Chapter 12: Let's Play Catch Up.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters

Italics= SpongeBob's thoughts

Underlined= Sandy's thoughts

They stopped near the door, neither reaching to open it though they both wished they were inside already. Remembering she had something to give to the sponge, she took it out of her pocket, almost dropping it with her nervousness, and told him to swallow it.

"It lets you breath air." She told him in a wavering voice.

Taking a deep breath, Sandy reached out hesitantly to open the door.

Shaking?! My hand is shaking?!

Before she could touch the cool metal, a small yellow hand encompassed her own; giving a reassuring squeeze, the sponge let the two of them inside. What's wrong Sandy? Why are you so worried? Is it because your scared that what you're feeling isn't real; or that you'll get hurt?

"I would never do anything to harm you Sandy…"

She looked over to me, cheeks dusted in pink; he could tell that something important was in her mind, he had thought he knew what it was. Smiling, Sandy nodded her head in reply, thought it felt as if she were a puppet responding to a tug on her string. Her tongue was useless in her mouth, her lungs refusing to let her breathe properly.

The mammals mind was clouded over, broken from trying to process what had happened only moments ago. It was as if, trying to comprehend it was impossible, it was something that would have never happened, shouldn't have happened. There was no such thing as a happy ending, surely something would happen as she expects and her whole fragile world would come crashing down.

She couldn't give into the feelings of joy she had, it would leave her defenseless. She couldn't, no, WOULDN'T let her guard down.

SpongeBob tugged gently on Sandy's hand to lead her to the house; but she wouldn't budge.

Sandy, what's wrong? Do you still not trust me? But, I thought…

SpongeBob turned to the furry frame, looking up at Sandy's face; tears were dripping freely down here cheeks, as she tried to pull her mouth into a small smile to fool him. She just couldn't forget what had happened the last time she had trusted her own emotions and followed them blindly, she just couldn't.

Wrapping her tightly in his arms, she finally broke down. The weight of all her emotions and feelings finally breaking her façade. Sobs choked out of her throat, his shirt becoming damp with her tears. But he stayed, her held her close, whispering into her ear.

"It's okay Sandy. I'm here, I'll never let you go. Let it out, all of it. I'll protect you Sandy, so let it all out."

Her body shuddered and shook, the pain aching in her heart her whole body burning but she still felt so cold. She held him harder; clutching onto the back of his shirt as if it was her only lifeline. In a way, it was. He had been there for her always; supporting her and letting her see the very essence of his being. And she, she had felt free around him. Free of her chains, free of her worries, free of her chains. The sponge pulled back slightly, alarming the squirrel as he had just promised to never leave her. Seeing the startled and hurt expression on her face, SpongeBob squeezed her hands before leading her the base of the huge oak tree. There, he sat up against it before guiding the squirrel to sit besides him.

It wouldn't stop, the pain, the hot water flowing from her eyes, she sunk down to the floor knees giving out from under her. SpongeBob caught her shoulders in his hands and pulled her onto his lap. Once again, he embraced his closest friend, shielding her from the outside world. One hand rubbed circles comfortingly into her back, the other slowly brushing over her head. He could feel her warmth through his shirt, even though she was wearing a sweater; the sweater he had given her for her birthday a few years back.

~ o ~

"Happy birthday to yooooooou!" SpongeBob finished off the song as Sandy blew out her candles. It was Sandy's birthday, one of SpongeBob's favorite days in the year, mostly because he could bring the biggest smile to Sandy's face on this day.

"~ I got you a present! ~"

"Really?! Aw thanks SpongeBob!"

He handed a small box to Sandy, wrapped in paper covered in acorns.

Sandy tore the paper off excitedly and was met with a white box. Upon lifting off the lid, she found a tan, turtle-neck sweater with an acorn on the front.

"Oh SpongeBob! It's beautiful; and so soft!"

She exclaimed whilst rubbing it against her cheek.

"I hand made it… so it's full of our friendship and love!"

At this point in time, SpongeBob's love for the squirrel had been but a small nagging thought in the back of his mind.

Being overwhelmed with the honesty of his words, the squirrel wrapped her best friend in a tight embrace, thanking him again and again. She really did have friends who loved her, she was sure now. And SpongeBob was definitely someone who would be their throughout her life, she could just feel it.

~ o ~

The fuzz if the jumper warmed his hands as he continued to rub her back. Finally, her sobs began to slow and the tears started to dry and her breathing was easing. The pain still ached in her heart, but in SpongeBob's arms, it become an echo of what she had been feeling before. Shudders passed through her body, shaking her shoulder and making her grasp the sponge's shirt even hard, as if, should her grip weaken, he would be taken from her. His breath brushed against her neck causing the skin to tingle; she giggled, just slightly, from the ticklish sensation.

Sensing that Sandy had calmed enough for them to move into the house, the young man pulled both himself and his squirrel friend to their feet. They held hands while walking towards the door, a small gesture that made Sandy question her earlier resolve. SpongeBob seemed so sturdy, so trustworthy; like he promised, he would never hurt her, would he?

That was the thing; every time Sandy encountered a feeling of warmth in her heart, she would try to block it out. It was because of this warmth, the warmth she had felt growing with time spent with the sponge, that she had experienced the worst pain of her life. And so, it was now habit to deny these feelings when they arose. But did she really what to ignore them? Isn't this what she always wanted? Someone that she could love that would love her just as much, that would stay by her side and protect her, just as he had promised.

"You're wearing it."

The squirrel glanced in the direction of his voice.

"You're wearing the jumper I gave you for your birthday a few years back."

His voice sounded solemn, a nostalgic look in his eyes, as if remembering the past.

"I-I was lonely. I missed you so bad; everyday was torture, waiting for you to come back. Then I remembered this sweater," she looked down at said piece of clothing, "and how you said that it was hand made, and full of our friendship and love. It was like you were there again; like, you had ingrained all your smiles and memories into it as you made it."

"That's because I did."

"…"

"…"

"Hmn," the squirrel smiled slightly before continuing, "that's the only thing that kept me going you know? Without it, I don't know what I would've done."

The confession seemed wrong to SpongeBob's ears; she was always to strong, so independent. Who knew that she would be so lost without the sponge near her side. That something so small, a sweater at that, something so insignificant would be held so close to her heart. That a person, could be so held dear to her heart; it didn't seem anything like Sandy.

This is what worried the yellow creature; something was very wrong with Sandy, and it pained him to see her like this. Her pain was his pain, and he felt like he had been stabbed in the heart a thousand times. It was obvious that their was something that he didn't know. And this, kids, is what caused the sea sponge's resolve. He would forget about his own feelings for his best friend, his own worries that had caused him endless night awake, and help Sandy with her pain. No matter what… HE WOULD HEAL HER PAIN AND PROTECT HER UNTIL SHE HAD RETURNED TO HER USUAL SELF!

—

A/N

Hey my Babe's, here's a hug for all of you who endured the wait for the new chapter; also, FOR GETTING OVER 8000 VIEWS AND OVER 30 REVIEWS! ( 0 v 0 )

I would like to thank each and every person for reading my story up to this point, I love all of you guys!

I know that I haven't been updating much and I hate to make you guys wait. I also wish to tell you guys that I would love for anyone to PM me to ask questions about the story or to discuss some ideas for the storyline

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(unrelated to the main story btw)

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