Leash
A/N: I'm back! Ngl, I almost forgot about this fic until I decided to cross-post it on archive of our own. Which is where this fic will be held indefinitely, but I won't be getting rid of my ff account so we can still talk. You can also find me on Tumblr as fortunatelylovelytyrant. Thank y'all so much for reading and commenting.
Will called Squidward, hoping he'd be able to see him soon. He sat on the bed, looking up as Sandy walked out of the bathroom dressed for bed.
"We'll head over to Sponge's place tomorrow, so you can prove you ain't dead to Squidward," she said, getting into bed and turning the light out.
Will hummed in reply, waiting for the call to connect. It never did.
SpongeBob woke up the next morning with his stomach in knots. He tried to ignore the feeling as Squidward woke up as well, smiling at the sponge as they got ready for work.
The walk to work was a quiet one surprisingly. SpongeBob didn't try to sing or speak with Squidward while he was grieving. Good. The less annoyed Squidward felt, the easier this whole thing was.
Will was dead. He might have even been murdered. Squidward sighed as he clocked in for his shift, going over to the cash register as a line of customers began forming. He just hoped the day would pass by quickly.
"Psst, Squidward," SpongeBob whispered, peeking out the window between them. "What has two thumbs and a plan to make you feel better?"
"I dunno," Squidward said, voice suddenly sounding tired. "What?"
"This guy," SpongeBob replied, pointing at himself. "After work, I'm taking you out to your favorite place!"
Squidward only nodded in response, taking the order of a purple fish and his children. Going to Fancy sounded nice and all, but all Squidward wanted to do was sleep.
As the work day continued, Squidward found himself staring at the various couples in the busy restaurant, wishing Will would walk through that door any minute to bring Squidward lunch.
Sandy walked in instead, going over to Squidward and asking, "Y'all ain't too busy, right?"
"Not right now," Squidward replied, leaning against the register. "Why?"
Sandy swallowed, wringing her hands together before taking out her phone. "Will's alive," she said, showing Squidward a photo of the other cephalopod. He was in a hotel room, reading a book on clarinets.
"Sandy," SpongeBob said, walking out of the backroom. "Squidward saw Will's body, there's no way,"
"Squilliam told him to fake his death," Sandy interrupted, frowning. "Come on, y'all are comin' with me back to my hotel room," she continued, taking Squidward's hand and pulling him out of the register boat.
Squidward planted his feet to the ground, looking at Sandy as she stopped with him. "If this is a prank, then it's cruel," he said, eyes beginning to water.
"It ain't, jus' trust me,"
Squidward looked at the squirrel in front of him, her green eyes earnest. If she was telling the truth, then that meant Will had gotten himself into trouble. With Squilliam of all people. "Fine," Squidward finally said, feeling SpongeBob behind him. "Just let us clock out first,"
Sandy nodded, letting go of Squidward's hand.
Squidward really hoped Sandy was telling the truth.