The work done by external agent in stretching a spring of force constant k from length l1 to l2 is
k(l22-l12)
12k(l22-l12)
k(l2-l1)
k2(l2+l1)
U2 = 12kl22
U1 = 12kl12
W = U2-U1
= 12kl22-12kl12 = 12k(l22-l12)