in the familiar surroundings. The kitchen, Sam eating at the counter, Freddie sipping on a drink quietly, the three of them together, etc.

Carly's brown eyes widen as a thought forms in her brain, and she sits up straighter. Her tears dry quickly and a smile forms on her quivering lips. Her brain keeps working and moving faster as she looks back and forth between Sam and Freddie.

It takes a moment before the two notice her sudden mood change, and they both straighten themselves as they get a little nervous by the way her smile turns into a devious smirk.

"What?" Freddie asks, his right eyebrow furrowing and his head slightly tilting.

Sam and Freddie share a look that undeniably brings a smile to Sam's face before she quickly looks at Carly.

"What?" Sam asks while chuckling, her own smirk starting to appear.

"Guys, come on." Carly says, almost desperate, "We've had the same career aspirations since we were teenagers." Carly tells them.

"You don't know that." Sam immediately shoots, taking a sip of her orange juice.

Sam's sudden mood change confuses both Carly and Freddie. Since when had her ideas of a career changed? When did she have a career in mind at all?

"What, did you find a job as good as babysitting?" Freddie asks, smirking at her.

"Watch it, Benson." Sam snaps, glaring at him.

"Guys!" Carly quickly interrupts, "Come on! We're back. As a group." She motions between the three of them, "I know this isn't exactly what any of us might've had in mind since the webshow ended, but..." She trails off for a moment, thinking.

Sam and Freddie stay silent, letting Carly's brain do it's job. They both stare at her, just as confused as the day she had this same thought eleven years ago. Carly gasps and snaps her fingers, pointing at Freddie.

"Freddie, you still have all of your equipment, and you know more about technology now than you did before." Carly excitedly grabs his arm, "And Sam, you're finally back in Seattle after being in Los Angeles for years. I can ask Harper to see if you can move in. We can do this!"

Freddie and Sam look shocked and skeptical, sharing a look with each other. Their both unable to form a proper sentence and stumble over their words.

"Guys," Carly says, gaining their attention again, "We can bring back iCarly." She grins.

Once again, Sam and Freddie share a look, and after a moment of shrugging and wincing at each other, Sam sighs heavily and lets her shoulders slump in defeat.

"I mean, if we have the resources and the free will..." She starts.

"Yes!" Carly cheers, hitting the counter top excitedly.

Both girls turn to Freddie, Sam raising an eyebrow and Carly grinning at him while raising both of her eyebrows repeatedly. Freddie looks back and forth between them as he tries to collect his thoughts.

"Do you really, really wanna do this?" He asks both girls.

When iCarly first aired, it was just a silly webshow the group did after 27,000 people found Carly and Sam funny. They never expected it to get so popular, and after a few years it did become a bit of a toll on them as they had to balance both: being 'famous' and being in high school.

Now, as adults, it's important for them to chose wisely this time. They can get their fame back, but at what cost? I mean, Freddie's a parent. The struggle of working on a webshow where they'll be filming and planning often doesn't mix well with a needy ten-year-old.

Either way, Freddie knows deep down this is what he wants. He just wants the girls to be sure they're ready to do it again before they go back to dedicating their lives and free time to being influencers again.

Carly and Sam share a look that quickly becomes one of determination, and they nod in unsion before turning back to Freddie. Freddie silently thinks over the repercussions in his head before slowly nodding.

"Okay." He shrugs, "Then let's do it."

Carly and Sam clap and cheer in excitement before the three of them all being high-fiving each other to celebrate.