Title: Lately
By: divastarz63 / hieilover135
Disclaimer: I don’t own Spongebob.
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Lately, the Krusty Krab was going through a down spell. Mr. Krabs suspected that it was because of Spongebob and the patties he was making, (or nasty patties as he preferred to call them now), but every time he talked to Spongebob about it, the boy just snivelled and made even worse burgers. Finally, he decided to take action.

“Spongebob!” he called. The sponge walked slowly out of the back room to face his boss.

“Yes sir?”

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to send you home boy, until you decide to make better patties. You’re ruining me boy…”

Spongebob’s eyes widened, but to Mr. Krabs’ surprise, he didn’t object, but instead nodded and walked straight out of the door immediately.

“Weird…I expected him to at least beg me to keep him for a while or something…” the crustacean muttered.

“Well, whatever. As long as he’s gone.” Squidward said matter-of-factly from where he stood.
****************************************

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to send you home boy, until you decide to make better patties. You’re ruining me boy…”

Mr. Krabs’ words echoed in Spongebob’s head as he sat in Jellyfish fields. He had been wandering around in search of a clear, quiet place for him to think and this was the best spot. He whipped out his iPod.

“If only he knew…” he said to himself, a tear rolling down his nose.

Last week, as Spongebob was getting ready for work, he received a call from his parents inviting both him and Patrick to stay with them to a concert for which they happened to have tickets. Spongebob couldn’t make it, but he told Patrick, who decided to go anyways.

The next evening, Spongebob received another phone call.

“Hello, Spongebob Squarepants?”

“Yes, can I help you?”

Apparently, as his parents were driving towards Patrick’s house to drop him home, a truck came out of nowhere and demolished their vehicle. There were no survivors.

Spongebob immediately rushed to the love of his life, Sandy, but when he got there…

“Oh! Spongebob! I wasn’t expecting you!”

“Sandy, what are you doing with Larry?”

“Didn’t you know? Larry and I are dating!”

The sponge stared at her, then turned around and ran off blindly, ignoring Sandy’s cries to return.

It was the worst day of his life.

“And now, my boss thinks I’m incapable of doing my job!” Spongebob said, clenching his fists angrily. Then he sighed heavily.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Nothing matters anymore…” he thought, then joined in with the song that was playing.

Well, I know what I’ve been told
You gotta know just when to fold
But I can’t do this all on my~~own
No I know…
I’m no Superman
I’m no Superman

Spongebob stood up, tears flowing freely down his face. He knew he would feel better if he sang, but the song still made him feel downright depressed. Still, he pressed on and started to sing again.

You’ve crossed the finish line
Won the race, but lost your mind
Was it worth it after all?
I need you here with me
Cause love is all we need
Just take a hold of the hand that breaks the fall

Spongebob’s thoughts wandered to Sandy and he began to walk towards his house. How could he ever think that she would ever think of him as anything more than just a friend and karate buddy?

Well, I know what I’ve been told
Gotta break free to break the mould
But I can’t do this all on my~~own
No I can’t do this all on my~~~~own

Spongebob walked inside and headed towards his room, ignoring Gary’s questioning meows.

I know
That I’m no~
Superman

Spongebob crawled into his bed and curled up under the covers, murmuring the last words of the song before he fell asleep.

I’m no Superman
***********************************************

Two week later, Sandy visited the Krusty Krab.

“Hey guys, where’s Spongebob? I haven’t seen him for a long while,” the Texan squirrel asked.

“Beats me. The poor sap hasn’t been out of his house for almost two weeks. It’s been pure bliss not to wake up to his annoying voice!” Squidward exclaimed.

“Huh. That’s weird. I think I’ll pass by his house and see how he’s doing.”

Later that afternoon, Sandy arrived at Spongebob’s house, shocked to see the outside looking trashed. From where she stood, she could hear music playing from inside.

I built my life like my bike on a rigid frame
So nothing bends it only breaks into pieces and pieces
I waited for hope to arrive but it never came
Leaving me with only pain inside
I'm going off the deep end

She knocked on the door, which was soon opened by Gary.

“Well, hey there little critter! Is Spongebob home?”

Gary meowed loudly and rushed away from the room.

I built my life on a rigid frame.
So nothing bends it only breaks into pieces and pieces.
I waited for hope to arrive but it never came.
Leaving me with only pain inside.
I'm going off the deep end.

Holding on is harder than it seems
When you're reaching for so much more
Seems so much easier to just give in
When you're reaching for so much more

Sandy looked around as she waited for Spongebob to come. The inside of the house, she noticed, looked just as bad as the outside, with wallpaper torn and garbage strewn across the floor.

Another wasted Saturday so here I stay
Where nothing seems to ever change anyway hey
All this hype about life bein' great
Where's the love for me these days
I'm goin off the deep end

Holding on is harder than it seems
When you're reaching for so much more
Seems so much easier to just give in
When you're reaching for so much more

“Ouch!” she cried out; Gary had returned and bit her on the leg. When she turned around, the snail rushed out of the room, then rushed back in. She followed him to the bathroom, which was locked.

“Spongebob?” she called, but there was no response. From Gary’s frantic mews and the ominous music playing, she knew then that something was wrong. She immediately karate-chopped the door in two, then gasped. There, on the floor Spongebob lay, unconscious, a bottle close by. Sandy screamed, then ran to the phone and called an ambulance.

Holding on is harder than it seems
When you're reaching for so much more
Seems so much easier to just give in
When you're reaching for so much more

********************************************************

As soon as Spongebob opened his eyes, he knew that something was wrong; he shouldn’t have been able to do that. When they came into focus, he noticed that a person lying in a chair across from him.

“Sandy?” he exclaimed weakly, noting happily that the medicine still had a bad effect on him.

The squirrel opened her eyes. “Spongebob, you’re awake!” she exclaimed happily.

“Were you the one who brought me here?” he asked.

“Yes! I went to your house and found you on the floor and I was so scared cause I thought you were dead but I brought you here and they said-“

“Why?”

“Huh?” Sandy was confused. Was Spongebob upset that she had saved his life?

“Why’d you even bother? You and I both know that I have nothing to live for anymore…”

“If you’re talking about your parents and Patrick-“

“Not just them. I’m talking about you and Larry… I mean, I thought that after I had bothered to confess my feelings to you and set up a date for us, you would at least have the decency to tell me that you didn’t like me like that or something.”
“Sponge-“

“Can you imagine how I felt Sandy? Having the person whom I’ve loved for ages say yes to a date and then going to her house and seeing her with another guy!” Spongebob burst out angrily. He didn’t care that Sandy had started to cry; he had spilt too many tears over her as it was.

“It wasn’t like that Sponge! The only reason I was with Larry was because he asked me out before, and I thought…I thought that you didn’t like me like that! I was afraid at the time to tell you my feelings and when you told me, I had already moved on!”

Just like that, Spongebob’s anger disappeared. They stared at each other for a long time, before Sandy broke the silence.

“But I did break up with him after a while. He was just too…Larry for me.”

Another awkward pause passed before Sandy stood up.

“Look, you can stay angry at me all you want. I don’t even care anymore. I tried waiting for you, long before you even bothered telling me, but I managed to move on. You should try and do the same, because the Spongebob I like would never try to kill himself, no matter what.”

And with that, she walked out of the room, never looking back.

The next day, Sandy heard from a doctor that Spongebob had passed away during the night. He handed her a note, saying that the Sponge had wanted her to have it.

When she reached the Treedome, she opened it. On it was a drawing of an umbrella. She smiled, put on her cd player and began to sing. It was a favourite of Spongebob.

You have my heart
And we'll never be worlds apart
May be in magazines
But you'll still be my star
Baby cause in the dark
You can't see shiny cars
And that's when you need me there
With you I'll always share

She wiped away tears that were forming in her eyes and continued.

Because
When the sun shines, we'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be a friend
Took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we'll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
You can stand under my umbrella ella ella eh eh eh
Under my umbrella ella ella eh eh eh
Under my umbrella ella ella eh eh eh
Under my umbrella ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh

You're becoming a dream to me

Sandy reached out to turn off the CD player, then froze. That version of the song wasn’t playing…

Fairytale fantasy

She felt a hand on her back and turned around; there he was, dressed up in all his glory.

Nothing can ever compare
an image to my memory
Girl I'm asking could you be my queen?
A vision on a magazine
That's when I'll be there
It's something we both share
Because

She smiled as he began the chorus, dancing in the goofy manner that she loved.

When the sun shine, we'll shine together
You know I'll be here forever
Although it's a lot of rain outside
Girl it's getting late you can stay the night
But you can dip out anytime whenever
I can call a car I ain't tryna stress ya
I'm looking for the one with the glass slipper
Baby girl you can be my Cinderella ella ella eh eh eh
You can be my Cinderella ella ella eh eh eh
You can be my Cinderella ella ella eh eh eh
You can be my Cinderella ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh

He grabbed her and they both began dancing as they sang their song. She had no idea that he could dance that well…

You can run into my arms
It's okay don't be alarmed
Come into me
There's no distance in between our love
So go on and say my name some more
I'll be all you need and more (ah.. ready?)
Because

When the sun shines, we'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be a friend
Took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end
But you can dip out anytime whenever
I can call a car I ain't tryna stress ya
I'm looking for the one with the glass slipper
Baby girl you can be my Cinderella ella ella eh eh eh
Under my umbrella ella ella eh eh eh
You can be my Cinderella ella ella eh eh eh
Under my umbrella ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh

“I’m sorry for all the bad things I’ve said. I just wanted you to know…I love you Sandy Cheeks.”

“I love you too…Larry the Lobster.”
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Bet you weren’t expecting that. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big SpongbobxSandy fan but I just wanted to try something new, is all.

The songs used in this fic were “I’m no Superman” (not sure who it’s by, but it’s the theme song for Scrubs), “The Deep End” by Crossfade and “Umbrella (remix)” by Rihanna and Chris Brown.

Thanks for reading. Please tell me what you think!

~Divastarz63 / Hieilover135