DGG: Hey, all. So many views/visitors for this story. I hope that means everyone's enjoying it so far! Thanks for the reviewing! Here's chapter two!
A few days passed by since Spongebob's encounter with the mysterious new girl. Though those days felt like years to him as he hadn't seen her since that fateful day. His over-cheery heart was growing weary as hundreds of thoughts rushed through his head at every given moment. What if she had been a complete figment of his imagination? Did that momentous day even really happen? Was it all just some freaky realistic dream? Currently, he was lying outside in his front yard, staring blankly up into the flower-filled sky as this batch of thoughts stampeded through his mind.
"Hey, Spongebob," greeted Patrick as he walked across the lawn. "What are you lookin' at?"
"Hm?" Spongebob answered absently. "Nothing."
"You know, you seem to be in a sort of slump," the star sat down beside him. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Well, I met a girl the other day, and I can't stop thinking about her. I didn't really talk to her and I don't know if I'll ever see her again. And Mr. Krabs told me that I was bitten by the love bug," Spongebob explained.
"The love bug!?" Patrick exclaimed. "Spongebob, that's horrible!"
"Huh?" he sat up. "But Mr. Krabs said…"
"Mr. Krabs? You're going to believe your boss over your best friend? Trust me, Spongebob; this love bug is bad news."
"What do you mean?" the sponge asked worriedly.
"Okay, I know a guy who knows a guy that was bitten by the love bug once."
"What happened to him?"
"Nobody knows. The only thing that's known for certain is that he was never seen again."
"But…why?" the sponge frowned.
"Well, some say it was because the love bug devoured him whole!" Patrick threw his arms into the air for emphasis.
Spongebob gave an uncomfortable wince at the thought of a giant bug swallowing him in one gulp.
The pink male put his arms down, "Others say it's because he, himself was turned into a love bug for the love-bug army to infect more unsuspecting victims!"
The sponge gasped in horror.
"And worse, yet, they say he got married!"
Spongebob raised an eyebrow at this, "But…what's so wrong with that? I mean, my parents are married."
"Yeah, but when you get married, you lose all freedom," Patrick held up his finger and waggled it sternly in his friend's face. "You can't be friends with all your old friends anymore unless they're married too, and worst of all, your wife nags you constantly. 'Do this, do that, don't leave the seat up.' It's torture, Spongebob! Complete torture. Do you want someone telling you every little move you can make for the rest of your life?"
Spongebob's shrill, frightened cry pierced the air as he got on his knees and begged his friend, "Patrick, I don't want any of that stuff to happen! Tell me, is it too late for me? Do I still have a chance?"
"Hmm," Patrick placed his right hand to his chin as he looked his friend up and down, "we may have caught this just in time."
"Well, what do I need to do to cure myself?"
"Don't worry, Spongebob, it's not that difficult. First, you have to burn the clothes you were wearing when you first got your symptoms," explained Patrick.
"Oh no!" Spongebob ran inside to the laundry room, closely followed by his best friend. "I've piled other clothes on top of the ones I got my symptoms in!"
"Better burn 'em all just to be safe," the star spoke matter-of-factly.
"Are you sure?" Spongebob blinked, furrowing his eyebrows in worry.
"Would I steer you wrong?"
"But…these are my clothes…" he motioned toward the pile.
"Do you want to get better or not?" the star placed his hands on his hips haughtily.
The sponge sighed and began reaching for the pile of dirty laundry.
"Spongebob, wait!" the shirtless male held up one of his pudgy hands. "Don't use your bare hands!"
The yellow male pulled his hands back quickly as if a giant clam were about to bite his fingers off.
"I think I have some gloves in the kitchen," Spongebob raced out of the room and returned seconds later with a pair of yellow latex gloves. Next, he proceeded to pick up the pile of clothes and took them to the front room where a small fire was already burning in the fireplace. He gave one last forlorn look at his best friend, who simply nodded his head as if to say "go ahead." Spongebob sighed and tossed his wardrobe into the flames.
"Okay, what's next?" the sponge looked up at his friend.
"Where were you when you first started experiencing symptoms?"
"I was at work. She was sitting at table nine," the square individual reminisced with a dreamy smile on his face.
Patrick slapped him, "Snap out of it, Spongebob! You don't want the love-bug to consume you!"
Spongebob shuddered.
"Well, then we'll have to burn table nine! It's contaminated!"
"I don't think Mr. Krabs'll be very happy about that…" the fry cook frowned while shaking his head.
"Spongebob, it doesn't matter what Mr. Krabs thinks! Does he want his entire restaurant to become a breeding ground for these deadly little bugs? We're doing it to save the Krusty Krab!"
"Well, I wiped it down yesterday with disinfectant spray like I'm supposed to at the end of each day. Do we still have to burn it?"
"Hmm, your spray probably slowed it down, but it can't hold it back forever. Quickly, we have to get to the Krusty Krab!"
The starfish dashed out the front door with Spongebob hot on his trail. They raced down the street to the wooden restaurant as fast as they could, standing outside the glass doors.
"I see it! It doesn't look contaminated though," noted Spongebob.
"You're right. We must have gotten here just in time," Patrick burst through the double doors, causing the customers and Squidward to look up at the commotion.
"Spongebob, can't you spend your day off at home where you're away from me?" Squidward asked, clearly annoyed.
"Everybody, we have a crisis!" Patrick exclaimed. "The love-bug's infected the Krusty Krab!"
Everyone stared blankly at him, not saying a word.
"Spongebob, which table is number nine?" he looked over at his friend.
"That one," he pointed to a window seat, which was currently unoccupied.
"Hurry, Spongebob, we have to get rid of it!"
The two rushed over to the table and began attempting to lift it from the floor.
"Spongebob, Patrick, what do you two think you're doing?" asked Squidward as he brought a tentacle up to his temple.
"This table's been infected, Squidward, we have to get rid of it," explained Spongebob's strained voice.
"Infected?" Squidward raised an eyebrow. "Infected with what?'
"Were you not listening?" Patrick dropped his end of the table and sprinted toward Squidward. "The love-bug infected it!"
"What are you blabbering about? There's no such thing as a love bug."
"A non-believer, huh? They're all non-believers in the beginning until they get infected too. You'll thank us, Squidward, trust me."
Patrick strolled back over to help his friend pick up the table again. As the two weaklings struggled ceaselessly, Squidward sighed and walked over to his employer's office. Moments later, Mr. Krabs emerged.
"Spongebob, Patrick, what the barnacle are you doing?" he demanded, his claws on his hips.
"Saving the Krusty Krab," answered the fry cook.
The old crab trudged across the restaurant, grabbed the two boys with his bright red claws, and dragged them back to his office.
"Mr. Krabs, you don't understand!" exclaimed Spongebob. "We have to save the Krusty Krab from the love bug."
"What? That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard come out of your mouth, boy, and I've heard some pretty odd things from you," the businessman raised an eyebrow.
"But the love bug is set to take over any minute!" cried Patrick, grabbing hold of the crustacean's light blue, short-sleeved work shirt.
He pried the starfish off him and looked them both in the eyes, "Look. I don't know where you get your information, but the love bug is not dangerous. I told you the other day, Spongebob, that it's harmless."
"That's what they all say!" bellowed Patrick.
"Of course it is, because it's the truth," Mr. Krabs shoved the star into a chair. "The 'love bug' is just another saying for having a crush on somebody. It means that you like someone."
"So does that mean I have a crush on you?" asked Spongebob, cocking his head innocently.
"What?" the crab blinked.
"Well, I like you, so does that mean I have a crush on you?"
"No, no, boy," Mr. Krabs waved his claws in front of him. "A crush is when you get that funny feelin' in your stomach and your heart's all a flutter."
"Oh," the two friends said in unison.
"There is no actual 'love bug,'" Mr. Krabs continued. "And if there was, I don't think it would be harmful to anything. So stop tryin' to destroy me restaurant and go play."
The boys nodded and quickly left the building. Once they were outside, Spongebob turned to Patrick.
"See? We don't have anything to worry about, after all," he smiled.
"But what about that guy who was never seen again?" Patrick frowned.
"Well…maybe he wasn't bitten by the love bug," Spongebob shrugged. "Maybe something else just happened to him."
"But I was told he was bitten by that bug, got a girlfriend, then got married, and was never seen again! I don't want that to happen to us!" Patrick whined.
"Don't worry about it, Pat. Nothing can tear us apart. We're best friends forever, remember?" Spongebob held up his ring engraved with the letters "BFF" on it.
Patrick smiled.
"Yeah!"
"So we have nothing to worry about. C'mon, let's go back to my house. We can watch movies with Gary."
"Okay," Patrick cried.
With that, the two headed back down the street to Spongebob's house with Patrick feeling very reassured. What was he thinking? He and Spongebob had been best friends since before they could even crawl! Nothing but nothing was going to ever tear them apart! They'd remain friends forever, just how they should be…