This is a very dramatic chapter haha!
Only a taste of what's to come!
Enjoy.
Chapter 7
The Storm Hits
Phineas had been right, the bar was cool. As in, it had probably been cool at one point in time but it certainly wasn't now. The floor tiles were chipped and sticky, the diner themed tables and chairs were filthy and mismatched, the ceiling was black and glistened strangely against the florescent lights which SpongeBob could see were filled with dead bugs. The walls were a faded red and covered in black and white photos of ships and harbours, there was a fake anchor, rope, chain and helm above the booths. The bar itself was clean enough but the stools were tattered and torn, the whole place looked worn down and weathered.
There were a few elderly people sat at the far end of the bar, Phineas and SpongeBob sat away from them. The boy glanced at the menu, there were classic bar snacks and cheap booze.
"Isn't this cool? It's so… rustic!" Phineas smirked, as he too read the menu. "The booze is so cheap too!"
"Yeah… rustic's probably the nice way to put it…" SpongeBob mused under his breath. "There's no food?"
"Nah, just a few gross sounding snacks. This isn't that kind of place – it's for a good time and getting wasted!" Phineas chuckled, SpongeBob winced at the lack of soft drinks.
"I'm not super into that sort of thing." He admitted awkwardly.
"Oh, that's ok. We'll just have a couple of drinks and call it a night then?" SpongeBob nodded,
"I don't even know what to order… where's the bathroom?"
Phineas pointed out the rest room,
"Don't worry! I'll order while you're gone!" He nodded happily. SpongeBob agreed and headed to the bathroom.
The bar tender came over.
"I'll have a rum and coke; my friend will have the same but listen." He leaned in closely to the other man. "I need you to make his real strong, as in… unable to stand."
The bar tender raised an eyebrow suspiciously, Phineas passed a $100 bill over discreetly. The other man smirked, nodded and went to prepare the drinks.
SpongeBob left the very gross bathroom to find Phineas sipping his drink, he saw he had a similar one. He slipped onto the stool with an easy smile.
"What is it?" He asked nervously, sniffing the drink.
"Rum and coke, it's sweet with a little kick." Phineas chuckled, "Thought it would be more your thing than beer."
"Yeah probably." SpongeBob nodded. The two jumped when there was a flash of light, they heard a loud clap of thunder from outside as the rain began hammering down. It had darkened significantly, SpongeBob could smell the refreshing scent of rain soaking the dry earth.
"Try it." Phineas nudged him, SpongeBob giggled but nodded.
He took a small sip, it was sweet but burned his throat. It tasted strange to him but he liked it.
"It's kinda strong." He coughed out, Phineas took his drink and sipped it – simply chuckling at his friend.
"It's not strong!" He laughed, "It's just the same as mine!"
In actual fact, Phineas had nearly choked when he tasted the drink. It was incredibly strong, it was perfect for what he had planned.
The more SpongeBob drank the nicer his drink tasted, his head was slowly becoming fuzzy and he was giggling more and more. His voice was getting louder, his freckled cheeks redder and he became more touchy feely.
Phineas laughed when the boy accidently knocked his now empty glass over, SpongeBob laughed so hard he leaned back forgetting he was on a stool. Phineas nearly wet himself when the drunk kid hit the ground, feet straight up in the air.
"Ok! Ok!" He laughed as he stood up, he bent over and pulled the drunk to his feet. "I think you've had enough!"
"But you're not drunk!" SpongeBob poked him in the cheek.
"That's coz I'm not a light weight." Phineas chuckled, slinging the boy's arm over his shoulder. "Let's go."
SpongeBob cackled as they walked out into the cold rain, he pulled away from his friend and stumbled forward with his head tilted back and mouth wide open. He laughed as the droplets fell onto his tongue.
"Rain is the best!" He giggled, he stumbled to the side and fell onto the wet concrete. He yelped before dissolving into hysterical giggles. "Ow! I hurt myself!"
"You did?" Phineas smirked as he pulled the boy back up, SpongeBob was holding his left wrist and cradling it.
"I hope it's not broken!" He pouted before chuckling, "I don't think I heard a snap!"
"C'mon." Phineas once again slung SpongeBob's arm around his shoulders, he led him away from the bar.
SpongeBob could barely walk, he was slurring away talking about god knows what. Phineas grit his teeth in annoyance, the boy was a pain. It was then SpongeBob looked up and frowned, he moved his head to look around sluggishly.
"Hey, this is the wrong direction!" He slurred tiredly, "We're going the opposite way from Mr Krabs' house… why are we going to the docks?"
"We're gonna shelter in one of the warehouses 'til morning." Phineas nodded firmly. "It'll be ok."
SpongeBob shook his head and tried to pull away, Phineas had a tight grip on him.
"No! I promised I'd go home after!" He whimpered, his pulling became more frantic.
"You're not going! We're going to the warehouses!" Phineas growled, struggling to keep a hold of the soaked boy.
SpongeBob fell forward, freeing himself from Phineas. He began to run away only to feel his friend grab him around the waist and pull him back, lifting him as he did.
"LET ME GO!" He screamed in panic, "I GOTTA GO HOME!"
He thrashed desperately, in his drunken mind he knew his friends would worry about him if he didn't return by midnight.
Phineas tried his best to haul the boy towards the docks but the thrashing became too wild, the back of SpongeBob's head connected with his nose. He dropped the boy and clutched his face, howling in pain as his eyes watered.
When he glanced up, the boy was gone.
"Shit!" He growled, glancing around in the rain. "So close!"
He pulled out his phone as he ran forward,
"Hi, I had him! I had him! He was wasted and I nearly got him to the docks and now he's booked it!"
…
"He hit me! I can't help that!"
…
"He's drunk as a sailor, I'll find him. He won't be able to make it home in that state."
…
"Ok, see you later."
He hung up with a curse as he hunted for his victim.
SpongeBob stumbled down the road, desperate to get somewhere he recognized. He was soaking, cold and exhausted. It wasn't until he tripped and fell off the road, slipping and tumbling through the mud he finally stopped to think.
He had his mobile.
He pulled it out and flicked through the screen, his vision was too blurry to read the names. He clicked a random one and held it to his ear as he began to cry.
"Hello?" Patrick's voice floated through the phone, it sounded concerned at the sobs.
"Patrick! Help me!" SpongeBob cried in panic, "I need help! Please!"
He heard Patrick say something to someone, it sounded like he was moving.
"Ok buddy, you gotta calm down… we're coming to get you, where are you?" Patrick asked as calmly as he could.
"I dunno! I dunno where I am!" SpongeBob sobbed hysterically. "I don't know what happened! I'm stuck at the side of the road!"
"Ok, where was the bar? Is Phineas with you?" Patrick asked worriedly.
SpongeBob struggled to think through the fog in his brain.
"Bar was by the docks." He answered slowly. "I don't know where Phineas is, I think we were attacked? I dunno, I'm hurt and I ran away!"
He began to cry again as Patrick informed whoever he was with.
"Ok, Mr Krabs and I are gonna drive over and see if we can find you. Are you near the road?"
"No, I fell down a bank." SpongeBob sniffed as he struggled to sit up, "But I can get to the road."
"Ok, do that. We're on our way ok?"
"Wait!" SpongeBob shrieked desperately, "Don't leave! Please don't leave me!"
"I'm not gonna, I'm gonna stay on the phone until we get to you." Patrick promised shakily. "Everything's gonna be ok. Mr Krabs and I are in the car now, we'll find you and bring you home. Sandy and Squidward will be there, ok? You'll be safe."
SpongeBob nodded as he trembled, he began his clamber up the bank. It was difficult due to the water and sludge-y mud-sand, he fell back a few times.
"You can do it buddy!" Patrick encouraged him, "Keep trying."
SpongeBob bellycrawled upwards, he yelped as his phone slipped out of his hand and down the bank. He cried when his hands reached the top, he grabbed onto the end of a nearby railing to keep himself visible to the road.
He looked round as his energy seeped away from him, there was a figure running towards him in the gloom. Fear blossomed in his stomach and seized his heart, he cried in panic as they came closer.
It was then a pair of headlights turned the bend, illuminating the frightened boy. The figure stopped, turned and fled away. SpongeBob's head lay in the dirt in relief, his fingers weakened as his strength left him. Just as he began to slip backwards, he was caught by his arms and pulled to safety, someone large, soft and warm cradled him.
He saw a glimpse of pink before he fell asleep.
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