Wow, I haven't done a Squidiam story in such a long time. I got lost in other fandoms but I've wanted to do a better Squidiam story for quite some time. Yet even to this day I'm still a Squidiam fan and that hasn't changed. If you're not into the whole Squidiam slash/couple thing, it's cool. Or maybe you like Squidward and Squilliam better as friends. No matter what your opinion is, please don't be too harsh in the reviews. This story doesn't have to be for you.

The whole interaction between Squidward and his rival Squilliam is in my opinion the most interesting dynamic in the SpongeBob series, one that seriously needs to be explored deeper. I've always believed that these two have so much potential either as love-interests or as friends, it don't matter to me. However one chooses to look at it, I love their rivalry. This story is about Squidward and Squilliam learning to accept one another and getting past their differences.

Like with any story of mines, this will contain its usual heartwarming moments, nightmare fuel, and tearjerker moments. After all, that's what makes a good story, right? I've gotten better as a writer over the years so hopefully my readers can appreciate the chapters and the story-plot. Well with nothing more to say, please enjoy the new and improved Squidiam adventure. It's good to be back!

It was getting late and he should be home right now, treating himself to a nice warm bubble-bath that was seriously overdue. Instead he was stuck here catering to the commands of the ravenous customers at the Krusty Krab. As always, Squidward Tentacles liked to pretend he was anywhere but here. His environment was nothing more but a constant reminder that he wasn't where he wanted to be in life; being stuck here at the register as the cashier and taking orders day in and day out. It was tedious, it was degrading, and Squidward hated his job with every fiber of his being.

"Welcome to the Krusty Krab… pick your poison," Squidward said nonchalantly while looking up at the clock for a third time in a row. He could hardly wait to get home.

"Can I get a krabby patty with extra mayo, lettuce, sweet pickles, hot pickles, tomatoes, pepper-jack cheese, onions, french-fries extra salty, and a drink of Diet Dr. Kelp with ice-cubes but not too much., and I want the straw to go with it, and can I get napkins too along with ketchup and mustard packets. Do you have any desserts here?" The fish customer said all this very fast.

Squidward stared listlessly back at the customer. Luckily through the little window behind him, SpongeBob held out the tray with the exact meal in all that order. "Don't worry Squidward, I've got your back!" SpongeBob winked confidently.

"Good save…," Squidward mumbled and handed the tray over to the customer.

With another unhappy sigh, Squidward watched the clock and his mind started to wander. This should never have happened to him. There was once a time Squidward had so much potential. He should have been a famous clarinetist by now, living it up with wealth and fame. He should have made it big in the art community with all his god-like paintings of himself, earning recognition and respect. Or why couldn't he wow the world as a professional graceful dancer? In the end, Squidward was cursed with the inevitable reality that he would never belong in the world of glitz and glory.

With all his hopes and dreams having been scattered to the winds, Squidward has since then become embittered with life. Nothing ever went right for him, he was unlucky at everything. Whatever passion or inspiration he once had, it's been replaced with cynicism and jadedness. And to add insult onto injury, Squidward had to slave away in this grease-trap with a cheapskate for a boss and an annoyingly naïve yellow sponge. Speaking of annoying sponges…

"Well…five more minutes to closing…," SpongeBob gazed sadly up at the clock and began to get teary-eyed. "It'll be time to close the Krusty Krab soon. Which means I'll have to stop making krabby patties, which means I'll have to pack up the ol' spatula, which means I'll have to say good-bye to the grill, which means I'll have to…?"

"Are you finished yet, SpongeBob?"

"Sorry Squidward. I…I just need a moment to…get it together," SpongeBob said gloomily. "Cooking krabby patties is one my biggest passions in life. I'm really going to miss it for the next 11 hours." There SpongeBob turned and disappeared back into the kitchen. "I'd better go tuck the krabby buns into bed and tell them I'll be back tomorrow. This may take a while…"

Squidward however wasn't sorry to leave this place. He couldn't wait to get home and finally breathe for the first time. Maybe drink a little tea, listen to some jazz to calm his nerves, and right off to bed. He could hardly wait… The Krusty Krab only had two customers left now and once they were gone, Mr. Krabs would finally dismiss his two employees and lock up the restaurant for the night. In the meantime, Squidward exited the boat register and decided to go get the broom to sweep up the place before leaving. He wanted to get this job over and done with.

The two customers who were having a last meal didn't pay any attention to the cephalopod sweeping the floor. And Squidward was hoping that they would devour their food already and get out of here. Taking orders from obnoxious and demanding customers all day was exhausting enough. At that moment, Mr. Krabs came out of his office while greedily cradling the dollar bills from today's business in his claws. With a nautical chuckle, he safely tucked the dollars into the cash register before turning to Squidward.

"Don't forget to sweep the dust-bunnies from underneath the tables," Mr. Krabs informed Squidward. "I want the floors spotless before we lock up. I'd better go make sure SpongeBob remembers to lock the backdoor." With that, Mr. Krabs went into the kitchen where he knew he'd find his fry-cook.

Squidward absent-mindedly swept around the restaurant while wondering what to have for dinner tonight. The sound of the front-door opening cut into his thoughts, and Squidward looked up to see who could possibly be entering the restaurant at this time of night. Squidward's eyes widen in shock when he saw the one person he never expected to see here. For a second there, he hoped that maybe he was so tired that his eyes were playing tricks on him, but no such luck. Squilliam Fancyson, his hated arch-rival from band class had stepped into the Krusty Krab.

"Oh no! What's he doing here?" Squidward thought in a panic. Squilliam stood at the front-entrance, wearing a bored-looking expression on his face as he looked around the restaurant. "I don't think he saw me yet. Maybe I can still hide!"

With that, Squidward darted into the supply closet and closed the door. He felt a little ridiculous doing it, but he didn't want to be seen by his rich rival. Squidward peeked out through the closet doorway and saw that Squilliam Fancyson wore his regular fancy maroon-colored robe with black collar and cuffs, along with a purple ascot. Squidward and Squilliam never got along and they were always competing against each other since their high-school days. But most of the time, Squilliam was a snobby bully who enjoyed belittling Squidward whenever he got the chance. That could be the only reason why Squilliam would sneak up on him like this.

"Ugh. This is the last thing I need," Squidward muttered irritably to himself. "But it's okay. I'll just hide here until Squilliam goes away."

Unfortunately that was when SpongeBob came out of the kitchen and went over to the supply closet to put away the mop and instead found Squidward. "Hi Squidward!" SpongeBob greeted him.

"Shhhh! Will you be quiet SpongeBob?" Squidward angrily shushed at him. "Can't you see that I'm trying to hide from…?"

"So this is where you're hiding yourself these days, eh Squiddy?" Squilliam stood behind SpongeBob and was smirking at Squidward who hid awkwardly in the supply closet.

"Yes…I mean no…I…I was just looking for the Windex," Squidward said embarrassedly, he stumbled out of the supply closet. He was caught now. Now he had no choice but to face Squilliam. Squidward threw a frown down at SpongeBob who shrugged his shoulders apologetically.

"I'm glad I caught you in time, Squiddy. I need to talk to you about something. Is there someplace private for us other than the supply closet?" Squilliam joked without removing his taunting smirk.

Now this was a big surprise. Squidward turned to frown at his arch-rival and wondered what this was all about. "I take it you're not here to order a krabby patty? Oh I see. You want to announce your latest achievement. Well we're closing soon so it'll have to wait until tomorrow I'm afraid," Squidward said dismissively.

Now Squidward walked by Squilliam and with the broom still in hand, he began sweeping around the boat register. If he thought Squilliam was going to leave him alone, he was sorely mistaken. Squilliam made no move to leave the restaurant. In fact, he stood there and watched Squidward work. It was very odd behavior for the unibrow octopus; normally Squilliam wasted no time bragging about his fame and wealth. But after a while, Squilliam's presence began to bother Squidward who stopped sweeping and glanced over at him.

"You still here?" Squidward said, eying Squilliam warily.

Even SpongeBob was looking between the two cephalopods and noticed the tension. "Um…perhaps Squilliam would like a krabby patty. I can go make one right now. It'll only take me three minutes!" SpongeBob kindly offered.

Ignoring SpongeBob, Squilliam's attention was entirely focused on Squidward. "No. I want to talk to you Squidward. There's something I want to say to you," he said seriously.

This was interesting. Squilliam Fancyson wanted to talk? Squidward stared at Squilliam and tried to figure out what to make of it. Most likely Squilliam wanted to find a nice quiet place to mock him. But no… Squilliam usually preferred publicly humiliating him. So what did Squilliam want? Upon looking further, Squidward noticed that his rival was wearing a serious expression which was intriguing to see. Whatever it was, it had to be important. Despite his curiosity, Squidward decided not to fall for it.

"No. I'm busy. I still have a lot of sweeping to do," Squidward made up an excuse.

"That's okay! I can take over the sweeping for you!" SpongeBob said helpfully by reaching out for the broom. "That'll way you and Squilliam can have your little talk."

"Why thank you SpongeBob. It would truly be appreciated," Squilliam said, smiling down at the little yellow sponge. Next he placed a firm hand on Squidward's shoulder. "Come on. Let's go inside the bathroom. Nobody will bother us there."

Having no other choice, Squidward grumbled unhappily while allowing Squilliam to steer him toward the restaurant bathroom. Not before Squidward glared back at SpongeBob who flashed him a thumbs-up. He couldn't wait to yell at SpongeBob later for this! Entering the empty bathroom, Squidward decided to get it over with. Rather if he liked it or not, he had to listen to what Squilliam had to say. Now the two cephalopods were alone and Squidward crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Squilliam to start talking. But something strange happened…

Squilliam ran a tentacle-hand over the back of his neck and he appeared nervous. Can you imagine? Confident and self-assured Squilliam Fancyson actually looked nervous about something! And that wasn't all… Squilliam looked as if he didn't know what to say to Squidward. There was clearly something weighing heavily on his mind, yet it was almost like he didn't know how to put this into words. For the first time in his life, Squidward was beginning to feel uncomfortable. He and Squilliam never had conversations before. The two octopi had never interacted with each other much before. They were sworn enemies…what was there to say? Finally Squidward decided he had enough.

"If you're not going to say anything, then I'm leaving already," Squidward said impatiently.

But Squilliam grabbed Squidward's arm to stop him. "No wait! Please Squidward, don't go. I'll tell you what's on my mind." Squidward stepped back just as Squilliam took a deep breath and started to talk.

"Squidward Tentacles…I…I came here because I wanted to apologize to you for my horrible behavior," Squilliam admitted. This shocked Squidward to the core as he listened to as his arch-enemy delivered a heartfelt apology unlike anything he's never heard. "I've been such a rotten bully to you all these years and…and I wanted to come down here personally to tell you how sorry I am."

Squidward stood gawking and was at a total loss for words. He hadn't been expecting this. When Squidward said nothing, Squilliam continued. "This isn't a joke. Lately I've been…rethinking about how I've been living my life and well…I made a lot of mistakes. I wanted to do something right so I decided to start by apologizing to you."

Squilliam almost wanted to laugh at the look on Squidward's face. At least he had Squidward's full attention now. "So you see…I'm sorry for treating you like you were worthless," Squilliam said. "We can try to become friends, right? I mean I might have played mean tricks on you in the past, but I regret it now. How about it, Squidward? Let's let bygones be bygones and strike up a real friendship. Whaddya say, eh?"

Squilliam held out his hand to Squidward in friendship. This was going way too fast for Squidward who stared down at the hand Squilliam was offering him. This had to be a joke. There's no way that his arch-enemy would come down here like this and offer an apology of all things to him. Squidward was experiencing all kinds of emotions right now that he didn't know what to say or what to do. And the more that he thought about it, the more insulting it started to sound. Squilliam Fancyson had been nothing but cruel to him all these years. Did he honestly think that one apology was going to make up for it? Was "I'm sorry" all that Squilliam had to say? Just what kind of fool did Squilliam take him for?

There Squidward angrily swatted away Squilliam's hand and rejected him. "I don't know what you're trying to pull here, Squilliam. Quit wasting my time and tell me the real reason why you came to see me," he demanded.

"But this is the real reason why I came to see you," Squilliam insisted. He looked genuinely hurt by Squidward slapping his hand away. "I don't blame you for doubting me. Neptune forbid, I've given you plenty of reasons to not trust me. But maybe I can prove to you that I mean well. How about you and I head out for a drink after you get off from work? I'll even let you pick the place."

"This is too good to be true," Squidward said with a cynical sigh. "But I might as well look on the bright side; at least you didn't come here to remind me that I'm a failure. Get out of my way, Squilliam. It's late and I'm tired."

Squidward started to head for the bathroom door, but Squilliam quickly blocked his way. Squidward frowned in annoyance and saw that Squilliam's red eyes were twinkling mischievously at him. "Not so fast, Squiddy," he taunted. "You never answered my question. Will you come out for a drink with me? We can head to my bar/slash/mini-golf course. You golf?"

"No. Would you get out of my way?" Squidward grumbled. He steps to the right, Squilliam blocks his path. "Okay, cut it out Squilliam." He steps to the left, Squilliam blocks him. "Seriously, let me through." He steps to the right, Squilliam blocks his way. "Will you get out of here?" He steps to the left, Squilliam blocks him. "Oh right, that's it!"

Squidward tries shoving Squilliam aside but accidentally stepped into a wet puddle on the floor and slipped in a clumsy manner. Next thing he knew, Squidward was lying flat on his back with Squilliam laughing down at him. Now that's the Squilliam Fancyson I know, thought Squidward. His rival was always laughing at his misfortunes. Now Squilliam was clicking his tongue sympathetically down at Squidward.

"You've got to be more careful, Squiddy. Here I'll help you up," Squilliam held out his hand to him.

"Grrrr…don't help me up!" Squidward said nastily. He climbed to his feet without Squilliam's help. Furiously wiping his olive-green shirt, Squidward flashed Squilliam a look of annoyance. "I'm not going anywhere with you! I wasn't born yesterday. I don't know what's gotten into you Squilliam, but you're crazy if you think that I'm willing to bury the hatchet just like that. You've been a jerk to me for way too long! Do you honestly think I can forget the mean pranks and bullying I've suffered at your hands? And now you have the audacity to come here and apologize to me now?"

"What are you trying to say?" Squilliam asked. All trace of humor has vanished from his face and now Squilliam was narrowing his unibrow into a slight frown.

"What I'm trying to say is this…," With arms on his hips, Squidward and looked Squilliam right in the eye and spoke loud and clear. "Apology not accepted."

The two cephalopods stared at each other for what felt like hours. Squidward wasn't backing down and he wasn't about to accept any half-ass apologies from his sworn nemesis either. Just who did Squilliam Fancyson think he is? And besides, there was nothing sincere about the apology at all. Squilliam was probably only doing it because there was something in it for him. He didn't want to be Squilliam's friend…right? Somewhere at the back of Squidward's mind, he was starting to have doubts. Was it possible that Squilliam truly felt bad and wanted to make amends? Could a cashier cephalopod be friends with a celebrity cephalopod? Squidward was starting to have second thoughts.

Squilliam let out a sad sigh and was the first one to break the awkward silence between them. "I see. I can respect your decision. Anyway I've already said what I needed to." With that, Squilliam turned and headed for the bathroom door. But before stepping out, he turned back to Squidward and smiled hopefully. "I really am sorry for how I've treated you, Squiddy. If you ever change your mind, come visit me at my house. I'd like to see you…"

And just like that, Squilliam was gone, leaving behind a confused Squidward in the empty bathroom. This whole thing was weird. Squilliam had acted so out of character…or was it only because he wasn't acting like a stuck-up enemy this time? Somehow Squidward was almost tempted to go after Squilliam, to take him up on his offer of friendship. But it was too late now. He's already rejected Squilliam. Squidward had chosen not to forgive him. Yet there were still so many unanswered questions here. What made Squilliam Fancyson want to repent for all his wrongdoings? What in the blue sea brought on that kind of behavior?

Then Mr. Krabs' voice broke into Squidward's befuddled thoughts. "Mr. Squidward? Where are ye? These bags of garbage aren't gonna take themselves out, ye know!"

Squidward shook his head and decided to forget about Squilliam's strange visit to him. Right now he was more eager than ever to leave the Krusty Krab and go home. It's been a rough day. No point wasting his time trying to figure out what was going on with Squilliam. Whatever it was, it wasn't his problem. And even though Squidward kept telling himself that he didn't care, somehow Squilliam still stayed at the back of his mind.

Welp, that's it for this chapter for now. I hope I've kept everyone in character. But this is only my first chapter so far so go easy on me! Any encouring reviews you give me will be highly appreciated as usual. Also I'd like to say again that if nobody likes Squidiam, it's okay, we're still cool. I don't ship-shame anyone. There will be more chapters on the way so please be patient with me! Thank you my lil' readers!