A/N: I just couldn't stop myself from writing this. Like I just had to no matter what. lol My hand wouldn't stop itching to write this down, and so I did. (: This story is mostly going to be about them becoming friends. Perhaps the universe figured they needed a little help with that. ;) I really like fantasy stuff such as this, and I just got through reading a manga about it so...yeah. *shrugs* Oh, and warning FTi didn't happen here, but I guess all the other episodes have.
I don't own Hey Arnold nor do I claim any rights to any of the characters from the show.
"Happy Valentine's day Helga," A slightly blushing Arnold said, holding out his gift, a handmade card shaped like a heart, at the full length of him arms, and avoiding her eyes just a bit. She took him all in while she could. His golden hair was a bit longer than it had been in previous years, and the weight of it caused it to droop a little. His eyes were still green and earnest, and he had grown taller, though he still wasn't taller than her. Above all, he still was always ready to help a friend in need. Most times she teased that he was still dull as a board, to which he would half close his eyes and give her what now was becoming the sexiest look she had ever seen and reply, 'whatever you say, Helga.' It was one of the bright spots of any day. All these years later and she still couldn't get enough of him. She was pathetic.
"Thanks football head," she said now, and reached out to grab it, but hesitated, narrowing her eyes. "This isn't an April Fools prank is it?"
"No," he smiled at her doubt. She did that with any present he got her. "It's not even April yet."
"O-oh, right," she tentatively took the card from him, a soft smile growing on the edges of her face, but she quickly replaced it with a glare. "If there's nothing more for you to do here, you can go back to your seat now, Arnoldo."
"Yeah, bye Helga," he went back to the front of the class and sat next to Gerald, who watched him with a puzzled expression. He ignored his best friend as he usually did whenever he did something for Helga. He already knew how Gerald felt about her, but for some reason he liked doing nice things for her. It was...unexplainable really.
"Did you just give Pataki a Valentine's day card?" Gerald asked, fishing for information.
"Maybe," he replied cryptically. He knew it wasn't a good response when Gerald narrowed his eyes at him.
"You do know I, and most of the class, just watched you give her one right?" he watched as Arnold shifted uncomfortably. "What I really meant to ask was why?"
"Because nobody else ever does. It gets kind of lonely you know, never getting something on a day like this. Besides, it was just a card," he sounded defensive, guilty, even to himself.
Gerald scoffed. "'Just a card' is what I'd agree to if I didn't watch you make that card yourself as if your very life depended on it. I assumed it was for Lila."
"Nope, this one is for Lila," he pulled out a couple of cards that looked similar, but each had a different phrase on them, unlike the one Helga received.
"Are you serious right now? Why was Helga's specially created just for her, but your girlfriend is getting one that third graders give out as a friendly gesture of the day?"
"Lila's not my girlfriend," he replied, putting the cards away again.
"Not yet you mean. I thought you were working on it?"
He had been. Three years ago, back in the fifth grade, but when it came to who he was in love with Gerald always picked any girl as long as it wasn't Helga. Not that he was in love with her or anything, of course not, but he liked doing nice things for her. Gerald didn't like that for some reason, though Helga had cooled down on the bullying. If anything she just was strong willed nowadays, and Arnold didn't see that as a bad thing.
"Good morning class," their teacher, Ms. Grey said, coming in the door with a huge smile on her face. Arnold was grateful for her distraction. "Do you all know what today is?"
"Happy Single's Awareness day?" Rhonda said, earning her a few high fives from the girls around her.
Ms. Grey's smile only grew. "Not quite, but it is Valentine's Day."
Arnold tuned in and out as Ms. Grey explained the days assignment. Instead, he turned to look at Helga as often as he could get away with. She would be looking in his general direction with a wistful expression on her face, then whenever their eyes met, she'd glare and ask, "What?"
He'd turn back around and smile softly. He was glad that his card had brought a smile to her face rather she admitted it or not. He had begun to see that she was mostly shy along with being mostly harmless. It was a nice thought. Secretly, he wished they could be friends, at least closer than the tolerance they had between each other. She had an interesting personality, one he couldn't help but admire. On rare occasions, he wished he could be like her. She had slowly become someone he secretly respected and that was the true reason he had made her the card, to show that. The other girls just couldn't compare, not even sugary sweet Lila. There was something about Helga that made her unique, but in a way that made her a person with her own category. He liked trying to figure out the mystery that enveloped her. She had to have one. He had caught her too many times smiling off into space, and he couldn't help but envy whoever had put it there.
As class ended he resolved that he'd start working on being Helga's friend before the school year was over. It couldn't be that hard to do right?
"Oh Arnold. I will forever cherish this card more than you'll ever know," Helga swooned and held the card close to her chest as she walked home. She couldn't help the smile that bloomed on her lips. She tried to move on from her love, a total of eighteen times in fact, but how could she when he was just so…perfect? Heck, she doubted he had a single problem in life, and it would take a lot to get her to change her opinion of him.
She hummed happily as she walked down the street. She even spun herself around a light pole, she was just so giddy. If she were brave, she'd have even given him the card she had handmade for him, but she had chickened out with everyone staring at them earlier. To say she was surprised he'd given her a Valentine this year was an understatement, but she was over the moon in happiness that he had.
To put it lightly, puberty was being good to Arnold and the girls were starting to take notice of it. She wasn't the only one who was vying for his attention anymore, and she had near given up until now. Now she figured she had some sort of hope of changing his feelings…maybe, hopefully.
"I, Helga G. Pataki, vow on this Valentine, given to me by my beloved, to admit my feelings to him before we go to high school where there are sure to be bimbos fighting for him." She kissed it and folded the valentine and placed it in her locket. "Now no chickening out Helga ol' girl. You can do this." She sighed, and smiled, staring up at the sky that was an array of endless blue. "It's time."
Arnold sighed, as he walked home. The end of the school day had been...unexpected, but annoying all the same. He was tired, so tired, of all the girls wondering why their card wasn't as lovely as Helga's had been. He had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying something he'd regret. Arnold noticed that his had been the only card Helga had gotten all day and here they were, already with multiple cards, being greedy. He hated that. Helga would never complain in a similar situation he didn't think, but he was sure she would never beg for a better card. She wasn't the type to stoop so low. In that way she was one in a million. As it was, with his thoughts in a fury, he hadn't been paying attention, and because of that he had bumped into a girl with a blonde ponytail and a temper of a mountain lion.
They crashed into each other as they had many times before, a full body impact that was sure to leave a bruise or two. Their lips touched softly, too quickly for them to really notice it had happened. The collision made both of them land on the ground stunned. Helga rubbed her head and scowled. "Geez, football head you still…" She stopped talking, realizing immediately that something was wrong. The voice coming out of her mouth made her heart race in a wild panic. She knew that voice well, and it so wasn't her own. It was...She shook her head, gulping, and did the next best thing. She turned to look at Arnold, but the person looking back at her was…herself.
She screamed loud, from disbelief, shock, and fear. Arnold, began to worry as she didn't seem ready to stop screaming anytime soon. He covered her mouth with his, well her, hand. "Helga…" he spoke softly, hearing his word come out with her voice, something that made his stomach flip in a weird way. "That is you…right?" He said, address his body, hoping with all his might his guess had been correct. Anything else probably would have gave him a mind meltdown.
Unable to do much else out of the fear surrounding her heart, she nodded. "Arnold?" She asked tentatively, in his voice. She had to be dreaming. This had to be one big dream. People don't just...swap bodies like this. It just didn't happen.
"Yeah," a frown appeared on her face, but studied her with what she could only call curious interest. She was sure she had never personally made that face herself. "I must be dreaming," she, no Arnold, murmured. Helga was growing faint by the second. She had to wrap her mind around the fact that Arnold was now…her. This was a terrible turn of events.
"How did this happen?" She asked, in Arnold's rich voice. She already knew she was going to have to stop herself from talking out loud for no reason. His voice was just so amazing.
"I don't know, I'm still having a hard time believing it," he admitted.
"This is just so weird." She said in reply, unable to believe her eyes. She wanted to slap herself, but to do that she'd be slapping Arnold's face. There was no way she was ever going to do that.
"We have to find a way to get back into our own bodies," Arnold said, standing up. He dusted off her clothes. "Perhaps we should crash into each other again."
"Arnold, that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," she stood up and crossed her arms.
"Do you have any other bright ideas?" He asked, staring at her curiously.
"Well…no…"
"Okay then. At least it's something, plus we crashed into each other when…this happened. Maybe the same thing will revert us back."
It sounded crazy all right, but what was crazier was that they had indeed switched bodies in the first place. She was staring at herself as he usually saw her. Her hair was mess thanks to her ponytail growing loose from the day, her clothes were a bit crooked from the crash, her face wasn't as menacing, but Arnold wasn't that sort of person and he was currently in control of her emotions…er his emotions. Oh, crimeny, she was turning into a basket case.
"Fine…it's worth a shot."
They made three attempts to crash into each other the way they had before and failed miserably. Their timing was never accurate, and it seemed to get worse the more they tried, not better. It was like the universe was against them.
"Let's just run into each other head on," Helga suggested.
"I'm not sure if that'll work…" Arnold said, biting his lip.
"Why wouldn't it?" She asked, getting near hysterics, but trying to stay in control. They couldn't stay like this. Staying like this meant they'd have to go home…as each other. Helga wasn't willing to stand for that, and she didn't like that he didn't think her idea would work. "As long as we crash into each other does it matter?"
Arnold shrugged. "Maybe…I guess. You're right, let's just try it."
They both went to opposite ends of the street. "I'll count to three," Arnold said, her voice carrying all the way to her ears. She really was loud wasn't she? "One…two…THREE!"
They both took off running, and Helga had a thought that she found this in an odd sort of way…fun. She was Arnold. The guy she had always admired from afar and now here she was…him. This may be a once in a lifetime chance, but before she could think about it any longer they crashed into each other hard. Pain rang throughout her body; the wind was gone from her lungs. While they had crashed into each other many times before, it had never been at a run. It was a terrible feeling.
"Ugh, did we change back?" Arnold asked, but he asked it in her voice. She frowned, as she winced from the pain and anger of utter defeat of her plan failing.
"…I don't think so football head."
He groaned, rather from pain or the fact they had not escaped from their current plight was a mystery to her. She stood up and nearly fell again. She was still dizzy from the crash. Arnold's body wasn't quite as sturdy as hers, which she couldn't help but frown about.
"Arnold?"
"…Yeah."
"There's no way we can pose as each other for who knows how long. It's impossible."
"…I know."
"So what are we going to do?"
"That's a good question."
She turned and raised an eyebrow at him. "Aren't you always Mr. Look on the Brightside? You must have some sort of thought."
He smiled and his eyes, correction her own eyes, went half lidded. She could feel her heart race, which was crazy since she was looking at herself, but she knew it was Arnold in there right now, and for some reason that was all that mattered.
"Yeah, but if you looked in the mirror you'd realize you're me, so perhaps you should think of something Helga."
"Football head, don't confuse me more than I already am."
He chuckled. "I'm you Helga, so if anyone should be calling anyone football head it's me."
"…You're having fun with this now aren't you?"
"No…" He frowned. "Okay, maybe a little, but I think I could handle being you for a small while."
"What?" She widened her eyes and stared at him. He wasn't saying what she thought he was saying…was he?
"I just think maybe for now we should just try to practice being each other."
No, no, oh hecks to the no. "I'm not sure that's a good idea…" Her mind immediately thought about her room. She still had a lot of Arnold related stuff in there. It was a ticking time bomb of secrets.
"Well, it's not the best idea, but it's kinda the only one we have right now." He said, wincing as he stretched. She could only look at him as he did that. He was acting awfully comfortable.
She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you suddenly okay with all of this?"
"I'm not," he said, but he was avoiding her gaze. What the heck?
"…Yeah, I'm against this," she said bluntly, not liking the way Arnold was acting. "Call Pheebs, and have her make up an alibi that you're sleeping there and then sleep in your own room."
"But…"
"No buts." She said firmly. She was glad his voice already held authority in it. If he wanted to, he could probably have people listening to anything he said. A scary thought actually. "Just do it."
"Whatever you say, Arnold," she cringed at the name, but it made sense to start addressing themselves as such.
"Can you not call me that unless other people are around? It's kind of…creepy."
"Yeah, okay." They walked to a pay phone and she dialed Phoebe's number in. After the second ring her best friend answered the line. "Konichiwa, Heyerdahl residence. Who's calling?" She motioned for Arnold to take the phone from her, which he did to her relief.
"Hey, er, Pheebs. Um, I was wondering if you could just um, say I'm staying over…tonight?" He flinched once he was done with the sentence.
"Is everything alright?" Helga could hear the concern in her friends voice as she listened in. Great, he was making her worry. He was trying too hard to act like her.
"Uh, yes?" She slapped her forehead. Any worse than that and Phoebe would start looking for her or worse get her parents involved. He took a deep breath before he spoke again. "I mean, of course I'm fine, sheesh Pheebs. I'm, uh, not running from the law or anything."
She blinked, and watched him. He blushed, and turned away from her, so now she couldn't even hear what Phoebe was saying. "Doi, if it was something that bad I would tell you." A pause. "Yes, I promise, so do we have a deal?"
He hung up the phone and sighed giving her the okay sign with his hand. She grabbed him, but seeing as she was now on the shorter end of the spectrum, she couldn't lift him as much as she would have liked. "What the heck kind of performance was that?"
"I was just being you." He said, a slow smile appeared on his lips.
"Yes I could see that, but…" In the end, he had been pretty good. A bit on the rusty side, but with some practice... "If you had that in you, why the stuttering at first?"
"Well…I don't know." He blushed, not saying any more than that.
"Never mind. Let's just plan our next move."
"Sneaking me into my room?" He asked.
"No that's easy," she waved his question away, having already formulated the plan to that. "I meant as far as actually acting like each other. Talking on the phone is easy. In person it's a whole new ball game."
"I'm pretty confident I can handle it," he said, looking smug. She snorted.
"It's not that easy being me."
"It's not that easy being me," he threw back at her.
They glared at each other. "Is that a bet I smell Arnold?"
"If you're up for the challenge Helga," he sashayed down the sidewalk suddenly and a bit awkwardly. He turned and looked back at her halfway down the block. "What do you think? Do I walk like you?"
She laughed. "Not even close football head."
"Hey, only I can say football head, football head," he said, grinning.
"Whatever you say, Helga," she said to him, using one of his favorite sayings. They both looked at each other and started laughing.
She walked to catch up to him, her head spinning. What a strange set of circumstances they now found themselves in. Being each other. Could they do it? Helga guessed that now they'd find out how much they could, and hopefully all the while the secret she kept close to her heart would stay that way. Now, if only she could stop herself from trying to sniff the collar of the shirt she was wearing...yep, he still smelled good. Swoon.
A/N: I cannot believe I'm doing this too myself. I really need to stop. lol
