A/N: Okay...take this...hands you Joey's flamethrower and feel free to burn me as much as you like, because I haven't been updating! Blah! XD Just wanna say thanks to my reviewers for this last chapter!

Northernlight33: You rule! Thanks so much for reviewing!

Paul Sheldon: Glad you like it. I don't know why I picked Spanish. Maybe because it's like, the only language I know...and, um, I'm only like days away from 14, so I'm not an honors English student. Makes me feel nice inside, though.

Okay. Here's to another chapter. Hope you guys like it. If you don't, I understand.

Whee: SpongeBob and Dennis and Mindy are not owned by me. Would you believe it?

Part Quatro

He landed safely on the outskirts of town. He would have to ask for directions.

"You!" he yelled at a passing pedestrian, grabbing him by the collar. "Which way is it to the Krusty Krab?"

"Uh…I don't know…" the man said, panicking.

"I think you do!" he snarled, grabbing tighter.

"I…I think it's that way!" he squealed, pointing.

He took off in that direction, leaving the man in a heap on the ground, crying. Man, he missed his wheels. He'd have to go back across the trench and get it back when this job was over.

There was no room for doubt now. He saw the restaurant and the royal carriage outside. He had to kill them before someone else did…

flashBACK

"Tina has told me a lot about you, Dennis," said Chad. It was Friday. Dennis was working on a small sketch of Mindy, as usual. He hadn't worked out all the details yet, but he definitely wanted it to be of her and her seahorses, Mystique and Bubbles.

He wasn't used to people calling Mom Tina. Neither was he used to someone hanging around with his mom.

He pretended he hadn't heard anything and concentrated on his sketchpad.

"She says you're quite the artist," Chad continued. He's trying to get you on his good side. Dennis looked up over the top of his notebook.

"Might I see?" he asked. Dennis colored and clasped the book to his chest.

"Maybe when it's finished…" he muttered, rushing upstairs.

He passed his mom's room. She looked up and motioned him in.

"What do you think of Chad?" she asked, her eyes dancing.

Dennis shrugged.

She was about to say something else when Chad's voice drifted up. "Tina! You ready?"

"Coming!" She gave Dennis a quick kiss on the head and flew down the stairs. He was left all alone.

The next day, Saturday, Dennis dressed in a plain white tee, jeans, and a black vest. He headed out to the garage to get his bike.

A horn honked behind him. It wasn't Mother; she and Chad had just left a little while ago. The window of the huge black van rolled down. Mark waved.

"Paul just got his license!" he called. "He can take us!"

Dennis hesitantly approached the black van. The door opened automatically. He swung inside. Paul and Zeke sat in the front, both with black tee-shirts and jeans. Mark sat across from him, behind Paul.

"There'll be more people," said Paul, tapping the steering wheel. Dennis scooted to the middle leather seat. Paul pulled off at a roaring speed.

They finally stopped at a one-story brick house in a subdivision. A girl stepped out with retro sneakers, plaid capris, a black tee with a purple heart, and blond hair in pigtails with violet streaks. Mark practically drooled.

She crawled into the backseat and slung her messenger bag onto the floor. Mark turned around.

"Hey, Addie."

She stared at him icily. "Hey."

He smiled goofily. Dennis sighed.

Next to get in was John. He had spiky brown hair and wore dangling chains all around. He sat next to Dennis, his trenchcoat dragging the ground. Dennis couldn't help staring at his eyebrow ring.

The mall was on the same road as Neptune's Palace. He could see Mindy at the gate long before they got there. They were approaching it quickly…would he stop? They got dangerously close to passing…Dennis leaned up and tapped Paul on the shoulder, pointing toward Mindy. Paul turned, did a double take, and slammed on the brakes.

"Thanks for remembering, guys!" Mindy said enthusiastically. Everyone looked at her with wide, bewildered eyes. Dennis was still recovering from their sudden stop. Mindy smiled at him hugely. She wore a tight black shirt and a denim blazer, and her blue bob was pulled back in a short ponytail. She clambered into the backseat with Addie, who at first regarded her with her stoniest gaze, then broke into a grin as Mindy pulled out a vintage Sting Ray album from her bag.

At last, they arrived at Bikini Bottom Mall. Zeke pulled out a cigarette as Addie tried frantically to get a signal on her cell. Dennis wasn't at all sure he could ever fit in with this group.

As they went in, walking in a row, people gave them a lot of strange looks. None of their group seemed to care, but Dennis wasn't used to being looked at as a goth. Neither was Mindy, obviously, but everyone knew who she was…and who her father was. Everywhere there were looks of reverence. He looked at his feet and hoped there was a store soon.

Addie spotted the music store first. She pulled Mindy along with her. Zeke, Paul, and John went for the heavy metal. Mark and Dennis followed Addie and Mindy to the punk-hip-hop-RB…pretty much wherever Addie dragged her to next.

"Sting Ray might be losing their bass player," Addie offered, checking out their latest album.

"Really?"

"Yea…" Addie smiled. "Maybe I can jam it up with MY beats!"

"You play bass guitar?" Mindy said, surprised.

"Yep…"

"Well…I play, um…air guitar, sometimes…" cut in Mark. He blushed bright red.

Addie ignored him. Mindy laughed. Mark scowled. Dennis smiled. At least he didn't have a twisted tongue around Mindy anymore.

Finally they headed out with a new album for Addie and Zeke.

"Let's get lunch," said John, pulling out his wallet. They stopped at a sub shop. They split the money 7 ways. As they were sitting down, Mark motioned to Mindy.

"Hey, isn't that Jen and your friends over there?" Mindy looked up to see all the cheerleaders ordering subs. She moved her mouth, down, up, closed. Dennis chewed slower. Mindy turned red and hung her head. Jen turned, spotted Mindy at the goth table, raised an eyebrow, and whispered fervently to Amber. Dennis kept looking at Mindy, her face sinking lower and lower.

As soon as they were done, Dennis jumped up, took his tray, and threw away the wrapper. John and the others were at the door. Mindy was still sitting there.

He sat down by her. She looked up, blinking back tears. He leaned closer. "Is something wrong, Mindy?"

She bit her lip, sniffing, staring over her shoulder at Jen and the chain of wannabes.

"It's just that—well, when I said I could come…it's because…I don't really have any friends…except you, of course. Jen hates me and frankly, I couldn't have hung out with them even if I wanted to." She teared up. "I—I wanted to try something new, and Addie's nice and everything, but…Dennis you're the only one that's always been there for me. Thanks." She smiled. He smiled back. They got up, walked past Jen, ignoring the whispers, and joined the gang.