Disclaimer: I can hope, wish and dream that I own SpongeBob, but it's just wishful thinking. Stephen Hilenburg is the owner.
A/N: Just to let you readers know that this is the last chapter of the short installation of 'Love Potion'. Here things will get resolved, smoothly or roughly. Before I forget, thank you readers for the reviews!
Title: Love Potion 5
Before she uttered the words again, he caught her soft-furred form in his arms mentally remarking, 'Just like last time.' The antidote had successfully worked. She'd be back soon.
Now, he trusted the Neptunian Science Committee, he had utmost faith in the scientists and lab technicians who formulated the antidote to the love potion for their colleague Sandy, but even he could become impatient. He questioned if it would take ages for her eyes to flicker open again.
.
.
She was shifting around until she became aware of her surroundings. She understood that she was lying on something soft, a bed, her bed. Cracking one eye open, everything in her view was bleary, until she turned to her side and caught sight of an infamous colour of yellow.
She croaks out his name. "SpongeBob."
Sighing in relief, he speaks."Boy, am I glad to hear your voice. Once again you-"
"-why'd ya poison me?"
The sponge stiffens. The scientists had told him that fragments of her memories would return at a time. The sponge had hoped the recent one would be the last one, since it wasn't the most pleasant one.
Sandy lookes at him for an explanation.
"Well, you see Sandy, the thing is-"
"-you poisoned me. You, ma best friend, poisoned me." she states first. "That's what the thing is." Her accusatory tone hits him. It hits him hard. Right in the gut.
"Sandy," he pleads with remorse. "please let me explain. It may look like I tried to poison you, but I'd never do that, never in a million years, never ever! You've got to believe me on that."
"I do believe you, SpongeBob," she quietly answers. "but the fact still remains that y'all put that substance in mah drink."
"I know, I know." he answers, "but the explanation will make sense, I promise"
She sits herself up to be at eye level with him.
"Let's hear it."
.
.
From beginning to end, the sponge had told the story. He: described, explained, illustrated and expressed the past few extraordinary days that had transpired between them. First was the Hawaiian birds, second was the love potion that entered her system, third was the day she woke up from it, fourth was the questioning she gave him, fifth was the atrocious game she played with him, fifth had to be the pink stars atrocious comment, sixth was another atrocious day of massaging, seventh was the kiss-that phenomenal kiss that left her light-headed and moaning.
The N.S.C had made an error. Their hypothesis that fragments of her memory were to return at a time was wrong. As SpongeBob spoke, his voice seemingly acted as the trigger to awaken her memories. The fragments concurrently awoken and relived themselves when he spoke. Perhaps it could be the fact the he was an active participant in all her memories, nevertheless it didn't clarify why the squirrel (comically so) blushed fifty shades of red.
He comfortingly places a hand on her shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, you weren't yourself, Sandy." There's no slight or obvious movement from her. "Please say something."
There's no slight or obvious movement from her, but her voice is coats itself in incredulity, her eyes expressing it. "We...kissed."
"Yes." he affirms.
"We kissed?"
"Uh-huh."
She gestures to the two of them. "Me a land critter and you a sea critter."
"Yes, Sandy?"
Her face whitens. "No, no, no. I don't think y'all understand me." she says. "I, Sandy Cheeks and you, SpongeBob SquarePants, made out a few days ago, on my picnic table no less."
"Er, I dunno about the made out bit, but if it's a fancy word enhancer for kissing, then yeah." he answers. "I, SpongeBob SquarePants and you, Sandy Cheeks, made out a few days ago on your picnic table."
She can't bear to look at the sponge. The very same sponge who is her...well, he was her...or is he still her...Moving on, grabbing the pillow behind her, she slams it on her face in embarrassment, her face hot enough to burn through it.
His hands reach out for the pillow, his mind thinking the worst, despite being most optimistic sponge in the entire ocean. "Sandy, breathe! Suicide is not the answer!"
She tugs the pillow closer to her. "I can breathe, and no! I ain't tryin' to kill myself."
"Well, it looks like your escaping something. Something bad." he mind thinks it through. Bingo! "I get it, now! You don't wanna talk about what happened."
She doesn't answer. That's all the response he needs.
"Sandy, we have to talk about it," he urges her, pulling with more strength now. "It's the mature adult thing to do."
She smirks at his response. "Since when do y'all do the most mature adult things." she sneers.
He pauses for a moment. "What that supposed to mean?" he forgets his own question and pulls harder. At this moment, if for whatever reason someone stepped into the scene, they'd declare the scene to be a tug of war. Someone had to win, or neither.
The pillow rips in half.
It's contents pollute the air of her bedroom.
The feathers within it float around the air like angels that soar across it.
SpongeBob's entranced whilst Sandy's exasperated.
That's $12.99 out of the window.
.
.
"SpongeBob, y'all need to understand to never miss a good chance to shut up." at her harsh words, he breaks out of his entrancement. "Don't cha understand that lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back in?" she continues. "This situation we're in, is more troublin' than a chile relleno in a pan of grease." she mimics his actions from earlier on. "Please, SpongeBob, can we just forget about everythin'? Too much happened."
He lets her words sink in. It's true that it'd be much easier and peacefuller to forget all that happened. Normally he's the one to run away when things get troubling, but this time he's staying put. His hand rests upon hers that's on his shoulder.
"I think I get what you mean, Sandy. Maybe...maybe it's easier to let the cat out of the bag and harder to put it in back in." he continues with his own understanding. "Maybe we shouldn't put the cat back in the bag. You want to, but I don't. No, I don't think either of us should." faintly, the squirrel does wince at his words. "You're running away, and I won't let you. I won't let you Sandy run away from this 'cause I know that deep down, you wanna confront this."
'Why does this compassionate sponge always do this to me?' she thinks. Right now, she absolutely hates the way his words always get across to her stubborn self. When he's profoundly serious (which is rare), his words are: gentle, genuine and gorgeous in grasp. She hates that, and just for a second, hated him.
"Fine, if that's how y'all want it. I'll talk the legs of the chair you're sittin' on." she declares. "Let's reflect on that interestin' kiss of ours. We can't lie that it wasn't sumthin'. We both liked it, heck, we enjoyed it considerin' how long it was, don't y'all remember?" his face flushes while he nods his head.
She sighs. "Course you remember, it was yer first." she notes. "I'm sorry." the squirrel apologises. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry, SpongeBob" she apologises further. "Honestly, I'm sorry I took sumthin' so precious away from you. First kisses are unforgettable experiences shared with someone extremely special, it's the milestone in sexual adolescence growin' up and considerin' how you in particular mature, you fit that category." her gaze is sympathetic on him. "I'm sorry."
"That's not it, Sandy. That's not it at all." along with his words, he shakes his head.
"And as usual, despite us bein' tighter than on tree, I don't understand you" she admits. "Gosh, SpongeBob. I can't understand what y'all want from me." he flinches even though there's no tones of harshness in her voice. "Is it the questions I asked you, the game, my crush on ya, the massage?" his eyes widen at her indirect revelation. "What is it?"
"Sandy, did ya just say that?
"Say what?"
"You just said...you said that...you have a crush on me, at least I think you might unless I'm wrong."
The squirrel opens her mouth ready to retort, but closes it when nothing comes out.
She face palms herself. 'I just had to dive off the deep end, didn't I?' she mentally regrets.
.
.
Sandy rubs her head for the twentieth time, desperate in trying to think of something witty or intellectual to say to get out of a personal mess she's unintentionally created.
"Is it true?" he asks again. "Do you have a crush on me?"
She closes her eyes so won't see the expressions that form on his face. "The love potion was a powerful stimulant that affected me as a land critter, I didn't realise it would work, but that don't matter 'cause I felt the desire enhanced to, well be with you, intimately." she explains. "The only reason it worked was because I had an attraction to you before I drank it, so to answer yer two questions." she exhales a breath out. "Yes."
There's no slight or obvious verbal or non-verbal responses from him. Sandy releases her grips on her bed covers, and gains to courage to look at him. His square-shaped face is void of all feelings.
"At least blink SpongeBob." she mutters, not use to this verbal sponge's quietness.
He blinks and speaks. He himself exhales a breath in his bubble helmet. " I think I like you too, no. I mean you I like you, obviously cause you're one of my bestest friends, but I might, well I've started like liking you too, I think." he explains. "Barnacles, y'know what am trying to say, right Sandy? Y'know that I wouldn't mind if we, us together isn't so bad. I'm open for it if you are of course or if, maybe..." he trails off, unsure of how to structure his words or define exactly what 'it' is.
They both find Sandy's floorboard the most interesting thing in the entire world as they're unable to look one another in the eye. The awkward silence suffocates them both.
If brown-furred squirrel like likes the sponge and the yellow sponge like likes the squirrel, then what's the problem?
.
.
"Of course you'd be" she mutters.
"Huh, did ya say something?"
"I was just thinkin' about yer previous words." she admits. "You'd be open to 'it' cause your naturally a curious sponge. You like new experiences and 'it' would be one, but-"
"-but what?"
"Can ya explain to me what you feel for me exactly, in one to three words."
"Can I use five?" he asks.
She gives him a look and replies, "Knock yerself out."
"I'd say, the beginning of a small infatuation. That's how Squidward put it to me."
"Okay then, how do I explain this in a way you'll understand? Look, we can't be a thing together and take our relationship up a notch, at least not now."
Her response confused him, the sponge almost pouts. "B-But why, Sandy? I like like you and you like like me."
"Exactly." she states. "This small infatuation Squidward described is a fancy word for a crush or like liking someone. I have a crush on ya and y'all is startin' to crush on me, don't cha see that there's a difference in our crushin' with each other?"
"Yeah, but can't my crush on you catch up to your crush?"
Inwardly she laughs. "That's not how it works, SpongeBob IdealistPant." she jokes. "Lettme tell ya that a crush is a start or end to sumthin'. It's necessary, but not entirely sufficient enough in creatin' sumthin' new to our relationship."
"How can it not be enough?" he questions, not understanding the squirrel's logic. "Sandy, you keep appearing as the star of my day dreams, you make me nervous, I love that good feeling when thinking of you, you're extremely special and I-I don't want you out of my head." his forehead creases. "I've never felt this way about anyone before, not even patty, just you, only you."
His revelation makes her own cheeks burn. "Y-You see, y'all just described some aspects of a crush. It's nice and sweet, but as quick as it crush came, a crush can burst as quick as a bubble." she reassures next after viewing his crestfallen face. "Hold yer horses there, I ain't sayin' ma crush or yers will pop into nothingness, I'm just pointing out that it's contingent, meaning it possibly could not that it possibly would."
"So, what do we do now? What do we do with our contingent crushes?"
"We wait. We wait an see if any of our crushes develop in sumthin' further where it's more than what we mentally feel and physically desire I guess." she pokes his nose. "If yer crush on me by any chance developed into sumthin' more then I'd give you the opportunity to do sumthin' about it." she looks down at her bed covers. "And if by any chance ma crush on you developed further then I hope you'd give me the chance."
"I would give you the chance, Sandy. No doubt about it." he affirms, poking her pink nose he secretly adores.
She returns the smile, leaning towards him to reward him with physical affection; a hug. His arms wrap around her brown-furred form and her arms wrap around his sponged form. There's a strong urge within Sandy to circle one of his pores, likewise to SpongeBob who feels a strong desire to stroke her soft fur.
With such thoughts rotating in their minds, they both quickly pull away and assuringly smile to another so the other doesn't not discover out the longing that was within them at that moment.
.
.
"Nah, I'mma hav'ta say no. How about t'morrow?" she calls out. "Not that I'm upset or anythin' or don't wanna spar, I'm good now, feeling much better fo' sure, but there's a lil' thing I wanna reflect on."
He nods his head. "Of course, Sandy." he replies. There's something he wants to test out, something to prove that their crushes are real. Inwardly he smirks. "I completely understand Ms. Cheeks that our kiss was unforgettable for you. Reflect all you want." the sponge teases.
Without a moment's notice, a pillow sails through the air as quick as lightening (if not quicker), inches from touching the sponge's face, but years of Karate with his friend have taught him to duck, dodge and run, which is what he does when the next pillow comes his way, quicker! Smirking at the sight of her blush all over he face, he sprints for his life, laughing the whole way out of her tree dome.
.
.
'That sponge. I can't find the words to describe him at the moment.' His ridiculous, distinctive yet cheerful laugh vibrates throughout her room and Sandy can't help but smile at that. Her heart's racing like a trained sprinter, and punching like a professional boxer against her chest. She can't help the butterflies in her stomach that flutter in joy.
"Calm down Cheeks, like I said this crush of yours could burst as quick as bubble," she grins in memory at his playful smirk. "or not." she hopefully murmurs.
.
'Phew! That was a close one.' Closing the door to the tree dome behind him, he sinks down to the sea floor in weariness, but despite that he can't help but smile. His heart's racing like a trained sprinter, and punching like a professional boxer against his chest. He can't help the butterflies in his stomach that flutter in joy.
"Calm down SquarePants, like Sandy said this crush of yours could burst as quick as bubble," he grins in memory at her lovely blush. "or not." he murmurs hopefully.
A/N: This ended remarkably different then my first ending, for sure! What have I done to their relationship, put in on hold?
Let me explain myself: the first ending was a happy lovely romantic one, but then I thought to myself that I had to bring in a little reality. The fact that a crush does not at all signify love! Sandy being a smart as she is a more experienced in such things than SpongeBob, so I guess she'd know this. In Love Potion, as said in the 1st chapter, Sandy already had a crush on him, SpongeBob after their eventful events is starting to crush on her, sweet as it is, it ain't enough to start a relationship, it could though, but I didn't want it to.
Hope you as the readers enjoyed "Love Potion". (tell me your favourite chapter of it, or specific lines, I just love your reviews :3), criticism and advice is very much welcomed.
BTW, check out my post in the SpongeBob 'Pairings' forum in this site and tell me if you have the time, why you hate/like/love/respect/tolerate or accept the Spandy pairing. I'd like to find out the different views on it.