Alright, readers, this is what you've been waiting for. This is the fourth chapter of this story.

Now I have decided on not only continuing this story, but there are going to be 2 more chapters instead of one; this one and the next one. I'm doing this to allow the dust flow and to have all of the conflicts sorted out by the end, which is only possible with at least 2 chapters. I hope this makes the story more manageable.

Now, I've given it some thought about what Spades and Swords had said in the review for the third chapter, and she's right. I do appreciate the support this story also gets, and that's all I could ever ask for. So thank you guys for the support.

Anyhow, this chapter will show the jealousy of Spongebob and Squidward slightly craw back up (mostly for the latter), the other characters Patrick, Mr. K, Sandy, and Gary will appear too, and some discussion will be made with the interview on Spongebob. If you are all wondering how this'll go, you'll have to find out for yourselves. For now, just enjoy the chapter everyone!

IN BIKINI BOTTOM – THE FOLLOWING MORNING:

It was now a brand new morning in Bikini Bottom; Sunday morning to be exact. The sun was starting to shine over the horizon, the scallops were crowing the morning away, and it was more than certain to be a relaxing day today.

At Squidward's house, in particular, Spongebob was snoozing away. Believe it or not, Spongebob had a lot of trouble sleeping last night. This is in part because he kept on thinking about what transpired yesterday; regarding Squidward gaining his license. It was no mystery as to how the sponge felt about this, as it had happened before. When Patrick got his license, it caused a lot of problems, such as jealousy and strain. Not to mention the fact that the pink starfish involuntarily rubbed the license in his face. And on top of that, it strained their friendship. Fortunately, they managed to work it out in the end, and Spongebob expressed to his best friend that he's proud he got his license and the new boat mobile. This is overlooking how Patrick got rid of the boat, because it ran out of gas, and he had no idea what that meant. Regardless, they remained friends.

Meanwhile, with Squidward, the friendship was one-sided since the octopus never liked the sponge and he never wanted anything type of friendship with him. Yet he agreed to this whole deal that they made. Still, it made the sponge upset to see Squidward get his license updated when he still hasn't gotten his license.

On top of all that, Spongebob was starting to feel regret for thinking that Squidward's life was a walk in the park and that he could handle it. Indeed, he had trouble keeping to the demands of the art communities and living up to their expectation, as well as paying the bill to Squidward's house. The more he thought of it, the more he realized that there was more to the cephalopod than had a strong interest in the fine arts and being grumpy. And to top it off, he had begun to realize the truth about his grouchy neighbor. After all these years, he figured that he was just a simple loner who enjoys nothing but painting portraits of him, and playing the clarinet, in addition to being someone who just wanted a friend that the young sponge was wanting to give to him. But boy was he wrong about that. Nevertheless, he was eventually able to sleep late in the night.

By the time it came to him waking up, he was seen squirming in the bed and muttering under his breath. Then he slowly started to open his eyes to see what was in front of him. Unbeknownst to him, what he saw was the last thing he was expecting this early in the morning.

For when he woke up, he came face to face with a couple of people. These people were revealed to be the crew for the interview that was going to be taken place. Looking directly in his face was the judge from last night; Phil. This caught him by surprise as he just back with a squeal, not expecting company this early.

"Uh…whoa," Spongebob rubbed his eyes. "How did you guys get into the house? It was locked."

"There was a key underneath the welcome matt," was the simple response.

"Oh," the young sponge yawned and stretched his arms out. "Who are you guys?"

"Dear boy, don't you remember? I'm Judge Phil," the judge reminded him. "Remember, we have that interview to take care of this morning? We even have the news crew here to record everything on camera."

Oh right. It was all coming back to the sea sponge. I completely forgot about the interview involving the clarinet recital!

Indeed. The stress he was feeling about Squidward passing the boating exam had made him entirely forget about that interview. It's crazy how the bad things end up pushing out the good things that occurred yesterday. Regardless, they were here, and Spongebob had to get up anyway.

With that, he got out of bed and stretched out his arms before walking.

"Alright, I'll be doing the interview," he told them. "Just as soon as I get up and take care of my hygiene, eating breakfast, and the likes."

Conversely, this didn't come as a surprise for Phil, as the interviewee has to be full and brimming with energy for the interview to be possible. So he just shrugged and decided to wait.

"Whatever you say, musical genius," he called out. "And be sure to take your time too, chap! This interview is going to last for about an hour or so!"

"Right…" Spongebob muttered incoherently under his breath as he got the morning rituals all taken care of before kicking off the interview…

By contrast, Squidward, who was currently sleeping next door in the pineapple house, hadn't shown up until late last night. This was mainly because of the people who had accompanied him resulting from passing the boating exam that took up all of his time. This didn't bother him at all since it was the first time in years that he felt like he was living it. To be frank, he was quite sad that it had to come to an end. The whole thing made him forget entirely about his envy with the clarinet recital, which was a good thing on his part.

And thus, he was here, sleeping away and having some pleasant dreams that related to the crazy night he had as an aftermath of the boating exam.

Unfortunately, like everything else, good things have to come to an end. And it did when the foghorn alarm started going off, interrupting Squidward from his peaceful dream as his eyes shot open. Realizing what was happening, he let out a painful sigh.

"Well, there's goes the peaceful dream that I was having," Squidward grumbled under his breath as he turned off the alarm.

He then started to wake up and realized one thing; it was Sunday. And there was never anything important to do on a Sunday, since work was taken care of every other day of the week, right?

Oh right. I forgot it was Sunday. Squidward mused. This seems to be the perfect day to relax and not having to worry about work dragging me down.

And he had one objective on his mind; to relax and chill out. Yes, it was the perfect plan.

But before he could leave the bedroom, he heard a little commotion outside.

"Dear boy is this what you have in mind," a familiar voice with that British accent queried.

"I'm sure sir," the voice of his annoying neighbor was heard. "I think this is a perfect choice."

Squidward couldn't fight off his curiosity, so he looked outside. When he did, he saw Spongebob outside the front yard with Judge Phil, the interview crew with the clarinet recital cast, and the news crew to record the whole interview.

"I hope you don't mind us taking this interview outside," said Spongebob. "I felt that doing it outside would be better than doing it inside."

"Perfectly understandable lad," Phil exclaimed.

As they started the interview with Spongebob telling the judge something, it was all coming back to Squidward. This was in regards to the clarinet recital he did last night and how outstanding he was as a clarinet player. The jealousy was starting to surface again as Squidward decided to eavesdrop on the interview through the window.

"So let me get this straight," Phil sounded perplexed. "On most days, one of the things that you enjoy doing during your spare time is blowing bubbles?"

"That's exactly what I said," beamed Spongebob. "Besides that, I also like to go jellyfishing, playing with my best friend Patrick, work as a frycook at the Krusty Krab and make delicious Krabby Patties, taking part in karate with my other close friend Sandy, and also lending my friend Squidward a helping hand whenever the opportunity comes up."

The judge was rather intrigued. Even though this sponge was filling in for Squidward, he had quite a remarkable list of hobbies and interests that he takes part in. All of this was perfect, and it's what this interview needed all along.

"I see," he tapped his chin. "But tell me dear sponge; have you ever had dreams of becoming a musician?"

"Well to be honest good sir, it has never crossed my mind," he told him honestly. "You see, I don't normally perform music regularly. But there was this one time where I and a few other people in Bikini Bottom took part in performing at the Bubble Bowl; as Squidward's band, where we became the band that Squidward dreamed of us to become."

"Why that sounds remarkable," Phil was ecstatic upon learning about that.

"It sure was. It went in the history books of Bikini Bottom for how awesome it was," he then brought up another memory. "Oh, and then there was the time where I went on a bus concert tour with Squidward, Patrick, and Mr. Krabs when we were forced to give up the opportunity of a lifetime with Colonel Carper when Mr. K decided to become our tour manager."

"That's fascinating," the judge was getting more and more interested by the minute. "But do tell, do you ever wish to make it big as a musician someday, young sponge?"

"That depends," Spongebob rubbed his chin. "I will only do it if Squidward was to accompany me, along with Patrick, Mr. Krabs, and anyone else that I'm close to, such as Sandy, Pearl, and even Mrs. Puff."

"Fine one boy. All of this is outstanding," he shouted while clapping in excitement.

"Thank you," Spongebob took a bow while Squidward heard every word.

Popping his head back into the house, he started feeling some more mixed emotions. While he still felt some resentment about the situation, there was also some pity and shame building up as well. To be fair, he did go along with this trade. Therefore, he brought this entirely upon himself.

All he wanted to do was to trade his life with Spongebob so he could see just how miserable his life is and to hopefully get the annoying sponge off of his back for good. But this only caused the opposite to occur, in a strange type of way.

The octopus spent the next few minutes or so just dwelling about his neighbor and how he completely underestimated him. Has he misjudged the sponge this whole time, even after all those years where he saw him as nothing more than an annoying neighbor who did nothing but bother him when he wanted to be left alone? From what he had learned yesterday at the recreation center, this was possible.

Clamshells. Have I been underestimating Spongebob after all these years? Squidward thought. Perhaps there is more to him than just being annoying and a nuisance. His clarinet performance proves it.

He continues to think about all of this and has some regrets about saying that Spongebob's life was easier than his life. His thoughts on all the instances he encountered with the sponge were unexpectedly ruined when a certain snail meowed from downstairs.

"Meow? Meow! (Hey Squidbrain, are you up yet?! I want my breakfast!)" Gary hollered.

"I'm coming," Squidward hollered back as he went downstairs to feed Gary before he starts nagging him again, and do all of the other morning rituals before doing anything else…

As soon as all of that was taken care of, Squidward decided to go outside to witness the interview that Spongebob was taking part in. As he was trying to listen on to their conversation, Squidward started to feel some pity over how dismissive he was to Spongebob and his shenanigans over the years.

All of the times he had to withstand his annoying laugh, crying, playing with Patrick, blowing bubbles, jellyfishing, working the grill at the Krusty Krab, doing karate with Sandy, and the works, he saw it as an irritation and an edition to his already pathetic and miserable life. However, after and overhearing what the lad had just told the judge, he was beginning to have some second thoughts about seeing him as nothing more but a mere barnacle head. Not only that, but he was also having second thoughts about how he thought Spongebob's life was all fun and games, with the clarinet performance fresh on his mind, when he lent him his dearly beloved Clarry.

It should also be known that while Squidward does seem to hate his spongy neighbor most of the time, there are moments where he's proved that it's not 100% hatred. In truth, he has had his moments where he doesn't despise Spongebob after all.

For instance, there was the time Squidward and Spongebob had to deliver the Krusty Krab pizza. Even though he was still annoyed by his antics, especially with the talk about the pioneers, he was shocked to see that one ungrateful customer yell in the frycook's face and snap at him all because he forgot his drink. Seeing the sponge in a saddened state, the octopus decided to step up and give that customer a piece of his mind. And he did, by slamming the pizza right into his face.

Another moment was when Squidward went a little overboard with his April Fools prank on Spongebob, which got the young sponge covered in nothing but trash to run out crying. This, combined with how the townspeople berated him, one saying 'April Fools, jerk', and another saying that he stinks, and seeing the damage for himself, caused the cephalopod to feel guilty and regrets going too far. He made several attempts to apologize to Spongebob sincerely, eventually becoming successful by the end. Even though the whole thing was an April Fools prank, it didn't change the fact that Squidward even felt guilty in the first place.

Then there was the time that Bikini Bottom was introduced to Christmas. Squidward was being such a jerk towards Spongebob, especially when Santa never came, as he had taunted him for it. Ultimately, this all started to change when Spongebob gave Squidward the gift that he made for him, and when he saw what beauty it was, the octopus felt bad for how rude and mean he's been. So he went as far as dressing up as Santa Claus for Spongebob, to make up for what happened. And if that weren't enough, not only did he give one of his stuff away to a little girl, but he also gave away all of his stuff to EVERYONE in Bikini Bottom, just to make Spongebob satisfied. Never in his life had the cephalopod done something so good, especially when he got that letter from Santa himself.

He even remembers the time Mr. Krabs became generous to avoid going to stay in Davy Jones' Locker. When the crustacean cheapskate ended up selling Spongebob to the Flying Dutchman for 62 cents (even though the sponge stuck up for the crabs no matter what), it was Squidward who chewed out Mr. Krabs for doing something so vile and disgraceful. Naturally, the crab came to his senses, and it was a surprise to see him called out by Squidward, of all people. Needless to say, this remained in the minds of those who witnessed it.

And now with everything he's been witnessing for the past day or so, he might not be so bad after all. Squidward stood there with a frown on his face.

I misjudged that sponge of a neighbor. Squidward thought. I should have never said that his life is easier than mine.

He decided to take action. He was planning on heading over there to talk to Spongebob about all of this.

Alas, before he could begin walking over to the sponge, a familiar voice was heard shouting out to him.

"MR. SQUIDWARD!" The bellowing voice belonged to none other than Mr. Krabs, as he came storming over to the scene, with a newspaper in his hand. The newspaper would serve importance as to what got under his skin.

"A'right Squidward, what is the meaning of this," he barked. "I demand an explanation!"

This got the octopus confused as he had no idea what he was talking about. Raising an eyebrow, he reacted accordingly.

"Uh, Mr. Krabs, what are you going off about?"

"Don't pull that hogwash with me! You know exactly what seahorse radish I'm referring to," Mr. Krabs then told him. "I'm talking bout how I've been hearing rumors about you passing yer boating exam with sweet beloved Mrs. Puff!"

"L-Look Eugene, I don't recall anything like that ever happening," Squidward stuttered hastily, feeling sweat starting to form.

"Hmmm…" Mr. Krabs then decided to use the newspaper as a resource. "Perhaps this'll refreshed yer memory, Mr. Squidward. So tell me, how in Great Barrier Reef do you explain THIS!?"

He shoved the front cover of the paper in the octopus' face, forcing him to see what was on the front. There was a photo of Squidward and Mrs. Puff in black and white; the same one that the cameraman took yesterday. Grabbing the paper and reading the text, Squidward suddenly let out a gasp.

"SQUIDWARD PASSES BOATING EXAM; IMPRESSES TEACHER WITH PERFECT SCORE," he read the newspaper article. "Yesterday at Mrs. Puff's Boating School, a young man named Mr. Squidward Tentacles, who went by the alias Squidbob, had passed his boating exam with a perfect score, renewed his license, gaining a new boat mobile and a helmet, and essentially wooing and fascinating the driving instructor Mrs. Puff with glory and admiration for his astounding achievement."

"So by the looks of it, if my eyes don't deceive me, I would conclude that you; Mr. Squidward Tentacles, have become a traitor to the Krusty crew," Mr. Krabs started chewing him out. "You went along and swiped Mrs. Puff from under the old crab's nose, and have gone and done this behind me back, you salty dog."

"Wait, Mr. Krabs, this isn't what it looks like," Squidward tried to defend himself. "I was just taking the boating exam in Spongebob's place. Nothing else."

"Aye, so it seems," Mr. Krabs wasn't convinced. "You know, I was planning on going on a hot date tonight with Mrs. Puff; the love of me life."

"You mean besides your money," Squidward added in a deadpanned tone.

"Don't get all awkward on me, Mr. Squidward," Krabs ordered. "After all, I had everything in place. I had planned on keeping me Krusty Krab under maintenance and tight security when I'd go out, so a little sneaky convincing rascal known as Plankton won't try breaking in and making off with me secret formuler. But I guess I'll have to forget all about these plans because somehow, me cashier is making passes with dear ol' Mrs. Puff."

Squidward was now shocked by the accusation with Mr. Krabs thinking he'd steal Mrs. Puff to be his love interest. It was not only hard to believe. It was also something that would never happen in all the seven seas.

"Eugene, I can't believe this," he gasped, sounding offended. "I am not making any passes with Mrs. Puff of the sort."

"Bullshrimp, Mr. Squidward! Do you hear me? Bullshrimp," Mr. Krabs brushed off. "Now I'm gonna have to remind you about Sailor Code 101; what happens to those who dare to defile the Krusty Krab name, and defile the Eugene Krabs name in general. Now here's how it starts."

Just then, Mr. Krabs started going off, chirping like a dolphin towards Squidward who had to endure the rant that his boss was giving him.

While that was going on, Spongebob was continuing the interview with Judge Phil. The sponge just got through telling him about his starfish pal Patrick, and how he's his best friend and lives under a rock.

"By Neptune's holy powers, you're telling me that your best friend is a starfish that lives under a rock, is that correct chap?" Phil questioned.

"That's correct," Spongebob confirmed while nodding. "He lives on the left side of Squidward's house, while I live on the right side."

Then suddenly, by sheer coincidence, Patrick's rock home was lifted to the side, as Patrick himself emerged from his home, walking towards the scene.

"Ooh boy, speak of the devil," Spongebob grinned at this.

But by the looks of it, Patrick would have probably walked by if it weren't for Spongebob calling out to him.

"Hi Patrick," he called out.

Patrick came to a halt and looked at him with surprise. He approached the sponge as he then gave his greeting.

"Oh. Hello there…Spongeward," he spoke.

"Huh," this got Spongebob confused. "Where did you learn of that name?"

"Well, what do you expect me to call you; Squidbob?" Patrick asked rhetorically.

"No Patrick. That's not what I meant," Spongebob shook his head. "I meant where did you hear about the name 'Spongeward'?"

"From Sandy," Patrick answered casually.

"Sandy," Spongebob jumped in confusion.

"Uh, duh. Sandy is my friend too," Patrick argued. "I am allowed to talk to her."

"Oh nevermind Patrick, just forget about it," Spongebob then showed his best friend the interviewing crew. "Patrick, these are the guys who are interviewing me about the clarinet recital that took place last night."

"Uh-huh. Whatever," Patrick didn't seem to care. "Uh listen Spongeward, I've gotta go. Gonna be playing with my best friend; Squidbob."

"With Squidward," Spongebob cried out, not expecting this to happen. "But Patrick, I'm your best friend!"

"No you're not," Patrick countered stupidly. "You're just a grouchy neighbor who plays the cleeranet and makes paintings of yourself. Later Mr. Spongeward, my killjoy neighbor."

With that, Patrick walked off and headed to Squidward, who was still caught in the rant with Mr. Krabs. This reaction left Spongebob feeling hurt. What the heck just happened?

As Spongebob was feeling distraught, the judge had witnessed the whole thing as he deduced exactly what went wrong with the encounter.

"Hmm, it appears that there was a slight case of miscommunication between you and Patrick, you fine lad," Phil concluded.

"Oh don't take it like that," Spongebob sighed, getting out of his fog. "Patrick was just kidding when he said that. He's such a kidder."

"Didn't seem like a joke to me, dear boy," Phil thought otherwise. "It's as if he was completely serious about what he said, indeed."

"Just forget about it, sir," Spongebob just wanted to get back to the interview. "Can we continue with the interview?"

"Why yes. That would be a marvelous idea," Phil was completely psyched about that suggestion. "Let's carry on with this fine interview."

And that's what they did. They continued with the interview with no brief interruptions for several minutes…

Back with Squidward and Mr. Krabs, the latter had just about wrapped up his rant that he was giving to the former. And by the look on his face, Squidward dreaded every moment of it.

"Furthermore, that is what happens to a backstabber who betrays his crew and has sought his own grave and fate," Mr. Krabs finished.

Squidward was just dying to deliver a retort in response. But before he could do so, Patrick came to the scene and interrupted both of them.

"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt, but I'm looking for my best friend; Squidbob," Patrick told them.

"Egad," Mr. Krabs gasped, before berating Squidward yet again. "Squidward, I don't recall ever allowing you to change yer name and mash it up with Mr. Squarepants' name. I don't pay you fer doing such poppycock!"

"You don't pay me at all," Squidward said dryly.

"Exactly my point, Mr. Squidward," by the way the crab crossed his arms, it would seem that he's proud of what he had said.

"I don't want to hear anymore about poppycock," Patrick cried out in a declaration. "I want to play with my best friend Squidbob!"

Grabbing his hand, the starfish tried to run off while dragging the octopus behind him so they could play together. But of course, Squidward was having none of that, as he stood in place. This caused the dumb starfish to stop in his tracks.

"No Patrick," Squidward snorted. "I am not playing with you!"

"Oh come on Squidbob! I'm your best friend," Patrick was defiant. "We play together every day you aren't working at the Krusty Krab! It's not fair!"

Squidward ended up rolling his eyes at the barnacle head's reaction. It was then Patrick gave them the perfect idea as to what they should do together.

"I know," he declared. "LET'S GO JELLYFISHING TOGETHER!"

"No Patrick," Squidward refused. "I am not going jellyfishing."

"Oh," Patrick trailed off, before settling on something else. "Well how about we blow bubbles instead?"

"No," Squidward turned the offer down. "I'm not blowing bubbles with you either."

"Well, how about we have some ice cream together?" Patrick suggested.

"Nope," the octopus shook his head.

"Play hide and go seek," the starfish wondered.

"No," Squidward said again. This was going to take a while.

"Play tag?"

"No."

"Play some leapfrog?"

"No."

"Hopscotch?"

"No."

"Watch a movie together?"

"No."

"Go square dancing?"

"No."

"How about we play pirate together?"

"No."

Even after being told the same answer many times, Patrick came up with the best thing that they should do together.

"Oh! Oh! I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE CAN DO," the starfish cheered. "We should go to Weenie Hut Jr. for Mega Weenie Monday, where we can order a couple of burgers, an ice cream sundae, a soda, and we can even sing some songs together! What do you say Squidbob?! ARE YOU READY!?"

"NO, YOU PINK HEADED KELP FOR BRAINS!" Squidward snapped, having just about reached his limits. "I am not doing anything with you today Patrick! And you are NOT my best friend! We never were best friends!"

"Well fine. Have it your way killjoy," Patrick was heard muttering under his breath. "Always wanting to ruin all the fun…"

"Ahem, if you scallywags could forgive me fer intrudin' like this, I'd like to get back to the main subject, like how Mr. Squidward here has been seein' Mrs. Puff behind me back!" Mr. Krabs got them back on track.

"Now look here Eugene, I have not-"

"Save it fer someone who cares," Mr. K interrupted him. "It's as clear as the salty waters of the Pacific Ocean that you have been makin' advances towards sweet Mrs. Puff! Better yet, I wouldn't be surprised if you were having an affair with her!"

At that moment, Squidward gasped loudly by this. He couldn't believe that Mr. Krabs would have deduced something so revolting (in his opinion at least) when the whole thing was a misunderstanding. Tapping his tentacle foot, Squidward started to protest.

"Now look here, Mr. Eugene Krabs, I have not been seeing Mrs. Puff," argued Squidward. "And I have not been having an affair with her."

"Oy? Then how do ya explain the photo that's on the cover of today's newspaper?" Mr. Krabs raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced.

"Oh please. This whole thing is a misunderstanding," Squidward told him nonchalantly. "All the cameraman wanted was a photo of me and Mrs. Puff for the front cover. Big deal."

Mr. Krab rolled his eyes at that one, but before he could fire back, Patrick decided to ask a question.

"Is Mr. Krabs a robot?" He queried randomly in his dimwitted manner.

"Don't get stupid on me, Patrick," Mr. Krabs deadpanned. "We are not goin down that route again!"

"Ah right, as if we haven't been down that road already," Squidward snorted, crossing his arms.

"Oh for clam sake," Patrick shouted exaggeratedly, throwing his hands up. "You guys are no fun! I wanted to play with my best friend, and he turned me down! I'm going to see if I can play with Sandy! At least she considers me her friend!"

Then by sheer coincidence yet again, we see Sandy approaching the scene as if she had something important to get off of her chest. She saw Squidward, Patrick, and Mr. Krabs and waved to them.

"Howdy guys," she greeted.

"Oh joy, speak of the devil," Squidward retorted.

"SANDY! I AM GLAD THAT YOU'RE HERE! I need to ask a favor of you," Patrick cried out to her. "I need you to play with me as my friend, because mean ol' Squidbob over there doesn't want to spend time with his best friend!"

Squidward was heard grumbling under his breath as Sandy shook her head.

"Why I'd love to Patrick, but I can't," Sandy insisted. "I'm looking for Spongebob. Have you seen him anywhere?"

"Of course, he's right there," Patrick pointed to Squidward, who pouted while placing his hands on his hip in annoyance.

"No. No. I mean the real Spongebob," Sandy corrected herself. "Where is he?"

"He's right over there," Squidward pointed to Spongebob who was still giving the interview. "He's giving an interview for the clarinet performance last night."

"That's what I was askin for," Sandy started walking over there. "Thanks a bunch, Squidward. That seriously helps."

"Anytime," the cephalopod said dully, as Sandy approached Spongebob to talk about something important…

As for Spongebob, he was still giving that interview to Phil. He just got done telling him about his other close friend Sandy.

"So let me see if I'm correct," the judge started to reiterate. "Your other best friend Sandy is a squirrel who came from Texas, lives in a tree dome that's full of air, and has a giant oak tree in the center of it. Is that what you said?"

"That's right," Spongebob confirmed once again. "And she always wears an astronaut suit with a helmet that's full of air every time she explores Bikini Bottom and the rest of the ocean."

"Why that sounds incredible," Phil expressed his astonishment.

"Hey Spongebob," Sandy was heard hollering to Spongebob as she approached him.

"And wouldn't you know? There's Sandy right now," Spongebob commented in amusement. "Hi, Sandy! I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Phil over here."

"Please to make your acquaintance, fine squirrel," the judge bowed out of respect, as Sandy stopped right in front of them.

"He's here giving an interview with the rest of these people in regards to my performance last night." Spongebob pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah. I know that Spongebob," Sandy dismissed. "But I'm here because I need to talk to you about something."

"Why sure Sandy. What's up," the sponge said enthusiastically.

"Ah mean alone. Away from your judge friend," Sandy elaborated.

"Oh, sure," Spongebob turned to face the judge for a second. "Mr. Judge Phil, if you wouldn't mind, Sandy wants me to speak to her alone for a minute. It won't be too long."

"Why of course dear boy," he permitted them. "Take as much time as you need to. I'll wait patiently."

"Right…" Sandy rolled her eyes as she dragged Spongebob away from them for a minute until they were out of earshot.

"Sandy, what do you want," he was curious as to what this was about.

"I just want to know one thing Squarepants; what are you doing," the squirrel crossed her arms.

"The interview," the sponge answered quickly as if it was obvious.

"I know that. I've seen it on the news," she retorted before elaborating on it. "I meant to ask why you are continuing this gig."

"Huh," Spongebob was confused by what she was getting at.

"Oh come on Spongebob! Don't play around," Sandy argued. "I'm talkin' about how y'all been fillin' in for Squidward and his life by doin' this interview! This whole thing that's been goin' on between ya and Squidward is as crazy as a groundhog that has seen its shadow on the second of February!"

"Now Sandy, I'm just doing Squidward a favor," Spongebob defended. "And besides, I am jealous of how Squidward managed to pass his boating exam when I never have been able to. He even got himself a brand new boat mobile!"

"I know that Squidward has passed his boating exam from reading the paper this morning. But that's beside the point," Sandy brought up. "Ah mean, have y'all been givin' it some thought about how miserable Squidward is wit all of this?"

"But Squidward has always been miserable," Spongebob added.

"Again, that isn't the point Mr. Squarepants," Sandy groaned in irritation. "Ah have seen Squidward strugglin' with the tasks that ya do regularly. Not only that but when he managed to show up fer karate, he was as filthy as a raccoon digging through the trash on a clear summer evenin'. Then there's the fact that he's not as fun with how he does karate than how ya do it, Spongebob. Ah mean no offense to Squidward, but he sucks at karate. He wouldn't be able to defend himself against crooks wit them tentacles."

"Yeah, he did show me the black eye he got yesterday," Spongebob mused.

"Exactly, and that's not the worse part! The worst part of all of this is, to be honest wit y'all, I miss ya Spongebob," Sandy cried out. "I miss having ya square butt hanging out wit mine, where we do karate, play in the sand at Goo Lagoon, show ya some o' mah inventions at the tree dome, or just spending out together. Just the two of us."

"Whoa. I never thought about that Sandy…" Spongebob trailed, starting to feel regret about all of this.

"And ah ain't the only one who's upset. Look over there," she directed the sponge's attention to a sobbing starfish. "Patrick misses ya too! He came to ask me to spend time with him since his best friend won't."

That's when then overheard what Patrick was sobbing about.

"OH HO HO! I MISS MY BEST FRIEND!" Patrick cried loudly. "I WANT TO PLAY WITH MY BEST FRIEND!"

"Well now that you mention it, I do have trouble with the tasks that Squidward has to do," Spongebob frowned upon seeing Patrick so upset. "And it's been stressing me out."

"Exactly," the squirrel yelled. "And this whole thing ain't just hurtin' Squidward. It's hurtin' you too. And that's why ah suggest ya two get things back to normal, go back to your original clothes, houses, and lives."

"Oh, but I can't Sandy. Don't you understand," Spongebob gritted his teeth, placing his hands on his head. "I'm just so jealous of how Squidward passed his boating exam."

"Don't feel so down wit yerself, Spongebuddy," Sandy reassured him, placing her arm on his back. "Ah know ya feel jealous wit him, but it ain't gonna go away until you talk with him about it. Just talk it over wit Squidward, and I'm sure he'll understand…I hope."

"Really," the sponge gave the squirrel that hopeful stare in his eyes.

"And besides, ah git this strange feelin' that Squidward also has a problem goin' on," Sandy told him while observing how miserable Squidward looked. "Why I bet he has something that he needs to get off of his chest too. So what do ya say, Sponge Partner? Will ya and Squidward return to yer original lives?"

"Hmm, well now that I think of it, I do miss my pineapple home. And I miss my best friend; Patrick, hanging out with you, feeding Gary, jellyfishing, bubble blowing, working as a frycook at the Krusty Krab, just about all of it," after saying that, he sighed. "Okay. I'm gonna talk to Squidward about my jealousy and also about returning to our original lives."

"Now that's the spirit, pal," Sandy encouraged him. "Go and put an end to all of this bull wash!"

Of course, since the discussion was being made so loud, this didn't go unnoticed by the judge, who looked a bit upset at what Spongebob was doing. He rushed on over to him.

"Wait! Laddie, we haven't finished the interview yet," the judge hollered out.

"I'm sorry to say this sir, but I have to talk to my neighbor Squidward," Spongebob insisted.

"But wait, Spongeboy," the judge cried out of desperation. "You haven't told me about how you work as a frycook at the Krusty Krab!"

"We'll have to do it some other time," Spongebob waved his hand as he approached Squidward.

Of course, Phil didn't take this as an answer as he was not going to cancel the interview with everyone here; especially the news crew.

As soon as Spongebob approached his octopus neighbor, with Mr. Krabs and Patrick accompanying him, the sponge started to speak to him.

"Hey Squidward," he started. "There's something that I'd like to tell you."

This got Squidward's attention, as he wanted to know what it was. Unfortunately, before he could speak, the judge let out one last plea for the sponge to continue the interview.

"No! Wait! Don't do it!" Phil cried.

"Yeah," the other interview attendees joined in. "We still have to finish the interview!"

"Excuse me, but could you guys please back off," Spongebob told them. "I'm trying to talk with Squidward."

They were reluctant, but they kept quiet for the time being. That didn't stop them from letting out some soft whimpers.

"Uh sure Spongebob," Squidward spoke up. "What is it that you want to tell me?"

Spongebob was about to say what it is, but then he got interrupted again. This time it was by some people who were approaching the scene.

"HEY, IT'S SQUIDBOB!"

This got their attention as they turned around. The people were revealed to be the ones who were looking for the cephalopod regarding the perfect score on the boating exam. Most of them were adolescents and they wanted his autograph. There were even some fangirls who couldn't help but squeal at the sight of their favorite octopus. The teenage girls were screaming several sentences at once.

"OH MY NEPTUNE, IT'S HIM!" "I WANT TO BE WITH HIM!" "I LOVE YOU SQUIDBOB!" "PLEASE TAKE ME WITH YOU!"

"Uhhhh," Squidward was having trouble forming a sentence.

"Squidward, I didn't know you had a fan club made after you," Spongebob commented.

"I don't," he gulped.

It was then one of the hottest looking teenage girls got his attention. She was quite a doll for a fish, and she had a look of mischief in her eyes.

"Oh Squiddy my hunk, please take me with you," the girl spoke with a saucy tone. "I want to love you, be with you, and we can have some fun together. You and me Squiddy, we can get saucy in the bed, under the covers baby."

As the girl winked at him and suggestively moved her eyebrows, Squidward was now on alert. He knew exactly what the girl wanted, and it made him sweat profusely.

"W-Well, I…I uh…"

"COME ON," one of the interviewers cut him off. "WE STILL HAVE THAT INTERVIEW TO DO!"

"AND WE AREN'T GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT, MAN!"

"Come on Squidbob, I just want your autograph," one of the fanboys begged.

"Me too."

"Same here."

"I want more than an autographic," that one teenage girl sighed dreamily. "I want the two of us to make love together. What do you say, daddy?"

Now this situation was getting out of hands. Combined with the interviewers pestering Spongebob about the interview, and the fans who are all over Squidward, including one saucy girl, it was clear that they both had a very good reason to be anxious.

"Uh, what do with do now, Squidward?" Spongebob questioned.

"I…I don't know…" Squidward found his voice after gulping.

Sandy had witnessed what was going on and knew what they had to do. Without hesitation, she walked over to them and gave them an idea of what to do.

"Err, Spongebob, and Squidward? Things are gonna get messy in a minute," she told them. "I suggest that both of y'all better run while ya can."

"That's the best idea I've heard all day Sandy," Squidward was all for it.

"Good idea Sandy," Spongebob agreed. "Let's go then Squidward."

"Right."

Immediately afterwards, the sponge and the octopus bolted off, running as fast as they could, away from all the hoo hash. The interviewing crew and fans took notice of this.

"Hey, they're getting away from us," Phil pointed out.

"We know!" The fanboys yelled.

"Well, what are we standing around for," one of the interviewers wondered. "Let's chase after them!"

"YEAH, I WANT MY BELOVED SQUIDDY TO BE FRESH TONIGHT," the fangirl let out a battle cry. "LET'S CHASE THEM DOWN!"

"YEAH," all of them bellowed simultaneously as they all chased after them like an angry mob (without the torches and pitchforks of course). Now the sponge and octopus had a crazy mob on their tail, so they better find a way out of this one…

As soon as they were all out of sight, the dust started to settle among those that stayed behind. Patrick slowly stopped sobbing as he witnessed them running, Mr. Krabs was too shocked to say anything at the moment, and Gary had come slithering outside after overhearing everything that took place. All while Sandy wasn't surprised by this in the slightest. Shaking her head, the squirrel crossed her arms and stood there.

"Well I'll be, look at them run," Sandy pointed out. "Those two are runnin' faster than a barefoot jackrabbit on a hot greasy griddle in the middle of a warm August evening in…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know about the whole rabbit thing on a summer evening. Blah, blah, blah," Patrick cut her off before looking worried. "Anyway, will either of them be coming back?"

"I'm sure as heck that they'll be back, Patrick," Sandy assured him. "Why, I bet that Spongebob and Squidward will be returning in their normal clothes, and things will go back to normal."

"Bet? Did you say bet?" The mention of the word 'bet' got Mr. Krabs' attention. "Alrighty then, if those lads return with their regular clothes and back to their normal lives, you are to give me $50."

Sandy couldn't help but roll her eyes, knowing as clear as day that Mr. Krabs was giving a rip-off deal. He was referred to as a crustacean cheapskate after all. Nonetheless, Sandy didn't bother arguing about it. She just wanted things to go back to normal.

"Oh alright, if they come back in their usual clothes, I will oblige to the deal," she said reluctantly.

"That'll do lassie," Mr. Krabs said proudly.

"Meow? (Do you think Papa-Bob and Squidbrains will get out of this?)" Gary had to ask the squirrel.

"Oh don't worry you little mollusk," she petted the snail. "I'm sure they'll get out of this."

"I hope so," Patrick whimpered before shouting again. "I WANT TO EAT ICE CREAM WITH MY BEST FRIEND AGAIN!"

Conversely, Sandy, Gary, and Mr. Krabs gave the starfish a blank stare for being overly dramatic. Being the dullard he is, he was oblivious to the looks he was receiving. Afterwards, they just stood there, hoping the outcome will occur soon…

"MEANWHILE…"

It was shown that Spongebob and Squidward were running for their lives as the lunatic mob consisting of the interview crew and fanboys and girls were making pursuit after them. They not only hope that they could get out of this alive and well, but they hope that they can switch back to their normal lives, and will be able to resolve their respective jealousy. This was very concise as the same thought ran through both of their minds.

I don't know how much longer I can take this! I hope we can settle our jealousy and get our lives and everything else back to normal…

END OF CHAPTER 4!

Surprise! I bet you didn't expect this to end on a cliffhanger! Well too bad, because that's part of the plan, so ha! :P

Honestly, I think it was a good idea to do this because it makes it flow more efficiently, and the two of them start to realize what the other has to put up with regularly, and the buildup that leads to the discussion they'll be having, which will happen next time, in the final chapter.

For those that are confused, according to the episode No Weenies Allowed, it was revealed that Mega Weenie Monday was moved to Sunday, and since this chapter takes place on Sunday, that's probably where Patrick got that idea from.

One other thing, the part where Judge Phil refers to Spongebob as 'Spongeboy' is a shout-out to the fact that his original name was Spongeboy before it was changed due to a mop product bearing that same name.

Anyway, I've already said this before, but I do appreciate the support that this story has been getting, and I do appreciate the reviews I do get, along with the people who follow and favorite this story. I'm sorry for how I reacted at the end of the third chapter. I was just having a bad day, and I wasn't feeling my best. I hope this chapter was more than enough to make up for that.

Now, as I said already, the last chapter will have Spongebob and Squidward working things out by talking it out (after evading the mob), they understand each other's jealousy, and they come to the settlement and acceptance of each other's lives, which will lead to the conclusion. If you are wondering how this'll go, you'll have to find out next time!

For now, if you have constructive criticism, feel free to leave some for the chapter. If not, you can just leave a review and tell me what you think of the chapter, only if you want. And if you don't, that's fine too. Just like how I'm okay with anyone that wants to add this to your favorite stories or follow this story is welcome to do so. If not, that's okay too. I just hope that this chapter was at least slightly enjoyable.

Aside from that, that's all that I need to get off of my chest. So until the last chapter comes up, I hope you stay tuned for the finale. And on that note, thanks again for reading everyone!