Sorry for the delay! It's been rough, my mental health has been bad and yadda yadda…

I've been using Animal Crossing as a coping mechanism, but I'm back now!

Everything's being edited and posted over the week (hopefully).

Enjoy!

Chapter 6

The Day Off

Patrick awoke feeling too warm, not an unusual occurrence at the moment. He stretched sleepily as he rolled over in the unfamiliar smelling bed, his brown eyes blinked open sluggishly to see a second bed across from him – there his best friend lay, still asleep. He yawned as his eyes glanced around the room, he remembered he was at Krabs' house. He could hear movement downstairs, everyone else was up. He sat up, it was strange for SpongeBob to be the last to rise, he was a morning person after all but he figured it was just from the heat.

He washed up a little before heading downstairs, he greeted the others sleepily. There was an assortment of fruits and yoghurts on the table, a healthy breakfast. He sat down and pulled a strawberry yoghurt closer, the others greeted him.

"The lad still asleep?" Mr Krabs asked,

"Yeah, I think the heat's really tiring him out." Patrick nodded, they understood.

"I think we should make a plan for our day off." Squidward spoke up, "If we give SpongeBob something to do with us today, he'll stay away from that Phineas guy."

"Agreed!" Sandy piped up immediately, "If I could, I'd keep him away from that guy permanently. I just don't trust him, there's something not right about him but I don't know what."

"Well, what can we do?" Patrick asked tiredly, "It's too hot to do anything fun!"

The others thought carefully, trying to think of anything that would last the day without giving them all heatstroke.

Upstairs, SpongeBob was awake and checking his phone. There was a couple of texts.

Phineas: Thanks for today, it means a lot that you'd give me a second chance.

Phineas: I was thinking – you wanna head out tonight? I found a bar last night and it's pretty nice!

SpongeBob thought about the offer, he wasn't one for drinking really but it could be fun to have a night out. Especially seeing as Phineas didn't have any other friends.

Then he remembered the storm.

SpongeBob: I think there's supposed to be a crazy storm tonight, might be better to hold off for now. Does sound fun though!

He locked his phone and got ready for the day, he jumped when he received another text.

Phineas: A little rain never hurt anybody! What, do you rust?

SpongeBob smirked in amusement, another text came through.

Phineas: You scared of Thunder of something? C'mon! Live a little!

The boy chuckled, he supposed his friend was right. The storm wasn't a reason to not go out to a bar, if anything it might make it more fun!

SpongeBob: Ok! Fine! Let's party in the storm tonight! :D

He smirked when he got a text back.

Phineas: Sweet! I'll come get you from your place around 6?

SpongeBob: Sounds good! See ya then!

He locked his phone again and headed downstairs, he sat happily at the table as he collected some fruit for breakfast. They all greeted each other as he began eating.

"So buddy, we were thinking of doing something together today!" Patrick grinned over at his friend, "What do you think?"

"Yeah! Sounds awesome!" SpongeBob nodded excitedly.

"We'll spend the whole day together and then we'll eat the left overs from last night for dinner." Mr Krabs explained, happy the boy was excited to spend time with them.

"Oh, sorry I can't. I have plans for tonight." The boy shrugged, "I'm going out with Phineas to a bar."

"But there's a storm?" Sandy frowned,

"Yeah, so? I'll be inside!" SpongeBob raised an eyebrow at the accusing tone, "Don't worry, I'll stay in touch!"

"You come back here afterwards." Mr Krabs nodded firmly, "And you get home before midnight, that's an order."

"Yes sir!" SpongeBob saluted jokingly, "I'm only going out for a couple of drinks! You know me, I'm not the kinda guy that gets wasted."

They knew it was true, they trusted him with that at least.

"What are we doing today?" SpongeBob asked, hoping to change the subject as he wolfed down the last of his breakfast.

The others looked at one another, they didn't approve of his evening plans but they knew they wanted to have a nice day together.

"Well it's still a heatwave out there," Squidward shrugged, "What is there to do?"

"It would be fun to swim in the sea!" Patrick cheered, "The beach isn't very busy right now coz the sand's really hot!"

"Yeah!" SpongeBob whooped, "Let's do it!"

So, that morning the five friends packed up and headed to the beach. They made sure to wear shoes and bring towels so they wouldn't have to stand on the sand too much, they packed plenty of cold snacks and drinks in Mr Krabs' old cooler and took a couple parasols for shade.

Goo Lagoon was a huge white beach that spread for miles, it was a popular and beloved destination in town and was usually crammed with people. Today however it was deserted with only a few families braving the heat for a dip in the cool sea.

It was easy for the five to find a good spot and get set up, by now they were sweating and desperate for a swim.

SpongeBob took his shoes off and stood on his towel, eyeing the sand warily. He crouched and touched it with his hand, withdrawing it in surprise at just how burning hot the sand was!

"It's gonna have to be a race." Sandy smirked as he took her own shoes off and stood on her towel, making a show of stretching.

"Last one there is a rotten egg?" SpongeBob smirked teasingly, Sandy nodded with a snicker.

"Yup, a rotten egg." She giggled.

"Well, you two might wanna hurry up." Squidward pointed out as he and Mr Krabs continued to set up their shade, "Patrick's winning."

Sandy and SpongeBob glanced round in surprise to see the pink haired boy already half way to the sea.

"That sneaky lil-" Sandy gasped as SpongeBob sped after his best friend, "Hey! Wait up!"

SpongeBob laughed at her call, he could hear her running not far behind him. He could also hear Patrick as he finally reached the sea, he was whooping and splashing.

"You cheated!" Sandy chuckled from behind.

"Nope! I just didn't show off!" Patrick called over, sticking his tongue out as he paddled deeper into the water.

Sandy was about to catch up, SpongeBob dived forward and landed head first in the shallows. He disappeared under and crawled over to where he could see Patrick's feet.

"Another cheat!" Sandy complained as she ran through the shallows, slowing as it got deeper and she waded towards Patrick. He was now waist deep, he squeaked when he felt something grab his leg and reached down.

He pulled SpongeBob out of the water by his arm, the boy gasped for air as he laughed.

"Sandy's a rotten egg!" He teased as he floated on his back, enjoying the relaxing waves.

"You two are dirty cheaters and y'all know it!" She splashed her friends playfully.

It wasn't long before Mr Krabs and Squidward joined them for a swim, the friends played and splashed happily.

As the day flew passed the water got more choppy as grey storm clouds appeared on the horizon, the wind picked up quickly.

"Storm's a-comin'!" Mr Krabs mused while the others packed everything up, "We oughta get home before it reaches us."

"Back to Mr K's!" Patrick announced as he collected the last of the stuff.

"I gotta go home, I need to feed Gary and meet Phineas!" SpongeBob called to the others, "I'll see you guys tonight?"

"Yeah, be careful!" Sandy nodded before smiling softly, "Try not to have too much fun without us!"

"Yeah, we might get jealous!" Patrick pouted jokingly.

"No such thing as too much fun!" SpongeBob giggled, he waved his friends goodbye and jogged back home.

He fed his cat, washed the salt, sand, sweat and sun lotion off in the shower and got ready for his night out.

He was ready just in time. At 6 o'clock, Phineas knocked on his door.

"Hey!" He smiled at the boy, "We'd better hurry if we wanna make it to the bar before the storm hits!"

"Lead the way!" SpongeBob nodded excitedly.

Phineas chuckled and led SpongeBob away from his home, the bar was on the west side of town and close to the docks. It would be a long walk to and from but Phineas had promised it was worth it, SpongeBob trusted him and looked forward to seeing where they were going to hang out.

Back at the Krabs residence the four were sitting at the table eating leftovers, laughing and reminiscing about their day. They had the news on in the background so they could keep an eye on the storm, if it got too bad they would contact their friend and bring him home. Squidward was the only member of their group who was silent, he was always the worrier. He glanced at the TV, praying the storm hit bad enough that they'd have to bring SpongeBob home early. He sighed, he was probably worrying over nothing.

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