Serendipity (Book 1)

Practically Perfect by shannonann

FanFiction.net

Practically Perfect by shannonann

TV » iCarly
Rated: T
Language: English
Genre: Friendship & Romance
Characters: Freddie B., Sam P.
Words:
Published: Mar 27, 2011

***

He's not sure what he's doing here. Here, stuck between a woman blatantly staring at him and a man attempting to hide a dirty magazine from his disapproving gaze by turning it the other way. The man seems completely unaware of the "ew!'s" and giggles the magazine is provoking from the wide-eyed little girls across the aisle. Freddie smiles in spite of the fact that they'll most likely be scarred for life.

He's already turned down the pretzels at least 7 times, yet here she is again, with her noisy cart, asking if he'd like any. No, thank you, he says in his politest voice and she smiles at him like he's adorably naive or something, like he's unaware of how much he actually needs them. He just wants to hit her. She pushes the cart on up the aisle, wheels squeaking like banshees, and continues to badger the other passengers about her apparently life-changing pretzels. He watches an elderly woman finally take her up on the offer and cart-lady glows. He fights back the hope that it will satisfy her need to give away the pretzels and maybe she'll leave him alone.

He studies the lines on his palm for the fourteenth time. He's got them memorized now: the deepest line in the center branches off into 3 smaller, shallower lines. Another deep one towards the top branches off into two shallower ones, one of which only continues on its own for about a centimeter. He's not really all that interested in these studies, but he'll do anything to keep from looking at the woman to his left, who has spent the last four hours staring him down. What's her problem anyway? Why does she find him so interesting? His studies end as he clenches his fists and breathes in deep.

"Can I help you?" he turns to face her finally and she shrinks back, like she was completely unaware that he even existed.

He expects some profound answer, or at least an annoyingly odd one, but all she says is, "no," before turning to stare out the window, seeming annoyed that he had spoken to her. As if he had been the one making her uncomfortable.

A light comes on overhead and Freddie reaches for his seatbelt. Dirty-magazine man seems confused by this action, but looks overhead and follows suit. Creepy staring lady isn't inclined to fall in line so quickly, though, and waits until she's told: Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be touching down in New York shortly. At this time we ask that everyone fasten their seatbelts for landing.

He doesn't remember when he started to need to come and see her. He tries to remember, but it just seems like he always has. Everything was ten times harder without her there and he's always thought that, if he could just talk to her in person, it would go back to being easy. And so he came: 2,408 miles, across 6 states, spending 6 and a half hours on a plane full of freaks. And he's hopelessly lost. The map he bought at the airport is disgustingly confusing and he's tempted to crinkle it in a ball and toss is at a passerby. The street is jam-packed full of people in power suits, walking as if they're going to save the world or something in one of the skyscrapers that surrounded them on all sides. They push past him as he stands awkwardly, turning the map upside down in a ditch attempt to decipher it.

Then, miraculously, after 15 frustrating minutes, he has some sort of breakthrough and ends up at the coffee shop she had mentioned working at in her last email, which had come about 14 months earlier. He's scared; what are the chances of her holding down a job for that long, especially with her temper? But then he realizes that he hasn't seen her in 5 years and she could very well be a completely different person. He is, after all.