Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story
They all belong to the owner: Craig Bartlett
Author's first note: Hello everyone! This is my first Hey Arnold fan fiction I've written. I've read stories on this website for years and always had the idea of writing one in the back of my mind. I finally got the guts to do it! While reading if you have any comments or feedback please feel free to let me know what you think.
Chapter 1:
"I don't care how tired you are, you need to have my dinner ready by the time I get home from work Miriam!" Helga couldn't take this too much longer. Bob and Miriam were at it again with the arguing, which she could hear loud and clear from her bedroom upstairs. It was making it very hard for her to study
She opened her school bag and pulled out her earphones. The huge crash in the kitchen made her hurry up and detangle them. "Stop throwing stuff bob, I already have to replace what you broke last time!" "You do what the hell I tell you to do and you won't have to worry about that!
She finally got them loose and plugged them into her ears and the bottom of the phone. At this point she didn't care what song played, just as long as it was loud enough to tune out her parents arguing
Hitting play on her phone and blasting the first song that popped up on her playlist, finally feeling at peace. She went back to reading her World Geography book. There was a huge test coming up that counted for half her grade and seeing how this was not her best subject, she needed all the studying time she could get.
"Shut your mouth bitch! If your lazy ass would have fixed my food the right way like I asked, we wouldn't even be having this conversation!" Bob was screaming so loud that it could be heard clearly over her music. Criminy! I can't study for shit in this house!
She unlocked her phone and went to the messages app, then clicked on Phoebe's message feed. She typed the message "Can I stay over tonight?" looked at it, then erased it and locked her phone.
I don't want to burden her with my problems tonight. Yea she was her best friend but sometimes Helga felt like Phoebe was sick of hearing her complain about her parents, even if it was a relief to vent to her.
She stood up and closed her book. Fuck this, I'm not about to fail for them. She got her overnight bag out of the closet and began to fill it with school clothes for tomorrow, A work and gym outfit, extra pairs of underwear and a bra, socks, and a few pairs of shoes. I really don't want to do this tonight but I can't afford to fail this test.
On nights where she couldn't take living at home, she would go and spend the night at Mighty Pete. She started doing this around September of last year. Her parents were so busy arguing that they wouldn't even notice that she was gone
Helga walked to the bathroom and grabbed all of her toiletries along with an extra roll of toilet paper. While stopping in the hallway to get a towel she made sure her music was turned up all the way
"You're hurting me bob!" Helga could hear her mom crying over Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal on full volume playing though her ears. I hate when she cries like that, it makes it harder for me to not intervene. The last time Helga interrupted her parents arguing, she got in the way of her dad hitting a wall and got socked in the face. Instead of apologizing all she got was a "Stay out the way Olga!"
She put the toiletries in the bag and closed it. Oh I almost forgot! She went to the closet and grabbed a loofah from the top of the closet. They always came in handy for nights like this.
After stuffing it in her bag she stripped out of the basketball shorts she had on and replaced them with a pair of sweat pants. She threw on a jacket and zipped it up. There was no way she could sleep in that tree house without dressing warm. A blanket alone may have helped in the fall, however that by itself was no help during the end of January. She almost froze to death when she slept there New Year's Eve
I wonder if they are still arguing. She took one earphone out and stood by the stairs "I don't understand why I put up with your drunk ass anyways, I should have left you the moment you had that disappointment Olga" Years ago Bob's words would have hurt her, however she was actually use to the way he talked about her. He had revealed that he wish she was a boy, wish she had never been born, called her a waste of space to her face, the insults were endless; so endless that Helga actually started believing that they were true. Her self-esteem was at an all-time low now, however she didn't show it.
Making sure all of her school supplies were all in her bag, she grabbed that, her overnight bag, paused her music and placed her phone and the charger in her pocket, stuffed her feet in a pair of show boots, and walked out the door quietly closing it behind her.
"You should have aborted the bitch, maybe then we wouldn't be having so many problems!" "Leave Helga out of this, our problems have nothing to do with her" "Fuck her Miriam, fuck her and fuck you" Helga walked out the front door without being noticed. It amazed her sometimes how they could be so deep into an argument that they wouldn't even notice her. Then again that's not something hard to do when you don't care about your own daughter
She walked down the street to the Hillwood 24hr gym. It had recently been built around early December, just in time for everyone to join to satisfy the usual New Year's resolutions. Helga use to shower at home right before going to Mighty Pete, however after they build the gym it became her new shower spot. It also helped out with her not having to go back to the house in the mornings before school would start. The only thing she didn't like about it though was the location. In order to get to the gym, you have to walk right past Arnold's house.
She had been avoiding him since 10th grade when he and Lila finally decided to become a couple. She avoided him like the plague. The love of her life making kissy faces with the girl she despised was not something she could handle seeing all the time. When they finally broke up the beginning of their senior year, she was both happy and sad. Happy because her nightmare was over, but sad because she could see that Arnold was deeply affected by it. Lila broke up with him and didn't have much of a reason for it. All she really said was they weren't meant to be and one day he would see why. The poor boy was crushed
After that Helga didn't exactly avoid him much, however she felt like that was a mistake because they kind of stared hanging out again. The more they hung out, the closer they got. The closer they got, the harder she had to work to hide her feelings. It was so exhausting.
She stopped walking when she was in front of his house. She was praying that he was sleep so he wouldn't see her. The last thing she needed was for him to think she was stalking him
"Helga?"
Too late