A/N: Chapter 3. Thanks to all of you who have left reviews, and by the way, I hope that this story has inspired you all to write your own Squid/Sandy fics. I would really like to see more out there!
Chapter 3
Sandy couldn't help but laugh as she helped a flustered Squidward up to his feet. "You okay?" she asked with concern. Squidward looked up at her and tunred a pale shade of pink. "Uh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said, getting up and dusting himself off. He gave Sandy a nervous smile and managed to clumsily step back into the boat and plop down with an uneasy sway. What in Neptune's name was wrong with him?
"I...just stopped by to check on our date--I mean! Our...thing...for tonight," Sandy said slowly. Squidward could only nod his head. "Of course," he said, trying to sound cool. "It's all set, tonight at seven, right?"
"Right. Okay, great...I guess I'll be leaving now-"
But as soon as she turned around, she saw Spongebob facing her. He was leaning on a nearby table with one leg behind the other. He wore a bright smile, but something in his eyes made it seem fake. "So," he said in a voice that was clearly strained to sound happy, "You and Squiddy are going out?"
"No!" the two both cried at the same time. "I-I-I-It's not a date...the exact opposite of a date," Squidward said quickly. "Y-yeah, what he said," Sandy replied. Spongebob tried his best to look sorrowful. " Aw, that's too bad; I was hoping we could make it a double date," he said. Squidward snorted. Sandy arched an eyebrow curiously.
"And...who would you be going with, Sopngebob?" she asked. Sopngebob could not suppress his grin. "Oh, I just met this girl the other day. She's smart and beautiful and talented and--sigh--she's all around perfect."
For some strange reason Sandy felt a twinge of anger. "Oh really," she said, folding her arms and taping her foot. " I'd sure like to meet this lovely lady."
"Me too," Squidward said in a far away voice. Sandy shot him an evil look, and he lowered his head.
"Perfect!" Spongebob said happily. "We can all go on a date together, the four of us."
Sandy suddenly had the urge to smack Spongebob for no reason. Since when did he become so interested in someone who wasn't her? What happened to the days when he used to sigh like that when she was aorund? Well, she just had to correct him on that. She was the only girl he was allowed to go gaga over, even if she did want to go out with Squidward. It was time she showed him how big a mistake he was making.
Boldly, she thrust her arm around Squidward and pulled him close. "We'd love to go, right, Squiddy Widdy?" she asked, tickling his chin.
Squidward pulled away from her. "What did you just call me??" he asked. Sandy shot him a do-it-or-I'll-slap-you look and threw her head back and laughed. "You're so funny, Squidward! Well, I'll see both of you tonight. Don't forget to bring your little girlfriend, Spongebob, I would really like to meet her!" Sandy then blew a kiss to Squidward before she left the restaurant.
Spongebob watched her go with rage exploding through every part of his body. "What was that all about?!" he cried to Squidward, who was just as shocked as Sopngebob was. "I...don't have the slightest idea," he responded.
"Well...just stay away from her, okay?" he asked, going back to mopping the floor. Squidward stepped out of the boat and approached him. "And...why should I...?" he asked. Spognebob looked up at him as if the answer were obvious.
"Well...I just...I just don't want you two to get too close to each other!" he said. "Well...what if I want to get closer to Sandy?" Squidward asked slowly, shuffling his feet. Sopngebob looked up at him again, shock inside of his eyes. "You...you don't...like her, do you Squid?" he asked hopefully. Squidward just stared down at his feet without saying a word. "Well?!" Spongebob cried out, waving his arms frantically in the air. Squidward was absolutely silent. Spongebob's eyes grew wide with shock.
"You...you do like her, don't you!!" he said. "I don't know!" Squidward yelled, walking back to his post. "I mean...she kind of... asked me out the other day, and...well I've been doing some thinking since then--and maybe she isn't so bad," he leaned forward and rested his head in a tentacle. "I mean...she sure is cute enough...and she's pretty smart--"
Spongebob raced over to Squidward and threw his hands onto his shoulders. "Squidward listen very closely to me: you cannot fall in love with Sandy!" he cried. "Who said I was?!" Squidward replied, pushing Spongebob's hands away, " All I'm saying is that maybe I should give her a chance."
"Uh, no!" Spongebob yelled. " I know for a fact that she's interested in you, and if you decide--"
"Really? She likes me??" Squidward asked hopefully, his eyes lighting up. Spongebob slapped a hand to his face. "Yes! Yeah, she likes you, okay?"
Squidward smiled a bit. "Well...I can't say she doesn't have good--"
"Squidward, come back to Earth, here! If you decide that you like her as well, then that won't give me a fighting--" Spongebob instantly stopped himself. Squidward folded his arms and looked at him curiously.
"Won't give you a fighting what, Spongebob?"
Spongebob gulped. Had he just confessed the biggest secret of his life to Squidward? By the nasty glow in his eyes, he could tell that he definitely had. Oh, brother, he was doomed!
"I know what the matter is, Spongebob," Squidward said with a devious smile. Spongebob's eyes darted around the room. "Er...you do?" he asked in a small voice. Squidward nodded. "Yup, I sure do; you're jealous!"
Spongebob snorted and went back to mopping. "Of what?" he asked. "Of me and Sandy. Just admit it, you're jealous."
"Squidward, there is no 'You and Sandy'. You guys aren't even going on a real date, she said so herself!" Spongebob protested.
"In denial. It's okay to come right out and say it, Spongebob. You are jeeeeeaaaaaalous!" Squidward said, giving one of his famous cackles.
"I am not!" Spongebob said, stuffing the mop back into the bucket with such force that it wobbled slightly. "Sandy and I are friends, just friends, and that's all we'll ever be," he added.
"Heh. Got that right, since I beat you to the punch..." Squidward said.
"WHAT?!?!" Spongebob cried. "You did NOT! Sandy would never wanna go out with a stuck-up tightwad like you, Squidward Tentacles!"
" Are you saying that Sandy would prefer you to me?" Squidward asked in utter shock. "No! I'm just saying that maybe she had too much to drink yesterday and she's still really out of it!" Spongebob replied.
"You know, that could very well be true, sicne we drank Heineken at her slumber party last night!" Squidward said with a smug grin.
Spongebob gasped, and now the entire restaurant was watching the events take place. "No you didn't just--"
"Damn right, I did!"
The Krusty Krab erupted into whispers and giggles.
"Alright, then, fine! If you think Sandy would rather go out with you, then let's make this little arguement more interesting," Spongebob said. "I bet that you can't get Sandy to fall in love with you in one week, and I can!"
"Well, that'll be easy, because she already DOES!" Squidward cried out, "Now, you might as well pay up right now."
"No way!"
"Alright, then! How much do you wanna bet?"
Songebob reached into his pocket and felt around. " Twenty-five...cents!" he declared, pulling out a gleaming quarter. Squidward stared at him blankly.
"Forget it, it's no longer for money...just in the celebration of manhood. Besides, I could do this while walking through a kelp forest with my eyes closed," he said. "And I could doing the same thing as you, blindfolded, hands tied behind my back, with a swarm of angry jellyfish zapping at me!" Sopngebob shot back.
Squidward glared at him. "Bring it on!"
"Oh, it's on!"
Later that night...
Spongebob paced around the living room of his pineapple. " Where on Earth could she be? She's an hour late..." he thought.
"Oh, Gary. I'm so stressed," he said, plopping down onto his comfy red chair. Gary slithered up next to him.
Gary: Meow, ('Bout wat?)
Spongebob sighed. "I told Marisol to be over nearly two hours ago, and she still isn't here!" he cried out.
Gary: Meow, (Damn, that Marisol is fine!)
"That's exactly why I asked her to stop by," Spongebob said. "Luckily she's in town for the week and I need somebody really goregous to--"
Gary: Meow, (Lemme guess. Make Sandy jealous?)
Spongebob looked over at Gary curiously. "How...did you know that?" he asked, wondering how his snail knew most things before he did.
Gary: Meow, ( I just know, ok? I have my ways...mind your own damn business.)
And with that, Gary went upstairs, just as a light knock appeared at the door. Spongebob's face lit up. "Oh, she's here!" he cired, racing over to the door.
A tall, thin, exotic-looking girl was on the other side. A wide smile came across her face and she raced over to Sopngebob and threw her arms around him.
"Oh, Spongy!!" she cried happily, "It's so nice to see you!" Spongebob blushed and then quickly pulled himself away. He hated getting horney around family members.
"Hey, Marisol. Glad you could make it," he said to her with a wide smile.
"So am I," Marisol replied, taking a seat on the couch. "And sorry I'm so late; the Hilton is an hour's drive from here, and the 210 was blocked up for miles!" she sighed and smoothed out the wrinkled edges of her chiffoin dress. "So...what was it that was so important you needed me to come over at exactly 6:45?" she added.
Spongebob gulped. How in the name of Neptune was he going to let Marisol know that he wanted her to be his date for tonight?
"Uh...well, it's just that--"
"It's okay, Spongy, you can tell me," she said, giving him a perfect, cover-girl smile.
"Er-okay..." Spongebob said in a nervous tone, staring down at the floor. "You see...there's this concert thingy I was planning on going to and...I was kinda wondering if--if you'd be my date...?"
The happiness in Marisol's face vanished. She looked all around the room, sighed, then patted the empty seat beside her. Slowly, in a confused way, Spongebob sat down next to her.
"SpongeRobert," she said, using his real name to get serious with him, "We've been over this ever since 8th grade: I am your cousin. It would be sick and wrong and even illegal in some countries if we went out--"
Spongebob leapt up. "No! No, no, no, it's nothing like that!" he cried.
"Oh, thank God," Marisol said, putting a hand to her heart. "Armani would definitely be pissed otherwise."
"Look," Spongebob said, "All I want you to do is come with me to a Three Wise Men concert, pretend you're some hot, spanish chick I met at a Casino, and be flirty and promiscuous enough to make this girl I really like jealous."
Marisol merely looked at him. "I dunno, Spongebob," she said softly, "If you wanna win this girl's heart, jelalousy is not the way to go. She might not even be the jealous type."
Spongebob chuckled. "Oh, Sandy's the jealous type, alright. Once, I went to this place called Shell City to get King Neptune's stolen crown, and his daughter Mindy helped me along; as soon as I got back and everything settled down, my life was torture for two weeks straight! I found sea urchins in my bed, got death letters, and she even punched me in the gut and said: 'Have fun with your Ariel-wannabe, dolphin ass mermaid friend?' !"
Marisol rolled her eyes. "Ohhh, so we're talking about the Sandy girl you keep writing to me baout in your letters," she said, "I see now."
"Exactly!" Spongebob cried. " You saw that picture I sent you from the Christams party when she dressed up as Santa's Little Helper-" he shuddered, "-Oooh, isn't she spicy..."
"Spongebob, I am a nice person, I really am, but I'm not gonna help you land a girl!" Marisol said, standing up and walking to the door.
"No, Marisol, don't go! Please don't go!" Spongebob said, racing over and holding her ankles. "Spongebob, get the hell away from me!" Marisol cried.
"Please Marisol, don't leave! I really really like Sandy and I want this to work out! Please help me! Pleeeeaaaase!!!"
"Spongebob, I will not help you! Find some other girl to be your slut-for-a-day!"
"Wait, Marisol, just wait!" Spongebob said, digging into his pocet and pulling out a stack of money. "Here!" he said, "Here's five hundred bucks! Now will you pretend to be my girlfriend, huh, huh?"
Marisol's eyes lit up. "Spongebob, where did you get all that money?!" she asked him. "What Mr. Krabs dosen't know won't hurt him," Spongebob replied. Marisol folded her arms.
"Well, you can forget it. If you think you can get me in for a measly five biggies, then you're wrong."
Spongebob pulled out another Franklin. "Six hundred!" he declared.
"Deal, let's party."
