PROMPT: SpongeBob and Patrick are up to their usual antics, Squidward refuses to get involved.
I hope you all enjoy this wee one shot!
The Colour Amongst The Grey
There was only one thing Squidward Tentacles wanted in life; Peace and Quiet. Ok, maybe those are two things but they're all he wanted and he didn't think it was asking too much really.
He had paid his dues. He had battled through school bullies, college exams, countless auditions, his depressing service job and living between two imbeciles.
He deserved just one day of peace to do what he wanted to do. No interruptions.
Which is why, when he found out SpongeBob and Patrick were going out of town for the day, he took Saturday off. He was finally going to have a whole day to himself.
It was now Saturday.
He could do anything he wanted! He could play his clarinet, paint, sculpt, have a hot bubble bath, go for a relaxing walk, watch television with a mug of tea or read that book that's been sitting on his nightstand the past year.
Sounded perfect, right?
Well, it was now noon and he had done absolutely nothing. He was so aware his perfect day was slipping away minute by minute, he hadn't done a single thing he wanted to do!
He'd just sat on the couch, staring at the clock.
Why was he so unable to concentrate on what hobby he wanted to do?
He finally had silence.
Maybe that was the issue? The silence felt so loud and overbearing simply because he wasn't used to it anymore. He was used to the constant noise that was his life.
Giggling, playing, talking, music, calling, footsteps, burps, yelling, singing, dancing and all the other things his neighbours liked to do.
He shuddered; it was unnatural for the street to be this quiet.
Just as his mind started to reel, there was crying from outside. He sighed heavily before stepping outside; there, on his doorstep, were SpongeBob and Patrick.
They sat side by side, wailing loudly together.
"Can't you two do that somewhere else?" He demanded moodily,
"We could..." SpongeBob sniffled pathetically, his bottom lip stuck out in a pout.
"But we're too sad to move!" Patrick cried, the two began wailing again. Squidward sighed tiredly, rubbing a tentacle over his face in an attempt to soothe the headache creeping in.
"I thought you were supposed to be at some convention all day?" He frowned, stepped back to avoid the splashing tears.
"We were!" SpongeBob cried, "That's why we're sad! It was cancelled!"
"Cancelled?"
"Yeah!" Patrick sobbed, "A bunch of wild jellyfish escaped their jars and kept stinging everyone so they had to close down!"
Squidward smirked a little at that image before souring as he realised what it meant. The two cry babies would ruin his day.
"Stop. Crying." He ground out from between clenched teeth. "Now!"
The two friends immediately stopped, they looked up at him with wide, wet eyes. Both sniffling but focused on their tall neighbour.
"Ok, isn't there anything you can do that's just as fun?" Squidward suggested looking down at the two, "Preferably far away from here?"
"No!" SpongeBob sniffed, "We'd been looking forward to this for months!"
Squidward winced sympathetically, he could understand why that would be disappointing.
"Why don't you go Jellyfishing?" He suggested gesturing towards Jellyfish fields, he noticed the two bow their heads.
"We don't really feel like it." SpongeBob admitted sadly with a limp shrug.
"You ever just not wanna do something you usually love?" Patrick asked innocently, patting SpongeBob on the back soothingly.
"Yeah... I know that feeling..." Squidward shrugged, he looked off to the side.
He was trying to think of something he could do to get them to go away, there had to be some activity that would cheer them up.
"What were you doing, Squidward?" SpongeBob asked curiously, tilting his head.
Squidward panicked, he didn't want to admit he'd been doing absolutely nothing.
"Uh... I was about to start painting! Yeah!" He nodded smugly, "Some of us have class."
"We wanna have class!" Patrick nodded excitedly.
"Yeah! Can't we paint too?" SpongeBob begged giddily, grinning up at Squidward. The sour octopus started sweating and ringing his hands as he thought of something to say.
"I only have one easel!" He grinned before pretending to be sad, "Yeah... shame..."
"Well... oh! You could paint us!" SpongeBob jumped to his feet and hurried into Squidward's home.
"Yeah! You gotta be bored of just painting yourself!" Patrick cheered, the starfish followed his friend's lead.
Squidward sighed heavily, he knew there was no point in fighting it. He simply followed them in and shut the door behind him, he cringed when he heard giggling from upstairs. He trudged slowly to the art room, there he found the two best friends holding hands and skipping around the room. They gasped and awed at his paintings and sculptures.
Squidward decided to just play along, he enjoyed painting anyway – it couldn't hurt to just let them stay as models. He set up his easel, canvas, paints and brushes.
"If you wanna stay then you have to be good models." He stated loudly, cutting the idle chatter. "You have to pose and stay still and quiet for the whole piece, understand?"
The two nodded.
"Ok, get into a pose." Squidward commanded, he looked down – double checking his brushes. When he looked up Patrick had SpongeBob on his back in a piggy back ride, he was smiling fondly up at his best friend. SpongeBob had a confident grin and was pointing forwards.
Squidward rolled his eyes.
"You two are seriously gonna stand like that for the whole time? It's gonna take hours, won't you get tired?" He deadpanned, grabbing a nearby sketchbook and charcoal pencil.
"Well, all your paintings are so sad..." SpongeBob frowned, "We figured it would be nice to have at least one happy one."
Squidward was a little taken aback, he glanced at Patrick.
"You sure you can keep holding him like that?" He checked seriously,
"Yup!" Patrick grinned, "He's pretty light!"
Squidward gave a long-suffering sigh. He sketched out a few basic form studies in charcoal on his sketchpad, he nodded in satisfaction and grabbed his brush.
He managed to paint for about an hour in silence. He constantly studied the two as he tried to get the colours and shades right, he noticed Patrick's knees were starting to wobble and the boy was sweating slightly.
"You ok, buddy?" SpongeBob whispered worriedly.
"No talking." Squidward called over without looking up. Patrick nodded stiffly. "No moving either."
"Sorry." The two apologised before grimacing, they quickly went back to their poses and expressions.
Squidward smirked but felt a small pang of pity. He thought for a moment before nodding slowly.
"Ok, you two can stop now. I have the basic pose and colours." He announced gently, "Just stay over there so I can get the lighting right."
SpongeBob hopped off Patrick's back, the starfish flopped onto the floor in exhaustion. The sponge knelt by his side, checking on him.
Squidward continued his painting but watched the two boys in interest. They sat together back-to-back and leant against one another, their heads touching. For once, they looked peaceful.
"Art takes too long." Patrick complained quietly, "I wanna see the portrait now!"
"Good things take time!" SpongeBob smiled easily, "Remember that cake we baked?"
"Yeah! That was delicious!" Patrick hummed happily, remembering the sweet, creamy icing. His belly let out a loud growl. "Hush tummy! Squidward's working!"
Squidward's mouth twitched in amusement.
"Don't worry! Once we're done, I'll whip us up the best dinner ever!" SpongeBob giggled, glancing round at his friend.
"Hooray!" Patrick cheered excitedly.
The two fell into a peaceful silence once again.
It was another 2 hours before Squidward finally placed down his brushes, he nodded happily at his work. He decided it might be his best painting yet! It was colourful, happy and perfectly encapsulated the friendship his two neighbours shared.
He faced the boys to beckon them over but froze, they had fallen asleep.
He chuckled before walking over to them softly, he gave Patrick a light tap on the shoulder. He woke up, smacking his lips.
"Squidward?" He yawned before frowning, he leaned forward only to freeze when he felt the body behind him slip. "Can you get him? I don't wanna drop him."
Squidward shook the sponge, he woke up much faster.
"Did you finish the painting?" He mumbled sleepily as he rubbed his eyes, Patrick stood up and helped his friend to his feet.
"Yup!" Squidward smirked proudly, "Take a look!"
He watched as the two friends hobbled over to the easel awkwardly, legs still asleep from being on the floor for too long. He watched as their eyes lit up and widened, they clutched each other in excitement.
"Wow!" SpongeBob gasped, "It's amazing!"
"So pretty!" Patrick stared in wonder, his eyes soaking in the array of bright colours. "Look at us SpongeBob! We look so happy!"
"You two always look happy." Squidward rolled his eyes, pretending not to care about the praise.
"Is this really how you see us Squidward?" SpongeBob asked, he looked at his tall friend warmly.
Squidward simply nodded.
The boys only stayed a little longer before Patrick's stomach convinced them to head home, Squidward forgot about the painting for a couple days.
He walked into the art room and observed his painting. SpongeBob's question still playing in his mind, he frowned.
He did see them that way. Bright, colourful, happy and full of laughter and life. He then looked up at his self-portraits, muted tones and morose expressions. He frowned, trying not to think too hard about the contrast.
His eyes scanned his walls, he nodded – he knew what he had to do.
He removed one of his old paintings and hung the large canvas on the wall, he stepped back to admire it. In his wall of dullness there was finally a bright spot. He chuckled, he supposed that made sense. His neighbours had very much become a source of fun in his life, a welcome interruption of exuberance amongst the monotonous day to day. They were annoying yeah, but he needed them, they kept him from disappearing into his loneliness.
He smiled when he heard singing and giggling from outside, they called his name – asking him to join their picnic. He accepted the invite, glancing fondly at his painting one more time before heading out to join his friends.
Yeah, maybe his neighbours weren't so bad after all.
~ fin ~
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