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Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or anything other than the plot.
Good Enough:
A Hey Arnold Fanfiction
"Boy howdy, do you think she's gonna wake up?" Sid asked his friends.
The entire group stood in a huddle around a small, pale figure in a hospital room. She most likely wouldn't have been recognized in such a state, but was because of her trademark, a thick unibrow.
Arnold looked down at his friend with a flicker of hope in his eyes. He gazed around the group and tried to reassure them.
"Sure, she will." She has to, Arnold thought to himself.
"I don't want to seem like a downer or anything, but we've been here for hours!" Harold said.
"Harold's right, maybe we should just head home," Eugene agreed.
"I'm ever so certain that she will wake up soon," Lila piped up, her voice wavering.
"Of course she will," Arnold said while he gratefully sent a small smile to Lila.
"She has been asleep for," Rhonda said while glancing at her designer watch. "Five hours."
Unable to say anything, Phoebe sighed and sniffled at the sight that was her best friend.
"Come on you guys! We can't just give up like this. She's going to wake up! I-I'm sure of it," Arnold said while he glanced around at his friends.
"Whatever you say, man," Gerald mumbled.
Despite the small amount of hope left in the room, everyone stayed two more hours when Rhonda's watched read 9:57 p.m.
Come on, Helga! I know you can wake up. Come on! Arnold thought.
He sighed while holding his head in his hands, when suddenly Helga's heart rate sped up.
Everyone stared intently at her waiting for her to wake up. Slowly she opened her eyes, and turned her head to look at her friends.
"What are you all looking at?" Helga's voice lacked its natural authority, cracking on a few words.
"Gee wilikers, Helga you sure don't sound that great," Stinky said gently.
"You don't sound much better, Stinko," Helga commented before clearing her throat and sitting up straighter.
"How are you feeling, Helga?" Arnold asked.
"Exactly like I look football head," Helga said, sighing softly.
"Oh, Helga," Phoebe said before she rushed over to Helga sobbing.
Helga patted her small friend and watched her cry.
"I'm ever so happy you're awake, Helga," Lila said as she dabbed at her eyes.
Helga considered Lila's comment before answering. "Thanks Lila."
"So…where are your parents?" Sid asked.
Everyone gave him angry looks while Helga contemplated his question.
"My parents…"
"Sid didn't mean to say that, Helga," Arnold said quickly.
"Yeah, he knows you wouldn't know where they were since you just woke up," Gerald agreed.
"Right…" Helga answered before taking a deep breath. "How long have you guys been here?"
"For seven hours straight," Phoebe said. These were the first words she had said since she'd learned what had happened to Helga.
"SEVEN HOURS!" Helga screeched.
"What's the matter, Helga?" Phoebe asked.
"What are you guys crazy?"
"Well, we were really worried about you," Sid said with a shrug.
"Have you guys even left this room?"
They all looked around, trying to avoid eye contact.
"All of you go! OUT!"
"What? But Helga—" Arnold began.
"Go and eat something. Honestly, it will make me feel better," Helga pleaded sincerely.
"Boy howdy," Sid said as they exited the room. "Something must've happened to her when she fell unconscious."
Everyone nodded in agreement, as they made their way to the food court with Harold in the lead.
Arnold stood staring at the door of Helga's room. Phoebe noticed this first because she had stayed behind in Helga's room a few minutes longer than her friends.
"Coming, Arnold?" She asked while closing the door.
"Yeah, it's just…I don't understand why Helga would try to kill herself," Arnold answered, confessing what had been bothering him.
"Why don't you go and ask her then?" Phoebe asked, gesturing towards the door.
As she turned to leave, Phoebe was calm because she already knew the reason, but hoped Arnold would go talk to Helga and find out for himself. He, after all, had a right to know.
Arnold bit his lip in hesitation before reaching for the knob.
He stood in the doorway and stared at Helga with her head tilted back and her eyes closed.
"Are you comin' in or not?" She called out, her eyes still shut.
Arnold closed the door quietly before going over to Helga.
"Helga—" Arnold began before he was cut off.
"Why am I not surprised it's you, football head?" Helga said with smirk.
"Helga…" He started as he struggled to find the right words.
"You want to know why I tried to commit suicide, right?" She asked knowingly.
"Uh…yeah," Arnold answered slowly.
"Arnold, look," Helga began as she opened her eyes.
He looked down, so their eyes would meet. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry," Helga whispered.
"What?" Arnold asked confused. Why is she apologizing?
"For trying to kill myself… I did it for selfish reasons."
"Like what?" Arnold asked, trying to get her to elaborate.
She sighed before continuing, "There is this…person who I care about so much that it hurts. And I want to tell them so badly..."
"Then, why don't you?" Arnold asked while he tried to understand.
"Because Arnold," Helga said with a shake of her head. "I will never be good enough for them." She whispered.
Both of them just continued to breathe, letting the silence fill around them.
"That's why I tried to kill myself," Helga concluded with a slight chuckle.
How does she find this funny? Arnold thought angrily. But his thoughts quickly changed to concern when he saw a tear slide down Helga's cheek.
He gently wiped it away before speaking. "Maybe you should just try, Helga."
"What?" She asked confused.
"You should try to tell them… before it's too late. I can help you! Just tell me who it is and I promise…" Arnold began to stop when he saw Helga shake her head.
"I can't, Arnold," Helga pleaded. She sighed while blinking back tears. Criminy! How much of a baby can you be Pataki? Helga angrily thought to herself.
"Yes, you can Helga. I believed you would wake up and I believe you can do this too," Arnold said confidently.
Helga closed her eyes as her head began to droop down. Arnold cautiously took Helga's left hand into his and squeezed it.
"I believe in you," He whispered to her.
Helga inhaled deeply before she whispered two words. "It's you."
"What?" Arnold asked confused.
"It's you, Arnold…I love you."
Arnold hugged her towards him while she cried into his chest.
"I love you too, Helga," He whispered as he stroked the blonde hair that framed her face.
"Boy howdy," Sid whisper screamed from outside the door. "What did we miss?" His friends who had crowded around him nodded in agreement.
"It's been there all along. We just never acknowledged it," Phoebe said with a small smile while she addressed her friends. "We didn't miss anything."
Note:
Sorry I didn't warn you about Phoebe being OOC. Sorry again, about the ending just popping up. For some reason the line didn't come up; I hope it did now! Okay, I'm lastly sorry about the overusing of the phrase 'Boy howdy.' I can't help it though, Sid is one of my favorite characters!