A friendship like no other

Part 1: A not so regular day

At the beginning, all I felt was warmth. Not in an uncomfortable way - it was more in a familiar and reassuring way, if that makes sense. Then, I felt my body being gently squished against that warmth. I was enrobed in this gentle heat, making me feel at home. I felt as if I could stay there forever. Then, a light touched lifted my shin upwards, and as I looked up, I saw... him. I felt lighter so suddenly, as if I had no weight in his arms. As I felt lifter towards his face, my heart started to pound loudly, my face started to feel hot and I felt butterflies in my stomach. I closed my eyes and puckered my lips. And then...

The horn of my alarm started blasting, waking me out of a dream I could barely remember now... All I could recall were the feelings I felt. My heart was still pounding, could it be... love? I turned on my side and turned off the alarm. I sighed. Although I could not remember his face, I felt as if I already missed him. I missed this moment, although it never actually happened. I wanted to go back to sleep, hoping he would still be there, to I had a very busy day ahead of me today. I had to go to work quite early, and I needed to take Gary to the veterinarian afterwards - not that there was anything wrong with him, just that it was time for his usual check-up. In fact, he was being quite noisy these times around. I wondered why.

Speak of the devil, Gary started meowing like crazy, asking for his breakfast. I stretched, got out of bed to open my door. Gary purred and rubbed his shell against my legs after seeing me, then heading to his food bowl in my room. It then hit me - why was Gary outside? I usually let him sleep in my door, and I close the door... Did I forget about him? I looked at him, happily munching on his breakfast.

"Sorry, Gary. I guess I forgot about you."

He turned his eyes to me, looking at me curiously. I smiled and headed downstairs to get my own breakfast. I entered the kitchen and grabbed myself a bowl of Kelpo cereals. I sat down at the table, looking out the window.

"Today is a wonderful day!" I think.

Gary came into the kitchen shortly after, sitting next to me.

"You know, Gary, I really can't remember what happened last night. How come you were outside this morning?" I asked while eating cereals.

"Meow."

I was confused. "What? But - You were there with me when I went to sleep, right?"

"Meow."

"Yes! So... How did you get out in the middle of the night? Did you figure out how to open the door on your own?"

"Meow." Gary responded.

I got up, took my empty bowl and spoon to the sink and started to wash them.

"So, you're telling me that we did indeed go to bed together, that you woke up to the door being opened, that you went out to investigate, but that the door was closed when you came back?"

"Meow."

I wiped the dishes with a rag, trying to remember what happened last night. Was it possible that I woke up, saw the open door and closed it without acknowledging it? Was I a sleepwalker? Of course, it seemed like the most rational option. Yet, I felt as if it was just not quite right...

"Meow."

I turned around. "What is it,Gary?"

"Meow." he said.

I looked at the clock.

"What?! I'm going to be late!"

I bolted off to my room to put on my uniform, dashed to the bathroom to brush my teeth, rushed to the living room to say goodbye to Gary and leave. But as I started to look for my keys, I noticed that the front door was unlocked. My whole body froze, realizing the gravity of what this could possibly imply.

"Wow... What a careless act. Gary could've escaped!" I thought.

I brushed it off, found my keys, made sure twice that I locked the door and left for work. Still, as I walked my way to the Krusty Krab, I couldn't help but wonder - did I really forget to lock the door? It usually is one of the things I make sure I do before going to bed... And did I really lock Gary out? If it was just one thing, I would've brushed it off as an oversight. But altogether, it didn't feel right.

While I was lost in my thoughts, I bumped into something - or rather, someone. I lost my balance and fell on my back. As I sat up, I rubbed my forehead and apologized.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going..."

I looked up to meet with familiar eyes - Squidward.

"Why was I surprised- of course it would be you, Spongebob." he sighed.

He reached out his tentacle to me while he rolled his eyes. I grabbed it, and he pulled my back to my feet.

"I'm sorry Squidward. I've been thinking a lot this morning. Strange things have been happening to me since I woke up"

"Look, Spongebob. I really don't care. Talk all you want but don't expect me to actually listen. Now, I don't want to be late to work, so I'll be on my way."

Squidward turned on his heels and started leaving. Then, after a few steps, he faced back to me and a strange look inhabited is face.

"Aren't you... going to follow me?" he asked.

I blushed, surprised by his question. It's true, I tend to follow him, even when he is telling me off. Still, I didn't know he actually was used to me annoying him, and that he'd actually expect me to tag along. I smiled, and hurried to catch up with him. Him, on the other hand, went back to acting distant and uninterested. Still, I could see that we was glad I was by his side.

I started to explain what happened to me this morning, and Squidward pretended not to be interested, but I could see he was getting invested in this morning's events. It got me to wonder...

Could it be him that was in my dream last night? Was he the mysterious man who was holding me so warmly? I could feel my face get redder by the second, thinking of being in Squidward's arms - all six of them. My heart was beating faster and faster, and looking at him in the eyes was near impossible to do. To be honest, I never could have imagined Squidward this way. He has always been pretty cold to me, but for some reason, he would always lets me stick around. I've never asked myself why that was, but maybe... could it be that he liked me?

We arrived at the Krusty Krab. As usual, the door was unlocked, due to Mr. Krabs always coming in early for the opening shifts. Me and Squidward went our separate ways - him, to the cash register, and me, to the kitchen. I started to set up the cooking equipments: turning on the plaques, getting buns and meats out of the freezer, making sure my favorite spatula was near me, etc.

All while setting up my kitchen, I would sneak peaks at Squidward as we was preparing the tables. I seemed somewhat less cranky than the usual, which made me feel all kinds of things. How weird was it, that a single dream about an anonymous stranger could make my heart throb so badly for him?

Then, a shrieking noise peaked through the kitchen. I turned around and saw a gap in the door leading to Mr. Krabs' dark office.

"Spongebob... My boy... Come here." a voice whispered through the gap.