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Today was the first day of your life where you stood before Squidward's house, for a reason that wasn't scolding him or grabbing your boyfriend to take him back home.
He opened the door after your fourth knock, his usual expression of displeasure greeting you. Before he could say anything to you, probably to tell you to leave, you went into his home. He stammered, ready to yell at you, hands on his hips, but you quickly whipped yourself around to glare down at him. His eyes widened at the sudden display of anger on your part, stammering even more.
"Tentacles. I need you to direct the Bikini Bottom choir. Tonight."
He stared at you, and when he realized you were actually serious, he fiddled with his tentacles and looked away.
"It's been years since I got the choir back. How in the world am I going to do that in a day?"
"A few steps ahead of you, Squid." You pulled out the papers that you had been passing around all day, giving one to him to let him read it. As he scrolled through it, eyes darting back and forth, you brought out another paper that was a checklist, marking off your fifth task that day. "Everyone got back to me and said they'd be glad to help out."
"And why didn't you tell me this sooner?" He threw the paper back at you, which you caught with ease, shoving it into your mess of a bag. "You know I need ample time to get prepared for my art."
"Because I knew you'd say no." You grinned at him, standing on your tippy toes to look him right in the eyes. "Because of what I need the choir for."
"Which is...?"
"What day is it today, Squidward?"
He turned around to look at the calendar on his wall, bending over and murmuring to himself.
"It's May 1st, why do you-"
He froze and turned back to you. You were smiling wickedly now, watching as his face went from shock to disbelief.
"You're kidding."
"I knew it. You would have said no if I had asked earlier."
"You think so lowly of me." He walked past you to his kitchen, taking a kettle that he had heating up and grabbing a cup as well. "Squarepants may be the bane of my existence. But a birthday's a birthday, even if he can be particularly insufferable about his." He poured tea into the cup, watching you go towards him. "May I ask how you kept this a secret from him? It's impossible to keep anything from him. Tea, by the way?"
"No thank you", you replied, watching him sip from his cup elegantly. You put your elbows on the kitchen table to lean against it. He rolled his eyes in response. "Well, it's simple. I may have marathoned a bunch of movies with him last night so he would sleep for most of today. And fed him lots of milk and popcorn."
Squidward raised his eyebrow at you while sipping his tea. You raised your arms in defense.
"What! It works!"
"Hm. Well, I was wondering why he wasn't bothering me today. You did me a favor." He put his cup down. "Now, the choir. Just let me know when I'm supposed to be there." His eyes lit up, like a lightbulb had started to float over his head, and he smirked. "Oh, and make sure Squilliam is there. I think it'd sweeten the deal."
"Everyone will be there, so I can guarantee that." You watched him smirk even more in reaction, humming. "So you'll do it, then?"
"I never said no, my dear. I wouldn't miss this for anything."
...
You kept pacing back and forth behind the stage, your fingers running through your hair and nearly pulling it out. You could hear the chatter from outside, as well as the choir practicing behind you. It wasn't like anything was going wrong. You woke up Spongebob an hour ago and told him to get ready and head to the Krusty Krab, after he finished panicking about sleeping through most of his birthday, of course. He didn't seem mad at you, far from it. He even gave you a peck on the cheek before you left.
So why did you feel like this? You felt like your heart was about to burst out of your chest. You were sweating profusely, and your breathing was getting heavier. You didn't even notice that someone was nearby until you were grabbed by the shoulders. You shrieked, but calmed down quickly when you saw Sandy in front of you, eyebrows creased.
"Now what in tarnation is going on here? You look like you're about to burst like Texas on a hot day!"
"Sorry about that, Sandy." Your voice was quiet, and your fingers went back to your hair. You had the strange urge to itch your neck. "I guess I'm just nervous about everything."
"No need to be nervous, lil fella!" Sandy wrapped an arm around your shoulder, pulling you in. "This is Spongebob we're talking about. He can't be disappointed about anything."
"No, no Sandy you don't understand, that's the problem!" You felt her squeeze her arm around you, preventing you from shaking with anxiety. "This is Spongebob. And this is my first birthday with him, y'know, actually dating him. I want to make it good. Like, really good. I don't want him to just be impressed. I want him to know I care, and-"
You yelped when you felt Sandy rubbing your head with her fist, messing it up. You grabbed your head, preventing her from doing any more damage.
"You knucklehead! You're thinking too much. I think a certain Sponge has been rubbing off on ya too much." You felt your shoulders being grabbed again, forcing you to look at her. "Listen to me. What you did tonight is probably the biggest thing I've ever seen anyone do for that little guy. But as long as you're here, he will love it. Because he cares about ya. You should hear how he talks about ya. It's like you hold the entire ocean with the palm of your hand."
You felt your eyes water at her words, soaking them in. You nodded, your smile bright. She slapped your back hard.
"So quit worryin and start getting ready for your sponge!"
"Yes ma'am!"
You both turned around when you heard a whistle. Mr. Krabs came out from the stage curtains, looking at you.
"The boy is here!"
You turned around, clapping your hands hard. The choir, who had been practicing up until then, stopped immediately to look at you.
"Alright, everyone! Places! We start in 5!"
You watched both Mr. Krabs and Sandy get into their places, alongside everyone else. You felt excitement fill through you. The plan you had been having for months was finally going to fruition. You wiped your eyes, then slipped out of the curtains.
The Krusty Krab was packed. You waved at any familiar faces you saw. Spongebob's parents both waved hard at you, and his mother even gave you a kiss. His grandmother ran over to you to give you the tightest hug you had ever felt, making it hard to breath. You kept wiping the kiss on your cheek from her the entire time you went to the back. And then there was your Sponge, wearing a black suit, with the rose that you slipped into it tucked into the front pocket. When he saw you, his eyes went star-struck, face going red.
"Wow. You look...." He paused, looking you up and down. "You look wonderful."
You giggled in response, grabbing his hand to take him to the seat towards the front of the stage.
"Thank you, honey. I had to look nice for you."
"You don't just look nice. You look like an angel!"
"Stop it, you're going to make me a mess before we have even started anything!"
You sat next to him at the table, your hand still holding his. He squeezed it, looking at the stage curiously.
"So, is this my surprise?"
"We're just getting started, love."
The room went dark. Then, lights shone from above, pointing right at the stage as the curtains slowly opened. You heard his quiet gasp when he saw the choir, with Squidward proudly standing. You weren't amused by his quick, smug smile at Squilliam, who you could hear muttering complaints under his breath next to you. But still, you watched as he cleared his throat, raised his hands, and started to direct.
While the choir performed, with Squidward singing, surprisingly beautifully at that, images from Spongebob's life started to play in the background, projected from the back. The both of you were dead silent as you watched the performance. You felt the occasional squeeze of his hand, but otherwise, you were entranced. In fact, the whole room was.
When the performance was done, everyone bowed, and the lights went on. The whole room erupted in applause, everyone standing and cheering at the group. You could see from your peripheral vision that Squilliam had fainted once again, being carried out by an unamused date. But otherwise, everyone was bright and smiling. But your focus was only on Spongebob, who stared up in awe. He turned back to you, eyes watery.
"You did all this for me?"
You smiled at him, now holding his one hand with both of yours.
"Anything for you, my love." You kissed his hand. His nose twitched, and he cried, but it was silent. He lunged across the table to pull you into a hug, wrapping his arm around your waist and peppering you with kisses wherever he could.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you. You're the best and amazing and so sweet!" He looked up at you, holding one of your cheeks with his hand while he sat in your lap. "You didn't need to do all this for me."
You kissed his forehead, pulling him closer to you. It was as though the world around you had stopped completely. And it was just the two of you.
"I'd do anything for you. Happy Birthday, Spongebob. And I love you."
He kissed you hard, grabbing your face to pull you in. And against your lips, he said,
"I love you too."