Chapter three: Thinking of you

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.

Italics= SpongeBob's thoughts

Underlined= Sandy's thoughts

Sandy was lying in bed, replaying the day in her head.

Why did something feel off about SpongeBob?

He's never stared at me before, maybe he was worried 'bout somethin' . I should talk to him soon.

Sandy ran her own actions through her head. SpongeBob certainly wasn't the only one staring at someone today. Why had she been staring at him? She didn't know why, she just….had. ,-

Sandy looked around the dark space in which she stood in. The largest window in the room seemed to be calling her. She walked up to it and brushed her hand over the cold glass. She pushed the curtain to the side and unhooked the latch before carefully pushing the two doors outwards. The cool wind rustled the leaves above her; the huge tree creaked and branches danced in the wind created by her dome. Sandy looked around; her eyes fell on the picnic table. She wished she knew what was going on. Why had she been acting so weird? She knew why but didn't want to have to admit it to herself. But, the thing was, she had had a feeling that she didn't just want to stop at being friends for a while. She had even written some letters, just as a way of venting her emotions. Although she had once thought of sending them to the letter box outside the brightly coloured pineapple, she had long ago gotten used to the idea that her friend might not be fully mature enough to understand what she was feeling, and had forgotten about it since then.

She had a theory on why SpongeBob had been acting so weird, but she brushed it off on the account of it being completely unlikely. He was still the adorable, charming young man she had come to love all those years ago, but in saying that…he was probably just as clueless and pure as he was then. She couldn't imagine the sponge confessing his feelings to her, or them ever going out on a date and she couldn't even fathom him thinking naughty thoughts or proposing to her. She could never see it coming, so she had let herself keep her expectations of anything happening at a bare minimum.

But still; the theory hung on in the back of her head. She had a feeling she would need to rethink her theory latter on, maybe even try a few experiments to help it along.

SpongeBob was also lying in bed, similarly thinking about the day's events. He knew why something had been off about Sandy, but that didn't explain the reason why Sandy had been staring at him earlier. The thought of her eyes upon his, scared him, but also, intrigued him. He was aware that he had, over the years, developed a sort of crush on Sandy, but never in all the years of him knowing her, had she ever been staring at HIM! He was sure he could control his affections for her while she was around, but today, he just couldn't stop himself from staring.

It's her fault I was staring. If she didn't look so beautiful, I would be able to keep my feelings under wraps.

He pounded his fist on the bed space next to him. It just wasn't fair. He wouldn't be able to keep his feelings secret for much longer if she kept getting prettier. He turned on his side and looked at the sleeping snail he had loved for many years.

I bet Gary could help me with my problems, but I should wait till morning. He closed his eyes, but the nervousness and curiosity clouded his mind.

I'm so sorry gare-bear, but it just can't wait.

SpongeBob moved his leg from under his sheets and nudged Gary's shell; he didn't move. He nudged him again, a bit harder this time. Once more, he kept sleeping. SpongeBob practically kicked him the third time. "Meow?" Why'd you wake me up?

"Sorry Gary for waking you, but I have a problem that just can't wait till morning."

"Meow? Meow?"Really? Is it about Sandy?

"Well…yes, it is about Sandy."

"Meow meow?" Did you have another dream about her?

"Gary!" SpongeBob face turned bright red as he scolded his snail. "You know I told you to never talk about that again! ...I actually need your advice on how to keep my feelings secret. I was staring today Gary. STARING! I think she's starting to catch on. It's too soon, she can't know until I know that she likes me too." SpongeBob's breathing quickened, his thoughts always turning to the worst possible situation. "What if she finds out? What if she hates me and tells me that she never wants to see me again! What if she MOVES BACK TO TEXAS! Then it would be because I wasn't able to keep my feeling a secret!" SpongeBob started crying; luckily he's a sponge because there was a LOT of tears.

"Meow." Shh,shh. "Meow. Meow meow." Calm down. You're posing a lot of 'what if' questions. "Meow? Meow? Meow. Meow meow!" So what if she finds out? The worst situation would be that things were a little awkward. You should go out on a limb; you might even find out that she feels the same way.

SpongeBob thought about what Gary had said. What if she did like him, what if she didn't. He would never find out unless he told her. What if I just don't try any harder to hide it, and let it, happen? He nodded his head; he had made up his mind. He would let things happen. After all, there was a fifty percent chance that she liked him as well.

But before the sponge could sleep, there was still the note that was folded and waiting in the pocket of his pants. Feeling guilty, the sponge decided he would return the note tomorrow as it was not his note to read and he already felt bad for reading what little he had.

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