1A/N: I spent so much time thinking up this story it's not even funny. I've probably been brainstorming for nearly four months now! Anyway, the pairings in this fic are not only Spongebob/Sandy, but also Sandy/Squidward! (A first for not only me, but probably the entire fanfiction community.) Well, please R&R!!!

Part I

Sandy's been acting really weird lately. I can't quite place my finger on what's wrong with her, but things just seem...I dunno, different. She doesn't laugh as much as she used to. She is a lot quieter. When we do karate together, it just doesn't feel the same. I'm really worried about her...I want the old Sandy back...the one I fell in love with.

Wanna know what's even stranger? Whenever we're around Squidward, she changes. She freezes up and hardly says anything. She blushes very often. Whenever she has a conversation with him, it's not easy for her to avoid giggling and sighing. She's always talking about him, how talented he is, how smart he is...the list goes on and on.

I am NOT jealous. It's just that–she used to act that way around me.

Why did that stop?

Chapter 1

Sandy Cheeks stood before the door of his house, as nervous as any girl in her position would be. Over the past few weeks, she had been thinking about him, and only him. She would sit and daydream about the two of them going to a movie together, or going dancing. She couldn't contain her smile when he came around, and she laughed at all his sarcastic jokes even when she didn't want to. It was only sensible to conclude that she was deeply, deeply in love.

She should be, at least. She'd visited every counselor in the Pacific Ocean searching for an answer to her strange behavior. One had said that her sudden interest in someone she rarely talked to could be a sign of non-recognition from someone else.

"What does that mean?" she had asked, ready to take it as an offense. "It simply means," the doctor replied calmly, "That you are in love with someone whom you've tried to express your feelings to...but he doesn't seem to respond...correct?"

He was correct. Sandy had secretly been in love with Spongebob since the day they met. He was sweet, and generous, never hurt anyone or anything in any way, and was always a pleasure to have around. Besides that he was also a tad bit cute...if you looked very hard.

Yet no matter how many times she'd tried to drop a hint, he was just too blind to notice. Men will always be men, even if they are Spongebob Squarepants. And now that he didn't seem to notice that she loved him, it was time to move on...she would start to make a move on the other one. After all, she had already had a sort of thing for him since she helped him retrieve a clarinet reed lodged in his throat. She had tried to drop a hint, then, and he seemed to notice..possibly. She had to work her way in through time.

Sandy looked up at the wooden door as if begging it for it's owner to be merciful. She had never actually visited him, or even said 'hello' as they passed each other in the supermarket. He wasn't very much of a people's person and she didn't want to intrude upon his free time from everyone else. He seemed to hate every single thing in town (not a very healthy way to start off a relationship), but that would soon all change once she showed him her sentimental side.

Seduction never worked...no, she had been down that road before. All it lead to was sex and knowing-winks from that very man whenever they saw each other. And what did that bring? Happiness, yes for one night, but afterwards??

Which is why she wasn't going to screw it up with this one. She wasn't going to just "give clues" like she had with Spongebob. She was going to slowly grow closer to him, start off at a steady pace, and then reel in the fish–er, no pun intended.

It was a new day under the sea, and she was a new woman. It was time to win the love of her life once and for all.

Slowly, very slowly but surely, Sandy raised her hand to knock on the door. She felt a slight twinge of nervousness as she did so, thinking about retreating. But she knew that this had to be done. Taking a deep breath, biting her lip, and shutting her eyes, she carefully lifted her fist to knock on the door. She was so afraid about what might happen that her hand was shaking. As she planned out what she was going to say once he opened the door, there was a slight rustle behind her. She spun around and easily dodged the quick karate chop of Spongebob.

"HI YA!!" he declared, thrusting his hands into the air and giving a battle cry.

"So, you thought you could get away from Ol' Spongebob, huh, Sandy?" Spongebob asked with a sly smile, "Well, you were wrong! HI-"

Sandy held up her hand and blocked Spongebob's attack, as well as stopping him from getting away. He struggled but she would not allow him to escape. "Spongebob, I can't do karate today. I have some...business to take care of," she said, finally releasing him. Spongebob looked incredibly puzzled. "But, Sandy, It's Tuesday. We always do karate together on Tuesdays..." he said, his voice trailing off. Sandy scoffed and rolled her almond brown eyes. "Not today, Spongebob. Maybe next week."

She proceeded to go back to what she was doing, but Spongebob smiled again. "Ohh, I get it. You're just saying that to throw me off. Well, you're gonna have to try much harder to get past me!" he said, making another sorry attempt to whoop her. Again she stopped him. "Spongebob, I mean it. I have to talk to–look, don't worry about it, just go back home," she said, shoving him towards the pineapple.

"But Sandy, I–"

"GO, Spongebob!"

Looking quite sorrowful, Spongebob bowed his head and trudged back home. Once he was inside and the door was shut behind him, Sandy let out a sigh of relief and knocked rapidly on the door. There was a moment's pause, then the tall, thin figure of the man Sandy had been in love with for weeks now appeared in the doorway.

"Uh...hello, Sarah," Squidward said in a puzzled tone, looking all around him. Sandy's face reddened. "Er, actually I go by Sandy, but you can call me Sarah if you like," she said with a nervous giggle. Squidward laughed back, but his was filled with confusion. "O...K... you know Spongebob lives next door, right?" he asked sincerely. "Oh, I know. I came to visit you..hehe!" Sandy replied. Squidward arched a suspicious eyebrow. "Um...can I ask you why?" he said. Sandy looked around and shuffled her feet in the sand. "Oh, ya know...just for fun," she said. She wanted to punch herself in the face for acting like such an idiot.

Squidward stared at her for a long time without saying anything. It was as if he was trying to read her, but he was obviously not successful. "Alright, then–come on in," he said, still eyeing her strangely. "Thank-You!" Sandy said cheerfully as she stepped into the Easter Island Head home.

Having never actually been inside of Squidward's house, she was greatly surprised by the artsy furniture and decorations. Modernly styled chairs, sofas, and tables lined the inside of the house. Pictures of things that only one with a veeery artistic eye could understand hung along the walls, and the smell of Febreze filled her nostrils(even through her air helmet).

"Wow..you have a really cool house," she said to Squidward with a broad smile. His nose wrinkled slightly as he accepted the compliment with a mere "Thanks."

"Well, uh...I guess you should–you know, uh, make yourself at home," Squidward said. Sandy plopped down on a nearby sofa and clasped her hands tightly together. "...Lemonade?" Squidward offered. Sandy looked up, a bit startled since she had been paying more attention to a picture of a gorilla dressed up as a woman going grocery shopping.

"Pardon?"

"I said do you want some lemonade?" Squidward repeated.

"Oh, right...yeah! Sure, why not," Sandy said. She could feel herself blushing again as Squidward gave a little nod and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Oh, man! I can't believe I let the mammal inside my house!!" Squidward cried as he hurried about fixing a pitcher of lemonade. "What could she possibly want? I never talk to her, I try to stay away from everybody else–so what in the name of Neptune is she doing here??"

"I bet he thinks I'm such a creep, coming over to his house when we never even talk!" Sandy said, whipping out a compact mirror(something she hardly ever carried around). "I'm probably not pretty enough...or smart enough...oh, God, what was I thinking? I should have never dragged my behind over here to–"

"Uh, here's that lemonade!" Squidward said in an overly peppy voice. He walked over to her carrying a tray with two glasses filled with a yellow liquid(stop thinking nasty). Sandy took her's and quickly downed it, wishing it were alcohol. Squidward also took his glass and sat down next to her, a good distance away.

"So...you have an accent...where are you from again?" he asked in a desperate way to make conversation. "Texas," Sandy replied proudly. "I got a job offer from a couple of chimpanzees to do experiments underwater, so here I am!"

"Um, what's a 'chimpanzee'?"

"...Never mind..."

There was a long moment of silence. The two just sat there, quietly sipping their lemonade and not saying a word. It wasn't until about two more minutes of complete silence that Sandy spoke up again. "So I understand that you're a musician," she said, gesturing to the statues of different composers. "An aspiring musician," Squidward said under his breath, but Sandy caught his words. "Oh...well, you'll get your chance one day," she said brightly. "Yeah, well that makes two supporters," Squidward said sarcastically. Sandy laughed, which attracted his attention and he eyed her curiously. She coughed and shut her mouth. "What instruments do you play?" she asked, getting back on subject.

"Pretty much anything that involves blowing into or has strings," he replied, taking another sip of his lemonade. "Really? I play a little bit of guitar," Sandy said quickly, happy that there was something they had in common. Squidward's dull eyes grew large with interest. "No kidding?"he said, "Well, I sure am impressed I thought I was the only one in this ass-munching town that had good taste," he said. "We should play together sometime," Sandy said with her nicest smile. Squidward looked at her with a newfound interest. "Yeah...yeah, maybe we should," he said. There was another long pause, but this time it wasn't because the two didn't have anything to say. It was because they were staring into each other's eyes. Just then, Sandy remembered that she had to play it safe for a while and turned away. "Uh, actually, Squidward, I came over here to...to ask you something," she said slowly.

"What would she wanna ask me?" Squidward thought as he arched his eyebrows quizzically. "Uh...sure..." he said in a puzzled tone. Sandy nervously twiddled her thumbs.

"You see, I–I don't really know how to put this, but—but...the thing is...is that...I, uh," Sandy looked at Squidward who looked both impatient and confused. "I have these two tickets to go see the Three Wise Men and—"

"You have tickets to a Three Wise Men concert??" Squidward cried in disbelief, " I've been trying to get tickets to one of their concerts for months now, they're my favorite clarinet trio!" he said. "Oh, really? I had no idea," Sandy said, silently thanking Patrick for the tip. "Because you see...I was just-ahem-wondering what to do with the other ticket and I was hoping—well, not hoping, just thinking, really, that...that you..might..wanna..go..with..me...?" she asked. Squidward choked on his sip of lemonade.

"Wha-wha-what?" he asked, spatting out the drink. "You...you mean like—like on a date?"

Sandy frantically shook her head. "Oh, no! No, no, no, not as a date—well, yes, but—I mean, no...yes...no! Well, I—yeah," she said.

Squidward was in utter and complete shock. He hardly knew this chick, and now she was asking him out? What the hell was going on here???

"Er—jeez, I, uh—wow, a date, um...s-s-s-sure, w-w-why not?" he asked. Sandy smiled and leapt up. "Okay, then. Meet me in front of the Bubble Bowl tomorrow night at 7," she said. She turned and headed for the door, but Squidward stopped her. "Sandy, wait!" he said. She spun around. "This...doesn't have to be a date, right? I mean, it could be just two people going to a concert together," he said hopefully. "Of course! Don't even think of it as a date," Sandy said, trying her best to hide her disappointment.

"You're...you're right," Squidward said, "It's not a date..."

"Well, see you tomorrow at seven! Bye, Squidward!"

"Yeah, bye..."

Like it so far? Well, keep reading, chapter 2 should be up tonight as well!