Spongebob was late to work the next morning. The trip to the hospital absolutely broke him and he didn't receive a wink of sleep the night before. It was overcast and rainy, so Spongebob had to grab an overcoat and umbrella before his trip. He was practically nodding off on his walk to work that day and didn't even notice Mr. Krabs waving at him as he walked in.

"Ahoy boy-o….er Spongebob?"

Spongebob was one foot into the kitchen, taking off his coat, when he turned to look at his boss at the cash register.

"What?"

"What's gotten into you? You just as fucked up as Squidward on most days…"

"I don't wanna talk about it…"

Mr. Krabs crossed his arms as thunder bellowed in the distance.

"Squidward is gonna be ok, laddy. Don't ye worry about it."

Spongebob nodded

"I know…"

He turned again and went into the kitchen. He placed his coat and umbrella on a table and proceeded to get ready for the day. He went into the cooler to grab some vegetables to chop up. He looked at the indent on the buns box and chuckled a little bit before heading back out.

Knock knock

It came from the back door.

Knock knock knock knock

Faster now.

The fry cook went over and swung open the door to find a wet Bubble Bass glaring at him.

"Took you long enough Spongeboob"

The bloated fish walked in and sat his fatass on the fragile rolling chair. He crossed his arms before speaking.

"I've come for my money"

Spongebob knew this moment would come so he went into the freezer for a minute before popping out with an icy bag of cash. He threw it at the bass.

"Ah! Why the fuck is it cold spongeboob!" He dropped i on the floor before picking it up again.

Spongebob shrugged. "Mr. Krabs hates the freezer, so he never goes in. I knew it'd be safe there."

"Whatever"

Bubble Bass got up and brushed himself off.

"I'll visit you sometime again this weekend to drop off supply…so keep your schedule open"

Bubble Bass turned to walk out of the door.

"Bubble bass"

He sighed "What?"

"I don't know how to say this but like...I don't think I can do this anymore"

This got the hefty man's attention as he spun around and paced up to the sponge.

"Are you fucking with me right now?"

A swift slap was delivered across Spongebob's face, and he tumbled to the ground. Bubble Bass towered over him.

"You think this is some karate class? Some football club?"

He kicked SpongeBob's gut.

"AH!"

"You think it's just a game huh? This is not selling weed out of your car in a high school parking lot…this is some real shit that you VOLUNTARILY signed up for"

Spongebob crawled to his knees before standing up. Bubble Bass slapped him again.

"STOOOP!"

"You are as involved in the real deal as I am! Letting you go? What if you went to the police? What if you told competition? What would you do knowing what you know about me and my people?"

Spongebob gasped for air as he held his face

"I'd say nothing, I swear!"

"Bull. Fucking. Shit."

Another kick was delivered to the poor sponge's sides.

"Is this because of your little friend in the hospital, isn't it?"

Spongebob's eyes jutted open and went up to the bully standing over himself.

"How do you know about that?!"

Bubble Bass rolled his eyes "It's a small fucking town and I know just about EVERYONE"

He tapped his head "The grapevine remember?"

Spongebob gained the courage to stand up while holding his stomach. He couldn't take anymore beatings and was too exhausted.

"I never intended to hurt him like that…"

"Again...Bull. Fucking. Shit. Spongebob." Bubble Bass walked up to him sticking his chubby finger in the squishy man's deflated chest.

"You knew EXACTLY what you were doing! Don't give me this crock of…"

"But I regret hurting him like this. I-It's not fair!" Spongebob's eyes were welling up with tears causing Bubble Bass to laugh.

"Spongebob, listen! MILLIONS of people use drugs every day and are still functioning members of society…It's on YOUR friend that he couldn't handle his own shit!"

Bubble bass straightened himself up and made his way out.

"He's nothing more than a junkie! Stop whining and go out there and make your bag!"

Spongebob stood there watching the big man leave as he stayed put boiled alive in his own hot shit.

Where does he go from this point.

—-

The sheriff finally came around and dropped off the subpoena on Spongebob's front doorstep. Spongebob took the letter and taped it up to his wall to set as a reminder for himself. He has no idea how to obtain a free lawyer from the state, but he sure hopes he finds more information soon.

Bubble Bass came too.

The sponge was laying on his bed chain smoking away in his underwear. Cigarette after cigarette. Soon the whole room seemed clouded by his own stale hot breath. He couldn't stop thinking about Squidward sprawled out on that hospital bed. Why was he feeling so guilty when he planned on doing this in the first place? Yes, the money is too good to resist but…he guessed that's just what basic empathy ought to do to someone. A life of constant turmoil. What would happen if he found out too? Spongebob shuttered at such a possibility. Their short-lived mutually happy friendship would be gone, everyone in town would hate his guts, and would probably be thrown in prison for drugging someone intentionally.

AA hasn't even phased Spongebob's mind. It's Sunday and he most definitely slept in past it. Eh, who cares about that place? He already got what he needed to get from it…customers. A few people including Juney have shown up to his place already looking for more goods this weekend to which he happily obliged. Plus, that fucking Taki guy with his fancy PhD or something? A fucking little bitch who pried too much into people's business.

"Fuck that shit hole" the Sponge muttered to himself.

Sandy and he have been texting a little back and forth. Nothing major besides the typical "how's your day?", "good nights", and then the occasional risqué photos. Sandy loved asking Spongebob to do the most ridiculous stuff. She asked him to put all his dildos in as many holes as he could or like the other time where she had him send her a booty pic in a public restroom. He didn't understand what was happening but what's hot is hot he guessed. Spongebob was happy that at least SOMETHING seemed back to normal. Every time she texted his heart jumped, as well as his dick, at the sound from the phone.

The only other pressing issue really is the underlying threats made to him when he tried to leave Bubble Bass's gang. If he got beat up for suggesting it, what would happen if he actually did it? There's no way he could show his face in this town ever again.

Spongebob took one final puff from his dart and flicked it on the floor.

"I'd need enough money to get Sandy and I far from this place"

He looked at the phone and saw it was about two in the afternoon. It's been a minute since he's seen Patrick.

Ring ring. Ring ring. Ring ring.

It answered.

"Hello?"

"Pat whattaya doin' today?"

"Uh…" there were some muffled and scattered noises in the background.

"Patrick?"

"I'm kinda busy right now…maybe let's hangout tonight?"

"Fine by me"

"Ok bye!"

That was weird. Spongebob sensed something was off but then again, it's Patrick. Something's always off!

He made his way downstairs to pour himself a drink and watch some TV. He sat down and cut on a movie channel that happened to be on commercial break. Gary meowed next to him which was followed by a few rubs from the snail's owner.

"Such a good snail"

Spongebob flipped through the channels looking for something until something caught his eye on the news.

The news fish was speaking in a melancholy tone behind a news banner reading:

Rise in Overdoses Cause Concern in Bikini Bottom and Surrounding Counties

The news station switched over to a lady standing in front of a downtown street. Townhouses and businesses were seen behind her.

"My name is Susie Eskew reporting live from The Strip district in downtown Bikini Bottom."

The wind was blowing in her pink face and her blond hair flew to the right.

"A series of overdoses have been popping up recently in all parts of this county and the surrounding areas…from the suburbs to the countryside, we have seen an uptick of hospitalizations related to opiate abuse."

Spongebob sat still in his seat as he took another sip. His blue eyes fixed intently on the screen.

"But the heart of this endemic is seen right behind me in the downtown area…an area with a higher-than-average poverty rate, homelessness, unemployment rate, and most notably the center of the town's party scene."

The news lady wiped away from the hair on her face to the side as she continued.

"Local health personnel are also concerned as well. Dr. Baum spoke with us earlier to comment on this rising issue."

She nodded and a cutscene to an older green fish with a gray beard and black rimmed glasses appeared sitting in his work desk.

"It's insane really. You know? How fast this occurred. Sure, we have always had overdoses in this town but…this is different."

The doctor scratched his head.

"We found out that mainly drugs being sold as 'Percocet' and 'oxycontin' are the primary suspects for this new wave…but us professionals are concerned about any contaminants…"

Spongebob's heart raced faster now. What contaminants?

"...yes, drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil have been seen to be contaminating many drugs nationwide and there is legitimate concern for some people…not to mention those who may turn to harder stuff such as heroin in the future…"

Spongebob turned the TV off and took another sip of his drink. What if his batch was contaminated? How many people are directly responsible for hurting? What if one of them dies? This was too much for him to think about now and he gulped the rest of his glass down. He tries to remember the advice Bubble Bass told him about not giving a shit about junkies. Part of Spongebob understands this but at the same time…he was one too.

How could he live with himself knowing what he knows?