Serendipity (Book 2)

No Rain, No Rainbow by messy heart

FanFiction.net

No Rain, No Rainbow by messy heart

TV » iCarly
Rated: T
Language: English
Genre: Friendship & Romance
Characters: Freddie B., Sam P.
Words: 7,372
Published: May 10, 2011

***

For a second, she thinks she might be dreaming. That's the only thing her brain can come up with as a feasible explanation to why Fredward Benson is sitting on her porch swing. She hasn't seen the guy in two years and all of a sudden he's sitting there in the setting summer sun, with a huge ass duffel bag beside him and a nervous smile.

Seriously. He's a figment of her imagination.

Except he speaks. "Hey, Sam." And even offers a small friendly wave.

"What the... Freddie? What in the world are you doing here?"

He stands up and shoves both his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. "I came to see you. I thought that much was obvious."

"Yeah, obviously, but shit you're not one for spontaneous three thousand mile trips, Benson, so forgive me for being surprised."

"Isn't it weird that people always think of long distances as three? Like three hundred miles or three thousand miles?" He grins at her, pulling on her hand until she's standing in the circle of his arms. "New York isn't that far from Hawaii."

But it's far enough for you not to see me for two years, she wants to say but she doesn't. Instead she returns the tight hug, and it occurs to her then that he's gotten a lot taller than should be allowed. The top of her head barely reaches his chin. But he's also tinier somehow, as if he's folded into himself-thinner in all the wrong ways. She desperately wants to cry but she doesn't. She just takes a deep breath.

(And prays that it'll last her forever.)

"Does Carly know you're here?" she can't help but ask.

His answer is a shrug and a sad smile and an equally sad "We broke up." She tries not to think about it too much, tries not to dissect what this could all mean because she'll just drive herself crazy with all those theories of what this and that could signify. It's a bit painful, however, when she realizes that Carly, her best friend, didn't even tell her that she'd broken up with her boyfriend of five years. They're still good friends, talking over the phone when they can and exchanging emails. Why she would keep something this big from Sam is disheartening, but she's trying not to read into any of this.

So she gives her what she can only hope is a sympathetic smile and pulls herself away from him to unlock the door.

"How long are you staying?" she asks once they're inside her tiny living room and she can tell that he's relieved that the question isn't one about the recently failed relationship.

He shrugs, placing his bag on her cream-colored sofa. "I don't know. I'm trying to figure some stuff out. Thought that visiting you here in lovely O'ahu would be a good place to do that. If you have space to spare, of course."

She nods enthusiastically, moving to the adjoining kitchen to make them some tea. "Stay as long as you need, nub." Her home is rather small but idyllic. Her version of idyllic, at least. There's a blossoming hibiscus shrub at the front of the house and a pineapple patch at the back which also offers a view of the vast glittering ocean. Kinda. If you squint maybe you'll see it. It needs some work, sure, work she doesn't exactly have time for but it's home. Her very own home that she's paying rent with her very own money.

Soon the kettle is on the stove and she's standing in front of her empty fridge, trying to figure out what to cook for dinner. What does one cook for a brokenhearted friend? Ice cream? She shakes her head. No, that's not right. "How about we go out for dinner?" she suggests as she closes the refrigerator door. "We can celebrate your first night here? Get a couple of drinks, too."