ICreddie

Chapter 3

"May I leave early today, sir?"

Freddie's boss, Mr. Cooper, gave him a confused expression. "Why?"

"I want to visit a friend of mine who I haven't seen for awhile for dinner. I stayed till 10 last night, so I was hoping I could, perhaps, leave."

Freddie realized that it probably would've been better to have this meeting on Saturday considering he was recently hired and he was asking for hours off already. He had worked for awhile yesterday, but that was part of the job. To his surprise, Mr. Cooper let him go, and he drove away to Bushwell Plaza. He parked his car and entered the lobby.

"Lewbert? You still work here?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I? And who are you?"

"Uh-"

"Wait a minute, Reggie, right?"

"Freddie, but, close enough."

"AHHH!!" he screamed. "Why do you rotten kids keep coming BACK? AHH! AHH! AHH!" He threw a temper tantrum then and there, so Freddie slipped away into the elevator.

Some things never change.

He pressed 8 and the machine whirred upward. He texted Carly the word "dog" and approached her door. She opened it, grinned, and let him in.

"Hey Freddie!"

She gave him a big hug.

"Hey Carly. I missed you," he added, hugging her in return.

"I missed you, too! Spencer said he would leave when you got here. He's gonna visit Socko."

"Okay cool."

"Carly, have you seen my-hey! Freddie! Come here, man!"

"Good to see ya, Spence."

"You too, dude."

"What were you looking for?" Carly asked.

"My keys. They're nowhere to be found."

"They're on the table," Carly said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh. Right. Heh. Well, I'm going over now. If you need me, you know where I am."

"'Kay. Bye Spencer!"

As soon as he shut the door, Freddie spoke.

"It's not that I don't wanna see Spencer. I do. It's just-we haven't talked for awhile and-"

"I understand."

"The place looks the same."

"Yeah. Spencer didn't feel the need to remodel. He even left the studio untouched."

"Really? So everything's still there?"

"Yep. It's where I film videos now. Except when I go outside or something."

"So, are you a Youtuber now?" he asked as if he didn't know the answer.

"Yes. I got a Master's degree in speech. Since I liked interacting online, I used it to my advantage and created my own channel. People also know who I am, so that helped."

"Yeah I can tell. Your channel has more than a million subscribers."

"It's been fantastic. I love posting on the Internet."

There was a pause.

"I'm guessing you're a computer technician?"

"Wow how'd you know?"

"I see your name tag," she giggled.

"Oh sorry. I should've changed into better clothes."

"Don't be, it's cool. We're only having dinner."

Only having dinner. With a girl he used to love 8 years ago. He shrugged it off.

"True."

"I'm terrible though. I said I would make something, but I ordered pizza. Hope you don't mind," she cringed.

He laughed. "Pizza's fine."

They ate and partook in small talk. They talked about Sam and her famous roommate, Cat Valentine. They talked about school: the highs and lows. Living in Italy with her father was amazing for Carly, but she missed her real home. She missed Spencer and her friends. So, she moved back to America to pursue her goal of being a web star. They eventually talked about ICarly, and how it affected both of them.

"It's crazy how things change, and how some things don't," Freddie muttered.

"Yeah, I know. Crazy."

They stared at the ground, not knowing what else to say. Then, Carly had an idea.

"My subscribers are always commenting about how I should have a reunion with you and Sam. Would you be interested in doing a video with me tomorrow?"

"I'd love to. I'm glad I have the weekends off, now. How about we film it at my place?"

"That would be fine except I-uh-don't have a car. I use Spencer's if I prefer to go somewhere, but I don't leave that often anymore. My career is here."

"That's all right. I'll pick you up."

Why was he wanting this so badly?

"That would use up unnecessary gas."

"It's cool. You don't get out much, right? Plus, you haven't seen my home. I live in the suburbs."

"Sure! Let's do it!"

Why was she wanting this so badly?

Before he left, Carly led him upstairs to the studio.

"Wow. The nostalgia is hitting me like a truck."

"That's how I feel every time I come up here."

"I remember, this is the room we had our first kiss."

Carly's froze inside as soon as the words came out. He was right. What if Spencer was, too? She kept conversing to break the silence.

"Yeah. Did you EVER get over me?" she giggled. "I mean, I guess so. You did date Sam."

"But-I always had wanted you."

Her giggle died down. She became serious.

"Do you want me now?"