"And you just spent over $1000 dollars for a new clarinet that you didn't even break," Squidward points out, folding his tentacles across his chest, and giving his neighbour a stern look. "Whatever it is, it couldn't be much bigger than what you've done for me."

SpongeBob gulps quietly, and his bright blue eyes fill up with tears. "Well...I was feeling tired due to working for your clarinet... and, whenever I coughed, it really hurt my chest. So, I went to ask Sandy about it. She noticed I'd somehow lost weight, and she did some tests on me... She found that I'm infected with a deadly bacterium which will kill me if I don't get it treated..."

Squidward's eyes widen in horror. As much as his neighbour annoys him every day, the fact that SpongeBob is dying is a terrifying thought to even comprehend- let alone hear from the said sponge's lips. He wonders if this is some sort of cruel joke. He remains silent, allowing SpongeBob to continue.

"Sandy took me to see a doctor, and they both think I'll make it if I'm treated now. But I'm going to be off work for a while- and I need someone to take care of Gary and my house while I'm in hospital...my parents said they'd do it, but they need a day to get here, and I don't want to put pressure on them..." SpongeBob admits, his eyes taking a newfound interest in the floorboards of the dining area.

"Fine- I'll do it," Squidward answers, surprisingly a bit less grudgingly than he would like to admit. He doesn't really want to get involved in looking after Gary again. But SpongeBob did something huge for him, and he doesn't want to advantage of him- unlike the time SpongeBob had brought him into his home after he himself lost his job at the Krusty Krab.

"Thank you," SpongeBob answers weakly, before coughing violently. "I'm really scared, though, Squidward- I don't know if I'm ready..." He tells him quietly, his knees shaking.

"If you of all people can face Monday morning, you can face anything," Squidward replies, trying to crack a joke.

But SpongeBob says nothing. His eyes well up with tears, making the cephalopod annoyed, worried and, worst of all, helpless.

"Look, don't cry, Sponge- it'll work out," Says Squidward, softly, a tentacle hovering in mid-air with uncertainty "I know you, and you don't give up. I don't know how, but you just don't. You try and get me to not give up, so I'm not giving up on you." He tells him.

SpongeBob raises his tear- filled eyes at Squidward. "You...you mean it...?" he asks, his voice trembling.

"Yes. As much as I loathe you, SpongeBob, you are the person least deserving of death." Squidward answers, and looks at his clarinet. The gift from his annoying neighbour, before looking at the cook's teary eyes. He knows that this road wouldn't be easy. He could just walk away.

But...he can't.

SpongeBob selflessly raised over $1000 for a new clarinet- for him. How could he walk away from someone who restored his joy out of kindness, and is even now dying right in front of him?

Why did fate have to pick the one-person Squidward had silently acknowledged as a friend?

The one person who smiles seeing him in the morning; the one person willing to praise him instead of jeer at him; the one person who cares about how he feels; the one person who never understands Squidward was insulting him; the one person capable of looking past Squidward's grouchy, selfish shell and seeing something valuable and precious inside.

Squidward decides silently that if SpongeBob wouldn't accept the money he raised for the clarinet, then he'll use it to help him survive this wretched bacterium.

Without another word, he finally makes his mind up- and lets his tentacle rest on the poriferan's shoulder in what he hopes is a comforting manner.

After every hellish thing his neighbour puts him through- the courts, wasted Sundays and one more reason to dread work- he still cares about his neighbour, somewhat.

Why did it only take the ominous threat of death by an unseen enemy to realise something he had been blind to for so long?