Yet another dramatic chapter! It just gets worse from here so buckle up!

There's gonna be so much angst, it's gonna be great!

Enjoy!

Chapter 12

Disappearance

Gary yawned with a stretch, he had decided to have a peaceful night on his cat tree instead of his master's bed. The boy had come home in a state, he fed himself and his cat and spent the whole evening telling Gary everything that had happened. Gary, being a cat, hadn't really understood what the boy was talking about but he could sense he needed comfort. He had curled up on his owner's lap, licked and purred at him in an attempt to calm him.

He had padded after the boy and watched as he crawled into bed without doing his usual routine, he had meowed sadly and tried to stay on the bed for the night but the boy just kept tossing and turning. Gary gave up after 2 hours of it and had headed to the comfort of his tallest tree.

His intelligent green eyes scanned the dark living room, his owner was late. He jumped down and headed for the bedroom, he sniffed the air and scanned the lump under the purple covers. He padded over silently and stood on his back legs to peek over the mattress, he was greeted with tired blue eyes. The boy hadn't slept again.

"Hey Gary." He greeted in a hushed voice, giving the cat a wavering smile.

Gary just purred in response, he leaned forward and sniffed his owner's red nose making the boy chuckle as the whiskers tickled his skin.

"You're hungry huh?" He asked gently, the cat meowed enthusiastically. "Ok, I'm getting up."

He took a deep breath and forced himself out of his cozy bed. He glanced at the clock, he'd normally be on his way to work by now. He sighed, he didn't really feel like leaving the house.

"Might call in sick today." He admitted to Gary as he prepared the cat food, "That would be wrong though, wouldn't it? I'm not sick…"

Gary ignored him and dug into his breakfast.

SpongeBob got ready for the day and ate a small piece of toast to put him on. He was still tempted not to go into work.

He sat on the floor as Gary wandered over to him, tail high in the air. He smiled as his pet head bumped him affectionately, he pulled his buddy onto his lap and hugged him.

"You're right." He mumbled, his face buried in the cat's jumper. "I need to start being a better friend… I messed up and now Phineas is gone… But I still have friends here who care about me, I can make things right and work on doing better."

Gary licked the boy's chin.

"Thanks Gary, you're the best cat a guy could have!"

SpongeBob stood up and took a deep, steadying breath as he stood before his front door. He glanced behind him at the cat sat on the floor, he was watching him curiously.

He waved softly and headed out, trying to stay brave as he faced the day.

SpongeBob walked down the street, not even bothering to shelter himself from the rain. He just felt too guilty, exhausted and miserable – more so as he walked. He knew he'd be over ten minutes late for work, but he couldn't get himself to care. He continued his brisk pace, head down and glaring at the pavement.

He ignored the sound of a vehicle behind him. He heard it stop and someone get out, he just kept walking.

His first task would be to apologise for his lateness and admit why he struggled to leave the house this morning, then he would apologise for the scene last night and for his rudeness when he shut the door in their faces.

He was going to own up to his mistakes, he was going to be a better friend. It was just so hard, each step felt daunting as he got closer to his work place. Closer to having to own up for his short comings and betrayals over the last couple of days.

He was so wrapped up in his own self doubts he never realised the stranger was catching up to him.

He tried to scream when he felt a hand clamp around his mouth from behind, he barely had time to register what was happening when he felt someone kick his legs out from under him. He went down heavily, his head bounced off the concrete below filling his vision with an explosion of white.

His ears rang as his head pounded, his vision was blocked with white stars and the world was spinning sickeningly. He registered his arms being pulled and tied behind his back, he felt cloth wrap around his face to cover his mouth. A cotton potato sack was pulled over his head, he groaned as he was lifted roughly and dragged through the puddle covered road. He was thrown into the vehicle, his head hit the wall and he knew no more.

Mr Krabs stood at the front window, his arms were crossed and his body was tense as he watched the rain outside. His eyes were constantly scanning for any sign of his fry cook while his ears were listening for the phone, SpongeBob was now half an hour late for work. The boy was rarely late and on the rare occasion he would be or wasn't going to make it in he would always call, apologising profusely and promising to make it up later. The old boss knew his employee well enough to know something was wrong and he was worried, his fingers tapped anxiously against his arm.

Squidward was sitting in the cashier boat watching the other man silently, he too was worried about their friend but he was trying to stay confident for his boss' sake. He went to pick up the phone but Mr Krabs' voice stopped him.

"Don't. The boy might try and call." He warned, not looking away from the outside.

"Fine, I'll text Patrick and ask if he knows where he is." Squidward pulled out his mobile.

"Don't bother." The boss called over, nodding his head to indicate something outside.

Squidward glanced over to see Sandy and Patrick sprinting towards the restaurant, the two blasted through the doors.

"I am so sick of this rain!" Sandy complained as she pulled down her hood and fluffed her hair. Patrick was bent over panting, he had apparently forgotten his jacket.

"Have either of you seen SpongeBob?" Squidward asked, leaving the boat to join the two. His boss was ignoring the whole thing, transfixed by the view outside as a van drove past.

"He's not here?" Sandy frowned in concern, Squidward shook his head solemnly. Patrick straightened up with a sad frown.

"He was pretty upset last night?" He pointed out quietly, "Maybe he's taking the day off?"

"He'd call." Mr Krabs gruff voice answered, "He'd never just not show up."

Patrick bit his lip, glancing over at the broad back.

"Maybe he's in a bad headspace?" He suggested worriedly. The others stayed silent.

"He'll be in tomorrow." Sandy nodded firmly, "He was hurt yesterday, we should just give him space today."

Mr Krabs and Squidward weren't entirely comfortable with that but had to agree, it seemed likely after the events of last night.

"I can help out today if that's easier?" Sandy suggested, "I can wait on tables and help clean?"

"That would be great Lass, thank you." Mr Krabs sighed, finally leaving the window to go into the kitchen. He'd be the cook for today.

The three looked round to see Patrick was gone, they had a feeling they knew where he'd disappeared to.

Patrick jogged through the blinding rain, the wind was picking up and seemed to be battling against him. His mind was only on one thing, he needed to get to his best friend's house. He knew the others were right, SpongeBob would never stay silent and stay away but he also deserved space to deal with his emotions. Patrick wanted to just check he was ok, just wanted to see his face and then he'd leave him be.

The wind was getting stronger, making his journey into a slow slog. He huffed in exhausted frustration, he too couldn't wait for this storm to move on.

The house finally came into view, he felt an odd sense of calm at the sight. He headed straight for the front door and knocked on it loudly, he stepped back to wait.

Nothing.

Patrick backed up and glanced at the windows, there were no lights on inside. He frowned, walking forward and knocking again.

"SpongeBob? Buddy?" He called cautiously, "I understand if you wanna be alone but I just wanted to see you real quick! Just so I can let the others know you're ok!"

His stomach clenched at the lack of response.

He banged on the door with both fists, shouting his friend's name.

Patrick gulped, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his spare key. He took a breath before letting himself into the dark living room, he glanced around warily. Nothing seemed out of place.

"SpongeBob? You here?" He called out as he walked through to the kitchen, there he found Gary lapping at his water bowl. "Hey buddy, where's your owner?"

The cat meowed in greeting and rubbed against his legs, Patrick gave him a small pat before continuing his search. He started to panic as he finished checking the empty house, where was the boy?

Patrick bit his lip, there was no way SpongeBob had passed him. He shuffled nervously as he thought about what his next move should be, he left the house and locked it behind him. He ran off intending to check every location his friend enjoyed, he would report back to the others when he was done.

He would find his friend somewhere, he just had to figure out where.

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